dear diary, i'm fat. sparkles!

so being back has been AMAZING!  thank you all so much for all of your support and encouragement - in response to datin' kait (who along with masked mckenna writes a totally adorable female mormon dating blog [you'll see it's way more chaste then my loves at mormon bachelor pad...also can you tell that i'm obsessed with mormon people now?  my other fav mormon blog is the boob nazi]), i decided to join the military because my parents encouraged me to (my dad is retired), it was a full scholarship to a $40k/yr. university, i have a stellar job and i get to work with amazing people from all walks of life.  it's also basically the best leadership opportunity you could ask for - how many other fresh out of college people are handed fifteen people and told to have them 'do their work' despite the fact that you have no clue what that is (i had a communications degree and was placed down in engineering)?  it's a great job, honestly.

annnyways, y'all will die...LOOK at what i came home to:

my incredible best friends wrapped every. single. thing. i ordered in pink wrapping paper, filled my room with pink balloons, rose petals and a "welcome home princess alanna" sign!  aren't they so sweet?!

all this was after spending a fab few days with my mama, daddy, little bro and little sis in hawaii:

haha as you can tell, my hair had gotten CREEPY long over deployment!  so when i got back i went to a cutie new stylist who i developed a total girl crush on and we cut off four inches.  thank baby Jesus, so necessary!

but the best part about getting back?  remember my amaze friend tim that i've talked about, the totally handsome helo pilot who made my time before i left so fun?  well he couldn't make it to the pier to say hi, and he couldn't make it to our little lunch afterward, so here's what he sent in his absence:

a huge, gorgeous, all-pink bouquet.  is that not the sweetest thing you've ever heard of!?  it was in the back room and they pulled it out when we got there!  that's my best friend becky on my left, my old roommate [and good friend] rachel as the other brunette, and my best friend christina on the right.  p.s. do you recognize that adorable abercrombie dress?  SO fun I wore it twice!

so i've been celebrating after i got back, nonstop.  reunion dinners, baseball games, going out every night...my girlfriend joined us for a sunday funday brunch and she looked fantastic, and told me she was doing spin classes at 24 Hour Fitness.  i love 24 hour, it's SO convenient to be able to go whenever, so i had planned on rejoining when i got back anyways.  well i get there and the guy sells me on a personal trainer.  fine. i'd wanted one of those anyways. 

so yesterday i go in for my first meeting, and we have to do weigh ins.  i'm embarassed to tell y'all how much i've gained since i got back.  i weighed in at 149.  149!  i wasn't even in the fit section of their little body chart, i was in the 'acceptable' section!  i'm like i'm supposed to be having the best summer of my life and i'm scared of the scale!? absolutely not!

so i'm motivating myself right now - watching the 40 biggest celebrity slim downs while i finish this long awaited post and getting ready to go to the gym and finish my first assignments!  haha hence the blog title...one of the comedians was teasing about tyra banks having a food diary and said,

"what does she write?  dear diary, i'm fat! sparkles!" 

i also picked up some great new sneaks yesterday at nordstrom rack [love] and got some gorgeous new Pumas and a pair of Nike's with that Nike + in it...does anyone use it?  i'm tempted to buy the whole kit thingy!  so i'll be back to blogging, back to serious dieting, and hopefully back to goal weight (which we've established as 133...my trainer thinks i can do it, and it'll be a good weight for me with my build) in no time flat!  love you girls and can't wait to catch up with you!  sidenote: i'm aiming for about 1400 calories a day, so it's 1:20 and i've eaten a weight watchers egg mcmuffin (210c.), an alternative bagel (100c.) with a laughing cow light cheese wedge (35c.) and a large banana (120c.). 

is it just me or should fruit have no calories?!

and can't wait to let y'all know about Stagecoach [this weekend]...and the fact that i'm going to be someone's date to a weddingggg...not only my second wedding ever, but the first one i've ever gone to as a date!  haha i can't wait to start shopping for an outfit!  can we just add that i still haven't OPENED all those damn boxes so i also can't wait to post about the great giveaways i've won from our fellow bloggers!?

xx!

liberty is RESTRICTED!

my parents encouraged me to apply for an ROTC scholarship when i was applying to colleges (primarily because University of San Diego was $40k++ a year), and when i got the scholarship, they said, why not take it?  you can always drop it after a year, with no obligation. 

nearly six years later, here i am. fully obligated. which means when we've been underway for 48 days straight (with 300 of our closest friends...and by friends i mean coworkers...and by coworkers i mean those people that you would really prefer to see a lot less than you actually do), we've finally pulled into a port, and, shockingly, people got drunk and hooked up.  unfortunately, these same people did this hooking up on the ship.  so, there goes our liberty.  

good things about not being able to get off the ship even though we're in port:
1) can't spend money on alcohol.
2) can't spend money on pretty much anything. excluding my online shopping habit, but that's a problem underway, too.
3) don't have to spend money on a hotel room.
4) i don't have to 'waste' a cute outfit...

...okay, that cute outfit one? now i'm really reaching.  i am sooo annoyed that we are stuck on the ship (and i'm running out of food!  i'm down to my last easy mac!)!  ugh! why would people hook up ON A SHIP when we're in a port, you ask?  because not everyone is allowed to stay out overnight.  oh, those poor, sex-starved people.  crappy that we're all getting punished for it.  

anyyyyways, more exciting news: Stella + Dot spotted on Real Housewives of Orange County last night!  looove it!  please remember, if you're ordering Stella + Dot jewelry, to order it through my Independent Stylist site, www.stellanddot.com/alannastrei , as opposed to going to the corporate site, so I can track it for my Save the Children Haiti Relief Fund donations!

in final amazing news, check out the lineup for stagecoach this year:

i hope that we make it back in time!! keep your fingers crossed for me!
oh btw, it looks like we won't get extended after all - so if you live in san diego, open up your calendar to come to a stella + dot trunk show, or to host one of your own - it's free, and you can earn free jewelry!

finally, thank you so much for these two awards i just received:
And thank you to the super sweet (and funny!) JM at The Tale of a Southern Belle who gave me the:

"The Sunshine Award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world. I am now going to pass along the sunshine and present this award to some of my favorite bloggers who make my day "A Sunshine Day!"
1.  Meet the Stonekings 

2.  Confessions of a + Size Girl

3. Everything is Better Pink 

4. Hot Pink Leopard and Pearls 

5. Previously Plump

"This award means you're really going places, Baby. You'll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now, and I'll still be reading them."

The Rules: * Link back to the blogger who sent you this award

* Post where you would like to be in 10 years

* Pass it on to 5 other special bloggers!

Thank you to Becky @ Meet The Stonekings - she is the cutest and totally someone i would be friends with in real life!

hmm...10 years from now...

wow, this time two years ago, i would have had an entirely different answer-i was living with an emotionally abusive, controlling boyfriend, about to graduate from college and join the navy.  i am in such a different place now, and so grateful for that (even though it was quite a messy breakup - police called twice, my parents flying out to move me out - every tacky, COPS/white trash style scenario possible.  still so embarrassed that i made such an amazingly poor judgment of character).  

but now! now, i am so, so blessed!  i have two incredible best friends, i have no debt and healthy savings, i am fully qualified in my job (yay!) with a promotion and big raise in may, and i am happily, joyfully single.  in 10 years, i'll be 33, and hopefully my life will be amazing.  i'll have linked up to a junior officer recruiter (unless i picked up lateral transfer to public affairs officer!) and will be working in the big, bad corporate world (with REAL CLOTHES, no more uniforms!! yay!!), i'll hopefully be in a serious relationship, i'll be fit and un-sundamaged, and i will look back fondly on my twenties...which means i need to get back to san diego and start living them!

Your turn!  this award goes to:

  1. Destined for Royalty 

2.  Nautical By Nature 

3. Preppy 50 and Loving Lilly

4. Pink Champagne

5.   Sarah Elizabeth

now tell me, does anyone want any souvenirs from thailand?  it's allegedly on our port visit list (a little place called phuket!), and i would love to send you a postcard! just comment with your email, and i'll get your address!