Workout & Working Woman’s Wednesday: V is for …

* Veterans * Victory * Virtue

Please join yours truly as I salute and pay tribute to

• my hardworking heroic father from the *United States Air Force* while approaching the retirement of his post-military career in aviation
• my Great-Uncle Terry from the *U.S. Navy* before he reaches nine decades of life
• my *Airman* cousin Jeryl who’s safely and soundly back Stateside from his deployment
• my Bro Ryan from the *United States Marine Corps* who now is expecting my first niece/nephew with my sis and attending MBA school
• my *Airman* brother-in-law Eric in his second tour in the ROK
• my many friends who’ve served the great *US of A*

This also is a special Veterans’ Day as I passed my full faculty defense according to GOD’s perfect plan!

While our military heroes engage in rigorous physical training, with PT tests that time:

• 1½-mi. runs
• ### push-ups
• ### sit-ups

I did my share of high impact activity to prepare my energy for this AM’s event …

Just like I’ve connected almonds with energy for my full marathon as an analogy for my multiple regression statistical analyses, I’ve tied in what worked for me on the days I passed my previous rounds:

• I hit the track after my Holy Hour at our ♥Adoration♥ †Chapel† right before my committee conference call
• I’ve done more HIITs and toning up to ease my test anxiety up until today’s full faculty meeting

Here’s my training session from yesterday to work both the lower and upper bod:

2 for Tuesday: Double Whammy beyond the Moons on my Hammy

Simultaneous Moves for 20 reps/set with body weight or light resistance (ankle or wrist wraps, dumb bells or bands)

• Squats (legs) & Shoulder Raises (delts and traps)
• T-Bird Dead Lifts (booty) & Rows (back)
• Extensions 2 Ways ~ Standing (quads) & Overhead (tris)
• Curls 2 Ways ~ Standing (hams) & Upward (bis)
• Trunk Twist (core) Curtsy Lunges (legs)
• Ab-duction (inner thighs & waistline)

CHEERS to ALL of our service men and women in uniform who’ve

• fought for our freedom, both in the States and overseas
• bled for our country, earning themselves the Purple Heart
• died for those freedoms, earning themselves the Flag

 as well as ALL of our military families who experience the sacrifice.

Thank you, GOD, the Saints and the Angels for watching over us!!!

Mellow Non-Manic Monday: Happy Trip

🌈Happy 1st Day of School!🌅

Before this Fall term and my Birthday, I was able to travel for my recent family reunion!

☼#SundayFunDay just what I need: brief breather from my doctoral dissertation #FreshAir #AllTheGolfBallsICanHit #UnclesBackyard = #BombDotComb #BirthdayTrip2015 #RnR #ReyesReunion + #SelfieSunday “Ate” Elaine at “Auntie” Mary Jean a.k.a. “Tita” Inday! Yes, I’m older than my gorgeous aunt & about to be more w/my bday next wkend! #Countdown2theBiG #MagandaKaTalaga #SundaySelfie #WorkingOnMySwing #GoingGreen #GoingWithTheFlow #ChillaxinMellow #DISPObustAFlow🌞🌼🌻🌅⛳️ 🎓💣👑💁🏻

If you’re a passenger on the road🚙 or in the 🌌air, my tip would be to tote👜 yourself with

• 🎥Films (saved on your digital device or DVDs💽 if you have a portable 📻player)
• 👓Literature (electronic📳 or in 📇print)
• 🚘Travel🚗 💞workouts💓 (do with what you got or follow along videos)

Regardless of my so-called 🌴R&R, as a mad 🔭scientist🔬 I couldn’t resist bringing 💼study📖 materials!

While many may be 🚢traveling🚤 around Labor Day since the 🌼summer-to-school🍎 transition, I’m taking every single off day to work on my 💻dissertation📇 ~ which was the story of my life throughout the second 1/2 of this past 🌿summer. Now that the we’re back into the swing, I’ve resumed teaching🎓 and really need to set aside extra time exclusively for my 📜paper…

Before returning to the college🏤 for 🍁fall🍂 term, my parents flew✈️ me to visit family as my 🎈🎁💝🎂birthday🎆🎇🎊🎉 trip! Despite needing a  brief 🌴vacay getaway, I still reviewed👓 and revised✒️ my draft📝 every single day, whether in flight🚁 or during down time.

However, I still had plenty of entertainment🎬 on my 📱iPhone, laptop and hard copy📚 to keep me occupied while I was in the friendly skies🌐 or on my own:

• 👙Tone It Up‘s Beach Babe 3 workouts💪🏽
• ✌🏽️TIU‘s Toned Up Season 1 episodes📺
• 💺The Professor Is In PhD book📖
• 📕Sopranos study books📘
• 👛Beauty books💄
• Cosmo & SI mags

My birthday pick-me-ups before my trip

I would’ve added more movies🎥 to the mix, but not all of my apps📳 are up to par. Either way, I stayed occupied when I wasn’t 😲😵asleep😴💤 or visiting with my relatives ~ my Mami Aya‘s siblings for their reunion (that was the plan, but I ended up just referring to those at bedtime and did my dissertation during the day)!

Plus, I packed👜 light💡 with only one pair of shoes👡 to match my 👗outfits!

Paired both of these OOTDs with white sandals before Labor Day! Skirts and scarves galore! 👛🎒

And accessoried accordingly, of course!

My hat & scarf + earrings in anchor & sailboat steering wheel designs fit my trip theme nicely! 👒⚓️🚢🚤⛵️

If only I could take 🎓Grad📖 🐯Cat🐆 & 📊Stats📉📈 🐱Cat🐈 with me,

They call me the Pack Rat … & I call her the Pack Cat! Along with my white sandals, I also packed my Guess? Beverly Hills white vachetta leather bag with rose gold hardware 😍😻🐯🐆🐅💼👜👒👡💝

They wouldn’t have fit into my carry-on luggage anyway ~ in which I followed my ☼summer☼ speech student‘s suitcase👜 demo speech🎤 tips!

Beauty Basics for on-the-go:

• Mary Kay complete cosmetics case
• Birthday Birchbox travel-sized tubes

Fun ⌚️Times⏰ were in store ~ now I ☝🏽️aim🏀 to 🏆score!

#DISPObustAFlow 🎤

👣FYI: Happy Trip was a saying from my Lola 💐Rosa🌹 ~ my beloved maternal grandmother👵🏼

Btw, in between flights, I treated my layovers like shopping sprees and strolled the terminals like I was on a mall walk! Honest & Benefit kiosks * Dallas Cowboys store * Mini *Starbucks$ Lovers♥

3:33 ~ make a Bday/BTS wish!!! ✌

Beauty Tuesday: Triple Play Tuesday ~ Nautical Ambition

As I prepare for my potential promotion, I planned a new ensemble in light of our recent *Independence Day* and this ☼summer☼ season …

Nautical: * red * white * blue

White pants {Emma Ankle} are suitable between *Memorial Day* & *Labor Day* + the red button down top made the cut {both by Liz Claiborne} topped with the navy blue & white 3/4-s cardi {by St. John’s Bay}

with the *stars* and =stripes=

Sterling silver sailor steering wheels & yellow gold anchors for my ears pair well with this *star* denim tote bag (also perfect for the beach) with tan braided handles {by Mossimo} for my portfolios

 plus anchor and sailor steering wheel!

Apparently, my nautical inspiration extends beyond my outfit ~ after I set it out with accessories on ☼Sunday☼, I watched HGTV‘s Beach Flip premiere that also featured similar designs!

Now should I wear a * red * white or * blue handbag & shoes?

Scratch wearing the white slacks ~ late-breaking, thunder-breaking: we’re getting another storm in!

Beauty Tuesday: Concert Clothes & Costumes

†GOD Bless the U.S.A. Happy Belated Memorial Day♥

I hope that you all took the time to toast tribute to our service men and women who sacrificed their lives for the sake of our nation’s freedom! My favorite veteran, my dad, was the Airman with whom I commemorated our fallen military members, along with my mom, my sister and her Marine/my brother-in-law. Our late paternal great-grandfather actually was a soldier, and my great-uncle, who is my late maternal grandmother’s only surviving sibling, was a sailor man…

This past weekend, my mom’s birthday celebration continued with the Journey concert in Dallas on Memorial Day Eve. Joanne, my sis, actually bought our family tickets before the holidays last year! Since the show that opened with Tower of Power and also featured the Steve Miller Band was outdoors, I just wanted to be laid-back and down-to-earth. However, I now reminisce about other concerts that I attended and will present to you my get-up for a few of them…

Pat Green ~ Abilene, TX (2005)

Instead of getting dolled up like this Baby Doll beside me, I sported a Pat Green baseball tee!

“It came upon me Wave on Wave” ~ Pat Green

Blaine’s Picnic ~ San Angelo, TX (2006)

All I needed at our Texas Country Music Festival was my cowboy hat & a smile! {Stars & Stripes Bikini by my former employer, Old Navy}

Blaine’s Picnic features Texas Country‘s finest!

Evanescence ~ Hidalgo, TX (2007)

Evanescence visited el Valle on Halloween, so I dressed in USAF BDUs while Asia gave out candy! {Camo Sandals by Steve Madden}

Evanescence’s lead singer, Amy Lee, was the sexy bombshell Scarilyn Monroe {my camera wasn’t allowed on site back then, so this is from the site @ bottom right}

New Kids On The Block ~ Hidalgo, TX (2009)

I repped my fave childhood boy band, New Kids, on my block as I rock out this NKOTB Breast Cancer Awareness tank top! {Shorts by Abercrombie & Fitch}

The moment I’ve been waiting for for 2 decades: NKOTB takes the stage!

My fave part of the NKOTB concert? Jordan Knight singing “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” en español to put the personal touch to us fans en el Valle!

Hangin’ Tough! NKOTB hail from Boston, baby!

My fave NKOTB member, Joey Joe, sings, “Please Don’t Go, Girl“… I felt like J-Mac was macking on me!

George Strait ~ San Antonio, TX (2012)

I had to cowboy up to see the King of Country!

The Cowboy Rides Away tour also included Martina McBride & Miranda Lambert

My buddy got me this Georgie shirt: LOVE is Everything

Journey ~ Dallas, TX (2014)

I shot for casual & comfy to see Journey! {Dream Cotton high-low tank by Express}

My mom the Birthday Girl & my dad were hyped with Gexa Energy for Journey!

Thanks to my sis who got us the tix, complete with binoculars!

During our journey to see Journey, it started to rain! {Black hoodie by Forever 21, c/o my gal pal Amy}

Selfie Sunday: My sis went all out by prepping a picnic for us & providing ponchos during the storm!

Tower of Power: strong start to this concert!

Steve Miller Band about to perform!

Steve Miller Band never disappoints, after several decades on stage!

My fave part of Journey: when Neal Schon performs rendition of the *STAR SPANGLED BANNER* for Memorial Day!

Don’t Stop Believin’: Arnel Pineda = Success Story = Pinoy Pride

Jonathan Cain rocks the stage on keyboard!

Here’s a throwback Tuesday Top 5 for y’all: Summer Vacation Ideas that include music events!

♪☼Summer Breeze … Makes Me Feel Fine♫