"The World is Mud-luscious and Puddle-wonderful." ~E.E. Cummings

Hey Preps!

(Outfit of the Day: Forever 21 Military Inspired Jacket, J. Crew Flannel Plaid Shirt,

Tommy Hilfiger Corduroy Skinny Pants, Hunter Boots, Polo Ralph Lauren Headband)

Sheesh! I scurried to my car and practically got blown away!  It's ridiculously windy here, and rain felt left out too and decided to add it's touches by ferociously smacking me in the eyes as I made a mad dash to my car.  I kind of like rain.  Especially right now when I'm still a tad bit sad.

So to get back at it, I decided I'd splash in every single puddle I saw.  I was not merciful, oh no...I splashed in those suckers so hard that they dispersed before I could make a second leap.  You know what?  I laughed.  I was there...in the middle of the parking lot... laughing and splashing and people were staring...and eventually cracking up at the silly girl in bright red rain boots splashing in those puddlies like she was five years old.

Laughing is so contagious.  I may be upset or sad, but by watching something funny, or sending Amy a picture of myself in my retainers last night stating, "At least my teefies are gonna be extra straight for the next dude who dares to get entangled in my life", makes everything better.  Sure, this whole ordeal (that I'm sick of writing about, and thinking about, and feeling...and I'm sure you are too) is going to be something I struggle with for a while.  Yet, I know in time it will make me stronger, smarter, and someone who is even more instilled in who I am and what I want in life, instead of having to always try to please others.

For example, this blog was started for my own outlet and enjoyment.  If no one was following me, I would still write in it.  It is simply something I do for myself, and I am very passionate about it.  Apparently someone likes my weirdness too, because I have a great group of followers who I truly am so happy to hear from every day...y'all seriously are the best.

Anyways, something I did do for myself a long time ago was bought a pair of Hunter Boots.  I love them.  They are bright cherry red, and every single girl who I pass by stares...is it envy?  No clue, probably they think I'm weird but it makes me giggle. Watcha looking at girl?  


I made a Polyvore inspired by the outfit shown in the picture above, and included my Westie pup:

An Outfit Perfect for Splashing by pittsburghprep featuring dog boots

You know what else my boots are good for? Walking my pup, Sir Maxwell Smart.  I can endure any terrain his sniffing nose leads us too...I feel like I'm safe in my Hunter Boots, like no snake could get me if they attempt when I'm out in the woods.  They are like my Super Woman boots.  Max likes 'em too.  He says: Let's go check out that bush wayyyyy in the middle of the forest, and there is nothing stopping him.

So the moral of this aimlessly written blog post?  Splash in some mud puddles, buy a pair of fun wellies, and laugh until your sides are sore...even if it is all by yourself.

Below are a few more pictures of my 'Outfit of the Day' that I thought you would enjoy.  Of course the lovely Amy of Amy Rebekah Photography took these as well! Be sure to check out her Facebook page!

Puppy is ready to explore!

Thanks y'all for all of your support, it means the world to me.  Have a Puddle-wonderful day!

God bless!

Gym Talk: Common Mistakes

(Outfit of the Day:

Plaid Flannel Button-down from J.Crew

Lands' End Diamond-Quilted Down Vest

Tommy Hilfiger Corduroy Skinnys

Hunter Boots)

Just walked into the gym...for the third time today.  This time, to work.  One of "my usuals" as I so fondly call them, walks up to the desk I sit at in the fitness center and says: "what a slacker".  Then he smiles as he anticipates my explosion of a rebuttal.  

"Excuse me, but I worked out for two and a half hours already today.  If anyone's a slacker it's you."

Mind you, this usual is the chief police officer of my town.  Yeah, I have guts...and he finds my feisty opinions refreshing I think.  

He responds, "Oh Kalyn, I just like getting you fired up before your shift".  

Too bad I already was.  One thing I can't stand is laziness.  Sure, I have days where both ends of the candle were burnt to the point I must, for my health, take a lazy day.  That is completely different than what I am about to explain.  

As a fitness instructor, and personal trainer (in training)...I see a few common flaws in the people who make use of the gym.  Sure, I will give them credit for showing up and getting on that treadmill or elliptical.  However, if you are looking to get in shape...there is a lot more to it than just that.

Someone today said to me as I was leaving the gym, "Eat a cheeseburger".  Usually I find that funny, but today I didn't.  Guess what?  I eat cheeseburgers.  I am not saying I swing by McDonald's for a Big Mac daily, but I do on occasions eat poorly...but really? That comment was not necessary.  Why?  Because I work.  I work hard to stay in shape.

Last night in a class that I teach, a few members were being...lazy.  There, I said it.  They weren't staying on pace, and refused to do anything too hard.  Worse of all, they decided to talk during one of the hardest circuits that they opted not to do.  I snapped.  I looked over at them, as I was drenched in sweat and said:

"Look at me, I am soaked...THIS IS NOT PRETTY GIRL SWEAT!"

The whole class lost it.  They were dying with laughter.  Not funny, but okay my sarcasm got the best of them.  

So back to my rant, a lot of people want to know what I do to stay in shape.  So I am going to be blunt and say I work my butt off.  I am in the gym consistently 6 times a week.  I teach classes on top of that.  I don't just get on the treadmill and coast...no I am sprinting, doing intervals, sweating and pushing myself each day.  

There are days I don't want to run...I do it anyways.  I push myself, and I SWEAT.  One common mistake I see especially women doing is this:  they get on a cardio machine and they hardly even move.  They go so slow with no resistance or incline and they think they are getting a good workout in.  YOU'RE NOT.  To get the results you want, you have to work for it.  That means pain, sweat, and getting up and pushing yourself even when you want to stay in bed.

Listen, I feel your pain...I have 22 hours of school this semester, I work mornings, nights, and teach classes.  I am so busy.  Sleeping in on the weekends is the only way I make it through...trust me, I really don't like going to the gym sometimes, but I do it anyways.  So guess what?  I don't have sympathy for you if you don't feel like it either.  

Rome wasn't built in a day folks.

Okay so second common mistake I see...girls don't want to lift heavy.  Yes, you.  I see you lifting that dinky 3 or 5 lb. weight. Guess what? Your purse weighs more than that.  

"But I don't want to get big muscles"

Listen, you are not going to bulk up in one day.  The way you get rid of fat is by building muscle.  You don't build muscle if you are lifting something that is too easy for you.  The fastest way to have good results is to lift heavier than you are used to.  It is supposed to hurt the next day.  It is supposed to hurt when you are lifting...plus, muscle burns fat...so the more muscle you have...the better your metabolism is.  Just sayinnnn.

So there you have it...my rant about what people do wrong at the gym.  I feel much better now.  

Just remember, it's not ever going to be pretty girl sweat; but it has it's benefits.  Like looking killer in a dress when you aren't sweating?

Hope y'all are having a great week...working off all that stuffing and pumpkin pie!  

Thanks for reading this crazy feisty post!

Thanksgiving Thunderstorms?

Hey Preps!

Last night...I couldn't sleep.  My throat felt yucky, my pup took up the middle of the bed (as usual), and it was thundering outside?

Yes, thundering in November.  Not that I'm complaining because thunder means warmer weather...and one of the reasons why I initially moved South for college was to avoid walking to class in the freezing cold...

Yet, something I look forward to is a chilly Thanksgiving and snowy Christmas...so I can't believe I'm asking this...but weather...could ya please be chilly JUST on Thanksgiving?  We can be warm the rest of the year, and I will be content but sheesh I don't want my Turkey to sweat all of it's juices out instead of cooling off from the oven...(okay maybe a tad too sarcastic)

So thunder usually means rain...and you bet it just had to rain on the only day all of my classes need me to bounce from building to building on campus...

Yet, I am not one of those girls who squeamishly sprints out of fear of getting a droplet of rain on her precious hair-do.  Nope.  I like puddles...I purposely splash in them.  It's like playing in the leaves (only not as much fun). Today I may have purposely splashed a few of those little squealing girls too (shh don't tell!).

"OMG IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE! LET'S ALL SCREAM ABOUT IT LIKE IT'S THE APOCALPYSE!"

Sorry, but if you are one of these girls...just tone it down a few notches.  Sure, nobody likes ruining their hair or getting wet...but as a former swimmer...I didn't have a choice.  So therefore, if my hair turns into a big curly rat's nest.  Oh well.  This too shall pass.  I'm not gonna scream about it.  Plus, the gents would also like their eardrums not to be ringing every time they have to endure the rain either.  So, if you're trying to make a gent swoon over you...don't squeal. Please?

Keep Calm and Carry On.  It's a way of life.  So live it, and splash in those puddles a little bit.

I mean I'm not asking you to get soaked playing in mud puddles all day, but grab a pair of Wellies, and enjoy the thunderstorm in the middle of November.

That being said, I rocked my candy apple red Hunter Boots today.

Thunderstorm in November? by pittsburghprep featuring knee high boots

Yep, I love my Wellies.  I feel like I can handle anything Mother Nature throws at me in them.  Then I was feeling a tad bit lazy today (being drastically ill and all) and paired my Wellies with Jeggings...then I threw on a casual button-up from J. Crew...and kept dry with my Barbour jacket.  I added my Burberry clutch for a little of a fashionista twist...and was on my way to class.

Lazy, rainy, college day...turned prep.  Now go splash in some mud puddles!

Grammar is Risky Business

Hey Preps!

Diction. Noun Phrases. Modifiers. Prepositional Phrases. Subordinate Clauses.

"Get me out of here!
Dude, the notes on the board look like graffiti to me.  No, I don't know whether what you wrote is a Complex or Simple sentence...


Whoa slow down, what modifies the verb? Why?" 

Struggling. What does that modify Mr. Professor? I have the answer...nothing!  I just made it a one word sentence though.  Can you do that? Bet not!  

Mid-term grades showed up on my school's online portal system today.  I was rockin' all A's...except for my Intermediate Writing class.  Intermediate being the modifier or Writing...in other words NOT ADVANCED.  Now why did I take Intermediate Writing since I'm a Biochemistry major? Well, because I enjoy writing.

My grammar and sentence structuring need a ton of work.  I am well aware of my insufficient writing skills in that area...but gosh, Mr. Professor loses me every single time!

So, there in class I sat...looking at the sentences on the board and laughing because they all seemed correct to me.  

SENIORITIS.  

Outfit of the Day:

Oversized Polo Ralph Lauren Button-Down Oxford (I wear it on lazy days...it reminds me of Tom Cruise's shirt that he rocks out to in Risky Business)

Jeggings (also for lazy days)

Hunter Boots

On a positive note, I was stoked it rained today...why? Wellies...woohoo.  Candy apple red Hunter Boots.  I just stared at them all of writing class.  "At least these cuties got my back (or my feet)".  Yes, I do refer to my clothes with human terminology occasionally.  Today was just one of those days...

Oh, and I have officially concluded:  Thursdays are way worse than Mondays.  It's the fourth day, you're tired and the weekend is riiiiiiiight there but you somehow can't grasp it yet.  

Promise I'm not at all in a bad mood! Just extremely sarcastic today. Thanks to Mr. Professor!

Hope y'all are having great weeks!

Doodling...the Prep Way

Hey Preps!

Something that cannot be avoided when taking notes in class is doodling (for me at least).  Even if it is drawing a simple shape or retracing words, I always have to be moving in class.  No, it usually is not because I am bored out of my mind...only occasionally does that happen.  Yet, something I learned early on in college is that I learn best when writing.  Flash cards are found abundantly throughout my desk drawers, because drawing diagrams and re-writing notes is the way I study.  In class, I need to be doing something while paying attention, or else I will get distracted.  So what's a girl to do? Doodle of course!

Trust me when I say, I am still extremely interactive with my class and professor, but doodling helps me focus.  Since my freshman year of college, what I love to doodle more than anything are my 'outfits of the day'.  It's like using Polyvore in my notebook! I have always had the idea to scan them and edit them on a computer, but never have taken the time to research a good software to use.

This weekend I discovered that Gant Rugger's Fall/Winter 2011 Collection beautifully illustrated (doodled) by Andrew Mashanov, an Advertising senior graduating from The University of Management in Moscow.  So being the creep that I am, I googled him.  Wouldn't you know he likes Duckboots too?

How cool is this?  Doodles turned into something really cool!  I am hooked...and need to learn how to turn my doodles into something blog-worthy (exactly what I need to be doing with 22 hours of classes this semester).

So after musing over Mashanov's illustrations, I found yet another great blog that has some great preppy illustrations, Coco Draws.  Check out her illustration of Hunter Boots:

Coco Draws also has a shop that you can buy the illustrations.  I may have to invest in the green version of the Hunter Boots...for these illustrations have inspired me to start doing something similar.  Maybe doodling is more beneficial than just helping me pay attention in class!  

Maybe it's this fall break that is giving me all this new-found inspiration.  Either way, these are fabulous!  

Hope y'all are having a great start to the week!