March Madness

Although I love me some college basketball and March Madness {GO HEELS!}, this March I'm planning on focusing on a different kind of March Madness.

 

Brittney has challenged us for the month of March to "get fit together" and I am certainly in! Purpose: re-prioritize our "New Years Resolutions/Goals" to soar through the month of March... together! Kind of like a "pick me up."

A few weeks ago, I blogged about some new fitness and food goals. I'm excited to meet some new friends who also have similar goals this spring... what better way to accomplish goals than doing it with someone else. 

My March Madness Fitness Goals: 

1. LOSE a DRESS SIZE! Can hardly wait to put those skinny jeans back on! 

2. Regulate my sleep schedule

3. Attend a yoga class (never been and am terrified)

4. Workout 4-6 times a week

5. Continue eating the way I have been for the last 2.5 weeks

6. Hand in my resignation letter 

I encourage you to check out Britt's challenge here. You'll find a growing number of bloggers who have set up great goals as well- such an encouragement! If you're up for the challenge, I definitely want to know!

GOOD LUCK! 

xo

falling in love...

Today marks the day that 2 years ago, I naively said yes to a man who asked me to marry him. Little did I know then that I would be where I am today. That man is no longer in my life in any way and for that, I am so thankful.

His current life is irrelevant to mine; we are now two very different people living two very different lives. And who I was 2 years ago and who I am today, February 21, 2011 are two completely different women. I was once dangerously dependent, unable to make decisions without his input, naive and loved and respected that man more than I loved and respected myself. It was a tornado within a hurricane.

Every day is still a battle and every day I have to make decisions to continue to improve, to change, to grow... but who I am today is something to be proud of. With the exception of paying my own car insurance (my Dad helps me out because I'm in school), I am completely, 100% dependent on my income and my income alone. I pay my own insurance, my own bills and am working hard to reduce  debt. I'm a part time Master's student and full-time employee. I make big-girl decisions daily that will directly impact my future and most importantly, I am learning to fall in love with myself.

That is why I have decided {after much hesitation} to purchase this pendant from Ritzy Misfit's Etsy store. Because it's more than just a pendant, it's a symbol of who I am. The artist explains what I am trying to explain perfectly: "No one is perfect, but we are all beautiful. These pendants give the feeling of being beautiful, unique and rough around the edges at the same time. My work reflects the wonderful, flawed idiosyncrasies in us all... and it makes us all breath-taking."

 

 In an "E" of course :)

This is a treat for me... for getting where I am today and committing to becoming even more in the future. It's a reminder to learn to fall more in love with "me" everyday... character flaws and all.

I would love to hear if you own a piece of jewelry that shares a story!

share it in a comment!

ps. many emails and a few comments this weekend about sharing recipes and my secrets... first, THANK YOU for the encouragement. Second, recipes and secrets of staying on track coming this week!

pps. quoteable monday still coming today!

attitude really IS everything

I'm about 5 days into my sugar/white flour detox and guess what? I feel better than I ever have before. No joke. 

I can't really identify why I am so pumped about this new lifestyle of eating healthy and "green" {not organic, haven't jumped on that bandwagon yet}, but one thing I have really been focusing on this week is that it truly is all about your attitude.

There are plenty of things that I have eliminated from my diet this week: goldfish, chocolate, red wine {for about another week at least} and mac and cheese {all favorite foods here, people}. 

BUT... there are also plenty of things that I have introduced myself to this week: protein packed green smoothies, Greek yogurt with honey, quinoa, pita chips and hummus. All week long I have had the chance to try new foods and new recipes, all packed with delicious and wholesome ingredients. How fun is that?!

Another thing that this change has brought back is my love for cooking. I stopped cooking about 2 years ago because I had a mentality that cooking for myself wasn't going to be fun. Hot dang, was I ever wrong... I love cooking for myself! I don't have to worry about pleasing others' taste buds or having dinner ready at a particular time... I simply fix what I want when I want. 

What I'm trying to say is this: I could be complaining that I've given up goldfish, peanut butter M&Ms, red wine {heaven help me, one more week} and cooking a scrumptious dinner for two at my apartment, but I know that continuously thinking about the things that I cannot have will lead me down a road of misery and failure. Instead... it's all about a change in attitude towards the things that I can have, which right now include wholesome and truly delicious foods like veggies, fruits and whole grains... and yeah, even a little dark chocolate here and there. :)

My energy level has soared through the roof this week {no really, ask my coworkers} and I feel my confidence  gaining strength with each day that goes by... a true change I am welcoming with open arms. 

{just a friendly reminder}

I am so thankful for you, dear readers. You keep me going. 

Happy Weekend!!!

Day 1

I have lovely news for you today, dear readers!

I have FINALLY been able to lock down a personal trainer. Meet Elizabeth Hanlin, my personal trainer who lives 3,000 miles away. 

I first "met" Liz when I found her fashion blog a little over a year ago. I instantly fell in love with her- she was transparent about her feelings, wasn't afraid to show emotion about real-life-girl-world situations and blogged about the prettiest shoes and clothes ever.

If you remember, my mom gave me personal trainer sessions to me for my birthday in December, leaving me with the simple task of finding a trainer of my preference. It hasn't been easy- school and work have been absolutely kicking my tail this semester, not leaving much time to devote to finding a trainer and gym. Somewhere along the lines, I stumbled across Liz's new site, "It's not just about being skinny" and knew she was the one.

Some of you are probably skeptical- a trainer that is 3,000 miles away? Yeah... that's motivational and a game plan to fail since she won't be there at the gym with you. I suppose it would be pretty easy to "cheat" and say that I ran 3 miles when I only ran 1... or that I did 300,000 sit ups when I only did 10. There could be a day where I tell her false information about when I ran or what I consumed that day. But guess what? Where would that get me? Definitely not back into my "skinny jeans," that's for sure.

This is something that I want, both for myself and for my future health.  Like Liz says though, it's not just about being skinny... it's about changing my life and maintaining health. This is something that I am determined to accomplish... I want my skinny jeans and pretty Ann Taylor clothes back in my life. and I want my confidence back. I don't want to hide behind loose clothes anymore... or pass a skinny girl and wish that I was that size again. Will my skinny jeans alone bring that confidence back?  Not entirely.... Will it be a quick, easy journey... probably not at all. But I know that this is something I need to work at, much more than what I am doing right now.

Greg and Jill's wedding is coming up in June. This is the perfect even to plan to wear a figure-forming, killer little black dress and a confident attitude to match. When I asked Liz how realistic this goal was, her response was, "absolutely realistic. you're going to look insanely different by then my lady." I literally smiled at my desk today when I read this.

I will be posting pictures and writing as necessary. I'm not going to promise weekly posts of my progress... my schedule is entirely too busy for that. But I will promise pictures and I will promise progress. It's about dang time to get this under control.

dreams

I'm dreaming of buying my own townhome/small house... 

I day dream about it every.single.day.

I dream about the rooms and how I would decorate them and what each room would be used for. 

This would be the inspiration for my office-slash-closet {yes, I said and mean closet}. Pink, cream, flowers and lots of light pouring through the windows. And lots of books... lots and lots of books. 

I dream about doing renovations with my Daddy. And calling my Mom to come spend the day and shop. I dream of having a puppy at home and hosting friends for game nights. I dream of grabbing a huge cup of coffee and my books and crawling back into bed on Saturday mornings and playing in my office {slash closet} all day on Sunday.

This dream will come true. And I'm going to do it by myself. So I can have my pink office. It will be my office and my house. This dream is not out of my reach. It simply means I have to be more persistent career wise and make wise financial decisions. Never a better time to learn than now.

What do you dream of?

Contentment, Part One

Lately I have been learning contentment, mainly in three ways.

The first is contentment with where I am geographically.

I currently live in Central Virginia and am not a fan. Most of all, I miss my family. I miss my dear friends. I miss the city lights that were a mere hour drive away. I miss bike rides with my Mom and I miss my dog.

Back in March, I decided to move to Virginia because of an incredible job opportunity and while I am not a fan of my location, I am trying to learn contentment. I am here for a reason: the known reason is because of work. I was offered a job at a University that pays for my education. It was a hard decision to move away from my family and friends, but with the support and encouragement from those who know me best, I decided it would be foolish to give up such an opportunity. I also knew, deep down, that if I didn't take full advantage of this opportunity, I would regret it in 10 years.

At the time of the move, I was living in the "here and now." I wasn't actively thinking about the future. The move and this job has encouraged me to not only think of the future, but prepare for the future now.

Here are some of my goals:

1. Begin chipping away at my Masters degree. My job will pay for 6 classes a year. It will take me 2 years to finish my degree, if I decide to stay at my current job.

2. In the Spring, I will begin looking for another job- ideally at another university in the DC, Philly or Wilmington area. This will put me a mere 1-2 hour drive from my family.

3. While I'm waiting to begin applying for a new job, I will take full advantage of the learning experience I have been given now. I will work hard and develop my professional skills. There is no better time than now for hands on experience. I have been blessed with an incredible boss who previously worked for Coca-Cola. From day 1, he has offered coaching for his employees; he coaches and pushes them into fields that encourage professional development. You really can't ask for a better boss.

4. I plan to take advantage of where I live now. It's not ideal, but I'm here... and will be here for at least 6-ish more months. Instead of escaping every weekend, my roommate and I have been enjoying getting to know our area... researching culture-rich festivals and activities. The Fall is a perfect time for this, which will carry right over to Holiday parties and festivities. Before I know it, it'll be time to start job searching... and perhaps one day I'll miss this town and this time in my life. Why not make the most of it while I'm here now?

I have 2 more areas that I'm learning to be content:

1. my body and body image

2. love

I'll be writing about BOTH of these in future posts.

For tonight, I'll leave you with an Audrey quote to ponder:

{A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills and confidence to reach their full potential} AH

goals

Recently, I've been focusing on goals for my life, both long term and short term.

Over the next few days, I'm going to be sharing what those goals are, one by one!

Tonight, I'm going to share about my weight loss goal.

For kicks and giggles the other night, I pulled out my old phone, the one I had pre-iPhone, aka before my life was changed. I was flipping through old text messages from the beginning of the year and eventually started flipping through old pictures. Although I don't have the ability to put the exact picture I'm thinking of on the blog (I have no way of getting it off the phone), I still have pictures from that month... which I believe was the slimmest I have ever been. Check it out here:

{January-ish 2010}

Although I haven't gained tons and tons of weight, I have started to realize the impact that having a sit-down-all-day-at-my-desk kind of job has affected my body. Prior to having my current desk job, I was a server which meant constant activity and running around on busy nights. I didn't realize how much this would affect me. My goal is to fit into my jeans that I wore last winter, very comfortably {which would be about a size}.

Here is what I'm doing to shed a few pounds:

1. running/walking- my goal is at least 3 times a week, if not 4
2. packing lunch instead of eating out every day (which hey, saves money too!)
3. when I do decide on a meal out, order from the kid's menu OR share a meal with someone at the table
4. cutting my coffee intake from 4+ cups/day to 1-2 cups/day. Although a small change, I have noticed a huge intake as I consumed many calories from the flavored coffee creamer I spoiled myself with

Although these are all small changes, I'm hoping they add up and I can slim down before Christmas. I would love to be able to fit comfortably in the clothes I purchases last year. {also planning on dying my hair back to this color for the Fall/Winter as well, as it carried my coloring extremely well}

What are some goals you've set for yourself lately?

Stay tuned this week for another goal!