Throw in the towel or Wipe the sweat off

For some reason this morning I work up super motivated to get back into the good habits I had formed... After I hit the 30lb mark, that I worked SO hard for, I kind of fell out of trying as hard. It became way easier to order something fried, or go to Starbucks. (DAMN those delicious Pumpkin Spice Lattes... they are so addicting). Plus I stopped keeping a food journal.
So as of this morning, I am back hitting the gym hard. I have new goals & a new attitude about it. I set the background of my iPod to this...

& I set the "lock" screen to this...

Good motivation for the gym! :)
I would like to lose 11lbs before the end of the year. I was 3 lbs closer to my goal last week. Id love to say Im carrying water weight, but its probably more of the muffins, tacos, and Pumpkin Spice lattes, Pad Thai, Pizza, etc. I've been eating.  But Im doing something about it. Here are my goals:

Week 1:
    1. Work out 5 times this week
    2. Complete week 1 of Couch to 5k
    3. Keep a food journal
    4. Increase Water- CUT OUT Iced Tea, & Anything from Starbucks
    5. Make better food choices. Nothing fried. Lean meats

Wish me luck... or better yet, correct me//yell at me when I do something wrong... Being pissed off makes for an excellent work out :)

Keep On Rollin

From Thursday morning to Saturday night, it felt like I had zero time think/sleep/blink I was so busy. But it was a really great weekend.

I am SAD to say that Thursday was my last day of personal training at Bodies By Cindy. I would work out there forever if I could, but I just cant afford it right now. But in the 3 months that I was with them and the 15 weeks I dieted I've lost 27lbs! Im only 7 pounds from my original goal weight, and 12 lbs away from my revised goal weight. If I can lose 12 pounds and keep it off for our wedding, I will be one happy bride!! (Not to mention I am marrying the best man I've ever met!)

Before...

In process (27lbs later)

On Thursday night we won our kickball game & went to Los Rancheros to celebrate making it in to playoffs. I am so lucky to have become friends/trained with Pam, Cindy & Jason, and all of my other team mates!

Friday after I got off work, I went to Lindsay's 28th birthday dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings! It was a great time seeing everybody!

After I left Lindsays birthday extravaganza, I went straight to a fundraiser 'Casino Night' for CFO- my sister's gym.  I, surprisingly, had a good time. I even got blackjack, bitches.

 It was nice hanging out with my parents, too.

On Saturday, I had the BEST day! As soon as Chris got home, we packed an ice chest and headed for Milton to kayak on Blackwater. (I was seeing "Blackwater" all day long.. I still have it stuck in my head) We originally wanted to take the trip with a bunch of friends, but we had a blast on the river anyway. I took a bunch of pictures but NOBODY DEVELOPS FILM ANYMORE! Did you know that?! I bought a disposable water proof camera to take with us, because there is no way in hell that I would take our nice camera near the water. But when I went to drop it off at Wal*Mart, I was informed that I would have to send it off to get developed and it would take a WEEK to get back. Awesome. I should really invest in a waterproof digital camera. At least I know for next time.

When we got home from kayaking, we jumped in the shower and headed out the door again to go to Suzanne & Drew's Housewarming Party// Drew's Birthday.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I spent the whole day in my pajamas and took 2 naps. I wont say I was completely lazy all day, because I did clean the house, do the laundry, and vacuum out my car, but i didnt do much else.
I could have slept all day today, but its time to get my ass in gear and get ready for another busy week! We have wedding planning activities all day tomorrow- cant wait!



Fit to Wed

I kind of thought nothing would change after we got engaged. I figured we'd go about our same old same routine, except for the fact that I'd have this (BEAUTIFUL!) ring on my finger. But I couldnt have been more wrong.

Chris has been excited beyond what I ever imagined. I love him so much. He is the most caring, handsome, wonderful man I have ever met. I am so happy he is the one I get to spend the rest of my life with. This week has been one of the best weeks ever. Chris is so excited about getting married. I kind of thought he would be like "Okay, we are getting married. Do whatever you want and tell me where and when to show up". Again, I was wrong.This week he ordered me iDo Wedding Planning software so that I can keep track of all of our guests, important dates, gifts, thank you cards, RSVPs, seating charts, etc. I cant wait to get it in! He's also spent hours of time researching different venues online for me to look at. He bought me a organizing binder, and a GIANT wedding magazine. I love the fact that he is so excited about this.

Saturday we drove to Pensacola to look at Palafox Wharf for our ceremony and reception. The place was beautiful. It had a great deck, upscale facilities, a huge bar & a very very helpful wedding coordinator. The only downsides were that 1. the dance floor was small and 2. it might be a pain for our family and friends to drive to Pensacola. For now we've decided to try to find a place in Mobile & use Palafox as a backup plan. But the trip definitely wasnt a waste. We had our first wedding venue experience. & We also got to stop by the Tanger Outlets & the Eastern Shore Center to look for my engagement party dress.. even though I didnt find anything. It was so nice just to be able to be out of Mobile for the day. & More importantly it was nice to spend the day together.

Chris isnt the only one excited though. My mom & grandmother are out of control already. On Tuesday around 11 I talked to my mom about an engagement party. By 3:00 that afternoon mom had a party planned. By 9:00 that night the invitations were ordered and the guest list was finalized. By the way, we are just having a very small, adult party with our families and close friends. (Read: mostly people who are going to be in our bridal party) Regardless, my mom has already planned "Signature Drinks." I told her that would be unnecessary since we are only inviting like 25 people, but she's excited. & Im happy that she is excited. In fact, yesterday she called me after church & said "I saw a 'Southern Miss. Mom' bumper sticker today. I thought 'That could have been me, but then we wouldn't have Chris'... Im glad everything worked out the way it did." It made my heart smile when she said that. Im so happy my family loves Chris & is excited about making him an official part of our family.

I am BEYOND excited too. I cannot wait to marry my best friend. I am also motivated to look my best on my wedding day. I figured, if I dont make some changes now, I may never do it. So I started a new blog, called "Fit To Wed" I plan to  write about my diet & fitness goals each week. Hopefully having a public food journal will encourage me to eat better & stay on track.

But as thrilled as I am to be planning our wedding. Im trying to just take it slow right now. I have 2 weeks of classes left, and then school will be out. After that, let the planning begin. But until then, NO STRESS!

I hope everybody has a great week! & Sorry this was completely consumed with wedding stuff...Ill try not to do that in every post!

The Best Things In Life

(This has the potential to be a long or rambling postt, if you want to just read something exciting, skip to the bottom, I'm saving the best for last!)

First of all, over the last few days Ive discovered that my long-time favorite lipstick has been discontinued. For those of you who know me, I'm [in]famous for wearing red red lipstick, I have as long as I can remember. Its Maybelinne Wine, and I'm obsessed. However, when I went to buy it I saw "CLEARANCE" which excited me, until I realized that A) My color was already sold out and B) This "Clearance" is code for "Discontinued." So, now I am on the search for a perfect replacement. Bare with me these next few weeks as I dabble in lip colors. (I know to some of you this is so stupid, but my God, when I find something I love, I stick with it!)

Also, I am finally getting back into my work out routine. Yesterday I got up before class and did 30 minutes on the elliptical, played racquetball for 45 minutes, then did a 45 minute work out on the treadmill. I was pretty happy with that. And this morning before work I got my lazy ass to the gym and did a 45 minute cardio work out on the stair stepper, jogging a mile and on the elliptical. If anybody is interested in being a work-out/accountability partner. Please let me know. I work out on MWF from 6:45-7:45 and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:45-7:45 or from 9-10. Also, Id love to go on the weekends, and I can go just about any time.

 THIS IS THE EXCITING PART  (I was going to save it for last, but I couldnt wait)---->Yesterday was an amazing day! After I got out of class, Chris and I had lunch at Panera. Then we WENT TO LOOK AT ENGAGEMENT RINGS! And I'm not talking about "lets-appease-Whitney-and-take-her-to-the-damn-jewelry-store", Im talking about "Im-thinking-of-ring-shopping-soon-so-I-need-to-know-what-you-want" kind of looking! And....We found the most BEAUTIFUL ring! & We both loved it. You have no idea how hard I am refraining from posting pictures. But (obviously) I dont know if that is the one he is going to buy (even though I hope he does). So I want to wait till it is on my finger before I start getting too excited. ((Well, too late))
But it was a good experience for the both of us. We both enjoyed going, looking and learning together. God, I love that man so much. I know its not the ring that matters, its not a wedding, or a dress, or any of that. It's about the life we have together and I know I am the luckiest woman alive.

(Back to the lame stuff) After ring shopping we hung out at the house for a few hours and played with Mobley. Then we went to Ollies with Bailey and Emilie for dinner. I was really excited about Two For One Tuesdays (BOGO Hookahs!) But in the middle of dinner I realized I was SO tired. So we didnt even finish the first hookah before we left.

The next few days are busy busy. Tonight after work I have to go to a meeting about our Spring Break climbing trip. & Tomorrow I have class ALL day & Mobs has an appointment at the groomer- He has to get ready for his date with Linds Friday night!!

& Speaking of Friday, I am really pumped about having a few people over for dinner and games. I would love to get a giant table one day so we can invite all of our friends at one time, but this time Its just going to be a few couples that have cooked for us the last few weekends. 

I dont think life could be any better at this moment! I hope everyone reading this is having as good of a day/week/year as I am!