Heart Like Mine

I can't believe we are coming to the end of 2012 (and maybe even the world on 12/21 lol)! It got me thinking about my next goal.

I know I said I'd post a weight loss update. And I added a snip of info to my "26 years young" post after the fact including some details. But i am currently weighing in at 232lbs (last I checked, but I need to weigh in again on Sunday because there may have been some extra water weight in that number). Anyways... I am in at 232 and that has me down a total of 54lbs from my highest (ugh, I know.. so terrible). One of my goals was to be 230 by my birthday. Clearly, I didn't hit that target on the nose... but I'm okay with that. I'll just work towards my next goal. Next goal is to be 215 by Feb 14th. That gives me about 8 weeks to lose 17lbs. That may be a high goal, but I'm going to work my ass off to get there, and hopefully I'll make it. If not... thats okay too, but I hope I get there.

I desperately need to go clothes shopping but I don't want to spend the money. The majority of my work pants look ridiculous on me. The butt and upper thigh area is so loose lol, it's amusing to others I'm sure.
I was in a 18W or 20W in work pants and an 18W in Jeans. Now I'm in a 16 (no W) most of the time.. but some brands are iffy so I still fit in some 18 jeans, which is frustrating. It seems like losing that much weight would change the pant sizes a lot but I guess not at the stage I'm at now. Maybe with the next big loss will come different pant sizes. My shirts arre a lot different so that has been a big change, especially in my stomach area.

I would like to lose about 65-70 more pounds so hopefully I can be to my goal weight by Summer of 2013! Thats about 10-12 pounds a month... we'll see how things go! I've said this before but I might get to a point before my goal weight where I'm comfortable and feel okay stopping, I dunno!!!!

That's all I got for now!

If I don't post again... Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boys...

So I've had my internet dating profile up since mid October I guess. And I've been on 6 or 7 dates. A friend of mine at work wants me to start journaling the dates because of some of the craziness I've dealt with. I've pondered blogging about it... and I've thought about just keeping a hard copy of it. What do you think? I've had some good dates and those won't be discussed, only the crazy weird ones. If you read this, send me a message or something letting me know if you think I should blog about the insanity or just keep it to myself for now (and maybe release some sort of a novel afterwards haha).

Weight loss updates are coming soon... I keep getting distracted!!!

26 Years Young

I celebrated my 26th birthday this weekend. I am still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I am that old. Ugh, it makes me cringe a little. Why is time going so fast? It's not fair, it really isn't. I had a lot of fun on my birthday, I went out with Marybeth & Megan and had a blast, as usual.

Can I tell you, how tired I've been since starting this part time job at Kohls?! I feel like I'm never home and that sleep is in short supply. But it's not that bad, just sometimes time drags on especially when the store is empty.

Back to being 26. I don't know who all reads this silly little blog of mine, but I know what I'm about to say... some of you may think I'm ridiculous. But so be it. I feel like there is a stop watch, counting down. Not counting down to the end of my life, but counting down until 30. I feel like I have so much I have and want to do before I turn 30 and 4 years does not seem like a long enough time to complete it. I want to have kids, but I don't want them past 30. This is just my own personal opinion, I feel like I don't want to be that old when my kids are older... but it's just a personal preference. [Update: I've been told I will change my mind and probably have kids after 30. Riggghhhttt] So apparently I'm supposed to meet my dream man and have babies within the next four years. But to me, that seems so out of reach. So I'm making a assumption here that I will not be having any children. I will be the cool Aunt for when my siblings have kids. Another thing I want to do is go back to school, but I haven't figured out for sure what I want to go for. Right now nursing, teacher, or a masters in biology seems intriguing. But here I am standing around being indecisive as usual. I just know that I need to get another degree or figure out what the hek I'm doing. So for me 26 was not a "fun" birthday. Yes of course, I had fun when I went out. I mean more that turning 26, the act of entering my "late" twenties has me a bit overwhelmed. Crap.

Weight loss update....

I haven't weighed in, in two weeks. Ooops! I need to get on that scale. I need to be  accountable, and I will do it tonight when I get home!!! I will post tonight or tomorrow with updates.

*UPDATE*
So this is being added after the fact. My goal was to be at 230 by my birthday (December 8th). But when I weighed in I was at 232lbs. So I missed my goal by two pounds, but ya know what I'm definitely not upset about it. Because in total, I am down 54 mother bleeping pounds. :-)

I am thankful...

I am tired, so tired. I got home from work last night around 11:40pm and I went straight to bed! I woke up early this morning around 5:30am and went for a long walk in the neighborhood, up and down the large hill for added exercise. Showered & went to work. I'm here until 4:30pm and then I'm at Kohls from 6pm-12:30am. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and so I started to think of what I'm thankful for. Some of these thanks are quite meaningful and others are completely random, but I'm still thankful. for them!

1. My family. I feel like grouping them in one post may not be the right choice. However, I am so incredibly thankful for them. My mom, dad, brother Ryan, & sister Kelsey. I do not know what I would do if they weren't in my life. We all may not always get along, and I'll go ahead and admit that 60% of that is usually my fault but I wouldn't have it any other way.

2. Kelsey. Yes she does fall into family but she also gets her own post.
Is it possible to have a best friend that is 14 years younger than you? I think so, maybe a different type of friend. We may not share the stories that we share with our friends our own age. I may not share dating or bar stories with her and she does not always share the middle school drama & boy crush things with me. But we can completely be ourselves around eachother without worry or judgement. Because let me tell you, girls are so judgemental at any age. We have a standing evening activity of watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls. And we just belt out the opening song together every time, and it's something I look forward to every week. I don't know what we'll do when we reach the end of the series! LOL We can just hang and lounge and I guess that's what having a sister is like. I just only re-discovered it this summer, especially because she is at an age where we can do this. 10 years ago, when I was 16, she was only 2 so it was more me hanging out with her watching Monsters, Inc. and no one was chatting with the other. Anyways, without rambling anymore, I just am so thankful for her. And her advice, when I can ask it, is so incredibly simple and perfect.

3. Megan. I feel like I am extra thankful for Megan recently. I was a shitty friend for a few years, for various reasons but I'm so happy that we've been hanging out again. I don't think I ever laugh quite as hard as I do when with her. We both say some of the craziest shit when we're together, especially if we've been drinking. And we can talk about anything, and when I say anything... I mean ANYTHING. LOL there is nothing reserved about any of our conversations. I'm not being a shitty friend ever again. Sticking to the mantra "Chicks before Dicks"!!!!!!

4. My friends as a whole. I've really realized how as I've gotten older. Quality of friends has become so much more important that quantity. I have a good group of girlfriends I can really rely on.

Sadaf is a newish friend, we've been friends now for about a year and because we work together and spend 40 hours a week around eachother, I'd say we are really good friends only because she knows EVERYTHING. Lol. It's amazing how you can have a friend so quickly and they know you as well if not better than someone you've known 10 years!

Megan was already mentioned but she goes along with this group of girls... Megan, Kim, Marybeth, & Sabrina. I've had a lot of fun with these ladies the past few months. And going back to what I said before... I'm not being a shitty friend anymore. Some of the four are closer than others, but I really enjoy spending time with them and feel like we can talk about anything together and can relate very well to each others current situations!

Phil... Oh Phil! Though you are away in another country, I am still thankful for you! Though we're not talking that much on a serious level right now.. I know that if I did need you as a listening ear or if I needed you for anything at all... you'd be there for me. And I am very thankful for that! Paris 2013, yeahhh!

I have a few other friends that I'm very thankful for as well.. you know who you are :)

5. Jobs.. yeah I'm thankful for them... whatever. On to the next..

6.Newman! Yes I am so thankful for my little love bug. He is the bun to my burger, the pen to my paper, the french to my fry... you get it! I love that little ass, he's the best dog a girl could ask for!

7.My life. I am so thankful for my life.. don't know what else to say about it...

8. Charlie Humnam.. yep. That's it.. just thankful for him and for FX for allowing me to look at him every Tuesday night.

I thought I had a lot more.. but it seems that is it for now. Perhaps some more will come to me later and I can add to this tonight or tomorrow.

Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving!

 I am in disbelief that Thanksgiving is already around the corner! I am having a hard time with the fact that almost 6 full months have gone by since I've moved home, etc. And I'm almost 3 full months into my weight loss journey or whatever you want to call it. Crazy how time flies!

I weighed and measured in yesterday, and I'm a bit bloated this week but it looks like I'm down 3 pounds. But I didn't weigh in last week. I need to invest in a digital scale, because the one I've been using is old school!!!

With thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, I was thinking about what I'm going to eat, etc. I think that I've planned it out in my head. White meat turkey, green bean casserole (if there is any), salad (if there is any), and yeah depending on what other veggies are there I'll add those. But I know I won't be eating any potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, bread, pie, desert, etc. Keep it away from my side of the table! LOL.

I've become more narcissistic if you will, as I take tons of "selfie" pics these days. I often find myself just taking snapshots of myself in the car, in my room, watching TV, at a friends house, at the bars, on my couch. It's a bit ridiculous, but I think that means I'm getting more comfortable in my own skin... hopefully not too comfortable because I still have a ways to go. Pretty funny when my sister catches me taking pictures of myself, oops! This picture to the top right, of me sitting on the couch. I look at my legs and they look so much smaller than they used to. I know I'm cray, but that's alright with me :) The pic a little above to the left is before my workout the other day Gotta love the pink danskin stuff from walmart, my favorite work out stuff b/c it's so cheap. So with my sizes changing, I don't mind buying it because pants, shirts, & jackets are only like $8-$20 a piece. When I look at that picture, I see more jaw definition and more dimples, etc in my cheeks.

I think going through a quarter life crisis this year LOL. As I approach my 22nd bday (aka 26... but shh), I realize where I am in life and how I feel far behind. I know it's not true, whatever, but can't help how you feel. Anyways, I'm planning to go out on my birthday and whether it is just me and one friend or me and 20 friends, I'm  DETERMINED to have an unforgettable night. Not because it is my birthday, I am going to celebrate my 6 months and my 3 months. My 6 months after making my decision to be single, and my 3 months of losing weight. So I know that it will be EPIC regardless!! Here's to me!

   

Photo Update

Ok so I had some spare time tonight so I decided to take some full body pictures and compare them to full body pictures from before my weight loss journey started. I'm almost down 50lbs so see for yourself! Excuse my worn look, I only got like 4.5 hours of sleep last night! Tsk tsk, a big part of the success to weight loss is getting a full nights sleep, oops! 

The before pics are a bit random, but I didn't take any before shots when I originally started (which I kind of regret). So the ones below are all really random! But still gives the gist! I'm going out this weekend with some friends and I'm planning to take a crap ton of pictures, full body too! But these taken with the help of my mirror will have to do for now! Hopefully the pics below show the differences that I see!

Can't wait for the next set of before & afters!

Anything Could Happen

So I have a few things to update on today but of course yesterday I forgot to weigh & measure in so I'll do that tonight! And as always, sharing some of my favorite new pinterest pics, today is quotes.

I took a part time job at Kohls and started on Saturday for orientation. I go back for day one of training on Tuesday night. So it will be a long day, working until 430pm and then at Kohls at 6pm-10pm. Fun stuff! I think I'll be working on average 15 hours a week and getting paid every Friday that will give me at least $100 each week. That will cover gas and spending money for the most part. So the plan is that my full time income will all go towards my loans. And I'll put a little into savings to save for some things I am doing next year.

My weekend was pretty busy, Friday night I had a date and then met up with a friend for drinks. Saturday morning included my Kohls orientation and then I came home for a long unexpected nap. Then I spent the evening getting things ready for Sunday's vendor show for Pure Romance. I was putting together goodie bags, etc and getting my stock and all ready. I realized how badly I need more organization in my life, especially with all the pure romance things. So that's now on my to do list. The vendor show was a good time, bought some scentsy products for the first time so I can't wait to get those plugged in! We got a good amount of contacts for parties & new clients and sold some products as well. Had a lot of fun working it with Sarah, always a good time when we get together, lots of laughs!

Let me jump back to Friday night. Without going into too much detail, I will just say that this was my first "date" in almost 6 years! All in all I think it went well, if nothing else it was practice for the next one. But I was a bottle of nerves for no reason. I felt like I was 16 or something, it was insanity. I'm not going to divulge anymore details on that but figured I'd share a little bit.

So a quick update on my goals, one of my first goals was to lose 20 lbs by my birthday (dec 8). And so I have about 9lbs to go in 5 weeks (now I don't know it may be less, didn't weigh in yesterday). I think that is completely doable, maybe I'll do better than that! Wooo hoo! I have to figure out how to reward myself for meeting that goal!!!!

Until next time...

Sandy!

Me & Kelsey  - Oct 2012

Apparently there is a hurricane headed this way, who knew?! Just kidding, I've known since Friday lol. Clearly I have not been watching the news lately because apparently people have known it was headed this way for over a week? Oh well, I know now! Hopefully everyone stays safe, and hopefully it is just a little rain and no power outages!!
So... it's Sunday. I weighed in and I am down in total, 9lbs since October 1st so I am down to 239lbs. Not as much as I wanted it to be, but I'll take it. So... as of now... I am down a total of 47lbs, absolutely crazy! Inches wise... since October 1st, I am down! I am in a smaller size jean and my tops are all much more loose than before. So I guess 9lbs goes a long way. I do think that I have built up a lot more muscle though since I've been doing p90x and just lifting small weights.


Here are my inch changes for the month of October:
Bust: down .75 inch
Waist: down 2.25 inches
Hips: down .75 inch (damn hips! lol)
Arms: down .5 inch each
Thighs: down 2 inches each
Butt: down 2 inches
I'm so happy with that, I'm equally happy that my bust didn't change that much... don't judge me, I like my bigger chest!

It's crazy, losing weight... I know I'm losing and I can see it happening but it's still weird, I can't explain it. I know... confusing!
Today I'm spending the day going through clothes and getting rid of the pants that are too big, and even the shirts! I refuse to hold on to them... because really I feel like if I keep them then I'll need them and there is no way in hell I'm going to gain weight and end up in them again.
I was trying on old jeans last night and I fit in my Apple Bottom Jeans & American Eagle jeans that I couldn't even move above my knees the past couple years. I can't even explain the smile that was on my face. One day soon, they'll be too big!

Can't wait to see the changes after November is over!!!! Stay tuned <3

"Cake & Tacos, that's what Maryland does!"



Marybeth & I



It's me!



Great weekend! Accountability Sunday has me down 2 lbs and inches haven't really changed much. But I'll take the pound loss! I messed up with P90x, not doing it all 6 days, so I'm starting fresh from scratch today. I ended up missing Friday & missing Sunday, so let me try this again!



This weekend was a blast. Got to go to my friend Kim's wedding in Baltimore and see a bunch of friends in the process, too much fun! That is where the lovely quote came from in my title. When a few of us hang out, we end up with way too many "catch phrases". I can't even blame it on the drinking because the next morning was filled with just as many sayings. Can't wait for single ladies night out next month, should be a blast!



Sabrina, Me, Marybeth & Kim (the bride!)



Speaking of single ladies, I mentioned in my last post that I joined Ok Cupid and my god it is so overwhelming! Nice guys, weird guys, no photo guys are messaging me. I never would have thought I'd have this much response so quickly. Go Me I guess! But part of me is so confused on what to say/do/act. I mean... I know to just be myself, obviously. But I just feel so inexperienced with dating and all that I am scared shitless, no lie. So cross your fingers for me guys, I have a feeling the next few weeks will be very interesting! Hopefully I don't make too much of a fool out of myself! And if I do, I hope I get a good story out of it so I can share it with my friends. If nothing else this bit of fun will be a hilarious experience!!!

*UPDATE* I found my new slim girl drink! Vodka, Soda water, splash of cranberry, & extra lime. SO GOOD!



Hard to Love

I can't believe it is the middle of October already, time is just flying by. Part of me wishes time was going slowly so I can enjoy it more but at the same time I like that it's passing quickly right now so I can get to where I want to be faster. So last time I updated, I mentioned I would be starting Insanity. Well I ended up starting P90x because that was more available to me (for free). So I'm almost a full week in and so far so good. I'm pretty sore though!! But I'm going to do the full 90 days, so I guess I'll be done in mid January. So since I forgot to weigh & measure in, I'll do it Sunday and update the blog. Stuff seems to be changing a bit still so hopefully there has been some downward movement.

I put a picture from last weekend up because I feel like you can see changes in my face still and maybe even a bit in my waist (in the above pic)... or maybe I'm imagining things! We'll see once Sunday comes with the scale! Saturday night I went downtown with 2 friends and we went to Bond Street Social in Fells Point which I have never been to. It was a pretty chill place, we got a pitcher of the white wine sangria and it was delish! The food they serve is tapas style and what we had was pretty good!

I did a crazy thing and joined Ok Cupid. I don't know what I'm looking for, or even how long I'll keep the profile up. But maybe I'll meet some cool people. I am not even looking for something serious but figured what the hell. I signed up on Friday night and plan to keep it up for at least 2 weeks and see what happens. I've already been messaged a bunch and some of them have been quite interesting. But there has been a few guys that seem decent. Some of them are pretty creepy though, lol. If nothing else it is pretty entertaining!!

On Saturday I have a job interview for part time work at JC Penny. I also got a call back from Kohls yesterday and he asked me to call him this afternoon. So I'll try to set up an interview with him as well. I'm not sure which I would prefer, maybe Kohls since it isn't in the mall? Either would work for me though, I'll take what I can get at this point. I talked to the guy that manges the CVS down the street from my house and he is about to hire some Pharmacy technicians part time and I've applied so he said he would call me once the positions are open. That would be most ideal because it is the closest to my house and its not clothing retail.

I'm really excited because one of my good friends from college is getting married Saturday night!! I'm so excited for her and can't believe it's happening! Crazy how time flies. Should be a lot of fun though, especially because everyone will be there!!!! A few of us are sharing a hotel afterwards so it will definitely be a good night! Pictures to come :-)

& I can't stop listening to country music today... it's just one of those days. Which explains the title of the blog. <3

Hump day!



Me, Last week



It's hump day, woo hoo! I only have today and tomorrow left in my work week. This week I agreed to work 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days, giving me Friday off! It is a bit difficult only because I have had to pack & prepare more food for myself to get me until 630 rather than 430. I took my measurements on Sunday, and I am down 1/2 an inch in my thighs and 1 1/2 inches in my waist. The other measurements have changed a bit but not as good as thighs & waist. Moving down! I'm going to start insanity on Sunday, which makes me think I am crazy. But I need to add more so that is what I'm adding. I may do P90x, but I'm thinking I'll do insanity. A friend of mine has both for me to put on a jump drive, so I may take both and then take a look at both. She is doing p90x and another friend is doing Insanity. They each like them so I'll have to play around with both to see which I prefer. I have 8 weeks left to lose 17lbs. Uh oh... that makes me nervous. But I think it's totally possible! That is about 2lbs a week, and especially if I add in Insanity/P90X while sticking to the clean eating I think it will work! I think my calorie count is usually 1100-1450/day, occasionally more but usually that's the average. But I feel like I'm eating a lot, I guess the small meals 6 times a day is working, keeps me full & energized.

Newman!

I feel like I've cheated, I have drank cofee twice this week. I had coffee with sugar free vanilla creamer, which isn't too bad. But I'm allowed to have it, I just have been not drinking it or any caffeine for that matter. Just lots and lots of water. This weekend I'm going out Fri & Sat nights, and I still need to figure out my healthy "drink". I think I decided to go with Vodka, Soda, & lime. We'll see!

So in my last post, I was talking about the Fallen series. Oh My God! I finished the fourth book last night and as corny as I may sound... I have never cried reading a book, but I was crying! I'm such a sap but seriously read them! I am such a book whore, I need to get to the library and stop buying books on my Nook App because it's adding up. I bought all 4 of the fallen this week which was $42 in itself. I also read 2 other books that I bought. So really, library needs to happen! I think I'll hit it up Friday since I have off! How many books can you check out at once? :-)

Fate?

First things first, i weighed & measured in yesterday. I am down one pound and the inches seemed to move a bit. My diet was the same but I didn't go as hard exercising as I should have last week, so I know where my errors are. But the scale is still moving, which is good for me!

I've been thinking alot about fate and all. I used to not believe in soul mates, or destiny and all that. I'm reconsidering my position. I haven't met anyone that has caused this change, no person has rocked my world and made me reconsider. So though I haven't officially become a believer I know I hope that it is true. I think that every person should be able to have a love that consumes you. Maybe I've been watching too many chick flicks or reading far too many books (I blame the Fallen series I've been reading this week). But I know that I've never had that with any of my past relationships and I'm not upset about that, I just wonder... is it possible? I see a lot of relationships that my friends are in and I believe that some of them are with the person that is made for them. They just fit together so well. I hope that all of the people from my past relationships find true love or their soul mates, and some of them already have!

The Fallen series, if you haven't read it is quite good. I am about to start the 4th book. It is a young adult series so it is a quick read, but it is different than what I've read in the past. Of course it has that powerful love story that all the books have, but the situation is different than anything I've read thus far. There are no vampires, no witches... but there is something else. I don't want to put out a spoiler, so I'll contain myself. But give it a go.. the series is by Lauren Kate. These books probably sparked all of this thinking I've been doing on the fate/soul mate thing, crazy books!

Midnight thoughts

I'm not sure why I am still up... since I've started my cleanly eating and workout regimen, I've been making sure to be in bed around 10pm every night if possible. But here I am, it's 11:45pm and I'm still awake. I am ready for bed but I have a lot running through my mind. A lot of which I will never share on here, no offense to my readers but it's too personal for my blog. It's funny with weight loss, because I don't know if it is just my own self destructive ways, but I find myself not believing that I'm losing weight. I see the numbers decreasing and sure I notice things fitting differently, etc. But there is this part of me that doubts it all. It's pretty ridiculous actually.

 But tonight I found myself realizing little things. Like how I can see my wrist bone clearly and I don't think I could before... it's more defined now. Or how my thighs look smaller and my knee bone is more defined. And then I realize that it has to be true. I just can't picture myself the way I looked 40lbs ago, and I dunno what the hell will be going through my mind when I'm 40 more lbs lighter. It's just weird, hard to accept as it goes along I guess. Don't misunderstand my words, I am so happy with the way things are going and the loss that is happening, it's just hard to process sometimes I guess. I'm not sure that any of this made sense, and maybe if there is anyone reading who has lost weight like this or who is losing weight... maybe you understand what I'm saying? LOL I'm just trying to keep up with all of it I guess!

So please excuse my late night rant if it made no sense to you! I'll be up at 5:35am doing a jog through the neighborhood with my pup, I'm sure he'll love me for waking him up super early! Tonight I'm listening to "She's so mean" by Matchbox Twenty AND "Collide" by Leona Lewis & Avicii. Check out the videos below! Goodnight!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8WLa6umgdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4a82LRNdlQ&feature=relmfu

October, wow!

Okay well it's October, can't believe Summer has come and gone. I have some number updates! Apparently I've been working with a freaky scale, or my body is just doing freaky things, I'm not sure.


Me - Sept 2012

But here we go... it's accountability time for me. Since March 2012, I have lost 38lbs -CRAZY! Since August 30th I have lost 22lbs. Now most of this time, I was not actively working out or consistently eating better. There was a brief stint in April when I was doing spin classes, and such but I think that from June 1st until now, I've lost the majority of that 38lbs, especially September -present. For about a month now, I've been scared to get on the scale, saying I'm only going to do it every two weeks etc. I changed my mind, I am doing it every Sunday as well as measuring my arms, bust, waist, hips, butt, thighs, & calves. I want to see the numbers every week to see what's changing. Attached are three pictures. The picture of me blonde in a black & white tube dress is from March 2012, The picture of me in a multicolored dress (& sunglasses on my head) is from June 2012, & the picture of me with the pink beads is from a few weeks ago (sept 2012). Can you see a difference? I think I can, but I'm not really sure, especially since they're not all full body shots. But at least you can see for yourself.

Me - June 2012

Ok so my weight as of September 30 is showing a 14lb change since Aug 30. I think that it may be a little lower, I am a bit bloated right now due to my period but we'll see next week. So there has either been a stand still or some muscle gain over the past two weeks, I'm not sure. But regardless, I'm pushing on. I have 2 full months and a few days to lose 18lbs, but I might as well push it to 20lbs again, so I'm going for 221lbs or less by December 8.

My measurements, I have not been vigilant about taking them either, my fault. But now they will be taken every Sunday along with my weight. I had been to an itworks wrap party in June (where they measured me), and I don't have all my numbers in front of me (Oops, I'm blogging from work). But from memory, there has been a 2inch change in my bust since June and a 4.5 inch change in my hips since June. I'm not sure of the rest (and if I find I was incorrect, I will edit this tonight).

Progress, it makes me happy to know that things are moving along! This weekend I was trying on some clothes, and though my sizes haven't changed too much yet, I am noticing that my clothes are fitting better and more comfortably. Dresses are definitely fitting better. I tried on a dress I wore for a formal event in Vegas in March and it fit significantly better. I think a lot of the weight I've lost so far has come off in my chest-neck area, as weird as that may sound. I figured out what I'm wearing to my friends wedding on October 20th and it fits pretty well now, so hopefully it will be even better then. It is a dress I picked up at JC Penny a few months ago and it is an XL. Now as girls, we all know that sizing is different everywhere. But this dress was a bit tight in the straps and chest area and now that part is fitting great. But I won't be complaining if it is too loose later this month, I'll just have to pick up something better & smaller! We shall see!

Sometimes I start thinking of how much left I have to lose, but then I try to focus on the small goals I've made and it is much less overwhelming. And I definitely have been getting mad at myself for letting myself get to where I am/was. But those are only negative thoughts that are brining me down, and I've made a commitment to myself to try and be more positive. So I'm not going there and it doesn't really matter anyways why and how I got to where I was. It's all about where I'm going now, which is definitely in the opposite direction.

So one of my favorite things in the world is music, if you didn't know. Most people love music, but I think my love for music is a bit more than others. I listen to everything & anything, and 99.99% of the time I like every song I hear. I find great joy in creating playlists/Cd's/mixes. So of course, my work out mixes are pretty great (in my opinion). Below are some of my playlists! FYI... some are fast paced songs, some aren't. But I think the key to any workout song is that it pumps you up, whether it is fast or slow. This is my most listened to music playlist with the least amount of skips. And just for fun, I've included some throwback pics.

Halloween 2006 (as a Pirate)

Here we go:
"93 Million Miles" - Muse
"99 Problems" - Jay-Z
"Are you gonna be my girl" -Jet
"Ashes" -Pepper
"Bad Girls - N.A.R.S. Remix" -M.I.A., Missy Elliott
"Bass Down Low - Explicit Version" -DEV, The Cataracs
"Beautiful People feat. Benny Benassi" -Chris Brown
"Birthday Cake" -Rihanna
"Boom" -P.O.D.
"Breathe, Stretch, Shake" -Mase feat. P.Diddy

Houlihans 2006

"Club can't handle me feat. David Guetta" -Flo Rida
"Cockiness (Love It)" -Rihanna
"Cold" -Crossfade
"Dance, Dance" -Fall Out Boy
"Dancing on my Own" -Robyn
"Don't wake me up" -Chris Borwn
"Down with the Sickness" -Distrubed
"Face Down" -The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
"Fly" -Nicki Minaj, Rihanna
"From Yesterday" -30 Seconds to Mars
"Give it Up" -Pepper
"Give Me Everything" -Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
"Go Hard (Remix)" -Jay-Z, Kanye West, T-Pain
"Gold Lion" -Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Headstrong" -Trapt
"Howlin' For You" -The Black Keys
"I can only imagine" -David Guetta, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown
"I do" -Young Jeezy, Jay-Z & Andre 3000
"I'm shipping up to Boston" -Dropkick Murphys

Danielle, Phil & I - June 2008

"If you can't dance" - Spice Girls
"Jump Around" - House of Pain
"Kids" -MGMT
"Like a Boy" -Ciara
"Live Your Life feat. Rihanna" -T.I.
"Love the Way You Lie Pt 2" -Rhinnna & Eminem
"Madness" -Muse
"Monster" -Kanye Wet, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Jay-Z & Bon Iver

"Motivation" -Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
"My Way" -Limp Bizkit
"Numb/Encore" -Jay Z/Linkin Park
"Pony" -Ginuwine
"Princess of China" -Coldplay feat. Rihanna

Me, Kristina & Megan - 2006 or 2007...

"Push It" -Rick Ross
"Push It" - Salt-n-Pepa
"Remember the Name" -Fort Minor
"Ride" Ciara feat. Ludacris
"Sex Type Thing" -Stone Temple Pilots
"Sexy Bitch feat. Akon" -David Guetta
"Shake it Out" -Florence + the Machine
"She's so Mean" -Matchbox Twenty
"Shoop" -Salt-n-Pepa
"Shooting Star" -Black Stone Cherry
"Skin" -Rihanna
"SupaFreak" -Young Jeezy & 2 Chainz
"Sweat" -Snoop Dog & David Guetta

Me December 2009

"Take Care" -Drake feat. Rihanna
"Take it to the Head" -DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne
"The Seed (2.0)" -The Roots feat. Cody Chestnutt
"This is War" -30 Seconds to Mars
"This Love" -Maroon 5
"Tighten Up" -The Black Keys
"Time is Running Out" -Muse
"Titanium feat. Sia" -David Guetta
"Tubthumping" -Chumbawamba
"Turn Me On feat. Nicki Minaj" -David Guetta
"Wannabe" -Spice Girls
"We Found Love feat. Calvin Harris" -Rihanna
"Where them Girls At feat. Nicki Minaj & Flo Rida" -David Guetta
"Work Hard, Play Hard" -Wiz Khalifa

New Habits

Check out Newman after one of our jogs on Saturday, he ran with me the whole time and when we got back to the car he was so tired, he fell asleep for a few minutes on the asphalt after he drank all his water!! Too cute!

So I've now been eating differently for about a month. I feel pretty good most of the time still. I've had a slip up here and there but nothing serious, no binge eating or anything crazy! I need to be more vigilant about going to the grocery store and staying stocked up with good foods. But I've clearly created newer better habits, most of my plate consisting of veggies and a little bit of meat or a little bit of grains. I'm still staying away from potatoes, pasta, & bread as much as possible. I think I'm going to pick up some high fiber wraps and do that for some lunches with veggies or turkey inside. No mayonnaise either, I've dropped mayo from my life... and I've realized I don't really like it anyways. Dijon mustard is the new condiment for me lol!

As far as exercising goes, I've been doing good, but I need to step it up. After all... I only have about 10 weeks until my first goal which is to drop 20 lbs. This weekend I did my morning walk/jogs with Newman, we did 1.6 miles on Saturday and a little over 2 miles on Sunday as well as my exercises I found on pinterest, which is just a series of exercises (picture included). This week I've been doing walks but I need to kick it up a notch. My dad just put a stationary bike in the garage so I think I'm going to add an hour of that daily. I made a pretty rocking play list to go along with that to keep me moving fast. I've included a lot of pictures I've pinned to my fitness board on pinterest (follow me!). One of the best things I've found so far is a bunch of exercises to do along with one of my favorite TV shows, The Vampire Diaries. Basically anytime certain things happen, you do an exercise... pretty cool! You could really translate this into any show just changing the situations. Who said you need to be sitting on your ass for the whole 60 minutes of television!

I also am going to start training with some free weights, we have tons of them at my house so I think I will be doing this from home as well. Or taking them to the park with me, etc. Another cool thing I found was creating a jar and every time I work out, I put a dollar in the jar. And once the jar is full... treat myself to something whether that be a massage, getting my nails done, new outfit, etc. I really like that idea!

I'm really just shocked at how this has been easy, well maybe not easy.. but definitely easier than I made it out to be in my mind. I start to think about why I haven't started this until now. But then I just remember that now is a better time to be doing this than 10 years from now. I really am just too excited, I want to see what I will look like 2,3,4, & 6 months from now. I haven't got on the scale yet, I'm still planning to do it every 2 weeks, so I'll need to get on it this weekend!

25 Random Things...

So I was reading an old issue of US Weekly and they have the celebrities give 25 random things about themselves. After reading that, I decided to take a crack at this. It is actually harder than you think, because though a lot of people who read this blog don't know me that well, some people read it who do know me. And trying to come up with 25 random things geared towards those that do know me is pretty hard. But anyways, here we go.

1. One of my favorite things is riding in the car, with the windows down & good music blasting.
2. If I tear up, or if I cry... my eyes often turn this creepy ice blue color.
3. I hate when people say Miss Ashley, or Miss Gibson when referring to me. I am only 25, so stop it.
4. I hate the smell of roses.
5. I've recently discovered that I actually like working out.
6. I am terrified of cracking eggs b/c I'm afraid that the egg will be over developed and I will see embryo/baby chicken. LOL seriously, every time I cook with eggs I get so nervous!
7. I cringe at the sound of teeth chattering, or teeth clanking.
8. I have a dumb addiction to ABC Family & The CW teenage shows.
9. I rarely answer my cell phone, even if someone calls when the phone is in my hands. I prefer texting by far over talking on the phone.
10. I've never been fired.
11. I enjoy working on craft projects or DIY projects.
12. I went to two elementary schools & two high schools.
13. I've lived in 11 different apartments, houses, dorm rooms, etc. over the years.
14. I always used to say no, but guess what... I do want to get married and have 1-4 kids... eventually like maybe 5-7 years from now. I just have so much I want to do before I have more than just me to worry about.
15. Sometimes I treat people really badly or take them for granted, but I'm working on it, that's all I can say about it.
16. I am a bit dramatic but I hate drama!
17. I'd take my dog with me wherever I went if it was possible!
18. I really miss my Aunt Marie, not a single week goes by when I don't wish she was still with us.
19. I actually have NO idea who I'm voting for this year... I really don't want to vote for either. But I will make up my mind and when the time comes, I will be voting.
20. I want to live near the beach one day, whether I'm 60 or next year. I just would love to be closer. Maybe in SC, FL, or CA.
21. I've only kissed 18 people in my life, I think. I'm wondering if that is a lot or a little?
22. I love music, all kinds of music. There is rarely a song I've heard that I don't like. I usually find something about it I like. That goes for movies as well.
23. I hate to fight, but when I do... I must win.
24. I miss some people a lot, some of them are still in my life. Which makes me wonder, if I'm missing them... does that mean soon they won't be a part of my life?
25. I believe in God, but I have a hard time doing so with all my science knowledge. And though I have this belief, I do not believe in church, at all.