1994

This post was inspired by a post I saw over at Carrots 'n' Cake and thought it would be fun to post.

Sorry for the fuzziness, this picture was taken by my camera phone a long time ago (picture of a picture, anyone?).

Anyway, I turned 5 years old in 1994 and started kindergarten that year. I was very into playing with my grandma's makeup as you can see, and I loved wearing bows and cute dresses and skirts. That phase didn't last too long until I went through the tom-boy phase and then sort of adopted a middle ground between girly and tom-boy. My favorite TV show was Barney, and I also liked to watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Pocahontas and The Lion King came out when I was 5, as well (although they either came out in 1994 or 1995- I was still 5 for part of 1995) and they were my favorite movies of all time. One year I was Pocahontas for Halloween and had Pocahontas clothes, dolls, and sheets. I think I even had a Pocahontas sleeping bag! haha. Pocahontas was the first movie I ever cried in (when they were about to kill John Smith) and The Lion King was the second movie (who doesn't cry at the part where Mufasa dies?) I ever cried in.

I learned to read in 1994 and had a hard time drawing inside the lines. My handwriting was horrible, but hey I was making large academic strides that year :) When I was 5 (not sure if it was the 1994 part of 1995 part) I also got a black eye from a pinata incident at a friend's birthday party (her mom sat us too close to the pinata and the kid who swung at the pinata hit my eye instead- OUCHHH!) and soon after burned my hand with hot coffee at the 7-11 while my grandma was in line paying for cigarettes for herself and an icee for myself (I got too impatient to wait so I started to get coffee and it spilled on my hand instead) and the hot coffee burned the skin off my hand. This pretty much explains my still persistent lack of patience, but it's progressively getting better.


Who were you in 1994?

No motivation

This post will be short and sweet.


I did track my food intake on Monday like I promised, but that's it. I haven't tracked my food intake since then. I don't know why, but I haven't been feeling very motivated. I'm still feeling like I need a break so I don't get burnt out on WW and give up on it for good. I'm not sure which route I should take- stop paying for WW and just try to eat reasonably on my own (while still weighing in) or keep my membership and come back to it when I'm ready?

I just don't know what to do. It doesn't help that I've been sick practically all week when I just came off a horrendous cold less than 3 weeks ago. I guess it's just going to take some getting used to for my body to adjust to being around sick kiddos all the time. I feel like death :( For the past few days the medicine I've been taking has just made me there but not really there. I've just been going through the motions, but I feel mentally detached from everything, like I'm just floating around in a daze everywhere. I hate how medicine does that! UGH.

Any advice on how to get myself back on track would be appreciated :)

Confession

Forgive me WW, for I have sinned. It has been two days since my last tracking.

I haven't tracked my food intake since Friday. Even then, I didn't track my dinner and my lunch- both of which were very unhealthy and very high in points.

Last night I went out for Thai food with my boyfriend and his parents for his dad's birthday. I had an eggroll, 2 coconut shrimp, half an order of pineapple fried rice with shrimp (YUMMMMM!), and some dessert. Friday I had pizza at lunch and for dinner we had mashed potatoes and some white cream gravy with pieces of steak chopped up in it. All of these meals were absolutely amazing and I don't regret a bite.

I just felt like I needed a break from tracking for the weekend. Usually I track every single bite that enters my mouth, but sometimes you just need a break to stay on track in the long run. At least I do.

I will 100% be back to tracking tomorrow, at least that's my intention for now :)

Anybody else in this spot and/or have been here before? If so, how do you deal with it to move forward?

Crazy whirlwind of a week!

I started my new job last Thursday as an orientation sort of thing but really really started getting into the work on Tuesday (we had MLK day off). If you want to know my job, scroll down a bit and it'll have a description somewhere in there haha. Anyway, this has been one crazy week! My job is so fun, and so busy. One good thing is we only get half an hour for lunch (because that's how long the kids get) and the school I work at isn't close to a restaurant really. This pretty much forces me to pack a lunch, which makes me more inclined to pack a healthy lunch. Also, when you spend 8 hours on your feet walking around answering questions of inquisitive first-graders, you burn lots of calories.

All this has led to a 1.6 pound weight loss this week! I've been playing with the same numbers ever since I moved home a month ago so it's nice to see a loss. This brings my total weight loss to 6.6 pounds lost. This is still snail speed since I've been on WW since November 11th, but at least I haven't GAINED weight. The scale is moving down, and that's all that matters. I wish I could lose weight Biggest Loser style, but the truth is that most of those contestants gain back a lot of that weight because no reality can accommodate 6-8 hour workouts a day and super clean eating 100% of the time. I'll take what I get as long as it's weight lost :)

Sorry I have been a bad blogger, by the way. My job is so exhausting and I'm still getting used to it. Right now, every day I come home from work and get in my PJs and just veg out. I'll get used to it and not have to crash so soon. For now though, sheesh I am tired!

I will say that my job has been very rewarding so far. It's nice to work with kids who give you hugs, say you look cute and beautiful, compliment your clothes and jewelry, and actually listen when you tell them to do something. These kids are great (most of the time hehe) and I really enjoy them :)

How was everybody's week? TGIF!

Commitment Issues

I have serious commitment issues with weight loss. When I was 12, I lost 30 pounds and gained back 50 (I wasn't very overweight because I had gotten soooo skinny after losing those 30 pounds, almost underweight actually). I didn't look too chubby, but I felt chubby by the time I was 19, almost 20. In 2009, I lost 24 pounds and felt awesome! Then I gained back 25 and started WW again. I've lost 5.8 pounds total so far at a snail speed of around .5 a week (because of a couple gains I've had) and here I am again...lacking motivation and doubting my commitment to weight loss.

I don't really know what it is, but I think it's because I'm used to seeing myself look average, maybe a little tiny bit chubby, instead of being one of those thin women I'm always jealous of (in terms of body shape). It could also be the fact that I like to eat all the foods that are bad for me, and not enough of the ones that keep you thin/losing weight.

Exhibit A? I was supposed to weigh-in (WI) today but I had a pizza fest last night and had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning, so not much time to WI. I only like to WI in the mornings so I'm holding off until tomorrow. HOWEVER, I just had a mini-pizza binge again from the last night's pizza leftovers. I only ate like 3 slices worth  (they were cut into small squares with thin crust) and think I actually had the points for it today but that sodium may make me have a gain in the morning.

For now I'm going to just keep going and tracking and just hope I find some motivation. I think maybe I'm not feeling much motivation/commitment right now because I just started my new job today and I'm feeling kinda stressed about it. I had a great first day, but change stresses me out. When I'm stressed, I eat bad foods. Blah.

Anybody else going through this issue, too? I'm not going to give up, but I sure feel like it right now.

Drunken Pooch

Is it just me (and my mom) or does Marshall look drunk?

 

LOL. I have the goofiest dog on the planet!

I don't really have anything interesting to say today. I'm not sure how many more lazy days I can have until I'm processed for my new job through HR so I went full-on lazy today. No makeup, stayed in PJs all day, sat on the couch and watched TV. 

Court went back to school today (not school school, but just back to the town) and stopped by to say hi/bye on his way out. I gave him a bunch of casserole leftovers from what I made tonight to make sure he has enough to eat and I'll get to see him again either mid-week and/or this weekend. This weekend should be for sure, but mid-week dinner is up in the air. It feels weird for him to be going back to school and I'm still here at home. No textbooks to buy, no going back to school. 

I'm starting a new big girl job, though! It's my first job that requires a college degree so that feels pretty cool. Part of me is saying that HR needs to get me processed through so I can start working ASAP and the other part of me wants to go back to college and do all the things I got used to doing for the last 3 years. 90% of me is excited to be "growing up" and the other 10% wants to stay a kid forever. Sure, I'm not a full-blown "adult" yet since I still live with my parents and I don't pay ALL my bills yet, but it's a transition. I'd rather transition into it rather than be thrown into it saying "good luck!". Gradual change is my friend. I do not like change so it's optimal for me to sneak into it until it feels ok. Hey, if I get into grad school I can get back in my element of being a student and feel a little more comfortable again :)

I'm a lifelong learner, for serious. In 2 weeks I'm starting a photography class at TCU with my parents so we can learn how to use our super sophisticated cameras more effectively. I also want to work on being a real certified teacher and go to culinary school (those are both possible things, not necessarily mandatory- more like things that I want to do if I can ever find the time to do them haha). Oh and of course start grad school in August to become a School Psychologist and eventually get a PhD to be a college professor (those two things I really really really want to do!). See? School is my thing LOL. At least I get to work in one :)

Hmmmm...turns out I had something sort of interesting to say for today haha

How did you deal with the transition into adulthood?

Sunset

Texas sunsets are one of the prettiest things in the world.

 

Sorry I forgot to take pictures at the Stars game. I forgot to bring my camera, so this picture is courtesy of my handy dandy camera phone. Unfortunately, the Stars lost to the Rangers :( They went into two overtimes and a shoot-out, and that's when we lost. Buttttt I had tons of fun with the love of my life! I'm not sure what it was about that night, but I think I fell in love with him even more. It's the little things that matter most, right? :)

How was everybody's weekend? I finally kicked my cold to the curb so hopefully I can workout a lot this week! Hooray! :)

BIG NEWS! (yes, it deserves all caps)

Today I got a "big girl job"! It's going to pay me well enough to where I can pay my own way through grad school when that starts in August (assuming I get in *crosses fingers*) plus the people I'm going to be working with seem really great!

The job is at an elementary school working in a first grade classroom. The job title is called "compliance substitute" which basically means I'm going to help the teacher with the everyday things they do in class plus in the afternoon I'd take a small group of kids to another place to help them with parts of the lessons they aren't understanding. I enjoyed tutoring in college, and I think this will be just as fun if not more.

This has been a really good day! Soon my boyfriend and I are going to head to the train station that will take us into Dallas (it only takes 30 mins as opposed to an hour's drive, woohoo!) and we will have so much fun at the Stars game.

Here's to a kickass weekend!

Awesome graduation gift!

For the past year or so, I have so desperately wanted a queen-sized bed. After I got Marshall in March, my wish became more of a need. A twin-sized bed for a full grown woman of average height and size (5'5'') and a 92 pound lab just got...cramped. My parents got me an awesome Canon Rebel XS (a kickass camera!) for my graduation present and my grandparents just bought me this awesome bed yesterday. It was delivered this morning and I love it (as much as you can love a bed, haha)!

Marshall likes it too, see?

 

I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family! And now I am fortunate to have such an awesome bed.

Tomorrow Court and I are going to see the Dallas Stars play the New York Rangers. My Christmas present to him was the tickets for he and I to go see the game. I got us decent seats and it didn't cost near as much as I would have thought. I can't wait! Pictures to come soon.

On another note, the only GHG I did not meet was the 2 tsp of healthy oil. I got 1 tsp of EVOO today, but came short of the second teaspoon. I want to save all my WP's for tomorrow in case I eat badly when we get to Dallas so I didn't use any WP's for the extra teaspoon of oil. Such is life. I met all my other GHG's and ate all 29 of my DP's. I feel great! :) Here's to a bigger loss next week!

Any fun plans for the weekend?

I lost weight!

I lost .4 this week despite going in the red with my points! I ate really  badly this week and didn't get in hardly any GHG's. I'll take .4, even if it is a small loss! That puts my total weight loss to 5.8 lost averaging to .5 lost a week. That is slower than I'd like, but I still have to fight the mentality of wanting big losses all the time.

My attitude still overall remains "a loss is a loss"...yes, even a measly .4!

This week, my goal is to get in all my GHG's everyday and try not to use too many of my WP's. I'd like to see a bigger loss next week, so I'm gonna try my damnedest!

How did everybody else's WI go this week?

Down for the count

So on New Years Eve I woke up feeling like crap- turns out I have a cold. I started feeling a lot better yesterday and then today I woke up and felt MISERABLE. I finally got my headache to go away and feel a little better after eating something, but I just feel awful. I've been loading myself up with vitamin C, vitamin D, and lots of medicine.

It's nice being able to relax since I haven't got a spot for my tutoring gig yet, but this is getting old. Go figure the time I finally decide to get back into working out I get sick enough to where working out would just make my cold worse :(

I had a big huge bowl of tomato bisque last night from my favorite store ever (shout out to Central Market!) and didn't think it would be as many points as it turned out to be. I also had a piece of foccacia bread and knew it would be higher in points than normal bread. So basically my dinner put me 1 point in the red for the week and I'm trying to get better so I can earn back some AP's to put me out of the red.

I stepped on the scale this morning for a sneak peek and it says I'm up .6 from Thursday but I have a feeling it's because my dinner last night was very salty. I'm not too worried about gaining again this week because most of that was probably just water weight from yesterday's lack of enough water and too much salt.

Here's to sitting on the couch watching the entire season of The Next Iron Chef on Food Network (the one where Forgione wins, or however you spell his name) and relax with my dog.

I now leave you with a cute picture of my spoiled pooch, Marshall. This was taken the other night when it was time to go to bed and he was wayyyy too tired to get off the couch. Hence the dirty look that says "but momma I don't wanna get off the couch, I'm too tired!"

It's such a rough life being Marshall.

Quick Question!

To all you bloggers out there that have more expertise in this matter than I do- how do you have those "About Me", "Recipe", etc columns at the top of your page where you click on it and it takes you to said sections? I have been wanting to make a recipe column and an about me column for a while and haven't figured it out yet. Call me blogging-challenged!

Thanks in advance!

What a way to start 2011...

So yesterday I woke up with a horrible sore throat complete with tons of drainage and lots of sneezing. Today I woke up feeling even worse. My dad says it sounds like I have a cold.

I sure hope this isn't a reflection on how 2011 will turn out! My dad made an excellent point, though- at least there's nowhere to go but up!

To be honest, my day has been alright. I was disappointed that I had to miss kickboxing this afternoon, but it would have exacerbated my cold. I'd rather get well ASAP than be sick for a long time.

Tonight's dinner was amazing! My parents and I went to my grandparents' house and had our annual New Year's Day dinner complete with pork chops, cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. YUM! I don't care for black-eyed peas, so I passed on those. Plus my grandma makes this awesome cheesy sauce to put on top of the cabbage that I have every time I eat cabbage. I was "bad" and had a piece of her famous chocolate cake with cherries and marshmallows, too so I used some of my WP's for that. I still have 22 WP's left to last me till my WI on Thursday so I'm all set. Honestly, I probably won't use anymore this week.

Speaking of my WLJ, this week and last week I gained .4 each week for a total of .8 gained over 2 weeks. I haven't learned how to still lose weight on Holidays (my only gains have been on Thanksgiving and during Christmas festivities) so I'm going to make it a goal to tackle it next year.

To be honest, .8 isn't that bad to gain over 2 weeks of eating Christmas goodies. If I was on some sort of drastic diet such as South Beach, Atkins, or Slim4Life, I probably would have gained 5+ pounds instead of a measly .8, so I'm grateful it wasn't anymore than that. I'm trying to see the silver lining behind this. I will, will, WILLLLL lose SOMETHING this week!

The difference with my WLJ this time around is that all the other times I was obsessed with losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time. I would eat super healthy 100% of the time and never allow myself any treats. When I finally caved, I would go 100% unhealthy for long periods of time and gain back everything I lost, PLUS some. Even if I lose really slow this time, any movement downward on the scale is good- even if it's something really really small like .5 or less.

I can happily report that since starting WW on November 11th, I have lost 5.4 pounds total. That doesn't sound like much and I know that's like snail-speed, but I'm still learning how to find that happy medium my blog title speaks of. I'm not ready to give up my favorite foods that aren't unhealthy, so I'm learning how to moderate how many treats I eat. A small 5.4 pound loss over the span of 6ish weeks sounds really small, but it's SOMETHING and that's all that counts.

Looks like I'm starting to find my happy medium! Corny (since it relates to my blog title), but everything in moderation, right? I'm 21 years old and am just now learning that. Better late than never, right?

How has everybody's 2011 started off?