Progress

Normally on Friday I would post about my weekly menu and also goals for the week.

This week, I am going to do something a little different. Still in the realm of giving you an update on my adventure towards a healthy life, though.

Last week we went to a baseball game to celebrate our 5th dating anniversary, and I wore a pair of pants I hadn't been able to get into since I bought them last summer!

This outfit made me feel something I hadn't in a long time... Skinny.

I was so excited with my progress and couldn't wait to keep going the rest of the week.

My body had other plans though.

I woke up super sick Wednesday morning.

I hadn't been this sick in a long time, and it was kind of out of nowhere so I really just laid in bed during the day so I could be okay to work in the evenings.

No working out for me.

One good thing about being ill though?

You definitely lose some pounds!!

When I took "before" photos June 30th, and was so embarrassed. I didn't recognize the body I saw. I honestly ever thought I'd share them.

But, I took photos again last Friday, the first day I really felt better. For the first time I could really see a difference, and decided to take a huge step personally.

I posted these photos on Instagram:

The response was incredible. I was smiling ear to ear reading the comments and taking in the likes.

You all are the most encouraging people, I am so blessed to have followers like you!

You are helping me to gain my confidence back, step by step and I have to say, it is the best gift anyone could ever receive.

Thank you again so much for the love and support.

Now that I am back to feeling like myself, I am super excited to make sure I have updates to share with y'all. It feels amazing to have your support and I honestly thrive with all of your love!

This journey is made easier because of each and every one of you!

Happy Friday, and I hope you have a wonderful, exciting, fitness filled weekend!

 

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On Mental Toughness

 

This quote is constantly running through my head these days as I am starting to work more and more fitness into my routine.

There are days where I feel like I didn't burn nearly enough calories, or didn't go far enough. Most days I feel like I quit way too soon.

I am also trying to accept the fact that I am starting from absolutely no fitness in my life, at all.

I am not going to be in the same shape after two long walks that I was when I was practicing for Cheerleading 40 hours a week.

There is a very good chance that I am going to be slow, or even not have the greatest workouts during these first few months.

A lot of times, especially if I try to run, my shins give out a lot sooner than the rest of my body. I've been quite impressed by the capacity my lungs still have after being a smoker for as long as I have, but I am also constantly frustrated with how little my ankle and shins seem to be able to handle.

But, as long as I am getting off the couch and doing something everyday, I am making progress towards my ultimate goal of a skinny me.

That is what I keep telling myself anyway.

And it is getting better and each day the workouts seem a little easier. Every day I feel a little bit stronger and I can go a little bit longer without pain.

And it is only going to help I have been and plan to continue working on mental toughness a lot this week.

There have been too many times in the last 30 days that I have ended a workout early because my shins are on fire or my ankle is rolling. But I am always so angry with myself as soon as I am home and the pain has faded. I always chastise myself, I could have gone longer, I could have gone farther...

I hate cliches, but the reason they are still around these days is because they are so true.
Pain is temporary but pride is forever.

Giving up is not in the plan this week. I want to be proud and happy after I finish a workout, not frustrated with myself.

Part of this journey is setting yourself up for success. I'm not going to run a marathon next week, just like I'm not going to reach my weight-loss goals in 30 days.

When I started to get really serious about this journey, I took a "before" picture. I took updated photos the other day, about 30 days later, and there is definitely a difference.

I'm not quite ready to share those photos with the world, but the few people who did see them, said they could see a difference too.

Baby steps, people.

Also, the winner of the Spark Giveaway has been chosen! I listed all of your entries as they came in and thanks to randomnumbergenerator.com we have a winner!

Congrats @KTAdams0422! Email me your address so I can get this to you ASAP!

Thanks everyone who entered! There will be another giveaway soon, I promise!

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Chasing Rainbows

As summer starts to come to a close, I am constantly reminding myself to enjoy the freedom I've had since May, when my most recent semester of classes ended.

I took an online class as well as a calculus class on campus, and it was a lot of work, but am happy to report that I finished very well, and was also accepted into the Bachelor program at my college.

I start in the fall, and will be a full time student for the first time in a very long time. The way the program works is that we take four classes, but only two at a time; we take two the first 8 weeks and two the second 8 weeks. The classes are obviously on an accelerated time-table, and they have already stressed how important it is to keep up and make sure you are organized when it comes to deadlines and also checking in with your course and professor for updates.

The two classes I will take during the first 8-week "mod" are online and the second "mod" I will be on campus for both of my classes. This involves a temporary schedule change at work, but I will have to just deal with not having my beloved Tuesdays off for 8 weeks.

Thinking about all of that, especially now that I see it all written out, I am slightly overwhelmed and a little bit nervous.

I know I am more than capable of completing the semester with flying colors. I am very confident in my abilities as a student. What I am not confident in though, is the consistency this type of schedule requires and whether I am capable of keeping that up for so long.

I didn't take classes this past summer, and it was the first time I haven't been in school or taking some sort of academic class since I returned from my year long break after my sophomore year back in 2009-2010.

It probably sounds crazy but I have had a really hard time relaxing this summer. I really thought that not having classes and constant due dates and assignments and to-do lists would calm my mind down. But I think that in the last three years I have gotten so used to having something on my mind that this entire summer I have literally created things to fill the void this summer.

And I am not complaining.

I have become so obsessed with making sure I eat right and get excercise. I am so desperate to see a change in myself by having better habits and it has given me confidence in a place I didn't usually have it.

The habits I am working so hard to build... I am thinking and hoping that they will help me with the consisency I need to succeed. I am starting to think I won't have a problem keeping with school and the due dates and the work.

I am looking forward to the fact that these are only 8 week classes, which is just about my attention span for a subject anyway. Just as the class is starting it will seem to be ending, and I'm hoping that makes this program fly by.

I know that the rest of the summer will fly by, and so I am giving myself a personal deadline.

I want to make sure that I am as successful as possible in my program and everyone knows that a clear mind when it comes to personal issues is the first step in success in other areas.

I always say that you can't love someone unless you love yourself first.

Well, I want to love MP but also I want to love school.

So, in the meantime, I am going to work on myself: my health and fitness and overall confidence. And let myself dream at the same time, and remind myself to relax.

I have the time to chase rainbows for a few more weeks.

PS: have you entered my Spark giveaway yet? Details here!

 

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Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I have mentioned a few times that I have the privilege of working from home.

And yes, it is a privilege.

I love not having to drive to work everyday. Not putting miles on my car every day is wonderful for my wallet as well when it comes to maintenance.

Overall, I feel very very blessed to have found this wonderful company a little over a year ago.

It is a wonderful opportunity to earn money while I also earn my degree. I also know that finding a position in the company in my degree field is a very good possibility after graduation.

I work for a large home shopping network taking sales calls. For the first year I worked with them I worked anywhere from 9PM-3AM 5 days a week. I had afternoon classes when I took the position, so it worked out perfectly to start so late.

It also has worked out well when family has come to visit and a few other special occasions.

But what hasn't benefited, is my health.

I have gained about 40lbs, my IBS and diet issues are worse than ever. I am smoking cigarettes again...

It is a scientific fact that no matter what type of schedule you think you have set your body up for, your metabolism does not function correctly at night.

And this is so true for me. My body doesn't handle food well after midnight, I usually will end up sick in the mornings. I also at night have a really hard time realizing when I'm full. And when I'm tired? Food is my go-to to keep me energized and awake.

 

I was also recently accepted into the Bachelor of Science program at my college, and I'm so excited to have a final goal and a finish line in sight.

I want my health to be better when I start school at the end of august, and I know studying will be easier if I have more energy and feel better.

I had myself on a very screwy sleep schedule last semester, but it was a schedule and it worked.

And you know that wonderful company I mentioned earlier?

Well they have allowed me to change my schedule!

My new work window will be 6PM-12AM, 5 days a week!

No more zombie Ms. P!

This also means that I will be working the same hours as MP.

I cannot wait to rejoin the living.

This also means that I am going to be back on a normal schedule, and I cannot wait to see how my workouts and also my school work improves!

I am hoping to also fit in a lot more blogging. I don't know if you all have noticed but I have been trying to post every week on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. I would like to post more and hopefully will as time allows!

Thanks again for following along y'all! I cannot wait to share this new journey with you!

Happy hump day! :)

 

 

 

 

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(Free) DIY Patio Makeover

As you all know, we moved a little over a month ago to a new place, about 45 minutes away from where we were before.

There are quite a few reasons for why we left where we did, because really, we LOVED our house. We always said if we could have picked it up and taken it with us we would have.

It just wasn't in the best neighborhood. And I'm being very nice putting it that way.

There was also the 45 minute commute for MP to and from a job where he already spends his entire shift driving around town.

There were good and bad things about where we lived before, but the best, was our backyard. It was fully fenced and BIG.

Needless to say, with four pups it was something we were not looking forward to giving up when we moved.

We knew we weren't going to renew our lease at the end of the 12 months, so we honestly started looking for our new place in DECEMBER. Yes, you read that right. We started looking about 6 months ahead of time.

And we STILL found this place almost at the last second.

We had a long wish-list, but there were a few"musts" at the top of the list. I wanted to feel safe, be able to walk my dogs right out my front door, and I knew I wanted to shorten the commute for MP...

But, we also knew that finding a place that allowed all of our pups was our biggest challenge, so we (and by we I primarily mean me) started looking really early and kind of took on the mindset that we would take what we could get as long as they let us keep everyone together.

And then, after some searching online, I happened to find the only apartment company that allowed all of our dogs, which also happened to be the only one in our entire city that has fenced in back yards.

The "complex" is really about 40 acres of matching duplexes. We have two pools, a dog park, and so much more.

The area is so quiet, everyone has a background check to live here, EVERYONE has dogs,

I am sleeping so much better at night knowing how safe we are here.

And...

O, my goodness y'all.

Our yard... Is huge.

 

And we have a covered patio.

It's an oasis.

MP and I are technically paying an extra $100 a month for patio and the larger yard, and it will be the best $1200 spent at the end of our year lease, I can guarantee that.

I talked a little about it here, and as soon as we moved in we knew that we wanted to spend a lot of our time outside, taking advantage of the space.

Before we moved we did a little research and realized very quickly that the patio set we wanted was way out of our budget right now. There is always the chance that we will find a great deal, but for now we are resigned to the fact that we can't make that big of a purchase right now.

I told my parents about this, and when my mom came to visit a few weeks after we moved in, she brought with her lots of goodies.

She kept pulling things out of her trunk, and I was reminded of Hermione's magic bag in The Deathly Hallows.

Two of the things she pulled out were patio chairs that our family had used since I was a child.

My parents had since upgraded, but had always kept the old, white plastic set in the gazebo.

I am so thankful we did!

She also brought me a few cans of white paint to spruce them up a bit.

@

Amazing what a few coats of paint can do!

Now that we had the two chairs, we knew we would need a table of some sort.

Tada!

We flipped over a Tupperware bin that we had used for moving and painted it white.

 

The plastic wasn't the best at holding the paint, and it was a little hot that day so we had a few drips, but overall I am very happy with the way that it turned out.

My lovely momma also brought us the cushions, and I think they really tie the space together.

So there it is y'all!

My (free) patio makeover!

Let me know what you think!

Happy Monday and have a great week!

 

 

 

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DIY Coffee Table - Repurposed Camp Trunk

A few weeks ago I was browsing aimlessly on Pinterest, and I saw a coffee table that I loved. Someone had found an old antique trunk and was using it in their living room.

I apparently didn't pin this, but I do remember saying this aloud to MP.

He remembers too, which is like a miracle.

But anyway, last week my Mom came to visit.

She drove to Florida from Missouri.

Crazy, yes I know.

The reason?

She had a car load of furniture and goodies to bring me.

I love everything my mom has added to my home over the past years, and I cannot believe how blessed I am to have someone so generous but also do detail-oriented and creative to help me decorate.

My favorite thing from her haul this time?

She had refinished my old camp trunk.

She had made me a coffee table.

And not from just another piece of furniture.

This trunk got me through 8 long summers away from home.

I lived out of that thing.

The memories associated with that trunk will stay with me forever.

She surprised me, knowing that it would mean the world.

That's what I mean about her having an eye for the little details.

She also remembered that I had been planning to paint an old desk I had found blue to match my living room turquoise and blue palette.

That energizer bunny of a woman also brought paint to finish that as well.

She also painted an old book case as well.

 

Did I mention how blessed and thankful I am to have her eye for detail to help decorate?

Thanks again Mom!

Later this week I will post all the pictures of what we accomplished for a little half home tour.

So stay tuned!

And in the mean time, be sure to enter the giveaway if you haven't already!

Also you can always follow us on Instagram to stay completely up to date!

Real women (insert verb here)

I first wanted to say hello to all of the new followers!

So glad you've decided to follow lil old me, and I hope you decide to stick around!

I can't believe how many of you have entered the giveaway so far, I'm so excited to find out who wins! Don't forget to enter if you haven't! The giveaway ends June 28th. Thanks again to Neely and Stephanie for hosting!

I have never been good at transitions so I'm just going to say we're moving on now.

Ok.

Have y'all ever noticed that a lot of people in blog-land seem to be paired up?

A lot of us bloggers seem to either live with our man, or you might be married, or there's just that special guy in our lives.

Regardless, there seems to be for a lot of us that person to (presumably) help out with the "manly" chores.

Like taking out the trash, cleaning up after the puppy, installing closets or hanging pictures. Mowing the lawn.

But, doesn't it feel good sometimes to do those things yourself?

I posted this photo to instagram the other night, after I had spent over an hour mowing my lawn.

We recently moved and this was the first time I've had to mow the lawn, and the first time is always tricky, figuring out what works and what doesn't which maze is best to weave.

It was also thundering the entire time I was mowing and so I was going as fast as I could trying to get it done before the pending monsoon.

I also had the pleasure of finding out that there is not an outlet on the outside of my house, and my lovely mower is electric.

I had to plug the extension cord into an outlet in the kitchen and there was not once, not twice, but (probably) more than three times that the pups unplugged my cord.

I was convinced almost every time that I had done something to break the mower. And I'd look over my shoulder at the half mowed, half forest looking lawn and want to cry.

I just wanted to get it done and over with.

When I finally finished, I was drenched head to tow.

Before I move on let me paint you a picture of the outfit I sport while I mow: Tall socks pulled over cropped pants and long sleeves, a scarf and glasses: I'm terrified of bugs.

So I basically stripped down, lit myself a celebratory cigarette (so sue me) and I snapped this photo literally seconds before the monsoon came.

Moral of that long-winded story?

It sometimes feels good, no great to accomplish tasks like that all by yourself. Hence the title of the post... Real women .... Insert your choice of verb here.

For me?

Real women mow their own lawns.

And?

Hang their own pantry shelves.

And?

Hang their own wall art.

When MP arrived a few hours after I had finished, and even though the sun had already set, he said he could tell that I had mowed and that it looked great.

The next morning you could see the spots I missed. But, we'll talk about that another time.

Happy Tuesday y'all!

Day 7, Blog Every Day in May

Here we go! One week into the Blog Every Day in May Challenge! How's it going for you? Leave a link in the comments so I can check out your posts!
In the mean time, here's day 7, a hard one for me to write!


Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you're most afraid of.

I will go with an obvious, but still  something that gives me basically panic attacks almost every single time I leave the house.

I’m not kidding. If I am heading home and hear sirens when I get close or see smoke near where I know my house is, it takes all of my self control not to put the gas pedal to the floor and get home as fast as I can.

I mean, look at that face... Why wouldn't you rush home to see that? ;)

It’s probably (almost certainly) irrational, but I am absolutely terrified of something happening to my fur-babies…

And now that I am responsible for three more souls? O my anxiety is through the roof.

The other night I was reading a blog and stumbled upon a post where the blogger was saying goodbye to a pup she’d had to put down. I immediately started sobbing and before I knew it all three babies, LG, GS and Ms. Mae were all over me, snuggling and worried. It took me far too long to calm down.

 

I haven’t had to leave them alone yet, MP has been (thankfully) home every time I have left, but today, I have to drive over two hours round trip to Tampa for a dentist appointment that could take up to two hours. I’m not looking forward to leaving everyone alone for that long, but I will plan carefully and also make sure that I’m ready to take care of the baby cats as soon as I get home.

O goodness, please pray for my nerves, I’m going to need all the happy thoughts I can get this afternoon!

 

What are you most afraid of? Head over to Story of My Life and link up with us to participate in the Blog Every Day in May challenge!

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for day 8, for some advice from little old me!

Catch up on previous Blog Every Day in May challenge posts here!

What I DO {or} Day 6 of Blog Every Day In May

Quick note: Sorry about the lateness of this post, something went wonky with blogger when I scheduled it and it was somehow set to go tomorrow rather than today. I didn't sign on to blogger until just now so I'm just catching it. But, here is day 6 and make sure you check back tomorrow for day 7 where I talk about one of my biggest fears.

 

Day 6, Monday: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'?

I mulled for a while over this one… I wanted to pick something that you all didn’t know just from seeing my blog; I wanted to portray myself as more than just a student and a part-time telephone sales person. I wanted to find something beyond raising my fur-children…

But then my door-bell rang early Saturday morning and it became clear that I know the exact answer happened and I couldn’t really avoid the fact that what I do… is obvious and everything.  What I do…is save animals’ lives.

The past two days I have adjusted my sleep schedule around three little souls that stole my heart the second their big round blue eyes found mine.

 

My life for the next four to six weeks will revolve around those three little kittens, so new, innocent and delightfully dependent.

 

They already recognize my voice, they already know my face. If they aren’t in their container they are wandering around my sun-room, adventurous and happy to explore. Their little feet move quickly but they trip over paws often, slowing them down and making them easier to catch.

This one though?

She’s a mischevious little one. She is the only girl and immediately had a home with a good friend of mine the minute he found out she existed. He wants to call her Figaro, but I (secretly) call her Clementine. She’s adorable.

The other two, little boys, don’t have names yet, but we call them “blue-dot” and “black-dot”, referring to the small dots we put in their ear with (non-toxic) marker to tell them apart. The two boys are adorable, look exactly alike, and MP already said he can tell that one of them is going to be a “foster-failure” (in which we keep a baby that was meant to find a forever home elsewhere).

These little babies make the sleep-less nights, extra cleaning, extra responsibility during an already impossibly fully time in my life, but I love it and like I said… it is what I do.

I laughed out-loud Saturday evening when I realized what this post was ultimately going to be written about, how I would answer this prompt.

I had told MP, literally, the night before the kittens were found, how much I had loved hand-raising Cubby, and would love to do it again, but knew that now was not the time, with a move just three short weeks away and summer semester looming close. Money is also (always) tight and the extra burden of formula for a litter of kittens is overwhelming. I guess fate had other plans for me though! Told you it's what I do.

It wasn't long though before my door-bell rang again, and I'm sure that my neighbor with the $20 bill was sent by God. Literally. My neighbor has offered to help cover costs. Even a little bit helps a lot.

These little babies are so worth it, and make what I “do” so worth-while and so fulfilling. The day the little babies are grown and their forever homes contact me to let me know how perfect their new family member is, I will smile and completely forget how much sleep I lost and the scratches on my hands. I will just remember those big eyes locking onto mine with recognition evident, the little cries that let me know my babies need me, and for now I’m their momma.

 

How would you answer this? Head over to Story Of My Life and link up for the Every Day in May Challenge, we’d love to hear answer!

Happy Monday!

Catch up on other Blog Every Day in May posts here.

Day 5, Blog Every Day in May {or} An ode to my best friend Courtney

Before we dive in to Day 5, I just want to say hi to everyone who is stopping by from the challenge! So many people have linked up and it is so much fun going through the different links and finding so many wonderfull blogs to read! Also yay for making it to day 5!! We can do it y'all! Only 26 posts and days to go!

All right, enough rambling! Here we go!

Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don't have blogger friends talk about a real-life friend or even a family member.

There was one person that came to mind that fits really into all three of the above categories… My friend Courtney at Courtney’s Organized Chaos

It was Halloween 2007, my first Halloween away at college. I had just decided to move out of my current suite and was having (just a few) issues with my current roommate. I remember bringing up the issues very vaguely and (at the last minute) a sweet girl I had a few classes nvited me to get ready with her and her suitemates and then to a party that they knew of that evening.

I arrived at their suite just as it was getting dark, and was let in by the girl I knew from class as well as another girl that I didn’t know. We went into the dormitory and to a double room up a flight or two of stairs. There was barely room to move around the small space, I don’t remember exactly how many girls had squeezed into that tiny room to get ready that Halloween night, but I do remember the room being busy, loud, music was playing, and there was a lot of laughing and glitter and hair spray flying around. I felt incredibly welcome, every single girl in the room was incredibly sweet and definitely were the kind of people I had been hoping to find in college.

Little did I know that the girl who ended up dressing as Alice in Wonderland would still be my best friend almost SIX years later.

 

(From left to right: Tom, Me, (edited for privacy), Courtney. This picture seriously makes me laugh so hard. The guy sitting on the end? That’s Tom, Courtney’s husband! Neither of them even really knew each other before this picture was taken, but the following night would change that!)

The next day, on a whim, after Courtney and I had “friended” each other on Facebook, I wrote on her wall that we should hang out again. This is so out of character for me, especially because we didn’t even really talk much on Halloween. I still don’t know to this day what made me do it, but I do know I am so thankful I stepped out of my comfort zone that day!

Courtney responded almost immediately, inviting me over to her room to go out that night with her and some of the girls from the group on Halloween.

The plan was basically the same, minus the costumes, to get ready and then go across campus to the dorm where we had spent Halloween evening. I came to find out later that night that the group of girls that I was with was close with the group of guys’ who lived in the suite where we’d spent Halloween. The second night though, the feel of the room was completely different. It helped that it was a much smaller group but really it was just a comfortable feeling. Everyone was laughing and joking and getting along, it was like Courtney and I had always known each other, and she was hitting it off so well with Tom!

And then...

Campus security walked in.

I’m not going to incriminate anyone but I will just say that most of us ended up spending a significant amount of time in the Dean’s office talking our way out of some serious trouble.

I do want to take a quickmoment though to thank those Campus Security officers though.

Why you ask?

Well, without them, I’m pretty sure things would have been completely different, and really, I count them at least partly responsible for the friendship that ended up blossoming between Courtney and from that night forward.

Over the next few months, Courtney and I became inseparable, she and Tom started dating, I spent time with her family, and the rest is history.

The next year, MP and I spent the first six or seven months of our relationship double dating with Tom and Courtney.

 

 

We road tripped to quite a few football games, we drove to Georgia for our fall break to stay with my Aunt for a weekend. When Kevin and I moved away though, things obviously changed, but Courtney and I still keep up with each other to this day, no matter how far apart we are! She is actually the entire reason I blog. She started one long before I did and it was her adorable blog that inspired me to start my first one, which has now brought me here.

Courtney, I can’t wait for the day when we live next door to each other and we can sit on our front porches and sip sweet tea and chat all day. I miss you girl, and I don’t know where I’d be without you today!

Thanks for being an amazing friend!