All Sorts of Updates

To say that I woke up today in a "bad" mood is an understatement. I've been keeping up with my 30-day plan and it has made me exhausted and sore. When I woke up I could feel that the arches of my feet, calves, and back were sore. On top of that, my allergies make me feel terrible first thing in the morning so needless to say I needed some time to really wake up and get moving.

What really helped me out this morning was the encouragement from my mom and Phil. I called my mom and told her that I really needed her to be supportive and encouraging and to say that I need to go to the gym and to not give up. Phil sent me a text and email saying how proud of me he is and that really helped too. I have a great boyfriend :)

I went to the gym as planned and did a 10 minute warm up on the treadmill then my trainer and I did 30 minutes with intervals on the Arc trainer. I must admit that although it is more work to do, I love it because it is low-impact and I feel the tiredness in my quads not my calves (which have been sore for 3 days straight). After the workout I felt so much better! My calves were no longer hurting and my mood was changing into more of a happy feeling.

I have lost something so far in the past week, but I'm not sure what. I weighed myself on Tuesday and Wednesday and they were different and I can't remember Tuesday's weight which should reflect more of what I lost in that week so I will have to weigh in on Monday to see where I'm at then.

Overall, it's been a long, taxing week. I had to work three 10 hour days with the girls out of school because the school had no water and still have the little one when he wasn't in preschool. I'm happy to be back on a "normal schedule" for today and tomorrow and am really looking forward to my massage tomorrow! I'm hoping it will help my back feel better.

On another note--I got a second opinion with my wrist and we found out that it is NOT a bone bruise, but in fact a sprain! And yes, I am happy about that because I was arguing discussing it with the first doctor and trying to tell him that it is a sprain, but he didn't want to listen. I am now on a prescription anti-inflammatory and have to go to physical therapy 2-3 times/week for a couple of weeks, then follow-up with the doctor.

As you can see, I've been pretty darn busy over here and can not stress how much I am looking forward to the weekend!

On being a hot mess

I'm feeling like a hot mess today.

I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed at the thought of not having a full-time job in June, planning a trip to California to visit the family, and working a 50 hour work week and having the kids with me every-waking-second because the girls' school is closed for the week due to no water in the area.

Ya, it sucks.

I was doing really well with being positive today, but as the day wears on it seems that more stress and anxiety is creeping up on me.

McFatty Monday

Well, it's been a week since I've started with McFatty Mondays. I have made some changes that will hopefully make it work.

• I have completely given up soda for a whole week! It was difficult and I still crave it, but it will be better in the long run.
• I have kept on my 30 day "Keep active" promise to myself. I went to the gym 3 times this past week and only 2 were with my trainer. Other than that I made sure that I was active for at least 10 minutes every.single.day that I was not at the gym. And yes, that included taking the stairs at the mall instead of going up the elevator.
• I have also made sure to eat less sweets in general.
• The new thing I've been doing for dinners at home is if I'm not really hungry, I will eat a bowl of cereal to cut down on calories instead of skipping the meal or just eating chips and dip.

I will have to do the weigh-in tomorrow morning, but I am hoping that all of these changes have made a small difference.

Weekend Remix

Wow, what a great weekend! We did a lot and changed our plans and it was a lot of fun. Here's the recap:

Thursday night we went to a "Taco Bake" over at a friend's house and was able to have dinner there and be around some great people and eat a fantastic dish called Taco Bake. Seriously, if you haven't tried it...do it now!

Friday we had the whole day together.

1.  We had an appointment with my boss' office in the morning and I didn't have to go in early that day!
2. Afterwards we went to the mall for lunch and to return a couple of things. While we were there we saw one of Phil's friends and were able to catch-up with him while he was on his lunch break.
3. We picked up the kids from school.
4. Then we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with a great couple and their two adorable boys! We followed dinner with games at their house and had so.much.fun.

Saturday we were supposed to go to D.C. and just spend the day together, but we decided to do an impromptu trip to Virginia to visit my friend, Boo. On the way we stopped at the Outlets and got my birthday present!!!

Today we went to chuch this morning, picked up Subway for lunch on our way back, stopped at Wal-mart to look at a couple of things and finally made it back home. I still have to run to the store tonight to look at curtains and pick Phil up a deodorant since he lost his on the trip...lol.

Overall, we had a great weekend and the weather made it even nicer...sunny and not too cold!

Oh Happy Day!

I am really feeling God's love and presence in my life today. I was able to have coffee with one of the mom's that I met last year at a story time. It was such a great time to have to spend with someone who shares the same faith and understands so much. I left feeling refreshed and loved. I hope we get to do it again sometime soon.

Afterwards I was able to go to wal-mart and found a comforter set that not only I liked, but Phil gave the ok when I sent him the picture to his phone. It was a complete set with a queen-sized comforter, sheet set, bedskirt, and two pillow shams and the price? Only $45! I've been looking around for so long and haven't found anything that we both like for under $100 so let's just say that I was thrilled. In fact, immediately I ran home to put it on the bed and am so excited to be at home tonight to sleep in the new bed set.

Days like today make me so super excited for life. I feel invincible with God on my side and motivated to do so much. All of my worries, fears, and anxiety seem to melt away and I just praise God in the car while listening to the radio.

I also found out last night that Phil is going to do an intensive Bible study that deals with spiritual warfare and how to overcome the barriers in your life. I may join him for support, but I'm leaving that up to him. It is something that he's been battling for a long time and I am so happy that God is giving him this opportunity to make his life better.

Dazed and Confused

In just 3 1/2 short months I will be out of a job. I had made the decision to not pursue teaching based on the facts that it would take me 2-3 more years in a Master's program to be able to teach in the public school system here in Maryland plus any additional time getting the pre-requisites, if any, needed.

During the past 2 months I have sent out about 13 resumes for any possible job I could think of. So far, I have heard nothing and am getting a little discouraged. I felt positive that pursuing Human Resources would be the best thing, but seeing as I can't seem to find a job in that field...maybe not. I've also been applying for office jobs and have heard nothing from them either.

The more I think about it the more teaching really seems to be what I want to do. I want to have summers off with my kids and to be able to watch them on snow days, spring breaks, and when they are sick. I want to be able to work a shorter day, grade homework, come up with projects, give tests, and do all things teaching has to offer.

I guess right now what I'm feeling is very stuck and confused. I'm not sure how to support myself through the Master's program if that is what I need to do to teach. I am praying that God has a plan and will work it out for me to work for a private school while I take a couple of courses to be certified. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens from here...

McFatty Mondays

Blair has been doing McFatty Mondays for a while now and has gotten down to her Pre-pregnancy weight! She has been working so hard for a while and it has really paid off for her. This has given me some motivation by reading her blog!

Today I met with my trainer and was told to think about two specific goals when it comes to my weight loss. This started off kind of easy...I know what I want to accomplish. When I met with her we talked about my goals. Yesterday at Target Phil bought me the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD I've been wanting for a while. A lot of other bloggers have tried it and were successful and it seems like a great way to kick start a good weight loss plan.

Before the purchase I did a lot of research and found out that she does a lot of push-ups in the workout. My wrist is still huring when any pressure is applied to my right hand so I might have to hold off a little longer before I start that one. It did, however, lead me to a new goal.

I am going to workout EVERY day for the next 30 days. This can be done by going to the gym, doing a video, walking, pretty much anything that is a workout and lasts for a minimum of 10 minutes. It seems a little intense at the moment, but I feel that it really needs to be done to get me into the routine and habit of working out consistently and getting me to my goal weight.

So here's the starting stats:

 Current Weight: 196

 Goal Weight: 135