mcfatty mondays

Hey yall! I'm so happy to see that this past week drinking mass quantities of water totally worked and I managed to lose 1.2 pounds! Never mind the fact that I only went to the gym once last week. It was an incredibly busy week with work--the youngest is on spring break and the oldest had strep throught-- and add on the Bible study we go to weekly, and preparing to fax my transcripts to someone who contacted me. But, nevertheless I lost weight! I must contribute this to my dad who told me to drink a gallon of water a day. I find that this is a large amount of water and I did not make it that far yet, but I did drink a lot more than usual.

I also went shopping this weekend and found some clothes for work when I get a job I have to dress up for! I bought some button-up shirts and one pair of brown work slacks, but what color shoes do you wear with brown pants? I'm not sure yet. I also got two pairs of jeans to wear until I fit into all of the jeans that I have and love. They are high-waisted which I don't love, but they fit better than all of my low-rise jeans and don't fall down. I figure I can wear them even if I'm so not a fan of high-waisted jeans and maybe it will be my motivation to lose more weight!

With that said let's see how much I've lost so far...

Current Stats:
Starting Weight: 196
Today's Weight: 193.2
Total Weight Loss: -2.8 pounds!

An Early Wake-Up

I decided to surprise Phil this morning by showing up at his house at 3:50am. You see, he wakes up at 3:45am and is on his way to work by 4:10 every morning. Now, usually I wouldn't be up that early or driving to my boyfriend's house, however, there were circumstances that led to this surprise visit.

Two weeks ago the smoke detector in my apartment beeped loudly and said "low battery" and yes, it really does talk after the horrific beep. I had looked at it and couldn't figure it out because it is also hooked up to the electricity and had wires connecting it to the ceiling and didn't want to try anything for fear of being electrocuted. So, I told Phil's dad and he was going to stop by and fix it.

He didn't make it over since he had been out of town last weekend and Phil and I were super busy prior to that as well, but he did make it over tonight to fix it because apparently by 3am it was beeping and talking to me every ten minutes. At that point I couldn't take it and decided to get my clothes together and go on over to Phil's since he should be up when I got there and I could sleep over there for the rest of the time before I had to get up for work.

Luckily, he was in a good mood and was very sweet about the whole thing. His mom thought it was funny when she saw me in the morning and his dad was confused and thought that Phil was in another room when he came in.

I am truly thankful for having such a great man in my life and his wonderfully supportive family.

mc fatty monday

I must admit, I worked hard last week. Like, really hard. I made it to the gym 4 days and did a Combat class, Zumba, and two days with my trainer...one legs/cardio, and one strictly cardio. I managed to still not drink any soda and managed to not eat any fast food. I did better overall again and my eating habits seem to be getting better slowly, but again, it's been much better than before where I pretty much had fast food at least once if not two times a day every.freakin.day. Ya, I'm doing much better now.

One could see my dismay with this reality when I stepped on the scale this morning only to find that it said:

194.4

What? I maintained my weight after all of the hard work I put in last week? I blame it on the major PMS I'm having right now--no, really, I do. Even though I didn't lose any, I'm happy to not have gained any. This has happened before with PMS and once it was gone, the weight loss showed. Either way, I'm in a ton of pain and don't weigh and more than last week. I guess, I'll take it.

I'm not sure of my goals for this week. I was supposed to go meet with my trainer today, but she had to make an emergency trip to Puerto Rico where her husband had to have emergency surgery. I am keeping them in my thoughts and prayers. I was planning on going anyways, but the oldest child I watch is home sick with strep throat. Ya, not sure if I should really go to the gym and possibly give it to everyone else while I'm there. But, I am hoping to do at least a video or something this week even if it's walking around outside. I'm still determined to lose the weight and get the ball rolling.

Oh, and this weekend ON my birthday some lady may or may not have totally asked me if I was "P.G.--because, girl, you look like you're gonna pop out a kid any second now." Ya, no, I'm just fat...not pregnant.

So, as you can see, this past weekend has been marvelous. I'm hoping for a much better week coming up here.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I am officially 26 years old today! This past year has brought so much to my life.

• I started the year off having just moved to Maryland from Virginia in January and started my new job with the kids. This was definitely something that was a big thing for me. I had never had my own apartment before and it was a big adjustment. I remember that for the first couple of months, Phil would come over and stay with me until I would fall asleep, then go back to his place.

• We made a much needed trip back to California to visit my family and friends. I was there on my birthday and stayed for the entire week.

• I played on an adult softball team during the late-spring and summer seasons and absolutely loved it! I tried out a new position, first base, and totally rocked at it!

• We made it to a couple of National's games and totally had a blast! The summer also marked our 1 year anniversary!

• The fall brought on Phil's birthday and a homemade tornado cake! Yes, it was 3-D, took forever, and made him so incredibly happy that my heart melted. It also brought us Phil's new job!

                                     

In December we flew to Iowa so I could walk across the stage and receive my diploma and in January, I officially graduated!

• January brough lots of snow and I officially graduated! I also found out that in the middle of June this year, my job will be ending. It was a bitter-sweet moment for me as the kids are growing up and I'm able to pursue my career (finally!)

                                    

• And I ended my 25th year with getting serious about losing weight and going to a Skillet/Toby Mac concert last night with my honey.

It's been a great year full of surprises and I hope that 26 will bring many more blessings and opportunites and to be able to use my talents for God's glory.

 

The Plan

In order for me to pursue teaching, I am going to have to go back to school. This involves a lot of extensive research on the different schools in the area and what programs they offer. It seems to be that I will need to get a Master's In Arts and Teaching (MAT) which will give me all of the classes and student internship to get me my certification.

It's going to be difficult to choose which program I want to pursue because there are some really good ones out there. I figure that maybe losing my job will give me more time to go to school. I'm still worried about how my bills are going to be paid, but I know that God is in control and He will work something out.

I guess right now I just need to focus on praying, trusting God, and listening to His guidance in what direction to go in. I'm definitely excited, nervous, and a little whelmed (but not overwhelmed). This new adventure will definitely be worth it!

My Calling

Since I've been given until mid-June to find a job and now have my Bachelor's degree in tow I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do for a career. For my whole life I wanted to teach. I love kids always for the most part and just knew that was my calling in life--that is until I actually looked into how to get my certification out here from taking my courses through an online college.

To say that I hit a road-block and was discouraged was an understatement. It seemed like there was no possible way for me to teach and afford my apartment. This is when I decided to look into human resources as an option even going so far as to take a business management class and human resources class. However, upon looking at the jobs to apply for it seems that I do not qualify for lack of experience...hmmmph.

Then I started looking into office administrative work. Not too exciting, but it would be something I'm good at and can pay the bills and give me the health insurance I've been lacking for over 2 years now. The problem with this is that it seems that not only do they want so much experience too, but most of the jobs I've applied for are really spam. I'm still not opposed to this type of work and will continue to apply for government positions, but if it doesn't work out...I won't be too upset.

The decision I've made has been made with a lot of thought, prayer, and talking it over with Phil. I've decided that I do want to teach. I want to have the summers, snow days, and breaks off with my kids. I want to be able to call in a sub and not worry about who is going to take care of my family when they are all sick. I want to be available and have a shorter day knowing that if Phil and I get married and start a family and he's still working in DC getting home late, then they would still have their mom around to take them to things and be there. These are things that have become increasingly more important to me.

I realize the road to teaching is going to be tough and pretty much suck for the next 2 years. I will have to rely on Phil and his family a lot for financial and emotional support if I can not find a school who will let me teach before I have my certification. I also know that if this is God's will, then He will provide a way for me and I won't have to worry about anything because my God is bigger than anything and can work miracles even in the worst circumstances.

So, for right now I am praying for guidance and direction in which path to take knowing that God will open the right door for me.

McFatty Monday

Well, it's that time again. Time to say what the scale said this morning and what I've done this past week in my weight loss endeavors.

This past week went pretty well work out wise, but I could have done better with eating. Here's a quick overview:

• I went to the gym a grand total of 4 times this week! Two times with a trainer, one Zumba class, and one Body Combat class. And yes, this is the most I have gone in one week.
• Soda is still out of the equation...yes, it makes me sad, but I'm dealing really well without it.
• I have a work out buddy now! She helps with the motivation to go because if we've made plans to go, then I will show up!
• Could have done better food-wise, but pms makes me crave chocolate and I cave for my own sanity.

Current Stats:

Starting Weight: 196

Today's Weight: 194.4

Weight Loss to Date: -1.6 pounds!!!

The goal this week is to eat a little better and continue the good streak in the gym!