2014: So long, farewell

Let me begin my last post of 2014 by first wishing my brother the happiest of birthdays! He turns 21 tomorrow and I am definitely more excited than he is.  He's a pretty cool guy and I'm proud to say I had a hand in making him who he is today.  21 is a fun birthday and I can't wait to celebrate it with him!

Now, the time has come, to say goodbye to 2014.  Over the past couple months I've complained a lot about how much weight I've gained and how little money I have.  It's true that my motivation has dwindled and I'm quite rounder than I have been in awhile but overall, 2014 has been an absolutely amazing year.  I have good health and a circle of friends and family that are amazing.  That's nice to have.  I would say my proudest acheivement this year would be landing a full time job teaching English at the University of Alabama.  Occasionally I like to stalk myself on Facebook and I came across a status I posted that said, "I'm so grateful to have a job, a steady check and a fairly laid back environment but man I love teaching.  I even love the grading that I complain about because when I see that my help with their thesis statement "clicked" and they "get it;" it feels awesome.  I think they feel pretty great when that happens too.  Some people never find what job makes them happy but I have and one day I hope it's my only gig but sometimes you have to take on more of the things you don't love to get to the things you do. Work hard y'all!" I wrote that over two years ago and this summer I found out all that hard work and wishing earned me a full time gig.  I am a lucky person but I'm proud to say it wasn't only luck that landed me that position. I worked my butt off.  I had three jobs for a long time.  I know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to now and I know that means I'm incredibly blessed.

When thinking about what I want for 2015 two things come to mind.  First, I'm starting a new diet (slow carb) and my goal will include dropping pounds but most importantly I hope to rediscover the initiative that I once had.  I want the will power back and I want to be healthy.  I have never given up but the spark I once had isn't nearly as bright as it used to be.  In 2015, I intend to do better than ever. I am going to weigh next Monday for the first time in awhile and then I will know how many pounds I gained and how much work there is to be done.  I'm nervous but I'm ready to take on the challenge and get going again.  Second, I want to write more.  When I had three jobs I felt like I had an excuse and then when I went from 48 students to 118, I needed some adjustment time to balance everything. Now, I have no excuses.  I have to make time for writing.  It's my first love and I'm so ashamed I haven't given it the time it deserves. Those are my goals.  Clearly, I want to balance my time and finances better but those are always goals that I have.

Finally, Bama is playing in NOLA in a couple days.  We are going up against Ohio State in the first round of playoff games.  I may be going to New Orleans for the festivities but I'm not sure yet.  When  I post next week, I'll talk about my first weight goal of the new year, my initial impression of the slow carb diet and share pictures from the week.  I hope you all have a safe and happy new year.  PS I had an AWESOME Christmas so thanks to everyone special in my life that made that happen.  Love y'all!

Merry Christmas Y'all!

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and/or holiday celebration.  I have a lot of things planned this week and I'm excited to spend time with family and friends.  Of course, there will be a lot of temptation but I worked out this morning and I plan to exercise a few more times this week.  I have little faith in my ability to turn down yummy food but the good news is I only have a couple more weeks left before I get super serious.  

Be safe this week if you are traveling!

Until next week!

Still Runnin'

Hey everyone.  I have literally nothing to brag about diet wise unless you count that one and a half days last week when I didn't go over my calorie count.  Since I'm all mopey and non-patiently awaiting the new year so I can start fresh, the only thing I can really be proud of is the fact that I am still training well for the next half marathon.  I've had some pain in my right leg which only got worse after my really long run on Friday but I rested this weekend and walked slowly for a couple miles today.  It still hurts but I will probably keep exercising because it's the only thing keeping me in my normal jeans.  I haven't eaten bad today but I have yet another Christmas party this week.  I hope you all are having holiday diet success!  I don't really have anything else to report.  My goal this week is to not eat ALL of the Reese's Christmas Trees my mother keeps giving me every week.

Good luck out there y'all.

Roll Tide.

In a nutshell...

Roll Tide Y'all!  I am unbelievably proud of Alabama's team this year.  My Mom and I got super lucky and we were given tickets to the SEC Championship so we got to witness them beat Missouri for the championship game.  That means we are officially in the playoffs and we'll be playing Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.  I am so blessed to have access to these amazing football moments.  

I love pistachios but I'm not someone who is able to control my portions so I tend to shy away  because I'm always afraid I'll eat a pound of pistachios.  Well, I went to the craft store Michael's last week and I found 100 calorie packs randomly at the checkout. I bought several.  I'm obsessed. They are a bit pricey but they give you the perfect amount of pistachios.  My plan is to find a way to buy them in bulk somehow to cut down on price.

I haven't been weighing because I decided to wait until I begin my new diet on January 5th.  I want to know what my starting point is and begin from there with a fresh start.  Having said that, I exercised 5 days last week and dieted correctly about half the week.  That's about the best I can hope for right now during the holidays.  I am pretty hard on myself at this point and I'm feeling super chubby so I'll be very happy to begin the year right.  Having said that, I refuse to just let everything go the next couple weeks just because I don't feel like being good.  I know me and just from only dieting about half the time, I've put on a lot of weight...even despite my exercise efforts.  Having said that, I'm dieting today and since I'm strapped for cash and starting a new diet in a few weeks, I'm doing what I like to do sometimes and cleaning out the cabinets.  I tend to buy things and forget about them so rather than buying groceries, I'm trying to eat everything up in the house.  This week, I'm getting rid of the turkey burgers I have in the freezer.  I know I've told you before but I'll tell you again that low and slow is the key to a good turkey burger.  It is so easy to mess these things up and then they are a dry, yucky mess.  I don't mean to brag but I have pretty much perfected the process.  If they are frozen, make sure not to over thaw them in the microwave.  I put it on for a minute, took it out, flipped it over and put it in 20 more seconds and it was like it was never frozen.  Then, I keep it on low to medium heat and I'm just patient.  When I ate it, it was juicy and delicious.

It's that time of the year! There are parties and dinners and lots of fun moments ahead.

  I hope you're all having fun and hang in there if you are one of the few doing your best on the diet struggle right now.  Until next week!

 

Support Systems Of All Kinds

Happy December y'all! There is one more month left of 2014.  I am hanging on by a thread with my diet.  I'm back on today and my goal is to be perfect at least Monday through Friday since I have no excuses.  I feel puffy and fat and I'm not happy about it. I honestly cannot wait for the holidays and football season to be over because I'm ready to turn this diet around.  I'm just trying to stay in the same clothes y'all.  I know it's a struggle for everyone this time of year but my will power is busted and if it wasn't for the fact that I still exercise pretty much every day, I think it would be much worse.

Like I said, exercise is the only thing I'm doing right this holiday season.  I've been training for the half marathon again that's in March and I've been attending classes and doing the elliptical at the gym.  Between the running on Friday and the Body Attack class I took yesterday which included a lot of jumping around, I've had some soreness in the chest area.  I apologize if that's too much information but I'll just come out right now and admit I have breasts and what's worse...sometimes I talk about them.  It's ok guys and gals.  They are there and today they hurt a bit.  I have a couple sports bras that I thought were OK but honestly, I feel like I could do better.  I am especially feeling the pain because it's the holiday season so I'm a bit heftier than usual.  I have read some articles but if anyone out there has some suggestions on a comfortable, supportive sports bra, I'm all ears.

Since I'm being honest about my lack of discipline in the food department, I wanted to share a couple pictures from Thanksgiving in which I stuffed my face relentlessly. I always make the deviled eggs so I was proud of those.  It was a full house...full of people and dogs and a good time was had by all.

Almost just as important as family time at Thanksgiving, I wanted to express my total jubilation at the fact that Alabama beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl this year and I got to witness it in person.  We play Missouri in the SEC Championship game on Saturday.  We SHOULD win it but you can never be too safe.

Roll Tide, y'all!