New Year's Link Up

A bad habit I’m going to break:  Using my credit cards. I know that sometimes credit cards can be helpful, but my debt has gotten out of control. I need to get a reign on it. As soon as I think about it (while I'm at home), I'm going to take all of my credit cards out of my wallet and seal them in a box. Then I will put this box on my bookshelf and not touch it unless it's an absolute emergency. Not having my credit cards in my wallet will definitely help quell my spending habits. I also need to remove all of my credit cards from all online shopping sites (PayPal, Walmart, etc).

A new skill I’d like to learn:  I would really like to learn a new language. I'm not sure if and when it would happen, but I would like to learn to speak Italian. I think it's such a beautiful sounding language. Ideally I would use Rosetta Stone or another like product to learn as they get the best results. I would also like to learn how to speak sign language. The community college in my town offers a couple of sign language classes. I just haven't had the time or money to look into taking one yet.

A person I hope to be more like:  I'm not sure that I really want to be more like anyone. I would like to be a better version of myself though. I would like to spend less on junk that I don't need and give more to the poor. I would like to get rid of the many pounds of excess weight that I've been carrying around for far too long. I would like to learn more and actually do what I aspire to do... write. I would like to better myself and become the best version of me that there can be.

A good deed I’m going to do:  I left this question for last. I skipped it and came back. I'm not really sure what good deed I will do this year. I fund raise for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I donate my gently used clothes. I'm not really sure what I could do. I suppose I could look into volunteering somewhere. I've always wanted to do that and haven't. This one is really making me ponder.

A place I’d like to visit:  I would really love to travel to many places. I'm not sure that I will get to visit anywhere this year. I said last year I would be more mature and not recklessly spend my money so I could save up and go to Los Angeles. That's not going to happen any time soon, but I would love to go there. My friend Rick lives in LA and he told me if I ever made it out there, he would be my personal travel guide. He's an actor so I think that would be amazingly fun. BE MATURE, CRYSTAL!!! STOP BLOWING YOUR MONEY!!! I would also like to visit some random other places within the United States (Niagara Falls being one of them) and some other countries (Ireland being top of the list).

A book I’d like to read:  Wow. My goal is to read two books a month this year... I honestly don't know what's on my list. I'm currently in the middle of Allegiant (the third in the Divergent series) and I would like to finish it tonight or tomorrow so I can start the new year with a fresh book.

A letter I’m going to write:  I don't have any letters that I feel need to be written for any reason or another. I would like to start sending personalized birthday cards to my friends and family members. I'm actually going to create a Google document that my friends and family can fill out that will have all of the information I need to send cards and letters to them. I'm excited to get that started soon. :)

A new food I’d like to try:  This year I tried Thai food for the first time. It was incredibly spicy though delicious. I'm not sure what food or ethnicity of food that I would like to try this year. I guess I would like to try Indian food. I've never had Indian food before and it looks yummy every time I see it anywhere. I'm not sure that we have any Indian food places around me though. I guess I'll have to look into that.

I’m going to do better at:  Not procrastinating. I tend to have big expectations and make huge plans and then don't follow through. This means in regards to my job, my writing, my fan site, everything. For example, I was supposed to be launching a new layout for my fan site today and I haven't 100% figured it out yet. I'm currently working on it while watching Christmas movies. Good times.

Anyway, this was fun, and ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Be safe and have a great night!

Winter Wonderland!!!

We were put under a Winter Weather Advisory on Thursday for Friday afternoon into Saturday around noon. It was already snowing when I got off work on Friday. I went home and didn't leave the house. When I woke up Saturday morning and looked outside, this is what I saw:

 

We were in a Winter Wonderland! It was so pretty!!! I can appreciate snow when I don't have to leave the house. Haha! It was so beautiful outside. It also helped put me into the Christmas spirit. I grew up in a family who always put up the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. That didn't happen in my house this year. 

My boyfriend has been incredibly busy at work and didn't get out my Christmas tree (from the shed which I rarely go in) until last Monday. I had planned to put the tree up Friday, but didn't. With the snow outside, I wanted to get my tree up fast. I turned on the TV and found the holiday music station, but it wasn't working. I was confused for a minute until I realized our dish was probably full of snow. I bundled up, took Rusty out back with me, and cleaned out the snow in the dish. It worked after that! I went in and started putting up my tree!

I think my tree is defective. It's a pre-lit tree and when I put it up last year, for the first time, there was a section that I couldn't get to light for anything. I finally messed with almost every bulb on that section and it finally lit. The same thing happened this year... I finally finished fighting my tree and got all of the ornaments on only to realize that I didn't have my tree skirt or topper (I use a Santa hat). I donned all of my winter attire and ran out to our shed. It didn't take me long and I found the bag they were in... I went in, put on the skirt and the topper, and decorated my house with the little bit of decorations I put out. Then I took pics of my pretty tree:

The one on the left is with a flash and the one on the right is without. I love it! After that, I took a little bit of a break to eat some lunch and straighten up. Then I got to work on wrapping what presents I could. If you could look to the left of where my tree is, there was a huge pile of presents that needed wrapped. I got all but three or four presents wrapped and they're now under my tree. When I was done wrapping presents, I put together the quilt rack I bought myself. It was super easy and looks great so I can't wait to display it in my living room. Right now it's in the bedroom because there's no room in the living room with the tree up! 

After being so productive on a weekend (usually I'm super lazy and don't do much), I decided to take a relaxing bath as I hadn't done that in about a month. I soaked in the tub for a good hour and a half while I watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother on my Kindle. I'm finally on season 8 and can't wait to get caught up on the current season. Haha. I showered and put on some pajamas and then worked on my Supernatural site's scavenger hunt until about 10:30. Then I laid in bed and watched a few more episodes of HIMYM. 

Sunday wasn't as productive, but I did a lot of work on my website. I did a load of laundry and the dishes, but other than that, all I did was worked on my website and watched television. We still don't have a new clothes dryer and there are some things that just aren't as soft when they aren't dried in a dryer. We should be getting a new one no later than this weekend which is nice...

Today has been dreary in a wintery sense. We've had a chance of flurries all day and it's foggy out. My favorite phenomenon happens when it's foggy in the winter...

I LOVE when the trees look like this. I'm not 100% sure what causes it, though I'm sure there is a cause... I just don't know it. :) Okay, I better go. I have work to do.

Baby Dylan

My best friend had her first child at 26 weeks, 3 days gestation a mere two days ago. He weighed a mere one pound, 14 ounces at birth. In the first twenty-four hours of his life, he was able to be taken off his breathing tube. He is using a nasal cannula only, but at the first signs of distress, he will be put back on the tube. He is doing amazing and is super-duper cute! Please continue to pray and send well wishes to Dylan, my bestie Pam, and her husband Patrick. He's got a bit of a fight ahead of him, but he's feisty and doing so well! The following pictures were taken by Pam's sister-in-law Amanda. I haven't had the chance to go see him yet, but as soon as I'm allowed, I'll be there!

What motivates you?

Source

I've been severely lacking in the getting healthy department. I was hoping that Elf4Health would motivate me, but with the holidays, it hasn't. I'm completely bummed over this because I am needing a huge push in the right direction.

My weight is hovering around its highest ever. I didn't weigh myself this week so I don't officially know where I am, I just know that I feel super heavy right now. I want to be healthy. I could be healthy, but I just don't have the willpower right now. I can't get myself in the healthy mindset. I know I've done it before, but I'm struggling so much this time around. I look in the mirror and I'm disgusted at myself. I don't have a chin anymore... I've never NOT had a chin.

I really need to kick my butt into gear, but I'm really not sure how to do it anymore. What motivates you? What keeps you on track? I'm looking for all of the advice I can get so give your ideas!

Prayer Request

Source

My best friend gave birth last night to a baby boy named Dylan Michael. Dylan was born at 26 weeks, 3 days gestation and weighed in at 1 pound, 14 ounces. Pam is doing well and says the doctors say Dylan "will be [in the hospital] for a while, but he's doing really well". Regardless, please keep Pam, her husband Patrick, and baby Dylan in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you!

Giving Blood, the Dentist, and Other Happenings

Yesterday when I was at work I got a call from the American Red Cross. They had called me several times within the last couple of weeks and I had been unable to answer. This time I could answer so I did. The lady on the phone informed me that there would be a blood drive held at my church today between 10 and 2 if I was able to donate. I told her I just got a new tattoo a couple of months back so I would be unable to donate for a while. She then informed me that the Red Cross has changed their policy on donations for tattooed individuals. This is taken from their website:

Tattoo:

• Wait 12 months after a tattoo if the tattoo was applied in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis. 
• Acceptable if the tattoo was applied by a state-regulated entity using sterile needles and ink that is not reused. Cosmetic tattoos applied in a licensed establishment in a regulated state using sterile needles and ink that is not reused is acceptable. There are 40 states that currently regulate tattoo facilities. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.

This makes me so happy. I love being able to donate blood and was so sad when I went through a period when I couldn't donate. I love making a difference and helping others out. I went and gave blood on my lunch with my amazing friend Megan. She's my blood donation partner and the last three or four times I've given blood, I've gone with her. We got there and, being as I was on my lunch, we weren't sure if we were going to have time to donate. There was a man in front of us and both of the interview rooms were full. We sat there for a few minutes and then I was called back. I got my finger pricked (my iron levels were great), got my blood pressure taken (it was okay), my temperature (normal), and took the survey. Everything came out well and I went to give blood. The Red Cross volunteers were hilarious. I apparently filled my bag rather quickly so they timed Megan's to see who gave their pint quicker. Megan did... of course. Bummer! LOL Then we went to the snack table. This time the church had chili and peanut butter sandwiches after donation instead of cookies and raisins. Margene, a really nice lady who goes to my church, got me a big bowl of chili, a peanut butter sandwich, and some apple juice. I ate that and then waited for Megan to get done. She took me back to work and went home. I'm super excited because I got my first donation t-shirt today. It's pretty nice and I'll feel good when I wear it out!

I had a dentist appointment last night. I dislike the dentist. That's not to say that I actually dislike the people there. I love my dental hygienist Kaylea. I really enjoy my dentist Dr. Phillips, but I don't like the actual process of going to the dentist and last night was no exception. I got there and one of the account managers told me the amount of my bill (out of pocket as I don't have dental insurance). I might have sobbed a bit as I told her it was fine and I would use my Care Credit card (and get interest free credit for at least 6 months). There was still a few minutes before my appointment time so I went to the little girl's room. I had only been in my seat in the waiting room for a minute or two when Kaylea called me back. I needed new x-rays done. This is one of my least favorite things. I have a small mouth and fitting the little camera thing into it is difficult. After trying not to gag as the x-rays were done, I was lead back to Kaylea's chair. We small talked a bit while she got everything set up and then she got to town cleaning my teeth. She scraped them, polished them, and flossed them. Then we updated my medical history and she went and got Dr. Phillips. He came in and joked with me. He asked if I've been starving myself like had to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. I laughed and asked him if it looked like I'd been starving myself. He laughed really big and said he was just kidding with me too obviously. Haha! He looked in my mouth and poked around with his pointy thing. Apparently a filling that they did a couple of years back (it wasn't a new filling - a loose amalgam one) wasn't good and they need to replace it. They're doing that one free of charge. Then another old amalgam filling on the other side of my mouth isn't doing its job either so they want to replace it. I said okay. Dr. Phillips gave my shoulder a squeeze and told me to have a happy Thanksgiving and left. Kaylea took me out to the account manager who scheduled me two appointments (one in a couple of weeks for my fillings and the other in six months for a cleaning). Then she charged me just under $300. This covers my exam, cleaning, x-rays, and the filling I have to pay for. Not too bad, I suppose. Because the amount of my charge was high, she asked if I wanted 6 months no interest or 18 months no interest. Um... 18 please. LOL It'll be paid off before then, but at least this bill I don't have to worry about should I decide to pay a different one first...

I have to take just a moment because my eyes have become full of joyful tears... My dad's cousin's wife has been battling cancer for quite a while. If I remember correctly, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer (this is the one I'm unsure of). Then after beating that, she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She is still battling that cancer, but it had moved to her brain. Her daughter just told us all that her scan today showed her free of brain lesions! What an amazing Thanksgiving announcement!  So excited that this amazing woman that I know has beat cancer again! YAY DEBBIE!

My Elf4Health has been going great. The first day was to go meatless and I accomplished that!!! I felt amazing after working out and eating a big salad for dinner! Yesterday was to unsubscribe from mailing lists you are on. I unsubscribed from literally 40-50 lists yesterday and this morning. It's ridiculous how much my email inbox was cluttered with junk mail! I also have a small stack of paper catalogs on my counter that I am planning on unsubscribing from soon. I haven't had the time to do it yet, but it will get done!!! Today's challenge was to try a new workout. Considering I gave blood earlier, I'm not allowed to workout today. I can honestly say that giving blood has got to be one of the best "excuses" for not working out that I've ever had... I'll get back on that train, no worries! I doubt I work out tomorrow, but my mom is dragging me Black Friday shopping with her - even though I have no money to spend - and I'm sure we'll walk miles! I'll wear my FitBit tracker and let you all know how much I walk, for sure...

I also want to give a shout out to my awesome elf buddy Ashley! She's been a great help to me these first few days with cheering me on and writing me novels (which we obviously can see that I enjoy writing, haha!). I'm grateful to have an extremely nice and talkative elf this go around!


Oh and finally to my fellow Americans:

I am alive... + Elf4Health

... but extremely busy. That's why I've been M.I.A. This is a busy time of year for me and I'm trying my hardest to just stay afloat... I still can't believe that it's been almost a month since I've written. Crazy!!!

I went back to Curves a couple of weeks ago. I haven't had much success yet, but this is only the third week. There are new owners and they changed their hours of operation so I'm unable to go as much as I liked to. Pretty much I can only go on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesdays is Zumba and, while I love it, I need to get used to doing a plain Curves workout before I start Zumba. My knees are already killing me without doing Zumba. They decided to close on Fridays at 1 as well so I can't go on Fridays anymore. They are open on Saturdays from 8 to noon, but I'm rarely up early enough to go. *shrugs* Because of this schedule, the first week I made it two days and last week I only made it 1. I'm hoping that this week I can make it both available days (Monday and Wednesday as they're closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving).

I've been thinking a lot about my diet. After being treated for the compulsive overeating, I don't binge anymore, but I am definitely addicted to the unhealthy foods. I would rather eat everything unhealthy than anything healthy. It's going to be a struggle, but I have an idea... According to a BMR calculator, my BMR is 1870. This means, when I don't work out at all, I need 2245 calories per day to maintain my current weight. If I work out at Curves three days a week, I would need 2572 calories per day to maintain my current weight. Since I don't want to maintain, but I do want to lose, I have to subtract a certain number of calories per day. To do this, I take my current weight (245.0) and subtract my goal weight (150.0) which is 95.0 pounds. It takes 3500 calories burned to lose one pound. So if I take 95 pounds and multiply it by 3500 calories, I get 332,500 calories that I need to burn. My ultimate goal is to hit my goal weight of 150.0 pounds by my 30th birthday. This is in 335 days. This means, I would need to cut 993 calories per day from my diet in order to meet my goal. If I don't work out at all, I would need to consume 1252 calories per day to meet my goal. If I work out at Curves three times a week, I would need to consume 1579 calories per day to meet my goal.

Here's where my new plan comes into play. One of my good friends told me her new outlook at dieting and, ya know what, I kind of like it. Here's how it works. You decide what you want your goal calorie intake to be each day. To determine mine, I am taking my workout goal of 1579 adding my non-workout goal of 1252 and dividing by two to get 1415. This is my goal calorie intake each day. There are 7 days in a week so I will multiply that by 7 and get 9905 calories. That is my goal WEEKLY calorie intake. Now, I'm going to look at this from a fun perspective. Let's say, Monday through Friday I only consume 1250 calories each day. 1250 x 5 = 6250. This leaves me with a total of 3655 calories. This means that over the weekend I could consume 3655 calories total which brings my daily allotment each day to 1827 calories. This will allow me for "cheat days" without feeling bad about them. For some reason, this REALLY makes sense in my mind. So, this is my goal from now on...

Last year I participated in the Elf4Health challenge. I say participated, but I didn't really do much of it. I conversed with my buddy and that's about it. There is a daily list of challenges for the four week period (see below). This year I'm hoping to actually complete all of the challenges. Today is starting out as a doozy. I'm not a big meat eater to begin with so I figured that this would be an easy challenge. Here was my menu for today:


- Breakfast: 3/4 cup dry vanilla Chex cereal
- Morning Snack: Belvita blueberry crackers
- Lunch: egg bagel with veggie cream cheese
- Afternoon Snack: sliced fuji apple
- Dinner: large salad with hard-boiled egg, cheese, lots of veggies, croutons, and light dressing
- Dessert: small sundae cone

So, it sounds like a pretty good day... except I started my day with coffee which sometimes hits me weird. It's not all the time, just sometimes, which I don't understand. I've only eaten about half of my cereal. I didn't even drink all of my coffee. It was one cup of coffee with half a cup of skim milk and a tablespoon of sugar. I drank about a third of it and I'm feeling very weir. Shaky, nauseous, light headed... I tried to jump straight into my lunch, but my cream cheese is watery. I'm not sure if it's bad or not, but being that I'm nauseous, I lost my appetite when I saw it. It's brand new and has an expiration date of early February so I'm not sure why it would be spoiled, but it was watery and usually they aren't... So now I'm not sure what to eat. I didn't bring anything else. I had a package of crackers in my desk so I've eaten a couple of those. I'll probably find something to eat when I'm home for lunch.

If you want to sign up, you can! You won't get a buddy until the final two weeks of the challenge, but you can still participate in the daily challenges. Just check out Lindsay's blog entry over at the Lean Green Bean.

October Foodie Penpals

I was excited to find out that my partner this month was Andrea over at The Layover Life.

 

It was my birthday this past Sunday and I told her my birthday was coming up. She sent me a lovely card with my foodie gifts!

When I opened my box, I found:

• Russel Stover S'mores: I jumped right into this. It was delicious, as expected. I hadn't had one before! The graham cracker part was a little crumbly, but it still tasted amazing!
• Pumpkin Scented Candle: She said that she knew this wasn't edible, but that you can't have fall without pumpkin. I lit this the same evening I got it and it made my house smell so good!!!
• Milky Way Smooth Caramel: I'd actually had one of these before, but it was awhile ago. I'm not a huge fan of regular Milky Way bars, but these caramel bars are yummy!
• Country Time Half Lemonade & Half Tea: I love drinking my tea this way! I normally make plain tea and plain lemonade and mix them together. This saved a step and is delicious!
• Sugar Babies Caramel Apple: I wasn't sure if I would like these or not, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were really yummy!
• Pure Clover Creamed Honey: I'd never even heard of creamed honey before and had to ask my family and friends how to eat it. The consensus was on biscuits or English muffins. I ate it on biscuits and thought it was really super tasty! I can't wait to have some more.

THANK YOU, ANDREA!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Today marks my 29th birthday. Happy birthday to me! :)

I thought I'd share some (read: a lot) totally adorable pictures of me through the years. I ended up creating a slideshow because it was super-hard to organize all the photos I wanted to include in this post. I hope you enjoy the short spin through my life... 
  Happy 29 Years of Life! on PhotoPeach
My mom is a quilter. Last year for Christmas, she gave me, my brother, and my sister all quilts as our big present. They were quilts that we were supposed to put on our beds and use. This year for our birthdays, she made us all memory quilts. My sister's birthday is in February and my brother's in March, so I've had to wait the longest to see my quilt! I've waited patiently all year, but I've finally received my memory quilt! I love it! My mom knows me well (I should hope) and used my favorite colors and yeah... It's an awesome keepsake. Now I just need to get a quilt rack so I can hang it up and proudly display it! :)

My Weekend To-Do List

I have some vacation time to use at work. Since my mother is the fill-in person at work, she advised me to take my remaining time off (two days) before December. Last year she ended up working almost all of December because my coworker and I saved up all of our days until then. She didn't want that to happen again.

I was going to go get a manicure and pedicure with my best friend today, but our nail lady couldn't fit us in so we postponed it until next weekend. Our mutual friend Sarah will be going with us now. Sarah and I are in charge of throwing Pam's baby shower. (She's having a BOY by the way! Just found out Wednesday!) So we're all three meeting up to talk about what Pam wants in a baby shower...

Here's what's on the schedule for this weekend:

Saturday: Coworker's Halloween Party - starts at 6 pm
Sunday: making apple butter with my parents - starts at 10 am

Both activities, I have no idea when I'll be home so I'm planning all of my tasks before they begin.

I have a lot of work to do around my house. I entered a contest to win a premiere party from ABC Family. I actually won which I'm really surprised! I shouldn't say won because 800 people were chosen, but I was one of them chosen. Here's an excerpt from the email I received:

Hello and congratulations ABC Family fan!

We’re so excited to tell you that you’ve been selected to host an exclusive ABC Family

Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood LIVE Viewing party for you and nine of your closest friends!

The party date is set for Tuesday, October 22, which gives you plenty of time to plan your event! Inside each kit you will find fun games with special Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood clues, cool party decorations and fun gifts for everyone!

Start organizing your party now for October 22^nd so that you and your friends can enjoy the all of the goodies and watch the Pretty Little Liars Halloween Special and the World Premiere of Ravenswood together. This is an event that cannot be done A-lone!

Have lots of fun at your party and don’t forget to share your photos on our official ABC Family Facebook pages for Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood.  We love twitter and Instagram too, so be sure to post your pictures on Twitter and Instagram and include this – #PLLRavenswoodparty – in each post – we’ll be sharing our favorites!!

And finally, keep an eye out for your box of goodies!

-          Your Friends at ABC Family

I'm super excited to throw this party even though none of my friends watch PLL. I posted something on Facebook and I am going to have people over.  We're going to eat snacky foods and party while we watch the PLL Halloween special and the Ravenswood premiere. It should be good times even though no one watches them but me. I did buy all three seasons of PLL with money I won from a DietBet. I got in seasons one and two so I can let my mom borrow them. Hopefully she can watch those and then at least then she'd somewhat know what's going on. Haha. I got my package today and I'm pretty psyched with what's in it. Here's a little preview... Check out these sweet double-sided cloth bags:

Anyway, because of this party I have a lot to do around my house this weekend. Here's my to-do list (mostly for myself) for tomorrow and Sunday:

Clean House:

• Kitchen
• clean and put away all dishes
• clean out refrigerator
• sweep and mop
• Living Room
• pick up
• dust
• vacuum (including furniture)
• fix pillows (requires sewing holes)
• clean throw blankets
• Bedroom
• straighten closet area
• dust
• vacuum
• make bed
• clean bedding
• Bathroom
• scour tub
• clean sink
• clean toilet
• straighten shelves
• sweep and mop
• Laundry Room/Back Porch
• do all laundry
• put away all laundry
• straighten porch
• sweep and mop

Grocery Shop:

• Regular Groceries
• make list
• Party Groceries
• List:
• Little Smokies in BBQ Sauce
• soup - Chili?
• chips and dip 
• meat and cheese tray?
• Someone is bringing: veggie tray and cookies

Other Stuff:

• Blog
• come up with some ideas for blog entries
• prepare a few blog ideas I already have and schedule them to post
• Supernatural Website
• update site front page
• go through submissions for Winchester Photo and Fan Creation contests

Unfortunately, I was extremely lazy today... All that I got accomplished was working on my sister's laptop and cleaning off my kitchen counter. Both may not sound very difficult, but my sister's laptop was giving me huge problems and the counter was full of crap. I threw away a lot of old magazines that I had sitting on the counter that I never got around to using. I should have taken before and after pictures. There's a huge difference. LOL

Now I'm sitting on the couch watching some television before bed. I'm thinking I'll go to bed early. My eyes are bothering me quite a bit. I've felt slightly off all day because I had a spinning episode around 4 am and didn't sleep well after that. Ugh. I haven't had one in so long. I don't know what brought it on other than there's a lot of pressure in my head due to my allergies.

Alright, I'm off. G'night!

Goals: Revised

I'll be the first to admit that I am a planner. In some ways (read: party planning) this can be a great attribute, but in others (read: diet and exercise) it can be detrimental to me. I make all of these grandiose plans and then don't follow through. This is usually because what I have planned seems too tedious and I give up. So, I 've decided to start setting my goals a little smaller.

I'm going to start listing my weekly goals on Thursdays and doing my weigh ins on Wednesdays. Seems like a good plan. I don't wait to wait until next Thursday to start this so I'm going to post my goals now... these goals are for today until next Wednesday.

Goals:

• Log all of my calories each day
• Try to stay at or below calorie goal each day
• Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day
• Walk for 20-30 minutes three times
• Weigh myself each day
• Write at least three blog entries

I think these are all obtainable goals. I need to get back in the habit of logging my food each day. MyFitnessPal is such a great app, and I know that if I actually used it the way it's supposed to be, I would actually see some amazing results. I also need to start weighing myself every day again. This is because when I see my weight every day, the losses make me more determined to stick with my plan and the gains make me work a little harder.

I also really want to get in the habit of writing again. I'd eventually like to get back into the habit of writing daily, but going from not writing to writing daily seems to be too big of a task. So between now and next Thursday, I want to write three blog entries. Doable, I think.

I don't know that I'll write again this weekend as I have a very busy weekend planned. Tonight when I get off of work, I'm picking up my friend Megan and then we're going to a little town about 15-20 minutes away. I'm meeting a girl who wants to buy my old cell phone from me. She's paying me more for going to her. After that, we're meeting up with a girl I went to high school with, Abby, to have dinner. Abby is such an inspiration. She's lost almost 70 pounds and taken up running. I hope to talk to her about this during dinner.

Tomorrow a girl I know is coming by to pick up some clothes I wanted to sell. She's getting $40 of stuff for sure and perhaps another $20 on top of that... She wants to look at a couple of things. Later on in the afternoon I'm going to a surprise birthday party. That should be fun!

Sunday we're having a quad-person birthday party at my parents' house. The party is for my mom (10/08), my best friend (10/10) my brother's girlfriend (10/12), and myself (10/27). We're eating my favorite food in the entire world - my mom's chicken tetrazini - with green beans and fresh bread. Then we're having strawberry shortcake cake for dessert. Delicious! I should be at my parents' house most of the day. I'm hoping to take my laptop with me and write some of my novel in my free time. I should also write a couple of posts that I can schedule, if I have time. I have a few ideas in mind. :)

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Newness

Whoops! I wrote this on the 17th (ten days ago) and forgot to post it. I just found it in my drafts...

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I've been a horrible blogger lately. Someone slap me please... I used to love to blog and now it seems like I don't have the time anymore. This doesn't mean that I no longer love blogging. It just means it's fallen down my priority list lately. It needs to move back towards the top because I love writing and having a chronological telling of my life that I can read later on.

There has been a lot of newness going on in my life. First off, this weekend we got a new roof. It's been a long time coming as our old roof has needed replaced for about two years, but it finally happened. My great Uncle Charlie, Uncle Danny, Uncle Ronnie, Dad, dad's friend John from work, and Matt worked on it. It turned out great! I love the difference it made on the house...

Front of the house when we moved in.
Sorry for the blurriness.

Front of the house with new roofing.

Back of the house with new roofing.
The upper part is metal and the rest is all shingles.

When they were all at my house, my Uncle Charlie and dad had talked Matt into new siding and new windows. I was so excited because I don't think my house is that cute at all. With some new tan siding, new windows, and shutters or windows painted hunter green (to match the roof), I think my little house would be adorable. Unfortunately, Matt doesn't like to see money leave his bank account and is leaning towards not doing it. I really hope he does. I think it would do wonders for our house!

One day last week or the week before (I'm not 100% certain as to when), my friend Megan was over and showed me this picture of a cute tattoo. I had told her that I'd been wanting to get a new one but had no idea what. I really liked the tattoo she showed me and we decided to get friendship tattoos. She's been asking when we were getting them... She's very impatient. I sent the tattoo shop a message on Facebook asking for an estimate and asking when we could get in. Jason, one of the tattoo artists, messaged me back and said he could get us in today at 1:30. That's when I take my lunch so I decided to go for it. I took the appointment and let Megan know to be there. We went and got them and they turned out super cute.

My tattoo right after.

Close up of my tattoo right after.

Megan's tattoo... looks like she cleaned it up first. Hah!

After work I'm picking up my sister to take her out to Walmart. She needs to cash a check and get some milk. I need to get some Aquaphor for my tattoo. I had to clean it up because it had little blood pools all around it and it was grossing me out. All I had in my desk to put on it is Neosporin. I looked online before applying it and it says that it's okay to use, but I'd rather use Aquaphor and I don't have any...

Also, I have run a weight loss support group on another blogging site since 2007. Earlier this year, I tried to migrate that group into both blogging sites and it didn't turn out so well. I'm thinking of running it on all of my blogging sites again, but separately. Some people are secretive about where they're posting. Because of this, I'm coming to you for help. Please take the time to complete the survey linked below and let me know how you would like the upcoming phases ran and what you'd like to see in future phases of this group. I strive to make this group enjoyable to you all and I have had fun running it since 2007. Please let me know what you would like to see so I can create a very supportive and motivating group for you. The next phase will begin on September 30th with all of your feedback taken into consideration. Your answers are anonymous unless you choose to enter yourself in the drawing... you'll see what I mean at the end of the survey. Thanks in advance.

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!

Halloween Costumes

In 2010, I went to a Halloween party at my coworker Scott's house. The past two years, his Halloween party has coincided with ChiCon (Supernatural convention). This year his party is the weekend before ChiCon... not that it matters anyway because I'm not going to ChiCon this year. In 2010, I dressed up as a sexy referee. I want to dress up again this year... I tried looking on eBay and Craigslist, but couldn't really find any costumes I liked... if I found any at all! So I looked at PartyCity. I found a few costumes I like! My absolute favorite is this one:

Adult Fashion Flapper Costume Plus Size

Brenda has a couple that may fit me. She said she'd send either of them to me if I want them. I might... She has these:

Adult Classic Medusa Costume Plus Size

Adult Gretchen Oktoberfest Beer Maid Costume Plus Size

I'm trying to decide what I want to do. I really want the Flapper costume. I already have fishnet hose that I could wear with it. I could get some long gloves on eBay (I like the look of this costume with the long gloves) and some dressy shoes too. But then I'd be spending $60-75 on a costume... Do I want to do that? I really do. LOL I am in love with the Flapper costume... If I can't figure out a way to pay without using credit, I'll take Brenda up on her offer (if either of hers would fit), but I'm pretty dead set on getting the Flapper costume!

Friend Makin' Monday: Relationships and Dating

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s questions on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Relationships and Dating

1. List five characteristics that you think are important in a significant other.  Sense of humor is a big one. I like a guy who can make me laugh. Trustworthy. Family-oriented. Loyal. Intelligent.
2. If you had to choose between staying single for the next two years (as in no dating at all) or receiving $10,000, which would you choose?  I'm not single so I can't really answer this. LOL But I'd stay with my beau as opposed to receiving $10K.
3. What is your relationship status?  Are you satisfied with it?  I'm in a long-term relationship. I wish I could say that it's committed, but I really can't. We've been together for 9.5 years and for some reason he won't marry me... If he would, our relationship would be better, that's for sure.
4. Would you date someone who has children?  Sure, I love kids, but I'd rather just stay with Matt and and have some of my own. :)
5. Would you date someone who’s shorter than you?  I tend to go for tall and lanky guys... I've been attractive to shorter guys and have dated some shorter guys, but I much prefer tall guys.
6. Would you date someone who has different political views?  Yes... Matt's a Democrat and I'm a Republican. LOL We obviously have different political views. Going to family functions with his family is always interesting because they were raised Democrat, but his brother is a Republican and he gets into political debates with their mother all the time. 
7. If you were going on vacation together, would you choose the beach or the mountains? This is an easy one for me. My favorite vacation spot is in the mountains... Gatlinburg, Tennessee to be exact. Matt went with me on vacation there once with my family and I loved it. I would love to go back with him at some point.
8. How do you show someone that you’re interested in them? Luckily I don't have to do that anymore... LOL I'm not even sure what I used to do... be clingy? I got told I was clingy a lot. *le sigh*
9. Do you prefer to date people who are older than you or younger? I have dated a few guys younger than me, but for the most part they've been older.
10. Share some details of your dream date. Probably my favorite date I've ever been on, Matt got us tickets to go see a musical at the little theater in a town nearby. We went to the theater and watched our musical (Married Alive --- hilarious!) and then went out to eat at the local Mexican joint. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do that again!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!

Friend Makin' Monday: Getting to Know Each Other

 

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s questions on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Getting to Know Each Other

1. What is your favorite flower?  My ultimate favorite flower is a yellow rose. When my boyfriend and I first started dating, I was having a horrible day and he surprised me at work with a dozen yellow roses. *cue heart melting* 
2. What is a date on the calendar that you’re looking forward to?  Only one??? Today is my furbaby's fourth birthday... Wednesday is my boyfriend's mother's birthday... Sunday we're going to be getting a new roof on our house... My bestie's 30th birthday is at the beginning of October. Towards the end of October is my birthday and karaoke at the Supernatural convention in Chicago... I could go on and on, but I'll go with just two months for now. LOL 
3. List at least five characteristics of your ideal mate.  Great sense of humor, loyal, honest, hard-working, and intelligent... 
4. What is your favorite travel destination?  I haven't really been many places, but my favorite place to vacation right now is the Smoky Mountains... Gatlinburg, Tennessee to be exact. It's so beautiful there! 
5. What is your idea of the perfect date?  I really enjoy dates where my boyfriend and I go to a movie and then either go out to dinner or go get food and go to the park and eat. I love the classic dinner and a movie deal. It's my favorite! 
6. What is your relationship with your family like?  I am extremely close with my family... or the majority of them anyway. My parents and I are very close... my siblings and I are close... a lot of my extended family and I are close as well. We may all be crazy, but at least we love each other. LOL 
7. What time did you wake up this morning?  I woke up at 6:40 today. I was kind of awake between 6:20 and 6:40, but the latter is when I finally crawled out of bed. 
8. What characteristic do you like most about yourself?  Which do you dislike most?  I feel like I am a great friend. I think this is an awesome characteristic. I dislike that I hate confrontation so much. I tend to get walked on since I am a great friend and I don't like to fight or argue. 
9. What is your favorite sport to watch?  My favorite sport to watch, only in person, is basketball. I don't like watching it on TV, but I like watching it in person. Same with baseball... never been to a football game though. 
10. Share a few interesting things that you did over the weekend.  I went with my boyfriend to buy our new shingles for our roof. Next week this time, I'll be getting a new roof. YAY!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Happy Monday!

I'm a what??? + Crafty People: Help!?

We have this customer that comes into my work. He's rather obnoxious and likes to mess with things on our counter. Usually when he comes in, he dings our counter bell (to alert that someone needs assistance) repeatedly until we want to smash him over the head with it... Now we've gotten used to hiding the bell when we see him coming in the building. Since we've been hiding the bell, he's been messing with our credit card terminal. The first time he came in and messed with it, he ran all sorts of reports and luckily didn't screw anything up, but still... The second time I'm not sure what he was doing... He would mess with it while my coworker Terry was getting his order together and he (the customer) was alone at the counter. So, today he came in and I figured he'd try to mess with the terminal so I watched him. As soon as he picked it up, I walked to the counter and said, "Please do not mess with that." I said it as sternly as I could. He put the terminal down... When Terry got back up to the counter with the customer's order, the customer told Terry what I had said and my Terry's response was, "Duh!"... Then the customer told Terry that I'm a bitch. LOL I don't know that I've ever been called that before. I guess there's a first time for everything!

Okay, I know it's early, but here's the deal. Last year, I bought the majority of my Christmas presents on credit thinking I would pay it off... I didn't and now I'm still paying on it. I've put away all of my credit cards and am not buying anything else on credit until I can control my spending better. Since I have very limited funds, I'm thinking about making homemade Christmas gifts for all of the people in my family/that I shop for... That would be: 8 women, 3 men, and 3 girls (13, 10, and 4). For these people, it would be a "big" gift as these are my family and good friends. For my mom's side of the family, we stuff stockings for everyone. These are small items. I already have a few gifts, but not many... There are 12 women, 13 men, the 13, 10, and 4 year old girls, and possibly two other little ones (under the age of 8). Do you have any thoughts for things I could make for Christmas presents AND stocking stuffers? I have a little money to spend. I have a sewing machine. I have scrapbooking stuff. I'm not really sure where to go with everything... Ideas? Thanks!

Friend Makin' Monday: Questions & Answers

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s questions on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Questions and Answers

1. What is a typical weekday like for you? I usually wake up between 6:30 and 7. If I wake up at 6:30, I usually lay in bed until closer to 7 looking through Facebook on my phone. At 7, I get in the shower. I leave my house at 7:45 and head to work which is only 4 blocks away. I usually drive only because I have a bunch of stuff to carry. I go in work at 8 and start my day. I do whatever work tasks I have to do until 1:35 when I leave for lunch. I head home and get online to read blogs and sometimes write... and usually watch something on my DVR. I get back to work at 2:35 and work until the workday is done at 5 pm. Then I head home, cook dinner, and veg on the couch until 9-9:30 when I go to bed...
2. Name one song that never fails to make you happy and one song that you always listen to when you’re sad.  Hmmm... I don't know. This is a toughy. I know right now I'm hooked on "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. It's actually stuck in my head right now. So, I'll go with that as my happy song... and when I'm sad, I listen to "As If" or "I Am Human" by the Brian Buckley Band. Love both of those songs...
3. Did you watch the VMA’s last night? I didn't... I love music, but over time my tastes have changed and I'm not much into the newer music. My friend Megan always thinks I'm insane because I don't know a Top 40 song. *shrugs* The way I find new music is to love a song that I hear on a television show or movie... then I figure out what it is and download the MP3. Like I fell in love with "Radioactive" hearing it on the commercials for The Host.
4. Share at least two skills that you possess. I'm normally very good with grammar and spelling. Most people that I work with ask me to proof anything they've written. The only time this goes out the window is if I'm typing really fast (on a roll with something or angry or excited) or if I don't proofread things... I'm also good with designing things like blogs and whatnot. I'm thinking I might be updating my blog layout soon. I like it, but it could be better. 
5. Share one thing that you wish you had the confidence to do. I wish I had the confidence (and the wallet) to quit my job and become a full-time writer. I love writing. I just never have the time with my job. It'd be so awesome to be able to write 24/7/365. I just don't know if I'm good enough to make a living doing that or if I need a job. *sigh*
6. Tell us about one insecurity that people might be surprised that you have. I'm not really sure... I have a lot of insecurities, but I think I've talked about them all at some point or another... weight, public speaking, making new friends... The last one I'm the most awkward with... I tend to over share because I want the conversation to keep going.
7. If you could be the CEO of any company, which one would you choose to lead? I would really like to operate a charitable organization of some sort... I love the idea of charities and giving. If I had to choose a profitable organization, I think I would probably choose... some kind of technology company. I'm a big technology nerd so it would be nice to 
8. List at least three hobbies that make you happy.  Watching television... I don't know if this is technically a hobby, but it's what I love doing most. I love being transported into a different world for a while... Same reason my second hobby is reading... and lastly writing... I have FOUR books in the works and I just don't know how to go about finishing them. LOL I wish I could come up with the ideas and co-write them with someone. I have a hard time tying things together.
9. Is there someone in your life that you wish you could say “I love you” to? No... everyone that I love, I've told so... they all know... I tell everyone I love them all the time.
10. Share one cool thing that happened over the weekend.  I received all of the donated items for my Ultimate Fan Competition over on my Supernatural website. I'm going to be (hopefully) posting the prize packs today or tomorrow. Everything kicks off Sunday at midnight and I'm so excited! I love that my staff members are telling me that they're impressed with my organization of this competition! Makes me happy!

Disappointment

I am beyond disappointed with myself. I weighed myself today for the first time in weeks. I haven't been binge eating, but I have been overeating. There is a difference. I was in control. I chose to eat like crap. I am up almost EIGHT pounds since the last time I weighed myself. I am at my highest weight EVER... it makes me sick. I need to get a handle on this before I gain anything else. I'm going to start off slow. For the next week I'm going to challenge myself to a few goals that mostly deal with my diet. After this, I have a plan in place for adding exercise back into my schedule starting in September.

Weigh In:

Starting Weight: 241.0

Last Week's Weight: N/A

This Week's Weight: 241.0

Weekly Change: ± 0.00

Total Change: ± 0.00

Goals for August 26th to September 1st:

• Log food intake each day via MyFitnessPal and stay at or below my calorie goal
• Drink 64 ounces of water each day, limit other beverage intakes
• Wear FitBit tracker each day
• Be in bed by 9:30 each night
• Wake up no later than 5:45 each morning
• The two above this are so I can train myself to wake up early enough to exercise before work as I know I will not want to work out once work is over each night. I'm not planning to add exercise into my schedule until September 1st.

Here's to hoping I can stick with this... 

Food Addiction

This Friday marks my very last Prozac dose. I'm very excited to be off of the medication and I'm very excited to be able to focus on getting healthy. For those of you who may not know, I was prescribed Prozac because compulsion runs in my family. My compulsion formed in an unhealthy relationship with food and I became a binge eater... a compulsive binge eater. I would sit and eat and eat and not be able to stop myself. My brain would tell me I needed things and not that I just wanted them... After 10 months on Prozac, I'm proud to say that I haven't had a single binge episode. I no longer feel the need to binge. If I have the urge, I am able to stop myself. It's empowering.

My next hurdle to tackle is food addiction. I am very much addicted to food. Addiction also runs in my family... there are a number of alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers, etc... My addiction is in the form of food.

I searched for food addiction online and came across an article...

Source

Signs of Food Addiction

Researchers at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Science & Policy have developed a questionnaire to identify people with food addictions.

Here's a sample of questions that can help determine if you have a food addiction. Do these actions apply to you? Do you:

• End up eating more than planned when you start eating certain foods
• Keep eating certain foods even if you're no longer hungry
• Eat to the point of feeling ill
• Worry about not eating certain types of foods or worry about cutting down on certain types of foods
• When certain foods aren't available, go out of your way to obtain them

The questionnaire also asks about the impact of your relationship with food on your personal life. Do these situations apply to you:

• You eat certain foods so often or in such large amounts that you start eating food instead of working, spending time with the family, or doing recreational activities.
• You avoid professional or social situations where certain foods are available because of fear of overeating.
• You have problems functioning effectively at your job or school because of food and eating.

The questionnaire asks about withdrawal symptoms. For example, when you cut down on certain foods (excluding caffeinated beverages), do you have symptoms such as:

• Anxiety
• Agitation
• Other physical symptoms

The questionnaire also tries to gauge the impact of food decisions on your emotions. Do these situations apply to you?

• Eating food causes problems such as depression, anxiety, self-loathing, or guilt.

• You need to eat more and more food to reduce negative emotions or increase pleasure.

• Eating the same amount of food doesn't reduce negative emotions or increase pleasure the way it used to.

I can answer yest to the majority of those questions. Addiction is frustrating to me. I hate when I don't feel in control of myself. Food addiction is different than other forms of addiction. I say this because alcoholics can avoid alcohol and take control of their addiction... same with drug addicts. Gamblers can abstain from going to casinos, horse races, or whatever they gamble on... Food addicts cannot abstain from eating food because food is needed to survive.

I really wish that there was an Overeaters Anonymous or a Food Addicts Anonymous around here where I could attend meetings. I cannot afford to see a psychologist or counselor for my addictions. I could see a nutritionist if I could get my doctor to refer me to see one...

I need reliability. I need someone to be there and to weigh and measure me and hold me accountable for all of my actions. What I really want to do is to organize a group that would meet once a month at my house or someone's house. We would do weigh ins each month with optional measurements. We would discuss our exercise for the prior month and our food struggles/successes. Basically it would be like a Weight Watchers meeting minus the expensive fees. It would be amazing if I could find a group that would do this! Maybe I will try to set something up!

Double Divas

Source

Have you all ever heard of the Lifetime television show Double Divas? It's about these two women Molly and Cynthia who are best friends and own a lingerie shop called LiviRae Lingerie near Atlanta, Georgia. They go around helping women find the right bra. They have bras in their shop from size AA to size N!!! Holy cow! I just became aware of the show earlier this week as I turned my TV on after work and Lifetime was on. I was immediately hooked. These southern girls are hilarious and very knowledgeable about bras and breasts. I'm amazed by them! I almost want to go to Georgia just to go to their shop! Anyway... one of the most interesting things I've learned is that 85% of women don't wear the correct size bra. I got bra fitted at Victoria's Secret a long time ago and was much thinner then. I was told I wore a 40DD then, but I didn't believe that! I wasn't that big! I ended up buying a bra that was a 38C or something like that and while I could fit in it... it wasn't comfortable.

I saw a clip on YouTube, I don't remember which one, where Molly and Cynthia were talking about some of the signs your bra doesn't fit correctly. I had several of them like: constantly pulling the band down in the back, the straps slipping off your shoulders, having to adjust your breasts inside of the cups because they move around, being able to push on the wire on the side of the breast and it move (it's not supposed to???), and a few other things. They also said that most women who think they wear a D, really wear a G. What? That doesn't sound right... I wear a D now... So, I found several online sites that tell you how to properly measure yourself to figure out your bra size. I did this and was shocked to find out that on all of them I was between a 42-44 G, I, or J!!! That is huge!!! I didn't know my boobs were that big!

Source

Yesterday I discovered that I broke the under wire on my only full-black bra. I have some black bras with designs, but sometimes you need a solid black bra. So, onto Lane Bryant's website I went. I wanted to see if they had any sales on bras. Their bras are expensive, but even when you think you wear a D, you need good bras. I found a cute bra that I liked (pic on the right) and put a solid black and cafe mocha both in size 42G in my cart. If I paid full price for these bras, I would be paying $88.50 ($44.25 each). However, they were running a buy one, get one 50% off deal AND an extra 30% off your entire cart. I got both bras for $47.26 before shipping and taxes ($23.63 each). Great deal! I put them on my Fashion Bug credit card... I know that I was complaining about my debt just yesterday, but bras are a necessity and I won't be buying any more any time soon... and I imagine I will probably be returning these because 42G just sounds really huge!

Also, on the debt front, last night I went on my Amazon account and my PayPal account and removed the cards that I could remove. For some reason, PayPal wouldn't let me remove one card because a transaction was pending... I didn't see any pending transactions! And I'm broke until I get paid tomorrow (and I'm not the only one on my Amazon account) so I left one card up on there in case anyone bought a book between now and then... or tried to... tomorrow I will be trying to remove those two cards again.

Your Thoughts:

• Ladies: Do you think you wear the correct bra size?