It's been a while

I know it's been a while. So much has happened. Here's a quick run down:

July:

I was offered a scholarship to return to school to pursue my dream of becoming a graphic designer.

August:

Started school full time and I've been neck deep in assignments ever since. I expect to graduate Summer 2014. I'm quite excited! I discovered Paul McKenna. Well sort of, I purchased his book a year ago and put it on the shelf and forgot about it.

Received T-Tapp exercise DVD set. Started my bootcamp. You can read more about the T-Tapp here.

September: Had to end my bootcamp because my left knee became so swollen I had to stay off of it.

October: My artwork was featured in the school main lobby! Yay!
My weight loss journey has been pretty stagnant since.
So life has been pretty crazy. One thing I can say is that while I haven't lost a major amount of weight I haven't gained any either. I've realized I'm a great maintainer! Yay me! I've learned that making little changes is what matters most. Here are some of the things that are a normal part of my life that never was in the past:

Drinking water when going out to eat
Parking farthest from the store/mall entrance. I no longer stalk people and it has been pretty liberating.
Eat when I'm hungry
Eat what I want
Stop eating when I'm full
Listen to my Paul McKenna CD daily or when stressed.

So my local gym is offering annual memberships for only $99.99 and I'm going to rejoin. It's not in the budget but getting hypertension or diabetes isnt in the budget either. I'll be listing some ribbon on ebay for the budget to allow for this expense. I'm quite excited to rejoin. While T-Tapp was working it put too much strain on my knees and I need to strengthen them before I restart T-Tapp.

Going to gym will allow me to get on the treadmill and relieve stress. In addition burn a few calories and catch up on Downton Abbey on my iPad. Have you watched that show? If not you should! Check it out on Netflix.

November

I joined the gym! I promised myself that I will lose 50-80 pounds this upcoming year. I've continued to attempt to balance school and home life. Moments were good while some moments were not so good. I'd studied like I never have before. I made possibly the best Thanksgiving turkey I've ever made and hosted one of the most fun-filled dinners ever.

December
I completed my first semester of graphic design school with straight A's!! Not bad for taking a 16 hour load plus being a mom!! I walked in the annual Christmas parade with my daughter's girl scout troop, got rained on, and loved every minute of it. I've decided to make some changes and changed the name of my blog and online name.

See lots have happened. I am going to blog here more. I know it's a poor excuse not to blog because of your blog name but hey, that's how I am! :-)

Another pound and inspiration

Hello everyone! I am proud to announce that I lost another pound!!! I'm now down to 231 pounds! Its been so long. I am so happy!!! I am now only 2 pounds away from my first milestone weight which is 229 lbs! I'm so happy! Now that I'm down to a weight that is motivating me to lose more. I thought I would search the web for some dresses to motivate me. In my search I found an article about a remarkable inspiring woman who lost 112 pounds and just won the Miss South Carolina pageant!

Her name is Bree Boyce. She is truly an inspiration!!! She lost her weight the old fashion way. Eating right and exercising. I was especially inspired because she would wake up at 5:30am to work out!!!! I can barely wake up at 7:00am for work! Anyway, she's really motivated me to get off my butt and get moving! I have been wanting to become a runner for the longest time because I think it would help me not only lose the weight but help me manage the stress in my life. That is one activity I want to be addicted to! I can start tonight when I go back to the gym. It's been 2 months since I've visited the good ole gymnasium. You know it's sad that I belong to not one but two gyms and I can barely make it to either of them. Well that is going to change tonight.

Another woman who currently inspires me is Catherine Middleton. I mean she is just stunning and I don't use that word for alot of people. This commoner has truly brought class to the royal family. I have to admit I don't get tired of viewing pictures of her and her smart sense of style.

Here are pictures of a couple of Lilly dresses I wouldn't mind seeing in my closet...



So I found the right opportunity this evening and headed straight to the gym! I did 15 mins on the treadmill and I did a mini version of the C25K program in those 15 mins. I think I am going to need to train 6 days a week to really get the blood pumping and the pounds melting. I did upper body weight training today. So tomorrow it will be all about the cardio. I am going to do weight training 3 days a week and cardio 3 days. I am still debating doing Chalean Extreme. I think I may stick to the gym for a while until I get bored with it. I'm curious to see how my body will change doing the Atkins Diet with exercise instead of just doing the diet by itself. I will keep you posted. I will also post before pictures when I am more comfortable publishing them online.

Tell me what you are doing. What motivates you? Is a style icon you like to follow or want to dress like? Post it in the comments! Good luck with YOUR journey!