It's Monday. Again.

Despite the current circumstances that are making me feel pretty blah, I attempted some fun this weekend.  I know life is short and I need to remember the good things. 

On Saturday, I went to a Syracuse football game.  They played Clemson so I knew it wasn't going to be a win for my team BUT I knew it would be fun.  I was lucky to be invited to a tailgate and the game by my friend Jill's family.  They know I'm a big SU fan, so they brought me along. 

I made treat bags (thanks to Angie for finding the tags on a blog for me) to hand out to fun people.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

And I did my best to make a dress for the event.  I like game day outfits and I thought it would be fun to make a t-shirt dress.  So I got a new shirt and attached it to a skirt, added some ribbon.  It wasn't EXACTLY like I planned but it was close enough.  I cut the original skirt apart and reattached it.  Poor construction but hey, it lasted through the day. 

The tailgate was fun.  This was the "bar" area. 

Apparently, I made friends with someone with glasses.  ha ha.

Inside the dome.  Game time.

I got home from the game and went to bed.  Because I signed up for a 10K on Sunday.  I haven't been training like I should in the last month or two.  Life has been crazy.  But I figured at the least I could run the 5K.  So I did that.  And I was pretty happy that with my lack of running, I was able to just go out and run the 5K.  It makes me feel like I didn't lose all the work I had been putting into running this summer.  This means I need to make running a priority again.  Plus, I got these new running kicks and they are too cute to be put in a closet.  They need miles on them...

 

It was a fun time and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things with running.

 

Oh, and everything else...

Out with the old...

About 2 months ago I said goodbye to a chapter of my life...my car.  The civic was my ride for 8 years.  I got it the first year I moved back here and paid it off the same month I moved into my current house.  It was good to me but it was time to move on.  It needed some work and facing my upcoming inspection, I decided it was probably better to invest in a new car instead.  I was a little sad to say farewell.

After some shopping around (and almost losing my mind and buying a used Mercedes) I decided to go with a 2013 VW Jetta.  She's pretty right?  Thanks, Oneonta Volkswagen/Audi!

Silver.  Sunroof.  Lovely.  Here is our first picture together.  When I bought the civic I had wanted a silver car with a sunroof but because I was in desparate need of a car that weekend I kind of settled on the color and features.  So I FINALLY got the car I wanted except I had wanted black this time.  Next time I want an Audi.  Just saying.

I don't believe in bumper stickers but I thought she could use a little personalization so I added a monogram.  In orange, of course.

And as it goes, I get a new car every time I make changes in my career so this marks another chapter...looking forward to the ride!

Bunny Shower

I haven't hosted an event in a long time. In about a year.  But my friend, Isabel is having another baby and I was glad to host a baby shower for her.  She has two little girls and this is a boy so she definitely needs some new baby swag.   She said the baby room was going to be Peter Rabbit so we went with that as the theme.  It was two weeks ago, and I think it turned out better than I expected. 

For the favor I (with the help of my friend, Sabrina) made carrots (cone shaped treat bags with cheese balls, topped with tissue paper and ribbon)

The table featured mums with a little chalkboard that read "Welcome to Mr. McGregor's Garden".  Added some little pumpkins, boo boo bunnies and the carrots and done.

 

The cake table

 

 I spent a lot of time making food.  I always worry that I don't have enough but it turned out that I had plenty.

The cake turned out so cute!!  I had it made at Price Chopper and all I had to do was provide them a picture.  They copied it on to a icing sheet.  Super cute.  The stuff on the table was donated by my friend at work.  She has a Peter Rabbit collection of figurines, plates and little books.  Definitely made it much cuter.

The table all set.  Of course I loved the pops of color... especially the orange!  :)

I don't love shower games but we played guess the bunny tails.

Isabel cutting the cake.

I gave her some Syracuse onsies.  Every baby needs those especially with basketball season coming up.

With the lovely mom-to-be.  She looks great and I think she liked the shower!  It was fun to plan it.  It's always worth it to try to make someone's day more memorable.  Now just can't wait to meet the little guy!

WWhat I've learned

No time like the present to jump back into blogging.  It's probably coming at a good time because I'm still trying to figure a bunch of stuff out in my life.  When I started this blog, I was looking to find a good outlet for creativity (or something like that).  Maybe I need that again.  It seems I got stuck somewhere along the way and lost much of my creativity (and let's face it) energy.  So in an attempt to figure stuff out again, I'm going to devote time to me.  As self indulgent as that sounds, I think it's time to document this new little self discovery period.  A lot has changed in my life in the last two years.  A LOT.  But I'll get there.  Consider this a version of How I Met Your Mother...the story will be told with some flashbacks and stories that are intertwined. 

So for today....

As I previewed yesterday in the things that have gone on since the last time I posted back in December, I've made some progress in my attempt to become fit and slim.  I had joined weight watchers 4 years ago and lost just about 50lbs.  But then 2 years ago, I kind of stopped trying and therefore became stuck at a certain point.  And THEN I fell in love, got my heart broken, had some family stuff happen, and all that bad stuff that pretty much knocked me down.  I totally stopped going to WW gained back about 30 of the 50 I had lost.  Boo.  Last summer I left my job and was trying to figure out a new plan for life.  I decided that I needed to go back to WW.  So I rejoined and had some progress through the fall.  I had probably lost about 20 lbs by December.  It felt good to be back on the right path.  Everything else felt so out of control in my life, that the best thing I could do was take control of this.  SO by this past spring, I decided that I needed to really FOCUS on losing and REALLY devote myself to it.  That meant a adding fitness routines in there too.  So at the beginning of March, I really kicked it into high gear.  I started out walking like 4 miles a day and gradually I started running (the couch to 10K program--it's amazing).  I saw some great results pretty quickly.  Since March 9th, I've lost 33.9.  So in addition to the 20 I had already lost, I'm currently at 53.9.   Which is great.  I have lost everything I put on during my WW hiatus AND then some putting me at the most I've lost to date.  I've got 20 more to go and I'll be at my official "goal" but I'm still hoping to get down more than that.  I'd like to hit the bottom of my BMI scale but I'll be happy to be at the goal too.  So what's the point of all this?  To give a shout out to Weight Watchers and share what I've learned along the way:

1.  I've learned that I would rather eat for fuel than for sport.  Seriously.  yes, that candy corn tastes great for a few minutes but it does nothing to really help.  (it's still delicious though)
2. I've learned that I can eat what I want in total moderation.  Bring on the wings and pizza just not 3 times a week.  I no longer feel guilty about eating.
3. I've learned that I adore running and being active again.  Activity points are wonderful!
4. I've learned that if I can't control others actions, I CAN control my own and what I put into my body.
5. I've learned that I no longer want to eat out as much.  I'd rather do other things with my friends than eating out.
6. I've learned that I don't need cream in my coffee and I don't need all that diet coke.
7. I've learned to hold myself accountable and track everything I eat.  It's the only way it works.
8. I've learned that I can say how much I weight out loud now, even if it's not the number I want yet, I should feel good about it.  I've come a long way.  It's just a number.  It doesn't define my body.
9. I've learned that I aspire to being a WW leader after I hit goal because I want to help other people figure it out and feel good about their bodies.
10. I've learned that it's a work in progress.  There will be bad moments, weeks, months on this plan but I can always keep moving forward and not look back.

And then there's the shallow portion of this post.  I've found that losing a significant amount of weight creates some good problems to have.  For one, none of my clothes fit me anymore.  Goodbye to the XL's and size 14 (and sometimes 16)  that I had been living in for awhile.  Especially with the change of seasons.  Shorts from last summer were no good and now fall clothes that I adored just a year ago are not gonna cut it anymore.  I am in no way complaining, BUT it's expensive to have to buy ALL new stuff.  Even my workout clothes took a hit.  I know, I know, it's a good problem but tell that to my wallet.  But a girl needs to have proper work attire.  And I DO love me some clothes.   I'll admit it's been a lot more fun to shop in a size 8/10 for the first time in a long time.  And the first time you realize that you're now trying on mediums and smalls, it's pretty exciting.  I know that sizing on clothing is NOT important because it's how you wear it that counts, BUT I do get excited about a different size.  I should be able to celebrate that.  It is difficult to really see your own weight loss because you live in your body and it's hard to recognize the changes, so this is my way of recognizing the changes. 

And because I am a crazy selfie taker (sorry to the instagram followers) lately, I found a bunch that I took as I have updated my outside. I do put them into my project 365 calendar so I can record my progress and outfits.  :)  I figured I'd share my new looks here too.  I hope I don't regret that later...

 

A Saturday night out with friends.  Shorts with heels was the theme this summer.

 

I discovered that I love shorts again...with a belt. 

 

Same shorts as above but the shirt is a junior medium.  a minor accomplishment.  And I no longer care about how fat I think my arms are. 

 

See how I loved shorts this summer.  A denim vest is my new jam.

 

dressing rooms are fun. and so is this dress.

not the greatest example but I promise this outfit got compliments the day I wore it.

My favorite pinterest inspired outfit yet.  A new denim jacket and a little black dress.  Simple and fun.

A wool skirt and a sheer black shirt.  I wore it with black tights and slouchy boots that day but didn't take a picture of it. 

 

I don't usually prefer to wear jeans but I got these skinny jeans and I love them!  Sheer polka dot top and some heels really sassed it up.

Another jeans outfit.  My room was a wreck that day.

polka dot pants and a now over sized sheer top with a scarf.  I don't wear pants often but love these.

Going for a warm fall day look.  complete with a ribbon in the hair.

My favorite find was this Betsey Johnson dress for $22.  Thank you, TJ Maxx.

And here's the OOTD.  Red dress and a sock bun. 

It's been a fun journey so far.  Weight watchers has taught me a lot about myself and I'm really glad I can share it here.  I'm looking forward to more success and many more outfits to come. 

I'll be working on the inner peace too, but that's a whole different story for a different day...

Wait for it...

I forgot about my blog.  I forgot about a lot of things in 2013.  But I'm still here.  Alive.  Doing stuff.  You know...blah, blah, blah.  Since my last post was my birthday and I read what I had written, I figured I'd share what's been up since then.  Picture style.

Rang in the new year with some friends.

 

Went to a very important Syracuse game in February.

 

Went to an Oscar party.

 

Worked many hours at Bath and Body Works.

 

Celebrated Easter type stuff with friends.

 

Watched the Orange go to the final four.  This was taken at half time.  Before the loss and a really bad end to the night.

 

Started running in the spring.  Completed a few 5Ks in the early summer.

 

Worked at the fabric shop a few more times before I started my new job at the other college in town (and my alma mater)

 

Made it to one of the Blues Trains.  It's been awhile and it was really fun to do that again.  I've missed it.

Celebrated Sabrina's birthday at a craft/wine night.

Bought a new car.  Finally.


Golfed with my favorite golf buddy.

Got to hang out with cute kids.

Celebrated Matteo's first birthday!

Attended a lovely wedding.

Hosted a baby shower for a friend.

Celebrated another friend's birthday.

Lost 53 pounds and counting. 

 

Trying to embrace the changing colors of the fall.  The season is changing in so many ways and I'm hopeful that the rest of the year will bring good stuff. 

 

Hope I'm not gone as long as before.  Stay tuned.

D9

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday with one of my favorite people, my Dad. At a Bills football game. It was such a fun day! And a great way to kick off my next year. I hope it's a year of many great changes and experiences surrounded by people that I love and that love me. I'm thankful for some of the struggles I've had this past year because it's leading me to where I need to go. I'm going to embrace the uncertainty and just live each day with the intention to be kind to others, to be true to myself, and to have no regrets.

Cheers to a new year in my life!