Recurring Series

Virtual Coffee Date

It’s Friday! How about we prepare for this holiday weekend with a virtual coffee date? I’m drinking a steaming hot cup of coffee, sweetened with creamer and a dash of sugar. Let’s dive right into our chat, yeah?

If we were having a coffee today… I would begin by talking about the DietBet I’m currently participating in. You guys! It is going so well. The biggest change I have made is with my exercise. After struggling for months and months and months with finding the motivation to exercise, I’ve been getting up early every day like it ain’t no thing. I don’t even struggle to get out of bed when my alarm goes off at 5am. I just get up! Like I’m some badass workout queen or something! I think committing myself to this DietBet and having accountability in our Facebook group has been instrumental. Plus! I’ve been tracking in MyFitnessPal every single day since the ‘Bet started. In the morning, I simply input all the food I’m going to eat for the day, so that way I have a plan for my eating & I don’t have to open the app every single time I eat something. I find this system works best for me. I have my second weigh-in tomorrow and I’m crossing my fingers I see a loss. (I’m so paranoid I’ve gained!)

If we were having coffee today… I would also mention how I’m thinking of buying a heart rate monitor – and probably ask if you have a good recommendation for one! I’ve wanted to get one for months, but I’ve kept putting it off, but now that I’m counting calories, I think it would be super useful. Not only would it give me a slightly more accurate number than what MFP tells me, but it would help me to see how hard (or not hard!) I am working out, to make sure I’m always getting the fullest potential of my workouts.

If we were having coffee today… I would tell you how excited I am to leave on my cruise two weeks from Sunday! I haven’t been on a proper vacation since around this time last year, so I am well overdue. Every time I think about being on a ship again, I get so excited. I’ve mentioned it so many times, but cruising is truly my favorite way to vacation and I just can’t wait to get away.

If we were having coffee today… I would probably discuss the fact that I’ve decided to disable my online dating profiles for the time being. There are multiple reasons why I decided on this, but the biggest reason is that I really want to take the time to focus on myself right now. My biggest priority currently is my health and losing weight, and I don’t want anything to take my focus or attention away from that. I’m just at a point in my life where I can be completely selfish with my time and energy, and dating is not something I feel like extending those to.

If we were having coffee today… we would most likely talk about Easter and I would admit that I have no idea what my family is doing! My mom’s fiance is coming back to town after being on the road since early January, so we may end up doing what we did last year – going to church & then grilling out. That sounds A-OK to me!

If we were meeting for a coffee date, what would you like to tell me? What are your plans for the Easter weekend?

Categories: Recurring Series

Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow

Happy Friday! This week has felt very long to me, for some reason. (I said many curse words when I woke up on Thursday morning and realized it wasn’t Friday.) But it’s been a good week and I’ve had a great start to the first few days of my DietBet. Yay! Let’s ease into the weekend with a fun “yesterday, today & tomorrow” post, yeah?

Yesterday, I…

Woke up early to work out. My plan was to do 30 minutes of cardio, followed by 15-20 minutes of strength training, but I didn’t get started early enough to do both, so just did this elliptical interval workout I found on Pinterest, which was killer.
Listened to the latest Joy the Baker podcast while getting ready for work. My new thing is listening to podcasts while I’m getting ready for the day and it is my favorite! (Joy and Tracy make me giggle so much!)
Had the worst time focusing at work. Sometimes, I can whip through my writing easy as pie, and other days, it’s a struggle to write even one page of content. I was aiming to write 10 pages and only managed 8.
Scheduled one of my cruise excursions! This is the first time my mom & I are trying an excursion that is not offered through the cruise line, but Carnival is lacking in fun, inexpensive excursions for the Bahamas. So, yesterday, I put down a deposit to spend the day at a resort! We’ll have free rein of their beach, pool, and bar area, use of kayaks and floats, as well as a $40 voucher each to spend on food and drinks. Spending the day laying by the pool and beach, sipping fruity drinks? Sign me up!
Had an unsatisfying meal at Panera (I had their smoked turkey sandwich with a side salad and kettle chips and it did not fill me up!), so I came home and made popcorn, which was intensely satisfying. And polished it off with a Paleo chocolate-covered cookie dough bite!

Today, I…

Woke up early (my fifth day in a row!) to exercise. Finding the motivation to exercise has been directly related to adding it to My Fitness Pal and gaining extra calories for the day. I try not to use them if I can, but it’s nice to have that buffer as staying at 1,200 calories a day is very hard for me. (Though to be honest, I am typically more concerned about staying within my limits for fat, carbs, sugar, and protein.)
Have an easy day of work ahead of me: writing two pages of content and proofing a coworker’s pages. Yay, Friday!
Will have taco leftovers for lunch. I am really, really excited about this. (Too excited?)
Will take a nap. Because Fridays are for napping, amiright?
Will meet with my writing friend at Starbucks to spend a few hours working on my WIP. Tonight, I plan on doing a lot of work on my plot, a character analysis, and my book blurb.

Tomorrow, I will…

Weigh in for the DietBet! All I need to lose this week is 1.7 lbs, but I’m hoping to lose more to build a buffer. (I’m a little afraid that I won’t be able to keep this motivation up for three more weeks!)
Try to catch up on DVR recordings. Oh, I am so behind on The Blacklist, Parenthood, Nashville, Scandal, The Mindy Project, etc. I am really looking forward to a day spent on the couch, snuggling with Dutch and watching TV. (My life. It is exciting.)
Attempt to find a wide-brimmed sun hat for my cruise. I know, I know. It’s a little dorky to have a sun hat but I don’t care. I want one because I think they’re cute and my scalp tends to burn really easily (and I always forget to apply sunscreen there!) and it’ll keep me cool (as in temperature-wise, not fashion-wise. I know that.).
Wash and vacuum my car. It is so dirty that it’s a little embarrassing. (Okay, a lot embarrassing!)
Enjoy my cheat meal! I have been looking forward to my cheat meal all week and I can barely handle myself. It’s the little things, sometimes. (Say what you want about cheat meals – I find they work for me!)

What is one thing you did yesterday, did today, and will do tomorrow?

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in April

Feeling… worried about my poor sick pup! Over the weekend, my mom made him homemade dog treats (coconut oil cubes & “Beggin’ Strips”) because we’ve noticed he’s been having an issue with dry skin again. Currently, he gets regular oatmeal baths every 4-6 weeks and we started feeding him a grain-free pet food that’s good for dogs with sensitive skin, which has really helped. But the last time he was given a bath (we take him to PetSmart because it’s just easier and the girl who takes care of him loves him to bits and pieces), she mentioned he had dry skin again and sure enough, he’s been itching a ton lately! So we wanted to switch him over to all-natural, grain-free pet treats, too. (We currently feed him “junky” treats, like Beggin’ Strips and Snausages. It’s bad, I know!) Long story long, my mom made homemade pet treats and Dutch’s sensitive stomach did not handle it well. Let’s just say we had to get out the steam vacuum to clean up our carpets. Yep. Very fun. So! We’re going to try giving him actual dog treats (all natural) which I think his stomach will handle a bit better. We may try giving him the coconut oil cubes again, but in a smaller dosage, and after he’s feeling better. I think those would really help his dry skin!

Reading… The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. I just started it yesterday and I’m less than 50 pages in, so I don’t have much of an opinion yet. It’s this month’s pick for book club and everyone on Goodreads has nothing but great things to say, so I just hope I love it as much as everyone else does!

Watching… Crisis! Is anyone else watching this show? I am hooked. The premise is that a bus full of high school students gets kidnapped and nearly every kid on the bus has an influential parent. (The President’s son, a senator’s daughter, etc.) And the kidnappers are forcing these parents to do something illegal to get their kids back. (There’s some sort of conspiracy plot, or something, related to these illegal incidents, I think, but that hasn’t been revealed yet.) The FBI is involved, but the kidnappers always seem to be one step ahead of them. It’s such a good show and I look forward to it every week!

Anticipating… starting my first sewing project! I am honestly the last person you would ever think to tackle a sewing project, but a good friend (my writing partner, in fact!) hosts a fun “Stitch & Bitch” sewing group every Thursday and invited me to come along and learn how to sew. I decided, why the hell not, it’s not like I have this super busy life and couldn’t handle another hobby/social group. So in a few weeks’ time, I’m going to attempt my first sewing project (I’m thinking of a pillow?) to see how I like it.

Planning… to start coloring my hair myself. The whole reason I went back to brunette in October was that being blonde was expensive. It was easily costing me upwards of $100 every 6-8 weeks to keep my roots fresh. Well. I went to my hair salon on Friday to get my color freshened up and it cost me $84! Eighty. Four. Freaking. Dollars. That’s ridiculous. So, it’s time I start coloring my hair myself. I’ve done it once and it turned out just fine, but I always worry I am going to royally screw the dye job up and wind up with awful-looking hair. (Any tips? Best brand to buy?)

Wishing… that these next few weeks would fly by! My cruise is 25 days away and this time four weeks from now, my mom and I will be relaxing poolside in the Bahamas, sipping fruity drinks and enjoying the island breeze on our skin. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Wondering… if I should hit “check out” with the items currently sitting in my Loft.com shopping cart. I am in desperate need of new work clothes, but I keep putting off shopping because a) I have a little thing called debt I’m trying to take care of and b) I want to lose weight. Well, this mentality can serve me well in some cases, but it comes down to the fact that I have one nice pair of well-fitting dress pants (and I “get away” with wearing a pair of black Old Navy skinny jeans most days, but those are quickly getting worn out and faded) and a bunch of shirts that are losing shape. Right now, I have a pair of dress pants and a cute blouse sitting in my shopping cart and I think I’m going to bite the bullet and buy them because a) they are a necessity and b) they’re having a sale that is kinda too good to pass up!

Loving… sunshine, being more social, homemade egg sandwiches for breakfast, chocolate-covered espresso beans, getting back into an exercise routine, playing with sting rays at the marine aquarium, and having funny conversations with coworkers.

What are you reading, anticipating, and wishing for currently?

Categories: Recurring Series

Three Things Thursday

Happy Thursday! Is it just me or is this week taking fooooorever? It’s been a long one for me, with social plans almost every night. (But all good, fun things so I can’t complain!) Lisa posted a fun “three things Thursday” post last week that I loved so much, I wanted to do the same. Enjoy!

Three confessions:

I really hate massages. The two massages I have had have been the most painful experiences of my life and not enjoyable in the least. Maybe my body is just too sensitive? I don’t know, but it just hurts and I spend the hour trying not to cry from the pain. Not. Fun.
I only type with my index fingers. I’m a fast typer (around 79 WPM, if you’re wondering), and I do it all by only using my index fingers. BOOYA!
I get irrationally angry when I hear of people not loving books that I love. (You should hear the reaction I gave when a friend told me she didn’t like Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. A friend recorded it. It’s epic.)

Three things that made me happy this past week:

A full week of social plans
Daily emails with Linda about dating (she gets me!)
Seeing Divergent with friends on Monday (I loved it!)

Three favorite tweets:

“Here’s what writing is: going over and over the same sentences and phrases, until they are not as bad and fraudulent as they were before.” – Anne Lamott
“I heard a bird chirp and thought it was a ringtone.” – Maude Apatow
“Ski jumping feels like less of an Olympic sport & more like something a super villain makes you do if your family doesn’t pay the ransom.” – Jon Acuff

Three great podcasts everyone should listen to:

The Lively Show
Joy the Baker
The Jillian Michaels Show

Three bucket list items:

Travel to Europe
Go skydiving
Get married

Three U.S. cities I want to visit:

New York City
Chicago
Washington D.C.

Three TV shows I can’t stop obsessing over:

The Voice (I love Adam & Blake’s relationship more than any other relationship in the entire world.)
Scandal (Can I just say that I would feel 100% comfortable with Olivia Pope running our country? Because I would.)
Hell’s Kitchen (This show is such a train wreck but I can’t stop watching!)

Three movies I want to see:

American Hustle
Frozen (my nephew is coming over Saturday – maybe I can convince him to watch this with me?!)
The Hunger Games (and Catching Fire because I’m nothing if not behind on pop culture)

Three favorite pins:

Spelling matters #someecards #funny

A good reminder for the bad days of singleness.

Three things I’m looking forward to this year:

My cruise (31 days!)
Paying off more debt (and upping my credit score!)
More weekends in Orlando

What three things made you happy this week? What three U.S. cities do you want to visit?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five For Friday (v. 32)

1) I joined a new dating website. Sorta. It’s called HowAboutWe.com. Has anyone heard of it? It’s touted as the “offline dating site” where people submit date ideas and if the date and/or person seems interesting to you, you tell them you are “intrigued.” I don’t know what happens from there because it’s not a free website – you have to pay to message with people and set up dates. (Anywhere from $12 to try it for a month or $60 to try it for a year.) But I really love the concept. I’ve been feeling a bit disenchanted by OK Cupid lately. I feel like I waste so much time and effort getting to know these guys – spending weeks and weeks messaging and texting, only to go on a date and not feel anything. I’d rather get that date over first and be able to move on! (Does anyone feel me on this?) I may pay the $12 fee to use it for one month, just to see what it’s all about and put myself out there.

2) Who else got an email from Amazon about getting a Kindle credit, due to their antitrust settlement? I was pretty excited to see I got an $18.50 credit to my account! I guess that year I spent over $650 on Kindle books wasn’t for naught! (Yes, that happened. No, I’m not proud of it.)

3) On Saturday, Dutch had his yearly teeth cleaning and his biyearly comprehensive exam. He had no issues with his teeth cleaning (still has all his teefers!) and all his blood work came back fine. He is developing cataracts, which is something my mom and I have already noticed. (My nephew says he has “bad guy eyes!”) He seems to get around just fine, but there are times when he’s looking for me and can’t find me and get scared, which is really sad and heartbreaking. But he runs up and down our stairs like they ain’t no thing. And for a 12-year-old pup, to come back with clean blood work results? I couldn’t ask for anything more.

4) I’m joining a DietBet for April! My friend Amber is hosting one that starts April 7th and ends May 4th (the Friday before I leave on my cruise! Hello, perfect timing!). I’ve never done a DietBet before, but have always wanted to so I’m excited to begin. In this DietBet, we have to lose 4% of our starting weight in 4 weeks, which amounts to around 7 lbs for me. Totally doable! If you’d like to join, there’s plenty of time! Go here and sign up.

5) Happy, happy, happy Friday! This week has been long, a bit stressful, but I am ending it on a high note and that’s all I can ask for. My weekend plans involve knocking off some pesky to-do’s (like washing and vacuuming my car and dropping off a bag of clothes at Goodwill), and I’m hoping to fit in a shopping trip (I’m on the hunt for a shoe organizer, as well as some dress pants for work and a swimsuit cover-up!).

Happy weekend! Any fun weekend plans for you?