Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. - Wordsworth

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This weekend has been pretty great. Probably not for weightloss! But in general ;). It's true, my diet these past few days has been sprinkled with things like cupcakes and tortilla chips & gaucamole or chili cheese dip, lol. Ah well. I haven't stepped on the scale again yet but my body feels like it is tightening up overall. My sides feel less mushy, my arms have a LOT more muscle & tone. All good things. Today is day 11 I think! Workout 1 again. I'm excited to finish up this first two weeks. Starting Thursday next week I begin workouts 3 & 4 and I'm very interested to see if I will be incredibly sore all over again after day 1 of those!!

Anywho... Bobby and I have been thinking more seriously about where he is going to be applying for teaching jobs. He does have a connection in Erie, but if that doesn't pan out, I think we will be heading south.

He has a few family members down there that may be able to give us valuable information on where we should be looking into relocating. An aunt, one of his dads cousins. His aunt lives in Rock Hill, SC and the cousin lives in Cary, NC. However... he is also thinking about Georgia. I am okay with any of these options, though I think i'd rather live in northern SC or southern NC. :) We don't want to live TOO close to the coast, but maybe no more than an hour drive or so.

His parents have been very sweet and supportive. His dad took a moment last night as we were pouring over the resources to say that he is completely supportive with us packing up and taking off, because he understands that is what we will probably have to do in order for Bobby to get a job, make a good living.

It's nice to hear, even if that is the way it should be. I know my mom will throw a fit! She wants to see her grandbabies on the regular LOL. 

Anyway though... It's very unsettling for me to think about, because this may happen before our wedding even happens. Can you imagine? This entire time i've been lusting throughout this long engagement for our wedding and before it even arrives we might move entirely out of state? 

And if we move down south or even to Erie, we will probably buy a house rather than get into an apartment. So I may not ever live in the apartment i've been dreaming of or any apartment at all. It's very weird to think about!!!

I really wouldn't mind living down south. I will be a much shorter drive to disney world : ) 

The most interesting thing about life is that it hardly ever follows your own plans for it. I would have preferred more time for ourselves before starting a family... but since I want to be done with babies by 32 or so, we really won't have THAT much time to get crackin'.  I'll be 27 when we're married. And then Bobby wants to get his masters, and we want to wait for kids until after that time. I think by two years of marriage we will be ready for kids, but honestly it sucks for me to think that he will be going to school during those 2 years. Because they won't feel exclusively ours.... It will always be something though, isn't that right?

God is probably laughing at these plans. But I feel that if things go the way we're seeing them, we'll be starting a family when I'm 29. 

But honestly. My biggest question mark right now is where in the world will we be next spring??? He finishes this December, and this Fall he will be sending his resumes every which way.

So a lot of "where" depends on "who" ... Who calls him back.

Alright that was a huge mind dump... but yes. I have to get my workout done now. Have a great Sunday!

=)

I really just could not think of a subject, ha! Well folk, total weight loss for week one of Body Revolution was 2 lbs! I would have looooved for it to be more, but a loss is a loss! (And i'm not exactly 17 day dieting it up here). Also, I am gaining a LOT of muscle tone. My thighs, my arms most notably. 

But the best part is that overall I just feel STRONGER. This was day 8 and I can tell you my stability has definitely improved from Day 1. I'm trying to add in more of the dumb bell action that she makes the buff men do as an advanced move :) I'm working with 5lb weights right now. Initially I was only working with 3's and boy do I feel the difference now!! 

I think the best part about this program, the part that really makes me happy I purchased it, is the fact that I go to bed excited to wake up every morning so that I can work out.

I push myself for those 30 minutes and then I'm done. She says "Now bring this energy to the rest of your day!" and I take it to heart. I really feel better. Consistent exercise in general? Yeah, likely. But I think it's the fact that I know I'm working toward harder and harder workouts. It's really motivating. I want to be able to perform in those later phases, so I need to get my butt moving in these earlier ones to give myself the strength and endurance I need. 

I made the inspiration board. I've got motivational images and messages staring me in the face every time I sit at this desk/ do my daily workout. It really helps you push through those reps that make you want to say "enough!" : )

My best friend is starting it on Monday and I can't wait to hear what she thinks of it :)

Now I'm gonna dye my hair and give myself a manicure! LOL. Happy almost-friday :)

An amazing Tuesday???? & Body Revolution Day #5

Today was amazing. Not just because it was day five of my program and because tomorrow is my rest day, but because I got the first pay that reflects my raise (woo woo!) AND I made it out of work by 5:30. 

On a Tuesday.

A Tuesday!!! I had the paper built in no time today and even with some setbacks, I still had all of them sent to the printer by 5:30. HOW... how did everyone else stay so late?

I'm sure I will have my days when things take longer, esp. considering the special tabs we do and the fact that the paper really gets bigger through the summer/fall. But I can't see myself ever being there until 10 or 11 like Kaitlan used to be.

Ah well. I'm just glad I got home early and was pumped to work out! I've never been so enthusiastic about a workout program before. I think it's because this one is seriously structured, she makes it so easy to follow  and it's Jillian, so it doesn't seem as scary as P90x or something like that. And 30 minutes? Hell yeah I've got thirty minutes if it'll get me a better, healthier body :)

I weigh myself tomorrow! SCARED! Again, not following her diet plan that comes with the program, but trying to be careful nonetheless. 

I'll let ya know :)

I did have a really healthy/yummy dinner. I toasted two pieces of whole grain bread and put some of that laughing cow cheese on one slice, and then I laid some avocado down on another slice and topped it with a slice of tomato. Sprinkled some salt and pepper, slapped the bread together and it was an awesome sandwich!  Had a 100 cal. yogurt afterward.

I also caught up on the last two episodes of Pan Am. If any of you follow it, I really think Amanda is either faking being pregnant, or she had someone/is planning to have someone else knock her up. Because she did say to Laura "You won't have it with Teddy" ... and I think that was her coniving way of making sure of it. Damn the woman! I love Laura and Ted together! 

I see good things for Colette and Dean though... :)

Body Revolution Day #3

Holy crap!! I literally just finished today's workout (btw, i'm not doing the kickstart. just don't have the schedule for it!) Which was Cardio 1.

It's amazing. I love that these week 1 workouts are simple enough that you can actually do the moves but they STILL kick your butt.  I seriously loved todays workout. She is such a great motivator in this series!! She was good in 30DS too, but much more so in this one : )

I promised myself I wouldn't weigh myself but once a week, but I cheated and stepped on the scale this morning. I've lost almost 2 lbs since the 16th. Haven't been following her meal plan, but still trying to keep my calorie intake around 1200.

And I was so sore yesterday I didn't even think I was going to be able to work out today. But once you get going, you don't even notice it anymore!! I can't wait to see how my strength and endurance improves into week 2. 

Today I'm going to be dropping off some mary kay orders and then spending the evening with my man! His parents called me this morning from columbus (we got them blake shelton tix for xmas) and they LOVED the show last night and asked me to look up information for the c-bus zoo for them, lol. I love them. They don't get a chance to have weekends like these very often, so I'm very happy they are enjoying themselves!

Have  great weekend!!!

Body Revolution Day One!

Started the program today, I love it so far. The first couple weeks are supposed to be fairly easy. I felt like the first workout is very similar to 30 Day Shred, but a little more fast paced. I was able to do a lot of the advanced moves so that's good! 

The meal plan is hard. You're supposed to stick to a 1200 cal. diet. 250 for breakfast, 400 for lun, 150 for a snack and another 400 for dinner. She does have amazing recipies in her meal plan book that comes with the program, but it's too difficult to attempt with my schedule at the momet. Will be much eaier when Bobby and I live together!

But anyway, in lieu of the meal plan I'm going to try to stick to my 17 day diet type of meals. Not exactly, I will add in carbs like wraps and potatoes, but try to stick with the absence of sugar and mostly eating protien & veggies : )

Here are some photos from Valentines Day! Mine was perfect : ) Bobby got me the sweeper i've been wanting! LOL... he also got me flowers, chocolate covered strawberries and he made a rose out of clay.  I got him some sculpting books and clay. Ha. 

Tonight I'm gonna make my "Inspiration Board" and clean up a little. And hopefully do my nails!! I'm beat though. I suck at waking up early to exercise haha. It will get better... : )

time for a revolution!

Alright, well to start... here are my "minnie nails"

I seriously love this manicure. Hard to tell in the photo, but it came out so shiny and gorgeous and it just cheers me up when I catch a glance of them driving down a gloomy winter highway or something yaknowhaitimean?

OK here is some exciting news! Last Wednesday (the 8th) I ordered Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. It's basically her version of p90x or something. 90 day program, comes with a resistance band and a meal plan and a journal and bla bla bla. But the workouts are only 30 mins a day just like her 30 Day Shred workouts, which is the only amount of extra time I am willing to wake up early for to get my workout in before work, lol!

The before and afters of the test group are really, really encouraging. I am SO EXCITED to do this!!! I know as long as I stick with it, it will be the solution to my problems.

I'm waiting very impatiently for it to arrive. 

In other news... it's not really news but it's the lately... Bobby and I are super excited to get to Cleveland for the weekend. It's going to be SO FUN to get away. We promised eachother that 1. He won't get nervous and not enjoy himself getting around to the various places he's never been (It's a man thing... they all do this!) and 2. I won't let the anxious excitement to get to A or B make me snappy or impatient. 

If we follow through on those promises I know we will be okay, haha! I just want it to be very laid back and relaxed. If we don't make it to one of our scheduled stops, so be it. Next time.

Our plans so far are like this:

Thursday 
- Grab breakfast and hit the road! Probably Dunkin or similar.
- Lunch @ Melt
- Shopping! Either at Legacy Village or Beachwood Mall
- Dinner @ Bahama Breeze

Friday
- Breakfast undecided... we'll have stuff in our room though
- Museum of Art!
- Light lunch undecided
- Dinner @ Cleveland Improv Comedy Show (can't wait to see this!)

Saturday
- Breakfast undecided
- Shopping! (again, either Legacy or Beachwood Mall.. whichever one we didn't get to on Day 1)
- Lunch @ Red Robin (there is one near our hotel and we've never tried it before)
- RELAXATION!!
- Dinner @ Melting Pot

Sunday
- Breakfast somewhere yummy and then home! 

If we get all our shopping done our first day, I might just move the Museum visit to Saturday because that and the comedy show in one day might be too much. I'm not sure yet! Sounds like a solid idea either way though, we'll see how we feel when we're there.

I know it's corny but I'm excited for Valentines Day. I am excited to give Bobby his gifts. We're celebrating Monday since Tuesday is my long day at work and his long day at school.

We'll be going to Longhorn for dinner (I know... but we've never been there and I want to try it! haha!) and then going to see One for the Money. I am SO EXCITED about this movie!!! I've read all the Stephanie Plum novels and believe me when I say, they are a delight. I mean, they're not literary works of art, but they are quick easy reads that will make you laugh. I just can't say enough good about them. I never ever pictured Katherine H as Stephanie though.... I pictured someone more like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality. But we'll see.. going with an open mind. Janet Evanovich didn't have a say in the actress they picked, but she was super pleased with the way it turned out.

This weekend was spent catching up on the Twilight films (2 and 3) which I surprisingly enjoyed, and the final Harry Potter films P1 & we still have P2 to watch. I also got Cars 2 and a free rental, Everything Must Go. I might stop in later and see if they have any of the Breaking Dawn P1 left... it was released last night at midnight! 

The Twilight series (books) hold a special place in my heart because I was reading them when I started falling for Bobby. I listened to the soundtrack of the first movie ALL THE TIME. And supermassive black hole reminded me of him. LOL!!

Alright... gonna end this mind dump. Have a Happy Sunday!

daily nuggets...

- First Tuesday sending paper went without a snag. I was done within 20 minutes!!

- Really want to paint my nails with china glaze poinsetta to do a minnie design to match my new sweater... but gonna give them a break for a couple days (if I last that long). I want to do For Audrey to go with the teal print shirt!! 

- SO EXHAUSTED. And not enough exericse latey. Gotta change that!!!!

- Can't wait for my raise to kick in.

- Ate middle eastern food at Aladdins for the first time last night! It was sublime! I got the hummus plate with shawarma. And thank god my server suggested "hot sauce" ... it wasn't even hot, it was just ..... freakin' divine. SO GOOD!!!!! It was basically shredded beef over their amazing hummus with diced tomatoes and pine nuts. Could have been hotter though (temp wise...) was a little off-putting at first but the flavors were so good I didn't let it bother me for too long. Bobby got a kibbi plate and we shared falafel as an appetizer. Shocker: was not as in love with that as i've always dreamed I would be!! AND WE ATE CAKE FOR DESSERT.

- I have a pre-trip report on the DISBOARDS going for our honeymoon at Disney/DCL. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2825775

- Getaway weekend in 37 days!!!! We're going to see comedian Gary Owens at the Cleve. Improv. while we're there... can't wait!!!

 

you can count me with the dreamers

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was grab my phone and check my bank account. Sure enough my return was deposited - YAY! I was hoping for it but not expecting it, but there it was!! That's how it happened with my state return too, woke up on a Saturday morning, checked and it was there LOL.

Anyway, the first thing I did was put some into my savings. Then I placed a Mary Kay order I've been needing to place. After that I ordered Bobbys Valentines present because I found it last night and was waiting until payday to purchase it.  Then I got ready to go to the mall, because if there is one thing I need, it's clothes.

I found a few cute tops in Forever 21 and I also found a couple cute ones at target. Got some cute jewelry in Forever 21 also.

 

 

Loved those doves or whatever they are! The studs are super blingy,  I thought they were super fun.

 

 

it's one of those over-sized sweaters with the neckline cut out that makes it sort of boatneck/shoulder baring. It will look cute with black bra straps/tank straps to go underneath. At Target I also found some cute red shiny flats that will go good with this top. Forgot to take a photo of those.

 

 

I *love* the look of this shirt on me, I love the fabric and the way it sits. It's very flattering. However, I didn't notice the problem with the pattern on the arms until I took this pic. It's kind of where it won't show when it's on, because it's under the arms. I didn't notice it AT ALL in the store and it's so hard to find things twice at Forever 21, so I don't think I'll bother trying to exchange it. It really is barely noticable when you're wearing it. I am assuming it's not supposed to be that way though, lol.

 

 

I thought this was soooo cute =)

That's all for Forever 21. At target I got this first shirt today and the black oversized one is something I found for $4 when I was at a differen Target with Bobby last night. I actually really like those types of shirts, something I never would have guessed. I snatched it up only because it was so cheap and had the french reference :)

 

 

 

My powder rubbed off a little when I tried it on! Woopsies! I got it off though. ;)

 

So as for my news regarding the previous post, I did indeed get a raise and part of the graphics job. My manager and I are going to split the duties, allowing me to still manage Editorial and the admin girl will learn how to take over for me when I'm not there. In addition to my regular duties I'll work a solid 40 hours a week and I'll be the one sending the papers, updating the web and classifieds probably, and I will do ads that my manager doesn't have time for. SO it's a 30% increase after the raise and extra hours, which I really can't complain about.

I got really excited at first and decided I would definitely be moving out, but Bobby has already talked me out of it once again. Even with all my credit cards paid off, after every mandatory expense I really only have a bit of money left over. $100. It would of course, be more, if Bobby could help with rent or some of the other bills, but he just can't right now. ONE of us has to save for the wedding.

SIGH. I will say though, it is nice having money again. With my raise, plus the big bill I finished paying off last year, I have an extra $678 a month to play with. It's making a huge difference. The raise is why I didn't feel so bad splurging with a little bit more of my tax refund than I normally would have.

And Bobby and I are going to Beachwood in March which means I will have a lush available to me, which means I will spend at least $150 in bath products LOL. Wll wash away my sadness over not moving out. Blah.

Alrighty, that's my deal. I need to go exercise. 

what a day!

The funny thing about yesterday is, i posted on facebook a quote that said "slow down and everything you're chasing will come around and catch you."

This particular day I was feeling a totally brand new, brilliant shade of restless. It was awful. I used that quote to soothe myself.

Not even ten minutes later I was offered the proposition of doing not only my job at work, serving as "editor", but also the graphics job. Now, as a small newspaper, I can realistically handle both of those jobs. It took me by surprise. And at first I was really hesitant. 

But on my way home I decided that it would be my way to move up into my own apartment and also up my odds of getting an even better job in the future. It would be great to put on my resume!

So today I came in ready. My manager asked me if I thought about it, and I told him I was willing to accept it, if the pay would make it worth my while. They are saving quite a bit of money by eliminating another person, so I think  I deserve a good pay increase for two major job titles.

So all my manager had to do today was bring it up with our publisher. Apparently during the first chat, he claimed we would be too short handed. (Our admin girl really wants MY job, and is more than willing to work it part time and be available if they should need someone to cover it for me). 

So when I left work they were in the midst of another talk I guess, and I got  text message saying that this time it went good. And that.... he will talk to me about it IN THE MORNING.

 

UGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am waiting until tomorrow morning to learn my fate. I know it was probably premature... but this got me SO excited because I know I will be making bare min enough to move out on my own without even needing Bobby to chip in with rent or utilities. I was soooo distracted and irritated all day because I had no idea what was going on.

Hopefully tomorrow brings very good news... I just though it was funny that no sooner did I post that quote that the very thing I needed was bascially handed to me. God works in mysterious ways. Today a friend shared this in a status and it struck a chord with me.

This was on my friends facebook status today:

Me: God can I ask you a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise you won't get mad
God: I promise
Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late,
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start,
God: Okay  
Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait,
God: Hmmmm...
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call.....
God: All ...right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. It wouldn't work! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
God: Let me see, the Death Angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that~
Me (humbled): OH
God: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me (ashamed).........
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed): Okay
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God~
God: Oh, and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.....in all things, the good & the bad.
Me: I will trust you~
God: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your Father and I love looking after my children

 

I really hope tomorrow brings good news!!!!!!! Yesterday I was just amazed at the opportunity because all I could think about is how ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED I was when we decided not to move out this summer... and for the possibility to do it after all to come along so suddenly?? All I could do was be grateful to god for hearing my prayers and working on answering them all that time. 

And if tomorrow comes and goes with nothing but bad news... it just wasn't meant to be quite yet.