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

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.

oh, bother...

I don't know why I'm debating something I already know the answer to... but I got an e-mail tonight from my Mary Kay Director talking about Career Conference registration, which begins tonight. It's $80, it's a Friday and Saturday in March in Columbus. We'll stay at the Hyatt. Register tonight at midnight for a chance to win blahblahblah.

Here's the thing.

I haven't even been to a local meeting yet. I have no desire to go. If I had any, it was squashed early on. But for some reason, I want to go to this. 

But I won't.

Because I am not friends with any of the girls in this area that do Mary Kay. The girl who signed me up doesn't count. 

And yet I KNOW that if I did have a friend who did MK, I would go to this thing and have a blast. I mean, I really wanna go. But not by myself. Not with no one to talk to. OK- not without a non-stranger to talk to.

Sigh. sighsighsigh. sigh

tale as old as time...

Bobby and I saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D not too long ago. I was like "Shit we just paid $26 dollars to see a movie we already own" LOL. I enjoyed it more than the kids in the theater though. Especially the Tangled short beforehand. Bobby and I were practically the only ones laughing out loud.

I'm waiting EVAR SO PATIENTLY for my federal tax return!!! It's gonna let me have a revolving huge balance in my bank account so I can stop living paycheck to paycheck lol! It's also going to book our get-away trip in March. Yes, we moved it to March. Bobby will be on spring break so that's one less thing to stress him out, missing a couple days of class.

We're only going to Cleveland but it will be nice to get away and spend some time alone together, because it's nearly impossible at the moment. We even decided to stay in Beachwood instead of downtown, because the parking won't cost us anything and we aren't far if there is something we want to see down there. I think visiting Melt is on our list, we want the pierogi sandwich haha!

Food Network is our usual channel to tune into when nothing else is on and there are lots of reasons we want to go roadtripping, thanks to Diners Drive Ins and Dives.

Anyway! We'll be right near Legacy Village also, so we can do some shopping. And I can go to Lush! Maybe Ikea to get the helmer I've been lusting after to store my billions of nail polish in.

Another thing my mind has been preoccupied with lately is our honeymoon!! I am DYING to book our stinkin cruise. At least the cruise. Get it while it's cheap ya know.

I don't want to spend nearly half my return on booking that though, so once i'm willing to drop $500 of my regular savings, that's what I'll do next.

We have no idea where we will end up once Bobby is done with school. He has connections in Erie but who knows if they will need an Art Teacher when his time is near.  It's exciting and anxiety inducing all at the same time! We'll end up somewhere! We're gonna move somewhere! But where??? haha.

Hopefully we will know by the end of this year. :)

I am soo excited!  I am eager for everything to happen, ya know? I'm tired of waiting!!!! Especially when all my friends who just got engaged are getting married before me, moving in with their fiances before me, having babiesss!! It really makes me feel like I'm way behind the curve. I am NOT happy with the way my life is right now and I am so eager for it to change for the better!!

people throw rocks at things that shine

I never made much of a 'ending 2011' post, but so many things have happened in the past year that have made me a better person than I was in 2010. So I'll go ahead and write that one off as a success. 

When I think back to ways in which I have suffered in the past five years or so, I become so grateful for every experience that has led me to right here, right now.

Things may not be exactly as I want them right now. Sure, I'm really eager to move out and begin my life with Bobby in the way I've dreamed about. I long for the simplest things! Making dinner for us every night, maintaining the house, just being there beside him for every sunrise.

But I have those things to look forward to. And I need to be grateful I at least have that! We will appreciate being together so much more after having been denied the opportunity for so long.

Mary Kay has been a really positive experience for me so far. I really love this opportunity, and maybe one day it will lead me to a place where I can focus on it to carry my share of the weight once Bobby has established himself in his career. I just can't say enough good about the products, they are game changing! And I SO appreciate the support I have received from my family and friends. To all of you who have supported me on facebook or by placing an order, I am really overwhelmed with thanks.

And since this year is the year of diminishing for me ;) I have a few goals I'd like to share:

1. Lose 20 lbs by my birthday (April 20) - I figure if I can lose 15 in 17 days I can lose 20 by April. Going back to th 17 day diet! Remarkably, I have not gained back all that weight I lost last Spring.

2. Become debt-free! (with the exception of school loans, lol!) - This is important, because I want Bobby and I to start our lives together (as if we already haven't) with as little debt as possible, ideally none. I know I will likely be paying off my college loans for many years LOL.

These are important for all the reasons you would normally think of, but also because I need to save hardcore for our wedding AND because I am purchasing a wedding dress at the end of this year. FINALLY. I can act upon a wedding related thing. LOL

Anyone who has been with me for the past several years knows I am a ridiculously lucky girl with the way things came together, and I truly canno wait to marry the man of my dreams. This is a union tied with some kind of godly knot. Every time I think about it I am more convinced.

I think I need a morning nap already - we went to the movies last night and I accidentally spilled the salt on our popcorn LOL. Needless to say, I woke up with my eyelids practically glued to my eyeballs and my mouth so dry I could barely swallow! And I barely even ate any!!! So I woke up to hydrate.... and here I am!

Getting my taxes done today - yay for first year of total refund!!! So many things to do with that $$!!! Must remind self not to spend it on nail polish ;)

Have a beautiful Sunday!

love.love.love!!!

 

 

Sorry for the slight blur in that photo, I used my phone to take it! I am so freakin' glad I discovered how great Mary Kay products are. My skin has needed something new for AWHILE and I'm really glad I took the plunge and tried it. My current routine is the TimeWise Miracle Set, it has a cleanser, moisturizer and a day and night formula. I also use the acne control toner. I have not broken out since I used that set in conjunction with the toner. I use the firming eye cream too, and the satin lips set, which is THE BOMB!! I always avoided wearing lip products because nevermind my addiction to chapstick, I still had dry patches every day. NO MORE!

I also use the microderm set every couple of days. Cannot reiterate enough how glad I am that I decided to invest in some quality skincare. My skin is so much smoother, clearer and healthier now. Not just saying it because I'm selling it, saying it because it's true. Thank you Samantha Schuerman for getting me curious about Mary Kay!!! She's a youtuber who said she uses the TimeWise cleanser and moisturizer and it never hurt her extremely sensitive skin... she's the reason I contacted the only mary kay rep I know to order my first Miracle Set... and then I decided to sell it!

If anyone is interested, my mary kay website is www.marykay.com/kmaria

I cannot recommend these products enough! Next week I am featuring an awesome promo that I can't wait to share on my MK facebook page. Spend $65 and get a free brilliant eye bundle ($19 value!). Spend $125 and get 3 free eyeshadows of your choice (OR a brilliant eye bundle) AND a mini compact to hold it in ! Free!!! ($38.50 value!) It's a great incentive to get started on  a new sknicare routine especially because I know a lot of women are thinking it may be time to start an anti-aging routine or even just something more sophisitcated than their usual. 

Your skin starts losing its zing at age 15!!! There are women in this company who are FAR older than they look, thanks to using the products for prevention for so long.

I have been loving being involved in this company so far. It is not work for someone who loves the products :)

I also apologize for never sharing my freakin' Eco Emi boxes.... I fail I know. I do apologize for that. Here are some photos of my last box:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love Eco Emi, but I admit, some of my samples have been expired. That Raw Cacao Bliss is from 2/2010 and I had an expired chocolate bar in the previous box. I still enjoy it though. The lip gloss from this box is fab, the mini candle smelled just like a pine tree, the vitamin c chews are GREAT! I haven't tried the laundry detergent or the shamp/conditioner, but the socks are super comfy and were a great surprise. The lip color is not really my fav. It smells like cosmetics I had when I was 5 and the color is not for me.

My Birchbox this month was amazing... it had a full size stila eyeliner in purple tang, some really decent sized c.o. bigelow lavendar peppermint shampoo and conditioner, a juicy couture perfume sample, and some witchcraft granola. oh, and a birchbox magnet. lol!

Anyway, going to bed those photos took FOREVARR to upload!! Goodnight! :)

taking flight...

Well! Merry Christmas y'all! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I was positively spoiled, I know that. Bobby got me lots of bath and bodywork goodies, some lush (yay!), my highly lusted after too faced "in your dreams" palette, among many other things. His parents got me some clothes and things like that. I really loved everything.

My man also got me this hat:

I love it! It's the first hat I've ever worn really. It's amazing how much warmer you stay (go figure, right).

I just wish I could get some paid time off for the holidays, that would be nice haha. Bobby is off the next two days. It sucks because we never have days off together. He literally works every weekend when he is in school.

Can't wait for our romantic April getaway!

My MaryKay journey is about to begin. I am very excited to be able to offer these products to everyone that wants them.  I already have two sales and I haven't even been fully processed yet. NO idea how long I will be involved in this, but I am very excited to try the makeup items in my starter kit. I know I love the skincare that I've tried... and  have a good list of items ready to be ordered. I'm just very curious if I will like their foundations/colors.

I used the microderm set last night and my skin looked awesome today. I can't wait to try the Even Complexion line, the blemish control toner, eye cream, satin lips set, the perfumes and some select makeup! Most excited about the foundation and nourishine lip gloss in pink parfait. One thing is for sure, I need to develop a more sophisticated skincare rouine. The timewise cleanser, night/day formulas and moisturizer are a great start, but I am very excited to expand it with some of the other products.

Gonna give my Eco-Emi update next!