10 Years Ago

Yesterday mom and I were driving home and I had the thought....10 years ago today, I was graduating from high school! Holy smokes! haha Time sure does fly...I guess most of it's been fun, so that is good.

This afternoon I attended a cousin's graduation party and one of our other cousins sat by us, we got to reminiscing about my graduation party. It seems like a hundred years ago some days...and others, it seems like it was just yesterday.

I thought I'd take you all on a walk down memory lane.....

10 Years and a few weeks back, I was celebrating our upcoming graduation at my church
with some of my Jac-Cen-Del (I attended K-11 with them & we grew up in church together) classmates

during commencement ceremony at Switzerland County High School
(my friends Olesha, Brent, then me)

singing with the choir during the ceremony - our class motto on the back wall
(I'm on the left, top row...as you look at it)

We're grads!! :)
(my friend, Kristi - I'll be in her wedding next May!)

As our class motto said...Veni, Vidi, Vichi...I came, I saw, I conquered. Yep, we sure did! ;)

Weight Loss Update #2

Just had our second weigh-in.....drumroll please....

I lost 4.5 pounds!!!

Woohoo! So that makes my total weight loss come to 11.1 pounds! :)

I'm pretty pumped! Hope it continues...haha

I've stuck with the C25K program. Tomorrow will be Week 3 - Day 2!

Praying for an Answer

The last few months have been quite stressful for me. I have been fighting with the feeling that I am not where I am supposed to be. I'm not sure if you've ever felt that way before, but everyone who has, can relate to the stuck feeling. I have applied for multiple positions in the last year and after making it a round or two into the process, I get bumped. It's frustrating. I am either highly overqualified for a job or just need someone to give me a chance to gain the "experience" they think I lack.

Why has it been stressful? Well......maybe because nothing I do seems to be right in the eyes of the man who signs my paycheck. I am either doing too much or not enough. Now I'm supposed to cut my hours, but still do everything I've been doing (plus cleaning up the messes made while I'm not at the course). The real problem is that the weather has been crappy until this point and somehow I'm responsible for the weather and everything that results from that. :(

So at this point, please pray that I find an opportunity that is right for me. I am applying to every open job I can find that even sounds like I have a hint of being hired. I'm willing to work for just about any pay if benefits are involved. (currently I have no insurance or other benefits) I have mostly been looking in the Indy area and around home. If I find something in Indy, I can crash at Jen's for awhile until we can find a bigger place to share or I can find something reasonably priced on my own.

I'm tired of going home and feeling like someone let all the air out of my personality. I dread coming to work...fearing that the boss man will show up and find something else to berate me for. My blood pressure has been on the rise lately, I can feel my blood boiling inside of me.

I'm sending up hourly prayers to make it through each day.

Weight Loss Update

Today was our first weigh-in of our little weight loss group....the results are in....

I LOST 6.6 POUNDS!!!

I am so excited! I really stuck with my healthy eating habits and exercise and it paid off! Woohoo!!

Just had to share :) :)

Jesus & Running

Have you ever had a "come to Jesus" moment? I did. Now don't laugh, but it was definitely tonight while I was completing Week 2 - Day 2 of the C25K program!

I have been running in the house (not on a treadmill because we don't have one), just around the house (thank goodness we have a fairly open floor plan, although I have worn a path I think!). Tonight was the first night it hasn't been raining, so I decided to run outside...on the road. For anyone who doesn't know, it is a completely different experience! ha My legs and feet were killing me and I was definitely praying to God as I was running....please help me finish this, please don't let me have a heart attack, please help me keep moving. Nice, huh? Well, somehow I FINISHED the run/walk series tonight. No worse for the wear. :) I'm actually quite proud of myself for being able to run the entire time you're supposed to (90 seconds running mixed with 2 mins walking for a total of a 20 minute cycle). I did not stop moving once! For me that is a big accomplishment as I am not a runner and I am WAY heavier than my C25K buddy, Kayla!

At the end, I was feeling a bit like this....

hahahahaha :p

A Birthday, Wedding, and Nonsense

Saturday was a busy day!

It was mostly spent in the company of family...Ethan's 7th Birthday party and Lindsay's Wedding!

A few pics from Ethan's fun party :)

the birthday boy squeezing thru the obstacles! ha

even the "big kids" joined in on the fun

Erica coming down the slide with Callie...she really did enjoy it,
even though it doesn't look like it! ha

Lindsay & Kyle's engagement picture (didn't think to get my camera out at the reception, but Lindsay looked gorgeous in her mermaid style wedding dress!)


And finally...today I completed Week 1-Day 3 of the C25K program! :) One week down, eight to go! haha You are supposed to skip a day between each day, but I am going to start Week 2 tomorrow because Monday-Wednesday-Friday works best in my schedule. I am proud to report that as of yesterday, I was able to get into a pair of jeans I bought back in October (when I had lost 20lbs. but was NEVER able to wear after washing & hang drying them)!! I'm hoping that means that come weigh-in on Thursday night I will have lost the most pounds! ha

On another note, the Miss USA pageant is on right now....I'm not normally a fan, as I only support the Miss America pageant system (it's better all around!), but the Miss Indiana contestant is from North Vernon, which is in the neighboring county (and I was just there last Friday...ha).

Another one on the books

Kayla and I both completed Week 1 Day 2 of the C25K program today! We totally kick butt! ha :) It's awesome having someone to be accountable to, even if we do live 3 hours apart! I have to say I tried to challenge myself a little more today and jog faster during the run portions of the program, and although I was definitely sweaty after the workout, I felt awesome! I really do like C25K and even mentioned to my mom tonight after I got done with it that I can't believe I have been able to run/walk the entire time without stopping. I can walk and walk and walk....but ask me to run and generally I'd laugh in your face. I don't run. ha Ask my family, there are jokes about me running. :p I just might learn to enjoy running.

Anyway, off and running on another busy weekend! Tomorrow we have a cousin's wedding and Ethan's birthday party. Sunday we're making a trip to Indy to do a little shopping and pick up some stuff at Sam's Club for the golf course. The fun never ends. ;)

I Survived!

I made it!

Week 1, Day 1 is complete! Woohoo!

I'm pretty sure it was a fluke, but it felt easy. Now don't get me wrong...I'm not talking sit on the couch and click the remote easy...I am officially feeling the ache in my legs, BUT it's far from the "I'm gonna die" way I thought I'd feel.

Tomorrow will be my off day in the program, but I plan to walk on those days. Most people on the forum suggested not doing anything too strenuous or you'd pay for it the next day, especially when you get further along in the program.

I have to give a shout-out to Kayla for joining our sister Mary Kay consultants in this weight loss challenge! Wish we lived closer to each other!!

And on a side note, but extremely relevant....today is Mary Kay Ash's birthday! So swipe on some lipstick and have a great day! :)

C25K

C25K = Couch to 5K Running Plan

Now before you start to laugh (really, it's okay, I've been laughing the past few days)...let me just say that I have a number of reasons for giving this a try.

Reason #1 - I have been overweight for some time and am really, truly, honestly committed to losing weight this time! (We all know I've been on this kick before, but here we go again!)

Reason #2 - Some of my Mary Kay friends have decided that we're going to attempt weight loss together, in somewhat of a Weight Watchers fashion (I'm taking my digital scale each week and at the end of our MK meeting, we're going to weigh in). I think this will be really good for me because if I know people will see in NUMBERS whether or not I've lost weight...I'm gonna try that much harder! ha

Reason #3 - I love to exercise. I really do. I know it doesn't look like it, but seriously I enjoy it. My work schedule makes it difficult to have a work-out partner, so I find myself slacking off with the routine after a few weeks.

Reason #4 - Our National Sales Director Linda Toupin has been talking about the C25K program for awhile now (it's what she's been doing) and I feel like it's a pretty standard program that even a novice runner like myself can follow. I installed the app on my iTouch today and was going to go ahead and do it (and half way through it the battery died!). I do like how the app is set up to work and think that I'm going to die doing it, but if I lose any weight at all because of it, I'll be a happy camper! :)

So here we go....tomorrow I will be starting Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program. No, I don't intend to run a 5K and be a superstar like Angie; however, I would like to at least not die at the end of the 9 weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates....er, that is if I don't keel over tomorrow! haha :p

New Jewelry

A new necklace and earrings will make most girls happy! :)

I completed a special challenge from my National Sales Director and was 1 of only 4 to do so! As our prize for completing her challenge, she let us pick from several sets of jewelry she purchased. (She buys from this place a lot and everyone gets excited when she does! ha)

I absolutely LOVE the set I got! I love jewelry, but often times have a hard time actually picking something out because I don't know what I'd wear with it or don't know how I'll like where it falls (necklaces), etc. This set is perfect for me.

I'm sure you'll see me with it on many many times from here on out. haha

The earrings are hard to see, but they are the same clear crystals that are on between the black ones on the necklace.

An Update

I'm not sure how long it's been since I last posted....I'd say a week or so?!? Anyway, didn't want anyone to think I'd disappeared! I honestly have not been able to accomplish anything besides work and sleep! And sleep has been sparing...ha (I just haven't been sleeping very well the past month.)

Besides working my normal shifts at the golf course, I have had to stay and train at least 2 nights a week. I can't complain though, those 2 girls will be taking over League nights, so if it means staying and helping for a few hours so in a few more weeks I don't have to stay at all, I can handle that! :p

After work it feels like I get home so darn late! Most nights by the time I sit down to eat dinner, mom and I look at the clock and it's 8-9pm! It's exhausting.

I've had lots of Mary Kay meetings/trainings the past few weeks. I really don't mind those, but some nights I'm really ready just to get home after working all day...and attending a training is the last thing I wanna do, especially if I have to dress up! ha

Tomorrow night I have a Mary Kay party...it's the first one I've been able to book in awhile (I've been trying though!!), so I'm excited about it, even if it does make me have to rush all day and I won't get home until late again. Saturday I'll be in Jeffersonville all day for a Mary Kay training...this one I'm excited about! I won a prize and I'm excited to see what it will be! Linda (my National Sales Director) visited a jewelry store she buys lots of gifts from...so I'm sure it'll be good! :) Sunday mom and I will be meeting Jen in Shelbyville for an early dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. It's nice to have a half way point to meet! Applebee's here we come! haha

I'm exhausted just from typing all that! ha Sadly, it's not even EVERYTHING I have to do, but it's the noteworthy stuff.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the beautiful, sunny weather! Just a little over one month until vacation.....ahhhh, can't wait!!! :)