5QF - 3/30

So excited to report that I lost 4.4 pounds this week! Woohoo! I'm hoping to keep this new streak going. ha :) Big thanks to Kayla & Angie for getting me hooked on MyFitnessPal! Wish we lived closer so we could hang out more!

One of the questions is mine this week - so be sure to play along!

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1. What giveaway would you like to do on your blog?

I usually offer up giveaways for other blogs (contact me if you have a decent following and would like to give some awesome Scentsy products away!). I guess if I were going to do a giveaway on my blog, I'd want it to be a product I loved so my readers could love it too...maybe Bare Minerals makeup or Charming Charlie's baubles or Redken hair care.

2. If you had to choose between natural artistic ability and natural athletic ability, which would it be?

Natural athletic ability. Hands down. I guess I am a little bit of both, but if I could choose, it would be all about sports. I love watching sports. I love playing, but never really had enough talent to feel like it was worth my time! ha

3. Do you ditch the coat the minute it becomes "spring" or are you a holdout for more cool temps?

My coat was gone the minute it was hit 60 degrees. hahahaha I hate despise wearing a coat. Winter months absolutely kill my soul. I feel trapped in a coat. I know, that sounds stupid, but it is what it is! :p I haven't worn a coat in weeks, but this week I have had to dig it back out because of the cool mornings on my way to work. At least it has been warming up enough that I can carry my coat out of work and not have to wear it.

4. What would you do if you won the mega millions lotto of 1/2 billion dollars?

Hire a tax lawyer. Pay the taxes. Set aside money to keep paying taxes (hey, I've watched enough shows of "How the Lotto Changed My Life" to know they all end up bankrupt because they didn't realize they had to pay taxes on that amount a second time due to being in a new tax bracket!). Pay off all my debt (plus my mom & sister's debt), take my dream vacation (Europe), and have 1 silly splurge - buy a soft top Jeep (my mom & I have always wanted one to play in the summer). Other than those things, I would keep working, at least part time at my current job. I would give some money to a few of my favorite organizations to make sure they kept thriving.

5. You are at a hotel by yourself...what do you do?

I've been in hotels many times by myself. I like to order room service. Lay in the middle of the bed (I normally sleep to one side, yes, even by myself I do that) to sleep. Just enjoy the peace and quiet. :)

Day 364

One more day to my challenge. Hard to believe it!!

Today's picture is of my fat loss monitor. I tried to find the last picture I took to see how it compared, but couldn't find it. (Okay, okay...I didn't search THAT hard, but whatever. ha)

I'm looking forward to weigh-in tomorrow! Hoping for a loss. Didn't exercise this week, but feel like there's been a difference since I've been counting calories. We shall see. :)

Day 363

The past few days have been a little cooler, but today it was a gorgeous 70+ degree day again! I drove home from work on the backroads (hate all the construction in town) with my windows down and the radio up. :) That makes for a very happy E1! haha

It's been a hectic few days at work. The new financial group that bought our company last year is auditing us (argh!) and between pulling paperwork they want and our super slow computer program, it makes for a frustrating day. And to top it all off, I had to do one of my least favorite jobs...stamping envelopes for all the invoices I mail out daily. Yippee! NOT.

This week I kind of started by tracking WW points and calories, but I've quickly seen that I enjoy using the MyFitnessPal app a lot more than calculating points. I think I'm going to switch to that for awhile and see how it goes. Calories are posted on everything and I don't even have to think about it. It's kinda nice! ha I've done pretty well this week at coming in under calories, which wasn't easy since it's that time of the month and I want to eat everything in sight...no joke.

Last night I managed to get a lot of things crossed off my To Do list, but why is it those lists always tend to grow no matter how many items you cross off?! I have a few things I want to accomplish yet tonight and then hopefully I can mostly finish what is on the list as of this moment by the end of tomorrow. Then I'll have a whole new list for the weekend! haha :p

And thanks to those of you who commented on the boy situation either as a comment or through email! You girls totally make my day! I'm still debating the Match.com issue, so if you have any thoughts about whether or not I continue to use that profile, I'm all ears! There is a new guy on there as of last night that "liked" me, but he's not sent any message and I tried to play it cool with a "Hi, hope you have a great week" ditty. As I told Sarah Kate tonight, I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be with the electrician/dad, but we're not exclusive and I don't want to be left high and dry. Is it any wonder I feel like I'm insane? ha Sheesh.

Day 362

The bane of my existence this week. Thank goodness there aren't anymore. Ugh!

Day 360

I never thought this week would get here..........I am down to my last few days of this challenge! It's been hard some days to force myself to take a picture. ha There have also been days that I am so thankful I took a picture and have the memories captured.

Today was a lazy day. Toby and I snuggled much of the day. I did laundry. That was it! ha I finally got a good night's sleep last night (10 whole hours!) and I just didn't feel like doing much today, but continuing the rest.

Day 359

Friday night after the party, I drove back to Indy to stay at Jenna's. We slept in on Saturday morning and then got ourselves ready for a lunch splurge at Scotty's Brewhouse. Yum! I do love that place. It's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere! Noelle joined us. Then after lunch, I went to Noelle's apartment for her Scentsy Launch Party. :)

I finally left Indy in the middle of the afternoon to make the drive home (and also stopped to buy this week's groceries). There was some crazy heat lightning on my drive Friday night and Shelbyville area saw the worst of it...they had so much hail (it looked like snow) that they actually shut down the interstate. A little of it was still left Saturday afternoon.

When I got the car unpacked, it was time to load up again. Argh! ha I'm kind of tired of being in the car. Mom said she'd go with me to see the Hunger Games movie. I read all 3 books. It was a good movie, but they left out what I felt were key characters and a few key narrations. I understand they can't narrate it like they do in the book, but if I hadn't already explained it to my mom, I think she would have been lost. After the movie, she said...well, crap, now I have to see the other movies when they come out! hahaha

Day 358

Friday was a busy, busy day! And you don't want to know how many miles I put on my car! ha

I started the day at work...I love 4 hour Fridays! :) Then I made a few stops before driving to Indy. I had to go to my doctor's office to get some bloodwork done. The lab tech joked that it must feel like she was draining me - 4 vials! ha It is just for a general health screening. I should have all the results this next week although it'll be more for my doc's use than my own.

I had to drive in this crappy weather ALL day. From southeastern IN to northeastern IN. Ick!!

Friday night my dear friend, Kayla, hosted a Scentsy party for me. I was so excited to go up to see her family. I arrived in time to chat with Justin while he swept the garage and then got to love on sweet baby Miranda as she was waking up! Then Jaden showed off his despicable IU cup (really, she's brainwashing those children for the wrong Indiana team! ha) to me when he got home with Justin's mom, Cheryl. I even got to see Kayla's friend, Angie, who I have known for the past few years thanks to a Mary Kay party. So much fun. Thanks for having me up!! Can't wait to see you again...hopefully sooner rather than later!

Day 357

I had been talking to my sister about how I was wanting a new "fun" strap for my DSLR. She proceeded to forward me a website link for a company called Capturing Couture. They have fun and reasonably priced camera straps. When I saw this one, I knew it was for me! I actually forgot I had ordered it (although it took less than a week to get here...busy much? ha) and when I opened the box I was impressed. It was in a cute little black box with a bow. Inside the box the strap was wrapped with care in tissue paper. The strap is now on my camera....now I just need somewhere to go take pics to show it off! ha

Days 354-356

Everyone else has recently been posting about new and/or favorite products! Well...I have to tell you about a new find and one that has also been a favorite for awhile.

Monday

A product that I've been using awhile thanks to the lovely Kate, another blogger, is Real Control Slim Supreme. It is awesome! My hair blow dries so much more smoothly and doesn't take me as long to straighten. Some days I can even go without using the straightener. Another product you must try!

Tuesday

Had to take a quick picture of a new pair of earrings that I am loving! They are a little glitzy. Charming Charlie's is seriously great! If you have one near you, you should go. It's a jewelry lovers dream.

Wednesday

My newest product find is due to a twitter post from my friend, Rachel. She lives in DC and follows a blog that recently posted this skincare set. I LOVE it! I never believed that in 2 days I would notice a difference, but I did. If you are allergic to sulfur, you will not be able to use this product, but if you aren't...it is well worth the $55 price tag at Sephora. (heck, I paid way more than that trying Mary Kay products for years!) Go get it. You'll love it too.

5QF - 3/23

Argh! I'm behind a whole week again! How does that happen?? Well, I plan to catch up on Sunday. *fingers crossed* I've been missing out on 5QF the past few weeks and I didn't want to miss it this week, so here I am playing along!

This week I started counting calories as well as WW points. It's a struggle. It's kinda interesting to see how the two match up, but either way...I'm excited to say that I lost 1.8 pounds! :) Getting closer to being back where I was at a few weeks ago.

I have some fun stuff going on this weekend, but I'll recap it with pictures later on...so stay tuned over the weekend!

And for join us over at Mama M's for some 5QF fun - one of the questions is mine!




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1. If you were free to just hop in the car and drive, where would you go? Or, if you could hop a plane and go anywhere, where?

If I could hop in the car and drive, I'd drive myself down to TN to visit my blogger buddies - Sarah Kate & Nikki! I am definitely hoping we can meet up this year sometime! If I could hop on a plane and go, it would definitely be to Australia! I am missing my dear friends and their babies!

2. What's your most recently read favorite book?

Like the rest of the free world...the Hunger Games! I devoured all 3 books! I am thankful my cousin, Missy, loaned them to me to read through my Kindle app. I wanna go see the movie this weekend, but unless I go by myself, it probably won't happen. Maybe just maybe, I can talk momma into going with me on Sunday. ha

3. What's your favorite Spring Break memory?

I have a few good Spring Break memories (all from my more recent years), but the best one was probably when Jenna and I went to Charleston, SC to visit our cousins - Jacob & E2 for a week. We got a rental car and put over 1,000 miles on it in a week! We saw all of the beautiful Charleston area, drove up the coast to say we'd been to NC, and drove down to Savannah, GA to eat at Paula Deen's Lady & Sons restaurant.

4. What do you put in your child's Easter basket? Or for those without kids, what was put in your childhood basket?

No kids....but my childhood basket was always full of candy and some sort of stuffed animal. I usually got a rabbit of some kind and Jen always got a duck. :)

5. Do you get a summer haircut?

Sometimes, yes...sometimes, no. Usually I grow my hair long in the summer (I realize that's ass backwards!) so I can rock out a ponytail in the hot summer heat. I have gone short though before. I am trying to decide right now which way I wanna go with it. It's a little longer than it's been recently, so if I'm gonna grow it out, now's the time. But I have been liking the easy maintenance of it being short.

Day 353

Spring has sprung!

the beautiful tree in our front yard

Weigh In

The last 2 weeks have been a major struggle for me. I have not exercised, I have been eating out way too much (dates with the boy) and I have been drinking far too much pop! Today I am restarting myself. I can't keep playing this game. Argh!

I weighed in this morning at 268.4. YIKES! I hate that number. I was almost 10 pounds lower than this moment just 2-3 weeks ago! The sweet cravings have been out of control, not gonna lie. DQ is my worst enemy right now. Combined with the fact that it is one of the few things my mom can slurp down (she had top dentures done and is on soft food diet).

I also used my fat loss monitor (that I couldn't wait to get for Christmas and have used once since!) to see where I was at...registered at 28% fat and 26.9 BMI. Definitely not good.

This morning I walked 1.5 miles outside. I am loving this weather!! I plan to do an ionic detox today and to hop back on the treadmill this evening. Today's meals are planned out and about half of this week's meals are planned. Just need to finish my meal planning and be conscious about exercising plus drinking LOTS more water.

I'm back on the bandwagon!

Day 352

It's a gorgeous 79 degree day in southeastern IN! Hope you all have sunshine wherever you are! :)

Today my sister and I went shopping. I spent waaaayyyy too much, but was able to snag some great deals that I couldn't pass up! Clothes shopping is getting so much more fun as I lose weight. ha I can't imagine how much I'll love it once I am down to the size I want to be!

wearing green for St. Patty's day!

not even close to all the bags we had ;)

Days 350-351

Day 350

my seat on the deck!

Day 351

spring has sprung! thistles are very pretty purple in the roadsides

I cannot believe all the nice weather we've had...surely we'll pay for it yet this spring or maybe this summer. For now, I'm just gonna enjoy it! ha

Days 342-349

Okay, okay.....I am WAAAAYYYYY behind! Did you ever think you were gonna hear from me again? haha

*sigh* Alright, well, be prepared. This post is gonna be pictures and minimal explanation. Suffice it to say that I've been busy living life! So many bloggers have been talking about finding the balance and I thought I had found it, but when I started adding some other things back into my life that are important to me (more Scentsy events and dating so I will one day find my Mr. Right), I have learned that I was living a bleak existence. ha Not really, but definitely not as fulfilling as it is right now!

I'm sorry for being a wayward blogging buddy and not commenting on everyone's posts....but rest assured, I have been reading them! :) I cannot go a day without reading about what is going on in your lives. I just don't have time to post about mine. haha Seriously. I usually read blogs during the day at work, but don't have my pictures saved there, so I never bother with mine.

I have been swamped with Scentsy (and loving it!). I have added 2 new team members this month already - welcome to my wonderful friend, Noelle, and to a new friend, Lindsey, that found me thanks to prior giveaways! I had my first event of the year this past Sunday and it went really well for it being their first time doing it. I outsold every other vendor, much to their chagrin! haha :p I have a party at my dear friend, Kayla's, at the end of next week! I can't wait to see her and the rest of the Moneyheffer family!

I am still dating electrician boy (aka the dad). So many stories I could tell you on this front, but I'm just gonna say that I am happy right now. It's one week at a time...sometimes I take it a day at a time. It's not easy to date someone with a kid, but so far he's trying really hard to make it work despite the fact we are not exclusive.

And without further ado....the pictures!!

Day 342

Toby got a haircut & bath...then proceeded to roll on the floor (per usual)

Day 343

post office did a great job getting this to me! :(

Day 344

so tired of this view through town

Day 345

my sweet lil boy cuddling with me

Day 346

1st Scentsy booth of the year + fantastic weather!

Day 347

putting things away the day after the event & reorganizing for the new catalog

Day 348

my eye "bruising" has gone away! yay!!

Day 349

enjoying a night out on the deck with mom thanks to the fab weather

Day 341

Tuesday, Tuesday...the full moon out tonight explains the extra craziness at work today. Oi. It was just nutty! It was kind of crazy that yesterday I woke up to snow, watched it snow all morning, saw it melt away in the afternoon....and today? Today it was 65, sunny, and a perfect slight breeze! Absolute joy on days like today. It could stay like this year round and I would not complain! :) After work, I decided to skip the treadmill and take a 2 mile stroll on the road!

Tonight my friend, Noelle, made the drive down from Indy for a chat about Scentsy! I'm so excited to help her start her Scentsy business! I love this company and it's a wonderful tool for accomplishing so many different goals!

Day 340

Monday was a super hectic day at work. Mondays always used to be so quiet at work, but the past month or so, it seems I get bombarded on Mondays. Not to mention....I woke up to this....

a winter wonderland

Luckily by the time the work day was over, the snow was gone! :) I came home and took a nap. Boring, right? Well, I apparently needed that 1 hour of sleep. ha When I woke up, it was time to get ready for my late dinner date with the electrician. I know, I know...I said my plans got canceled, but then they were reinstated. It's kinda like that when you are dating a dad! It's still a new concept for me to deal with, but taking it a day at a time is helping. It was a good date. He's pretty good at making me smile. ALL. THE. TIME.

Day 339

I am in a funk today. I know what the problem is and sitting here listening to depressing music isn't helping, but I can't seem to motivate myself to shut it down. I made it home safely after lunch and a grocery stop. Laundry is in progress. We got mom's computer back up and running. I could really use a nap, but per usual, it doesn't seem to be in the cards for me! :p

I was not too thrilled to see snow this morning in Gtown!

10 minutes later it looked like this & 10 minutes after that, the sun came out and melted everything...haha

I am continuing the theme of being a bum for the weekend. I have returned to pajamas for the remainder of the day. I am looking forward to a busy week! My Monday night plans got canceled, but I still have plenty to accomplish that night, so it's okay. Tuesday, my good friend Noelle is coming down here and we're talking Scentsy!! WOOHOO! I'm so excited to help her begin her business! :) Wednesday night I'm having dinner with a high school classmate, Jerri Lynn. We try to get together at least once a year and it has been too long since I last saw her! Thursday night I have a date with the electrician. Friday and Saturday are open so far, but that never seems to last long. ha Sunday I have my first Scentsy booth of the year at a hotel in Cincy...hoping for a good event!

Day 338

Saturday was a day of absolutely NOTHING. It couldn't have been more perfect! ha I honest to goodness did not get out of my pajamas until 4pm. haha Zach and I laid around the house all day, watching tv and chatting. I made lunch and it was quite yummy. For dinner, 2 of his neighbor ladies came over. They are so funny! Z and I made dinner together and then after our meal, all 4 of us watched the movie Jack and Jill. Very good! I normally am not a fan of Adam Sandler movies because for me, it's a fine line between funny and stupid. I was surprised by this movie. I would watch it again. ha

my all day view from the couch...it was sunny, but chilly!

lunch - Mexican rice & Bubble-Up Enchilada :)

Day 337

Friday I felt a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. But for starters, I have to say that it was a whirlwind day on many levels! I worked til 11am per usual, then met my friend Olesha and her daughter Baylee at a local restaurant for lunch. It was so great catching up! I love them both to pieces and B was excited to have a "girl's lunch" since her daddy was home sleeping (he works swing shift) and her brother was at school. ha Then I had to rush up to Indy for my 1 week LASIK check-up. The tech and the doc were both pleased. I read 20/20 in both eyes. The doc said that the dry patches the surgeon was worried about were healed. She also said that my eyes were perfect concerning the procedure and all restrictions were lifted. AMEN! I am now allowed to rub my eyes, get water in my eyes, and wear eye makeup again! Seriously, my skin feels gross from not being able to scrub my face in the shower every morning and I look like death without my eye makeup done. Oi.

After my 20 minute check-up (really, I LOVED driving 1.25 hours each way for a 20 minute appointment! NOT) I hopped back in my car and headed south to Georgetown, KY for the weekend. I made it to Florence, KY and the sky started getting really dark. There was debris flying overhead, but it was calm on the road. I originally took the picture below because of the hideousness of the purple vehicle, but it shows how lovely the weather was! When I got to the dealership and pulled into their service garage, all the employees were being herded into the "safe zone." Well crap. Just what I wanted. To be stuck in the back of the parts department with a bunch of strangers and no cell phone signal. ARGH! We waited out the tornado activity for about 20 minutes. There were all sorts of things flying through the air, but it was never too bad. The fixed my tire sensor (one of them didn't get reset correctly when they changed the oil and rotated the tires last month) and I was back on the road, to the dismay of my sister. I dealt with a barrage of phone calls and texts while driving in the wind and rain. Got just north of Dry Ridge, KY on 75 and was able to see where I had JUST missed a tornado going through. I wish I'd been able to snap a picture for everyone to see the damage! It turned a semi on it's side, dug a rut through the grass/embankment, put a tree across the interstate, let debris across the road. Yowza. I made it to Georgetown without further incident....and I arrived to a full rainbow!! Crazy, crazy day.

Luckily, my entire family was safe from the storms in my home county. None of my family suffered any damage to their property, but our neighbors and friends were not so lucky. You may have seen on the news about Holton, IN...well, that's a few miles from where I grew up. The damage is pretty severe and 2 people died, plus many were injured.

And that my friends is why I felt like Dorothy!!

5QF - 3/2

It's MARCH!?! What the heck! I cannot believe how fast this year has been going...it's a love/hate relationship right now. ha

Today's weigh-in...I am happy to report that I am down 1.2 pounds!! Woohoo! I'm going to have to work very hard this next week to fit in exercise and figure out my points. I have plans to eat out almost every night next week. EEK! It's good, but bad. ha

And now for some Five Question Friday fun! Join us over at Mama M's!





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1. What is your favorite vacation spot and why?

The BEACH! Anywhere I can lay out on the sand and soak up the sun while listening to the surf is good to me. :) I have so many great memories from beach vacations that I couldn't possibly pick one spot. It's definitely a happy place for this land-locked gal!


2. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

I have two....they are equally as bad vices! The first is Coca Cola. I'm addicted. ha I know it and my family knows it. I tried to give it up for Lent and failed on the 1st night. Argh. I know it will help me lose weight to give it up and I have cut waaaaay back, but I've never been able to give it up completely. The second is Little Debbie Nutty Bars. They are like crack. What's not to love about chocolate and peanut butter?? ha I cannot buy them or I will eat the whole box in far too short of a period of time.


3. What is your favorite fashion trend right now? Or in the past?

I don't think I have a favorite fashion trend. I've never been the type to be considered trendy. I look forward to the day when I can walk into "normal" stores and buy cute clothes that you see in magazines! I do love the riding boot look....but have not found any I felt I could pull off in my own wardrobe. And yes, I have looked. Multiple times. I do wear scarves which has been pretty popular the past few years. I have several that I love to mix up with different outfits and jackets. :)


4. What are your spring break plans?

As an adult with no kids...there are no longer lovely spring break plans! I will be working and listening to coworkers stories about their trips. I used to hate that right after graduating, but now I don't mind. I know my "spring break" will come later in the year when I take other trips!


5. What baby names do you hate?

I can't say that I absolutely hate any names. I have plenty of names that I do not like or would never pick for my own child (if I'm ever that lucky), but to each his own! ha I'm sure the names I would pick others might not like. I guess the one trend I really don't like is the weird celebrity baby names - Apple, Phineas, Pax, Zuma. haha Really?

Day 336

Pretty quiet day today; however, super busy! Work was nuts and yet the time went soooooo slowly! Ugh. Tonight I have been busy with exercise, laundry, dinner, grocery list making, and talking to the boys. Yes, I totally planned to update everyone on the boys, but time got away from me tonight! I am hoping while I am hanging out at my cousin Zach's this weekend that I will have time to blog. :) I will have time, it's whether or not I do it! haha Toby got a bath tonight. Normally he doesn't do too bad, but he was pretty wound up tonight. Here is my little fur baby (yes, he needs a haircut) eating his treat after bath time! ha

Day 335

Wednesday was Senior Night at Purdue. Such a bittersweet evening! It was great watching the guys put the 20th W of the season on the charts and beat Penn State! It was emotional to watch the three seniors (Robbie, Ryne, Lewis) give their speeches...the entire audience felt it because we've literally watched them grow up over the last 4 & 5 years. And it was sad because it was the last home game of the season.

I have almost 60 photos added to my season basketball album on Facebook if you wanna see more. Here are a few highlights from the evening!

The 3 Seniors watching the remaining 2 minutes of the game

Ryne Smith & family

Lewis Jackson & family

Robbie Hummel & family

Ryne read his speech...so funny!

LewJack was heartfelt as always!

Robbie - seriously one of the best guys out there!