lessons from playing with panties.

Yes. You read that right.

I've been playing with panties. And bras.

For three days. The fourth (and hopefully last day) will be tomorrow.

And I've learned some lessons.

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Now let me give you a little background before I jump to the point.

I just started my first retail job about a month ago.

I work for one of my absolute favorite stores.

And while I still continue to love the store with my whole heart, I loath going to work every day.

Now this is truly MY opinion.

I know some people who enjoy working there.

I, however, do not enjoy it. It's just not my thing.

Nothing against the store, the job, the people... just not my thing.

Now on to the important stuff.

What I have learned from playing with panties.

1. You should never have to try on panties in a store. You know what size you wear. You know if they are too big, too small, or just right. So why do you need to try them on at the store? And if you MUST try them on? Please do so over your current clothing. And really? That's just gross. My advice? Guess.

2. Panty bins? Yea those are organized for a reason. Be a gem and put things back where you got them from. And for those of you who just throw things down when you change your mind because "you're giving someone something to do." Yea that's a lie. You're lazy and all that does is make my job 10x more difficult.  You're not making my job... you're just giving me extra work to do.

3. There are too many sizes of bras. For real. It's a pain in the you-know-what sorting all those sizes and placing them with smallest in front and biggest in back.

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4. Almost all the men I came in contact with today began giggling like a little girl at the mention that we were working with "panties." Not even kidding. Grown. Men. Giggling.

5. All brands besides Victoria's Secret suck. Not in quality. But in sizing. Now... I've lost quite a bit in the chestal area since losing weight and can finally wear "normal" bra sizes. But I don't think I'll ever be able to wear anything except Victoria's Secret. Stupid cheap, adorable bras from megastores don't fit right. Boooo.

6. It's super awkward when you're sorting thongs and a lady comes running up to you because she's a. excited we have them and b. we have them in her size!! So guess who asked us for help in finding her size. I'm sorry lady... I don't need to pick out your thongs for you.

7. In general, humans are disgusting. Between gum stuck places, chewing tobacco spit carelessly on the floor, shelves, and product, dirty underwear from people trying it on sans sanitary barrier and putting it back on the shelf, and people leaving their soiled garments for us to clean up while they so kindly stole a fresh pair... humans. are. disgusting.

Be courteous people.

8. If I never have to purchase, see, or wear another pair of underwear or bra again, my life will be complete.

(Only kidding... I will continue to wear them in public. Home life, however, is fair game.)

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So there you have it. Some of the lessons I've learned while playing with panties.

Now off to drink my glass of wine, watch Law & Order SVU, and fall asleep.

Peace.

a thousand words...

So I've been randomly going back through all my pictures on Facebook for no apparent reason tonight.

I like to call it boredom.

Regardless, I stumbled upon one of my favorite pictures.

(and thought I'd share some of my other favs).

A picture is worth a thousand words.

When I look at this picture I see how much happiness my life holds. Those kids hold my heart. There's nothing but pure happiness on each one of those faces.

Just recently I was almost brought to tears thinking about "my kids" and how much I miss seeing their smiling faces on a daily basis.

Yes. I made the choice to leave Redeemer.

Yes. I made the choice to quit teaching... for the time being.

And as much as I thought I was done teaching for good, I'm not so sure anymore.

I have a possible opportunity to nanny beginning this fall and the prospect of it is so much more than exciting.

It's not teaching teaching... but I still get to impart wisdom upon the little minds of our world.

The teacher in me is already going crazy with ideas and the kid isn't even born yet.

Also... I don't have the job yet.

Haven't even met the family.

But my point is... I've realized I'm not done teaching yet.

I think I'm done teaching teaching for now... but I'm not done teaching kids.

All that from a picture.

Again with all the love.

Tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary...

365 days with him.

365 days of love, happiness, and pure joy.

This man has filled me up, healed my heart, and loved me more than I deserved.

I will forever be grateful to God for bringing J into my life.

This picture represents a large portion of my heart.

I love that man.

Maggie Jane.

Cold, screaming, unhappy Maggie Jane.

But oh so cute.

And she will never be this little again.

This represents cherished memories.

Two more girls that hold my heart.

And this picture just captures their true personalities.

Love it.

Love them.

And one last picture...

Snuggles during the movie on our last day of school.

Those girls had to get as close as possible to me every second of the day.

I was fighting back tears.

That was the last time I was going to see Miss P and the last time (for a couple of weeks at least) that I was going to snuggle with Mady Shoo.

Two more girls who hold my heart.

This picture represents pain, tears, over whelming love, and sadness for me.

And yet it's one of my favorites.

Have you ever really sat back and looked at your pictures again?

What were you thinking?

What were you feeling?

What does that picture represent to you?

Just something to think about...

amazingly. incredibly. ridiculously. and insanely.

So.

It's been awhile.

Pretty sure I win the slacker of the year award...

but whatevs.

I was busy finishing out the school year.

Then busy soaking up some vaca in Florida with some pretty amazing folks.

Then finding a job. And setting up a garage sale. And now working the garage sale.

So to catch up on my life (and eventually get to the true point of this post) I'm gonna steal an idea from Erin.

With some minor changes of course.

It's called currently I am....

Eating: Absolutely nothing. I'm stuffed from dinner. My lovely Mr. J took me out for dinner and I ate entirely way too much. But it was delish. He treats me real good.

Purchasing: Honestly... as little as possible seeing as I JUST got a job and need to save as much as possible. However, I did splurge tonight to purchase a song on iTunes. The winner?

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This is pretty much my jam. And my current fav movie. Thanks to my wonderful Florida familia. I've only watched it twice in the past 4 days. Oh and listened to the song a ridiculous amount of times.

((Now the the true point of this post... to tell you this)):

Looking forward to: July 9. Why? Because It will be 365 days since my amazing first date with the one and only J. (That's our 1 year anniversary for you folks that didn't get that).

Hard to believe it's been that long already. Phew!! But I wouldn't trade it for the world!! For our first date we went shopping, out to dinner at Haci, and went and saw a movie. Ted if I remember right. And we laughed hysterically together. It was perfection. He holds my whole heart.

Feeling: Blessed. Amazingly blessed. Incredibly blessed. Ridiculously blessed. INSANELY BLESSED. Let me tell you why. First - I have an amazing guy in my life. Like, for real amazing. He shows his love for me on a daily basis. Like, my heart is overflowing and feels like it could burst just at the mere thought of him!! Mushy? Yes. But I don't care. Aca-believe it. (Sorry.. couldn't help myself.) Second - I have a whole group of people who love and support me. My amazeballs Daddy has been helping me in any way he can. I have had people upon people notifying me of job openings like crazy. I get regular text messages asking for the latest on my job situation. I've had a crazy ridiculously awesome family offer to pay me way too much for watching their kid. And most importantly? The big man upstairs has made this all possible. I got a job!! I have a way to pay my bills right when I needed it the most!! Moral of the story? I'm way grateful for everything and everybody in my life right now!!

Thinking about: What am I not thinking about?! But most recently... it's been these guys.

I got to spend 9 truly awesome days with these guys in Florida. I miss them like crazy. This was probably the first time in all my many trips down to see them that I wasn't ready to come home. They hold a special place in my heart. :)  Here's some snip-its from my time with them..

 2 of the coolest cousins in the world.

 Isn't she for real beautiful?!?! 

 Beach day!!

 Sunsets and Sailboats.

 More beach day!

This woman is my rock. She keeps me grounded, focused, and positive. I wouldn't be who I am today without her beautiful face in my life!!

So now that I've relived all the awesomeness in my life and now have tears in my eyes because I couldn't be happier with my life right now I'm...

Ending This: With a full heart. All y'alls are truly awesome and my life wouldn't be the same without you. Know that I love each and every one of you and you all have a special place in my heart.

Peace.

happier than a bird with a french fry.

So I've been thinking lately....

that I'm ridiculously happy with my life right now!!

Does that mean I'm always smiling, laughing, and spreading my happiness around to everyone I meet? Not so much...

But even though I may be having a crappy day, ready to pull my hair out, or crying for no particular reason, I can promise you one thing.

I am happy with every aspect of my life!!

Wanna know what's got me so happy?

Well first... there's this guy.

Meet J.
He makes me laugh ridiculously hard on a regular basis.
Like... make you laugh so hard you can't breathe, you start crying, and your stomach tightens up so hard it hurts. That kind of laugh.

We have fun together. He's a pretty amazing catch. I'm a pretty lucky gal.

But he's not the only thing that makes me happy...
Wanna know what else makes me happy?
Coffee.
Hardcore workouts.
Friends.
Hugs.
Netflix.
Sleep.
Snuggles.
Kids.
Birds chirping.
Future possibilites.
Tea.
Laughing.
Reading.
The list is endless really...

Now I'm willing to share my secrets to my happiness.
Ready for this?

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In other words? Keep a positive attitude!! Is it easy? Absolutely not.

Some days, it seems impossible.

But guess what. It's not. It IS possible.

When those kids just won't stop yelling/fighting, your boss seems disappointed in you, and everything else seems to be going wrong....

Just breathe.

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This one is important. Life is never perfect. Don't fool yourself.

If you expect life to be perfect, you're going to be let down within 10 minutes of waking up every day.

But even when you wake up late, your hair just won't do what you want it to do, the outfit you had in mind is just not working with you... life can still be wonderful for the rest of the day.

Just breathe.

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Truth.

Can't say it better than that.

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This is probably my biggest "secret."

But it's not really a secret.

Spend some time with your Bible. Start a devotional. Pray. Just talk to God.

You'll feel happier. I promise.

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this one's for you.

First things first.

It's freezing.

Like.. ridiculous freezing.

Wind chill of -5??

I think it's time to move south.

Yuck.

 

But now onto the point of this post.

Because this one's for you.

Yes you.

The one who desperately wants to change her body image.

The one who wants to workout, just doesn't know where to start.

The one who can't afford a gym membership, but wants to start working on that summer body.

And the one who just wants to get more fit and healthier.

 

I've gotten some questions on different workouts to do at home.

...something that you can do in the comfort of your own home without a lot of equipment.

((I would eventually start investing in a set of dumbells. Start small and slowly build up.))

For this, I turn to Pinterest.

((You can go check out my board here))

 

But to save you some time and energy (cause we all need to preserve energy these days), I've decided to put a few workouts here to help get your started!

Now you don't have an excuse to not get your workout on tomorrow!!

 

So without further ado...

((Sorry... pictures will make this a long one))

 

First. Let's talk Tabata.

Tabata workouts are absolutely fantastic, killer, and quick.

Don't have a lot of time but want a great workout? Do a tabata.

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A tabata workout is working killer hard for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds.

For example, segment 1:

20 sec Mountain Climbers

10 sec rest

20 sec Bicycle Crunches

10 sec rest

20 sec Mountain Climbers

10 sec rest

20 sec Bicycle Crunches

10 sec rest

(repeat)

You can go hard for 20 seconds right? Yea.. that's what I thought.

Need a timer to help keep track of time?

This is what I use:

Free iPhone app right there!!

Need some more tabata ideas? Here's a great website that offers some different exercises:

Tabata Ideas

Warning: I sweat more during tabata workouts than any other workout I do. They're THAT awesome.

 

More workouts:

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Hope those all help give you some ideas!!

Now go kill it!!

 

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One more thing.

Don't be afraid of weights.

The more muscle you have, the more fat you'll burn throughout the day.

You don't have to become a body builder if you don't want to...

but don't skip out on strength training!!

 

Good luck and kick booty on your workout tomorrow!



forbidden.

Dum dum dum...

I'm about to bring up that forbidden topic.

You know...

that "D" word.

{diet}...

 

Yup.

I'm going there.

Embrace it.

 

 
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If only it was that easy...
 

As I've said before, I joined an 8-week weight loss competition.

We're 2 weeks in and I'm down 3.9%!!

9 lbs down.

15 lbs to go until I hit my goal.

 

To do this, I've been sticking to 1200 calories a day.

1200!!

Twelve hundred.

One thousand two hundred.

800 less than a normal person.

300 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 300 for dinner, and 300 for snacks.
Also known as... HOLY GUACAMOLE!!

 

Do you know how hard it is to stick to 300 calories or less for a meal?

It's hard.

 

But here's where it gets good...

 

I can do it!!

I'm 2 weeks in, averaging 1100-1200 calories a day, and not starving all the time!!

I haven't had any cravings for Mt. Dew.

Chocolate cravings are minimal.

I'm not even craving pizza!!

((Shocker, I know))

 

 It doesn't even feel like a ((diet)) anymore!!
Can I get a {WHOOP WHOOP}!!
It seems to be just a new way of life...
and I LOVE it!!

Losing 9 lbs in 2 weeks?
I've been doing a lot of this:

Running...
 

Eating low calorie lunches... ((soup is delicious on a cold day BTW))


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Finding motivation through Pinterest and Instagram...

I've also been reading a book. I'm only 5 chapters in and I would absolutely recommend it.
The book?
Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.
You can go buy it here.
It's worth your money. Promise.
It's helped me tremendously!!
Some snipets?
 

(You can thank me later.)

But...
Moral of the story?
Dont give up.
It is possible to do this.


2013. bring it on.

New year? New resolutions.

Honestly... part of me hates making resolutions.

Why make resolutions when your track record shows that you don't stick to most of them?

Well, the other part of me needs to make them.

Goals.

So here we are. The first day of the new year and I need to throw my new resolutions out there!

So feel free to hold me accountable.

Ask me how I'm doing with them.

Make me stick to them!

So... here we go!!

Physical Health:

-Finally hit my target weight. 50 lbs to go. I lost 50 lbs last year, I can do it again this year.

-Run 3 5k races.

-Train for a 10k race.

-Run up the S curves by the end of the year.

-Run at least 3 times a week.

-Do weight lifting at least 3 times a week. Push for 6 times a week.

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Personal:

-Find a new job that is more financially stable.

-Pay off 2 student loans.

-Try more new recipes.

-Research how to create an Etsy shop and possibly begin the process of starting one.

-Implement a daily/weekly cleaning schedule.

-Stick to a monthly budget.

-Get more organized!! 

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 Emotional:

-Blog more regularly. Aim for once per week.

-Read more books.

-Don't be afraid to take some "me time" whenever it's needed.
-Paint more!!

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Spiritual:

-Read the Bible daily.

-Do a devotional daily.

-Read more Christian books to help grow my faith.

-Pray daily.

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Simple enough right?

To get my fitness goals kicked off, I joined in with a small weight loss competition that my friend set up.

$25 cash to join.

8 weeks.

Weekly weigh-ins.

Cash prizes.

I'm determined to do this.

I've fallen off the wagon lately.

Gained some weight back.

Started drinking pop again.

My diet just went to the crapper.

But no more.

I'm getting back on track.

I WILL hit my goal weight this year.

50 lbs to go.

As far as the new job?

I went out on a limb already... took a leap of faith.

I turned in my intent letter marked as a "NO".

I am officially not going back to Redeemer next year.

And they've already filled my position for next year so there's no turning back!

Luckily I have made amazing friends with some families over the past few years and they are all willing to help me find a new job.

So I'm not too worried about it yet...

I have 5 months.

((yikes!!))

So there it is.

Personally, I think those are all easy, obtainable goals.

There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to stick to them.

I'm ready to get started and make my life better!!

Adios!!