so close.

It's Friday and I'm just about as excited as they come. Yes, because it's Friday. But also because I woke up this morning weighing 202.5. 202.5 people.
I am so close to one-derland I can taste it!  I know this weekend is going to be the weekend I see "199" or less on the scale.  I've worked so hard this week and the results are definitely showing.  Yesterday I had to go to the dentist and get my teeth cleaned, which I try to avoid like the plague if possible, and I also got my teeth whitened, which was pretty exciting/traumatic.  Having your mouth clamped open for an hour after they scrape and poke your teeth for an hour is just wrong, but I asked them to do it all in one session so I guess that's my bad.  My teeth were so sore yesterday and I don't handle mouth pain very well, so I went straight home (didn't pick up the wedding invitations like I had scheduled) and took a pain pill and went to sleep.  On the couch.  For the rest of the night.  So I was worried this morning that the scale wouldn't move, but it still did.  I'm the smallest I've been since I was 17 years old and in much better shape.  So fingers crossed that this weekend will be a celebration of a huge milestone!
Just a short post for today, but I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
SW:  311 CW:  202.5 -108.5

one workout DVD & two cans of squash.

shirt from Reebok

Lately, I've been really upset about the fact that I can't find time to go to the gym.  Last night, I went to the grocery store, came home and unloaded groceries, and then hit the gym for a Body Flow class at 7:30.  By the time I got home and food prepped for this week, it was almost 9:30!  I still had to shower and by that time there was no way I was going to get any school work done.  This also applies to vice versa situations-  if I come straight home and do school work, then I don't feel motivated to go back out late at night and workout/I miss all the good classes at the gym. SO.  I decided that, come hell or high water, I was going to make time for both.  I came home tonight and dug out all my old work out DVD's.  I ended up with a Jillian Michael's 30 Minute DVD that kicked my butt!  It felt so good to get my body moving, sweating and breathing hard again.  And I didn't even have to change clothes or get in the car.   #timemanagementsuccess  Unfortunately for me, I don't have any weights to workout with and I had never done this DVD before so I was super unprepared.  So I grabbed the first thing I could find for a little extra resistance and it just so happened to be two cans of squash.  I'm not even kidding.  You gotta make it work, people!

I've also been food prepping like a boss lately with fresh deli turkey, garlic hummus, strawberries and grapes, celery and peanut butter, and I even let chicken and broccoli cook in the crock pot over night last night.  I also discovered through an unfortunate bout of embarrassing gas, bloating and constipation that I am lactose intolerant.  So I bought some almond milk, some muscle milk powder, and a blender bottle and decided to make my own tasty smoothies every morning instead of going through Dunkin for their coffee.  And I have to say, I don't really miss it that much.  

I also have been talking about reach my goal of being under 200 for several weeks now and this week I am BOUND AND DETERMINED to get under 200.  It has to happen people.  It is time and I'm going to make it happen.  I was so tempted at work the other day to go find anything sweet and shove it in my mouth, but I stayed strong and didn't.  Old habits die hard, even after all this time, so I am really working on building my will power back up to where it was right after surgery.  Once life starts getting back to normal it can be difficult, but I'm definitely not giving up the fight!   Lastly, I figured I would share the latest progress pictures with you.  Even though I am 206.5, I can definitely tell that I am still losing inches.  When I put these pictures side by side, I couldn't believe how skinny my face looked!  It is still the wildest feeling ever. 

One-derland, here I come!!

Hope you all are having a great week so far! We are halfway there!

TA-DA! (again)

Well, well, well... what have we here? A new design? I think so.
Let me just tell y'all something.  If you need a design, want a design, or just want to look at some pretty design work, then you need to find Brooks ASAP and go look at her design site, Two Oaks Design.  I have had a few pre-made blog designs and a few custom designs, and in all sincerity, this one just feels like home.
Brooks listened to every.single.last.detail. that I wanted to keep and change about my blog, and if I wasn't sure then she gave her input, which was always right on the mark.  The turn around time was amazing and she made sure that my every need and want was met.  This girl knows her stuff.  I loved working with her so much that I requested one of everything she offers (see:  FB & Twitter) and even asked her to make me a media kit.  Which turned out fabulously, I must say.  So thank you, Brooks, for just being pretty much amazing in every way.  P.S. Come back to Alabama.  Thanks.
On a more serious note...  I didn't blog last week.   It felt trivial.   One of our best friends lost his father much too soon to a long and hard fought battle with cancer.  We spent a lot of time with their family throughout the week and it just seemed so much more important than anything else I had going on.  I'm not going to spill their business all over my blog, however I will ask that if you're the praying kind, or even just the good vibes kind, send some up for our dear friends.  They truly are one of the most amazing families I've ever had the privilege of knowing.  I would appreciate it and I know they would as well.
Have a great Monday everyone! It's Bachelorette night and I can't wait to see Josh Murray pop up on my screen! Anyone else have Josh M. as their favorite? (if you read the spoilers, you better keep those lips zipped!!)

shopping at the "normal" stores

Yesterday was a really amazing day.  We had Father's Day lunch with my parents and grandparents, and then we headed out to the Outlet Mall.  I looove the Outlet Mall, but in the past I never could buy anything.  I never could go into the Gap, J. Crew, Banana Republic, even sometimes Old Navy and purchase anything because I couldn't fit into even their largest sizes.

Yesterday, I walked into Lane Bryant, my usual shopping go-to store, and my world changed:  their clothes were extremely too big for me.  The fact that I am too small to shop in that store made me feel strange and like something was wrong, because for so many years, that was the only place that I could shop.  And honestly, at my heaviest, their clothes were getting a little snug.

I walked into Gap and bought a really cute orange pair of size XL linen shorts, as well as an XL shirt.  The last time I could fit into any size in the gap was when I was 13 years old.  (true story, people.)

I also found several things in J.Crew that I loved, but even at the Outlet and with the discounts, their prices are a little more than I'm used to paying.  A tee shirt that's half off but still $20 is just a bit too much for me.  (can we say Tiffany Tastes & Target Pockets?  that's me.)

I have been shopping at Old Navy a lot lately.  I fit into a size 16 pair of shorts and felt amazing!  So when we arrived at the Outlet and I saw the Old Navy sign, I almost had a fit!  The store was huge and everything was marked down AND on sale for at least 30% off, some things even 50% off.  I bought another pair of shorts, blue striped, and three shirts, SIZE LARGE.  I truly have no idea when the last time I could wear a size Large shirt at Old Navy.  Even just the comfortable fitting little cotton ones, which are the ones I bought yesterday.  

I still haven't made it under 200 pounds, which like I've said before is a result of my lack of time for the gym, but after yesterday, I feel amazing.  The weight loss aspect of my life isn't always at the forefront, but yesterday it definitely was, and in such a positive way.  I'm so thankful for the surgery, every single day, but especially on days like yesterday when I can feel normal, healthy and beautiful.  When I'm walking away from the long maxi dresses and heading to the short ones because I'm no longer ashamed to show my legs.  When I'm buying shorts and cute outfits from "normal" stores and feeling amazing in them.  When I no longer care what others think of my perfectly imperfect body.  Those are the times when I know God's plan for me is amazing, and that this journey of mine, even when it isn't about the weight loss, is on the right path.

Happy Sunday, y'all.  Thank God for your blessings and be a shining light for someone today.  

the world cup and just no.

I hate to disappoint all your World Cup fans out there, but I couldn't care less about soccer if I tried.  I realize this is an every-four-years-the-world-stops-everything kind of event, but I just can't.  The vuvuzela noise makers are my worst nightmare and people chanting and screaming the whole.entire.time. is just like, what is happening right now?  #exhausting

I feel ya, sir.

Okay, to be fair, I realize that most people don't understand the Southern traditions and obsession with college football.  No one understands why my mother about lost her mind when I set my wedding date for October, smack dab in the middle of football season.  Have y'all seen the ALFA Insurance commercial, with Sweet Home Alabama playing in the background, and the parents were upset because their daughter set their wedding date for the third Saturday in October?  Yep.  That commercial is basically the story of my life. 

But soccer?  I never have and never will understand why it's so popular.  And it seems as though the entire world (thus, the world cup) is all about soccer except for the United States.  Like, people shut down entire cities and countries when their team is playing.  I'm sorry, but it's extremely anticlimactic to watch people kick a ball back and forth for hours before someone scores a goal.  Yes, that one second of goal scoring is exciting, but like, three hours later?  zZzZzZzZzZzZz   Sorry, what was I saying?

Happy Saturday everyone!
And if you're into this soccer business, well, then Go Team.

[insert vuvuzela noise here]