Before I
get to the weekly goal linkup, I first want to say thank you to everyone who
read and commented on my rant on Saturday :) I really thought while writing it
that nobody would probably read through it, and I definitely wouldn't receive
any comments. So every one of them meant a lot to me and I appreciate it. And I
also hope I made you all feel appreciated in my responses.
After my rant, I got off work early and, you guessed it, went wine tasting. Oops.
It was a gorgeous day in the eastern part of San Diego county, and I got to wear my new Mandy Maxi from Kiki La'Rue!!! I'm obsessed.
So glad one of my best friends Nicole could come finally!
Yes, together we are Nicole Squared.
Sweet picture of me and my momma.
Cheesin' with the bottle of cab franc I spent way too much money on.
I. Love. My. Dress. And everything else I've gotten from Kiki La'Rue. Speaking of...I also finally got the chance to wear this dress I ordered a while back from their inventory clearance sale:
As far as I know, they still have this dress in stock in Blue.
That ^^^ was before my best friend/sorority sister Lindsey's birthday dinner at Lips, a local drag queen dinner show. It's SO fun, and I highly recommend going if you are ever in San Diego.
With the birthday Queen :)
If you're celebrating anything, after the show they call you up
on stage to take a picture. Lindsey went there. Hahahaha
After the dinner, I got to go pick up my new friendboy from the airport. I'll say that we've been dating for about two months and I really like him. He's in the military, so he was gone for two weeks and then here for a few days and then he went home for leave for another two weeks, which is why I picked him up from the airport. We got to spend yesterday together (hence no social media at all yesterday lol), and now he'll be gone again for another week and a few days. But then after that, he'll be back for a while. So fingers crossed this turns into something good!!
Moving on...
Last week's goals were to make it to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I made it there Tuesday and Wednesday. Which I'm ok with. I also had a goal to make myself sweat there even with my toe in it's condition. Which I did. My final goal was to track better on myfitnesspal. I did ok. I completed two entries, which is more than I have in a long time! Baby steps.
This week, my goals are:
Go to the gym tonight, Wednesday, and Thursday (even though I have a kickball game Thursday). Friday is a Tim McGraw concert (heck yes!) that I am going straight from work to.
RUN! I want to run again. So bad. But I do hate the treadmill, so maybe this weekend when I'm home I can run around my neighborhood.
Track, track, track!!! Keeping this one on the list.
I wish everyone luck in their endeavor to complete their goals this week :)
Again, thank you to everyone who commented on my ranting on Saturday, and I WILL practice what I preach.
Good morning blog world! Happy Monday...said no one ever. It's sad and gray and rainy here in San Diego. Womp womppppp.
But this weekend managed to be a good one, broken toe and all. Friday night consisted of me being a bum at home with my puppy. Still fun.
Saturday was CRAFT DAY!! One of my bestest friends Cassandra is literally a crafting/DIY/home decor/fashion guru. It's insane (she's the one who's closet I went shopping in that one time). She's making me 2 awesome aprons that I'm suuuuper excited about AND she made me some adorable candle-holders and other little things for my room, and I made a scarf out of a t-shirt (pics soon promise). Meanwhile, I made her BLOG pretty!!!! I can't wait for her to start blogging--it's gonna be badass. Check her out in the meantime.
Making over her blog made me want to re-do mine. I know I just did it, like a month ago, but I have ADD and get bored with things easily. So don't be surprised if one day it's suddenly completely different-looking haha. You've been warned.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo--aka Cinco de WINO for us! We went wine-tasting in temecula with my aunt and family friend and stopped at Bel Vino, Wilson Creek (my fav where I got to have a Zin. Port straight out of the barrel...amazing), and Danza del Sol (not one of my favs).
1. Stick to an average of 1200-1500 calories per day since I can't really work out.
2. Do toning exercises every day--I can even do squats, really. Situps, leg lifts, anything that doesn't involve actual running or anything.
3. Get time outside in the sun every day. I try to go for a walk around my hotel's property every day at lunch just to get some vitamin d (and look at the ocean). I think I can wobble my way outside at least with a broken toe-just might have to skip the walk.
4. Lose 1 pound. I've gained about 5 back since falling off the wagon. So if I can lose just one this week with what's working against me, I'll be happy.
What are your goals??? Let's encourage each other!!!.
OK people. After today's workout, I had to write this post. Now, I'm no expert at working out--in any way, shape, or form. I'm just a girl who's struggled with her weight the majority of her life, has never been athletic, and is trying to get her ish together.
But, I am a damn good direction-follower!!!
I first heard of circuit workouts when Curves became a huge hit many years ago (which feels crazy to say. I'm so old.), but back then I wasn't motivated at all to put any effort whatsoever into changing myself for the better and getting healthy. Fast-forward to 2013 when I joined Chuze Fitness here in San Diego, I discovered the circuit room, which you can read about here. I thought it was an awesome concept and really feel like I'm truly getting in a good workout every time I do it.
However, I am getting really sick and tired of being cut in the circuit (see below), and seeing people wasting 30 minutes of their time in the gym because they're not doing it right. Again, I struggle with gym etiquette a lot and tend to just keep my mouth shut about everyyyyything. But this is my blog so I'm going to write about it. Here's how to get a workout in, in the circuit room.
-Read the instructions. They should be posted on the wall. Or ask someone who works at the gym!!!
-It's designed to be a 30 minute, full-body workout. Therefore, if you're all done and look at your watch and see you've only workout out for 10, 15, or 20 minutes, you didn't do it right.
-When you're starting on the circuit, you are supposed to pick any machine or cardio step to start on. To avoid cutting someone in line, which is extremely rude and inconvenient and disruptive to their circuit, wait for the current minute to go, then watch where everyone goes during the 30-second changing period. Then, pick a machine or cardio step that is open. This seems like common freaking sense to me, so I'm continuously baffled as to how this is so difficult for people to do.
-PUSH. YOUR. SELF. The alternating minutes to the ones where you're doing a weight machine are designed...for cardio!!!! What a concept!!! Don't stand there and lift your legs up and down. Step up and down at a quick pace and get your heart rate up. Doesn't anyone remember good ole-fashioned 90's aerobics? Do something you remember your momma doing in front of the TV. She was getting her heart rate up big time. The time to let your heart rate drop is meant to be when you get to the weight machine, not when you get to the cardio steps.
OK, that last tip is a bit personal. And I'm sorry. I understand everyone's version of pushing themselves is going to be different. But just think about the overall purpose of the circuit workout and ask yourself "am I doing this the right way?" If you don't feel like you're getting in a full-body workout, you're either doing something wrong in general, or you're not pushing yourself hard enough. It's not meant to be some easy-peasy copout to a real workout. It IS a real workout!!
Also, for me personally, I don't feel like the amount of actual cardio I get in a circuit is enough, so I start with at least 15 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, anything to break a sweat for an extended period of time.
OK, off my soapbox I go.
On a completely different note, this weekend consisted of a fun-filled, exhausting day of wine tasting with my mom, her friend, and my friend. Does anyone else think wine tasting is extremely tiring??? Anyway. It was a blast. And an absolutely gorgeous day.
Here's the view from one winery:
And the same view at sunset:
Doesn't that just take your breath away? California really is beautiful.
Here's a pic of my momma and me:
My friend and me:
We were super excited about wearing our hats,
courtesy of her boutique. I mean closet.
And our little fabulous group:
Yes, my mom's shirt does say "drink up bitches." God, I love her.
Here's also a pic of our little spread at the first winery. They had a fish-taco food truck, and we got some cheese and crackers from inside. And a bottle of their rose.
It was a fun, fabulous, sassy weekend to say the least. I also go to lay out on our little patio area on Saturday with my sweet Winnie Pooh. She loves the sun just as much as her momma:
That face!!!!
Ahhhh. Life is good.
In all honesty, life is hard. Really, really hard. And I have some major struggles going on in my head and my heart right now. But I'm so thankful for the blessings in my life. And I'm thankful that I keep up on this blog and remind myself of those blessings on a pretty regular basis. Because going your entire life without recognizing the amazing things God has placed in it is just miserable in so many ways.
Anyhoo. I'm currently obsessed with Carrie Underwood's Blown Away CD. I'm obsessed with her in general, but this CD is just amazing. One of my favorite songs on it is called "Nobody Ever Told You." Part of the song goes Mirror mirror on the wallActing like it knows it allTells you lies of vanityIt doesn't care what's underneath All hung up on the negativeDoesn’t have to be the way it isWish you could see yourself the way I do
I know, I know. I'm getting real deep this post. But I can't help it. Carrie Underwood does that to me. I'll leave you with a video of the song:
Well. This has been one helluva weekend. It's had many ups and a few big downs, and I feel really weird about everything right now.
I won't even talk about the downs because it's not worth it.
The ups were as follows:
Friday night consisted of going bar-hopping with a friend in North Park, an area of San Diego I've always considered to be 'too cool' for me. Honestly it's very up and coming, and full of 'trendsetters' and 'hipsters' and, well, that just isn't me, y'all!!! I listen to country music. I wear pearl earrings and bright colors. I like chevron. The list goes on and on to prove I am NOT cool enough for North Park! But one of my best friends (who is cool enough) just moved there and is walking distance to some neat little places. We found a whiskey bar and I about died when we walked in. It's called Seven Grand. I ordered a Kentucky Mint Julep, obviously.
Pretty cool presentation.
Then we walked out and saw directly across the street a place called Splash Lounge and under it it said "wine bar" and since we're both winos that was the obvious next stop. It's AMAZING. I referred to it as an alcoholic arcade because it's set up like Dave and Busters with a little card you load with money (like their power card) and they have these wine-vending-machine-things that each have different prices for the tastings--the cheapest was fifty cents and the most expensive was 10 bucks. Tempting, but that's ridiculous for a single tasting portion of any wine in my opinion. I prefer two buck chuck. Anyhoo, we shared a card with twenty bucks on it and had a grand ole time.
We went to one more bar after that which was a little out of my comfort zone, had one drink and left, then went and got garlic fries at a place across the street from her house. Drunk munchies. And no, none of what I consumed that night went on MyFitnessPal. Ooooopsies.
So Friday was fun. Saturday I got my hair done.
Gotta love looking like you're trying to communicate with another planet. I go to Diesel in Kensington and it's amazing. Extremely expensive but totally worth it. Finished product:
Blondddddeeee!!!! I love it.
The rest of Saturday sucked ass and we are now moving on.....
Today started with bottomless mimosas at Cabo Cantina in Pacific Beach. PB is much more my style than North Park I must say haha. Then I saw a little boutique across the street with an amazing chevron dress on display outside, so even though I was probably an entire size bigger than I was on Friday from all the food and alcohol consumption, I went in to try it on. Unfortunately they only had a medium in that particular dress, but then I found this one...
Ignore my awkward face. I snapped the pic to send to my friend who left before I tried it on.
My friend didn't like this dress on the hanger but when I sent her the picture she decided she liked it. I LOVE IT. And the little gay boy made me put on an overpriced belt with it. It looked cute so I think I'll go buy a reasonable one at Target but I DID buy the dress. I can't wait to wear it!
Can I just say this was a huge deal to me? I have NEVER been able to fit properly into clothes at little boutiques like this that only have S, M, and L and usually run small. I was high on life when I put that dress on.
Oh, I also prettified my iPhone! I used the app cocoppa after finding out about it on pinterest. It's a weird app, but it's not too tricky once you get the hang of it. I referred to this blog post to walk me through it. Cute right?!
And in case you were wondering, no, I did not work out at all this weekend. Womp womp.... But tomorrow I have the day off (Yes I got a 4-day weekend during this job transition. Hollllaaaaaa) so I'm going for another morning run around the hood and then later will go to the gym. Two workouts in one day. I may die.
Anyway, that's all for now. Sorry for the monster post. You can also find all of those pictures on my Instagram so follow me!!
Here's to a good day tomorrow and an amazing start to a new chapter of my life when I start my new job on Tuesday. I'm. So. Excited!!!!!!!!!!!!
I HAVE A NEW JOB!!!!!! I'm SO excited about this. While I've learned a lot at my current job, I feel it's time to move on and start the career I've wanted for a while. I studied Hospitality and Resort Management in school and just couldn't find a job in the field when I graduated. My ultimate goal is to work in either sales or revenue management in a nice hotel, so starting out as a Reservations Agent at a GORGEOUS, very well-known, boutique hotel is a huge opportunity. Check it out:
Not a bad view from the office, huh?
Sorry it took me to so long to post this, it's just been a crazy week (for good reason, though!). My two weeks' notice has officially been put in so I can 'publicize' it now. In the spirit of a new job--and getting to wear clothes and shoes because they're cute as opposed to just because they're comfortable for 11 and a half hours per day, and in the spirit of losing weight, I went a little crazy at New York and Company today. I'm officially a 12, y'all! Hollllerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'm stoked. I got pants, shirts, and a pair of jeans. I also got two new pairs of shoes (to replace those heinous black flats I wear currently that are comfy like slippers).
Yesterday I got to spend quality time with a long lost friend and sorority sister. She was an older sister from when I was at Northeastern (a story I'll tell one day) who I looked up to a lot, and who's been living on the East Coast since she graduated. But, she's finally decided to move out to San Diego in the next few months! I'm sooo excited! She came out to look at places/have a mini vacay, so we went wine tasting with our moms at Orfila.
It was a beautiful day. I can't wait for her to move out here!
Now onto the thing I've been lagging on lately: weight loss. I officially cancelled my Weight Watchers account. I bought 3 months in January and lost 15 pounds. I'm thankful for that and the fact that it taught me how to track what I'm eating based off more factors than just calories, but I just didn't keep up with it like it's intended to be. I'm debating other food tracking apps, so if you have any suggestions, hit me up!
To keep myself motivated, I'm joining up with Kassie and Leigh Ann in Operation Red Bikini. Yes, it ends in a little under two months, but that's more than enough time to drop another size or two. My goal is to be a comfortable size 10 by May 31st. I'm a *slightly tight* size 12 now. Ideally that would mean I'm at 170 pounds too. I can do it!
Anyone else doing this challenge?
Anyhoo, time to get off here. Ta ta for now, fools!
