Link up!!! SkinnyMeg Workout Wednesday - Feeling like a failure...

It's link up time! Workout Wednesday with SkinnyMeg!

Check out Skinny Meg's Blog! 

So this is supposed to be a kick ass super motivating blog post! YAY!

Nope. Not gonna lie. I've fallen off the bandwagon. BIG time. I'm hoping that blogging more about it, and linking up will help keep me motivated and help keep me accountable for my actions. I haven't gained a whole lot of weight, just a few pounds, so it hasn't been completely out of control.

I recently went to a seminar about Excellent Customer Service. One of the things we talked about was setting goals. When it comes to setting goals, there are a few things you need to do in order to be successful in achieving your goals. (Maybe everyone already knows this, but it was insightful to ME)

1. Write your goals down. Ok. So I'm DECENT at this. Not the best. I think my problem is, I write/type them, but don't have them in a place that I can SEE them everyday. So I'm thinking that I should write/type out my goals, and then write them on the big 'ol mirror in my bedroom. I've started to pick up on my blogging, so there's no reason why I can't pick up on my goals. :)

2. Set a time to have the goal completed!!!! THIS!!!!! This is something I don't really... do. And I should. This is another thing I feel could help with accountability. If I meet my "deadline", I'll reward myself--not with FOOD, but with a beauty/fashion/gaming item!

In lieu of this seminar and the valuable information I took from it, I'm making a list of goals for everyone to see, and I will be transferring these to the mirror I look into errrrryday. (I'm so vaaaaain.)

- Lose 15 lbs by December 31st. While this seems COMPLETELY obtainable, I want to be SAFE and obviously, getting my butt to the gym is challenging, so I think it's challenging-ly obtainable. Don't know if that's even a word. Don't care.

-Come up with a daily body section work out (leg day, arm day, back day, etc) by September 30th. I wanted to give myself enough time to REALLY research some moves that would work with the equipment I have access to, as well as what was safe for me as a newbie (again---*sigh*)

- Starting September 16th, I will ride my bike to and from work.

- Starting September 16th, I will incorporate a morning and evening routine for myself and my family. As well as a routine for the weekends.

I'm starting with these. And I'm stickin' to it.

The point is, I'm human. We're all human. We have ups, downs, sideways and backwards times. I've made some mistakes, but I learn from those mistakes and I make better decisions as I go. I've learned from the mistakes I've make before, and in doing so, has lead me to make better decisions. Because I've that, I'm not back up to 198 like I was when I started. I honestly don't know my weight, but I'm not concerned with the number right now. I'm more concerned with how I feel. Emotionally and physically.

Anyone else struggling like I am? Let's keep each other motivated!!!

To sweaty awesomeness and lean mean healthy bods!!! Let's guzzle some water! :D

Until next time!

As summer is drawing to a close...

It's been a long and interesting summer.

It almost seemed too short. It's time to get back to the ol' grind.

So here's a little of what's been going on:

Over the summer, I've acquired a lot of new beauty products. Some I love. Some not so much. I plan on "raving" and "ranting" about my favorites and the absolute horrible ones. I'm also thinking of doing a collective summer haul video.

My "recording studio" (not even close) is under construction. I'm working on better lighting and getting a desk and chair. Because sitting on the floor is uncomfortable. Trisha Paytas--I don't know HOW you do it. Hahaha. I've also been looking into a better camera, or better apps and a tri-pod to better utilize my iPhone 5. Work. In. Progress.

I've been getting into nail art as well. I purchased a SensatioNail gel starter kit, and haven't gone back to regular polish since. I'll mostly use the polishes I have for my toes, or nail art designs over the gel. Pretty versatile. I'm also learning to make acrylic 3D nail art.

I'm working on some designs for the blog. I have a friend who does web design and I'll be getting with them on how to implement some changes I want to make here.

While I fell off the fitness bandwagon, I'm still maintaining a weight of 174-176, depending on the day. Now that K is gone, I'll be hitting the gym after work to get back on track. I also got a bike! I nice folder bike. I'll have more details about that later.

I cut my hair shorter.

We got a kitten! She's a little devil. Her name is Michonne.

I've also been playing my XBox a lot more. I've REALLY been into Halo. Master Chief is awesome. He also happens to be the morning radio DJ on the station I listen to. Amazing, right!? MASTER CHIEF IN THE MORNINGS. Seriously though, his name is Steve Downes--for those who DON'T know about Halo. I'm admittedly, not very good at FPS type games, however, I've been getting better day by day. I've been practicing with COD Black OPS bots, and am about to graduate to Battlefield 3 online. Yikes. I'm scuurrred!

The hubs and I pre-ordered the XBox One. I can't wait to go get it! They're supposed to have a huge release party, give out all kinds of SWAG, etc. The features they're offering for the XBox One just fit our lifestyle. I'm looking forward to have everything accessible through ONE box!

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with what Microsoft is doing these days. The hubs purchased the Nokia Lumia 920 and it's pretty nice. Sturdy phone, smooth OS. I have a couple of complaints about it, but I have complaints about my iPhone too and it's still not nearly as many as I do for Android phones. Windows 8 is nice too. I like the interface, and how you can use the phone like OS or switch the a "normal" desktop version for those not familiar with how the new interface works. Again, I'll a more detailed review type post for stuff like this later on.

Here are some pictures of happenings from this summer:

What a sucker. He did NOT want a new cat. But he named her and does this...

The girls at the 1st Division Museum @ Cantigny Park

Climbin' on tanks. Kids love this shit!

"Fire!" - K

K finally got her ears pierced!

I got a shitty haircut!

Gabey and Michonne SOMETIMES get along. But they're not trying to kill each other, so we're cool.

K is excited to go to Santa's Village!

J got more than she bargained for.

What a silly head. 

What you can't see is our fat asses squeezed into a tiny ride...

                              

Pony ride!

                               

More ponies!

J exploring at Santa's Village

I got my hair fixed and a LOT shorter!

K's last day. I miss her terribly...

                                               

So that was my summer! I'm also taking requests for videos! Do you want to see a makeup tutorial, recreation, a nail design for a special occasion??? Email me and let me know!

KaBoom! 2013 and Mother's Day Weekend

I've had a real lazy couple of days. Just throwin' that out there. I'm not terribly concerned about it at this point as I'm about to bust out some squats while I'm writing this (booyah) and will hopefully be getting my OWN bike in the next coming weeks. Yay! Hello riding to and from work everyday! I'd like to be a runner, but my ankle just isn't having that right now. Someday, I'll get there. But for now, I'm gonna BIIIIIIIKE.

This weekend was eventful. On Saturday I headed to the south side of Chicago to help build a playground for a school that has never had a playground. I hitched a ride with a co-worker and headed down there at 7am... on a Saturday. Ugh. BUT it was totally worth it. Even though I didn't stay the whole time, I had a lot of fun. I got to work with parents and teachers of the school and it was really rewarding to see how happy they were. I only wish I could have stayed long enough to see the kids faces once it was done. As odd as it sounds, I wanted to help with the mulch (there was a LOT) but there was a TON of people helping with mulch, most of which were standing on top of the pile waiting for people to come back for more mulch. So I ended up hooking up with another co-worker and helped assemble some benches. The rest of my Saturday was spent being a veggie. 

KaBoom 2013

Mother's Day was relaxing too. We were supposed to get up early to go to a gun show... buuuut I sorta, kinda, maybe, slept in. Hey, I'm entitled to sleep in damnit! Work is crazy, takes up 85% of my week and since I had to get up early on Saturday, my body decided it was going to sleep in. So we went and got my mother in law a planter of purple flowers and a card. I already got my card on Friday since my 2 year old is impatient and gave it to me as soon as I got in the car. Still cute though. While the munchkin was napping, the hubs, myself and his brother headed to Ikea to pick up some display cases for John's legos. Don't hate on grown men having legos! I still play with legos too. Moving on-- I'm an Ikea-a-holic. If I was rich, my whole house with be nothing but Ikea furniture. With the exception of my blue Lazy Boy and my grandmother's china hutch. I could spend hours in Ikea JUST getting decorating ideas. I've even started a Pinterest board JUST for Ikea.

So horse IS on the menu.

So after Ikea, we went back to the 'rents and had steak for dinner--nom nom nom-- then went back home to get ready for the week. While getting things ready, I decided to take my measurements since I hadn't in about a month. Here are my measurements:

April 4th:
38- chest above bust
41- bust
38- waist
40- biggest part of "gut"
44- hips
25- left mid thigh
15.5- left calf
13.4- right upper arm

May 11th
37.5- chest above bust
39- bust
35- waist
39- biggest part of "gut"
41- hips
23- left mid thigh
15- left calf
13.5- right upper arm

That's a 12" loss! AAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNDDDD I woke up to this today:

#progress. 1/2 way to 1st BIG goal!

Narcissistic moment in 3...2...1...

I'm so proud of myself. I'm really doing this. This isn't just another go balls to the wall for a week or two. I've been doing this for over 2 months now, and I have a lot to show for it. It would be so stupid of me to turn back now. I just have to keep pushing. I've made LIFESTYLE changes, and will continue to make them as I progress. My portions are smaller, and because of that, I eat less for my bigger meals. Now when I go to Chip Chip (commonly known as Chipotle') it's like getting a 2 for 1 meal!

OH and guacamole!!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?!?! I'm seriously an addict. It's my banana replacement. I HATE bananas and avocados are a great source for potassium which is supposed to help recovery from hard workouts. So I'll now be buying avocados for snacks. 

I haven't been hitting the gym as much as I'd like to. To be honest, I've been super stressed with work. Ever since I fired my (ex) friend, the phones have been too crazy for me to even TRY to eat lunch at my desk. I would usually eat lunch at my desk AFTER I hit the gym. But I have 2 new people I'm trying to get on the phones, and once they're up and going, I'll head back to the gym to do more strength training. For now, I'll continue to bike and do squats. Maybe some push-ups. Maybe. 

My hubs said he's going to have to get me pepper-spray since the last 2 out of 3 times I've ridden home, I've almost gotten into a fight with some a-hole being a douche at the fact that I'm riding a bicycle. I just don't understand why people have to run their mouth about people on motorcycles and bicycles. It's ridiculous  I don't even ride on the street because I don't want to get hit. 

So my next post will be about the May Ipsy bag reveal and April Ipsy bag review--which will be a video review as well. I'll also go over my "Day and Night" nails too. Since I just got my May Ipsy bag today, I'll hopefully be doing the video for it tomorrow and have it up by the end of the week.

Day and Night Nails

Time for bed >.< zZzZzZz

Want to know more about Ipsy? Want an Ipsy bag? Click HERE for more information!

Personal Victory

Check out Skinny Meg's Blog! 

This weight-loss journey has been a long and bumpy road. But I'm seeing and feeling results. It drives me and keeps me going

Last year, I had made a goal to ride a bike to work. I failed miserably. When I rode from my in-laws to my condo, I was miserable. It was less than a mile and I was wiped. I gave up on trying to ride to work and just started riding around the neighborhood. That didn't last long either. I quickly became discouraged about not being able to ride to work and gave up after a few tries.

Since I've been doing some spinning at work, and consistently working out I decided I'd give it another try. So I went to Target and got some some new workout capris (haul coming via video!) a new water bottle and got together with my bestie. My husband purchased a Dahon folding bike a few weeks ago and threw out his piece of crap bike and the bestie went out and bought himself a new bike too.

So I hopped on the husband's Dahon and the bestie and I headed to my work. And to my surprise, it wasn't completely exhausting. I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. I had expected to get to work and have to take a long break before heading back, or possibly needing the husband to come and pick me up. But when I got there, I was greeted with this breathtaking view:

Pond behind my work

I could have turned right around and headed home, but I decided to stick around and enjoy the view. We managed to watch 5 deer cross the pond as well as a few beavers swimming in the water and some fish jumping out of the water. It was a nice break from the hustle of life. After a few minuets, we hoped back on the bikes and headed home. I wasn't sore or tired. I felt great! I didn't really feel anything until the next day.

Bike Beasts

I have some crap-tacular shoes, to say the least. And a bum ankle to go right along with it. So combine the two after a nearly 8 mile bike ride and an entire afternoon at Brookfield Zoo on my feet nearly the whole time make for a very sore me. I was hobbling by the end of the day. Not. Fun. The trip to the zoo was frustrating on top of that. I don't understand why in the world a-holes with $2,000+ cameras go to the zoo to take a million photos and block any decent view for all the kids that are they to see the animals. I seriously had to restrain myself from going off people. Plus not to mention all the rude people pushing to get closer and they manage to shove right past you. You try to be polite and let people pass, and all they do is walk all over you. I was glad to leave. Maybe next time we'll go during a crappy weekday so I don't have to deal with all the jerk-asses.

The booger

Moving on!

I did ride the bike home tonight. I have to say, I'm slowing becoming obsessed with biking. I'd love to get up and ride to work, but alas, the husband is off work tomorrow and plans on riding most of the day. Ow well. I get my hour lunch back and can hit the gym and spin for a little bit.

On a more makeup related note: I showed extreme restraint tonight going to the store. I have recently fallen in love with Nude lipsticks and almost walked out the door with 3 more lipsticks. And I just purchased 2 over the weekend. >.< I have a problem. Hahaha. But I put them back and picked up what I ACTUALLY went to the store for. Pull-ups. Glamorous, no?

Cute booger

There is also an April Ipsy bag review coming soon. I may pair that with my Target haul--or I may do that separate  I haven't decided yet. I'm just building up the courage to get in from of the camera and say something. I'd like to do more videos. Maybe do some tutorials someday. One thing at a time. I'll start with hauls and reviews. I also plan on doing an "opening" of my ipsy bags, and maybe even a look using the products. Just some ideas I've been tossing around.

Anyone doing any challenges this month? I've been doing the 30 day squat challenge and so far so good. My legs feel SUPER tight all the time, but definitely not painful anymore. It's got me excited to do more strength training. I think next month I want to try something for my arms. Since I have almost NO upper body strength.

Well I'm running out of gas and drifting to sleep as I sit here trying to type this, complete billing all while listening to my bestie play some Minecraft. I'm jealous.