Easter

Hope you had a Happy Easter weekend!

It went by too fast like every weekend does, but it was one of my favorite Easter's yet. Lots of family time, boyfriend time and of course, yum-o food.

My brother and his fiance came in town on Saturday morning from DC, so it really was a whole weekend of drinking celebrating. On Sunday, we got up early and went to church, then came back to my parents house and feasted until our tummy's were about to burst. I seriously should've put on stretchy pants.

Thennnn, Kenny and I went to his parents house and did it all over again. The eating part, I mean.

I'd be lying if I said I was bummed I had to eat delicious food again.

I was soo excited about my dress (See photo above) I wore on Easter. It was absolutely beautiful, but get this--I haven't worn the dress since I was 13....ummm yea. I'm almost 25.

No, I'm not kidding.

But to my defense, I got several compliments on how gorgeous it was and I seriously think it looked way better on me this time around than when I was a chubby teeny-bopper. One of those classic cut Anne Taylor dresses, ya know?!

I know what you're thinking.
Believe me, I do shop. Probably Way too much, actually.

Switching gears...

Tomorrow is day uno at Victoria's Secret!
I'm sooo excited, even though it's just training and going over the basics.

I'll keep you posted :)

WINNING.

Hello, friends.

Sorry it's been so long. Bare with me as I finish up my last 2 weeks of escuela.

I'll try to be better.

Speaking of school, this week has pretty much been H-E-double hockey sticks on the school front. Just a lot going on and I'm majorly bumming that I won't be graduating until August.

But on a happier not, I GOT THE JOB AT VICTORIA'S SECRET!!!!!!!!

Did I ever tell you about that interview, by the way?!

OMG! I didn't! It was hilarious/sweat-inducing/super awkward all in one.

It was a group interview so there were 4 of us girls who were candidates for the job, being interviewed by one girl. That in itself was awkward because we were all sitting there staring at each other and sizing each other up. The interviewer had never hired people before and it was pretty obvi she had zero clue as to what she was doing because she'd ask us a question and then we'd each have to answer the same question.

One girl alwayssss went last and would say (EVERY TIME) "yea, I pretty much agree with what they all said." (So I counted her one less competitor)

Another girl kept referring to her current internship and how much she loved it there and how she was so excited they offered her a full time position and she just was sooo excited...so every single one of us in the room, including the interviewer were like "sooo, why are you applying here again then?" (I considered her one less competitor)

So now in my head it's between me and this one other girl, right? You look at her and we even look alike. She's tall with a cute top on and a pencil skirt.......guess what I'm wearing? A cute top and a pencil skirt.

Oh yea, and did I mention I'm tall? And we both had nude pumps on? Causeee we did.

And she was super nice.

So I was really starting to feel the pressure and then, get this, the girl CRIED!

Yes, I'm completely serious.

She started crying. The interviewer asked about our greatest achievement and she had some answer about how she really struggled at a time in her life, but overcame it, and she was balling.

Needless to say, I pretty much knew that I got the job, longggg before I got the call.

Hilarious, right?

I actually did feel kind of bad........kind of.

Anyway, I start my training this upcoming Thursday!

I'm super excited about this because:
1. I get to dress up cute for work
2. Employee discount......enough said
3. Money...duhhh


WINNING.

Quit Talking That Blah, Blah, Blah

Guess what!

I officially decided today that I'm definitely going to do that half marathon on May 15th.

YEAAAA BUDDY!!!!!!

You probably thought by my previous posts that I had already decided to do it.......but the truth is, I was kind of on the fence.

I was debating between running the 10K (which I've run before there) or the half. I've done both of these distances before, but I felt like the 10K wouldn't really be a push for me to do and the half may be an all out shove.

I must be a glutton for punishment because it's official...I'm doing the half!

There.

I promise it will be easier said then done.

OH! And more exciting news, because who doesn't crave juicy news?

I crave juicy anything, take that as you will.

But anyways, the big news...

I have an interview to work at Victoria's Secret on Friday...I'm so pumped!!

I want to be an Sales Associate Angel!


I'll be graduating at the end of August, but only have to take one class this summer, so this is the perfect job to make a little money while finishing up and G-R-A-D-U-A-T-I-N-G!!!

I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

One last thing though, as you all know by now, when I'm exercising and dieting to try to lose weight, you all know my diet is where I have issues. Major issues. I can't stay away from sweets or restrict myself whatsoever without going crazy and pigging out later in the day. With that being said, what tips do you have to stick to a diet? What eating plan do you use? Any insight is helpful and appreciated!!

It's Like I Checked Into Rehab...

Hello, friends!

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days....I had the craziest/best weekend ever.

Here's a recap in list form of everything I did Friday-Sunday:
Friday:
1) Worked downtown Cleveland promoting Coors Light for the Cleveland Indian's home opener...it's was ridiculous....and by ridiculous, I obvi mean AWESOME!
2) Raced home and went to one of my workout buddy's art show with my man...ironically both of my workout buddies are fabulous artists. Her show was beautiful and she's so talented.
3) Hung out with my man for a few hours
4) Met up at a local bar to say goodbye to one of my closest friends...he's off to Army basic training for 8 months......I was sooo glad I went, despite being exhausted by this point, because a lot of my other friends were there and it meant a lot to my friend.

Saturday:
1) Went out to a Hibachi Japanese steakhouse for dinner with my amazing boyf......I got a fruity drink and a delicious chicken/rice/veggie dish.........and even caught a shrimp in my mouth!
2) From dinner, we met up with one of the boyf's coworkers to celebrate her birthday at a local bar.......and then we took a party bus out for the whole night, hopping from bar to bar with 20 people or so......SOOO much fun! (If you haven't been on a party bus, ps, you really must round up your friends and get one!)
3) To top the night off, we stayed at a really nice Marriott Hotel, right by the last bar we went to.....HELLOOOO Perfect night!

Sunday:
1) Went to early morning church with the fam......."white in the gills," as my oldest brother pointed out...aka hungover as hell/trying to not throw up my guts in the middle of mass
2) Came home and had a tasty homemade brunch with the fam
3) Went to the Indians game with my oldest brother, his wife and my youngest brother....the fresh air made all the difference in my hangover and I had an amazing time, despite running on like 6 hours of sleep TOTAL for the weekend!


Something else to add into my GREAT weekend: I didn't stick to my diet one bit!

It was wonderful...minus the part where I probably didn't lose any weight/probably gained back my 2 pounds that I lost last week.

But I can't be certain, as I haven't weighed myself yet. That's on tomorrows checklist.

I wanted to get a few workouts in before I weighed so hopefully I don't hate myself toooo much.

Feeling slightly guilty this morning, I got up and made myself run/walk a 3 mile trail near my house. Andddd today I'm back on my diet.

This is my rehab.

This is me getting back on track, and I'm excited! Hang in there with me!

On a completely different note, if you're wondering why I haven't posted any photos on here in eons, it's because I broke my camera.....when I was in Nashville,night one. Boo that!

Buttttt there's good news!  I just got my tax refund back and I'm contemplating purchasing a new camera. I'll keep you posted on that.

Ass Get to Jigglin'

Good news! Good news!

Since my last weigh-in on Monday, I'm down exactly 2 pounds!

That was just the motivation I needed to keep working out hard and eating right.

Quick recap of my day:

Ran 5.1 miles on the treadmill this morning on an incline of 1.0 for exactly 60 minutes....according to the treadmill, that was 683 calories,which I'll take! (I'm in no position not to...)

As well as I've been doing with my running, I mentally struggled a little bit this morning and ended up walking more than I wanted...........you win some, you lose some, right?!

I think tomorrow morning I'm gonna give myself (and my blistered-up, poor feet) a break and do the early morning spin class for a change of pace. 

As far as diet goes, once again, I was really proud of myself and stuck to my plan. This is really hard for me.

But I did it again today and honestly it was a little easier. This is the longest I've lasted on a "diet" in awhile....I usually just get hungry and eat whatever I want or is convenient.

TOTAL CALORIES for the day were 1185...and I'm thrilled with that.

Tomorrow I have a cooking class in school where we always make delicious food, so I'm gonna try to stick to my guns and not give in to too many unhealthy foods. I'll letcha know how that goes...

On another note, here's one of my all time favorite songs to workout to....it's got a good beat anddd it's about your ass! Doesn't that make you want to work it harder?

No? Just me?

Ok.

Ying Yang Twins, "Jigglin"....if you don't already own it, you should!

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Hey-o!
I'm sitting here watching Biggest Loser, my all time favorite show, and I'm super proud of my healthy and productive day today!

Today started out a little rough when I woke up sooo incredibly sore. My butt, calves and thighs are just really tight (I'm not complaining).

It's been a long time since I've felt that good kind of sore....or tight....anywhere.

Anyway, I didn't want to push it, so I decided to do a brisk 3.0 mile hilly walk on a nearby trail. My blackberry app chalked that up to 301 calories since it took about 45 minutes. I don't know how accurate the exercise portion of this app is, but I can't really afford a polar heart rate monitor/watch/calorie counter/coolness/kick-ass device at this point sooooo I'll take my apps word for it. The food portion is dead on though, as I check the calories on everything I'm grabbing to eat  and then find it in the program.

Speaking of food, I was really proud of my low calorie and overall healthy eating day. I've mentioned before that watching what I eat is super difficult for me, but it's crazy how focused I am right now and how it's been more managable than it has been in the past when motivation hasn't come so easy.

Without furthur ado, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast (7:30am)

• Banana = 105 calories
• Fiber One Oats & Chocolate bar = 140 calories 

Snack (9:45am)

• Hard Boiled egg = 60 calories

Lunch (1:45pm)

• 1 packet Quaker Instant Oats Maple and Brown Sugar made with water = 157 calories
• 3/4 cup Dole Mixed frozen fruit = 70 calories

Snack (3:30pm)

• Frigo natural string cheese = 80 calories
• 1/2 medium bell pepper = 15 calories
• 1 wedge laughing cow light creamy swiss = 35 calories

Dinner (5pm)

• Lean Cuisine Angel Hair Pomodoro =250 calories
• 1 Navel Orange = 69 calories
• Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added Hot Cocoa Mix made with water = 60 calories

TOTAL CALORIES for the day: 1041

Tomorrow I weigh in! I last weighed in yesterday morning, so I'm anxious to see if I've made any progress yet.

Stay tuned for details, friends.

Going the Distance

Guess what!

I decided just last week that I'm going to run the in the Cleveland half-marathon!

.......And it's on May 15th!

I absolutely can not wait. I realize that at this point it's going to be a stretch miracle to pull it off, but I'm just looking for an excuse to make myself run everyday, if I'm being honest.

I need that.

It's almost summertime, people! Don't you know what that means?
Vacations!
Bikinis!
Hot bods!
Skirts/Shorts/Dresses!
My brothers wedding/seeing all of my relatives and family friends I haven't seen in forever!

What I'm trying to say is, that since summer is coming up and I've basically been slacking on my diet anddd exercise for the past ummm.... like year and have gained like 15 pounds, I need to get this weight off. And now's the time! (The above photo was pre-15 lbs, fyi....what a skinny bitch)

For the first time in a long time, I'm feeling really motivated to do something about my weight and am excited to push myself when I run. I plan on tracking my runs and diet on here as often as I can, to hold me accountable and to track my progress.

Sooo with that being said, yesterday I ran outside and did roughly 4 miles. It was a reallyyyy hilly 4 miles so I was proud of that, right out of the gate. Because it was Sunday, I had the traditional oh-so-delicious family dinner which was awesome, yet also left me mad that I worked so hard and ate my calories. I vowed that today would be healthier.

And it was!

I'm proud of myself because I went to the gym without my workout buddy (that's hard for me to do..seriously) and knocked out 5.2 miles and 700 calories in 60 minutes flat. Also, I was especially conscious about what I put in my body today and used my food tracker app on my blackberry. If you're trying to watch your weight, I would totally recommend it! It's free, yo!

I love food, I really do.........so the diet part of weight loss is always where I struggle. I'll keep you updated on how that goes for me during my training.

On that note, I'm off to stretch, catch the end of Dancing with the Stars, and get some shut-eye!

Night :)