Happy 4th of July... a little late.

Hello everyone.  Hope you had a great 4th of July.  Mine was very fun filled with plenty of family, friends and fireworks.  We had some friends over on Friday night for a little get-together, which was a lot of fun.  We BBQ'd during a storm which was interesting to say the least. 

I am back at work this morning and I am sun burnt and feeling like a zombie.  We got home from being up North at my sisters cabin at about 10:00 after sitting in the sun all day and swimming, helping them pick up rocks from their beach, etc.  I was pooped.  I put aloe vera on, took some ibuprofin and passed out.

I apologize for being somewhat MIA last week, however I was working extra hours to make up some lost time and getting ready for the weekend.  I announced the winners of the Target cards and then forgot to contact them, so I am doing that this morning.  I also got an award from a fellow blogger, so I need to take time to talk about that.  Plus, I need to tell you all what the 5th of July (which is today) means to me.

Robin over at the blog For the Love of Me gave me a "You Inspire Me Award".  How sweet is that?  I love it when people take the time to recognize someone that has really made an impact on their healthy journey.  It is awesome! I will take some time to pay it forward soon!  Thanks again Robin!  I really appreciate it!



The 5th of July is the day after the 4th of July.  For many people it is pretty insignificant.  It means going back to work or the end of vacation for many people.  For the last five years today has been a day of reflection for me.  A day that reminds me of new beginnings and also of shortcomings.  It reminds me of how far I went, how I fell back, how far I have since come and most importantly where I am headed. 

On July 5th, 2006 I started a weight loss program that changed my life.  I lost nearly 75 pounds in about 6 months working with a dietician, behavior specialist and personal trainer.  It was hard, EXPENSIVE and worth every penny.  I went to Italy for 6 months that January and I felt healthier and happier and ready to take on the world.

While I was in Italy I only gained 10 more pounds back, which is good considering we ate our weight in bread, pizza and pasta.  I came home wearing the same clothes that I left in and that felt really good.  In a matter of a few months that would all start to change. It was the summer that I turned 21 and we spent a lot of nights at the bars drinking and eating fast food afterwards.  It was unhealthy and the pounds slowly started to creep back on. 

I am not going to spend too much time today thinking about how I wish that I would have kept the weight off and would have kept going with the journey that started on July 5th.  I have spent a lot of personal time dwelling on this and thinking long and hard about what worked and what didn't.  I spent the better part of 3 years knowing that I made mistakes and thinking, "if only I would have kept the weight off." or"if only I could lose the weight again, that would be great."  I am done with that.  I am moving forward never forgetting about July 5th, but also not spending anymore time feeling sorry for myself about my progress.  I am just moving forward and making new progress.

Stylish Blogger Award

I was given the Stylish blogger award from two different people and I feel so honored!!  I first got the award from Kelly over at Life in the Fat Lane.  I love her blog title, so very clever and I also really like to read what she is up to and enjoy the comments that she leaves for me!  The other award comes from Baby Weight and Beyond whose blog I also love to read and I love that she directs some questions to her followers to get the discussion moving :)


Thanks very much to both of you for passing along this award to me!  I appreciate it very much!

5 great bloggers...

1. Ellen at Fat Girl Wearing Thin I love her posts and think it is great that she started the Hate-Loss Challenge.  Ellen's blog is funny at times and also makes you think a lot.  I love that!
2. Veronica at Unveiling V She has a lot of great advice on her blog and her posts are always thought provoking.
3. Natasha at Girl Stuck in a Rut I love all of the pictures that she posts every day.  It gives me great ideas about new things to cook and buy.
4. Tim at Fat Boy Thin Style can mean many things, including being very funny which is exactly what Tim is.  I think boys can be stylish and I read his blog everyday!
5. Shannon at Shannon Under Construction I love to read her blog and I also appreciate the comments and feedback that she leaves for me!

Here are the details!

• Post and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Award 15 5 recently discovered great bloggers (or as many as you can). I am only going to do 5 just for the sake of time right now, but do as many as you see fit!
• Contact the bloggers and tell them they won!

7 things about me...

1. I prefer savory foods over sweet foods.

2. I drink at least 100 ounces of water a day.

3. I can't wait to get married next fall.

4. I am a Psychology major with a minor in Sociology.

5.  I just got accepted into a new position where I work that starts Feb 1st.

6. My favorite color is purple.

7. I have four nephews and a niece.

Versatile Blogger Award!

A big thanks to Vicky from Getting Fit for giving me the versatile blogger award!  It is nice to get an award to brighten your day and remember what you are working towards.

When you are given this award you are supposed to list 7 things about yourself and then pass on the award to 10 fellow bloggers. Apparently some people do not enjoy getting awards, so sorry if I give one to you and you don't like them.

1) I've never been to Iowa and it borders the state I live in.

2) I ended my relationship with soda 4 weeks ago and have never felt better.

3) I am allergic to fish and coconut.

4) I lived in Italy for 6 months and loved every second of it.

5) I was the 6th grade spelling bee champion.

6) I am going to go grad school next fall.

7) I am really excited to conquer this journey during the holiday months.

I'm passing this award on to:

Shanilie at Losing Over Half of Me
Whitney at Slimming Down for the Gown
Alissa at A Journey to Thin
Kelly at Life in the Fat Lane
Kenz at All the Weigh
Lyn at Escape from Obesity
Kati at The Great Balancing Act of a 24 Year Old
Stacy at Stacy's Weight Loss Blog
Tim at Fat. Boy. Thin
Jessica at See How She Runs

A few other comments/notes about today...

1. A very long battle that has been going on in my family is finally over and I feel sadness and peace at the same time.  I am so beyond happy to move on, but moving on means letting go completely and although I feel ready for that it still makes me slightly emotional and sad.

2.  Yesterday was my nieces birthday and I went to her house to wish her happy birthday and there was spaghetti and a princess cake and there was slight temptation, but I remained strong.  I passed on everything, ate some fruit and veggies and went home to eat my healthy meal.  We also had a Halloween Nacho-bar potluck at work today.  Last year I made AMAZING queso with more cheese than can be imagined.  I was asked to make it again this year and I was a little bit nervous.  In the past I have made"exceptions" to eat poorly on holidays, birthdays and special events, so it would not have been out of the ordinary for me to choose to do this.  I am really, really trying hard at this losing weight battle and I didn't want to compromise my results this early in the game.  Last night I made my own healthy mexican pizza that I ate during the potluck and it was great.  Sure, I can honestly say that I didn't miss the other food at all.

3. Final thing for the day is... I have been wanting to try the Forever 21 Plus size line Faith 21 for quite some time now, but when I googled it one day I found all of these negative comments about the sizing.  I looked at their website and found the size guidelines and noticed that a 3x was a 17-18 and thought eeek, there is no way that will fit me.  I have been looking online at their clothes for weeks and finally today I went to the mall to look at the selection.  The closest mall to me is Mall of America, so their selection is HUGE, which I know is not the case in every mall.  I found dozens of things that I loved.  A lot of it I looked at and thought there is no way that will fit me.  Not now, maybe later?  I found two skirts and a sequined tank top that I had to have.  I figured I would take them home and have a reward when I reached one of my smaller goals and was able to fit into them.  I got home and thought I would try them on quick just to see how much they didn't fit, so that I knew how long it would be before I could wear the items comfortably.  Well..... ALL 3 ITEMS FIT!!!! Super cute, trendy clothes for a reasonable price in smaller sizes than I am used to and they fit?  Amazing.  I might return the items and get a 2x just so that I have something to fight for and look forward to wearing around the holidays.

My first Award!

I feel so lucky to have gotten this award from a fellow blogger, Kelly from Life in the Fat Lane.  I love reading her blog because she is so honest about her weight loss journey.  I think it is important for me in my journey to read thoughts from someone who says it like it is and doesn't try to make weight loss seem like it is all sunshine and daises, because as we all know too well, sometimes it is anything but!  Thanks again Kelly!