Third Times a Charm?

Well once again, it has been about 9 months since I have blogged.  I guess I haven't gotten the hang of this blogging thing yet.  Maybe the third time will be the charm.  I also haven't been having success in living my best life. But maybe the third time is the charm for that too. 

Like last this year, this year has been full of surprises and wonderful things.  My brother and his wife welcomed thier first child in May and bought their first home in September. Noah Salvatore has been the greatest blessing our family could ever ask for.  He is the sweetest little baby and of course I love him to pieces.  I could go on about Noah all day, but I will save you from a massive blog entry. My brother's house is amazing!  While my older brother is getting adapted to the family life and being a homeowner, my little brother is getting to know what the city life, and wedding planning life is like.  While on vacation to Puerto Rico this summer my younger brother proposed to his girlfriend of nearly five years.  Brooke has been such an awesome addition to our family, and really I couldn't imagine our family without her.  Even before he proposed, I always knew that she would be not only one of my best friends, but my sister.  My mom and dad are finally completely empty-nesters, and I think they are enjoying the time they have with just the two of them.

 As for me, I have turned 25 ( a quater of a century), and I am not going to lie, it has kind of creeped me out being this old.  I don't know what I will be like when I turn 30.  I have gotten a dog! Reezy Fred (yes, after Ryan Lochte and Michael Fred Phelps hehe) has been the best dog I could ever ask for.  I picked him up from the humaine society in March and our bond gets closer and closer each day.  My career has brought me to a new town, new job, new home, and new adventure in life. I am teaching 6th grade at a Catholic school, and living in an apartment above my brother's garage.  Sounds glamorous right?  Well, the apartment is pretty amazing and I am really enjoying my job, and living 10 feet from my nephew.  

I have not been living my best life, and it has been showing.  Today I woke up and said to myself that today is the day that my life is going to change forever.  The cookie dough is out of the freezer, the chips have been thrown from the cupboard, and the mac and cheese has been given to my sister-in-law! It's beyond time to change my life around.  I want to be here to see every part of my nephew's life.  I want to take him to the park and play basketball with him.  I want to meet the man of my dreams and start my own family.  How am I supposed to find a man that is happy with me if I am not happy with myself.  Being happy with myself starts with being healthy.  And that journey to a healthy, happy life starts now!

 I have been in deliberation about joining the gym in town.  I have an eliptical and my family's clinic has a gym within the clinic, but I want to start swimming in the mornings.  The gym membership just seems so much, and with all of my bills and my trip to Olympic Trials this summer, I am wondering if I can afford the $60 a month to join.  I have been thinking about it for a while. My thought process has brought me to this conclusion... $60 a month is nothing compared to the importance of my health and hapiness.  So.... looks like I will be waking myself up at 5:30 every morning and hitting the pool!  Am I crazy?? YES, but hopefully the crazy will pay off and in the end I will be happier than ever!! I'll let you know how it goes waking up at 5:30. I am totally not a morning person and 6:30 has been bad enough, but 5:30... YIKES!!! I will just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end, and being tired will be nothing compared to the way I am goign to feel when I am thinner! So here is to a new chapter in my life and a new journey that WILL work this time!

Am I living my best life?

Wow I cannot remember the last time I posted a blog. So much has happened this year and it has made me sit back and think about my life and what I want out of it. I came to the conclusion that I want more out of life than what I am getting now. I have a great life don't get me wrong. I have loved everything that has happened in my life and wouldn't change it for the world, but I still want more.

This past year my brother has met the woman of his dreams, gotten married, and now is going to be a father. I look at how quickly his life has changed, and honestly I am a little jealous of him. I want to meet the man of my dreams, fall in love, and start a family. Those of you who know me well know that, that is something I have always wanted. Don't get me wrong. I am so happy for him and I love his wife to death. It feels like she has always been a part of our family, and they are completely happy together. I just wish that I had that. In the back of my mind I think to myself "who is going to fall in love with you looking like the way you do?" OK I know, I know, that is not true, but that's how I feel sometimes. But I also think me thinking that in part motivates me. It motivates me to live my best life. It makes me sit back and think... "am I living my best life?" Let me answer that.... NO I'M NOT. That is why it is time to change the way I live. So you are all my witnesses to my vow to live my best life.

This morning I woke up feeling tired, bloated, and just plain GROSS. (I have been feeling that way for a while now) I know why it is I have been feeling this way. I haven't been working out, I haven't been eating right, and I haven't been taking care of ME! Well it's time I took care of me. I know I can do it. I have done it before, but I fell off the deep end. This morning I dug myself out of that hole, crawled out of bed, and got on the elliptical. I had forgotten how much I really do enjoy working out and how much better I feel when I do. I have so much more energy and I just feel so much better about myself. It was an hour out of my day. AN HOUR. An hour that made me feel SO much better. So why am I being so lazy? Why am I not living my best life? Why am I not working out? Honestly I don't know. So why not do something about it. Well I think I just might. Today I felt so great after getting off the elliptical. It's time. It's actually beyond time. I am excited to get back into the swing of things and have some sort of routine in my life. I feel so much better and in the end I will be so much happier. From now on I am going to try and update this blog with tips and take you on my journey to my best life!

FAIL

OK so my first goal is probably not going to be met :( I have been great about working out at least 5 times a week, but the food is still an issue. First off I have found a new love of coffee and Starbucks... OK so I always loved Starbucks, but I always got tea not coffee. Well, thanks to my co-worked John I am now addicted to coffee and Starbucks. Of course, I always have to get the whipped cream and who gets a skinny drink? I mean really who likes skim milk. I am still experimenting with coffee... I don't want milk flavored water in there! LOL I have lost about 10lbs and I think I am gaining muscle, but it is not the result that I have wanted so far because I feel I have partially failed. I got the workout stuff down, but the diet.... NOT SO MUCH. I also have not been taking my medication like I should, which affects my metabolism. I think it is just really hard right now with work and school and living with my cousin. I feel like I am constantly eating out of a bag or a box (box being lean cuisines or whatever I find in the freezer section in Target and bag being whatever I decide to grab for lunch as I am running between class workout and work) and that is not healthy. Once I move in with my brother I feel the diet part will get a lot easier. I will be able to go grocery shopping for my own stuff and NOT eat out of a box or bag. Also once I move in with my brother in end of February I am going to go on a no dairy diet. Over the past year or two I have some weird reaction to milk that makes me ears hurt like a bitch... Wait that means no Starbucks :( :( Well I can treat myself every once in a while or get soy!! HAHA But anyways I think starting that way will be a great help to me. I also need to get a membership to the gym once I move in with my brother. I think I am going to start swimming once I move there. Here I don't have a membership to the Y and I wish I did so I could use swimming as a cool down to my workout. I do have a membership to a gym but it doesn't have a pool :(

Goals, Goals, Goals!!!

As I stated in my last blog, I am not making new years resolutions this year. Instead I am setting goals! I know I said that my goals were going to stay on the inside, but I think it is time let them out! I am setting goals for myself. I have silly goals like keeping my nails manicured at all times, wearing my glasses more so I can get contacts before my trip to California, and getting my first tattoo. But I also have serious goals. A goal to lose at least 20lbs before my birthday, shop less and save more, and my ultimate goal of losing 80lbs before California. In order to get to that ultimate goal I am going to set smaller goals as milestones to get to that goal. My dad has always taught us that setting goals are important in life, but meeting those goals is even more important. "You miss 100% of shots you don't take", well you also don't meet 100% of goals you don't set. I set my goals high and hope to reach them. As Michael Fred would say "The more you dream the further you get!" (did you really think i was going to make it through a blog without mentioning a swimmer?? HA that wont happen!) So I am going to set my goals high, but I am also going to reach my goals. If I reach my goals I will give myself a reward, if not, there will be consequences. It is time to get back into. I felt so much better last year when I was working out every day. I not only felt better physically, but I also felt better about myself. It is time to get off my ass and get on the eliptical!! Set my goals high and reach those goals!!!!

2010? Already?

Wow, is it really 2010 already? Seriously where does the time go? In this post I thought about reflecting on the past 10 years of my life, but then I remembered that in 2000 I was an eighth grader. I would have to reflect on all my Jr. High, High School, and most of my College years. That would take way too much time and would probably bore you, so instead I am going to focus on the last year of the decade, which I think had to be the best.

As they say in like a Lamb out like a Lion. OK so I know that is what they say about March, but I feel that the saying goes true for this past decade/even year... ok well maybe not year because 2009 came in with quite a bang in my book! As I reflect over the last year, there are so many things I have to reflect on. For starters, the wonderful new friends that I have formed. I never thought that spending so much time on Facebook could lead to me finding friends that I feel will last a lifetime. Who would have thought that my admiration for Michael Phelps would grow to what some people would call an "obsession" of swimming. I call more of a die hard fan! You can't tell me that their aren't men out there that act the same way about a football or basketball team as I do about USMOST. I honestly cannot tell you how I got into the sport, but I can tell you that I have enjoyed the sport so much and have made some amazing friends. My trip to Indianapolis has topped the list of trips I have take over the past decade. Sure it wasn't a trip to Hawaii with my family (which is also on the top of my list so don't feel bad mom and dad), and it wasn't going on a cruise to tropical islands. It was to a town in the Midwest with a bunch of fangirls. It was meeting people that you have seen on TV during the Olympics so many times and wished you had their determination, their will power, their drive for something they want so bad they can taste it. It was unbelievable and I will NEVER forget it!

For me this past year has topped them all. Each year I feel my life gets better and better. Sure there are always bumps in the road, but that makes us who we are as individuals. One bump that has been in my road my entire life, is the bump I would like to call my weight. This past year I have tried to hurdle over that bump. I succeeded, but only part way. Before I left for Indianapolis, I was determined that I was not going to look the way I did when I got my tickets and decided to go. I knew that I needed to change the way I live. I put my mind to it and no one could stop me. I lost so much weight and I was so happy with myself, but since then I have been stuck on a road block. I make the same resolution every year to lose weight and get in shape, but last year I don't ever remember making that resolution. Last year I threw resolutions out the window along with 50lbs. Maybe that was my secret, to not make it my new years resolution. So this year I am not making it my new years resolution. I am just going to do it because I want to do it. I want to be healthy. I want to shop at more than 2 stores at the mall. I want to not be afraid to do things because of my weight. In 2009 I accomplished that. I remember the first time I went into American Eagle and tried on a shirt just for fun. It fit. I was so excited and thrilled with myself that I could finally buy something from American Eagle. But that is not enough. This year I am striving to go from wearing American Eagle to being able to fit into the dinky clothes at Holister and Abercombie! I will make it happen. Even if it is to just prove to everyone that I can and will do it. I have goals for myself. Not resolutions, but goals. By a certain time I want to lose a certain amount. Those goals as Michael Fred would say "they will stay on the inside", but I know those goals, and I know that they are reachable. Deep down inside I am an extremely competitive person. My mom has said that her and my dad want to shed a few lbs this year. Why not make it a little friendly competition!

This has gotten way too long so I am signing off for now! I think I am going to use this as my workout and weight loss journal so stay tuned for further entries! I am ready and I am motivated. 2010 is going to be the best year yet! Happy New!!!

Has been way too long!

It has been way too long since I have posted a new blog! I know I said I wanted to do this on a daily if not weekly basis... well I think the last time I blogged was in February. :s So much has happened since then.

Why don't I start with my biggest accomplishment and what I am most proud of to catch everyone up. I started this blog as a way to help motivate myself to lose weight. Well this kind of took a backseat as a motivator, but something must have stayed with me to motivate me, because since I last posted I have lost over 50 lbs. I made a goal for myself and told myself that I had to lose that 50lbs by a certain time (my trip to Indy which will be mentioned in the next paragraph!). I was 2lbs away from my goal before my trip!!! I was pretty proud of myself, but now I have a new goal and a new time frame!! I am determined to make myself a healthier person! After our family vacation I lost motivation, but it is back!! It is amazing what a few lbs can do for ones self esteem and motivation!! It is back on in full force!

Now on to the best part of my life since my last post!!! INDY!!! I cannot say enough how awesome that week was! It was beyond the best week of my life! I never thought I would be into the sport of swimming as much as I am now. Going to Indy made me love the sport even more than I already did!! MOST of the athletes are so down to earth and so willing to take time for their fans! I wont go into every detail about it because most of the people reading this already know every detail about it. LOL Lets just say it is a small world and so much happened that I will never forget for as long as I live!

A new chapter in my life is working while going to school. I have never worked while going to school and it is a new challenge in my life to try to manage my time, but I am really enjoying my job. I am a cashier at my favorite store TARGET! It is obviously not my dream job, but it is a great for making a little extra money for various trips that I plan on taking this summer! School is dwindling down. ONE SEMESTER LEFT!!!!! I have made some great friends this semester and am really enjoying my classes! As for what I am doing after graduation. I have a few options. I want to go explore what else is out there. I have seen what is out there and I want to experience it. Right now I am thinking Denver might be my top pick. My friend Laura lives out there and she is looking for a roommate. I am thinking about at least trying it out for the summer. If I don't like it I can always find somewhere else to go! I just want to have fun in life!!!

Ok bloggers! I am off for now! I will try to update again soon!!

Things on My Mind

Wow it has been quite a while since I have posted a blog.  I wanted to try and do this on a weekly even daily basis, but obviously life has caught up with me and that did not happen.  Things in my life lately  have been pretty crazy.  School has started and the homework has set in.  For the past week not a day has gone by that I have not had to do a lesson plan, but I guess that is something I am going to have to deal with if I am going to be a teacher.  LOL   

Not only has school been on my mind, but also all this hype about Michael Phelps. For those of you reading who don't know...  I am a HUGE Michael Phelps fan.  I have been since the Athens games.  Lately Michael has been in the media for a photo that has surfaced from a private party he attend 3 months ago.  I have to say that over the past week I have been very upset.  Not by the actions of Phelps, but by the actions of the media.(keep reading I will get into my feelings about the actual pic)  Is this really the most important story in the country right now? I think not!!!   Did we not just get a new President!! HELL YES WE DID!!! THANK GOODNESS!!!!  Lets focus on the more important things in life like the economy and how Obama is going to clean up the mess that Bush left him with.  Like I said before the picture was taken at a PRIVATE party and it should have stayed private.  It makes me sick that a friend would do this to him.  Like he has said in many interviews over the past week... "this week I have learned who my true friends and family are."  A true friend wouldn't sell out a friend like that.  What is the world coming to?  People care about two things these days 1. MONEY 2. THEMSELVES.  

Ok now onto the actual picture.   Maybe it is the 23 year old college student in me but I am not disappointed in his actions.  He has trained every single day for the majority of his life.   His life has consisted of eating swimming for the most part.  He has not had the opportunity to live his life and explore.  He takes 6 months off after accomplishing something that no one in the world as EVER done.  Mike is the only one who can say that he has won 8... count them 8!... gold medals in 1 olympics.  He himself won more gold medals than some COUNTRIES!! HOLY SHIT!  If that isn't something to be proud of then I don't know what is! So we praise him and raise him because of all his accomplishments and as quick as we do that we bring him back down.  We are all human... NEWS FLASH... Human's make mistakes.  He smoked a little pot.  Yes, it is illegal, but so is underage drinking, downloading free music, speeding,  jay walking, the list could go on.  EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE on Earth has broken they law sometime or another.  Yes, some are more extreme than others, but it is still breaking the law.  Leave the kid alone... let me see you train for 12 years of your life and see how you react when you finally get a break.   

Onto the three month suspension.  I don't think that it is all bad.  They are treating Michael like he is a human who made a mistake and there are consequences that he has to face just like anyone else.  I feel that Michael is taking this in a very mature fashion.  He has admitted that indeed it was him in the picture, and he has taken the suspension and accepted the consequences of his actions.  Had the suspension been much longer I may have felt differently (maybe that is because of the fact that Nationals are in July and I have my tickets and am ready to go!).  I feel that all this negativity is just going to fuel him more and make him that much more ready to kick some ass at Nationals!! 

Sorry this got so long.  I have had all this built up inside me this week and I needed to get it out!! Hopefully I will post again soon!