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! 

Day 3

Well today I have kind of been on an emotional roller coaster.  It was my last day of work before going back to school.  Most people would be extremely excited about this, but not me.  I am going to miss my "kids" terribly.  Over the past year I have grown so attached to those little guys, even though they make me want to pull my hair out sometimes.  I know I will be back to visit, but I don't know if I will come back to work full time like I was.  I have been off and on at this job for 4 years and I am so going to miss it.  I am not only going to miss the kids but also the women I work with.  For the most part we all get along so well and I am truly going to miss seeing them everyday! I told my boss I will fill in whenever she wants me to and I know I will be getting calls!! So I did not say goodbye I just said I will see you later!! I am going to miss walking into work every morning and hear all my "kids" call me  "Mama Nikki" as I became known!!  For some of the kids that are there day in and day out you really do feel like you are their parents. It is like I am a mother leaving her 60 children behind.  But it is time to move on with my life and finish my degree!! :)   

 

Master Cleanse day three has been tough! While I was at work it was fine I was not tempted to eat one bit and I just stuck to my drink.  When I got home, now that is a totally different story.  I think I just need to kick my little brother out of the house while I am doing this because he is the cause of all my temptation and boy does he love to rub it in that I can't eat.  But what are little brothers for right?  Well tonight he wanted to order pizza and eat a bunch of junk food while he and my Dad watched the Florida-Oklahoma game.  The smell of the pizza, the shrimp mom was making, and the bbq chicken wings in the oven was too much too handle, so I got my coat on and went to a friends house to get away from the temptation.  The whole time I was in the house I kept saying to my family I really want food, I want it really bad, but I stayed strong and ate nothing.  When I came home the smell was still lingering in the house and I still wanted food, but with a little help from my Mom I re-convinced myself that I can do this and made myself a drink.  This time I thought I would get a little creative and I made it with ice and put it in the blender.  YUM!!! I used a spoon and it was actually like I was eating!! LOL It made me feel so much better!!!   I know now that with my strength and the support of my family that I can do this!!! 

Sorry for the typos

Just wanted to say sorry for the typos in the last blog I was on my phone and did not read through it!

Day 2

Today was nonstop craziness for me as I am trying to find a new apartment for when school starts. Talk about stressful. I saw a few nice ones but mostly they were dumps. Two of them looked like a crack house although I don't know what that would look like but I am sure this apartment was close. I did look at one that I really really liked but it was a house and was rather expensive. I never really thought about a house before cause I know it comes with a lot of eraonsibility but I really like the idea now and the landlord was very nice. As we continued our day we ran into the landlord 3 times. Taylor and I thought that it was a sign that I needed to get the house but Dad being the one footing the bill he gets the last say and he was not with us.
As for the master cleanse today has gone great. Tons better than yesterday. I woke up not feeling hungry although I am hungry now but that could also be the smell of subway in the car once again thanks to that brother of mine. Why do I do anywhere with him he just temps me. Well his tempting is not working I have stayed strong and have not had anything to eat. I am feeling really good about this now and thinking that I can get through this. I know if I do I will have great results.