Not much going on.

Well, there's nothing to report lately. Work was really crazy Friday and Monday...but before that and since then there has been nothing for me to do! Which always drives me up the wall. But, my bosses did give me a gift card to Macy's for helping out as our office admin has been out sick all month (yep, the same one). Which was nice of them. Monday, my friend sent me flowers because she forgot about my b-day last month...which was unnecessary, but they are gorgeous yellow roses with these beautiful fuschia spray flowers and they are so fragrant that the entire front of the office smells like roses! That's always a good thing, right? I am going to dinner tomorrow night with a couple of my girlfriends from high school. We are going to Agave Azul...and they have the best margaritas you have ever tasted! That should be fun. There's no major gossip with me lately...so I wonder what we are going to talk about! LOL!

OK, well, since there's nothing much to say, I guess I will post this pic of Jonathan and I from last June. We are standing on top of a waterfall at his friend's wedding reception in Washington (state) and it was gorgeous! You can see the drops of mist that was caught by the flash. I think it makes a pretty cool picture. Too bad I was freezing and pretty much stayed covered up in my cashmere wrap all night. My dress was cute. Anyway, enjoy!

Shopping is good.

Need I say more? I love shopping for new clothes! Well, on a good day. Sometimes you go shopping and it seems that everything you put on your body makes you look like either a bloated cow or an alien with the weirdest body known to man. But yesterday was a good day. Too good, in fact. I blew my entire budget on the first store! And I had allowed myself a good sized budget.

Let me start at the beginning. So, I've been in a great relationship for a couple of years now and we moved in together one year ago. I got comfortable. And what does that mean? It means I gained weight. A lot. When I met Jonathan, I was a size 2. Lately, I've still been squeezing into my size 4 pants but have been so determined that I was going to lose weight that I only bought about 4 pairs of work pants and held onto everything else. I faced the facts last weekend and decided to clean out the closet. I'm the type of person that accumulates a ton of stuff and doesn't throw anything out for a long time. Plus, the waist growth factor. So, I filled 2 garbage bags of clothes that didn't fit and/or were just not that cute anymore (the "What was I thinking?" clothes) to give away and then I have 2 bags of clothes that don't fit, but if I would buckle down and lose 20 pounds, I would have a cute, practically new wardrobe! Hell, if I just lost about 10 pounds, a lot of it would fit again! Those are now in the back of my closet. Unfortunately, this purging left me with very little to wear. Mostly t-shirts, 2 non-work skirts and a couple of shirts that were work appropriate, but most were a little on the young side. Oh, and those couple of size 4 pants that actually do still fit (I'm always an inbetween sizer).

So, now I have 2 issues: I need clothes that fit and I need a more "adult" wardrobe. I've been trying to get into this adult wardrobe routine for a couple of years now...but the funky early 20s style (and cheaper price) keeps calling my name. So, I have either boring work clothes or "going out" clothes...which I am doing less and less and now I find myself looking toward my more adult work clothes when I go out. I need something that will work for the office and for dinner with the girls.

White House Black Market was apparently my answer. Granted I bought about 15 things in just black and white (and one pair of grey capris) but they are staples! I now have staples! A feat in and of itself because every time I set out to get wardrobe staples, I end up with a bag of trendy. Everything I bought yesterday I can wear to work, family functions, dinners, dates with Jonathan, etc. Plus, a couple of the things I still had left hanging in my closet will mix with them very nicely. Problem: even with everything being on sale, the 5% off the great sales lady gave me and my $50 off coupon, I blew my budget. I knew I would, but I couldn't help it! And, I still didn't have new work pants. I had bought a pair of black and a pair of grey capris, but I hate doing laundry so I needed more pants. I had a $30 off coupon for Express so I bought 3 pairs of work pants (LOVE the Editor...too bad the short sizes are never on sale!) in neutral colors: brown, grey and a faux denim (still work appropriate since it's not actual "jeans").

I bit the bullet. I went up a size, which is depressing. But, I still felt like I looked totally fab in everything, which is great! And, now I am very happy with the direction my wardrobe is going. Now as for my belly flab...

Slam!!

Here's my new question to the world...why do some people feel the need to slam everything I have and do in life? Does it make them feel better about themselves to tell me how when they do it, they are going to do it better than I did? Notice how I say when they do it...that says it all right there, if you catch my drift. I typically am pretty self-confident, independent and what have you...I rarely care others opinions of me. Not because I think I am better than them, but because I know what I am doing is what's best for me. I have not made too many big mistakes that have landed me in jail or major debt or something else that will mess up my goals and plans for the next however many years. I've kept my nose clean and have generally been pretty successful. I bought a house at 24, brand new top of the line car not too long ago, in a great and stable relationship, have supportive parents, make a dang good salary for my age, get to play and do what I want when I want...pretty much living out that good old American dream. Yet, there are people in my life that have slammed almost every one of those accomplishments of mine. Not in a direct way every time...mostly indirect things that truthfully, they probably don't even know that they are slamming me when they say it. But, still...it stings and it hurts. It makes me feel as if I am proud of something that I shouldn't be proud of. Which is total crap and I know it...but after a while, it does start to make you wonder if you really haven't accomplished all that much. Yeah, these people haven't accomplished near what I have so I should just say, "Screw it! I'm doing well and if you don't think so, then kiss my butt! What have you accomplished in life?" That's mean...but it's what I want to shout at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear!

ANYWAY! That's the soap box for today. It's been crazy busy at work lately...just the way I like it. :) And, I've started to get into scrapbooking and have somehow amassed a crazy amount of stuff in the past couple of weeks. Tonight, Jonathan and I are going to Sam's and if they still have that scrapbooking roll bag with goodies inside, I just might get it. LOL! Like I need more crap!

Fun with Quizzes!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to take these stupid quizzes! The only reason why I don't do them that often is because I am always tempted to forward that email or create a bulletin nobody cares about on MySpace. :) Well, this is my blog so I will do it anyway!

My new inspiration

A new girl started at my gym on Monday. She had some great arm muscles and is super strong. She is slightly shorter than me, probably about 4'11", and has never ending energy and enthusiasm. But, one of the first things I noticed about her was the excess skin under her arms. I worked with a girl who had gastric bypass several years ago, so I knew this type of sagging skin was the result of a huge weight loss. But, her positive attitude and quickness to make friends with everybody at the gym put a smile on my face. After our workout, a couple of the girls, the new girl and myself got to talking. I found out that 5 years ago, the new girl was 300 pounds!! I am guessing that she weighs probably about 140ish now, mainly due to excess skin. With that cut off, I would put her at 125. Here's the kicker, though...SHE DID IT NATURALLY! Now that is some commitment! Here I am complaining that I just don't have the will power to lose 20 pounds and this woman has lost more than 50% of her very obese body in the past couple of years! She said an average dinner for her 5 years ago was a large pizza and a couple of 2 liter Cokes. And she would do that easily a couple of times a day. She was (self-described) addicted to food. She has now replaced that addiction with working out and despite the excess skin hanging from her, you can see the crazy muscles she has developed! She said she did do cardio, but mostly weight training...which helped her to have the tone and definition after she got rid of the fat. She does admit she's a little crazy about working out (6 days a week at least), but in my opinion, a little excess in working out is a lot healthier than an extreme excess in weight!

So, no more complaining that I just don't have the will power to do it. There are days when eating right and exercising just don't seem that appealing...but all I need to do is think of this girl (well, woman...probably shouldn't call her a girl!) and her will power and commitment and the amazing goals she has accomplished! 20 pounds doesn't seem like all that much anymore and such an easy goal. I have 2 months to do it in as well! :)