What I Wore Wednesday

This is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week! I need to run to the restroom (for the full-length mirror) and snap a photo of what I wore today, but here is my outfit from Monday -- minus my boots I had already taken off.

My "skinny" jeans are from Old Navy. I told DC that when I get to my 20 pound goal I want to go buy another pair of "skinny" jeans from there. I love them and could wear them every day of the week!

My cardigan is from Old Navy. I wish it was a little longer, but it works.

My shirt is from Forever 21 -- size large! Yes, I bought something from Forever 21 and it was a size large. In fact, everything I tried on from that store was a size large and fit well. I got so many compliments on my shirt at school and one of the other teachers (someone who I totally admire their style) said she had the same shirt. Made me feel cool for a minute.

You can't see it, but I'm wearing a super cute necklace I also bought at Forever 21 for a $1.98. I'll try to take a picture of it later.

***UPDATED***

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but I loved my outfit today. I was wearing skinny jeans from Maurices (I could really use a size smaller!), a red top from Old Navy that is a few years old, a cardigan from Target from last spring and a DownEast basics shirt underneath. My shoes are from Sugar and I bought them a few years ago at Famous Footwear. 

I really need to get better lighting to take these photos!

Golf, anyone?

I'm loving that people are actually reading my blog -- especially my husband!

When I woke up this morning I got this super sweet e-mail from DC after he had read my Friend Making Monday post yesterday:

My cute little bunny heart ... this sentence here made me chuckle: It’s neat to see her star struck like during her interview with George Stephanopoulos when Jack Nicklaus surprised her.

Jack Nicklaus, as in the Golden Bear, the greatest golfer to ever live? :P

You were probably wanting to put Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), who is a Laker fanatic.

I love you bunny!

My mistake! When I was typing up my post I started to type and then wasn't sure how to spell his last name. Nicklaus was the first one who came up so I thought I was good to go.

Just for visual clarification here are photos of the two men:

Golfer

Actor.

Here is a link to the interaction between Jennifer Lawrence and Jack Nicholson that I was talking about :)

Friend Making Monday -- Questions and Answers

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! I really love Friend Making Monday and I can’t thank Kenlie enough for coming up with such interesting and thought-provoking questions! Go check out her blog and make sure to leave a comment here so I know who is reading this :)

Friend Making Monday –

Questions and Answers

1. Did you watch the Oscars? If so, who did you enjoy seeing most?  Yes, we had the Oscars on, but I wasn’t sitting down the whole time. Actually the only time I was sitting down was during the opening sequence and the in memory part. I really enjoyed Seth McFarlane as the host. He was very easy on the eyes. I didn’t really know who he was before the Oscars and I don’t know that I’m necessarily a fan now, but I don’t mind looking at him. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence. I know it’s kind of cliché and I haven’t seen Silver Linings Playbook yet (but I want to). I just think she handles herself with such class and she is absolutely beautiful and confident. It’s neat to see her star struck like during her interview with George Stephanopoulos when Jack Nicklaus surprised her.

2. Do you drink meal replacement shakes, smoothies, etc?  I don’t. I really like to eat my calories, not drink them so a meal replacement just leaves me wanting more. I used to drink Slim Fast for breakfast/morning snack when I was in high school, but I remember it being kind of chalky. I do want to get into juicing and use protein powder in that, but I’m not into replacing a meal with a drink.

3. Share one thing you have done to help someone in the last week? I wish I had some big awesome story, but I don’t. The thing I have been working on is saying no to other people because I’m so overloaded right now. I had the opportunity to help a couple of different people at work last week, but I said no because I knew it would stress me out more and I couldn’t handle that. One thing I did do was be there (I think) for a friend on Saturday night. I noticed some messages on her Facebook page so I contacted her to see what was going on and we ended up having a good conversation. I hope just talking helped her a little and took her mind off of some things. I have plans of sending her a little something in the mail this week, I just need to stop by Starbucks and pick it up.

4. What is the tastiest thing you ate last week?  On Saturday night for dinner I made some whole grain rice and turkey meatballs (from Costco). I poured some BBQ sauce on the meatballs and they are definitely some of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten! We also had green beans with the meal and some crescent rolls.

5. Think of one fun thing that you could do this week without spending any money to do it.  I really need to pull out the Wii and so some stepping on it. I always have fun doing that and I just haven’t (in a really long time). I also think playing bowling and Just Dance on the Wii with the kids (or at least LD) would be a lot of fun.

6. Share one place that you’ve been to and would like to visit again.  I really want to go back to Paris (which I am in 2014) so I would have to say that I would like to go back to Venice and this time take my hubby. I had a blast going with one of my BFFs, Jami, but I would definitely like to experience the romantic side of the city.

7. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?  I don’t really have an option on this one because I only have Facebook. I recently got rid of my Twitter and Instagram accounts because of some issues at work. I don’t really miss it and sometimes I wish I didn’t even have Facebook. It’s a valuable tool, I just think it is a major time sucker.

8. What is your favorite vegetable? I really love green beans! They are delicious. We are having some squash as a side for dinner tonight so I’ll have to come back and let you know how that goes.  

9. Share a goal that you have for the month of March.  I would really like to get to my goal of 20 pounds lost which is my 10% goal. I know that I can do it and I’m excited to know how it will feel to accomplish something I’ve been working toward for a long time. I am also signed up for a half marathon on March 16 and I would like to see an improvement on my time. I don’t really care what my time is, I just want an improvement from the last time I ran.

10. Share a quote that inspires you.  “If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. ” by Anthony Robbins.

What I Wore Wednesday

Another week and another photo of me! I took this one in my daughter's room again. How come she has a full length mirror and I don't?! I guess I do (in the hallway) but it doesn't work well for taking a self-portrait.

With this outfit I was kind of experimenting and I actually like how it turned out. I've been wearing my skinny jeans (can they be called skinny if they are size 18?!) a lot lately, but always with my boots. I know that as we turn to spring I won't want to be wearing my boots anymore so I thought I would try the jeans rolled up a little with some flats.

The green skinny jeans are from Target (I got them on clearance, of course!) and the cardigan is from Old Navy. The flats are Bobs that I bought from shesteals.com and the belt I found on clearance at Maurices. It is actually too big now so I probably need to punch another hole in it.

The floral printed top is from Dress Barn. Yes, you  heard me right -- I bought something from a store called Dress Barn. I always hesitated going in there because I thought, "who wants to buy clothes from a barn?!" but I actually found some really cute stuff there -- including my favorite earrings!

I know the picture is hard to tell, but I'm wearing a new necklace from Forever 21 ($1.98!) and cute earrings from there as well. I also have on a bow ring that DC "bought" me from Kohl's last year for Christmas. And by "bought" I mean I picked it out and paid for it and he gave it to me as a present. :)

Friend Making Monday -- Blogger to Blogger

Thanks for stopping by and checking out Friend Making Monday. If this is the first time you've seen it then go to Kenlie's blog and see what it is all about!

 1.  Does your blog have one overwhelming theme? I think the theme of my blog is just me. It’s about my journey to finding a healthier me, my crafty side and my adventures of being a mom and wife.

2. How did you come up with the theme(s) for your blog? Was it intentional? I initially had three different blogs – a family one, a scrapbooking one and a weight loss one. I stunk at keeping up with doing any of them. I’ve been so much better since I started this one and I’m really happy with it.

3.  Share something cool that has happened in your life as a result of blogging. I don’t know that anything cool has really happened. It has made me re-examine what I’m putting on Facebook and I’ve thought about why I’m really doing a blog. It is for me and if other people read it that is great, but at the end of the day it is kind of like my journal.

4. How much time to do spend reading blogs everyday? I actually use to spend a lot more, but with the two kids now and a million other things going on I just don’t read blogs as much. If they are linked through Facebook, though, I am more likely to check it out.

5.  Do you blog on the weekends? I don’t, but I should. I mostly blog during some of my free moments at work. Shhh … don’t tell the boss! It’s almost like my little getaway for a moment from the craziness of everything going on around me.

6.  Do you keep track of your stats?  Do they matter to you? I don’t think the stats matter to me, like I said before – I’m just blogging for me, but it does make me smile when I see that others are actually checking out my blog and even more so when they leave comments. It makes me feel loved (so leave a stinkin’ comment … will ya?!).

7. How do you decide how much to share about your personal life? I don’t really mind sharing about my personal life, but I’ve made up nicknames for everyone just because the Internet kind of scares me with how much access a person can gain about you. I probably should watermark my photos, but I don’t know how to do that. I’m sure it’s simple and I should look it up, I just haven’t gotten to that yet.

8. Do you aspire to be a writer, or did blogging happen for some other reason? I have a journalism degree so deep down I do love writing. I don’t always think I’m very good, but it is something I enjoy doing. Beyond simple blogging I don’t really have any ambitions of writing a book or anything huge like that.

9. As a blogger, do you think it’s more important to write for yourself, or for your readers? I guess it is my theme for the day – I definitely write for myself, but I do keep the reader in mind, making sure to share necessarily background information if it applies. I write for myself, but having others read it and if I can inspire or help someone else out that is just an added bonus.

10.  What kind of plans do you have for the future of your blog? I would like to just keep my blog going. I would love to have more followers (I think I have two right now!), but I’ll continue to post and just see what happens from here.

What I Wore Wednesday

This is actually a photo from the other day (hence not being in the middle school bathroom!). DC and I went to the movies and dinner so I decided to dress it up a little.

The dress is from Target. I bought it on super cheap clearance toward the end of last summer. The leggings are also from Target.

My cardigan is from Old Navy. I absolutely love it and wish I had more of them! 

My boots are from a shoe store in our mall.

I'm feeling pretty good about myself and I look forward to each Wednesday!

And just for fun -- here is a snapshot of DC from our date. I think he bought the jacket at DI. He kept walking around like he was hot stuff. Silly boy!

Valentine's Treats

I love to make goodies! It's not that I necessarily want to eat the goodies, but I love making them. It's also the feeling I get when I give treats to someone else. I feel all warm and happy inside! It makes me feel great to make someone else happy. Imagine that!

Anyway, I honestly can't remember where I saw these cute little cookies at. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Pinterest, but it was somewhere on the internet. The point is I can't take credit for it all by myself. I went to Target and bought some wafer cookies (they were only like $1.25 for the whole thing!), some cute Valentin's  sprinkles and then I picked up some pink chocolate at Wal-Mart. 

I dipped the cookies in the chocolate, put them on some parchment paper to solidify and added some sprinkles while I was waiting. 

Super cute and super easy! The cookies were gone before lunch time at school. 

I also had some leftover chocolate I didn't want to waste so I decided to make some chocolate covered pretzel rods for the administration at school. It's the same idea, just with a different base. I personally prefer the pretzels to the cookies, but I think most people would be happy with either one. 

I have one more box of cookies at home so I think I might make some neighborhood goodies for my kiddos to take around later this week.

Friend Making Monday -- Personal Quirks and Habits

I love Friend Making Monday, but this one was super hard! I kind of feel like my answers are all over the place. It's always good to challenge myself, though, and I feel like that is exactly what these questions made me do. Enjoy :)

Personal Quirks and Habits

1. Share one unique character trait that sets you apart from your friends – I think something that sets me apart from my friends is my dedication to myself. This is a really awkward question because I feel like anything I say about myself is kind of putting my friends down. I also think I have different groups of friends that I would have different responses to.

2. List at least two pet peeves that always aggravate you – It always aggravates me when someone thinks they are better than everyone else or that it is their way or the highway. It also aggravates me when people (students) touch my belongings. It’s mine so don’t touch it!

3. Is there a word or phrase that you say so regularly that people expect to hear it from you – These questions are super tough this week! I’m not sure of something I regularly say. When I was in high school I would always say “This kid …” and that automatically meant I was talking about a boy. I feel like right now I’m always say “No” to my kids. I need to work on that! I should be saying something I would like them to be doing instead of just telling them no.

4. Are you a risk taker, or do you typically play it safe – I wish I was a risk taker and I like to dream a lot, but I think in general I play it safe. I’m afraid of change, especially if it is something that I can’t change back.

5. Describe your life as it was in high school. Are you the same person? Have you changed – My life in high school was crazy. I went to school during the day and then I would work at Subway at night and on the weekends. I also worked for the city newspaper for their teen section and I was in charge of the school newspaper. I would say that my life is the same in the fact that it is still pretty crazy! I’m busy and always feel like I’m running behind. I don’t work at Subway anymore, but I am in charge of the school newspaper. I would like to say that I’ve changed a lot, but I think working in a middle school makes me want to go back and relive those junior high and high school days differently. I guess it’s true what they say about hindsight – it’s 20/20.

6. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done that you’re glad you did – the craziest or most irresponsible? When I was in college just before I started dating my husband I was kind of seeing this kid who was in the ROTC (like I also was). He had his pilot’s license and he took me on a date where we went to Winger’s and then he took me on a plane ride. How stupid was I to get into a plane with someone that I didn’t really know and also in such a small plane. I would never do that again! Plus, I had met my husband, but we weren’t dating yet. I knew I liked him so why I went out with someone else I’m not sure. I guess because the other guy asked.

7. Do you ever talk to yourself? If so, share an example – Not out loud. I think I talk to myself in my head, but that is normal, right?

8. Share something you did that unexpectedly helped shape your life – I think randomly becoming the sports editor of my college newspaper totally shaped my life. I wasn’t supposed to be the sports editor, I was only a sophomore. I guess whoever they had picked wasn’t able to do it so the newspaper called me during the summer and asked me if I would be interested in the position. Of course I was! My first game I did as sports editor was cover the Utah State at Utah football game. This is where I met my husband for the first time and the rest is history. If I wasn’t in that position who knows if I would have met my husband and had the life I do today.

9. Do you follow a strict routine, or are you a free spirit? Are you somewhere in between – I am definitely somewhere in between. I have things I do day after day, but I also randomly like to do things that are just spur of the moment. I would like to get on more of a routine because I think it will help me feel more organized.

10. Share something about yourself that you hope will inspire others – I have lost almost 17.6 pounds since September. It has been slow going, but the fact that I’m keeping with it is huge. I want to get to where I am happier with my body and myself and I am definitely on the right path.

What I Wore Wednesday

 I looked totally goofy taking photos in the middle school bathroom today, but I don't really care! I feel cute and wanted to make sure I got a good picture.

I'm just wearing a black polo from Old Navy and a cropped cardigan from there as well with some new jeans from Deb and my Rocketdog shoes. You can't really see, but I have on some earrings from Dress Barn and my scarf is from Forever 21.

My jeans are definitely my favorite part of the outfit because they are new and a size smaller! I'm so excited! I bought them after Christmas with some money that my dad gave me. I love the butt pockets!

It's hard to tell, but they have rhinestones on them and are super fun!

And on a side note -- here is what I had for breakfast today. 

It was delicious and I don't really feel hungry. It's a big change for me because usually I have cereal and I'm trying to incorporate some different, healthier choices for me. I probably should have had some toast or something as well, but this was a small step for me in the right direction.

Friend Making Monday -- Five Things

1. Share five things you hope to do before you die. 

- Swim with the dolphins

- Hold a koala bear

- Go to Australia/New Zealand

- Wear a bathing suit I can feel confident in

- Be completely debt free

2. List five things you love about yourself – this one was harder than it should be!

- My eyes

- My thoughtfulness

- My dedication

- ???

- ???

3. Share the five coolest things that you've done in 2013.

- Gone to the presidential inauguration

- ran/walked a 10-miler

- played soccer in the living room with LD

- Lost some weight

- Finished a 5K with my fastest time yet – 42 minutes 

4. List five things that you always have in your kitchen.

- Bananas (at least at the start of a week)

- Milk (fat free and whole milk – for the kids)

- My vitamins

- Kool-aid

- Tortillas

 5. Share five places you would like to go on vacation.

- Hawaii – I want to go an actually explore the islands, not just do the touristy things.

- I really want to go see the Great Wall of China

- I would like to see the Ann Frank House in Amsterdam

- I want to go to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji

- I would really like to go on a European vacation with DC.

6. List five celebrities/public figures you’d like to meet.

- Meeting the Pope would be pretty cool

- I’d love to have dinner with Jeff Hornacek. I’ve met him, but it would be cool to actually sit down and just chill with him

- Barack Obama

- Lauren Graham – I just love her!

- Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty 

7. List five bands or artists you’d like to see perform live.

- Michael Buble

- Matchbox Twenty –going in March!!!

- Kelly Clarkson

- Taylor Swift

- NKOTB – call me crazy, but that would be a childhood dream come true!

8. List five TV shows that you don’t want to miss. 

- Biggest Loser

- The Bachelor

- The Lying Game and Switched at Birth

- Emily Owens (I’m really sad the series finale is tonight!)

- Big Brother

9. Share five things you wanted to do as a child. 

- Be a journalist

- go to Australia/New Zealand

- Meet Ann Frank – yes, I know she had long passed away, but it was always my go-to person that I wished I could meet

- get married and have kids

- Be a teacher

10.  Share five things you hope to do in 2013.

- Go somewhere cool – Germany? The Grand Canyon?

- Continue to drop pounds. By the end of the year I would at least like to be in the 170’s

- Get closer to being out of debt

- Organize/Clean my house

- Scrapbook – especially to finish Project Life for 2013.

Ok – those were actually kind of super hard! They made me thing, but they also helped me to focus on positive things I’ve done and what I would like to accomplish in the future!

I did it!

I finally understand that weight loss is all about small goals. Don't get me wrong -- I do have an ultimate goal in mind, but for now I keep focusing on the next five pounds.

I've been working for about the last month or so to get to 15 pounds lost since I started my Weight Watchers journey (this time around!). I thought I would reach it a couple of weeks about when I was so close, but then I went to the Inauguration and I didn't do awful, but I didn't reach the goal. 

Fast forward to yesterday. I wrote my goal on my hand so that I would have an anchor -- something to constantly remind me of what I was working toward. 

It was kind of silly, but I really think it helped. My students kept asking me all day why I had the number written on my hand and I just kept telling them it was to help me remember something. Even their asking was helping me to keep focused on what I wanted. 

The other day I had signed up for a 5K at the local high school. Heck! I figured this should be pretty easy after my last two run/walks (a half marathon and a 10-miler!). 

It went well and it was fun to see some students I had previously taught. It took me about 42 minutes to do the 5K. I would like to get my time down under 40 minutes before summer. 

After the run I went to Weight Watchers. I actually missed most of the meeting (but what better excuse could you have to miss a meeting), but I was there to weigh in and stay for the Power Spaces. I was super excited when I saw my weight record and saw that I had lost 3.2 pounds this week for a total of 17 pounds since September. I know it's taking me a while, but I'm determined and I know that it is going to stay off this time.  

My next little goal? I'm working toward 20 pounds which is my 10% goal. I hope that I can reach that in the next few weeks if I keep my  nose to the ground and work hard.

Underground Runner -- Transform Yourself

I'm a little slow adding this blog post, but I wanted to make sure to document the 10-mile run/walk I did last Saturday. It was through this Underground Runner group that sets up races throughout the area and you find out the day before exactly where the races are. I'm signed up for a 1/2 marathon they are doing next month. I love it because it's super cheap ($22 per race) and you get a cool medal! 

This is my standard pre-race photo because no one is wake at home to take a picture of me. 

Here is the view of the area where we ran. It was mostly just a dirt road (I still need to clean my shoes off).

And here is my AWESOME medal! It's two sided. I think the red side is my favorite.

I'm doing a 5K this weekend -- it should be a breeze after my last two races.