Diets & Workouts & Stress...Oh My!

Alright ladies and gents....as mentioned before in my New Year's Resolutions post, I have to get in shape! Not only to create a happier healthier me, but I have Brittany's wedding in about 8 months! I'm the freaking Maid of Honor! Which means that I'll be standing right next to my stunningly beautiful-drop dead gorgeous BF who will be looking extra stunningly beautiful and drop dead gorgeous on her wedding day! Now it is not my goal to look prettier than her and that's not even a possibility (even if God himself graced me with a miracle to accomplish such a thing, I wouldn't dream of it!) I would like to be able to stand next to her and not have 250+ guests asking who Quasimodo is standing next to the bride. Ha ok maybe that mental picture is a bit extreme...but you get the idea. Soooo, with so many different diets and workouts available what do I choose?!?

First off a diet...I'm not big on diets. I think a lot of them don't work and you're better off training yourself to eat healthier. That being said...that's my goal! More salads and such with less carbs! Plus I will not kick myself in the butt just because I happen to have a slice of pizza one time in a matter of a month! Kicking myself in the butt for it will only discourage me and say "what's the point?".

As for workouts...well here's where I'm a little unsure. I've heard so many people go on about the following products.

The Wii Fit

Although this sounds like fun and could keep me interested long enough to continue my workouts on a regular basis...it's too expensive!

P90X

I've heard great things about this workout system, but again it's a bit pricey and what if I don't enjoy it?

30 Day Shred

At about 15 bucks, I'm thinking this will be a little more worth it for me. Cheap enough that if I don't like it I'm not wasting a ton of money and from what I understand still a great workout that will help me see results.

Not to mention I'm going to get back into my walking/jogging routine and make a conscious effort to walk more in general (i.e. parking farther away at the store and getting up more from my desk at work).

So here I go...wish me luck...and lord help me to stay focused!

2010 movies I already love you...

There are sooooo many movies coming out this year that I'm super excited about! My list is so long I'm not even really sure where to begin, but....


Currently out right now that I want to see is When in Rome and the Lovely Bones. I'm a sucker for chick flick movies like When and Rome so of course it's a must. As for the Lovely Bones...I listened to the audio book a few years back and I have a feeling it's going to be much like My Sister's Keeper was. Great books, but hard to watch and not cry your eyes out.

Movies to come....Dear John, Valentines Day, The Wolfman, Shutter Island, Alice in Wonderland, The Back Up Plan, Remember Me, She's Out Of My League, The Bounty Hunter, The Runaways, Grown Ups, Last Song, Repo Men, Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, Sex & The City 2, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Salt, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, Letters To Juliet, Knight & Day.....I mean really the list goes on and on!

Movies at the top of my list include:

Dear John
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989757/

Valentines Day

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817230/
I mean could they have possibly packed any more top actors and actresses in this movie?!?!?

Alice In Wonderland

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/
I'm a huge fan of Tim Burton films and I'm postive that this will be nothing short of amazing!

The Runaways

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/
Love, love, love the music and I think this movie will be FANTASTIC! Super excited doesn't even begin to describe what I am for this movie!

And of course last but not least...
Twilight Saga: Eclipse

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1325004/

I wish I could say that you will be able to find me in the theaters on each opening day, but sadly that probably won't happen.

2010 you were supposed to be different...better...

2010 was supposed to be a new and better year for me....or so I had planned. But as we all know things don't always go as planned. One of my biggest plans for the year was to start school and now it looks like that plan will either be put off for a while or won't happen at all.

On January 15th my brother had gone out to celebrate his 29th birthday. Around 2 in the morning he was in a horrific car accident that almost claimed his life. By the grace of God he pretty much walked away. He was transported to Washington Regional in Fayetteville where we learned that he had a concussion, dislocated both hips, broke his neck, broke his pelvis, fractured his left hip, broke the bones on top of his left foot and cut his right leg down to the bone. He was driving my dad's classic chevy pickup and totaled it. He hit a metal stoplight pole dead center, causing the engine to get pushed up into the cab of the truck. He should have been pinned in the truck but some how the driver side door got pushed open and he was thrown into the street. Three people drove passed the accident and not one person stopped. I will give them credit for calling it in, but how do you not stop to make sure someone is ok, alive or if they need help?!?!? How do you not stop?!?! I can't imagine what it must have been like for him while he laid there yelling for help.... How is it that I know these details you may ask...coming from a small town you end up knowing most of the people in town. The dispatcher who received the calls and dispatched the state trooper to the scene happened to be a close friend of the family and told us the details.

Since that night he has been transported to another hospital over a hundred miles from us and has gone through surgery to repair his hip and pelvis. He will have to wear a neck brace for the next 3 months to repair his neck and won't be able to walk for the next 3 months either. After the 3 months is over he will have to go through rehab and learn how to walk again.

So for the next few months my time and energy will be going to the family. Helping everyone get back on track. School at this point is not much of an option....important thing is that my brother survived and no one else was involved in the accident.

OH how things change...

Since I was a little girl, I have planned my "wedding" multiple times. I have dreamt of what colors, themes, bridesmaids and decorations I wanted. Every last detail was thought of. Sadly this same thought process has gone for my friends weddings too :) Back before Chase placed the beautiful engagement ring on Brittany's tiny little finger, wedding ideas had already taken place in my head. (haha don't judge...it's called a best friend being prepared) Originally, way before Chase came into the picture Brittany had always talked about how nice it would be to have a beach wedding. So I of course had multiple ideas and locations planned out. Since then the theme of Brittany's wedding has changed to Rustic (side note...I'm in love with this idea more so than the beach wedding). Although the theme has stayed the same since this beauty came into the picture....



the location has not! There has probably been talk of about 3 to 4 different locations. Annoying as this is, it's very typical during the wedding planning process. Now that we are officially in 2010, the location is for sure set and will not be changing again. Brittany and I have truly jumped on board the wedding planning process and have started finalizing all details. So for those of you that read my blog (all two of you ha) get ready because it's all wedding from here on out!

I've been bad...

I've neglected my blog most of December! I had many times where I thought I would blog but everytime I thought about this I either couldn't get my thoughts together or the topic was a little to personal for all the world to see. But today was the day to get back to my blog. What shall my topic be....what everyone is blogging about right now of course! New's Years Resolutions.

2009 was a horrible horrible year for me! Without going into too much detail the year included MAJOR back surgery for my dad that almost killed him, a break up from a long distance relationship, many many finacial struggles, a divorce in the family and really the list goes on and on. I can however say that I survived it all! 2009 sucked! I hated it with a PASSION, and I only hope that 2010 proves to be a better year and there are definitely steps that will be taken on my part. I spent my entire year of 2009 trying to fix everyone around me and their problems. This is not a bad thing, as it's good to help the people you love. Therefore I do not regret it, but this year I will focus a little more on myself and the things I need to do to make myself happier and healthier along with making things happier and healthier for Cohen.

I plan to work towards starting school, work out more (yeah yeah I know everyone says this at the beginning of the year) but one of the biggest and will be the hardest to tackle....making myself a healthier and happier me for DATING... Yeah I said the dreaded "D" word. For multiple reasons I have avoided dating. Those reasons including the above mentioned LDR, of course recovery time after the LDR, and then excuse after excuse as to why I couldn't/shouldn't. Having a child (who without a doubt is my entire world) I am very protective and guarded over mixing my son and dating. With the LDR he probably met my son a total of maybe 3 times in a time period of probably a year and a half. I feel very strongly about keeping my son shielded from that world. I will not have his childhood memories include multiple dating partners with mommy. So because I feel so strongly about this I've found it a lot easier just to not date or even think about dating. This year I will change that. I don't need someone to complete me, I am perfectly comfortable in my own skin to be on my own. But I do know that it would be nice to have someone and that I do deserve to be happy.

So here's to school, working out, dating and being a happier healthier me!

Sometimes blessings come and slap us in the face

Today while at work I was sitting in a send off meeting for people going to a training course that everyone in the room had already been to. This course is not your typical corporate training course. It's about building you and making you the best you can be, not what you can learn to do to make your company better. Anyway, after I gave my little speech to the 3 people we were sending off I realized some really important things.... I have always been grateful that I went through this course, but it wasn't until today (3 1/2 years after the first course) that I realized how truly grateful I really am.

I am a firm believer that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and the past couple years have definitely been proof that God only gives you as much as you can handle. I became a single mother by my 3rd month of pregnancy and life has been a roller coaster ever since. Being a single mother is never an easy thing, but if I had become a mother before I had gone through this training course I can't say that I would have been as strong as I have been. I've always considered myself to be a very strong person (I have been through many things in my life that has made me this way) but it wasn't until this course that I realized how strong I can be.

So today I thank God for person he's made me become. The path he's laid out for me has not been an easy one, and I'm sure I have many more battles and hills ahead of me. Looking back on everthing that has happend though I can truly say that I wouldn't change anything for the world. I'm proud of the strength I've been given, proud of the beautiful son I have today, proud of the person my son has helped make me and proud of the things I have accomplished. I hope that I can teach my son the strenth I know and teach him to be a better person than I am and to lead a better life than I have. He's given me the greatest gift of all by simply being here, and I will spend my entire life working to pay him back for it.

Today blessings have truly come up and slapped me in the face :-D

iTunes

Going through my iTunes music I realized that I have a ridiculous amount of breakup type music. I don't date much (right now...not at all) and what relationships I've had have all lasted for decent amounts of time, so it's not like I go through breakups all the time and need this kind of music. Apparently though, I'm a sucker for anything romantic or things that like to torture the heart and make you think about the past.

Reviewing all these songs though I noticed that I had some perfect songs for different situations. Let the awards begin....

Award for Best "About To Breakup" song
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room-John Mayer
This song is the best song I've found that describes those crappy final moments with someone when you know that you are coming to an end but neither one wants to admit it.

Award for Best "You Know They're Wrong For You But Still Desperate" song
Desperation-Miranda Lambert
This song is best right after the breakup when you still love that person but know they are wrong for you. That crappy moment when you might questioning your decision and relationship status.

Award for Best "Friends Just Don't Understand" song
They Weren't There-Missy Higgins
This song is for the moments when you're friends have one view of the person you were dating and it doesn't match the true view of the person you were with.

Award for Best "Don't Want To Crawl Out Of Bed" song
One Of Those Days-Joshua Radin
Perfect for those days of depression when you know no matter what you do it's going to be "one of those days".

Award for Best "Lonely And Damaged" song
Easy From Now On-Miranda Lambert
"It's gonna be easy to fill the heart of a thirsty woman and harder to kill the ghost of a no good man" Easy to feel special when your lonely and someone pays attention to you, but hard to start a relationship because you're still so damaged from the last.

Award for Best "Just Ran Into My Ex" song
Over You-Reba McEntire
This song is great when you run into an ex that you're still not over. That very awkward hello and sick feeling you get in your stomach during the whole process.

Award for Best "Giving All You Have, But Knowing It's Still Going To End" song
When You Love Someone Like That-Reba McEntire & Leann Rimes
Explains perfectly giving your everything but the relationship ends anyway, then a best friend comes along and reminds you not to blame yourself.

Award for Best "Admitting They Might Not Love You" song
Consider Me Gone-Reba McEntire
"If I'm not the one thing you can't stand to lose, If I'm not the heir to the heart of you, If you don't get drunk on my kiss, If you think you can do better than this, Than I guess we're done, Let's drag this on. Consider Me Gone" Lyrics explain it all.

Award for Best "Need" song
Need You Now-Lady Antebellum
This song explains perfectly that "need" feeling you get in the middle of the night when you are lonely and missing someone. So you break down and reach out to them knowing you probably shouldn't.

Award for Best "Cheater" song
Shattered Glass-Britney Spears
"Was it really worth it, was she everything that you were looking for, feel like a man, I hope you know you can't come back because what we had is broken like shattered glass, You're gonna see me in your dreams tonight, my face is gonna haunt you all the time, I promise you're gonna want me back when your world falls apart like shattered glass" This song makes you feel better. It's one of those slap someone in the face kind of songs that say "ha you screwed up and you're going to regret it".

Award for Best "Jealousy" song
Crazy Ex Girlfriend-Miranda Lambert
There will always come a time when you find out about your ex seeing someone else and jealousy takes over.

Award for Best "Girls Night Only" song
Knock 'Em Out-Lily Allen
This song is just plain funny! After the breakup there is usually a girl's night (usually out to the bar)and you want nothing to do with guys. Especially the really annoying ones with crappy pick up lines.