Progress

I'm down 11 pounds! YAY. That's pretty much all I have to say today. Except that it is gloomy here. But at least it's warmer. Oh, and this guy says hello:

New Me

It's been forever since I've blogged anything. I keep telling myself that I need to write in my journal, but I never do. So in stead, I decided to blog. When Jay and I got married, I told myself and all my friends and family that I would not be the kind of person who gained a bunch of weight simply because I got married. I've known many people who have done so and I never wanted to become that way. Well. Guess what? I did. I gained 12-ish pounds. I don't look a whole lot different, but I can FEEL it. I've even asked my family members and friends if they've noticed a difference and all of them have said no. I'm hoping they were completely honest. I have never truly stuck to a regular exercise routine. I usually work out pretty hard for about 1-2 weeks, quit for a while, and pick it up again a few weeks later. I have pretty much always eaten what I want: lots of carbs. Breads, cookies, sweets. I finally got so fed up with my body and my bad habits that I really made a change. For the past three weeks I have been doing my Insanity workout, never once missing a day(except for Sundays). I get up early, I do my workout, I have a protein shake, I shower, go to school. I've started eating right. Five meals a day, each 300 calories or less, give or take. It has been hard. Probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I kind of feel like an adict. Not that I would know what that feels like and I'm not going to pretend to, but I did/do have an attachment to food and very little self control. I have lost 5 pounds and I'm going to keep at it! I want this weight OFF. I'd like to love my body--I don't think I every truly have. Also, I am officially enrolled in college again and we just found out that we qualify for a Pell Grant. I am incredibly grateful for that. I firmly believe that we are being blessed because we pay tithing at our church. I am happy, I am making myself the person I want to be. I have a purpose. I feel so blessed and complete these days. Plus I have an adorable puppy. He brightens my life too:)

I'll keep posting about my progress as I go. And other things of course.

Hairssss

Some one tell me how to do this with my hair. Please?




Yes...I like Pretty Little Liars. Does that make me a loser? Oh well! LOVE the hair.

Christmas

This Christmas rocked. It was probably the best Christmas I've ever had.

Being away from family sucked a little. I was getting pretty homesick thinking about the fun that my family members would be having without me. But it turned out to be pretty fantastic here in our little corner of Washington.

The week of Christmas started out with a call from some one in our ward asking us to help clean a house recently purchased by a needy family. The place was pretty much a dump. It was kind of gross. We scrubbed the walls and kitchen cabinets. You wouldn't believe the amount of grime... bleh. But it was awesome to help. I had so much fun.

I have also been doing a ton of crafts for Christmas gifts. Pinterest has been rather addicting and I have discovered a new side of me. Perhaps the more Mormon side of me...if you will :)


I made this:



And these (stained the paper and all):



Also this (I made 2 for my nieces):



Plus, I made some cute jewelry for my sister and friends.

Now I want a sewing machine. I do not know how to sew...but I'd like to. Never thought I would want that.

Oh and I've been cooking up a storm. We had an awesome Christmas dinner that I did all by myself. I'm quite proud of my domesticated side.

One last funny tid bit...

I decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas for a family that lives in our apartment complex. Christmas Eve came around and Jason and I were getting ready to deliever the last present (doorbell ditch style of course). Long story short-- it turns out her address was incorrect in the ward list and we ended up giving the gifts to the WRONG family! SO funny. She lives one floor up. Kind of hilarious. I hope we were able to do some good anyway.

So even though I was far apart from my family and friends for the holidays, I got to help others in a way I've never experienced before. I was able to see the bigger picture.

And it definitely helps that my husband got me a digital piano (Yamaha!) for Christmas.

OH....and today, we placed an offer on a house. That's pretty exciting.
And I may have a solution to finishing my Bachelor's Degree. Which makes me INCREDIBLY happy.

It's a good life :)

wedding memories...i guess?

I think if I could go back and do our wedding over, things would be different. Not everything. But some things- yes.

My dress. I am fairly certain I would choose something like this:



Also, our cake was supposed to turn out differently than it did. It was still pretty, but not truely what I wanted. So, I think I would like something like this:




Then there are the tiny details. Like not having my necklace break in the middle of the day. And I would have bobby pinned the heck outta my veil if I had just remembered.

Other than that, I'd say our wedding was a great success. It was really fun.

Oh, and our pictures....we still aren't sure what's happening with that. The memory card in the camera our photographer was using decided to break. She has sent it to the manufactuers to rebuild it, piece by piece. I cried so hard when I found out. We really hope they can recover the pictures.

I'm bad at making decisions. I really wish that something out of my control would happen so I wouldn't have to decide what to do with my life. That's how indecisive I have become. Redic.



Options:

Go back to ISU

Buy a house.

Move into a different apartment.

Go to massage therapy school.?????????????

All of these decisions require action. I am so stuck :(

Warshington

I figured I would post some pictures of the wonderful fun we've been having up here in the NW. This place is pretty swell. We like it here.



Mt. Rainier National Park.
It is so beautiful here. I have never seen so many trees. Everything is green and wet.




Discovery Park
This park is in Seattle. It is the remains of a Navy base. It feels like walking through a ghost town. That's pretty cool. Also, they have a lighthouse.Love that.





Pike Place Market
Downtown Seattle is amazing. Pike Place is a 'must see' if you ever come to Seattle. Super fun. Jason is standing in front of the Gum Wall. No, we did not stick our gum to it as we did not have any. But we plan on getting there again!


The Emerald Queen Casino
Jay and I came to a boxing match here shortly after we were married. We both reeked of smoke when we left. Yuck.

These are only some of the moments from the fun adventures we've had in Seattle. This place is definitely fun.