Big Life Changes...

...are always scary, but 90% of the time they are for the best.

Yesterday I officially resigned from my job.  Let's face it, I was miserable here.  As much as I liked {most} of the people I worked with, and I feel horrible leaving given that one of my other coworkers just left (and our group only has 4 people in it) I have to do what's best for me emotionally and financially.  I'll be starting at my new job on July 18th, and I'm very excited!

I had given my current company a chance to match the offer that my new job gave me, not because I wanted to stay but as a courtesy given the only two people left have less than 1 year experience here between the two of them.  When the director of my area told me that they weren't going to be countering, and I simply responded "Okay" he looked a little dumbstruck.  Bryan and I think he might have thought I was bluffing about having another job lined up, but that would be really stupid if you ask me.  So after he stared at me for a moment he goes "And to be quite honest, Amanda, I'm offended you were even looking at other jobs considering all the opportunities we've given you."

It took every fiber of my being to prevent me from either laughing or blowing up in his face.  First of all, he was not the director of my area when I was initially hired, so he had nothing to do with that.  And unless you count an obscene amount of work and responsibilities (and given I had just graduated from college and didn't have any sort of mentor ship because two other people from our group quit last summer) with absolutely no compensation or recognition as "opportunities" they've done nothing but under appreciate the amount of work I've put in here.

And after that, I felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  I'm excited about my new job, I was actually afraid they would counter the offer and I wouldn't be able to turn down the additional salary even though I don't like my job.  But I'm still slightly offended.  It just proves that management here really has no idea what it is that I do, and they're going to be in for a big surprise when I leave.

But - at my new job I get to wear open toed shoes, and I'll actually get paid for overtime!!!!!!  And I'll no longer have to walk past the Planned Parenthood Protesters on my way to work!  Part of me felt like it wasn't the best idea to switch careers with my wedding coming up so quickly, but there's no day like today, and I've decided to take Skinny Bitch's advice and "dedicate myself to creating the life I want."

As for working out (yes, it is still Fitness Recap Friday) I only did twice this week...but that's better than the past two weeks!  I did HIIT 15 on Monday and Fire 45 on Tuesday.  Tuesday night I knew I would be approaching my boss the next day and I took all my anxiety out on that kickboxing workout.  I'm amazed my arms didn't go flying off my body I was punching so hard, hahaha.




And since I'm quite proud of the progress I'm making on shoe number 2, I just have to show it off:

Isn't she purrrrty?

This weekend is more invitation extravaganza - I'm hoping to get them in the mail by next Thursday.

Any big plans for Fourth of July weekend (wedding related or not)?

Random, Random - Who Wants Some Random?

Yeah, so, I didn't work out this week.  At all.  I'm ashamed of myself.  But I promise, I'm back on the wagon starting tomorrow!

So, instead I have a lot of random-ness to share with you.  Let's start with Skinny Bitch...there have been a few pages of my calendar recently that I really like.  I actually like them so much that they're hanging up in my cube at work, haha.  And here they are:

The first two are actually my favorite.  June11/12 is probably my very favorite.  Especially since I haven't exactly been happy with my job lately, and I've been feeling just overwhelmed with life yet underwhelmed with myself.  I just have to remind myself that I do have control, and I can create the life that I want.  I already have an amazing fiance, caring friends and family, I just have to figure out what I want to do and do it.

I like the affirmation because let's face it, we don't tell ourselves that we love our bodies enough.  And regardless of where you are in a weight loss/gain/maintenance journey, you should love the body you've got!

And I like the last one because I'm sooooooo bad at remembering to hydrate myself!  So that sucker is front and center - on top of my computer monitor at work - to remind me to drink more effing water!

Next up, some beauty finds!

So, I get my hair done at Ulta, and while I'm "processing" I shop, haha.  Well last night I found (and fell madly in love with) the Pop Beauty Bare Texture Kit eyeshadow pallette.  Seriously, swoon.  If you're looking for an awesome new eyeshadow pallette, I 100% recommend this one:

Personal Photo

And here's a blurb from the description (stolen from the Ulta site):
Bare hues to subtly frames your eyes as our added POP eye-brightening hue adds bursts of color - so you have the option of going bright for night! Kit also contains POP Beauty's famous Eye Magnet Primer for durability and a defined eye that stays that way all day or night! Line and blend mini brush duo included. This is all about the texture! Frolic along with matte, shimmer or full-on glitterati pigments! Play, combine and mix texture & color to truly define your peepers!

Seriously love it.  I had trouble picking out which colors to use this morning...I ended up going with barely lining my eye with the top row farthest to the right, did top row farthest to the left for my lid, middle row - middle section - top left for the crease of my lid, and a little hint of the green that is in the middle of the top row on my tear duct...

Perfect look for work, if I do say
so myself!

I also bought, and am now obsessed with, CoverGirl natureluxe "gloss balm" (I got it in "cabernet"):

Personal
Photo

I like that it isn't sticky and adds just the right amount of color and glossiness.  And it has SPF 15, which is always good to have in the summer.  And since it's CoverGirl (aka not obscenely expensive) I might have to go to Walmart to see if they have it so I can invest in a few more colors!  The one I got looks super dark in the tube, but it really isn't.  That's my favorite kind of lip color though!
And finally, on today's random agenda, gotta throw in some Wedding Related fun, right?  Well, I've started working on my second shoe - and no, I haven't gotten so sick of it that I wanna stab my eyes out with the tweezers that I use to place the gems yet.  A little less than 2 hours worth of work (I do have to actually eat during my lunch, not just bedazzle shoes) and we are well on our way:

Starting off sucks...once you get a good bit done, it becomes much easier.

That's all for now - still quasi dreading starting my invitation suite this weekend, but you can't avoid the inevitable!  Just keep your fingers crossed for me that everything goes smoothly...

Do you have any random-ness to share on this lovely Friday?

So Much Wedding Excitement to Share!!!!

First of all, let me apologize for being MIA for the past week.  Going home for my bridal shower (more on that later) and then trying to get ready to start working on my invitations (eek) not to mention that stupid thing called my job, I've just been running around like a mad woman!

But, we shall start at the beginning...my flight home last week was delayed for 3 and a half hours!!!!  I hate airports.  In my mind airport = hell.  People are either in too much of a rush or they aren't moving fast enough, somehow it has gotten to the point where people think being in an airport gives them a right to look like they just rolled out of bed in public, and the chairs are always uncomfortable.  Needless to say, being delayed 3 and a half hours didn't really put me in the best mood.  But apparently, Jet Blue does a lot more than give you cookies and free TV on all of their flights!

First, they brought out all the snacks that are available on the planes (chips, cookies, soda, etc) and let us help ourselves.  Then they ordered pizza for us!  Yeah, they totally had 20 pizzas delivered to the airport for us to eat.  Then they started playing trivia and if you got a question right you got a $25 credit towards a future Jet Blue flight.  Then they said they were going to draw a winner out of all the people who had answered questions correctly for the "grand prize."

I totally won the grand prize.  I never win anything.  I was pumped.  It was Red Sox tickets for a game that I would no longer be in Massachusetts for but, do you know what this Sunday is?  Yeah, it's Father's Day.  Know who loves the Red Sox?  You guessed it, my Dad!  So I got to be the best daughter ever and give my Dad pretty awesome tickets to the Sox game this Saturday.  And that totally made up for the delay.

My Bridal Shower was on Saturday, and it was absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to tell you allllll about it, but I forgot my camera at home.  My mom mailed it down and it should be here any day now, but I'm not even going to bother writing about the shower until I have pictures to share with you as well.

But, at some point during the shower someone decided to drown my phone.  They tried to clean it up (as in, they dried off the outside) but when it wouldn't turn on and I pulled the battery and a bunch of water came pouring out it was pretty obvious what had happened.  I minorly freaked out.  Being without a phone makes me feel naked.  Being without a phone when I was flying back to Pittsburgh the next day made me want to vomit.  I don't even know how to use a pay phone anymore.  So, BM Kim and I went to Verizon.

First, there was nothing they could do, I could have a replacement sometime next week.  Then I threatened to cancel my contract.  They asked if I wanted to talk to customer support, I said yes.  They dialed the number that brings you to the automated system.  I damn near exploded - but chose to continuously press 0 until a human came on.  As I'm on the phone the Verizon man magically found a phone he could give me as a loner.  I was livid.  If I hadn't said "yes, I want to speak to customer support" he wouldn't have even looked if there was a phone they could give me temporarily.

At this point, probably 45 minutes had passed.  Then we spent the next 2 and a half hours waiting for him to figure out how to set that phone up with my number.  TWO AND HALF HOURS!!!!  Did I mention we were still in our absolutely adorable bridal shower outfits?  But they just could not get it to work.  And they finally went and magically found a new Thunderbolt (the phone I have) to give me.  I was like "Seriously, I thought you didn't have any more thunderbolts???" (my phone is still under warranty).  And his asshole response was "we don't have any replacement thunderbolts, this is a new one."  Took him all of 5 minutes to get that sucker working.

My theory is that they couldn't set up the crap-adelic phone on my plan because I have a hardcore unlimited data plan and that sucker probably wasn't even T-9 capable.  They weren't going to downgrade my plan so their system wouldn't allow them to put that phone on my plan.  But whatever, I have a new phone now, it just took 3 and a half hours.

Then I went out with Kim that night, flew home the next morning, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing because I was exhausted!

Enough ranting and raving though...onto a much more important topic - wedding day accessories!

I've probably mentioned I've been working on applying crystals to my shoes during my lunch at work and last week I finished my first shoe!  Then I made a little flower to clip on the front the other night!  I have a post for Weddzilla all about it, but Weddzilla has been wonky for the past couple days, so I'm going to at least show you a picture:

Isn't she purty?  But, like I said, more to come on that once Weddzilla catches up with all the pending posts!

Then last night I decided to try out yet another idea for a boutonniere for the guys.  This time I was going to use pearls (like my beloved bouquet) and I came up with the idea to mount them on a gold leaf brooch.  BEST IDEA EVER!  And now I have even more of an excuse to troll ebay for vintage brooches...

And my absolute favorite picture:

Seriously, couldn't be happier!  I love when I come up with good ideas.  Not only does it look fabulous but it's a freakin' pin!  How much easier could that be for the guys?  And they'll be all different leaf brooches (you can see some that I've picked up already in a few of the pictures).
And, I officially finished making my pocketfolds last night.  Let me tell you, cutting, scoring, folding, assembling, and embellishing 85 freakin' pocketfolds kind of sucks.  But they ended up costing me pennies a piece, so I can't complain that much, not to mention I get the satisfaction of saying I made them all!  Blood, sweat, and tears baby - that is what is going into this whole wedding (minimal blood though)!

So this weekend begins the actual assembly of the invitations.  I'm kind of pumped, kind of dreading it.  The design isn't that complicated, but my Cricut is going to get quite the workout!  But none of you get to see them until I've mailed them out - sorry!

I think that's all for now.  Don't hold your breath for a fitness recap tomorrow since, ummm, I didn't work out at all this week!  Someone please blog-slap me, I totally deserve it.  And my first fitting is on Monday.  Who doesn't work out at all the week before their first fitting??????? Whatever, starting Saturday I am 100% back on the exercise bandwagon!

Fitness Recap Friday!

::Womp woooomp::

This week wasn't the best week, I only worked out twice.  I blame the holiday on Monday for completely messing with my normal schedule, lol (it is so easy to come up with excuses)!

On Tuesday I did HIIT 20, and was supposed to do a resistance workout as well, but I didn't.

And last night I almost didn't workout at all, then I realized how ashamed of myself I would be if I came to post today and had only worked out once so I did HIIT15.  Again, I was supposed to do a resistance workout after that, but I just did not have the motivation.

Since I royally sucked, I'm re-doing the first week of the third month (I decided that last night so technically I've already started to re-do it).

I'm ashamed of this recap.

But, on a happier note, my ankles are becoming way stronger!  I've always had strong ankles (hello - I was a dancer for a decade and a half) but they're getting back to the way they were when I was actually still dancing.  And no, you can't see that they're getting stronger (I don't have muscle-cankles or anything) but I can feel it.  See, sometimes when I'm on the T on my way to work, I try to see how long I can stand on my toes.  Lately I've been able to hold my relevé for the whole ride (it's only like 5 minutes, but it twists and turns a lot).  I may look like a weirdo in a suit doing ballet on the T, but I find it fun so I don't care!

Not quite this bad, lol.  Source

That's all I've got for you fitness-wise...can I just say thank goodness it is Friday!?!?!  I feel like "short" work weeks always end up feeling the longest...

Fitness Recap Friday!!!

It's Friday!  And a better Friday than usual since I have a three day weekend this weekend!  Woot!  And MOH Sam and I are going to be busting our butts on wedding projects even though it's finally supposed to be nice out...

Look at that lovely forecast!  Looks like we might be making pomanders on the back porch...haha

Any way, back to my recap.  And you guessed it, I did Turbo Fire!

Monday - Fire 30, Stretch 10

Tuesday - Fire 45 EZ, Stretch 10

Wednesday - Core 20, Stretch 10 and I officially finished my second month!  In case you missed it, I have some progress pictures posted here!

Thursday - HIIT 15, Sculpt 30.  Holy cow, let me tell you, my abs were sore from the core workout on Wednesday and then doing a HIIT workout (which is basically workout at a kill-yourself level for a minute, then recover for a minute) and then do a resistance workout...I was pooped!  Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night!

Tonight I'm going to try and get myself to workout, we'll see though...

Did you have any good workouts this week?

Edited to add...

I really like today's Skinny Bitch Calendar Quote, so I have to share it with you all:

That is so true!  In Turbo Fire, Chalene is always reminding you that you have to push yourself to the next level if you want to see your body change; you can't just go through the motions.  If you want to be fit, you have to start being fit!

Now I'm done with this post for real, Happy Friday!

Progress Photos!!!

I've officially completed the first 2 months of Turbo Fire - woohoo!

I didn't feel ready to take photos after the first month, but I did take measurements, and here's the change from May 1st to today:

	5-1-11	5-25-11
Chest	34	33
Right Arm	10.5	10
Left Arm	11	10.25
Waist	28.5	28
Hips	36	35.5
Right Thigh	21	20.5
Left Thigh	22	20.5

Not too bad, if I do say so myself!  Luckily, I did take pictures on the day I first started Turbo Fire, which was March 19th (not March 11, like it says in one of the pictures...I'm just too lazy to go change it, hahaha) and here are my before and afters (so far, that is):

You can't really see that big of a change, except for in my back!  Apparently kickboxing rocks out your back muscles!  And you can see that I got another tattoo, lol.  That would be my lovely Gabby's pawprint!

My post for Weddzilla today isn't going up until 9 pm, so I probably won't link to it until tomorrow.  But if you're just dying to read it, I'm sure you can figure out how to find it on your own!

Fitness Recap Friday!

So, the beginning of this week started out a little shaky and completely messed up my Turbo Fire schedule.  I didn't work out at all Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, and I was getting sick of having to jumble around the "official" schedule because seriously, who wants their rest day to be on a Tuesday?  That's just stupid.  So, I kind of did my own shortened version for this week, and I plan on working out tonight, and then tomorrow I will have my rest day that should have technically been on the Tuesday of the last week of the second month (did you follow that at all, lol?) and I'll go from there.  But anyways, here's what I did do...

Tuesday - Fire 55...nothing new or special to report on that.

Wednesday - Fire 30 (I'm getting kind of sick of Fire 30, not gonna lie) and 20 minutes of Sculpt 30 - I just got too exhausted to finish (it's been a rough week at work).

Thursday - This is where I really mixed it up; I did Fire 45 EZ and Stretch 10.  Fire 45 EZ isn't actually on the schedule at all for this month, but I think it's my favorite workout.  I also have no idea why it is called "EZ" because in my opinion, it is one of the hardest workouts in the program.  It might be because there aren't any "fire drills" (minute long segments where you're supposed to push yourself to the limit) but since there aren't any fire drills, there also aren't and 1 minute recovery periods - which I think is why I find it to be harder then the normal Fire workouts.  That's 45 minutes without stopping.  Ever. 

Tonight I plan on doing Fire 30, Tone 30.  I know when I get home I'm not going to want to, but I would feel much better about my week fitness wise if I did, and that's what I have to keep reminding myself as I try to come up with excuses to not workout.

Oh, and remember a few weeks ago when my shoulder was killing me? I still think part of the problem was over-exerting myself in my workouts, but I just realized something else that may be contributing...that's the arm that I always carry my laptop bag with.  And my laptop bag is effing heavy!  I've tried to switch between arms, but it just feels awkward on the other arm.  Not sure what I'm going to do about it, but if my shoulder starts hurting like that again I may have to force myself to carry my bag on my other arm...stupid work computer!

Did you have a better week workout wise than I did?

It's Friday, and That Means...

Fitness Recap Friday!

This week was almost identical to last week for my Turbo Fire Schedule, but I'll break it down for you anyway...

Monday - Fire 55 EZ

Tuesday - Fire 30 and half of Sculpt 30.  My sculpt/tone DVD started skipping really badly.  I completely forgot about it until last night I went to do Tone 30 and it went bonkers.  So, today I bought one of those CD repair/cleaning kits, and hopefully that will fix it!

Wednesday - Core 20

Thursday - Fire 30 Stretch 10 (since I couldn't do Tone 30).

Pretty boring, I know...but I'm hoping to get some before and after pictures to share with you soon!

Happy Friday!

Belated Weddzilla Wednesday!

Sorry guys, I forgot to post the link yesterday!  My post can be found here!

Its about being a bride with tattoos, and how to compromise with my mom who would prefer I cover them with make-up for the wedding.  In case you didn't realize, I have quite a few tats - you can see my largest one in my before and after pictures here!

4 Months!?!?!?

Four Months from right this very second I will probably be running around like a mad woman with MOH Sam reminding me every 3 minutes that I have to eat something - because four months from today is our wedding!

I honestly can't even believe it.  Yes, I've had wedding supplies building up in our spare room and basement for months and months, but I can't believe it's getting this close!  Before I know it, we'll be sending out invitations, and then getting RSVPs, and then getting married, and then on our honeymoon!  Eeek!

And with the wedding in T minus 4 months, I got a lovely Michaels' coupon in my email this morning!  It's for 20% off you entire purchase including sale items!!!!  And because I love my readers so much, I'm going to share with with you! (It can be found here)

Also, today's "Skinny Bitch" calendar is really hitting home with me, so of course I'll share that with you as well:

It is simple - I need to workout.  Not only because my wedding is 4 months away and if I stay on track I'll be wrapping up the entire Turbo Fire program right as it's time to get married, but because working out really does make you feel better.  And let's face it, planning a wedding can be stressful!  We can use all the natural endorphins and feel-good opiates we can get!

How's wedding planning going for you?  Are you having trouble realizing how fast time is going by, too?

Fitness Recap Friday!!!

Woot!  I did pretty well this week, if I do say so myself!  I continued with my Turbo Fire schedule and honestly I think I'm realizing more and more if you don't enjoy the exercise that you're doing, you are going to find excuses not to do it.

It was one thing when I was actively losing weight.  My motivation came from knowing that I was going to weigh in at my Weight Watchers meeting that Saturday and I wanted to get to goal!  After I hit goal, I did okay maintaining my workout routine for a while, and then fell completely off the wagon.  I didn't hate the workouts that I had, but I also really didn't enjoy them.  Jillian Michaels, Jackie Warner, and Jari Love all have great workout DVDs.  If you do their workouts, you will for sure see results.  But I didn't look forward to doing them, and I would get bored during the workout.  But I would stick it out because I had a goal in mind (losing weight).  Now that I'm just trying to maintain it's a damn good thing I found a workout that I actually enjoy doing (I honestly look forward to it) or else I'm not sure I would ever have anything to recap for you!!!

Saturday was my day off.

Sunday I did Fire 45 and Stretch 10.  And I don't know if you recall, but I worked hard.  Seriously, I didn't even know I was capable of pushing myself that hard (you can read about it here).

Monday was Fire 55 EZ and even though I was still a little tired from my workout the night before, I was able to give it about 95%.

Tuesday was Fire 30 and Sculpt 30.  I really like the Fire 30 workout; it is short, but it's intense.  You do the same "fire drill" twice, and at the end of that drill my heart is pounding, I'm panting like I've never exercised a day in my life, and the sweat is dripping off me.  And I don't think I have to tell you again how much I enjoy the resistance training in this program.

Wednesday I did Core 20.  Not much else to say there! lol

Last night was Fire 30 and Tone 30.  Tone 30 and Sculpt 30 are both resistance workouts, they're not the same workout, and I like them both.

Tonight is supposed to be Fire 55 EZ.  Bryan has to do some work, so we can't go out, so I'll probably do it.

I ordered the advanced DVDs on Ebay, and I should be getting those soon, although they don't actually come into the schedule for a few months.  See, the first month of the schedule is an intro and HIIT 1.  Month 2 (which is what I'm at now) is 3 weeks of "cardio" (which is just the "fire" workouts, no HIIT workouts) and then a week of recovery.  Month 3 is HIIT-2 (which is more advanced than HIIT1) and then a week of recovery.  And then Month 4 is "advanced cardio" which used the Fire workouts you already have as well as the advanced DVDs then a week of recovery.  And month 5 (the last month of the program) is HIIT 3 which uses the HIIT workouts and the advanced resistance workouts.  Months 4 and 5 look pretty hardcore, and if I stay on track I should be finishing up the program in the end of August, just in time for the wedding!  How perfect is that (I totally just realized that, lol)!

Well, if that isn't motivation to stay on track with the schedule, I don't know what is!  Because let me tell you, I plan on looking mighty hot in a bikini on my honeymoon!  And Bryan just started doing P90X - we're just gonna be a couple of newlywed hotties loungin' on the beach!

How was your week fitness wise?  How do you stay motivated to workout?

Rykas are the best thing that ever happened to my feet!

So, in this post, I told you all that I had ordered new sneakers to work out in, and let me tell you I don't know how I've been doing aerobics in running sneakers for so long!  These suckers are really the best thing that ever happened to my feet.

All photos stolen from zappos.com

I had never noticed how little support I was getting from my running sneakers while doing Turbo Fire until I did Turbo Fire wearing these.  If you're doing aerobics in running shoes, I 110% recommend looking into getting trainers that are specifically meant for aerobics, and I promise you won't regret it!

And it isn't like my other sneakers will go to waste; I still plan on running occasionally.  And it's better to have a specific pair of sneakers for "indoor" exercise and for "outdoor" exercise (your "indoor" shoes will last much longer if you don't wear them outside).

So, thank you Ryka, for saving my feet!

Fitness Update, Home Decorating...Basically a Totally Random Post!

Good morning all!  So, as of Sunday I officially finished the first month of Turbo Fire (even though it took me 6 weeks, haha) and I figured I should give a little review of it so far...

1.  I am definitely getting in better shape.  Remember the first time I did one of the workouts (if you don't, there's a quick post about it here) and I almost threw up?  Well, I know longer feel like I'm going to vomit during my workouts.  And I can definitely push myself harder throughout the entirety of the workout.

2.  I was totally surprised to realize I'm getting incredibly more flexible.  Like, I complain that there's only one 10 minute stretch routine, but it must be the most amazing stretch routine ever because I'm seriously getting so much more flexible.  And considering flexibility is 1/3 of fitness, and being flexible helps build lean muscles, I'm pretty pumped about it!  I was never not flexible (I was a dancer for a decade and a half, after that you never really lose your flexibility) but I haven't been this flexible in a while!

3.  I discovered I needed new sneakers.  The sneakers I have are really nice, but they're also running shoes.  Running shoes aren't good for aerobics for a number of reasons.  They don't give you the lateral support that your foot needs, they give you too much traction (so you can't swivel on the balls of your feet - this is bad for your knees), and for whatever reason my feet were going numb halfway through my workouts (no they weren't too small for me, just giving me the wrong kind of support).  So yesterday I ordered a pair of Ryka Cross Trainers.  Since DSW is awesome, and I'm addicted to shoes so I'm a premier rewards member, I get free overnight shipping so they should be here today, and I'll definitely check back in with what I think of them.  But everyone I've talked to loves their rykas!

Since I completed the first month I was supposed to take more pictures of myself but I chose not to.  I'm all bloated and PMS-y so taking "after" pictures of myself just wasn't going to happen.  When I'm done being bloated I will happily take some pics and show them to you!

And some home decorating!  The basement is my lair - my craft arsenal.  It is where all my crafting stuff is, my awesome HP Touchsmart Computer, and all my workout stuff.  It really is my happy place.  Well one of the walls of my happy place was depressingly bare:

The walls are grey, and there are hints of dark purple here and there.  Well, anyway, back to my bare wall.  I found some decals at Marshall's and fell in love with them, so now my wall isn't bare anymore:

YAY BUTTERFLIES AND FRENCH STUFF!  I really like it! (The rest of my basement can be seen here and here)
So, yeah, that's really all for today.  In case you missed it, my post yesterday was freaking impressive, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should!

And is it just me, or is this week going by unusually slow?  I feel like it should be at least Thursday...

Sooooo Tired!

So, I did my Turbo Fire workout this afternoon and considering I didn't exactly eat the best this weekend I pushed myself really hard. Like, insanely hard. For all 45 minutes. I've never extended my punches that far, lifted my knees that high, or brought my squats that low for an entire workout before.

I think I'm gonna die. I'm icing my shoulder, looking forward to passing out, and NOT looking forward to getting out of bed tomorrow morning.

This is what I get for falling off the healthy-diet-wagon for the weekend...my whole body hurts ::pout::

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Fitness Recap Friday! And an update on the tubes in my ears...

Happy Friday everybody!  It wasn't my best week, but it definitely wasn't my worst either!  My shoulder got really bad throughout the day on Friday (it was hard for me to run errands, nevermind even think about working out) so I took the weekend off.  If there's one thing I know for sure, it isn't worth it to "push through the pain" and workout anyways, I'm much better off letting myself heal and then being able to actually workout full force.

But, I'm still doing my Turbo Fire program!  After how many weeks (almost 6 in all) I'm almost done with the first month of the schedule, lol, but I'm still really enjoying it.  In fact, I think I like it more now since I've gotten used to Chalene's cues and the choreography in general so I can workout harder without having to think so much!

Monday I did HIIT 20 Sculpt 30; love the resistance training in this program.  I actually makes me want to invest in the advanced DVDs which focus more on strength training than cardio.  HIIT20 isn't my favorite, I get kinda bored while doing it to be quite honest, but it definitely makes me sweat!

Tuesday I took off, still letting my shoulder heal and I was running around like a mad woman to get an Etsy order in the mail (for the most adorable cocktail napkins - you can see them here) so I chose to take a day off!

Wednesday was HIIT 20 Stretch 10.  Again, I'm not a huge fan of the HIIT20 workout, and I'm a little disappointed that they only really include 1 stretching routine (they just put the same one on every DVD in the program) because it gets kinda old.  But whatever, it's a good stretch routine, I would just like to be able to mix it up every now and again, know what I mean?

Thursday was Fire 55 EZ, but my stomach was kinda bothering me so I wasn't able to put as much into the workout as I would have liked.  Still definitely feel a greater sense of accomplishment after a Fire workout than a HIIT workout for sure!

Tonight is supposed to be a Core workout and an extended stretch (the one that I think is super boring) and I haven't decided if I'm going to do it or not.  I think I want to at least do the Core portion, but that kind of depends on what Bryan and I are doing tonight!

How was your week workout wise?

Oh, and an update on my ear-tubes.  Lately I've been feeling/hearing my pulse in my left ear.  It comes and goes, but sometimes it'll last for hours and make me feel like I'm losing my mind.  I was able to get an appointment with my Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor this morning and apparently that's normal and the only way to fix it would be to remove the tube.  Since it isn't happening all the time, I don't want to remove the tube since I can finally ride an elevator without being in excruciating pain, but if it gets any worse I might have to.  It's really hard to concenctrate when you're hearing/feeling your pulse in your head!  So, everyone, fingers crossed that it stops (because it might just stop)!

And, my hearing isn't back to 100% what it was before the surgery, but that isn't anything to worry about.  I'm not having trouble hearing people, and it should continue to get better as time goes on.

On a completely un-related note...does it look like Chalene Johnson has implants?


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 This one is the kicker:

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Because seriously...as I get in better shape my boobs seem to just melt away.  I want her boobs.  Is that a weird thing to say?  Yup.  Is it the truth?  Heck yes! 

Fitness Recap Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone!  And today is an extra happy Friday, because it is Good Friday and I don't have to work!!!!!  So I'm sitting here with my laptop and my coffee, watching a super old season of Project Runway (from 2006 - the one with the red-head mean lady, the guy with the neck tattoo, and the red-head pageant dress designer - really good season) and loving life!

I decided I wanted to eat pancakes for breakfast, and I enjoyed every last bite of them.  And I don't feel bad about it at all because I had like a bazillion activity points earned and saved this week! So let's get to the recap...

Saturday was my day off, and I didn't do anything, haha.

Then guess what?  I did Turbo Fire all week, haha!

Sunday was HIIT 15 and Tone 30.  Seriously, Chalene doesn't mess around when it comes to resistance training.  She is a freaking animal.  And as I'm struggling, she's just chit chatting along doing the exact same moves.  I can only hope I'll be that strong someday!

Monday was Fire 45 Stretch 10.  I think I like the "fire" workouts more than I like the "HIIT" workouts.  Like yeah, short workouts are an awesome option if your pressed for time, but I don't get the same sense of satisfaction after the fact, know what I mean?

Tuesday I did not workout.  Tuesday I stayed at work a little late to try and wrap something up, and then either I missed the bus or it just never came and I got home super late and was super pissed.  Then for the icing on the cake, the next day my boss, for whatever reason, didn't trust that I had done my work properly (I have never given her a reason to not trust my work) and wanted to "verify my methodology" before I had the changes put in production so I stayed late the night before for no freaking reason.  I don't think I've ever been so upset at work in my life.

I try to not talk about my day job here, but this has really been messing with my head so I'm gonna talk about it, ok?  If you don't want to read about my day job, just skip down to the end of the italicized portion of the post!  I've technically been working at my job for almost a year now, and I worked as an intern there for a year leading up to that (so I've been at the same company for 2 years).  Well, when I started full time there were 4 people in my group.  Five months later one person I worked with left the group.  About a month after that someone else quit.  That left 2 of us (and my boss).  My one coworker really did pick up a lot of slack, but out of no where I had to become the primary support contact for automated freaking compliance at a large investment firm.  So my coworker took care of regulatory reporting, and I had to take care of automated compliance with no formal training and having only been working in the position for 6 months.

It was horrible.  It was one of the most stressful times of my life.  I care about my work, I really do.  If I had messed up along the way it would have really upset me.  So I effing killed myself to learn and do the best I could do.  And I have gotta say, I did a pretty damn good job.  I didn't mess anything up.  I've learned an obscene amount.  Honestly I think I surpassed most people's expectations of what a brand new college grad could take on.

Well Monday, the director of my area (so, my boss' boss) came to a status meeting, and afterwards looked at me and goes "Wow Amanda, you actually sounded like you knew what you were talking about." What!?!?!?!  Well, Mr. Brand-New-Director-Who-Has-Never-Worked-With-Compliance-Before, I've been doing this on my own for the past 6 months, I would hope I know what I'm talking about, or else the SEC would be pretty pissed (did I mentioned I work in Compliance???)  I honestly didn't know what to say, so I just smiled and walked back to my cube.

Then this bullshit Tuesday happened.  And I lost it.  It's fine that I'm an associate level business analyst, getting paid as an associate level business analyst, but doing the work of a senior business analyst (well actually doing the work of a senior, an intermediate, and an associate all at the same time).  But good golly, give me the respect and trust that I've earned!

Needless to say, I spent about a half hour crying in the bathroom before I was able to pull myself together and there was no way in hell I had the energy to workout when I got home.

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest...Wednesday I did Fire 45 EZ, and last night was Fire 45, Stretch 10.  Unfortunately I think I did something to my left shoulder; so although I plan on continuing to workout, I'm gonna have to take it easy.

Well, once again, happy Friday everyone!  I have about a bazillion things I'd like to get done today so I better hop to it (get it, hop to it - it's almost Easter...I know, I'm not funny)!  Thanks for listening to me bitch about my job, hopefully I'll get everything I want done today and I'll have some pretty awesome wedding projects to share with you!

Fitness Recap Friday!

And you all should be so freaking proud of me...I WORKED OUT EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!  Guess who's got her exercising mojo back...yeah, that would be me!  It was mainly Turbo Fire, but I'll still recap it for you!

Saturday - 10 Minute Solutions: Pilates Perfect Body - I just did the 1 segment of stretching.  According to my Turbo Fire "schedule" it was a rest day, but I was sore, so I wanted to stretch.  And for the record, our yard was really muddy, so instead of just letting to dogs out to get gross we were walking them to "do their business."  And lucky for me, my beloved Gabby won't go number-two until she's ran around in circles for a while so I had to sprint up a hefty hill in order to get her to go.  In case you were wondering what I meant by "hefty hill" here is the EXACT hill we sprinted up:

From the top of the hill - photo from google maps

From the bottom of the hill - photo from google maps

Sunday - Turbo Fire 'HIIT 15, Sculpt 30' - let me tell you, doing a Chalene sculpting class directly after a High Intensity Interval Training class is effing exhausting.

Monday - Turbo Fire 'Fire 55' - I liked this one, not my favorite, but I still really enjoy it.

Tuesday - The Turbo Fire schedule said to do Core 20 and Stretch 40, but I really didn't like the Stretch 40 class last time I did it (I got really bored), so instead I did Turbo Fire Core 20 and then 2 segments of 10 Minute Solutions: Pilates Perfect Body (the "perfect silhouette" segment and the "stretch" segment).  In case you hadn't noticed by now, I love this Pilates DVD.  If you're looking to invest in one, I 110% recommend this one!

Wednesday - Turbo Fire 'Fire 45, Stretch 10' - I think this is my favorite "Fire" workout (I haven't decided what my favorite HIIT workout is yet).

Thursday - Turbo Fire 'Fire 45 EZ' - don't let the name fool you, it isn't easy.  Those two letters just mean there aren't as many "fire drills" (or minute long segments where you have to kill yourself and then get to recover for a minute) but the workout itself is still really intense.  I was supposed to do the 'Stretch 10' afterwards but chose not to.  I think my biggest complaint with Turbo Fire is that it wants you to do the exact same stretch routine almost every day, and I'm just too ADD for that.  I did do some extra stretching on my own though, because let's be serious, you don't need a fitness instructor to stretch out after a workout!

And tonight I full plan on working out again.  It's a HIIT workout, I forget which one though.  I'm on a workout roll, and I don't want to mess that up.  Plus, the HIIT workouts are much shorter, so it's actually a great workout to do on a Friday!

How was your week workout wise?

Why Do I Ever Stop Working Out Consistently????

Seriously...I'm such a happier person when I'm working out regularly.  I feel better, I have more energy throughout the day, I'm far less stressed out.  Why on Earth do I ever stop working out?  Well the easy answer is because I get lazy, or busy, or whatever.  But next time I start a Fitness Recap Friday with "not too much to recap today" or if I skip it completely, will someone give me a virtual-blog-slap?  Just be like "woman, get off your ass - you like life a lot more when you workout regularly!"

That's really all I have to say for now.  It's Weddzilla Wednesday and once my post goes up I'll be sure to point you all in that direction.  Just so you have something to look forward to, it's about my sexy layouts for my whole wedding.  As we get closer to the big day, it's getting easier and easier to visualize what everything is going to look like...eeek!

Oh, and just because this is on my calendar and every time I see it I kind of chuckle (not sure why, I just find it hilarious) I'll share it with you...gotta love my Bad Dogs Calendar:

hahahahahaha - Picture from Bad Dogs Calendar

Such a Productive Weekend!

I love it when I can say that.  Bryan and I seriously had such a productive weekend.

Friday night I actually followed through on working out (woohoo), and then basically relaxed.

Saturday, I woke up, did some stretching, practiced painting candle holders in preparation of making my table numbers next weekend, went to my Weight Watchers meeting, went to Marshalls, got home and cleaned.  I cleaned like I have never cleaned before.  We have double pane windows that are a pain to clean.  I literally climbed out on the roof of our porch in order to properly clean all sides of the windows to our bedroom.  I scrubbed and sanitized every surface of our bathroom.  I think the chemicals may have burned the inside of my nose a bit, but I don't think our bathroom has ever been that clean before.  We even rented a carpet cleaner and Bryan did all the carpets.  It's an amazing feeling.

Then Saturday night we went to a Pirates game.  In Bryan's head, spring hasn't officially sprung until he's gone to a baseball game, so that was our kickoff to spring:

A little girl sitting next to us pulled out her tooth during the game, it was quite exciting, lol.  I enjoy baseball, but I didn't realize how cold it was going to get (it was warm during the day) and when my hands turned deathly white Bryan agreed we could leave, even though the game wasn't over yet.

Sunday, got up, worked on an Etsy order a little bit, got ready and we went and returned the carpet cleaner then headed to Ikea to start our registry!

Those of us in Pittsburgh are lucky in that the Ikea here even does registries.  But the computer you use to set it up is SO SLOW!  Apparently the Swedes can design some pretty nifty furniture, but their programming abilities kind of suck...

We were probably walking around/registering for about 2 hours.

And then we had to go to Costco to pick up some odds and ends and Walmart for random stuff and groceries.

Then when we got home I worked more on my Etsy order (it's almost done and has turned out even better then I thought it would), then I worked out, showered, ate, did a load of laundry, watched the Amazing Race and passed the eff out.

It was super busy.  It wasn't a restfull weekend at all.  But at least we accomplished a ton of stuff and had fun!

How was your weekend? (and yes, I realize it would have made much more sense for me to have posted this yesterday, but I'm still recovering from my busy weekend, lol)

Fitness Recap Friday!!!

Woohoo...I actually have something to recap!

Saturday I did the TurboFire workout "Fire 55 EZ" 

Sunday I did Fire 30, Stretch 10

Monday I did Core 20, Stretch 40

And Wednesday I did Fire 45 Stretch 10.

Tonight I'm hoping to get myself to workout, and considering the workout that is next up in Turbofire is HIIT 20 with Stretch 10 I really shouldn't be able to come up with an excuse not to, I mean, it's only 30 minutes!

I really like this workouts.  They're upbeat and actually fun.  And they are not kidding when they say they make you sweat!  A "Fire" workout is basically a "longer" workout that has sporadic "fire drills" that are 1 minute long and you're supposed to go full force for that minute.  Usually there are 3 fire drills in the course of a workout (or at least that's what I've noticed so far).  A "High Intensity Interval Training" workout (or HIIT workout) you basically warmup, then do a minute of hardcore, a minute recovery, minute hardcore, minute recovery, and so on....  These are shorter, but man do they get your blood pumping!  And that 40 minute stretch workout I thought would be relaxing...no...I was even sweating during that!  It was Yoga, and she is encouraging you to push further.  Essentially that workout isn't for maintaining flexibility, it's for increasing flexibility.  But I still felt great at the end of it!  I'm definitely happy I took the plunge and got this workout system!

How was your week fitness wise?