Getting back on the Wagon Wheel!

Hello blog lovers.  Happy Thursday!  As promised, some healthiness to bring you out of your sugar/alcohol coma also known as...the holidays.

 

 

Ok first of all, before I dive right into talking about how to stay healthy during the holidays, I have to throw some support out to my girl Skinny Meg.  It's funny, when you start blogging, it's usually because you are inspired by other bloggers, and Megan happens to be one of those people.  She's has an amazing story of weight loss and getting healthy forever, all while growing her cute little family in Texas.  I literally get pumped for a "bumpdate" every week to see how her pregnancy is going.  I don't personally know her, but in the blog world, you make all kinds of friends with people you don't know.

Seriously, Jarrett hears me talk about these girls and thinks they are like imaginary friends.  Like Jan Brady's imaginary boyfriend George Glass.  But they're not.  They're amazing strong women that have a story to tell.  Which is what inspired me to tell my story. 

 

Anywho, my skinny blog friend received some unwarranted criticism today and while I won't go into the details, as that is her business, all I can say is that I'm appalled by the lack of respect that exists in this world.    Especially between women.  We tear each other down...for what?  We throw jabs and say things that result in hurt feelings and sheer jealousy.  I don't think I will ever understand why this happened, but Meg, you are lovely, and so is your family, and your blog community is behind you 100%.  I hope you know that you inspire and continue to inspire me as I read your posts each week. 

 

Ok so enough of my soap box, but for real y'all.  Don't hate. Appreciate. 

 

SO the holidays were not that bad as far as eating went.  Fortunately, I ate a TON of seafood on the honeymoon, so I know I boosted my Omega-3 intake by like 300%.  Which made feel really awesome.  Or maybe that was all the rum I drank....

 

Regardless, we all know that being fit is 80% what you put into your body.  If you put in French fries and bacon and cheese (while that's yummy and great), then most likely your butt will look like greasy fries covered in cheese and bacon.

 

Here are a few tips to getting back on the wagon after shoving in too many cookies and glasses of champagne.

 

1. REHYDRATE! Drink water.  All day long.  Dehydration headaches are the WORST so when you start to feel parched and crappy during the day, get 8 oz's, throw it back and then get some more.

 

2. IF you aren't ready for the gym yet, your best bet is a workout DVD that has collected dust in the past few months.  Since I've done my training program, I haven't had the need to bust out Jillian Michaels's crazy self for awhile.  Thank God.  Because her voice makes me want to scream and cry all at once.  But until training starts back up in mid January, I'm getting my workouts in 20-30 minutes at a time and going full force.  Turn off E! News and get your sweat on.

3. STOP. DRINKING. (Booze).  This is a hard one because this time of year is so celebratory.  And I feel like I could exist on red wine alone in the wintertime.  But alcohol converts to sugar, and sugar turns into butt dimples and bat wings.  Maybe start to moderate and not drink yourself to sleep each night.

 

4. Work out in the daylight/morning.  Have I mentioned that I despise the time change? It happened 2 months ago and I still hate it.  Getting dark at 5:30 makes me want to put on sweatpants at 5 PM and retire to my couch with some Doritos.  Get up. get moving and get your day started.

 

And last but not least...since this post started out talking about support...

 

5. Get a buddy! Working out alone sucks.  Drinking alone sucks.  Everything is way better with a partner in crime.  Find someone that doesn't wish to shovel in food any longer and starting getting sweaty together.  Chances are, you will push each other and your pants will start getting looser the more you laugh, talk and run/Jazzercise.

 

Ok guys, it was a long first day back at work after being gone for so long, so this little blogger is heading to bed and getting some sleep.  I'm reviewing a few DVDs after I test some out over the weekend.  Some I've owned and others I acquired from friends, so if you need some good workouts coming up, I'll hopefully have some good, if not funny, reviews of DVD-workout land.  It's a scary place...but it's free and you can do this in your living room.  Tony Horton says it all the time. 

 

Until next time, grab some water, your tennis shoes and let's get back on the wagon together!

 

Shine Bright like a Diamond

Hi all! I'm back! Officially!

 

So life has been a little hectic lately, but here's a quick recap...

 

I got married! YAY! It was by far the best day of my life, surrounded by friends and family right in the midst of the holidays.  Everything went perfect.  There was not one mishap or issue.  We had the best time and danced, drank and were merry (or married teeeeeehehehehe).  I attribute all going smoothly to my amazing wedding planner Francesca (and Blake and Amanda) with Pure Luxe Bride in Charleston, SC.  Could not stop thanking these girls enough for all their hard work and it definitely came together beautifully last Sunday.   

 

Here are some photos of an amazing weekend. 

 

 

 We did it!

 

A friend of mine MADE these bouquets, aren't they gorg? I made the chalkboards, those were fun!

 

Jarrett's grandparents.

We got J's college mascot to come, our nephew was totally not scared.  Hope he felt the same way about Santa Claus...

 

My new sisters!

 

 Ok so it was awesome, best day ever, I could keep talking about it some more, but I'll move on. 

They honeymoon started out with a bit of a debacle.  We got to the airport with what I thought was plenty of time.  Charleston has a really small airport with 2 terminals, and security is never bad, so we were there at 6:20 for a 7:20 flight.  The desk lady like basically ignored all of us in line (like 4 of us) and then when we got up to the desk, she was like "oh you are going to have to RUN through security..."

 

EXCUSE ME? Security is like one of those places where people are inspecting the moles on your neck and standing on your heels.  Needless to say, we were pretty stressed and running through the smallest airport in the world.  Only to get on the plane and sit for 30 more minutes.  The flight manifest didn't match who was on the plane.  The same desk lady was then on the plane ASKING WHAT SEATS WE HAD.  I was a pissed bride.  I snarkily replied with "look lady, I booked this flight in July, and you want to know what seats I booked?"  Then the lady asked my name about 2 more times.  I almost used my new last name just to mess her up, but I refrained.  Jarrett had to calm me down.  We did fortunately make it to Miami to sit and wait for our flight to Eleuthera.

 

Now here's where things get fun. 

 

This man arrived in our terminal looking crazy and was SHOUTING at the airline staff.  Same airline we took (I won't name call but the airline didn't start with a D or a U....you figure it out).

 

Apparently, he showed up what he thought was early to the flight and the plane doors were shut, they sold his seat, and he was left stranded (which almost happened to us).   He......flipped......OUT.  It was epic.  I'm seriuosly kicking myself for not videoing it, but imagine an older gentleman beating on the airport windows and doing the gigantic wave at the pilots, while spewing profanity.  And then flipping open his flip cell phone (note, flip), and yelling at the person on the other end that he couldn't get on the plane.  Sometimes, he would close the phone mid-conversation.  Pretty sure there was nobody there on the other end of that phone.  And THEN when the plane started to back away from the gate, he yelled "Congratulations you Mother ..... @#$(*&#$(*'s!" 

 

EPIC.  The End.

 

OK onto the most wonderful honeymoon in the world.  If you're going to go to the Bahamas and get away from the touristy stuff, you have to go to Eleuthera.  The place where we stayed overlooked an amazing cove and I loved the view every day.  J and I sat on a dock and drank rum, talked about the wedding, and just fell in love even more each day that passed (I know, barf, but it's true, love this man).  We explored some beautiful beaches and ate some amazing food, but mostly, we just chilled and relaxed.  It's truly the most at peace I've felt in a really long time. 

 

Here are some photos to make you extremely jealous.  Book your trip now, you will not regret it. 

 

 

Jarrett is awful at selfies...

View from our dock

 

The inside of our island getaway, please excuse J sprawled across the bed. 

 

Our private front porch overlooking the water

 

 View of the yard from the bottom of the hill of the property.  So pretty!

 

 These are only a few, I could photo dump entirely on Eleuthera, so stay tuned for more photos.  These are also from my iPhone, so this doesn't do the color of the water justice at all.  If you follow my Facebook page, you'll most likely see more photos there. 

 

 That's all for now! I've decided to do wifely things tonight like cook a pot roast and clean up after our trip.  Stay tuned for more frequent blog posts.  I will most definitely be posting about fitness things in the next few days since I ate enough food for 10 people over the past week. 

Glad to be back you guys! Until next time, hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I'll catch up with you after Christmas.  Cheers!

 

Being Thankful and Not Losing Your Mind

Hello faithful blog followers! Did everyone have the worst time getting up today and dragging themselves to work? (Insert hand raise here)

 

Needless to say, Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL.  This is how cozy things were for 3 days at my parent's homestead...

 

 

Warm socks, champagne, and a Christmas tree.  Sigh...Life doesn't get much better than that. 

 

It was a little bittersweet to go home one last time as a single girl.  I cried over things like....."this is the last time I'll....(insert phrase here)."  Like "this is the last time I'll go on my annual Thanksgiving walk with my parents around our neighborhood by myself."  Or "this is the last time I'll roast a chicken and do the main meal....".  Because my manly man likes to do things like fry and smoke turkeys in a BBQ pit.  I'll just stick with providing green bean casserole next year :)

 

But look at my bird, isn't it pretty???? With bacon????

 

 Now that T-day has come and gone, the holidays are officially in full swing.  The wedding is 13 days away (which blows my mind).  Work is crazy busy and I feel like this time of year just snuck up on me.  This is ALWAYS one of my favorite times of year.  Things are festive, the shopping is fun, and life just seems so pretty with the twinkly lights in the background. 

 

But I've learned as I've gotten older that not EVERYONE loves this time of year like I do.  I have a good friend that is a nurse that used to work every holiday in the hospital for years.  And she did not love it.  She came home to a house all alone.  She was not in love with Santa while changing bedpans.  She told me this story years ago and I was like literally sitting there with my jaw on the ground like "YOU DON'T LOVE CHRISTMAS?!?!??!?!"

 

 

(THIS IS ME EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.  I am Buddy the Elf)

 

And I started to think about it for what the holidays really mean to a lot of people.  It's really freaking stressful.  First, you start eating a lot of foot until your pants are so uncomfortable that they leave marks on you.  Like you could take them off and every seam and button would show up on your skin. Then you indulge in way too much football (and probably alcohol, again, tight pants).   Your family shows up, including the ones that drive you crazy.  You're excited to see each other at first, and then you're like "MMMMMMMkkkkk, you can go back to where you came from".  Shopping is a nightmare.  Traffic sucks.  There's so many kids in line to see Santa and they're all crying.  Who WOULDN'T lose their mind trying to plan the perfect holiday????

 

Here's what I've learned over the years and how I manage to still enjoy it without totally having a meltdown. 

 

Sometimes, when I'm super stressed at work, I take a short walk, even when the phone is ringing off the hook.  Work will always be there when you get back.

 

SHOP! Don't overspend, but sometimes a little retail therapy is fun.

 

Get that Christmas movie channel guide, put on your footie jammies, and watch some old school classics.  I LOVE all of the clay-mation movies like Rudolph.  How that that not make you happy?

 

Get your friends together and do Christmas crafts.

 

MAKE COOKIES! Even if you don't eat them, your house will smell good and truth be told, your man will probably eat those things when he walks in the door.

 

If your family is around, and you're about to flip out Jerry McGuire style by the fish tank, just go outside, breathe some air, maybe disappear for a few minutes, regroup, come back, and you'll be fine.  Family stuff can be stressful, but if you love 'em, join 'em. 

 

If you have kids and you take them to get Santa pictures made and they freak out or cry, post that shiz ALL over the Facebook so that we can all laugh with you.  Beacuse we all know we didn't like that weird bearded man way back in the day.

 

4 Words: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

 

 

 Doesn't that list make you the feel the slightest bit better?  Are your nerves calm now?  Or the one you have left?

 

Most of all, enjoy yourself.  Try not to flip out.  Because at the end of the day, you're one day closer to the beginning of a new year.  And that my friends is how life goes.  Time keeps on ticking away, it's how we choose to spend it that's important.

I'll try to post up a few more posts before the wedding.  No promises, but I'm feeling inspired and all in love before the big day (gag, I know!).

 

Happy Holidays you guys!