Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thankful!

Only 1 1/2 days of work left before THANKSGIVING begins. I am so excited about the holidays and can't wait to celebrate with our family and friends! Can you believe it's almost December? This year has flown by, Jonathan and I have already been married over 3 months. I feel like it was just yesterday we were dancing at our reception. One thing I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving is my husband! I am so blessed to have such an awesome man in my life. Just this weekend, he helped me clean the house and then went with me to Michael's and Walmart to look at Christmas decor...what a good man! hehe
The past three months have been so fun having him by my side! Everyone says the first year of marriage is the hardest...well so far, it's been a piece of cake, so if it gets any easier than this living with J, than I can't wait!!! I know we are in for the long haul and we will go through some hard times together, but even so, I will always feel that I am the luckiest lady alive!!!
Since getting married, I have also been a lot more thankful for my family. I lived at home after college until I got married and I def. took that time for granted. I love hanging out with my mom, dad, and Court and Ryan, and now that I am living away from them, I see how much I appreciate them and love them!
So those are the two things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving and everyday following!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Weekend Fun

This will be the first Friday in a while that we are staying in Augusta. Because of our busy schedule, we are on the go every weekend, but tonight we get to stay in town and hang out with friends. I'm excited about being able to go home after work and not gathering our bags and getting right on the road for the weekend. Tomorrow night I will be in Greenville for one of my college friend's bachelorette party! Kathryn is getting married on December 13th and I'm so glad I have an excuse this weekend to see all my best friends as we celebrate KATHRYN. So besides a little travel on Saturday and Sunday, this should be somewhat of a relaxful weekend and a fun one at that.
Next week will fly by with only working 3 days! I'm so pumped about Thanksgiving! I am so ready to hang out with our families and eat some REAL food. Today i'm half on/half off the diet. I didn't feel like cooking more this morning and we ran out of some of our diet food, so I decided to hopefully maintain my weight by just being extra healthy this weekend. Come Monday morning we are back on the diet until Thanksgiving day of course. My whole goal through the holiday is to stay at the weight i'm at, to not gain anything. I'll be okay if I don't loose any weight as long as I don't gain! Jonathan and I are going about the same pace, we have now both lost 7 lbs.
I was reading a friend's blog and she was talking about Christmas traditions. I hope that even with traveling between families, Jonathan and I can start some of our own family traditions this Christmas. We finally have a plan for this Christmas. We will go to my parent's house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then travel to Jonathan's parents house either Christmas night or early the next morning. The day after Christmas day we leave with his parents to spend about 5 days in Florida. All of Jonathan's extended family lives in Florida, so we felt like it was really important to spend some time during the holidays with them. I am still not over the fact that I don't get a whole month off for Christmas like I did for 4 years in college. This is other reason good why I want to go back to school and then start working in the school system! I not only have all the holidays off, I will have the whole summer off!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Answers to your comments on the last post:

The diet we are on is called the Michael Thurmond Diet. You eat 5 or 6 times a day (every 3 hours). So you never go hungry, you just can't eat anything with a lot of flavor. Here is my basic meals for a day:

Breakfast: 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup plain cooked oatmeal (you can add artificial sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg), and 1/2 banana or apple

Mid morning snack (2 1/2 hours later): 1 to 2 cups of lettace and 3 oz. of turkey

Lunch (3 hours later): 2 oz. chicken, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup of veggies

Mid afternoon snack (3 hours later): 2 oz chicken and 1/2 cup roasted mixed red potatoes and sweet potatoes

Dinner (3 hours later): 2 oz chicken, turkey, or fish, 1/2 cup rice or potatoes, and 1 cup of veggies

Nighttime snack (2 to 3 hours later only IF HUNGRY): 1/2 cup of mixed berries or 1/2 banana or apple



Ok, so I know this prob doesn't seem so bad, and it's not, the problem is just that everything taste so bland and you get to a point where you don't even want to eat. Eating is a chore! But the only way the diet will work is if you eat everything you are suppose to eat and at the times you are to eat. Now, this is the food designed to help my body type loose weight. You can take a quiz of your body type on: https://www.mybodymakeover.com/tools_for_success/body_blueprinting_quiz.aspx , and that should tell you what type you are and then from there the diet tells you what foods are best for you. Me and J are both Body Type C, so thankfully we have the same menu, except the males are to eat double what a female eats. His mom started the diet this week as well and she gave us all the information on our body type cause she is a different body type and didn't need the info she gave us. I think the whole plan cost like $100, but because of my awesome mother-in-law we didn't have to pay a cent!

It's working!!

J and I have both already lost 5 lbs each in only 2 days. We are on our third day today and it's pretty terrible, but today i've made a deal with myself that I have to stay positive. I already see results and I have to stay with it for another 10 lbs, so if I continue to be miserable and complain about how awful the food is, it will only make it worse. Yesterday I was in a foul mood because I felt crappy and this bland, no sugar, no salt thing was making it even worse! So today is a new day, and no matter how bad the food i'm eating is, my day shouldn't be effected by it. Obviously I put too much emphasis on food :)!!! Hints the pounds i've put on. This is only temporary, so I can make it!!!
Now that you've listen to my pep talk to myself, i'm sure you are thinking i'm an idiot for torturing myself with this diet, but I assure you, it will be well worth it when I've lost this weight that i've put on in the past 3 months!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Diet

J and I started a diet today. We plan to be on it for the next few weeks, so yesterday we splurged and went all out for our last day before the diet began. We went to Starbucks, which is my absolute favorite, and we ate Mexican for dinner. When I go to a Mexican restaurant, I pig out!! I eat prob a whole basket of chips by myself and then I eat my whole meal. It's ridiculous...hints the pounds i've put on since getting married. They have got to come off, so this is my first official diet. I have never been on a diet before, so this should be interesting. Supposedly it works good and fast, exactly what I need and want. All I have to do is keep telling myself that this is only temporary, once I get to the weight I want, then all I have to do is maintain that weight. Yeah i know, easier said than done, but i've seen this diet work on others and i'm convinced this is exactly what I need.
Thanks to my mom, I have inherited a gene that makes you think you HAVE to have something sweet after every meal. That right there is going to probably be the hardest part about this diet. Not being able to eat something sweet, not even my coffee (because of the cream), is going to kill me before i'm done with this!
Don't worry i'll keep you posted on my progress. Let's just pray this actually works and i'm not going through this torture for no results!!! You should have seen me this morning trying to eat egg whites...i was literally gagging as i was eating them (for those of you who don't know...i HATE eggs), and then try eating plain oatmeal...pretty much taste like tasteless mush!

Monday, November 10, 2008

I got a dollar, I got a dollar, I got a dollar, hey hey hey hey!

So I did it, I faced my fear and went after it. At work on Friday I finally got up the guts to ask my boss for a raise. And guess what? He said that he and the other owner of the company were already talking about giving me more money at lunch on Friday. He told me to "give him until the end of next week", aka this Thursday or Friday and then he would get back with me. So, I don't know how much the raise is...i only hope it's more than just a dollar more per hour. But hey, more money is more money!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Thankful

So I guess i'm getting a little ahead of myself with all this Christmas talk. Don't get my wrong...i LOVE Thanksgiving and don't want to just rush through this awesome Fall weather and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday to get to the cold and long winter that begins (and i'm ready for it to end) right as the Christmas and New Years Holidays are over. I actually hate winter...i love the fall cause I get excited about wearing warm clothes like turtlenecks, sweaters, cords, and jeans; but most years winter weather seems to stick around a little too long.
All that said, I need to take advantage of this cool Fall weather. It's always beautiful outside and I love to watch the leaves change. We were in the mountains last weekend for a wedding and the scenery was beautiful! And actually Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! It's always a good reminder of how thankful we should be for all that the Lord has given us, but it is always the perfect holiday to put us right into the beginnings of the Christmas cheer!
The day after thanksgiving it's always been a tradition of me, Mama, and Court to wake up at the crack of dawn and make our way to the Harbison area to do some shopping, people watching, and just spend some good girl time together! It's always been something that I look forward to and I actually don't mind getting up at 5am when I know I get to spend the day shopping with Mama and Court. The funny thing is, we don't always do tons of buys, we just go look, and like i said people watch. Especially in the mall, there are so many people it's really pointless to try and get all your shopping done. But, even so, we go to have fun and as a tradition. This year Jonathan and I will be driving down to Charleston after we spend Thanksgiving lunch with my family. His family spends thanksgiving in Charleston and luckily they always do dinner on Thanksgiving night. Because i'll be in Charleston, Mama and Court have decided to possibly come down to do some "day after thanksgiving" shopping with me, Ro (J's mom), and some family friends of theirs. So we are changing things up this year, but i'm very excited and very thankful for my wonderful family, that has grown into two families since August!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Christmas is calling my name

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Ok, not really, but in my head it is. I realize it's still a little early, but i'm already getting in that Christmas mood. This is the first year I will actually decorate my own place for Christmas. Even though J and I will not be in our own home on Christmas day , I still am getting very excited to decorate our humble abode. I've already started buying ornaments, ribbon, and various decorations to fill our house with the Christmas cheer. I do have one dilema, we don't have a fireplace, much less a mantle. So, i've been debating on where I will be hanging our cute stockings that I got on sale last year at High Cotton in Irmo. As soon as I get the house decorated and decide on the perfect place for the stockings and for the tree, i'll take pics and post them. And i'm so pumped because I already got an early Christmas gift from J's mom. She gave us some of the Willow Tree Nativity Scene. I absolutely love it and can't wait to set it out. So see, i'm not the only one already getting pumped for the Holidays!

On another note, me and J still don't know what we are doing about Christmas. We haven't decided how we are spending the holidays. A lot of it depends on which days he gets off of work, but it's still gonna be different for both of us as we spend our first Christmas as a married couple, trying to spread our time out between two families. I'm excited about spending my first Christmas with Jonathan, no matter where we are! I'll keep you posted on our holiday schedule as we figure that all out...because I know you really want so badly to know where we will be every waking moment of the Christmas season!

Ok and one last thing: I need some advice. I've been working here at this employment agency for over a month now. Since I started I have taken on many new roles in the marketing and staffing areas of the company. I'm ashamed to tell you exactly how much I make, because it's such a small amount that you wouldn't be able to quit laughing. So, needless to say I need to ask for a raise. I am doing as much if not more than the owners of this place and feel like I have already emplimented new ideas and have made some money for this company by getting new job orders! I have the right to ask for more money...right? Any ideas on how to go about asking for a raise????

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

VOTE 2008

Have you voted yet??!?!?!
I'm sure the lines are T-Terrible, but please don't let that stop you from voting! I had to do an absentee ballot because I am not registered in Georgia yet, but I guess i'm lucky I don't have to get out and stand in line for hours. I'm getting kinda nervous about the outcome, but at the same time, I have to remember that no matter what happens, it's God's plan!

Anyway, on to more exciting news: Court started her very own blog!!!
The link is over to the side under "Fun Links"...so go check it out.
Also, a big shout out to Courtney Shelton as she turned the big 26 yesterday! Happy birthday Court!!! Hope it was fantastic!

So yesterday I got home from work and on my front "stoop" (no we do not have a porch) was a big heavy FedEx box. I was very curious and excited to open it because I hadn't ordered anything recently and it had my name on the box. All I could think was a late wedding gift! And it kinda was...it was our sample wedding album. It was the album of all the 4x6 pictures that our photographer took. From this album we are to pick out 60 of our favorite pictures to go into our big wedding album. We get to keep this sample album and we have the copyright to make copies of any of the pictures. With the album was also a CD of all the pics. We had fun sitting down last night after dinner looking at all the pictures and reliving that awesome day!!! And let me tell you, there were some funny pics from the reception of our friends and family dancing the night away. As soon as I get them on my computer from the CD i'll put some on the blog.

Monday, November 3, 2008

It's Been A While

Married life is so great I haven't even had time to blog! haha, jk!
But yes, married life is great! Jonathan and I are now settled in our home and staying very busy. Every weekend we have been traveling for either football games or weddings. We have been to more weddings than I can count. But I love weddings, so that's been fun for me...it's a different story for J! During the weekdays, we are both keeping busy with work. I started a new job in Augusta, working in an Employment Agency Office doing marketing and staffing. Since the last time I blogged, or should i say Alyssa blogged, I decided to apply for grad school. I want to get my master's in Speech and Language Pathology. So, i'm going through the application process right now. This saturday I am actually taking the GRE. I need your prayers for this one...i'm not the best tester, so I would def appreciate your thoughts on Saturday around 12:30.
Other than that, we are doing good and getting adjusted to married life. So far, so great! Being married has been a lot of fun and I know it will only continue to be!

I promise i'm gonna start doing better about posting! Oh and guess what?!?!?! The best news of all....me and J are going to be an Aunt and Uncle! As of two weeks ago, we found out that Court and Ryan are preggers! WAHOOO!!!! Can't wait for that little baby to get here! Court is starting a new blog too, so i'll post that as soon as I get the address!!!
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