On My Way to Being a Healthy Bride!

Anyone still there?

2011-07-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hi there!!! So if you are still around, cause it says that I have 48 followers still... I dont want you to miss out!
Come check out my new blog at www.samswlsjourney.blogspot.com

Promise you'll enjoy :)

RIP GARRETT!

2011-01-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

I am really late on posting this.. but I just found out today. A lot of you remember Garrett, or states of changes blog. He was always so encouraging and so positive to be around. He was doing the daily weightloss struggle with the rest of us, but he was so positive about it.
Garrett died in September from heart failure.
My prayers go out to the friends and family of this young man. He was only 28 and will be truly missed!!!!!!!!

Life is too short, live it to its fullest!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6r02fs6JHU

new blog!!

2011-01-25T13:39:00.001-08:00

hi guys! I have a new blog.. check it out! I wont be checking this one as much!

http://samswlsjourney.blogspot.com/

Introducing..

2010-03-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

SOX!!!!

These are from my phone.. so forgive the crapiness lol. So Matt & I adopted a puppy :) We've been talking about a puppy for what seems like forever.. but just couldnt agree on one. So Saturday the Pet Express place was having adoptions at the store so we decided to go in and take a look. The part that I hate.. is I SUCK at just looking. I cannot tell you how many times I've gone to a shelter, pound, or adoption place and wanted to take them all home. I should really own a farm... is about how many cats and dogs I would've taken home by now. lol

Anyway, so we go to Pet Food Express and there are a few puppies there.. that of course I fell in love with, but Matt didn't really fall for any of them. So we decided to go to lunch adn try something new. So we went downtown and parked and walked around to find a healthy lunch to grab. We walk by this pet place (that I've driven by and kind of laughed at before, because this is the type of shop that I was positive was super expensive.. and had clothes for there pets. Now I was the type of person who was NOT getting a "rat" dog adn NOT having my puppy wear clothes. *Notice pic above, obviously did not work out this way lol*) and outside of that shop they too were having an adoption fair with a few cats and quite a few dogs. There were three or four larger dogs and two smaller ones. Matt instantly fell in love with the dog named "Baby", he was a Rottweiler and Shepard mix and she was absolutely gorgeous! But she was pretty big!!! adn We live in an apartment and work during the day... we decided against her (even though Matt didnt want to part ways) because it would not be fair for a dog with that much energy and that big to be cooped up 8 hours a day in an apartment.

Then, I fell in love with Mr. Sox (see above). He is a chihuahua and terrier mix. He is a little guy who has def had a tough life. Him and his entire litter (all 8 of them) were locked in one kennel adn found wihtout food or water. When Sox was rescued, he was filled with ticks and was little. When I was told about that story, I had to have him and take care of him. He is super shy and timid right now, but his foster mom said he warms up well.. so right now his tail was between his legs but I cannot wait to see it wag and be excited to see me :)

So I'm done bragging about him but we are absolutely in love with him. We have already spoiled him with toys, and yes, outfits. lol matt is totally in love with him too. And honestly, its super cute to see matt all excited about him.... brings me hope for the future with kids lol.

So my weightloss is still going steady, I do apologize for never be on here.. but life is crazy busy!!! I will post soon on my weightlostt venture and biggest loser faith edition.

Love ya all!! Cant wait to read all your posts about how you guys are keeping up with it.

Almost the New Year!

2009-12-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today... 20 minutes on the Elliptical while starting "Julie & Julia". I hadn't eaten or made dinner and was exhausted, so I hopped off. I need a really good nights sleep :) Soon hopefully!! For dinner was 1 cup broccolli, 5 oz. boneless pork chop, 1 cup rice with soy sauce, and 1/2 cup of mushroom soup... It felt really good, cause I was hungry. I really want to eat more calories during the day and not at dinner.. but working as a Medical Assistant doesn't exactly give me time to aside from lunch.. Any ideas on how to make this happen?? Sorry so short, I'm going to bed :) And if I don't post soon, then HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

and here's to more of this :)

Whoop Whoop!

2009-12-29T21:44:00.000-08:00

"Only exercise can take care of the calories you've already eaten"
I read that at Weight Watchers changed my life's blog and loved that quote!! I thought it was great!

I currently weigh 263.3 which I started all of this on December first when I was 276!! which is 13 pounds!!!!!!! HELLO!! Those 13 pounds were just from eating super clean and healthy. I did make a few tweaks to my lifestyle aside from the eating healthy..
1) Water.. I am drinking at LEAST the 64 oz of water a day
2) Soda.. I can't tell you when the last time I drank it was.
3) Candy... Can't really tell you wehn that was either (Although during Christmas I did take a bite of a few sweets.)
4) Taking the stairs to work adn anywhere else I need to go.
5) Was walking during lunches but now its cold and rainy, so I will go to the gym instead.
6) Making all my meals, writing down what is put into my mouth, and using thedailyplate.com to track my calories! (Love it)
7) IT IS VERY IMportant for me to not feel deprived, so if I want something, I take a bit of it.. If I want more then 3 bites (Normal, not supersized) is my max but normally its just the one bite so I don't feel deprived, especially since the family eats like I used to.. so unhealthy. lol
8) My attitude has changed. Dramastically. I feel as though this isn't just a diet, it's an actual life change.. which means I consider what I put in my mouth as energy and fuel, for the most part (Aside from those bites I mentioned above). If I'm not hungry then I won't eat, but if it has been awhile since I've eaten I'll have a power snack.
9) Making my own food.. helps dramatically with finances and calories. I measure all my portions and don't eat that much fattening food. Also, I switched my white rice to brown rice, white bread to grained bread, butter to smart balance, eggs to egg whties, etc. These little changes have really added up I think.
10) Now that I am the one in charge of the kitchen.. I can control what is in it.. Of course my husband can buy what he needs to buy, but since I'm the one who mainly cooks, then I cook healthy. I control what goes in my kitchen, what temptations are around, and what goes in my mouth.

I just feel different. It really is great. I have shrunk very much, which is why I wanted to crunch down on the exercise.. but it just feels good. I have more energy and am looking forward for the day and what else I can do to make this weight come off for good. I am reading a lot of health magazines adn looking fro new recipes all the time. MY husband and I are on a budget, so shopping healthy is one of our priorities.. I told him I don't mind having a big grocery bill as long as the items on that bill are healthy, can be used for multiple meals, adn won't go bad. But if I spend money on junk.. then its not worth it to me.

My wishlist: A personal trainer for a few sessions to show me what to do when i work out by mysely, switch from Bally Fitness to a new gym with more classes (I'm thinking Zumba?!?!), a treadmill machine for home or a nice one at the gym... I won't get these for awhile due to the finances, but a girl can dream right!? lol

I will try and get better at my blogging and try and catch up with all you girls posts. Life is just crazy :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

Now I am beginning to add the workout and exercise to my routine.

MidWeek Update

2009-12-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

So I am definetly not going to be able to blog everyday like I used to...especially considering I was jobless when I was doing that. But here I am :)

So this week has been great progress in the life change part of my weeks. I am not doing anything super special right now as far as working out. I am eating very healthy and getting walks in as I can. As far as the fitness thing goes, I fully intend on adding that to my routine, but with school finishing for the semester, I am trying my best to finish off with great grades. So there's that excuse :) lol.

BUT Ok, I am not going to admit my whole weight number right now,... because it is pretty disturbing and of course my heaviest. So on Monday it ended with a six, when I measured it in the evening and then yesterday it ended with a four, and today it ended with a 2.6. Is that correct?? Did I really loose 3.4 lbs in three days?!?!? I guess I will let you know by the end of the week when I continue to weigh. I am going to try and weigh ins every day if not a few times a week. I think if I keep close track without obsessing over it, then it will be good for me. And so far I have denied most temptation... which is good considering Christmas time @ a Dr's office= Christmas presents for the Dr's that are given to their assistants (AKA ME!)) lol. And all presents to the dr's office for some reason are not at all healthy....

But I AM EXCITED about this... I need to keep this momentum up and keep this going. I need to loose this weight. For me, myself, and I, and my husband, and family, and future children :) Oh, and I want to make a goal to loose a certain amount of weight by the New Year... What do you think that weight should be? It was going to be ten pounds, but if I already lost three... then that maybe easier than I thought.. So Help :)

SOOOO What's going on with everyone else? How is everyone else's diet or changes going?? I miss reading everyone's blog, hopefully I can get to it soon!!!!

<3

Post Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T09:50:00.001-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous, wonderful, excellent Thanksgiving day!! I sure did. It was a long but short weekend all at the same time, probably because I worked Wednesday and then half days on Friday and Saturday, so it completely threw me off. For Thanksgiving though, we finally had it at my aunts house, which is a blessing because they have the most people.. my family only has 4, so it makes sense. But every year is a big deal because we have like 50 people in my immediate family!! But it was great. The family was altogether, which is the best part of the day. :) After my families' thanksgiving, we went to Matt's dad's house for dessert.. but when we got there, they were carving the turkey. So I was all confused and not at all hungry, but I was polite anyway. lol. Then woke up again on Friday for work :) YES!!

By the way, right now I'm watching "Chelsea Lately" and she is freakin hilarious!!!

I just finished a workout on my Comcast OnDemand and can I say that it easily kicked my butt. Like I feel ten thousand pounds over weight lol. I'm just a hot mess. But today I'm starting my not diet.. but "life change". And my lucky readers (Whom I think all disappeared on me), husband of course, and parents are the only people who know about it. Becuase everytime I try this, I tell everyone thinking that it'll be easier. BUT i have found out the opposite, like when I tell everyone, I think I just consider it like done already. I don't know how to explain it but its like the more I talk about it, the more I don't do it... cause I feel like when I'm talking about it, I'm doing it but that's not the case. Does that make sense to anyone else but me? lol

Also, I ummm am a little behind on the wedding posts recaps. I haven't ordered my pictures yet because we've been a little tight on money. But I am going to order the negative disk and make Christmas presents :) WHoop Whoop. Speaking of which I am absolutely thrilled for CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO

Ok, I must get ready for work.. I hope you all recover from the holiday nicely :) <3

Happy Thursday!!!

2009-11-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

The weeks is almost over... YAY! I usually enjoy my weekends, but now I am starting to work every Saturday morning at the Urgent Care clinic we have at work.. so it should be interesting waking up super early on a Saturday... not so much fun.

We also still do the Cal games on Saturdays, so this should be interesting how they both work out. Thankfully the Oregon game isn't until like 4, I think. We've added a new member to our Saturday crew, usually it is just me, matt, and my father in law. But now we added my best guy friend Marcel. Him and the Hubby are completely the same person lol. Marcel calls Matt his "White version of himself" it is quite funny! I love seeing them get along so it is all good!

This weekend (starting tonight) Matt's longtime buddy from Alaska is coming down to stay with us. He is coming down to see the R Kelly concert, yes I said it, this man flew 3,000 miles to see R Kelly. lol oh, and us. He is quite a character. Unfortuantely, my house is still cluttered and kinda messy... and the hubby failed to do any cleaning this week. So he will hear from me after the friend leaves but I have to clean when I get off work tonight @ 8. Which I am not looking forwaRd to. lol. I do not like my house being out of order. I want people to be able to come over whenever they want and me not having to worry about like "Oh my goodness? Is it clean?" No, it should just always be that way. And don't get me wrong... I don't mean spotless but I do mean presentable.I enjoy inviting friends and family over and I want to be able to cook for them and spend time with them at my house... but I need a clean one in order to do so :) lol

Alrighty... that's my ramble for the day. I need to head to work before I'm late!!!

I also need to pray about some motivation.. I need something to start kickin my butt and getting back into a routine. Any ideaS?? What're you guys doing this winter to continue your goal for fitness??? Any new exercise crazes that ive been missing? Fill me in! I can't wait to read all about them!!!!

<3

Happy Harvest-Ween!

2009-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I just completed this weeks homework assignment and finished working from this morning (yes, both on a Saturday!) And totally realized it was Halloween! I have never celebrated or been a big fan, mainly because I don't do Halloween for religious purposes... but also because I am a chicken butt.

So every year at church we do a Harvest Party with tons of games, candy, food, etc and its all free. So this year is no different except, this year I didn't head it up. I was so busy with life that I told my dad (the pastor) I can't do it this year. Which was a bummer because I love putting it together adn love all the support and volunteers we get (Which is no different this year) So thankfully, my cousins Heather and Tiffany headed it up and I'm excited to see what they have done! I am sure its going to be great!!!

So my dilemna is.. I have no costume! I know, what a bore I am right!?! Well I obviously don't do sexy costumes, and having nothing at home to throw on real quick, and despite their being a "Spirit" store down the street, I have never bought anything from there and still won't. So guess what I'm going to be for Halloween? Sam!! Lol. I'm just going to be me... but I wanted to stop in adn say hello to everyone. I hope you guys have had a great week.

Be safe tonight!!!!!! And go hit up your local church's Harvest Party... They are tons of fun :)

<3

I'm Here!!

2009-10-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'm here... and this time hopefully to stay!! I'm so sorry about not posting and not commenting on other peoples posts! I sucked for the past few months. :) Congrats to HER for getting married!!!! I'm very excited for you both!

So I don't even know where to start with all of this :)

Married life is good, well great. It was a lot, LOT, of change in the beginning with the new job, semester starting, and being married. Lol. But that has passed for the most part and I am loving being a wife. I love calling him my husband, love waking up next to me, and love when we kiss goodnight. It's honestly an amazing feeling when you find that special someone and are prepared to spend the rest of your life with that person. So, what can I say? I'm a happy newlywed!!! :)

I got a new job about fifteen minutes from my house (on a good traffic day) and I absolutely love it. I'm a Medical Assistant in a Pediatric office and it's great. The atmosphere is great, the people are fun and great, and I love the patients. I love meeting new people, helping people, and seeing the kids get healthy! I am def a people person and the medical field is where I belong, it's where my heart is!!

With that said, I cannot wait until school and pre-reqs are over!!!! I want to be done with school and into the nursing program already. School this semester is going okay though. It's not exactly first on my list but I am getting it done and I know that doesn't sound the best but this semester I'm taking History and psychology of personality... so it's not absolutely pertaining to nursing :) lol. So we will see how the semester ends..

Youth group, in case you didn't know.. I'm the youth group leader at my church, and I love it! It is a great feeling to help lead young people to the Lord. We have currently renovating the middle building to make it the new youth room. It should be a great project for us all to do!!! I love it!!! I wish I could have a clone who could do youth group completely full time :) lol.

And now to the dreadful news.... I am almost positive I have gained all the weight I lost back, plus some. I feel like a freaking blimp sometimes. And tonight, my mom said something along the lines of my face looking a bit rounder... great mom, love the honesty. I mean, I'm not a completely idiot, I noticed it last week but just ignored it. So now, (AGAIN!!) I can't ignore it anymore. I want to be a great wife and give 100% to my husband, which I can't completely do if I'm a million pounds over weight. I want to give 100% for myself adn live the best life I can and live it to the fullest. I also, most importantly, want to live my life to the fullest that God wants me to live. I want to do all He has for me, but I have limitations if I'm this overweight. And if I want to have children, I want to be an active mother who is completely hands on with her children.. yet I can't in this shape. What the heck happened to the old Sam? The skinny Sam :) lol I have all of these reasons for getting in shape and getting healthy, yet I don't do them. Why is that?? Ugh, can you tell I'm a bit frustrated with myself lately? lol...

So the solution.. I'm thinking about joining Weight Watchers for starters. I know I need to make changes in my eating habits, especially since I'm the one who is doing the cooking. I have a few friends who seem to be doing well on WW, so I think I will give it a try. What do you guys think about WW and about this?? Since I am working 40 plus hours a week with just the Medical Assisting.. that doesn't include the youth group leader, being a wife, maintaining the house, etc I am going to take things slow to not overwhelm myself any longer. I need to find time to put work out in my routine because I know thats how I will see the most results... but I am thinking to add that slowly due to my schedule. What do you guys think?

Ok, I'm done blabbing for now. Let me knwo what you ladies adn gents think. I miss y'all :)

Sorry so long!!!

And Lastly, really?!?! Yankees in the world series again. UGH!!!!

Teaser

2009-09-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

So I received some pics off of friends and families' cameras from the wedding. I will start posting more pics when I get the professional ones back..which I cannot wait for!!!

A mini update is:

I am officially Mrs. Semans :) (Except we haven't turned in the marriage cert. yet lol) I absolutely love being together, living with him (finally! Because we didn't do it before marriage) and all the fun things that come along with it.

I cannot believe the weddding has come and gone already! Honestly, sometimes it makes me sad to think its over already, after all that planning. lol. Thank God, I wasn't a stressed bride and rarely stresssed through the process or I'd be totally bummed! My dress is just handing in the closet because I havent had time to do anything with it! lol

So advice for upcoming brides: Unless a something major happens: the day will go perfect, it will be like your fairytale. Don't stress on the small stuff before the wedding.. and dont stress on ANYTHING the day of the wedding. Just enjoy all of it because that will be the fastest but best day of your life!!! And the most important part is your marrying your best friend; not so and so is coming or not coming, someone did this, etc. It doesn't matter. Trust me :)

After the wedding we went on our mini-moon for a few days in Reno/Tahoe area and then a few days of pampering. I will get into that more when I post those pictures!!! But it was a blast and a much needed vacation!

Now real life has completely set in. I got a great new job... as a medical assistant in a pediatric office, and so far I love it. This was my first week of working full time again in 3 months, so it's great. (Gonna be better when I get my pay check :) lol. It is really tough on the feet right now because I'm standing for 8 hours a day, but that will totally get better next week!

Along with job, trying to move my stuff in ( because its still at my parents house), and cleaning up the apt from all the presents we received, oh yea and adjusting to living with my new husband (who isnt the cleanest thing in the world :) lol, I started school on the week of my wedding too!!! So this past week I've been trying to play catch up to the two weeks I missed and it has been tough! I study at lunch, when I get home, and now on the weekends! Once I catch up to the work, I'm hoping to get in a routine of things so I can actually spend time with my husband :) lol

Okay, So I uploaded these onto my Picasa thing... so check out the pics from the wedding! Hopefully the pro ones will be here soon!
I can't wait to catch up on all your guys' blogs! My reader is FULL!
<3

WEDDING PICS

Wedding Pictures - Tackett

TEASING YOU...

2009-08-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

So I am officially Mrs. Samantha Elaine Semans :)
We're on our "mini-moon" in Tahoe/Reno area..... so I will post more later but thought I'd tease you guys about the Perfect, Most Wonderful day of our life :)
<3

I'm fired!!

2009-08-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry guys!! You can TOTALLY FIRE ME! I have not been a good blogger in forever, but for a very good reason... My wedding is on Friday, THIS Friday!! That's three days away! Crazy right? I am not at all stressed or worried, just excited. I stayed up til 3 am last night because I could not sleep.. too excited. If this keeps up, I will totally take some benadryl to knock my butt out :)

So on the job front.. I GOT A JOB! As if we didn't know this already, but God is great. He is amazing. Always providing and always there for me! I am so blessed. I applied for this staff agency and the staff agency directed me to this Pediatric doctor's office in Pleasanton. I did five interviews with them over the course of three days. Then I had to suffer the weekend without knowing whether or not I had the job... actually, I really didn't suffer at all, because that happened to be my bachelorette weekend which was a blast! So I didn't think about the job until Monday. Then Monday morning rolls around and they hired me as a Medical Assistant at $15/hr to start and I get raised to $17 after I am hired as a full time employee. So like I said, God is great. He provided for us and I can just focus on the wedding now, and not worry about how we will survive after the wedding. It is all taken care of :)

So I will have to fill you in on the girl's weekend, life, wedding, rehearsal dinner tomorrow night,etc. But I gotta run to go do place cards with some friends!!!
Stay in there.. I will be a great blogger again soon :)

PIc Post Take 2!

2009-07-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

So here is part two of the picture crazy posts.. sorry if they bug you, but I like them. They're simple and sweet!

Youth Car Wash
This past weekend we held a youth carwash for my youth group. It turned out great, was lots of fun, and made great profit!

Ok, tilt your head for this one.. sorry.

Some of the boys.. standing around

..or sitting around

Kayla & I

Kameko & Matt

Monterey
This past weekend we went to Monterey for Matt's brother and sis-in-law's birthday. Not only did we have a blast down there but it really made for a great weekend! The weather was awesome and totally beat out the 100+ degree weather from home. I did miss camping to go, but we had the best weekend we've had in a loong time. So it was well worth it!

We were having wayy too much fun @ the beach. He was begging not to leave.

I was pointing to seals that were jumping around in the ocean.. I tried to get pics of it but they were too far out.

I really really like this picture. Dunno why!

I LOVE the beach. and him.

I was trying to make my footprints stick before the wave took them away :( lol

Enough Said.

So it was windy in Monterey, obviously, yet we needed to blow out the candles. I was in charge of holding the cake, when Matt's brother Tip grabs the blow torch to light the candles. Hilarious!

Aura!
A few Saturdays ago, some of Matt's friends & mine got together to try a new club. It was a blast.. Want proof? Check out these pics! lol

Chillin in the backseat after the club!

Me trying to sneakly crawl back to the backseat to sit with the girls.

Cheese. (Look @ horrible tanline!)

Rosa & Tanya

Matt getting his groove thing on, Me people watching, and Trav's girl cheesing super hard!

Travis.. and me. lol

Matt & his best friend Travis

The girls!

I love oldies.

Trav & his girls!

My & My Man

Me & Rosa

The girls before the club!

Weddings..

I love weddings.. this one I forgot my camera @ though... so we improvised and took some pics outside. Congrats AJ & Kelly!

Matt & I @ Aj's wedding

Alanna & I @ Aj's Wedding

Amanda & I
4th Of July!
I love this holiday, love love!

We bought sparklers for my wedding.. instead of throwing rice or anything else.. We're going to have all the guests hold sparklers as we walk through.. it's going to be gorgeous!

So we decided to test them out on the 4th of July

Alanna's yummy & patriotic cake!

Random!

2009-07-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

So late last night, since I couldn't sleep, I decided to email all my pics from my phone to my email. Too many times have I broke the phone and lost all of the pictures inside of it. So now, lesson learned, I back up my stuff... and I would def recommend you ladies do it as well!! Since I did that.. you get the pleasure of seeing what has been in my phone for the past month or so.. and get to see more pictures than words.

So be prepared! Lots of pics!! I'll post more later!

<3
Oh, and I put them small.... if you wanna see them big, simply click on them!

*This is Tanya, Rosa, and myself before we went to Crogan's to all go hang out. I don't drink often, which defeatrs the purpose of the bar, but we loove to dance.*

*Introducing... ROCKY! I don't think I've showed you pictures of her before.. but this is my baby. This is Rocky. I've had her for about two years and absolutely love her chubby butt!*

*Matt and I had a date night, what feels like forever ago, and he decided to order some chocolate dessert.He's a sucker for sweets... so he was excited!*

*This was a gorgeous view from my backyard. Pretty right?*

*This pic is actually old but it's of me and one of my best friends' Michelle. We had gone out for her birthday!*

*Random pic.. I was just seeing how it'd look. I love taking pictures!*

*First, don't panic, it was empty before we posed this picture. Lol This is my niece and us being funny :)*

*This is my Maid of Honor's belly and my nephew Gabriel kissing it. I love this picture. One of my best friends' Tanya did one very similar to this!*

*At our family poker night: My uncle Al trying to be incognito with his daughter Tracy (MOH)*

*This is pregnant Tracy at the Hospital this past weekend. We though she had appendicitis so we waited until 5 a.m. with her until she got the clear. Everything is fine so far! Praise God! And I should get my nephew in 2 weeks!!!*

*So this is me @ 5a.m. waiting for Tracy (MOH)'s baby to come out :)*

*We were walking in downtown Monterey and they were having some sort of car show that weekend. This is the cutest pink car I've ever seen! Makes me want to be a "Pink Lady" from the movie Grease!*

* Man, I love this man. I cannot wait to be Mrs. Semans. This is him on the beach in Monterey, afraid to get too close because he didn't wanna get his tennis shoes soaked!*

*This is Matt's brother Tip and niece (soon to be my niece :) Taking a cat nap after the party!*

Well that's all folks! Until I unload my camera :)

Also...

2009-07-16T15:46:00.002-07:00

Did I mention that there are 36 days until our wedding :) Crazy, right?

Matt and I are going to Monterey this weekend for is brother and sister-in-laws birthday party. I love Monterey. I always have. I LOVE the ocean..it's serene, and peaceful, magical, and just a miracle. It reminds me how great God is and how much he does in my life. So I cannot wait for that.
Matt's sister-in-law, Deb, and I get along great! Thank God because I've always wanted a sister.. and now I have one! And soon I'll have nieces!!! Hollar!!!! :) I can't wait!

Update Time!

2009-07-16T15:46:00.001-07:00

Job: I'm still jobless and it is oober frustrating. I am hoping to hear back from 2 prospective employers.. One being Starbucks Manager at a Safeway. Which I know I will hear back from them, because my cousin is the one hiring me... it's just a matter of when! It is driving me crazy! The second one is Sutter Delta. A lady from my church, Connie, got a job from Sutter and gave me her contacts name and number. I sent them an email with my resume. And have not heard from them.

This is probably one of the most frustrating things I have ever gone through.. aside from dieting.. lol. It's bad enough I am not working=no money=bills piling up. But it also means that I have way to much time on my hands. Being jobless sort of affects my ego and confidence because sometimes I feel like I'm not participating in my partnership with my fiance. But of course he completely disagrees with this statement, thankfully. The only positive side of being jobless.. is I'm am getting all of my wedding stuff done without stressing. AND I'm doing my youth lessons like a week before, for the most part. I have rarely stressed throughout this whole engagement!!! Thank God.

So with all of that said, don't misinterpret all of this as compaining.. even though some of it is :) It's just me venting! I have complete faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I trust Him with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding :) As cliche as it sounds, everything happens for a reason and this is just another reason... a job is going to come along (hopefully soon) and it will be great!!!

So being jobless is my numero uno concern. The second concern is of course the wedding! We are almost done doing everything.. aside from a few things.. the rest to do is like figuring out exactly what is happening throughout the day and confirming that with vendors. I need to make a detailed list to make sure I'm not forgetting anything though. A few of the things I am missing is wedding bands... I know where/what/how much they are, but I'm just missing the money for them, that will come soon. I also need to ask the people involved in the ceremony to be in it. lol.

And I want to do a Do It Yourself Program. At first I wanted our programs to be like newspaper/magazine style to represent my passion for both. And then I was going to do fans. but I decided to just combine the two... so now we are doing fan programs. There are two options to doing these.

So there's these fans which take a little more work.. but I think they look more elegant. I found a website that does these great!

Then there are these ones. I think they are funner and simpler to make.

What do you guys think? Which ones do you like? Help a sister out :)

Oh, P.S.

2009-07-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

There's

49 days until My WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes! I am so excited!!

Just thought I'd share :)

Lions, Tigers, HAIR, oh my!!

2009-07-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

So I still don't have a hairstyle and/or make up artist. I could always do my own make up because I am good at it and love it. But I don't want to. lol Does anybody know any good and reasonably priced make up artist in the bay area??

So here are some choices on hairstyles.. My wedding is in the smack dab of August so it is going to be super hot. So I don't want my hair down anymore.. but I also don't want the super tight prom look. SO I've googled some hairstyles and such and here is what I've come with.. Tell me what you think?!

Side note: My veil is cathedral length..super long and gorgeous! It will have that thing that you put over my face. I will probably only wear it for my ceremony and not so much for the reception. I want to find a lily to put in my hair for the reception.

And I for sure want the puff and little bump thing that i always do.. so add that to all these pics. lol

A) I like the modern-ness of this hairstyle. I would have side bangs though..

B)This style is more elegant but i like it.. I dunno if I'd like it on me though..

C) This one is prom but not too prom. lol. I would add the puff though of course :)

D) This one is pretty I like it. lol

E) I don't have curly hair.. so I dunno if it would work.

F) This is the only hairstyle I'd consider to wear half up and half down.

Let me know what you think :)

Recap.

2009-07-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind on the blogging front.. I don't know how I managed that one. So here is a short recap.

Wedding:
I ordered flowers the other day. My bouqet will be orchids with some lillies. It will look gorgeous, I am so excited. Honestly, I went in their with like a whatever attitude and the lady @ Brentwood Florist picked it out for me :)

So it'll look like the bouqet on the left with white some sort of flowers (i think lisanthus?) and hints of the lily in it :)

The guys boutenierre (sp?) will be a green orchid with a little white flower behind it.

The centerpieces we have three choices for.. I'm still undecided about. WHICH TWO YOU LIKE BEST?? Let me know :)

A) Hydrangea centerpiece- green bunches of hydrangea in a simple vase with candles around it

B) So a friend of mine bought these mirrors to place on the table and these things with scripture on them. i think I showed you guys in a previous post.. with candles. The florist added these: the green cymbidium orchids in like a little fish bowl kind of thing to add on the table. I hope that makes sense!!!

C) So this one is a little harder to explain. So picture a tall (not too tall though) cylinder vase. With a long stem of these dendrium (sp?) orchids

Okay so let me know what you think with those.. :) Thanks.

What else? I still don't have a job but I have a few hopefuls coming in.. one of which is Sutter. I am really, really hoping that I get a call from them soon. I also am expecting a call from safeway, so we will see. I have faith in the Lord that the right job is right around the corner! He's a great God.

Honeymoon is still put on hold until we figure out what my financial situation is and such. We may just do a small trip after the wedding and save for our ideal honeymoon. His mom may help us come up with a plan and help pay for it. It's a bummer cause i already have my passport, but I'm gonna try and not change my name until I use it at least once!!! lol. I still want to do my all inclusive trip so maybe we wil save for the fall and do it then?! Who knows. That's a sore subject with me... lol

The bridal shower and both bachelorette showers are well under way. My best friend Michelle is doing the like going out clubbing one while my MOH tracy is doing the low key but fun one. I'm excited for all of the above!! :)

What else is going on? hmm.. I can't think of anything else. Any questions?!?!?! lol

<3

Summer!

2009-06-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blog friends Kirby at the GoodGalsInc tagged me in this "5 Things You Love About Summer" tag! If you haven't visited Kirby's blog.. then I def recommend you go do so.. NOW! :) She's a great girl!

Here are my top 5 Things....

1) My wedding!

So obviously, I am not going to get married every summer, but this summer I cannot wait to get married! It is less than two months away and smack dab in the middle of summer.. which is a good thing and bad :) We are going to have a blast!

2) Snow Cones!

Ok, So I totally borrowed this from Kirby.. but great minds think alike. I love, love, love snow cones. There are an easy way to cool off and a fun treat for the kids (or just the kids at heart :) There is a snow cone shack in downtown that has totally random hours but I would drive the long way home from school just to see if they were open! lol.

3) Ice Cream!

So obviously there is a trend in calories here.. but ice cream is right up there with snow cones! Who doesn't enjoy a simply ice cream cone on a hot sunny day? Everyone, right!?! What is better is home made ice cream :) my friend Tanya and her mom, Marie used to make homemade vanilla ice cream for us every summer. It was delicious! Now Marie makes it for us everytime we go up there :)

4) Family & Friend BBQ!

So yes.. the calorie trend is still contiuing on my list. No wonder I need to loose some weight :) But really I love family & friend bbq's because I love spending time with them! My parents house has always been the bbq spot.. the kids swim, while the adults watch and talk. When we get our house after the wedding, I cannot wait to host bbq's and fun events :) It'll be a new summer tradition!

5) The Beach!

The beach is just the relaxing place to be. I love water and the ocean, so it only makes sense that the beach would be on my top 5! Even though I hate suiting up in a bathing suit (that'll all change soon!), I would gladly do it if I knew we were going to the beach! :) I love sitting and listening to the ocean, swimming with friends/family, or just having a picnic next to the ocean!

If I were to pick a #6, it would be 4th of july! I love fireworks. I love the 4th. I love camping, cause that's what we are usually doing that week. I love red, white, and blue :) What can I say? I'm a patriot!

The 6 Lovely ladies I tag are:

Mrs buckingham!
Mary
Jillian
August 15 bride
Candice
Heidi

2 lbs down!

2009-06-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so 2 lbs is reallly realllly not that BIG of a deal.. but it's day 4 on my diet.. and I lost 2 lbs!!! That's exciting for me, becuase I am SOO over this body. Please, tell me some of you guys have just gotten to the point where you r like disgusted with how you let yourself go? That's how I've been feeling lately, but instead of being bummed about it.. I decided to DO something about it. So I am taking one day at at time.. and just going with it. Right now I am finishing my first shipment of Nutrisystem and adding produce and fresh fruit to it. I'm still debating on ordering a second box though.. so we will see. They charge $50 dollars to cancel. I kind of think I just want to order the 2nd box and then cancel and see what happens. That will be 2 months until my wedding and 2 months of the food. How does that sound? I'm also thinking of adding ALLI to it as well.. because none of the food I eat is over 10 grams of fat each meal. The only problem with that is that if you don't eat right it may have "Side effect" and those are not too pretty, if you know what I mean. (Warning: TMI) and with all the spinach, salad, broccoli, etc that I have been eating.. I am already regular, if you know what I mean :) A little too regular, which makes me nervous for when I find a job, but oh well. So I don't want the side effects to clash adn me be miserable. Have any of you tried Alli before? What did you get out of it? Also, I learned something about myself yesterday, that I sort of already knew but... I'm an emotional eater. I eat when I'm bored, stressed, sad, etc. You name it, I eat it lol. So yesterday, my fiance and I got in our first major fight (Which is pretty darn good considering we've been dating for almost 2 years!) And I was a hot mess, I was stressed and sad and crying and just a mess. Before all this though, I had my motto of I am NOT starving myself, that never ever works for me. I was one of those kids growing up that if you told me no.. I 'd do it anywase and do it more! So I dont starve myself because then I would just want that bite of whatever more than I did before.
Does that make sense? So anywayse.. back to the story. My lovely father brought home Popeye's Chicken! I was fine, because I dont like there mac n cheese and that's normally what I would have wanted to take a bite out of. But then the aroma of fried chicken filled the house.. and I was crying and stressed and what not. So instead of taking one bite, I had a whole chicken drumstick. Which I probably should not have had because I was eating it for the wrong reasons... but I already knew I was an emotional eater.. What I had learned from that is.. I didn't eat the whole bucket because I didn't let me emotions take over. I just had one piece and ok, that's fine. Then went on with it... Normally I would have probably grabbed a few pieces and wallowed in my emotions. But not anymore :) So that was sort of an accompishment for me. Not to mention, calorie wise.. it ended up working out because I went to my lil sister, Kameko (sister from another mister's :) graduation so I forgot to eat dinner. Case closed :) Do you guys go through emotional eating? OR stages like that? How do you get through them?? Well I am still in search of a job.. but like I said before I know the Lord will provide for me. So I have been doing all I can but in the meantime.. I'm focusing on me. I'm working out and eating healthy and getting to where I need to be. I did the 30 day shred on Monday and it kicked my butt.. so I havent done it since ;) But I am going to go walk to my cousins house to visit which is like 1.5 miles away. So I am slowly trying to add exercise into the daily routine. But keep my job situation in your prayers!! I NEED A JOB. Have a good day! Tell me what you think about all this :) Love ya guys! Oh, and PS Matt and I got through our first fight just fine and we are better now than we were before, if that is possible :)

Random-ness!

2009-06-08T17:45:00.001-07:00

So I've been taking pics on my phone lately.. cause my camera died and I can't find its charger.. but I have SOOO much to fill you guys in on!!! Remind me :) But for now.. Here's some random items from me to you :)

Oh, and when I get to 50 followers, I think I may do a random prize drawing, how does that sound?
<3

So this is part of our centerpieces, we have ten of these (and the ones below) total. Then on the other 10 or 11 tables, we are going to do flowers and the typical centerpieces, I think? Not too sure yet. But they are totally cute and have scriptures on them. This one is Joshua 24:15.

This is the second one. The scripture is Romans 15:13. I'm excited to get creative with these bad boys. They come on glass mirrors that reflects the light perfectly. How long do those little candles last though?? Any ideas to make them last longer?!

Yes, once again I am starting over on the diet thing. Mainly for my health, but I also want me dress to fit on me better, and for my arms to look great in them! This is a salad, water, strawberries, and NutriSystem pizza. The pizza was actually really good lol. So wish me luck on my new journey again!!! Starting in at my heaviest EVER!

So of course with the new diet, comes new groceries! This is only $50 for all this food :) Fantastic!! I got enough to last me this whole week without anything spoiling, and if worse comes to worse I will go back and pick something else up!

God is amazing. This picture is the sunset from outside my house, on my driveway. It is beautiful. It just reminds me of how amazing He really is. Even though we don't always understand His ways or why he does things the way He does, but I have complete Faith in His ways. Also, a bonus is we baptized 17 people yesterday at our annual church picnic!! YES 17 PEOPLE! He is SO GREAT! This month is going to be a hard month, with Tanya & Erik's anniversary vastly approaching (speaking of which, what're we going to do for it? Hmm. I'll have to ask the rents) and things getting crazy with everything, But I Trust Him completely, which isn't an easy thing to do! :) He's also gonna help me get through this diet crapola too :)

My cousin Tracy! She was in the hospital.. and supposed to be in until she delivered. But now they are going to moniter her at home because her blood sugar level has been okay. I don't think I mentioned this previously, but she has Gestational Diabetes, and has had it for a month or two. So we're all praying for her to last full term with this baby! With her history (preclampsia, high BP, gestational diabetes, etc) she needs all the prayers she can get :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE These flowers. They are simply gorgeous. If I could afford them, they would be my main flower in the wedding. But since I can't they will be in my bouqet and I'm trying to find a fake but good looking flower to go in my hair exactly like this one. Any ideas???

Alright that's all for now folks. I'll check back soon!

Tweet-Tweet!

2009-06-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

Does anyone on here Twitter? So two of my best friends, Rosa and Tanya do it, and my man Matt does it... and they all enjoy it. So I'm just checking to see if any of you fine people do it.
If so, (what's the term?) 'Follow Me?" lol.

http://twitter.com/samiam4eva06

What is the point of it? I don't get it yet. Ive just stuck with the old fashioned myspace and facebook accounts. So we'll see how this works..

Any famous celebs your following?

Let me know :) I want in the loop :)

<3

I'm Another Statistic...

2009-06-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

I lost my job. Fired. The End! Lol. It's only funny because I hated my boss.. not her as a person but the things I went through with her. It was unbearable. I'll give you the full scoop later, but we'll just say I'm Lawyering up!! But in all of this I can def say I LOVE my supporting family. They were pissed and I had my cousins calling me, friends, family lol. They all wanted to help me :) I'm special :) Lol Plus, I know an amazing Heavenly Father who loves me and I trust that it is all in His hands! :) <3>

Reception!

2009-05-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

Ok, So last week sometime, my mother, friend Terry, and myself went to our reception venue. We actually went because I thought we had a planning meeting, but turned out we didn't :) So we went to ask a few questions and go over some details with Carrie.. the wedding planner.

I was able to snap some pics of the venue. So I'm going to show you pics of the place how it looks plain and then ideas from other weddings on what we're hoping for. I NEED ideas.. so feel free to chirp in :)

**This is what is: This is the ceremony site with the gazebo and no chairs (obviously lol). I love this site. It's gorgeous, green, and lots of lush trees. Hopefully it'll stay that way for a few months.

**This is what I want: There will be about 200+ chairs sharing both sides of the aisle. I want the aisle to be covered in flower petals lining the aisle. They petals have to be real.. so I'm not sure how expensive or inexpensive that will be.

I also want the chairs nearest to the aisle to be draped in tulle with every other row having a flower or some sort of color. Sort of like this but outside..

What can we use aside from flowers to make it cheaper?
Do you think I'll need an Aisle runner? Or just leave as is?
How do we decorate the gazebo for cheap?!? and cute ;)

** This is what it is: As soon as you come in from the ceremony site, you are greeted with this gorgeous massive bar. Which would be great EXCEPT there will be no alcohol served at the actual reception site. My dad is a pastor and we have too many church people and higher ministers coming to attempt to sell alcohol.. not to mention the mr and i can do without!

**This is what I want: So I spoke to Carrie about the bar/alcohol thing. She said that it's fine.. we can cover it. So I am going to buy some tulle to cover everything aside from the mirror. She will have all the alcohol bottles taken down from the bar, and we'll cover the back of the bar wtih the tulle. I'm really trying not to be mean adn showcase all these bottles.. and then not allow anyone to touch! lol. On the actual bar, I was thinking of putting pictures of the mr and I with some candles.
Any ideas on that?

**This is what it is: Directly facing the bar are these tables with barstools.

**This is what I want: I don't really know what to do with these exactly. I was just thinking putting pictures up of mr and i with candles and/or flowers. Also, mayve a possible site for our guestbook?? Ideas? Maybe put the place cards there?
The reason I say possible site for guestbook is because there is a hallway to enter the reception area.. which looks like this:

I can always take the tables out. But I was thinking that round table may be a good place for a guestbook as well. These rectangle tables on the side will be used for buffet IF we do a buffet, if not then they will be where place cards are put or removed.

**This is what it is: The reception area! Sorry it is a dark picture but basicall it is a large room with a dance floor in middle of it and round tables on outside. We are doing a "sweetheart" table as our head table that will go right behind dance floor. We chose to do sweetheart vs bridal table because we want our bridal party to join the rest of their family..and we wont be sitting long anyway!

These sconce things are hanging on the wall and look GREAT with my decor. They match perfectly!

**This is what it is: This a simple set up of the tables. Note: we went on Memorial Day weekend, so of course these are not the colors of my wedding.. but what were already set up.

The green and damask, however, are our table runners. They will be on every table and alternating between the green on top or damask on top. It is going to look GORGEOUS! I'm excited! We are not to sure on what to do as centerpieces though.. any ideas? My mom really likes the fresia flower bunches because they are so full. I'm not sure what we will do yet.. ill post on that later, all I know is some kind of flower, arranged some kind of way, in some kind of container, with candles!!! And I have about 21-22 tables and I want like to designs on each one. So I need a few centerpiece ideas :)

**This is what it is: Our cake :) One of our great family friends has offered to bake my wedding cake and I def took her up on it. Seriously, she's better than Rachel Ray more like a Paula Deen. I love her cooking and her cake will be amazing.

**This is what we want: Bling, Bling! lol It'll look similar to this with green ribbon, square, and no broaches. Also, we upgraded to the lighting package which will include a Gobo on the dance floor with out monogram, 8 uplights along the wall, and a spotlight on the cake :) So it'll def shine! So it'll look very similar to the pic.. except our colors and monogram lol.

**This is what it is: A Candy buffet :) we aren't going to do it in our color scheme.. we're just going to have our colors on the table. Also, we will buy stickers with our monogram on them to place on the bags or chinese boxes. We don't like green or black candy :) lol.

That's all for now folks! Ideas greatly appreciated :)

Visiting the Kids!

2009-05-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

*Warning LOTS of Pics :) *
To see original post of the story behind these lovely kids.. look here!

We really had a lot of fun that day. The Kaida's came up with us. I miss them so much, so it is really a treat to see them. They are all getting so big and they're parents would have been SO proud. I love my babies!

I love how...

2009-05-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting next to the fiance and he sees my blog title
"On My Way To Be A Healthy Bride"
and reads it outloud and in a sarcastic tone... and laughs like a "Psh Yea right" laugh.

I don't know whether to punch him in the face and/or leave.
I think I'll leave.
I'm pissed. Jackass.

Also, I just got done looking @ the e-pics and I look like a blimp. Great.
I'm so excited. Can you tell?

I'm in a blog...

2009-05-21T18:07:00.001-07:00

Check it out here!!!

:)

It's our engagement session from this past weekend.
<3

Introducing...

2009-05-18T18:13:00.001-07:00

My Bridal Party These are the lovely ladies that will standing by my side on our big day!! (Which I am starting to get SOO excited for :) *Bridesmaids are in no particular order*

Tracy!
My Maid of Honor/Cousin/Best friend (Yes, she's pregnant. and due right before my wedding.. at the end of July :) *This was my first choice of BM dresses.*

Tiffany
My Bridesmaid/Cousin/Amazing Friend *This is the dress they will be wearing with a black sash*

Katie
My Bridesmaid/Cousin/Great Friend **This is the dress they will be wearing with a black sash*

Kameko
My Bridesmaid/Sister from another Mister! *This is exactly what they will be wearing!*

Heather
Heather My Bridesmaid/Cousin/Amazing Friend *This is the dress she'll be wearing with a black sash and without the goofy face! lol*

Last but not least...

Ashley
My Cousin/Bridesmaid/Fantastic Friend *This is the dress but in the green color with black slash and without the model pose lol*

So those are my girls :) They are all family and have been there for me through thick and thin and they will be there long after Matt and I are married!

My best girl friends will play a huge part in the wedding as well.. even though they aren't standing up there next to me.. I still need them!!

Not so great..

2009-05-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

So I have some not so great news.

I went to church yesterday, and after church one of the ladies approached me to take me undergarmet shopping for my big day. So we proceeeded to a few stores. Went to Victoria Secrets and found a bra.. but not of those suck your belly in things. lol When I tried on my dress... it didn't fit. Let me repeat that for the slower ones, did not fit!!!

I know that's totally crazy because I just had it on a week or two ago and everything fit fine then. But regardless it was embarssing and made me sad :( Thankfully, she is a woman I've known my entire life so it was not a huge deal, but still... My mom was pissed instead of sad.. lol. So I would like to add a disclaimer to my sad story... (or an excuse).. that our after church lunch was at El Camino. It's a mexican restaraunt (obviously) lol. and I had some rice and beans adn chicken.. so bloating took place, I'm sure. AND It's almost that time of the month for me.. so I honestly think it's just because I was bloated, but regardless I have to take some action..

So I have 95 (I think?) days until my wedding. Today will be day #1 of getting my arse (excuse the language) back into shape. I'm going to continue the Nutrisystem that I bought and stopped eating because I didn't want to waste money... because I'd eat like two nutrisystem meals and then go out to eat for the other meal, and I would totally defeat the purpose! But now I will actually use it.

So Once again I'm calling on my wonderful, fantabulous, inspiring blog friends to push my butt in the right direction! I need some encouragement right about now :)
Thanks girls!!!

Sidebar: Does anyone know where to find cheap damask print?!?!?

Day #1:
Breakfast: Nutrisystem eggs with a slice of tomato, green onion, and tad bit of cheese. (@8:30)
Snack: Low n Fit (or whatever they're called) strawberry yogurt. (@12)
Lunch: Nutrisystem Corn Chowder chilli, steamed brocolli, and 2 tspn of mayo (@ 4)
*I haven't eaten dinner yet but will when I get home from church.*
Dinner: green salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, and italian dressing
Gym: No gym today.. I gotta go to church. But I did park really far from work and my interview and took the stairs :)

Also, I plan to continue the Nutrisystem with adding fresh veggies and fruits. Then soon I will take the Alli pills with them to do double duty weightloss. And since school is over (and I put in my 2 weeks notice for my weekend reception job) I plan to spend more one on one time with the gym :)

Any more ideas? Should I try something new?

Teaser

2009-05-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a teaser from my second engagement session :) I'm so excited to check out the rest :)

And here is a shirt I bought from Etsy.com from Mrs. Bling. It's super cute!
Ir reads: Mrs. Semans Est. 10.21.07
<3

Double Digits!

2009-05-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

SHUT UP! I receive tons of junk mail in my email right now because of all the things I'm subscribed to.. but I totally let it sit in there in case, by chance, I ever have a free minute to check them out. So the Knot.com has just sent my an email stating that I have 97 days left until my wedding...

Ladies and Gents.. we have officially hit double digits. That is CRAZY! I have not done any wedding planning items these past few weeks because of all my family drama and my little brother. So I have to jump back on the bandwagon.. like now.

These are the things we've accomplished thus far:

* Save the Date cards were sent out

* Invitations were ordered and have arrived.. just not assembled yet.

* Ordered cameras to place on table and they arrive.

(also, ordered a cute hat that says bride lol)

* Venue/ food/ceremony spot is picked out and reserved

*I'm stretching for more.... uummmm... My nonni is adding wonderful things to my dress and it is finally coming along. I CANNOT wait to see it finished. It's seriously going to be stunning.

*We have a pastor reserved.. my daddy :)

* I'm asking Pastor Greg Terry tomorrow if he can assist so my dad can walk me down the asile.

*Had two sets of engagement pics taken. Second one was yesterday and we'll see how those pics came out.. but I enjoyed the photographer A LOT!

And that's the list folks, lol. I think I may have a girls lunch in the next few weekends to just get everyone who has offered to help and we'll sit down and do some DIY items... like damask the votives, pick out flowers (we;re ordering wholesale), set up invites, etc. That sounds like a plan!

Any other ideas?? Help! lol Also, we're still trying to find our honeymoon place and destination.. we know we want all inclusive, adn cheap! lol

At least I dont look like this bride:

Giveaway!!

2009-05-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

So there's this fabulous lady, Kelsey, who is giving away a free blog makeover :) She is totally cute and even if you don't win.. her prices are pretty cheap :)
Check her out here!
<3

Word!

2009-05-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

"I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love,

and I meditate on your decrees.
Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.
My comfort in my suffering is this:

Your promise preserves my life."

Psalm 119:48-50

Thanks Tammy for the inspiration.. I needed it!!! I love this song too.. and it speaks wonders for my life right now... and everyone's life for that matter. We do serve an amazing God! (not to mention, I love Jeremy Camp!)

"Holy Fire burn away

My desire for anything

That is not of You

And is of me

'Cause I want more of you

And less of me."

More.. Teasers!

2009-05-06T00:49:00.001-07:00

So this week is crazy.. lots of family drama.. so pray for my family and my younger brother! I have faith in the Lord that things will get better!! Until then, here's more from the e-pic session! <3

I should really learn to follow directions..

2009-05-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

lol. So I officially suck at following directions! It's not like I'm a rebel or anything.. My attention just varies.

For example, here I am..bright and early, sitting in the college library on a Friday morning. Now before you get any ideas.. I am not THAT good of a student. I simply suck at following directions. I take a Friday morning English class that usually begins at nine am. Today, however, we were supposed to meet in the library at 9:30..or so I thought. WRONG!

We were supposed to meet in the classroom at 9:30 to walk to the library at 10. Mind you, I'm all for a good walk.. but by the time I made it back to the classroom, all the way across campus, they'd already be walking here. Then I went online (half of our class is done online) to check and see what she really said.. and sure enough, Sam does not follow complete directions. I saw meet/library/ 9:30. When it really said "We will meet in the class at nine thirty and then walk over to the library". Ugh, I could seriously get myself in trouble.

Another example lol is a few weekends ago I was driving my drunk friend home, I was sober thank you. And we were downtown and I had missed my turn, so at the next turn I made a left hand turn. My friend freaks out because there was a cop who saw me.. I was like so what? I can turn. She was like no the sign said NO turns. I was like shut up?! really?!? I thought it said no u-turns lol. And so the cop followed us to the freeway, without pulling me over, thankfully. The next day I go back to that turn to see if she was right or not.. sure enough the drunk girl, who had to get driven home, paid more attention to the sign that I did!!!!

I suck :)

Just thought I'd let you guys know how blonde your friend Sam really is :)

How's you week going? How's the diet(s) going?

I will post on all that later.. I have to call my photographer for our second engagement session.. cause it is supposed to rain.. in CALIFORNIA, in MAY! Goodness, bad enough I had to deal with stupid Swine Flu this week, and now my session maybe canceled. Stupid CA.

E-Pics Up!!

2009-04-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

SNEAK PEAK: Thanks to my fantabulous best friend, she helped me to sneak these from the photographers website for now.. more to come :)

Where's the Love?!

2009-04-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

So back in the day (before my break from dieting and such) I had tons of comments?!?! Now I have more followers but no comments. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a diva and need comments. But I want to make sure what I'm writing about is relatable (is that a word? lol) and current. Ya know?! So I'm going to go leave some love on all you guys' blogs and hopefully it'll be returned!!!

* I went to the gym on Monday, for the first time in forever... "foreeever" (like the sandlot kid). lol. I spent a half hour on the weight machines, which went fine because I enjoy that stuff. I didn't do any of the floor moves that the trainer taught me from last time (check it out here), because @ this Bally there's like a small area for floor exercises, and there's always trainers and buff people there. Lol. Yes, I was a little timid being back there again. Usually, however, I'm like whatever about it and could careless what I look like lol. I guess it's one of the benefits of being engaged. Anyway.... the problem errupted when I went to do the elliptical.

Before I was stupid, and stopped exercising regularly (meanning only a few months ago..) I was so proud of myself for doing like a half hour on the elliptical. Monday, I was struggling to do fifteen minutes. It was pathetic. I will excuse myself slightly, only because I didn't have any music to listen to.. but come on!! 15 minutes!

Also, on a sadder note.. I gained all my weight back from last time.. I am now up to 268 again. This time is worse though, because I have a wedding dress to fit into!!! HELLO! WAKE UP SAM! lol. that's what I feel like my body is yelling at me!

So here are a few new things I'm doing to change this:
1) I ordered Nutrisystem and received it in the mail today!! I actually have been wanting to do this for awhile now, but Ive been too broke. I still am pretty broke, but I will just be living super cheap til my next paycheck to help balance everything out again. My parents probably would have paid for it, had I asked, but I didn't want to ask them because I wanted to pay for it with MY money...that way if I screw up, it's MY money and my bad.. ya know? It made sense when I did it. lol.

2) I think I may talk to my dr about seeing a food psychologist kinda person. Because I know that most of the reason I allowed myself to get this big is due to my emotions and emotional eating. So I need to work that out with a professional, because I NEVER want to be this size again. Ever.

3) My clothes are getting a little tighter, which is okay for now.. because I kept all my "fat" girl jeans. However, now is a different story, when I get to an 18, I'll throw away my 20's.. when I get to a 16, I'll toss 18's.. etc. That way when I do get a little heavier.. then I work my ass off (excuse my french..pun intended) to get back into those jeans. I will leav 1 pair, cause when Aunt Flow visits... I blow up. lol

4) I need to revive my food journal.

5) I need my blog world support group back. You guys are the best!! What would you like me to post about?!? Food logs? Everything?! Etc.. let me know.

6) Thanks to loving her blog.. she's inspired me to start training my body. I need to push myself to do different things and find something that I love. I love dancing, and until I find a dance class that works with my schedule, I need to find something else. I will try running. I will start really small because I have a lot of weight to run with.. but hopefully, I will come to love it.. and eventually it will be easy for me. But I know right now, it is going to suck butt!!!!!! I hate running right now because it hurts, its painful on my knees and legs, but that will change.
If anyone finds a cheap treadmill, please let me know :)
Also, she gave a pretty cool tip about listening to books versus music! Do any of you guys do that?

I really hope that this time around the lifestyle changes actually change.. and stick!!!!
<3

I'm BAAACK

2009-04-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm BAAACK!

*I'm tired of not fitting into my clothes
*I'm tired of them getting, suddenly, tighter
*I'm tired of feeling tired
*I'm tired of this body that I have

**With all this said.. I'm jumping back on the healthy bandwagon! Wish my luck guys! I pray that this time it sticks indefinetely!!!!
*I ordered Nutrisystem yesterday and it should be here soon :)

I'm late! I'll post more later!

Damask!

2009-04-20T21:03:00.001-07:00

Damask!!!!

I've never heard of it before.. well like I've seen it, but didn't know it had a specific name?! and I saw this picture.. and fell in love with it! So we have now changed out colors to green, black, and ivory (we took out the brown). And we are putting elegant, subtle hints of this bad boy in our reception!

What do you guys think? Any ideas to incorporate it??
<3

E-Pics!

2009-04-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

They were sooo much fun! This was only our first set, and it was hot as hades (90 degrees), but it was a blast!!! We started off at this warehouse building downtown.. it was sort of a rustic feel. I loved it. I love photography, so I'm totally into everything creative. Like we did our traditional poses, but I liked to spice it up a bit! Then, we went downtown some more.. down by the delta water. It was of course gorgeous, who doesn't love water? We did some poses with the water in the background, on the rocks, etc. While we were by the water, we also went to this grassy area.. it was pretty wierd, but I think the pictures turned out pretty cool. And then my favorite spot was the railroad track!!!! It was fun! Scary.. cause it's a working track.. but Thank God a train didn't come by while we were there.. just before and after! But some of the poses were perfect. The were romantic, sexy, fun, all at the same time!! I am so excited to get them back. Of course, I'll post it when they're back! Oh, and did I mention, the sunset was setting for half of it.. Gorgeous! So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now on to the next shoot :)

**This isn't us.. yet! but similar to what we did!**

E-Shoots!

2009-04-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

So my first set of engagement photos are going to be taken on Sunday!!! I am so excited! My photographer that we're meeting with is a little pricey, but it will be fun. We won this free shoot at a bridal fair we went to last month! There will be more shoots to come! But this is our first really fun wedding thing we've done, so we're excited!

We're going to stay in my hometown for this one. One of the shoots are going to be by an old building, to get some creative, young shots. The second will be downtown by the water and railroad tracks! I'm excited to see what kind of creative ideas she comes up with. I love photography and love like a photo-journalistic style of photography.. so I'm juiced!

Before Sunday I have to dye my hair, pick out 2 outifits and shoes, and be ready! Not to mention I work everyday until then.. so this should be interesting!! lol. What do you wear? I was thinking jeans with a black top and a white top.. I have to find a cute white top. I know that sounds boring.. but I don't know what else to do?! I may get my make up done professionally too :)

And I realized I haven't been leaving you any picture love.. so here are some cute shots I googled!

Crazy!

2009-04-15T22:03:00.001-07:00

There's four months until my wedding and I have
a venue (which was half the battle..) and food and invitations. and that's it!!
Mom picked out the cake, but we have yet to taste it and order it.
I have tons of photographer options.. but haven't settled on one yet!
We have our first engagement photo session this Sunday (Which I'm totally stoked for!! and speaking of which.. what should I wear?? What did you ladies wear for yours??)
My dress is purchased but not at all done.. My nonni is adding jewels and things to it!
The bridesmaid dresses are picked out and sized, but not ordered yet!!!
I'm still stressing like we're missing tons, and of course my mom doesn't help the situation much!! She's a little worry wort! lol
What am I missing?!? What should I do next?!! I'm really not freaking out about this..... but I just need some advice. We've never done a wedding (obviously) so we're a little new to this... and you all are pros :)

Thanks ladies!!
<3

Blog Awards!!

2009-04-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

So my fantastic friend has Kirby over at Good Gals, has given me two great awards. I too am so excited I found her blog and that we've become great friends!

So now I am returning the favor and passing out two awards and giving out one of my own!! I'm so excited to give them out and honor all the amazing blogs I've been reading! You ladies (and gents) are a kick in the pants and a blast to read!

First off,

I would like to pass this on to these wonderful women:
1. Good Gals Inc
2. HisMrs
3. Skinny
4. Stephanie

Second..

1. Good Gals Inc
2. HisMrs
3. Skinny
4. Stephanie
5. Rebecca
6. Jane

And Lastly..

1. Linda
2. Blue Eyed Bride
3. Budget Savvy Bride
4. Broke Ass Bride
5. Jane
6. Good Gals Inc

This Sucks..

2009-04-08T10:39:00.001-07:00

So this is me venting just a little...

I'm mad at you because your not here to help me maintain this craziness in life. Your not here to call and make fun of American Idol contestants. Your not here to give me good marriage advice and style advice. Your not here to help with the wedding. Your not here to laugh at my mom with my for being so stressed! Your not here to go to Costco, Walmart, or Target. Your not here to be my mom and I's best friend.
Your not here to hide the Resurrection eggs this Sunday and to have a "photo shoot" in the park.
Your not here to watch your babies grow up (but don't worry, we took that baton too!) Your not here to laugh at Erik with. He's not here to give marriage counseling He's not here to beat Glover at last election!! He's not here to be my Dad's best friend again! He's not here to talk sports and guy stuff with Dad and Matt. He's not here to constantly talk about food at church. (but have no fear, dad took that baton) But mostly your not here because your sitting at the right hand of the Father, without us, and we miss you. Terribly. It's not fair.. but soon it'll get harder to deal with.
So I guess you guys won.. you beat us there!

Giveaway!

2009-04-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

My great friend Kirby is giving away a fantabulous prize to get ready for summer! Be sure to check it out ASAP because the deadline to enter is fastly approaching!
<3

Invites!

2009-04-06T20:31:00.001-07:00

Yay! Another thing to check off the list baby!! We did our invites on Friday... it took us 2.5 hours!! Yes, I said it, 2.5 hours!!! I'm totally ocd about those kinds of things because a) it is the first thing everyone will see about your wedding and b) I did yearbook/journalism for 4 years in high school... and I'd major in design if I wasn't doing Nursing! lol. Well needless to say..Matt had a completely different idea of what he wanted for the look. So we finally did compromise and I think they're great. (Not to mention, they're included in our wedding package.. even better!) So the font if going to be brown.. with a green ribbon.. and different kind of font but sort of similar to the picture below. And our monogram is going to go behind it!! Tell me what you think!

August!!!!

2009-03-27T20:07:00.001-07:00

August 21st is our wedding date!!!!!
I"M SO EXCITED!!!! It's finally coming together.... and real!

Giveaway!

2009-03-26T01:09:00.000-07:00

Jane's Giveaway over at In The Waiting Line looks great! Be sure to go over and check her out for her 100th blog post!! Congrats girl! She is so much fun to read, you'd love her.

Not to mention, how cute is this?

Pics!

2009-03-25T15:53:00.001-07:00

So a little time ago.. I went to visit my babies (they're hardly babies anymore!) and I never put up the pics from it! Lol So here they are. They are all cute, but some are kinda photojournalistic style that I love. Gosh, I wish I could do photography!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Enjoy!
<3

My Babies!

Progress.. FINALLY..

2009-03-25T14:53:00.001-07:00

So we have unofficially/officially booked our wedding reception venue! THANK GOD! I cannot tell you how big of a burden that is lifted off my shoulders, seriously. We've looked at every place that I like from here to Treasure Island. This was our last stop and it is going to work out perfectly! The packages are great, site is gorgeous, and it fits 200 people in our budget!! Go figure! I know all of you brides to be or newlyweds remember what the heck I'm talking about and how stressful it was to find the perfect spot! It seemed like something would be stunning but totally out of our price range.. or something would be cheap but not so pretty. So this is it! Wedgewood Banquet Center is our place to be!

And we have a tentative date of August 21st.. Yes, I said AUGUST! So not only am I crazy busy with life but now I get a wedding to plan in five months :) But honestly, I could not be happier. I cannot wait to be with him. It's soo exciting! Plus, we get to start planning all the fun stuff now :) hollar!

So my help from you guys is.. I need some DIY ideas for favors or reception ideas.. etc. I loved HisMrs idea on photo pieces to put on the bar.. I'm def going to do something like that! So ladies, and gents, get your minds rolling on how to have budget friendly ideas to enhance the location :)

Closer to the day!!

2009-03-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

So we've unofficially picked out location.. it's called the Wedgewood Center. It's pretty nice and has an amazing price for 200 people!! Yes, I said it.. 200!! Craziness!! But what can I say? We're very loved. lol jk.

AND

I bought my dress :) I will have to find a picture of it later.. but it's very simple because I have amazing people who are going to add stuff to it. My grandma is doing my veil. And I am just so excited. I honestly wish I didn't have to work to provide for myself or else I'd put more time into planning my wedding lol.

AND

The date is no longer in October but AUGUST> OMGoodness. That means its 5 months away. So I am currently trying to figure out ways to make my life less busy so I can dedicate time to loosing more of this weight! I mean, honestly, I don't want to be skinny-mini, obviously but I would like to have to be able to get my dress altered inwards!!! It fits perfectly without all the understuff on.. so I'll have to take it in anyway.. but you guys know what i mean. :)

I will post more later.. gotta study anatomy!!
<3

Pics..

2009-03-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Here's the pics I promised you!

Michelle's 21st Bday!

Update!

2009-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

So things are still crazy over here! but I am finally trying to make it a conscious decision to gain control over MY schedule.. lol. Too much stuff going on=not so happy Sam! lol.

My little brother came home this weekend.. it was pretty interesting. We'll just leave it up to the Lord to take care of him still. I don't really know what else to do. He's so different now. He looks like a little chulo wearing grease in his hair, bandana on his shoes, etc. Ugh. It frustrates me so much, what happened to my fun little brother? Where'd he go? I want him back!! So just keep him in your thoughts and prayers.. he'll get better, i know it!

We went to Monterey on Friday to babysit Matt's nieces and nephews.. it was a blast :) They're so adorable. They have tons of energy.. of course they're only 7&12. The youngest, Katee asked if she could be our flower girl and we told her yes.. as long as I was the favorite aunt :) lol. Speaking of wedding stuff.. we declined the Hanoum estate offer. It was way to expensive, and we would like some money left over for our house. :) So we are still on the hunt for a venue. We will find one soon though.. :) we have to! lol. I have another place to look at tomorrow!! If you have any ideas.. let me know :)

Job hunt... I still am currently at the same job with the devil. I am trying to look into what to do about her... but in the meantime looking for another job. Hopefully something will come up soon. If you know how to do something legally about my job situation.. let me know please. It would be a big help!

Weight loss.. I gained some of my weight back.. which is part of the reason I havent been weighing in. I am trying to take mroe control of my schedule and make time for exercise and eating healthy. I have tomorrow off so along with my homework, I'm going to try to go grocery shopping and make food for the week. Like in some of my previous posts, I am going to try and fit WW into my budget. I don't want to go to a free meeting until I can afford to continue to go.. so hopefully with a new job will come a new paycheck! :)

Last weekend was my best friends 21st birthday.. and it was a blast. we started at lunch with our friend Stephanie, which was totally fun. I miss our girls dates and stuff. Then we went to the mall to find her an outift, got our makeup done, ran some errands, and got ready to go out. We went to Sac again.. but it was a blast :) I love going out wiht the girls.. and of course Matt :) I'll post some pics!

I hope you are all doing great!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Vote For Memorial Stadium :)

2009-02-17T17:36:00.001-08:00

So I normally don't post about sports.. but I love my Cal. So I'm reposting this blog from Bears With Fangs Blog

"I figure I should do what I can to rep Memorial Stadium.

Head on over to PrepTicket to vote for Memorial Stadium as it faces off against Kyle Field in a battle of best stadiums.

I know I know. The stadium is falling apart, we stand on our tippy toes in the porta-potties to pee (both guys and gals), and a good number of us have to sit on bleachers without any back support.But c'mon. Is there a more picturesque venue in all of college football?

With the Berkeley Hills to the East, and a view of the Golden Gate and the Bay to the West, you'd be hard pressed to find one that has more charm. Really, there are few things prettier than watching the Bears run out of the tunnel in the their golden tops for a 5PM Fall game as the sun begins to set. Booyakasha."

If anything.... do it for me.. please :)

255.2!

2009-02-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

255.2 is my weigh in for this week! I haven't done one on here in a little while... so I though I'd update y'all. It stayed the same for a week and gained and now lost. The funny thing is, I haven't been to the gym in awhile and went to the stupid bleeping fast food a few times last week. The crappy part about being so busy is I'm busy and broke.. so I don't have time to make healthy food and I don't have the money to buy healthy food on the go! But that will all change again tonight.

Tonight, we had a pastor Greg Terry come in and preach. He's a good friend of the family, an amazing man, and a great preacher. One of the ten tests that we will go through is perseverance... and even though he was talking on a spiritual level more than anything.. I took it also on a weightloss level. So here is some encouragement for all of us.. We have to persevere to get to our dreams (both spiritual and physical). If we don't persevere then that means we give up. and I for one am soooo tired of giving up, throwing in the towel, or quitting. I'M OVER IT! Once again I've found the motivation somewhere in me to get back on the treadmill...literally.... and get my butt in gear. So I hope this helps you guys a little bit as well!!!

I'm sad my man went home and bummed that the 3 day weekend is over!! Back to work & back to life.

I hope you guys had a great weekend! Any big plans??
I need to post tons of pics later this week!! I have a lot to fill you in on.. picture wise!!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

3 Day Weekends!!

2009-02-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

This is where I want to be :p

My, oh my, how I love 3 day weekends! After my last post, y'all can see how much I am in need of one. I love that we all have the chance to relax, catch up on everything!! Family time, studies, homework, and did I mention relax? Do any of you guys have any big plans for the 3 day weekend ahead??

Did I tell you guys about the mystery dinner we have tomorrow for Valentine's Day? My youth group is putting on a Mystery Valentine's Dinner as a Vday gift/slight fundraiser. It's not a murder mystery though.. it's more like a mystery of what your eating. When people come in to the "restaurant" , they have to fill out a menu.. on one side is a list of food that are all code named.. EX: Devil's delight.. is cake. Ants on a log... is celery with peanut butter and raisins. Does that make sense? So they fill out the menu and then go sit down and it is a four course meal and the youth will serve them each meal. The catch is that on the list of food is the list of utensils and drink as well. So one course you may get speghetti and and a fork or even water, toothpick, and a slice of bread. So sometimes the guests will have to use their hands!! lol. It will be a fun day and as soon as I get off my butt... I can go grocery shopping and start preparing the food for tomorrow!!!
Sound fun right??!??

Craziness!!

2009-02-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

Honestly, that's all I can say for my life lately!! Literally Craziness!

Have you guys seen that movie with Adam Sandler and he has the huge remote, I think it's called "Click"? Well that is exactly what I want right about now. I want a large remote that controls life. I wouldn't be stingy and like fast forward the boring stuff.. I would maybe rewind sometimes and play it again. But mostly I would use the pause button!!!!! I just need a pause button, to stop time and daylight adn everything, so I can catch up. Please tell me some of you guys feel like that too! Like tonight, I would love to pause everything and study and get some sleep and then press play!

So that is why I haven't exactly been the blogging queen lately. Not to mention, I don't have a laptop, which is like numero uno when I pay off my bills!! So here is a little update on the happenings and topics of Sam!

* (Oh, Ps. thanks for all of you lovely followers for staying tuned and even emailing me to make sure I'm alive!! Especially you Ms. I'm on the Today Show, Kirby, from Good Gals!)*
Here is an example of my weekly schedule:
M:I work from 9-5. Come home, study, relax, or hang with the parentals.
T:I work 9-5, school 5:30-10
W:I sleep in :), run errands or do youth things or study, then work 2-6, Youth group 6-9
Th:I work 9-5, School 5:30-10
F:I have class 9-12, then I relax or do youth stuff or homework or family time.
Fri night-Sun night:I work as a receptionist one day a weekend (for now), this is the only family time and Matt time and friend time I have during the week at all.

So this wasn't meant to be a complainy blog (but even if it was, you don't have to read it!)... I just trying to get your guys advice on what the heck to do! You notice I have gym nowhere on there. I have no "Me" time whatsoever. Matt gave me a lecture on how I need to be more selfish.. but in a good way. He thinks I give so much of myself to everything else that i don't have any time to go to the gym or do anything I want to do. Ya know? Which I completely understand. I just need God to help me juggle and for Him to drop the things that aren't necessary. I wish I got paid more so I could at least not have to worry about financial stuff on top of all of this!!! Dang.. I should play the lotto :)

School:
is school. I'm doing pre-nursing studies and I def have a full load! But I would rather have a full load and get it over with than spend a million years on my pre-reqs. I love my anatomy class.. the teacher is amazing. He's a dr and is teaching to "give back" to the community but he teaches in a great way. He teaches us stuff that we need to know in the real world. He doesn't go out of the textbook so much and uses powerpoint. He says the textbook is great for founding our knowledge but not so great in the real world. I got a B on my first two exams :) I was so excited. Because I was scared I didn't put enough effort into studying.

My other class is English in the morning on Fridays. I was really enjoying it and then I didn't go to class friday of my birthday, then the following friday was a holiday, and now this week I go back. I feel like I've been gone forever and am completely behind. But in reality I'm not too far behind.. except I just found out today I have an essay due on Friday that I have not written or read for!! YIKES!

My last class is an online Criminal Justice class. It is really interesting but it takes some time to read through the text and lectures and powerpoints... but it's cool.

My birthday!
Was amazing. It was fun. The day of I had lunch with Matt and my best friend Michelle. Her cousin works there so she made me this yummy drink. It was great to actually order something! lol. Then I had a massage. Then got ready for our birthday dinner. By "our" I mean my brother Billy & I. We have the same birthday but we're 2 years apart! Crazy huh?! So we all went to dinner as a family with some friends.. it was fun :). We just ate delicious food! No drinking!! Then that night my girls and I (and matt lol) went to a 18+ club in Sacramento. We did 18 up because all the girls were 18-20. I FINALLY got a wristband :) Hollar! it was pretty exciting lol. we danced and had a great time. So needless to say on my 21st birthday I didn't get drunk or smashed or even tipsy. I stayed good and true and only had like 2 drinks!

Saturday we were supposed to go to the 21+ spots with my brother and his friends, but they were hungover from the night before. lol. So Matt and I went to a restaurant that turns club in my town. It was fun! We just danced and relaxed. It was a beautiful evening too!!!

The following weekend we went to the city to go bar hopping. Some of my best friends went with me and my brother and his friends. It was fun. Not exactly what I imagined it to be because some people got way to drunk and we had to leave early. I was doing more babysitting than having the best of time. But knowing me, I can make a good time out of anything.. literally! lol. The next night matt took me to dinner, just the two of us, finally! and we went to a local bar and danced and hung out all night. It was fun! I love that place now! I'm so glad to be 21 not because of the alcohol.. but because I can get into places now! People can invite me to spots and I can get in :)

Diet:
Not so great. I haven't gained any weight, yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened! I have no time to go to the gym. And I don't make time to bring my meals to work, so therefore I resort to fastfood. I HATE fast food lol. I'm disappointed in myself but as soon as I get over this flu, I'm jumping back on the bandwagon. I don't want to be fat forever so i will do whatever it takes to change my body! Not to mention I have a wedding in October! Hello!!!

Wedding:
I tried on wedding dresses last weekend with my mom and dad (yes, I'm a daddy's girl lol). It was totally fun. My dad went looking at other stores while I tried on the majority of htem with my mom. We were having a ball. I liked 4 dresses.. each of them very different in their own respects. One was like lacy and romantic, another had a corset bodice thing with cupcake wrinkles, one was ruffled and sounds ugly but was gorgeous on. Then of course the lady brings me a gorgeous dress.. IN SIZE 12!! Hello, I'm so not that size. And of course I LOVED the dress. So I'm going to try and find it somewhere else in my size. I noticed as I was looking through magazines that that style seems to be the new trend, so we'll see how that goes.

Work:
I don't think I explained my almost quit my job break down on here yet. So here's the short version. I'm a medical assistant at a dr's office. The dr is very peculiar. She's nice when she wants to be but can be a flat out brat. literally. one day she sits me down and proceeds to tell me a story about how she's really good at making people look professional, and getting people prepared for their careers, etc. Then proceeds to tell me how unprofessional I look, my hair is purple and ugly, she asked when I'm redying my hair because she doesnt want it in her office, because it's not professional. Tells me I don't look like the old MA she had because she had looked like an Abercrombie Model, and I do not. My scrubs don't fit me right and are unprofessional (mind you.. I'm wearing scrubs... cute ones with colors and prints and what not). Then tells me I need to take off my nails, which I can understand but it was the day before my birthday so I told her i would the following week. I was flabbergasted! She had some nerve. I left after the conversation and went to class. The next day she was fine though.. freaking skitzo I swear. And I wasn't exaggerating on anything I told you guys.. that is what she said but longer. My cousin thinks I should find a lawyer because it's border line discrimatory. My other manager at my other job thinks I should too.

So since then, she has her good days and bad days. If it were about two years ago, I would have quit that day and never came back. But now that I have bills and responsibilities and the jobworld sucks. I can't. So I'm in the process of looking for another job.. I can't deal with her skitzoness! It's crazy. So hopefully the Lord will drop something in my lap soon :) Until then, I'm stuck!!

Alright it's late now and I have to finish reading. But I hope you guys are all doing great!! Please drop me a line with how lifes going. I will try and browse through your blogs and comment soon!!!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Oh and Happy Valentine's Day or Single Awareness Day or Hallmark Day or watever you call it :)

My 21st Birthday pics!!

2009-02-05T22:53:00.001-08:00

These are pics from my birthday last weekend.. check them out!!

I Promise..

2009-02-03T19:05:00.001-08:00

I'm alive... I will be on tonight or tomorrow to send a looooooooong post!!
Sorry guys.
Thanks for being patient!
<3

Phew!

2009-01-25T20:12:00.001-08:00

*Warning: This post is long.. sorry :)*

I can breathe!!! lol. Sometimes I love Sundays so I can just catch up on everything, study, family time, etc. But then I HATE them all the more.. because Matt goes home on Sunday! I hate it. So here is my (long)update!!!

*On the weightloss front:* ~
My weigh in today is 158.0. Which is down from the last one but only by ounces. So I'm a little frustrated with it but not really. I didn't give it my whole heart this week. Sometimes I wonder how bad I reallly want this?! Ya know? I know I do. I feel it. But sometimes I get so busy with life, and all the things that come with it, that I don't want to deal with something else. I could whine and say it's not fair that my family is all skinny minnies, except me, and all the million other excuses.. but that's not my style. I gotta suck it up and get on with it.

I love reading all your guys' tips, recipes, day to day adventures.. etc. It helps me to stay back on track! But I've sort of decided to stop posting the food logs on here. I don't think anyone reads them anyway. If you want them, I can still put them up though. I need to stay on top of my food logging as well this week! I also need to make weightloss and working out a priority this week.. especially in the beginning of the week when I won't have birthday excuses! Plus, I just went grocery shopping today, so no excuses. :)

*Birthday front..*
I went to Torrid with one of my best friend's Michelle and we tried on dresses there. I just wanted to get a feel for what I wanted to wear this upcoming weekend.. but I wasn't a big fan of that many. There were some that were cute. Some that fit great, others that didn't look so hot. But my legs are suppppppppper white, I mean it is January after all. So I may just go with jeans and sexy/cute tops. (Sidenote: I cannot wait until I can wear a hot cocktail dress!) Check them out! Let me know what y ou think!

Dress #1

Dress #2

Dress #3

Back of Dress #3

I wish there were more plus size stores out there.. I mean seriously. When I was a little girl I even wanted to be a fashion designer (Had a llittle notebook full of designs and everything.. before I realized I couldn't even draw the models lol) for plus size only. They wouldn't be all the grandma looking clothes either. It would be the same stuff you found in Macy's, Abercrombie, Forever 21, whatever other store has cute clothes.. but God forbid I would add a few more (or lotta more :) yards of fabric and put a higher size on it. Big whoop. Oh, and my clothes wouldn't cost twice as much as the "normal" ones.. they'd be reasonably prices. So seriously if anyone is creative or into fashion...... DO IT! You would make BANK! :)

*On the wedding front...*
Does anyone else get completely impatient? I mean my wedding is in October, have not planned anything yet.. but part of me wants to go away and get married soon.. and call it a day. I mean I know I'm not a patient person as it is... but I want to be with him. I want out happily ever after to start as soon as possible. I hate it when he goes home on Sundays and I can't go with him. I hate that we don't live together..I can't sleep next to him or with him. We can't do the whole sex thing.. which isn't a big deal at all.. but a girl's curious! lol. So that's enough whining, sheesh. Sorry! :) I'm just a lovestruck woman who misses her man <3>

And I turned in my paper work for the mansion.. a possible (only, so far) reception place. I'm waiting to hear back from them. They should call us this week sometime and we will go set up an appointment to talk prices. I pray so hard that we get it. I'm really hoping because my dad's a pastor, they'll lower the prices!!! So we will see! I'll keep you updated on that too. My mom brought me home a David's Bridal magazine from out of town the other day.. So I was browsing and I think I will def get my bridesmaid dresses there, if I can't find cute ones at the Jessica McClintock outlet. But I was looking in "David's women" section (a whole 3 pages..) and I wasn't too impressed with the selection. So we will see how that goes when I really start looking.

*On the School/work front...*
My dr. that I work for drove me crazy this week. I seriously thought about quitting for like a nanosecond, and then I realized how long it took me to find this job! (and how broke I was). I mean I def. have thicker skin this time around, working with her. But she HAS NO FILTER. She's the type of woman who says whatever the heck she wants, regardless of how insulting it is or rude to anyone else.. because she thinks she can. Like for instance, I was weighing a patient in the backroom and she was sitting next to the scale. She was putting little colored tags on some of the instruments she uses for like sutures, suture removals, etc.. So the pt. was like what are you doing? Her resonse, "I'm idiot proofing these stupid instruments so we can all get them right". My mouth dropped because I'm the only one who packages and cleans them and even deals with them before she gets them,s o I took offense to the comment.. Because if they were screwed up it's my fault..(and opposed to her teaching me how to do it the way she wants it, she insults me.. in a round about way.. in front of a pt) so I approached her after lunch, when she had no patients (a courtesy she does not give to myself) and she made the excuse that she wasn't referring it to me adn yadadada. I was lke whatever. lol. My point is she's rude adn selfish and doesn't thikn before she speaks... but I guess my skin will need to get a little thicker!!

School is going pretty good. Better than I though it would. It is a lot though. Like Tue & Thur I work from 9-5 and then have school from 530-10. So that is part of the reason I can't be on here as much as I used to (but thanks for followin me anyway :). I realllly like my anatomy teacher thus far. He's making it enjoyable and he's a GREAT teacher. I am def taking his Physiology class next semester. Maybe even his micro class this summer?!?! We'll see..

*On a random front...* In my next post I will finally.. sorry guys... accept the awards I have been given. I am so sorry it took so long! I appreciate them all :)

So I was reading Kirby's recent posting and decided I'm going to start something like that... Since I wasn't special enough :) to get interviewed, I'm going to start a little game thing... and make up rules as we go :). Each one of you can ask me up to 3 questions... can be about anything.... no subject is off limits... weddinng stuff, diet stuff, personal, not personal, random, religion, politics,... whatever floats your boat. And I will answer them and then return with my own question for you. Then you can tag other people or make up your own rules and change it your way. How does that sound??? Let's Get started :)

Oh, and I got my hair done with low lites ( a fun red color) adn highltes (blonde)

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

New Layout...

2009-01-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

BECAUSE.. It's almost my 21st birthday!! Hollar!!!!!! I'm so excited!! I need a break and an excuse to get cute and go out with everyone :) It's only 8 days away (Jan. 30th) is the big day!!

What did you guys do for your 21st? Or if your not 21 yet, then what are you going to do??

<3

I gotta go! Gotta head to Anatomy until 10pm!!!!!! Dang, it's a long class!

Giveaway!!

2009-01-21T22:06:00.001-08:00

So my gorgeous friend Kirby over @ Good Gals Inc. is having a wonderful ladies giveaway!!!! You should def. check it out! It even has some Valentine's surpises for your husbands!! Check it out here!

I Love..

2009-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

You guys!!! (In a non creepy, non stalker, I already have a man, friendly kinda way :) Thanks for your support and love. This past week has been ubber crazy!!!

But, I didnt go to the dr today to get my labs drawn so we'll check those out soon! I also saw the Dietician today as well. She said I'm doing a good job diet wise but I need to up my exercise (I knew that dang it!!!) and recommended I start WEIGHT WATCHERS!

So my questions to you lovely people are. Are you involved in WW (cause I know a lot of you are!)? Why do you like it? What are some downsides to it? How do you do with counting your points? Is it expensive? Do you think it'd work for me? How does it work??

Feel free to answer one or all :) of them.. Thanks so much ladies! I'll post more in a bit!!

<3

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Back!!

2009-01-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

I'm weighing in again at 256.8. I gained 2 ounces... but I can live with that! They will be gone this week :)

Sorry about my pity party last week. I did have a kind of bummer eating week but I realized that just because I started loosing weight, doesn't mean I'm "fixed". I'm still an emotional eater sometimes.. and last week proved that. Now I need to figure out what makes me do that and find another outlet instead of eating!!! I have been pretty stressed though.. but that is not excuse if I want to be a healthy bride!!!

Thanks for all the support and love... AGAIN!!

<3

Blah!

2009-01-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

I was sick these past two days.. I still don't know what's wrong with me. I was hoping it was my monthly visitor, but it's not. So I ate like crap. I went to a movie one night and had popcorn, ice cream, and skittles :/ That day all I had to eat was a side salad and cup of french onion soup.. but still. Yesterday wasn't quite as bad but still bad.

I need some encouragement!!!! Please :) My BLBE needs to get my butt. lol. I'm a little frustrated how I've lost 11 pounds but one day I can ignore that fact adn still eat like crap. Why does that happen?! Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, I know, but I wanted to be 250 by my birthday :) or at least close to 250!!!!

Late for work.. Will blog later gators.
PS Today is my first day of anatomy. SO I work 9-5 then anatomy 530-940 :/ EEK!

<3

OMGoodness!!!

2009-01-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

I'm so stupid!!!!!!!!!!! I dropped my cell phone in the toilet this morning. I let it dry all day and it still won't turn on :( I'm cell phone-less! UGH! I know for the older people being cell phone-less is like whatever! But I hate driving without a phone on me, I start school on Thursday, and I'm never really home to use the house phone!!! Ugh.

:( RIP My drowned Chocolate Verizon Phone! Lol

If anyone is in the Bay Area with an extra Verizon phone that they don't need or wanna cell super cheap... let me know :)

Ok..

2009-01-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

So first I'd like to say I'm really slacking on here and trying to respond to everyone and the people on BLBE too!! So if your reading this and I haven't responded to you yet.. I am truly sorry! I think about you guys during the day at least :) But my work has no computer so I can't sneak on there. And my schedule has been getting crazy!!! I will do it soon though, promise!

And.. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. For all your loving comments, for all the support, and for everything! You guys keep my going :)

With Love,
Sam :)

P.S. I kicked fats butt @ the gym today. I did (and this may not sound like a lot to ppl but its a LOT for me. I did just as my trainer said!!) 20 min on the elliptical to burn 200 calories. 20 min on the bike to burn 108 calories and five minutes on the stairmaster! I was too tired to do strength training after that (Are you supposed to do them on hte same day?) and so I went to my car.. only to find out I had locked my keys in the car. Thank God Matt stayed with me.. he loves me :) My poor dad had to drive totally outta of his way (by like 20 min) to come give me the spare set.
lol. we'll call it my blonde moment of the day!

2 more down!

2009-01-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

I lost 2 more lbs!!! I have a total weight loss of 11.4 lbs in 2 weeks!! Hopefully this week I can get some more exercising in so I can hopefully see more results! Hollar!!! I think I can make the 250 goal by January 30th!!!!

Sunday Recap:
1. What worked this week?
2. What didn't work this week?
3. What gave you some extra motivation to kick fats butt?
4. What are your goals for next week?
5. Recipes?
6. Favorite exercises?

I am so proud of all of the accomplishment that I am seeing on the blogs. Great job guys!

And!

2009-01-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today I logged all my food into sparkpeople.com (Thanks ladies!!) and it said:

CALORIES

CARBS

FAT

PROTEIN

1,189

140

I need to eat just a tad bit more calories!!!

P.S. Biggest Loser Blog Edition officially starts tomorrow! I'm excited!!! Go Team Lynn. Let's kick some butt!!! Sorry Team Angie.. get ready for some serious competition :)

P.P.S I had measured my arms and legs and every part of my body!!! I was using it as a bookmark as I read the J.M's 30 Day Shred!! Unfortunately, once I got past the first chapter it said that book was for people who wanted to loose the last 20 or so pounds. So I knew that wasn't the right book for me! So I returned it and left my measurements in it!! Stupid me! lol. I'll have to measure again tomorrow, dang it! But, I did order her other book (which is supposed to be for people who want to loose more than 20 lbs) from Barnes & Nobles, so it should be here this week! Hollar! I'm looking forward to it.

AND: My mom bought me Bob Harper's book too. I haven't touched it yet because she gave it to me at dinner! But I'm looking forward to reading it! I love him too.

AND #2: I start back at school this Thursday.. and I'm really nervous. I went to Best Buy today to try and get a price range of laptops, because even though I'm broke. I think a laptop will help tremendously! Especially because I am taking 2 online classes! I don't want to be downstairs by myself when I can just bring the laptop upstairs and chill with my family! Ya know? Any ideas on cheap but good laptops?

Last one, I promise, My birthday is in 20 days! :) It's my 21st birthday too!! But, I don't really drink and most of my friends are still 20. So I'm trying to figure out what in the world to do!! Any ideas? I'll probably go to dinner with family and everyone but then go where? Dancing? 18 and up? or 21 and up? Or I was thinking doing 18 and up after dinner so everyone can go. Then Saturday night (Did I mention my bday is on a Friday! Hollar!) go to the bars or to a 21 up club?!?! I'll probably live a little and have a martini with dinner. I have no intentions of getting drunk though because I am doing great with my intimate walk with God and I don't want to mess it up!!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Recap: My Session with the Trainer!

2009-01-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

*A little long, sorry*

So on Friday, I had a free session with a personal trainer at Bally's gym. The night before I was totally nervous! I was telling Matt and you guys that I hope she doesn't kill me. I was thinking of Jillian Michael's on the Biggest Loser and was a little frightened! Her name was Sue and she has a totally hot body, which wasn't as intimidating as I thought. She was pretty nice, even though I kind of expected she would be because it was our first session. I really enjoyed the whole thing! She only kicked my butt a little :)

So here's how it went. I met with her in one of the offices and we talked about what I wanted to achieve, medical history, what exercise I was currently doing, and she measure my BMI and Body fat (which was a disgusting 43%. That will change VERY soon though.) I told her all I was doing, my recent weightloss, and my exercises. The first thing she did was map out what I should be doing. I should try and hit 45 minutes of cardio a day (which my draw dropped) and she said it'd be easier if I split it by doing 15 minutes on elliptical, 15 minutes on bike, and 15 minutes on stairmaster (RIGHT..). Which all sounded great but scared the crap out of me. That is def a challenge I want to work my way up to!!! She also said I should be doing some resistence training about 3 times a week and aerobics too. (I'm thinking I should try and make some classes. Any ideas?!)

Then we moved over to the maps and she showed me 5 basic exercises that work each part of the body. Here they were:

The Plank: You stay on your lower arm and keep your body straight (no dipped backs or arched backs). You hold it for about a minute and then you can add to it. You can lift one leg in the air and then the other, etc.

Side Plank: Lay on your side, with one arm on your hip and the other you should be laying on. Keep your body straight, only your elbow and lower arm & ankles/feet should be on the mat. Then do reps of 10, dipping your hips up and down. (Does that make sense?)

Chest Pulls w/ resistence band: You can use any sort of weights, bands, etc for this exercise. I used the resistance band that Sue was holding. You basically hold your arms out, grab the handles of the band, and pull.. you have to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible. Imagine your crushing a almond in your upper shoulders, because you want them to touch. Also, to add more to the exercise, keep your body in a slight squat position.

Chest Presses w/ weights: You can do chest presses on the workout bench but I did them on those big ball things. Sue said this is more effective because you are engaging your core as well. So you lay on the ball with your shoulders being the only thing on it. You keep you hips and belly button towards the ceiling, so you have a flat back. Sucking in your belly button to your spine keeps your abs engaged. You do reps of pushing the weights into the air.

Push ups: I did the normal push ups on your hands and feet. Then I got tired, so I switch to on my knees. Important note! When you do them on your knees.. make sure your not cheating by not going down all the way or keeping your butt in the air. Your upper half of the body should still be going down like your in a normal push up!

Lunges: These are your typical lunges. Just make sure when you go down, your knee doesn't go over your foot. Also, try and go as deep as possible (like a 1/2 inch from the ground) to make it a better work out! You can add weights and things to make it more challenging.

Squats: These are your typical squats too. Imagine your about to sit in a chair. Just let your butt sink, without loosing balance. Again, don't bring your knees past your feet. You can add weights to your hands and push up as your body sinks into the squat.

So needless to say, it was a good time. We ended the session by talking about training prices. She said she'd like to see me buy a 2 month package with 24 sessions so we could work out 2x a week for 2 months. I was like sounds good.. until I saw the price. It would be almost $1100 bucks for 2 months! Right now, that is nowhere near my budget. But I know someday I will totally sign up for it. Until then, I can continue to do these exercises and add to them. I like that I can do them all at home!! It'll make my already hectic schedule a lot easier.

I ended the gym visit by doing 5 minutes on the stairmaster, 10 minutes going super fast on the bike!! I was ready for the rest of my day! Now only if I could do that all every day!! Goodness!!

I've decided I really need to step up my working out if I want to see more results. I want to get a cheap treadmill or elliptical for my garage! Any ideas?

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day # 13

2009-01-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Log:
Breakfast: 2 egg whites and 1 egg with grilled onions, 2 turkey slices, grilled green bell pepper, 1 tbsp on fat free cheese, and 1 cup of 1% milk.
Lunch: I made a veggie tuna (2cans of tuna in water, 2 tbsp of mayo, mustard, sliced onion, bell peppers, chopped tomato, chopped 2 eggs, 2 pickles, 3 carrots, 1/4 of cucumber). I put two scoops of it on my whole wheat toast and ate half of the sandwich. When I put it into the calorie thing it came out to a bunch of calories.. but I only had 2 scoops.. and only ended up eating half my sandwich!! lol
Snacks:
Dinner: Went to Chili's with the family and friends. I got the guiltless grilled chicken platter wiht black beans and steamed brocolli. I only ate about 75% of it and was full :) 2/5 ice teas with sweet n low!
Water: 1 liter
Exercise: walked around town for a little bit.. not very much exercise today, like i planned!! Dang it!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day # 12

2009-01-10T20:37:00.001-08:00

Log:
1 egg white & 1 egg mixed with grilled onions, lil slice of tomato, and a tbsp of cheese. 1 orange (9) 1cup of 1% milk (@12)
Lunch: 1 cup of minestrone soup, 1/2 turkey sandwich (bread, tomato slice, lettuce, turkey from Pumpkins rester aunt)
Snack: 2 cheese sticks
Dinner: minestrone soup bowl, side salad with vinaigrette dressing and a little balsamic vinegar (from Johnny Carino's), bites of Matt's ceasar salad
Water: 2 glasses of ice tea w/ sweet n low, 2 glasses of water
Exercise: Training session for an hour (included: 7 min of warm up on elliptical, planks, lunges, squats, chest pulls with resistance band, and chest presses with 10 lb weights on the ball, more in a later post!), 10 minutes of fast running on the bike, 5 minutes on the stairmaster

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day#11

2009-01-10T20:34:00.001-08:00

Log:
Breakfast: banana, 1 scoop of slim fast with 9 oz of 1% milk
Lunch: (@ 1:15) 1/2 turkey sandwich with sprouts, turkey, mustard, lettuce, onions, grilled bell peppers, pickle, and tomato (from Diablo Foods! Yum)
Snack: 5 carrots (@11:50), rest of sandwich (@4:20)
Dinner: 2 cups of veggie soup, 1 small zucchini steamed, 2?3 cup of brown rice.. all mixed together. I was too full to finish it though. 1 cup of 1% milk.
Exercise:
Water: 1/4 of coffee with creamer and sweet and low. 2 liters of water

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day#10

2009-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

Log:
Breakfast: 1 banana, Raspberry Light N Fit Yogurt
Lunch: 2 turkey slices with lettuce, tomato, and mustard on whole wheat bread. 1/2 cup of rice, salmon, chicken (from last night), and 1 cup of 1% milk.
Snack: 1 apple with tbsp peanut butter (@5:20)
Dinner: For some reason I didn't log it?!?
Water: 2 liters

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Thanks Lynn!

2009-01-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

So I was reading over at BLBE and Lynn reminded me to stay focused, even on Saturdays! For me, this Saturday I slept in and relaxed all morning. Now I'm ready to get out and do something! I usually maintain my diet and healthy eating on the weekends but I rarely get exercise! So I need to remember to stay focused on my goals.. even on the weekends.. and I'm not in for a M-F only kinda diet!!! So I've decided to go take a walk :)

"For most of us working a normal Monday to Friday 9-5 job, Saturday is our day to recoup. After a long work week wanting to veg on the couch is totally normal. Between deadlines and crazy schedules plus trying to fit in exercise, prepare healthy foods, maintain a household and have time for family and friends, no wonder all we want to do is nothing!! Weekends can be tough simply because we're out of the normal routine but they should not be a free pass to eat whatever you want and not exercise because you're been "good" all week.

Enjoy a few chapters from your book, get a little shopping done, spend time with the kids but don't forget to take time for your health. Learn to incorporate simple things like getting out a for stroll in this crisp Winter air or try out a new "good for you" recipe. Just stay accountable and make yourself proud. You ARE WORTH IT!

Just wanted to be the pain in the butt that reminds you to do your absolute best today!

PS. Did we mention how excited we are to have our Online Community officially open?! Get over there to mingle with your team members (and lovely competitors!) "

Lynn
http://www.lifehealthfitness.ca

YeeK!

2009-01-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

I have my second personal training tomorrow. The first was just like an introductory thing that came with the gym membership.. the guy was okay, but he showed me around and then showed me a few moves. But I forgot those shortly after :) This lady though, I've seen her many times and she's like a Bally version of Jillian Michaels. Which I;m excited about and very nervous about. I know she's going to kick my butt.. but i hope she doesn't a) make me feel like crap in the process, b) give me tips that I can use and moves I will remember, c) personalize it to my needs, not just a generic thing. Because I can't do half the things the other ppl in the gym do! and d) doesn't kill me :)

Wish me Luck! I'll post more tomorrow!!!

Oh, and today I bought.. the Biggest Loser Cookbook and Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I'm excited to use both. Did you know Bob from BL has a book out too? I was so tempted to get his too.. but I'm broke, So I asked for it for my birthday!!! He said we should be eating 1200-1500 calories to loose the weight and prevent our bodies from going into starvation mode. Which I knew, but made me realize that I'm not sure if I'm eating that many calories daily. I really need to double check that because I want this weight off!!!! :) Someone suggested using dailyplate.com. Any other recommendations to figure out my caloric intake??

Thanks guys <3

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

The Weather Outside..

2009-01-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

Is Frightful!!! My goodness, it's cold. I wake up in the mornings and I just want to roll back into bed! This morning I wanted to do a workout video.. but I slept horribly last night. I had a wierd dream about Tanya & Erik that made my wake up crying :(. Sorry it's been awhile since I blogged.. sort of. I just unloaded a bunch of food logs on you guys! I added pics to most, so hopefully you don't mind!

So I told you a joined Biggest Loser Blog edition! Well so far.. Good Gals & Gail our on Lynn's team with me :) I'm excited (and nervous) to start it!! Hopefully it will give me more momentum to work out and loose more weight! Oh, speaking of working out.. I did go to the gym today (despite me sitting in the car trying to talk myself out of it.. lame-o). But I need to (HAVE TO) figure out ways to just make myself work out. That is what is really going to help me take off all of this weight! I am going to go to Target, hopefully tomorrow, and buy a mini day planner for 2009.. I am going to plan my workouts for each day.. that way I will hopefully feel like I have to work out. That better do the trick! Any suggestions? I'm not really a morning person, but I'm trying to get up earlier to do a video or lunges or something and see how I like it!

I love this blogging thing. I hope you guys enjoy reading this blog. I was thinking.. as long as this doesn't sound too stalkerish or anything.. but let's exchange emails. or instant messaging thingies? or whichever.. just an idea. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and life will be getting busier! I am starting school back up next Thursday. I have a full course load.. so that's going to be a challenge in itself. I also work as Medical Assistant M-Th. On the weekends, I just officially took up a 2nd job by being a receptionist to Massage Envy. I know it sounds crazy but I actually had that job before the MA position, but they took forever building the place.. So I told my manager that I am going to give a 1 month trial, and if I can't handle it then I will quit. She agreed and thought it was a good idea. So pray for me.. hopefully I'll enjoy it! Did I mention I'm also a youth leader who runs the youth group every Wed, active in my church, have a fiance, and family, ,etc. etc. lol. So I will try my best to be an active blogger.. like every other day or something. :) Bear with me:)

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #9

2009-01-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

So at work, I've noticed I snack a tad bit.. on fruits and veggies. But I'm a Medical Assistant and I am on my feet ALL day. Literally. So sometimes I just need a booster! Also, do you think I'm eating more? I don't think so?! But just curious..

Logs:
Breakfast: 1 boiled egg with little salt,1 apple, 1 whole grain toast with peanut butter (@ 7:50)
Lunch: (@ 12:30)grilled chicken with grilled onions & bellpeppers wrapped by romaine lettuce. I made my own version of lettuce wraps :) Yum! With a small salad (romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, italian dressing)
Snacks:(@4) 1 orange, (@7:30) 3 carrots
Dinner: 1/2 plate of salad (tomato, romaine, cucumber, little cheese, boiled egg, and italian dressing).. then bites of the grilled chicken (rest of it), grilled salmon (rest of it) and brown rice. Look @ pics below.
Water: 111 Liters
Exercise: 45 minutes @ gym doing strength machines.

Before

After

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #8

2009-01-06T21:40:00.001-08:00

Logs:
Breakfast: 1 whole grain toast with 1 chopped banana and 1 tbsp of peanut butter on it. 1 1/3 cup of 1% milk(7:30, some light n fit blueberry yogurt (8:45) Lunch: (@ 12:30) 2 slices of lean turkey, on whole grain bread, with mustard. cucumber and tomato salad mixed with i tbsp of italian dressing.
Snacks:(@3:50) 5 carrots
Dinner: Went to Schooner's. Had 4 bites of fried artichoke hearts or calamari (my best friend ordered it! See below), side salad with ranch (i gave in a little), 1 cup sauted spinach, and 1/4 of grilled salmon
Water: 1 16.9 fl oz, 1 liter, 2 med glasses of ice tea with sweet and low Exercise: :(
My best friend Michelle!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #7

2009-01-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

Logs:
Breakfast: banana (I tried cottage cheese w/strawberries & hated it) (@9:45)
Lunch: (Round Table & I stayed good) (@1:30) plate full of salad, with small cup of italian dressing. I don't even think I used all of the dressing though. I put tons of veggies on that salad. Then had a sliver.. literally of pizza. (I love pizza)
Snacks:none
Dinner: 1 small chicken breast grilled with little olive oil then fat free chicken brother, grilled onions and bellpepper on it. With salad (romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, italian dressing), and 1 cup of steamed zuchini. 3 small bites of parent's chinese food.
Water: 1 glass, 1 16.9 fl oz.
Exercise: None.

Ps Look @ this gorgeous flower I found! Love it!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #6

2009-01-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Logs:
Breakfast: none
Lunch: (@ 12:30) 7 oz. salmon grilled with 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup of peas, and 1 small red potatoe
Snacks:1 slice cheese, (@3) 1/4 cup of grapes (@7), 2 wonderful bites of mac n cheese (My Fav! I had to make for babysitting kids), 2 small pieces of choc. (I'm proud that's all I ate!!)
Dinner: rest of 1/2 of chipotle burrito, 1 cup 1% milk, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 apple slice with tad of peanut butter (5:30)
Water: 1 liter, 111 7.7 fl oz.
Exercise: (babysit 2 families with kids :) gym for 1hr. Did 5 miles on bike, 1 mile on elliptical (which is ALOT for me. I hate/love that machine!) 90 tricep pulls, etc.

I was proud of the gym time.. and not snacking while babysitting! Despite there being dessert everywhere!!! lol

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Nothing to do with diets..

2009-01-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

P.S... sorry I had to share this! I'm excited! Check out my other blog.. (that I've been neglecting) www.samiam4eva06.blogspot.com
My last post on there was for a possible reception site! I'm excited. It's GORGEOUS!

<3
Just thought I'd share!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Sunday Recap..

2009-01-04T21:52:00.001-08:00

So I won't be able to get to my food logs and things today, but I wanted to try something new and get the week started on the right foot. You can totally participate if you want, I encourage you too! As a team (hope you don't mind but I consider us a team!), I thought it would be good to encourage others and give some feedback on what is working and what's not... So here are some general questions we can all answer about the past week
.
*Sidebar: First, is my 2 personal questions.
a. My birthday is January 30th. I'll be 21. I want to get my hair done and all of that but I want to loose more weight (of course) first. So I'm at 261.6, what should my goal be for Jan. 30th.. which is 25 days away? I was thinking 245 but is that too much? Maybe 250? Ugh! Help!!!! :) thanks.
b. I am seeing a Nutritionist on Wednesday morning and I am trying to make a list of questions to ask her. Can you guys think of any that should be included? And of course I'll share whatever she/he says.*

1. What kept you motivated this week?
2. What exercises (gym or at home)did you do and like best?
3. What videos did you do, that you enjoyed?
4. Any certain foods you'd like to share that you liked?
5. Recipes?
6. Why you like/dislike being apart of this team?
7. Goals for next week?

Have a GREAT week!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

I Joined!

2009-01-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

I joined Biggest Loser.. Blog edition!!!! I just emailed them today. I'm not completely sure on how it all works yet.. but I'd encourage to join!!! Hollar! :)

Also, I LOST 9 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited! I did my weight in today.. and since I'm being rushed out the door by Matt, then I thought I'd share that with you real quick. I'm excited.
Later I'll Post:
* The ten things you don't know about me tag
* My food logs for the last 2 days
* Workouts :)
* and a "Sunday recap"

<3>

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #5

2009-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

I just totally realized.. I haven't weighed in yet and I forgot to measure myself! Dah. Silly me! I will try and do that this weekend. I don't want to loose any weight or inches and not know about it!! I did however, do some improvements on my blog.. I think it's cute so far! Check them out! So does anyone have any big plans for the New Year?? I want to hear about them!

I was feeling lazy today (in my previous blog) and got some great words of encouragement! Thank you so much guys! You guys rock :)

So I did Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and she sort of kicked my butt! I really enjoyed it.. it's only 1/2 hour of actual workout time. She talks you through it the whole way through it and seems as if she'd understand the pain I was going through :) It did def. kick my butt though. It made me realize how not in shape I really am :( So it was great (even with a headache) and sucked at the same time. I need to get my big (literally) behind in shape! DANG IT! :) I would recommend it! Oh, and does anyone have Comcast? I don't, but Matt does. Under the "On-Demand" section, they have exercise tv section adn that's where I actually did Jill's workout (I forgot the dvd at home)! So you could get that, and a bunch of other workouts for free there. I also did 10 minutes of "Cardio Hip Hop Dance" but felt awkard cause it doesn't have music with it! lol. Let me know if you guys try it and what you think! I want to do it again tomorrow!

Log:
Breakfast: 1 peach Light N Fit yogurt (9 am)
Lunch: (@12) 1/2 veggie burrito (rice, whole beans, lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, and tortilla)
Snack: apple (@ 3)
Dinner: Chipotle chicken burrito (tortilla, chicken, sour cream, lettuce, black beans, cheese, and maybe tomatoes) *I haven't eaten it yet..it's on the way, I may eat 1/2 or the whole thing. I think I am under calories anyway*
Water: 3 liters
Exercise: Jill Michael's 30 day shred (30 minutes), Hip hip cardio dance (10 min) :)

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Day #4

2009-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Log:
Breakfast: (@1) rest of angel hair pasta from Johnny Carino's (from day #3).
Lunch: (4:30) 1/2 a Togo's "Farmer's Market" wrap (Spinach tortilla, green lettuce, carrots, onions, 1 slices of turkey lunch meat, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomato,& little bit of ranch.)
Snacks: 1 piece of chocolate
Dinner: (@8:30) broccoli, peas, sliced chicken "Carbonera" sauce (sauce mix, 1 1/2 cuo of 1% milk, 2 tbsp ICBIN butter) & penne noodles.
*I did half a plate of veggies with like 1/4-1/2 of the plate the pasta with chicken and I ate the veggies first, so I could get full faster*
Water: 2 liters
Exercise: None :(
Pedometer: I didn't wear it again.

Happy New Year.. Again :) lol
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Lazy...

2009-01-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

So I'm in a tired and lazy mood today. I helped my sister, Tracy, pack up her house and move!! So that was about all the exercise I've done today. I feel like tired (even though I did stay up late last night and got up early), I still shouldn't be lazy. UGH! I need some motivation here ladies, so I'm going to be reading a bunch of your blogs to find it! I brought the videos over here so I will let you know how I do with them!!
Thank you all for continuing your support and helping me. I'm so glad we're all on the same team!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Day #3 (AKA New Years Eve!)

2009-01-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

So New Years Eve came and went.. and I think I did okay. Especially considering this is the first week of all this change! So let me know how you think I did. I worked until 7:20, so my meals ran a little late, but oh well.

Log:
Breakfast: 2 small peppers sauted with a little bit of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" fat free,1 egg white, 2 eggs, 1 slice of turkey lunchmeat, 1 tomato, a pinch (literally) of fat free cheese.. all scrambled together with 1 cup of 1% milk. (@ 11:20)
-Multivitamin and Fiber choice
Lunch: other 1/2 of turkey wrap (@4:30)
Snack: (@ 2) orange, 10 carrots (@6)
Here's where I don't do as hot..
Dinner: 1 bowl of "Johnny Carino's" Minestrone soup, "Johnny Carino's" Angel hair pasta, artichokes, olives, tomato, little cheese, all in olive oil sauce thing.
Water: 1 16.9 oz bottle, 2 liter bottle
Snacks: (NYE parties..) few chips (like 8-10 max) with onion dip, few bread pieces with spinach dip on them (my fav :), 1/2 glass of Coca Cola

So I don't think it was completely horrible.. but I could've done better. How did you ladies do? I hope you were all safe and had fun!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Beautiful Blogger Award!

2008-12-31T00:12:00.000-08:00

So since I received the Lemonade Award from Good Girls Inc. I decided to start another award trend. This one is the certificate of being 100% beautiful.

It reads: You Are Truly Beautiful. Beautiful means so much more than just a pretty face! It also means that you are unique, and oh so full of grace! The things in you that go so much deeper than the softness of your skin. Are the things that make you beautiful, both outside and within!

Rules:
Find the beautiful ladies that you follow.
Give them this award.
Hopefully it'll truly mean something to each and everyone of you.
Don't be shy to give it to the same person!
Don't forget to tell them!

So I'm giving it to the following ladies:
Good Gal, Inc
Nancy
Heather Marie
Ashley
Amie
Loosing Waist
Kimberly
hisMrs
Linda
Rebecca
Could've Been Blonde
State of Change
So you guys are all my "Followers" and support group. So Thank You!!!!!!!!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

10 Reasons To Loose 10+ Pounds..Tag!

2008-12-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

Kimberly at Woman Inside Me has tagged me with this! Thank you so much Kimberly, this is fun!!!!

Rules:

List the 10 reasons why you are losing weight

Tag 5 other

Be sure to post these rules on your post

Be sure to link the blog that tagged you

See, simple, right?

My reasons for losing 10 pounds + a whole lot more are:

I want to live a long healthy life. I am a 20 year old trapped in a 50 year olds (no offense to you 50 y.o.!) body. There's no reason I should be this heavy.
. I want to have children.. someday! What if I experience infertility (it already runs in the family) because I'm obese. Or better yet, when I do have kids what kind of example would I be if I stayed the way I was?
I want to look and FEEL drop dead gorgeous on my wedding day. It is a day I will ultimately remember for the rest of my life.. but How will I remember it? Will I remember how much fun I had? Or how fat I felt?
Health Problems associated with obesity.. My family already has a buttload of health problems that will probably be genetically passed to me. But being overweight and having a whole new set of health problems sounds ridiculous!
I want to be able to walk into ANY store and shop. I don't want to have to go into a special department or special store to buy clothes. The only excuse for that is Maternity clothes.. and I better be pregnant to buy those! :)
I want to prove to myself that I can loose the weight. I can take my body back.. it's my body! So what's stopping me right?
I love sports. I want to join a team again! I want to go dancing and not feel like the club scene in Shallow Hal or round the bases in softball and not feel my belly boucing!
I want ALL of my confidence back. I am already a confident girl but somehow I lost that with some of this weight getting put back on. I want it all back.
I want to be a good role model and set a good example. I'm a youth group leader and I think I set a good example on my walk with God. But not in my lifestyle.
I don't want to be a fat nurse. I think fat doctors (no offense) or a fat nutritionist is silly. It's a practice what you preach kind of method. How in the world can I suggest to a patient a healthier lifestyle when I can't even do it?
(I know it only said 10.. but..) I WANT MY LIFE BACK. end of story.

My Tag Team...
Rebecca
hisMrs
Good Gals Inc.
Heather Marie
Nancy

Ashley
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Happy New Year!!

2008-12-30T23:05:00.001-08:00

I would like to wish all of you ladies a (early) HAPPY NEW YEAR! This year is going to bring about great change for all of us! I'm very excited to embark on this weightloss and getting healthy journey with all of you. I'm excited to get to know each and everyone of you. I'm also excited to add some members to the support train!!! I know we will continue to lift each other up and do a great job. We will be some hot ladies next year!!!

Tips for N.Y.E... try to limit the alcohol intake. Especially the mixed drinks. If your going to a party, eat a healthy meal before hand so you won't be as tempted to snack. Bring a healthy snack like a veggie tray or get creative!!

That is def for us!!

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Day #2

2008-12-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

I woke up sooo late today. I didn't roll out of bed until about 11:30 (I think?!)!! So tonight I want to be in bed before midnight! What a concept!!! lol Today was a great day thought, the only not so great thing I would say is that I didn't end up going to the gym or exercising like I had planned. But, I did go to Wal-Mart! For Christmas, I received a gift card for there and decided to buy some "Lifestyle Change" items. I got: 3 workout videos for $9/each (Jillian Michael's 30 day shred, Biggest Loser Cardio, and Dancing with the Stars), I got a 25 inch ball, a cute notebook for my food journal, small plates, a scarf/glove set, and a few misc items. I'm super excited to try the videos!! I'll let you know how they go. Has anyone tried any of those videos? I also got dumbells (1 lb., 2lb, & 5 lb) from Matt. I am going to use the scarf/ glove set as my first prize when I accomplish my first goal. What should my first goal be? :) To loose like 5 lbs? 10? I also set a Dietitian appointment for next Wednesday, which I'm excited about too!!

So I think I'm doing pretty good on the food thing so far. Do you guys think I'm lacking anything?

Log:
Breakfast: 1 whole grain toast *12:15*
1 tbsp. of creamy peanut butter
1 sliced banana (If you haven't had it.. try it. It's yummy!)
Lunch: I sort of didn't have a complete lunch since I woke up so late.. I had the snacks instead.
Dinner: Sweet tomato Restaurant*6* (SEE BELOW!)
Snacks: 1 strawberry light & fit yogurt
15 baby carrots
1 apple
Water: 4, 16.9 oz, water bottles
Steps: My pedometer was stupid again today.. SO I checked very often. I know I missed some and took it off after work, which is when I do my major walking. But I calculated 1275 steps.. but I know it was way more.
Exercise: None. Besides lugging the heavy groceries up and down the hill to my car for 20 minutes!

Sweet Tomato Restaurant!!!!
(Matt eating!)
This was my first time ever being there and I LOVED it! Have you ever tried it? It's one of those salad bar buffet places, but it's healthy! It's $10 a plate. I made a huge salad with spinach, beats, beans, egg, pinch of cheese, peas, corn, EVERYTHING! lol. I put the ranch dressing on the side, it was a little cup. Then you get to go through and there's pasta, bread, soup, even frozen yogurt (which I didn't eat). So Matt & I went and he even enjoyed it.. he's not that great of an eater.

I tried some of Jillian's tips on not to deprive myself. Like on the ranch for instance.. I love ranch. I eat it on pizza, fries, salad, anything! But that's also the fattiest dressing and defeats the purpose of a salad. So what I did was get one of the little white cups with fat free ranch and the other with regular ranch, both on the side. Then when I sat down to eat I dipped a piece of broccoli in each to see which I would want. I ended up pouring the fat free one on the salad and not the normal one! But I didn't automatically eat the fatty one and I didn't automatically say no I "can't" have it. But the fat free one was yummy and I knew it was a better choice. So that was accomplishment one!
This was the cup size!
Accomplishment two was this.. There is a soup, pasta, bread, etc section. And I am a totally carb girl. I love pasta (Hello, I'm Italian!), love soups, love breads. So I got a mini plate and put a small spoonful of the mac and cheese, rice pilaf, rigatoni on one plate. Then I got a small bowl of fat free chicken noodle and a small bowl of all the fat included Clam chowder. I brought this all to the table (and Matt was like what the heck? lol). I ate most of my salad first and then I wanted to try some of the mac and cheese. So literally what I did was take a bite of each of the "not so good" stuff and was done. Once again, I didn't deprive myself and say no I "can't" have it. I just took a bite and satisfied the craving.. then went back to finishing my salad.
Before:
After: (Told you I barely ate any of that!)

That is def. an accomplish meant for me because A) I love those foods so much, B) I'm learning not to be an all or nothing dieter, C) No deprivation here!, D) those foods are the foods I used to binge on. So I'm def excited! Do you ladies do this? I think it is a wonderful way to "have you cake, and eat it too".. no pun intended.

I'm very proud of myself. It's only day 2 and these are some great changes. I owe most of it to you ladies! You guys are great support!! Keep it up!

**PS.. Matt is my fiance, in case I didn't mention that before! Sorry.**
Him and I @ the Emerald Bowl:

Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Day #1

2008-12-29T23:29:00.001-08:00

I think it's appropriate to start out day #1 blog with a blast from the past photo of me. This was a few years ago when I went to Hawaii with my brother's baseball team. Boy, I cannot wait to look like that again! :)

So today was sort of a crazy day! Maybe it was returning back to work after the Holiday? Or maybe it was the fact I stayed up waay too late last night (and again tonight) trying to fix this blog thing. It also didn't help that the day went by crazy fast! I did manage to get some things done and stay semi on track. I watched Princess Diaries with my nieces (I love spending time with family! Plus we had a sleepover last night!) I went grocery shopping and got a bunch of food for $100 bucks! which hopefully I can make food for my parents off of :). I got a bunch of fresh produce and things that I can create new dishes with. I don't want to get burned out on the normal stuff.. (so send me some yummy, low-cal recipes if you want!samiam4eva06@gmail.com)

But, I kinda had a day filled with blonde moments. Like I made a fresh fruit smoothie to drink on the way to work, packed my gym bag, grabbed my giftcard, and placed them all next to the front door.. but forgot them on my way out to work! Dah Sam! I also forgot a few little things throughout the day at work!

Inspiration for the day: Michelle Aguilar was on NBC's Biggest Loser and won. She is currently on the cover of US Weekly. I think she was absolutely gorgeous before the show and is so after! She is my inspiration of the day because she is what I am now (at her beginning weight) and weight skinnier than I would hope to be after! We can do this ladies! Even if we don't have Jillian Michael's yelling in our face :)

Log:
Breakfast: 2 eggs ( 1 normal, 1 egg white) *10am*
Lunch: 1/2 a turkey wrap (wheat tortilla, turkey, tomatoe, lettuce, and dry pesto sauce) and a sliced tomato *2 pm*
Dinner: 1 cup of steamed rice, miso soup, salad (with creamy dressing that came with it, but I only used a little), CA hand roll *about 630 pm*
Snacks: 1 apple (1 slice with peanut butter, Yum!) 1 banana
Water: 4-16.9 fl. oz. bottles. (67.6 oz= a little over 2 liters)
Exercise: stretched for 15 minutes
Steps: I bought a pedometer over the weekend. I checked it in the afternoon and it was almost 1,000 steps. When I check it after work, it had 0 steps! Somehow it had deleted! So I will include this as part of my log to remember.. I need to fix it tomorrow! Dang it!

*I still need to include my measurements, and figure out how to do the inspiration board thingy of pics of myself. I did a bunch of research last night.. just reading different posts and articles about weight loss. Hopefully I can post my findings soon. I will also take a most recent (starting point) picture to begin this journey!*

**Don't forget ladies, You are beautiful! Big, skinny, short, fat, blonde, brown, purple, etc. You were individually made, individually perfect for His beautiful eyes. Don't doubt that just because you have some extra meat on them bones, that you are any less pretty than the girl who should put some meat on her bones! Plus, I watched a top ten list for 2009.. and we're in luck cause "a woman's curves" were on there! (I'm pretty sure they didn't say the whole bakery like I have.. but close enough ;)**

Isaiah 40:31: "Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Oh.. and

2008-12-29T00:44:00.001-08:00

So this maybe a favor from me to you.. but if it's possible (whoever reads this), to just send me (email: samiam4eva06@gmail.com or comment here) a short list. What is your daily routine kind of like? What snacks are most filling? What are your work lunches like? What exercises do you love and use? What workout videos do you like? Any books I should read? etc..

I'm just trying to: A) educate myself on what works on real women like us, not the supermodels. B) I'll be honest.. I'm pretty broke to add a personal trainer to my budget. I do go to Bally Gym though.. thanks to the fiance! C) I have a really weak ankle, so I'm looking for different exercises to do besides running.. because I can't run for too long. D) I'm in this for the long haul.. so the eating ideas are for me to spruce up the meals :)

THANK YOU GUYS!
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

I'm Back!!

2008-12-29T00:30:00.000-08:00

So with the Holidays and me being sick, I really do apologize for not blogging. BUT I was VERY excited to see people actually comment on the two posts that I did have.. it's very encouraging already! I can't believe people actually read this.. hopefully you'll all still stay tuned!

Also, as you can tell, I'm doing a little update on the design and layout of the blog. Tomorrow I will post some more (probably A LOT) and will include my stats, quiz thing, etc that I prepared while I was sick. I also wanted to do like a "inspiration" album. In it, I wanted to include pictures of me at my thinnest weight.. and pictures of me now. Does anyone know of like a photo upload place (free of course!) that will let me upload a bunch of pics on there... then put them in an album.. and put a link to only that album on my blog. Does that make sense? I was trying to find one and how to do it.. so I don't have a bunch of pics of me on the page!

Since I was sick.. I didn't really start on my lifestyle change. I was too busy being sick and even when I wasn't, I ate and exercised like normal. (Today was above normal.. because like I said before, I'm an emotional eater. Today was the 6 month anniversary of one of my best friend's and her husband's fatal plane crash.. so I was a little off today) *Note: I need to find new vices when I get emotional. Any ideas?* So I am trying this all over tomorrow. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life!!! :) I even set up a dr. appointment with a nutritionist for next Monday!!

Tomorrow I will post more.. because it's already past midnight and I have to work tomorrow :)
Thank you all for tuning in!

Oh, and if you do read this.. is it possible to put me on your follow list? So I can comment you all back :) thanks.
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Ugh..

2008-12-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

So last night, I was all excited about starting this blog and journey with all of you ladies!!! But unfortunately that will not be happening like planned! I'm sick!! I have some sort of flu virus.. I can't keep anything down! Even Chicken Noodle Soup!! So I am reallly really bummed! But as soon as I feel better... (hopefully tomorrow).. I will jump on the band wagon!!

:)
If you get bored.. check out my other blog: www.samiam4eva06.blogspot.com
Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

First Post!

2008-12-21T23:53:00.000-08:00

Hello there! My name is Samantha and this will be my blog about my fitness, eating, nutrition, etc. I am engaged as of 12.6.08 and have about 6 months until my big day. This blog is going to be like the little notebook I carry around with my food, exercise, etc data.

Background about me: When I was younger, I was a great size but just a little taller than all the boys. Then once the boys caught up to me in middle school, I was a good height/weight. But of course, back then, I didn't think I was. My best friends were all size twos and under. So from as far back as I can remember I've been on and off diets, yo-yo dieting, and trying to get skinny. Well after I had my gallbladder removed (age 12) and grandpa dying (age 18) I had packed on the pounds. I also, no longer had cheerleading and softball to keep me active. At that point I was the heaviest I'd been... and now recently I've topped that! After one of my close friends and her husband died in a plane crash.. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was no excuse, but needless to say, I'm an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy, sad, angry, etc. This cannot be the case any longer! My mood has changed, my activity level has changed, self confidence, and even the way I move sometimes...
THIS ALL STOPS TODAY!

I have six months to get back to a reasonable and HEALTHY size before my big day. I will be darned if I look like a marshmallow in my dress.. not to mention feel like one! It's not all about size or looks either. I want to feel healthy again. I want to be healthy again. I mean I wouldn't mind going to a "normal" store and buying a size large shirt and just knowing it was going to fit.. that would be a bonus. But I want the health benefits of being physically active.
.. Basically, I want MY life back... and this is how I will start!!

So (if anyones reading this..) welcome to this fun (haha) journey with me. I hope you and I can team up and start this journey together.. We need support! Feel free to "follow me" and post recipes, exercises, or anything on here. I love reading it!

Will post more tomorrow!

On My Way to Being a Healthy Bride!

Anyone still there?

RIP GARRETT!

new blog!!

Introducing..

Almost the New Year!

Whoop Whoop!

MidWeek Update

Post Thanksgiving!

Happy Thursday!!!

Happy Harvest-Ween!

I'm Here!!

Teaser

TEASING YOU...

I'm fired!!

PIc Post Take 2!

Random!

Also...

Update Time!

Oh, P.S.

Lions, Tigers, HAIR, oh my!!

Recap.

Summer!

2 lbs down!

Random-ness!

Tweet-Tweet!

I'm Another Statistic...

Reception!

Visiting the Kids!

I love how...

I'm in a blog...

Introducing...

Not so great..

*Teaser*

Double Digits!

Giveaway!!

Word!

More.. Teasers!

I should really learn to follow directions..

E-Pics Up!!

Where's the Love?!

I'm BAAACK

Damask!

E-Pics!

E-Shoots!

Crazy!

Blog Awards!!

This Sucks..

Giveaway!

Invites!

August!!!!

Giveaway!

Pics!

Progress.. FINALLY..

Closer to the day!!

Pics..

Update!

Vote For Memorial Stadium :)

255.2!

3 Day Weekends!!

Craziness!!

*My 21st Birthday pics!!*

I Promise..

Phew!

New Layout...

Giveaway!!

I Love..

Back!!

Blah!

OMGoodness!!!

Ok..

2 more down!

And!

Recap: My Session with the Trainer!

Day # 13

Day # 12

Day#11

Day#10

Thanks Lynn!

YeeK!

Teaser

My 21st Birthday pics!!

Happy New Year!!