Happy New Year!

I'm sure most of you agree that the New Year brings about the anticipation of new goals, new hope, and new beginnings.

A clean slate, if you will.

This is why everyone makes resolutions, which usually last maybe a week...

This year, instead of making New Year Resolutions, I'm making Life Resolutions.

Sure, I can say I want to blog more, lose weight, and drink 8 Nalgene's full of water a day {seems excessive, but you know what I mean}.

But when I think about what's really important in life, I'm more motivated to be happy, work hard, and...yes, lose weight, that's still important. ;)

Instead of putting a year long time frame on my goals, I just want to strive to be a better person.

I want to learn something new everyday.

I want to challenge and push myself in ways that might be exciting or scary.

It's not always the biggest successes in life that define us; sometimes it's the little, almost unnoticeable moments, that can change us.

I'll be honest, 2013 wasn't my favorite year.

There were some awesome times...

^^Visiting friends in Nashville^^

^^Being in my high school bestie's wedding in Oklahoma after not seeing each other for 6 years^^

^^Visiting California for my cousins wedding^^

To be honest though, I had some of the crappiest times in 2013, as well.

I had some heart ache.

I had to cut people out of my life.

I made the decision to move back home and leave all of my friends on the opposite side of the country.

This past year had so many twists and turns I felt like I was getting whiplash.

I think a lot of you can relate to that.

No one is void of disappointment or hurt.

That's what I love about the New Year, the new beginning.

Knowing that no matter what happens in the next year, you have the power to create wonderful moments and face the hard times head on with hope.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2014!!

XOXO

Goodbye Christmas

Every year I get more and more excited as December gets closer.
Christmas is literally the most wonderful time of the year.
This year was especially fun because I was able to be home for Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas.
I got to help decorate the tree and take my nieces present shopping.
Being home has been really great.
I love giving {and getting} presents and this year was no exception.
I got tickets to see West Side Story on stage with my mom, the Indiana Jones box set {Yippee! I've wanted it for years} from my brother, and this hat from my oldest brother:

Thank God for Instagram filters making me look less like a pasty white ghost.

Can I get an amen?

P.S. I'm also wearing my new Lime Crime lipstick in shade Airborne Unicorn.

It's really purple so I tone it down a bit with pink lipgloss.

I also bought shade Coquette, which is really pretty.

It is supposed to be a nude color, but looks a bit more peachy on me so I'll most likely use it as a base under lipgloss or over more bold shades that need to be toned down a bit.

The formula is so smooth, matte, and perfectly pigmented.

Favorite lipstick I've found so far.

AND the packaging is UH-mazing.

I'm. In. Love.

They have some pretty crazy shades {i.e. mint, bright blue, and black}, but a lot of their colors are super wearable, as well.

Check them out!*

I've been told I have a really good 'present opening face' because I act like every present is the best present.

That's literally because I get excited about everything. haha

Everyone loves getting gifts, but I LOVE to see peoples faces when I give gifts.

It just makes me smile.

I hope you had a great Christmas.

Now it's time to hit the gym and work off all that delicious food...that was totally worth it!

XOXO

*I promise this post wasn't sponsored by Lime Crime, I'm just loving them right now! :)

Calories Don't Count on Thanksgiving!!

Often times I find myself grumbling and complaining about life.
"Why can't I just lose 20 pounds in 5 days?!"
"I don't have enough money!"
"Why did I leave my friends on the East coast, and move back to Alaska to live with my parents at 25 years of age?!" {Reference question above}.

In all seriousness, I am happy I moved back home.

I know you're reading this mom...

;)

Then I remember how good I have it and to be thankful instead of grumpy!

I can go to the gym and work out really hard to earn a healthy lifestyle.

One day I will hopefully make enough money to live on and still be able to shop at Nordstrom!

I moved home to be with my family {parents, brothers, nieces [including a new baby niece!], Poppy} and to figure out what's next in my life.

I've been stuck in that quarter life crisis phase for a little while now and it's no fun.

This wonderful meme sort of explains how I've been feeling ever since I graduated college in 2010...

Haha It's so true, it's sad.

I have plans for the future and I will share them as they unfold in the upcoming months.

I find comfort in knowing God has His hand on my life and will guide my steps.

I wish my steps would lead me to some friends up here soon! haha

I have been going to a new church and am hoping to meet some people when I get involved in a group.

It's weird moving back to the place you grew up.

It's so familiar, yet everything is different.

That was deep...

Anyways, just a reminder to be thankful for what you have.

And a little tangent about being kind of lost, but what would this blog be without a few tangents now and then?

The answer is 'organized and thought out' but I prefer to be spontaneous and let the post flow how it wants to!

Since it's 2am I should probably get some rest.

I'll need it for all the eating I will be doing tomorrow!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

XOXO

Remember When...And a Very Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hola amigos!

I hope your Sunday is treating you well.

I plan on stuffing my face with Mexican and Margs later tonight.

So, I would say my Sunday will be grand.

Speaking of stuffing my face...

You may remember last year how I was always talking about my weight loss and workouts and healthy eating habits.

Well, lately this has not been so.

It's almost embarrassing that I lost 30 pounds in 9 months and then gained back almost every.single.pound.

Who does that?!

This girl, apparently.

In an attempt to get back my motivation, I am going to blog more about my goals, struggles, and {hopefully} weight loss, again!

Don't worry, I won't post every picture of every meal I eat.

I'm not turning my blog into a weight loss blog; however, this is a blog about my life.

And losing weight is a huge goal of mine.

I hope this can serve as a motivator for others who read my blog and also be a place where people can share with me their stories and struggles.

I plan on sharing my story soon.

It's very hard to open up about it on the internet where anyone can see it...

But maybe it will serve as some great motivation to stick to my goals!

I hope you're all excited to hear my story and share your stories and get our booties in shape for LIFE!

Love you all!

XOXO

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!

I sure did have fun at home.

I'm back in Virginia, working away.

It was very cold, but I had so much fun with my family.

Zoey, my niece

Leah, my other neice

How adorable are they?!

I died and went to Heaven spending so much time with them.

They are little angels.

How was your Christmas?

I want to see your fun pictures from Christmas too!

Here's to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

XOXO

Halloween Part III and Other Happenings

Happy Monday, friends!

I hope your weekend was amazing.

Mine certainly was relaxing and fun.

Last Wednesday was the third and final Halloween party of the season.

I was Christmas spirit...

Kind of last minute and cheesy, right?

Haha!

But it was super fun.

Here are all the girls.
A little foggy.
The bunny with the carrot kills me! haha

This weekend my friend came to visit and we went out for dinner/dessert, like most girls nights.

Oh man...delish!

We went to this amazing restaurant downtown called Jimmy's on the James.

It's a New Orleans inspired jazz place.

The food was great and this dessert...to die for!

Two honey glazed donuts with ice cream, berries and chocolate sauce.

Moving right along...

Yesterday I put a zip up hoodie on and my hair stayed pulled back in it.

I always miss my long hair when I chop it off, but now that I've lost some weight, I feel like the bob looks kind of cute on me...

Thoughts?

I'm all caught up on The Walking Dead now, so it's time to find another show to get obsessed with.

I just started White Collar and it's pretty good!

Matt Bomer is hotttt so that sure doesn't hurt.

Well, I'm off to stretch a little so I'm not super sore tomorrow after a killer spin class tonight!

Don't forget to VOTE tomorrow, friends!!

XOXO

Halloween Round II

Hello friends!

I hope your weekend was super.

Mine was filled with awesome Halloween-ness and Sandy...Hurricane Sandy that is.

Lynchburg didn't get it bad like some other places, but enough to get a 3 hour delay at work this morning.

Sunday some friends and I had a Halloween party.

It was so fun.

There's something about Fall, bonfires, s'mores, and spookiness that I just love!

Me and the roommates!

Kate is a cupcake {how creative with a candle on top!}, I was Princess Leia, and Christel was a cave woman.

Princess Leia and Clark Kent {AKA Jason}.

Where's Waldo?!

Haha Kyle is too adorable with those glasses.

Along with the theme of ghosts and goblins, did I tell you I've become obsessed with The Walking Dead?

Seriously.

I started season 1 Last Wednesday and I'm already caught up with the current season {season 3 in case you were wondering...}.

I don't know what to do with myself now.

Maybe I'll take up reading or actually have a life...

I also started doing Insanity again.

After 1 month I was starting to look incredible.

So much definition and toning.

So what did I do?

Oh you know, just decided to stop.

Yeah, I'm an idiot sometimes.

It's been hard getting back into the groove, especially since I had come so far.

Sometimes it's less motivating to work out in the winter because swim suits are never worn.

Haha!

Sweaters and jeans are my best friend.

Well, anywho...since I have some free time I guess I'll go cook some healthy meals for the week.

My current favorite is spinach salad with fat-free feta, red grapes, walnuts, avocado with Litehouse blue cheese yogurt dressing.

Super yummy!!

I know none of that requires "cooking", more like...prepping. :)

One more thing before I go.

The Walking Dead is probably the most depressing show.

Like ever.

But I still encourage you to watch it, if you can stomach seeing lots of blood and guts.

Let me know what you think!

XOXO

Halloween Round I

It's been a crazy couple weeks.

Crazy in a good way.

We celebrated my roommates 25th, went to 1 of many Halloween parties, and I'm officially in love with the show The Walking Dead.

I was Taylor Swift.  That's Joe Jonas and John Mayer on the sign and a Kanye button with a X through it.

Haha I thought it was pretty clever.

Vivian and Alex were Toddlers&Tiaras!

They're adorable! haha

Stephen and Christel on her bday.

This pretty much sums up their relationship.

<3 them!

Yay for birthdays!

I finally found Euro pillows to match my bedding!

It's a bad picture, but they're a greyish-purple color and so pretty.

They match my other accent pillows, but I'm so obsessed with pillows...I need more.

Haha

That's pretty much my life through pictures over the past few weeks.

I'm getting ready for another party tonight and I'll post pics of that soon!

I can't wait to see all of your Halloween costumes as well!

XOXO

Daddy

Happy Father's Day!

I was sad that I couldn't be with my dad today.

That's one thing that stinks about being so far away from home.

I know my family is always a phone call away, but it feels like there's always something missing.

Or, at least, I'm missing out on all the family fun!

I did talk to my dad today and tell him I love him and miss him.

That's all a father really needs, right?

;)

I hope you all had a great day whether you spent it with your father or not.

I spent my day at the lake with an amazing family whom I love.

And now, I am getting into bed and crashing hardcore!

Till next time, friends.

XOXO

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi friends!

I hope your weekend is going fabulously.

I am one happy camper, mostly because my mom is finally here!!

She flew into DC Friday night where I went to pick her up.

We spent the night at my cousins then headed to Richmond Saturday.

I took her to Short Pump mall which was really fun, but I didn't even get anything!

Shopping fail!

However, we did go to P.F. Changs for dinner...my first time!

It looked a little something like this:

I will be trying to find this recipe and most likely eat them every day for the rest of my life.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I could have eaten them all by myself, but I shared.

Spicy Green Beans

 Sesame Chicken

Great Wall of Chocolate

Oh yes we did!

Since Richmond is only 2 hours from me I am definitely going to get a group together and going back.

It was incredible!

Today we're going to do some more shopping and more eating.

At least we get lots of walking in too!

Then Bible study with my ladies and a group cookout tonight.

I hope you all have fun plans for your day off, but I hope you also remember why we have a day off in the first place.

Freedom comes with a price and unfortunately I know a few people who have paid the ultimate price so that I could be free.

I am forever grateful for that.

XOXO