Check-in!

Hey, y'all!

So, it's a little past half way through the year and I thought I'd update everyone on my health/weight progress. I'm currently sitting on the couch (ha-ha) waiting for Avery to fall asleep so that I can go to the gym. I don't want to leave James and Taylor at home with a screaming baby.)

Anyways,

So I'm half-way to my weight-loss goal. And, being a lady, I will not share my weight on the internet. That's just embarrassing. But I will tell you that it is a significant amount of weight. I have gone from pant size 16 (WOWZA) to almost size 12. I can fit into my size 12's (and even into a size 10 skirt) but only if I am sucking in the whole time and only if they did not just come right out of the dryer. I have gone from size L shirt to a size M.

HOORAY.

I think that's pretty good for six months. Granted, I lost 10 pounds in January, 2 in February, 3 in March, 2 in April, 7 in May, 8 in June, and 5 in July. So, my progress is all over the board. I'd like for it to be a little more consistent, but hey, life gets in the way and sometimes I'm not able to go to the gym as much as I'd like. What has been dramatic, though, is the inches that I've lost. My face has thinned out (or so I've been told) and my legs look like legs again....and not fat, tubby, pasty, limbs. I actually bought a bathing suit this summer *gasp*.

As for my nutritional progress, I've been trying new things and experimenting with different things. I've discovered a lot about myself and my eating habits. One thing that I have found is that if I'm going to the gym consistently, I will eat better. If I've slacked on going to the gym, my diet slacks as well. Which makes sense. I've also discovered that I really can go without sweets. Every once in awhile I get a craving for some chocolate but for 95% of the time, I can go without that brownie. While researching the Paleo diet, the main things they want you to cut out are 1.)Gluten, grains (bread) 2.) Dairy and 3.) Sugar. I thought I would have the hardest time with the sugar part, but as it turns out, the diary has been particularly challenging. I can do without milk as I've discovered Almond milk, but it's the cheese that gets me. Oh, sweet delicious cheese. How I love thee. So good on tortillas and melted on chips. *drool* It's especially bad if I'm out to eat with friends at a Mexican place (duh) and we order queso. Gosh, I love queso. So no more queso for me! Only on the occasion. (That's another thing I've discovered....I don't want to be THAT friend, whose diet restricts my social life. THAT friend who cant ever eat anything or indulge even a little bit for the sake of good ol times. I hate those people, and I wont be one of them :) ) I just want to be normal. But also skinny. But also healthy.

As for my exercise progress, I have discovered a few tricks with the treadmill. The biggest one is that if I amp up the incline, I will burn lots of calories, lots more in fact than if I keep the incline at a normal level and pump up my speed. So I can go at an easy pace but be going up a steep hill. I like to call it "working smarter, not harder." When I first started working out, I was k-i-l-l-i-n-g myself on the treadmill trying to run so so so fast so that I could burn the amount of calories that I wanted. I'd be dying. Sweating. So much. It was awful. Then, helllloooo incline.

My next trick is that, after jogging at an incline for about 30 minutes, I then put the treadmill all the way back down and amp up the speed so that I'm sprinting. Oh my goodness. It is amazing. It's like I'm flying, not sprinting. Your muscles get worked hard from going up a hill so when you aren't going at an incline, it feels like there are wings on your shoes. I only do this for about 8-10 minutes and I burn about 60-70 calories. I have also become quite the pro at kickboxing. Okay okay, not really a pro, but I could kick some serious butt, you guys. The majority of the muscle I've gained has come from kickboxing. I'm sure those of you who follow me on facebook get tired of seeing all of my updates about me going to kickboxing class. It is just so dang fun. Try it. Yes, go out and try it. You will love it. It's pretty difficult at first, but if you keep going, you will love it.

My goals for the next 6ish months:

1.) Seriously cut out bread (tortillas are okay)

2.) Get rid of the baby belly

3.) Reach my weight goal

4.) Get to size 8/10 pants

I think that if I could do those things, I will be in tip top shape. I will be one hot mama! I will be queen of my own life (which, I practically am, but sometimes I am held back by my appearance insecurities) and I will feel awesome!

KickButt Mama= HappyMama

etc, etc, etc

I suppose I should jump on the bandwagon and update my blog, as it seems everyone else is doing it. Such a great motivator in life.

Well, I'm in Houston. I finished out my summer camp in Austin and Saturday was my first day back in Houston. If you follow me on facebook you probably have caught on to the fact that I am not happy about being here. Truth be told, it's not that I am not happy. I love my family and I love being close to them. I love how patient they are with me, because I am kind of the black sheep (or at least that's how I feel). It's not that I am not happy. It's just that I fit in so much better in Austin. It is easier to express my creativity and different-ness there. I can "let my freak- flag fly," so to speak. It's difficult to explain unless you have lived in Austin. Austin is small and easy to navigate through (I am an awful driver) and everyone is friendly and interesting. I feel so...blah in Houston with the humidity and oil&gas and wanna- be- Mexican food in Katy. Downtown Houston has good food probably, but downtown is sooo far away. I never thought I would really care where I lived. Well, I guess I would care. What I really mean is that I didn't think I would really have any kind of attachment to a place. A city is a city. It's a place you live. I suppose when the city you live in grows and intertwines with the person that you are, it is difficult to break away. Despite all of this, as my dear Aunt Amy said in her blog, it's time "to put my big girl panties on." So bring it on, Houston!

I am still essentially job-less. Hooray! I love it!

Yeah, that wasn't very convincing. I have had more interviews this summer than I can count. I have sent out so many resumes and filled out so many applications. You'd think that maybe I would have landed a job by now, right?! Wrong. I have actually been offered several jobs, but I turned them down because none of them were just what I wanted. That's either very dumb of me or very admirable of me. Either the pay wasn't enough or the hours weren't what I wanted or I'd have to give them my thumbs and half of my left eye ball. I have a bachelor's degree (which hardly means anything these days, which is why I'm going back to get my Master's degree in a few years...either U of H or somewhere cool like Seattle or Maine), I want to work full time, and I want to be challenged. Based on those three things, I feel like I should have endless opportunities. Being a white female living in middle America sure does make one feel a tad entitled, huh?! There should be employers knocking down my door with 401k's and benefits in hand to give me, right?! Wrong. Turns out I have to compete and be the best and work tirelessly if I want the best. Go figure. I'm accepting that it's a journey and that I will get there eventually. And thanks to my wonderful parents, I'm able to take a little time and figure out what it is I'm going to do.

I have big plans. BIG plans, y'all. I'll tell you what, blog-world: being homeless, with no money or resources for several months gives you a whole new perspective on life. Okay, I wasn't entirely homeless. I was bouncing around from place to place, living at a different friends' house in Austin from week to week with one suitcase and my school bag. It was as close to homelessness as I think my family would ever let me get. But it was liberating. It was fascinating. It makes you realize just how little you could get by with. It makes you enjoy so much more the times you share with the people you love. It helps you see the world in a whole new light.

And really, all I saw was beautiful.