Own It

Sometimes you look back at your life and regret things. And then sometimes you look back and see how far you've come. This mind set totally depends on where you are in life and if you're aware of who you are. In the mornings, I fall in between both of these two places depending on the day, but I fully intend to end each day knowing who I am and that I'm an over-comer.

I am strong, I am bold, I am beautiful, I am a little crazy, I am kind, I am a child of God, I am empowered, I am a winner. I am also slightly crazy...

My managers at my job both work out at this gym in town and were always talking about how hard the workouts were, how sore they were, and how much, despite the hard work, they loved going. I'm very much about trying new things and challenging myself but have been not so great about that in the past year or so. Hence the weight gain. Half of what I lost I was well on my way to putting back on. So the smart person that I am, decided to sign up for a free trial. Cause, why not? I can't be that out of shape right? So so wrong.

The free trial isn't sugar coated, it's not watered down, and it's hard. But if you need someone creating a workout and telling you what to do, like I do, and if you can push yourself and keep going, then this place is awesome. Being true to who I am, I pushed too hard (during the warm up...) and pulled something around my hamstring, but I finished the workout.

I'm not sure if you all have heard of D1 and their bootcamps. If you've done them, you KNOW. If you haven't, you just. don't. know. You don't.

I am on day four if you don't count my trial run. I go to the 6AM bootcamp. I hate waking up to get sweaty. But it's so much better to get this torture out of the way when it's cooler in the morning as the gym does not have air conditioning.

I got really excited my first day because Andrew the trainer asked if everyone knew how to karaoke. I was like, yes! I do! How will that work though if we're running around the field? He gave me a puzzled look, which I returned because it was slowly dawning on me that his karaoke didn't involve singing... what he really said was carioca, otherwise known as the grapevine. So yeah, starting off on the right foot here.

I've been introduced to box jumps, box pushes, medicine balls that I've lugged down the field and back countless times, tires and hammers, SO MUCH RUNNING, and jump ropes. I can't even begin to tell you how much running. I hate running, but if it makes me better, I'll do it, begrudgingly. Also, I've skipped more in the past two days then I have my entire childhood. I had to seriously delve into my memories trying to remember if I actually did skip in my childhood and the conclusion I've come to is there is NO WAY I skipped back then. If I had, I wouldn't suck so bad at it now. Have you ever tried to skip backwards? No? Imagine that, well, we had to. I looked so special. I actually stopped a few times to ask myself what was happening, as it wasn't skipping, I'll tell you that.

I could go on and on about what I've been challenged to do, but I'll save some for later ;) Here's a little nugget to end with:

Own it. Whatever you're doing or want to do. Pick it up and run with it, no one else can do it for you. Pick it up and don't look back, because whatever is behind you doesn't matter. For me, keeping my eyes on who God says I am is the most important thing. He says I'm a winner, that I'm awesome and beautiful. He says I can do this and He's right there with me.

Recovery

Last week sucked. Big time. Lots of work drama, lots of stress, no weight loss, lack of sleep, barfing dog... blah blah blah.

But I'm recovering, and trying to bounce back in both attitude, dedication, and of course, posting! It helps that I've been able to go to Church every Sunday and I've been attending some other group sessions to meet the pastors and other new members. Yay Life Church in Gahanna, Ohio!

Last weeks weight loss stalled, very disappointing after seeing the results that I did. I know most of that previous loss was water and adjustment to the low carb intake. but I was hoping to have seen at least a pound. On top of that, I gained a pound back. I have, as of this morning, re-lost that pound, so maybe more movement will happen this week.

This past weekend I went kayaking with my friend as we had yet to do anything "summer-esque" and summer is practically over. We had fun, I got a wicked ugly sunburn via sports bra/tank top... just in time for the upcoming wedding.

 

Alright, so these are my "tuna spoons"... I got sick of just eating my tuna straight from my Tupperware. Romaine leaf + tuna salad = fun snack time. Followed by my new favorite chicken recipe that I got from Ellen. Chicken dipped in my egg whites, rolled in dry ranch dressing, and topped with some parmesan cheese. And wrapping up the newest recipe additions, a revisit to mashed cauliflower. Having a food processor totally makes the difference. Throw in light butter, almond milk, garlic salt, and rosemary!

 

 

 

Now on to the craft hour ;) I've been itching to let my creative juices flow but hadn't had the time or the patience. I made room for the crafts and screw the patience, I never have patience when trying to achieve as close to perfection as I can get... my only character flaw.

 

I found these awesome pillow cases at TJ Maxx the other day and for $7 I couldn't pass them up. Especially because earlier that morning the sermon was on God's Love and what it means to us as Christians.

 

Then I started my throw pillow recovering project last night. I spent about three hours putting together this one aqua chevron cover... it took a while, but I had to match the pattern on all sides and I added a zipper closure. It turned out beautiful, now I just need to finish the second one. I'll be moving on to something flashier for two large accent pillows for my master bedroom.