New Week Resolutions

So, last week I had a minor major breakdown. Between Logan being in the field and work being close to a huge deadline, I was due for one. But, I resolved to make this week a better one.

So, here are things I'm trying:

1. No screen time 1 hour before bed. No cell phone, TV, or computer. Not for 1 hour before sleep. 
2. Journaling every night.
3. Waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual to give myself more time to get ready.
4. Before bed, making a list of the 10 things that MUST get done the next day.
5. Drinking a big glass of water first thing after I wake up to kick start my body.

Here is my feedback so far:

1. So far, I love the no screen time rule. I pack my bag for work the next day, journal, read a little, lay out my outfit for the next day -- and feel so rested by the time bedtime rolls around. Biggest challenge? I don't have a clock in my room, so I have to keep a watch on my nightstand so I know when it's time to turn the lights off.
2. I think journaling is helping me with my stress. It's giving me the chance to get out my thoughts and get lots of little things off my brain. Wedding stuff, missing Logan, work - it all feels better when it's out of my head.
3. So far, so good! Of course, I'm wanting to hit snooze, but it's nice not to feel so rushed in the morning. I have a little more breathing time. This will get easier as the mornings will come earlier, I'm sure of it.
4. This is helping me to stay focused the NEXT day! Plus, it's nice to look back at my day and see 10 things I definitely got done. (Luckily, I usually get lots more done, too...)
5. I love this. First of all, this helps me get the water I need in a day, and I think this helps me wake up a little bit.

Y'all have anything you're working on for this week?

Blogs to Follow!

Ok, everyone, I need blogs to follow!

I'd love blogs that enjoy cooking, fashion, style, etc. As much as I love babies, I'm following way too many blogs where the blogger has kids and I'm having trouble relating and enjoying what they have to share - I'm just not quite there yet. I'm also not interested in bloggers still in college - been there, done that, and honestly, I'm quite jealous of their situation, not having to be a real grown up yet.

Any advice?

Sunny Saturday

Weighed in this morning for the first time since before Disney and I gained again.

I'm a little bummed because I've been eating well - very careful with meal planning - and have been working out when I can (which is hard with my schedule...) So this week, I'm going to be super careful about what I'm eating - tracking everything! - and I need to find a way to decrease my stress.

This morning for breakfast, I whipped up some sausage balls, and with Weight Watchers Cream Cheese, they're only 2 points each! I cleaned up the kitchen some, knocked out a load of laundry, and am waiting to head to a friend's for the Duke game this afternoon. Here's to hoping for a better week!

At least Logan is back from the field - with a cold and feet covered in blisters - but talking to him always calms me down.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

206 more days! Wedding Wednesday

First, I'll update everyone on wedding ideas, but first I want to show off some of my purchases from last night!

First, I bought this awesome pillow from Urban Merchant:

I love the way it fits on my bed - although I'm still working out how to arrange all my pillows...

                                              

I also received this precious card in the mail from a dear friend in Charleston - and another Bride-to-be! (I'll be a bridesmaid in her wedding in June):

So of course I had to pick up a card to send back! And I found the perfect one at Gladiola Girls:

And I found a Valentines card for Logan:

So much fun -- it was great hanging out with the roommates and we had the most delicious dinner afterwards!

So, onto the wedding! We officially have an appointment with the florist on the books and appointments in March to try on and order bridesmaid dresses! We'll go to three places in Richmond and since all of my maids will be there, I'm hoping we will come to a consensus that day. 

There is a SLIGHT possibility that the wedding will be bumped up to April, however. It's the only time I know Logan will be between sessions (finished with BOLC but not quite starting Ranger School yet) and it would give him all the time in the world to do Ranger School and Airborne. With the wedding in August right now, I'm so nervous he'll feel the pressure to either get through Ranger School faster or opt out altogether, and then we run the risk of his being deployed... it's all such a headache.

If we do bump it up, the only hitch will be bridesmaid dresses. And then things could get interesting :) But we'll know more by the end of this week what our timeline is. Is it so bad that I just want to marry this cutie already?

Grad school starts back up tonight - 15 credit hours until freedom! :) Have a great night!

XX - C

A Case of the Tuesdays

Boy oh boy. Florida was a blast! The weather was perfect for the majority of the trip, and Disney was a blast. Here is me and a former teammate on Dumbo!

Coming back to work yesterday was so difficult - I had a case of the Mondays something awful. But, I had a productive day, got to the gym after work, made delicious egg white breakfast burritos for dinner, and crawled into bed.

Today is a little better - I wore my favorite Lilly scarf, a pink cardigan, and curled my hair - which makes it hard to be grumpy!

Bonnie, Emily and I are headed downtown tonight to enjoy an open house on Main St! Some of my favorite stores with all kinds of fun stuff happening.

I love being able to get out of the apartment, do a little shopping, enjoy the company of my roommates, and support local businesses! After shopping, we have a 7:30 reservation at Dish - one of my favorites! I cannot wait.

Logan is back in the field this week doing Land Nav, so I won't be able to talk to him again until Friday evening - I cannot WAIT for BOLC to be over! But, by the end of the week some of my wedding questions should be answered, which is very exciting.

I hope everyone is doing well - sorry for my hiatus!

XX - C

TGIF!

Well, everyone, I am off to Florida today to help coach the swim team's training trip. Sunshine, warm weather, and Walt Disney World are ALL on the schedule and I couldn't be more excited. I'll do my best to post while I'm away, but no promises.

I weighed in this morning for the first time since before my birthday - whoops. I'm only up 1 pound, which I fully expected. The holidays were r-o-u-g-h, and although I made it to the gym 4 times this week, I did a good amount of weight lifting, so I'm sure it's my body converting fat to muscle, which always makes me feel like I gained even though I'm toning up.

I am an OCD packer, and write down everything as I pack, this time putting post-its on my wall. It helped me visualize what was already in the suitcase, and I felt so much better and efficient moving along. I packed many essentials including:

My Clairisonic! I got one for Christmas and am ob-sessed. I use it twice a day and my skin is softer, my pores look smaller, and I have fewer blackheads on my chin and nose. It's well worth the money!

My Rainbows! I had a pair that lasted me from 2004 until 2008, then I bought a new pair (the old ones had a hole in the heel) and wore them until I lost them in 2011 :( I've been Rainbow-less until Logan bought me a pair for Christmas. I can't wait to break them in in Florida!

My Lilly bathing suit. I bought mine last year, but it's the same cut as the one above. It's comfortable and I can't wait to bust it out after 4 months in my dresser!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend - hopefully I'll be in touch soon!

XX - C 

Boring Tuesday!

Nothing big to report on today!

My workout went well yesterday - but I didn't do as much cardio as I hoped. I just haven't shaken this cold yet and my whole chest and throat were burning... but the weight circuit kicked my butt.

I came home, grocery shopped with Bonnie, and made this yummy Weight Watchers recipe for dinner. The chicken was delish - moist, lemony, and we used dried herbs and they were still devine. We heated up some canned green beans on the stove (I drain the liquid from the can first) and added a splash of EVOO and Garlic Salt and all were happy!

I then enjoyed some red wine and popcorn while we watched Biggest Loser!

Lucky me, the Army let my fiance leave way early yesterday, so we were able to Skype last night as well. I'm enjoying the time he's not in the field very much!

Today was a busy day. No organized moving every hour, but I was up and down a bunch for other stuff, so I still feel accomplished. I have some big projects ahead of me, but I'm excited to tackle them once and for all.

Here is what I wore today:

Boots from J Crew ($199-$318 online... I got mine at the Clearance Store in Lynchburg for $60!), Dress from Gap, Cardigan from Eddie Bauer, Scarf from Target, Cheetah belt from New York and Co,  Earrings from Kate Spade, and bracelets from Premier Jewelry. 

Gym plan for tonight: 30 minutes of cardio and this upper body workout from Women's Health Magazine:

Have a good night!

New week - a fresh start!

So, Logan is back in the field this week. It's always tough when I don't get to speak to him for days on end, but lucky for me he always comes back on the weekends. I won't be able to say the same thing come time for Ranger school...

So, I have a few resolutions I'd love to stick to this week:

1. Work out every day - I have to get back in shape and soon - my wedding dress gets here in 6 weeks and counting! There is zero time to lose. See below for my workout plan for today.

2. Eat right - I did well this morning, ate a little much at lunch (I should've stopped when I was full!) but I have healthy snacks packed for this afternoon and have been drinking lots of water.

3. Bring some work home with me at night - it's a busy time in the office and if I can bring a small amount of work home with me I'll make my life MUCH easier in a month or so. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to bank up the comp time!

4. Move for 5 minutes every hour. I set an alarm on my phone and for a few minutes do this routine:

• 10 calf raises - slowly getting up on my tip toes and lowering myself back down
• 10 squats - letting my butt JUST touch my office chair and standing back up again
• 10 leg raises - balancing myself on my desk, move my right leg directly back and into the air 10 times, then doing the same with my left
• 10 arm circles - rotating 10 forward then 10 backward
• 10 arm raises - moving my fists from my shoulders straight up past my head
• I bend over, touch my toes, and take some deep breaths
• I run anything that needs taken down to our garden level downstairs, get a quick change of scenery, and fill up my water bottle at the cooler

It's helping me to focus on my work for the time I'm at my desk, and helping me keep my blood moving during the day. I've noticed I'm not nearly as fatigued today as I usually am at this time, too!

So here is my workout plan for this evening:

• 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical machine - doing the weight loss program - it's full of intervals and the short duration keeps me motivated to work hard without losing steam
• This weight circuit from Women's Health Magazine:

• I'll do 10 of each exercise with weights between 20-25 lbs three times through

This should give me some cardio, get my heart pumping, and do some all over work with these total body exercises. It shouldn't take me very long to knock out and should leave me feeling great!

And now, for what I wore today:

Red scarf, Target, Black top, Old Navy, Black cardigan, New York and Co, Gray pants, New York and Co, Black flats, Payless

Today's stacks are brought to you by my sister's jewelry box! But in all fairness, it's so easy to grab one or two of these every time we duck into the Outlet stores or when there's a good sale online! All are Kate Spade. You can find a huge variety here!

 The earrings are from a local boutique - I'm not sure of the brand.

Stay posted on more on how I do with my goals this week!

Favorites Friday!

Thank you to everyone for the "Get Well Soon" wishes -- I'm feeling better, even though I still SOUND very stuffed up. I'm sure I'll bounce back soon!

And I have to admit I AM guilty of making a purchase at the big Lilly sale yesterday -- so much for my resolution to save more money! But, in my defense, the dress I bought was very reasonably priced, AND it was my favorite print - You Gotta Regatta!

The Somerset Dress will be perfect come summer time - I'm so excited!

And now onto some of my favorite things for this week - keeping in mind how sick I've been they're things that have been my saving grace while I've been laying in bed trying to get better:

Dutch Blitz!

Logan's family got me hooked on this game when I was in Indiana and I purchased the app for my iPhone and played it all week - I'm obsessed.

Duke Basketball

Nothing makes you feel better than seeing your favorite team win a good basketball game!

Fleece Sheets

We keep our apartment very cold (it's not very insulated and our heating bill was through the roof last month) so being able to cuddle up in a warm bed with the kittens made it all easier to bear. I got my sheets for Christmas, but you can find similar ones at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

That's all for now! I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday Night!

Under the Weather

I hardly EVER get sick. Seriously - the last time I had a bad cough and felt truly under the weather was in December of 2009. So how do I start my new year? With a cold!

Since I never get sick, I am a huge baby when I actually DO get sick. I had to say bye to Logan on New Years Day - we won't see each other again until March 8 - and being sick made it that much worse. I was a whiney mess the whole way home and hardly slept that night.

I got up for work yesterday  but was sent home at noon by my boss. I took a pretty heroic nap yesterday afternoon and made tomato tea - a recommendation from a co-worker of mine. I was skeptical at first, but it was actually pretty good! Here is the recipe:

2 c. Tomato Juice
2-3 cloves Garlic, crushed - or more if you can stand it. (I used significantly more.)
2 T. Lemon Juice
Hot Sauce - as much as you can stand
2-3 Large fresh basil leaves
2-3 sprigs of Thyme
Cayenne Pepper - as much as you can stand

Add all ingredients into a sauce pan and and heat until nice and warm.  Using an immersion blender, blend all of the ingredients together well, and let steep on the stove for about 5-10 minutes (longer it sets the better it gets!).  Once you’re ready to serve, sip slowly and breath deeply–the fumes and the tea both will aid with your congestion. 

The garlic will kill any bacterial infections in your throat and all the spicy will clear out your sinuses. And it was pretty filling - especially since I didn't have much of an appetite.

I promise I'll get back into the swing of blogging soon!