Thursday, April 30th

Morning weigh-in: 137.8. I knew I was holding on to a little binge weight. I work another 12 hour shift today. I did the same workout this morning as yesterday. It seemed even harder today but I will keep it up.

Total food intake for the day: 1350. Not bad. No binges, passed on a few temptations. I gotta start getting more protein in though.

House Update: Ugh, yesterday we got the rules of the HOA. For the most part, nothing major. The things that bothered me were asking permission before changing any landscaping, and other changes to the exterior. Most of the rules are made to keep the property looking clean and nice, which we appreciate. We are just kinda scared of all the responsibility that comes along with it. We are neat people in general but its weird to think people are looking over everything you do to your house. What a downer. At least we know our neighbors won't have plant overgrowth and other messy things acting as an eye sore.

38 Days, No Excuses?

POLL: How many of you read my old blog and are disappointed that I haven't been weighing myself in the morning, working out like I used to, eating right, posting food intake and discussing motivation?

**Raises hand**

I have 38 days till my very dear friend Nicole's wedding, June 6th, which I am in (and extremely excited about)...so I am going to try to get back on track.

Morning weigh-in: 139.4. Ugh, nice change in 2 months huh? I'm pretty happy I am still in the 130s but I feel like I did when I was 20 pounds heavier or more.

Workout: I walked/jogged 1.4 miles this morning. The jogging part sucked. My knees wobbled and popped and I felt really out of shape. What the heck? I was thinking I was iron woman a few months ago. I would have done a bigger workout but I am working a 12 hour shift today.

Pre-BF: glass of warm water with a freshly squeezed lemon in it (my mom swears by this so I'll try it out), BF: Cheerios and fresh strawberries (175), Snack: Kashi TLC bar (180), Lunch: chicken (150), pasta (180), sauce (80), Snack: water melon (50), sample of meal the grocery store was serving (200), piece of chocolate (100), Dinner: vanilla cone from McDonald's (250)...total: 1365. Not too bad.

House Style

Now that we are buying a home, I am really excited to start thinking about renovating and buying furniture. This house was built in 1983 and definatley needs some renovations and updates. Unfortunately, we are putting almost everything we own into the down payment so these things will take time. My dream is to have a beautiful, welcoming home that feels like a light, bright retreat. I love homes that are mainly white with wood floors. I love a clean feel with some rustic touches. I have great visions for the guest room...white wood floors and an antique looking bed frame with modern and crisp linens. I would love to have a white couch and some sort of old wooden trunk looking coffee table. But I know a white couch is not too practical, especially since we don't have both a formal and family living room.

I love the open feel of this bathroom...this is what I am talking about when I say light and bright:

Coastal Living

I love the rustic look of this table, I also like the chandeliers in both pictures:

Pottery Barn

I love the rustic mirror and table, they add a touch of old to something more modern and crisp (although I am not crazy about this room overall):

Coastal Living

Starting the Day Off Right

I woke up feeling lazy and acted lazy for a good hour or so so now I am trying to be productive.

Here's the plan:

-3 loads of laundry, wash, dry and fold (check)
-iron clothes for work tomorrow (check)
-clean bathroom
-clean kitchen (check)
-organize desk

-workout (check)
-do nails (check)
-go to the mall (check)

Monday, April 27th

We had the inspection today! It didn't go as perfectly as we hoped but we didn't find any problems that were absolute deal breakers. We will probably have to put in a few thousand dollars to fix it though. Our contract is an "as is" contract but includes a clause that says something about the owner paying for damages up to 1.5% of the house cost. So this might work to get us started. We'll see!!!

We Got It!

Our bid got accempted today!!! Yay, our first bid! They didn't counter. Makes you think about what they would have accepted but I can't complain. I feel in my heart that they would't have gone any lower.

Now we have to wait and see how the inspection goes on Monday morning! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Here is a picture of the house. I hope there isn't much wrong with it so we can call it ours.

Friday, April 25th

I woke up and walked 0.7 miles this morning. I am really stiff. There is no excuse for this lack of exercise. Its pretty pathetic when you think about it. I am not going to let my body, and not to mention health, self-esteem and overall feel-good moods slip away in a matter of a few months. Ugh, what a wakeup call: walking and your body weighing you down from stiff joints and jiggling thighs. A little over a month ago I would walk and feel light as a feather because I was heathy and fit. My body hasn't changed too much and thats probably why I haven't cared enough to get in gear sooner. Well, I can't take it anymore. I will at least walk EVERY day. On my days off, its on.

Well, I work a 12 hour shift today. I will have butterflies until 5pm. Hopefully we find out about the house sooner. Craziness....I'll let you know how it goes tonight!

Currently Being a Super-Wife...

Exciting day today!

We had to re-do the offer contract due to some spelling mistakes, etc., so I turned it in this morning. We are going to hear the news by tomorrow at noon (hopefully sooner)!

This morning I saw the realtor, went to the bank and went grocery shopping. My parents are coming into town to see the house with us at 5pm! I am super-excited about that. I am currently cleaning the house. I bought a bunch of beautiful flowers to decorate. I am going to make some appetizers and run another errand or two before they get here. I deserve a metal, right?

Update:
The day went really well and my parents loved the house! They are really excited for us. We still haven't heard an answer. They have until tomorrow at 5pm. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Wednesday, April 22nd

Well, I have some news!

The Good: Frankie loved the house and we made an offer today!!! We also found out that the house has a brand new roof that was built in 2006 and is in amazing shape. We found out some other good news too, such as new pool heater, kitchen updated in 2003, etc.

The Bad: Due to some previous offers that fell through, the sellers will not answer our offer until they get a letter stating we are pre-approved for the morgage loan. We already know we pre-qualified but not that we are pre-approved. Who knew there was a difference? Also, we found out that the windows were pretty old and would definatley need hurricane shutters (which sucks cause the house has a million windows), and that the AC is pretty ancient as well.

The Ugly: So my husband ran around all day to get this dang pre-approval. He finally did. While there, they had to check our credit. We pretty much thought that the bank was going to give us some kinda award for having the best credit scores they have ever seen in their lives. BUT a few years ago I was a victim of identity theft and I thought it was cleared up and it isn't. So my credit sucks. Obviously it can be fixed and trust me, I will be on the phone day and night to clear it if I have to.

It is not the end of the world though. We still got pre-approved. So first thing tomorrow morning I am going to bring the approval papers and contract to the realtor and they will give the sellers either till tomorrow evening or Friday at noon to decide. I think they should be able to answer quickly because they have had all day today to think about it.

Who knows. This is so stressful (but so exciting at the same time). There will be a lot of penny pinching if this whole thing goes through. Yikes.

Monday, April 20th

I just realized it is our 1 month anniversary! Haha, too bad he's asleep.

Ok, I have had a CRAZY few days!!! This is why I haven't been posting like I should.

First of all, a little advice. For all of you ladies that workout regularly...even if you stop working out for a few weeks, get back into it slowly. My body is FINALLY feeling back to normal and it has been a week since my last weight lifting session. Now, I don't believe in excuses, but I really messed myself us. I was so sore that I could barely sit down and I was nauseous from the pain. I seriously don't remember ever being so sore and I have been lifting since highschool. I also have a neck injury that seems to come back here and there. Well, the last 3 days I was walking around like I was impersonating Robocop. I think my neck will be alright tomorrow, thanks to ice and ibuprofen.

The second crazy thing that has been going on in my life is searching for a home. This past Saturday, Frankie and I met with a realtor and looked at about 8 houses or so. The crazy part is, we think we found one! The crazier part is, we haven't seen the whole thing. We saw the neighboorhood (excellent!), the front and back yard (awesome!), the back patio area and pool (very nice!) and peaked through the windows (looks great but needs a little updating). Our realtor didn't have the key to this particular one on Saturday. It is a little out of our budget but it is in an ideal location and the price has gone down to a crazy deal for the area. So every night Frankie and I have been discussing expenses, pros and cons, etc. We were supposed to go view the entire house on Thusday (the next day we are both off from work) but I can't wait another second, so I am meeting with the realtor alone tomorrow morning! Craziness. If we like everything we see and they answer a few of our very important questions with positive answers, we are considering making an offer on Thursday! More craziness.

I just don't know. In one aspect, it is such a crazy opportunity to get a great location. In another aspect, we just starting looking and there may be much more out there.

Well, as you can imagine I have a lot going on. I am planning on getting a workout in tomorrow. Soon enough I will be a workoutaholic...I can feel it.

By the way, we got a Kitchen Aid mixer as one of our wedding gifts. I had to exchange it because there was something wrong with the motor. It just stalled during the "stir" speed. Now, I am not sure if something is wrong with the new one. If you have one... a) Is it really noisey? Like louder than you thought it would be? and b) Is the "stir" speed on yours the same rate as the "2" speed? It seems that way to me. But then again I tested it with no food inside.

Saturday, April 18th

I was a little scared to weigh-in this morning so I skipped it. Last night we went out to dinner once again, this time for my father-in-law's birthday. I swear we typically only eat out like once a month so this is totally messing with my diet. I got a little motivated last night while hanging out with my sister-in-law. We are pretty much exactly the same body type and weight. She is a part time personal trainer and a full time mom to two boys. I feel almost competitive with her (in a totally friendly and supportive way) when it comes to staying in shape, just because we are SO SIMILAR. She has been married for many years, has had two kids and has managed to keep her figure looking great. I hope I look like her after two kids!

The Food Debate

You know, I think men have it easier when it comes to weight loss. I'm not talking about the fact that they burn more calories and build muscle easier, I am talking about the mental battle. I know this doesn't apply to all men, but I would guess the majority. They are more rational when it comes to food in some ways.

I'll never forget a conversation that I had with my husband a few years ago. I was discussing how hard it was to resist certain foods and temptations and how I sit there and debate whether I should eat something at that moment. Something along the lines of, "Man, I wish I could eat that...well, maybe I could...just a little...no, I shouldn't even be thinking about this...well, I can just do some cardio later...ugh, this is so hard...(then I think about it for 20 more minutes)...well, I have made a lot of progress...ok, I cheated the other day, why am I even considering this...etc, etc, etc."

He said, "I don't understand you girls, just make a decision." He explained that when he has a goal in mind and is faced with a temptation, his mind simply asks, "Is this going to get me closer to my goal?" If the answer is no, he doesn't give it a second thought. There is no food debate. Question over. Next subject.

This is how my mind works during periods of high motivation. But not typically. Isn't it a shame that that rational thinking and strength is not a part of all of our everyday lives? How weak of me to sit there and debate for hours. What a waste of time.

Today's motivation (legs and butt):

Wednesday, April 15th

Morning weigh-in: 138.0. A much expected gain due to my horrible dinner and extreme muscle soreness. I could barely put on my bra and underwear today. Washing my hair was pretty painful as well. I'll bounce right back though. I realized this morning that I haven't made any short term goals lately. So I'll post the first one: 135 by May 2nd, my friend's shower/bachelorette party. Thats about 3 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks, very doable.

I worked a 12 hour shift today. I didn't track my food too well but I wasn't bad. Ok, if you read my previous blog you know that I am used to lifting weight. I lift heavy weight, low reps most of the time. Here and there I lift low weight, high reps. So I am not new to the whole sore muscle business. Let me tell you, I can barely move. I got nauseous today from the muscle pain I am experiencing. Sitting on the toilet is currently my hell. Is it crazy that deep inside I love it?

Tuesday, April 14th + Wedding Pics!

Morning weigh-in: 136.6! I'll take it. I was actually expecting a slight gain because I ripped my muscles apart yesterday. I must have been holding on to some extra water weight due to the junk I was eating.

BF: Cheerios and fresh strawberries (175), Lunch (I came back from the gym starving!): Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (155), few pretzels (55), 2 prunes (50), small piece of chocolate (50), few bites of watermelon (20), Dinner: Outback Steakhouse (ugh, I'd rather not talk about it)...thank goodness I started working out again. My husband and I eat out maybe once a month, if that. I'll be good tomorrow, promise.

I had another awesome workout today! I did legs and let me tell you, they were sore before I got to the half-way point of my workout. I spent 2 hours at the gym. I barely made it to my car, it felt like I was walking on Twizzlers.

We got some Pro wedding pics today!!! Our amazing photographers posted some on their website blog. I actually had a really hard time posing with a serious face but some of them turned out well regardless. Here are a few of my favorites...

My dress:

My bouquet (I loved the closed peonies):

The centerpieces:

Kissing my hubby:

My favorite:

Wanted: A New Bikini

I am looking for a new bikini. Summer is coming up and the only bikini I like to wear is falling apart. My husband wants me to get a red one. He told me this like 2 years ago and I am still in search of one. You wouldn't think it would be hard to find a red bikini. Well, it is.

During my Google bikini search I came across this pic:

Source

Umm, is she even human? Is my body EVER going to look even remotely similar to this? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

To Buy or Not to Buy

So my absolute favorite thing that my hubby and I registered for was a bedding set at Bloomingdale's and we didn't get a single piece of it. We registered for really expensive bedding by DKNY called Pure Comfort, which is made of 100% organic cotton and feels like silk. We liked it in "cloud" which is mainly white with a few cream pieces, such as the sheets, pillow cases and quilt. The collection includes:

-white duvet

-white blanket

-cream quilt

-2 king pillow cases (tiny cream and white stripes)

-king sheet (tiny cream and white stripes)

-2 white cotton Euro shams

-2 white quilt Euro shams

-2 cream cotton king size shams

-white bedskirt

-1 white decorative pillow

Here is a pic (I also included a pic in a different color so that you can see the texture better):

The original price for everything is approximatley $2,140. Craziness. So, everything is now on sale. Plus, we got a friends and family offer to get an additional 20% off AND and extra 15% if we open a Bloomingdale's card. I also have a gift certificate for the store so in the end everything would cost about $925. Plus I could take a few things away and make it $700.

I know this is still REALLY expensive. But I think the set is so versatile. Since the main pieces are white, we would only have to change the quilt and sheet colors and have a totally different look. I keep thinking that we could use some wedding money on it and just pretend it was a gift...I dunno...I'll have to sleep on it. I think the price is still over-the-top but then again it is really good quality, which will last for a long time. Decisions, decisions...what to you think?

Maybe by tomorrow morning I will have changed my mind completely and not even give it a second thought.

Monday, April 13th

I am determined to make this a very productive day. I woke up this morning and drank a large glass of water with a freshly sqeezed lemon in it (I heard that was pretty healthy so why not). I made the bed and cleaned out and organized the fridge. I cut up all the fruit and put it in tupperware (otherwise my hubby will never eat it). I am currently doing a load of laundry, cleaning my desk (which is loaded with papers) and have plans to meet a friend at the gym at 2:30.

BF: Cheerios (145) with a few fresh strawberries (30?), Late lunch: hardboiled egg (80), Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (155), 3/4 banana (80), Snack: small piece of watermelon (30), Dinner: 2 scrambled eggs (160), rice (200), bean salad (100), Snack: grapefruit (110), chocolate (200)...total: 1290.

I had an AMAZING workout today! I did upper body at the gym, all 5 body parts (chest, back, bi's, tri's, and shoulders), 2 exercises per body part, 3 sets per exercise. It was a long workout but well worth it. I know I am going to be extremely sore tomorrow.

Sunday, April 12th

I decided that it was necessary for me to weigh-in this morning in order to get a reality check. It wasn't pretty but then again I wouldn't have been surprised if it was more. I was 139.0. Yikes. Not yikes as in, thats a lot, but yikes as in, what a gain in such a small amount of time.

I immediately put on my sneakers and went for a walk. I walked 1.4 miles. Not much of a workout but at least it got me moving. I tried not to over-indulge today. There were lots of goodies around for the holiday. I must admit I wasn't perfect.

PS-About the Aquaphor...I woke up and my eyes were pretty puffy and swollen. Sometimes I wake up with those "morning eyes" but I can't help thinking it was because of all that excess moisture in the area. I will keep doing it for a few more days and try to figure out whether it caused extra swelling.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Here are the cupcakes I made last night. This is my first attempt at doing something creative with baking so please don't judge, hehe. They didn't turn out as I imagined but they will do.

Nighttime Beauty

So one of the major things I am working on is washing my face each night before bed. What a freakin hassle, haha. But it REALLY works. They say your face benefits the most from nighttime cleaning and products. This is when your face gets the best circulation and therefore allows for the best absorption, repair, etc.

Right before my wedding I made a point to wash it every night and the results were almost instant. My skin was smoother, softer and more clear. I also want to start wearing an eye cream. Just for prevention. I was reading In Style magazine today and they suggested using Aquaphor on the eyes while you sleep. I figured for less than $5, I'd give it a try. I'll let you know how it goes.

Saturday, April 11th

Today I worked a 10 hour shift. I planned on a mini workout prior to work. I was going to workout from 7-7:30, take a quick shower, get ready and run out of the door. My husband, who also had to go to work, rolls over as my alarm goes off and mumbles..."I want to shower at 7:30 babe"...this meant that I had to either tell him to get a life or be nice and shower right away so he could get a little more sleep. What a nice wife I am. Unfortunately I won't be able to blame him if I get fat. From now on I will plan out my workouts a little better.

To make up for it, I ate really well all day. Up until about 8pm, I ate small healthy meals every 3 hours or so and stayed under 1100 calories. At 8:30, I ate dinner, which was a chicken/bean/veggie soup that I made a few night ago from a Cooking Light cookbook. I made cupcakes tonight to bring to my parents' house for Easter tomorrow. I had a few licks of icing but I controlled myself for the most part.

This is a picture of me and my husband taken 6 weeks ago at my cousin's wedding. It was taken 3 weeks before we got married.

Starting Up Again

I took a 3 week break from working out and eating right and I am ready to get back at it again. In reality, I only took a 2 week break from working out. For our Honeymoon, we went to the Andies Mountains in Peru and completed the 4 day Inca Trail that leads to Machu Picchu. It was no walk in the park. It covered 26 miles or so, 95% of which was completed in the first 3 days, hiking up and down hill at high altitude. It was an amazing experience but very challenging physically. If it wasn't for eating whatever I wanted, I would have came back weighing in the 120s.

So for the wedding I weighed somewhere between 132 and 135, which I was very happy about. I am not sure about the exact number because I didn't get to weigh myself for a few days before the wedding. The last time I weighed-in was 4 days before, at 132. I wasn't too strict that week so who knows.

Ever since we came back, I have been eating like a crazy woman. I kept saying that I was getting it out of my system and now I have gone a little too far. I feel bloated and out of shape. It is crazy what 3 weeks of bad carbs, excess calories and fatty foods can do to a person. I don't even want to weigh myself until I cleanse by body for a week or so. By cleanse I mean just eating right and sweating for a change.

Well, the new focus starts today!

The Perfect Wife

I've always had visions about the kind I wife I would love to be. One that it fit, sexy and amazing all around.

FIT

Fitness and nutrition have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have battled weight in the past and finally reached an ideal body weight for my wedding through my blog: 100 Days, No Excuses. Even though I reached an ideal weight, I did not acheive my ideal body. I want more muscle. As the wedding approached I was only able to do so much. Exercise became a chore, something I had to squeeze into my busy schedule. Now is the time to make real changes. One of my biggest fears is becoming a wife that completely lets herself go.

SEXY

Speaking of letting onself go...I think that a lot of sex appeal is lost through the comfort of marriage. Before you know it, you are walking around in a T-shirt full of holes, your eye brows cover way too much surface area, you don't remember the last time you painted your nails, your hair is greasy and sex has become a thing of the past. I want my husband to look at me and be proud of his sexy little wife. I want to be the girl that wears cute nighties to bed, always smell nice, has style and looks put together.

SUPER-WIFE

I am a woman who has a career. But I also have fantasies about being a Stepford wife in some ways. I can't wait until we buy a house so that I can decorate my little heart out. I love to cook and even more so, bake. I can't wait to make our home look beautiful, smell wonderful and Martha Stewart it all up.

Through this blog, I want to share tips, experiences and motivation as I strive to be these things I've always hoped to be.