Friends Visiting (Day 660)

Hi all!

Happy Saturday! How are you all today? It has been such a fun weekend so far with my friends! Last night we went out to dinner to HuHot Mongolian Grill and I had some amazing stir fry and showed Ashley and John my wedding dress. Ashley cried :). And then this morning we went on a hike in Seven Falls... I have a bunch of pictures that I'll post later. Tomorrow they want to go hiking again at Garden of the Gods... I swear, those two are going to kill me. I'm not much into hiking but they are, so I'm nice and go with them. How about a nice walk instead? :)

So let me start out with dinner, it was delicious! I made my stir fry quite healthy... lots of vegetables in the first round with a little pork. But the second time around I had a vegetarian stir fry and it was so delicious! I would definitely go to this place again.

Now onto the good stuff... my wedding dress. I freaking love this dress, it's definitely not my style but it's absolutely perfect. :) This dress was the wrong size so the actual dress will look a little different but you get the idea... Surprisingly, I love the lace and I'm not really a lace kinda girl. Oh well, it goes absolutely perfectly with my romantic theme.

It was amazing, I put the dress on, walked out, and Ashley's eyes started watering. Ashley has seen me try on wedding dresses before and she has never cried but this one she did... even more of a sign that this is the dress. :)

Ashley also tried on bridesmaid dresses while we were there and I found one that I absolutely love! Sadly, I did not take a picture of it but you can check it out here in apple: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Style-Satin-Wide-Strap-Tea-Length-Dress-F14556
It is so gorgeous... tea length, wider straps, sweetheart neckline and I want to add a black sash to it. :)

On to today... the three of us went hiking at Seven Falls, it is absolutely beautiful! Here is Ashley and I in front of one of the areas we hiked to. The pictures do not do it justice!

Let me tell you, I felt like I was going to die during part of it... I am getting an upper respiratory infection so the change in altitude and climbing upward really took it's toll on me. Thankfully toward the end it got better and we were able to hike a second trail. My legs are on fire now though.

But then of course we had to take some fun pictures :)







Tomorrow we are planning on going hiking again after church. Hopefully I'll be able to make another few hours of hiking tomorrow and not be hurting too much. But I am determined to keep up with exercising after they go home tomorrow. I always feel so exhilarated after a great workout. Maybe I'll restart the 30 DS again...but who knows. Something will be started though.

I have a paper that's due tomorrow so I really need to get it done. Have a wonderful evening! So until next time!

~Sara~

Comparison with Pictures! (Day 651)

Hi all!

Happy Thursday and Happy 4th of July! How are you all doing today? I am so thankful that yesterday was better than Tuesday. Last night I went to church, which I think will be a part of my weekly routine, at least for now. And I just had to say that I have not felt so at home in a really long time. I've known these people since Sunday (3 days) and I already feel like part of the family. 

Oh and I decided that I’m going to start carb cycling again, starting today. It helped me so much before, so hopefully it will help me get out of my current funk. I am determined to get back into a healthy routine because my health is one of my top priorities.

So since I have been down lately, I decided to do some comparisons (numbers and pictures) and I want to share them with you all. First is the numbers:

Pounds Lost: 42.2

BMI: -5.7 points

Body Fat Percentage: -8.09%

Pounds of Fat Lost: -46.74

Lean Weight: +4.54

Waist: -4.75 in

Hips: -6.75 in

Neck: -2 in

Thighs: -2.38 in

Calf: -1.88 in

Upper Arm: -3.75 in

Total Inches Lost: 21.51

That is insanely encouraging to me. I may not be to my goal yet, but I am a lot closer than when I first started. And now for the pictures:

Before:                                                                                           Now:

September 2011

February 2013

I see a difference... and in fact I don't have any of those clothes I was wearing the before picture because they are way too big. :)

Anywho... homework time again. Have a wonderful day! So until next time!

~Sara~

Refocusing (Day 648)

Hi all!

Happy Monday and Happy July 1st! Can you believe it's July? June flew by and so many changes happened for me. All very positive, except the job not working out... but oh well, it's all part of the adventure. How are you all doing today? It's finally a little cooler here today, thankfully and won't be getting all that warm again for a little bit. I'll take all the cool weather I can get during the summer.

Last night I went to the young adult group at my new church here in CO, I was crazy nervous about it before I got there. In fact, I almost talked myself out of going, but I was insanely blessed by going to it. I met some absolutely amazing people, they were so welcoming and I feel like they could become great friends.

As some of you know, I have been extremely stressed out lately with the whole job situation especially, and that was making me stress eat and made me feel quite alone. So I was feeling pretty down on myself because of that and the scale wasn't the happiest with me either. But I have randomly taking pictures of myself and I took this one... needless to say, I didn't not look like this when I started my new lifestyle. Plus when my friend saw this picture she told me how different I looked then from now. It was very encouraging. But after hearing that, I know that I don't want to start gaining weight again. So I need to refocus: eating within my calorie range and more exercise.

Today marks a month and new day, so my goals start today. Things will be different. I'm starting a challenge with a group on SP that I'm a part of and hopefully that will be the kick in the butt that I need.

Time to get going on homework for the week... Hopefully I'll get a great head start on my finals. Have a wonderful day everyone! So until next time.

~Sara~

Recap (Day 620)

Hi all!

Happy Monday! It's a new week, what are we all going to do to make it a great one? How are all of you doing today? Sorry I've been MIA for the past 2 days, it's been quite busy. Let me give you a quick recap:

Saturday we had our garage sale and that made for such a long day. It was really slow but we made a few dollars, so it's better than nothing. I did get a bit of a sunburn on my shoulders but nothing too horrible. But I most definitely did not drink enough, so I had a bad dehydration headache. And sadly I did not get much homework done, but it all worked out well.

Sunday I headed to church in the morning with my mom and then we were out for a bunch of the day. Thankfully I was finally able to get my nails redone and now I have burgundy tips. :) I'm absolutely in love with them. I know the picture isn't the best and it definitely doesn't do them justice but here they are nevertheless. Plus we had some other shopping to do and then just spent the evening with family and working homework (like every other Sunday :) ).

I have so much to get done today and this week. Finding an apartment, getting my final done and my other homework, start packing, get a head start on next week's homework, among numerous other things. While I am still at home I am trying to work ahead in as much homework as possible because once I start working full-time, I will not have as much free time.

Amazingly enough I have gotten quite a bit accomplish last night and today though. I got a head start on a bunch of homework (although I really need to focus on my final that's due on Sunday) and sent out an important email about an apartment that I'm hoping to get into. But I'm going to cut this post short because it's time for a walking/jogging interval and some strength training. After that, it's back to homework. It's never ending. I hope that you all have an amazing day! So until next time.

~Sara~

Recap of Colorado Springs (Day 564)

Hi all!

Happy Monday! How is everyone doing today? It's the start of a new week, how are you going to make this week great? It has been a crazy busy and amazing weekend. As you probably know, I was in Colorado Springs from Friday until Sunday. I'll get to that in a bit though. It was a long day yesterday and an interesting one to say the least. Last night I found out that I'll be staying in Texas all of this week and probably most of next week as well (have to wait until John gets paid since he's paying for my return plane ticket). It'll be good though, Ashley does need me to help her. Also, last night I could not fall asleep for the life of me (this post actually began last night when I couldn't sleep). I just have so much on my mind, but I'll get to this later too. But of course, I fall asleep after 1 am and of course I'm up by a little after 7.... what else is new?

I wanted to do a recap of my weekend in Colorado Springs, it was amazing to say the least. And I got some feedback on my vlog and I found out that the sound cut out in the middle... I'm sorry about that! But as you could see, the view was absolutely amazing. Anywho... I already went over Friday a little in my vlog but I don't know what part the sound was crazy, so I'll do a recap of that as well. Friday we got up early and drove to Colorado Springs, I had a meeting with an enrollment counselor at my college about the Master's program (it was amazing, I'll hopefully be able to start my Master's in fall of 2014), we checked out Garden of the Gods, checked into our hotel (actually a resort), went to the mall to buy a few things, got my very first manicure, and then just relaxed the rest of the night.

Saturday was crazy busy. We started out the morning by having an early breakfast the the resorts restaurant (absolutely amazing food and a fancier place... I was in love :) ). Then we had about 30 minutes to relax and then Ashley and I headed out for her hair appointment. As soon as we got back from that we both had to get dressed. So I helped Ashley get her dress on and while she did her makeup I got dressed and got ready. We headed over to the Garden of the Gods and met up with John and the judge who performed the ceremony. The ceremony was short and sweet, then we went back to the resort and took a few pictures with Ashley and John's phone. We just went and relaxed for a few hours and then went out to lunch, relaxed for a few more hours (went swimming and sat in the whirlpool for a bit) and then went out to dinner. Let me tell you, dinner was amazing, we went out to this rather expensive place. I felt horrible having John pay that much for my dinner, but he insisted. So I had a $13 glass of wine and a $36 filet mignon. The food was absolutely amazing, no doubt and it was worth the money, but I still felt bad having John spend that much money on me. Then I just went to bed, it had been a long day.

Then brings Sunday, I went down for breakfast a little after 7, Ashley and John met me down there at about 7:30. After we were done, I went upstairs, started packing and finally was able to have a decent Skype conversation with Abid. We decided to leave earlier than originally planned because John wanted to go and visit Pikes Peak. So at about 10:30ish we headed up to Pikes Peak and that's where my day went downhill. As soon as we got up higher, I started getting light headed and got a major Fibromyalgia flare-up (which lasted almost the rest of the day). The drive up was beautiful though, such amazing sights but I wasn't able to enjoy it on the way back down because I was hurting so much. When we got down we went out for lunch (my blood sugar was getting pretty low) and after that we just hit the road and headed back to Texas.

Oh and I weighed myself in the resorts woman's locker room on Saturday after and I was quite hopeful. My weight was higher than before but it was not long after I ate and I had clothing on. So I'm probably quite close to where I was when I came to Texas.

My mind has just been filled lately with so many things. Being here in Texas with Ashley and John has really made me miss Abid and making me feel like I'm the third wheel (best feeling in the world.... not). I talked to Ashley about it last night and she feels bad that I feel like that but I can't help it. It wouldn't be so bad if Abid was here too but alas he is not :(. It's been tough, especially lately, after visiting Colorado Springs. We'll be together soon enough  and we'll be living there, but it's still difficult. Along with dealing with the waiting on the petition, Abid and I are both stressing and worried about that. Plus so many other things...

But this post is long enough already and I need to finish my discussion for this week and finish my rough draft of my paper. I hope you're all having a wonderful day! So until next time.

~Sara~

Living out Your Dreams and Darren Criss :) (Day 550)

Hi all!

Happy Monday! How is everyone doing today? It's a new week, time to start fresh and make great things happen! What are you going to do to make today great? I'm feeling really inspired today, yet frustrated and questioning things. Wondering how to accomplish the things that are inspiring me.

I want to talk about something I've been thinking about lately, but especially this morning. Currently, I just feel like my life hasn't actually started yet. I know that I was created for so much more than I am doing now. It seems like I'm still waiting for my real life to start. My dreams are so much higher than what I have now. I want to travel the world, help people, get married (working on that), have amazing experiences, and most importantly give God all the glory for everything I do. Right now I feel stuck in a rut, doing the same things from day to day. Not really accomplishing much, just getting by. I have this yearning to live in another country for a short time, be connected in a culture other than my own (that's hard to do when you have very little money, though). I've never really felt at home here, ever. God has placed all of these dreams in my heart and I want to live them out. But the question is, how? It frustrates me to the core, I want to be doing all the things I've dreamed of doing (and yes, one of those things is actually being with Abid). Part of me really just wants Abid and I to go to some random country and live for like 6 months or a year. Just experiencing life together and experiencing another culture. So if anyone would like to fund an experience like that, I would appreciate it. ;)

I had a great workout this morning/afternoon. 40 minutes of walking, it was more intense today because I was rocking out to my awesome Darren Criss Pandora station. Yes, Darren Criss really is my obsession right now. :) Either way, I got my workout in. I'm currently on week 4 of 5 of my 5K walking training program. By next week, I'll have walked my first 5K! Eek! :)



Oh and this is just another reason why I love Darren Criss so much. The video is a few years old, but he does Disney covers!?! This one is from Mulan (my absolutely favorite Disney movie), plus he's done songs from Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, and the Duck Tales theme song. Seriously, this man just needs to marry me right now. :) Oh but you have to check out his version of Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid, it's amazing! Not to mention that he writes his own music, he's just amazing in general. Enjoy the video below. :)

I'll be honest, listening to his music has really inspired me. I'm not expecting to become famous or meet famous people or anything like that. But I won't put anything past God, He can do great things. And hey, every person had to start somewhere, they put themselves out there and made something great of themselves. Who knows, someday I could become this really famous Marriage and Family Therapist, writing books and doing amazing things. All I know is that I'm inspired and I want to live out my dreams. My prayer is that God will use me in amazing ways in the near and distant future. 

I suppose, this post is long enough already. So until next time all.

~Sara~

Weigh-In and New Clothes (Day 549)

Hi all!

Sorry that I wasn't able to post yesterday, it was crazy busy, but I'll get to that in a bit. How is everyone doing today? Happy Sunday! It's a bit warmer here today but it's snowing currently, so that's a bummer. I have so much to talk about today! I weighed-in today and have to show you all of my new clothes/shoes. :) Be warned, this post will have a TON of pictures, so get prepared. Let's start with my weigh-in.

Starting Weight: 315

Last Week: 286.2

This Week: 282.8

Total Lost: 32.2 

That's right, I've lost 3.4 pounds this week! And that puts me at a total of 32.2 pounds lost total. I have finally hit that 30 pound mark and I intend to keep losing this time around (last time I hit 30 pounds lost, I gained weight). Oh and yesterday I went shopping and I'm officially wearing size 20 pants and 1X in tops from Shopko (In their sizing, that's a 16/18!) And I know that some of you may be thinking those sizes are really big, so how can I be so happy to be wearing those sizes? Well let me tell you, I started out in a tight size 24 pants and 2-3X shirts. This is amazing for me! I'll show you some of the items I bought yesterday through pictures. :) Just want to say sorry in advance, some of the pictures will be small because if I blow them up they get blurry. :(

Willow Bay Lace Tank

I love these tanks, they are perfect for wearing under other clothing or during the summer you can just wear them alone. I bought 5 of them, all different colors, this blue, a peach/coral, black, a yellowish green, and purple. :) I love them so far and even better, they were $10 off each one.

Polka Dot Dressy Tank Top

My mom spotted this top and I knew I needed to try it on, so I did and I fell in love with it. If you don't know me, I love polka dots. They are pretty much my favorite pattern, so I was really excited when I tried this on and it looked good. Even better, I found some capris that go perfectly with it. This makes me want warmer weather even more so I can wear this top and those capris together. :)

There was no picture of this shirt on the website but I wore it to church last night, so I took a picture of myself in it. Don't mind the freakishly dirty mirror and blurry picture, but you get the point. I love this top, it's super cute and very springy. :)





Now onto the pants/capris/shorts that I bought. The first pair of them, I wasn't able to find a picture online, but they are cute! Blue pants with small white polka dots. :) The only way they could be better is if they were skinny jeans, but beggars can't be choosers.

Denim Colored Capris

These capris are awesome and super cute! :) I have them in this shade of blue and then green (the green ones are the ones that go with my polka dot shirt). They are super comfy and the colors are sweet.

Colored Bermuda Shorts

Here are the shorts that I bought, except mine are a lighter blue, but alas there was no picture of that color online. They hit me right at the knee (the only type of shorts that I'll wear), so I can't wait until summer to wear them and my capris.

Colored Denim Jeans

These are the pants I bought, I have these red ones and some purple ones. :) Honestly, the purple one's are my favorite but I'm still trying to put outfits together for those.


Last but not least, my awesome new shoes. I did need some better, supportive workout shoes. I'm so glad to finally have some workout shoes that are more feminine (since I have freakishly big man feet, thanks dad!). I haven't officially worked out in them, but I did wear them yesterday while I was shopping with my mom. Tomorrow I'll get to workout with them for sure, because it's seeming as if today a workout is not in the cards, we'll see though.

Oh, and I have decided that if something ever happens to Abid and I, I have figured out who I will marry. I'll move out to LA and marry Darren Criss. :) How gorgeous is he?!? Plus, he plays violin, guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, and drums, has a freakishly amazing voice, speaks fluent Italian and a few other languages, writes music, oh good Lord.... this man is amazing. He is sarcastic, goofy, passionate, and from the interview's I've heard, he's a romantic. :) He's a few inches shorter than me, but who cares? Abid's shorter than me too, so it's okay. This is the man I will marry if Abid and I don't work out. :)

Oh and I finally broke and got a twitter account (mostly so I could follow Darren's posts :) ). So I'd love to have you all follow me on Twitter.

Good Lord, I've pretty much written a picture book for this post. I warned all of you though. But it's time for me to put all of my focus into Once Upon a Time. :) So until next time.

~Sara~

Progress (Day 540)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How is everyone doing today? You've made it through the week, that's a great accomplishment! :) It's snowy here today, but a bit warmer (35 degrees, and yes, in Wisconsin that is warm :) ). I had my doctor appointment this morning and he said that I'm making good progress, but he wants to see me in a month just to make sure I keep progressing. As my doctor said today, it doesn't matter where you are right now, all that matters is that you're heading in the right direction. I think about this with my weight loss/exercise as well, just keep making small changes and they lead to great things.

Today I walked 2 miles! That is huge for me, it took me about 46 minutes (long way for me to go if I want to walk a 5K in 45 minutes). Plus I did more upper body strength training while walking and dang... I can feel it in my arms, especially my shoulders. I did 5 sets of 10 of bicep curls, hammer curls, lateral shoulder raises, chest press, shoulder row, and tricep extensions. Plus another one (I don't know the name of it), I held my weights up near my head almost in a sense that I was flexing my bicep (without the flex) and just held it for 1 minute, I did that 5 times as well. That one I felt the most. It's crazy just how much 2 lb weights can do. Next week won't be too bad, my plan has me walking 30 minutes on Monday, 2 miles on Wednesday, and 2.25 miles on Friday (or whatever day I choose to do each). Plus more walking on the other days of the week. But I'm sure proud of myself for keeping up with this program now. I can't believe that in a few weeks I will be walking my first 5K! Once I accomplish that, I am going to work on my 5K time and hopefully do some more intense cross training.

So yesterday was a high carb day, and honestly my high carb days aren't that high. But it was weird having pasta for lunch and rice/bread with dinner (we put rice in our chili instead of noodles). Oh and then I had plain waffles as an night time snack. They were all really good, and I was still plenty under my carb goals (craziness I tell you)! Actually I was well under on all of my numbers including calories. Plus I found out that the chili we've been having all week will have fewer calories than I originally thought. I put down on the recipe that there are 12 servings, well it will be at least 15 serving for that pot. So my calories, carbs, protein, and fats are a little lower each day than originally calculated. Oh well, it happens.

This morning was amazing, I got up did all the things I had to do to get ready. I came down stairs, made myself a cup of coffee and opened up my computer. To my surprise I had a message on Skype from Abid from a few minutes before! What?!? It said he was offline but I sent him a message back anyways, not thinking anything. But he responded to me, he was online! He was at his friends house and we were able to talk for about 45 minutes (before my doctor appointment). I wasn't able to see him because his friend doesn't have a cam, but I was able to hear his voice and he was able to see me. It was like how it use to be when we talked every day. Oh, it was so nice. He sent me a few newer pictures of himself (he's looking handsome as always). Of course he wasn't smiling in the picture, his excuse was because he's not with me so he can't smile. (Cheesy, I know. But it was cute :) ). I guess it's no different than his "fake" smile in most of his other pictures. He told me that once we're together and we have pictures together, he will do his real smile. He is such a goon! :) (One of the many reasons why I love him).

Today I'm catching up on blogs (I follow so many awesome bloggers). Plus responding to some discussion postings for school. Have a wonderful afternoon/evening everyone! So until next time!

~Sara~

Proud of Myself! (Day 538)

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! We've made it half way through the week, isn't that exciting? How is everyone doing today? It's a sunny day here, it's nice to see the sun today. It's been very dreary here lately, snowy and cloudy. I'm sick of it. Snow, snow, go away, don't come again another day. :) Since I'm just staying at home today, I'm wearing capris and a short sleeve shirt (wishful thinking for Spring :) ).

Last night was horrible, to be completely honest. I cried a lot and thought some horrible things about the people I love most (about how they deserve more than me or would be happier without me in their lives). I was hungry and I was under my food goals yesterday, so I went downstairs and I made a healthier food choice, an Atkins brownie and some grilled chicken. I made those choices even when I was incredibly stressed out and just wanted some ice cream or chips or something like that. I didn't give in to those unhealthy foods. Honestly, I don't remember a time when I chose to eat something healthy over unhealthy in a stressful situation. This morning, I woke up with great pride knowing that I made a good choice for myself in a hard situation. When I woke up, I was feeling okay, better than last night. I got up and did my normal morning routine, and as I was enjoying my morning coffee I got a call from Abid. I saw his name on my caller ID and was so excited but what he told me is good and bad for us. He's heading back to work right now, he was just about to get on the bus and head back. So that means we probably won't be able to see each other on Skype again for at least a month or more.

I just need share something. As I was writing the paragraph above I received a phone call, it was for my parents. It was from Acts 1:8 Ministry, you probably have no idea what they are all about. Well they are a local Christian ministry that is, "equipping Christians to care, share and connect people to Christ worldwide through Christian kindness" (That was taken directly from their website). Well the man that I talked to, Travis, asked if I had anything that I needed prayer for, and after last night and this morning, I definitely did. So we just talked and he prayed for me for about 10 minutes and I experienced God in a way that I never have before. It was the most amazing thing. I have been a Christian for a long time (since I was quite young, I've been on mission trips and gone to countless conferences) and I've never had an experience like this before. I can't even begin to explain my feelings to all of you. It was amazing.

Yesterday I was a little over my initial calorie goal but still under with my exercise calories included in. My numbers were okay yesterday, a little low on my protein but carbs and fats were great. Here's the numbers:

Type	Carbs	Protein	Fats
Total	171	342	142
Used	161	184	87
Left	10	158	55

Not the prettiest picture of me because it's right after my workout. But it felt amazing to really get a sweat on and I felt amazing after my workout (besides my back/hip hurting a bit). Oh and I found out that I won another giveaway! I wasn't winning any and now I've won two within a month.  I won a beautiful journal, I can't wait to receive it and start writing in it. :)

But it's time to go relax a little and read/comment on some blogs. :) Have a wonderful afternoon/evening everyone! So until next time!

~Sara~

New Toys (Day 534)

Hi all!

Good afternoon, sorry this is later than normal but I've had a busy day. How is everyone doing today? This morning I had a wonderful coffee date with my best friend and then as soon as I was done with that, I went shopping with my mom, one of my nieces and my nephew. So we just got back unloaded everything and I can finally relax a little bit. So I have on the World Baseball Classic (Canada vs. Mexico), not really cheering for anyone in particular. Tonight's game will be interesting though, I'm torn. Do I cheer for Italy (the team I've been cheering for all along) or USA (where I live). Oh well, whatever happens, will happen.

Today is another low carb days, but it was crazy. We went out for lunch, I got a salad with grilled chicken, apples, and cranberries, but I didn't realize there was bleu cheese on it. I absolutely hate bleu cheese, I tried to pick it off but it was just crumbled on it too much, so I barely touched my salad. I didn't let that derail my low carb day, I just ate when we got home. Atkins Beef Merlot meal and an Atkins nutty fudge brownie. :) They were both delicious. I did fairly well yesterday, my protein levels were still low but other than that I did wonderfully. Here's the recap:

Type	Carbs	Protein	Fats
Total	173	347	144
Used	148	117	102
Left	25	230	42

But I'm excited, now I get to talk about my new toys. :) Today I got my chocolate protein powder (I can't wait to try it out!), I got a new pedometer, and some 2 lb weights. With my back, I can't be lifting too hard, and when I do the 30DS 2 lb weights are all I can handle right now. I cannot wait to try all my new toys out! :) Now when I'm walking I don't have to count my steps and I can be walking with some weights in my hands, it'll all help out. Plus now my protein levels will be up higher. I'm planning on trying out my protein powder tonight, so I'll give you a little review of it tomorrow.

I've got to cut this one short. My paper is not done yet (eek!) and it's due tomorrow. So I really need to finish it up so I can get all my proofreading done. Plus I'm still not even close to caught up on the blogs I follow (oops). I'll try to get caught up after my paper is done.

~Sara~

Self-Image (Day 533)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How is everyone doing on this lovely day? It's a little chilly here, but we have a high of 37 today, so I'm not complaining. :) Today I am feeling really wonderful, refreshed, motivated, happy. Not really sure why, but I am. And I thought, I haven't shared a picture with you all in awhile. Don't mind the lazy clothing and no make-up, because it is a very lazy day today. These pants that I have on are my size 24's that I'm saving for my comparison picture in the future. The legs are freakishly huge on me, but it's a lazy day, so it's okay. :)

Yesterday, not long after I posted my blog, I got a phone call from Abid. :) Oh, you have no idea how happy that made me. His job has kept him very busy over the past week. It saddens me, the conditions that he has to work in. When he got the job his hours were suppose to be 11 am until 8 pm, that's not so horrible. But he hasn't been getting home from work until much later than that. Yesterday he called me at 2:40 am, his time and he didn't get home from work until about 1:40 am. And it's not that he lives that far from where he works, it is that he is working more hours than he was suppose to, every single day. I can hear the exhaustion in his voice and it brings me to tears. He is working so hard and earning so little, but that is what he is doing for our future together. Oh, I love that man so very much. But on a happier note, my mother will be printing out the finished paperwork for Abid's petition. All I need to do is sign it and get the money together and then send it in. The process will be starting very soon. :)

Today is another low carb day, thank God. Those high carb days are a lot of work. I still need to work on that protein, but after talking to my mom, we're buying some protein powder tomorrow. So my protein numbers will be much higher next week, but my other numbers were pretty good yesterday. I even stayed within my calorie range! :) I'm really starting to get use to this carb cycling thing, and I'm loving it! I feel sort of funny saying this after NSV Thursday yesterday, but I'm really excited for my weigh-in on Sunday. Here is a recap of my day yesterday:

Type	Carbs	Protein	Fats
Total	404	404	86
Used	340	70	77
Left	64	334	9

This morning I received this awesome email from SparkPeople, included in the email was this awesome article. The article was about how to boost your body image, here's the link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1760. It was an article that I first read back in June of last year but it was wonderful to read again. This is one of those articles that I save and look back on from time to time. It is all about self-love and accepting yourself no matter what size you are. And I want to share the tips from the article on how to boost your body image every day:

1. Find one thing to compliment yourself on every day.

2. Wear clothing that fits well and makes you feel great.

3. Exercise

4. Nourish your body with foods that will keep it functioning well.

5. Thank your body with some pampering.

6. Every time you receive a compliment, write it down in a journal.

7. Don't join in the complaint brigade

8. Stop negative self-talk immediately.

And here are some tips to boost your body image over time:

1. Experiment with mind-body exercises.

2. Ask your friends and loved ones what they enjoy most about you.

3. Explore and appreciate your personal strengths.

4. Take stock and marvel at what your body is capable of doing, not matter what size it is.

5. Who do you look up to, admire, or seek as role models?

6. Become media savvy.

7. Consider throwing the scale away. 

These are tips that I try to remember each day, especially since I still have a ton of weight to lose. But self-image is important at any weight. We need to love ourselves now, it is so insanely important. I know women who are at a healthy weight who have a horrible self-image of themselves. So just remember, being at a specific weight will not make you love yourself.

I am so very excited for this weekend, my best friend is coming home for a visit! And then she'll be back home again for Easter! :) I miss her a ton, even though I saw her about a month ago and I talk to her at least once per week. But I miss her nevertheless. So I'm excited to have a coffee date with her tomorrow morning and really catch up! :)

But I have some discussion posts to respond to and a paper to finish. Not to mention a ton of blogs to catch up on. So until next time!

~Sara~