Just Lettin' the Night Roll

Last week the lovely Allie and Jen brought back the Pit & Peak link up. I had plans to participate buuut I didn't. I couldn't miss out two weeks in a row though so here I am!

Pits

- My windshield cracked earlier this week. I had to say good bye to more of my hard earned money.

- I've been super lazy all week.

Because of said laziness:

- I have not worked out.

- I have not blogged or read many blogs, let alone comment on any.

- I have been eating like crap because I don't have anything planned. {Hello vending machine lunches.}

Peaks

- My windshield was replaced on Thursday. No more staring at the crack while I drive waiting for it to get bigger!

- It's Friday! Finally Friday! You have no idea how happy I am.

- I managed to lose some pounds. A loss on the scale always makes me happy.

- One of the five books I put on hold from the library became available.

Ending on a good note I'm off to finish getting ready for this one last day of work.

But real quick before I go...

Because I feel like an over achiever right now I'll also link up with Whitney for #backthatazzup Friday!

Every day to and from work I listen to Justin Moore's latest album, Off the Beaten Path. Absolutely love love love this song and this man!

WIW 1/22/14

Earlier this morning I went through the scary experience of stepping on the scale for the first time in 35 days. {Thanks Wii Fit for reminding me.} I some how managed to make it off the scale alive and not broken down in a hot mess.

In 35 days I was able to only gain 0.7 of a pound. This little gain puts me back at my highest weight but thankfully not over that "record". So I'm back at square one and what a perfect time to get started again.

Thanks to my blogging friends {who are turning real life long distance friends IMO} I'm feeling motivated and inspired to get back on the healthy wagon. If you're looking for some inspiration I would head on over to Carolyn's blog Fitnasty For Life, Tammy Jo's blog You Wouldn't Call It A Drinking Problem..., or Ashton's blog A Fluffy Girl because every time I read one of their posts I'm inspired and am wondering why the h-e-double hockey sticks I'm sitting on my ass just reading about it rather than doing it myself.

I'll leave you today with my stats and the knowledge that I have plans to try out a new gym {cheaper!} with a free day pass and to start working on tracking my food. I'll be sure to give y'all an update on the gym situation once I get my big booty there.

Starting Weight {highest weight recorded}: 207.7

Last Weigh In, Dec. 18: 207

Today's Weigh In, Jan. 22: 207.7

Gain: 0.7

Seventy Five in Twenty Fourteen

Happy Monday Tuesday everyone! I was one of the lucky people to have MLK day off yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I managed to get caught up on laundry while being a lazy bum and doing nothing but watch NCIS all day while snuggling with Bo and reading. If only I could have a repeat button so I could do it all over again today.

Thanks to my day off I was able to finish my fourth book in 2014 which brings me to my reading challenge. I've decided to challenge myself to read 75 books in 2014. And as of right now I'm right on track and 5% done with my goal.


Head on over to Goodreads to check out my profile to see what I've been reading so far this year. Sadly the BBC's January book is still on my to-read shelf because it's such a popular book right now that I'm on a waiting list to get my hands on a copy {both book and Kindle edition}.

Hopefully soon I'll update the Good Reads page on here which has links to any book reviews I have done on the blog.

And now despite the polar plunge that has hit Wisconsin I must actually get off the couch and get myself ready for work. If you're also experiencing the polar plunge, stay warm and stay safe if snow is accompanying the cold temperatures.

The Struggle is Part of the Story

Last night I was feeling down on myself about having fallen off the healthy lifestyle wagon. If you recall it's been since before the holidays that I worked out or even really tried to pretend that I give a crap about what I'm eating. Now here I am half way through January and I still haven't got myself back on the wagon.

And last night I told Carolyn {check out her blog Fitnasty For Life}that I wasn't really wanting to get back on right now.

Yeah, I said it. I was feeling like I would rather stay as I am and possibly even slide a little further away from a healthy lifestyle than put in the work to change myself. That just sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

The fact is changing your lifestyle to a healthier one is hard. So even though I'm not happy with where I am on this journey I would rather sleep in and drink soda like it's water rather than work out and make healthy choices because it's easy. It just goes to show that there is so much truth to the saying "if it was easy everyone would be doing it."

As if feeling upset about wanting to take the easy way out wasn't enough I decided to throw in a whole lot of regret. I've been "trying" to lose weight for the past five years now. And had I stuck with it way back when I wouldn't have to lose as much weight as I do now. I could be maintaining now rather than struggling to start. I could be happy with myself rather than on the verge of tears when I think about how I have failed myself.

Even though I was being so self destructive with my attitude I also knew that holding on to that negative attitude would get me no where. Whining about what I should have done and where I could be now isn't going to make the changes and put in the hard work, effort and commitment. Crazy how I can talk myself out of the funk I put myself in.

I decided right then and there last night while laying in bed that I would make the changes and put in all of the hard work, effort and commitment necessary to get myself back on track and accomplish my goals. I'm starting small today with the goal of drinking 80oz of water. I'm not going to worry about not working out and about not having a meal plan for today. I'm just going to focus on drinking water. Today I'm starting again and I want to succeed my first day back. Starting small and taking baby steps will get me where I want to go and will make sticking to the changes a little easier because I'm not overwhelming myself with a ton of changes all at once.

I know I can do this. I know that I am not alone in my struggle. I know that I have the support of some amazing ladies. Now it's time to turn all of that knowledge into action.

Before I go, huge huge, thank you to Carolyn for being there for me last night. She's been where I've been and she's come out the other side. She looks fantastic and is definitely an inspiration for me. I cannot express in words how much I appreciate her for her kind words, support, advice, and words of encouragement.

It's been three damn years...

Something you may or may not know about me is that I'm single. I've been single since October of 2010 now so it's been over three years since I've been in a relationship.

Obviously at first the break up sucked and I was sad that the relationship I had spent over two years of my life putting my time and effort into was over. After becoming a little bit stronger every day {Sarah Evan's song anyone?} I was eventually able to look back and see that it really wasn't the greatest relationship any more. Maybe I shouldn't have let it go on as long as it did. Or maybe it was meant to go on as long as it did to teach me something. I learned about what I want and definitely don't want out of relationship, especially a post high school relationship. So for that I am thankful.

Since that break up I tried to see if I could light a flame between a guy from my early high school days. Despite meeting him when I was a freshman we some how managed to off and on stay in contact with one another. We hung out once but that was as far as things went.

There was also the one time date with a guy I knew through one of my mom's previous employees. As well as I thought things went on that date that was as far as it went. It was definitely confusing considering this guy was the one who seemed to be taking the lead and pulling us down the path we were on and then after finally getting to hang out he decided we were "moving too fast" or some bull shit like that. I guess the silver lining to it all was that it ended as quickly as it began so I wasn't hurt too badly.

And then there was The Player. We had been some what friends during my very first semester of college in 2008 when we had a lecture together once a week. After that semester we lost touch and it wasn't until the summer of 2012 that we reconnected. The summer of 2012 is probably one of my favorites. I made so many memories that will last a lifetime. I ended up reconnecting with a friend from high school thanks to The Player and will be thankful for that always. But it was also a tough summer because there were tears and roller coasters of emotion because of him.

Fall rolled around and we lost contact. And then one winter night at a party he walked into the barn and we reconnected again. Not without some drama because he was with a girl, his unofficial girlfriend. Stupidly throughout the winter and spring I let him call me back to him a few times. Of course the unofficial girlfriend wasn't around when this happened. I thought we could be just friends but that wasn't the case based on his actions. I tried to be strong and not fall into his trap but his ways were stronger than mine.

Thankfully I've managed to keep away from him since the last time I saw him despite his best efforts to reel me back in.

Since The Player I haven't had a dating life. And while the majority of the time I am more than okay with being single I also know that some day I want to be married and have a family. And in order to one day be married and have a family I know I have to date and find my Mr. Right.

Which brings me to deciding to share my efforts at dating to light on the blog. I'm not sure when I'll tell you the next story of my non-existent dating life but know that I will.

Side note: I recently watched Footloose {2011} and took the title for this post from the scene in the church after Ariel was beat up by Chuck and she confronts her father about how she's felt since the loss of her older brother Bobby.

Here's the Sarah Evan's song I was referencing at the beginning of the post.

And just for fun here is Leighton Meester's version of the song that she recorded for the Country Strong soundtrack.

Blogger Book Club is BACK!

Today has so many things going for it and none of them seem particularly good. It's Monday. It's the first Monday after the holidays AND the start of a new month {work will probably be crazy}. It's -25 freaking degrees outside and then lets add in the wind chill so it feels like -50! None of these things sound good to me at all and let's top it off with I still have to work today because "we don't close due to weather." Yeah, I received that email at the end of last week from my employer.

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to have a job but sometimes I wish my job wasn't deemed so necessary. A day off to stay safe at home and not need to brave the frigid temperatures would be nice right about now. Even working from home would be a huge improvement over having to actually drive to work!

And by now I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about the weather because based on my Twitter feed it's pretty cold all over the country. So let's move on shall we?

After taking a month off Blogger Book Club is back! The lovely Miss Kay who blogs over at The Best of Intentions announced this morning that January's book club book is going to be The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. It sounds good! I can't wait to get my hands on it. The link up to share your review is going to be Friday, January 31st. Happy reading!

Stay safe and warm today people. If you have the day off enjoy it and be thankful. If you're working I feel your pain and you are not alone. With that I'm off to get ready for work {how bundled up can I get?!} so I have time to let my car warm up for a good 15 {or more} minutes before I need to hit the deserted road.