HoLLa: Update on Life vol.2

Happy Labor Day Blogdom!

Mine felt like actual labor – thanking you PMS – NOT!
Anywho, let’s not start this post with bitchin’ and talk of female bits– I have plenty time left for that later on in the post… heh!

But at least we got some pool time in as it will be closed on Wednesday – always a sad day for me as I am part fish and sucha summer gal.


So what’s new?
Well…

I rejoined Weight Watchers for the 3rd and hopefully final time.
I got all nostalgic with my blog turning the big ONE and started reading back on old posts. It really resonated with me that I was most content on WW and doing SO good. Hell I was even RUNNING a mile or so non-stop!
I bet I couldn’t run 50 feet right now if you held a gun to my head. But I digress…

I let a lot of life stuff get in my way – my shitty ex-job, money stuff, holidays, basic stress – and decided I could do the weight loss thing on my own. Yeah ask me how that worked out?
I have put back on about 13lbs (out of 22lbslost total) from my lowest point on WW last year – boo hiss!
Heck – I have put 6lbs on in six weeks – which is just wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

So I began to question why I was doing this alone and painfully struggling which leads to frustration and failure???
Brian agreed that I was happier on WW so I bit the bullet, signed the dotted line, and am now a bonabide paying WW Member again.

I need the plan, the tracking, the PointsPlus system, the accountability that comes from weekly weigh-in’s and meetings, and I need the support from my meetings, leader, and the online WW community!
Some of you who read my drivel here are from the WW site – xxoo!

And I am stoked to be back – and I haven’t been stoked about *dieting* in a LONG time! I have my gym membership too – something I have never had on any of my Weight Watcher Journeys – so I can only assume that I will have success. I have always had success on WW – but now I have better tools and I am in such a better place in my mind, body, and soul! (Thank you admittance and Wellbutrin!)

I put a tab up above to track WW along with a few others – I was bored the other night while everyone slept and snored. I have felt like changing my blog up a bit – not sure what will stay or go yet? Just testing the waters a bit. I mean do I really need more than five tabs?

In really good news:
Goddess Group resumes tomorrow night after summer hiatus!
YAY!!!

I need my group, my fellow Goddesses, and our girlie-pow-wow time! Not to mention that I have let my spirtual work REALLY slack and I miss it. (Also something I realized whilst reflecting through my blog the other night.)
I haven’t lit a candle, said a prayer, casted a spell, or ANYTHING magical for that matter in longer than I can remember – tsk tsk!
I plan on fixing that this week.

So while I am sad to see summer end – fall is bringing some really great things my way!
Coolio!

Oh and one final thing – I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it but I said screw it – it needs to be said!

Apparently saying how you feel and/or using a few carefully placed swear words can cause you to lose followers??
To each their own but sorry, that's lame.
If I stopped reading and/or following every blog that didn't conform to my opinions and everything I believe in I would be one lonely FUCKER (ooops there goes two more followers) in the blog-o-sphere.
Oh well – love me or leave me – literally!
*heh*

I love having followers – I mean that’s at least part of the reason why we blog right? And I jumped on the *hop til you drop* bandwagon and that is how I gained probably 80% of my followers. In hindsight – I would have done that differently. I would rather have peeps who WANT to read my blog that just a high number of people who I guarantee most never set an eye on what I post. Granted that goes both ways and if there was some way to remedy that – I would.
Oh well live and learn.

Now I do the hops I really want and only follow blogs I enjoy reading.
You lucky bloggers you… lol!
I suppose the same goes for everyone else?

And ya know -- if I am not your cup of tea, by all means don't read. But hopefully not because we don't share the same opinions.

Ya know what they say about opinions after all...

xxoo!
♥cyn♥

A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!!

Here is the link to enter my GiVeAwAy!!!

HaPPy HuMp DaY!

What’s the good word ya ask?

How about nature?
Just look how well the Iris, strawberries, Skylar’s watermelon and my herb garden are doing.

I feel so dang connected to nature lately – I think I need to camp and spend the night under the stars at least once this summer. Even if that means in my own backyard!

How about Goddess Group last tonight?
I always enjoy group, but I admit some nights are better than others. Last night was one of those nights. Just a good vibe going on!
My fellow Goddesses and I practiced some psychometry (token-object reading) and we rocked it. Then we had a really cool convo involving spirit guides, déjà vu, and parallel plains and universes!
Our little group of Goddesses is almost a year old by the way. I wasn’t there for the original gathering, but darn close.
Wow, what a difference a year makes!
Finding this group has helped me evolve in so many positive ways. It certainly lead me to my path, gave me clarity, friendships, purpose, and helped me find ME again – because ME was so sadly lost in the shuffle of everything else going on in my life.
And yes, there has been a minimal amount of *chick BS* as I call it. I will never understand the need for competiveness and hatred between women when we should be uniting and ruling the world – just sayin’. Angela welcomes everyone with open arms no matter what your beliefs or walk of life may be -- but negativity in a womans EMPOWERMENT group kinda defeats the purpose.
And I cannot count how many of you lovely ladies out there reading my drivel have left me comments saying how much you wish there was a Goddess Group near you.
I am still working on the teleporter so we can get ya all here.
(Gosh, wouldn’t that be cool?!)

How about my wicked cool new necklace I got from Angela’s shop last night? I need something cool around my neck and wanted a crystal and I just fell in love with the rogue crystal as NO ONE knows its true identity!

Seriously, while it’s rogue-ness is cool -- if anyone could tell us exactly what it is – I would be eternally grateful. We have some ideas just aren’t 100% sure?

How about my daughter Skylar who will be two in less than two weeks (WoWie!)?
She is hysterical.
The other day I was kinda getting after her about manners; mainly please and thank you. Not five minute later she was demanding something and I said, “What’s the magic word?”
Without batting an eyes she says, “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!”
Indeed! *heh*

Guess who is having a Cinderella birthday party?

Then yesterday we are walking outside to the pool and she INSISTS that she saw a toucan flying over the yard.
Okay so they are technically indigenous to the Neptropic Zone (Central and South America, the Carribbean, and Florida) – I suppose one could be lost in Rhode Island?
HA!

Don’t you wish you could sleep like this? I know I do, I bet I haven’t slept like that since the 1990s!

How about the photo challenge that starts TODAY???
Told ya I would give ya a reminder (ANGELA)!
Break out the Cannon (ANGELA), Nikon, Kodak, cell phone, ipod – whatever and play along!
The details are HERE on the post I made on Monday.
I will be partaking and posting before the end of the day in the section below my header named *photo-a-day*.

Finally and just because it feels appropriate…

Gotta L♥VE Miss O!

♥cyn♥

Motivational Monday...

Or Tuesday if you are a day late like myself… *whoops*!
I blame Blogger and myself – seriously, how does a site like this go *down* for days??? And I swear it still isn’t working correctly? I can’t log in correctly – anyone else???

Anywho – the motivation is need – although I am doing so much better this week in regards to the gym. I made a commitment to not just show up but to make the work outs count – and thus far they have! And no complaining! Yeah, it’s hard, and I feel like I have been run over by a truck when all is said and done – but in the words of John Cougar Mellancamp – Hurt So Good!

Yesterday made a month as a vegetarian – and no, I did not cheat! Not once, not even a little taste, not even close to cheating! It is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself – a close second to my decision to quit smoking 2+ years ago!

But yay for me and my month as a vegetarian/vegan!



To summarize my experience; I made this list, which I will add to as I see fit.

Things I have learned since choosing a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle…

1. It’s way cheaper to eat processed, unhealthy foods – no wonder why a good portion of Americans are overweight and/or sick.
2. There is ALWAYS a vegetarian option when going out to eat – and most restaurants are VERY accomidating to any *special* orders.
3. People are very curious about vegetarianism/veganism. They wanna know what I eat and if it’s been hard converting and most always the next words out of their mouths are “I could never…”
4. Cutting out meat was MUCH easier than eliminating dairy – I admit that I miss cheese!
5. Becoming a vegetarian has made me very conscious of every single morsel of food that enters my body – and that just cannot be a bad thing…
6. I feel insanely good – way more energy and I never feel that bloated icky feeling anymore – go figure!

I am super-psyched to see Forks Over Knives -- a film that examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
I know it’s not for everyone – and only in limited release – but it looks powerful. Plus I love a great documentary.

Check out the link, Google it, follow them on Facebook – whatever floats ya boat – but it definitely deserves a peek!

I shall end on a GREAT note – a little summary (in photos) of what Miss Skylar has been up to. I have felt SO much happier being home with her more – alas; why can’t I just win Powerball and be a SAHM!?!?!

How can you just not adore her -- too stinkin' cute!


Blessed Be
♥cyn♥

*Full moon tonight and we have a special *Thanks to Mother Earth* Circle planned tonight for Goddess Group. I can definitely use some SUPER DUPER full moon positive energy and Goddess Goodness tonight!*
xxoo!

HoLLa: Weight Loss Update

First of all – in case I missed anyone (which sadly I am sure I have because my weekend has just been insane) – thank you ALL so very much for the wonderful comments and birthday wishes. Simply put – I am touched!

Next…
Let’s discuss weight loss.
Or in my case weight gain.
Yeah, I gained this week at my weigh-in on Friday.
BUT…
I consider this past week a MAJOR success even though I did technically gain .8 lbs.
For a week that had Easter at one end and my birthday at the other – a less than a lb. gain is pretty dang good.
Added to the fact that PMS and Mother Nature were in play – I did REALLY dang good!

Gym wise – I worked out six days last week (even on Easter and my Birthday) and give my dedication to the gym ALL the credit for the miniscule gain on such a *FOOD CRAZY* week.
I added some additional weight training to the mix and changed up my cardio a bit by adding the stationary bike and upping my level on the hill feature on the treadmill.

I also have logged in 85.9 mi on The Virtual Trans American Trail and am 10.58 mi away from Ashland, VA.

I am still going strong with my pledge to eat vegetarian! Yesterday made two weeks sans meat and this week I am cutting out dairy.
I admit that I am a wee bit nervous about saying adios to cheese; as I have a lifelong love affair with anything cheese related. We shall see how it goes. I am determined and feel confident about being successful!

In other non-diet news:
Today was FABULOUS outside and I actually sat in the backyard in my bathing suit to get some sun while Skylar played!

We had a *family* bday dinner/party for me tonight (my Barbie Party!) – so sweet! My Mom made me my all-time favorite dessert -- banana pudding (fat-free I might add) and Brian made us a wonderful spaghetti and meatball (his speciality) dinner. I, of course, had vegetarian sauce but it was still SUPERB!!! I got a new watch (on top of all the amazing things I already got this past week) and a GORGEOUS marquesite peacock ring. I ♥ peacocks!

My family is just amazing for allowing me to have a weekend ALL ABOUT ME and they really out of their way to make my birthday extra special.
I am without a doubt SPOILED!

Bruce the Spruce (along with a cousin I aquired from my Mom) was officially planted – aren’t they adorable!?!?!

I won a most excellent giveaway! I will of course *blog it* when it arrives – but a shout out to Lesley @ Fabulously Flawed and a most gracious thanks for hosting such a killer GiVeAwAy!
Please check out her blog – she is sassy and hysterical! I love a gal who isn’t afraid to say it like it is!

Tomorrow I return to work after having a week out of work. I didn’t intend to have a week out – it just worked out that way. While I don’t loathe my job (love what I do actually) – I was sorta hoping I would hit the Powerball so I wouldn’t have to EVER go back and could spend every single day with my kiddos in the sunshine…
Alas…

Last but not least...just because she is so stinkin’ cute and my little pride and joy (and possibly my BFF because we spend SO much time together) – Miss Skylar Rockets and her little almost two-year old mood swings!

♥cyn♥

HoLLa: Weight Loss Update

HeLLo aLL!

What a wonderful week I had in regards to my quest to regain and maintain a healthy lifestyle!

First of all – the weigh-in!
I am down another 2lbs. this week!
*w00ts*

That’s 9lbs gone total since joining the gym eight weeks ago. So I am currently averaging slightly over a lb. a week – but I did have two weeks in there that I TOTALLY slacked and regained a few lbs.
Either way…
YaY!

Once again I fully owe the great weigh-in to the gym (I made it five days this week!), tracking my food, and eating strictly vegetarian.
Tomorrow will make a week with NO meat and very limited dairy.
I feel amazing.
Maybe it’s all in my head?
But I swear not eating meat and limiting my dairy even for just six days has made an immense difference in how I feel overall.

I cannot say I miss the meat – at least not at this juncture. I may feel differently in a week, month, year – hopefully never!

I will say this much. I thought I would be really tested when going out to lunch this week, but it was easier than I imagined to make educated vegetarian choices. I ordered food that I would have most likely NEVER choosen and what an eye opener to know that all these years I have shorted myself on such amazingly delicious HEALTHY food!

One interesting thing is the reaction I have gotten about making the 30 Day Vegetarian Pledge.
Most is supportive; but I have had a few “I could NEVER give up meat” responses as well. And hey, I get that. It’s not a choice for everyone. But it is my choice and something I am becoming increasingly passionate about.

I am not trying to change the eating habits of the world (yet) – but I would like to prove the benefits and importance by showing it CAN be done. Even by an ex-smoking, fast food eating, rum drinking, non-exercising, *I will live forever no matter what I do to my body attitude* type like myself!

My longtime friend Angela even made a comment that all my *clean living* was pretty shocking.
Agreed!
Who would have ever thunk it?
But it’s time to grow up and become accountable!

If my life had a theme song it would be James Brown’s “I Feel Good”!

Other Updates:

Virtual Trans American Trail: 73.3 mi done -- 7.71 mi to Mechanicsville, VA.
Yep… still in VA!

Wedding: As I previously reported, we set the date for September 9th and despite the grandest of intentions – I have yet to pay the deposit on a venue. THIS WEEK FOR SURE!

Birthday: The 20th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday is this coming Thursday (the 28th) and I am taking some MUCH needed time out of work to just BE and celebrate being a year older and wiser! I will be spending the day with my family having a lovely picnic at one of my MOST favorite places (weather willing!!!) and having a lavish vegetarian dinner out with my hunny at a WONDERFUL Japanese restaurant! Some other fun stuff planned as well! And I have a day of beauty (boy do I need it) coming my way next Saturday as my birthday gift from Brian. Absolutely CANNOT wait for that!!!

Work: Meh… and let’s just leave it at that.

Life is good!

And there ya have it…
Happy Earth Day Ya’LL!

♥cyn♥

I'm a Weiner!

So this lovely package arrived yesterday…



It is the prize I won from the awesome giveaway courtesy of Aimee at Girl Talk.




I LOVE IT and cannot wait to give it a whirl when we go out for my Birthday next week!

Thanks again Aimee!

♥cyn♥

Committment

I am making a concious effort to write more in my blog…

I refuse to let *life* get in the way anymore.

No really – I MEAN IT THIS TIME!!!

So I made a commitment today. Something I have been considering for sometime now. I have decided to go vegetarian for 30 days – made the official pledge and everything! Found it via my research on PETA’s website – which is just amazing and full of great information on going vegan/vegetarian! (They have a facebook page too – OF COURSE!)

Of course my intent is to continue with this choice – but the 30 Day Pledge is a step in the right direction. And ultimately I hope to be 100% vegan! (BTW I am actually on Day 3 and going STRONG!!!!)

This is a choice I have been weighing for some time now, especially since becoming more spiritually aware on my path. I won’t get all ethical – I think more people than not are aware of what REALLY goes on in our meat industry and how HORRID animals are treated and abused. But I will say that being more informed has helped me in making this decision.

I am also choosing this lifestyle for health reasons. I want a quality life where I can enjoy my family and the things I love most in the world for as long as possible. The health benefits of a vegan lifestyle are staggering!

And I admit it… I am vain. I want a healthier AND thinner body that works at peak performance! Something I think I can attain by making this healthier choice. I want to ROCK my wedding dress and be better looking into my 40s than I was in my 30s. I mean duh… who doesn’t want to look better? Or at least be the best version of themselves that they can be?

Now I am not unrealistic. I do not think choosing to be vegan is the *golden ticket* to being thinner. But I do believe it makes it harder to be overweight and makes you VERY conscious of every morsel that enters your body.

I feel very content about my decision. I am not saying I won’t be tempted – hamburgers are generally a comfort food I rely on regularly. And I will most definitely miss sushi more than words can describe. But I think the pros of giving up such things FAR outweigh the cons!

Maybe I am crazy… But I swear just three days in and already I feel different – in a good/better way!

I shall update on my progress.

Wish me luck and ANY advice (tips, websites, recipes, blogs) from anyone is GREATLY appreciated!

Blessed Be…

♥cyn♥

HoLLa: Weight Loss Update

Holla! So the last time I made a “HoLLa” post was March 27th (wowie, really?) and I was up 2 lbs (after being at a standstill for a couple of weeks with no loss/no gain) and slacking at the gym. Well, I continued to slack at the gym (a flu/sinus/cold thing that I allowed to manifest into exhaustion combined with SUPER DUPER long hours at work) up until four days ago. I am proud to say that I am working hard on balancing all the chaos and putting myself and my health in the front instead of squeezing it in when I can. I have been faithfully weighing in every Friday and last week I was down a ½ a lb. (YaY!) Today was another weigh-in and I am overjoyed to report that I lost 2.5 lbs. – so I am back to being ahead of the game with a total of 7 lbs. lost! *w00ts* I totally attribute it to the gym and tracking my food! Funny how that whole tracking your food and being accountable really DOES work! OTHER UPDATES: The Virtual Trans American Trail -- I have walked 54.7 mi and am 5.87 mi from Glendale, VA. Once again I ask – will I ever make it outta VA?!?! MY WEDDING: We set a date – September 9th! Yes, a Friday night, but I am diggin’ that fact. I have a locale and will be forking over the deposit one night this week. Impressive aye? WORK: Still crazy with this weekend being the cusp of our cutoff date to have portraits by Easter and next week being Spring Break. A week from now I will be toasting to another peak season survived!!! (Assuming I make it to then… *heh*) OTHER STUFF: I had an appointment with Dr. W (my ob/gyn) today to discuss birth control. I went in there with every intention of making arrangements to have my tubes tied. But hearing her discuss the details just made me feel weird and I began to seriously second guess my decision. To make a long story short – I am opting for an IUD. While I am 99.9999999999% sure that our family is complete – there is a HUGE difference in choosing to not have a baby and being unable to have a baby. And thus is my life… ♥cyn♥

HoLLa: Weight Loss Update

Some time ago (TWO MONTHS AGO EXACTLY)…
I made a post about wanting to virtually walk The Trans American Trail.

Well…
Since rejoining the gym and getting back into the swing of all things active and exercise related (Man do I feel AMAZING for doing so…) – I am back to my original plan and am happy to report that I am 19.2 mi (I am still including the 7 miles I accumulated in January OF COURSE!) closer to my goal and am virtually only 1.85 miles from Jamestown Virginia!

*w00ts*

I am loving the gym!
I promised I wouldn’t let one ignorant comment detour me and I haven’t. I vowed to go at least three times a week and I went five this past week. YaY!

Tuesday marked the end of my first week back in the full-swing of a healthy lifestyle and sadly my scale has decided to die so I couldn’t get an *official* weigh-in.

Does *feeling* thinner count?

I will try to have the scale situation remedied ASAP because as much as I don’t like to be ruled by the scale – I do like to see results in terms of numbers!

I am still documenting my progress via photography and got Brian to shoot a full-body of me on Tuesday.
Eeeeks!
You can see my progress in the tab labeled *fifty-two*.

Blessed Be…
♥cyn♥

GooD NeWs...

Good News:

I tracked my food yesterday for the first time in three weeks. I was within my calories and felt more in control than I have in a long time.

I am using Sparkpeople to track now.
Sorry Weight Watchers – I still ♥ ya!
But as I mentioned before, I was getting discouraged losing and regaining the same 5lbs since September and just felt like I needed a change?

I like that Sparkpeople breaks down the calories to show you how much fat, protein, and carbs you are eating and uses easy-to-read pie-charts. They also break down your day to show you where you fell and didn't fall within the healthy ranges -- that I REALLY like.

Who knew that while I was within my calories today that the majority of them fatty foods and I didn't eat enough protein?

I know something wasn't clicking on Weight Watchers -- even when I was following the plan to a *T* I wasn't seeing the results I wanted and I have to assume I wasn't eating a proper balance?

Just a few days ago I wrote that my goal was to just maintain my weight -- and I want to retract that.

That is a crappola attitude and me selling myself short!

I am fed up with selling myself short!

My 41st birthday is about 11 weeks away and I would LOVE to lose 15-20lbs by then. And that is a totally attainable goal!

The best gift I could give myself!

I think the only way I am going to do that is to track my food, change my diet and stay within healthy ranges, and EXERCISE!!!!

I am 99% sure I will be joining Planet Fitness this coming week. I love the price and it seems like the type of gym for me – I just am not impressed that they offer no classes? I really wanted to try Zumba and maybe do a yoga/pilates as well.
*sigh*
Can’t have it all!
Well you can – but not for $19.99 a month!

Any Planet Fitness folks out there?
I would love some honest feedback other than the hubbub I read online!

I like feeling in control again.

I think I just needed to shake things up a bit!

Blessed Be…
♥cyn♥