LET'S TALK : MAY FAVORITES

I Regret Nothing: A Memoir / Fitbit Flex  / Essie / Burt's Bees

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Just like this month, the weekend went by TOO fast. We have had SO much rain this month...so much. But, the last two days have been PERFECT!! Lot's of sunshine. We even went swimming today. My white legs nearly blinded everyone! Ha.

This month was kind of wonky, what with my Dad's surgery and all the stress involving that. While those days at the hospital seemed to drag on forever, I feel like the rest of the month happened while blinking. But, there were some bright spots...and I thought I would share some of my favorite "things" that I have been enjoying this past month.

NCIS. Y'all! Where have I been? I know this show has been on FOREVER. But, I just randomly caught an old rerun a few weeks ago...and I've been dvr'ing (that's a verb right?) every episode since then. I just adore this show!!

Rodan + Fields REDIFINE Multi-Function Eye Cream. Loving this. I have some serious dark circles and puffiness...not to mention some fine lines trying to pop up. I got this after seeing some positive reviews. So far? I love it. I've only been using it about 3 weeks...so I'll try to update again here in a month or two.

Jen Lancaster's I Regret Nothing. Not quite done with this one...but I've laughed so much. I always love her memoirs though. I HATE that I missed a chance to see her this month. She was doing a signing in Dallas, but we were at the hospital in Fort Worth. Anyway, so far it's really cute. I feel like we are kindred spirits...so I always get a kick out of her stuff!

Essie Mint Candy Apple. Such a fun color. I've had this for a while...but I'm really digging it here lately (on the toes).

Fitbit Flex. C got this for me at the very end of April. I LOOOOOVE it. It's a little shocking some days to see how very sedentary I am. I mean, I knew I wasn't running a marathon everyday...but I was SHOCKED at how few steps I normally get. Definitely challenges me to move around a bit more.

Burt's Bees Lip Balm. LOVE this stuff. I always love stuff with mint in the ingredients (I love the tingly feeling..ha). This has been a long time favorite for keeping my lips in check. If I'm not careful...my lips will get SO dry and peely. It's not cute.

So there ya have it....what I've been loving this month. What are your recent faves?

WEIGH IN WEDNESDAY

I lost 0.6 lbs this past week. That's six tenths of a pound. Last week, I lost 0.4. So that is a pound in the last two weeks. I'm at 33.4 pounds lost. Super close to the 35 pound lost mark...which is exciting. I'm a little frustrated at how slow it's taking. But, I'm also the reason it's going so slow. 

I'm struggling with tracking and activity. So you know...basically the two main components to weight loss. Ha. We have been eating out a lot. I'm honestly not all that sure how I've managed to lose (albeit slowly) the last few weeks. I do drink a ton of water...and I think that is the main thing that is saving me right now.

It's rained like crazy here (North Texas)....so outside activity is tricky. We were walking almost everyday before my dad got injured. And since then, it seems like it is raining or about to rain when we are ready to walk. I could go to the gym, but I always seem to find an excuse.

In one breath, I say how important losing this weight is for me. For health and vanity reasons. And, in nearly the same breath, I'm talking about how I hate to track my food and work out in the gym. Clearly, my priorities are messed up.

I set a goal to get all "greens" with my Fitbit app. I'm going to go ahead and spoil that for y'all. I've failed. I'm going to keep trying though. And, I'm challenging myself to track what I eat...because I think I am more likely to stay on plan when I see the actual points of what I'm consuming. 

My goal next week is to hit the 35 pounds lost mark. Totally attainable...if I will just stick to my plan!!

PATIO DREAMING

I've spent the last few hours browsing Pinterest (it's rained on and off here ALL weekend)....and I keep finding myself looking at cute patios/outdoor areas. Odd, considering I really prefer to spend most of my time inside. Also, we have a tiny patio and no other real outdoor area to speak of.

Anyway, now I'm all motivated to decorate our patio. We have pretty basic furniture out there now. And a sad little planter with nothing in it. Not so festive.  After playing for a bit, this is what I came up with. I am LOVING the chairs!!! They are in our price range too...and look so much more comfortable than the cheesy folding chairs we currently own. They are currently out of stock, but hopefully they will be back in soon. If not, I may play around with adding white cushions or something to our existing chairs.

I'm hoping to start some sprucing up out there, before it gets too hot. In all honesty, I haven't done much as far as decorating is concerned anywhere in the apartment...I'd rather save money for decorating the house (that we hope to buy in a few months!). But, I was able to find some cute stuff for not too much. Even C said he loved this design board...so maybe he will help me with some DIY and bargain shopping!

MAY :: THE FINAL TEN

via

There are 10 days left in May. What?!! That is just crazy.

I never got around to setting my goals for the month of May. And... y'all know I am sooo the type of person that needs to write down my goals (or even my daily to-do's) to have the best chance of accomplishing them. Even then, it's iffy.

Admittedly, I've been really unproductive thus far this month.

Solution?  I thought I would challenge myself with 10 goals for the last 10 days of the month. Here goes....

MAY WRAP-UP
:: Hit the 35 pound lost mark (need to lose 2.2 this next weigh in to do so)
:: Get all greens (steps, miles, calories burned, water, activity time) with my FitBit every day
:: Go to church both Sundays
:: Mail the stack of things I have sitting on my desk
:: Wrap up all open orders/get caught up on inquiry emails
:: Clean inside of Jeep
:: Deep clean the apartment
:: Read the Bible daily
:: Read (or finish the ones I've started) at least 3 books
:: Enjoy the 3 day weekend with C

So those are my goals for the last week and half of May. Feeling pretty confident about them. That's a good sign, right?!

EVEN MORE RAMBLINGS

So, I'm not so good at blogging these days. I try (bless my heart)...but most days I just don't do anything worth writing about.

I mentioned in my last post that my dad fell off a ladder while trying to trim his tree. He had back surgery last Wednesday and has been home since Friday afternoon (crazy!!). He's still in a lot of pain but is able to walk around his house and plot his revenge on the tree that caused all of this.

I spent almost every day at the hospital last week and several days at home with him once he was released. I feel like I haven't been home in about 3 weeks (and I've actually been home every night). It's so weird...I mean, it's not like I'm the one that fell or that I was even doing anything all that strenuous at the hospital. But, stress can really wear you out! I also never realize what a homebody I am until I haven't spent very much time here. The good news is that it has got me motivated to do some projects around here to get this little apartment extra cozy and cute.

We are still hoping to buy a home later this year, possibly (hopefully!) in the fall. Finances stress me out. To be more specific - student loans STRESS this girl out. I'm so grateful for my education. But, I made some silly (um, stupid) decisions when getting loans to pay for said education. They are HAUNTING me.

Anyway, I've been feeling like I've been in a major rut for several months now. With blogging, with my weight loss, my faith, my career, etc. I need a recharge...in the worst way. We've talked about going on a little vacation or even just a weekend road trip. How fun would that be? Of course, we are really trying to be prudent with our finances...so I think we are going to just take a little day trip to somewhere near here this weekend. We get lots of thinking, talking, dreaming and action planning done when we take our "drives". Maybe that will be just the thing to rejuvenate our tired selves!!

CATCH UP

I've been MIA for a while. Things got crazy. But, I thought I would do a small catch up post and then try to get on top of things with blogging!

:: It has rained almost everyday.
:: I turned another year older.
:: I have started lots of projects and have not finished any of them.
:: I've hit the 32.4 pounds lost mark (slowly but surely!).
:: I signed up for a summer Bible study that I'm really excited about.
:: I got accepted into the teaching program at DBU.
:: My dad had back surgery after falling off a ladder (so thankful he's going to be ok!).
:: I've spent lots of time loving on Daphne. We are best buds now. She is such a sweet girl.
:: I've seen some live music a couple of times - loving the patio weather (minus the rain).

It doesn't seem like much...but I feel like we are constantly on the go. I need to get better about documenting stuff, because my memory isn't cutting it. Ha.

One thing I know for sure is that I haven't set any goals in a while...and I have accomplished absolutely NOTHING. So, I'm working on my goals for the rest of the month. If I know anything about myself, it's that I HAVE to write it down or it's just never going to get done!