Restarting

February was not a great month for losing weight (or for doing much else, except maybe losing my mind...) so my plan was to start fresh in March, be motivated and on my way to reaching my goal weight. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. I would start out each week doing pretty well and then it would fall apart by the weekend so I just gained. Since the beginning of the year, I was able to lose 8 lbs or so and I've put on all but about 2ish back on. I realized recently that my upcoming trip to New York is about two months away. I'm hoping to attend the Yankees batting practice and I don't want to be fat if I actually get to meet Derek Jeter so this week was a new start and I've done pretty well all week.

 I'm also going to try to be dairy free this week. I should be doing it for my lactose intolerance but I'm vain and am going to see if it helps my skin. I have pretty much always had moderate to severe acne and even did a course of Accutane when I was 21. I've read a few different things online about the link between acne and dairy, and even though there hasn't yet been a positive correlation between the two, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. Plus, I will probably feel better due to my previously mentioned lactose intolerance (it's not too bad but does cause me some discomfort sometimes). 

When I stepped on the scale in the middle of the week, I had come down quite a bit but my official weigh-in day is tomorrow so I'll wait until I report it. I did take a photo on March 3rd, the quality and my facial expression is not the greatest, but it was the best one I took: 

As you might know, I turned 30 in February and thought I'd give a final run down of my 30 by 30. The orange ones are done, the blue ones I'm hoping to accomplish this year, the purple are ones that will probably never happen, and the green ones are ones I hope to eventually do but I'm not sure when that will happen.                                      

1.    1.  Finish most pre-requisites for nursing school: This is somewhat done... I'm currently retaking physiology and will retake anatomy in the fall and then I can start applying. 
2.      Narrow down nursing school choices: Well I think this has somewhat been done for me (see above) since nursing school is so competitive, I'm not sure where I'll get in at this point... 
3.      Visit Moab: I didn't do this but I'm hoping to get to it at some point this year...
4.      Have a relationship: If you've been reading my blog lately (and nobody has since I don't ever post), you know that I am currently in a relationship. We've been together for about 5 months now and even though it's not always a walk in the park (no relationship ever is), it's been good.
5.      Reach my goal weight: You got my above explanation so you know this didn't happen... 
6.      Do family history: This has also not happened and it probably won't until I'm out of school
7.      Do temple work for my family: I do have a couple of names that have been baptized and I just need to do the rest for them. I'm not sure where the cards are though...
8.      Get a smart phone of some type: I got a Samsung Galaxy S3 at the end of December. I like it but don't particularly like our new cell phone provider or how quickly the battery runs out. 
9.      Get a manicure: As I mentioned before, I got this done last October for my brother's wedding. My mom and I just had the gel nails done. I liked it, but it was hard to get off and it ruined my nails when it finally did come off. 
10.  Get a pedicure: I haven't done this one but I'm going to before I go to New York in June. 
11.  Give up soda: Haha, I think it's funny I put this on here. I have little to no desire to ever do this!
12.  Go golfing, real golfing not mini: Didn't accomplish this but I may make my little brother take me this summer. 
13.  Do my visiting teaching on a monthly basis: i keep losing my lists... and I have no desire to do it...
14.  Bake a cheesecake: This probably won't happen, especially with the weight loss/dairy free thing
15.  Make eggplant Parmesan: Same thing with this one
16.  Hike to the Block U: I didn't get this done but I hope to do a lot more hiking this summer and will add this to my list. 
17.  Get a clinical job somewhere: I actually accomplished this at the beginning of March. I got a job at a nursing home and I have to say it's as bad as you imagine it being. Somebody in my ward works for a home health agency and I just got hired on there so even though I haven't worked at my other job for very long, I gave my two weeks on Friday. 
18.  Become a CNA: I became certified in September
19.  Have a professional massage (again): No money for this but it would be nice, especially after a long day of picking up old people!
20.  Learn how to make my Mom’s sugar cookies: never did it and probably won't 
21.  Exercise 5 days a week: Working 3 days a week at a nursing home should count for this...
22.  Spend less time on Facebook: I just deactivated my account last week so I could study for a physiology exam without it being a distraction. I'll get back on but wanted to wait at least a week...
23.  Read Ender’s Game: Maybe in the summer? 
24.  Purchase tickets to Yankee stadium: I have tickets for a game in June, as well as plane tickets!!!
25.  Get rid of boxes that I don’t need anymore: Guh, hopefully this will happen in the summer...
26.  Watch all X-Men movies: I added this for my boyfriend's sake, but he said the ones I've seen are the only good ones and to not bother with the others. 
27.  Attend a Yoga class again: Probably won't happen for a while
28.  Eat at The Melting Pot downtown: Also probably won't happen
29.  Eat at The Garden in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building: Now that I won't be working every Friday and Saturday night anymore, I can probably accomplish this one. 
30.  Read scriptures daily: I always pick them up but I usually just read a couple of verses. I need to be better at this!!! 

iI    I still have a lot to do, but this will give me a few things to do this summer, other than work and go to New York! Here is another photo of me, this time from my birthday (I always think my hair looks good until I see photos of myself like this) : 

Weeks 3 and 4

This month is a bad month to be on a diet: my boyfriend's birthday, Valentine's Day, my Dad's birthday, and then of course my "birthday" all fall during this month. Whenever I've been dating somebody on Valentine's day, it's been a bust. But my boyfriend wants to go out to dinner this year and I plan to eat something good. His birthday was full of celebrating and this year is a "milestone" birthday for me and I plan to do the same thing for mine...

That being said, week three was kind of a fluke... I lost 5.1 pounds. I think it was because I had actually lost more weight the week before and it just didn't show up because of my gluttony on the weekend. Week four was not as great... It was my boyfriend's birthday on Sunday and we started the celebrating on Saturday. We went to breakfast at Market Street and then for dinner we went to Taste of Thai. I have had two gift certificates to Coldstone for years and there was a coupon in the monthly mailer so we stopped off for some ice cream afterward. Sunday night his Mom made Enchiladas, rice, beans, and bread pudding. Needless to say, I put on 1.3 pounds during week four. This still puts my total weight loss at 6.9 pounds. Not too bad!

Last week was exam week and I had exams in both of my classes (I love it when that happens). I didn't do as well on either one as I would have liked. I did a little better on my physiology exam this semester than last semester but still not good enough... Bah... I'm really "loving" these biology courses. I also "love" it when people ask me how much longer I have in school. Until I can get a C or better apparently... Which will hopefully be this semester since Financial Aid will only pay for it twice unless you outright fail it. Why wasn't I born with a natural inclination toward science???

Week 2 2014

I fell off the wagon a little this weekend... My brother's birthday was on Saturday and my mom made curry, which I felt I had to try. I skipped the cake, even though it was chocolate and mint together which is something I love. Sunday was Australia Day and one of my friend's lived in Australia for a while (and her mom is from Australia) so she wanted to celebrate it, which included Sausage sizzles (brats on a bun with grilled onions, covered with BBQ sauce, I think it was supposed to be ketchup but we didn't have any), Lemon Lime and bitters (a lemon lime drink), and Pavlova cake (meringue covered with whipped cream and fruit). There were also chips and cupcakes but I didn't eat any of those. I made the mistake of thinking the pavlova wouldn't have too many points... When I actually calculated it, it was 10 points a slice... Whoops. So I only lost 0.7 when I weighed in but it was a greater number when I weighed earlier in the week. I just need to stay on track this week. I have been progressively getting more and more hungry. I don't usually waste points on foods that won't be filling so I may really need to work out more so that I can eat more. (which would mean I would need to actually work out) Oh well. On to a new week!

Week One, 2014

Last week was my first week back on WW and it wasn't too bad! I was actually struggling to eat all of my points on a few days... This week will not be as easy I'm afraid. I haven't really felt it until today but I was super hungry tonight. I'm going to have to start working out more so that I can eat more (haha)! Anyway, I lost 2.4 lbs last week. Not bad, but obviously it wasn't the 20 I was hoping for (I kid, I kid)... I think I'm going to take photos once a month this time since a lot of times there isn't much change from week to week.

On to the rest of life: I was hoping that this semester physiology would go much better. My second quiz results were about the same as how I did last semester but I do feel like I know the material better this time around and I have been studying more so hopefully I can pull off at least a B- and call it good! I had another interview today. This one was at another care center but I'm thinking at this point I'll probably have to start out at one, gain some CNA experience, and then be able to move on to a hospital later. He said he'd let me know by Friday. I got a phone call from another care center but she said she'd talk to the nursing director and get back to me. We'll see what happens.

Weight loss 2014

It took me a little longer to get my financial aid than I expected and we had a family party planned for Saturday so I didn't sign up for WW until yesterday. I'm doing the online route this time, it's cheaper and I never really had the time to attend meetings. It's actually been nice with my smartphone, the barcode reader is awesome! I don't have to calculate too much anymore. Today was day two which is usually the worst day for a diet, but it hasn't been too bad for me. I even woke up and put "Michael Jackson's the Experience"into the Wii and danced to five songs. It was more of a workout than I remembered! But it was fun nonetheless.

Now for the numbers: Since my lowest weight reached in 2012, I have gained 24 pounds. I have set my goal weight a little higher this time so I need to lose 20 pounds to reach it. I'm really hoping to be at my goal weight before my trip to New York in June. Twenty pounds isn't too bad, so I'm sure I'll get there. Now for some before photos. These were both taken at the family party on Saturday with cell phones so they're not the greatest quality:

But more than just the numbers and appearance, I'm actually feeling better. Here's to a healthier year!

2014

It's hard to believe it's 2014 already... Mostly because that means I'm turning 30 this year... I'd be lying if I said that this was how I imagined my life circumstances at 30, but I feel like things are looking better and that I'm making progress toward a better life.

Of course like every year, I have set some goals to accomplish... And of course, they're all pretty much the same thing, haha. One of these years, I will accomplish them and then they won't reappear on my list. Here is my list for 2014:

1. As usual, I am trying to lose weight. I have officially reached the overweight category again and need to stop before I reach the obese category again... I'm going to rejoin Weight Watchers but think I'm going to try just going online this time. I have a smart phone finally so tracking my points shouldn't be too bad...
2. Pass my classes and not have to retake anything anymore... I haven't checked my grades for this semester yet, but I know my physiology grade won't be good. I missed my final altogether since I got stuck in my driveway due to the huge snow storm we had but either way I was going to have to retake it. So I will retake that this semester (which starts back again on Monday, bah!) and then retake anatomy either in the summer or the fall. (I may transfer back to SLCC in the fall, we'll see...)
3. Pray and read my scriptures more. I have done better at praying lately but still haven't done very well reading my scriptures... I'm going to try to follow along with what we're studying in Sunday School (and I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know what that is this year...)
4. Attend the temple at least once a month. After being released as an Ordinance Worker in April, my temple attendance wasn't very good. (I didn't go at all in August or September and only made it once in October and that was for my brother's sealing) I was able to attend once in November and December (in addition to a friend's sealing)
5. Save money to take a trip to New York. Even though there has been no official announcement, I'm pretty sure this will be Derek Jeter's last year with the Yankees so I purchased two tickets to a game at Yankee stadium in June. I'm not really sure who's going to be going with me, but hopefully it will be Robert... 
6. Get a clinical job somewhere. I had a couple of interviews for CNA jobs in November and I was given one job offer but declined to immediately accept because I had another interview that day which would have been a better opportunity (I also didn't really want that job). I was not given the better opportunity and it took too long for them to get back to me so I couldn't take the other one either. But, I have a job interview later today and it is actually for a phlebotomy position I applied for a while back. I had pretty much given up on ever getting a phlebotomy job anywhere! If I don't get it, my plan is to volunteer at the local hospital for a little while. 
7. Handle things better. I had some rough times in 2013 because I probably overreacted to some things. I've been trying to not let things bother me as much, and the last couple of months have been much better than the previous three or four... 

So there is my list for this year. Probably the only new thing is the trip to New York, which let's be real, is the most exciting! Here's to having a better 2014! Happy New Year Everybody!

New 30 by 30

It was pointed out by one of my friends the other day who is just a few weeks older than I am, that we will be 30 in about four months. Yikes! This got me thinking about my 30 by 30 list that I wrote when I turned 28. When I wrote that list, I was planning on moving to California for graduate school. As you all know, I decided not to move to California (or New Orleans) and stayed in Utah to work on going to nursing school but my list was full of things that would have either required that I lived in California or spent a really long vacation there (or many shorter ones). Since none of those things are going to happen, I wrote a new list (but I left some items). Here it is with my progress:

1.  1.Finish most pre-requisites for nursing school (I need to retake anatomy in the spring and then I'll mostly be done)
2.      Narrow down nursing school choices (find the low-standard schools... Thanks biology courses!)
3.       Visit Moab (not sure when, especially since it's cold now)
4.       Have a relationship (working on this one... may happen soon! or not... haha)
5.      Reach my goal weight (I've been gaining but I don't want to be 30, single, and fat)
6.         Do family history (need to work on this)
7.     Do temple work for my family (I have some names I've had baptized, but I need to do the rest)
8.      Get a smart phone of some type (our contract is up on the 14th!!!!) 
9.        Get a manicure (I actually had this done for my brothers wedding a couple of weeks ago)
10.         Get a pedicure (how hard could it be?)
11.      Give up soda (I've cut back a lot recently, just need to give it up completely) 
12.     Go to a golfing driving range (will need to do this soon since it's getting cold)
13.         Do my visiting teaching on a monthly basis (I still suck at this) 
14.     Bake a cheesecake 
15.     Make eggplant parmesan (It's too bad I didn't do this when we still had our own eggplant and tomatoes)
16.     Hike to the Block U (also need to do this soon)
17.     Get a clinical job somewhere (working on this one) 
18.     Become a CNA (I achieved this in September) 
19.     Have a professional massage (again)
20.       Learn how to make my Mom’s sugar cookies
21.        Exercise 5 days a week
22.     Spend less time on Facebook (I deactivated my account for a few days since it was such a huge distraction!) 
23.        Read Ender’s Game (Saw the movie last night and would like to read the book. My mom owns a copy)
24.         Purchase tickets to Yankee stadium (Pretty sure Derek Jeter's last year will be next year and I really want to see him play in Yankee stadium)
25.        Get rid of boxes (or at least out of my room) that I don’t need anymore (the ones I brought back from Denver. It's been over three years... Time to give up the dream!)
26.        Watch all X-Men movies (this will probably happen soon)
27.        Attend a Yoga class again (I kind of miss it...)
28.         Eat at The Melting Pot downtown (I've always wanted to! If I ever make #4 happen, this one may coincide!) 
29.         Eat at The Garden in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (read response for #28)
30.         Read scriptures daily (I try to read at least a verse or two every night but I mean read a chapter) 

      So there it is! Hopefully I can manage to cross them all off! I have accomplished a few so I didn't completely waste the last two years...