Birthday Presents: Losing my Etsy Virginity and a Giveaway

So I did a really terrible job at telling Brent what I wanted for my birthday this year.  There was just not really anything out there I was dying for.  So while laying in bed one night I decided to browse Etsy for the 5849522 time.  I had looked around so many times but never ordered anything.  So I decided that I wanted to order my own birthday presents (I think Brent was glad he got a pass) and gave into my Etsy desires.  Here is what I Brent got for me.

Vintage dictionary art from Retro Book Art.  I love vintage things and this was right up my alley.  These were buy 2 get 1 free.  (This is the free one I got for Brent, here)

Wooden monogram from League of Letters.  I plan on putting this above our bed, I just can't figure out what color to paint it!

Have you ever hear of Jane.com?  They have all kinds of boutiques that list their items for a fraction of the price.  I got these items form there.

Navy chevron purse from Tinley Laityn.  I paid less than half price for this, including shipping.

Initial 2 tone necklace from the Silver Loft.  This is an Etsy shop but I found them on Jane.  I just got this necklace and cannot wait to wear it.  I got an M on it because I think it is super cute to wear your kids initials on jewelry.

So why am I telling you about all these cute things.  It is because I am giving you a chance to win a $25 Etsy gift card from me.  You can enter the giveaway below and can choose how you want to follow me.  The giveaway ends Monday night, I will announce the winner and email them their gift card on Tuesday 4/1.

Have you ever purchased from Etsy?  What was your most favorite purchase? a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: All of these items I found on my own and purchased with my hard earned money. Not getting paid for this, I am just sharing some cute stuff I found.

I am still alive....

Hey y'all I am still here.  Since my last post things have been slightly hectic.  Let me see if I can accurately recap what has been going on.

1.  My first 8 week session of this semester ended on 3/7/14 and it could not have come at a better time.  I was at the end of my rope.  If you follow me on instagram (@assignmentamanda) then you saw that I made A's in BOTH of those classes. Holla!  This is rare for me.  I just started my second 8 weeks and I think it is going to be much easier.

2.  I turned 29 and had a really nice low-key birthday.  I will be sharing the gifts I got along with an Etsy gift card giveaway on Friday so be sure to check back.

3.  I took my first plane ride to the beautiful city of Miami.  About a month ago I wrote about my anxiety about flying and not being able to fit into the plane seat.  (Read that HERE). I am more than happy to report that I actually like flying and I had absolutely no problems sitting in the seat.  My views from the hotel were absolutely beautiful and the weather was gorgeous.  I went for business but will definitely visit again for funzies.

Excuse the no make-up face but I had to take a selfie to document my first plane ride

Right outside of my hotel.  

4.  I threw Brent a 30th birthday party.  He is simple so we just had a small gathering of friends and family at the house.  A good time was had by all.  His response was "I didn't even know that I wanted something like this and I am glad I got it."  I guess I did good.  Honey, if you are reading this just know I am still expecting my 80's themed bash next year!

My whole heart

5.  I had another meeting with my personal trainer and it was awesome.  I walked out of there feeling like a BAMF.  I have one more session with her this Friday and I will be on my own.  I would love to continue with her but at $70 a session it's not gonna happen.  She understands this and has given me some foundation that I can build on.

6.  My C25K training has been slacking.  However, yesterday I got back at it and jogged for 3 minutes straight TWICE.  It was ugly but I am counting it as a win.  I have exactly one month until my Color Run so I need to start being a little more serious about getting my runs in.

What have you been up to lately?

Until next time,
Amanda

Ch Ch Changes

I have hit my first plateau.  For the past 2 months I have hovered at a 30 lb weight loss.  One week I will see a little loss and the next week I am back to where I started.  I am really tired of spinning my wheels so I decided to change it up.

My eating isn't terrible but it could stand to be cleaned up some more so I quit WW. (Don't freak out on me now, there is method to my madness).  I quit WW for a couple of reasons.  I think it is a really good tool for beginners.  It allows you to gain control over your eating and teaches healthy eating habits.  However, now I know what I should be eating and how to listen to my body and the point system really doesn't correlate when everything else is based of off calories and nutritional value.  So I switched over to My Fitness Pal.  I made this switch so I could start tracking calories as well as proteins, carbs, etc. Plus I wanted to put the $18.95 a month I spend on WW towards another monthly subscription.

So I joined a gym.  I mainly joined so I would have access to heavier weights and have a place to run if it was cold and/or rainy (this is Texas, I never know what the weather is going to do).  When I signed up, I also signed up for a few sessions of personal training.  I need someone to show me more exercises I can do on my own.  I already had one session with my PT and can't wait for the next (I have been sick and had to postpone my second session).  

With these modifications I have made I am starting to see some changes in my weight/body and hope they continue.  The bigger picture with these changes is to not only jump start my weight loss again but I want to be more confident in the gym setting and build strength.  I want to feel like a BAMF no matter what size or what weigh I am.   

Have you ever hit a plateau in your fitness?  What did you do to get past it?

Until next time,

Amanda

Spiritual Sunday: Forgiveness

Last Sunday at church the homily (sermon) was about forgiveness.  The heart of the message was that forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting and that we will be called to forgive transgressions again and again as the hurt resurfaces.  As I sat in the pew my eyes filled with tears because this has been all to true for me.  Those that I love the most have hurt me deeply.  They are able to hurt me deeply because I love them so much.  I cannot forget what was done and some days I am called to forgive those transgressions against me again and hand it over to God.

Although those words filled my heart that day they became more powerful last Thursday.  After returning to the office after being out ill the day before I was slammed with tons of work, helping to orient a new employee, stress of school, stress of being at a weight loss plateau, etc.  It was all so heavy on me that day, everything.  If you follow me on instagram (@assignmentamanda) you saw this pic.

After the end of a long day I couldn't take it anymore. On the way home I cried because of stress at work, I cried because of stress with school, I cried because of how much time I have had to sacrifice because I didn't finish college right after high school, I cried because I let my weight get so out of control, I cried because I have not made any weight loss progress in 2 months, I cried because I hurt so deeply inside from the transgressions I have made against myself.

After the tears finally stopped the words from that homily began to ring true in my heart.  Through all those times I have forgiven others for their transgressions against me I have never forgiven myself. In order to move forward on my journey I need to forgive myself for things that I have done to me and when I am feeling that the hurt again I need to forgive myself again.  I will keep doing this until I don't feel that hurt anymore.

With this said I encourage you to reflect on what you haven't forgiven yourself for and start the process of forgiveness.  When it resurfaces later in life (and it will) I encourage you to forgive yourself again.  Forgiveness is a very powerful thing and it is not a one time/one step process..


Until next time,
Amanda

You can listen to the homily referenced in this post by visiting Father Ryan's website HERE.  His words always reach my heart and encourage me to be better. 

Airplanes and Fear

In March I will be attending a conference for work in Miami.  I am super excited to go but there are two things about this trip that are giving me anxiety and both have to do with airplane travel.  The first is that at 28 years old I have never flown.  Ever.  I think it is the fear of the unknown that makes me the most nervous but also the fact that I will be flying without Brent and Madelynn adds to my anxiety.

The second is that I have heard horror stories about airlines kicking people off planes because they are overweight or charging them for an extra seat.  My anxiety about this got so bad last week that I went online and actually read about the width of airline seats, policies, etc.  I then got my measuring tape out and measured how wide the seats of an airplane are and trying to see if I would fit.  Brent saw me doing all of this and asked me what was going on.  I lost it.  I sobbed and told him that not only was I scared to fly but I was scared they wouldn't let me on the plane because I was too fat.  I think what made me the most upset is that I let myself get to a point where my weight can truly hold me back.

Brent tried to calm my fears and it was his idea to write a blog post about it.  I do feel a little better about it but I am still stressing about flying.  I have made a significant change in my body and it will crush me if I am not allowed to fly because of my weight.  In the end, all I can do is keep progressing in a positive direction and leave it to God. 

If anyone has any feedback regarding flying that can calm my fears it would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time,

Amanda

30 miles, 30 Days

Y'all I am so glad January is over.  It was a really tough month for me physically and mentally.  I was in a funk for over half of the month but as I wrote last week I am getting my head back in the game.  In order to keep my momentum I am doing 30 miles in 30 days.{I got this idea from a fellow blogger I follow on instagram @frompregnantomarathon}  I am going to commit to running 1 mile a day from Feb 4th-March 5th. {I am starting on Tuesday because I am trying to get over a cold} During these 30 days I am also going to do strength training 3-4 times a week as well.

I am doing this challenge so I won't focus on weight loss as my only measurement of success.  It is so hard not to let that number control my life!  I am also hopeful that I will increase the pace of my mile.  Last week I had a 15 min mile and maybe I can shave a few minutes off my time in the 30 days.  I will be posting progress updates on my instagram (@assignmentamanda) throughout the challenge.

I hope that you will join me!

Until next time,
Amanda

Getting my head back in the game

A couple of weeks ago I was on the verge of giving up.  I felt like giving up on myself and my health journey.  The scale was moving in the wrong direction, my eating was way off, and I took a hiatus from exercising. I wanted so badly to put up my middle finger to all of it and quit. So many times before I had been to this same crossroad and so many times before I had quit.

But this time is different, I am different.  So I decided to quit wallowing in self pity and give myself a swift kick in the rear.  I decided to try and focus on small goals like committing to tracking my food and eating at regular intervals.  As each day passed getting back to my healthy routine became not so overwhelming.

Then this happened.

BOOM

This is an amazing accomplishment for me.   It was hard not to cry after seeing this because it is proof of how far I have come in such a short amount of time.  

For those of you on your own journey I encourage you to focus on the small things because they add up.

Until next time,

Amanda

P.S. Be sure to check out Holly's Blog to enter her giveaway.