Grace Circle

Okay, so first of all...I just have to get it out that today is MY birthday!!!  I am now 25 and a quarter-century old!  I plan to do a post dedicated to me and my 25 years a little later (cause that isn't conceited at all LOL), but I want to focus on how I spent this evening for right now!

We had our second meeting and fellowship as Grace Circle tonight!  Grace Circle is a women's group recently formed at church.  It's for women in their 20's, and we do a little devotion and plan to get more involved in the church community as we grow!

I am really excited to get this opportunity to become more involved in the church and get the chance to talk to other women my age about my experience and my walk with Christ!  I haven't always been in a church community, but I feel like in this time in my life, I need to become closer to God and really find my path in my faith.  I know this group was formed at a perfect time for me to get involved with it.  I was looking for a way to feed my desire to become closer with the Lord and more involved in the church, and I really feel like this was put in front of me to give me the opportunity!

Tonight, we read and discussed Romans 12.  I haven't ever read the Bible completely through (though I am working on it), so I'm not very familiar with all the parts.  We got to talking about how we incorporate Christ in our everyday lives and accepting others for what they believe and where they've come from.  I got me thinking about how I can tend to judge others before really getting to know their background and what's happened to them in their past.  We had a great discussion about all of this, and I really enjoyed hearing other people's perspectives on this subject.

I think this is going to be something I will really look forward to each month!  I really hope this will continue to help me build my relationship with Christ and bring me closer with some new friends as an added bonus!

~Emily

Month of Birthdays

Ok, so it seems like almost everyone special in my life has a birthday in the month of March!  That is one of the reasons I've been so behind on blogging.  The month started off with my sweet baby girl turning ONE!!!  Yes, Rosey is moving out of being a baby puppy (not like she was small for long)!  We (well mostly me, the adoring mother) celebrated Rosey's big day on March 7th!  Here are a couple pictures to see how much she's grown over the last year!

                                                            



On March 12th, I helped celebrate Jessica's 24th birthday by cooking dinner for her and Rilee!  She requested my famous baked ziti, and so we enjoyed a bit of Italian while watching "Love and Other Drugs"!

Next came Mom's birthday on March 21st and then my sister's birthday on the 25th!  Mom turned 50 this year and her co-workers honored her with a surprise luncheon!  Caitlin turned the big 21!  She started her birthday celebration at midnight going out with her friends...let's just say she wasn't feeling the best when she woke up the next morning!  But, she managed to make it out the night of her birthday for dinner with Dad, LuAnne, me, her boyfriend, and a few other guests!  We went to dinner that Sunday to celebrate both of these lovely ladies and their milestone birthdays!!!

And last, but certainly NOT least...Rilee turned into a big 4 year old on March 22nd!!!  We celebrated her big day the Sunday before with a fun-filled birthday party fit for a princess!  There were lots of friends and family around to celebrate, yummy food and cake to indulge in, and even a jumpy princess castle for the little ones!!!  It was a great day, and the birthday girl was showered with TONS of presents!!!

Love my big girl!!!

Well, it was a busy, but an absolutely fun month filled with some amazing people's birthdays!!!  Next big birthday up????  MINE!!!  I turn 25 in just a few short days!!!  I'll let you know how that shapes out!

~Emily

Update: Where I Am

Ok, so I know it's been almost a month since my last update, but with all that went on in the month of March, I didn't have much of a chance to just sit down and get everything down.  Now, it seems that all that I've wanted to share has gotten piled up in my mind.  I'm going to try my best to get out everything that's been happening over the next couple weeks.  This coming week is looking to be pretty busy, but if I find some time I will get down as much as possible!

So first of all...I've now lost 10 pounds!!!

I love the way I feel about myself for losing this much, even though it took 3 months!  But I know that losing it this slowly will hopefully help me to keep it off.  I think if I had gone a different route to lose the weight more quickly, I could have easily let myself slip and gained it all back just as fast.  I can see a difference when I look in the mirror, but especially in my clothes.  Most of my pants are almost falling off, and I'm getting close to the last hole on my belt!  I did do a little shopping the other week and had to go down a pant size!  I'm looking forward to when my new pants are even too big!!!

I'm still trying to do my best at recording how many calories I eat each day, but of course I still find that I have those "cheat" days and meals.  I try to keep that to a minimum (like special occasions)!  The recent Easter candy has been challenging to avoid, and I must admit that I've let myself do a little splurging on the Peeps and chocolate!  But again, I don't want to cut out anything in my life...just limit myself and control the overeating!

Here's looking forward to losing the next 10!!!

~Emily

*More to come soon, hopefully*

Rainy Sunday

It's been a rainy Sunday here today, but I haven't minded AT ALL!!!  Rosey and I have been lounging around catching up on TV and doing laundry (well I've been doing all those things while Rosey has been napping and playing with her toys)!  Sundays have become one of my favorite days of the week!  I used to hate Sundays because I would be overloaded with school work and not looking forward to the upcoming Monday.  Now I look forward to what is usually the most relaxing day of the week!  I sleep in (not so great because I know I should be in church to focus on my relationship with God, but I have been making time to pray and speak to Him often), I get time to play with Rosey, I catch up on my shows and movies I haven't watched, and I just get some quality time with myself to think!  Last Sunday I spent time down at the River with Rosey laying in the sun, but this Sunday was just as great laying on the couch listening to the rain!!!

I've had a pretty good week, and did very well sticking to good eating choices until Friday...  I went to a movie with a friend and indulged in some nachos, soda, and candy.  And then we had pizza for dinner.  But I got right back on track yesterday and am doing very well today eating lots of fruits and vegetables while just laying around!  And I'm very proud to say that I've shown great determination and commitment with my healthy eating when I tell you that I have not allowed myself to eat ALL of the Girl Scout Cookies I bought! LOL!  I ordered them before I started counting calories, and I can't resist not eating them, so I know I have to control myself when I indulge in a few!

Here's hoping for another good week!

  I'm happy to say that Leslie delivered a beautiful baby boy on Friday!  

Baby Hayden is finally here, and I can't wait to meet him! 

~Emily

Daily Victories and Challenges

I am starting to find that each day brings a new victory or challenge into my life.  Many of my daily victories lately have been from someone telling me they can see that I've lost weight or feeling more comfortable in my clothes!  I feel like the hard work of changing my eating habits and putting in the exercise are really starting to pay off!  I'm hoping to continue seeing my hard work show in the reactions of other people and in the way I feel about myself!

I do find it challenging that some days I struggle to stick to my calorie intake.  I sometimes end up over-indulging or not making the best choices when I want to go out to eat with my friends.  I don't want to hold back on life just because I feel like I might not make the perfect choice, so I call these times my "cheat day" or "cheat meal."  Sometimes I feel guilty when I allow myself to over-indulge, but I know that I will do better the next day!

This week, we threw a baby shower for Leslie (a girl I work with).  

There was lots of yummy food brought in to share with everyone, and it all looked amazing!  

I decided not to count each calorie because I wanted to try everything and it would have been difficult to calculate how much of each thing I had.  Instead, I just had a little bit of about everything and stopped eating when I felt full!  I counted this as a cheat day and didn't even try to track my caloric intake, but I did my best to make sure I didn't over-indulge too much!

Last night, I went out to dinner and felt very good when I left!  I ordered my dinner wisely (grilled salmon, white cheddar mashed potatoes, and fresh steamed brocolli) using my calorie tracker, but then found myself trying some of the appetizer dish (a yummy shrimp fondue dip) and a bit of the most delicious mac & cheese! So instead of just chalking that all up to cheat meal, I decided to let my body tell me when to stop!  I ended up only eating the brocolli and about a third of my salmon, still staying in my calorie allowance!  I was so proud of how well I let my body tell me to do the smart thing!

I really like the changes I'm starting to see, both physically and in the way I'm dealing with food!  I plan to keep going to where I want to be, and I hope I can stick with it!!!

~Emily

What a Week!!!

There has been a lot going on this week!  Last Friday, after Rilee spent the night my sis and I went to get our hair cut!  I hadn't had my hair cut in almost a year, so it was definitely time!!!  Here is a pic of how much Caitlin go cut off (I don't have a pic of her hair afterward)!  And a pic of my finished product!!!

On Saturday, I traveled to Rock Hill with my friend Mallory and her Winterguard to see them in competition! The did a great job and ended up winning first place in their class!!!

(Not sure why this is so blurry)

And the BEST part of the past week...

Rosey and I went down to the Riverwalk on Friday to lay out and enjoy the amazing weather!!!  It was about 80 degrees (in February!!!) and not a cloud in the sky!!!  I started working on the tan while Rosey played with her frisbee and enjoyed roaming! 

The sun and warmth have seemed to take a break today, so Rosey and I are enjoying laying around the house and catching up on some TV and maybe a movie or two!

Hoping for another great week ahead!

~Emily

PS...I have now lost 6 pounds as of today!!!

Adventures in Babysitting

Rilee came to spend the night with me last night!  And we had a blast watching Disney movies, reading books, and playing Barbies!  She came with me to Jazzercise class this morning and was very well behaved!  We also ventured to  Publix, Walmart, and to get my hair cut!  I love getting to spend one-on-one time with her!  I think Rosey enjoys her visits as well!

On another note...
I've lost another pound this week!!!!

I've been dealing with a cough and "the crud" for most of the week.  I don't feel bad, but this cough is killing my throat and makes me sound like a boy!

I'm looking forward to heading to a Winterguard competition this weekend!  Since my kids can't compete this year, I'm excited to join Mallory and her guard in their competition season!  It will be fun to see what everyone is doing this year!

Not much else going on here...will post pics of the new hairdo soon!

~Emily

Making Progress

Since I've started counting and keeping track of my calorie intake for almost 3 weeks now, I've lost 3 pounds!  It's not a whole lot, but I'm not looking to cut weight extremely fast or anything.  I want this to be a gradual thing and somewhat of a lifestyle change instead!

Last weekend, I didn't do so well at sticking to my plan :(  I went out to dinner with some friends on Friday night to a Mexican restaurant and I just can't resist the chips and queso dip.  I ate WAY too many chips and could definitely feel it as I made my way home.  I know next time to take it a little easy on those!  On Saturday night, I went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse (one of my absolute favorites)!  I stuck to the smaller portion of steak and had a baked potato and salad.  Not the best of choices, but I just wanted to indulge a little!  It was delicious and I enjoyed every second of it!

Most of my meals throughout the week have been pretty good choices, with at least one meal being a salad!  And I make sure they are very colorful!

On Wednesday of this week, my brother came to school with me to job shadow!  We had a pretty light day with two classes missing our group time because of school pictures, but I think he enjoyed seeing what his big sis does every day!  After work, we came back to my house for a little while and Rosey enjoyed getting to cuddle some with Colin!

Tomorrow are a couple Teacher Job Fairs, which I'm hoping go well and offer some opportunities for me in the upcoming school year!

~Emily

Rilee

So just wanted to take the time to write a little bit about my favorite almost 4 year old...my Goddaughter, Rilee!

I was so excited when she was born and her parents asked me to take the role as her Godmother.  I take that as a huge compliment and hold her very near and dear to my heart!  

I make sure I play a big role in Rilee's life to make sure she knows I love her and to teach her and help her grow into a smart, caring, and sweet young lady!  Some of our favorite things to do together are read books, play Barbies, color, play doctor, dress up and just snuggle up together!

I've also had a big hand in making sure she grows up to cheer for the Gamecocks!  For almost every birthday and Christmas since she was born, I've made sure to get her something garnet and black!  

I am amazed at how smart Rilee is!  

She communicates very well and is already able to write her name and most of her letters!

She wrote this during church last Sunday all by herself!


I absolutely love this kid and love watching her grow each and every day!

~Emily

Healthy Eating

Well it's been almost a week of close monitoring of what I'm eating.  I've been doing pretty well at keeping track of the calories I'm eating using My Fitness Pal!  And I'm doing my best to keep what I eat within my daily calorie allowance!  For the past couple days I've also been making it my goal to drink 8 cups of water a day, which is what is suggested by many nutritionists and doctors.  I've noticed this is making me have to go the bathroom A LOT!  I used to not visit the bathroom but a few times a day, but now I feel like I'm running in that direction every hour or so!  I'm hoping all this will help me look better and feel better about myself!

I've done really well at attending Jazzercise class every week, and I find myself really looking forward to going and getting in a good workout!  I'm also starting to get the hang of the routines and feel like I don't look so silly and clumsy doing the moves anymore!

After class last Saturday, I made a trip to Publix to get some good produce and healthier food.  I used to do almost all of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, but their produce selection doesn't seem to match up and the prices at Publix for their healthier foods are pretty good.  There aren't many choices of grocery stores really close to my house, so I'm planning to make a weekly trip to Publix after Jazzercise class, which is near a Publix store!

I have been doing a little experimenting with adding more fruits and vegetable into my diet.  I've started drinking 100% Grapefruit juice and using more fresh produce when I cook.  Here is a picture of a yummy lunch I tried out on Monday:

It's 1 cup of whole wheat rotini, a 1/2 cup each of zucchini and squash, 1/2 cup marinara/lean ground beef sauce, and 8 oz of Grapefruit juice!  It was so easy make and extremely delicious!

Here's hoping I can keep up my good work and stick to eating better!

~Emily

Getting a Feel for It

So after my last post, I found My Fitness Pal, an online food and exercise tracker.  I've been using it to track everything I eat since Monday.  I did pretty well Monday and Tuesday keeping within my allotted daily caloric intake, but I didn't do so well yesterday.  I know there are going to be days that I "fall of the wagon," but I can't let those days get me down and I'm trying harder today!  I know it's going to take some time to get myself used to not just eating anything I want.  I'm getting a feel for it though!

I don't have anything going on this afternoon until Jazzercise class, so to keep myself from digging into everything in my house, I have been finding some activities to keep myself occupied.  I clipped the dog's toenails and cleaned out her ears.  We also had a bit of play-time outside!  I've done some laundry and even vacuumed the house.  I feel good about the hard work I'm putting in to keep my mind off food!

Yesterday, I had my yearly doctor's appointment (the girly one).  Everything seemed to check out okay, but my blood pressure was a bit high.  I always get nervous when I go to the doctor, mostly because I only go once a year to this particular doctor.  This elevates my blood pressure, but I'm not sure it should be this high at my age, so I've been looking into other ways to lower it beside getting put on medication.  I'm hoping the exercise and working to eat better will help with this!

It has been great to be back at work with the students this week!  I feel like my students and I are really getting involved in what we're reading!  And the students seem to be really excelling!

We have been struggling with one teacher, whose students we work with.  She doesn't seem to see us as professionals and talks down to us, that is when we actually do communicate at all.  I know every person has their own way of doing things and as they say "march to the beat of their own drum," but the lack of collaboration and communication with us and other teachers is very frustrating.  We have tried many ways of approaching her and dealing with her with no change.  I hope things will get better for our sake as well as the sake of the students!

Hoping for a great weekend to come and more hard work ahead!

~Emily

Time to Try Harder

After struggling to put my jeans on last night to go out and not feeling very good about myself in my own clothes, I've decided that just doing the exercise is not cutting it!  I think it's time to really start focusing on all the things I'm eating!  I seem to eat much more when I'm not busy and I don't really think too much about the mindless eating.  

I think it's time for me to start keeping track of what I'm eating.  To do this I'm going to use a calorie tracker online and maybe even keep a food journal that I can write down what I eat when I'm not near a computer.  Today, I want to just keep track of how many calories I'm eating on average to see what a good daily calorie goal would be for me!

Another thing that may help with the mindless eating is for me to go out and take a walk or do something productive when I feel the urge to eat out of boredom.  I really think this will keep my mind off the food and hopefully get some productive things done as well!

I'm really hoping cutting back and keeping track of my daily calorie intake will really help me start to feel and look better!

It's definitely time to try harder!!!

~Emily

Weekend Happenings

Well the snow/ice are almost gone.  I can't believe that there is still some on the ground a week later!  That never happens around here.  Usually it disappears the next day.

Anyways...
My weekend turned out to be a bit more eventful than I originally thought it might be!  On Friday, I took Rosey down to the Riverwalk for nice long walk to get her out of the house and some exercise for us both!  I was surprised by all the snow still lingering around the path and the ice that was still on the path and bridges (Rosey almost made me slip a few times!).  That night, I went out for dinner to San Jose!  Yay for some Mexican (it was my choice)!  Can't say that was the best food choice, but it was certainly yummy!  After dinner, I started watching Modern Family from the beginning...I really enjoy this show!

Saturday started with Jazzercise class!  During class, one of my best friends Lacy asked me to grab dinner with her...Finally we could get together and celebrate her Birthday!  We had a great time and meal at Copper River!  I did pretty good by ordering a salad and soup, and it's always good to get out with a great friend!

I didn't make it to church on Sunday morning because Mallory was taking care of her mother after her recent surgery and I don't feel very comfortable going by myself, but I did take some time to connect with God.  I decided to take Rosey down the Riverwalk again for another long walk.  There were many people out there, probably because the weather was much nicer!  I think Rosey had a good time mingling with some of the other dogs out there!  I got together with some friends for trivia late last night at Wild Wings.  We try to go whenever we have a Monday off because it doesn't start until around 11pm and goes on for a couple hours.  We really have a great time every time we go!!!

Today I'm enjoying my last day off, and plan on going to Jazzercise tonight!  I'm actually really looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow!  I've missed my students and the work we've been doing!

Here's hoping for a great week ahead!

~Emily

The Meltdown

Well after many days of snow and ice, the meltdown is almost complete!  Everything was pretty much melted on Wednesday, but after driving to Mom's house that night in Lexington, I found that many places were still dealing with much more that needed to melt!  Here are some pictures around my house on Wednesday:

Yes those are Christmas lights still hanging on my house! LOL!

They were taken down yesterday though!!!  Yay me!

Yesterday, I went back to work.  The students still have off until Tuesday, but us teachers had to go in for in-service.  We had a professional development on teaching vocabulary.  Not extremely exciting, but I learned some new things that I can try when we go back next week!  No work today because I don't usually work on Fridays, and no work Monday because of MLK day!  So I have a long weekend ahead of me and no real plans!  After getting three extra days off this week, I'm no so sure a long uneventful weekend will be that great...I may be super bored!

I finally made it back to Jazzercise after many days of it being cancelled due to the weather!  We had class last night and it felt good to sweat!  Even though I did pretty well doing two workouts at home when I couldn't go to class!  Since I was stuck at home for so many days, I didn't do so well at eating because I eat so much more when I'm just sitting around bored, but hopefully I'll do better when my schedule goes back to normal!

The temperatures are supposed to warm back up this weekend, so here's hoping everything will continue melting and all will go back to normal!

~Emily

Snow Days

Well, the snow started falling around midnight Monday morning, so this is what we woke up to:

Rosey really enjoyed running around in it and trying her best to eat it all up!

Around 4:30pm yesterday, they went ahead and cancelled school for today because the snow was going to turn to ice as the temperature dropped.  So I spent another day at home today, but the roads have started to clear up.  I enjoyed getting out a little bit ago to eat at Ruby Tuesdays!  Here's a few pics I took today of the ice:

And Rosey eating the ice:

It has started melting some, but the temperature is supposed to drop pretty low again tonight, so school has been cancelled again!  We were only supposed to have a 3 day school week as it is with Thursday and Friday as in-service days, so now the students get a whole week off!  And Monday is a holiday as well!  Won't be digging it as much when we have to make all of this up, but I've been enjoying getting to sleep in and lay around!

I did do a P90x workout last night since Jazzercise class was cancelled!  It kicked my butt...I'm so sore today!  Going to try to motivate myself to do other workout tomorrow before heading to Mom's for dinner!

Yay for snow/ice days!!!  Especially in SC!

~Emily