Series of misfortunate events

As much as I was dying to go running yesterday, I was just as disappointed after I completed my run. It was one of those runs that just wasn't going right in any way.

Issue #1 was the combination of my alarm going off at the end of my warm up, my phone being buried under two layers, and having thick snow gloves on. By the time I turned off my alarm, I had missed my audio cue to begin running on my C25K app.

Issue #2 was bringing my dog. Don't get me wrong, I love my dog and I would love for him to go running with me, if he would only not try to run at full speed in the middle of the road.

Trying to rein him in so he wouldn't get hit by a car was so distracting that I was breathing wrong and my form was terrible. As a result, I was completely out of breath and couldn't run for more than 20 seconds at a time.

Issue #3 was my stupid headphones. I only put them in one ear and tuck the other earbud into my bra strap. Well somehow it got untucked so my arm kept getting tangled. Eventually all that tangling caused it to fall out of my ear entirely which again caused me to miss another running cue.

My underwear was also scratching my hip. 

So with all of that, I came home more annoyed and stressed than when I left.  Total disappointment after an entire afternoon of anticipation. Bah!

Dress for success

I am notorious for not checking the weather before I get dressed for the day. Too often I am wearing a knit sweater on the warmest day of autumn or I wear heels on the rainest day of the spring. I then proceed to complain all day about being too hot, being too cold, having wet feet, or having hurricane winds blow up my dress. (Yes I have had at least one Marilyn Monroe moment in the middle of Hartford before.)

I make poor wardrobe choices.

Last night Hubby and I were supposed to go dancing but he wasn't feeling too well, so we didn't go. I was enjoying being lazy on the couch when I realized that I actually wanted to go running. Problem? It's dark out and the temperature was quickly dropping. (It was about 17° F before I started running.) I knew if I was to go out that night, I needed to be warmer than last time.

I recently read online that there's no such thing as bad running weather, just bad gear choices. I saw that and immediately I thought, "That is so me!" So this time I was determined to be smarter about this.

I started layering up and quickly realized that I had too many layers on. I had a tank top, tshirt, thermal, sweatshirt, and reflective tshirt. Yeah you can imagine how warm I was just standing there. So I dropped 2 of the layers and thought I'd see how that goes. (I think next time I'll swap the thermal for a regular tshirt.) I double layered my pants and socks, wrapped my dollar store scarf around my ears, and remembered my snow gloves.

Just need my sneakers, headphones, and all my phone apps and I am ready to go! But not without taking a selfie first...

Hakuna matata!

Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I spent most of it being sick but I was still able to enjoy myself. We had family come down for various parts of the weekend and hung out around the pool.

For the most part, I was able to stay on plan. Monday got a little out of hand with the cookies, but not bad considering what I would have eaten that weekend if I didn't keep myself in check. One summer BBQ down, several to go I'm sure.

The shocking thing about this weekend was the fact that I wore a bikini. Granted it was not one of those tiny skimpy ones, but it was a two piece, non-tankini swimsuit. And no it was not yellow polka dotted.

I'm still not where I'd like to be to be able to wear it out in public, but the fact that I felt mostly comfortable wearing around my family just goes to show how far I've come.

Hakuna matata!

Why are you wearing a suit today?

Because it FITS!

Today is a great day. This morning, on a whim, I decided to try on my suit pants just to see if maybe they fit yet (as of last week they didn't). And to my huge surprise, they buttoned and zipped with ease. [Insert girly squeal here]

My dad had bought this suit for me my senior year of college as a birthday gift and I had worn it to all the job interviews I had that year. Well I'm pretty sure my first day of work (three years ago) was the last time I have been able to wear it.

Since then, it has been living in the back of my closet, begging for it to see the light of day again. Let me repeat, today is a great day.

P.S. And yes I did go running last night like I planned to...

Hakuna matata!

EDIT (5/11/12 11:52am): I have been getting a TON of compliments today from co-workers. Not just on how I look, but even my presence and my mood. That was unexpected and amazing to hear!

Bring On the Bikini challenge - Before pictures

One of the requirements for my newest Nutrisystem challenge is to take a "before" picture in a swim suit so we can compare it to our "after" picture at the end of the challenge.

Well I decided to take it one step further and find an old picture of me in the same swim suit. I already plan on getting a new swim suit for this summer but I thought it would be neat to have the same one in all the pictures.

          

Summer 2007 I think... 215ish pounds, maybe??

5/3/12 171 pounds

Hakuna matata!

Bilbo Baggypants

I feel weird today. It's one of those Feel-Good-One-Moment-And-Then-Sucky-The-Next kind of days.

Today I'm wearing a pair of slacks that I couldn't even squeeze into a few months ago. You would think that would feel great, right? Well it does in a sense, knowing that clothing that was once too small is now almost falling off your hips.

However, they are so loose and baggy that I don't feel... what's the word I'm looking for... attractive? fashionable? Smokin' hot? I feel like one of those people on What Not to Wear with their clothes that obviously don't fit their body size/shape.

Thinspiration #10

Which do you want more? You decide. Results or excuses. It's up to you.

Hakuna matata!

Miss Skinny Pants

I love days like today. It was not even 8am and I had already received a compliment for my recent (and ongoing!) weight loss. And it wasn't just any compliment. No, it involved the S-word.

"Hey you're gettin' skinny!"

Could it be because I was able to get into my old skinny college pants again this morning? Maybe. One of my friends from college once called these my J-Lo pants since I have such a larger um... backside, but they curved around it in such a way that it still made me look good. Today's post deserves a picture!

Hakuna matata!