Graduation Eve

So, I'm sitting here on the night before my college graduation, and I'm doing my usual reflection. I've spent the past 5 years of my life in college, taking classes, making friends, and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. And trust me, it took all 5 years to figure out what I want to do when I "grow up." And there are still times when I wonder if the plans I've made today will be the same tomorrow.

But in these last 5 years, I've also done some growing. When I started college, I was a shy girl who had her comfort zone and didn't like to get out of it. My first year of college was spent away, and that was definitely out of my comfort zone. While I did enjoy my time at Berry (and I got an amazing friend out of it), it didn't feel right. I wasn't happy. I guess I wasn't ready to be away from my source of comfort. So I came home. And I spent the last 4 years living with my parents and attending a new college. I even changed my major from business to education. There were times when I questioned that move. Heck, I was questioning that move earlier this year. However, I'm satisfied with my decision. I love working with kids, and while I don't want to be a traditional classroom teacher, I have a plan.

That's something that hasn't really changed about me. I always have a plan. Even when I don't think I have a plan, I still had a plan. I'm a planner, and I don't think that will change. However, I have become more open to my plans changing. I don't freak out as much as I use to when they do. I know now that life throws in things that can't be planned for, and I have to be ready to roll with the punches. I have to be prepared for my plans to change. And I need to be ready to welcome changes sometimes. Change isn't always bad. In fact, a lot of times, it's really good. :)

I've noticed myself becoming more of a risk taker. Things that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing 5 years ago, I'm wanting to do now. Like parasailing, which I plan on doing while at Disney. Heck, even moving out of state for 5 months. I wouldn't have dreamed of doing this 5 years ago. Leaving everything and everyone that I know behind to move to a city where I know 1 person. And I won't even be living or working with the person I know. 5 years ago, that would have caused me so much anxiety. But now it excites me. I can't wait for August to be here. I can't wait to move and start this next chapter in my life. I can't wait to meet new people and have all these new experiences.

I don't have any regrets about the my college years. I'm glad to be done with them though. It's time for me to move on. To move to a different place, meet new people, have new experiences. It's time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life, and I cannot wait.

Bleed Red

While I am a country music fan, I also tend to be over the whole Brooks and Dunn thing. They retired, let's move on. However, Ronnie Dunn is coming out with a solo album, and his first single, "Bleed Red" is amazing. And it's really speaking to me right now.

Let's say we're sorry before it's too late
Give forgiveness a chance
Turn the anger into water
Let it slip through our hands

We all bleed red
We all taste rain
All fall down
Lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears
We all bleed red

If we're fighting we're both losing
We're just wasting our time
Because my scars they are your scars
And your world is mine
You and I

We all bleed red
We all taste rain
All fall down
Lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears
We all bleed red

Sometimes we're strong
Sometimes we're weak
Sometimes we're hurt and it cuts deep
We live this life breath to breath
We're all the same
We all bleed red

Let's say we're sorry before it's too late

We all bleed red
We all taste rain
All fall down
Lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears
We all bleed red

Sometimes we're strong
Sometimes we're weak
Sometimes we're hurt and it cuts deep
We're all the same
We all bleed red

There are people out there who I know I've hurt, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Some of these people were a big part of my life for a long time, and others weren't. However, I hate knowing that I hurt anyone. I have tried to talk to some of these people before, and it just hasn't worked out, no matter how much I wanted it to. So, in case any of them read this, this is my apology. I'm sorry for ever hurting you. Forgive me, please.

Disney "Believe" Board

So, I'm sure most of you are aware of this (if you've talked to me or seen my facebook in the past few months, then you are), but for those of you that are not....I got accepted into the Walt Disney World College Program!!! What does this mean? This means that come August, I will be living and working at The Happiest Place on Earth for 5 months. Of course, I'm hoping this (paid!!!) internship will turn into a permanent job with Disney. I took my first trip to Disney World in 1997 when I was 9, and ever since then, I've wanted to work for them. So this internship opportunity is a dream come true for me! :)

Anyway, since I got accepted, and since I now have a ton of free time because I am DONE with school (graduation is this Saturday!!), I have been indulging my creative side. :) This is making me extremely happy, because for the past few months, I haven't been able to all that much because of school. But now, I can!

So, one of my first projects for this summer was what I'm calling my Disney "Believe" Board. This is something that I can hang on my wall, and every time I look at it, I am reminded to believe in my dreams because, yes, they can come true...no matter how big they are. And trust me, when I dream, I dream big. :p

So, how did I create this board? Well......

I started with a scrap piece of cardboard that I had lying around. I don't remember where this piece came from, but I know that when I saw it, I made a point of keeping it because I figured I could do something with it. Make sure that if you decide to do a project like this, that the cardboard is pretty sturdy and thick. It needs to be able to hold the paint and the items you'll put on it. You could also use a piece of plywood if you don't have cardboard. Just make sure you sand the plywood before you use it! :)


I then painted the cardboard. If you like the look of plain cardboard, then feel free to skip this part. However, I like color, so I decided to paint my board red. I used Apple Barrel brand in Crimson. The picture above is after one coat. That just wasn't bright enough for me, so....

...I added another coat. This was much better for me. :)

Then I laid the stuff that I was going to put on it out. I used punch-out letters to spell out "Believe", and the rest of the stuff is memorabilia from my trip to Disney in December. At the bottom right, there's a coaster, my ticket/room key/credit card is at the bottom left, and in the center at the top is a personalized congratulation note from Mickey himself. :) I celebrated my college graduation a bit early in December, so this was one of the things I got. :)

Time to Mod Podge everything! Make sure that not only do you concentrate on the edges (like shown in the picture), but that you do go back over the entire board with the Mod Podge. This will seal in everything, and it will give the whole board a much smoother finish.
And here is the finished product! I'm going to add a bracket to the back so that I can hang it on my wall, but if you wanted to just prop it up somewhere, that would be fine, too. :) I'm very excited about my board, and what it represents to me. :) And this makes me even more excited for August to get here so I can move on into the next chapter in my life.

Wow.

So, I've noticed that I've been going somewhat easy on myself, and maybe that's why I haven't seen the results that I've wanted.

Well, that and the fact that I'm become very lax with my diet and exercise. But, I'm vowing to get back into this. I'm tired of feeling fat and tired all the time. And I want to look good for graduation. :)

So, I've been doing workouts on the SportsActive for the Wii, and I've had it set on medium intensity since, well, since I got it a couple of years ago. So, I thought it was time to up the intensity.

And boy, did setting it on high intensity really up the intensity. I honestly thought I was going to collapse before I finished. And I was sweating by the time I finished the 3rd exercise in the routine. However, I'm proud to say that I made it through, and, even though my legs are sore and not really able to support me at the moment, I feel really good right now. :)

I'm doing the 30-day challenge again, and I'm very hopeful that I'll see results by the time the 30 days are up. And this time, I'll try not to stop exercising after the challenge is over like I did last time. This time, I'm determined to make exercising a permanent part of my life.

Ughhhhh.

Today was not good exercise wise. I didn't reach my 250 calorie goal....in fact, I was about 100 calories short. And it sucks. I'm putting on weight, which baffles me. I guess I'm eating more than I realize, which means I'll probably have to go back to keeping a food diary again. I might not calculate calories though. That was way too much of a hassle last time. But, I can tell by looking at what I've ate whether I've done good or not.

I also need to give my workout variety. I've been doing the same exercises, and they're not really working my whole body. I do a lot of cardio and arm exercises, but that's about it. I need to look for exercises that target my abs, since that's what I'm really wanting to work on.

I'm also going to cut out my snacking after dinner. The only thing I'll have is my post-workout smoothie. I've found that I look forward to my smoothie, and it's a great incentive to actually workout. Plus, it's a great way to soothe my sweet tooth. I was craving chocolate earlier, but my strawberry-banana smoothie has hit the spot! :)

I'm not going to let today discourage me. Even though I'm feeling kind of crappy because of all this, I'm determined to get past it. I'm determined to have more good days, and I'm determined for tomorrow to be better. I will not let today get to me.

Improving Myself

I used to always go into each new year thinking, "New Year, New Me!" And that's a saying that you see everywhere. It's like we all have to reinvent ourselves each year and become something else. But this year, I'm not doing that. There is no "new me". I like who I am. And the people in my life like who I am. So why would I change that? So, no new me...just an improved me. I'm going to work on the things in my life that need to be worked on. This is the year that I conquer certain things in my life, and I'm really excited about that aspect!

I have been exercising the past couple of days, and I'm really proud of the progress I'm making. I've made it a goal to burn at least 250 calories a day, and so far, I've surpassed that each day. And I only have 82 calories left to burn until I reach the goal for today! :) I've also started noticing the difference in my body since I've been working out like this. I feel my sides slimming down and my "love handles" slowly disappearing! Yay! :)

I'm also trying to be better at spending and saving and monitoring my money. I still live with my parents, so I don't really have any bills to pay, but I know that will change in a few months. So I'm trying to start now on teaching myself how to manage my money. I've got a spreadsheet set up, and I track all of my spending. This way, I can look and see what I'm spending my money on, how much I'm spending each month, and how much I'm saving each month. I've also started doing something that my dad has been doing for a few years now. Heo saves all of his $1 bills and all his change. Each year, he's managed to save over $1,000 by doing this. So, I've started doing it, too. And I'm putting it directly into my savings account. I made my first deposit last month, and it was $8.50. But that was after just a week or so of saving. I'm hoping to have more put in this month. And I've noticed that I don't really miss the $1 bills or the change that much.

I'm pretty excited about this year. Big things are going to happen, and I can't wait! :) And I'm also looking forward to improving myself and coming out of this year even better than I started it. :)

It's A New Year!

So I know I dropped off the radar after my 30 day challenge. I got really busy with school and the holidays and vacation. I also stopped my exercising after those 30 days, and that was a mistake. I ended up gaining the weight back, and I started feeling horrible again.
But it's a new year. And this year, I am determined to lose the weight. I graduate in May, and I'm hopefully going to start a new internship in the fall. And I want to be ready for those thing. This will be a life changing year for me, and I am determined for it to be the best year so far. And that means I need to get healthy.

I started getting back into exercising last week. I got up at 5am Monday-Friday to do a 5-minute running workout I created using EA Sports Active for the Wii. I know that 5 minutes doesn't sound like much, but it woke me up and got my blood going. It definitely helped me focus on the day. I would also exercise every night. And I was feeling really good.

However, Atlanta got hit by a snow/ice storm this week, which means that I've been stuck in the house. I've eaten more than usual, and I haven't exercised like I should have. I did get back to exercising tonight, and I was really proud of myself. I worked out for about 45 minutes and burned 254.4 calories. That's going to be my goal for every day--to burn at least 250 calories a day.

I'm going to be posting in the blog with my updates on the weight loss adventure. I noticed that when I was doing the 30 day challenge, I would not make excuses for not exercising because I knew I had to be accountable and update my blog. So that's what I'm going to do this time. No more excuses. This will become the thing that keeps me on track this time.