It's time for a PICTURE POST!!

Chi Town Countdown:

26 days!!!

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Hey friends!
I havent posted an official picture post in a while so I thought it was time for one!

Lauren and I

Trey and our dog, Buddy

Trey and I at the bowling alley

Burch and I

Lauren, Trey and I

Me and the boys

Lauren is a good bowler. I, on the other hand, am terrible.

Trey showing off some mad skill

Lauren

Buddy and I

My puppy, Simba....and my little model

Burch and I

I had to crinkle paper in front of the camera to get him to look in the right direction!

Love him!

My new Too Faced eyeshadow palette. Yes, I love it.

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In some lap band related news, I have my next doctor's appointment on September 8th which is only 10 days away. I am trying my hardest (with the exception of my lunch today at Five Guys Burgers and Fries...OOOPS!) to be strict with my diet. This past week...Monday thru Friday...I have probably eaten the healthiest I ever have since my surgery last October. I didn't eat out at a restaurant at all....nothing....nada....and it felt really good (and saved me some money!) I also tried Greek Yogurt for the first time and I really like it. My mom has eaten it for years and I decided to get it a try. I have eaten that for breakfast all week and added some fresh fruit in it too. Its really good and gives you a decent amount of protein. Oh does anyone have a healthy chicken salad recipe? I have been looking online but I cant find anything semi-healthy. I love chicken salad with shredded chicken, grapes, celery and whatever else...but most recipes call for so much mayo! Any suggestions or alternatives?

Let's talk numbers. I have lost 9 pounds since my last visit to the doctor a month ago and I am happy with those results. How much further along would I be in my weight loss journey if I was consistently losing 9 pounds a month? Goodness...I would have lost 90 pounds by now. But I know everyone has good weeks and bad weeks...good months and bad months. Its totally a learning experience and I am 100% fine with that. We cant change the past (including how I cheated this afternoon and ate a loaded cheeseburger at Five Guys) and that is ok. You only live once so pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep on going.


Have a fabulous Sunday afternoon!

Random Picture Post!! And mini makeup haul!

Happy Saturday friends!!

So I realized I haven't posted many pictures lately and this is mainly due to my stolen camera fiasco while coming home from Alaska! (For those of you who didnt read that blog...I left my camera with thousands of pictures on it that HADNT been uploaded to my computer on the plane on the way home from Alaska and someone stole it and I never got it back) Ok moving on...because just typing that out makes me want to cry...again.

But since then I had been researching cameras and only 2 days after my trip I purchased another camera (because I cant go long without a camera and I take it everywhere). It was a Fujifilm that was very similar to my stolen camera but the newer model. I got it home and practiced with it but didnt like it at all. The pictures werent as good of quality and the videos seemed to all be blurry. So I returned that one. I researched cameras some more and found the one I have now! It is a Nikon Coolpix P100 and I love it! It has a 26x zoom that is unreal! The videos are amazing quality and I am super happy with it! Do any of you have this camera?! What do you think about yours? Just curious.


This is what it looks like:







I woke Burch up from a nap to take a picture with me with my new camera!

My cousin and I went to the American Idol concert and here are some of the pictures I took with my camera. We had good seats but I could have taken pictures up their nose if I wanted to haha

Can you tell who our favorite was?!
Haha we had a great time!

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MAKEUP

Last but not least...as most of you know....I am a shopoholic. I have no problem admitting it. What this means is I am addicted to shopping and I always have been. Whether I have the money to shop or not, I just love to go look. I can usually control myself but I know a good bargain when I see it and then my self control goes away. I love to shop for clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup, perfume, anything beauty related, anything fashion related....anything really. Shopping claims me down....and when I have nothing else to do, I want to go shopping. Like I said...I may not always have the money to shop but I like to go anyways.

All this to say, I have recently been on a makeup craze and trying out some new products. I love to watch makeup hauls and makeup tutorials on youtube. I love finding out what products work well and what products dont. When you are a makeup fanatic like me, it is so interesting to watch makeup artists who know what they are doing transform someone with beautiful makeup. The products dont have to be expensive as long as they work well. I love to discover what brands work well and last throughout the day verses the ones that dont. So this is my little makeup haul...blog style. These are just a few products I have gotten over the past two weeks. For those of you how arent into makeup, you may find this very boring. But for those of you who like makeup and beauty related items, you may like this.

I recently bought the Smashbox Eye Shadow Palette in Classifeyed. I love it! I got it from Sephora and the colors are great...especially for green eyes. I recommend this product.


I also just bought a new perfume from Dolce and Gabbana called L'eau The One. It smells heavenly. When you first spray it one it isnt too harsh or strong or overpowering. It is a warm, sweet smell that will keep you smelling good the whole day. I find it very classy and sophisticated and every time I wear it people ask me what perfume I have on. If you are a perfume lover, definitely try this one out! I got mine at Sephora for about $85.00. It is a little pricey but well worth the money.

Next item is the Duo Concealer from Nars. I had been wanting to try their concealers because I had heard great things about it but never really wanted to spend $30 on it. But I did and I dont regret it. They cover my red spots and blemishes very well. I got the color duo custard and ginger. At least you get two colors for that price.

My new favorite eyeshadow collection by far is the Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection by Too Faced. I love to do neutral eyes on myself and if you like golds and browns and nudes, these eyeshadows are fantastic! It was only $35 for 9 different colors! You will not be disappointed!



Lastly, have any of you heard of OCC? This stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and they are a new, up incoming makeup brand and their popularity is spreading like wildfire all over the country. They are known for their lip tars, which is a "true hybrid between lipstick and lip gloss". I heard about this brand from one of my favorite youtube channels (Pixiwoo) and had to try the product. They are 100% vegan and do not do any type of animal testing. Basically the lip tars come in this little tube and you use a small lip brush to apply the product. The tiniest bit goes a LONG way. The colors are very opaque and last the entire day. Other brands claim that their products last all day but nothing compares to OCC. These lip tars will blow you away. Because you only use a small amount, one little tube is likely to last your whole life! I first bought the color Anime, a very vivid, neon pink, about 3 weeks ago. It is very bright and not something you would wear on a daily basis but fun to wear if you are going out or want to change your look up. Each tube is $20 but once again, well worth the money! I loved the product so much I have since purchased 5 more colors and they are all fabulous! If you love lip products, please try these out!! You wont be disappointed!

(These are some pictures I found of the colors I bought!)

Hope you enjoyed my little mini haul! Have a fantastic weekend!! (If you like the "haul" idea, let me know! I would love to give you product reviews and tell you what I think about the products I bought!)

Plane tickets? Check!!

Guess what?

Kim and I just bought our plane tickets to Chicago!! Who is excited?! WE AREEEE!

We are getting to Chicago around noon on Friday and leaving Sunday around 6 at night!

The Windy City...Chi town...HERE WE COME!!

Thank you mother nature and Question of the Day!

Weight update:

Due to my ultra strict diet for the past week and my decision to be good and work out...I was down to 222 yesterday morning. That is 6 pounds less from last Saturday.


This morning mother nature surprised me with my monthly gift....ugh...and now Im 226. Puts a damper to the end of my exciting weight loss week. I guess my weight will be thrown off for the next week.


Question of the day: How much weight do you put on during your time of the month? (I know some of you are done with this stage) But I am just curious. Maybe I put on like 5 pounds...that would be nice.

Have a fabulous Sunday!!

Dear 220's...I am getting sick of you!

Good weight loss news...


The few weeks before my cruise I had been going back and forth between the upper 220's. For the life of me I couldnt lose the weight. I dont know what the deal was. The day before my cruise I attempted to get a fill and weighed 228.5. On my cruise I held back a little bit but I definitely enjoyed myself and the free food they had to offer. The day after I got back from the cruise I got my long awaited fill and I weighed 231. Depressing. But gaining 2.5 pounds during my two week vacation wasnt too bad in my opinion.


Well....since then I have been ultra strict with my diet and counting every single calorie that enters my body. I think I have become a calorie-counting-oholic. The result: I weighed 224 this morning. This is exciting news. I realize I have been in the 220's for months. But I dont allow myself to beat myself up about it. Even though the past several months have been lose, gain, lose, gain...I realize what a wonderful life I have and I am my biggest cheerleader. Now it is just time to buckle down...hardcore.

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Oh and look at my new night shirt I got in Alaska. I love it!

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Goodnight friends! Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Home from Alaska! Wonderful trip with a not-so-wonderful ending

Hello again friends! So I figured since I got home from Alaska 10 days ago it was time for a post! Sorry I havent been posting much. I have been reading everyone else's blogs but havent done too good when it comes to updating mine. But Im back home and healthy and happy and life is good :)

Anyways.

Alaska was amazing. beautiful. gorgeous. breathtaking. once in a lifetime. all of the above.

I will give the short version of the trip because if I dont this post will end up being 10 pages long. Our trip was two weeks long and started out in Fairbanks, Alaska. We did what was called a cruisetour which means we traveled on land for 4 days and then got on the ship for 7 days. We stayed in Fairbanks for two days and out of all the cities we visited, this was probably my least favorite. Dont get me wrong, it was still beautiful but im comparison to some of the other cities it fell short. But we did have some good food there and one the second day we did a steamboat river tour that lasted all day. That was interesting...we saw some seaplanes take off and land, we watched some dog sled races and learned about the native culture. After Fairbanks we headed to Denali. We only spent one day in Denali but it was awesome. There snow capped mountains as far as the eye can see. The place where we stayed was a huge lodge cabin looking place with chandeliers everywhere. Rustic with a touch of flare...it was gorgeous. We went on an 8 hour wilderness adventure while we were there and saw tons of wildlife...bears, wolves, dall sheep, bald eagles. After Denali, we went to the Mt. McKinley lodge about 3 hours away. It was beautiful as well. The next day after being at Mt. McKinley we road a glass covered train 5 hours from Mt. McKinley to Whittier, right outside of Anchorage. This is where we got on the cruise ship! Yay!!

The ship was amazing. This was my fifth cruise but my first cruise with Princess. I would say it compares pretty much equal with Royal Caribbean. During our 7 days on the boat we had we ports of call...Skagway, which was my favorite, Juneau and Ketchikan, which was my second favorite. Skagway is a very small town with cute little restaurants and shops and a lot of history. I loved the feeling of this little quaint town. In Juneau we were supposed to ride a helicopter to one of the glaciers and walk on the glaciers but it was too foggy so they canceled our excursion :( We ended up going whale watching and ended up seeing tons of whales! They came right up next to the boat and most of them were bigger than the boat. Kinda frightening when you think about it. It kinda freaked me out but not much I could do about it in the middle of the ocean haha. Then we also went dog sledding in Juneau. That was fun and the dogs that pulled our sled were participants in the iditarod. In Ketchican we went on the Bering Sea Crab Adventure. The boat we took out was the Aleutian Ballad, the actual boat and crew that starred in season 2 of the Deadliest Catch. They caught king crabs for us and showed us what each day was like for them as fisherman.

We ended the cruise in Vancouver and spent an extra day there. I loved Vancouver! Have any of you ever been there? Such a big bustling city with people and restaurants and shops and buildings and condos everywhere. I can totally see myself living in a city like that. We did an awesome city tour there and ate outside at a wonderful little restaurant downtown. Then came home on Tuesday.

And if any of you read my facebook, you know what tragic occurrence happened on Tuesday. So let me preface this by saying I captured all of our excitement on my camera of course. I took about 1,500 pictures...most of them once in a lifetime shots of wildlife, mountains, whales, scenery, wilderness, pictures with my family, etc. Well the last leg of our trip back home was from Minneapolis to Birmingham. As we got on the plane I put my camera case under my seat...which had my camera, about 10 SD cards full of pictures, my license and my debit card. As we landed in Birmingham, we were the last plane to come in and I got off the plane without grabbing my camera case. About an hour later I remembered that I left it on the plane. I frantically got in touch with a security guard who said the plane was already sealed shut because we were the last ones to come in and I would have to check lost and found the following morning. To say it lightly, I was freaking out! I couldnt sleep or eat until the next morning. I rushed to the airport at 7 am all for them to tell me no one had turned in my camera case. I later learned the only people that had access to the plane the night before was the cleaning crew who cleaned the plane before sealing the door shut. After they told me my camera hadnt been turned in, I was stilling holding out hope that some generous, kind person would turn it back in to me.....until........

I got a call around 10 am that morning from the Visa fraud company saying there had been fraudulent activity on my debit card. I was crushed as soon as I heard the message. I was devastated. Because I knew that meant someone had stolen my camera case and used my debit card. I later found out my debit card was used only an hour after we got off the plane at 3 gas stations in Birmingham. This means the only people that had access to the plane was the cleaning crew and therefore one of them stole my camera and all my pictures. All those beautiful, once in a lifetime pictures. All those 1,500 pictures. I was so upset. There isnt a word to describe how sad/mad I was....how sad/mad I still am. So basically I had a fabulous trip but no pictures to show anyone. No videos to show anyone. Nothing to show anyone.

We filed a police report but nothing will come of that. I also found out that since I stopped my debit card in time, they werent able to successfully use my card so I didnt lose any money. And I already got another license. But if you love pictures as much as me, you cant imagine how I felt. I dont want the camera back...I just want the pictures back.

We did have two friends from our church that were on the same cruise with us. We told them what happened with my camera and they are making us a copy of all the pictures they took. So we will have some pictures but none of our family or any with us in it.

I keep telling myself it could be worse. Life could be much much worse. But it still makes me so upset. But as soon as we get our friend's pictures I will post them on here.



So that is the end of our vacation. A wonderful vacation with a not-so-wonderful ending.

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As for weight loss, I would rather not say. I was proud of myself because on my cruise I only gained 2.5 pounds haha. 14 days of all you can eat food...2.5 pounds isnt so bad. I have since lost those 2.5 pounds but I am at a standstill. I have been at this same standstill for months and months. I cant lose. I need to start exercising I guess. Although I did work out on the ship one day...for a solid hour....hardcore. My dad "trained" me and he did a good job. I was sore for days but it felt good. I have been in the 220's for about 4 months now. Frustrating....but I havent been trying I guess. I did get a fill the day after I got back from my cruise. I went from 6.5 cc's to 7.5 cc's. I can definitely feel restriction. I feel like my sweet spot is getting pretty close. Anyways. Enough about the weight Im NOT losing at the moment :)


Last but not least. Chicago in about 6 weeks!! Who is excited?! I am excited!! I still havent gotten my plane ticket but Im thinking I am going to get that in the very near future. I found roundtrip tickets for a total of $280. Sounded like a good price to me. Is anyone else getting to Chicago Friday night? I am hoping to be able to miss work Friday and come in the morning but we will see how that pans out.



Wow. Ok. Thanks for reading my book. Have a good night and fabulous weekend! Love to you all! Mwah!!

The doctor said no :(

I wasn't able to get my fill today and this is why...

First of all my appointment was at 8:30 this morning and I am NOT a morning person! I can stay up all night long but waking up at 6:30 almost kills me. Anyways, so I get to the doctor at like 8:15 and wait and wait and wait some more. Finally I pay my co-pay and they call me back at like 9:15. I got up on that dreaded scale which I had been dreading for days because I knew I had gained weight since my last visit 3 months ago. Not just 1 pound, not just 2 pounds....try 7 pounds! Holy smokes! A feeling of embarrassment and motivation came over me all at the same time. But the nurse was sweet and told me some people come back months later and weigh more than they did before their surgery. I think she was trying to make me feel better....and it worked.

So because I am not ashamed...I will tell you what the scale said. Wait for it.....wait for it.....228 pounds. My last visit I was 221 which was three months ago. I know my eating has been out of control and I havent been exercising much so what do I expect?! Although it is my time of the month and I tend to gain a little...so maybe that accounts for a few pounds. Maybe. Hopefully.

So the nurse practitioner comes in and looks at my chart and asks me how things are going and why I have managed to gain. I told her honestly it was because I had been eating the wrong foods. I havent been snacking and I havent been eating late. But the foods I choose to eat, I eat too much of at one sitting. Anyways...she is getting the saline ready to give me the fill and this conversation takes place...

Nurse: "So what all do you have planned this week? Anything fun?"

Me: "Oh yeah! Im actually going on a cruise tomorrow to Alaska!"

Nurse pauses...looks at me...and puts the needle down.

Nurse: "Oh no! Then we cant do the fill today"

Me: "Really? Why not" (As I try to hold back the tears because I NEEDED this fill)

Nurse: "Because it is just too risky with you about to leave the country. It is actually against our policy and they wont allow me to do the fill with you about to go on vacation. We have had too many people get fills and then leave town and something happens and they have no way to get it fixed."

Me (still trying not to tear up) "Ok. I really need this fill but I trust your judgment and if I need to wait I can."

Nurse: "We actually had a lady that had a fill, then left the next day for Hawaii. She had terrible complications and it was too tight. She couldnt find a doctor anywhere in Hawaii that knew enough about the lapband and they had to fly her home to Birmingham. So Im sorry sweetie...its just too risky. Just have a good time on your cruise. Try to be good and dont overeat and we will do the fill the day you get back. Plus you dont want it to be so tight on your cruise you dont enjoy the food."



So that was that. I was definitely torn about the whole situation. If I didnt open my mouth about the cruise, I would have been able to get the fill. But then again, what if something would have happened and I was stuck in Alaska for two weeks and not back to do anything about it. So I made an appointment for the day after I get back from our trip and that is also the day my mom has her first fill! So in the end, I guess it worked out for the best.

In other news, I am about to start packing for the trip!! We leave bright and early at 6 in the morning!! I havent even started packing and Burch and I are going to a friends house tonight for dinner and a movie! So I better get started! I somehow managed to spent $140 at Target this morning getting "last minute things" for the trip but I think I went a little overboard. Ha. Typical.

Our ship

Beautiful Alaskan sunset

Anyways, if I dont have a chance to get back on before we leave tomorrow...everyone have a FABULOUS next two weeks! Be safe! Pray for our safety :) I would greatly appreciate it! I will bring yall back pictures and pictures and more pictures....of course! Have a great Wednesday!

And always remember...you are TOO precious to let anyone or anything ruin your day!

I have missed you ALL!

Friends! Oh my goodness...have I really not posted a blog since June 15th?! What a terrible blogger I am! Well I have missed you all! I hate I havent had the time to post anything and I havent been able to read as many of your blogs as I have wanted to. I wish I had like 3 solid hours with nothing to do so I could catch up on everyone's blogs...but seems like free time is hard to come by for me these days. You know how it is...work, the boyfriend, the family, the friends...keeps me busy :)

So what exciting is going on in my life?

Well my family is leaving to go on our cruise to Alaska THURSDAY!! This Thursday!! We have been planning this trip for months and months and it is finally here! Thursday we are flying bright and early from Birmingham to Minneapolis. In Minneapolis we have a 4 hour layover and then we fly to Fairbanks, Alaska. We are doing what is called a cruisetour. This means are doing a 5-day tour of Alaska on land and going from city to city by train. Then we get on the cruise ship on day 5 in Whittier and cruise for the next 7 days on the water. The cruise is 12 nights and we end up in Vancouver. We are staying an extra day in Vancouver and then flying back home to sweet home Alabama :)

I know I asked yall a few months ago...but have any of you been on this cruise or been to Alaska? We are cruising with Princess Cruises. I have done Carnival and Royal Carribean but havent cruised with Princess before. I am super duper excited about the whole thing! And yall know me...there will be plenty of pictures to show when I return!

Secondly...

I am going for a fill Wednesday morning because I need one baddddd! My eating habits havent been the best lately and I feel like been letting myself slack off. I havent managed to gain weight in the past month but I havent lost any either. I would lose a couple of pounds...then gain it back. Over fourth of July weekend I actually gained a couple of pounds but then lost it a few days later. All this to say I am in desperate need of a fill. Why right before my cruise you ask? Because I am afraid I will eat and eat and eat on the cruise and gain 10, 15, 20 pounds! Those of you who have been on a cruise and can attest to how much food there is knows exactly what I mean! I am hoping this fill gives me a little restriction...enough to let me enjoy the food but not overeat :)

Thirdly...

All of you going to Chicago, have you bought your tickets yet?! I havent and I am thinking I should get on the ball. I keep putting it off thinking since we are going in the fall, it is like months and months away. But its only like TWO months ago and I need to get my plane ticket! Kim...we need to figure it out so we can get the same flight girlfriend :) Does anyone know the final count of how many people are going? It is going to be so much fun to meet you girls in person! I cant wait!!

Lastly...here are a few pictures from the last few weeks!

















Well that's all for now :) Have a fabulous Tuesday!! And remember...you're too precious to let anyone or anything ruin it!!