Thursday, July 19, 2012

Good Things Coming

So I weighed myself for the first time in weeks yesterday. I expected the worse, so as I stepped on to the scale (it's one of those non-digital ones where you push around the weight) and I put it on a big even number I assumed I weighed over. To my surprise the lever dropped and I realized I had to move the scale down. So I kept moving it and kept moving it and it finally reached the middle only after I had moved the scale down SIX POUNDS! Hell ya! I wanted to shout right there in the middle of the locker room (but I had a feeling people would stare). I even stepped off and stepped on again and it was still the same number! It's really nice to see work pay off- in fact when I get positive results it makes me want to just keep going!

Of course after I have this awesome progress, I have two separate vacations coming up in the next two weeks and if there is one thing we do on vacation it is eat. A lot. I'm going to try to be smart and only have one big meal a day but eat healthy the rest of the day. Stay tuned haha.

Tomorrow night I leave for CHICAGO to meet up with a couple of my best friends and have a little reunion! I'm so pumped because although I've been to Chicago a bunch of times since I have family there, I've never went with friends (and while being 21). Here's to hoping I come out alive! :)

Peak of the day: So my peak of the day will be going to a cooking class that I bought a while back for Jon for our anniversary. He LOVES to cook so I'm sure we will have a blast! I'll post pics soon! :)

XOXO

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Where is the summer going?

Does anyone else feel like the summer is flying by? I feel like it was just June and now it's almost the middle of July! Work is super busy right now so I've been all over the place and it's making the summer go even faster! :( So because I am already dreading the winter blues, I've decided to make a Summer Bucket List with the things I want to get done before this summer is over. I was lucky enough to plan a spontaneous trip to Chicago next week to meet my college roommates so it will be nice to get away and reminisce about the good times!

Summer Bucket List 2012
-Float down the river (with a floating cooler of course!)
-Kayak
-Hiking
-Drive Ins
-Cedar Point
-More Cookouts
-Read more books
-Farmers Markets

Anything you need to do before summer ends??

As for an update on my weight loss and exercise- I was able to do 3 miles today in 39 minutes! Hey I know that may not be a 10 minute mile, but I am damn proud of it!! I've been trying to avoid the scale, but I guess I better look soon to see if I've had any more progress. (cross your fingers!!)

Peak of the day: Getting all my laundry done and seeing my room clean again! (Hey, it may be simple but if you focus on the stress you'll have no time to be happy!)

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Happy Birthday America!

So the past several days I have been celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends and it was just what I needed to relax from the normal routine. We have a big festival near our house every year which brought lots of good food and crafts! I also had my 5 year high school reunion which was more fun than I expected. It's funny to see people who have changed a lot since high school or who haven't changed a bit (ie. the assholes are still assholes). Here's some pictures from the weekend! 
Getting to experience my little cousin's first firework experience. She loved them!

My cousin and niece!

Boys will be boys

  
Happy 4th!
My peak of the day today is finding a new lunch spot that I have a feeling I will be frequenting! It's called "Hello Bistro" in Oakland and it's owned by Eat n' Park. You can have them build you your own salad at a fixed cost (no scale!) and then they chop it up for you. It's delicious!! Definitely check them out if you're ever in Oakland!
The next couple of days should be pretty awesome because one of my college room mates if coming to visit from Philly! I love getting together with old friends!

xoxo

Friday, June 29, 2012

"You're Still the One"

So Tuesday was my 6 year anniversary with Jon!! I can't believe it's been that long, but it has really been the best 6 years of my life. He makes me smile every day even if I'm not around him. Here's a recent picture of the two of us from a wedding a couple weeks go. Aren't we a great couple?? :)

For our anniversary we went to this awesome italian restuarant in Pittsburgh called Picolo Forno! We had an amazing homemade pizza that was made in a brick oven right in front of us then lasagna that pretty much melted in your mouth! After all the good food I gave Jon his gift- a cooking class that him and I will be going to in a few weeks! You get to learn how to cook a 5 course meal then eat it! YUM!

He was pumped!


This weekend will be filled with family, food, and fun as it is the annual 4th of July festival in my town. There is always a bunch of yummy food and cool crafts. The only downside is that we are supposed to have record heat this weekend so more of my time will be spent by the pool :)

My peak of the day today is all this time I'm about to have with my family that I don't get to see that often because in the end family is always there for you.

xoxo

Monday, June 18, 2012

Celebration Weekend!

So this weekend was packed with FUN, and not just the kind you're thinking about! On Friday night I took my friend out for a birthday dinner then we went to see the band FUN in concert (think the song "We Are Young"). They put on an AMAZING show and I left feeling awake and excited enough to keep my night going to Hofbrahaus for my friend's birthday! If you've never been, it's a german-style beer hall with people drinking out of large steins and dancing on top of tables! I'm including some pictures :)


The boy :)

There's the glass I'm talking about- get's pretty dangerous as the night goes on!
Then, if all of that wasn't enough, I had my little sister's graduation party on Saturday, followed by a wedding. A crazy weekend, but a really fun one.

Oh and the best part of my weekend- putting on the dress I bought about a month ago for this wedding and it fit wayyy better than it did the day I tried it on! It's the best feeling when your work pays off! I'll have to post pictures this week once I upload them!

xoxo


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Yum!

So recently I've found a new website that is my go-to when I want to find a delicious (yet healthy) snack! DashingDish.com is amazing!! Her protein shakes are soo good and make me full yet satisfied between meals or even as a meal replacement. My favorite shakes so far are the cake batter and thin mint shakes. When you see that the first ingredient to these shakes are cottage cheese, it may turn you off, but believe me I HATE cottage cheese, but LOVE these shakes!

In other news, I'm staying pretty dedicated to my work-outs. I managed to do 3 miles the other day in 38 minutes. It may  not seem like a big deal to you experienced runners out there, but I was pretty pumped!

This past weekend we held a coworker tailgate and went to the Pittsburgh Pirate game where they WON and are currently still about .500!
Me and a couple coworkers

Then, on Saturday I went to a bachelorette party and it was a lot of fun! I can't wait until the wedding this weekend! I also get to see my best friend all week long since she is in town(all the way from California!)as the maid of honor for the wedding.
Love her
I almost forget to say my peak of the day! It has to be getting to runt to Target on my lunch break and getting a bunch of things I needed to make this busy weekend go smoothly. It's shaping up to be a pretty great week!

xoxo

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Prom Night!

Hi all!

So this weekend I have a bachelorette party to go to and all the girls are required to wear pink. Well, when I went into my closet, I realized I hardly have anything pink, especially something to go out in. Fast forward to my lunch break yesterday where I ran to the amazing Target in East Liberty and it just proved AGAIN that Target is amazing and has everything you could ever need! I not only found one pink shirt but TWO! I'll have to post a picture next week of which one I decided on! Seriously though, I'm learning that if you need something specific it's easy to go to Target because they have so many choices!
Obviously in pink...It will be really good with a good black pair of pants

Looks a lot cuter on then it did on the hanger...would definitely buy a good long necklace for this one!   


Also reminded me of something funny I pinned on Pinterest the other day, because although Target is good for having what I need, they are also infamous for making me buy things I don't.
So true!!

  On top of my awesome buys from yesterday, my peak of the day today is that I am so excited to volunteer tonight because it is PROM night at CHP and I can't wait to have fun with all the kids. It's such a great thing that the hospital throws such great events to entertain the kids and make them have fun!

Xoxo

Friday, June 1, 2012

Friday Funday!

For today's Friday Funday, I wanted to share a video I saw on YouTube of the BEST.PROPOSAL.EVER. It has been called the world's first live lip-dub proposal and I think it's just plain awesome! I honestly got sucked into watching it a second time getting ready to post it here and cried again!! I think the best part of the whole video is watching her reactions as all her family and friends are dancing before her! So awesome!



Oh and like I said yesterday, my little sister graduated high school! She has done a great job and made everyone in my family proud! Congrats Maria!


I'm really looking forward to this weekend as I am going to the Lady Antebellum concert tomorrow night! My friends and I are going to go early and tailgate before the show and it's even one of my friend's first time at a country concert so seeing her reactions may be the best part!

Have a good weekend!!

XoXo

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The time has come....

...FOR MY LITTLE SISTER TO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL!!

Yep, that's right tonight is my little sister's graduation and I'm so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She's even giving the benediction at tonight's program which is the same part of the program that I participated in when I graduated. Even though we've been through a lot of ups and downs, I can tell that time will only make us closer and I'm really excited to see her keep growing.

Us at the beach

Also, my peak of the day today was this awesome smoothie I made for breakfast. I found it on Pinterest and decided to try it out because I was getting bored of the same old breakfast fiber one bar. Because of all the comments on the blog about how good it was I decided just to turn the other way as I poured the spinach in my blender. I went to take a sip and it was DELICIOUS! The peanut butter flavor knocked out any hint that there was spinach in it and it benefits me because spinach helps you stay pretty and strong! The picture came out, but you get the point- it comes out looking nasty but give it a try because you won't regret it!
YUM!
XoXo

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

"The Opposite of Loneliness"

I found this article yesterday that I have to share with you. It is a piece written by Marina Keegan who was a 2012 graduate of Yale University. Unfortunately, she died in a car accident shortly after graduation, but will be remembered by countless classmates, friends, and not strangers who will share this piece that she wrote.

She somehow found a way to describe in writing exactly how graduates feel when they are leaving their safe haven of college and heading out to the real world. One of my favorite lines from this piece is, "It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team."

From my time at Pitt I can say I know exactly what she's talking about. It was that moment before a basketball game when you were beside a "stranger," but wouldn't hesitate to put your arm around them during the national anthem. Or that feeling of anticipation as you watched the clock tick down to 0 after the 3rd quarter of a football game and you just couldn't wait for the tune of "Sweet Caroline" to start. I used to love all these feelings of togetherness. In a sea full of thousands of students, I felt like we were all in this together. Marina Keegan will forever be remembered for not only a piece of writing, but for describing and sharing a feeling that all of us have had at some point in our lives. I just really can't convey how beautiful her words are so read them for yourself and share. :)

Will never forget the awesome time I spent with these people!



Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday Funday!

I'm going to be starting a new weekly post called "Friday Funday." All through the week I hear crazy facts or hear about fun stuff to do that I'm going to share them with you!

This week I heard from a friend of mine that the majority of people will meet the person they will marry by the age of 21! What do you feel about this? I mean at that point in life most people have graduated college where you meet a lot of people, but it still seems so young. Although I do find it kind of romantic that yes you could have met the person by 21 but then maybe you don't fall in love with them until much later.

Second, I urge everyone to go have some fun this week and visit a Pittsburgh Farmer's Market! You can get produce soooo cheap at these markets and know that what you're putting in your body is fresh! :)


Peak of the day
Getting to spend all weekend with great family and friends. Plus my parents are opening their pool which I am super excited about especially because it's supposed to be a very hot weekend! :) Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I'm Just a Bill....

This weekend my friend Nico and I went down to Maryland to visit Jon and take a day trip to Washington DC. I feel like every time I go there I see something different and we had beautiful weather as well which added to the fun day! One of my favorite parts was seeing the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The memorial was right on the water and was surrounded by famous quotes.
The memorial

   
My favorite quote!
We also got to visit a few of the Smithsonian Museums including the Museum of Natural History where I took this pretty cool shot from the second floor.
Oh, and here's another cool shot of the WWII memorial. It was so neat that day because there was a gathering of veterans and it was so awesome to see them all at the monuments telling stories to their families and looking so proud.


The only bad part of the day was waiting for the Metro to come home. Jon lives off the green line which happened to be on the same line as the stop for the Nationals baseball stadium so we had to wait to get on a metro for about an hour underground. It was probably my crankiness talking, but I ended up saying to a lady out loud "We're just a few nice Pittsburgh people trying to get on." Well I did not get a good reaction from that since we're hated by Ravens and Capitol fans, so after that I kept my big mouth shut!

My peek of the day today is my lunch! I bought a salad bowl at a local plant sale a couple weeks ago and finally had enough lettuce to pull off and eat. YUM!

Here's one last pic to leave you with :) We're always silly!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Be Happy

I wanted to share this cool article I came across today that put a little pep in my step :)

I like this article because it gives you a bunch of conflicting ways to respond to life. One of my favorites is this one:

12. GRATITUDE vs. INGRATITUDE. No no matter where they look, no matter where they are or with who, they have this capacity of seeing beauty where most of us would only see ugliness, opportunities, where most of us would only see struggles, abundance where most of us would only see lack and they express their gratitude for them all.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say to find the good in EVERY day! We need to see beauty where most see ugliness. So today, I challenge you; take someone bad that has happened to you or something negative you read/see and find the positive aspect in it. It may be hard, but it's worth it and you'll be glad you did because it will start to turn your whole focus around. :)


My peak of the day you ask? Seeing this little gem of a video online. This would be a great way to start every day although I don't know if I would exactly be able to climb up on my sink :)


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Little Things

Good Afternoon all!
     Do you ever have those days when you get random compliments and it makes you super pumped. I just got 2 in the last 10 minutes and I'm feeling pretty great. It's so nice to be recognized for work you do every once in a while just to keep you happy and content at work. Also, it's nice to get little random compliments like when our consultant and worked today told me she thought I was funny and reminded her of her best friend. It made me smile :) Definitely my peak of the day!

    In other news I have a new exercise challenge that some friends and I at work have come up with. We made a little chart on a whiteboard with each date and have to either put a check mark (meaning we worked out that day) or an X (meaning we did not). I'm very competitive so I think this will help me get to the gym on days I really don't have motivation because I will have to own up to people at work!

    This past weekend my little sister went to her senior prom!! She looked gorgeous and had a fun time!

Beautiful
Sisters <3
 In other exciting news, Jon is moving home in about two months!!! Finally we are cutting down the distance between us and I can't wait :):) Definitely my peak of the YEAR!

Be thankful everyone :)







Thursday, April 19, 2012

Back to Cali!

I feel like I'm still feeling the post-vacation blues almost 2 weeks later, but Jon and I had such a great time in California visiting Julie. The vacation was just so fun and care free that I never wanted to come home. Here's some highlights of the trip!!

Jon and I on top of Runyon Canyon

Jul Mil and I!

We started wayyyy down there!

testing out the panorama setting on my new camera

Griffith Observatory

Zac Efron!

On our tour of WB Studios

SET OF FRIENDS!!!

Big Bang Theory!!!

Add caption

LOVE this girl!

The gang for the week


This is really what life is about- spending time with amazing people and getting to travel to places you've never been before.

My peak of the day today was some new music my friend sent to me. Nothing is better than listening to a brand new song and loving it!

Hope everyone out there is enjoying life as much as me! We only get one people! :)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Memories that last a lifetime

Hey everyone!!
    So this past weekend I got to go to Cincinnati and visit my old college roommate Bre, with my other roommate Sam. It was so good to catch up on everyone's life and relive some old times!

Here are some pictures from the weekend!
Reunited and it feels so good!

so much green!

beautiful park near Bre's house!

Now that I'm finally getting back into the old routine of a normal week since I have nowhere to go this weekend, I've been exercising consistently during my lunch break with my coworkers and after work as well. It really does help my mood. I have a weigh in tonight so I'll let you all know how I did!!

Oh, my peek of the day yesterday had to be volunteering at Children's Hospital and getting to take one of the patients to a princess party they had complete with Snow White and Cinderella, storybook making, and of course, tiaras!! It was so much fun to see all the little kids with a smile on their face :)

Friday, March 9, 2012

"Go Girl, It's your Birthday"

This last week has been a crazy one! I turned 23 on Monday and spent all last weekend celebrating my birthday. On Friday my friends and I went out to Buckhead Saloon in Station Square because they have some awesome drink specials for the birthday girl and guests. I was able to get PENNY drinks!! Yes, that’s right every drink of mine was 1 cent! It was really nice to get all my friends together and let loose and have a good time. We don’t get to do that very often anymore. We also booked a couple hotel rooms to stay in after so no one had to worry about driving or taxis. It was like a big sleepover and I had a really fun time! I'll share a couple pictures of the night (the safe un-embarrassing ones at least!)




I wish I had a group shot but this is the best I could find!


On Saturday I got to spend the day with Jon and then celebrate my birthday with my family. It was a nice celebration with lots of yummy food and my favorite- ice cream cake! I was completely asleep by 11pm and slept until 9 the next morning because I was so exhausted from the night before and had no time for a nap. Before I knew it, it was Sunday and I was getting ready for another week of work! Although I celebrated my birthday all weekend, I decided to end it on my actual birthday on Monday and go out to dinner with my close friend Sam at one of my favorite restaurants, Mad Mex yummmm!


This weekend has really showed me how blessed I am to have the friends and family that I do. I really couldn’t imagine my life without any of them and I’m really feeling lately that someone does not have to be “blood” to be considered my family. I feel so loved and couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who was there for me to celebrate my birthday.

I’ll end this post with a quote that my friend had wrote on one of my birthday cards, “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

Monday, February 27, 2012

"We'll be Glowing in the Dark" (Courtesy of Coldplay)

I was jamming out to Coldplay today at work hence my blog title for day. They are one band that I can go months without listening to, but when I finally too it's like we had never parted ways. Oh by the way, the title is from their song Charlie Brown off their new album Mylo Xyloto- Check it out!

Ok, now that I'm done pimping out Coldplay, I'll give you a lowdown of the weekend. It was mostly food (what else it new) and spending time with good friends. On Saturday, my friend Kelly and I ventured out to the mall to get me a birthday outfit (turning the big 2-3 a week from today!!) so we obviously got hungry and decided to try a Thai place that I had heard a lot of good things about. Smiling Banana Leaf was a cute hole in the wall restaurant and the food was AMAZING and BYOB. They don't charge you a corking/glass fee which is a plus! Even if you've never had Thai or had a bad experience, go here and your world will be rocked!

Update on my weight loss journey: I lost another pound this week at the gym and I'm beginning to see and feel the changes to my body now that the nasty fat is hitting the road! Seriously the best feeling in the world- I'd rather feel like this than eat a huge piece of chocolate cake any day!

I've been finding these motivational sayings/pictures on Pinterest lately so maybe I'll start to share some with you guys!

I've been telling everyone about finding their little "peak" of their day and it's really been keeping me positive and upbeat! My peaks this weekend really revolved around the fact that I have some pretty amazing friends that I'm learning will be there for me through everything. I got a really nice call from one of my best friends Julie who currently lives in California and it was really nice to hear someone say "I really miss you." I'm actually going to visit her at the end of March (33 days!!!)

Friday, February 24, 2012

"Finish every day and be done with it"

Hello everyone!

So shout out to my friend Nico for not only sharing the awesome Hey Arnold video from my last post, but also for sharing this quote with me the other day that inspired me to make a new Lent/life goal!

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.-Ralph Waldo Emerson


Therefore, instead of only giving up candy for Lent, I'm also going to commit to choosing a "peak" of my day every day before I go to sleep. I've been really harsh on myself lately always focusing on the bad things that are happening in my life and realized I need to stop. For those of you who don't know, I volunteer at the local Children's Hospital every Wednesday and it really helps me put things into prospective and realize all the blessings I have.

Speaking of- my peak of yesterday was waking up and looking at these on my dining room table. They are my Valentine flowers and they are really starting to bloom nicely! :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Back in the Saddle Again

Hello blogging world! I've decided to give my blog new life and start at it again! I really realized how much I missed it looking back. Plus I saw "The Vow" this weekend which is a movie about how this couple gets in a car accident and the wife loses part of her memory that contains all of her memory about her husband. This has nothing to do with anything except for the fact that now I want to keep blogging so if I lose my memory in a freak accident I'll have this to look back to!

Anyway, nothing too exciting over on this side of the world! I've been working, but making sure to enjoy my weekends since that's the only time I get to enjoy myself. I've been consistently working out 4-5 times a week and am loving it! Since the first of the year I've lost over 3% of my body weight! I've been using this awesome website called the Daily Plate. It was created by Livestrong and it gives you an easy place to track the food you are eating on a daily basis based on a calorie goal calculated by your weight, height, etc. I've never realized how much portions really are and how much I ate on a daily basis, but now I'm learning more and feel so much better!

Hopefully I'll be able to really keep up with this now- I think I'm going to shoot for a couple times a week instead of every day- I do have a life people! :-p

Also instead of doing a rant and rave of the day I think I'm only going to stick to rave. There's no reason I should have to complain about anything in my life and instead I'm going to try and stick with looking at the positives. Life is too short to be anything but happy!!

Rave of the day: A pretty awesome friend posted a song on facebook to cheer me up today. Any Hey Arnold fans out there?