Happy New Years Eve!

I just wanted to drop by and wish everyone a happy and safe New Years Eve! 

So I love the New Year's Eve song and this guy is just hilarious and freaking awesome!

So enjoy this, enjoy your day

And I'll see you bisshes next year!

-J

2013 In Review

Happy Last Monday of 2013!

Uh, eff ya, Seahawks win! Bye first round, championship game, then Bowl baby!

Well Shit.

It's really hard to believe that tomorrow is the end of the freaking year.

Wait.

Wasn't the world supposed to have ended a year ago?!

Yeah, that's what I thought.

I wonder how all those crazies that spent their life savings on junk and building fall out zombie shelters are doing now with all those bills racked up and a years supply of spam?

Hmmm.

Well I'm not sure about all of you, but I'd like to say that I've had a pretty damn successful 2013.

I remember sitting around this time last year swearing that was my last fat holiday. That was the last time I was going to let myself feel so bad. I was done being the fat girl. I was going to start the new year out with a bang. I was going to run a 5K and I was going to lose some weight. I didn't think I'd lose much, I had only hoped to get under 200lbs. I was 228 when I actually started keeping track on 1-1-13, but I know between when I got married and to the end of 2012 I had tipped the scale at 240 at some point. 

Now I'm sitting here 70lbs lighter, 3 shirt sizes smaller, 5 pants sizes smaller. I have completed 5 5K's, one in which I placed 2nd in my age group. I have been able to help others. Improved my diet and my husbands. I became apart of Mshell Fitness and I started this blog. I'm still surprised daily that people besides my mom actually read this. I want to thank EVERY single one of you for the support, the encouraging words and the reassurance of a job well done. I try my best to connect with y'all. I try to answer as many questions as I can. I'm sorry If I've missed any!

The new me is still a work in progress, I'm still making changes and improving my body. I don't really have a goal weight but my goal instead is to live a healthy and fit life and maintain the weight loss.

Let's do some recappin baby.

2013's Goals:

*Finish C25K

*Run Color Run without Stopping

*Eat better

*Get under 200lbs

*Exercise More

I smashed each one of those babies outta the ball park.

Highlights of 2013:

*Finished C25K, twice.

*Got my husband interested in running

*Finished The Color Run

*Finished The Glow Run

*Ran Coronado Heights 5K, Placed 2nd, PR'd

*Ran Frosty 5K, in below freezing weather.

*Ran Light The Streets Virtual 5K

*Finished a Shaun T workout program (T25)

*Am smaller than I was in High School

* Hit an all time low on the scale since Sophomore Year.

*Survive one year with my hubby.

*Help others with their journey

*Paid off all of our debt, yeah that's right, were starting off the year debt free!

Goals for 2014:

*Continue to inspire/help others

*Tone up

*Train and attempt to run a Half Marathon

*Move To Washington

*Keep Blogging

*Maintain Weightloss

*Consider fitness competitions

*Spread Kindness

So these are my goals. 

What do your recaps look like? What are your goals?!

I also want to open up again to all my readers, that I will be doing another Q&A, so please ask away, comments, email, ect. Nothing I won't answer, I promise! And as always I will answer honestly and won't sugar coat shit. :D

And to end the post heres some highlights of the year in pictures:

Now here's to a Happy Freaking New Year Everyone!!!!

Please be safe and responsible as you enjoy the final days of 2013.

Go insane, go insane, throw some glitter make it rain!!!

BOOM!

-J

Final Friday of 2013 {5onFriday Linkup}

Hey ya'll!!!

Holy freakin' wow. 

This is the last Friday of 2013.

Where the heck did this year go!?!

I have today, Saturday and Sunday off with the hub and we have one last family Christmas to go too. Other than that, I have no clue what we will do. Its weird having this many days off in a row, let alone days off in a row together. The world balance might just be off set.

So today as I think back over the year, I give you my top 5 milestones of 2013!

{1}

Completing the Couch 2 5K program!

I couldn't even run a block when I started. My chubby thighs cheered me on every messy sweaty step of the way though!

Read about it HERE

{2}

Losing the first 30lbs. Hell I thought I'd conquered Mount Everest at this point. If you would of told me I'd lose another 40, I would of laughed at you!

Read about it HERE

{3}

Losing 50lbs and running my first and certainly not last 5K.

Running a 5K was my entire goal this year any way, I met it and surpassed it!

Read about it HERE

{4}

Celebrating my one year anniversary with my husband. I'm so thankful he came in to my life and even more thankful that our marriage is wonderful!

Read about it HERE

{5}

Completing T25 and Placing 2nd in my age group in a timed 5K. Before I ever stuck to a workout plan, I started and quit Beachbody programs a bajillion times. When I complete T25 I felt like all those failed attempts were erased!!! I was happy not to finish last in any 5K but when I medaled in my age group in my first timed 5K I had tears of joy as they called my name.

Read about them both, HERE

There were a lot of great things that happened to me this year, this blog and all the new friends i've made and am making  but these are my top five milestones! I can't wait to see what Next year has in store for me!!

What are you weekend plans?

What are you most proud of from this year?!

-J

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...

And all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Psh, 

in our house it's not that calm! We are adjusting to what is a normal schedule, for the next three days the hubs and I will be on a day routine due to lovely holiday work hours and to accommodate holiday festivities and food!

Today we a busy agenda, it's gonna be a long day.

First we are off to Salina where I'm meeting up with a blog follower turned friend. She told me she was coming to Kansas for a family Christmas and asked if I wanted to meet up, and I of course thought it was a great idea! I seriously love connecting with people! 

So we are going to be hitting up Starbucks.

Who doesn't love coffee?

And isn't Starbucks where all the cool kids go to meet up with people and sip fancy java and have fancy adult conversation?

Well once I'm there, it will be for cool kids.

Yeah I went there.

HA, Just kiddin'

Then this girl is gonna get my nails did. A nice Christmas Eve mani ;)

After that we are going to be headed to my parents house for Christmas Eve with them, then Christmas Eve service and then finally home for our Christmas Eve traditions! We will spend Christmas Day with his family opening presents and the normal Christmas happenings.

I'm ready for Christmas food!

BOOM

Fra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra. Tis the season to be rawlly...

HAHA!

I have my fingers crossed that our Christmas presents get here, we ordered Saturday and got Christmas Eve delivery, so cheers to being a procrastinator!!

I'm seriously in such shock that Christmas is tomorrow, this has been a crazy year and it went entirely fast!

You guys probably don't know this but I have a love for poetry, writing and reading it. I wrote this a few years back but I wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas poems with you: 

A soft, gentle chorus of Silent Night whispers through the wind,

another horse drawn sleigh gallops round the bend.

Stockings hung on the mantle with care,

A plate of cookies left for Santa, it's only fair.

The tree glows brightly in a frost outlined window pane,

Beneath the tree presents cascade guarded by a chugging train.

Children scurry off and jump into bed,

A snow mans hat blows off his head.

A Merry Christmas is wished for all near and far,

As we all lay under the glistening North Star.

I used poetry growing up to really I guess you could say express myself, the first ones I wrote was in the fifth grade right after a classmate of mine was hit and killed by a car. That poem was later published in a nationwide Jr High - Highschool poetry book. 

I use poetry to create gifts too. I mean c'mom who doesn't love getting something that was written especially for them?

I'm so excited to open gifts, even though I know what the hubs got me haha but it's still going to be fun! 

How are you spending the day?

What's the best Christmas gift you've gotten?

Merry Christmas ladies, have a a very happy holiday to you and yours!!!

-Jess 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

 It's everyone's favorite day of the week again : Monday.

Hopefully it's really a favorite this week as Christmas Eve is tomorrow! 

Boom

It freaking snowed all Saturday evening and made a big pile of stupid white fluff. Don't get me wrong I love snow, but since it no longer gets me out of school or work and I have to clear off my car and then drive in it, I am no longer amused.

And its snowing, yet again.

STTTAAAAAAAAHHHHHP!

Pwease?

See in my perfect world snow would only fall on grass and trees not on concrete. But unless I'm elected to Mother Nature anytime soon I don't see that happening.

Whomp whomp whomp

My favorite kind of snow is the light fluffy stuff that falls on Christmas Eve. Not blizzard whirlwinds and freezing rain. No thanks!!

That's when I really start to wonder where the heatmiser is.

But it could always be worse so ill stop complaining. 

This weekend the hubs and I finished up our Christmas shopping and Saturday night we made our purchase for our Christmas gifts to each other. Why yes we did it last minute and paid extra shipping so we could each have our present Christmas morning. We are horrible procrastinators. 

The hubs got a flatbill hat and an authentic Richard Sherman jersey. I got a 4th Gen Ipad, EEEK! and a Marshawn Lynch Tee. BEAST MODE! Great Christmas if you ask me!

As for shopping and getting around town on Friday it was a totes nightmare, the holiday crazies were out in full swing that day. We saw traffic accidents, people fighting over the last (insert child's toy here), and confused boyfriends and husbands in Victorias Secret embarrassed as hell.

What are they embarrassed about? 

It's an underwear store, c'mom. 

My dad who is six foot something 200 and some and is the spitting image of dog the bounty hunter goes in there and buys gift cards. 

If he can do it any one should be able to.

  I picked up new wrapping paper in order to finish wrapping the rest of my presents after the fiasco I had with this devilish glitter paper.

This is what he does while I pick out wrapping paper...he doesn't know I'm posting this so SHHHHHHHH. Haha isn't he adorable!?

I assumed it was a printed image, boy was I wrong! It was like glitter fabric and it required special stick me tape that stuck better to my hands then to the paper it's self. Regular tape just wiped right off like it never stood a chance. I was furious after I wrapped one gift and myself and my living room looked like some one busted a glitter Piñata open.

Needless to say, never again devil wrap, never again!

We both work today and then are off Christmas Eve and Christmas, I will be doing some after Christmas shopping at 6am on the 26th. 

That is for real the best, all the gift sets are SUPER cheap and I like to stock up on em! 

I'm most excited to build our gingerbread house and watch Christmas movies all evening tomorrow!!

Gah I can't believe it's only two days til Christmas!! Holy wow!

Are you ready for Christmas? 

What are you most looking forward to?!

As always

-Jess