30 day beach body challenge- day 1

Oh hey there! Did you forget about me? It's okay if you did because I have been completely MIA and so busy!

There is so much to tell and SO much we've done these past few weeks since I've blogged regularly. Mainly wedding and baby showers.... Running, cooking, playing wife, and traveling. Life is exhausting I tell ya. I cannot IMAGINE having kids.

Speaking of kids I swear I see a new "we're expecting" post on Facebook daily. I saw two last week and one yesterday. And I know of two babies born in the past 3 days. I'm going to let you other mommas and mommas-to-be deal with all of that because this girl don't got no time fo babies!

Anyways, the point of my post tonight is to tell you that I signed up for my first challenge. My camp BFF Cara is a Beachbody coach and I kept seeing all of her encouraging Facebook posts and her clean eating recipes. She told me about this 30 day challenge and after MUCH contemplating and going back and forth about it AND finding where the funds were going to come from (hello my birthday is in 3 weeks. HOLLA).... I took the plunge!

30 days of clean eating, Shakeology, and T-25 by ShaunT all by Team Beachbody!

I can do this right!?!? Yes I can.  Except..... During this 30 days I have a wedding shower, baby shower, MY BIRTHDAY, my cousin's wedding, and Thanksgiving. Hello terrible food and alcohol. This is my main concern with the challenge but I'm going to take it one day at a time!! I can do this.

I had to take my "before" pictures last night and I wanted to keel over and die looking at myself in a bathing suit. The newlywed 15-20 is REAL. REAL and it happened to me. And now I am trying to do something about it and I needed accountability. I also had to take my measurements. I'm going to do everything I can to shed those inches!

I did my first 25 minute workout this morning and I have to be honest. It was pretty damn hard at 6 am. I may or may not have puked afterwards. Can't say I've ever done that before. I guess thats what I get for guzzling my last Diet Coke for 30 days the night before. The acid in my tummy was just not doing it for me. I wanted to pause my DVD with 5 minutes to go but Tyler wouldn't let me stop until the clock hit 0! But, I did it and 6 will come again early in the morning!

So in order to keep myself accountable in blogland/social media, I'm going to occasionally post my progress or some recipes/what I've eaten for the day. I've learned its about healthy choices rather than how much and how often I eat. I went grocery shopping yesterday and really started reading labels... so much sugar in everything and I have SUCH a sweet tooth! Yikes.

Breakfast: Shakeology (chocolate) with coffee (blended)

Snack: Handful of grapes, laughing cow cheese & pretzel thins (still up in the air if this is "clean" or not but it was in my OK list of snacks according to my coaches)

Lunch: Banana with natural peanut butter and turkey wrap with laughing cow cheese and spinach

Snack: Hummus and carrots

Dinner: appetizer: eggplant fries: (whole wheat flour + panko bread crumbs -- again... "clean" or not? and eggs, baked) and clean enchiladas.

Lots of water + lemon juice

Now I need your help. I need all of your clean recipes and tips on how to stick to a challenge of any kind! I'm going to need tons of accountability!  And have you done this challenge or something similar before?

But I do have to tell you the whole organic thing isn't going to happen ;-) Ohhhh another post for another day!! Off to eat my enchilada!

birthday wish list

With my birthday coming up in exactly a month, I thought it would be fun to share my birthday wishlist! Some years I have long list (like this year), and other years I can't think of a thing. Maybe it is because I am actually on a budget being married, but I have a lot of things on my list!

And I'll be 25- so a reason to celebrate!

I just missed buying this dress from Anthropologie for my cousin's wedding, but sadly it was completely sold out to when I hit "buy"! I was so so sad. I'm keeping it on my list juuuuust in case someone happens to see it in a size 8 or 10 :-)

I'm also asking for a new  monogrammed sweatshirt. A sweatshirt is a staple for me to throw on after work and I am really in need of a new one!

At first I was 100% opposed to Lululemon. I thought anyone who paid an obscene amount of money on workout clothes was CRAZY until I discovered the pace setter skirt. I can't wear Nike shorts or other types of running shorts because of my thighs and in the summer it gets too hot to wear long black running pants. I tried the pace setter skirt on over the summer and was hooked. I need a few other pairs. If I cant find a pair of shorts that doesn't chafe (sorry TMI) my legs, I honestly don't care what the cost is!

 I feel like Tory Burch Revas are on my list every year. I've worn out my pair I bought in 2011 and keep saying I'm going to get a new pair but a) they are overpriced and b) super uncomfortable. I just think they go with everything and I don't walk around much at my job now so sitting down wearing them would be OK. I don't need them by any means... If I could find a knock-off pair or something comparable, I'd ditch Tory in a minute!

I've had my grandmother's monogrammed gold necklace since she passed away in 2001, WAY before monogrammed jewelry was in style. My mom has a pair of earrings  with her maiden monogram and I've always loved them. I don't have too much with my new monogram, so I think this could be a great gift!

A Garmin watch/GPS is honestly THE thing that I want for my birthday. I love my Nike+ app, but I don't love that I can't see it when I run and it doesn't count calories when I am doing other exercises. I think a running GPS would really motivate me to add more miles to my routine. Would you recommend a Garmin or a Polar watch? I'll take either, and whichever "does it all" for less!

Now that we live on the water I wear a hat a lot on the boat. A monogrammed baseball hat would be such an easy gift (and inexpensive!).

I've been contemplating getting a juicer with our leftover wedding gift cards. I think my magic bullet bit the dust lately (SAD FACE), so I wouldn't mind something to up my fruit and veggie intake! Again, something I don't need by any means but fun to have!

 Last but not least, I dorkingly (is that a word? maybe not....)  want a pair of garden shears! I usually have fresh flowers in the house and cutting them with scissors is not cool. Maybe it will make me start trimming the vines going up our front steps, too? #wishfulthinking

Is there anything else that a 25 year old needs? Ok I don't really need any of this. But birthdays come once a year and then six weeks later it is Christmas... so I think my family has it pretty easy with my list this year! :-)

And happy 22nd birthday to my cousin Anna today!

time for new kicks!

After my 10k this past weekend, I realized that it is time for some new running shoes. My Nike+ app says I've run about 224 miles in my current shoes... whether that is accurate or not, I'm not sure. But I've also done workout classes and walked around in them leisurely.

I went to my local running store, Palmetto Running Company and tried on 3 pairs of shoes...

Asics GT- 2000

Saucony Glide 6

Brooks Ravena 4

I had been to a running store before, but I really had a great experience here. They took pictures of my feet to see what type of shoe I really needed. All along I've been wearing a neutral shoe... Turns out I need stability! I overpronate and need that support. Plus I don't have the prettiest feet and have bones sticking out of every which-way!

I think the Saucony. I didn't pull the trigger yet because I wanted to do some research online and get a few more opinions first, but I think that is what I am going to go with, plus I've found them on sale! They also have a dark silver color with pink and green accents... A little more fun than the white and blue.

So I want to hear what type of running shoes you have and especially what you wear if you overpronate!

life lately

Well hello there!

That little absence was nice. Sometimes its nice to just take a little break and not spill your life all over the internet. We've certainly had a lot going on lately. Let me fill you in.

One of the main reasons why I had to take a little blogging break was because I needed to spend more time with my husband. He hadn't been feeling 100% about his job, and we knew that something had to change. After a few different interviews with different companies and many, many, many prayers.... He finally landed a new job! Though he isn't in the grain industry anymore which he loved, he is still in agriculture. And best of all - we don't have to move!!! We may eventually move on the outskirts of Beaufort, but for now we'll stay in our little rental until the perfect house comes along.

My cousin is getting married in November so we've had a lot of fun celebrating them the past few weekends! Stewart is like a brother to me so I feel like I am gaining a sister-in-law rather than a cousin-in-law! I'll come back with some posts from their parties and showers. It is a lot of fun celebrating them instead of Tyler and me being the center of attention!

I ran a 10k this past Saturday and it was SO HARD. This was my 3rd 10k, but it was my first race ever running a race with hills. The start line was even going up an incline! Whew it was so difficult and I am still really sore, tired, and hurting! Any tips on how to wind down after a race like that? Again, a specific post about the race coming soon.

Just a quick little hello and update until I'm back again.

Thanks for your love and support over the past few weeks dealing with my frustration and grumpiness!