It's been a while...but it's the beginning of March still, right?

Is that March-y enough for you? K. Good.

Hey, hey, hey! Yes, I realize I've been failing at this blogging thing recently. My bad. Please don't cane me - that looks painful. Thanks. I'll gladly take some swift kicks in the butt though, I've been completely unmotivated.

You see, I've had some "Blahs" recently that I figured y'all didn't really want to know about. Basically, the month of February was just kinda there. Not much going on one way or the other. I didn't work out as much as I'd like and I was sick for the last week or so. I'm going to compare it to "It's a Small World" at Disney World. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing too exciting and just a lot of the same.

Whatever, I'm over it and it's MARCH now! March! Can you believe it?! This weekend I'll be doing my first 15K - The Gate River Run in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL! I'm excited. My friend Jesse lives in Jacksonville, but she won't be running with me so I've been trying like crazy to find folks in Jacksonville to meet up with so I won't be drinking my post race beer alone.

That picture with the runners over there -->? That's people running in the River Run in the past (I have no idea what year, sorry) - but that blue thing? That's the Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville. Its one of my favorite things in the whole entire world. If I'm homesick, I look at pictures of the Main Street Bridge because it's so beautiful. I love it.

Anyway, the River Run is this weekend - and I haven't run in about a week and a half because I've been sick. Coughing up lots of delicious things, waking up with a super sore throat, sounding like a zombie mixed with a chain smoker and blowing my nose like a champ. Thankfully, I'm starting to feel a smidge better (FINALLY - and effing knock on wood, because good lord, I'm so sick of being sick). I'm hoping to get on the treadmill or out on the road tonight and tomorrow and just get some light running in so I won't be throwing my body into a 15k without any training at all.

I've also signed up for the St. Paddy's 5K here in Jackson which happens on St. Patrick's Day. Jackson has a HUGE St. Patrick's Day celebration/parade every year and this 5K is the one I initially told myself I wanted to run when I decided to be a runner! So YAY! I'm excited.

I guess I'll update more later. For now, check out this month's pics. They're not anything very special, just once again reminding me that I need to do SOMETHING to make next month's pics change.

So, It's February - and I'm officially 27.

The best Funfetti birthday cake ever.

My birthday just passed and I'm officially 27. That makes me nostalgic. I'm in my late twenties. I was in second grade twenty years ago and I've been able to get into R rated movies without a parent or crossing my fingers that I don't get carded for a decade. Eff. I'm old, y'all. Like - really old. 

Okay - now that all of the over 27 readers hate me for saying I feel old, let me tell you this: JUST KIDDING. I feel great at 27. I feel empowered. I feel...wiser (?) than I did this time in my 26th year. I feel like 26 was a big learning year for me and I'm honestly excited to learn more this year. I want to learn more about food, exercise, healthy living and life in general. I'm excited.

My 27th birthday celebration, as you can see by this picture, was awesome. I had Funfetti cake with chocolate frosting and lots of sprinkles made with love by my friend Karen - she's been making and decorating cakes forever. I need to share some of her awesome creations one day. She's a super awesome artist and even owns her own invitations/cards company - Sprinkles & Ink. Yes - I'm pimping her out. She made me a Funfetti cake - this is what happens when you make me a Funfetti cake.

Anyhoo, our friends Karen and Billy made me birthday dinner consisting of two of my favorites: buffalo chicken strips and french fries. No - this was not a healthy meal. No - I didn't give a crap. It was delicious! AND THERE WAS FUNFETTI CAKE FOR DESERT - I hope we've covered how great Funfetti is by now. It was a great celebration and I really appreciated it. My birthday present from Billy and Karen? They're going to pay my entry fee for the Ridgeland Make a Difference 5k! Race fees are expensive and I love that they know me well enough to know this would be a great gift. (Thanks, y'all. I love you more than you know!)

I'd like to share something I noticed this week as I was looking at pictures on my desktop at work - it was February 2nd, and I noticed that I had taken a picture of what I was wearing to work on February 3rd in 2011. These pictures - taken almost exactly one year apart - made me realize (FINALLY) that I HAVE made a big change:

February 3, 2011

February 2nd, 2012

Pretty cool, right?! Yeah, I'm freaking stoked about it. I look hot! I mean, obviously, my modeling skills have improved, but c'mon! LOOK! That's at least a 20 lb difference (I can't remember how much I weighed at this point, but definitely around the 218-222 mark). LOOK HOW HOT I AM NOW. LOOK! Okay, stop staring..............go back to staring. I'M HOT.

Okay, moving on. I'm officially at 198 - again. I need to work on my food and exercise situations. This week was rough because of my birthday and people wanting to eat with me, cook for me, take me to meals, etc. (what's up with that, btw? Because I've aged, I'm supposed to gorge myself on deliciousness?). Plus, I had three appointments this week after work - so my time has been monopolized by other things this week. I need to get running again. 

Recently, I've also started sharing my blog on Pinterest and Facebook. I'm pretty freaked out about showing people that I haven't seen since high school (or some since elementary school, yikes!) my gut. But, I feel like it's one of those things, you know? Hold up to your end of the bargain and hope that you don't become fodder for jokes at the reunions to come. I take pictures of myself in a sports bra each month to show myself, and the world, the progress (or lack there of) I've made. It's not a pretty picture, but hey, that's the point, right? It's not pretty now, but, hopefully one day it will be. 

This picture is just proving to me that I seriously need to get some toning in. Cardio alone isn't cutting it anymore. 

I guess I've put off my topless pic of the month for long enough, eh? Click if you dare:

5ks and December and New Pants - OH MY!

Greetings, world! It's been a bit of a busy time for me recently, so I apologize profusely for not blogging as much as I should.

First off - It's December. I have exactly one month to get my butt somewhat in gear for this Half Marathon thing. I'm scared. I can't run forever. 13.1 miles is forever. I haven't been able to run as much as I'd like because of this stupid cold/sinus issue. I did, however, run a 5k on Saturday! The Jingle Bell Jog benefiting the Children's Cancer Center at Blair E. Batson Children's hospital in Jackson, MS. I finished a few seconds faster than my last 5k, and I was sick and there were hills, so I'm not complaining too much.

Jingle Bell Jog 5k - 12/3/11

In case you were wondering if I won a medal this time...no. No I did not. Check out all of these people - and that's not even close to when the race was supposed to start! I didn't have an easy age group to compete again this time, so just finishing and getting a bag o' swag and a cool t-shirt was my "prize" this time. I'm okay with it.

I did the whole thing by myself. I don't think I like running races alone. I need a running buddy. Someone to keep me motivated or at least be waiting for me at the finish line. I also got kind of jealous because other people had husbands/wives on the sidelines cheering them on at different points in the race...I wish Brian would do that for me, but I get that it's early on a Saturday morning usually. Maybe one day he'll surprise me.

Anyway, thanks to all of this running I've been doing, I was in need of new pants to wear to work. I showed a friend of mine that I was able to dance like MC Hammer in my old work pants. These are even long enough, hooray! I love Loft. Fitting in Loft (and Anthropologie) was one of my motivators for losing weight. I haven't tried shopping at Anthro, but I can't wait! I hope something will fit *FINGERS CROSSED!*.

Oh and since it's December, here's me this morning. Sorry I didn't do this on the 1st...and I'm sorry my boobs look wonky, that bra sucks, it's more for sleeping.

Ups, downs, and getting stuck

RAWR! F*ck this week. Seriously. 

I don't know why, but this whole week I've been worthless. I went to the gym Monday morning and got my run on, and since then? Nothing. Nada. Actually, I lie. I've been eating. A LOT. I can't seem to stop! I got rid of the tons of left over Halloween candy I had because it was just dangerous to have around (especially all of the chocolate), but I swear I've done nothing but gain weight all week and I can seem to get motivated to do anything about it.

I actually cried Tuesday morning (I'm calling it a mix of PMS, just waking up and being pissed) after I weighed myself. I was SO sure I could get under 200 lbs by Halloween. It didn't happen. Tuesday morning I was 202.4. WTF. I did SO well up until Tuesday morning. I've switched to green tea instead of coffee, I steered clear of 'bad for me' foods last weekend and I didn't even drink at my best friend's wedding b/c I wanted to hit that 199 mark. F*CK ME. Seriously. I was so upset. Obviously I'm still not thrilled.

I need someone to yell at me when I put bad things in my mouth. I need to gain more self control. I need someone to MAKE me go work out when I don't want to. Brian pokes me every morning at 5:30 when my alarm goes off and I've just been waving him off saying I'll work out in the afternoon. I haven't. I've been a lazy bum - but I attribute it to my attitude. I'm so bummed right now about not reaching my weight goal.

But, I do think I'm physically looking better. Check out my November 1 pics here.