Getting Real: Staying Motivated

Thanks for all of the positive feedback on my last post on Healthy Living! I promised I would follow up...I did! 

One of the hardest parts of breaking bad eating habits and forming god habits is staying motivated. I once heard someone say that motivation is like food...you need it every day! I couldn't agree more. 

Here are some of the ways I am trying to stay motivated throughout my healthy living journey:

1.  Eat What You Love

If you feel like you're missing you, you'll never be able to stick with your food plan. Personally, I LOVE savory foods. I found so many great recipes on Pinterest that use foods I love, like mushrooms and peppers. I truly don't feel like I am missing out when I take the time to make these foods! 

I also love chocolate. One of my favorite ways to add chocolate into my diet is through EAS protein shakes. I like to mix half of a shake with some strong, chilled coffee to create an out-of-this-world mocha drink! 

2. Find Others that Motivate You

I recommend finding little ways to add motivation to your day. I love following Allie of Keep Your Balance on Instagram for quick, unexpected motivations. Allie and I danced together back in the day and she is a great example of a fitness journey. 

Here are some of the awesome things she's posted:

What I love about following inspirational people, like Allie, on Instagram is that the motivation is unexpected. Posting a quote on my fridge door only motivates at that moment. Looking through Instagram and randomly seeing an inspirational quote can last all day. 

3. Change Your Mindset

We always hear about the important of changing our mindset when looking to change the way we eat. I believe if you tell yourself something enough, you begin to believe it. This has been SO helpful thus far! 

The biggest help: Changing "I can't eat that" to "I don't like that or I don't eat that." 

I reallyyy wanted Jimmy Johns the other day when a coworker suggested going for lunch. Instead of saying "I can't eat JJ" and feeling depressed, I said "I don't eat JJ." As simple as that is, I didn't feel deprived...I felt empowered. I was right: I DON'T eat that. I don't eat is because I don't like the way I feel after eating large amounts of bread and deli meat. 

It's a simple concept. But it works. 

How do you stay motivated? 

Today's Pickins: 

1. Bacon Ranch Grilled Jalapenos

2.  Hair Tutorial: Bouffant Bun 

My {Pinterest} Intervention

My Pinterest downfall began when I moved into my own place at the beginning of this

year. My Pinterest obsession was fed more each day and taken to a new extreme as I continued to pin home ideas, work ideas, workout plans, and recipes for one. The problem is, I wanted to do ALLLLL the things.

I started comparing my life to everything that all of the other perfect pinners and bloggers were doing. It seemed everyone had an amazing career, relationship, style, workout routine and could whip up a meal better than anyone on Top Chef on the side.  I thought now that I was living alone I could do it all, too.

Boy, was I wrong.

I'm slowly learning at at twenty-something, it's OK that I don't have my shit together. Just so long as I dress well, behave with class, and always do my best. 

I'm Back!

Looks like the blogging hiatus is officially over, y'all! 

Thanks for waiting it out...I really needed to take some time away to find inspiration and my love for blogging again. 

Among the other life updates that have happened, wanted to share a picture with the new boy.

He's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I'm a pretty lucky girl. 

Stay tuned-- I'll be doing lots of updating on my life and all my usual rantings soon!

Catching Up: Blog Every Day in May

5/9: A moment in your day (this can be just a photo or both a photo and words)

My first VINE!




5/10: Most embarrassing moment (s). Spill.

Not boy related, i think my most embarrassing moment has the be when I threw up on an airplane.

 My family was flying out to California for vacation and the night before our trip, my mama caught a stomach bug and was up sick all night. We decided the next morning that we'd change her ticket and that she would meet us two days later. 

Now, the itinerary for my dad, sister and I had us flying from Tampa to Atlanta to LAX. We decided it was beneficial to grab lunch in Atlanta instead of waiting til we got out to LAX. So, my sister and I split nachos for lunch. And if you know me, i love and and all mexican-ish things.

A few hours later, we're on our plane (somewhere over Texas) and it hits me.

 "I'm going to throw up."

I say this to my sister and she literally pushes me away from her. What I meant was "GRAB ME A BARFBAG, I'm going to throw up."

Well , i got sick everywhere. 

Nacho parts we're flying.

I ended up rushing to the bathroom and as I come out, my super cool Hollister sweatshirt is covered in vomit and I have to walk-of-shame back to my seat, where the flight attendants are currently replacing the carpet.

Even more embarrassing, the  lady across the isle from me pulled out a medical mask and put it on as soon as i came back.

Apparently, I had contracted the bug, seeing as I was sick the whole rest of the day. And Papa Cotton was sick the next day....




But, we ended up having a super fun trip:)







5/11:  Sell yourself in 10 words or lessI like the idea of ten words for this rather than one phrase. Here we go:
Social
Analytical
Sassy
Intellegent
Creative
Communicative
Wise
Motivated
Compassionate
Rational


What would your ten words be?

It's not you...

This past year has been one of the best, and hardest, of my life. Above all it has definitely been the year of rejection. From grad schools and jobs, to boys and friendships nothing I've had quite a few downhill moments.

And last night was no exception.

The thing about rejection is that it never hurts any less than it did the time before. It might be a different person or a different circumstance, but it still has that initial breath-catching sting followed by the empty pit in your stomach. Always.

I was up late last night awaiting rejection, being rejected, and then talking about rejected and finally came to the conclusion that rejection really is all about the rejecter. I guess I knew this all along but I really just needed it to smack me square in the face.

It's not that I wasn't good enough. I am good enough.

The rejecter has an issue, somewhere, that keeps me from fitting in but that is not my fault. Whether it's jobs or cheating boyfriends, this is a truth.

My goal for post-grad year two is remember that I am good enough.



Be Still.

After singing praise, Pastor Glenn's wife began Sunday's church service by reading Psalm 46: 10.

via

While I have heard this verse many times in my life, it really hit home for the first time on Sunday.

In this verse, "Be still" doesn't literally mean to "Be Still." It means rapha which translates to "to be weak, to let go, to release."

Let go, release yourself in God. 

Wow. If that wasn't enough to chill your bones, when the verse was first written in Hebrew, the emphasis was on the word "know" to show that you have no doubt in the Lord.

Release yourself and KNOW that God is in control. 

I've been so caught up in the hurt and uncertainty of life lately. I can't find answers and have been hurting even more because of it. Sunday's service reminded me that God's timing is perfect and that he has a bigger plan for all of us. He wants me right here, right now for some reason I may not get right now. I am tired and I am lost, but God has a plan. 

Have you ever received a message at the perfect time? What was the message? 

My {mild} Quarter Life Crisis

Have you ever had one of those times where you just felt that life wasn't on your side?

I’m going through a mild quarter life crisis right now so please excuse anything nonsensical I say.

A couple months ago, I had the first time in my life where I thought I finally had it all figured out—I had a great job, a boyfriend I loved, and all of the amazing things I wanted in my life were finally starting to surface.

I guess the higher you climb up the mountain, the harder your fall.

So here I am, back at the base of the mountain. Lately, I've been in a rut and never even thought about climbing back up.  However, yesterday, I decided to “do something your future self with thank you for” and strapped on my boots and got it going.

Here we go, again.

Today’s Pickins:

1.       Maxwell House International Cafes now has a Pumpkin Spice Latte mix that is phenomenal! I picked mine up at Target!

2.       I think the idea of cutting off the end of yourfirst Christmas tree and turning it into an ornament is adorable! 

3.       A Pearl Bauble necklace?! I thought this only existed in my dream…

4.       Totally buying these Alligator Bookends for my Daddy for Christmas! What a fun addition to his office.  

Time Flies, So Slowly

I’m having a moment where I remember how fast time really flies. I’m sure we can all agree, when we were younger, we use to wish time away. We’d wish for school to be over for summer to come, or our birthdays to get here, or even for the semester to end so that we did not have to go to a class anymore.

It’s crazy to think it has been three years since I started at the University of Florida and joined the most amazing sisterhood on the planet. It has been so hard watching the rest of PC09 go back to school and not being there to join them. Yet, at the time, I loved college but was ready to “grow up”.  I miss my sisters more than anything and wish I could go back just for one last year. But that’s the funny thing about it, we wish time away because of all the bad we see, not even looking at the fun times that are flying past us! It’s only been three months and my memories of class are already wiped from my collegiate memory vault.

Even this past week flew by! It feels like it’s only been on a few hours since I was sitting on the tarmac, delayed FOR HOURS, waiting to fly to North Carolina. I counted down the days, for months, waiting for the trip. The last week before the trip seemed to take the longest; yet, this week post trip has gone by in the blink of an eye.

While this post may seem a bit sad, both of these distances in my life will be gone two weeks from today!! So here I go, wishing time away…again.

Today’s Pickins:

1.       I am a total ring person, so it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with these State Love Rings!

2.       Maker’s Mark cookies!? I know a guy that might just love theses…

3.       Coral and Lavender color schemes are inspiring my current nail polish plans!

4.       I think it’s a good thing that Lilly Pulitzer is only offering the Panhel table cloths in the original four chapters. Otherwise, I might be tempted to buy!