Mid-Week Confessions

1. I had Chick-Fil-A for dinner last night. That was my first full meal since Friday night. I probably only ate a days worth of calories Saturday, Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday (before CFA) combined. That's how sick I was. And all of those calories came from saltines & 2 bites of oatmeal. Literally. I couldn't eat anything.
2. I'm ready to  be 100% again. Today, I'm back to nauseous. Ugh. Must.Get.Well. So much to do!
3. I haven't worked out since Friday morning's last Jillian sesh. I know I need to rest but it's killing me to not work out. After creating a habit & instilling that desire...I want to work out!
4. Getting sick is a great not-so-fun (but effective) way to push past that weight-loss plateau. Chalk me up for another 2 lbs lost.
5. INSTAGRAM FOR ANDROID CAME OUT!!!!!!! Sorry to yell about that but finding that out made.my.day!! Normally Android is up to speed on their apps but instagram took waaaaaaaaaaaaaay tooooooooooo loooooooooooooong to come out. However, it's out & I'm a happy camper. Follow me @: morgantedder. What is your instagram name?!?!
6. I tried to order my *NEW* Macbook Pro last night! Woo hoo! But...debit cards have an online limit. No worries - I drove myself over to the bank first thing this morning, they increased my limit for the day, & it's being purchased today (along with a hot pink neoprene sleeve...DUH). This girl is a double happy camper. My dell is 4.5 years old & takes 10 minutes to turn on & warm up. Every webpage freezes for at least 4 minutes. I'm not exaggerating at all. This is truth.
7. My nails are very Easter approp. My toenails are pastel blue. My fingers are mint green with a lilac accent on the ring fingers.
8. Sorry that #1-4 are all about being sick. That's been my life this week.
9. I need to take more pictures of my life so this blog is more interesting...instagram should help with that! :)
10. Here's a pic of me & Al at the wedding this weekend!

11. I traded Jillian DVDs with a friend. While she uses 30 Day Shred, I'm using No More Trouble Zones! I'm excited!!
12. I'm in my first tank top of the season without a jacket & I feel a little bare/scandalous. I'm not...but I feel that way because I was constricted by layers for all of winter.
13. I just found out we're closed Friday for Good Friday. Unexpected surprises like this bring me so much joy!

No Wedding Cake for Me

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred in 30 straight days was successfully completed!! Woo hoo! Friday morning I woke up at 6:00 am & did my last sesh. It felt great to finish it!!

Friday afternoon, Allie & I headed up to Fay for Will & Heather's wedding! Friday night was a fun rehearsal & dinner and then a decently early-to-bed night. Finally, Saturday, the day had arrived! Allie & I arrived at the hotel for her to do hair & me to keep things on time. After the bride & bridesmaids left, Allie and I got ready and then headed to the barn to be ready for the festivities! The wedding was beautiful, the reception was fun, & they're now Mr. & Mrs.!!

Sunday, I had big plans of running and lifting weights and starting my April out with a workout bang. That is, until I threw up at the above wedding reception & ran 100.4 fever ALL DAY Sunday. Fever is no fun. Let me tell you. You can't get comfortable. You hurt all over. You just want to sleep. You can't eat. NO FUN. I didn't come into the office until 1ish today. My brain hurts & is super foggy & I can't concentrate on much & I'm skipping Perspectives tonight. I'm so grateful God kept me well until I finished the 30 Day Shred, so that I could complete it fully!!

The title of this post refers to the fact that I didn't eat wedding cake because of how sick I was. If you've been reading this blog long at all, you should know my love for sweets and that this is a big deal. Even today I kind of regret not eating at least a little bit of it! (that's how much I LOVE wedding cake). I also have been drinking Diet Coke since Saturday. When I'm sick, water is not appealing. I had to have some flavor. This April is def not starting off how I imagined it would with working out hardcore, staying with only water, & eating healthy...but God is in control and I'm just grateful to be feeling better & getting rest!

Exhaustion

It happened. I hit the wall of complete mental & physical exhaustion. For the past 3 weeks, I have been getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night (most closer to 6). While this may work for some & I can handle it for a few nights, I can't do it for 3 weeks in a row. Don't get me wrong, I've LOVED every reason I've stayed up late & gotten up early, but it's wearing me down. So, tonight, as much as I don't want to, I'm staying home from 501. It's killing me. But, it's the right thing to do. My weekends aren't restful (for extremely joyful reasons) so I have to take a night off somewhere.

I also say mental exhaustion because processing things with God is hard & wears me out. It's good but it's tiring. He's teaching me. I'm learning to listen better. I'm learning to process & discern the whispers. I'm loving it. But, I'm tired.

I plan on my night off looking like this:
1-pack for the weekend (ie: figure out jewelry for each dress & throw everything in my duffel)
2-work out (2nd to last day of Jillian!!!!!!! then run/walk because it's b-e-a-utiful outside)
3-eat dinner
4-spend some time with Jesus (hopefully without falling asleep on the couch)
5-do a little Perspectives (if my eyes are still open)
6-go to bed

I get off in 15 minutes...almost bed time!

Cheat Days

Running after a cheat day is HARD. I gave myself a cheat day last Friday because friends were in town & I had a wedding shower to go to that night (cake...duh). Saturday, I was regretting that cheat day. I had the worst run I've had in a long time. I could barely run 5 minutes. TERR.I.BLE. No more cheat days for me. I'm increasing the fruits, veggies, & lean meats & getting strict again!

I only have 5 days of 30 Day Shred left. Woo hoo! I can't believe it! I am obsessed with Jillian now...can't wait to get more DVDs!

This weekend is Ganson's wedding!!!!! YAY! Cannot wait...I've been waiting for this since the summer of 2010 ;)

I found a dress yesterday for the Rehearsal Dinner. I ran to TJ Maxx on my way back into cway & tried on like 9 dresses. None of those were screaming "buy me!" As I handed them to the worker, a random dress on the dressing room "no thanks" rack caught my eye. I tried it on & LOVED it! I brought it home & figured out I literally have like 11 different jewelry options. This dress will probably end up being one of the best purchases ever. Score. I'll try to post some pics from Friday - or you might have to wait until Easter (yes, I already know I'm wearing that dress for Easter too).

God & I are getting close. As an almost 25 year old single girl whose future is only known by God & who is coming up on the end of her 2nd year of her 3 year contract, I'm going to God with questions & requests for wisdom, clarity, understanding, discernment, etc. to know what the next step is. It's scary. It's exciting. It's weird. It's faith building. It's trust building. It's mysterious. It's part of life. It's drawing me nearer to Him. I love it.


Other than the storms in the middle...I'm loving this 10-day. Bring on summer!

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

Isolated T-Storms

Isolated T-Storms

Isolated T-Storms

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Sunny

Sunny

85°

86°

86°

82°

79°

83°

81°

77°

78°

Storms

The torrential downpours, tornado watches, & severe thunderstorm warnings got the best of me last night. I wussed out on driving to LR (I got Chan's permission & he understands my fear of storms/driving in the rain) & stayed in Conway instead. I got home from work, cooked & ate dinner, then proceeded to relax on the couch before working out. 1.5 hours later, I woke up & got productive. haha. I folded my laundry, started on Perspectives, finished Level 2 of Jillian, caught up on some TV shows, spent time with God, & welcomed my apt guest for the week. Good thing I took that nap because Ganson didn't get there 'til midnight! We stayed up until past 1 talking & less than 6 hours later my alarm went off. You better believe I pressed snooze for quite a while this morning. It's ok though...I can handle a few nights of not much sleep if Gans is with me!!

Tonight, I'll start level 3 of Jillian. I'm excited to see what is in store but a little terrified at the same time - I have a feeling it's going to be much harder!

I kind of wish I could be at home, in bed, napping right now. But, I'm a working gal now & I don't get the college luxuries of spring breaks, month long Christmas breaks, or daily naps. Don't get me wrong - I love my life, my job, & not having to study...but on days like today, where I'm tired & it's raining, my bed is calling my name. I have loved naps my whole life & I will always love naps. Promise. :)

Stay dry, my friends! Good news - it's not supposed to rain this weekend! We can make it!

Happy 20th!

My YOUNGEST bro turns 20 today. Did you get that? My youngest brother is no longer a teenager. All the sibs are in our 20's. Where has the time gone?! Happy Birthday Bro!!! (He doesn't read this but it's the thought that counts) Tonight, we're going out to eat for his bday - I was officially invited by the sis-in-law, despite Chan's not wanting me to come. Oh well...I'm going anyway because he's my brother & I love him & he deserves to have me it's an  honor to drive to LR to be around on his bday.

Happy 1st day of Spring! I'm celebrating by wearing a coral & mint scarf (from India, of course), my coral cowboy boots, & a size smaller jean!! Woo hoo! I'm officially down 11 pounds & a pants size. The lifestyle change is still going well. I haven't been quite as strict on the sweets (my downfall) which is probably why I feel like I'm plateauing. So, I'm about to decrease the carbs & save the sweets for the most special occasions (bdays, weddings, & showers). I'm enjoying this change, the results, & my increased love for exercise & all things healthy!

Today is the last day for Level 2 of Jillian. After tonight, I'll be 2/3rds of the way done with the 30 Day Shred! I can't believe it. I've LOVED Level 2. I'm a little terrified of how difficult Level 3 will be but I'm ready! I'm ready for more muscle definition, more energy, & more results. LET'S GO!!

In honor of spring, do something 'springy' today! :)

Pi Day

Yesterday was great! I got a lot accomplished at work. It was sunny & 80* out. God met me in my quiet time & I enjoyed His company. I made some support calls & got a few appts lined up! Some Fay friends came down for a cookout. We hung out & had delicious pie afterwards (you have to have pie on pi day!) We drove around to see some of the cway trademarks (Stoby's & the Hendrix tunnel). Then....at 11:00 pm...I went home & did 30 Day Shred because I hadn't done it yet! Holy Cow. I'm just going to toot my own horn & say I'm so proud of myself & feel so accomplished. Haha. Not only was I just up hanging out past my bedtime...I actually worked out past my bedtime! Wow. Ok, enough about that. I failed at getting up to SHRED this morning (I had only gotten 5 hrs of sleep when my original alarm went off-who can blame me?!) so it will be another late night of shredding (after 501) but I'm okay with that! I'm just excited that I actually desire to work out & crave doing it everyday! Haven & I even agreed that we could give ourselves yesterday off if we wanted to because we were hanging out so late...but I just couldn't do it. I committed to 30 days in a row & I'm going to finish my commitment!

In other news, I'm obsessed with this weather. I plan on being outside as much as possible this weekend (except that I just looked at the weather & there are clouds & lightning on each day...boooo). Maybe I'll just have to shop for some new jeans instead (my old ones are too big! woo hoo!)

Next week, my youngest bro turns 20. What?!?! None of us will be teenagers anymore - we are ALL in our 20's! Time is flying. But, I sure do love how my relationships with my bros mature/grow as we get older & in more similar phases of life. (they still treat me like I'm the younger sister that they think is an idiot...but, hey, I know it's all in love). I love my fam!

Happy Thursday, friends! 1 day closer to the weekend!

India...

...is on my mind.
...is in my heart.
...is what I think about most.
...is what I pray about most.
...is where I want to end up.

I love the country. I love the people. I love the sights. I love the sounds. I even love appreciate the smells.

My plea to God when I'm struggling: "Lord, use me while I'm here & please send me soon."
 

Veg meal

Cows on the sidewalk

Shopping with a friend

Taj Mahal

In traditional wear

Hyderabad

Kids at a wedding

With the Bride and Groom at the wedding

One day...I will be there.

Shredding & Nail Polish

I've officially completed 1 week of Jillian Michaels! Woo hoo! That's further than I've ever gotten in the 30 Day Shred. Every day it gets a little bit easier. I can tell my strength & endurance are increasing & I'm pumped to see how I feel at the end! Only 3 more days of level 1 - Sunday, I'll jump up to Level 2.

More exciting exercise news....yesterday, I ran 10 minutes straight! It felt great outside & I was feeling great so I just went for it. Loved it. I need some new shoes, but other than that, running felt good & I can't wait to improve in that too!

I'm still loving healthy foods. Chick-Fil-A is seriously the only fast food that ever even sounds good & I don't go there regularly (haven't been in weeks). I've been off Diet Coke for a month now - wow! I drink my morning coffee, lots & lots of water, & hot tea.

I'm feeling good! I'm committed to this lifestyle change & I can't wait to see where it takes me!

Also important: I bought 3 new nail polishes this weekend :) I know neons are way in this year but pastels are much more forgiving for the yet-to-be-tanned-winter-white skin I'm sporting right now. So, I got 3 pastels  - Revlon Dreamer (periwinkle/blue), Revlon Minted (mint green), & Revlon Charming (lavender/lilac). I've been looking for the perfect shades of these colors for a while & they jumped out at me on my weekly Wal-Mart trip. Love.

Happy Wednesday!

My Faves

These girls mean the world to me! We had a great night at Stickyz for the Leap Day Show! I'm beyond blessed by their friendship!!