Tuesday.

Me as a RA. Check the old computer!

I was an Resident Assistant (RA) in college for one semester. I went to a college where it was required to live on campus during freshman year. After that, most people either moved into one of the new "suites" or "apartments" or they found a place off campus. Needless to say, there were mostly freshman in our residence hall. In a building of mostly freshmen, I lucked out and got the floor with upperclassmen.

Each week, the RAs on staff got together and hashed out issues that occurred or were ongoing and planned for the week ahead. In a building of mostly 18 and 19 year old college students, we had our fair share of issues. (Some highlights I remember were hunting down a guy we *know* we heard on a girl's floor after hours only to find him cowering in a girls' closet. Another was a guy from top floor that had a habit of throwing food he didn't want or was finished eating out the window. He hit someone with a plate of nachos once. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD.) It was a weird job that didn't prepare me in the least for "the real world" but it was free room and board and it was a lot of fun.
Anyway, in an effort to balance the otherwise stressful and unnecessary hard work that was babysitting young adults full time, the Residence Hall staff would start each meeting with "Happies and Crappies." This was always my favorite part because you got to learn about other things happening in a person's life outside of work and sometimes things got a little silly.

So, in an effort to relive that weird time in college and show you some of what I balance. I try to be as positive as possible on social media (including blogs) because negativity isn't worth broadcasting, but hey-- sometimes crappy things are going on. That's life, right? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Tuesday's Happies and Crappies:

+  Happy: I slept like a ROCK last night. At least, I felt like I did! My Fitbit tells me I was awake once last night and restless 13 times. Whatever. I woke up totally refreshed. Win.
- Crappy: I slept SO well, that I slept through my alarm, which means I woke up too late to run this morning.
+ Happy: I have my own office at work, you guys. It's my first ever and I'm thankful for it every day. I can spread things out and get a ton of work done without being interrupted too much. It's awesome.
- Crappy: I didn't drink enough water today. I did get to come home and do a T25 workout, but I struggled. Badly.
+ Happy: My workout this afternoon (cardio), while a smidge dehydrated, was awesome. I was drenched and winded. I feel a true sense of accomplishment when I finish one of those workouts.
+ Happy: Dinner tonight was AMAZING. Check the recipes tab for crock pot tacos... it's seriously so delicious. It makes a ton and is arguably even better reheated. We will have leftovers for a couple of days.
+ Happy: I started a new book tonight. I'm all about personal development books lately. I'm listening to How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead on Audible during my morning runs (highly recommend, btw) but tonight, I started in on the book my husband got me for our first wedding anniversary in June. It's called Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship and Life Together by Mark and Grace Driscoll. SO good so far, you guys. It's a Christian book writtenby a minister, but it's not jsut throwing Bible verses at you... it offers real life issues that even people in a Christian marriage struggle with. Get it. Read it. Tell yo' friends.  

So as you can see, my day was generally HAPPY. As most my days are. I don't have much to complain about because really, life is good. My big discouragement today was missing my morning run. And you'll always find discouragement during a journey like this. The lesson here is to focus on all the good.. trivial as it may seem. Your life is pretty stinkin' awesome. Admit it to yourself and the "bad" things will start rolling off a little easier.

Hey, I'm Just Being Honest

You guys. Part of my Beachbody coach life includes weekly "team calls."  Honestly, this is something that I usually miss. Mostly because I forget, but also because I have something else to do or I feel like I'm overwhlemed with Beachbody stuff to begin with and I don't want to hear all these uber successful coaches talk about how great they are.

Hey. I'm just being honest.

In my adult years, I've struggled with, well, being an adult. While my friends were getting married, I was going to happy hours with my co-workers. While my friends were having kids, I was living at my mother's house - still single. I'm now married and my husband and I are living in an apartment, not a house whereas most people I know have a mortgage. I still love things like Disney movies, Christmas morning and unexpectedly getting ice cream on the weekends.For crying out loud, I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series currently. Sheesh. My point is that I've had a hard time accepting the fact that I am, in fact, a grown woman. You guys, it's been incredibly difficult for me to see all my friends successes and accomplishments and not be incredible frustrated that I'm "not there yet." I see their houses and cars and gorgeous children and I run the gamut of emotions from anger to jealousy to frustration.

Hey. I'm just being honest.

Thinking about this recently, I regret not being simply joyous for my friends during their times of happiness. And I am/was happy for them. I was simply so caught up in being annoyed that I wasn't "quite there yet." I didn't have the car/boyfriend/job/body/exciting travel life that others did. Comparison has brought down my ownself esteem and that's my fault.

Now I'm doing this Beachbody coach thing and I'm learning as I go. It's a company that I believe in that has a mission that lines up with my own values. I'm in this group of coaches that seem to have nothing but time to work on growing their business. They are posting on social media and always outrageously EXCITED about their lives. I mean, dang ladies,don't you ever have a bad day?

Hey. I'm just being honest.

So back to the coach call tonight. The topic was comparison. *It's really amazing how God puts the right message at the right time in front of us, isn't it?* Anyway, My SISTER was giving the presentation! She spoke about how comparison isn't just the thief of joy (Teddy Roosevelt reference) but the thief of strength and success. Interesting. All this time I've WASTED comparing myself to others when my biggest asset has always been in the mirror. I've inadvertently pushed away friends because they are on a different path than me. I've turn friendship into competition and that's made me bitter.

Hey, I'm just being honest.

Moving forward, I want to focus on only myself as my competition; only compare me to me. I want to find happiness within myself and contentment with "where I am" in my life and for that to shine through to others. I want to work on being the BEST version of myself, while helping others become the be best version of themselves. It CAN happen, and I intend for it to! <3

Hey, I'm just being honest.

Day 2-- Snacks of Champions

This will be a short post because, like most people's Saturdays, today has been busy. The fella and I have been running around since 8am and we're currently on our way out the door to go hang out with friends tonight.

But first, a few words on snacks. Last night, Randy and I stayed in the house and rented a few movies. In my former life, we would have treated ourselves to sodas and made hot, buttered and delicious popcorn on the stove-- no microwave stuff in this house! I'm a sucker for popcorn!

Popcorn isn't the WORST snack in the world, but when you drench it with butter it salt--- not so much. Last night, we made a much smaller portion of popcorn, a tiny bit of butter and a shake of salt. I had an ice water with some lemon juice in it.

Tonight, we're heading to a game night with some of my oldest friends. We ALWAYS have a great time with these people! Everyone brings food and we tend to over indulge and "graze" over the food all night long. So, thinking ahead I made a bruschetta from scratch, which includes fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil. I also made a creamy avocado dip with greek yogurt, not sour cream. It's always a huge hit. Head on over to my recipes section for these recipes!

The BIG Announcement!

I'm PUMPED to announce this to you, but I'm also pretty scared.

How's THAT for an opening, eh?  Today is August 1, 2014. This month I turn 29 and the beginning of the last year of my 20s. This could also be the last year I'm a childless woman... who knows. In many ways, this month marks a big transition point for me. August 2014 also marks the one year anniversary of me being a Beachbody Coach.

My life as a Beachbody coach can be summed up in one word: non-committal. I go through phases of major motivation and then, not so much. I don't see immediate results and get discouraged and give up for a bit only to start over with a jolt of energy. It's exhausting and it's not getting me anywhere near my goal!

 There are LOTS of Beachbody coaches, y'all... there's an entire network and when you join, you're connected to their social groups and circles and, well, it's intimidating. They are all in great shape and seem to really have nothing better to do than to work their business. Many of them don't work outside the home and have time to read personal development books and listen to team calls a few nights a week. THAT'S why they are intimidating and from where I sit, that's frustrating.

But then you take a closer look and most of these people stay home because they have kids. Busy ones. And they have time to read and listen to calls because they PLAN to do it. Vince Lombardi said, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." Isn't it AMAZING that people can be successful if they had the ambition to be?

You see, as a kid I always visualized myself as an adult that would be comfortable financially and has the option of staying home with children, if I was blessed enough to have them. I visualized myself as being in shape and active. I visualized that I would be crazy about my husband and we'd go on frequent dates, travel often and entertain friends at our beautiful home.

It seems pretty simple, and maybe some of you are laughing thinking how ordinary that sounds. But aside from being crazy about my amazing husband, I don't have those other things. In fact, most people don't have those options at the ripe ol' age of 29. Some of them are attributed to financial constraints. Some are physical and some of them simply haven't come up in God's plan for me just yet.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted on my Facebook page that I had some "BIG NEWS" to share. I can't tell you how many people asked me about it privately-- they wondered if I was pregnant, or moving, or I had found a new job or going to some big destination spot. NOPE! The big announcement is:

< DRUMROLL PLEASE>

I'm going to be even better than I am right now at this time next year! <-- Cue crashing cymbals. I want my last year of my 20s to be transitional. Transitional to AWESOME. I'm tired of thinking that ONE DAY I'll fit into my college jeans again and ONE DAY I'll be financially able to book a girls weekend or buy my husband those amazing Steelers tickets. I want to be able to give and give generously to all the people can things I love.

 There are a few things I plan to do:

   - I plan to be in a better spot financially at this time next year. I won't bore you with the details of my financial state, but like any good ol' American college grad, I have a hefty amount of student loan debt I'd like to pay down off. My husband and I plan to buy a home (have I mentioned that I'm so over apartment living?) and I'd like to be able to pay the mortgage with what I earn with my business.  Additionally, I'd like to pay off my vehicle and my husband's.

   - I plan to be in better shape by my 30th birthday. Since I left college, I've worked in a couple of office jobs where I sit all day and become "exhausted" at the end of each day. I stopped exercising for a long time and my diet went out the window. It's all gonna change, folks. I want to make sure that I'm the best version of myself for my husband, my job and for my family. Most people I know actually gained weight after college-- they get busy with jobs, fall in love and gain that "I'm happy and in love" weight, and stop making time for regular exercise and healthy eating. I'm in the same boat. I'm ready to be a happy, healthy adult with a smaller waistline. WHO'S WITH ME!?

The master plan involves being all up in yo' face. Just kidding. But I do plan to blog each day...some of these may get a little boring, but I will be chronicling my journey to the good life. I will post quite a bit on Facebook (I even have my own coach page!) host Beachbody Challenge Groups. I will add more to my Beachbody Coach Pinterest page and maybe even go crazy and create a Coach Twitter Account. I have been pretty inspired by a few people's weight loss and fitness journeys and I'd like to be an inspiration. #FitAndFree

I will post recipes and workout updates. Hopefully what I post will be uplifting and positive everyday and just by reading it you'll be motivated to make some big changes in your own life. But, if you've ever tried hard to lose weight, you know that it can also sometimes be frustrating and discouraging, so you can probably expect some of that too. It will be REAL, that's for sure!

Additionally, I'll be posting some tips and conquered challenges when it comes to our debt-free goal. If you don't know where to begin with that or just like to read helpful tips, you can check that part out on the debt free tab.

In my early 20s, I celebrated my birthday month. It's still a running joke among a few friends that I would take every opportunity during the month of August to celebrate and enjoy life. Well, I've abandoned that somewhat childish practice only to now focus on a FULL YEAR. Ha! But instead of celebrating with happy hours, late nights and shopping, I'm celebrating with Shakeology, early mornings and debt pay off. You can't say I don't know how to party.

So there it is, welcome to my transitional year of awesome. It's not pregnancy news or new job news or anything like that. But in my mind this is putting the horse before the cart--where it should be and making some good lifestyle changes to set the tone for my 30s. It's an incredibly lofty, but achievable goal and I'm counting on all of you for motivation and encouragement.

 I'd love to work with you if you're in the same spot as I am and want to make a better future for yourself and your family. Or, if you AREN'T in the same spot but have some bigger goals for yourself. It's going to be an awesome year, friends.

Until tomorrow!!!
Love,
  Future skinny-jean wearin', debt-free Mrs. L.