I am guilty of being lazy and tired in the morning, and my routine time has cut down drastically. I shower at night. I wake up 30 minutes before I have to leave each morning (usually wake up between 4:30 – 5:30 am) – 10 minutes for makeup/hair, 10 minutes for clothes, 10 minutes for packing lunch. Yeah, I don’t always look so… polished. I don’t think I look sloppy, but I don’t look put together! I just DO NOT KNOW what to do with my hair. I know how to use a hair straightener and that’s about it!

I am actually more likely to spend more time getting ready on the weekends because I do not feel rushed and tired.

Fess up!

I certainly have a few items. See that tag hanging from that beige suit jacket in the photo below? I think I purchased that jacket well over five years ago. It was on sale at Target for $6 or something ridiculous. And the gray jacket next to it has never been worn either. I bought it last season at New York & Company, then lost too much weight, and it was too big to wear. Hey! I think it would fit now. Woo-hoo! Not.

The other clothes that still have tags on them are gifts, and they’re mostly stored in boxes. I try to only hang up the clothes I actually wear. And I also I try not to buy clothes that are the wrong size, or not my style, but I have definitely made a few mistakes!

Thanks for inspiring this question, diane!

Definitely TLC’s What Not to Wear. Whenever I happen to catch that show, I always wonder what they would make me throw out of my closet. I do hold on to all of my race shirts, but I only wear them for exercise and sleeping in. I try not to wear too many t-shirts. But, my work wardrobe is admittedly plain – nice slacks and a blouse every day.

And I would LOVE to do a shopping spree in NYC! And to get a hair and make-up makeover. I am so lost with my hair… I don’t know how to style it. I am doomed to be a frizzy fluffy head.

Maybe Steven should enter me as a contestant. He keeps asking me to enter him on Overhaulin’…

The bummer is, I am on a total spending freeze and have been for a few months. I’m only spending money when it’s in gift card form.

But, that doesn’t mean I can’t look! Here are some of the tops that have caught my eye lately. They all seem to have a fun detail to them – which probably means they will be dated in a few years. Oh, and they all seem to be somewhat similar to clothes I have NOW – another reason I don’t need them!

From New York & Company:

Looks like the mustard color is still in style!

From Ann Taylor:

From Banana Republic:
(actually have a large gift card to here, but need to lose weight – their clothes are too expensive to buy in a bigger size – I’ve gotten burned that way before)

Actual Gift Card Buys:

And here are my actual gift card buys. The first one is from JCPenney. I got that top in that design (but in purple, not blue) and in black. The second two tops are from Kohl’s. I bought those with a pair of pants. I didn’t like the top at first, but then saw that the mannequin had it on with the flyaway cardigan, and it looks really cute together.

What are you lusting after these days?

*Except for the one coworker I am going with.

Yesterday was my second quarterly panel report, so I wore a skirt/suit outfit. Then there was a discussion within my team about the merits of wearing a skirt. Some people actually have very strong opinions about wearing or not wearing a skirt. I was kind of surprised. But kind of not. Because some people just like to present their opinions in that strong manner.

Anyway, I have a big box in my closet full of skirts. I got it down this morning and pulled out one of my favorites – this brown/black/orange/white floral print from H&M.

I’ve had this skirt a couple of years, but I just can’t find the right top to wear with it.

With the heat we’ve been having, I’ll probably be wearing skirts more often this summer than I normally would. I just hope I don’t get too much flak about it. Because people generally don’t like to be teased about what they are wearing. Or really, even have it noticed, unless it’s to give a compliment.

*Will they ever NOT rub together…?

My office’s Biggest Loser Challenge ended today. It began on January 21st and 22 people participated. There was a $12 entry fee, and $2 fee per missed weigh-in and per each pound gained. In the end, the money pot was $428! Do the math on that one!

First place received 55%, second received 25% and third received 20%.

I came in second place with a total loss of 14.17% and won $107. First place was 14.54% and third place was 13.99% (very close!). I stayed in second place almost every week of the competition, except for a week in third, and a week in first (after I was sick).

Now it’s time to stuff my face again!

Just kidding.*

Participating in this was interesting. It brought on a lot of comments and questions about my weight and appearance, which is not something I am used to. I felt uncomfortable at times, just because I was unprepared to react to that kind of attention. I wonder if that will all stop now, that it is over?

Overall, I think the Challenge was helpful with keeping me on track with my healthy eating. I didn’t feel restricted by it**; it was kind of like a friendly reminder. And I’ve mentioned a few times how this made my relationship with the scale so much better – it taught me that the periodical ups and downs don’t mean that much – you have to look at the big picture!

*Although, I did save myself a homemade cookie to eat on my lunch break, and I was kind of “meh” about eating it. I thought it would be orgasmic or something, after not having sweets since 2/25. Guess not!
**Although a few times, I did ask Steven if we could not eat out.

Well, it’s Easter, so it must be time for the big recap post on Lent.

Basically, you can read this list here and just imagine that all it says is “give up sugar treats,” because that is ALL that I was successful at for Lent (since 2/25 – I didn’t cheat on Sundays). I did have a few granola bars with bits of chocolate, and sports beans, but other than that, I completely gave up cookies, chocolate, soda, muffins, candy, and so on… and I feel GREAT!

I am about to spend the day making cookies, but I don’t think I’ll eat any. I am probably going to wait and have a sweet treat after my office’s Biggest Loser Challenge ends on Wednesday (there are 3 boxes of Girl Scouts cookies waiting to be eaten in my house). I plan on staying off the soda, and only having it on special occasions.

As for the rest of the list? A lot of it had to do with attitude and communication. I didn’t progress very far, but I DID figure out a lot of what is bothering me and why, and I tried different ways to handle it. I think I am getting there! Already I have tried to tackle my frustration this weekend by communicating better.*

And the “frivolous items”? Well, I DIDN’T buy a single magazine or book, which is what I had in mind when I wrote that. But uh, yeah, I did buy new clothes (twice), running outfits, a new computer, and… a new car. Good thing I wasn’t buying any magazines, right? Jeez.

We cut back on eating out, not that we did it much before, but I think that can be attributed to the fact that we are so conscious of what we put in our bodies now.

What did I learn? I learned that I CAN reach a goal, but that it can be too overwhelming to try to tackle a lot at once (perhaps I should follow Nilsa’s “challenge a month” lead?). Upcoming goals for me include really committing to cutting out swearing, and trying veganism, and apparently, working on my blogging addiction (any tips with that?).

Unrelated topic: My sister, Christina, was inspired to make a rainbow cake after seeing this set on flickr. Check it out, it’s pretty cool! Here are her photos below. I totally thought of Tori’s rainbow cake when she told me about this!

It looks like you just use yellow cake mix, then separate it and add food coloring to make the fun colors! Or maybe not food coloring? I am not sure what’s in those little white tubes.

Doesn’t it look so fun?! Christina’s so fun.

Yummy! I hope everyone enjoys it!

Christina made this cake to share with my family for Easter. They are all together, with my mom’s side of the family. I decided not to join them this year, so Steven and I are going to take it easy at home (If you can call him running 12 miles taking it easy! HA HA! I only have to run 6 today.).

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

*”What’s bothering me?” you ask. Well, how nice of you to ask. Thank you. 1. My face is STILL numb and it’s bothersome to eat. 2. The kids in our neighborhood were damaging the trees in our yard yesterday, playing in the street, and harassing a goose. I went outside to talk to them, calmly and nicely, about all three things. I wondered why their parents were no where in sight, letting them play in the street! 3. We saw Fast and Furious last night, and once again, there were a bunch of very young children in the theater. One woman sat down and let her toddler climb up and down the stairs on his own. Well, of course he fell and started crying. There were 5 or 6 kids that probably got up at least 10 times (no, seriously) and literally ran up and down the stairs, very loudly. And the kids behind us would not shut up the entire time. I finally asked them, again, as nicely as I could, to please be quiet so the rest of us could enjoy the remainder of the movie. It was a fluff movie, but that experience really put me in an upset mood last night. 4. My frickin’ cat keeps waking me up at 6:00 am, and I can’t go back to sleep, and I am lonely, up by myself. (Data just goes back to bed!)

You know what I say to all this? A big “Who cares?!” I’ve gotten so used to my body weight going up and down and up and down. If this challenge has taught me anything, it’s that my weight doesn’t directly correlate to ANYTHING. So I really shouldn’t give it ANY power over me. My body seems to be on a path of its own – a path that doesn’t follow a straight line and is impossible to figure out. Sure, my body generally responds well to eating healthy and exercising, but it’s been throwing a few challenges my way lately – ones that are probably not appropriate to discuss here. I’ll just say, I really want to trust my body, but I’m starting to second guess its intentions. It’s probably nothing serious, and doesn’t affect my running at all, but I think I will be seeing a doctor just to check in.

My second cousin Denise is participating in her office’s Biggest Loser Challenge as well. She’s been doing it for four weeks now, and I am super excited for her! She is making great progress in eating healthier and being more active.

She’s already had to play the scale mind games though. After a smaller loss (in comparison to a big loss the week before), she emailed me saying she was “really disappointed” because she thought she had lost more. She recognized that her clothes were loose but she still felt the disappointment.

I tried to be encouraging to her and share what I’ve learned doing this challenge – that the scale is not always an accurate representation of your hard work throughout the week. And she knows that! She’s obviously making progress because her clothes were loose**. It’s just so easy to let those numbers dictate your feelings.

I hope participating in the Challenge has as positive of an effect on her as it has on me – both physically and mentally. Already, I know her participation has helped me – it’s given me a chance to reflect on the challenges of adapting a healthy lifestyle from a friend’s perspective. Encouraging someone else, and following their progress has made me realize how important it is to have a healthy mindset about this whole process. I’m not explaining it very well, but sharing our struggles back and forth in email has given me a broader perspective on the meaning of living a healthy lifestyle. It’s also helped me learn how to overcome my own struggles.

And it’s nice to have my own cheerleader as well! Encouragement is always nice, and Denise is very thoughtful.

*My total loss so far is 11.25%.
**I much prefer kapgar’s method of following weight loss – by how your clothes fit. None of my size 12 dress pants fit me right anymore. They are all falling down and have too much extra fabric in the butt. So… time to do some more “interim” shopping.

Side Note: I published this at noon, but something was wrong with it, so I’ve republished it.

Good thing I like pink and green!

I was at Kohl’s on Friday, and decided to buy some of their Nike workout clothes to try during my practice runs, in hopes I can wear them at the half marathon. I showed them to Steven tonight, and he had two comments – “White? You’re very brave,” and “That looks like a soccer uniform.”

Ha. I am not surprised about the last comment – that is what attracted me to the white and green tops in the first place – they reminded me of shopping for soccer jerseys. I played soccer for a few years in high school, and my friends (okay, FRIEND) and I were really into it. We loved to go to Scheels, our local sporting goods store, and look at all the cool soccer gear.

Maybe someday I’ll get back into soccer. Maybe there’s still hope that I could actually become good at it!

People are asking for “…a decent supply of sleeved shirts or prom dresses that show more fabric than skin.”

“People want to be more comfortable and more covered.”

vs.  

Hmm, I guess I’ll buy that. I don’t want to see my coworkers walking around in a Britney Spears-esque outfit flashing their reproductive organs, and I HAVE seen my fair share of slutty prom dresses! But I can appreciate some muscular legs, a nice neckline or bare arms (apparently, a lot of people are appreciating Michelle Obama’s!) when displayed appropriately.

What would you ask for if the retailers would listen?

I would ask for pants that are the right size at my hips, but not too tight in the butt. And button-down tops that don’t gap because of my (once, *sniff sniff*) mammoth sized breasts. Oh yeah, and how about some longer tops? Thankfully, they’ve picked up on that last one, but the others…?