Things have been busy...

...and I just haven't taken the time to write any blog posts.  I want to get back into it and with the fall semester coming to an end in two short weeks I should start having more time.

I'm going to share with you some big things (I think anyways) that have happened since my last blog post.

• I maintained the same weight from August 30th until November 29th.  It's not what I was hoping to do but at least I didn't gain.  Tuesday marked the day I re-committed to my weight loss journey.  No matter how many times I have to do this I will until I've reached my goals.  And speaking of goals I have an upcoming mini goal of losing 5 pounds by December 31st and a bigger mini goal of losing 20 pounds by April 1st.  This should give me something to blog about. :)
• I have been soda free since Tuesday.  If you knew me in "real life" you would know that soda has always been a part of my life, and has probably contributed to my weight gain over the years.  Because it's always been a part of my life saying no is such a tough thing to do.  I have had a headache Wednesday evening and yesterday afternoon through the night.  I am hoping that today I'm past the headache stage because having that headache just makes me want to give in to the craving of having a soda even more.  I've kept myself sane by having a drink or two here or there from my mom's.  But even she's trying to be better about her soda intake so at least I'm not completely alone in this struggle.  The weekend is going to be the hardest struggle of them all but I'm going to stay strong and say no!  Cutting out soda should help with the weight loss so I'm going to really work at staying on track with this.
• I went out a total of four nights last week; three of the four nights I was out until the bars closed.  It's messed with my sleeping schedule a bit since I was getting used to sleeping until 11:30 to make up for being up until the wee hours of the morning.  But I'm getting that back on track and I think the messed up sleep schedule was completely worth it.  I've been having a great time going out and meeting new people and reconnecting with those I already know.  So far this week I haven't gone any where but it's only 10 am on Friday so the weekend is still early - never know where it will take you!

That's probably about the biggest stuff that's been going on in my life that's actually blog worthy.  With only two weeks left of the semester I'm realizing that I have a lot of work to get done in not a whole lot of time any more.  With that being said if I disappear for another two-ish weeks you know that my head is buried in a book or I'm typing away on a computer for school.  I finally have a battery charger for my camera so maybe I'll remember to take some pictures during these upcoming weeks so when I do have a chance to blog again I can share with you all a bit better what I was up to.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving the other week.  I can't believe it's December already and Christmas is right around the corner!  I look forward to the break from school coming up so I can spend more time reading and writing blog posts.  Talk to you all again soon!

Highlights of the Last Two Weeks

It's been two weeks since my last post and I honestly don't have a reason for why it has been so long.  Sure I am busy with school and work but what blogger isn't busy with life?  I know my life doesn't revolve around blogging, or it shouldn't, but I also want to put in a decent amount of effort into it.  I can't have a "journal" of my life to look back on if I don't post right?

Moving on to the highlights of the last two weeks...

October 29th one of my friends turned 21 so she had a birthday party at a local bar.  Costumes were welcomed so it also doubled as a Halloween party I guess.  I didn't put much effort into dressing up - a plaid shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots so I guess that means I was a cowgirl?  Like I said, not much effort went into that.

I considered going out at all a success in my book.  I haven't discussed this on my blog but since a breakup a year ago I haven't been very social.  It wasn't done purposefully but when you lose touch with those people you hung out with in high school and didn't really care because you had your boyfriend when you lose the boyfriend what are you left with?  Your family and yourself.  I'm definitely working on growing from this experience and breaking out of my shell to make new friends and meet new people.

I considered going out a success because there was only one other time I have gone out since the breakup in October of 2010.  Definitely room for improvement but I have to start some where and it's OK to start small.

The other big highlight to the last two weeks would have to be that Bo, our almost 6 month old puppy, started limping.  Today I took him to the vet and discovered that his elbow joint in his right front leg didn't form properly so his bones are rubbing on each other which is painful, or will be painful.  There is a surgical option but at this time we don't really know much about it because the vet said she would go with the other option for now.  That other option is anti-inflammatory medication and some chews that will help with joint health.  Bo will deal with this for the rest of his life but will be able to live a normal life for the most part.

Going into this I was scared that something would be seriously wrong with Bo and I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle that after going through something similar with Duke roughly 6 months ago.  If you missed what happened with Duke and want the story you can start with this post here, then read this post here, followed by this post, and finally this post.  I can't really go through it again because it makes me teary eyed still.  Duke is always in my heart and he won't be forgotten.

Sorry this post took a turn to the negative side.  Back to the positives, I went out to a party to meet up with friends and Bo while not 100% is going to be OK.

Tomorrow I will be running the same route I ran at the beginning of the semester.  Mission Accomplished! is the post I wrote about the first time I ran this route.  My goal for tomorrow is to beat my previous time of 19:07.  I haven't been "training" to do this but I have been more active that I was before I ran the route at the beginning of the semester so I think I can accomplish my goal.  Wish me luck!

I've got to study for a test for tomorrow night.  My goal is to do do better on this one than I did on the first class for this semester.

Do you ever consider something small as a success simply because it's a step in the right direction?

Are your pets simply pets or are they your fur-babies and are part of the family?

Fall TV: Hart of Dixie

Something I enjoy a lot during the fall season is the return of my favorite shows, and the beginning of some new ones.  One of the new ones I've started watching is Hart of Dixie on The CW.

Remember Rachel Bilson from The OC?  Well she's back!  Bilson plays Dr. Zoe Hart who moves from New York to Bluebell, Alabama to accept an offer from a stranger she received after graduating from medical school.  After moving Zoe finds that she's been left half of the practice.

The show follows Zoe as she learns to deal with the other doctor in the practice, Brick Breeland who isn't exactly happy to be sharing the practice with her, and his daughter Lemon.  Zoe has made some friends in the town of Bluebell; the mayor Levon, her neighbor Wade, and Lemon's fiance George all seem to be on her side as she adjusts to living in a small town.

I've really been enjoying watching Hart of Dixie every Monday night.  Maybe because I continue to hear country songs in the background of scenes?  No that's not why but it helps.  I truly enjoy the story - it has some good lessons woven into it, and plenty of romance or romantic tension at least as the relationships still develop.

Here are some pictures from last night's episode "Faith and Infidelity"

Zoe & Lavon (the mayor) (source)
Wade (Zoe's neighbor) - can you say hottie?! (source)

Well I had a third picture of Lemon and George for you guys to see but that was yesterday and now today I can't find it.  Thanks Blogger for not cooperating with me yesterday!

I've really been enjoying this new show and thought it was worth sharing in case anyone missed it.  If you check it out let me know!  I know I'll be anxiously waiting for the next episode on Monday November 7th - but who wouldn't want to watch to see if Wade goes shirtless again right? (We're 2 in a row so far ;) )