is this thing on?

Holy crap!  I haven't posted in almost a month!  

I have all the normal reasons for not posting...life just got busy and well, I plain didn't feel like writing.  Also, I'm not really proud of myself the last 2 months... I left off with cancelling my LifeCenter membership and plans to join Island Gym.  I haven't worked out since then though I have lost like 3 pounds...  My friend Christina had her baby, Emma Ann, super cute!  I guess I'm just dragging my feet until she's back to meet me for classes.

Anyway...here's a couple of highlights in my world...

John & Kristen got married!  I'll do a full post some other time, but in short, it was a beautiful wedding on a windy day earlier this month.  Everything was gorgeous!  That means we've only got 2 more of Joe's close friends to marry off!  And Sean is getting married in June!

That same weekend I attended/worked the AtlantiCare Gala.  The theme was classic art and it was a great night as always!

Joe's been out back pretty much all the time working on installing solar panels on our shed.  His main goal is to have enough power to run a sump pump under the house when the electricity is out.  You know, in case we get another super storm...

I went to the Phillies vs Indians game with my dad.  It was free hat night!

And just this past weekend we took part in a walk for Juvenile Diabetes research.  Nicole put a team together in Jack's name, we were Jack's Candy Crushers...get it...candy crushers...diabetes...  

I swear I'm going to try harder to spend some time at the computer each night or on the weekend putting posts together.  I mean if I'm not working out the least I can do is blog, right?

first step

I've been doing a lot of thinking about finding balance after my post yesterday. I decided that the first step is doing exercise I enjoy. When I thought back to what workouts I enjoyed most over the years I kept coming back to Group Power.

Back when I lost my weight the first time (2 years ago!) I was taking Group exercise classes 3+ days a week. I loved meeting my friend Christina at Island Gym and taking Power or Step or Kick! I reached out to Christina and she's still going to classes 3 or 4 days a week and was excited to hear I was thinking about coming back. She's on 6 week break though because her due date with baby #2 was yesterday!

A short chat via text with Christina was all I needed. After work I stopped at my current gym and cancelled my membership. They require 30 days notice so I will continue to work out there until the end of May but on June 1st I'm joining Island again! The best part is they're running a special, $99 for 6 months!

weekend update

• 1 item down, 39 to go!  I sold something on eBay!  I think it's hilarious that the first item we (me & Nicole, we're a team in this) sold is a wallet called the Lauren.  I'm ridiculously excited about getting rid of all the stuff I don't wear/use.  We have 21 items listed as of today and I packed up 2 more boxes of stuff over the weekend!  Here's to making some money back on my out of control shopping habit!

•  I think 2013 Bayfest may have been my last.  I'm officially too old for day drinking outside in the sun.  I had a great time walking down to the event with Lorie & Katie then hanging out with friends all day long but by 6pm I was ready for bed and I was exhausted until mid afternoon on Sunday.  I just can't hang like I used to!

• My Old Navy starting selling sunglasses (and jewelry), they have a whole display by the front door now!  I mean really I need another pair of sunglasses like I need a hole in the head but how could I pass up these super fun green guys?  I wanted to wear them while I was running errands with my mom but I was already wearing a similar shade of green jeans and after one comment from a gentleman at Home Depot they went back in the bag.

finding balance

For some reason I can't seem to find a balance when it comes to eating right and exercising.  It's like I have 2 speeds, all in or all out.  I'm either going to the gym 5 days a week and keeping my calories low or I'm not working out and eating junk all day every day.  There's no middle ground in sight. I desperately want to shrink my waist line and feel better about myself when I get dressed but I can't find the motivation to strap on my sneakers and go for a run (or even a walk).

The biggest problem is that I WILL NOT work out alone.  Lately all of my workout buddies seem to be taking a break as well.  I've tried to change, I've tried to work out alone, I just don't and I've accepted that.  So, instead of making lofty goals for May I'm going to be realistic.  While my overall goals will basically remain the same I've lowered the expectations of myself.  I want to figure out a lifestyle I can maintain, enjoy even.

• Less then 20 meals out.  If I really want a smaller body without killing myself at the gym I need to eat out less.
• 90 servings of fruits and/or veggies.  I eat too many carbs, end of story.
• 64oz of water 26 days = healthier Lauren.
• Calorie Goal Met 26 days.  The only way I can work out less is to eat less.
• Outdoor Activity.  The days are getting warmer and sun stays out later, time for me to get off the couch.
• 260,000 steps.  I don't have to run, I just have to move.

Fun Facts Friday

•  I am making moves towards crossing an item off my 40 before 40 list!  I have 7 items for sale on eBay with many more to come!  Nicole has graciously offered to operate my eBay store since I just can't seem to make time.  I offered to pay her 20% of the profit but all she's asking for is a couple of dinners out.

•  We went to the Phillies vs Pirates game on Tuesday night with my sister & Bill.  We got to Citizen's Bank Park a little early and had a couple of beers before heading into the game and enjoying yummy ballpark food.  I obviously went over my calories but the Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple beers and Chicken Italiano hoagie were worth it.  We had a really great time but boy was it cold!

•  I spent last Sunday cleaning out our upstairs.  We've accumulated so much stuff over the last 4 years and it was time to get organized.  In addition to finding all kinds of purses, shoes & clothes to sell on eBay we removed 3 bags of trash from various rooms.  There's still a lot of work to do but I'm loving the direction things are going.  AND I finally started printing and displaying some of our wedding photos!

•  We went to a BBQ at Joe's work the other night.  There was face painting.  Joe ended up with an Apple logo on his face.  That is all.

•  I finally gave my sister the rest of her birthday presents the other night including a Thirty-One Pro Duffle with Mathlete embroidered on it.  She liked it.  If you want one of our limited edition duffle bags be sure to place an order (www.mythirtyone.com/LaurenFields) before the end of April since they're not available in the new summer catalog.

•  I am pretty much obsessed with our (Thirty-One's) new summer items.  The Fresh Market Thermal is a great size for transporting all those treats to BBQs this summer.  The Lunch Break Thermal is the perfect lunch bag for bringing food to work.  Nicole is raving about the Hang-It-Up Key Fob which apparently is great for hanging things off a stroller.  And the Bring-A-Bottle Thermal will keep your drinks cool all summer long!

•  The new patterns are cute too.  I'm especially infatuated with Fun Flops and I know it's going to be a big seller at the couple of parties I have lined up for May.  No real Jersey girl can resist flip flops!

hot mess

I have a post about my birthday coming and another of miscellaneous goings on but I just needed to pop in and confess.  April is NOT going well, all that pink is not good!  

This weekend has the possibility of being a disaster too with book club on Friday night & Bayfest on Saturday afternoon.  Cross your fingers I magically get my mojo back and get my act together ASAP!

week days are so much easier

It is really ridiculous how much easier it is to complete my goals during the week.

1. I'm out of my lunch staples so I got something from the cafeteria...1 meal out, 12 meals total for the month.
2. apple for breakfast, potato for lunch, salad for dinner.  3 servings of fruit/veggies, 45 servings total for the month.
3. 64oz+ of water, 9 days total for the month.
4. 261 calories under my goal, 9 days total for the month.
5. walked on the treadmill while watching Glee.  32 minutes, 230 minutes total for the month.
6. 10,031 steps, 136,335 total for the month.

Even though I had a pretty busy day I still managed to accomplish everything!  The best part was dress shopping with Anne after work!  I found out I'm definitely working the Century Club Gala again this year which means, new dress!  I tried on about 15 different styles & colors before selecting this cobalt blue one shouldered number.  It was a little more expensive then I'd hoped but I already have like 4 pairs of silver shoes so I won't need a new pair...that counts for something right?

not the best pic of me but I couldn't resist Anne hamming it up

stock picture of my dress