200 lbs

So, last week I hit up the gym 3 times! {This may not be a big deal to you- but it is to me. I haven't had time to think about going to a gym this past semester, let along actually GOING. So this is an accomplishment for me.} The first time I went I ran a mile straight! {I don't know that I could do that again, lol, but some magic power took over me and I was able to do it.} & I've been doing cardio & weights all three days. I thought, SURELY I've lost ONE pound by doing this, so, let me check the scale out...seeing one pound lost will motivate me more than seeing no pounds lost. 

Well, to my amazement, and horror, I stepped on the scale that I found in one of the boxes I unpacked last week. I put it in my room {on carpet- which MUST be the culprit} and it showed this:

Scared me half to death!!!!!!!!!

Note to readers: I do NOT weight 200 lbs! It was weighing myself on carpet that was the culprit {I was right} but if that doesn't scare you to the gym, I don't know what will!! I am way too short {5'1" on a good day} to gain one more pound. And plus, I have a LOT of jeans and pants I can wear if I drop a size or two! So that's my motivation. The number's really not important to me, at all, but if the number drops, I know my pant size will too. :)

Now that I know it's a sick sick joke, I find it funny enough of a story to share. :) 

Happy Memorial Day peoples!

Friday Randomness

Exciting things are coming! But until they get here, I am going to enjoy the rest of my Spring Break! I ended up traveling to Maiden High for internship hours four days this week. During my Spring Break. Good thing I love Maiden! :) I really do feel blessed that I have such a great internship site & have three wonderful counselors to advise, supervise, and teach me during my time there!

But today....today I got to sleep in. Y'all know how much I love sleeping in! :) But, in actuality, I had a bad dream and woke up at 9:30, wide awake, and ready to start my day! I felt rested! For the first time in a while! Hopefully I will take this rested feeling & run with it.

Speaking of- I want to get back in the HABIT of running! Or, get IN the habit...you know. My schedule's getting a TAD less crazier so, why not fill that little bit of spare time up with running until my legs fall off?? :) Just kidding. Y'all know I won't start that hardcore. ;) But I am going to put my shorts on & go running around Mawmaw and Pawpaw's neighborhood later this afternoon. Looking forward to it too! It's a beautiful 73 degrees outside right now & I'm sitting in the bed getting work done blogging with the window beside me up! I feel the sunshine, hear the birds chirping {and the cars going by}, and just feel so happy inside knowing that winter is {hopefully} over!!

Lots to do before I head back to Hickory on Tuesday. Gonna try to enjoy every minute of it too...and this weather sure is helping!! Happy weekend everyone!!

I can't believe it's the last day of November.....

I have been MIA in the blogging world and with good reason. My life has been consumed with this dreaded meta-analysis I have been working my butt off on! I can't explain to you how oh-so-good it feels to have that thing submitted for grading! That was the peak of my semester I believe...and now it's all downhill from here! Yesterday was a 7am-11pm kind of day...today I have much more free time to get some things marked off my to-do list.

I started Couch-to-5k again. I pretty much got super busy after Week 2 last time I started it and it kinda feel to the bottom of my priorities list. After that delicious Thanksgiving meal, it is back on the priority list! I started back on Week 2....I'm 2 out of 3 days down this week so far & might attempt a little "over and beyond." Alex and I made a sweet little deal too... if I complete the 9 weeks of the program, I will get a nice "surprise" :) ... I never said bribery wouldn't motivate me!!

For someone who feels like they have ZERO spare time (and  yesterday was a fabulous example) I sure am adding things to my plate. I am very excited about some things coming up and some things I am starting... as I get started I will update! I am praying I stay motivated and encouraged and everything works out for the best! I am letting God lead the way because I am living on auto-pilot right now.

I've just gotta get these last minute assignments completed so I can just sit back and relax as long as possible in the month of December! Wow....this year has FLOWN by. December already?! That kind of relieves me though, as I am officially counting down until May! :)

Side note: Did anyone catch the Taylor Swift: Speak Now special on NBC Thanksgiving night?? I just had a chance to watch it last night. {Thank you TiVo for saving me again!} This special just made me fall more in love with Taylor Swift. I really think she's my favorite.

Another side note: I thought it was funny that ABC has a Beyonce special on, also on Thanksgiving night. I have heard one too many Taylor vs. Beyonce "arguments" & I just had to chuckle that these were on on the same night. I personally love Taylor way more but I want to try to catch the Beyonce special on ABC.com sometime if I get a chance. They are just too different to compare people, so stop trying! :)

Couch-to-5K

So, a friend of mine ever so graciously informed me about a little thing called "Couch-to-5K." I was asking my fellow Facebookers who run for pleasure how ON EARTH they go their bodies to be able to literally run that long (and when I say long I mean more than a mile at at time) and that's when Ashley told me about Couch-to-5K.

It's a 9-week running training program I started this week! It seems really awesome and seems like it's realistic{which is what I needed} in helping me and my body build the endurance to be able to run jog 3 miles {which is my goal}.

Check this plan out below. I love how you start with a brisk 5-minute walk, followed by 20 minutes of alternating jogging and walking...and then you get down to week 9 and you have your brisk 5-minute walk followed by, oh just jogging 3 miles!!

Holy moley I hope this works...and I hope I am able to build my lungs and muscles up to be able to do this...because I really really want to!

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Wish me luck as I begin this venture! :)

Alex's 24th Birthday!

So, I am thankful that I get to spend yet another one of Alex's birthdays with him...I think this is the 7th one! :) Alex is not as big of a fan of birthdays as I am, but this year, I'd say he's celebrating quite a bit. Thursday was his actual birthday and he had to WORK all day. He knows he has to get used to that. He's a workin' man now & we are both still so thankful for his job! So, Thursday after he got off work, I accompanied Alex to the gym.

Side note: At the gym I ran a mile straight for the first time in my life! I always run .2 or .3 and then speed walk for a break, then do another .2 or .3 and so on...but this time something came over me and I pushed myself to do a mile straight! I was so proud of myself. I know that may mean absolutely nothing to most of you, because you do that all the time, but it was my first time and I was proud of myself. After that {I was about to die!} Alex and I did the gym's Abs class for half an hour, then I lifted some weights before heading home. What a productive day at the gym! :)

Later that evening, I went over to Alex's for cake to give him his birthday present and to hang out with my birthday boy for a while before his grandpa of a bedtime. With all this work I'm doing lately for psychopathology, the only time Alex and I usually see each other during the week is at the gym! How sad it that?! Especially since we are living in the same city for the summer {for the most part anyways}.

Anyways, I got Alex an Armanti Edwards Carolina Panthers jersey. In case you don't know who Armanti Edwards is...he was the quarterback of Appalachian State University {where Alex and I went to college} and led them to 3 back-to-back{-to back!} national championships {the 3 years I actually attended AppState}! Just look him up on Google or YouTube. I'm not gonna lie....the videos are pretty cool.

Side note: When I got the opportunity I definitely had to snap a shot with the future Carolina Panther...

So anyways....Alex is a HUGE AppState fan, a HUGE Armanti fan, and a HUGE Carolina Panthers fan. Well, can you imagine how happy Alex was when he found out that Armanti Edwards is now a Carolina Panthers wide receiver?!

If you know me, you know I don't VOLUNTARILY spend my time watching sports on TV. Well, now I might have to.

Anyways, he LOVED his present, even though he found out what he was getting when I found him in the process of buying himself one on NFL.com. My presents to him are always a bust somehow or another. I hate that! I blame Alex {of course}. :)

Friday night we went out to eat with his family to Olive Garden and then went with Drew {Alex's brother} & Ashton {Drew's girlfriend}  to see the new movie The A-Team. I thought I'd be disappointed with it, but let me tell you, that this was action-packed AND HILARIOUS. I laughed the whole time! I'd definitely watch it again.

Tonight Alex and his boyfriends are having a boys night to celebrate his birthday while some of us girls go to Charlotte for our friend Meredith's bachelorette party! It should  be fun!

Like I said, for someone who "isn't into birthdays" sure is celebrating 3 days in a row this year! I'm glad for him though....wishing him all the happiness in the world because he's my favorite guy, deserving the best!! Love you Alex! ♥

On a roll

Melissa & I have walked 13 miles this week {& it's only Thursday!} I am so proud of us! Walking with a friend is a great way to exercise & I have become a walking machine! I'm glad the weather's warmed up & I'm able to go outside and enjoy these beautiful days. It's also great to talk and get to know a new friend. :) Alex and I usually walk every day during the weekends {or we have recently} but I don't see him during the week usually, so I'm glad I have Melissa! Good thing she's only moving down the street & not to Apex! :)

Grey's isn't new tonight {again, ugh!} so I will be spending my night working on some school work due next week and doing some reading. I got a new book today.

The cover of the book and the subtext of the title do it absolutely no justice and there's no way in the world I would voluntarily even pick this book up in a bookstore, had I not heard such GREAT things from so many people! Alex & I are going to start reading it soon. :) Stay tuned...I'm sure I'll end up blogging about it.

Oh, and today as I was walking out of my apartment to go walk, I ran into one of my residents, Beth, and one of her visiting friends. She said, "And here's our RD. Her name's Nicole. She blogs." I thought that was the funniest thing! :)

Blogging.
That is what I do now.

My four day weekend comes to an end

I am sad to see this four day weekend go. Alex & I walked 4 miles one day & 5.8 the next! We were on a roll. Even Baby walked 5.6 miles! We were enjoying taking advantage of all this beautiful weather we've been having lately!

Saturday, Alex & I had lunch at Court Street Grille in Lincolnton with a great great friend of mine, Lindsey, her husband Rhine, & her niece, Taylor. :) It was SO much fun. Lindsey moved to the Wilmington area probably about a year ago and I have not seen her since!! :( Don't worry, we try not to miss our weekly {at least an} hour-long talks on the phone! :) I just love having TRUE friends that I can stay in touch with! I hate that all my best friends live hours away from me...but that's life! Hopefully it won't be like that forever!

Lindsey is a *MOMMY TO BE* and I can't WAIT to meet her baby!! I know she will be a fantastic mother!

On a different note, I was disappointed a bit by Easter this year, for more than one reason, but that didn't take away the fact that I was sincerely grateful to my Lord, Jesus Christ, for the sacrifice he made many years ago for me today. I can't imagine what it would have been like to physically witness the resurrection of Jesus--literally, I can't imagine. It's one of those "beyond my understanding" kind of things and I'm okay with that. Either way, I know He did it and I am proud to call Him MY SAVIOR! I know that even today, my redeemer is alive and living in me! Praise be to God!

On a more humorous note: PLEASE look at all this CANDY Mom gave me for Easter:

This picture was actually taken after my cousin Nicholas took a HUGE bag of Skittles out & ate them! Good grief! I love my Mom and her efforts but I really would gain 10 lbs. if I ate all this candy!! Her and her Easter basket DID introduce me to my two new favorite weaknesses:

and

Lindor white chocolate truffles & white chocolate Hershey's Bliss chocolates!! Thanks Mom!! :)

Now...if only I could get this paper written that's due on Wednesday, I'd be set!

my beautiful day

As most of you in North Carolina know, today was a BEAUTIFUL day! I am off Friday & Monday of "this week" for Easter & am loving the four-day weekend!!

Funny story: Alex has been working all week {gosh I'm so glad he's working now!} and I'd had the f-l-u :( so, needless to say...we were apart all week. :/ He had today off too {he is loving the idea of paid time off!} so he decided to come see me last night in Hickory. We went for a long walk around campus {it was gorgeous yesterday too!} & then got some Subway to go & ate dinner at my apartment while watching the Carolina game. Well, after dinner, Alex says to me, "Okay, you're done eating. Now go pack so we're not here all night." He knows it takes me for-ever to pack to go home for any length of time. Well, of course, five hours later, we left. Story of our lives. :)

So today I woke up to freshly cut strawberries sprinkled with sugar. Did I ever tell you that I LOVE coming home to Mawmaw & Pawpaw's?!?! :) After being lazy for a little, I went & picked Baby up from Mom's house & took her to "the farm" as I call it to her {which is really Alex's house} & spent the day there. He has a lot of land for her to run and play and cows in the back yard--hence why I call it "the farm." But anyways, he has a long trail to {I call} hike on and it's about a 2 mile walk to the barn & back. We took Baby with us and she had a BALL! After we came back, all three of us were wanting some water so we stopped by his house and dropped the dog off and then headed back for round two!

Trust me, this is no "walk on the track/treadmill" two mile walk. Baby definitely couldn't have handled round two! She was hilarious....as we were walking back to his house it wasn't until we got to Alex's neighbor's yard when she just quit walking and plopped down in the grass. I think that was her way of telling us she was DONE! :)

Then we washed my car & went to see his cousin's new baby, Charlotte! :) I love that name...makes me think of Sex & the City every time. Charlotte is my FAVORITE! Alex grilled salmon for dinner & it was de-lish :) After that I attempted to beat level 4 and/or 5 of Blip Bloink for an hour while he watched Smallville & was unsuccessful. MAN that game is intense!

I need to be working on getting to bed at a decent hour and all that fun in the sun today really helps! I called him around 10:30 and said I was going to bed!! I can't wait for tomorrow. :) I love spending time with "my babies".. ♥ :)