Get Fit Friday - 2014 so far

So this year, like most years, one of my goals is to finally get in shape.  Hopefully this will be the year I actually succeed :) I think writing about my progress here will help keep me accountable. 

[I had another post written where I went into my long history with my weight & body image, but it was incredibly long and not really necessary.  But if you're interested, let me know and I'll write about it another day :) ]

So let's focus on 2014.  I started the year out strong, starting Insanity with my husband and a good number of friends. I was going strong for about 3 weeks, until I got some bad news that completely threw me off my game.  Between trying to deal with that, having to go to Florida for a week, and immediately catching yet another cold when I got back, I wasn't working out for almost a month :/. 

In February I did make it a priority to focus on my diet, since I knew I didn't feel like exercising.  I cut out soda completely, cut back on sugar/sweets, and cut out fast food.  My husband and I also limited the number of times we went out to eat, only going out for dinner a few times with friends.  I did have some soda last weekend after helping a friend move, but that was it. 

Halfway through February I decided to get back into Insanity.  I started completely over,  since 4 weeks is a long time of inactivity, and I when I stopped I was almost done with the "easier" first month.  I'm 2 weeks into it again, and feeling good. I'm determined to finish this time :)

My work on my diet did make a difference, as I lost about 4 lbs and 6 overall inches during those weeks when I wasn't working out - so that's pretty cool (and motivating!).

I have 2 main fitness/health goals for the year:

    1. Be ready to run the 2015 Disney Princess half marathon :)

    2. Get to a healthier weight for my height.  [And, if I'm being honest, that's about 30 lbs from where I am now :/]. But, if I'm feeling healthy and am able to run and do all the things I want to do, then the number on the scale won't really matter. 

As for March, I'm going to continue with Insanity.  And I'm going to continue focusing on my diet, and keeping my consumption of soda, sweets, and fast food to a minimum.  Also, I want to keep journaling my food and exercise everyday, something I did really well with in Febraury.

food & exercise journals from May Designs

I plan on checking in here towards the end of every month, to track my progress and talk about my goals :)

I'm always interested in how other people stay active, so please feel free to share your favorite ways to stay in shape :)

Have a great weekend!

A-Z About Me tag

So I thought it'd be fun to do a tag/questionnaire today! Just a little way to get to know each other better :) I found this one on chronicallyvintage.com. 

A. Age: 31 :/ but I still feel about 25 

B. Bed size: king! 

C. Chore that you hate: umm, all of them? But I guess cleaning the bathroom is the worst

D. Dogs: I'm actually scared of big dogs...but I don't mind dogs in general as long as they don't jump on me or lick me :) 

E. Essential start to your day: umm...putting in my contacts I guess :) I am so not a morning person

F. Favorite color: pink :)

G. Gold or silver: my whole life I would have answered silver, but I have been on a major gold kick the last year or so

H. Height: 5'7" (and I'm the shortie of the family, including my sisters-in-law!)

I. Instruments you play: played the piano when I was younger, but hated having to practice...

J. Job title: bookkeeper

K. Kids: someday, no more than 2

L. Live: happily

M. Mother's name: Rhoda 

N. Nicknames: Brian calls me bear...which started as Karebear, a few friends called me that growing up but I never really had a nickname that was used often

O. Overnight hospital stays: none! (Knock on wood!)

P. Pet peeves: ooh, negative people

Q. Quote from a movie: oh geeze, way to put me on the spot... "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off (love John Hughes!)

R. Right or left-handed: so right-handed, it's not even funny

S. Siblings: 3 younger brothers, who are awesome :)

T. Time you wake up: as I said, I'm not a morning person, but this month I've been waking up at like 7 :/

U. Underwear: cute ones

V. Vegetable you hate: ummm...a lot....okra, squash, kale, I could go on :)

W. What makes you run late: I Hate being late, so I always leave crazy early then have to sit in my car until my appointment time :) so if I am late, it's because I underestimated how long it would take me to get ready, or I underestimated traffic

X. X-rays you've had: lots...mostly my lungs, my knee when I dislocated it, and a head CT last year (I'm counting that)

Y. Yummy food that you love: um, all the food I love is yummy...but if I had to pick favorites it's mac&cheese and pizza (I know, super healthy, right!?)

Z. Zoo animal: bears! And elephants :)

So that's A-Z About Me! Feel free to fill it out yourself and leave it in a comment :). Anything else you want to know? Anything I should expound on?

Be Happy!

Karen

Wishlist Wednesday - Spring 2014 - clothes & accessories

I don't know about you guys, but I am so very ready for spring.  This winter has been brutal!  So freaking cold!  Last year we didn't really get much of a spring (snow in May?? Seriously, Minnesota??), but I'm hoping it comes much earlier this year.

The last year or so I've taken to creating wishlists on my phone for when I go shopping (figuring out that I can do checklists in my iPhone's reminder app - priceless!).  I did pretty well with my fall wishlist, and thought it was time to get my spring list ready :)  Now, I am most likely NOT going to be buying all of these things...mostly because we're saving up to buy a house!  But, I may be able to snag some version of most of them, especially if I hit up stores like TJ Maxx & Nordstrom Rack :)  Oooh, or sample sites like Hautelook & Gilt (almost forgot about those!)

links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 

1. I'm really wanting a good pair of boyfriend-like jeans that look cute rolled up, and AE jeans look the best on me.  I bought a cheap pair of jeans from Target last year, just to make sure I'd actually wear that look enough, and I lived in them!  So this year I need some that fit a bit better in the booty area :)

2. I've also been on the lookout for colored jeans for a long time!!  Every pair I've tried since they came back in style has NOT looked good, but maybe this year I'll have better luck :) I don't know if I want them cropped like in the picture, or long & skinny, but we'll see.  I think I want a blue or aqua color...maybe pink or coral though :)

3 & 4.  I used to have this really cute cropped trench from the LOFT that I wore to death!  Literally to death...it now has holes and just will not iron out at all.  (I even took it to get pressed at the dry cleaners, and they didn't have much more luck than I did.)  And since spring is actually a bit chilly here, I need a good lightweight jacket.  Now the question is whether I want another cropped trench like this one I found at the Gap, or one of the utility jackets I keep seeing for this spring...decisions, decisions :)

5.  After all of this snow starts to melt, its definitely going to be wet outside!  And spring is usually pretty rainy here, so I figure I definitely need some rain boots!  Of course I'd love a colorful pairs of Hunter boots, but might have to settle for some from Target.  The real question is, what color to get??  Any suggestions?

6.  One item that's actually a holdover from my fall list is a chambray button-up.  Something to wear with all the other colorful things I've got going on :)  Plus I think it is pretty much a staple at this point!

7.  Also a holdover from fall - a brown & gold crossbody bag!  There were several times this fall when I was getting ready to go out and had zero bags that went well with my outfit, when a brown & gold crossbody would have been perfect!  I would love a Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC, but anything similar would work.

8.  Finally, a new bright colored Longchamp Le Pliage!  I've been using a navy Le Pliage for over a year and absolutely love it!  So much, in fact, that last year for my birthday I got a larger one for my travel carry-on.  When they brought out all of their cute new colors for spring back in January, I had planned on getting one for my birthday this year (my birthday's in late January), but some unforeseen circumstances made me decide to hold off on any frivolous purchases.  Maybe I'll grab one for spring though :)  They're great for when it's wet outside!

And that's my Spring 2014 Wishlist!  Is there anything you think I've left off that I need for this spring?  Anything you're lusting after for when the weather finally warms up?  Let me know!

Be Happy,

Karen

please allow me to introduce myself...

Let's get started, shall we?  As I say above, I'm Karen :)  I lived the first 25+ years of my life in Florida, and after a bit of moving around thanks to my husband's job, it looks like we'll be settling down in Minnesota.  Talk about a change!  We've been here for about a year and a half, and I do have to say that I like it here...except for the winter!  I was definitely not built for the cold, so that is the biggest adjustment I'm having to make :)  So now we're here, and one of the reasons I decided to start this blog is to document the changes my life is going through.

But that's not all I want to write about :)  I've started many blogs in the past, but never really stuck with them.  I think mostly because I could never narrow down my ideas and felt like I need to specialize my blog....but I'm not going to do that this time :)  Here you'll find me writing about anything from our life here in Minnesota to travel to beauty to fashion* to entertainment to home organization to eventually buying our first home and having a family and anything else I think of.

About the name...well I wanted something that represented me and this blog, and that wasn't already taken!  Basically, pink is my favorite color and now I live in the north :)  I guess that probably didn't need to be explained...but oh well :) <- I'm going to apologize now for my use of smiley faces ;)

So that's about it for now.  Stay tuned for lots of randomness :)  I hope you stick around, and if you have any questions let me know!

Be Happy,

Karen 

[*I would never call myself fashionable by any means, but I do enjoy clothes and shopping!]