Glitter cards I think they look better in person… The iPhone isn’t exactly the best camera out there not that having a different camera would make a difference

Holiday cards

Holiday cards. Attempting to use glitter and it is currently all over me and not the cards;)

www.melissashipp.com

Getting Involved

I’ve always been quiet and reserved around people I don’t know all that well, which could explain my current real estate woes. It is difficult to stay positive when multiple disappointments happen professionally and personally. However, last night my boy and I went and had drinks with a good friend and he gave me just the encouragement I needed to possibly push on through the drought and fight it out. Amazing how encouragement from friends is different from encouragement from family. I expect my husband, parents, siblings to be supportive but friends don’t have to say anything if it is negative or positive.

Anywho the quest to lose some pounds is going well. The LoseIt app is a great tool when used correctly. It is truly a matter of making a decision not to put junk in your body. One of my biggest problems is not exercising so much that I am starved. i think there is an optimal amount of food and exercise and I frequently overdo the exercise portion of that, but I love it and it is my daily medicine. Anyway .5lb down in two days so we’re on track….

Got to get my run on this morning and then head out to a showing, which hopefully turns into something wonderful Can’t hurt to think positively huh?

Have a wonderful wonderful day!

www.melissashipp.com

Morning Glory

The weekend is over and a new day a new way begins. This week have a couple of good things pending and hopefully something works out (to my benefit) .

 

I was thinking the other day how funny the blog world is; you good friends know all the ins and outs of your life but not necessarily your daily routine which is public information through a blog, which strangers to the author can read about. Funny how that works.

 

Anyway yesterday was good: woke up and walked the pup, headed to church with my boy and then met up with my brother and his wife and my adorable nephew. Seeing him always makes me want to have a little one. One day, one day… then we drove to Michael’s to get our craft on and bought some glitter and spray paint, came home and sprayed some pine-cones with gold. I am attempting to make a wreath out of my gold pine-cones. I’ll put up a picture once it is done hopefully later today.

After my freakout about my weight I have been watching it pretty good. I know that it is the little snacking here and there that I need to cut out so using my phone and the LoseIt application I am working on that. However today when I stepped on the scale it was down the 3lbs I thought I had gained. Guess I was just retaining some serious water, but like I said before it doesn’t matter I don’t want to weigh that much bloat or no bloat. Enough about that and on to the day. Day by day is the only way to make a change so I am focusing on today and this moment in order to achieve long term success and I am dead serious about it this time. If I can kick my 3-4 diet coke a day habit I can do this!

 

This morning no walk due to rain, but I did hit up some oats and pb with a homemade cafe au lait:) Looks like an afternoon run and tomorrow will bring some serious yoga action back into my life. My boy bought me a six month unlimited membership to North Shore Yoga which means I need to get there about four times a week to make use of that money but I am going to keep up the running. Have a great MONDAY!

Can’t believe it…or can I

I woke up this morning and thought it would be a good day to finally weigh myself. Boy was I right (or wrong) depending on how you look at it..I’ve put on some pounds and want to believe it is because: I lifted weights this week, took a bunch of ibuprofen, am having my special time etc…but the matter of fact is that even if those things are true I still don’t want to be as heavy as I am…So today is the day I take the step to really being mindful about what I am eating, because apparently it has gotten out of hand.

My plan is to basically eat all natural, whole, non processed foods as possible.

Next Tuesday I have a job interview to help supplement my income and I am hoping that having a schedule for my life will help me schedule my eating better. It is difficult to stay at home all day and not get sucked into eating something bad…I also exercise a whole lot and in some ways I think that inhibits any weight loss so I need to get a handle on that as well…

 

Anyone have any suggestions? things that have worked for them? I plan on keeping a diary and all that…so here we go. day 1.

breakfast: old fashioned oatmeal with 2tsp(measured) of natural peanut butter and cinnamon with a cup of hot green tea.

From the land of the monsters

Yesterday could not have been more beautiful! It wasn’t exactly sunny and warm, but it was 50’s and cloudy which is really beautiful when overlooking the river or lake in town. Love Chattanooga! My boy came back from his hiking/backpacking trip yesterday afternoon and then we headed over to his parents house for some dinner. Cranberry Chicken is the best meal ever. So simple, healthy, and delicious prior to Thanksgiving day. I am still trying to decide whether or not to do the Turkey Trot. I think I am more down with a ‘free’ run outside by myself since races tend to be expensive now and I really don’t want another race t-shirt.

 

Anyway this morning I started out with a walk for Popeye around the park down by the river and back. My bodybugg seems to believe I burn more calories when it is cold outside so getting to the 2500 calories a day can be a challenge when the temperature is mild and I am feeling lazy I am still hurting from my workout with weights on Monday, which is another reason I may skip the Turkey Trot. Not sure how my legs are going to feel in the morning.

 

Anyway the agenda today is talk with someone about a new job (we’ll see how that goes), run, bake some cookies and make broccoli casserole for tomorrow, need to head to the grocery for some milk, and fold clothes and clean the house…Hope everyone has a great day before Thanksgiving

 

Here is a picture of my favorite candle with my little bird salt and pepper shakers. Love the Paddywax candles.

Lunch

After two walks and some errands this morning I am hungry at 11 am so I threw together this spinach, cheese, tomato, black bean with some guiltless gourmet chips on the side.

www.melissashipp.com

Green tea

Probably one of my favorite things in the world and it tastes so good after a workout, and I just got worked!

www.melissashipp.com

Rise and Shine :)

This morning was a bit earlier than usual. At 5am sharp I was wide awake and attempting to wake J up to hop in the shower and take off for his backpacking adventure (maybe hiking/camping more than backpacking). I threw together his lunch and shuttled us off to his parents to meet up with his dad to await his ride. What is funny is that this group of men going on this overnight trip wanted to get up that early so they could make a stop at Cracker Barrel. Funny because my boy could care less about food and what he eats. He would rather take some sort of food pill instead of eating. Seriously. I know.

After coming back home I walked the pup around the park came back and decided a run may be in order before breakfast (since it was just hitting 6:30). Ran on the treadmill for a bit to Bright Eyes and Gwen Stefani (I know weird mix, but got me going) for about 4 miles headed home ate some oatmeal and drank my cafe au lait. Take that starbucks

On a different note last week I celebrated my 28th birthday and my sweet sweet husband and in-laws gifted me with 6 months of yoga at my favorite studio, North Shore Yoga. If you ever stop in Chattanooga this yoga studio is a must try. Last week was full of eating out and my belly is feeling it and now it is Thanksgiving week. I am going to be eating a bunch of grapefruit and the like.

 

And since I love it when people include pictures in their blogs here is a picture of my boy’s project truck that is has been a work in progress for a few months. If anyone has an old VW bus or truck my husband is the master restorer of these. Check out his website here.

 

Front view

Backside view

 

 

Morning stories

This morning on my walk with popeye (who now is apparently tired)

Tired pup

a girl on a bike got all thrown off balance and almost fell off her bike, but instead just dropped her flashlight or headlamp whatever it was, and I thought about all the mornings that things like that happen. I don’t know why it always becomes this big story in my head about how the day ahead is going to be difficult because some small little glitch happened like spilling coffee or tripping over the rug or something really miniscule. It really is all about perspective and keeping it in check. That is my goal this week, “keep it in perspective”.

 

So this morning I had some oatmeal and I put nutmeg in it (not my favorite). I ended up only eating half the nutmeg just added some not great flavor. Of course I had some coffee with milk. I honestly believe that drinking coffee has increased my metabolism (however slight). I am going to admit that about four months ago I bought a new toy the BodyBugg. This has only increased my obsessiveness with things like calories in vs. calories out. You would think I would be really thin, but alas I am not. Anyway it is a great tool, it has not helped me loss any weight, but it has kept things in perspective, which as I mentioned above is important to me. I can totally see how this would be a great catalyst for someone who really isn’t aware of the amount of calories they are eating or exercising. I had a pretty good idea before and thought maybe I was missing something. Turns out what I am missing is that I really haven’t been that committed to changing my diet. Not sure what the big problem is, but I just don’t like having to measure things out etc. Anyway if I would encouraged someone to get one if it interests you. I have really enjoyed just seeing how many calories I am actually burning and not having to guess if what the machine or magazine etc tells me I am burning. Guess that is my blurb about the bodybugg. If anyone has any question about it let me know. I’d be happy to answer any.

 

Off to go for a run. Then later need to get to the office to print off some MLS sheets for a showing tomorrow and I need to update my mailing list. Time to get serious about real estate or truly get out and I’ve decided I am committed for better or worse Check out my website here where I keep another blog solely for real estate.