Now and Then

First of all, I want to thank those of you who left comments on my last blog. It has definitely helped me put things into perspective. Also, Happy Mother's Day (if applicable)! And now for an update:

This weekend, though spent entirely in Midland, has been awesome. Work on Friday was not so awesome, but after work, I headed to Ray's Bike Shop in Midland to get some quotes on bikes since I really want a bike for my birthday. I tried a few bikes, got some prices, and headed back to my apartment. I got to talk to Kyle for a while, ate dinner (some of the pizza below), and then headed to the gym for a Friday night workout.

Organic spinach and tomato pizza

After my workout, I came back home and had a lovely video chat with Anthony. Then I sat up and watched 30 Rock and the parts of Grey's Anatomy I missed on Thursday.

Saturday, I woke up early for no reason at all and decided to head to the gym right away. On my way to the gym, I passed by a garage sale where they had night stands for sale. I have been looking for an night stand for about, oh, 8 months now. So, on my way back, I stopped at an ATM and bought myself a night stand. It cost me $25 and was apparently Amish-made. Not that that really makes a difference to me whatsoever.

New nightstand

Anyway, I was pretty hungry after my 2.5 hour workout (which was awesome), so I snacked while the dumplings I was making for lunch were cooking.

Protein smoothie, grapes, Luna bar, and banana for post-gym snack 

Dumplings for lunch

After lunch, I met up with my mom at Ray's Bike Shop and she bought me my awesome bike for my birthday.

Source

I'm really excited about the bike for several reasons. First of all, I'm going to start biking to work. This will save me some gas money aaand I'll get in some morning cardio. Woot. Win-win for me. Second of all, this bike is specifically designed for people with bad hips and knees. Because of the placement of the pedals relative to the seat, it's supposed to unload your joints a bit more than a normal bike. So hopefully it won't cause my knees or hips to flare up more than normal. Lastly, it only takes me about 12 minutes to bike to work (versus about 5 to drive), so it's not as though I have to wake up significantly earlier.

After getting my bike and testing it out, I headed to Alicia's house to enjoy her graduation celebration dinner. We played Five Crowns, ate delicious food, and then went to see Thor. Afterwards, Cayce and I went back to my apartment and hung out for a bit before turning in. It was awesome hanging out with friends in Midland again. I miss those days.

Today, I woke up, went to the gym, had some lunch, and headed to my mom's to do laundry and Mother's day things (which included making dinner and losing to Skip-Bo twice to make her feel good on her special day).

I had a lot of laundry

Our lovely dinner (which we ate outside because it was gorgeous)

Amazing dessert: red velvet cheesecake

After dinner, we sat around relaxing while my laundry finished. I also worked on finally editing some pictures so you guys can see some of the progress I've made so far. But before I do that, I want to say a few things.

Though I've lost about 33 pounds so far, I haven't seen a huge difference in my appearance. Some of my friends have said that you can tell, but until recently, I haven't been sure. However, as I paid more attention to the clothes I'm wearing, I've realized that there is a difference. So, to prove it to myself, I decided to compare how I looked in the bridesmaid dress I wore in Jenna's wedding to now. You can see the difference yourself:

My arms are slimmer and there's a definite difference in my face

Haha - the dress would fall down if it weren't for the halter

So I've got to congratulate myself on a job well done thus far. But I've also got to keep on going. That's one of the main reasons I'm doing this two-week challenge. I just needed to get back on track again. I've also decided to forego morning workouts for three reasons: 1.) I'm too damn lazy to get up that early, 2.) I have a time limit when I go in the mornings and have unlimited time if I go after work, and 3.) I have nothing to do during the evenings so it's best to be at the gym rather than at home eating (because that's what I do when I'm bored).

So, I shall continue this two-week, self-imposed challenge, but I will be going to the gym in the evenings rather than the mornings (though I won't be going on my birthday because I'm going to Ann Arbor...woot!), and we shall see how things continue to progress.

How was your weekend? Do anything exciting? Have you made any progress in any areas of your life? Also, do you walk or ride a bike often?