Wow. Has it seriously been almost a month since we last chatted? Holy moly. Perhaps that would explain the backslide shuffle I’ve been doing for almost a month. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

I stole borrowed my post title/format today from the lovely Mary over at A Merry Life. I find it really hard sometimes to come back after a mini-hiatus and “fess up” to what’s been going on. It makes me focus on the negative things. When I read Mary’s post a couple of weeks ago, I loved how she shifted her focus to solutions, not problems. (Her positive attitude is just one of the many reasons I read her blog!)

So, what’s been going on with me? Lots!

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Successes

• We’re HOMEOWNERS!That’s right, friends! As of a week ago, we officially signed the paperwork, were handed the keys, and dropped way too much money at Lowe’s. <– Real sign of a homeowner We had a lot of stress and drama with the whole process near the end, which was a major reason I couldn’t find time to blog. Scratch that, didn’t find time to blog. There’s always time, right?We’re so pumped! By the end of this month, we’ll be living there officially. Right now there’s a lot of painting, tearing up floors, and wrapping up everything at our current rental. This step in our lives feels so huge and positive. I plan on writing about this in more depth, soon. The location of our house is forcing a whole lifestyle change, and Adam and I both could not be happier about it! Spoiler alert: I would literally have to drive 17 miles for the nearest fastfood. #lazygirlwillnotdothat #score

 

• Slowing Down. I feel like life has been going a million miles a minute, lately. This past couple of weekends I really tried to take the time to slow down. To enjoy our little family. Harper is growing up so fast. I’m working really hard to streamline a lot of my “online life.” Between Pinterest (omg so addicting), Facebook, Instagram, etc … I felt like I was too often looking at my phone than playing with her. Sounds terrible, but I’m sure in this day-and-age I’m not the only one! Speaking of Harper, she’s totally amazing and I really should post a video of her soon. Her version of SkindamarinkeeDinkeeDink (not even trying to spell that right!) is hysterical. Point is, slowing down is good. I don’t want to miss this time.

 

• Taking Pride in My Body/Fitness Journey. I’ve made a lot of progress on the confidence front! Including, pictured above, sporting Skinny Emmie’s Tee in public. It seems silly that, with how public a blog is, I would be nervous about putting a spotlight on my journey “in real life.” The shirt reads “You’re watching a goal in the making.” Honest: I was nervous about wearing this out. What if someone asked about it? I’m not ashamed at all to promote Emmie’s site, but I would also feel the need to explain my journey. Terrifying. But I did it! I wore it proudly. Who cares, right? This is a big step for me in the right direction. I’ve also been sporting some “look at me!” outfits at work lately. (More on this tomorrow!) I’m slowly finding my confidence, and that is AWESOME.

 

 

Solutions

In short, the past few weeks have been a hectic blur of overly-processed foods (I’m looking at you, pizza box, cheese, fast food, and ice cream!) and little movement. Here’s where I blame the 105 deg heat for not working out. Lame excuse, so let’s not use it, shall we?

Here’s my solution. Repeat above mantras, get back to the basics (clean eats, hard work, more writing/reflecting), and do it. Just do it, every day. Simple enough, right? By the way, if you happen to be in the same boat as me, check out Roni’s “5 Back to Basics Weight Loss Tips.“ It totally inspired me to simplify my expectations and goals. I know how to lose weight, so let’s stop fussing around.

I know it’s only Monday morning, but so far … so good. I ate a clean and filling breakfast (egg, egg whites | greek 0% yogurt | banana | natural pb) and packed part of my lunch. Planning on a big salad to round it out. Tonight’s plan: get out the door. Tell myself it’ll just be for a walk, and probably wind up running.

Back to it. No more wasting time.

– Emily

Be strong. Be fearless. Be you.