Did I achieve my goals in 2016?

It's time to check in on last year's goals to see what I actually accomplished!

Here are the goals that I set for myself last year followed by how it actually went.

Reach my Goal Weight:

Ummmm yeh. That didn't even come close to happening. I actually reached the highest weight of my entire life. Huge fail!

Foster Relationships:

This went really well for me! I feel like I made some really great friends this year and that makes me happy. :)

Earn My Previous Yearly Income:

I definitely did amazing in this category! I earned over $10,000 by myself and at home. Yay!

Venture Outside of my Comfort Zone:

I did this quite a bit during 2016. I took a cupcake decorating class and met new people. I went to some Direct Sales events. I put myself out there and made friends.

Continue Learning:

I continue to listen to podcasts and read books. I'd like to read more books though!

Take Regular Me Time:

I have done this pretty regularly, thanks to my in-law's for watching Little Miss Sunshine for me. It kind of goes in waves though-- I'll have plenty of time to myself for a while and then have a stretch of time with no me-time and I really see the effects of it. I definitely need that time alone and I've learned when it's time to take that time!

So basically I accomplished every goal except the weight loss one. No big surprise there, unfortunately! It's a battle I can never seem to win! 

But guess what? Accomplishing all of that other stuff shows that I'm pretty awesome anyways, right?! That's what I'll keep telling myself until I believe it!

Next up, setting my goals for 2017!

Las Vegas Celebration 2016

A friend and I went to Las Vegas last week for a conference with the health and wellness company that we work with. It was an interesting experience!

Overall, I enjoyed my time-- but Las Vegas itself isn't really my kind of place. I think it'd be ok if I just stayed at a nice hotel and hung out by the pool the entire time without venturing out. 

We stayed at Harrah's because it was inexpensive and close to the Venetian, which is where the conference was being held. It was the perfect location!

We didn't have a fancy room or anything. It was comfortable. We were able to eat most meals right there in the resort. The Fulton Street dining area had amazing LavAzza coffee-- which, of course, is very important for a coffee lover.

The Venetian was beautiful and was obviously a much nicer place than Harrah's. We got lost plenty of times so we were able to get a good look around.

The conference itself was very high energy. We learned a lot.

I've always heard that the food is very inexpensive in Las Vegas-- but we found the opposite to be true! It was really pricey. We ate some delicious food though.

Yes, this is how we ate while attending a health and wellness conference. But in our other meals, we did enjoy good nutrition! lol

We did a little bit of exploring. One night we took a shuttle over to the Rio and we ate dinner at Guy Fieri's El Burro Borracho. It was delicious! 

After that, we just walked down the strip-- which was kind of disgusting, but there were some interesting things to see too-- like this woman posing as a statue in a sitting position.

We had some time before our flight left on our last day, so we spent it at the pool! That was so nice.

It was nice to get home after it was all over! I feel like I'm still recovering. It was just sensory overload there-- the crazy flashing lights, the smell of smoke everywhere, loud music, the heat, crowds and crowds of people. It was a little exhausting!

I enjoyed getting to know my friend, Kim, better. We had lots of laughs and we each took lots of naps-- which was nice for us mamas!

Have you ever been to Las Vegas? What did you enjoy, or not?

Conference in Chicago {Pictures}

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a conference in the Chicago area. Hubby and the little one came along and had some time together while I was busy with the conference. We really enjoyed it. 

I think hubby would make a better SAHM than I am!! He did mention that it is hard to take her places by yourself. But he had her taking a nap in the back seat of the car (when they had to check out of the hotel), and she was just well behaved overall! I think it was good for both of them.

The hotel was incredible and one of the fanciest I've ever stayed at. The bathroom mirror had a TV built into it. I requested a suite, if they had one available, because the little one sleeps so much better when she's in another room--and so do we! I didn't think we'd actually get one, but it never hurts to try. Well, we did! It was a huge room. The bathroom was actually a walk through, so you could access it from both the bedroom part and the living room part. We almost lost our incidental deposit immediately when we walked into the room-- Little Miss Sunshine went right for that blue vase!

I was able to meet some of the women I've been working with and developed some friendships. Overall, it was just a great experience for me!

Here I am all ready for the event!

Here is my team:

These women have helped inspire me and motivate me. I'm so grateful for meeting each and every one!

I loved being around a group of people with the same interests and positivity as me. In many ways, I felt like the "real me" belonged there and the "body that I'm stuck in" didn't. It gave me motivation to become that person on the outside and to not be afraid to be me.

I took this picture while at the event, and while I'm embarrassed to show my body and all of my imperfections, I took a minute to just be me and try not to worry about what anyone else would think, how fat I look, how flabby my arms were, etc. etc. etc.

 

It's not about waiting until I'm a certain size or weight to truly be me-- I am free to be me RIGHT NOW. It takes courage, but I'm working on it. 

I've entered another challenge to inspire me to transform myself. And so did the rest of my team!

I have so much more to talk about in regard to my journey. I feel like I'm making progress mentally and my therapy has really helped with that. I don't see the changes immediately, but then a while later I think back and realize that I've started to implement some of the recommendations. 

Now to just get this body in shape! I want to change over night but I know that won't happen. I get so discouraged when I step on the scale and nothing has changed. I did so well last week while I stayed with my parents and then the holiday weekend kind of threw me off track. The good news is that I have been getting in activity almost every single day.

I will have another post soon with what's been happening lately! 

Me Time

I could feel myself nearing the edge. My patience was beginning to wear thin. I was starting to pick fights with my hubby. Anger and resentment began to surface like little bubbles. Depression loomed ahead—I could see it and physically feel it taking over.

I finally realized that what I really needed was some “me” time. Just a little space and time to myself—to breathe, to think, to just be.

I used to think that taking time for myself was selfish. I still feel a pang of guilt every time I leave for a couple of hours. I’m afraid of judgement—like moms are just supposed to continually give of themselves without rest.

Now I know that me time is essential. If I’m not taking care of myself, it makes it much more difficult to take care of my family. It’s not selfish if it’s making me a better mother, wife, and friend. It’s the “put the oxygen mask on yourself first, before you try to save others” concept.

I try to take a couple of hours per week for myself. This hasn’t happened in quite a few weeks and I hadn’t realized it. I’ve had appointments here and there, but not any real down time when the only person I had to take care of was myself.

Today, I met my friend at the gym and we walked on the treadmill and talked. After that, we both had a quick 10 minute massage. We followed it up with lunch. It was perfect. I felt so much better.

It was the first time I’ve been to the gym since maybe February. Oh my goodness. That’s far too long. I was reminded of how much I enjoy going and how much I need it.

I’m working on making a peaceful place in the back yard where I can sit this summer. I think it will be great during nap times. It is good for the soul to be outside!

So anyways, I am proud of myself for getting to the gym—but I’m trying to focus on the fact that exercise should be about loving myself enough to take care of myself and not some punishment because I am not good enough the way that I am.

My goal is to take care of myself, take time for myself, and get healthy because I love myself. I’ve been asking myself the question, “What would I do in this situation if it were about loving myself and not just an old, bad habit?” It will take time to change my thought process—but I’m working on it!