Mamavation Monday 8/23

Hello ladies

This week was pretty good for me. I lost 1.6lbs which brings me down to 235.0. I definitely paid more attention to what I was eating this week, but didn't work out. I also didn't get on Twitter and follow the Mamavation hashtag as much as I should have.

However, I DID quit my job at the bank this week...and committed to a total and complete career change. I was having some anxiety about it this weekend, as far as how the money situation was going to work out for the next few weeks and if I'm really going to like this whole nursing thing. Everyone I've talked to about seems to think I'll make a good CNA (and eventually nurse)...because I'm so caring or something, so I suppose that's reassuring. I guess there are just always nerves when facing the unknown. Read more about the whole situation HERE.

School started for me on Thursday, and since I'll be going to CNA classes as well for the next 2 weeks from 8-4, I've been trying to get a head start on things. My teachers seem like genuinely good educators, so I'm pretty excited about that.

With this new CNA class, a tight money situation, and college classes all starting, it's really important that I meal plan and strategize this week. I'm not usually one for meal planning for an entire week...but I at least need to get a few days head start so I don't end up going through a drive-thru, spending money I don't need to spend, and consuming thousands of empty calories. At my old job, I had the luxury of coming home on my lunch break, but I'll have to pack a lunch ahead of time now. That makes waking up even earlier. I'm not so good at that waking up thing.

Anyway, despite how busy I'll be this week, I'm going to try and hop on Twitter more and hopefully make it to Mamavation TV Monday night to congratulate Jenny and Lisa on a well-done campaign! I can't believe it's almost over. Where did the summer go?

Lastly, Earth Footwear is sponsoring this week's blogging carnival. Since I'll be on my feet all day (or night) working in a hospital (hopefully) soon, I would LOVE a pair of these! @MMScarlett let me try on hers a few weeks ago, and was I got over the balance thing I was in love. And totally jealous.

I'd Rather Wipe Asses Than Kiss Asses

So...I currently work in a bank. A bank that just so happened to be going under due to bad mortgages while our CEO kept assuring us we were fine and in the last quarter raised all these millions of dollars in capital but really we were sinking so fast the government refused to give us any bailout money and flat out told our misleading CEO (who had told all of us lowly branch employees to assure all of our faithful customers we were fine) we were pretty much EFFED. So this glorious bank was then bought by an even MORE glorious bank that charges fees for EVERYTHING (even lost debit cards) and never refunds any of these fees, and actually punishes employees who do give customers back their $7.50 because their wallet was stolen and has mysterious initials that don't quite have an explanation.

Shady.

So how did the free-spirited, beautiful, smart, talented CJ come to work for this bank?

It all started in the fall of 2006...

I was a freshman at a gigantic university. We're talking the number of students was triple the number of people in my home town. But I was ready. I was smart. I was prepared to show this university that I'd breeze through it, just like I had with all of my other academic endeavors. They should have been honored that I was a student there...and they were. They showed this by giving me a full tuition scholarship. I mean hell, if I hadn't chose to live in the dorms (and thus pay for student housing) THEY would have practically been paying ME to go there. That's how awesome I am.

But, things aren't always as perfect as they seem. Turns out I had a pretty horrific underlying and untapped social anxiety issue (or as I like to call it, "I Want My Mommy syndrome). Living in approximately 3 square feet with a stranger, sitting in a classroom with 250 other students, and not knowing a single soul wasn't really my thing. And by not really my thing, I mean I would have crying, sobbing, the world is ending panic attacks multiple times a day. In my dorm? Walking to class? The library? Inside a lecture hall? Yep. Had them in all of those places.

So I eventually just stopped going to class. I'd escape to hang out with my sister, go home to my parent's, or just drive around the city...anything to get off that damn campus. I powered through two semesters like this. Barely going to class, but still managing to do enough studying on my own to keep my GPA up.

After my first year, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was lying to my parents about my slipping grades and horrendous attendance and everything in my life seemed to be falling apart. I mean HELLO! I'm a smart kid...I do NOT drop out of college. Except I did.

So I took a part-time job at a bank, fully planning on taking ONE semester off and then getting right back to it. That didn't happen. A full-time spot opened, so I did that instead...because the bank wasn't so bad at the time. Then the newness of it all wore off, and all I could think about was going back to school. So I signed up to take two online business classes, with the intent of working in banking for the rest of my life. All was calm again.

And then I failed those two classes. Because I never studied or turned anything in. I failed out of college AGAIN. There were no social anxiety excuses this time around...I just simply didn't like the classes. You see, it wasn't business and finance in general that I liked about the bank. I liked my co-workers. I liked working and interacting with people. I did NOT like the monotony or the corporate BS. I especially didn't like the need to constantly be kissing someone's ass to keep the higher-ups happy. I signed up for ANOTHER business class online, and made it through with a good grade. Mostly because I absolutely had to prove to my parents that I could do it before they gave up on me completely and washed their hands of the entire situation.

So, here I am now. Signed up for one class this semester with a new major in mind: nursing. Now, nursing majors are required to be certified nurse's assistants. What's a CNA? That person you see cleaning up poop, or who pops in for a split second to take blood pressure, or who is changing sheets on a hospital bed is a CNA. Now...nursing programs do not require that you actually have this job at some point, just that you're certified. Most people will tell you that all CNAs do is wipe asses all day long. How chic.

But I've thought a lot about this...and my parents are being ultra-supportive based on my ONE online class I powered through last semester and my constant complaining and crying about how much I ABSOLUTELY HATE WORKING AT A BANK (oh mom and dad, how I love you so). So they've kindly encouraged me to take one nursing pre-requisition and a CNA certification class. They've also informed me to save what money I can and they'll consider helping me out so I can take a two week fast-course CNA class and get a job doing that instead.

After a lot of thought, I can only come to one conclusion.

I'd rather wipe asses than kiss asses.

Off the Wagon

I fell off the wagon. Not only did I fall off the wagon, but I rolled down a hill and landed in a ditch full of fast food. And it was glorious.

Until it wasn't anymore. I've actually been sleeping MORE (bedtime, 10:30...haven't done that in a while) but have been feeling exhausted, irritated, lethargic, and just all around bad. I blame you, McDonalds. I also blame my job...because I loathe it and like to blame everything on it.

The earthquake in Haiti? Violence in the Middle East? AIDS? All my job's fault. Assholes.

The fact that I haven't been to the grocery store in two weeks might also have something to do with this fast food clusterfuck. Oops.

But here I am, feeling like death and doing my Mamavation post a day late. Atleast it's here. I am ready to climb back on the wagon...and I know I have all my Mamavation Sistas there to reach out a hand and help pull me back up.

So what's been going on in CJ's life for the past two weeks? Well, I've pretty much ( say "pretty much" because I'm a commitment-phobic) decided on a complete career change. More to come on that later.

So this week...I pledge to go to the grocery store. And not buy boxed mac and cheese. I will buy whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and deoderant. I'm keeping this goal fairly simple because I'm coming out of a processed food tornado. And I'm starting classes for the fall semester. I need to ease myself back in.

On a lighter note, sometime between July 25th and yesterday morning, I managed to lose 0.8 lbs...so all hope is not lost.

If you see me around on Twitter this week (@CJinKY) please give me a shout out to make sure I really am back on the wagon, and not lying in the road several miles back.

Blog Hop '10

So...as all (or see it seems) of my Blogging and Twitter friends are at BlogHer, I've decided to join Blog Hop '10. w00t! I'm excited, as this is my FIRST blog hop.

My blog is pretty much brand spanking new (tiny, infant, baby blog) and has so far consisted of weight loss goals and weekly challenges. I also might have done a post about my dog (priorities...I have them). The hope for this blog in the future is to not only report weight loss, but also share recipes, healthy living tips, and some of my snarky sassyness. Get excited!

Edit: After further thought, I remembered that I also blogged about the BP oil spill and whether organic farms are really organic. All that important stuff and I remembered the dog post. Like I said....priorities, people.

Mamavation Monday

Hello ladies!

This is going to be a quick post as I had a busy, fun-filled weekend and it's late.

This week I lost 1.4 lbs bringing me down to 236. I now have a net weight loss of 20.4 lbs and a total weight loss of 23.4 lbs.

I'm really happy with this not only because it's a great loss, but also I now know that I can still lose weight even with all of my birthday celebrations this weekend. It just goes to show that one "bad" food day doesn't ruin everything.

If you read my last post, you saw that I met my goal of losing 22 pounds by my 22nd birthday. My mom asked me what my next goal would be and well...I'm not really sure yet. I'll think about that and let everyone know. Anyone have any ideas?

Gruve Solution is sponsoring Mamavation this week. If you don't know what they're about, I seriously recommend checking them out. This looks AWESOME!

Update: Here's my very first vlog!

First Goal Reached!

Hello ladies!

I'd like to start off by saying I reached my FIRST mini goal this week. I told myself I wanted to lose 22 lbs by my 22nd birthday and I did. Several days early I might add :)

I lost 3.6 lbs this week, for a total loss of 22 lbs and a net loss of 19 lbs.

I've never lost more than 5-10 lbs at a time in my life. Ever. My diets have usually ended after a week or two because they're just too strict. Through Mamavation, I haven't gone on a "diet"...I've completely changed the way I eat for good. What I eat now will still be what I eat after I reach my final goal weight. It's yummy, has gotten me in touch with my inner Rachel Ray, and is so good for me.

Every other time I've dieted, I haven't wanted to tell anyone...because of my imminent failure. Reaching this first girl has made me realize that even though some weeks I might gain weight or maintain, I can still get right back into the swing of things. I want to shout from the rooftops about my success and my changes in a very dramatic fashion. I want my life to be a musical about weight loss. Someone call the Disney channel.

Another high for me this week: You know how some people (family, close friends) will tell you that you look skinnier out of the goodness of their hearts? Like you really might not look skinnier, but they want you to keep going and to help motivate you so they tell you anyway? This has made me doubt every positive comment from the people closest to me. Do I REALLY look skinnier, or are they just saying that? Well...a co-worker of mine that had been on leave for several weeks (actually, she went on leave right about the same time I started Mamavation, and just came back this week) came up to me, grabbed all the loose fabric on my pants (someone call HR) and told me I looked like I'd lost a lot of weight. Angels from the heavens started to sing. I can trust that I look smaller...because this person didn't even know I was attempting to. She even went so far as to ask me how I was doing it, what I was eating, what I did for exercise, etc. I used to be embarrassed when people asked if I'd lost weight because that would be admitting that I was fat and needed to lose weight. Not this time. I was PROUD and EXCITED to share my success with her.

Moving right along...congrat to Rita Ann on SOTW! She's always hopping about Twitter encouraging others and sharing her own ups and downs. She totally deserves this!

Also, Katy Bowman from Aligned and Well is sponsoring this week's blogging carnival. I'm so glad to see that someone has created DVDs specifically designed to help with areas that might causes us pain or discomfort. I'm really interested in the Knees and Hips DVD, since I've already had two knee surgeries.

I hope all the women who went to BOB this weekend had a blast, and I'm still totally jealous that I couldn't go because New Orleans is only my favorite city ever.

Until next week!

Mamavation Monday 7/19

Sigh.

I really didn't want to write this post this week. It's the first time I've gained since starting Mamavation, and it totally sucks. Ok, it doesn't TOTALLY suck, because it's not like I worked out and ate great and gained anyway. Sure, I ate well a few times, but I ate not so well a few times too. I also didn't work out. Not once. I was totally lazy this past week and really just didn't feel like doing anything. I wasn't even on Twitter that often. My Google Reader has gone into hibernation. The only thing that was active this week was my scale - 3.5 lbs worth of active in the upward direction. Doesn't my scale know I'd rather be lied to?! Geez, scale. We. Are. Done.

So, after a long list of things I DIDN'T do this week, let's move on to things I did do. I took a mental vacation. I relaxed with my friends and family, and even reconnected with some people whom I love dearly, but hadn't seen in a while. I tried to not stress about too many things, which was great. Unfortunately my diet and physical activity level relaxed a little too much as well.

I'm not going to get too down about this, because like I said - at least I know what caused my gain. At least I'm not moving backwards for no good reason. That would be very tragic and disheartening. I didn't slip because I was in some sort of depressed/anxious state like I've dealt with in the past. I slipped because I was RELAXING and HAVING FUN. I'm not ok with the gain, but I can be happy that at least I had a good time and I wasn't glued to the couch eating my emotions.

So what I really need to start doing this week is everything. Eating well. Exercising. Tweeting. Blog reading. Tweeting and blog reading especially...because some days y'all are the only thing that keeps me going.

So since I haven't contributed anything else to the Sistahood this week, here's a nice Cajun recipe for all the ladies going to BOB (jealous)! This is a GREAT spin on a traditional burger that I came up with on the spot.

Eat this burger with a Chiquita Banana on the side, because they're awesome and sponsor the Mamavation Sistahood.


Cajun Turkey Burger

Ingredients:
4 oz Ground Turkey
0.5 oz Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Medium-sized Green Pepper
3 or 4 Slices Vidalia Onion
Creole Seasoning

Mix the ground turkey, mozzarella, 1/4 of the green pepper (chopped into small pieces), 1/2 of the amount of onion (also chopped into small pieces), and creole seasoning to taste in a bowl. Form a turkey-burger patty. Place on pre-warmed grill (I used my George Foreman), close lid, and let cook for 4-5 minutes. If you're using an outdoor grill, flip halfway through.

Take the rest of the onion and green pepper, left in strips, and sautee in a pan with some non-stick cooking spray until caramelized (it took mine about the same time as the burger did to cook - convenient!). You can also sprinkle some creole seasoning on these if you want to.

Serve on a whole wheat sandwich thin (I toasted mine for just a bit on the George Foreman) with any "burger toppings" you like, along with the caramelized onions and peppers. Mine was deliciously simple with just some baby spinach leaves and mayonnaise. Disclaimer: If you're a lover of ketchup on your burger, it's been my experience that ketchup and cajun food do NOT mix well. Seriously, don't do it. It'll end up over-salted and just gross. Also, remember you don't have to add cheese, since cheese was already mixed in with the turkey meat.