Blue nails? And 4.51%.

To say that I like the Essie 2011 spring collection would be an understatement. I love it. Especially all the pinks and the “French Affair” theme.

Last night, I got this cute little box with four colors from the collection. I’m obsessed with Ulta. Unfortunately (or fortunately for my wallet), Mr. A was with me, so I couldn’t spend tons of time looking around.

I LOVE three of the colors in the box. And the fourth is gorgeous (blue), but I’m not sure about putting it on my nails. Painting my nails is a new thing for me. For the longest time, I didn’t do anything to my nails. Then, for about a year I had a French manicure. I got tired of that. All winter, my nails were some shade of gray. Seriously. Since August, they’ve been gray.

Last time, I went pink.

My Private Cabana.

I can’t decide which of the four to use today.

Here are the options:

French Affair:

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Nice is Nice:

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Coat Azure:



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 Topless & Barefoot:

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My first thought was Topless & Barefoot. Then I changed my mind and thought French Affair. But after seeing Nice is Nice on nails, it’s gorgeous. But the blue is different and I actually like it. I’m going to the horse races this weekend, and the outfit I have picked out to wear Saturday has blue in it.

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What do you think???

P.S. Today’s weigh in was great! I’m at a 4.51% loss! The competition has six more weeks to go, and my goal is 10%. That’s what it takes to win any money!

Weight loss challenge: week one.

Week one of the corporate weight loss challenge was a huge success.

Percentage lost this week: 2.25

My team also did great, but I’m not sure of our total yet.

However, week one is always the easiest, right? I worked pretty hard this week. But I’m going to work even harder for the next week.

Breakfast this morning started the new weight loss challenge week off right. It consisted of a Nature Valley fruit and nut trail mix bar and a banana. Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of Fiber One yogurt for breakfast. Fiber One has to do with my giveaway, which I will post about tomorrow.

What do you normally eat for breakfast?

Weight loss challenge.

Let the games begin! The corporate weight loss challenge at my job started today, and this time we’re on teams. And there’s a chance for individual winners. You also win if you lose at least 10 percent.

I like that it's done this way because even if you don't have a lot of weight to lose or just want to lose some body fat, the competition can still help you.


My team weighed in this morning, and we will continue to weigh in on Wednesday mornings for the next 12 weeks. This means I will post my weight loss percentage each Wednesday morning.

My team name: The Thinner Winners

I’m super competitive, so I hope this helps me kick it into gear. What do you think about weight loss competitions? How do you keep yourself accountable?

Not the biggest loser.

It’s official. I’m not the biggest loser at work. In fact, I didn’t even reach the 10 percent you need to win any money. I’m pretty disappointed in myself because I know I could have done it. I just didn’t try hard enough, and that makes me ANGRY!

It’s one thing to lose something when you know you gave it your best. But now I feel disappointed in myself. I ended up losing 6.07 percent in 12 weeks. That’s not going to cut it, folks. So, I’m going to keep doing weekly Friday weigh-ins and report my progress even though the actual competition is over. And when I get to 10 percent…I guess I will just reward myself!

Happy Friday!

Peanut butter coffee.

Today, I'm going to write using bullet points because I personally feel this is easier to read.

• I weighed in this morning, and it was OK. I'm at a total 5.02 percent loss. I lost 1.8 pounds this week. This means in the next two weeks, I need to lose 9 pounds to win any money. I can do this, right? It doesn't help that my birthday and a trip to Branson will happen during this time.
• And I don't need to hear "the best way to lose weight is the healthy way." Two weeks never hurt anyone. OK, that's probably not true, but I will be fine. J
• One way I'm considering losing 9 pounds is the Dukan Diet. My mom sent me an article about it, and I'm intrigued. I will keep you updated.
• The coffee lady was out of hazelnut today. I enjoy the random flavors of our coffee lady. My personal favorite is peanut butter. I know…it sounds disgusting. But I promise it's delicious. The cinnamon is good, too. She even brews it with real cinnamon. She's pretty fabulous.



I heart red shoes.

• I'm wearing red today because I feel guilty about not participating in tomorrow's "red out" for the Razorbacks game. I can't help that I previously had an outfit planned that included a black shirt and these red shoes. I promise I will wear my "Go Hogs Go" button, though.
• The boy got a new job, and I'm SO PROUD of him. But I will talk more about that next week. Happy Friday!

Kitchen Queens and themes.

I love things that are totally girly, and Kitchen Queens is one of them. I mean come on…what’s better than a bunch of girls bringing delicious food and getting together to chat?

Last night’s theme was “tailgating” for obvious reasons, and the food was FANTASTIC. That’s probably why I gained a pound. I think my favorite was the peanut butter no-bake cookies. They were as delicious as they sound.

We hung out in Colleen's newly finished sunroom. It's gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. But I did snap a few phone photos.

Yep, I finally weighed in this morning. If you don’t remember, I’m doing a weight loss competition at work. There are only four weeks left. My goal is 10 percent, and I have about 6 percent to go. Today was the first time I weighed since before I left for vacay. Whoops.

Clearly, we love the Razorbacks around here.

Back to Kitchen Queens. There were only eight of us there last night, but it was still fabulous. There were a couple new girls, which is always fun. And we missed all the girls who couldn't make it.

Yum. Eating, drinking and girl time.

One of my favorite things about KQ is themes concept. It brings me back to college. Do you like theme-related festivities?

I know my posting has been a little irregular and slow this week, but I’ve been sick, busy with work and Junior League and the short week made it more difficult.

I hope to play catch up this weekend.

Oh, and you guessed it…I’m going to another wedding! This one is a friend I’ve known since my freshman year of college. She’s one of my bff’s bff. Got it?

I know it will be beautiful and fun and make a great blog post next week.

Happy weekending to you!

Meatballs and oreo cheesecake.

It's so hard to just eat one.

I attended the monthly Kitchen Queens last night, and man I love those girls. We even got to spend some quality time with baby Cash. A lot of girls weren’t able to make it last night. The end of the summer is a busy time. But it was still so much fun. Our theme was “I think I can.” We were supposed to make something that was “difficult” for us. We decided not to do this theme again. ☺

The only problem is that I ate a huge amount of spaghetti with a meatball. It’s the first meatball I’ve ever had. I’m 25. It was delicious! I even got the recipe from MK so I can make it for the boy. He will be super impressed with my mad cooking skills.

I met Katie in Junior League.
Apparently we're cousins.

I don't know who was hungrier.
Us or the baby.

Scarlet made creme brulee. Yum.

Biggest Loser update

Even though I ate some not-so-good-for-me food last night, my weigh-in today was great! I’m up to 3.03 percent from 1.4 percent. I attribute that to the Oreo cheesecake cupcakes I made, recipe courtesy of Julie from www.pbfingers.com. Go read her blog. It’s wonderful. I find myself eating the things she posts about. Sometimes it’s a good thing (Greek yogurt), and sometimes it’s a bad thing (Oreo cheesecake). Either way, it’s all delicious.

Mary Kate hosted. Her house is BEAUTIFUL.
This picture looks like two stuck together. It's not.

I love this baby. And he loves all of us, too!

Baby Cash and Liz hanging out.

On the exercise note, I tried to run this morning, but I just WASN’T feeling it. I blame it on the shorts that kept riding up. I keep trying to run in shorts, but they’re so uncomfortable to me. I only try when I run in the morning and no one could see me. I never wear shorts to the gym. Maybe if my thighs allowed for a little more wiggle room in the shorts…My plan is to get a running skirt this weekend and try it out. I don’t know if you’re aware, but running in cropped pants is HOT.

Do you wear shorts to the gym? Maybe I’m wearing the wrong brand.

It’s Friday, ya’ll!

Feeling guilty.

People always say the number on a scale doesn’t matter. But the thing is, in a weight loss competition, it does. Plus, I’m not one of those people who believe weighing yourself every day is a bad idea. I think it keeps you on track.


Now to the point. I’ve worked out about 7 hours since Monday. And I haven’t even lost a pound since last Friday. You can keep up with my weight loss on my “Losin’ it” page. Again, I’m disappointed. I guess this week I will try restricting what I eat a little more to see if that helps. Grrr…it’s so frustrating when you work so hard for something and the results aren’t what you want. Or even close to what you want.

In the past, weekends have always been my downfall. And I always feel so guilty on Sunday. Well, this weekend I’m making a promise to not feel guilty. This means staying on track.

How do you stay on track during the weekend?

(Un)packing heat.

I spent lots of time indoors this weekend because it was H-O-T.

Did I run? No.

Did I go to the gym? No.

Do I have an excuse? Sort of.

I did a lot of sitting and looking at the boxes.

I did a lot of unpacking (and still have a ways to go). It’s soooo hard. Oh, and it was hot. The kind of “I don’t even want to walk to my car” hot.

I did go to a friend’s baby shower on Saturday. She looked beautiful. I told her she looked like a celebrity pregnant woman. It’s true. She looked very beautiful and glamorous at her shower. Baby Hudson is lucky!

I made the one on the far left...this is a lot harder than it looks!

We made onesies and I learned my dress was NOT photogenic. I looked like the pregnant person.

Natalie is due Sept. 21. And nope, I'm not. My dress is just "flowy."

Another fact: I got to work before 6 a.m. That should be illegal. But it was my decision. I had a meeting at 8:30 that I wanted to be prepared for.

Now, it is time for a nap. Or some coffee.

P.S. Due to my not-so-hot past week, I'm now in 113th place (out of 215) in the weight loss competition. I'm determined to make this week spectacular. Or at least not terrible./

I love Coffee-mate.

Well folks, it’s Friday. That means I weighed today. Not great. I didn’t even lose a pound…my total is now 1.28 percent. I’m not surprised. I didn’t do the best this week. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed. Oh well...at least it’s Friday!


Here is one reason I love my job: the cafeteria!

In British voice: I love Grey Poupon.

Here I am with Grimace last Saturday.

I had to cut in front of sceaming three year olds for this pic.
Not really.

And here is my new love: Coffee-mate nonfat cinnamon vanilla creamer. Run to your nearest grocery store and purchase some. I promise you’ll love it if you like things that taste good.

And it was on sale at Target...due to
repackaging or something...

My only “planned” event for this weekend is a baby shower tomorrow. The boy is out of town for a bachelor party, so that means I will be forced to unpack my belongings!

Biggest loser, week 1.

I need to eat a lot more of these and lot less of well...everything else!

After the first week, I’m in 86th place. Entry to the competition is now closed, and there are 215 signed up. That means the winner will receive $860. Yes, please.

However, the person in first place lost 7.3 percent in ONE week. It’s a guy. What? How is that possible? They don’t even do that on the TV show, do they?

I’m slightly discouraged by that number.

Biggest Loser update.

Today was the week 1 weigh- in for the weight loss competition at work. We had the initial weigh-in last Friday.

My percentage of weight loss: 1.17 percent

Not great, but at least I didn’t gain. I’m on track to lose at least 10 percent, which is what it takes to win anything. And it's what I want to lose. And I like to win.

I’ll let you know what place I’m in next week. We will get weekly updates on the competition. And I’m going to make a tab up top because I know you’re dying to keep track of my progress.

It’s Friday! Stay healthy this weekened...this guy can be your inspiration:

Sign you need to workout more.

When you're at work and your belt pops off while you’re talking to someone. This might have happened to me today. I’m wearing a stretchy belt around my waist, and bam! Off it goes. At least the person laughed.

You know what Mr. A (aka the boy) would say? You shouldn’t wear a belt around your waist anyways. He doesn’t understand this concept. Belts, to him, are for keeping your pants up.

It’s a good thing I’m doing the Biggest Loser at work. And training for a half marathon.

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New goal: To wear stretchy belts without fear.

For now, I’m going to blame it on a belt malfunction.

Biggest Loser, Round II.

Well, here we go again. I know. You’re wondering what happened to the 7 percent of my body fat that I lost last time I did this. Well, it’s back. Not due to lack of working out. Just not as much working out and not focused enough on what I’ve been eating.

And technically, the competition is not even called the Biggest Loser this time, but that’s what I’m calling it because that is easier than Company X Weight Loss Challenge. Plus, I already have a Biggest Loser tag. I wouldn’t want to confuse anyone.

This time, it’s much bigger. The whole company is involved instead of just my department. There are several chances to win hundreds of dollars. Money is the best incentive, right? I won $40 last time for losing more than 5 percent. This time, you have to lose at least 10 percent to win anything. I can totally do that in 12 weeks. The first weigh-in is today.

Plus, with my vacation a mere 36 days away, I have another great incentive: The Bikini. All day, every day.

Funny part? I designed all the marketing material for the competition. That means I have to be serious. Or something.

What does this mean for the blog? It means I will post my progress each week, and I will also post my place in the competition. I will be writing more about health and nutrition. I already do this some, but I did it more when I was doing the competition a few months ago, so I’m sure that will happen again. My goal is not necessarily to win first place, but to lose at least 10 percent.

I graciously brought donuts to work today to share with the ladies who are competing. I’m hoping this could add a couple pounds to my starting weight. : ) Is this a healthy attitude? Probably not. But like I said, money is in the picture people.

I’m thinking about taking a picture of myself every Friday, which is weigh day and posting it. Is this a good idea to track my progress?

Whatever Wednesday

Hence the title, this post is about whatever.


1. I got 10th place in the Biggest Loser. Not great. But not bad. I’m super competitive, so I obviously wasn’t happy.

2. I’m participating in a garage sale Saturday. I’m secretly looking forward to it.

3. I got the boy a hammock for his birthday. And a cooler that floats in the water.It's called the big bobber. Everyone needs one of those, right?

4. I finished Gilmore Girls last week. The entire series. I never watched a single episode while it was on air. But a couple of years ago I randomly bought the first season on DVD. Two years later, I watched all seven seasons. I love the show, but I did not love the final episode.

5. I watched The September Issue this week. It’s really good. For anyone who loves fashion and magazines, you should watch it.

Fat Friday. And Birthday Boy!

Excuse the title. But, that's how I feel today. Although I'm very happy that I lost 13 lbs (that's the final total for my Biggest Loser Journey), I'm mad I'm not going to win.

Yes, I could have tried harder. Not so much with the working out because I do enough of that, but I need to eat better. It's so easy to get off track for dinner. Anyways, I'm going to keep working at it. I still have about 15 lbs to go. I will still post about this topic even though the Biggest Loser is over. I will know my final place this afternoon, so I will post about that next week. I just hope I win more than $20 since that's what it cost to do it.

In other news...tomorrow is the boy's birthday! I'm a little nervous he won't like his big present. I got a small present, too, and I know he will like it. I love birthdays. I can't share details about this until next week because the boy reads my blog. :) We have a birthday cookout planned for tomorrow afternoon. And I have a big Junior League event in the morning, so I hope it doesn't rain! And if you're in NWA, come out to Touch a Truck. It's so much for the whole fam!

And now a tribute to the birthday boy!

Photo: Cancun August 2009

First flowers the boy ever got me. Fall 2008. Short hair!

Football, Fall 2009

Easter 2010

Lake Tahoe, Thanksgiving 2009

Skiing, Winter 2009

Horse races, Spring 2010

Kansas City, Winter 2009

I love my birthday boy! And I'm so, so thankful to have him in my life. Seriously. He's smart, handsome, funny, cares about making me happy, laid back, understanding, motivated, loving, cares about being healthy, fun, and so much more! Happy birthday, Adam!

I just realized I've never told you how we met. I will do that next week!

OhmygoshI'msohappyit'sFriday!

Master Cleanse=Failed

I tried. I really did. I even bought the book. And two pounds of lemons.

Cashier: "You sure are buying a lot of lemons."
Me: "I'm...umm...making lemonade. Yes, lemonade."

I will blame it on starting to get sick Monday. Not a good combo for 10 days of drinking a concoction made by myself. I did a lot of research about the Master Cleanse, and I would love to do it. But I’m not sure I ever will. It’s supposed to give you tons of energy and make you feel great. It’s supposed to remind you that you do have control. And that you don’t need all the “crap” you put in you body. However, I do not feel great. Can I survive 10 days of coffee-free work without killing someone? Probably. Will I ever do that? I’m not so sure.

Beyonce did it before shooting Dream Girls. I thought I could be Beyonce. Clearly I’m no Sasha Fierce. And I think that’s OK.

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