This Blog Has Moved

If you are reading this (and I hope you are) my blog has moved over to beyondtheoldme.wordpress.com. I will be posting there from now on. I am not sure if this is temporary or if it will become permanent, but for now, WordPress will be hosting my blog.

I hope to see you there as I continue to chronicle my weight loss journey and give a sneak peak into my everyday life.

February Goals

It has been over a month since I posted something and while I can say I have missed posting, I can also say that I have been extremely short on time lately. So, I decided my comeback post would be one listing my February goals.

For the past few weeks I have been doing rather well with my eating and exercising and actually paying attention to what my body needs. There are some days where I have to reason with myself when it comes to things that I am eating. But, with that being said, I never deny myself anything that I want. I am a firm believer in the fact that moderation is in fact key and that one bad meal won't ruin your progress. I will leave it on that note and begin to list some of my goals for the month.

Here are my goals for February:

• Hit the 25 pounds lost mark. This was also a goal for December (yes, December of 2013!) but since I didn't make it then, I have decided to have this as a goal until I make it. 
• Exercise 4 days out of the week. This does not include weekends since I tend to by out for the majority of the day on Saturday and am able to walk more. Lately, I have really been enjoying Nike Training Club (NTC) and have used it nearly every single day. That is a NSV in itself and one that I plan on keeping up with. 
• Maintain my healthy eating habits. I have a "semi" clean eating process going on right now. Where the majority of my meals fall on the healthy side while still leaving room for some meals that tend to be higher in calories (and not necessarily the healthiest options). This all goes back to the fact that I am not the type of person to deny myself something. If I want a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake; that is what I am going to have. If I want a brownie and ice cream; that is what I am going to have. 

These are my three main goals and I know that as the month continues to move along, I will come up with some more goals and I will re-evaluate the ones that I have listed. I am determined to make 2014 my year and I welcome you to follow me on my journey!

20 Random Facts About Me

Since it is a new year, I wanted to jump on this tag that has been circulating around YouTube and Instagram. Here are 20 random facts about me!

1. I am an only child
2. I will graduate from college in May with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mass Communications, Concentration in Public Relations and a Minor in General Business
3. I am afraid / hate spiders (or most bugs / critters for that matter, but I like caterpillars, especially when they curl up in a ball, I know ... weird, right?)
4. I love raccoons and think they are the cutest things
5. I have a dog and a horse (side note, my family has always owned horses. When I came home from the hospital as a baby, a horse was probably looking at me.)
6. I love being in the pool, but cannot swim
7. I fractured my finger playing varsity softball in high school which required surgery and having pins put in
8. I am an American Cancer Society Relay for Life Committee member
9. I was a Marketing and Communications intern for the American Heart Association (Fall 2013)
10. I started this blog in January 2013 as a way to chronicle my weight loss journey
11. In 2013 I lost 20 pounds!!!!
12. I hate speaking in front of small groups of people, but love speaking in front of large groups of people
13. I want to travel to all 50 states one day (I'm making decent progress)
14. I am obsessed with Nikes, addicted to Instagram and can't go a day without watching YouTube videos
15. I wish I knew sign language
16. My favorite colors are Navy and Gray
17. My favorite movies are Clue and A Christmas Story (I have the collector popcorn tin, cookie cutters, pens and notepads) 
18. I am always hungry (and say it multiple times throughout the day)
19. My mom is my biggest supporter and one of my best friends
20. I come from an amazing family full of successful people and I cannot wait to be the next one embarking on success!

Pounds Lost, Pounds Left to Lose Jars

I am very excited for today's post because it is a DIY project and it is one that I have been wanting to complete for months. If you have read the title, you know today's post features weight loss progress jars.


For this project I used:

Supplies I Used

• Ribbon (any size you like)
• A Sharpie permanent marker and a pencil
• A Bath and Body Works gift / hang tag (for tracing purposes)
• Marbles (for progress purposes)
• Scissors
• A hot glue gun
• 2 jars (I used Bath and Body Works candle jars, removing any left over wax beforehand)
• A hole punch
• Thick paper (for the labels)

Here are the steps I took to create these jars. If you are pretty crafty, you will probably be able to cut some steps in half (step one specifically) or cut some steps out all together.

Steps 3 and 4

1. First, I removed any leftover wax from the candle jars. I did put one candle in the freezer for about an hour before taking it out and letting it rest for about 5 minutes. I then used a sharp knife to carve four sections that I was then able to then pop out. For the second candle, I simply cut the wax out, skipping the freezing portion. 
2. I let the jars soak overnight in dish detergent before washing them in the morning and letting them drain. 
3. I took a thick piece of paper and used a leftover Bath and Body Works Christmas hang tag to trace the shape before cutting it out. This will serve as the labels for the jars indicating which one shows weight lost to date and which one shows weight left to lose. 
4. Using the hole punch, I punched a hole at the end of the tag and threaded the ribbon through the hole.
5. I made sure the jars were dry both inside and out before taking my hot glue gun and adhering the ribbon to the jars. I placed the ribbon about a half an inch to an inch away from the top of each jar, but I am sure placing the ribbon in the middle will look nice as well. 
6. The last step was filling each jar with the marbles!

Step 5

Step 6 (Finished Project)

There are 20 marbles in the pounds lost jar, indicating the pounds I lost during 2013. There are 43 marbles in the pounds left to lose jar indicating the weight I have left to lose.

Side note, I found some motivational print outs on Trendy TreeHouse that I may go back and add to some of the marbles. If so, a few larger marbles will be necessary.