Birthday and Current Results

I must say, this was the best birthday I've ever had. It was so much fun and the celebrations have been going on and on! I even got to celebrate it a little bit today with a cake that my boss brought in today. The Saturday before my birthday I had a combined birthday party with my bestie, Deborah. We've had combined parties for three years now (with a break last year for her mission) and it was so much fun! A hit even! I got to go home the Sunday before my birthday and celebrate with my mom. I love sharing my birthday with her! (and my grandpa...and my great-uncle...it's a popular day to be born). She made the candles into an "A" for my name.

I worked all day and then had A-Team training class to help teach from 4:30-6:30. I did a presentation and when it was over Emily got up and said "I need to talk about the letter Q"...so I sat down. Then she said "that's your cue!" and then everyone in the class got out those party unrolling blower things and then sang happy birthday to me. As they sang, they brought out this cute cake:

Aren't they nice?? I have the best job. After I got home, my roommates and some other friends and I went to the Olive Garden for dinner. It was a good time! I have such good friends! This was really such a better birthday than last year, when I spent the week in bed sick and totally missed my birthday. So I'm looking forward to 23 and all the joy it has in store for me!

As for an update on my 123 by 23 program I started for myself. Well, as of this last Sunday, I was at 128 pounds. So I've lost 3 pounds, but I'm not super discouraged because I know I've actually gained a bit of muscle and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been taking embarrassing pictures of myself in my bathroom mirror so that I can see if there's a difference over time. Well, I struggled with whether or not to put these pictures up on my blog, but you know what, I have decided to. I'm proud of the progress I have already made in the last two months and I'm going to share it with my family and friends who are kind enough to read this. If you don't want to see pictures of me in shorts and a sports bra, then skip the last part of this post. So here goes...pride aside....

End of Nov 2011 and Jan 28, 2012

Do you see that?! Ok the first picture is super gross. I'm sorry you have to see that. But do you see the improvement I've been able to make in just two little months? This is me bragging for just a little bit, I am quite proud of myself right now. When my sister saw these she said I looked super angry. ahaha I wasn't! I just didn't know what I was supposed to look like when taking these kinds of pictures. But yes, so this is my progress so far and I plan on keeping going and being healthy. Hopefully I will reach my original goal of 123 (and then my ultimate goal of 120) within the next few months. By the summer for sure! Above all, I love feeling strong, I love feeling healthy and I love craving good food and exercise. This really is the life!

Well, that's all for me right now. Maybe I'll blog again later this week :) I have a new life goal that I've been thinking about starting to work on. I'll let you know what it is later!