Style/Estilo - June 2012

I've been having much more fun w/ clothes lately. This is a look at some of my work and gym outfits this month :) 

                                              Asos Curve skirt and Danskin now turq v-neck

                                       playsuit from Fashion to Figure clearance 2011 (size 2x). Just tried this on to check the fit of it. Hasn't made its debut outside yet lol 

                    new dresses from Target's Xhilaration + line. Size 2

                                                   

                                                       close up of black; turq belt Lane Bryant, black shoes Samanta shoe

                                                         close of up stripes. Wedges and belt Talbot's outlet

basic white v-neck from Walmart,Lane Bryant stirrup leggings

Black active v-neck tee from Danskin Now, skinny jeans with streth Forever 21 +

not a good view of this shirt but a short waisted red polyester shirt with pleats down the front

on my MUA swag lol black Danskin now active tee, print skirt from Forever 21 +

rando blue shirt from Marshall's, pleated high waisted skirt from rando clothing store in Harlem circa 2010! lol 

color block shirt from Marshall's, black stirrup leggings from Lane Bryant

All Danskin Now active wear: hoodie, neon yellow racerback tank and black slim fit capris

Mama's Back in the Dating Game!!!

Oh yes honey you read that right! This Mama is back in the dating game. I have decided life is entirely too short, I'm entirely too awesome and hell I deserve to be treated. So starting around August...I am going to begin a free loving affair with MYSELF! :) Feels good to say it.

I don't spend nearly enough time on the maintenance of moi and it's loooong overdue. I'm currently in the midst of my own self-imposed hot mama body challenge and when I lost these next 20-30 lbs you ALL are gonna know about it!

I'm going ALL out! Through the help of Groupon for some beauty discounts and pulling together my other resources. I'm going to get my hair did (long hair dont care), mani/pedi, bikini wax, new dress, have my makeup done and then I'm going to take myself on a date!!! Yes I'm gonna go to the nicest restaurant in Lexington, KY and get a couple of cocktails and LIVE!!!

Songs of my Hot Mama Body soundtrack (these are the songs that will be playing in the background when I walk down the street 30 lbs slimmer, with waist length hair in a new dress and heels with my shellac mani/pedi lmmfao)

"Make Me Proud" - Drake ft. Nicki Minaj
"Fancy" - Drake
"Feelin' So Good" - J.lo
"Bon, Bon" - Pitbull
"La Negra Tiene Tumbao" - Celia Cruz
"Dale Caliente" - Daddy Yankee
"Feedback" - Janet Jackson

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June Thus Far...

Sometimes I'm so busy I really don't know if I'm coming or going lol. This was one of those weeks. I have been all over the place. Training for freelance jobs, prepping for summer at the library,homework, class, Liam...hell there were a couple of days I even forgot to eat for most of the day.

I just wanted to take this time out to update you guys on my life! I finished my Isagenix Isabody Challenge! From January 5-June 7 I lost 25 lbs (total 46 overall) and rediscovered myself in the process. I am on a new path in life and I'm not turning back. With the challenge I am competing to win a cruise, a lot of other great prizes and the grand prize of $25,000. Honestly, even if I win nothing it was worth the experience to do it! I committed to something and I saw it through. I kicked ass through personal problems, a busy single mom life, school and everything else. I made it! :)

I have found the PERFECT fit for Liam for preschool and hope to start him Aug 1! I finally got to go for a classroom visit today with Liam and I'm in love with the place. The way they do things really aligns with how I would like for things to be with him in the classroom.

I lost another lb. As mentioned above I am now -46lbs, and only 8 lbs from the 1/2 way point. In case I didn't tell you guys my ultimate goal is to lose 108 lbs! That's a person! lol But I'm almost 1/2 way there. Wow!

I am a contributing writer for a new online women's mag called Rachael Magazine. Please subscribe, check out my article on budget makeup and the other great articles. I'm excited to be apart of the magazine. and of course the magazine is based out of NYC (cool connection - the editor/owner is a Kentucky girl too! How cool is that?) So go check it out: http://rachaelmagazine.com/

I am probably going to regret this...but I had cocktails and coffee with a recent old interest (lol) when I was in NYC.Ok yea so random combo #dontjudgeme. Anyways, I feel very comfortable with him. Conversation is natural, I feel giddy around him and it's almost impossible not to smile.I like him.  But I digress. In his case, he has loose strings in his life to tie up and I am giving him the space to do that. I don't call him much or text him everyday, but I do think about him often. Today a  funny situation arose and he was one of the 1st ppl I thought of to send a text message. In his response to my text,  he mentioned that he was visiting family some 3,000 miles away and had just walked by a window ad with a plus size model in it and a few seconds later my text came...I know that I'm probably reading more into it than is there. But there is a spark between us (not love necessarily), but something between us just clicks. I don't know if he feels it too,but I think he does. Seriously a mash-up of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" & Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" plays in the background lmmfao.  I'm NOT acting on it. Again, he has a situation to deal with and I have to focus on Nursing school,Liam and the rest of my life. So life must go on as planned. Something tells me that if/when I move back to NYC I'm gonna be in some major trouble though...smh lol

Otherwise I'm surviving and thriving! :)

"A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step"

title quote by Lao Tzu.

Someway, somehow this weekend I got a wild hair and decided that I am running one of the most popular 5Ks in Lexington: A Midsummer Night's Race on August 11, 2012...Umm wow! I am sooo excited and soooo nervous ALREADY lol.

I know that this type of challenge is necessary in my weight loss journey and for my life.I have had some experience in overcoming obstacles (especially those unforseen ones). This race would come at a great time symbolically and practically in my life. Symbolically, it will be right around the time last year that I began my weight loss journey. Practically, it's a couple of weeks before school starts and I can corral my family and friends to come out and support me.  Now, I am setting myself up purposely for a huge challenge. Mentally I am ready, physically it will take ALL of the next 2 months to get there.The training begins this week.

I have Google'd "running a 5k for beginners", "running a 5k for fat girls" and a plethora of other queries. I have found some great info and very positive encouragement. There is still a part of me that thinks I'm nuts.This is my inner fat girl. She's screaming out #girlbye lol. But this is something I truly feel compelled to do.

My goals for this race are simple: 1) to RUN the whole time 2) to finish 3) to survive it lol. I don't care about placing, I sure as hell am not trying to win the thing. I want to do it for me, for Liam, for everyone that reads this blog, for my friends, for anyone on a weight loss journey, for my future clients when I become a nurse personal trainer/health & wellness  nurse.

When this year began I said I wanted it to be different than last year. I made my dream board. I kept vlogging about my weight loss journey to be held accountable, even when I gained weight. I told myself and envisioned this year as different and better than ever before. I said I'd give love (well at least dating) another try.  I wanted to be fearless, determined, dedicated, finally make some dreams come true. I am doing it! Struggling and slipping sometimes along the way, but I am doing it. Since January 1 (not counting Aug-Dec 2011), I have lost close to 30 lbs. I started doing my prereqs for Nursing school knowing that this is the path I was meant to take. I started working on being a better mom and being more present in Liam's life. This is a great feeling. I can't wait to look back on this post, my future 5k and see how far I have come.

There is a quote that has been especially inspirational to me as of late: "We must let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - Joseph Campbell.

My Top 10 Workout Songs

These are the songs I love to rock out to when I’m “up in the gym just workin’ on my fitness”. There are my favorite 10 out of about 70 songs I include on my playlist titled “Cici’s Workout Plan” lol

1.        “Give Me Everything” –Pitbull ft. Ne-yo & Nayer

2.       “Look At Me Now” – Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes & Lil’ Wayne

3.       “We Found Love” – Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris

4.       “Rack City”- Tyga

5.       “T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) – Will.I.Am ft. J.Lo & Mick Jagger

6.       “…In Paris” –Kanye & Jay-Z

7.       “XXXO” – M.I.A.

8.       “No Hands” – Wacka Flocka Flame ft. Wale & Roscoe Dash

9.       “Tonight (I’m Loving You)” Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris

10.   “Bon, Bon” - Pitbull

My Own Self-Proclaimed: Hot Mama Body Challenge

Today marks day 1 of a 90 day or about 3 month challenge I am doing for myself. I still can't believe I have lost 44 lbs in 9 months. I lost a toddler (literally! - Liam weighs 42 lbs). I have a very specific goal and that is to lose 35 lbs during this time (May 1-August 1). I want it bad! When I lose this weight, it will put me at 30 lbs to goal. I will treat myself with a photo shoot and I will be at a total weight loss of 78 lbs. What the challenge will consist of:

*Working out AT LEAST 4x/week. Even with school, I am trying to bump it up to 5x (maybe not 5 days, but I will have to do some 2a days if I can)
* Having 2 cleanse days with Isagenix per week. They will have to be hybrid cleanse days (i will eat only fruit and veggies along with the Cleanse for Life powder that day)
* being extra diligent with the calorie counting
* water, water, water - I have fallen off with my water consumption. Need to pump that back up in a hurry
*limiting any sugary drink to 1 8oz serving a week or less
*put more variety into my workout. I don't want my body to get stuck in a rut and neither do I! :)
*I will do measurements and weigh ins (today, Day 15, Day 30, Day 45, Day 60, Day 75, Day 90)

This is me day 1 of challenge 285.2 lbs

Any suggestions on what to do? What not to do? I'm really trying to jumpstart my body and my routine again and blast this fat! Leave your comments and ideas :).