In need of a healthy lifestyle.....

Like lots of brides, I spent hours and hours the months leading up to our wedding to get in shape...I wanted to lose weight, get fit, be tan and overall just look good in my wedding dress (as well as a bikini!) With a wedding as motivation, I was able to pull off a 20 pound weight loss from the time I got serious about losing weight, until the wedding. It honestly felt GREAT to run an hour/hour and a half 5 days a week and I loved eating healthy meats, veggies and fruits. I could see and feel a difference and was proud of what I accomplished. That is until the honeymoon came around......

We stayed at the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas and for those who don't know, the price you pay to stay there includes all of the food and drink you can intake. It was great not worry about how much each drink cost and the bar tab you normally would be racking up, but it also made me not think twice about that slice of carrot cake each night after dinner! Once we got back from the honeymoon, I promised myself I would get back in shape. However the next two weekends were filled with an awesome bachelorette party for my wonderful friend Rebecca and followed by her gorgeous wedding! I told myself that it was no sense in starting a diet until after Rebec's wedding because I knew I was gonna cheat on those weekends. So I waited and then had all intentions of starting after that.

After Rebecca's wedding, I moved some of my stuff back to "the island" where I live now. My husband was here and we were living in a small house waiting for the air to be put in our soon to be permanent home. I was mentally ready to start back eating healthy...that was until I started to cook one day and realized the oven did not work....and one of the stove burners had no low button (only high)....and another one of those burners was not functioning. So with that as an excuse, I said I'd wait til we moved in our real house-it wouldn't be much longer and everything worked great in there and I'd be all set. Well, the move kept taking a little bit longer than we expected (doesn't it always?) We finally got the okay at the end of June and packed up all of my husband's stuff, and some of mine, and moved in.

By that time, July had rolled around, and a little thing called panic over the bar exam started to set in. The thought of spending an hour working out or 30 minutes-to an hour cooking did nothing but stress me out. That hour or two could be spent studying-no need wasting that time by doing otherwise! So a month of Totino's pizzas, bacon cheeseburgers and fries from our local burger joint, and just a general bad month of eating followed. It seemed the closer I got to the bar, the more Cokes I consumed and the quicker any good eating habit I once had, deteriorated.

Well, now the bar is over. And I have officially moved out of Baton Rouge and into our home outside of our tiny little town. I'm trying to settle into life in the country and the prospect of actually not having to go to classes this fall. So I decided what better time than to get the motivation to ACTUALLY start a diet and exercise routine this time? And I have.

Yesterday marks the beginning of my 30-day challenge. I've decided that for 30 days straight, I will do SOME form of exercise EVERYDAY-running, lifting weights, elliptical machines-whatever it takes to get a workout in. My wonderful husband has been great too and promised that he would try and keep up with me. So far we're two for two in the workout department and Payton even got to get in on the workout this morning! At the end, when I'm successful (see, I'm already thinking positive!), I'll reward myself with something fabulous. I haven't decided what they may be yet but I'd really love a hot little pair of red pumps. I've been wanting some for awhile and have had no excuse to buy them-this may just be that excuse I was looking for =) So here's to the new start on a healthy lifestyle-and hoping it stays that way!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

(Pictures courtesy of LSUsports.com)

I just needed to have a shout of for my boys in purple and gold. The pre-season rankings came out and LSU has earned a spot VERY near the top of the poll at # freaking 2!!!!!! Now I've always been a fan of LSU growing up. Since practically my whole entire family (mom, dad, brother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and the list goes on and on) graduated from a really small school in north LA, there was obviously much opposition when I told the family that I decided to go to undergrad at LSU. There's only been one person in our fam (my great Aunt Sue) who ever attempted to break the small college cycle and go to a REAL school AKA-LSU. Looking back on it, I will write that down as probably THE best life decision I ever made. Not only did I get to spend my freshman year, and a few of my sorority years, living with one of my best friends, I met some of the greatest girls on the planet who to this day remain my friends, and of course my equally amazing husband.

Even though I was a cheerleader for part of high school, I was never a big football fan. My brother always played baseball and basketball throughout his entire life and I could easily say I've sat through hundreds and hundreds of those games. Coming to LSU, I knew football was a "big deal" but I didn't realize how big until I actually went to game. There is nothing on this planet that compares to a Saturday night SEC game in Death Valley. Standing up the student section, Tiger dogs, the smell of whiskey being smuggled in and put in drinks, getting those drinks dumped on you during touchdowns, and being hoarse from screaming every Tiger cheer you can possibly thing of, is nothing short of a true life experience. For 7 of the 8 years I was a student at LSU, I was a season ticket holder (minus that first year of law school when the student body cheated us out of tickets but I won't go there in this post.) While I didn't go to every game, it can be assured that I was at many and if I didn't make it physically, I was definitely watching or listening on the radio.

Getting up at 5 am to try and make it to ESPN gameday, 6 o-clock tailgates for noon games, eating jambalaya and drinking ice-cold Bud Lights on hot game days and a big glass of Crown and coke to keep you warm on those very last few home games when it's actually chilly in South Louisiana. That's just a few of the many aspects of gameday at LSU. With this being the first in eight years of not living in Baton Rouge, it's definitely going to be an adjustment. Cliff and I have already decided to come down for a great SEC battle: the LSU v. Auburn game, and I KNOW we'll be down for more besides that. And hopefully, a little road trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we can watch Nick Saban get is freaking ass whipped! But back to my post-a congrats to the LSU Tigers and best wishes for a SEC West, SEC Championship, and National Championship season!!! I'll leave you with Payton pics during one of her many tailgating days! GEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAUX TIGERS!!!!!!

Early morning Pre-gameLate afternoon, almost post-game

The Job Search is in Full Effect!

So after a few firmly worded threats from some friends, I've decided it would be in my best interests to update the blog. Nothing really exciting has been going on, hence my lack of posts. I did finish up the bar (thank goodness!) and am hopeful that I will never have to go through that horror again (although I feel certain come score time in October, I'll find out it's time to crack those books open once again.) But for now, I'm enjoying a few days at home with my hubby and Payton, and just taking a breather.

On my few days off, I've joined the ranks of the unemployed who are diligently searching for a way back into the workforce. I will honestly say that it's a weird experience. I've never had a "real" job so to say. Of course I worked throughout college and some during law school but these were all part-time while at school or on the summers off. It's really weird to actually be looking for a job that I plan to hold for LONG-TERM. No more 5 weeks off for Christmas , summer breaks before school starts back, Mardi Gras holidays, school or sorority sponsored parties, Friday night get togethers at the local bar, and most of all, no more Baton Rouge. From now on it will be billable hours, vacation time, 401K's, health insurance, and paid time off. Not that it's a bad thing, but certainly a change.

I'm definitely realizing the "grass is always greener on the other side" mantra. The last year of school I couldn't freaking WAIT to be finished with going to class and studying for finals. Now that the time has come, getting an 8-5 job and commuting 1-2 hours a day to get there has me kinda worried. However, I can't help but kinda be excited to get my butt out there and use the freaking 4 degrees that it took me 8 years to get. So, once again, the job hunt has begun. While it may be different, I'm actually looking forward to it and as stupid as it sounds, I'm really ready to put to use what I spent so long learning-no matter where that may be. BUT, first, someone please hire me?!?! =)