a new profile pic!

i know i havent been keeping up on my blog recently, i am SUPER busy with work! i have been working 6 days a week! work is just crazy right now but i love making money!! so here is new pic, hope you love it!!

tan beauties!

     this is angelica and i after boarding the plane to come home from our trip to hawaii! i was absolutely terrified of the flight home, terrified isnt even the word! thankfully the airport had a couple bars and i made sure to stop at each one for a drink before the plane ride :)

ombre hair in full effect! 

 

      here we are in the middle of this amazing tree! these trees were everywhere in hawaii and there was a perfect in the middle of it so we had a little photo shoot!

my 'barbie toe' which i learned on
america's next top model!

i finally lost it!

     ever since i graduated high school i had been slowly gaining weight and it was so gradual that it wasnt extremely obvious to me, but it was to those who knew me. i knew my clothes were getting smaller and that my pants sizes went up but it wasnt a huge difference so i never thought about it.
     even though the change didnt seem drastic to me, i felt really unhappy about myself. i had no confidence and it was sad because everyone who knows me knows that i am very outgoing and have a very loud personality. i was so unhappy and over the years i would decide to start working out and after a couple weeks i would get so discouraged i would just give up.
     two winters ago i got really serious about working out, i would wake up at 5:00 am to do my 40 minute cardio before school and i would do 40-50 minutes of cardio six days a week and i did this for about 2 months. i was really taking it seriously! one night i was putting on my favorite pajama pants and just like in the commercials my button literally broke off and flew across the room. i cried my eyes out because i was trying so hard and i was only getting bigger! how could this be possible!
     after that incident i gave up on working out.
     last summer i decided to give up eating meat and i lost 6 pounds in just a couple weeks! at the same time i was working at dairy queen and i decided to get a gym membership and i paid for a trainer. it was so difficult trying to find alternative protein sources so i gave up on being a vegetarian and started trying to eat right. once again the workouts werent working and i was so emotional about everything i quit going to the gym.
      i remember saying "when i was in high school i felt fat, but now i would do anything to be the size that i was before". i refused to my old friends from high school because i knew i had gained weight and i was so embarrassed.
      one day i was sitting on the couch surfing the web with the tv on for background noise, and not really paying attention to it, and then all of a sudden something caught my attention. i grabbed the remote and rewound the tv so i could pay attention to what i just heard. this women was who weighed over 300 pounds had lost half of her body weight in 13 months! there are always people everywhere you turn saying they were on a diet and it worked and i never pay attention because i do not believe in diets. but there was something about what i was watching on tv that really caught my attention, and then she said it! she lost it all doing Medifast!
      i had never heard of medifast and i had to rewind the tv multiple times to figure out what she said because she said it so fast. as soon as i figured it out i googled medifast and spent over an hour researching everything about it! i called my mom right away with so much excitement because i thought i had finally found my solution! my problem has always been food because i hate having to put a lot of thought into what i need to eat because when i get hungry i want to eat! i dont want to do portions or figuring out numbers, i just want it to be simple.
     with medifast everything comes prepackaged! it is all right there in front of your face with very little thought or effort needed. this was exactly the diet for me! i was so happy! my mom was hesitant to the idea because just like me she had never heard of it and diets dont have a very good reputation. she was suggesting that i do weight watchers instead because she knows many people at work who have had great success, but like i said before i hate having to calculate my food.
    there was one little problem.. the cost. it cost $300 for the 4 week plan which included 5 medifast meals per day! to me that seemed reasonable, but when i am asking for financial assistance from my mom who has never heard of this and knows nothing about it i got "we can talk about this when i got home".
     but there was something about this that had me so excited, i can not even put into words the feeling i had when i found out about this diet!
     i had a little safety-net though..  i sold my car about a year ago and still had the money in my savings account. out of fear of getting in trouble i made the executive decision right then and there to buy it!
     when my mom got home she told me that she would pay for me to do weight watchers and i cut her off and said i had already bought and paid for the medifast. i could see the worry in her face but she 100% supported me!
     everyday i would track the shipping and the day that it arrived was the happiest day ever! i think i almost cried.. i took everything out of the box, displayed it across the table then took a picture of it to send to my mom. then i had to leave for work.

this is the actual picture i took!

       i started the diet on monday, january 9th, weighing 158 lbs, in exactly seven days i lost 9 lbs!! can you believe that! my years of struggling to lose 5 pounds and in one week i lost 9 lbs just like that! this was exactly the miracle i had been looking for!
     on a good day i now weigh 135 lbs and the happiness i have for myself is unexplainable. i am smaller then i was my senior year in high school! i have so much confidence in myself and i can not stop looking at myself in every mirror i come across! and by the way, i never worked out once! not one single time!
     so now my shopping addiction has taken over :) i can not help but buy things that make me look as amazing as i feel (like my 5 inch steven madden heels which i could die over). it will take some time to replace my very expensive wardrobe i seemed to acquire over the past 4 years because none of my jeans fit me anymore.
     i am still struggling with comments i get from some people saying that i am 'too skinny' and that i need to eat more or gain more weight. that is definitely a challenge for me because i tried so hard for so long to get here. but i have gotten great advice from people who care about me on how to deal with those situations so thank you!
     one thing i learned through all of this is that you never realize how unhappy you were until you are finally happy.

before; june 2010

today! biggest smile ever!

i will be posting more before and after pictures wearing the same outfits that i wore in the past! so stay tuned! i hope you all enjoyed my success story, i know i do!

new profile picture!

so i think i am going to start changing my profile picture every week! its fun and something to look forward to! so here is the new pic! hope you like it :)

online shopping addict!

     i am obsessed with online shopping! but most with online 'window shopping'! i came across this AMAZING website called Beyond the Rack, which is not associated with nordstrom. 

     every morning i wake, pour my cup of hot coffee, sit on the couch with my favorite fuzzy blanket, turn on the tv and then go to Beyond the Rack! 

     the amazing thing about this website is that there is a huge variety of events going on every day! the events are on a time schedule and usually only last 48 hours. there are also many different designers (real designers) the participate in these events and everything is discounted! it is amazing! but there are a limited amount of each items so if you find something you like you have to move quickly if you want to get it!
     they also have flat rate shipping, only $10!! the events very everyday with clothes, jewelry, home decorations, furniture, bedding, shoes, childrens clothes, they literally have everything! 

     i know this all sounds too good to be true, so the catch is that it is an invite only website so here is the invite; BeyondtheRackInvite 

     all of you know how much i love shopping and how in love i am with fashion, especially designer brands! but i do not have the budget for an all designer wardrobe so the trick is always finding places that offer your favorite designers but at a low cost! so just check out the website and i know you will quickly fall in love with it! it is a hidden treasure and i have been sharing it with so many people! let me know what you think!
     and p.s. i bought my 100% silk beach cover-up from beyond the rack for $40 and the original price was $198!

beach must haves!

     while i was in hawaii i found myself bringing the same essentials to the beach with me everyday! i would not leave the hotel until i had all of my beach items to go along with me, and now i feel like i have to share my successful beach secrets with you :)

   
     1) a pair of beach sandals! one mistake i made was wearing sandals with straps on them, so when i  got on the beach it was a struggle to get them off my feet. but hey, they looked cute!

steve madden

     2) a large beach bag. always pick a versatile beach bag that can be taken on the beach and then to the bar, and out to dinner. sometimes when you are on the beach you lose track of time and before you know it, its dinner time! instead of going back to your room, throw everything in your bag and take it with you! 

from shoe dazzle, a previous post of mine.

     3) always a must is your ipod! you never want to be on the beach without having control over what you are listening to! almost everytime there will always be someone in close range of you talking about things that you have no interest in, that is when you put your headphones in and turn on your favorite playlist! i also suggest creating a beach playlist full of songs to put you in an upbeat, confident mood!

      4) a great magazine, sunglasses, and a perfumeroller ball! the magazine and sunglasses are self explainable, but the perfumeroller ball is a must! i dont like smelling like i have been laying out on the beach all day, so almost every hour i would apply my perfume to my wrists and neck, and i knew that i smelled amazing! and always get your perfume rollerball in your favorite perfume! this is also a good trick if you know you wont be going straight back to your room from the beach. my perfume of choice in 'viva la juicy'.

      5) always make sure you have sunscreen, tanning lotion, and chapstick! a lot of people dont know, but you can apply sunscreen and then tanning lotion on top! and i love the maui babe tanning lotion which is sold pretty much everywhere! it is amazing because its brown and it gives you an instant looking tan but is not a self tanner! and nothing is worse then being on the beach and after half an hour you realize your lips have turned into raisins, so having chapstick is an absolute must!!

     6) having a great beach cover-up is a very important beach essential! i had bought a couple different beach cover-ups and i was always getting compliments on them! great confidence booster when you arent feeling so excited about being in your swimsuit. one mistake i had was choosing a cover-up that was made of 100% silk, oops! but at least it was cute! and having a cute beach hat is also important but i just could not pull off the hat. if you dont want to wear the beach hat, there is a great product by Redkin made specifically to protect your hair and scalp from sun damage and sunburn! 

     7) and last but not least, a great piece of statement jewelry! even though you are going out to the beach, that doesnt mean you cant try to look amazing and stand out! i always wore this great seashell ring and never took it off! even when i was only in my swimsuit, i still had my ring on and i knew i was the only one on the beach attempting this! its always about doing little things that make you feel confident! 

     so for a recap; sandals, beach tote, ipod, magazine, sunglasses, perfume rolerball, sunscreen, tanning lotion, chapstick, hat, cover-up, statement jewelry.
     i also always had water, i brought a very low calorie snack to munch on so i wouldnt buy something unhealthy to make me feel guilty, my debit card, license, a beach towel, and a hand towel (to cover my face).
     AND BY THE WAY every single thing in this blog fit in my beach bag!! so next time you go to the beach, run through this checklist! you will be very happy that you did!

always had my starbucks americano everywhere i went!

im baaack!!!

hello blogger world! i am so sorry to leave all of you for the last couple weeks but i am back!
     so as many of you know i went to hawaii march 19 through the 27, and it was so much fun! i was unable to manage my blog while i was in hawaii, and ever since ive been home i have been working 6 days a week (im a workaholic).
     even though it seems simple, it is hard for me to sit down and find the time to update my blog. but i have been thinking about all of you the past couple weeks, so check back tomorrow to see what new things i have posted!

taken with my cellphone!

p.s. hawaii was amazing! very relaxing! every day was in the 80's and all though there was a short amount of rain early every morning the weather was beautiful!