Oh hi adulthood!

First of all.... I feel old. My best friend just had a baby and I am going up there tomorrow to help her move. I am in that "state" of adulthood, where I am helping friends plan weddings and help them with their kids. Yeah yeah, I am still single but that's fine with me actually. Adulthood has woken me up to some stuff these past few days that I really never considered. Like how crazy my life is going to be this fall. Anyways.... I have something brewing that I am kind of excited and nervous about. It's something I've done before and I am not going to lie, I was just as nervous and excited then. I won't go into it on here until I take care of some things first but just be praying for me while I jump into this "game" again. There's a lot I need to do to make this game easier for me to play so I'm scared lol.

Second of all... I went to the ENT. I had to wait 1 hour 20 minutes to see him but then I found out in the end that I have to have "surgery". And really it's not surgery but we have to consider it that since they are putting me under so that my muscles will be fully relaxed. It looks like my TMJ is hurting because my jaw is dislocated and I have open bite disorder. Mine is not as bad as some of the cases I saw when I was researching it but now that he has pointed it out to me it makes sense, my front top teeth do not touch my front bottom teeth, at all. So, he's going to put me under on July 30th (thank goodness dad is coming up here to be at the hospital with me, I am kind of grumpy when I am put under) and pop my jaw back into place so he can fit me for an appliance that will go in my mouth to fix the open bite. Now, the one thing this has me wondering is how am I going to look after this is done? I mean will I improve my looks or will it make me look odd. I am kind of scared for that but I have to realize that I can not continue to live on pain pills because of TMJ pain. Funny how I battled breast cancer without flinching (okay, maybe a little) but something like TMJ sends me straight to the ER. Hopefully this fixes a lot of issues and I can continue to work on my outward appearance.

Speaking of which... I still haven't weighed myself. I think I am going to have to break down and buy a scale for the apartment. I had one but the mover broke it soooo I need a new one. Maybe that'll be a stop I make in Greenville tomorrow so I can update you guys with my weight on Saturday. I went and bought groceries and bought more at home stuff though Chick Fil A is still tempting me. And the other problem I am having is I am hungry coming home from work so I stop at Wendy's or Jack in the Box (mmm Sausage Crossiant). I have been without Dr. Pepper in my apartment for a couple of days now so I am proud of that fact even if I have replaced it with Raspberry Lemonaide (whoops!).

Anyways, that's all for now. Hope everyone is well. More to come on this new "adventure" in my life soon :).

Brenda

What a week!

So I am so so sorry I haven't updated all week, it's been a bit of a crazy one. Well, in some ways that is. I've also been using this week to kind of relax and recharge since it's my one week off from my summer classes and I am not doing so hot in one of my classes so I was hoping I could regroup this week. Starting tonight I am going to catch up in that class and study for my mid-term in the other one. I can't believe I am this close to my General Studies Associate. But I have to say, I am starting to get really anxious and ready for this fall. My life is going to change and is headed on a completely different path, a path that could make or break me and that my friends is exciting. I am nervous because my life is going to be crazy and the stress is already causing me a few health issues but I only have to do this for 2 years and then it's a little bit of nursing school, and after that, my degrees (except my master's) aren't as involved. I am also starting to look into the housing market and that's been pretty awesome. The problem is, a lot of houses here around this area have a few issues like no Central A/C and heating (that's a deal breaker) and wood paneling. Yes, I know I could paint it but it's not very energy efficient and where there's wood paneling there's also usually old insulation so I'd have to tear down the walls, put new insulation in and drywall the house.

So how's the challenge? Well, I can't weigh myself until Sunday morning so I'm not 100% yet. I've been doing a little better with my snacking, now it's just breaking my habit of Chick Fil A lol. I'm doing more snacking with grapes and today snacking on those throughout the day has actually kept me full except for getting chick fil a for lunch since it was free food day (yep, I dressed up like a cow lol!). I went grocery shopping today and actually bought more baked stuff and things I can make at home to keep me from falling into the temptation of going out to eat. It's just so hard eatting healthy on a college student's budget and with my time limitations. I went to the gym on Saturday and did a lot of cardio. I've been kind of limited on doing anything physical this week since I've had a health issue....

Looks like I have TMJ syndrome which means my Temporomandibular Joint (your jaw joint) on my left side is inflammed and the muscles are unhappy for some reason. I've had joint pain in that area for about 2 weeks but coming home from July 4th with Karla and Kimbra and the gang I had extreme pain. I got home, put some Orajel on the area and took some pain meds and finally got to bed about 5:30am. Well, 12 hours later I was back in pain so I headed into the ER. They couldn't do much except give me an anti-inflammatory medicine and refer me to my ENT so it looks like I'll be seeing my doctor who did my tonsilectomy last year on Tuesday. I had the MRI to check out the tissues and bones today. So let's keep our fingers crossed it's as simple as giving me a stint or mouthguard to wear when I sleep.

Anyways, the puppy dog is in a super sweet mood so if you made it through this entire post yay for you! It was long, I know. Love you guys!

Brenda

Day 1 - Purge

So I am not going to lie, I have guilty pleasures. Ice Cream, Popcorn and sweets are key to that so today I did my purge. I had a bowl of popcorn during the movie, made some cookies to share and ate a few... and now tomorrow I can get started back on eating healthy. Now I am still going to eat those "guilt" foods but it's all about proportion size. For example, tomorrow at lunch I will probably make me a tombstone pizza (the staple of a college student's diet). At one point, I could eat 3/4ths of that. I'll be lucky to eat 2 slices. I am going to start by replacing my ice cream snacking with yogurt (Yoplait light Strawberry/Banana to be exact), my popcorn snacking with grapes while they're in season and my sweets with ONE york pattie mint when I am craving.

So here we go... I am also going to Gold's tomorrow to start my new membership there. I am so excited because I have a new AWESOME cardio song (I like things I can move to and dance to). David Rush - Shooting Star. So I am looking forward to putting that as my PowerSong on Nike+

So Day 1: 22lbs to go.

What is my reward in this? Well, there's a key number I weigh more than right now. I hate that number and can't wait to get below it. Well, when I get to my goal of 22lbs, I will be 6lbs under that number. I am not planning on stopping there. According to the paperwork I got today from my fire department physical I need to lose 47lbs to be at my ideal weight. I'd like to lose about 55. What stinks about being tall (I'm 5'8") is my ideal number is a bit high but... I can get below it a little bit :).

Thanks to all my friends who have joined me in this challenge. I am looking forward to doing it with you guys and I am SO lucky to have you guys as a support system. I've actually cancelled my appts with some of the specialists (except the cardiologist) until after I get all the weight lost to see if that improves some of the issues I am having like my knee. :D

Brenda

Happy Birthday to me...

So, I found out that a lot of what's aching and hurting is caused by my weight. Surprise surprise right? No, I am not on the overly obese side but I do have some pounds to shed. So... I've decided that I am stopping all of this figuring out how to fix what's wrong with me through surgery and doctor's appointments and get to the heart of the matter... losing weight.

So tonight I am challenging myself, 22lbs before my 22nd birthday (October 18th) and I invite my fellow bloggers to join me. And if you join me, what are you doing to lose weight? I'll be working out at Gold's since I am having to cancel my work gym membership due to the distance.

So day one... 22lbs to go...

Let the fun begin :)

Brenda