Where Have I Been?

What a great question! My mind has been flooding with potential blog posts and adventures I'd love to go on! A quick recap may help clear up why my site has been inactive lately.

-Finals week: It's over now, thank goodness, but it had me up a wall with stress. By the way, I finished the semester with 2 As and three Bs.
-Closing Week: Funny thing, this actually happens the same week as Finals.... Its where RAs from across the campus check out all of their residents for the holiday break and then we do a series of closing tasks that ready the building for the month of quiet un-occupied-ness.
-Going Home: That's right, I went home for the holidays. I'm spending the month in beautiful Bartlesville, OK and working at Bartlesville Radio through the month of December. Not much goes on here but I've been enjoying holiday time with my family.

Hopefully, that cleared things up. Like I said, I have plenty of posts coming your way. Here's a sneak peek to tide you over until I can get them up.

Weigh-In Wednesday

I've been keeping diligent on this long and trying adventure (Well, mostly. Finals week lead me to stress eat a few times.) I've been trying out new phone apps to help me along and it's going well. I weighed myself a week ago and it read 183 lbs. Woo! Already making progress! The challenge now will be getting through the holidays without over doing it. I can't wait to get back to my scale (I left it at school) and see how my progress is going!

#TBT Washington D.C. part 2

I haven't forgotten, part 2 is coming with photos galore! I have also been thinking that this adventure may take more than two parts. The trip was two weeks long and I'd hate to leave too much out.

Vaughn Family Portraits

My first attempt at capturing a family, and what a great family this is!

Homecoming

No, not like in football. My real-life homecoming here. I haven't lived with my parents in 3 years and it has changed so much. Stay tuned for the Wayward College Student's long awaited return and everything that comes with it.

Hopefully I can get a few of these out soon. Happy Holidays!

via GIPHY

A Whole New World: Trying Out Pageants

A little over a month ago I made a post titled "Diving into Slam Poetry" and I mentioned that I had a surprise reason for trying out the art of slamming. Well the reason I decided to pick it up was because I wanted to try something new for the talent portion of the Miss University of Central Oklahoma Pageant.

Me and My Little After the Pageant

I was never really a pageant girl. I was more climb-a-tree-and-scrape-my-knee kind of girl, but it's my senior year and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on any experiences before my time in college was over. So I applied to be a contestant in the pageant back in October.
My application was accepted and before I knew it I was practicing walking across stage in heels with 19 other beautiful young women. It was nerve wracking because they were all so pretty and talented, and in the time leading up to the pageant everyone kept warning me that the girls might be stuck up or mean.
I'd never done a pageant before so I was legitimately concerned. Turns out, the other contestants were some of the kindest, open-minded, most inspiring and encouraging women I'd ever met. I'm a little shy and they managed to get me out of my shell in just a few days!
Our pageant was broken up into 5 sections. For times sake I'll tell you what they were and a short blurb about how I felt about each one.

1.) Interview: I feel like I did alright in this category, because I got to be myself and talk honestly with my judges. Obviously some things could have been better but all-in-all it wasn't too bad.
2.) On-Stage Interview: I was very nervous about this part. We didn't know anything about our questions, except that they would be centered around current events, until we approached the mic. I was honestly hoping for a question about the presidential elections or the Syrian refugees. Unfortunately I was saddled with a oddly worded question about social media.
3.) Swimsuit: The favorite of men all across the audience. I was so uncomfortable during this portion. I had glue on my butt, a pound and half of make-up on my face, and I didn't feel confident with how my swimsuit looked on my body. Much room for improvement.
4.) Talent: I was oddly calm during this part. I had my poem and I rocked it. I do feel like I could have been more prepared. It may have been more powerful if I had memorized it beforehand.
5.) Formal wear: According to the coaches thesis the "easiest part". While I agree that it was easy to walk across the stage and feel beautiful, at this point all of us were hating our shoes and we were ready to be finished.

After the contest portions we all stood in our formal gowns for crowning. I didn't win and that's OK with me. It was my first pageant and I am so happy to have been able to participate the way I did.
Our Miss UCO was Chelsea Smith. I met her my freshman year in a class. We weren't best friends but  knew of her and she seemed nice enough. During the pageant we got to know each other better and I can say that she is truly kind and talented and an amazing woman who deserves to wear the crown for our University.

Participating in the pageant was such an honor. I learned that the pageant community isn't all like Toddlers and Tiaras. It can be a welcoming and nurturing environment. I'm so happy I had the opportunity to do this, and I am going to continue competing in pageants for a while. I think it's fun.
Thank you to all of our directors, judges, coaches, and to my fellow contestants. You all made this an amazing experience for me. And Chelsea, Good luck at Miss Oklahoma! You'll do great!
-Allie

My Biggest Adventure Yet.......

So I'm starting a new adventure. It's one I have started before and not seen all the way to its finish. It is my never-ending journey towards a healthier lifestyle.
Fun-fact: in the Summer of 2014 I weighed in at 204 pounds. I got freaked out by the fact that I had reached that 200 pound threshold and decided I wanted to make a change. I started eating healthier and going to the gym nearly everyday. It was nice because I had put together a great schedule where I went to the gym at 5AM, work at 8AM, my second job at 1PM, and then back home by 8PM and in bed by 9PM. It was busy but actually really nice. That summer I got down to 183 pounds.
When classes started I fell of the wagon for a few months and gained back 10 pounds. I started back up in November, using MyFitnessPal and running with my boss. It was a lot of fun and we really got to know each other better during that time. I got down to 175 pounds and I felt amazing with my healthy lifestyle.
I wanted to continue but I fell off the wagon again when I moved back home and didn't have a gym to my disposal. Combine that with not eating very well and I was back up to 185 pounds.
Fast-forward to today. I've started working out again. For the past few months I kept telling myself I would but I had no motivation. It's hard to remind yourself of how amazing you felt when you were healthy. I was inspired after doing the Miss UCO pageant this past month. Some of the girls there had been to points in their lives where they weren't always healthy and some were even overweight like myself. It was inspiring to hear their stories and reminded me of what I used to strive for.
So here I am again. Ready to start back on the long journey to looking and feeling healthy and amazing. I want this to be an experience I share with my readers so I've decided to start doing Wednesday Weigh Ins. I'll update you on my status and how I'm progressing every week in addition to sharing my normal adventures.
I know it's the holidays and it's the time of year when people struggle to stay healthy, but I'm determined to succeed. My current goal is down to 165 by February 20th. Wish me luck!

A few Health Blogs I'll be following along the way!
Healthy-Ish
blogilates
Fit Bottomed Girls