Weigh-in Wednesday (or Friday. ..)

So I originally planned in posting this Wednesday, but that didn't work out. I could have waited until next Wednesday to share, but I've been too excited! I'm back in full swing of my getting-in-shape-adventure!

You may be asking why now? Well I recently did another pageant (more details to come) and it helped me realize how far off the track I've come. Last year I could run a straight mile and feel fine. Now im lucky if I can get the motivation to walk to the library. They spoke about how the former "Miss" titleholders worked so hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle and it dawned on me that I will never be one of them if I dont start taking care of my body again.

So here we are now. At the pageant I weighed about 186-187 lbs. I weighed in Wednesday at 182.4 lbs. Now that seems really fast, but the accumulation of salty foods and not staying hydrated made me put on a lot of water weight. As of now I'm going go the gym daily, eating healthy, and I've been maintaining a healthy steady  weight loss.

Wish me luck!
Allie

#TBTAdventure: NSLC in D.C. part 2

Yep. It's finally here.

When we last left off I was eating pizza alone in my room because I showed up late to the conference and missed all the fun of the boat ride down the river. When I finally had everything set up I went ahead and showered. By then it was about 10 PM and I figured I'd sleep before the excitement of the next day decided to rear its head. Of course, as soon as I laid down my roommates walked through the door; A New Yorker by the name of Stevie and another girl whose name and home-state escapes me (we didn't talk much). We exchanges short pleasantries and turned in for the night

We called ourselves Dumbledore's Army

The next day we got right to work meeting our Team Advisers (basically camp counselors) and doing a few introductory activities. The real work began later in the weeks, where we would attend classes and learn college-level media skills.

I was in the Journalistic Writing class taught by a former writer for USA Today. It was brilliant really. For the first time I had someone teaching me the art of saying something concisely rather than B.S.ing my way through it until I hit 15 pages.

I learned a lot during those two weeks, but I also had a lot of fun! One of the places we went was Old Town Alexandria (I had to get a shirt because it said my name on it). Here I tried Japanese soda for the first time and saw my first street band.

It was funny because every time I saw something new I would get excited. It became common for my peers to roll their eyes and say "Oklahoma!" before we all broke into laughter.

One of my favorite places we went was the Newseum. If you've never been, go. It has pieces of history from some of the most historic moments covered in the news. They have prices of the world trade center and Berlin wall as well as photos of former presidents canine friends.

By the end of the two weeks I felt so inspired by the people I was with and the things I had learned and experience. It was truly amazing and probably one of the most valuable things I was able to do in high school.

*Stay tuned! I know this seems like the end, but there is a PART 3 to this story!
Keep on Adventuring,

Weigh-in-Wednesday 1/20/16

Finally a PROPER on of these. Unfortunately I've made no progress. In fact, I've gained weight.

Yeah....

I'm at 185 again. This is due to a lot of reasons. First, my grandmother died and that left me not really focused on my diet and exercise. Then immediately after that I started RA training for the last time without much time to get myself back on the wagon. THEN classes started. I'm hoping that things will start cooling down and I can get the motivation to trek across the far parking lots to get to the wellness and get back to eating well.

Motivation is appreciated!

A Reluctant Farewell

The holidays are generally a stressful time for everyone, but this year tacked on an unwelcome surprise for my family. I've been reluctant to post this because posting it makes it feel more real. My grandmother died. I know this happens to most people at some point in their lives. People die. It happens. But this is the first time someone I cared about closely died and I've been old enough for it to effect me so deeply.

                                 

My grandmother was a wonderful lady. She was a little crazy at times because she was heavily medicated and pretty conservative, but I have so many fond memories with her. I remember cooking biscuits and gravy from scratch, swimming in her pool, and riding around on a big wheel in her back yard.

She always used to tell stories about how us kids would act silly and play at her house. As we got older we didn't see her quite so much, because we were all busy with our own adult lives. She had health issues and a bit of a shopping addiction (the television was not always her friend).

The strangest part of her passing was that I had just seen her a few days before. We had Christmas at her house, and she was running around the kitchen cooking everything in the world. So Christmas night I wasn't expecting to get a call saying she was in the hospital.

She had pneumonia a few weeks before, and we thought she was getting better. She was on medicine and was feeling better. Unfortunately she got an infection in her lungs. It had gotten so bad the doctors decided to put her under and on a ventilator so her body could focus solely on fighting the infection.

I stayed at the hospital for 5 hours. I only went home to sleep when I felt confident that she would be OK until I came back in the morning. Unfortunately, I was wrong. She died a few hours later. I wish there was something that could have been done. I wish she was still around to see where my life would take me. I wish the world still had such an amazing lady around. One thing so sure is she had a lot of adventures in her life. She saw so many places and had so many experiences. I hope my life turns out amazing like hers was.

I Got Contacts

I am a firm believer that glasses are not a bad thing. I think the hipsters would agree that glasses are super cool, but some people look at glasses and think "Ew! Nerds!"

I've worn glasses since I was about 13. I'm 21 now. That's a long time with glasses, and I've become very comfortable with them. Well, this past week I decided to take the plunge and get contacts, and it's been an experience.

Before

After

So I had already gotten new glasses in September, so I was pretty familiar with my eye doctor. I got to my appointment a little late because Edmond traffic is stupid. I sat in the waiting room for about 2 seconds before they were ready for me, which was nice.

I did struggle to get them in at first, in fact I still struggle to get them in and out. The assistant actually had to put the contacts in my eye the first time. They both felt weird at first, but I noticed that the left one just KEPT ON feeling weird. Apparently I have astigmatism in that eye so the contact is thicker. Fun Fact: I never knew that.

The next few days were odd. My right eye adjusted super quickly. That left eye though.... It's mostly broken in but it still take about 10 minutes to get used to in the mornings.

For the most part I like them. I have noticed that I'm not as comfortable with my contacts as I was with my glasses. Apparently at some point I had started hiding behind my glasses. It was like people wouldn't see all of my flaws because my glasses were too distracting. It's a bit of an adjustment, but I think it's good for my confidence. It's putting me out of my comfort zone and making me feel better about the face I was born with WITHOUT a shield to protect me.

                       

via GIPHY

New Semester, New Start For the Last Time

My gosh, where have I been? It feels like everywhere.

Winter break is officially over and my final spring semester of my undergraduate college career has begun! I'm a bit reluctant to say goodbye though. College has been one of the most exciting, unpredictable, stressful, and amazing adventures I've ever been on. I've only got a few months left so I'm preparing to treasure them the best I can.

I actually haven't started classes yet. I only have Tuesday/Thursday classes so my first class isn't until tomorrow. I am very excited to get started though; I'm taking two more photography courses, Darkroom and Fashion. I am most looking forward to the Darkroom class, because my inner introvert just loves the ability to chill in a dark room developing photos with chemicals that smell like egg (that sounds a bit weird when I say it out loud). The Fashion photography class should be fun too, and I think it will allow me to create some really beautiful photos.

In addition to my photography classes I'll be taking Yoga on Tuesday night, so hopefully that goes well. I am also working on finishing my Leadership minor with and online Capstone course and an elective called "Jesus as Leader". I haven't heard much about this class except that it breaks down Jesus and his leadership skills in the bible. I don't know how it will go but I've heard good things.

Here's to a new semester. I'm ready to make it a good one while I get ready to hold my head high as I cross that stage, in my cap and gown, ready to change the world!
-Allie