I love you StairMaster - 2 inches off of my thighs!

To start - I have lost 2 inches on my thigh since July 15th, which I am so proud of, because my dedication to my work outs in the month of August was terrible (yeah, I admit it). I have been doing the StairMaster nearly every single day since August 29th, 2010. I do 20 minutes a day (I always do it as my beginning cardio before my work out's) on either a Fat Burning or Calorie Burning program and do half of the work out at level 9 or 10 and then half of the level at 20. It is hard as hell to me but I am absolutely loving the results and the feeling. I definitely would recommend it to anyone!

A lot has been going on, but I guess that is how I like it!

My car completely died Thursday, but thank God it actually died in my parking lot at work! Literally, as soon as I pulled into my work the car died. I swear I had an angel looking over me because if my car would have died in the morning Rush hour of people trying to get to work in Charlotte, NC, I would have been mortified! So guess what that means, this weekend I am getting a new car! No more 2000 Nissan Sentra in the grossest "hunter green" color I have ever seen! I know this is cliche but I really want a Honda Civic or Sion TC. The Toyota Yaris's are really cute too! I am just having fun looking. I am driving a 2007 Honda Civic while waiting to get my new car and I am really loving it.

I got my hair colored black! I did it last August and loved it. So now I have gone for totally blonde to totally black and I think it looks great. My mom hates it, but at least she is 3 hours away from me and does not have to look at me everyday, haha.

Speaking of my mom, she is 46 years old and has extremely progressive MS and Lupus. She was in a wheelchair for a while when she was first diagnosed in 2005 and has since been able to walk again. A lot of days she has trouble doing the most simple activities that we take for granted and even complain about. She has trouble walking, going to the bathroom, showering, driving, etc. The worst part about it all is that she cannot take medicine for her MS because over the past 5 years all of the side effects have been too bad. She has literally tried every medicine on the market. The only thing she can do now is have her lesions shrunk every month so they will not make their way to her brain. If lesions travel up to her brain that is when she will start to shut down. Now this is not all bad. She has been a single mother of me and my brother. She has worked, raised us on her own, and while doing all of that she was in school earning double Master's degree in Health Administration and Nursing. She obtained her degrees in July, married her boyfriend of 3 years in June, and one of her biggest dreams came true this weekend!

Her new husband, James bought her a horse and she was able to ride it for over an hour on Saturday. This may sound simple, but for her to be able to go outside get on her brand new horse, and go riding she was at the root of a perfection. She called me in the middle of dinner so joyous, I cried. To see my mom do something she has ALWAYS wanted and dreamed of is the most amazing feeling in the world. She has spent her entire life working so hard and taking the curves life has thrown at her that to see her so happy and things going well is such a relief. She also just landed a prestigious job as a Nursing Director as a major hospital in Greensboro, NC. I hope people who read this (which I do know probably not many do) truly learn how to appreciate the little things in life and understand the real meaning of happiness. My mother was diagnosed with MS when I was 16 years old and through out the past 5 hours I have became a completely different person. Watching someone you love struggle everyday in their life teaches you the value of love, happiness, and the meaning of life.

So anyways :) Weight training has been getting better, for a while I felt I was kind of stuck but I have really switched my work outs up and started going heavier (while still maintaining adequate reps) and I am getting sore after almost every work out and that is my favorite feeling in the world! I have also started taking BCAA and Folic Acid pills. I have heard great things so I hope they will help! Today is also weight day and I am so ready.

I wish everyone a great week or training and dieting. May you all be sore and not craving delicious Halloween cookies and pumpkin pie! :)