Sometimes it's worth shopping around to find the best deals

Since around November, all Joe has talked about is a King Size bed.  He's threatened multiple times to sleep in different beds when he stays the night with me most weekends.  I did NOT want to be that couple who slept in different beds dating, engaged, or married.   Although Buddy is only 14 pounds, he acts like he is 70 pounds in the bed.  That mutt takes up a ton of room and Joe, love him to pieces, he sprawls out.  I'm usually in fetal position laying on my side all curled up with no covers.  The sacrifices I make so needless to say, things had to change....

One Sunday afternoon Joe decided he wanted to go bed shopping.  Now, he wasn't looking to spend a fortune and I knew of some good Mattress Outlet companies in Greensboro I wanted us to checkout.  We laid on every bed in this store trying to see if we liked the plush feeling, the softness, the firmness.  I've never really paid attention to mattresses before but let me tell you, there is a huge difference in them.  We finally laid on one with our feet up and we fell in love with it.  Joe, the car salesman and dealer he is started talking numbers.  I've never been good at the numbers talk, so I'm thankful I have a man who knows how to "wheel and deal."  The guy and Joe went back and forth until we finally became proud owners of a king size mattress, box spring, and pillow top set for $700.  Talk about a steal.  Love some frugal living.  I was so excited, but I honestly had no idea we would have bought a bed that day, I just thought we were looking.  So, I've learned when Joe puts his mind to something he's going to follow-thru.  Great trait ladies to find in a man :)

Most people who know me love to know I like to shop, I'm very frugal, and I can't pass up on DEALS.  So I'm all excited now about outfitting this king bed.  Joe and I head to Stein Mart after the purchase and I start looking at quilts.  He wasn't much into the shopping trip but embraced it like a champion.  As soon as I walk back to the bedding section, I fall in LOVE with this quilt and guess what it's 50%.  So, I ask the salesman why it's 50% and is this all they have.  He was like yes, the quilt is being discontinued.  The pattern is called St. Germaine and Stein Mart in Greensboro only had a queen size left.  Well, I knew I needed a king and I needed king shams or the pillows wouldn't look right.  Joe didn't understand the process of decorating a bed and to match the colors in the room, so I had to explain.  I'm starting to find out this is a typical male, explaining colors, patterns, etc.  I asked the guy if he knew of anyone who had the King Quilt and King Pillow Shams, so he went up front and keyed in some numbers and said I only can view Winston and High Point, and the Winston Stein Mart has the King Quilt and 1 King Pillow Sham.  What was I going to do with 1 King Pillow Sham; regardless, I asked them to hold it.  By this time we are getting kicked out because the store is closing.  While we were leaving I told Joe that I was going to call the Stein Mart in Concord since I knew I would be up his way the next weekend after our weekend beach trip getaway.  Monday morning at 10 I was on the phone with Concord, and guess what they had 1 King Pillow Sham.  YAY, SCORE!!!!!  I got the quilt and one sham in Winston, and the other one in Concord.  Tuesday after work in the freezing rain, I headed to Winston Salem to their Stein Mart.  I was so excited Monday night I could hardly sleep to pick up the quilt and sham.  However, when I got to Stein Mart in Winston, I was so upset.  Someone had took the pattern out of the St. Germaine casing and put another pattern in it to get the 50% off, so there was no St. Germaine King Pillow Sham :(  I may have cried, to be completely honest because I was so excited to get everything for the bedding and 50% off.  I start talking to the lady at the front desk and she's like if you can call Concord and get the SCU number then I can look it up and see if the shams are anywhere else in NC.  So, I don't understand why she couldn't call Concord, but regardless, I contacted Concord and got the SCU number.  The lady tells me there are 2 shams at Stein Mart in Charlotte.  I was like I'm not driving all the Charlotte for pillow shams and she was like you know we ship now.  I didn't even know Stein Mart had a website and they ship now.  DAY MADE!!!!!!  So rather than going to Concord, I had Stein Mart in Charlotte ship me 2 pillow shams for $8.99 shipping fee, and I got the quilt 50% off in Winston.  So the total for quilt and shams was $70.  I couldn't have been more excited.

Sometimes it's worth shopping around to find the best deals and find exactly what you want rather than settling.  I am in love with our new bed, quilt, and pillow shams.  The pattern makes my master bedroom very bright and the best thing about all of it is Joe loves it too.

Focus T25

It's all about the "Focus" as Shaun T mentions in every single DVD that I've seen.  So, what is T25?  It's a high intense interval training (HIIT) that is completed in 25 minutes.  No gym time, no gym memberships and all done in the comfort of your own home.  Plus, no equipment is needed; however, you can use resistance bands for some workouts which was provided in my kit.  Let me just tell you this, I've never sweated so much in life except in this 25 minute workout.  He pushes you and you have to push yourself.  No water breaks, no breaks, give him 25 minutes and you WILL see results. 

So why am I doing T25?  Most people would think I am not overweight; however after a recent doctors visit I was in the overweight category for BMI.  Needless to say, I was devastated.  Working in Public Health for so many years and teaching all these nutrition and exercising classes, I couldn't believe how I just had let myself go.  Not to mention, being a new relationship which means a lot of dinner dates and ice cream dates...so no wonder I had gained about 10 pound in a 4 month time period.  Around September, I had put a request out on Facebook asking if anyone had any recommendations for exercises, training, and weight loss tips they could help me with.  I needed a jumpstart, something to kick my metabolism back in gear.  A friend suggested a Personal Trainer and I worked out with her for a week to learn about different machines and to put together a routine to focus on my whole body beyond just cardio.  I learned chest, shoulder, back, arms, legs, glutes, and abs workout and let me tell you, they have certainly made a difference.  When I started at this gym in September here were my measurements:

Measurements 9/11/2014
Weight= 147
Waist=34
Hips=42
Chest=37.5

After 3 days a week in the gym and using an at home DVD- Jillian Michaels Shred it in 30 Days and working on my diet I had lost weight by the first of the year.  Also, during this same post a friend had got me in touch with a Beachbody coach.  I had always seen the commercials but I really never believed you could lose that much fat and inches off your body with one of these DVD's.  So after many conversations back and forth about programs Beachbody offers and seeing amazing results from someone who just completed the program, I WAS SOLD.  My Christmas present to myself was Focus T25.  I bought the Alpha and Beta cycles. 

On January 1, 2015 I made a commitment to eat clean, be more frugal, cut diet soda out of my diet, limit myself one cup of coffee every single day, exercise, and drink LOTS of water.  So far, I'm on the right path!!!!!  I was so anxious to start the program, and I'm sure Joe got tired of me talking about it so much.  When my DVD's came in the mail, the first step before you begin the DVD's is to take all your measurements.  Now, I haven't really weighed myself or took any measurements since I started at the gym so I was anxious to see if I had lost any.  So here goes with my new measurements prior to T25:

Measurements 1/11/2015
Weight= 138
Waist=31
Hips=38.5
Chest=34

WOW, I couldn't believe the change from September to January by eating healthier and rather than doing so much cardio, lifting more weights.  I changed my diet to incorporate more protein and now I drink a protein shake every single day after workouts.  It's amazing how your body craves it after you workout.

So, with all these said, I am excited to start my T25 journey and I can't wait to see the amazing results this program brings and share with you all about my fitness journey.

Thanks to everyone for their love and support throughout this process!

THE FOCUS BEGINS NOW!!!!!!!!!!