"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow....

...shining at the end of every day!" - Carousel of Progress, Magic Kingdom Park

The title of this entry shouldn't be surprising for those of you who like Disney like I do. :P There really is a "great big beautiful tomorrow" at the end of the day!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks. A holiday where families and friends gather around the table eating stuffing, cranberry sauce, and turkey. A holiday where families and loved ones collapse on the couch, floor, or their beds suffering from food coma. A holiday where families and friends share something they're thankful for with one another. A holiday where it's extremely easy to gain weight that you've been fighting to keep off for so long. 

The closer Thanksgiving gets for me, the closer it is until the local playhouse announces auditions for Hello, Dolly. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, and frightened about the upcoming audition, but auditioning for a musical has been something I've always wanted to do. If I were to be cast as Minnie Faye, that would be a huge confidence booster and encouragement to me after losing 26+ pounds. Unfortunately, it looks like auditioning for Hello, Dolly will have to be put on hold. Something has come up that may prevent me from auditioning (those are not my nerves talking, followers :P).

I will continue to maintain a healthy eating pattern and workout regimen. Let's keep the whole I-Wanted-Chipotle-Becuase-I-Hadn't Eaten-Much-All- Day thing for tonight's dinner as a secret between follower and blogger. Good? Good! I'm still going to call this the Hello, Dolly challenge because I won't know for sure until the audition date gets closer.

I have a 4 hour break tomorrow between classes, so the plan is to workout during that time for at least 30 minutes. I'm on a short term goal to lose five pounds before Thanksgiving, folks. Running on the treadmill and lifting weights are two exercises calling my name.

-B

New Challenge

Hello, followers!

I apologize for the lack of posts these past few months. I hope this entry will get me back into the blogging world so I can share my progress.

God is always good and He encouraged me to keep going until the end of the challenge this summer. It was a difficult challenge to do, but I accomplished it with His help. The Zumba bag I won contained amahhhzing goodies!

Three Zumba shirts, protein power, protein bars, and more!

Pictured below is my Zumba instructor, Terrina. She has been an influential person in my life with her story and has inspired me to become a Zumba instructor. 

My Zumba instructor announced another Zumba challenge a few weeks ago, but I’ve decided to set a challenge of my own. From now until the spring I will continue to be mindful of my food intake and increase my workout routines. The local playhouse near me will announce audition dates sometime next year for the production of Hello, Dolly, so I have from now until then to meet my goal. My current weight is 174 and I want to be between 130-150 pounds before auditions. My character of interest for the show is Minnie Faye, so I need to make sure I will be healthier for auditions. My acting class I’m enrolled in has reminded me how much I miss acting and being on stage. 

Hello, Dolly Challenge: Lose 30+ pounds before Hello, Dolly auditions. 

Prize: Any suggestions? Full body massage? Modcloth.com shopping investment? Anything?! Haha!  

Your continued support will be greatly appreciated as I tackle this challenge. 

-B

Injury Update

Hello folks!

I just updated my food diary entries and I noticed how terrible I did in the process. When my shin splints injury occurred, I slacked off with healthy eating and ate whatever I could. I'm surprised that even when I slacked off I stayed in my calorie range! Tomorrow will be my last Monday in Maryland, so I'm going to get back on course and strive to pull through this pain. No more excuses whatsoever for me anymore! I'm going to start walking on Tuesday to get my body used to it again. To prevent further pain, I will stretch before and after every workout to relax my muscles.

I'd appreciate it if I can have all of you keep me accountable. I'm starting to get lazy and I don't want to gain my weight back.

Thanks again for your constant support!

-B