The best thing...

Wanna know the very best thing about losing 50 pounds?

Being able to wear my engagement ring again. :)

Project Scripture: Week Twelve

(If you're a new reader, check out all the details for Project Scripture here.  Essentially, I decided to try and memorize 52 verses in 2012, and quite a few others have decided to join in on the fun!  If you want to jump in with us, don't worry that you didn't start at the beginning - just start here at Week Twelve, and you'll still be able to memorize FORTY verses this year! :))

I'm really excited about this week's verse because it's a particularly good verse to be able to share with those that are hurting or troubled.  And it's such a wonderful thing to be able to point someone who is burdened to the restful arms of Christ.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

Have a wonderful week, y'all!

Deegan...

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!  I've spent most of my day today with my cute niece and nephew, and I just wanted to pop in a share a few of the pictures I snagged of my nephew, Deegan today.  Little cutie pie...

Happy Saturday, y'all!

50.8 pounds down and halfway there...

(***So sorry, Google Readers! I accidentally published an unfinished draft I'd saved instead of the full post!***)

As of Wednesday, I have officially lost 50.8 pounds.

That's, like, half a Snooki, y'all! :)

This journey has been a crazy one, and it definitely isn't over, but it's incredible to me how different my life already is from when I first started.

Here I am with my Houston bestie at her bachelorette party in September.  (And I'm just going to skate over all of the things I could say about how looking at this picture makes me feel because it's Friday, dadgummit, and I've got no time for melancholy.)

Here I am today... 50.8 pounds lighter.

The change is almost dumbfounding.  Especially considering that I'm only halfway to my goal!  And the feeling I had this morning when I was able to put on the same shirt I wore just a few days before my wedding? (Yep, the same shirt I'm wearing in that picture over there to the right.)  Indescribable.

I refuse to look back and wonder why it took me so long to get my brain to click into place.  And I can't beat myself up over the fact that I buried my head in the sand for so long.  Instead, I'm choosing to be thankful that:

- I'm no longer exhausted at the end of every day.

- I don't feel guilty at the end of every meal.

- The thought of squeezing into the seatbelt on an airplane doesn't give me anxiety. (It was getting pretty darned tight.)

- I'm not winded after going up a flight of stairs.

- I'm starting to feel like I look like me again.

- I'm almost back into a ton of cute work clothes.

- I'm almost back into a ton of cute lingerie.  Yeah, I said it. :)

- I "only" have fifty more pounds to lose. (Hey, I'm a glass half-full kind of girl.)

I definitely still have more work to do here.  I'm not done, and this definitely isn't over.  But I have done something significant, and looking back at where I started helps me picture where I'm headed with more clarity. 

And you know what?  

It's looking pretty darned fabulous from here. :)

Thankful Thursdays (Link Up!)...

I heard once that people who who make an effort to be thankful for the good things in their lives are the happiest people, and I really think it must be true. 

So I'm going to start a link-up party every Thursday morning for those of you who, like me, like to count your blessings.  They can be silly or sincere or a totally random assortment of things that make you smile (ahem, Pinterest) - just link them up (or shout them out in a comment), and we can all have a feel-good moment each Thursday.  Because, let's face it - the day before Friday usually sucks... Thursday needs all the help it can get. :)

So here are my thankfuls on this lovely Thursday morning...

{I'm thankful} that I'm finally feeling a little better.  I got a strange strep-like virus on Monday night and have been pretty useless since then.  Mostly I'm thankful that I feel good enough to run again tonight.  I haven't run since Sunday evening, and with my first 5K coming up in a month (eek!), I need all the training time I can get!

via

{I'm thankful} that I remembered about the Amazon Prime Lending Library - I can re-read Hunger Games for free on my Kindle!  (Although I'm not so thankful that I ended up staying up until 1:30 a.m. last night starting and finishing the first book again.  I'm a sleepy girl today.)

{I'm thankful} for blackberries.  Delish.

{I'm thankful} that I get to see my sweet niece this weekend. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

{I'm thankful} for grace.

And, lastly, {I'm thankful} for this guy.

He's the best decision I've ever made.  (Plus, he's ridiculously handsome.)

Happy Thursday, y'all.  Make it a good one!