Shopaholic in Alabama

Hello There! Hope this post finds everyone doing fantastic and taking time out to enjoy the holiday season! Sorry I have been such a loser about posting this year, I plan to do a MUCH better job in 2016! My last post was in August and was all about losing weight. I had such tremendous support both here on the blog and on Facebook, I thought it was time to update you again. I have continued running and working out, and to date have lost 66 pounds total. My husband and I completed our first half marathon the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Kaiser Coastal Half in Orange Beach, Alabama. It was such an amazing feeling, knowing that this time last year I couldn't even run a quarter of a mile. Now, I'll be honest. My time was terrible - 2:47:47 - but I completed a half marathon! Today I am sharing pictures - one of me with my husband, and one with my husband and our friends Gwen and Lindsey. Gwen has been a friend of mine since high school, and we have been running together s

Hello Everyone! Hope you're doing fantastic and enjoying these HOT summer days. I am a certified beach bum and sun lover, but this weather even has me looking forward to cooler temps!  Yesterday was my 45th birthday (even I can't believe I'm this old). Anyway, I digress. I posted the above picture yesterday on my Instagram and Facebook pages, proving a point that even on my birthday I managed to squeeze in a short workout. This picture has led to a lot of questions from FB friends about how I'm losing weight, as I have now lost 51 pounds.  So I decided to start documenting some of my habits and what I am using, what I've learned, etc.   Let's start with some of the questions I've received. Hopefully this will help others in their weight loss and fitness battle...because believe me, it's a battle. No doubt about it.  Question 1: "How did you get started?" This one is actually easy: I joined the gym and starting going to the classes. Wh

Hello and Happy Almost The Weekend! I promised I was back and here I am again!  I wanted to share part of my recent journey with you all. In December of last year, I made a decision to get my health back. My weight was out of control and I was concerned for my general health. Health issues in my family include cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. I had no desire to be diagnosed with any of these either now or in the future. While it's true, we can only do so much to fight genetics, I was determined to do everything in my power.  On December 26, 2014 I took some of the money I was given at Christmas and bought a year's gym membership. I paid in cash, for the entire year of 2015. I figured what the heck, if it's paid in full, I would feel guilty if I didn't go and do the work.   On Saturday, December 27, 2014 I went to my first gym classes in more years than I want to admit. I took Cardio Step - think old school Step Aerobics. I thought I was g

Hello my friends! It's been a long time since I blogged regularly and I have really missed it! I've made the decision to blog again, likely 3-4 times per week. I sure hope some of you are still with me and will read!  What has everyone been up to? I left my job (which I really didn't enjoy) the day after Christmas 2014. Since that time, I have been blissfully unemployed and working on myself. I've been dieting and exercising and have lost some weight, and plan to lose a lot more! I have also been enjoying the summer with family and friends here at the beach. My plans for future posts: diet and exercise tips along with what has worked for me, healthy recipes (we'll start with Meatless Monday and my experiments), fashion finds including my favorite current Lilly Pulitzer pieces, and much much more!  Who is still with me? Take a moment to drop me a comment! Have a fantastic Tuesday, I'm off to Yoga. 

Happy Holidays! Hope Santa was good to you all - it was a crazy holiday for us, and now I can't believe it's almost 2015. Wow - where has the year gone? Seems like it was last week when we were all making New Years resolutions for 2014.  Today, I wanted to talk about Ebates - the world's largest FREE website offering you cash back for online shopping. It's so easy - you sign up free (use my link HERE ). Then every time you shop online, start at the Ebates website to link to your favorite retailer website. Often times, there are special or promotional cash back percentages for a limited time. In addition, you will occasionally find very nice coupon codes for your favorite retailer. All this helps to save you money - and that quarterly cash back check is pretty nice. :-)  Speaking of that cash back check, you can opt for a paper check (this is what I do) or have your rebates sent to your Paypal. As a matter of information, you can see my numbers above. I joined

Happy Thanksgiving! How are you celebrating the day? We are visiting family in Mobile. My house smells wonderful this morning, as sweet potato souffle and corn casserole are currently in the works. Those two dishes are always my contribution to the family Thanksgiving meal.   Have you started holiday shopping? I have to admit, I'm a little later than normal getting started this year. Over the past two days, I have picked up a few gifts. It's finally setting in - Christmas will be here very soon!  Throughout the holiday season, I will be blogging about my favorite things and sharing deals with you all. Hope you enjoy the posts - it's going to be a lot of fun for me. I have missed blogging and am glad to be back.  Today I start with the Black Friday Beauty Bundle from Younique . Many of you might recall, I am an Independent Presenter with Younique and use all of their products. The 3D Fiber Mascara is the product that started it all for me - I tried it once and was h