Macros Schmacros

Heyy friendssss

So yea I was gone last week, besides my mandatory FALL IS HEEEERRREEEE post, because priorities.

Buuuut mostly because I fell off the cliff. Yea, not the wagon this time; a whole mother effing cliff. I felt like a big ole hyprocrite talking about my workouts and food and blah blah blah when in real life I was eating any and everything in sight, and not working out. It is a vicious cycle that no one should have to witness. Let's just say when I throw down, I throw DOWN. Hence why I used to be 234 pounds.

True life: that XXL Christmas sweater for the ugly Christmas sweater party aaaactually fit. Akward.

Anywho, it all started when I finally got out of the freakin 170s. That didn't last long, because the next weekend I took my happy ass to VA Beach for some sorority sister bonding, read: eat Mexican and Sushi and Cookout and drink alcohol and give no fucks. Ugh, such is life. Came home and tried to get my shit together aaaand that didn't happen because Leon wanted to go back to VA Beach for a friend's baby's birthday. So yet again, more eating delicious food that isn't in Northern VA. That was my excuse for eating a heavenly 1/4 pound burger with cheddar cheese and mushrooms w/ french fries. Judge me. I'm judging myself. Got home, and literally said, "yeaaaaa I'm not feelin the whole working out thing.." 

So I didn't work out that day. Or the next day. Or the day after. This lasted for 2 weeks. That is the longest I hadn't worked out since I've started this lovely little journey. Mind you, I was eating according to my macro plan for breakfast and lunch, but come dinner, all counting went out the window. Want pizza for dinner? Suuuure. Mediterranean Kabobs tomorrow? Suuuuuure. I'm thinkin Chinese tonight? Sounds gooooood.

 I had obviously lost my mind.

One day Leon became a little concerned with my eating habits that were obviously pointing towards becoming not so great, and asked if I was ok, while staring at the 2 pieces of pizza on my plate. Aaaand then I snapped, because obviously when you eat bullshit consistently after eating healthy consistently, your mind/body isn't alllll there. I was embarrassed. I was ashamed that I had fallen back so hard. Of course pizza is fine in moderation, but ya girl was working on piece 3 and 4, plus the wings I had just downed. I should have been glad that he was concerned and loved me enough to say something, but of course I took it as an insult and flipped shit. Sheesh Crystal, calm down and eat some broccoli. After telling him to not judge my food, whether it be pizza or salad, I calmed the fuck down and realized that I needed to get it together.

Needless to say, the next day I ate according to my macros and got my happy ass outside for a run. It really is that easy to slip back into old habits, and honestly it was a little scary. I most definitely cannot go back to the overweight, self conscious girl who broke out in a sweat from trying on clothes, but I've realized that it no one will hate me if I share my highs AND lows. Honestly, I hate reading about people who never struggled and never had an off week (or two..oops), because it's like shit girl, why is your life so perfect? Tell me the truth and tell me your struggles! I don't mean that in a "I hate you because I can't be you" way, but in a "I can't connect with you" kinda way. Whatever. I'm back on track, and doing the "October Challenge with SkinnyMeg" to get into the 160s and STAY there. No celebration for hitting 169 this time. Need to keep chuggin along.

Dec. 2012 and Sep. 2014

I'll get there! Hopefully sooner rather than later..

-Crystal

Race Recap! I'm alive!

Helloooooooo out there! I do realize that I haven't said anything since last week, more on that tomorrow. I was in a bit of a slump, if you will. But yes, back to this past weekend. I hung out with my mom all day Saturday so that was glorious of course. I live 20 minutes away from her now that I've moved out, but it's still so hard to see her during the week because I'm so busy. She's also really busy, which is very odd to me. She turned 49 this year and she goes out more than I do! She literally asked me if my brother could spend the night one Friday because she wanted to go out drinking with her coworkers. Mind you, her coworkers are all my age. WHAT.

I woke up and ran 3 miles, since I was running 10 the next day. It was an average run, nothing special. Then I watched Tiger play with her gigantic bone for a while, because it was actually pretty hilarious. The bone is literally as long as she is. We had to get her a giant one because she goes through the little ones SO fast.

But I digress. This weekend mama bear and I had planned to go to Old Town Alexandria; totes cutesy little shops, cafes, and restaurants, but it really turned into run errands with mom and go see Grandma. This is also totally fine in my book! When I was little we would go see my Grandma, along with the rest of my family, every single Saturday and it was the greatest. I have 13 aunts and uncles on my mom's side, and an absurd amount of cousins, so it was always entertaining. So this past Saturday was like old times and I really like spending time with feisty grandma, especially now that she's getting older.

After leaving Grandma's we went to Mike's American Grill for lunch and I swear they have the greatest food in the world. I'm a bad blogger so I have no pictures. What else is new. Whenever I go there I get the Jambalaya Pasta and eat all of the sweet bread in the little baskets because it's freakin delicious. But Crystal who didn't wanna shit herself on the race course the next day new and improved Crystal ordered sauteed chicken with red peppers and angel hair pasta with brown butter sauce AND only had 2 pieces of bread. BOOM BITCHES. I probably shouldn't have tried something new before race day, but it was pretty light and it fit my macros, soooo it happened. Mama Bear dropped me off at my car and we went our ways and I went home to get some rest.

RACE DAYYYY

I did the Perfect Ten - 10k/10 Mile Race in Reston, VA (about 30-40 minutes west of DC) on Sunday. I could've sworn it was a flat course. This was a lie.

I went alone for this one since my beloved boyfriend is waking up at 5:00 am next weekend to drop me off for my half, so I awkwardly hung out in my car till about 20 minutes prior to start.

I hung around and some little old lady came up to me and we were chattin it up and THEN she says, I live in this neighborhood, these hills sure won't be fun. WHOOAAAAA WAIT WAIT WAIT. HILLS!?!? Fuckin shit man. So the race starts and I get in the 10-11 minute pace area. Everyone started together, so it was pretty crowded, but it thinned out quickly. We literally made it about .30 miles before the first hill. I still had a lot of energy at that point so I took it like a champ, but goodness those hills just kept coming back to back. I kept a steady pace for the first 5 miles or so, but after the hills, plus the sun in my freakin eyeballs, plus picking a grossly sweet flavor of shot bloks (strawberry), I was just ready to get the shit over with. It didn't help that the 10 mile people had to watch the 10k people veer off to the finish line. Cue depression and longing glances. Once all the 10k folks were gone there was basically no one on the course. AWESOME. I swear all the 10 milers were like elite runners because I saw like 20 people, tops. The little old lady from before caught up to me and THEN she passed me. Sheesh, way to make me look bad Margaret. Towards the end it weaved through a parking lot of a highschool and it was pissing me off. I was literally dodging spectators and yelling "Excuse me! Still running here! Excuse me!" and it was getting frustrating. That's really my only complaint. There was also a hilarious lady cheering people on at the end, and she saw my shirt and yelled, "HASHTAG STRONG! HASHTAG BAD ASS! YOU GOT THIS GIRL!" I loved her. I sprinted to the end when I could see the finish line and it was the devil. Official time offffff 1:59:40 hahah I'll take it. 8 minutes slower than my fastest 10 mile time, and I'm totally blaming the hills for that shit. But I got a medal, and that's all that matters my friends.

Afterwards I hung around to hear the awards and eat all of the bananas and drink all of the Gatorade. Pretty sure the volunteers gave me dirty looks for taking 2 of everything, buttttt ask me how many fucks I gave? Because I just ran 10 miles, so hop off teenager with braces. Anywho, the fastest woman finished in 1:05 and the fastest man in 1:01. That's freakishly fast. Why are people so weird? Ugh. I'm just bitter and jealous, don't mind me.

When I got home I took a long ass nap that was glorious, and then Leon and I went to IHOP for our post race tradition. I got an egg white omelette and pumpkin pancakes, because fall. duh. It was delicious and awkward because our waitress told us all about her Saturday night while the couple next to us argued about car insurance. I came home and napped some more, and here we are. Monday. Such is life. The only good thing that happened was that these beauties came in the mail. Almost tackled the UPS man when he came in my office.

Aren't they just freakin sexy? Yes, yes they are. I got them from UrbanOG.com at the recommendation of my blogging fav, Laura at Life with Lolo !!! She's the greatest, so if you're not reading her shenanigans, I'm not really sure what you're still doing..I'm about to go full fall, leggings, chambray shirts, and infinity scarves all over this bitch. Get ready my friends.

Chit Chattin about my latest not-blogging-for-a-week thing tomorrow. Hope you kids had a super weekend!

-Crystal

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Yearrrr

I'm like a kid on Christmas right now. It's the first day of my favorite season ever - FALL!!!! Yessssss.

I'm more than ready for the season. Pumpkin all erry day erry thang. Last night I ordered my cognac color riding boots from UrbanOG at the suggestion of the fabulous Laura at Life With Lolo, because what is fall without boots? Not fall, that's what. 

Leon and I were out of town for the weekend for a friend's baby's birthday (yea we're getting old) and when we got on the road to Va Beach we stopped at Wawa to get breakfast and gas, and guess what I had....a pumpkin muffin. And it was AMAZING. If you don't live on the east cost you have no idea what Wawa is, and that is a sad thing. Then before we left the beach we went to Ihop, and guess what I had? That's right, pumpkin pancakes. And they were delicious and I slept like a baby while Leon drove home.

I didn't have time to go grocery shopping after we got home, because it was around 8:30 pm, so I stopped by the store this morning on my way to work to grab a salad, some fruit, and yogurt, and gueeeeess what I found in the dairy aisle? PUMPKIN FLAVORED CHOBANI. Yes. Yes, I did. I debated grabbing 5, but I didn't wanna get too crazy incase I didn't like it... Silly right? Because of course it was freaking delicious. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow after my run, and you best believe I am stalking up since it's a limited edition flavor.

Last fall thing that happened in the past week: leggings bitchessss. I'm not gonna lie, I've always loved wearing leggings, even when I was, ahem, not fit and definitely self conscious. But whatever. Lord knows I wore them anyways. Now that I feel more comfortable in leggings, I'm all about leggings as pants. So I ordered some fleece lined black leggings for fall/winter from Hazel & Olive Boutique and I'm so freakin excited. All of their leggings sell out in minutes, especially black and navy, but I guess I got them right after a restock! I have quite a few pieces from this shop and I wouldn't definitely recommend it. Yea, it is a little pricey, but they have free shippping! And ya girl only shops clearance with a discount code, if available, soooo yea. I rarely buy full price. That's silly. 

I'm still on the hunt for some slouchy cable cord sweaters and infinity scarves. I LOVE fall. 

Just call me Pumpkin Spice.

-Crystal

Crafts and Dumpster Diving

Sup suckaaaassss!

Today is Monday and I'm just like ughhhh kill me now. This past weekend was reckless/amazing and I wish I had more time to lay in my bed. Let's do a little recap, shall we?

1. Friday night le boyfriend and I went to my baby brudder's football game with my mom. My brother is actually turning 17 next month so he's not a baby but whatever. He doesn't get much playing time since he hasn't played in like 3 years, but it keeps him busy and out of trouble sooo win win. It was still a lot of fun to watch a highschool game, mostly because I was people watching/creeping/being weirded out by the high school social scene. Kids in high school are so freakin weird. Everyone is trying so hard to fit in and its almost painful to watch them interact with each other. Plus I cannot even comprehend the clothes they wear. I saw a LOT of spandex shorts on people who were just spectating and even a bikini top? Just regular students. WHAT. I cannot deal. Thank goodness it wasn't like this when I was in highschool.

2. Last week I hinted around about wanting this gorrrgeous watch with my sorority letters on it, thinking nothing of it. 10 minutes later I had a confirmation email in my inbox, showing that my boyfriend had bought it without saying a word. SWOON. It came in on Friday after work, so naturally I squealed like a freak and didn't take it off till I went to bed. Need to master the art of stacking them now..

Isn't she precious?

3. Saturday morning I fully intended on waking up early and going for a long run. Really, I did. But then I realized that it was my first Saturday not working a part time job and I just wanted to freakin enjoy sleeping in. It. Was. Glorious. I felt so well rested and I got my morning snuggles from Tiger while Leon was still passed out.

Best cuddler ever.

4. After I got up, like ten years later, I got all Pinteresty and decided that I wanted to work on a project. So. I picked a gallery wall. Ya know, like this. 

So I took my happy ass to the Goodwill down the street to get some frames. I already have a few brown frames and one teal fram from college, plus a mustard/cream chevron canvas from Target, so I'm gonna stick with chocolatey brown/teal/mustard/gold/grey themes. I'm super excited for it to come together. This is what I have so far. Gonna need to spray paint/paint over some of those!

5. After coming down from my pinterest high I was feeling even more crafty, so when I noticed a table/chest out behind our apartment next to the dumpster, I made Leon drag that sucker inside. Ohhhh yes. Come to mama. Those square details aren't around the whole thing, just on the doors. Weird though, only one door opens. The other one doesn't have hinges, so I guess it's not supposed to open. Dumb. I think it'll be used to put Leon's record player on, once we get one (he keeps harassing me about it, so it'll be soon) and I'm pretty pumped to paint it another color and see what we can do with it. 

I also decided that I need to make my own necklace holder since I can't find one that I like in stores. Mind you I can't even find a freakin stud in the wall, but I somehow think I can work a drill. Not. Will the nice folks at home depot drill some holes in wood for me? Is that a thing? Or do I need to buy one....? I'm just tryin to make cute shit ok?! I'm thinkin one of these beauties.

#sendhelp I have no idea what I'm doing.

Hope you guys had good weekends filled with animal snuggles and dumpster diving!

-Crystal

Sports Bra Struggles

This is a sponsored blog post. Influenster provided me with complimentary Victoria's Secret products to test and review as part of a contest. 

Now that thaaat part is out of the way, let's get to the good stuff. So have you guys heard of Influenster? If not, you should go sign your happy ass up right this second. I've been apart of the Influenster community for about 2 years now, and it is hands down the easiest way to review products/try out new products to see if you want to buy them in the future all for free! It can be kind of confusing at first trying to figure out what you're supposed to do to get points, but after some time it becomes a great way to pass the time. Go to Influenster.com if you're interested in joining the site!

But I digress. Yesterday I received the Victoria's Secret Sport Box and to say I was excited was an understatement. I may or may not have stalked/harassed the mailman AND called the local post office..twice.. to make sure they hadn't lost it. I do not mess around with VS. 

It's like Christmas up in the bitch. And then the heavens opened up..

I got a sports bra AND pants!! I saw a lot of people who got this box got a bra and a water bottle, so I definitely lucked out! I tried both of them on immediately and they were so freaking comfortable. I've heard people say in the past that VS is more for show, not for comfort and not for realistic use. That is so far from the truth. This isn't my first VS sports apparel either. I've purchased a workout tank from them before and the quality is great, so no worries, not biased or anything just because I received it fo free. 

Of course the bra, which is the "Incredible Bra" is cute, but it was also created for larger chested women in mind. It has molded cups, keeps the girls high without over the top push up, is fitted without smothering, and is still functional! What more could I ask for? And the workout tights are perrrfect for upcoming chillier workouts. It's still a little hot to give them a try outside, but I did a quick HIIT workout in them in my room, and I can tell I will love them for runs and for bootcamps. They survived burpees, squats, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers, all with no sliding down, no chafing, and no awkward swishing noises when they rub together. No noise is important to me, ok?!

Now, onto the bra review. I'm in love. Go buy one. Right now, preferably. 

Post 5 mile run and this bra is still lookin hella cute on ya girl.

I decided to go for a run to test it out because that's when my boobs are all over the place. I'm a 36D, formally a 42DDD, sooo yea I need a lot of support. I've said it before, but after losing 60+ pounds, I have pretty much no boobs and a whole lotta skin. Yea I can still fill out a 36D bra so I shouldn't complain, but that's because my boobs used to be freakin gigantic and skin doesn't just disappear. I'm rambling again, sorry friends. Anyways, I really love this bra because it doesn't just suffocate your boobs like you're wearing duct tape. This bra still recognizes the shape of a woman's body and doesn't just want to tie everything down. The Incredible Bra ties everything down and then gives you some oomph to still feel freakin sexy while you're working out. I know that's not important to everyone, and that's A-OK in my book, I just like that VS gives you a 2 for 1 instead of saying, "look bitch, either sexy or sweaty. ya can't get both."

Another note is that I had come to the conclusion that men were always gonna stare at my boobs when I ran because they obviously move around a bit. There's a lot of male runners in my area, but I do have to say that the girls definitely didn't move as much. Also my chest didn't hurt at all today. Usually, I can feel a slight pull in my chest from the bouncing and it is most definitely not comfy, but I thought that was just the cards I was dealt. No! The Incredible Bra has underwire along with the molded cups, so no more slinging your boobs around like  peaches in a grocery bag. They will stay put! Effortlessly! 

No more flat smushed boobies!

Lastly, because this bra has underwire, and keeps the girls sitting up high, this bra can be worn as a regular bra for racer back tank tops! I'm all about some versatility, read: I'm too poor to buy more bras, so every bra needs more than one purpose. Because it's not too tight and suffocating like other sports bras can be, it could most definitely be worn on any occasion without giving you uni-boob or making it look like you're wearing duct tape under your shirt. I mean, more power to ya if thats the look you wanna rock with your racer backs, but I've worked hard for these ta-tas to chill out and shrink, so I'm makin them sit high and pretty whenever I can, and if a sports bra can do the job, uhhh YES PLEASE.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I thought sports bra were just a one size fit all kinda thing and that I was stuck with bras that tied everything down and sent you on your way. After trying out the Incredible Bra by Victoria's Secret, I definitely am breaking up with my old bras. It seems like VS put the time and effort into the technology and design behind each different sports bra to make sure that it fit each customer/body shape/bust size, and ya girl appreciates the heck out of that.

Also I received a small handful of VS Sport coupons for 25% off! They expire on Sept. 21, but if you think it would make it to you in time through snail mail, I wouldn't mind sending a few out! Email me your mailing address if ya want! Cljones.773 (at) gmail (dot) com.

-Crystal

The Most Epic Run Ever

I'm still on cloud nine from my run yesterday. I've been waiting for this run for a while now, and it finally came in the form of perfection. Let's rewind to Saturday.

I worked my very last shift at the dog daycare, and it was bittersweet to say the least. I'll miss the dogs, some of my coworkers, and doing not much of anything and getting paid. But I will not miss not having a freakin Saturday, my boss being a little on the crazy side, and cleaning up explosive dog diarrhea. Like I said, bittersweet. After work, I went to the Potomac River Running Store. It's local to Northern VA, and they put on a lot of popular races and they have great gear. So of course, I was like a kid in the candy store and bought WAY more than I planned on getting.

Let's put it like this; I went in for a water bottle to run with, and this is what I left with......

The water bottle that holds my phone/fuel and fits to your hand, three different kinds of fuel, GU water tabs things, running socks, and a visor. Hi, my name is Crystal, and I have no self control. It didn't help that I had just gotten paid so I felt like spending $50 was totally ok. NOT OK CRYSTAL.

Sunday morning, I woke up at 5:30 for my run. I refused to deal with  bullshit extreme heat again, so early it was. I decided to try the Shotbloks and GU water tabs (you drop a tab in your water and it's a light flavor, a little carbonation, and electrolytes!) for my run to see how I did with it. Mind you, this was my first time EVER running with fuel so I didn't know what to expect. Will it give me wings? Will I feel no pain? Will I breeze through the run like a glitter unicorn?! You shall see.

The run started off pretty good. A little slow, but good. I started on a trail that's super hilly, so my first 2 miles weren't fast. Had to stop and find a potty too, but I made sure to run while I was looking for one, so I was still getting mileage in. After that fiasco, I made it to a new trail I wanted to try around mile 2.30. It was basically the hilly trail, but going in the opposite direction than I usually go. It. Was. Perfect. Barely any hills, cool breeze, and not too sunny since it was only around 7 am. The trails weren't crowded yet, so I just got comfortable and kept it moving. It was so refreshing running through Old Town Alexandria. My mom grew up there, so it was nice seeing places she's talked about, the street she grew up on, and how much the city has changed. Around this time (mile 6), I was still feeling good, and I took the first serving of shot bloks. So delicious. I had the orange flavor, and they pretty much just taste like thicker gummy bears.

 It was my goal to run across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to get a feel for it, since the end of my half marathon crosses that same bridge. I've already run most of the course, so I wanted to try the last part, the bridge, with no pressure. So of course as I'm nearing the bridge I get a wee bit lost, because it's kind of tricky finding the pedestrian trail. Finally found it, after having to turn around 3 times. Woops. By the time I got to the bridge I was at mile 7.32, and I was supposed to turn around to head back at mile 7. So I made the decision to keep going and just end up with a longer run. The bridge was amazingggg to run across. It wasn't steep at all, like a lot of people who've run the half said. The only downside is that it was crazy windy up there, but that's to be expected.

When I got back across the bridge I was almost at 9 miles, and after reading other blogs, I decided to take more shotbloks every 3 miles. So at 9 miles I ate the last 3 and drank some of the water with electrolytes. I don't know if I'm just so used to running with no fuel and no water, but I swear the combo of shotbloks and water made me feel like a new woman. Seriously, I didn't start to feel fatigued until mile 12. That is unreal to me. I felt like I was floating and flying through air. I know I sound like a cheeseball, but I've never had such a pain/fatigue/dead leg free run in my life. I felt amazing throughout the whole thing. I only meant to do 11 according to my plan, but guess what. I ended up doing 13.1. I ran a half marathon. AND I finished it in under my goal time for the actual half. My goal is 2:30 and I finished in 2:25. I finished and sat in my car and just smiled. And teared up a little bit because I couldn't believe I had done it. I ran 13 freakin miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes and I still had energy at the end of it! Usually after my long runs I lay around for the rest of the day contemplating cutting off my legs, but I got home, ran up the stairs and played with Tiger for a while! It's amazing what some shotbloks, nice weather, and a little bit of courage can do for a girl.

I'm unstoppable bitchezzzzz.

-Crystal

Liebster? Meeee?

Hellooooo

So the fabulous Laura at Life With Lolo nominated yours truly for a Liebster Award! I didn't even know what that was before I was nominated, but now I feel pretty great about it. A little bit about this little gem:

 "The Liebster Award is generally given to bloggers with less than 200 followers to give them some much deserved recognition! When you are nominated you share 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you, then nominate 11 bloggers and give them 11 questions to answer."

So. On with the questions that Laura has given me!

1. What is your chapstick of choice?

Please don't kill me Laura, but I haaate chapstick. Honestly I don't like anything on my lips. I danced up until I graduated highschool, so lipgloss, lipstick, chapstick all that stuff just reminds me of stage makeup haha. And my lips never get chapped, soooo yea. 

2. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I only have liiike 8 pairs. Maybe 9? And 3 of those are for the gym. Awkward. My feet are a size 9.5-10 so up until more years, shoes for big foot women haven NOT been cute.

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I went to Europe when I was in highschool with People to People Student Ambassadors, and we only got to see the touristy parts, so I'd really like to go back without all of the restrictions that we had. But besides that, I think I'd like to go somewhere tropical..This is my friend Lauren and I somewhere in Europe.. Good god we look like babies.

4. What is your favorite sport to watch? To play?

I never played traditional sports in highschool. I danced 3-4 days a week though and I'll be damned if that's not considered a sport! To watch, The Summer Olympics. That's really the only times that sports can hold my attention. Plus drinking games. Sooo you can't go wrong I think. 

After my final Senior Performance! I'm in the bottom right!

5. What's on your desk? (photos, calendar, food, etc...)

Food. All of the food. Lots of peanut butter...I like options, ok? My coworkers think I have a problem. My desk is right when you come in the office, so I can't decorate as much as I would like..lame. But our office is moving in a couple months and I'm finding a way to decorate it dammit!

6. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Moving out of my mom's house at 22. Ever since I was little she taught me to be independent and self-sufficient. I was saying those words before I knew what they meant and before I could spell them. Now I'm livin it babyyyy! 

I love my mom, but Lord knows I needed to move out.

7. If you had to shop at one store for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh shit this is a hard one... For regular clothes, Forever 21. Does that make me trashy? They just have such a wide range from going out, to work, to casual...it's great. For active wear? Old Navy. duh.

8. Salty or sweet?

Salty 4eva. I have to truly be in the mood for sweets.

9. Do you have a hidden talent? What is it?

I don't think so? I can do different accents/impersonations of friends/family really well..but I'm not sure that's a talent.

10. If you could choose one word to describe yourself what would it be?

Comforting, if that makes sense. I like to make sure people are comfortable in whatever setting I'm in, so I like to make people laugh, whether it be gossiping, drinking, or just chit chatting. I sound like a typical college girl. whatever.

11. What is your favorite Disney movie?

I was never a big Disney fan, but I remember really loving Lion King and Cinderella when I was younger!

And nowwww 11 random facts about me. Please don't feel obligated to read this, I know it's getting long. Pshhh I wouldn't know if you read it anyways. 

*I have to wear socks to bed. Even if its hot. I may take them off eventually, but I'm not gettin in that bed with no socks.

*I've been friends with my core group of girls since 7th grade and I wouldn't trade those hussies for the world. For the most part we're all in the same area, but a few have moved far away. Hasn't changed a thing, and we all still act reckless when we get together.

*I was born in Japan, on Okinawa Air Force base.

*Up until I was abouttt 12, I pronounced any numbers starting with 'tw', like twenty, twenty-one, like "chwenty, chwenty-one". No idea what the fuck that was about.

*I have daddy issues. Mostly, my dad decided to show up when I was 14 and I said HELL NAW issues. My mom did a kickass job on her own, and we didn't  need no man!

*I could eat popcorn and chips & salsa everyday of my life and be perfectly content.

*I was a trueeee band nerd in highschool. Most kids rented their instruments. I had a $700 clarinet and private lessons. I was ranked 4th in my county, and 4th in my district. For so long I wanted to audition for All Virginia Band, but I got lazy in my senior year.

*I majored in English and French in college and I really wish I had pursued a career in either of those fields more.. Ugh..

*My mom is a lesbian, and I grew up with 2 moms. They were together from when I was in 1st grade until my junior year of highschool, sooo it sucked when they broke up. My mom is now a serial dater and it is probably the most hilarious thing of my life. She even went on a date with a man recently, because she said women are too much drama. My family is crazy.

*My brother and I didn't really get along/bond until I went away to college. We more so coexisted up until then. Now I love that turd. Even though he is a hot ass mess.

*I didn't really enjoy highschool. I wasn't "popular", people were assholes, and I just didn't enjoy it. I had the same friends and we had a great time, but besides that...yea no thanks. I also gained a lot of weight my senior year while I was in a super unhealthy relationship. No bueno. 

If you've read all of this, you're practically royalty in my book. You go Glen Coco!

I don't even know 11 people that read this blog...so if you're reading this and you have a blog, I NOMINATE YOU. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. GO NOW. GO GO GO. DO THIS. Don't pull a "well she didn't name me specifically..." because this is me nominating you specifically.

And answer these questions, mmmkay? Great.

1. Do you prefer your men to wear boxers or briefs?

2. What person/celebrity would you trade places with for a day?

3. If you could put a hidden camera anywhere to watch people (making a fool of themselves, not in a creepy/pervy way) where would it be?

4. What is your favorite show to binge watch on Netflix?

5. Favorite adult drink?

6. What's the greatest lesson your parents ever taught you?

7. Have long have you known your BFF?

8. What's your most embarrassing story?

9. What's one really weird habit that you have?

10. Favorite snack?

11.What's the best pet you've had? Or what pet would you want if you don't have one?

I stole some of these from Laura...I do what I want!

Comment with your link if you do this so I can read your answers!!

-Crystal

My boyfriend thinks I'm a blogger

Ok so I think the boyfriend is more in love with me blogging than I am. Anytime we go somewhere and I look semi decent/not like a hoodlum/bum he says, "so I guess we'll be taking selfies or some pictures for your blog today, right?" And he's dead serious. It cracks me up everytime. Mostly because I usually forget to take said pictures. So tonight I asked him to take some pictures of me with my new fall outfits, and he gladly obliged, even though he was in the middle of playing video games. SHOCKER. So this is what I got the other day at the mall. I'm tryin to class it up a bit since my office is moving to a classier/gorgeous young professionals everywhere area in a few months. Ignore my hair. I just got out of the shower from after a run, sooo I'm not cute. Also my dog photobombed everything. 

Forever 21 dress! $20 hollaaaa

This dress is absurdly comfortable. Super stretchy. And mustard screams fall, so I snatched that sucker up FAST. I'm thinking brown boots? Perhaps dark green tights in the fall? Reel me in and smack some sense into me if that sounds hideous. I'm trying, ok?!

Forever 21 again! I think it was $15?

Ok so I wore the mustard one to work yesterday, but this little number is stayin in the closet till fall. It's obviously way too short to wear without tights and ya girl is not tryin to get fired for lookin like a night walker. I'm thinkin patterned tights for fun night out and solid opaque tights for the office. And booties. I need black and brown booties. Yes? Freakin Tiger man...

Crew neck sweater from Forever 21 ($15)

Striped pencil skirt from Gap (on sale for $24 from $50, ugh I hate spending money)

I really love this combo, mostly because I used to not wear crew neck anything because all you would see was BOOBS. They were just huge and in the way and took over my life. But now I can wear crew necks and I'm excited about it. I'm not excited about the fact that my baby makin hips are most definitely bigger than my waist, leading to some awkward loos-ness, but what can ya do? At least whenever I pop out some children they'll fall right out. I'm thinkin black booties again for fall. And opaque tights. 

Everyone give a round of applause to the boyfriend for taking many pictures till I was happy, and to Tiger my background model. And thanks for not making fun of my obvious "I'm not a fashion blogger" setup and apartment background. Seriously though, I don't know who has time for staging shit, but more power to you guys. Also feel free to give me advice for jewelry colors, where to find not off the wall expensive boots/booties (that are still comfy at the end of the day...) and all that jazz. Help a sista out. I'm just tryin to be an adult out here on a 22 year old who has no money budget. 

-Crystal

Fall Obsessions and Goals

Fall is HEREEEEEE mothafuckaaaaassssss.

Sorry, but I really love fall. A lot. A lot, a lot. (In my British accent..like in Parent Trap, when lindsay lohan was normal. Was that reference too vague? Too far in the past? Ugh, whatever guys.)

I digress. New season, new goals, new obsessions.

1. The Tudors on Netflix. Friends, even if you have zero dollars of interest in 16th century England/European history, please just do me a solid and try it. Mostly because Johnathan Rhys Meyers is a hot piece of ass. And that British accent. lawddddd help me. But really, it's actually a very interesting show. My 10th grade AP European History teacher would be proud, I just know it.

2. Shopping. I know some people are natural born shoppers. I am not one. I always thought it was just because I found that ish boring. But no, it was just because ya girl could never find cute shit in Forever 21 for, ahem, size 14-16. Now that I'm a size 8-10 I've been blowing all of the dollhairs on all of the clothes. I follow a million boutiques on Instagram and it is so very dangerous to my bank account. Especially since ya know, I have bills an all now. Yesterday the boyfriend and I were sitting around and realized we had an extra $200 after bills and rent. So what do the responsible adults do? Save it? OF COURSE NOT. We went to the mall and spent it all. And now we regret everything. But! I have some cute outfits that will transition well for fall, so I give zero fucks...until Sallie Mae hits me up for my loan payment. Ugh, life.

I'll show you guys my new outfits tomorrow, because I'm pretty pumped about them. Now I just need to convince said boyfriend that boots, booties, and a jean jacket are all completely necessary next purchases...

3. This one is my goal for September. I told you guys already, I stayed consistent and focused all throughout August and lost 5 pounds, finally breaking into the 160s. Of course I weighed myself this morning to see what the old hag (bitchass scale) had to say about things and the little bitch said, "You had a little too much fun this weekend, that'll be 179 to start off your week biiiiitch." I laughed at her and went about my day, poked at my bloated stomach a bit, and ate my normal amount. None of that cutting calories to lose it shit. I know about 90% of that is water weight and I'm honestly not concerned in the least bit. BUT! I am determined to get to 165 this month. So once I get rid of this water shit in the next couple days, its back into overdrive for meeee. Nothing extreme, but yea. No shenanigans here. I miiiiight do the 24 day Advocare cleanse, not to lose weight (but hey, I don't mind that part) but because it gives me so much energy and makes me feel amazing. Everyone hates the fiber drink, but honestly that was my favorite part. So that's that.

4. Starbucks. Just like every other basic betch in America. I tried the Pumpkin Spice iced coffee. Not a fan. I'll stick to the Pumpkin Spice Latte. And my old faithfuls Cinnamon Dulce Latte or Vanilla Latte. Can never go wrong with those two. Also has anyone tried the Blendicano that's been floating around the interwebz? I'm not a fan of frothy drinks, or whipped cream texture.. so if you've had it and it doesn't taste like those, let a sista know so I can get in on that. Kthanks. 

Sorry for the awkward lack of pictures, but uhhhh yea I'm too lazy to find pictures from life an stuff...and I'm a bad blogger so I usually forget to take pictures of things happening. It's kind of a part of the whole enjoying life instead of documenting it thing. I'm working on it.

-Crystal

That time I got rear ended on the highway

Hey friends.

So my labor day weekend was quite spectacular. Let's back that ass up to this past Thursday. I left home around 7:30 pm heading to Va Beach to see some sorority sisters for the long weekend.  I was trying to beat some of the holiday traffic, and I was successful, until I got to to Va Beach. Apparently someone had a really good idea to do nightly construction on a freakin 2 lane highway. Yea, 7 mile backups are super cool. Of course by this time the radio has already repeated Taylor Swift's new song at least 8 times....Kill me.

Got to my friend's apartment a lot later than expected. We chatted and caught up with life an all, and called it a night around 1:30 am. Aaaand then I woke up at 7:30 to go workout on campus. My alma mater finally got with the times and started a Crossfit class that's free and open to alumni! I was a little skeptical at first, like ok yea it's just some random professor teaching it..but no! It's an instructor from an actual Crossfit box. I was impressed.

So the WOD (workout of day) was on teams. My team had 3 people and we had to run 2 miles with a 40 pound bag and a kettlebell. One person couldn't hold both so me and another girl switched off the whole time. The other girl on our team had just started working out for the first time, so the workout was a little harder for her but my team decided we would stick together and finish strong instead of letting her fall behind. I gave her breathing advice and tried to encourage her while we were running and it made me think back to when I first started working out. I could barely run for 30 seconds and I was so grateful to people who would try to help instead of just leaving me behind. I was so proud of her when she finished the 2 miles strong and we ended up winning!

You know I had to flex.

Moving on, I had packed some meals so I wouldn't go absolutely crazy, so I had that for lunch. For dinner I had sushi and hibachi because I only eat it when I go down to va beach. NO RAGRETS. Also went with one of my sisters to get her first tattoo! 

The self proclaimed princess got a crown tattoo.

That night I drank with my friends and had a dandy old time eating drunk food. Saturday morning I had every intention of working out, buuuut I slept till 10 instead. I don't think I've slept in till 10 in over a year. So I met up with another sister and went to the beach for the day, and it was glorious. I haven't been to the beach in FOREVER. I used to hate the beach. I would either keep my coverup on or I wouldn't get up to get in the water because I didn't want people to look at me. This time I wore my VS bandeau bikini and got in the water and even walked the beach on the water for a good half mile or so. I wasn't self conscious at all and it was really refreshing.

After the beach we got Mexican at my all time favorite restaurant, Plaza Azteca. It's a favorite of literally everyone at my college and it's relatively cheap. You can't come to town and not go. I had a jumbo margarita, chips & guac, a huge burrito and I felt zero dollars of guilt. Ya know why? I ate healthy every single day in August. No cheat meals at all. I deserved this deliciousness.

Yep, that's me in the top left. Drunk in a restaurant. Forever classy.

When you get drunk at 3pm, you feel like sleeping for the rest of the day. I went to Hooters for another drink anyways, and to see another sister that I love so much. So yea, everyone went out and partied and got drunk, and I went back to my friends apartment, watched Netflix and passed out. 

The next morning I got up to go home because I missed my little family a lot actually. About an hour out from home, I'm singing real loud to Sia's song 'Chandelier' and traffic is slowing down and I happen to look up and see a car dangerously close to me. So I tried to swerve out of the way, but no, too late. I got rear ended. His car bounced back, and I guess he panicked and hit the gas accidentally instead of the brake, because he rear ended me AGAIN. So I screamed and then pulled over as I'm shaking like crazy. Called the po po, talked to the little college kid and sat in the freakin hot sun for forever, and went on my way. The guy said he dropped something and bent down to get it without looking at traffic. WHY. Whatever. Homeboy's car was fuuuucked. His hood was completely smashed and he was trying to convince the cop that he could drive it. Yea, no. My car on the other hand is basically indestructible. I've been rear ended 3 times with this car, and every time it's just a couple scratches haha. My bumper is just that really durable plastic but apparently it's pretty fantastic. 

And that was my weekend! Tiger hasn't left my side since I got home. Ugh, I love her.

-Crystal