Hi, y'all. This post is about to be very short because it's Memorial Day weekend, and I am trying to get as much relaxation and family time in as possible.  Yesterday, my sister and I went shopping with our cousin, and then my sister and I went to Noodles & Company. Today, my dad, sister, and I are going to head over my uncle's house to chill out with my dad's side of the family. Tomorrow, I am going to be walking in the Memorial Parade in Dearborn {I'll be representing Dearborn Animal Shelter.}, and then my mum, sister, and I are going to head over to my Granny's house for a family barbecue. Exciting, eh!

I lost weight, y'all! Last Thursday was the first day that I got weighed in about a year. I hadn't thought it about it then, but I did lose weight. Then on this past Thursday, I went to the doctor again for my physical {The first appointment was for a prospective ear infection.}, and I lost another pound. Ho-ho-holy crap. This makes me motivated {somewhat} again. 

Tune: Goodbye by Chris Young

 My birthday is in eleven days! I'm about to be sixteen, y'all. That's exciting for me. I'm not planning on doing anything big. Of course, I am going on my annual Xochi's run, but aside from that, I doubt I am going to be doing much else. If I am granted this California trip, then that'll be my birthday gift. If not, then I guess I'll just ask for some money so that I can shop, or go out with some of my close friends to the movies (or laser tag?). Who knows what might happen.  I don't really care, though. I'm just pepped to finally be hitting that 1-6. ;)

 Tomorrow, my mum, dad, sister, granny, and I are heading to Tennessee (well, we're dropping my granny off in Ohio to visit her sister) for our Spring Break. Woooo! I am a little bit too excited. We're going to be getting a tour of Tennessee State (although I've already been) and doing plenty of other fun excursions.

 I went to Plato's Closet on Friday and bought three items for $27 total (plus some change). Can I say go me? Originally, the items that I purchased would've been so much more, and I am glad that I caught them at a nice deal. I finally have some red (bleach-wash?), high waist jeans! Y'all. I am super excited about that, like, OH MY GAH excited. Hahah. It's pretty crazy. I also bought this floral dress that will be perfect for the spring and summer. {It's funny because I was just telling myself that the dresses in my closet are getting old, and I need some new ones.} My last purchase was a cute, denim tie shirt. I cannot wait to wear that as the weather continually heats up.

 Uh-oh. I am thinking about another blog change, y'all. Somebody stop me! It's quite obvious that I never change the template (because I'm a broke girl with no money to pay someone to design it for me), but I do make a change to my header, colors, signature, and about/contact pages. It just seems to be fresher, y'know.

 I think I am officially addicted to hot fries. I used to hate them, but now I love them. Every day last week, I took a plastic bag of them with me to school. Hahahah. But hey! At least I am trying to portion it out right so that I won't eat an entire bag in one sitting. That must count for something? I mean, one regular size bag lasted me for an entire week (or four days since I did not have school on Friday).
 On Friday, my mum bought me some workout pants that I adore a lot! They fit perfectly around my hips and thighs, but when it comes to my waist, it is too loose. {I suppose that's a good thing, but then again it isn't because the pants keep falling down around that area.}

I am guilty about my health habits this week. For one, I slacked off on my workouts a lot more than I'd care to admit! Ew. I feel all grubby and shizz. However, to make up for that lost time, I attempted to eat slightly healthier meals or at least portion them well. I can semi-say that I did that (give or take a few meals). The day that I really fell off was yesterday. I ate three freaking tacos from Taco Bell, a McDouble and medium fry from Mickey D's, and a bit of my mum's Chinese food. (Insert exasperated, what the heck emoji here) I need to really practice self control or something. 

Tune: There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet by Panic! At the Disco

I feel so energized! The weather this upcoming week is supposed to be fantastic. If that is not an instant mood lifter, then I do not know what is. Today, my mum, sister, and I are going shopping for a bathing suit for our upcoming vacation to Tennessee. Aside from that, it should be a pretty relaxing day. 

* I mentioned this a few Sundays ago, but I just wanted to bring it back up: the WYCD Downtown Hoedown is coming up! May 30th-June 1st, a lot of popular country artists are coming to town. I need to purchase my ticket (tickets are $29.95). Right now, I am leaning more so towards going to the Hoedown on Friday. 

* Earlier this year (in January), I wrote a post about my fear of hearing no. Well, what inspired me to write that post was my want of getting accepted into the Joyce Ivy League Foundation. I worried for no reason at all in the long run! I got awarded $6,000 to either Stanford, Barnard, or Emory! That's pretty amazing. I've decided to rule out the last two colleges, and hopefully get accepted to Stanford. If I do, then I will be able to stay there and earn college credits over 8-weeks this summer. I pray that I get it. If not, then I can always try again next year (plus, I have a back up plan). 

*Tomorrow, I will be sharing a poetry video that I found every amazing! Please do watch it. It's on the subject of something that needs to be spoken about a lot more. Listen to all of it if you do decided to watch the video.

*I need to watch the last season of How I Met Your Mother. If only Netflix would upload it. Geesh! 

To begin this post off correctly, I want to talk about the #1800minutechallenge. This challenge is being hosted by Living In Yellow and other lovely ladies between the days of April 1st and May 31st. So far, so good. I have been at the gym avidly as well as taking walks on the nicer days. Considering that the weather is about to get a lot better, I am going to be adding in hour long walks throughout my week. This entire challenge is to encourage bloggers (and non-bloggers, too) to get in shape for swimsuit season! If you want to be held accountable and feel as if you're not doing this whole fitness thing alone, this challenge is the perfect one for you! It's never too late to join in, even if you cannot complete all 1,800 minutes. I encourage you to tag along.

Anyways, let's talk about what exercise I have been getting in lately. The gym has been my best buddy this week aside from Thursday and Friday, when I could not make it. {This is reason number one why I cannot wait to get my own car!} I put in at least thirty five minutes on the treadmill each day that I went {I actually ran on the treadmill for a few minutes yesterday, too!}, plus I did the arc trainer for ten minutes one day. Oh gosh! The arc trainer is hard! After I was done with it, I was very proud of myself, so I guess the pain paid off. The Thirty Minute Room (if you go to Planet Fitness, you should be familiar with this) has also been getting frequented by me lately. I want to start weight training along with my cardio so that I can get toned while shedding the fat. {Before, I only did cardio, but lately, people have been telling me to mix weights (not heavy) with my workouts so that I can see progress faster.}

I am getting super excited because I can notice a change in the way my clothes fit. That's really exciting! And do you know how people say that others can notice a change in how you look before you generally can? Well, my family has been mentioning that to me, and it's encouraging. After all, the gym is becoming my addiction. Haha. I pretty much rip my dad's head off if he tells me that we are not going to the gym nowadays. That never used to happen. #ohno #gymaddict #i'msohashtaggingonmyblog

Please do not ask me about my health. I really need to get the amount of fast-food that I eat under control, and asap. I have been trying to limit how much I eat, but I feel as if I can do way better on this portion. For this upcoming week, that is my goal: to limit how much I eat. What is yours?

Tune: Stupify by Disturbed