Big Decisions

Being 22 is supposed to be that time in your life where your carefree, worry free, and just living life. Well that is not what it seems to be for me, at all. It occurred to the yesterday that most of the people I graduated high school with  will soon be graduating college, starting their career, starting families, getting married, and going on to bigger and better things. What am I doing? Where am I at point in my life? Well, I am none of those listed above, that’s for sure. You see, I have a hard time making big decisions. I dwell on them for days at a time, worried I’ll make the wrong decision and forever regret it. I spend hours at night researching pros and cons and at the end of it all I am usually still stuck without an answer. So of course this huge life changing decision I have to make… still isn’t answered. Where most people my age will be graduating college, I am two years behind them. Where most people have chosen a major, I am still stuck between two choices. So that in a nut shell means I will still have two years of college left, before I can get anywhere near the start of a career…. That is, if I can decide what to go to college for at all…

So my options…
1. Nursing
2. Teaching
To many people these may seem like total opposites. To me they are VERY similar. Most people would tell me to shadow someone in both fields to give me a more realistic view of what both fields are like. Done it. And usually that would narrow it down. But for me, I could easily see myself in both careers. With nursing, I have worked in a hospital for a year now. Every day is different, new patients, new problems, new obstacles to deal with. It has its good days and bad. But for the most part I’m comfortable in this setting. I know I would be a good nurse. I have compassion for the patients, and a sincere love for helping people. With Teaching, it never really occurred to me that it was something I would like as a career until I started substitute teaching at a local middle school 2 years ago. I am good with kids, and I love science. Seeing a child understand something for the first time because you were able to explain it in just the right way can be so rewarding. Teaching can also have its good and bad days. When a student decide to give you attitude for no reason other than their choice to test you. But it also occurred to me, that in the long run of nursing, I had thought of getting my master’s degree and pursuing nurse education and one day teaching nursing school… So wouldn’t that go to show myself that teaching is what would make me happiest in the long run? I have no clue.

Some people say to consider pay, and job availability. Well, in this economy no job is certain, but two things are true, there will always be sick people, and there will always be young kids needing to be taught. Schools will always be open, and hospitals will always need nurses. It will be a challenge finding the perfect job no matter what though. And as far as money goes… everyone knows teachers don’t get paid crap, and nurses don’t get paid what people think they do. For me though, its never been about money. I have never said “I want to be rich when I grow up.” I just want to be comfortable. I don’t want to stress about bills and I want to be able to enjoy life. I don’t need a big house, or a lexus. I love my Honda just fine J

Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t have a deadline of one month to make up my mind.

I do however have an appointment with an advisor at school, so maybe that will help.

Wish me luck.

{Carrie}

Stuck in a rut

           This past month started off really great, I lost 10 pounds! I am proud of myself, but now I seem to be stuck in a spot and cant lose any more weight. Tyler has lost 18 pounds and I am SO proud of him! {and slightly jealous ha!} We have both been really busy but have for the most part stuck to the low carb diet and had only 1 meal a week that was semi normal with some carbs in it.
I still haven’t done much working out, and I’m sure that’s probably why I’m stuck at the 10 pounds and cant seem to lose any more so hopefully I’ll start losing more once I start working out in March. Mom and I went shopping around at local gyms last weekend to see who had the best equipment and best deals and I have narrowed it down to 2 places. However, I have a HUGE issue with working out in front of people… so I’m still considering buying an affordable elliptical and some hand weights and just working out at home.      

          We have also been doing some remodeling in the house and this week we started on the guest bath. Needless to say, it has turned out to be a much harder project than anticipated and Tyler has gotten REALLY frustrated with it. Hopefully it will be done by next weekend though. I plan to post some before and after pics of all the rooms in the house once we are completely finish. So far we are half way done with everything, including the kitchen which was the largest and most expensive renovation.

And last but not least… 1 MORE MONTH! Until I find out what nursing schools I get accepted {or denied} into! I am such an impatient person so this waiting game is extremely hard for me!
Sorry for the long boring post yall! ha.

{Carrie}

They Say the First Months the Hardest

And boy is that statement true….

For the first 2 weeks of my new year and new diet.. I did awesome. Lost 5 pounds, was all proud of myself…. And then Tyler’s brother and SIL came into town for a visit… They live in Colorado.. so all they wanted to do was eat greasy down home cooking. Ha. Usually I’m all for BBQ, Pizza and all that. But, seeing as how I’m trying to get fit and be healthy, that didn’t help me too much. After they left I still didn’t eat bad but I didn’t eat wonderfully either.

So, all in all I have lost 5 pounds this month. That’s not too bad, and now that I’m getting the hang of self control next month will hopefully be better. AND I didn’t work out a single time this month, so that will be added in Feb also.

On a different Subject! I got a puppy for my birthday. It was Tyler’s way of making up for me not having Spencer anymore.(long story) You see, he cant handle in door dogs. He loves dogs, just not the hair and mess they make. So he settled for a miniature Australian Shepherd. Her name is Sammy and you cant help but love her. Shes actually very smart too! Hopefully soon I will be able to take her to my sisters house and introduce her to Spencer.  
Now of course, since she is only 6 weeks old and weighs maybe 2 pounds, she stays inside most of the time and sleeps in a kennel until she gets a little bigger.
{Carrie}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So long 2011…. Hello 2012!
So in honor of me starting off my new year being healthy and working out.. Tyler took me to our local healthy grocery store. Its called “Whole Foods.” I have been dying to try this place out ever since I found it. Supposedly they have a huge selection of organic and nutritious foods.
From the moment we stepped through the doors I was in heaven. They had a guy out front playing guitar and a little stand selling healthy grilled hot dogs. Inside your immediately greeted by a huge variety fresh fruits and veggies. They had fresh meat, all without ANY hormones or chemicals added. So as I happily started filling my cart full of delicious healthy foods and my mind was racing to make sure I had everything I wanted, I noticed Tyler’s face becoming a little more pale by the second. So that’s when I decided to stop and actually pay attention to the things I was adding to our cart… Those awesome healthy chicken breasts I had just picked up.. were $6 a pound.. The bag of 6 lemons I had grabbed.. were $4.. I flinched and apologized for not even paying attention. And Tyler, being the amazingly understanding boyfriend he is, took a deep breath and said “Let’s get what you already have and call this place quits.” He knew how bad I wanted to shop there, but honestly, I do not make near enough money to shop somewhere like that. So for me, I’ll be ringing in the new year and new healthy lifestyle at Kroger, where I can still get healthy foods, I’ll just have to pay more attention to labels and calories. Now please don’t think I’m bashing the Whole Foods store! Its amazing, and as soon as I graduate college and start making those big bucks (ha) I’ll definitely be going back. Because that place is just too awesome not to shop at!

{Carrie}

Let's start things off right

Hello Blogger World!

I'd like to start off by saying a little about my self and my life.
My name is Carrie. I'm 21 (almost 22 in January :)) years old. I have a wonderful boyfriend of a year and a half, Tyler. He is my rock. He supports me in everything I do... and trust me theres a lot. We recently (7 months ago) decided to move in together after he bought a house, and I have never in my life lived with someone so easily.

This is he and I :)

Anyways.....
I'm currently in school to become a nurse... I will begin actually nursing school this coming summer, I love reading, some call me a nerd because I love school, I'm a HUGE dog lover, and crafting has recently become a hobby of mine as well. Most importantly.. I LOVE to bake... and I must bragg on myself.. when it comes to baking cakes, i'm pretty darn good, which really surprises me.
How about a sample of my work?

The first one is my niece Jayci's bday cake. The second one is my now newphew Korbyn's baby shower cake. Making cakes.. and baking in general, is something I truly enjoy. If i'm stressed out or upset or nervous or ANY kind of emotion really, you will find me in the kitchen baking!

So..... now that you know a little about me, let me explain why I started this blog up.
Some people blog to show off the life they have, some blog to keep memories in a place that really will last forever, and some blog to relieve stress and get creative about it.
For me.... there are 3 reasons why I decided to do this.

First off, I'm coming in to a really stressful time in my life, juggling work, school, and life. I want a place to relieve my stress, and let out those emotions (so i quit eating them.)

Which brings me to my 2nd reason... I'm about to turn my healthy, or lack there of, life around. I'm a horrible eater, I'm a lover of ALL things chocolate, I love cokes and dr. peppers, and what baker doesnt test out their food?? SO, that being said, I will be blogging about my journey of turning my eating and exercising habits around. Begining the day after christmas all those bad habits are going down the drain. I have done A LOT of research and planning on this. I reacently watched a video called "Food Inc." It really opened my eyes to the wonderful US that we all buy our horrible and fatty foods in. Therefore; i'm going green, clean, and organic... I found a wonderful local market in Little Rock that has a huge variety of healthy and locally grown foods and meats.

*The best part of this is that Tyler is completely on board!!

So we have a complete dietary and exercise plan made! I'm actually very exceited about this.... Keeping up with how i'm doing and the changes that happen is a large part of why I decided to blog. Its not in any way to share my weight loss, or bragg and make others feel like i'm better than anyone. This is for me. I want to be healthy and feel better about myself. I want to become fit and happy with myself. I feel like blogging about it will help me keep my self on track, i'll be able to hold myself responsible for those times i begin to fall off the band wagon.. which hopefully wont be too often..

 The third reason I wanted to start a blog... was simply to blog. To write about life, and the many obstacles it tends to throw in the way of all my wonderful life plans. My favorite quote is "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans" Well i'm pretty sure God probably laughs at me A LOT! ha. So in using this blog, i'll keep memories close, and hopefully never forget the struggles and triumphs i go through along the way.

By the way... I'm horrible at writing, so you are BOUND to find MANY flaws in my writting... i'm sorry in advance for the headache this may cause you :)

-Carrie