Weighing In...

I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I first stepped into Level 5 Gym in town. My sister had asked me to take the class with her (it's called Booty Fit Boot Camp), because, let's face it. Who really wants to go to a work out class by themselves with complete strangers watching you? You know what, after a few classes, I don't mind it that much anymore. I'm there for me. I'm there to better myself mind and body. The first time though, I was a bit nervous. I didn't know what to expect. Once I met Dave, I knew I was in good hands. He's funny, nice, and a great motivator. He doesn't PUSH you to do the work out. You go at your own pace and do what you can. The class is 45 minutes to an hour long. And you do each thing at one minute. Dave tells you what to do, and you do that for one minute. My trouble area is mainly my stomach. I haven't had a flat stomach since.....I can't even remember when. It's been a long while, and my struggle with weight has always been there.

Two years ago, I weighed in at 230lbs. This is the time I was still with my ex-fiancee. Where he had quit his job for a better one...the job he didn't get 'cause he never called them. He never left the house, and we would always get WaWa. That was the downfall. I ate a lot that summer. I gained all that weight, because he and I never did anything. I got tired of it. I was not happy. Everyone around me could see that I wasn't, but I didn't realize it til the end of that summer and broke off the engagement and had him move at the end of September. It wasn't until that November, that I knew I had to do something. My co-workers at work were doing Weight Watchers. And I wanted in. So I started. I changed my eating habits. I didn't stop at Wawa every day for a hoagie, or stop at McDonald's. No. I ate better than I have ever done. And in within four months I had lost 40lbs. I had never felt better about myself after that day. But the weight is still there.

A year and a half after losing that 40lbs, I'm still the same weight. A couple pounds less, but now I know what I need to do in order to get better. I know that me doing Booty Fit Boot Camp will definitely help. I'm on my way to being a better person. A more healthy person.

Please stay with me as I go on my journey...

Things...

So much has transpired the past few days, weeks even. I've already talked about most of it all to people, and I'm grateful for people that have listened - you know who you are..

But there's someone I've been thinking about a lot lately. Someone that I've bee able to spend some time with. But I don't want this person to be just a friend. I want more than that with this person. I would rather not say the name of this person, since most know who it is. Would rather not say it if said person reads this - which is unlikely. Anyways. I smile at the thought of their smile. I love their laugh and how this person makes me feel. I know we all have dreams at night. But mine have become more vivid. And this person has made quite a few appearances. Right now though, we're just friends. As much as I would want to try and make it more...I don't know if it will happen. Or if it ever will... I want to say so much more, but I will have to physically write that down as to not give away whom this person is...

I've been told to just let it see where it goes. But there's that feeling in the pit of my stomach that says to say something, to give it a boost. But I've got nothing to say, really. I've been rejected before, and I don't think I want to do that again...especially with this person...

So, we'll see...

And if anyone guesses a name, the comment will be deleted.

Lacking

So many things have perspired in the past couple of weeks. I find myself smiling...smiling about what? Different things that could happen, or have happened. I really don't remember the last time I smiled as much as I have in the past few weeks. I've enjoyed the company of so many people, so many great friends...

But what I want is still lacking. It's been two years since my last serious relationship. I was engaged. To a man that really hadn't grown up. He considered playing video games all night on XBOX and on the computer fun. I did, but I wanted to go out. His way of going out was getting food from WaWa thus letting me gain forty pounds. I was unhappy. It was one of the most unhappiest times of my life when I was with him that last summer of 2008. I remember not being happy, and everyone around me could see it. But I didn't. I talked to my parents one night, and then my friends. I wasn't happy with him, or with how I had been. I was unhealthy. Completely. It was a toxic relationship. There was a major deal breaker, and that really closed the deal on me not wanting to be with him anymore. For those that now, I'm proud of myself to have given him the boot.

The day he left, he was upset. He was crying. I wasn't. I was glad to see him go. He hadn't worked hard enough to make the relationship work. He and I both pushed each other away. I did not want to be in something that brought me down so much. Over the next couple of days, my mom would tell me that it wasn't right for me to have dismissed his feelings. He had dismissed mine long before that. He was the reason I didn't want to be in a relationship for the longest time. And after so much time, so many nights alone, I want to be in one again. I miss having someone to talk to, to laugh with, to cuddle with. I miss having someone look me in the eye and tell me that I'm worth it. That I'm beautiful. That I mean something to them...I don't want to wait any longer. And I do not, DO NOT, want to sound desperate, because I'm not. I'm just exhausted of carrying so much weight on my shoulders, because I have no one to talk to really...

There's no one that really knows me, because I am such a private person. But I want to open up to someone. I want to show myself to someone that I know would want to be apart of me and my life. My life is a mess, just like my room at the moment. Yes, I have a steady full-time job, and a part-time job on Saturdays. But that doesn't mean I have it all together. Who of us really does anyway? I know I don't. I haven't for a while...

 I can't talk to anyone at work. I don't feel like I can express myself there to anyone. I'm not one for really wanting my life put out there with my co-workers because I feel that they will go and talk about it to someone else there. The whole wedding drama is something I'm not happy with, and it isn't fair, but I ignore it. Why? Because no one there really listens to what I have to say about it...

It hurts like hell that I don't have someone that I can call up and talk to. I don't want to bother anyone with what I'm going through, because everyone is going through something. This blog is the only way I can express myself and tell the world what I'm feeling. Even if it's the super short version of it all. I feel really good when I get everything out here, even if it's not everything. It's something. I've put something out here...and it makes me feel a tiny bit better...

Hi. I'm a bookaholic. Have we met?

I've thus named myself a bookaholic. I've been a lover of books for as long as I can remember. My mom even remembers me always loving books.

There's just something about running your hand over the cover a new book and feeling the pages between your fingers. Seeing the words on the page and you dive into a world created by the author for you to read. I have dove into so many great reads the past few months that it's hard to name them all. Here's a few though...

Have Read:
"Barefoot" by Elin Hilderbrand
"Summer People" by Elin Hilderbrand
"Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown
"Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen
"The Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen
"The Girl Who Chased The Moon" by Sarah Addison Allen
"True Believer" by Nicholas Sparks
"The Horse Boy" by Rupert Isaacson
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
"Riding Lessons" by Sara Gruen
"Flying Changes" by Sara Gruen
"A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks
"Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare
"The Mortal Instrument" Trilogy by Cassandra Clare (actually read quite a while, but wanted to include them)

I do have a big stack of books that have yet to be read, and I'll try to remember and strike them off the list once they are read...bare with me - it's a long list!

To Be Read:
"Son of a Witch" by Gregory Maquire
"A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maquire
"Halo" by Alexandra Adornetto
"The Island" by Elin Hilderbrand
"Fairy Tale" by Cyn Balog
"Sleepless" by Cyn Balog
"Summer Affair"; "Blue Bistro"; "The Castaways"; "Nantucket Nights" all by Elin Hilderbrand
"On Mystic Lake" by Kristin Hannah
"The Wedding" by Nicholas Sparks
"The Cradle" by Patrick Somerville
"Someone Else's Daughter" by Elizabeth Brundage
"The Host" by Stephenie Meyer

Yes, that is a LONG list! I don't care. All those books will be read. There are books that I am currently in the middle of, too! But that list is short. I'm finishing up "The Hunger Games" trilogy. Didn't take me that long to read at all. And then I promised my friend I'd read "Eat Pray Love" so her and I can go see the movie. So I know what book I'm reading next, at least. After that, I'm in no man's land.

Also, I know I would like to have one of those electronic book things. But...I don't want to stare at a screen all the time. It'd be GREAT for traveling, if I traveled, that is. Getting one of those, to me, would make me lose the connection with the author. I wouldn't be able to feel the cover of the book and flip through the pages. I would just be staring at a screen and with a press of a button, the page would turn. I'm not against it at all, but makes it less personable to me. Having a book physically in my hands makes everything more comforting. Knowing that I can snuggle up under the blankets and read, or sit down at the peach or by a pool and read. It's something I love to do, and reading brings out a new world for me. I cannot tell you how many times I have lost track of time because of me reading a book. I love the feeling of being taken away to another world, and getting attached to the characters in each of the books.

Books have their way of letting me escape from reality and step into a world where my imagination is key.

Books are something I cherish, and they are apart of me.

Another World

There is something I would like to share about a place that has become an escape for me. It's a place that has become a second home for me in different ways. And that place is...the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

I remember going to the Faire many, many years ago while in Middle School. I remember being brought up onto a stage by someone that was with the Queen at the time. I vaguely remember what they look like though. I remember I was happy. I wanted to be there. It wasn't until 2005 that I went again, and I wanted to keep going. 2008 came, and I was able to go to the Faire with the summer camp I work with. I fell in love. That season, I went quite a few times, and during that time, I have met some incredible people. And made some really good friends, too.

The Faire has become an escape for me. I step in through those magical gates and step into an entirely different world. Nothing that goes on on the outside gates matters that much. I forget about any of the troubles that I have been going through and enjoy myself. I enjoy time with the friends I've made there, and the people I know. I do what I want to do in that time, because it takes me away from all things that have been bothering me. It's a real escape for me to step into another time and place.

I am grateful that I am able to make the drive there and be able to experience this kind of magic. I am grateful for the people I have met and the people I will meet there. I know that we all will enjoy each others company through-out the season. I am grateful for the actors who walk the streets of the Shire and engage each and every patron with a smile and greeting; and for stopping to talk to people and get them involved. It's incredible, and I am in love with the place and the people there!

What more can I say?? I'm a Rennie.

Day One

Today was the first day of my work out regiment that I have planned for myself. I am going to be getting up early each morning before work to do Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred. I've done it before, but not for 30 consecutive days. I've done it here and there, but never really done it each day. The first few days are always tough, because my body is changing with the program. I've already been eating better. I don't over-eat as much as I used to in the past, which is definitely a step up. I've lost the 40lbs that I gained two summers ago in a matter of 4 months. And ever since then I have been on a funk. I cannot seem to figure out what is going on, but I know what it is. I'm eating right, yes, BUT I have to start in with the work outs. I want to be in a better place with my body. I'm not comfortable with how I look, and I never have been. So here's the start of my new take on working out. It's hard. Countless times during the dvd I had to catch my breath. But as Jillian says in the DVD, "If you need to rest, do it only for 5 seconds, then get right back into it." She wants our bodies to change, and to induce change - you have to put pressure on your body. I want to have that body image in my head of me wearing smaller sizes in clothes. I'm striving towards it, and for me to get there, I have to push myself.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my 30 day work out! And much more...

On My Way!

I am definitely on my way. On Thursday, I joined Weight Watchers Online and am SO pumped to kick the last of these pounds! I just have to encourage myself to stay within my daily points and not go over. I'm so happy with myself! I really do hope that I can do this and break passed the weight that I've been wanting to lose for a long time now.

I'm just ready to get rid of these pounds and be able to fit into the clothes that I've been wanting to for sooooo long!

Keep posted for my updates on my progress. I'm really excited and proud of myself!! :)