and i said softly, slowly

Well, I've changed my layout a little. I've been trying to find the right balance of information/personal stuff for my "about me" as well as for the headline under my blog title...right now I'm pretty satisfied with it but it will probably be something that continually evolves. Also, I've created an animated version of me in lieu of having an actual photo of myself on the main page (I'll still keep putting them in entries every once in a while). I like the cartoon because it's a perfect representation of me: French beret, passport out and ready to be stamped, and Tater Tot in hand, ready to be cute and fabulous at a moment's notice.

Also taking some "re-shaping," if you will, is my bod. As most people for their New Year's Resolution, I vowed to lose weight and get in shape. Thankfully, I'm already at the thinnest that I've been in years, so if I don't meet my goal it won't be an utter travesty. However, I do think it's important to work out regularly, and that is something I have mos def been slacking on. My overall goal is to lose 15 pounds by graduation (I've already lost 4, oh dang) and to work out at least four days a week. Purely by coincidence, our gym on campus has totally re-vamped their cardio section with all new machines...some even have their own personal TV screen, NICE!

I am a firm believer in food journaling and even though I haven't been on a strict diet since I lost a lot of weight last year, I still try to write down what I eat as a means of staying on track. You could always just buy a blank Mead notebook and write everything down in there but that's so disorganized. For my food journaling needs I adore Diet Minder brand notebooks found on Amazon.com. Simply search "Diet Minder" and the journals will pop up in the many varieties available--fitness, personal food and diet, etc. I love so many things about these journals but a few of my faves are 1. it's spiral bound which makes it super easy to flip through the pages 2. it has a section to take a before pic and then compare to an after pic (love tracking progress!) 3. the pages are completely itemized by calorie, fat content, and so on and separate days into meals/snacks and 4. there is an area to record your vitmain intake which is SO helpful because I always forget...unless I write it down!