I headed to Old Navy to look for some work pants to replace the waaaay too big ones I'm currently wearing. I have lost 33 pounds & they just don't fit anymore. I was looking like a slob at work.

I got one pair of pants. Plus two cropped pants for walking (desperately needed too due to weight loss), plus two pairs of running shorts, plus a cut spring top, plus a running sports tank top. See a pattern? I bought a bunch of workout clothes (much needed) but I ended up with only a single pair of work pants.

Here's the cut spring top:




So I still need to go shopping for pants. I'll be heading to Kohl's this weekend. I also need to look for non flip-flop sandles for work. UGH.

I've decided that I need to plan more funds to go to my clothes budget. I'm working to lose another 20 pounds and when I'm done, I'm going to need a LOT of new clothes. What a hardship

My air popcorn popper broke today. I was pretty upset because I was craving popcorn. But then I remembered that you can cook popcorn kernels in a paper bag in the microwave. I sprayed a bit of olive oil spray and put the kernels in a bag in the microwave. A minute & a half later, I got my popcorn! Nice!

So no need to invest in a new popper anytime soon. I just have to get some more paper bags

Today I slept in, which I haven't done in quite a while. I had breakfast at home. Yay cheerios and milk. Drove to get gas $50.00 (ugh) and then to a different park than I usually go to.

This one is located on the water about a 10 minute drive from my house. Its in a historic district and has a walkway along the water, going through wetlands. Its really beautiful. I made a 2.75 mile walk in about 49 minutes. I walked slower than usual due to the neat surroundings. After the walk, I sat on a bench by the water and soaked up the sun. It really was VERY relaxing. I don't have pictures of the park, but I did find one online if anyone wanted to take a look.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_delaw...

I was ravenous when I got home, so I made pasta salad and homemade buffalo chicken nuggets. I had bought a big bag of frozen grilled chicken strips to put on salads and with pasta. However, they have a weird seasoning and are not very tasty by themselves. So I devised a way to enjoy them anyway. I coat them in buffalo sauce and then with Extra Crispy Shake-n-Bake. Very quick to make and very good!

This afternoon, I'm doing some cleaning and watching some old movies that I got from the library.

My frugal goal for this week is to take breakfast & lunch to work & not buy anything.

Still enjoying the nice weather. Last night, I went to my nephew's teeball game. Brought my own drink & snack and afterwards, just vegged at home.

Today, I visited an old family friend with my dad. She's battling breast cancer in her 80s and its a matter of time. But she's doing very well and is hoping to enjoy one last good summer at her house at the beach. I'm going to try to take a few days this summer and visit.

Before visiting, I stopped & bought a $5.85 quart of ice cream from a local dairy farm. She really has a sweet tooth.

Afterwards, I went to another tee ball game with my sister & mom. I brought my own water, but did buy a $1.00 soft pretzel. I'm vegging at home again because I had planned to go out with friends, but got a nasty headache instead.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to hit the park for a 3 mile walk and then spend the rest of the day cleaning the house. Those bathrooms need to be done

All in all, a pretty frugal weekend. Next weekend is my birthday, but I think its all going to be low-key, which is fine with me!

Its been a great week weather-wise. Its supposed to hit 80 degrees tomorrow, just in time for a night tee-ball game for my nephew. I've had the heat off all week, except on night when it dropped a bit.

Work has been very busy, but good. This new position (that I've had since November) is awesome. Its very challanging, which I LOVE!

On a health note, I've been working out the last few weeks. Walking, a little jogging and Tae Bo. All great workouts. I've been trying to take advantage of some of the local parks.

Money-wise I did a little clothes shopping last weekend. I cashflowed it all, but that means less to my student loan. It was needed since I'm down another size in clothes. I still need to get some new pants. Mine are pretty much falling right off me (Yay!)

We had some really cold weather, then the last 3 days have been SUPER nice. I've been able to keep the heat off & even open some windows during the day. I'm going to LOVE my electric/gas bill this month. Lets hope this keeps up.

Oops! My 2 year Blogaversary was on the 5th. How time flies. I've been crazy busy at work and at home.

I am still working hard to paydown my student loan, which has a balance of $3,047.79. I'll update my totals later tonight to reflect this.

I've been enjoying some nicer weather and utilizing different parks for walking. I'm thinking next weekend, I'll head to the local state park and buy a yearly pass. For $27.00, I get access to several awesome parks. It'll be worth it, plus its motivation to keep working out.

My goal for this month is to keep my grocery bill on budget. Since working on eating healthier, I seem to go overboard. But I have done well so far. I've been utilzing my local Produce stand for veggies and fruit. Really great prices!

Today, I was able to get the following:

9 medium/large tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 celery
1 Romaine lettuce
3 cucumbers
1 pint strawberries
1 bag of baby carrots

... all for $9.79. I would have paid at least $16.00 at my local grocery store.

Anyway, I am very happy to say that I've been part of this site for 2 years and I love it! Thanks to everyone here, you've been a great group of friends.

I weighed in again on Monday and lost another 3.6 pounds, for a total of 32 pounds. I've been floundering with tiny losses for the last two months, so this was AWESOME! I attribute the big loss to starting to work out again.

I've been on a walking kick. I've been to that new park where I do the whole 2.6 mile trail, plus go up and down a HUGE mound of dirt turned hill (man-made for sledding, most likely). Some days, I only go a mile or two, some days I do the whole track. Its really hard to gauge how hard I'm working out though.

So, I have been really wanting to track how much the exercise is benefitting me. I've been itching for a Heart Rate Monitor. I even told my mom over the weekend how much I wanted one, but how expensive they were. Then on the Weight Watchers forums, someone mentioned a really good deal on a HRM at Amazon for $53. AND then I got a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon in the mail from a rewards program I participate in. It was fate. So I splurged and ordered the HRM tonight. I can't wait til it comes!!