CHANGES/CHALLENGES

So as you all know, I will be turning 25 in 3 extremely SHORT months and I am freaking the hell out about it. I am a quarter of a century old and I feel like I wish I had a lot more accomplished. I def know people my age(and older) that STILL don't have the basics covered and sadly, it kind of makes me feel a bit better(shame on me, I know)Any who, my best friend is leaving to Baltimore for 6 months to REALLY focus on school and speed up the process of getting her degree and Im so proud that she has made the decision to do so, also envious of the fact that she CAN make such a move. People don't realize how hard it is being a mother, ESPECIALLY a single mother;every aspect of my life takes planning,I need to know exact times,places,ect. I can't remember the last time I was able to just get up and do ANYTHING.But I'm not complaining...just saying.So any ways, I've been going over in my head some changes that I can make....changes that are REALISTIC....not just ones that sound good or look good on paper. I am CHALLENGING myself with these goals and I am hoping for amazing results. Here are some areas of concern and the Challenges I am about to face:

**1.I am going to get a hold on my shopping. I shop A LOT. I am not one of those people who will shop instead of paying a bill or the type that will spend my last dollar at the mall. I'm not like that at all, BUT I am the type that will go and buy SOMETHING,EVERY DAY. I literally buy SOMETHING from some kind of store/mall EVERY DAY. A huge part of the problem is that I pass a Target when I drop My son off to school and when I pick him up, so A LOT of the times, I will go to Target after I drop him off to school and spend money I should be saving. I will tell myself we either "need" something or am "running out of something" to make myself feel justified in going in the first place. I will "go for" something like paper towels or capri-suns for my son and come out with $60 worth of stuff....EASY. Same thing at the mall....I used to go at least 4 times a week and when I realized I was going so often, I made a deal wityh myself that I would only go to the mall on my off days. Problem is that I work Grave twice a week so on those days, I feel like it's an off day and take my ass to the mall.The one positive I guess would be that at least half of what I buy(regardless of where I go) is actually for my son. The negative of that is that my son is VERY spoiled....he will literally ask for any and everything he sees(he won't even WANT it, but he will see it and ask....I'm rubbing off on my baby *sad face*) SO......my Challenge for this particular situation is to NOT SHOP for the entire month of March. I will not buy ANYTHING except:Gas and Groceries. I'm not paying for anything accept bills,child care,manis/pedis(those are both basic life essentials..lol) and for my son to get his haircuts.....THAT IS IT!! No eating out or ANYTHING. Eating out is another problem of mine.I don't cook half as much as I should. I don't eat a lot of fast food(I eat at restaraunts or order the food to be delivered)and I know how much money THAT can amount to.So I'm cutting that out,too. I'm going to cook my lunch for work.I'm going to make sure I have gas in my car everyday BEFORE I go to work so that I can leave my debit card at home and I'm only going to take $5 a day to pay for parking.This is really going to be hard but It won't hurt and I'm anxious/nervous/excited to see how much more money I can save a month by cutting out all of the "extras" in my life.This will be a HUGE challenge for me because I'm so used to spending freely and to go from that to not at all is going to be a bitch. Wish me luck...I will def need it!

**2.Getting my ass back in shape! It has been about 9 months since I have had issues with my weight.It so weird for me to have this struggle because I have NEVER had an issue with weight, but I'mm getting older(metabolism is slowing down to a screeching hault...lol) I dont eat as healthy as I used to/should AND I'm on the bc shot which I now know that depending on the brand can be the DEVIL. Any ways,I am not happy with my body...I'm getting used to having curves and I hope I keep them, I just want to get my tummy all the way flat again and tone and tighten the rest of my body. I'm going to change my diet. Like I said, no more eating out and I am going to prepare my OWN food. I don't KNOW how to cook unhealthy food(fried chicken and stuff like that) so I should be fine as far as diet goes. I don't eat much red meat(unless it's oxtails)at all so that is a plus. I wanna start drinking Crystal light like I used to. I don't even remember why I stopped because I actually PREFER Crystal light to a lot of other drinks...oh well, I'm gunna get back on it. CHALLENGE: I bought a membership to a 30 day Fitness Bootcamp that takes place 4 times a week and the challenge is to stick with the program in it's entirety.Do what's necessary to aid the class to help me regain my "sexy" i.e. eating healthy,drinking lots of water/crystal light,sleeping like I should,ect. I'm excited to see what all of this does to my body/confidence....we shall see!

**3.Getting my Braces. I've wanted braces for a while now but I have heard horor stories about how painful they are/can be and I am NOT good with pain! BUT for the sake of vanity, I'm gunna go ahead and get them....FINALLY. CHALLENGE:Actually GET the braces...lol


**4 . Everyone knows I am not in love with my job.It pays the beills and nothing else has "come up" but let's face it: I havent really been looking too hard and I am so much better than my job.I love working in hospitality and would love to one day be a G.M of a Hilton or Hyatt or be a Brand Ambassador for a "W" or work corporate for a Marriott or Renisnace . I want to be a "big shot" who takes red eye flights from coast to coast JUST to attend the Grand Opening of one of "my" properties. CHALLENGE:Do whatever I have to do to get a job at a hotel that is part of a MAJOR chain. I just feel like once my foot is in THAT door, everything else like promotions will follow because I am a very hard worker,quick learner and Im sure that if I worked at a place that actually had room for promotion, I would have been promoted already. Another reason I need to get on this ASAP is because I plan/want to move out of Cali in the next 2 years and when/wherever I move, I want to be able to transfer from my job in my current city to the city I'm planning to move to, so That I will have a job "waiting" for me.

I tried to come up with a 5th thing but couldn't decide between 2 things and I only wanted my list to contain up to 5 things at a time..NOT 6, so I will leave those last 2 things out, until the NEXT set of challenges. I'm hopeful that I will have the best results and that I will actually be able to stick with all of these things until the bitter end. Wish me luck. If MY list has inspired you to make a list of your own, Please share!!

Stay Beautiful!!
J Bellz xoxo