Updates, Updates

I find the irony of my previous post too much to handle. Only 2 weeks after blogging about my visit to Tuscaloosa and our dodging tornadoes, a massive tornado literally ripped through the city I called home for 4 years of my life. I don't think there are enough words in the English language to express my deepest pains for Tuscaloosa. I also don't think I can stomach reliving the terror of watching the live streaming of that tornado. It was a moment I will never forget.

I also feel a load of guilt for my petty complaints over the newly refinished kitchen of my old house. The house in which I resided for 1/2 of my college career was all but ripped to shreds. That lovely new kitchen has been destroyed. Thankfully, however, my dear friend, whom I once called roommate as well, is safe! God is sovereign. The neighborhood, and even some neighbors, around that house, however, were not so lucky. We grieve for the lives lost.
Here are a few pictures of my old house:

 My house is the white one in the middle

Here is our neighborhood. Our old house is in the top left corner. You can definitely see the path the tornado took. 

The Milo's across the street, where we ate just weeks earlier, was completely demolished in the storm. It is very disheartening to see the damage, but I have no doubts that Tuscaloosa will rise above this, stronger than ever!

On a happier note: I have lost 18 LBS since November, with Weight Watchers!! If any of you are wanting to trim up a bit, please consider WW. It has done wonders for my eating habits. If you've tried WW in the past and it either didn't work or didn't stick, try it again. They have revamped the whole program to where it actually encourages healthy habits (i.e. fresh fruits and veggies are 0 pts, what a deal)! In the midst of my 18 lbs, I reached my 10% weight loss goal that WW set for me. To congratulate me on the loss (and for being in the program for 16 weeks), I got this super awesome key chain and charm. 
Forgive the not-so-great lighting in the photo:

Snaps for me :)

In WW, they encourage you to celebrate your weight loss by treating yourself to something. I decided that for every lb. I lost, I would put $5 into a jar. At the end of my weight loss journey, I would take the $$ I "raised" and go buy myself some new clothes. Well, I had to cheat on that just a little bit, because literally nothing but a couple of shirts and one pair of shorts still fit me. And by fit me, I mean they're not falling off of me. 

Thankfully, Gap was having a 40% off sale today in honor of Memorial Day, so I got a few necessary items to keep me from looking like a complete hobo. And guess what...I fit, with some room to move, in a size 6! I have not been a size 6 since high school!! I'm pretty excited about this. I also donated all of my big clothes to Goodwill, so no excuses for weight re-gain. 

I still have 10 lbs to go to reach my personal goal. However, I'm just not sure that I should lose that much now. For the first time in, I'd venture to say since body image began to matter, I feel good about my body. It's an amazing experience. I'm going to keep trying to lose the weight, but the stress is off. Now, it's the fun part of weight loss. It's the "let's see how much more I can lose" part. 

Anyway, moving on to the rest of my updates. I also lost a few lbs off my head. And no I don't mean I lost an eye or nose. I lost some herr! And by lost, I mean I had some cut off my head. About 6 or 7 inches to be exact. This was my first big hair cut in 3 1/2 years and it was definitely time.

Here is the before and after:

 I was a little nervous

But I think it was worth it!

I dried my hair in 9 minutes today. It used to take me 20!! That's less than half the time! WOW! I'll take that. And I have the cutest, tiniest little ponytail now.

I finally got my post-wedding hair cut...almost a year later. 

Well I believe that is all for my updates. Stay tune for more (really exciting) updates to come! I'm really excited to share our next update, but I must wait. Excited yet? You should be!!! 

OH WAIT! I do have one more update. 

About a month ago, we got a super cool Nikon d40x! It's amazing! Just look at this super awesome picture: 

 

What a doll!!

Alright, that's all. Thanks for reading and being interested in what's new with the Wiggins duo. Remember, stay tuned for some super exciting news coming to a blogspot near you (aka, this one).