April Goals Update

Earlier this month I shared with you my goals for April and since it's the last day of April I think it's time to give you an update.

Look into buying a new exercise bike.

Finish College Prep American History Part 1

Start College Prep American History Part 2.

Take two College Prep American History Part 2 exams.
Get A's on all my History exams.

Exercise 2-3 times a week.

Find a new eye doctor and get an appointment set up.

Log my meals/snacks in MyFitnessPal app at least 15 days this month.

Go through my closet again and get rid of the MANY pairs of jeans I never wear!

Go to the Chiropractor at least twice.

I did really good this month, I accomplished most of what I wanted to get done, and even though I didn't finish everything I'm still really happy with myself.
Now here's a little bit of information on the goals I didn't finish.

Take two College Prep American History Part 2 exams.
I finished Part 1 and I just started Part 2 yesterday. The reason I didn't accomplish this is because I didn't realize that for the last two unit's in Part 1 I would have to do double the reading.
Unit's 1-3 of Part 1 only had 3 chapters each, so that's what I was expecting for Unit's 4 & 5, but instead they had 6 chapters, so I wasn't expecting that and it messed up my schedule, but that's okay, next time I'll just have to pay more attention.

Exercise 2-3 times a week.
I almost made this happen. But last week I didn't exercise, and the first week of the month I only exercised once. I'm kinda sad about this, but I'll get over it, as I explained yesterday I'll be joining the gym soon, and hopefully I'll be able to buy a new stationary bike to have at home too.

Go through my closet again and get rid of the MANY pairs of jeans I never wear!
I'm just going to be honest I completely forgot to do this. This month has been all over the place, and I just didn't even think about my closet.

Well I guess that's it for April, this year is going by way to fast, I can't believe tomorrow is the first of May!

XoXo,
Lori

Book Review: Johanna Lindsey - A Rogue of My Own (Locke Family Series #3

 Today I will be reviewing ' A Rogue of My Own' by Johanna Lindsey, I bought this book about 3 years ago for $7.99.

         'A Rogue of My Own' is a Historical Romance Novel, set in the 19th century and  is the third book in the Locke Family Series. It is 393 pages long, and took me about 5 hours to read.

   

 As usual here is the blurb from the back of the book.

    "For Lady Rebecca Marshall, a whirlwind of excitement begins when she becomes a maid of honor at the court of Queen Victoria. But when Rebecca unknowingly steps into the rivalry between the Queen's spymaster and a noblewoman who uses the maids as courtly spies, she is soon entangled in a web of deceit with the charming marquis Rupert St. John. The devastatingly handsome ne'er-do-well is cousin of Raphael Locke, with whom Rebecca was once infatuated...... He's also a secret agent of the crown who leads a double life.

     Certain that guileless Rebecca is spying on him, Rupert seduces her--- then, forced to wed, he believes she has set a trap of the worst sort in order to marry into his powerful family! But as he comes to know Rebecca's true heart, his vow of revenge and infidelity becomes a desire to share many passionate nights--- only with his beautiful wife. "

So what did I think?

Like:  It was fun to read. 

Dislike:  Nothing.

Age Rating: 17 and up. Depending on age and maturity.

I will start off by saying that Johanna Lindsey has been one of my favorite authors for many years now, but her new work just isn't as good as some of her older books and series ( The Malory Family Series). 'A Rogue of My Own' is still a great book, it just isn't as great as I was hoping it would be. 

I would describe the book as being a battle of the sexes, with Rebecca and Rupert constantly trying to spite one another. 

I would definitely recommend 'A Rogue of My Own' it's a wonderful book and a great story, it's an easy read, and it doesn't require you to know much about the 19th century. It may not be as great as some of Johanna's other books, but it's still worth taking the time to read!

 So that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think in the comments Have you read this book?  Do you have any recommendations?

          XoXo,

               Lori

   

April Weight Loss

Good morning lovelies, I hope your day is off to a great start! I don't really have much to say today, so I'm just gonna jump into this months update.

Diet:

This month was probably one of the best months I've had in a long time when it comes to my diet. Most of my meals this month has have been bakes instead of fried. I've also been cutting back on potatoes, instead of having them every night with my dinner, I've been having them only a few times a week.

Exercise:

This month didn't go as planned, but I definitely did better than last month. The first week of the month I still wasn't feeling well, so I didn't get in any exercise. The second week of the month I got in three workouts, the third week I got in two workouts and I also had one day where I did a lot of shopping and walking. Then last week I didn't get in a real workout, but I did have one day where I did a lot of waling, I worked with some hand weights, and I started doing squats again (and yes my ass and legs hurt).

So did I lose any weight?

Weight Lost This Month: 0 Pounds

Total Weight Loss:  6 Pounds

Sadly I didn't lose any weight this month, BUT I can tell a difference in my body. I've noticed over the past week that my stomach doesn't look as bloated as it did a few weeks ago, so I think cutting back on potatoes and baking my food instead of frying it is something I'm going to keep doing.

This week, actually today, I'm hoping to decide on a gym to join, and I'm gonna start trying to go to the gym daily. I recently started following a lot of  fitblrs on Tumblr, and it's really inspired me to get back in the gym and finally lose this weight.

So that's all for today, tomorrow I'll have up another book review, and Wednesday I'll be updating you on my goals for April.

XoXo,

Lori

Weekly Inspiration

            Goal:   Keep your head up and don't listen to the people trying to bring you down.

Playing Catch Up

Happy Saturday lovelies, I hope you're having a great weekend so far! This weekend I'm actually not going to be able to relax at all, I have so much I need to catch up on.
You may have noticed that I didn't post five times this week like I usually do, well I didn't realize it till it was already too late.
For the past few months I've been really busy, so I've been trying to write and schedule my posts ahead of time so that I don't forget to post, and that just didn't work out this week.
Honestly I've been in a bit of a slump for the past few weeks, I have plenty of material, I just haven't given myself the time to sit down and finish all 55 of the posts in my draft box.

I decided that I need to take a weekend to take care of myself and finish the things I've been putting off for far too long.
So this weekend I will be sitting down to catch up on a few things, and I want to share them with you.

Here's what I plan on doing this weekend:

1. Schedule two weeks worth of blog posts.

2. Paint my nails.

3. Try to finish 'Let Love Find You' by Johanna Lindsey

4. Look over my history final and send it in.
5. Search for scholarships.

I'll try to give you an update on Monday during my Monthly Weight Loss Update, but if not them I'll tell you about it on Wednesday when I give you an update on my April Goals.
XoXo,
Lori

5 Words: Week 67

Happy Friday lovelies, I hope you have a great day, and a great weekend!

Here's this week's 5 Words...

Impinge- To make an impression.

Inchoate- Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary. 

Indefatigable- (of a person or their efforts) persisting tirelessly.

Ineffable- Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.

Inexorable- Impossible to stop or prevent.

        Well that's all for this week, don't forget to check back on Sunday for a little bit of inspiration!

                                                                XoXo,
                                                                   Lori

Book Review: Johanna Lindsey- The Devil Who Tamed Her (Locke Family Series #2)

       Today I will be reviewing ' The Devil Who Tamed Her' by Johanna Lindsey, I bought this book about 3 years ago for $5.99.

         'The Devil Who Tamed Her' is a Historical Romance Novel, set in the 19th century and it is the second book in the Locke Family Series. It is 417 pages long, and took me about 5 hours to read.

  

As usual here is the blurb from the back of the book.

     " Ophelia Reid is an incomparable beauty with a reputation for starting rumors and spreading them. Having purposely wrecked her engagement to Duncan MacTavish, a future marquis, which her social-climbing father arranged, Ophelia wants to return to London's marriage mart and make her own choice of a wealthy husband. But on her journey home, something unexpected happens......

      The heir to a dukedom, Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield is -- in spite of his disinterest in marriage -- the most sought-after young lord in England. he instantly disliked Ophelia when she caused a scandal to avoid marriage to his friend MacTavish, but having comforted  her in a tearful moment, he begins to wonder is she's not all bad. So when MacTavish claims Ophelia will never be anything but a spiteful beauty, Rafe bets his friend that he can turn her into a kindhearted lady who will one day make a good match, just not with him.

       With her parents' blessing, Rafe commanders Ophelia's coach and whisks her -- chaperoned, of course-- to his remote estate in the countryside. There, as he tries to show his furious, sharp-tongued "guest" the error of her ways, he discovers the surprising reasons for her bad behavior. Soon his daily lessons with Ophelia take effect and he finds himself irresistibly attracted to her. When Rafe champions the new and improved Ophelia's re-entry to London society, marriage proposals pour in. Only then does Rafe start to wonder whether he hasn't gone and fallen in love with Ophelia himself.     "

So what did I think? 4 Stars

Like:  Ophelia's transformation.

Dislike: The ending. I'll talk more about it below.

Age Rating: 17 and up. Depending on age and maturity.

        My favorite thing about the book is the hidden message in it, I recently finished my English class, so I kinda picked up on this more than I normally would, and I took the time to really think about it. In the book we see Ophelia's transformation from the ice queen into a kind loving woman.

     For me the message of the story is that regardless of a persons past, they can always change. In the first book of the series, and in the first part of this book Ophelia is a terrible person, but she learns to control her anger, and she learns how to trust again.

   The reason I didn't like the ending is because I feel like it could have been done better. It ended too quickly, and I feel like there should have been a little bit more to it.

    Overall, I really did like the book, if your a fan of other Johanna Lindsey books then I would recommend you read this one. Again as a warning most of Johanna Lindsey's books do contain sex scenes, and this book is no different from the rest.

     So that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think in the comments Have you read this book?  Do you have any recommendations?

     XoXo,

          Lori 

   

Pinterest Finds

Happy Monday lovelies, I hope you had a wonderful Easter yesterday (if you celebrate it), and I hope your week is off to a great start. 

I have a very busy day to day, and I'm already behind, so I'm just gonna jump on in and get started.

1. This Demi Lovato quote.

Via

2. Golden Cocker Retriever puppy!

Via
When I pinned this the caption said that this was a full grown dog, and that it would look like a puppy forever. Well to me that sounded too good to be true, so I googled it and I was right Golden Cocker Retrievers won't stay this size forever, (even though I totally wish they did).

3. How to Write Long Papers

Via

Well that's all for this months Pinterest Finds, I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to follow if you wanna see more!

XoXo,

Lori

Weekly Inspiration

Happy Easter! I hope you have a great day!

Via

       Goal:   Take 10 minutes today to make a list of the things and people you're thankful for.

5 Words: Week 66

Happy Friday lovelies, I hope you all had a wonderful week and enjoy the weekend!

Here's this week's 5 Words...

Fecundity- The intellectual productivity of a creative imagination.

Fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant.

Garrulous- Excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters.

Hegemony- Leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others.

Iconoclast- A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.

          Well that's all for this week, don't forget to check back on Sunday for a little bit of inspiration!
                                                                                XoXo,
                                                                                     Lori Ann