My Christmas Holiday!

Hey Ya’ll!!

I hope everybody had a great Christmas Holiday! I know I did although I was sick. I've been on vacation this whole week and this whole week I've been sick but I didn't let my sickness put a damper on my Christmas spirit because I love Christmas. Getting gifts, being around your family, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ…nothing gets better than that.

Christmas Day

As for gifts I got everything I wanted. The main item I wanted was a Kindle and I got it thanks to my boo!! My boo and I celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve since he had to work Christmas day. We both got each other everything we asked for which was great!

Christmas Eve "GO REDSKINS"!!!

My family has Christmas Dinner on the Saturday after Christmas since some of my family is out of town in other states. My grandma had 11 children so when we get together we get together! The house be packed and food be everywhere. The “grown ups” draw names on Thanksgiving and exchange gifts at Christmas dinner since it’s so many of them. The name thing usually doesn’t work because somebody is going to buy gifts for EVERYBODY LoL but they still draw names every year. After we eat and gifts are exchanged my fam just enjoy each other’s company. I love being around my fam especially my cousins because when we get together the laughs are endless. We are all like brothers and sisters and I love that about us.

nephew on Christmas Day

So that’s a little bit of what went down in my family over the Christmas Holiday. I hope everybody got everything they wanted and more!!! What are your plans for New Year’s? New Year’s Eve I’ll be in church. I want to start 2013 of right because I have a lot of plans for 2013 and what better way to start it off than by being in the house of the Lord!

Stay tuned for future posts…byeee!!!

Fiance' and I at Christmas dinner

My fav cousin and I at Christmas dinner

my dad LoL

"I Found My Man But I Still Need My Girls"

Hey Ya’ll!!!

I’m still in ahh that I will be married in less than a year. The thought of marrying the man of my dreams is so surreal to me but it’s really happening! My wedding day is quickly approaching, August 17^th, 2013 and I have so many things to do. I’m sure as the New Year comes around that I’ll start to get really busy with wedding planning and everything that comes along with it. I can’t wait for it all!

I have 7 bridesmaids, maid of honor, and matron of honor. That seems like a lot but my family is used to big weddings. I have lots of close cousins and three best friends so I couldn’t pick and choose who to be in my wedding so I just made all of them bridesmaid’s lol, along with some ladies from Ryan’s family. All of the girls in my wedding party are very important to me so it was hard to choose. To make all the girls well acquainted with each other I want to do fun little activities where we all can come together to just mingle and get to know one another. Our families have really never met so it’ll be good to see two sides come together. I have some activities already in mind that I want to kickoff at the beginning of the year. I can’t wait for all the girls to meet and start to enjoy each other's company. I’m sure everyone will get along.

Stay tuned to see what activities I have in store for the girls and if you have any ideas comment below!! Also, check out Ryan and I wedding website --> andersoncary.ourwedding.com 

Natural Hair Update and Weekend Fun

Hey Ya’ll!!!

Hope all is well! I've really had a great weekend. Friday night I went to the Kevin Hart show which was hilarious and last night was epic so today I’ve just been chilling in my lounge clothes. Last night my friends and I celebrated my homegirl birthday in Northern, VA. Let's just say if they could've spiked the meatballs they would've lol but it was mad fun!! Love my girls!! Today I’ve applied to a few jobs, looked at some wedding stuff, and browsed some online stores. 

So let's talk about this natural hair of mines. My hair is soooooo…ugh! I love being natural but it’s hard work. I’ve been natural since 2010 and I’ve cut my hair twice. My hair is finally past my ears and the back is to the end of my neck. I mostly use Shea Moisture products, eco styler gel, and I have recently fallen in love with coconut oil and argon oil. Those two oils make my hair feel so soft and moisturized.

In my last blog post I’ve vowed to not wear weave. Currently,the only weave I wear is when I put my hair in a bun style so that’s not too bad. Weave has made my hair grow a lot but it’s putting a hurting on my edges.My poor little edges..lol!!!! But in due time they will grow back so I’m not worried. Not wearing weave made me realize that styling natural hair can be difficult. Having to twist my hair every night and untwisting in the morning…sheesh and can you say time consuming. In the end though I know it will all be all worth it when I have a gorgeous head full of thick, healthy hair :)

Stay tuned for more of my natural hair updates!

My hair is growing!!

4 day old perm rod set

 

At the Kevin Hart Show

The birthday girl and some spiked "80's Baby Gummy Bears"

got that Chanel bag though!!!!! :)

Epic Night!!

Thankful, Thankful, Thankful

Hey Ya'll!!!

Thanksgiving Day

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving!!!! I know I did. My poor little diet went out the window but I'll start back fresh on Monday hehe. I spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws and I loved every minute of it. My fiance's family are so loving and down to earth. The food was great and the win by the Redskins made Thanksgiving even better! GO REDSKINS! 

Thanksgiving is all about being with the ones you love and being thankful for what you have been blessed with. I tweeted yesterday that I don't need to elaborate on what I'm thankful for because I thank God every chance I get and that's a true statement. I don't take anything I have for granted because I know it can be taken away from me just like that. I may not have all the riches in the world but I am blessed with a lot and I'm always humble about it.

Did anybody go black Friday shopping??? I did! I was at Macy's at 12:30 am. My mission was to get a comforter set lol and my mission was accomplished. I got a $200 comforter set for $50...SCORE! After that I was ready to go home and get in the bed even though I didn't get home until 4:15 am. Later on in the day I did a little online shopping for my nephew, hit up some malls, and that's about it. I didn't go overboard this year. 

Shopping outfit

So that about sums up how my Thanksgiving went. Like I said earlier I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't shop to much. The next holiday to look forward to is Christmas!!! My favorite time of the year. 

Bye ya'll!!

Tough it out

Hey Ya'll!!!

Sooo as you guys know I'm natural. I have been natural since November of 2010. I've had 2 big chops, breakage, growth, the whole nine yards but there is one thing I can't live without....MY WEAVE! I love weave whether it be in a ponytail, sew in, braids, etc. I love being able to switch up my look. Although, weave is great and so versatile it is putting a hurting on some parts of my hair. My hair grows a lot with weave but I have sensitive edges so weave and my edges do not mix well. After taking out my last sew-in I have noticed that my edges were thinner than usual O_o. Not a good look. So, I have came to the conclusion that I will stop wearing weave until the spring of 2013! OMG this challenge is more challenging than my weight loss one LoL. I don't know how I'm going to do this but I have too. I have to get my hair back on its healthy path. So, continue to check my blog for hair updates as I go weaveless for a couple of months!

Blog Feature

Hey Ya'll!!

My friend Kim from college contacted me because she wanted to feature Ryan and I on her blog. Ryan and I have a unique love story and she wanted the world to know about it LoL. Kim did an awesome job on the story and I wanted to share it with ya'll. Go visit www.datingchic.com to read all about Ryan and I! Kim is a fantastic blogger and she always has something good to talk about!!!!!!

Check her out on twitter - @Dating_chic and on instagram - @dating_chic

OOTN

Hey Ya'll!!

I just wanted to do a blog post on my outfit I wore last night. My fiance' and I had a date night at this spot downtown called Tarrant's Cafe. It was a nice spot with great food and a good atmosphere. There are so many restaurants in downtown Richmond that are not well known so my fiance' and I like to discover and try out new spots.

Last night I wore some floral leggings from Asos curve. I wanted these leggings for a while now and when they came back in stock I jumped on them. I had to order a 16 because they were sold out of 14's. The 16's were way to big around my stomach area so I have to wear a waist belt with them if I wear a cropped top. My denim shirt came from forever 21+ which is also to big LoL. It's an XL and in order for it to be somewhat stylish I will either have to put a knot in it or wear a waist belt. My waist belt also came from Asos and my boots are some military style boots I got last fall. For this date night I was going for a relaxed look and I think I accomplished that. What do ya'll think???!

Closet Shopping

Hey Ya'll!!

Happy Sunday! Today has been a really chill day. I have done absolutely nothing besides watching my Redskins lose. We have no offensive line smh but anyway I just wanted to write about how I'm going to start closet shopping for a while. Right now I'm on a weight loss journey so there is really no reason for me to go out here and shop every chance I get when I don't plan on being the current size I am much longer. I'm trying to lose 20-30 pounds in the next couple of months..(Pray for me ya'll) so that means wearing the clothes I already got until they become too big. I have enough clothes where I can make different outfits without people even realizing I'm repeating items. Repeating clothing items really don't phase me so that's not a problem. I brought them so heck yea I'm going to get good wear out of them. I'm going to try to reduce my shopping until the end of the year. Currently, in my closet are size 14 pants/jeans (some 12's) and size large shirts with some extra larges. My goal is to get in a comfortable size 12 in pants/jeans and medium to large shirts. Let's hope I can reach that goal by the end of January. Don't get me wrong I'm going to keep shopping..especially for shoes...but shopping for clothes will not be as heavy as it used to be. Closet shopping shall be fun and keep checking out for weight loss updates!

Keep reading my blog for future blog posts and thanks to everyone who reads my blog!!! I really appreciate it :D

shopping yesterday SMH. I only brought 2 shirts though :) Follow me on instagram: mzmoniboo

Final Weigh In

Hey Ya’ll!!

 

 

So it’s the final week of my -10 pound weight loss challenge. This has been a 6 week long challenge and I’m proud to say I lost 7 pounds..yayyyyyy!! My goal was 10 but I made it to 7. I can’t really complain about that becuase I'm a still a winner in my book. I had a few slipups which probably caused me not to obtain my goal but overall I’m just glad I lost weight. I started this challenge weighing in at 207 and now I am 200 pounds even! I kind of feel lighter too LoL. My regiment was eating better and exercising 3 times a week. Although this challenge is over, my weight loss journey is far from being over. My plan is to keep this regimen going. I want to lose a total of 30 pounds by time I get married next year. I may seek help such as by getting a membership with Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig but I haven't decided on that yet.
 

Join me in my weight loss journey by jumping aboard. The more the merrier!! I would love to interact with people who are on a weight loss journey as myself. We can be each other motivators! Comment below, hit me up on instagram (mzmoniboo), facebook , or twitter (MissMoni804) if you want to join me on this weight loss journey. I would love to hear from you!!!!!

Talk to ya’ll later..byeee!

 

I was feeling good today!

 

Yes! I'm still getting married

Hey Ya'll!

I know I haven't talked about my wedding a lot but yes I'm still getting married LoL. Wedding planning is so much fun. I have so many ideas that I want to do for my wedding. I don't want my wedding to be traditional at all. I'm going to have some traditional aspects but it's going to be at a minimum. I have the reception hall booked, the church booked, my caterers booked, my DeeJay booked, my wedding singer booked, I already have my wedding dress, and my bridesmaids are going to purchase their dress on November 17th so I think I'm doing pretty good with this wedding planning. Next on the list is my engagement party, looking at flowers, and working on my save the dates. My fiance's aunt is handling everything dealing with the engagement party so that's a good thing and can be checked off my list.

Next up are my save the dates. I'm a huge fan of personalized items so a lot of my wedding favors and wedding items are going to be personalized. For my save the dates I'm doing something totally different because I hate to be traditional. I would share but I don't want to give it away! Just know it's not going to be magnets or postcards. My graphic designer already sent me the layout which I'm in love with. I can't wait to send them out so everybody can see. I plan to send out my save the dates by the end of February 2013.

For my flowers, I'm so lost LoL. I was never a really big flower fan so I don't know what kind of flowers I want. Luckily, my wedding planner is very educated in the wedding business so she knows what's hot, what's not, what's going to work with my taste in style, and what's not. With my wedding planner by my side, I'm sure my flowers and floral arrangements are going to be off the chain! The floral arrangements I want are so different. I've never seen this arrangement done before so I'm excited that I would have the chance to hopefully have the arrangements at my wedding!!! :D

Stay tuned for more wedding posts and check out my wedding website andersoncary.ourwedding.com!

weight loss challenge - week 5

 

 

Hey Ya’ll!!!

 

So it’s week 5 and I’m down 1 more pound!! My current weightis 201. 2 more pounds and I’ll be out the 200’s..YES! My eating regimen isstill the same, lots of fruit and moderate sized meals. I drink lots and lotsof water and I exercise 3 times a week. I have never been more determined in mylife to lose weight. Seeing the pounds come off is just motivating me tocontinue this challenge. I can’t wait to see where I’m at with my weight lossat the end of the year. Hopefully, the holidays won’t put on some pounds but ahealthier Monica is in full affect. Stay tuned week after week for weight lossupdates

 

Byee!  

The calm before the storm because my I did a hard workout!

Goodwill Find

Hey Ya'll!!

 

 

I just wanted to come and share this great Goodwill find I got. One day I was at my sister's house and I went into her closet as I always do LoL. When I saw this shirt my eyes lit up. I asked my sis could I have it and she said yes! Then she told me she got it from the Goodwill for $2.00!!! SCORE! Instantly, I knew how I wanted to style it. I loved how I styled it and I hope ya'll do too.

 

 

shirt-Goodwill, jeans-Ashley Stewart, boots-Target, belt-Goodwill, earrings-beauty supply store 

Kool-aid Smile! LoL

 

Weight loss challenge - Week 4

Hey Ya’ll!!!

Yup, it’s time for another weight loss update. So for week 4 I lost a total of 0 pounds :/ I didn’t gain or lose any weight. No need to beat myself up about it. This just motivates me to work harder this week. I did slip up over the weekend so maybe that has something to do with me not losing any weight. I considered seeking help on my weight loss such as by joining Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig but then I said naww…I want to see what I can do on my own. If I’m not successful on my own then I may consider some weight loss programs. My current weight is still 202. I’m down 5 pounds from when I initially started this weight loss challenge. I have 1 ½ more weeks to lose 5 more pounds. Hopefully, it can be done. I’m sure it can be J

After this challenge is over on October 31^st, I’m going to challenge myself to get down to 170 before my wedding on August 17^th, 2013. I can’t let my fiancé beat me with this weight loss because he is doing excellent! I’m so proud of him for losing weight! I loved him the way he was before but we both want and need to be healthier so we’re pushing each other to lose as much weight as we can. We are each other’s motivators and I love it!! Continue to check in week after week for more weight loss challenge updates!!

Talk to ya'll later…byeee!

I found my favorite pair of jeans

Hey Ya'll!

So Sunday I was at the mall and I went to forever 21. I went to the plussize section of course and I walked over to these jeans that caught my eye. When I saw the different colors I knew I had to have a pair. I got the color mint in a size 14. I was to lazy to try them on so I was hoping they would fit. When I got home and tried them on I fell in love!!! They fit my curves just right. I got too hyped lol. I wore them to work today and they stayed hugged up on my curves all day. They didn't get lose one bit. I have found my favorite pair of jeans. If I could wear these jeans everyday I would lol. I will be going back to get more colors. They were $24.50 and they come in 13 different colors. I just had to do a review on these jeans because I have really fallen in love. Check out forever 21 online or in the store and buy a pair. Trust me, you will love them!!!

This is the color mint. They look greener in person

I loved the fit

after work (9 hours of wear) before my workout and they are still hugging my curves

Weight loss challenge - week 3

Hey Ya'll!!!

This is going to be a quick update of my weight loss challenge. I'm down 1 more pound!!!! Yayyy!!! I'm down to 202. I'm still on the same regimen...lots and lots of water, nuts and fruits for breakfast, salad for lunch, regular dinner but just in moderation and I exercise at least 3 times a week. Hopefully by October 31st I'll be 10 pounds lighter :)

my breakfast every morning

5 things you dont know about me

Hey Ya’ll!!!

So earlier I was reading a blog and she did a blog post called “5 things you don’t know about me”. It was so interesting that I was like hmm I want to do that. So, here are 5 things that you don’t know about me!

1.     I stutter. Yes, ya girl stutters LoL. I have been stuttering my whole life. When I was younger it used to bother me but now I have learned to accept it. The only time I stutter is when I have something to tell and I get excited about it. My stuttering goes in full blast mode during that time lol!!!

2.     I suck my thumb. I have been sucking my thumb since I came out the womb on July 16^th, 1987! I was a heavy thumb sucker in my younger years but now I rarely do it. The only time I suck my thumb nowadays is when I get really, really sleepy. When I get really, really sleepy I find myself sucking my thumb without realizing that I’m doing it. The results of being a thumb sucker is that I have to get braces. I had to hold off on getting braces until after I get married next year. So I will be a 26 year old with a mouth full of metal next year lol.

3.     I was such a tomboy in my middle school days. Back in the day you could catch me in baggy jeans, flavs (air force ones), and a big t-shirt. I did not like to dress girly! Boy have times changed lol.

4.     I hang my head in shame at this one…I USED to bite my toenails…hahahahahaha! I said I was a tomboy! Ok that’s all I’m going to say about that..moving on

5.     Last but not least, I hated the way I looked back in middle school. Middle school was when we hit puberty and puberty meant boys. In middle school I thought I was the ugliest person in the world. I was fat,  a tomboy, had no style, and wasn’t classified as one of the pretty girls in school. I didn’t get teased but I didn’t get recognized by boys either. I remember crying myself to sleep at night because I thought I was so ugly. I was not the confident plussize female as I am now. When I started to gain a little shape in high school, everything started to change. Now look at me, my confidence and beauty is off the chain!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed reading “5 things you don’t know about me”!!! Tune in later on this week for another blog post and make sure to comment below. Byeeee!!!

can't even tell I need braces :D