Post #100!

Well, I can't believe it.

The girl who started a blog (for the millionth time) and thought there wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell she'd ever keep it going, has officially reached her 100th post.

*Cue the applause*

Since I can't just write any ole' post for the big 1-0-0, I thought it would be fun to jump back in time and see how much my life has changed since the first time I pressed "Publish" -

On November 29, 2012:
 
1.) We still didn't know if Joe would be going to dental school this fall

2.) Joe and I were living in California

3.) I was working a job I didn't like, but didn't realize how good I had it

4.) I was 9 pounds less than I was at the beginning of this month

5.) Buster was still living with his previous family

6.) I had never watched an episode of The Walking Dead or Downton Abbey

Now, on July 23, 2013:

1.) We have less than a month to go before Joe's dental school orientation at his top choice school - UPenn

2.) We are living in Philadelphia, PA and took a 6 week road-trip from California to get here. We visited the following states after moving out of our apartment: Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

3.) I'm unemployed and applying to a ton of jobs. I'm hearing no good news. I'm also realizing I'll make 40-50% less and have worse benefits than my last job even though the cost of living is not much different

4.) I am two weeks into my second weight-loss journey chronicled on this blog. The first lasted a month and I lost 8 pounds, bringing my weight at the beginning of January to 17 pounds less than I was at the beginning of this month. I'm weighing in tomorrow to see how much I've lost in these first two weeks. Stay tuned!

5.) We have an amazingly adorable, smart, and very loving dog named Buster. We couldn't imagine life without him

6.) I am addicted to both Downton Abbey and The Walking Dead and have convinced several people to try one or the other (or both!). I am also counting down the days until their seasons start again and wishing I could find another fun show to get into (any recommendations out there?)


Overall, things have improved :) Well, except for the weight (which I am tackling!) and the whole being unemployed thing.

The truth is, as absolutely frustrated as I am about not finding a job yet, picturing where I was just 100 blog posts ago is very eye-opening. You couldn't pay me enough to make me go back to November 29 - the stress of my job and of not knowing where (or even IF) Joe would get accepted was weighing on me so much that I honestly felt like I was losing my mind. Fits of hysterical crying were quite common in the Brier household around that time (and, heck, I'll be honest - for several months before that as well).

But now, I actually feel like a different (better!) person. I am so proud of myself for sticking to this blog. I never in a million years thought I'd make it to 100 posts. But I wanted to, and I made it happen. There was something that just clicked, and I accepted as fact that I was going to blog instead of questioning when I would stop. The same thing is happening with my weight loss. And for that reason, I can't wait to see where I am 100 posts from now!