i gots no skillz, that's for sure.
last night after our volleyball game (we won, naturally), i ventured into downtown pittsburgh for salsa night at bossa nova at the invitation of natalie and leandra. while it was good to be sociable for the night instead of just heading home, i will say this: it's terribly difficult to go out when your friends are all zoolanders - ridiculously good-looking. although she doesn't try at all, natalie is easily one of the most gorgeous people i know. and what really sucks is that she's super nice and smart, and not stuck-up in the least, so it's impossible to hate her. leandra is also pretty, and she's colombian, so she has the accent on her side. even though i had just finished my game, i had changed my clothes, i didn't smell, and i didn't think i looked awful... the reason i had decided to go was that natalie told me that guys will come over and ask you to dance all night and that it's not a big deal if you don't know what you're doing - everyone's just there to have a good time. well, sure, that's likely true in natalie's case, but it's certainly not the case for average-looking people such as myself. guys were asking her to dance all night... and when we were hanging out and talking, guys would literally shove past me to ask her to dance. not one guy asked me to dance. i did dance one dance, quite awkwardly i might add, with a guy that natalie asked to dance with me. he was a nice guy and kind of cute, but he was obviously not into dancing with me. i left around midnight and just felt awful until i was asleep. i had expected the night to be fun and a bit of an ego boost... but instead it was depressing and awkward and i ended my night feeling like the ugly, fat, socially retarded girl that no one asked to prom. i mean, i may as well have pooped in the middle of the dance floor the way everyone (except leandra, natalie and a nice guy named brandon) was avoiding me. sigh. i probably won't be going back to salsa night. aside from the obvious reasons, i'm also disappointed because i really WANTED to learn how to dance - it looked like so much fun! blah.
on to better, more cheerful things! yesterday before the game, i went to right by nature for some groceries and dinner. i loaded up on avocados (2 for $1! sushi tonight!!), blackberries, blueberries, sweet potato chips, and a grape kombucha tea. for dinner, i raided their hot and cold bars and ended up with the bargain of the night - flank steak (i was in a rare red-meat mood), rosemary roasted potatoes, garlic noodles, some sort of chinese coleslaw or something, elbow mac with greens, and a lovely spinach salad with asiago, dried cranberries, whole roasted pecans and green goddess dressing for a whopping $3.57!! this is like the best deal ever! i was pleasantly full (though not TOO full) and it only cost $3.57... amazing. i tried the grape kombucha tea with lunch today and i have to say, i'm not really impressed. maybe that's just because lori said it smells like sewer... i dunno. but anyways, about 90 seconds ago i shook it a little and opened up the top because i'm mildly autistic and now there's niagara grape kombucha wonder drink all over my keyboard, desk, blotter, and floor. right where fermented tea belongs. holla!
i'm really not feeling the gym tonight, but i feel like i have to go since i haven't hit it up since monday. i'm really excited about making avocado sushi for dinner, though! tomorrow my mom and i are planning to meet up either at ross park mall or pittsburgh mills to do some pre-cruise shopping. by pre-cruise shopping, i mean that she might buy something, but i most likely will not since i have negative dollars in my bank account even after today's payday. it'll be nice to get out and do something besides go to the gym, though, and i'll likely get at least one meal out of her. :) and sunday...
pittsburgh's goin to the superbowl!
ok, i'll readily admit that i'm not the biggest football fan. but when i DO watch football, the steelers are obviously my team. i just have a hard time sitting still through hours of tv, especially when it gets so tense sometimes! so i usually tune in for the last 5 minutes or so... but i'm going to make an effort to check in periodically during the game to see how dem stillers are doing. :)
happy friday, everyone!
1.28.2009
peaceful, easy feeling
every time i head down to my creepy basement it seems like it's christmas and my birthday all over again! on tonight's trip down the rickety stairs, the intention was to find my box of checks in one of the myriad of boxes since i wrote my last one to my boss today (you know how it goes - you pay your boss, you keep your job!)... while i was down there, i found not only the checks but all of this:
that's paris-themed coasters, brand spankin new burt's bees beeswax lip balm, loose change, prescription meds (the good kind), hair ties, sephora lip balm, burt's bees carrot day creme, extra sugarfree gum, and more hair ties.
this was just awesome because a) i'm constantly at a loss for hair ties; b) i'm still using the 2 snowmen coasters my grandma gave me for christmas; c) BURTS!; d) minty freshness is key; e) the pills are codeine, which is great because even though they're basically baby-strength prescription painkillers, i can actually take a whole codeine without getting sick whereas i can take a half a vicodin and still puke; and f) i'm broke so any change is good change. the jackpot bunny has obviously stopped at wilkins twp.
dinner tonight was awesome and almost vegetarian (for those of you who know my weakness for protein). i had half a can of healthy choice split pea with ham soup (hence almost vegetarian), a spinach salad with goat cheese and tj's tuscan italian balsamic vinaigrette, and a serving of the alexis sweet potato fries i bought at the co-op last week. mmmm, it was all delicious, and the sweet potato fries were fantabulous (and much better than the ones i've made on my own)! i wasn't quite full, so i had a tj's whole wheat tortilla with the tuscan white bean hummus from yesterday.
i cleaned up the kitchen, washed dishes, got lunch and dinner ready for tomorrow (3 meals at work tomorrow since it's a vb night!), did a little dancing while cleaning, and got a shower. i'm currently eating half the tonymisu from moio's... i like it (of course), but i think i've had better. there's some weird aftertaste to it... then again, maybe that's because it's been sitting in my fridge since saturday afternoon?
time to do a little reading before bed! g'night!
that's paris-themed coasters, brand spankin new burt's bees beeswax lip balm, loose change, prescription meds (the good kind), hair ties, sephora lip balm, burt's bees carrot day creme, extra sugarfree gum, and more hair ties.
this was just awesome because a) i'm constantly at a loss for hair ties; b) i'm still using the 2 snowmen coasters my grandma gave me for christmas; c) BURTS!; d) minty freshness is key; e) the pills are codeine, which is great because even though they're basically baby-strength prescription painkillers, i can actually take a whole codeine without getting sick whereas i can take a half a vicodin and still puke; and f) i'm broke so any change is good change. the jackpot bunny has obviously stopped at wilkins twp.
dinner tonight was awesome and almost vegetarian (for those of you who know my weakness for protein). i had half a can of healthy choice split pea with ham soup (hence almost vegetarian), a spinach salad with goat cheese and tj's tuscan italian balsamic vinaigrette, and a serving of the alexis sweet potato fries i bought at the co-op last week. mmmm, it was all delicious, and the sweet potato fries were fantabulous (and much better than the ones i've made on my own)! i wasn't quite full, so i had a tj's whole wheat tortilla with the tuscan white bean hummus from yesterday.
i cleaned up the kitchen, washed dishes, got lunch and dinner ready for tomorrow (3 meals at work tomorrow since it's a vb night!), did a little dancing while cleaning, and got a shower. i'm currently eating half the tonymisu from moio's... i like it (of course), but i think i've had better. there's some weird aftertaste to it... then again, maybe that's because it's been sitting in my fridge since saturday afternoon?
time to do a little reading before bed! g'night!
cold as ice
bored out of my skull today at work. i really don't know how much clearer i can be - i've told both of my bosses on several occasions that i need more work. the work they give me to do is never enough to satiate my apparent thirst for busy work. i'm such a dweeb. who asks for more work? sigh.
i have the feeling that my area of the building is completely empty. i can't hear anyone around me typing or talking and it's only 4:30. people just tend to scram when there's snow... but at least they showed up, i guess. i considered calling off today, but let's face it, it's WAY cooler to call off when it's sunny and warm. especially when you call off because of bad weather when it's 90 degrees outside. :)
my group just took a little field trip to a conference room with windows to look outside (for those of you who don't work with me, a good part of our building is window-less). me, justin and olga all trooped upstairs and sat on the steps outside the mezz. it was a good group bonding experience. we decided that we should all take off the entire week next week as a superbowl celebration/get out of work vacation. it was agreed that we'll be heading down to tampa for the week instead of staying in snowy, slushy pittsburgh. ahh, if only...
desperately seeking avocados is the name of today's game. i want just 1 avocado, not 4. tj's only sells avocados in bags of 4 so i didn't get any last night. and tonight all the roads are supposedly a thick sheet of ice, so grocery shopping probably isn't in my best interest. but oh! how i yearn for avocado sushi! i've been craving avocado sushi for a few weeks now and i never remember it when it's time to make dinner. besides that, i rarely buy avocados, so i never have all the necessary ingredients. but i was going to get some tonight... i'm still up in the air about it. if i get really desperate, maybe i'll trek down to kuhn's on foot. i think it's about a mile away from my house... it could be a good gym alternative. we'll see.
i had a bunch of things planned for tonight, including wii fit, making sushi, downloading some songs, requesting some library books online, grocery shopping, possibly baking bread or bagels, paying bills, cleaning the kitchen and getting a bath. however, given the crappy state of the weather, it seems like a good night to stay at home and do nothing. i think my revised plan may be to make some sort of dinner (sushi if i'm ambitious enough to walk 2 miles in the snow, rain, sleet, hail and ice), take a bath and read some more twilight. i don't plan on doing much more than that, and i think maybe that's a good plan for tonight.
have a warm evening, folks!
i have the feeling that my area of the building is completely empty. i can't hear anyone around me typing or talking and it's only 4:30. people just tend to scram when there's snow... but at least they showed up, i guess. i considered calling off today, but let's face it, it's WAY cooler to call off when it's sunny and warm. especially when you call off because of bad weather when it's 90 degrees outside. :)
my group just took a little field trip to a conference room with windows to look outside (for those of you who don't work with me, a good part of our building is window-less). me, justin and olga all trooped upstairs and sat on the steps outside the mezz. it was a good group bonding experience. we decided that we should all take off the entire week next week as a superbowl celebration/get out of work vacation. it was agreed that we'll be heading down to tampa for the week instead of staying in snowy, slushy pittsburgh. ahh, if only...
desperately seeking avocados is the name of today's game. i want just 1 avocado, not 4. tj's only sells avocados in bags of 4 so i didn't get any last night. and tonight all the roads are supposedly a thick sheet of ice, so grocery shopping probably isn't in my best interest. but oh! how i yearn for avocado sushi! i've been craving avocado sushi for a few weeks now and i never remember it when it's time to make dinner. besides that, i rarely buy avocados, so i never have all the necessary ingredients. but i was going to get some tonight... i'm still up in the air about it. if i get really desperate, maybe i'll trek down to kuhn's on foot. i think it's about a mile away from my house... it could be a good gym alternative. we'll see.
i had a bunch of things planned for tonight, including wii fit, making sushi, downloading some songs, requesting some library books online, grocery shopping, possibly baking bread or bagels, paying bills, cleaning the kitchen and getting a bath. however, given the crappy state of the weather, it seems like a good night to stay at home and do nothing. i think my revised plan may be to make some sort of dinner (sushi if i'm ambitious enough to walk 2 miles in the snow, rain, sleet, hail and ice), take a bath and read some more twilight. i don't plan on doing much more than that, and i think maybe that's a good plan for tonight.
have a warm evening, folks!
1.27.2009
frankie says relax
i'm taking the night off from working out tonight. i will also be lazing about tomorrow as well. i don't think my legs could take it tonight and i never work out wednesdays because of volleyball on thursdays (i like to be well-rested).
since i had so much free time tonight i created a twitter account. i don't understand it at all. i tried to add a picture and it won't let me because it says that twitter is over its capacity... whatevs. apparently i'm not the only one who doesn't get it, though - i facebooked my frustration and one of my vb teammates said he doesn't understand it either.
right now i'm watching the biggest loser and i'm a little miffed that they had kurt warner on the show - 5 days before the steelers play the cardinals in the superbowl. i guess nbc is rooting for arizona? jags.
given the weather report for pittsburgh over the next couple days (winter storm warnings galore, ugh), i decided to hit up trader joe's for some essentials. no pictures, but i got some baby spinach, oj, bananers, more flourless sprouted wheat multigrain bread, more oat bran, handmade whole wheat tortillas, and tuscan white bean hummus. the spinach may have been a bad idea, though, because i think my body's going through spinach overload. but i'm excited about the white bean hummus and tortillas! :)
on a super awesome note, the commercial for next week's chuck looks sweet - it features buster from arrested development (only one of the best series EVER) and jerome bettis! hot dang!
i'm off to get a shower and read another chapter or 2 of twilight before an early bedtime. g'night!
since i had so much free time tonight i created a twitter account. i don't understand it at all. i tried to add a picture and it won't let me because it says that twitter is over its capacity... whatevs. apparently i'm not the only one who doesn't get it, though - i facebooked my frustration and one of my vb teammates said he doesn't understand it either.
right now i'm watching the biggest loser and i'm a little miffed that they had kurt warner on the show - 5 days before the steelers play the cardinals in the superbowl. i guess nbc is rooting for arizona? jags.
given the weather report for pittsburgh over the next couple days (winter storm warnings galore, ugh), i decided to hit up trader joe's for some essentials. no pictures, but i got some baby spinach, oj, bananers, more flourless sprouted wheat multigrain bread, more oat bran, handmade whole wheat tortillas, and tuscan white bean hummus. the spinach may have been a bad idea, though, because i think my body's going through spinach overload. but i'm excited about the white bean hummus and tortillas! :)
on a super awesome note, the commercial for next week's chuck looks sweet - it features buster from arrested development (only one of the best series EVER) and jerome bettis! hot dang!
i'm off to get a shower and read another chapter or 2 of twilight before an early bedtime. g'night!
uh-oh spaghetti-os!
my boss is cleaning out her office... i'm taking this as a bad omen.
i think i might set up a twitter account sometime soon. this all seems twitter-able.
i think i might set up a twitter account sometime soon. this all seems twitter-able.
i'm so tired, my mind is on the blink...
marzetti’s light slaw dressing is ATOMIC in my book.
when i was younger i spent my summer days at my great-grandma nana’s house since both my parents worked. my mom would drop me off and pick me up every day on her way to/from work. nana wasn’t big on going out for lunch (though she LOVED jamocha shakes from arby’s!), so we almost always had lunch at her house. she’d make grilled cheeses, ham and cheeses, fish sticks, sometimes a totino’s thin crust personal pizza, and sometimes even a michelina’s mac & cheese. any time we had sandwiches, fish sticks or fries, though, we’d always have marzetti’s as our condiment. i credit her with my obscene obsession with marzetti’s, my strange love of fish sticks, and the first bloom of my fascination with the French language. she passed away when i was 18 (so i guess 8 years ago… wow), but these things still linger within me. it’s weird, but sometimes when i eat something that we used to have all the time (wheaties with bananas is another biggie!), i swear i can still smell her and her house. it’s kind of creepy and it makes me cry every time, if only a couple slow tears.
anyways, i’m currently noshing on a virginia baked ham, provolone and marzetti’s sammy on tj’s multigrain sprouted wheat bread. it’s pretty close to heaven. i honestly think i could eat marzetti’s for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. marzetti’s is up there with ketchup for me. i love em both, and putting marzetti’s and ketchup on fries and fish sticks is possibly the greatest ever! also on today’s lunch menu is another spinach salad with goat cheese & woodstock dressing and maybe half a grapefruit… the grapefruit might be saved for a snack, though, since i’m quickly slowing down (what an oxymoron).
last night i did everything i set out to do and more. i went tanning after work and then went immediately to the gym. la fitness was PACKED! i had planned on hanging out on the treadmill until yoga, but no empty treadmills were to be found so i had to opt for the one lone elliptical that was free. i spent 20 minutes on there (178 calories) and then hopped off to steal a treadmill. i warmed up some more with a 4:30 walk (3.7 mph, 6% incline) and then ran for about 34 minutes at my usual turtle speed (4.6 mph). towards yoga time, i cranked the incline up a bit (i usually run at 0% incline cuz i’m a wuss) to burn more calories since i was running out of time. my goal was to hit 500 calories before yoga started for a grand total of around 700 calories. unfortunately, i fell short by 10 measly calories so i bargained with myself that i’d hop back on for a few minutes after yoga to make up those 10. yoga was good and i REALLY felt like i got a workout – even my feet felt like they were working out! an hour later, i hopped back on the treadmill and decided to walk for another 35 minutes (3.8 mph, 7% incline). in total, my gym session blasted at least 956 calories. that’s a bit excessive, even for me.
when i got home it was 10:15 pm and i was DEAD. i was starving, but strangely i wasn’t very hungry. that doesn’t even make sense, but whatever. i heated up my tomato soup leftovers from the weekend and ran a hot bath. I ate my soup in the tub. And I’m ghetto fab, so I rinsed my bowl out in the tub when i was done. i popped a couple tylenol pm tablets and i was ready to rock. to quote mr. norton in fight club, “babies don’t sleep this well.” in fact, i slept so well that i missed both clock alarms AND my cell phone alarm and groggily looked over at the clock at 9:15 am and realized i needed to move my still-sore butt. i totally considered calling off since i feel like i was run over by a semi, but only wusses call off.
so now i’m sitting at my desk in pain… i’ve popped more tylenols and i’m pretty sure they’re not helping. i know, it’s my own fault. on the bright side, i’ve reached my edited goal of 15 gym visits this month! yay! green mango is in store for me at some point in the future. funny thing is, i always bribe myself with a reward but i never actually give myself the reward. and i think january may have been a bad month to use the green mango as a bribe since i’m going on a cruise in a mere 2 weeks and there will be plenty of indulgences for a full week. perhaps i will delay that particular reward until march… but i’ll still probably cash in my original reward, which was a drink at starbucks.
not of particular interest to anyone but me, but i signed myself up for the budget plan with my gas company, thus cutting my gas bill in half for this coming month. it took me 6 very full months to catch on to that one, but finally i got smart.
now that i figured out how to blog at work without logging onto the blogger website and without using my itsy bitsy blackberry keypad, i might update this more often… provided i have time at work, of course!
have a better tuesday than me, everyone!
when i was younger i spent my summer days at my great-grandma nana’s house since both my parents worked. my mom would drop me off and pick me up every day on her way to/from work. nana wasn’t big on going out for lunch (though she LOVED jamocha shakes from arby’s!), so we almost always had lunch at her house. she’d make grilled cheeses, ham and cheeses, fish sticks, sometimes a totino’s thin crust personal pizza, and sometimes even a michelina’s mac & cheese. any time we had sandwiches, fish sticks or fries, though, we’d always have marzetti’s as our condiment. i credit her with my obscene obsession with marzetti’s, my strange love of fish sticks, and the first bloom of my fascination with the French language. she passed away when i was 18 (so i guess 8 years ago… wow), but these things still linger within me. it’s weird, but sometimes when i eat something that we used to have all the time (wheaties with bananas is another biggie!), i swear i can still smell her and her house. it’s kind of creepy and it makes me cry every time, if only a couple slow tears.
anyways, i’m currently noshing on a virginia baked ham, provolone and marzetti’s sammy on tj’s multigrain sprouted wheat bread. it’s pretty close to heaven. i honestly think i could eat marzetti’s for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. marzetti’s is up there with ketchup for me. i love em both, and putting marzetti’s and ketchup on fries and fish sticks is possibly the greatest ever! also on today’s lunch menu is another spinach salad with goat cheese & woodstock dressing and maybe half a grapefruit… the grapefruit might be saved for a snack, though, since i’m quickly slowing down (what an oxymoron).
last night i did everything i set out to do and more. i went tanning after work and then went immediately to the gym. la fitness was PACKED! i had planned on hanging out on the treadmill until yoga, but no empty treadmills were to be found so i had to opt for the one lone elliptical that was free. i spent 20 minutes on there (178 calories) and then hopped off to steal a treadmill. i warmed up some more with a 4:30 walk (3.7 mph, 6% incline) and then ran for about 34 minutes at my usual turtle speed (4.6 mph). towards yoga time, i cranked the incline up a bit (i usually run at 0% incline cuz i’m a wuss) to burn more calories since i was running out of time. my goal was to hit 500 calories before yoga started for a grand total of around 700 calories. unfortunately, i fell short by 10 measly calories so i bargained with myself that i’d hop back on for a few minutes after yoga to make up those 10. yoga was good and i REALLY felt like i got a workout – even my feet felt like they were working out! an hour later, i hopped back on the treadmill and decided to walk for another 35 minutes (3.8 mph, 7% incline). in total, my gym session blasted at least 956 calories. that’s a bit excessive, even for me.
when i got home it was 10:15 pm and i was DEAD. i was starving, but strangely i wasn’t very hungry. that doesn’t even make sense, but whatever. i heated up my tomato soup leftovers from the weekend and ran a hot bath. I ate my soup in the tub. And I’m ghetto fab, so I rinsed my bowl out in the tub when i was done. i popped a couple tylenol pm tablets and i was ready to rock. to quote mr. norton in fight club, “babies don’t sleep this well.” in fact, i slept so well that i missed both clock alarms AND my cell phone alarm and groggily looked over at the clock at 9:15 am and realized i needed to move my still-sore butt. i totally considered calling off since i feel like i was run over by a semi, but only wusses call off.
so now i’m sitting at my desk in pain… i’ve popped more tylenols and i’m pretty sure they’re not helping. i know, it’s my own fault. on the bright side, i’ve reached my edited goal of 15 gym visits this month! yay! green mango is in store for me at some point in the future. funny thing is, i always bribe myself with a reward but i never actually give myself the reward. and i think january may have been a bad month to use the green mango as a bribe since i’m going on a cruise in a mere 2 weeks and there will be plenty of indulgences for a full week. perhaps i will delay that particular reward until march… but i’ll still probably cash in my original reward, which was a drink at starbucks.
not of particular interest to anyone but me, but i signed myself up for the budget plan with my gas company, thus cutting my gas bill in half for this coming month. it took me 6 very full months to catch on to that one, but finally i got smart.
now that i figured out how to blog at work without logging onto the blogger website and without using my itsy bitsy blackberry keypad, i might update this more often… provided i have time at work, of course!
have a better tuesday than me, everyone!
1.26.2009
stupid girl
some facts for today:
i love pittsburgh.
i hate pennsylvania.
i wish pittsburgh were located somewhere warm, like the bahamas.
i get really annoyed when i have to reset every job i run at work.
doctors are the worst.
protein is great.
i’m not big on sugar anymore.
my legs are very, very sore from yesterday’s workout.
my volleyball team is once again in first place.
i’ve lost at least 22 pounds since last year’s cruise.
my stomach is still kind of cramping up from yesterday.
i couldn’t sleep last night because I kept craving turkey jerky.
i didn’t fall asleep until sometime after 3 am.
i have some sort of weird fever-esque thing going on right now.
my eyes are killing me today.
cardio kickboxing. 7 pm.
yoga. 8 pm.
nearly week-old chicken marsala for dinner. 9.30 pm.
death/collapsing at 10 pm.
i love pittsburgh.
i hate pennsylvania.
i wish pittsburgh were located somewhere warm, like the bahamas.
i get really annoyed when i have to reset every job i run at work.
doctors are the worst.
protein is great.
i’m not big on sugar anymore.
my legs are very, very sore from yesterday’s workout.
my volleyball team is once again in first place.
i’ve lost at least 22 pounds since last year’s cruise.
my stomach is still kind of cramping up from yesterday.
i couldn’t sleep last night because I kept craving turkey jerky.
i didn’t fall asleep until sometime after 3 am.
i have some sort of weird fever-esque thing going on right now.
my eyes are killing me today.
cardio kickboxing. 7 pm.
yoga. 8 pm.
nearly week-old chicken marsala for dinner. 9.30 pm.
death/collapsing at 10 pm.
1.25.2009
everybody hurts... sometimes.
ouch.
good news, folks! i was able to secure a spot in yoga class this morning. it was awesome and i'm probably going to hit it up again tomorrow night after work and tanning. i was pretty stable for most of the class but when the instructor had us move from warrior 1 to warrior 3 i lost it on both sides. literally fell over... it was quite hilarious and i couldn't stop laughing. the girl beside me was also laughing. good thing i can laugh at myself! the class lasted an hour and i felt like i got a better workout than last time. but is 1 hour enough for beastly linds? heck no. i changed from yoga pants to running shorts and blasted through 33 minutes running and then 32 minutes walking at 3.7 mph/7% incline. when i felt i had sufficiently depleted myself of all energy for the rest of the day, i had burned upwards of 700 calories. it was a good workout to say the least. however...
i'm having some very unpleasant lasting effects from my workout. my stomach has been cramping up almost since i got home and no matter which position i'm in, it feels like i'm going into labor. (well, for all i know.) i mean, these are really intense stomach cramps! and they didn't start until after my workout - i was fine before and during. i did some web research and apparently i'm not the only person with this issue, but no one seems to know what it is. so i'm taking it easy for the rest of the night. obviously, since i can barely move. raise your hand if you're looking forward to getting up tomorrow! ...bueller? ...bueller?
breakfast this morning was an enticing combo of 2 slices ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast, half a grapefruit and coffee. kept me going through the workout, but then i was famished! when i got home i made myself the perfect lunch for a 14 degree snowy day - grilled cheese made with provolone, colby and some ham with select harvest tomato basil soup. yum-o. dinner tonight is going to be either leftover chicken marsala from wednesday night or my leftover spaghetti warehouse chicken parm & pasta. i think i should probably concentrate on scarfing down the chicken marsala before it goes bad... so chicken marsala with a spinach salad with woodstock dressing and crumbled goat cheese. i'm so excited i'm literally salivating. i love me some chevre! oh, and my evening snack is becoming a tradition - a glass of milk with freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon. i've been really surprised lately at how this calms me down before bed. in fact, i didn't have any last night and i laid awake for hours before falling asleep. that's probably all in my head, but i'll take whatever help i can get.
gripe of the day is... why on earth do sports bra manufacturers make B/C cup the standard?! this is so incredibly frustrating! i was searching for a particular sports bra online and it just amazes me that all of the good-support, bigger-cup sports bras are priced a good $20 or more above "average"-cup sports bras. really?? the women with the bigger boobs need the sports bras a lot more than the mosquito-bite chicks, so it's unfair to me that a good-fitting sports bra should be so inaccessible to most people. wake up, manufacturers. we're not all size 2s and B cups!
anyways, a few months ago i got an AWESOME sports bra from tj maxx - the brand is moving comfort. it has hooks in the back and adjustable straps, just like a regular bra, and the fit is AMAZING. seriously, i've never had a sports bra fit so well before and it has fantabulous support, which i obviously need for running and volleyball. since discovering this bra's awesomeness, i've been to every tj maxx/marshall's/filene's in the greater pittsburgh area in search of another one and i've come up empty in every single store. i amazon-ed tonight and guess what? i found the bra but the reason why i can't find it in stores is that it's been discontinued. for the life of me, i can't figure out why a discontinued bra would cost so much ($27.50 was the cheapest for my size)... wouldn't retailers want to get rid of it and price it cheaply? whatever. i bought 2 from sierra trading post and now i have something to look forward to at work all week since they're being shipped there. :)
plans for tomorrow include work, tanning, some elliptical/treadmill OR cardio kickboxing, and yoga class. i'm totally considering returning to cardio kickboxing. i went once a few months ago, and though i finished the entire class, it was the most strenuous workout i'd had. i think i'm probably better equipped to deal with it now and i'd probably benefit from it... and yoga would be a great cool-down. but who knows... it'll probably just be elliptical/treadmill and then yoga. i probably won't be as hardcore as today, but i liked the fact that i really got a GOOD workout in, and a total body workout. i just wish my tummy would stop hurting so much! :(
good news, folks! i was able to secure a spot in yoga class this morning. it was awesome and i'm probably going to hit it up again tomorrow night after work and tanning. i was pretty stable for most of the class but when the instructor had us move from warrior 1 to warrior 3 i lost it on both sides. literally fell over... it was quite hilarious and i couldn't stop laughing. the girl beside me was also laughing. good thing i can laugh at myself! the class lasted an hour and i felt like i got a better workout than last time. but is 1 hour enough for beastly linds? heck no. i changed from yoga pants to running shorts and blasted through 33 minutes running and then 32 minutes walking at 3.7 mph/7% incline. when i felt i had sufficiently depleted myself of all energy for the rest of the day, i had burned upwards of 700 calories. it was a good workout to say the least. however...
i'm having some very unpleasant lasting effects from my workout. my stomach has been cramping up almost since i got home and no matter which position i'm in, it feels like i'm going into labor. (well, for all i know.) i mean, these are really intense stomach cramps! and they didn't start until after my workout - i was fine before and during. i did some web research and apparently i'm not the only person with this issue, but no one seems to know what it is. so i'm taking it easy for the rest of the night. obviously, since i can barely move. raise your hand if you're looking forward to getting up tomorrow! ...bueller? ...bueller?
breakfast this morning was an enticing combo of 2 slices ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast, half a grapefruit and coffee. kept me going through the workout, but then i was famished! when i got home i made myself the perfect lunch for a 14 degree snowy day - grilled cheese made with provolone, colby and some ham with select harvest tomato basil soup. yum-o. dinner tonight is going to be either leftover chicken marsala from wednesday night or my leftover spaghetti warehouse chicken parm & pasta. i think i should probably concentrate on scarfing down the chicken marsala before it goes bad... so chicken marsala with a spinach salad with woodstock dressing and crumbled goat cheese. i'm so excited i'm literally salivating. i love me some chevre! oh, and my evening snack is becoming a tradition - a glass of milk with freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon. i've been really surprised lately at how this calms me down before bed. in fact, i didn't have any last night and i laid awake for hours before falling asleep. that's probably all in my head, but i'll take whatever help i can get.
gripe of the day is... why on earth do sports bra manufacturers make B/C cup the standard?! this is so incredibly frustrating! i was searching for a particular sports bra online and it just amazes me that all of the good-support, bigger-cup sports bras are priced a good $20 or more above "average"-cup sports bras. really?? the women with the bigger boobs need the sports bras a lot more than the mosquito-bite chicks, so it's unfair to me that a good-fitting sports bra should be so inaccessible to most people. wake up, manufacturers. we're not all size 2s and B cups!
anyways, a few months ago i got an AWESOME sports bra from tj maxx - the brand is moving comfort. it has hooks in the back and adjustable straps, just like a regular bra, and the fit is AMAZING. seriously, i've never had a sports bra fit so well before and it has fantabulous support, which i obviously need for running and volleyball. since discovering this bra's awesomeness, i've been to every tj maxx/marshall's/filene's in the greater pittsburgh area in search of another one and i've come up empty in every single store. i amazon-ed tonight and guess what? i found the bra but the reason why i can't find it in stores is that it's been discontinued. for the life of me, i can't figure out why a discontinued bra would cost so much ($27.50 was the cheapest for my size)... wouldn't retailers want to get rid of it and price it cheaply? whatever. i bought 2 from sierra trading post and now i have something to look forward to at work all week since they're being shipped there. :)
plans for tomorrow include work, tanning, some elliptical/treadmill OR cardio kickboxing, and yoga class. i'm totally considering returning to cardio kickboxing. i went once a few months ago, and though i finished the entire class, it was the most strenuous workout i'd had. i think i'm probably better equipped to deal with it now and i'd probably benefit from it... and yoga would be a great cool-down. but who knows... it'll probably just be elliptical/treadmill and then yoga. i probably won't be as hardcore as today, but i liked the fact that i really got a GOOD workout in, and a total body workout. i just wish my tummy would stop hurting so much! :(
1.24.2009
all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if u seek amy
i've sadly become obsessed with the britney spears' song "if u seek amy." i seriously cannot stop listening to it. and the lyrics don't even make sense with the alternative meaning (hint: say "if u seek amy" fast), but the rhythm of it is just so gosh darn catchy. sure, some people may make fun of britney, but for some reason i've really rooted for her over the years. and i've always secretly liked her songs... hey, they're great to work out to!
i woke up nice and early today to relax and eat a nice breakfast (2 pieces ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread and a fruit bowl of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and pom seeds with mint yogi tea and agave nectar) before going to the 11 am yoga class at la fitness. i arrived with a few minutes to spare, but there were a lot of people there and very few spots were open. since i'm a complete yoga novice, i placed my mat between 2 people in the back row. now, there was plenty of room on either side of me for the two other people and the woman to my left didn't say a word. the older woman on my right, however, decided that she needed more leg room. as i was laying my mat down, she told me that there wasn't enough room and that i'd need to go to the front of the room. "there's plenty of room up there for you," she said and nodded her head towards the front. i looked at her and at the space between her mats (AMPLE space) and said something like "really? there's a lot of space..." and just to be difficult, she stretched her leg out and touched my mat with her big toe and looked up at me. i just raised my eyebrows, rolled up my mat and huffed "whatever, lady" before going out the door. i totally understand wanting to have enough room, but THERE WAS. i was soooo mad. i had been looking forward to yoga since monday night's class. i realize i could've just gone up front, but i don't like being front and center when i don't know what i'm doing. i think it was just a little bit uncalled for. so anyways, i ended up doing a smörgåsbord of gym exercises instead. i played basketball for about 20 minutes, then did 15 minutes on the recumbent bike, a little over 17 minutes on the elliptical, and about 37 minutes on the treadmill. i would've kept going on the treadmill and done weights, but one of the front desk attendants informed me i had a visitor...
mom and dad! they had apparently been calling my phone for the past hour and a half because they were coming to visit and when i didn't answer, they showed up at the most obvious place - the gym! i have to admit, when the girl said i had a visitor, i thought it was the cops. haha. i have no idea why i'd think that since i haven't done anything, but that was the first thought through my head. tee hee.
so i left the gym and then met my parents at my house. mom brought me 2 of the books she got for christmas (marley & me and twilight) and they brought me a yummy surprise - tonymisu from moio's!! we stayed in for a while and i showed them both how to play the wii... my mom tried wii fit, wii sports, and ddr. my dad tried a little bit of ddr but he was terrible at it. :) my mom seemed to like it, especially the wii fit, but my dad maintains that it's too expensive so they're not getting one. maybe i'll create a mii for her for the next time they come... we ended up in the strip for late lunch/early dinner. my dad really wanted to go to deluca's but we got there just a little too late. we walked around for a bit and then dad decided we were going to our old standby - the spaghetti warehouse. awesome, as always. but oddly enough, the hostess picked up a kid's menu for me... i'm 26. what am i supposed to do with a kid's menu? anyways, we each got trio dinners - apps, dinners (+salad/soup), and dessert. i got the chicken parm with pasta, a salad with balsamic and mozzarella sticks and ate about 1/3 of it. we all ended up with tiramisu, so my tonymisu will have to be tomorrow's treat. :)
after dinner we went to a new organic natural foods store that we passed on the way to the warehouse... right by nature. i'd swear the skies parted and pure sunlight was shining onto the place. it. was. awesome. ok, it was pretty much like whole foods/east end food co-op, but a bit cheaper. AND (important for in the strip) they give you a free parking token with a purchase. it was really nice inside... they had a really large selection of everything (but whole foods has a larger selection of produce), and their nut butter selection was nothing short of spectacular. sunbutter, almond butter, cashew butter, soynut butter, mystery butter, all kinds of wonderful butters. and they also have a lovely assortment of greek yogurt, including some i had never seen before. and their salad bar, both hot and cold... pretty good-looking stuff and $4/lb cheaper than whole foods!! PLUS they have a coffee bar that serves la prima coffee (YUMMMMM!). their coffee bean section wasn't super exciting but they have more teas than i have seen anywhere outside of nyc. seriously, their tea selection is incredible. my dad didn't seem too thrilled by the place (he calls it "organic crap" and won't eat anything that says "organic" on it... so weird), so i was a little rushed. i ended up with some hickory smoked turkey jerky and a strawberry "fruit leather." i tried the jerky and although it was quite tasty, i still prefer trader joe's teriyaki turkey jerky. tj's turkey jerky is also about $1.20 cheaper... but i loved this store and i think i'll make it a thursday night before or after volleyball treat since we play pretty close to the strip. for anyone that's interested, they're open 7 days a week 8am - 9pm.
i considered going back to the gym tonight after my parents left, but by the time i'd have gotten there, changed clothes, etc, it just wouldn't have been worth it. instead i might do some wii fit yoga (since i missed out on yoga this morning, haha)... or maybe i'll just hang out and relax. i'm gonna try to wake up even earlier tomorrow so that i can get to the gym with plenty of time to spare - yoga starts at 11 am again; this time with monday's instructor (yay!)... wish me luck in getting a spot! :)
i woke up nice and early today to relax and eat a nice breakfast (2 pieces ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread and a fruit bowl of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and pom seeds with mint yogi tea and agave nectar) before going to the 11 am yoga class at la fitness. i arrived with a few minutes to spare, but there were a lot of people there and very few spots were open. since i'm a complete yoga novice, i placed my mat between 2 people in the back row. now, there was plenty of room on either side of me for the two other people and the woman to my left didn't say a word. the older woman on my right, however, decided that she needed more leg room. as i was laying my mat down, she told me that there wasn't enough room and that i'd need to go to the front of the room. "there's plenty of room up there for you," she said and nodded her head towards the front. i looked at her and at the space between her mats (AMPLE space) and said something like "really? there's a lot of space..." and just to be difficult, she stretched her leg out and touched my mat with her big toe and looked up at me. i just raised my eyebrows, rolled up my mat and huffed "whatever, lady" before going out the door. i totally understand wanting to have enough room, but THERE WAS. i was soooo mad. i had been looking forward to yoga since monday night's class. i realize i could've just gone up front, but i don't like being front and center when i don't know what i'm doing. i think it was just a little bit uncalled for. so anyways, i ended up doing a smörgåsbord of gym exercises instead. i played basketball for about 20 minutes, then did 15 minutes on the recumbent bike, a little over 17 minutes on the elliptical, and about 37 minutes on the treadmill. i would've kept going on the treadmill and done weights, but one of the front desk attendants informed me i had a visitor...
mom and dad! they had apparently been calling my phone for the past hour and a half because they were coming to visit and when i didn't answer, they showed up at the most obvious place - the gym! i have to admit, when the girl said i had a visitor, i thought it was the cops. haha. i have no idea why i'd think that since i haven't done anything, but that was the first thought through my head. tee hee.
so i left the gym and then met my parents at my house. mom brought me 2 of the books she got for christmas (marley & me and twilight) and they brought me a yummy surprise - tonymisu from moio's!! we stayed in for a while and i showed them both how to play the wii... my mom tried wii fit, wii sports, and ddr. my dad tried a little bit of ddr but he was terrible at it. :) my mom seemed to like it, especially the wii fit, but my dad maintains that it's too expensive so they're not getting one. maybe i'll create a mii for her for the next time they come... we ended up in the strip for late lunch/early dinner. my dad really wanted to go to deluca's but we got there just a little too late. we walked around for a bit and then dad decided we were going to our old standby - the spaghetti warehouse. awesome, as always. but oddly enough, the hostess picked up a kid's menu for me... i'm 26. what am i supposed to do with a kid's menu? anyways, we each got trio dinners - apps, dinners (+salad/soup), and dessert. i got the chicken parm with pasta, a salad with balsamic and mozzarella sticks and ate about 1/3 of it. we all ended up with tiramisu, so my tonymisu will have to be tomorrow's treat. :)
after dinner we went to a new organic natural foods store that we passed on the way to the warehouse... right by nature. i'd swear the skies parted and pure sunlight was shining onto the place. it. was. awesome. ok, it was pretty much like whole foods/east end food co-op, but a bit cheaper. AND (important for in the strip) they give you a free parking token with a purchase. it was really nice inside... they had a really large selection of everything (but whole foods has a larger selection of produce), and their nut butter selection was nothing short of spectacular. sunbutter, almond butter, cashew butter, soynut butter, mystery butter, all kinds of wonderful butters. and they also have a lovely assortment of greek yogurt, including some i had never seen before. and their salad bar, both hot and cold... pretty good-looking stuff and $4/lb cheaper than whole foods!! PLUS they have a coffee bar that serves la prima coffee (YUMMMMM!). their coffee bean section wasn't super exciting but they have more teas than i have seen anywhere outside of nyc. seriously, their tea selection is incredible. my dad didn't seem too thrilled by the place (he calls it "organic crap" and won't eat anything that says "organic" on it... so weird), so i was a little rushed. i ended up with some hickory smoked turkey jerky and a strawberry "fruit leather." i tried the jerky and although it was quite tasty, i still prefer trader joe's teriyaki turkey jerky. tj's turkey jerky is also about $1.20 cheaper... but i loved this store and i think i'll make it a thursday night before or after volleyball treat since we play pretty close to the strip. for anyone that's interested, they're open 7 days a week 8am - 9pm.
i considered going back to the gym tonight after my parents left, but by the time i'd have gotten there, changed clothes, etc, it just wouldn't have been worth it. instead i might do some wii fit yoga (since i missed out on yoga this morning, haha)... or maybe i'll just hang out and relax. i'm gonna try to wake up even earlier tomorrow so that i can get to the gym with plenty of time to spare - yoga starts at 11 am again; this time with monday's instructor (yay!)... wish me luck in getting a spot! :)
1.21.2009
if i was a flower growin wild and free all i'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee
i feel like such a hipster today, but i'm really content and happy about it. i've been dying to try coconut milk ice cream and since i rarely get ice cream cravings, i decided to splurge and get the chocolate. i was going to go to market district and whole foods, but that seemed out of the way... and then i remembered that the east end food co-op is on the way home, so i decided to stop and take my hippy whole foods reusable tote with me.
i L-O-V-E the co-op soooooo much!!! i decided to try their cashew butter (i got a bunch of it for $3! {@ $9.99/lb}), got some wholesale oat bran to try, some cajun sesame sticks for car-snacks, some whole nutmeg to put in milk, some milk (one downside to the co-op is the lack of 1% milk... and i just didn't want the skim), frozen sweet potato fries (yum!), some spicy thai kettle chips that were on sale, MAPLE yogurt (!!), my chocolate coconut-milk ice cream, and the infamous annie's woodstock dressing. :)
as i was leaving, i decided to catch up on all the pittsburgh publications i've been missing since moving to the burbs... so i stocked up on a city paper, the co-op newsletter, the venture outdoors newsletter (YAY!!), and the bike pittsburgh bike map (for the slim chance that i'll get my bike down from the beams in my garage when it gets warm :)). i'm totally looking forward to all my reading. :)
and congratulations are in order! i've successfully completed my january goals : i made it to the gym more than 10 days this month and i took 3 new classes (thus making me a superhero since i had only planned on taking 2). i took latin impact class (detailed in a previous post), and then monday night i took yoga and last night i took body works plus abs. i was very pleasantly surprised by the yoga class… i had taken a couple classes in paris and i just didn’t really like it that much. but this class was great and i can’t wait to take another one! i wish i were going to be home both saturday and sunday so i could go to those yoga classes, but i have to go to my parents’ house for at least part of the weekend (it’s my mommy’s birthday weekend!). i don’t feel i got a really good upper-body and core workout from yoga (surprisingly), but i do feel like i got in a good leg workout. my legs had that wonderful jell-o feeling when i left.
i L-O-V-E the co-op soooooo much!!! i decided to try their cashew butter (i got a bunch of it for $3! {@ $9.99/lb}), got some wholesale oat bran to try, some cajun sesame sticks for car-snacks, some whole nutmeg to put in milk, some milk (one downside to the co-op is the lack of 1% milk... and i just didn't want the skim), frozen sweet potato fries (yum!), some spicy thai kettle chips that were on sale, MAPLE yogurt (!!), my chocolate coconut-milk ice cream, and the infamous annie's woodstock dressing. :)
as i was leaving, i decided to catch up on all the pittsburgh publications i've been missing since moving to the burbs... so i stocked up on a city paper, the co-op newsletter, the venture outdoors newsletter (YAY!!), and the bike pittsburgh bike map (for the slim chance that i'll get my bike down from the beams in my garage when it gets warm :)). i'm totally looking forward to all my reading. :)
and congratulations are in order! i've successfully completed my january goals : i made it to the gym more than 10 days this month and i took 3 new classes (thus making me a superhero since i had only planned on taking 2). i took latin impact class (detailed in a previous post), and then monday night i took yoga and last night i took body works plus abs. i was very pleasantly surprised by the yoga class… i had taken a couple classes in paris and i just didn’t really like it that much. but this class was great and i can’t wait to take another one! i wish i were going to be home both saturday and sunday so i could go to those yoga classes, but i have to go to my parents’ house for at least part of the weekend (it’s my mommy’s birthday weekend!). i don’t feel i got a really good upper-body and core workout from yoga (surprisingly), but i do feel like i got in a good leg workout. my legs had that wonderful jell-o feeling when i left.
body works plus abs was an entirely different story. the instructor was new and i really liked her, but i just wasn’t feeling the class. it was done using free weights (which i generally avoid) and it was the opposite of yoga – i got a great upper body workout, but my legs didn’t get much attention. my arms were soooo tired when i left, but i did some treadmill work before leaving to even it out a bit. i was also just really bored in this class – i was literally yawning the entire time because we kept doing the same exercises over and over but in different positions until our arms were ready to fall off. i don’t think it was the instructor, though, i think it was just the class itself. still, i’m glad i went.
so what prize do i get for completing my january goals? drunken noodles with chicken from the green mango. however, i’m changing up the goal a little bit. since i've managed to meet the first goal in so little time, i’m changing the minimum gym visits to 15. i’ve gone 11 times so far and i plan on going probably sunday morning and probably monday, tuesday, friday and saturday of next week, so i should definitely be able to do this (::fingers crossed::).
on a side note, does anyone know how to prevent and get rid of foot cramps? this has been going on for a really long time and no matter what i do or what i eat, they keep coming back. any suggestions would be very helpful.
I’ll leave you with “things I don’t roll with”:
I don’t roll with…
Taylor Swift. Please stop making music with that nasally, whiny voice of yours. If you must continue “singing,” please do it on country-only stations.
Kelly Clarkson.
American Idol (in general).
Old-man gym pervs.
Paying $11.47 for fruit salad at whole paycheck foods (though I DO roll with their cute reusable lunch totes for 79¢. and I’m fond of their lavender blend conditioner for $2.59…)
Leaving my favorite project at work. :(
Tan lines from peepers.
Breaking in new running shoes.
Slippery, dirty, salty volleyball gym floors. Bring spare shoes, people.
ps: apologies if the font/colors/sizes are all messed up. i don't know what's going on, but they won't stay uniform for me. blech.
1.17.2009
you think i ain't worth a dollar but i feel like a millionaire
maybe it's the fact that i've reached one of my goals, or maybe it's the freezing weather, but i've actually felt skinny-ish for the first time since probably before high school. i don't know why, but it seems like the colder it gets, the thinner i feel... maybe it's because i'm not all hot and uncomfortable, but i wonder if other people get the same way? or maybe it's just because this recent cold spell has coincided with the fact that i now weigh about what i did when i started college. yay! this means that in the year and a half since i got "sick", i've lost about 35-40 pounds!
in an effort to "forcefully" curb my appetite (by ensuring that i don't have enough money to buy food, haha), i took advantage to circuit city's bankruptcy and stocked up on some necessities: dance dance revolution hottest party 2 for the wii, mario kart for the wii, a huge bundle of 100 cd-rs and a package of 50 dvd-rs. i realize that the sales will get better and better since they plan to close their doors in march, but i figured that the really good stuff like wii games will be gone asap. i spent about $120 on all that stuff, which was a savings of about $70 from regular-price.
after wasting february's food allowance on video games, i headed over to the gym for 65 minutes of cardio, lots of stretching, and some ab work. i was going to lift weights, but wasn't really feeling it. however, i did learn that saturday afternoon is a great time to go to the gym - lots of eye-candy. :)
friday night was not such a great gym time - it was a misogynistic sausage-fest. there's a belly-dancing class friday evenings, and though i was considering going to it, i'm glad i didn't - there were old and old-er men literally surrounding the studio room talking about the different girls. i'm not usually easily offended, but there was something about the openness with which they were talking about these girls that really got to me. it was really really disgusting. i don't mind if the gym is full of guys as long as they're doing their own thing and not being pigs. i don't know if i'll go back on a friday night. :(
at volleyball thursday night, it was evident that i need new shoes BADLY. there's zero tread on my shoes and i was all over the court - and not in a good way. i couldn't stop slipping no matter how hard i tried to plant myself in one spot. so, in the spirit of eliminating march's food allowance, i enjoyed a clearance sale at dsw and got a pair of asics running shoes for $47. i know some people say that you should have sport-specific shoes, but i can't afford both volleyball shoes AND running shoes... and let's face it, i run about 4-5 days a week while i play volleyball only 1 day a week (probably 2 days a week starting next season). i'm pretty excited about them... i was literally running through the store, testing them. :)
oh, and we won our volleyball game... but we lost 1 out of the 3 games in the match. so i'm wondering now - since we're 2-0 for matches, but 5-1 for games, can we say we're undefeated? i feel like losing that one game makes us defeated, but match-wise we're undefeated. it's confusing. it shouldn't matter, but i liked saying we were undefeated all last season...
i'm gonna head in to bed. 11 pm on a saturday and all i can think about is sleeping... sigh. i'm so 70 years old.
in an effort to "forcefully" curb my appetite (by ensuring that i don't have enough money to buy food, haha), i took advantage to circuit city's bankruptcy and stocked up on some necessities: dance dance revolution hottest party 2 for the wii, mario kart for the wii, a huge bundle of 100 cd-rs and a package of 50 dvd-rs. i realize that the sales will get better and better since they plan to close their doors in march, but i figured that the really good stuff like wii games will be gone asap. i spent about $120 on all that stuff, which was a savings of about $70 from regular-price.
after wasting february's food allowance on video games, i headed over to the gym for 65 minutes of cardio, lots of stretching, and some ab work. i was going to lift weights, but wasn't really feeling it. however, i did learn that saturday afternoon is a great time to go to the gym - lots of eye-candy. :)
friday night was not such a great gym time - it was a misogynistic sausage-fest. there's a belly-dancing class friday evenings, and though i was considering going to it, i'm glad i didn't - there were old and old-er men literally surrounding the studio room talking about the different girls. i'm not usually easily offended, but there was something about the openness with which they were talking about these girls that really got to me. it was really really disgusting. i don't mind if the gym is full of guys as long as they're doing their own thing and not being pigs. i don't know if i'll go back on a friday night. :(
at volleyball thursday night, it was evident that i need new shoes BADLY. there's zero tread on my shoes and i was all over the court - and not in a good way. i couldn't stop slipping no matter how hard i tried to plant myself in one spot. so, in the spirit of eliminating march's food allowance, i enjoyed a clearance sale at dsw and got a pair of asics running shoes for $47. i know some people say that you should have sport-specific shoes, but i can't afford both volleyball shoes AND running shoes... and let's face it, i run about 4-5 days a week while i play volleyball only 1 day a week (probably 2 days a week starting next season). i'm pretty excited about them... i was literally running through the store, testing them. :)
oh, and we won our volleyball game... but we lost 1 out of the 3 games in the match. so i'm wondering now - since we're 2-0 for matches, but 5-1 for games, can we say we're undefeated? i feel like losing that one game makes us defeated, but match-wise we're undefeated. it's confusing. it shouldn't matter, but i liked saying we were undefeated all last season...
i'm gonna head in to bed. 11 pm on a saturday and all i can think about is sleeping... sigh. i'm so 70 years old.
1.15.2009
nucking futs
Statement as of 10:55 AM EST on January 15, 2009
... Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 am EST Saturday... A Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 am EST Saturday. Bitter cold Arctic air will move over the region today and remain through Friday night. The combination of cold and wind will bring wind chill readings from 10 to 25 degrees below zero starting late this afternoon. A Wind Chill Advisory means that very cold air and strong winds will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. If you must venture outdoors... make sure you wear a hat and gloves.
And this is what I’ll be wearing to our volleyball game tonight:
with 
Only the shorts will be blue and the cutoff t-shirt is yellow with PSL on the front.
And yes, my arms ARE that buff.
i'm way too cool for myself.
... Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 am EST Saturday... A Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 am EST Saturday. Bitter cold Arctic air will move over the region today and remain through Friday night. The combination of cold and wind will bring wind chill readings from 10 to 25 degrees below zero starting late this afternoon. A Wind Chill Advisory means that very cold air and strong winds will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. If you must venture outdoors... make sure you wear a hat and gloves.
And this is what I’ll be wearing to our volleyball game tonight:
with 
Only the shorts will be blue and the cutoff t-shirt is yellow with PSL on the front.
And yes, my arms ARE that buff.
i'm way too cool for myself.
1.13.2009
your friends are only make believe
i'm writing this as i sit on my freezing ceramic-tiled kitchen floor. no good reason why i'm sitting here except that the light was on in the kitchen and i didn't feel like turning a light on somewhere else. i'm energy-efficient like that. also, for the first time ever, i'm able to write this post from my kitchen floor because (drumroll please!) i pimped my house and now i'm rollin wireless-style. but wait! that's not the biggest news! the day i decided to be a big girl and go wireless was also the same day that i bought my wii!!
that's right, folks. i have a wii. and it changes EVERYTHING.
lindsay, you ask, have you become a nerdy gamer chick in just a few short days? (no offense to anyone who reads this who is a gamer - i mean it in the most stereotypical way.) negator, i have not become a nerdy gamer chick. ok, maybe a teensy bit. but what the wii really changes is my schedule, and on at least 2 levels so far. first off, i feel like i HAVE to play with my wii for at least a little while each day (hehe) to get my money's worth, so my already-packed schedule has taken a dramatic hit. i'm still forcing myself to hit up the gym at least 4 days a week, so as a result i'm going to bed a little later... and making my way into work a little later as well. it's not a pretty cycle.
on the other hand, my wii is changing my schedule because people want to hang out with me now. :) natalie's coming over tomorrow after work to play and my parents are expecting to play sometime soon. i feel like it would benefit me to impose a "wii tax" - you can play with my wii all night long if you feed me. i think that sounds reasonable. i'll begin implementing with my parents.
another benefit of the wii is that now i have more conversation points... i think i spent about an hour over the past 2 days talking to my boss about the wii and she let me borrow one of their games for a few days (raving rabbids). everyone seems to have a wii story. it's like its own little underground community. :)
anyways, while i was taking a break last night from my new hobby, i pushed myself a bit too far at the gym. it was the busiest i've ever seen it monday night, all the treadmills were taken, and all that was left was one elliptical and the recumbent bikes. being adventurous, i opted for the elliptical. i think the most i had ever done on the elliptical was 13 minutes the previous saturday. in full disclosure, i didn't plan on staying on it long - i planned to warm up for maybe 10 minutes and then hopefully a treadmill would open up... but i'm a little ocd with mileage and times and calories, so i ended up staying on for 35 minutes, 3.05 miles. you'd think this would have been enough... my legs were burning and i was wonderfully sweaty. but i'm a little bull-headed, so i decided that since my intention that night was to run, gosh darn it i was going to run. i was on the treadmill for 40 minutes... but i only ran 1/2 mile and walked the rest of the time because i felt like i had torn something in my legs. it was weird (and painful, obviously), but it was almost as though i could feel the muscle tear away from the bone. 520 calories burned off, i decided it was time to head home and then i took a hot bath. i had planned on going to the gym tonight, but decided i needed a rest day instead. since natalie's coming over tomorrow night, i might try to go to the gym in the morning, but it'll be iffy. maybe i can convince myself by allowing myself a starbucks on the way to work if i go to the gym in the am... hmm...
that's about all i have to report... oh, and i forgot to mention it in my last post, but we won our volleyball game thursday night and we are now 3-0. it was a cake walk, and hopefully this week will be similarly easy. however, this week's team is also 3-0... but the season's early and we're a solid team, so it's anyone's game.
wish me luck for getting up in the morning to work out!
that's right, folks. i have a wii. and it changes EVERYTHING.
lindsay, you ask, have you become a nerdy gamer chick in just a few short days? (no offense to anyone who reads this who is a gamer - i mean it in the most stereotypical way.) negator, i have not become a nerdy gamer chick. ok, maybe a teensy bit. but what the wii really changes is my schedule, and on at least 2 levels so far. first off, i feel like i HAVE to play with my wii for at least a little while each day (hehe) to get my money's worth, so my already-packed schedule has taken a dramatic hit. i'm still forcing myself to hit up the gym at least 4 days a week, so as a result i'm going to bed a little later... and making my way into work a little later as well. it's not a pretty cycle.
on the other hand, my wii is changing my schedule because people want to hang out with me now. :) natalie's coming over tomorrow after work to play and my parents are expecting to play sometime soon. i feel like it would benefit me to impose a "wii tax" - you can play with my wii all night long if you feed me. i think that sounds reasonable. i'll begin implementing with my parents.
another benefit of the wii is that now i have more conversation points... i think i spent about an hour over the past 2 days talking to my boss about the wii and she let me borrow one of their games for a few days (raving rabbids). everyone seems to have a wii story. it's like its own little underground community. :)
anyways, while i was taking a break last night from my new hobby, i pushed myself a bit too far at the gym. it was the busiest i've ever seen it monday night, all the treadmills were taken, and all that was left was one elliptical and the recumbent bikes. being adventurous, i opted for the elliptical. i think the most i had ever done on the elliptical was 13 minutes the previous saturday. in full disclosure, i didn't plan on staying on it long - i planned to warm up for maybe 10 minutes and then hopefully a treadmill would open up... but i'm a little ocd with mileage and times and calories, so i ended up staying on for 35 minutes, 3.05 miles. you'd think this would have been enough... my legs were burning and i was wonderfully sweaty. but i'm a little bull-headed, so i decided that since my intention that night was to run, gosh darn it i was going to run. i was on the treadmill for 40 minutes... but i only ran 1/2 mile and walked the rest of the time because i felt like i had torn something in my legs. it was weird (and painful, obviously), but it was almost as though i could feel the muscle tear away from the bone. 520 calories burned off, i decided it was time to head home and then i took a hot bath. i had planned on going to the gym tonight, but decided i needed a rest day instead. since natalie's coming over tomorrow night, i might try to go to the gym in the morning, but it'll be iffy. maybe i can convince myself by allowing myself a starbucks on the way to work if i go to the gym in the am... hmm...
that's about all i have to report... oh, and i forgot to mention it in my last post, but we won our volleyball game thursday night and we are now 3-0. it was a cake walk, and hopefully this week will be similarly easy. however, this week's team is also 3-0... but the season's early and we're a solid team, so it's anyone's game.
wish me luck for getting up in the morning to work out!
1.10.2009
my goodies
first off, clinton kelly is so freakin adorable that i just want to eat him. i just had to get that off my chest. i watched WNTW last night and he tried to bite a contributor... and he looked fabulous doing it. he can bite me any day.
in other opinion-related news, i just don't understand why the first lady insists on wearing really dark red lipstick. i channel-surfed through a commercial break while watching sam brown today and the first lady was on cspan going on and on about the china used in the white house. a.) not to be disrespectful, but who cares? b.) ok, so the rest of the country is going through the worst financial crisis in years, but the white house has to get new china every so often... yeah, that seems like a necessity. c.) that red lipstick is just way too dark. i think she'd look better with more of a neutral, with a slight hint of gloss. the shade she was wearing looked too cakey and dry... and it made her look old. i'm assuming she's been botox-ing; if not, heredity has dealt her a great hand because the skin on her face is tighter than my new seven-brand jeans.
speaking of sam brown, i've been kicking this around for a while now: i think i want to get my hair cut like hers.
it looks way cute on her, and although i'm not as thin as her, and my hair isn't nearly as light, i think it might look cute on me too. but i'm not sure, and i always hate cutting my hair really short since it's such a pain to grow back in... i'm still thinking, but if i get bored tomorrow, who know's what i might end up doing.
last night and all day today my mom kept calling and telling me about the huge storm that was coming my way... so i stayed in last night and when i only saw little bursts of flurries and the occasional rain shower today, i decided to brave mother nature's wrath. good thing i did, because the roads were completely clear and just wet. so i went tanning for the second time and then went to the gym. lemme just advertise the fact that i'm a freakin beast. so i ran for a little while today (note to self: don't gulp water seconds before working out!!), then did some elliptical, and then lifted some weights... my legs were super-strong today and i ended up doing leg presses with my body weight + 10% and it was pretty easy. i was a little afraid to go higher since i don't think i've ever lifted with that much weight before, but it really wasn't bad at all!
post-gym i introduced myself to my newest addiction: mcginnis sisters. for anyone who reads this who lives around pittsburgh, GO THERE. NOW. or, i guess, go there tomorrow since they closed at 7 pm. oh my goodness, it's like trader joe's on crack!! now, i love me some TJ's. there will always be a very special place in my heart for it. however, in the event that i'm nowhere near 'sliberty, mcginnis sisters is a more than humdrum substitute. i seriously could have bought the entire store. i limited myself, however, to just a few items: fresh blackberries (only $2!), half and half, AND... m.s. is the only place in the pgh area where i've been able to find these two lovelies:
texas pete hot sauce, previously brought back to the burgh from myrtle beach. my hunt for pete has been unsuccessful until today.
AND
i'm super excited to try the chobani since i've read such good reviews. :)
i also motored over to shop n save, where i made the mistake of buying really spicy giardiniera. i haven't had giardiniera since i worked at a restaurant in butler that served it as an app, but i loved it and i was really excited when i saw it on sale today. i had my choice of mild or hot... since i live dangerously, i opted for hot. that was bad news bears, lemme tell ya. i ate it about 3 hours ago and my mouth still hurts. but it sure was tasty... :)
tomorrow i am making another attempt at wii-hunting. mark has instructed me to be at toys r us as soon as they open, so i will be waking up and heading out (provided the "huge storm" doesn't make its way to monroeville over night...). wish me luck cause the battle's on. RAAAR!
in other opinion-related news, i just don't understand why the first lady insists on wearing really dark red lipstick. i channel-surfed through a commercial break while watching sam brown today and the first lady was on cspan going on and on about the china used in the white house. a.) not to be disrespectful, but who cares? b.) ok, so the rest of the country is going through the worst financial crisis in years, but the white house has to get new china every so often... yeah, that seems like a necessity. c.) that red lipstick is just way too dark. i think she'd look better with more of a neutral, with a slight hint of gloss. the shade she was wearing looked too cakey and dry... and it made her look old. i'm assuming she's been botox-ing; if not, heredity has dealt her a great hand because the skin on her face is tighter than my new seven-brand jeans.
speaking of sam brown, i've been kicking this around for a while now: i think i want to get my hair cut like hers.
it looks way cute on her, and although i'm not as thin as her, and my hair isn't nearly as light, i think it might look cute on me too. but i'm not sure, and i always hate cutting my hair really short since it's such a pain to grow back in... i'm still thinking, but if i get bored tomorrow, who know's what i might end up doing.
last night and all day today my mom kept calling and telling me about the huge storm that was coming my way... so i stayed in last night and when i only saw little bursts of flurries and the occasional rain shower today, i decided to brave mother nature's wrath. good thing i did, because the roads were completely clear and just wet. so i went tanning for the second time and then went to the gym. lemme just advertise the fact that i'm a freakin beast. so i ran for a little while today (note to self: don't gulp water seconds before working out!!), then did some elliptical, and then lifted some weights... my legs were super-strong today and i ended up doing leg presses with my body weight + 10% and it was pretty easy. i was a little afraid to go higher since i don't think i've ever lifted with that much weight before, but it really wasn't bad at all!
post-gym i introduced myself to my newest addiction: mcginnis sisters. for anyone who reads this who lives around pittsburgh, GO THERE. NOW. or, i guess, go there tomorrow since they closed at 7 pm. oh my goodness, it's like trader joe's on crack!! now, i love me some TJ's. there will always be a very special place in my heart for it. however, in the event that i'm nowhere near 'sliberty, mcginnis sisters is a more than humdrum substitute. i seriously could have bought the entire store. i limited myself, however, to just a few items: fresh blackberries (only $2!), half and half, AND... m.s. is the only place in the pgh area where i've been able to find these two lovelies:
texas pete hot sauce, previously brought back to the burgh from myrtle beach. my hunt for pete has been unsuccessful until today.
AND
i'm super excited to try the chobani since i've read such good reviews. :)
i also motored over to shop n save, where i made the mistake of buying really spicy giardiniera. i haven't had giardiniera since i worked at a restaurant in butler that served it as an app, but i loved it and i was really excited when i saw it on sale today. i had my choice of mild or hot... since i live dangerously, i opted for hot. that was bad news bears, lemme tell ya. i ate it about 3 hours ago and my mouth still hurts. but it sure was tasty... :)
tomorrow i am making another attempt at wii-hunting. mark has instructed me to be at toys r us as soon as they open, so i will be waking up and heading out (provided the "huge storm" doesn't make its way to monroeville over night...). wish me luck cause the battle's on. RAAAR!
1.07.2009
i won at wii tennis... wait, where are my pants?!
i am still in mourning over not having a wii. but i'm trying to accept it. i want the wii to come to ME. not literally, since it doesn't have legs or wheels and it can't really transport itself in any way, but i want to just walk into target or walmart or wherever and just see a wii in a case, waiting to go home with me. i don't want to deal with the hassle of calling every place within a 30 mile radius just to have disgruntled salespeople tell me "NO!" and hang up on me. i'm sick of that already and i've wasted too much time on it. so now, i will play it by ear. i may show up at toys r us at 10 am sunday morning, but if they don't have them, i refuse to get upset. instead, i will merely continue on my way to the gym. deal? deal.
the past few days have been largely uneventful, yet they've passed in a blur. the good news is that i've started sleeping again. i've slept 2 nights in a row. like a frickin baby. in fact, there was pee in my toilet this morning, but i have no recollection of getting up in the middle of the night to go. THAT'S how good i've slept the past 2 nights. hopefully tonight's a repeat.
for more good news, i'm on my way to accomplishing my january fitness goal - i went to the gym both yesterday and today (that makes 3 visits so far for january) AND i took the latin impact class tonight. the class was fun, but since i have zero coordination my face was redder from laughing than from actually working out. it was a workout, though... not quite as tough as my running and weights, but i was a little sweaty and we were definitely moving the entire hour. the instructor, paul, was really flamboyant, so that made it more fun. i don't think group fitness classes are my thing, though. this is the 3rd one i've tried, and although all 3 have been fun, i think i just prefer my own solo workouts. nevertheless, i'm going to continue on my journey to try all the classes at least once. who knows, maybe i'll find something that i love?
since my mom and i are going on another cruise in february, i've decided that maybe i should get a little bit of a base tan since my skin isn't such a huge fan of direct sunlight... so i tweedled over to hollywood tans tonight before latin impact and signed up for a one-month package. honestly, it felt good to be in the booth again, but i'm determined to not do it past the cruise. i made my mom stop going a year or two ago, so i have no right to be going... especially with my health issues. so anyone who reads this has to hold me to it - i have to stop tanning after the cruise. punch me, kick me, slash my tires, whatever (ok, no, don't slash my tires... i just got new tires), but don't let me go after the cruise.
now for the itsy bit of bad news: you know how in my previous post i said i wanted to go into the military, maybe the navy or coast guard? yeah, well, that's not gonna happen. seems that, like everything else i've wanted to do with my life, my health will be holding me back from yet another job. you see, the military (all branches) have requirements. if you don't meet certain requirements, you are disqualified from active military service. guess who's disqualified? so even though i feel totally fine, i'm DQ... bite. me. can someone PLEASE find me a job where i feel like i'd be doing something worthwhile? if it's not too much to ask for, can it involve french? if not, that's cool... but really, i'm tired of doing meaningless stuff all day and basically doing nothing with my life. so if anyone has any ideas, i'd greatly appreciate them. :)
in other news, there's nothing quite like facebook to make you feel like a loser. it sucks when a person everyone thought was kind of dim and probably gay (no, i'm not insinuating that the 2 things have anything to do with one another) now has a spouse (hetero) and kids and a WAY better job than you (ahem, government). just goes to show that who we were in high school is rarely who we are today. it's scary and disorienting. and it makes me want to just give up.
but i can't give up because... the winter volleyball season starts tomorrow!!! (unless it's cancelled due to snow) we play our first game at 6.45 tomorrow night and i'm psyched!! my teammates are all about winning, and to an extent i am too, but for the first game, i'm just excited to play again and i don't care if we win or lose. i'm stoked. :)
off to bed i go! peace out jeezies.
the past few days have been largely uneventful, yet they've passed in a blur. the good news is that i've started sleeping again. i've slept 2 nights in a row. like a frickin baby. in fact, there was pee in my toilet this morning, but i have no recollection of getting up in the middle of the night to go. THAT'S how good i've slept the past 2 nights. hopefully tonight's a repeat.
for more good news, i'm on my way to accomplishing my january fitness goal - i went to the gym both yesterday and today (that makes 3 visits so far for january) AND i took the latin impact class tonight. the class was fun, but since i have zero coordination my face was redder from laughing than from actually working out. it was a workout, though... not quite as tough as my running and weights, but i was a little sweaty and we were definitely moving the entire hour. the instructor, paul, was really flamboyant, so that made it more fun. i don't think group fitness classes are my thing, though. this is the 3rd one i've tried, and although all 3 have been fun, i think i just prefer my own solo workouts. nevertheless, i'm going to continue on my journey to try all the classes at least once. who knows, maybe i'll find something that i love?
since my mom and i are going on another cruise in february, i've decided that maybe i should get a little bit of a base tan since my skin isn't such a huge fan of direct sunlight... so i tweedled over to hollywood tans tonight before latin impact and signed up for a one-month package. honestly, it felt good to be in the booth again, but i'm determined to not do it past the cruise. i made my mom stop going a year or two ago, so i have no right to be going... especially with my health issues. so anyone who reads this has to hold me to it - i have to stop tanning after the cruise. punch me, kick me, slash my tires, whatever (ok, no, don't slash my tires... i just got new tires), but don't let me go after the cruise.
now for the itsy bit of bad news: you know how in my previous post i said i wanted to go into the military, maybe the navy or coast guard? yeah, well, that's not gonna happen. seems that, like everything else i've wanted to do with my life, my health will be holding me back from yet another job. you see, the military (all branches) have requirements. if you don't meet certain requirements, you are disqualified from active military service. guess who's disqualified? so even though i feel totally fine, i'm DQ... bite. me. can someone PLEASE find me a job where i feel like i'd be doing something worthwhile? if it's not too much to ask for, can it involve french? if not, that's cool... but really, i'm tired of doing meaningless stuff all day and basically doing nothing with my life. so if anyone has any ideas, i'd greatly appreciate them. :)
in other news, there's nothing quite like facebook to make you feel like a loser. it sucks when a person everyone thought was kind of dim and probably gay (no, i'm not insinuating that the 2 things have anything to do with one another) now has a spouse (hetero) and kids and a WAY better job than you (ahem, government). just goes to show that who we were in high school is rarely who we are today. it's scary and disorienting. and it makes me want to just give up.
but i can't give up because... the winter volleyball season starts tomorrow!!! (unless it's cancelled due to snow) we play our first game at 6.45 tomorrow night and i'm psyched!! my teammates are all about winning, and to an extent i am too, but for the first game, i'm just excited to play again and i don't care if we win or lose. i'm stoked. :)
off to bed i go! peace out jeezies.
1.04.2009
in the navy... you can sail the seven seas!
let me just say that people are real jerks. i was in a relatively good mood and feeling pretty good, and then i left the house. it all went downhill from there.
picture it: you just got off the phone with a walmart about 30 minutes away. yes, they DO have a wii in stock. sorry, they can't hold it for you. that's ok, you think, and scramble to put a coat and shoes on. you drive as fast as possible in the limited-visibility haze and you make it to walmart (ahem, trashmart) unscathed. you all but get yourself killed in the pedestrian crosswalk and haul it back to the electronics. you search frantically for the video game consoles and you think all hope is lost... and then you see it, the sole white box in a dark display, bright and shiny as though a gift from the heavens. you patiently get in line behind 2 people who look like they've never even heard of a wii and await your turn with the saleswoman. but wait!! here comes a mother and 2 spoiled brat children, eyeing up YOUR WII! "they have it!!" the brat boy screams. you turn to see what all the fuss is about, but you don't even need to look. you know they want your wii. and so you gently, patiently, oh-so-nicely inform them that you are waiting your turn in line for the wii. after all, you were there first. the mother, looking exasperated now, says "but theirs isn't working and they have all these games!" you keep your mouth shut and smile apologetically. no way you're letting this jag deprive you of the wonderful world of wii. she appears to give up and disappears for a moment. you relax slightly and it's almost your turn. the anticipation mounts. you're picturing yourself standing on one foot, testing your balance. you're intrigued by this concept of your "wii fit age." you're giddy thinking about doing wii fit yoga on your non-gym days. saliva builds in your mouth, a precursor to the sweet taste of mario kart victory. it will be mine, you think. it will. be. mine. but suddenly another trashmart employee shows up behind the register. he's talking to the saleswoman and pointing at a man... but where is this man? oh, he's right in front of YOUR WII. this man obviously does not work in the electronics department since he's asking the saleswoman to help the wii-man and he's wearing non-grunt-wear (i.e., khakis and a button-down with only a nametag and no trashmart smock). you're stunned, absolutely floored as this man, presumably a manager, takes the display keys from the saleswoman you've been waiting in line nearly 10 minutes to see and gives the wii to the jagoff who had the gall to poach a higher authority. but what's more awe-inspiring is that as the jag is heading towards the closed register with the manager, the wii-ogling woman and children from a few minutes ago have reappeared and are smiling. that's right, they're buying a wii. their husband/father is buying YOUR WII. because one wasn't enough for them. they can't let anyone else have fun, not even someone who was planning on blowing half of their paycheck, not eating for a few weeks to recoup the cash and arrived first. no, these are people who can afford to buy multiple wiis and who probably drove it home in their benz or their new audi and hooked it up in their several-thousand-dollar surround-sound living room nestled all snug and cozy in their million-dollar house. these people are scum of the earth in my opinion, and for some reason, i let these same kinds of people continually steal my faith in humanity.
i realize that yeah, it's just a wii. and really, right now, it's not even about the wii. i'd feel just as indignant, outraged and disgusted if it was a bottle of shampoo or the last sunday paper. it was the way in which these people went about doing it. the fact that the woman looked smug as she was waiting for her husband and wii #2. just the shadiness of the entire situation.
so i do not have a wii and i don't know if i'll ever get one. to be honest, there's another, bigger issue on my plate. one that involves selling the house and moving far, far away and doing something completely different. something that i've been thinking about for a long while, ever since i was in high school, but have never had the guts to do: i'm strongly considering joining the service.
no joke. i've kicked around the thought for years, but i've always been either lazy or scared (boot camp!), or it was just not the right time. but i have a 20-something (21? 22? 19?) uncle (ryan) who's in the navy and while i was entertaining people and marveling at mark's wii, my family was meeting my ryan and his mother at a cracker barrel to catch up. you see, for the short version of a long story, my mom's dad left them and married someone else and strangely enough, it took my grandfather's death a few years ago to bring my mom & our local family back into contact with my grandfather's family (ryan and his mom). anyways, there's been communication over the past year or so, but i don't think my family has seen him or his mom in years (like, 15 years or so).
to get back to the point, ryan's currently in the navy. while they were at dinner, ryan told everyone all about ship-life... and from what they relayed back to me, it sounds really nice. not like 4 seasons hotel-nice, but something i could totally do. (ha, and they have wiis and playstations and xboxes on the ship for the down-time!) even my mom said i should look into it (i don't think anyone knows how long i've been considering it). i think everyone would be ok as long as i were in the coast guard or the navy - as long as i wouldn't be deployed to iraq or afghanistan.
still wary of boot camp, but intrigued about a different career path (and TRAVEL!!!), i did some research today. turns out, to pass the physical fitness exam, you only need to be able to run 1.5 miles (and do sit-ups and push-ups, of course). holy poo, i was afraid of that?! i do that and more every time i go to the gym!! so now this possibility is closer. and i tried to reason with myself, trying to make myself fess up that this is just another whim and that nothing will ever come of it... but the strangest thing happened - as i was trying to face the realization of staying where i am, in this house, in this job, with these feelings of hopelessness and failure, i actually felt sick and started crying. i'm no psychologist, but i'm pretty sure that that's a sign that something's not right. something needs to change. and as comfortable (job-wise) as i am now, i know i can't handle much more of this. and then of course my mind turned to more practical matters, such as selling the house and having enough money from the government to pay off my pitt and nyu loans. the idea of doing those things felt like such a huge weight lifting off of me. it's like going to boot camp is so much easier than owning this house and paying these ridiculous, useless student loans. that sounds weird, i know, but i've felt so bogged down by everything since about last april or so. and at this rate, there's no end in sight. i'm confused and anxious and once again, i just want someone to tell me what to do.
so i'm done rambling and ranting. apparently i've been writing this for an hour (whoa!) and it's way longer than i intended it to be. so if you hung (hanged?) in there, thanks. if not, i don't blame you. i guess this is what a blog's for...
hey hey hey! come out and PLAY!
of all the whacked out things to happen at my party last night, i fell in love. with a video game console.
it was not love at first sight, as some have experienced. instead, it was the kind of love where you have a good time all night and then the object of your affection leaves you hanging high and dry at 3 am and you think nothing of it. just, "that was a fun night, we should do it again sometime." but no. because when you wake up, all you can think about is this thing, this lust for something that so completely encompasses your being until you cannot take it any longer. you just have to have it. you cannot go on living without it. it will be yours.
and i'm not just saying that because the controllers vibrate. (though that's an interesting plus)
so today's mission, should my bank account choose to accept it, is to hunt down a wii. this is why we have credit cards.
as you can probably tell, the party went well. i still have massive amounts of booze and beer and food in my fridge, so perhaps i will be having another party in the somewhat near future. maybe i'll make it a monthly thing, like the rising of the moon or whatever. and if i buy a wii, i can have people play with my wii. i'm sure i'd like it if people played with my wii. :)
i was especially excited to see amie! although we live in the same city (though she's in bellevue and i'm near monroeville), we only see each other a few times a year. it used to be more frequent, but she goes to school and works and i have a million things going on, so it's tough to coordinate schedules. but it was awesome to see her and to have her hang out.
plans for today include going to the gym, getting gas, and maybe wii-hunting. oh how i ache for a wii. :)
it was not love at first sight, as some have experienced. instead, it was the kind of love where you have a good time all night and then the object of your affection leaves you hanging high and dry at 3 am and you think nothing of it. just, "that was a fun night, we should do it again sometime." but no. because when you wake up, all you can think about is this thing, this lust for something that so completely encompasses your being until you cannot take it any longer. you just have to have it. you cannot go on living without it. it will be yours.
and i'm not just saying that because the controllers vibrate. (though that's an interesting plus)
so today's mission, should my bank account choose to accept it, is to hunt down a wii. this is why we have credit cards.
as you can probably tell, the party went well. i still have massive amounts of booze and beer and food in my fridge, so perhaps i will be having another party in the somewhat near future. maybe i'll make it a monthly thing, like the rising of the moon or whatever. and if i buy a wii, i can have people play with my wii. i'm sure i'd like it if people played with my wii. :)
i was especially excited to see amie! although we live in the same city (though she's in bellevue and i'm near monroeville), we only see each other a few times a year. it used to be more frequent, but she goes to school and works and i have a million things going on, so it's tough to coordinate schedules. but it was awesome to see her and to have her hang out.
plans for today include going to the gym, getting gas, and maybe wii-hunting. oh how i ache for a wii. :)
1.02.2009
have a drink on me
i'm getting way excited for tomorrow's fiesta chez moi! this is going to be the first party i've ever hosted on my own - when i was in the pi i planned a few parties, but that wasn't a solo venture. this is my first just-me party, and my first one in my house! i left work early today to start prepping for it - i bought a bunch of booze, made room in my fridge for a case of beer, and my first attempt at homemade baguettes is currently proofing. no promises for the baguettes, though. they got off to a rocky start, but they're looking decent now.
i got a screamin deal on "almost flourless chocolate cake" at TJ's today, so rock on. i think i'm going to cut it into smallish pieces tomorrow. also chillin in the fridge is some spinach choke dip, creamy salsa dip, a bunch of cheeses, some salami stuff, french truffles, bruschetta topping, shrimp cocktail, booze, beer, and more booze (and mixers). i was worried about having enough food and booze, but i think i'm set since i only know of 6 or 7 people who are coming for sure. lori & jeremey are up in the air, as is keith as far as i know. and timmy will be coming late. i told everyone they could bring a friend, but i don't know if anyone will be taking me up on that or not. coincidentally, anyone who reads this who wants to come over, shoot me an email and i'll give you the address. :)
no gym tonight - my body still kind of hurts from wednesday night's tv yoga (haha) and 4 consecutive nights of running. plus, i need to babysit my baguettes. :)
have a stupendous eve, kids!
UPDATE: Check out the purdy baguettes! Here's hoping they taste as awesome as they look!
i got a screamin deal on "almost flourless chocolate cake" at TJ's today, so rock on. i think i'm going to cut it into smallish pieces tomorrow. also chillin in the fridge is some spinach choke dip, creamy salsa dip, a bunch of cheeses, some salami stuff, french truffles, bruschetta topping, shrimp cocktail, booze, beer, and more booze (and mixers). i was worried about having enough food and booze, but i think i'm set since i only know of 6 or 7 people who are coming for sure. lori & jeremey are up in the air, as is keith as far as i know. and timmy will be coming late. i told everyone they could bring a friend, but i don't know if anyone will be taking me up on that or not. coincidentally, anyone who reads this who wants to come over, shoot me an email and i'll give you the address. :)
no gym tonight - my body still kind of hurts from wednesday night's tv yoga (haha) and 4 consecutive nights of running. plus, i need to babysit my baguettes. :)
have a stupendous eve, kids!
UPDATE: Check out the purdy baguettes! Here's hoping they taste as awesome as they look!
1.01.2009
float on
every new year makes me want to change everything for the better. i know i'm not alone in that, but it seems so corny when i say it. it seems like the world is filled with so much hope on the first day of the year, like changing calendars will make all the worlds' problems go away. personally, i find that this hope lasts until i leave my house, and then it quickly dissipates. but for a few brief hours, all is right with the world.
last night i made the executive decision to stay home. i'm a loser and a life-ruiner, but i'm used to it now and if you've known me for a while, you should be used to it too. instead of going to mark & kim's, i went for a snow run around the neighborhood (running is WAY harder in snow than on a treadmill!) and debated making bagels for the first breakfast of the year. the bagels didn't happen, but i enjoyed my evening anyways. i had a surprisingly prosperous evening at home - while searching for my passport for our february cruise, i found a $10 target gift card from the pharmacy and a sock that had been missing for a few weeks. that's a darn good night for me.
as for some resolutions, i haven't really thought too much about them but i've come up with a couple:
1. rock out at la fitness at least 10 days a month (excludes volleyball nights and february since i'll be in the caribbean for a full week... suckas)
2. try all of the group fitness classes at least once - i've already tried cardio kickboxing and aquafit, so there's only 10 more classes to try...
3. be in the best shape possible before the cruise (and maintain throughout the year)
4. be more open to making new friends (and potential boyfriends)
5. attempt to figure out what i want to do "when i grow up"
6. plan a trip back to paris (to go next year)
7. take at least one random road trip (bring someone?)
resolutions for the day include making my bagels (they're almost ready to boil!) and heading to the gym. pretty low-key for just another day.
last night i made the executive decision to stay home. i'm a loser and a life-ruiner, but i'm used to it now and if you've known me for a while, you should be used to it too. instead of going to mark & kim's, i went for a snow run around the neighborhood (running is WAY harder in snow than on a treadmill!) and debated making bagels for the first breakfast of the year. the bagels didn't happen, but i enjoyed my evening anyways. i had a surprisingly prosperous evening at home - while searching for my passport for our february cruise, i found a $10 target gift card from the pharmacy and a sock that had been missing for a few weeks. that's a darn good night for me.
as for some resolutions, i haven't really thought too much about them but i've come up with a couple:
1. rock out at la fitness at least 10 days a month (excludes volleyball nights and february since i'll be in the caribbean for a full week... suckas)
2. try all of the group fitness classes at least once - i've already tried cardio kickboxing and aquafit, so there's only 10 more classes to try...
3. be in the best shape possible before the cruise (and maintain throughout the year)
4. be more open to making new friends (and potential boyfriends)
5. attempt to figure out what i want to do "when i grow up"
6. plan a trip back to paris (to go next year)
7. take at least one random road trip (bring someone?)
resolutions for the day include making my bagels (they're almost ready to boil!) and heading to the gym. pretty low-key for just another day.
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