Sunday, January 18, 2015

Realizations

You'll have to forgive any misspellings I may have, as I am blogging via my kindle fire....

In researching fitness tips and health suggestions, I came across a recurring theme when it came to the balance of food and exercise.

Let me preface this with the fact that I don't think I eat junk. I gave up quite a few vices, I can no longer eat a whole bag of potato chips, nor have I had a soda since Christmastime. That being said, I think I still have some bad habits to kick. Like cereal (although I didn't buy any this week!), sugary kids candy like fundip (my go-to movie candy), and more.

Does that realization mean I need to go completely nuts and go vegan or paleo??? Hello no! But I need to shift my focus from relying on the gym to help me lose weight to relying on my food habits to get me where I want to be. Because, as these and so many other photos will tell you.... abs are built in the kitchen, not the gym.








Thursday, January 15, 2015

2015 Reading Challenge - Updated 6-15-15

So, one of my co-workers who is also a Pinterest user found this 2015 Reading Challenge.

It looks like the list originates from PopSugar, which is a website I love for their fitness tips and articles.



I'm compiling my list of books now, so that way I don't need to wait to transition from book to book. I feel pretty good. I might only be able to have a good run for the Spring, because I'm hoping to start at my University for the summer at least, if not the fall. This will be updated periodically, as I find more books to add to the list. I'll also be striking through what I have read.

So, here'e reading list, and my picks! (And the date I finished them!)

  • A book with more than 500 pages
    • Inferno, Dan Brown
  • A classic romance
    • The Princess Bride, William Goldman
  • A book that became a movie
    • Still Alice, Lisa Genova
  • A book published this year
    • Playlist for the Dead, Michelle Falkoff
  • A book with a number in the title
    • Four, Veronica Roth
  • A book written by someone under 30
    • The Kissing Booth, Beth Reekles
  • A book with nonhuman characters
    • The Underneath, Kathi Appelt
  • A funny book
    • My Horizontal Life, Chelsea Handler
  • A book by a female author
    • The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory 1-12-15
  • A mystery or thriller
    • Eyes, Joseph Glass
  • A book with a one-word title
    • Blood, Joseph Glass
  • A book of short stories
    • What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver
  • A book set in a different country
    • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
  • A nonfiction book
    • The Astronaut Wives Club, Lily Koppel
  • A popular author's first book
    • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
  • A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet
    • Afterworld, Scott Westerfeld
  • A book a friend recommends
    • Prayers For Sale, Sandra Dallas 6-10-15
  • A Pulitzer Prize winner
    • Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
  • A book based on a true story
    • A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
  • A book at the bottom of your to-read list
  • A book your mom loves (except my mom doesn't read so in going to read a book my husband loves)
  • A book that scares you
  • A book more than 100 years old
  • A book based entirely on its cover
  • A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
    • The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • A book you can finish in 1 day
    • Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
  • A book with antonyms in the title
    • Death: A Life, George Pendle
  • A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
  • A book that came out the year you were born
    • Misery, Stephen King, 1987 1-28-15
  • A book with bad reviews

  • A trilogy
    • Matched, Ally Condie 3-3-15
    • Crossed, Ally Condie 3-6-15
    • Reached, Ally Condie
  • A book from your childhood
    • Hatchet, Gary Paulsen
  • A book with a love triangle
    • Mr. Fox, Helen Oyeyemi 4-21-15
  • A book set in the future
    • Allegiant, Veronica Roth
  • A book set in high school
    • Bully, Penelope Douglas
  • A book with a color in the title
    • The White Queen, Philippa Gregory
  • A book that made/will make you cry
    • By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead, Julie Ann Peters 1-31-15
  • A book with magic
    • The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
  • A graphic novel
    • Vampire Academy Graphic Novel Series, Leigh Dragoon 7/10/15
  • A book by an author you've never read before
    • Drawing Dead, Bennett Shelfer (I've met the author but never read his book!)
  • A book you own but have never read
    • Unlimited, Jillian Michaels
  • A book that takes place in your hometown
    • Sworn Jury, John D. Mills
  • A book that was originally written in a different language
    • The Night Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
  • A book set during Christmas
    • A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
  • A book written by an author with your same initials
    • The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
  • A play
    • Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
  • A banned book
    • Of Mice and Men, Gary Steinbeck
  • A book based on, or turned into a TV show
    • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
  • A book you started but never finished
    • The Autobiography of Henry VIII, Margaret George

If you love reading, this list is a challenge. I had a hard time finding books written by authors with my same initial, and finding books set in my hometown. What I look forward to most is finding some new authors to love, instead of sticking to my old reliables!


Wednesday, January 14, 2015

I am the STAIR-MASTER!

So, my dear friend Amy decided to challenge us in January to walk up the CN Tower, which has a grueling 147 flights of stairs, which amounts to 1776 steps.

She gave us a week, and I decided that since I don't have stairs in my house or anywhere nearby, I used the never-ending-staircase-of-doom. 

I dominated that challenge!!

Here are my results::

 Monday (1/5/15) - 350 steps
Tuesday (1/6/15) - 200 steps
Wednesday (1/7/15) - 350 steps
Thursday (1/8/15) - 450 steps
Friday (1/9/15) - 200 steps
Saturday (1/10/15) - zero steps
Sunday (1/11/15) - zero steps
Monday (1/12/15) - 240 steps

Total steps taken: 1790!

GO ME!!





Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Frustrations

So... it is the day before classes begin for the Spring. Let me start by saying I am still new when it comes to navigating what to do with college. Yes, I've been attending college for a few years now, but I've never had to deal with transfer stuff, dropped classes, and the frustration of there being way too many avenues to find or not find information that I can get lost in.


...Until now.


So... it's the day before the Spring Semester begins. I have a tour scheduled at UCF in February to see about going there for my Bachelor's Degree. I'm excited. In May I will have an AA in my hands and I am starting to feel like a real adult.
I had planned on taking 4 last classes here in the Spring to get an additional certification along with my AA. It's not necessary, but it would look good.

Unfortunately, FSW decided to cancel one of the classes due to poor registration. I needed that class to get the certification. It's not offered on another day, nor online. Which means, that yes, the other 3 I had signed up for this Spring are now obsolete as I had planned on this being my last semester here. So, now I'm stuck... scrambling to make things work, make my decisions and get myself upright again.

It's frustrating to say the least.

I have emails and tow lines out in all directions, to make sure the money I just spent on tuition I will no longer be using will be used to get myself together and get my Bachelor's on track.

I'm just frustrated.

FRUSTRATED.

FRUSTRATED!!