Old Year/New Year

2011:

Fitness
Chocolate Milk
Beach
Garage Porn
Bahamas
Graduation
Taking the Bar
Proposal
Moving, moving, moving
Flight slot
Closure
First "official" Christmas together
Richmond
Job/Job Hunting
Attempt at vegetarianism
Beer Bread
Learning to be flexible
Finances
Passing the Bar
Wine/Game Nights
Football/Hockey/Basketball/Sports in general
The Italian
Dances
Halloween (Arrrr!)
Cookie Bake
Alcoholic Arnold Palmer's
Electronic Cigarettes
Hookah
Law School Friends Family
Visits from the Brother
Goodbyes
Lion King
Christmas Town
Gym membership
Bananagrams
Waffle House
Feb Club
Relationships
Six years
Nags Head
Car Accidents
Pampered Chef
Wedding Dress Shopping
Wedding Dress Buying
Audiobooks
First big purchase - Chevy Silverado
New friends
Old friends
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Chickens
Family
Barristers
Wedding Planning
Red Heads
Garden
Farmer's Markets
Puppy Playdates
Public Defense
Learning to Let Go
Slowing Down
Ride Along
Research Projects
Papers
And so much more!! There is so much that I just know I have forgotten, so I may be adding to this list.  Thank you to everyone who made this year better than the last! Love, love, love you all!! :)

2012
These are the big things that will happen in 2012 and my resolutions.
Marriage
Flight School
Moving
Tons of Weddings
Reunions
Graduation
Vegetarianism (and not just when it is convenient)
Going to the gym
Running again
Biking again
Reading more
Job Hunting
Writing Letters (like real letters)
Post Secret project
Be more crafty
Recycle
Less TV
Less Facebook, more face time
Savings
Seven Years
Sandals
Honeymoon
Getting a puppy(?)
Dancing Lessons
Cooking classes
And who knows what else?

Happy New Years everyone! It has been one hell of a year.  2012 is shaping up to be a year of change, happiness, and beauty.  No matter what happens to you this coming year I hope that you remember that you can control only one thing: your attitude.  Stay positive, stay healthy, and above all, love and let yourself be loved.

Christmas Cards and NYE

My craft project was a success! Yay! (Although taking pictures of the cards was an abysmal failure).  I actually managed to make Christmas cards for everyone! :) They were cute (and I had help).  I feel super accomplished.  Haha.  I am now working on creating my wedding invitations.  I doubt I will be making them though; I think I will just order them.

I am working on a New Years post.  I want to sum up my year and write up my resolutions. We'll see how long it actually takes me get it done. :)

Happy New Years everyone!! Love, love, love.

Crafts

I am not a terribly crafty person but I think the Christmas card selection this year is abysmal. As a result, I think I am going to make Christmas cards this year. And if that goes well, I am going to make our wedding invitations (although, to be honest, I think that is putting the cart before the horse). I'll let you know how it goes.

Terrible Blogger

Merry Christmas everyone!!

So I was terrible about posting what I was grateful for. It's not because I don't have a ton of things to be grateful for, it's just because I don't blog often enough.  To be honest I am blogging right now because I am sitting in the waiting room of a dealership waiting for the boys truck to get detailed. I am writing this post on my phone. Ahhh technology.

Anyways, I am currently unemployed and enjoying my time with my fiance and family. I am praying I have a job by January so I can get back onto the sacking track. I would like to be making money but I am very grateful for my time with my family. I am not going to have a lot once I move to Florida.

Speaking of which, the boy got a flight spot so we will be moving to Florida next summer after our wedding. I am super excited about this next chapter. I think it is going to be awesome. Feel free to come visit us! I am sure during his training/deployments I am going to need the company!!

Alright, I think that is enough for now. Again, Merry Christmas everyone!! Cherish the time you have with your families and remember what this season is all about (and no, it's not the gifts...haha.)

Days Off

I am grateful for my impromptu day off.  I managed to get most of my errands run, the floor of my apartment swept, two hours of cardio in at the gym.  It was nice.  And tomorrow morning, if all goes well, I will get to sleep in and then go to work around 10.  And if things don't get well, I will have another day off. :)

Missed a day

Oops!

I am grateful for my mom.  Today she came up to visit me and to go dress shopping with me.  She paid for my wedding dress!! It will be here on February 20, 2012.  I am so flipping excited.  I am grateful for her for so many more reasons than just this one.  It is just a perfect example of how lucky I am to have my mother.  She is an amazing, beautiful, strong, loving, intelligent person who has molded me into everything I am.  No matter how bad her day has been she will listen to me whine about the insignificant things happening in my life.  She is willing to do whatever I need, with no question of the cost to herself.  She is an epic woman and I am blessed to call her mommy.  I love you!!

I am also grateful for late night talks.  They always make things seem less terrible.  Tomorrow is always a new day, and no matter what, I know that I never have to face the challenges that are waiting for me alone.  There is also someone there who is willing to reach out and take my hand.  I am so blessed to have my life filled with such wonderful and caring people.  I wouldn't be able to survive without them.

Daddies

I am grateful for my daddy.  I know that I already made a post about being grateful for my family, but odds are I am going to give each of them their own post.  Today I am grateful for my daddy because he has taught me so much about how to take care of myself.  Prior to letting me drive my car alone he forced me to change both a front and a back tire on the car.  It took me almost forty five minutes but I have never once been stranded with a flat tire.  He has also taught me how to fix a toilet, build things, keep my finances in order, and many other things.  Today I am especially grateful for him because I have to fix my closet.  The shelving thing in my closet broke, and when it did it ripped a hole in the wall.  I am in the process of patching the hole and then I am going to re-install the shelves in the closet.

I have an awesome daddy.  He truly is the best.  I cannot wait for him to walk me down the aisle at my wedding or to see him with my children (in a completely figurative way - I am waiting a real long time to have children!). :)

Day 4 (but really Day 2)

I am grateful for the e-mail that I received on Wednesday morning at 12:06 a.m.  See, as those of you who have read my blog know, I just graduated from law school.  During the summer I took the NY bar.  On Wednesday I found out that I had PASSED the NY bar.  YES! I have been clinging to that happy feeling for three days (since the rest of my life seems to want to go to sideways).

I have been repeating this prayer to myself for about a week now.

It has become my mantra.  I just wish I could put it to better use.

I am grateful for...

I have been seeing people write things they are grateful for.  It is something to do with November, and Thanksgiving.  You are supposed to list one a day.  I am three days late, but after the way my life has looked for the past weeks, I figure I should start counting my blessings.  So today I am going to list three things.  Then I am going to post one thing I am grateful for every day.

1. I am grateful for my family.  I have a wonderful mother, father, brother, and fiance.  They are amazing, loving, kind, supportive, awesome people.  I don't know where I would be, or who I would be, without them.  I love you guys.
2. I am grateful for my job and co-workers.  In this economy I know having a job is a big deal and I am grateful that I get to go to work every day and earn a steady pay check.  I am able to save up for after the boy and I are married.  To make it even better, my co-workers are awesome.  They make me laugh every day and that is important.
3.  I am grateful for my puppy.  She is soo super sweet and loves me unconditionally.  Everyday when I come home she is super excited to see me.  She barks, jumps up and down and licks my face.  She is incredibly well behaved and wonderful. She makes my life better.

So that is a good start.  This challenge is also helpful because it will help me blog more often.  I told myself I would start doing it, but then never did.  So now, hopefully, I will. :)

MASSIVE UPDATE

Some of this information is new, some of it is new to those who don't me know, and some of it is just old. But here goes!

I have the arthritis of an 80-year old in my right knee.  It is between the knee and the knee cap.  The rest of  the joint is perfectly healthy.  No surgery required.  I do, however, have to have a needle stuck into my knee once a week for five weeks about every two years.  I have gone through my first round of treatments, and they seemed to help a bit.  The biggest problem is that my knee still clicks and pops and locks and just plain hurts.  That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

I got engaged this summer!! Woohoo!! That's old news though.  The new news about that is that I picked my resort.  I have permission for the groom's little sister to come and we are now off to the races with planning.  I do not have a wedding date, cause I can't pick one until the Navy decides what the boy is going to be doing, but planning is about to go into full swing! Yay!

I moved.  Not to NY but to Richmond.  I love my apartment and my roommate is pretty awesome!

I got a job.  I work for a legal placement agency that places me with law firms to do document review.  I love the flexibility, the pay, and the hours.  It is pretty much the perfect job for where I am in life right now.

I should find out what the next few years of my life will look like on Tuesday.  That's crazy!!

I am going to join a gym, pack my lunch, and start cooking dinner every night.  I want a routine.  <---This is pretty random, but true, so I thought I would share.

I will start updating more frequently now.  I have a whole post related to the wedding and it's drama coming soon, but I need to make sure it is written exactly the way I want it written before it goes up!

:)

9/11/01

I remember where I was on that day; do you?

NEVER FORGET. And teach those who do not know, who do not remember, the strength a nation.

And We're Back...

So my life has been absolutely insane!  I have taken the NY bar (I wont find out if I passed until sometime in late October, early November).  I am looking at moving to NY, looking for a job, and trying to catch up on all the things I failed to do while studying for the bar.

The truth is that my life has been pretty boring.  I have been doing work that got neglected while I was studying and I have been spending as much time with the boy as possible.  He leaves to go back to school here soon and I don't want to have to say goodbye.  It will mean that I wont see him again for a couple of months.  Just the thought makes me want to cry.  But we will make it.  We always have.

I am working on getting better (I fell down some stairs yesterday) so that I can get my exercise back on track.  During bar studying I ate like crap, didn't exercise, and barely slept.  So I am trying to remedy two of those three things (the eating and sleeping) so that I can get back on the exercise routines starting on Monday.  I was doing pretty good with my physical therapy (which was sort of a "mini-exercise" everyday) until about two weeks before the bar.  Then I put that on hold to study.  I went back yesterday to start again and then immediately preceded to fall down a flight of stairs.  So now my PT is on hold until the swelling in my knee goes down.  No worries, I was not seriously injured, only bruised.  This is not like the last time I fell UP the stairs and ended up in the hospital.  I am the biggest klutz ever.  :)

So, sorry that my first new post is super short, but I really have nothing else of interest to say.

Changes

The boy came home a little over a week ago.  I have been on a hiatus because of hanging out with him.  I just wanted to absorb as much of him as I could.  We had a fantastic time!  My life is at the best point it has been in a really really long time. :)

I am doing bar prep now.  Serious bar prep time is here.  So, for all the millions of readers I have out there, I know this is going to depress you to no end, but I wont be writing again until after the bar.  But after the bar, I will definitely be back.  Try not to miss me too much.

Love love love.

I Cheated

That's right.  I am a cheater.  I couldn't help myself.  My craving was just soooo bad.

Bet you can't guess what I cheated with.

Nope...you're wrong...I didn't cheat with that.

I cheated with carbs.

And creamy, delicious goodness (a.k.a. fat).

I bet you are still wrong in what you think I cheated with...

Yesterday was crazy.  I had a doctor's appointment for my knee that was scheduled for 11.  I arrived at the doctor's office to check in at 10:50.  I sat in the waiting room until 12:10.  That's right, an hour and twenty minutes in the waiting room.  The doctor then told me nothing new, but he did schedule me for physical therapy, gave me a brace, and some medication so that my knee will hurt me less when I exercise.

Then I had to catch up.  So much work, so little time.  I got a good deal accomplished yesterday. By the time the day was over, however, I had eaten nearly enough, was tired and cranky, and my cravings were out of control.  So I cheated with one of my favorite things in the whole world.  Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Butter and a Bagel Thin.  250 calories of pure goodness. 

I toasted the bagel thin, put a carefully measured tablespoon of organic peanut butter on one of the slices and a heaping tablespoon of organic, all natural, Trader Joe's pumpkin butter on the other.  Can you say yum? Cause I can. Yum.

Did you guess it? I bet not! :)

OHHHHH, I almost forgot.  My weight loss is at 4 pounds! Four pounds in four days! Woohoo.

Yesterday's Menu
Breakfast: Forgot (oops)
Lunch: Salad with spinach, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, mango (which I think is also cheating) and a low-fat raspberry vinaigrette
Dinner: Chicken with asparagus (I don't know what my mom did to the chicken but it was DELICIOUS) dipped in organic, plain, low-fat yogurt; green tea
Snack: Glorious delicious goodness (a.k.a. my cheat)
Water Intake: 48 oz.

Basically - yesterday was a bad day for my diet...KS's *wah wah* noise.
 

Cravings

Day three has come and almost gone.  And all I can think about is sugar. Cookies.  Cake.  S'mores.  Hmmmmm s'mores.  It is literally driving me crazy.  I was going to cheat tonight but a certain someone talked me out of it.  I don't know if I want to hug them or murder them in their sleep.

I keep telling myself that if I could drink a homemade lemonade concoction, and nothing else, for five straight days, I can do this.  I don't know though. For whatever reason this is so. much. harder.

Maybe it is stress from bar studying that is creating the overwhelming desire to eat something sweet and gooey. Who knows? All I know is that at some point between now and the end of this diet my self control is going to give and I am going to eat a s'more or a cookie or something.  It will be a glorious day.  It may be tomorrow.

Anyways, back to studying.

Today's Menu
Breakfast: two eggs, spinach; green tea
Lunch: salad with a hard boiled egg, carrots, celery, mushrooms and spinach, an apple; green tea
Dinner: Chicken breast with tomato sauce, vegetable medley; green tea
Snack: yogurt and grapes
Water Intake: 96 oz. (and counting)

2 Days In...

And all I can think about is s'mores.  Specifically these s'mores.  Yum.  But I can't eat them.  I just can't.  I have to stick to it and lose weight.  So no s'mores for me.

Anyways, my parents are cheating today.  It's Tuesday and my Dad has his friends over tonight.  So they are having a few alcoholic beverages.  They keep telling me to have a s'more or eat ice cream.  But I am trying so hard to be good.  It is only day two, this is not boding well for the future.

The boy comes home in THREE DAYS! OMG I cannot tell you how excited I am about that.  I cannot wait to see him.  One sad thing? I can't pick him up from the airport.  I have to do a 1/2 day simulated exam for my bar review.  It is at the same time as picking him up from the airport.  I could pick him up and then do it, but he didn't like the idea of seeing me and then having to let me go do work.  So, I am going to see him when I finish the practice exam.  Which means I have to wait three whole hours after he lands to see him.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but is the rough equivalent of ... FOREVER! Oh well.

Anyways, back to the diet.  I am going to report my weight loss roughly every four days.  Hopefully the number I am telling you continually gets larger and larger! :)

Today's Menu
Breakfast: two eggs, tomatoes, spinach and a peach; green tea
Lunch: Salad with tuna, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery; green tea
Dinner: Chicken in a balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper marinade and a broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot vegetable medley; green tea
Snack: yogurt and grapes
Water Intake: 72 oz.

Family Plan

Hey everyone!

So, with bar prep and everything else, I do not have the energy to work out for an hour and a half everyday.  Knowing that, but still wanting to lose weight, I decided to try this diet that my future mom-in-law has been doing.  It's called the 17 day diet.  It is basically Atkins with more of a focus on the healthy part, rather than the just not eating carbs part.  You eat lots of greens, which help cleanse your system, and lean protein.  For the first 17 day cycle there are no carbs.  That makes me sad.

This entry is entitled "family plan" because my family agreed to do it with me.  So far today, my mom has fully participated.  I am not sure about my dad because he went into the office.  But I am going to go grill him for a bit.  Hopefully he didn't eat anything he wasn't supposed to.

Dinner is in the oven.  Mom and I have to work out for our 20 minutes tonight before we go to bed.  And I have to do a bunch more Barbri.  I will let you know what my dad says tomorrow.

Todays Menu:

Breakfast: one egg with tomatoes and spinach, and 1/2 a grapefruit

Lunch: Salad with tomatoes, spinach, carrots, celery, tuna, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette; green tea

Dinner: Tilapia with a vegetable medley; green tea

Snack: Yogurt with grapes

Water intake: 72 oz.

Fun fact

The boy told me this today.  I have not researched it to prove it, but he usually tends to be right about these things.  This is in relation to my Jamie Oliver post.

L-cysteine is an amino acid chain that is CONTAINED in human hair and duck feathers. The protein is extracted through hydrogenation and added to almost anything that needs to stay soft including breads and hamburger buns. There is no actual hair or feathers and the process actually makes L-cysteine an "all natural product."

So I was not incorrect.  Human hair is used to make cookie dough ice cream soft.  It just isn't the actual hair.  It's still kinda gross, although I guess less so.  Also, it worries that me that it is used in ANYTHING that needs to be kept soft.  Ewww.  Although, I guess when you think about it, we probably all ingest a decent amount of human hair during the course of our lifetimes, without any processing at all!  

The goal of this blog is to learn as much as I can about health, and to teach others what I know.  So if you have any other fun facts like this one, please feel free to share them.  It would make my day! :)

Jamie Oliver

Viva la Revolution!

So I am an episode behind.  But on the episode before last, entitled "Is it just me or have we just been pushed into the corner?", Jamie had his cooking class make lunch for the entire school.  Then the school put him the corner by the dumpster.  Crazy.  So Jamie decided to go into the classroom and find out what kinds know about their food.  He did a test with them, where he showed them pictures and asked them where food came from.  Most kids didn't know that a cow produces milk, or that cheese comes from milk.  It was sad.  It is a sad statement of our education system when seventeen year olds do not know the basics of food.

Then he went into science class.  And this is where I become most interested in the episode.  He taught the kids what is in their favorite ice cream sundaes.  For starters, he taught them, and me, that the thing that makes candy shiny is shellack.  That's right, the stuff that is used to seal floors is what makes candy shiny.  Shellack is the secretion of a female lac bug.  EWWW. The next thing he taught them made me soooo sad. Chocolate chip cookie dough is one of my favorite things ever.  The stuff they use to keep cookie dough soft in ice cream is FEATHERS and HUMAN HAIR.  I cannot believe that.  HUMAN HAIR.  I will never eat cookie dough ice cream again.  Not unless the ingredients are all whole foods.  If I don't know what the ingredient is or where it comes from, NOT EATING it.  It was so gross.

The other thing that got me the most was the fast food restaurant Jamie is working with.  He doesn't want to change to a better product, even though it is not any more expensive, and exceptionally better for his customers.  He met with one of Jamie's students and just kept telling that it was not his fault that America is overweight, that they have a choice, and they can choose to eat at his restaurant.  That's right, and they can also choose not to eat at your restaurant.  But when you are a single, working mom who is just trying to get by, no matter how sad or bad it is, sometimes it is just easier to go through the drive through.  And if the drive through, for the same price, could offer that mother something healthy, why don't they? Pointing the finger does nothing more than pass the blame.  At some point, someone has to stand up and accept responsibility.  Just imagine what this world would look like if EVERYONE took responsibility. 

So that was the week before last's episode.  This past week's episode was super upsetting.  At first it looked like Jamie was winning.  The school he is at got permission for him to teach a class that involved him cooking for the entire school.  "Experiential learning."  He also had a family that he taught how to cook so that they could avoid eating so much fast food.  The amount of fast food consumed by that family was upsetting.  But the dad, who was a single father, was doing his best and he just needed better tools to take care of his family with.  Hopefully he keeps the ones that Jamie gave him and uses them regularly.

The episode was so upsetting because right at the very end Jamie got the news that his permits had been revoked.  He went to speak to the school board and this is what they said to him. (Click the this in that last sentence to see it).  They say that "Excellence has nothing to fear from observation."  So why are you so afraid of observation?! I am glad that the school and Jamie are going to fight them.  Although, the very fact that the show got moved to Friday nights just goes to show you that even though the show is already taped, he is still fighting that battle.

So here is my plug.  Go to abc.com and click on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  Then sign the petitions.  Educate yourself.  We deserve better as a county, and our children definitely deserve better.  We have no idea what the long term effects of the foods we feed them are going to be.  But if we do feed them all natural, good, wholesome food, then they will be healthier, and happier, for the rest of their lives.  They can also teach their children those habits.  And suddenly, you have generations of happy, healthy people.  So go, sign the petition, educate yourself, and take care of your future.

Day 2

I got up only half an hour late today! That is a victory in my book.

Then I worked out.  And made a decision.  My knee (the one from the car accident) is really bad.  It is getting weaker and more stiff every day.  I have decided to go see my doctor about proper support/braces, and to get some tips on strenghtening exercises.  I want to be able to run with the boy.  I want to be able to join JAG if I so choose.  But in order to do that, I have to make a change in relation to my knee.  So I am going to call the doctor tomorrow (I ran out of time today) and set up an appointment so I can start down that road.

I had a productive day.  That makes me happy.  I went across the river with my mum and went out to dinner with her.  I love her so much.  She has, and always will be, my best friend.  I have another best friend (love you Jelly) and plenty of other wonderful friends (read GHS, W&M, W&L - you know who you are) but it is truly wonderful to know that the person who brought you into the world is also your best friend.  I can tell her anything.  She is wonderful.  Dinner was wonderful.  I love you, Mommy.

Anyways...today was good.  Hopefully I can keep the streak up.  I will let you know what my doctor says.  AND I promise to post about Jamie Oliver before this weeks episode airs.  PROMISE! (I hope that I can keep that promise...). :)

Day 1

I overslept this morning.  That is not abnormal for me.  Apparently my mom went crazy with my alarms going off continually this morning.  I did manage to finally get up and work out immediately.  I have decided that working out has to happen first thing in the morning.  If I wait, I don't want to do it, my motivation is lacking, and I don't push myself as hard as I should.  So morning workouts from now on.  I also ate really well today. Yay me!

I was fairly productive as well.  Today was overall a good day.  It was a good way to start the streak.  Hopefully I can keep it going from now on!

Aside: I miss my lovelies. I miss them sooooo much.  I want to see them again, ASAP. So, lovelies, make it happen! :)

Stutter Start

So this week, I worked out even less than week.  And now I feel ill.  I think that is more stress than actually being ill.  But my mom came down with something, and we always seem to pass it back and forth between us FOR AGES.  So maybe it is a combination of illness and stress. 

I am going to try very hard to make working out work next week.  I am also going to try and be better about what I eat.  I need to get on a schedule, and work out everyday, because I can usually keep it up.  It's one of those things where when you work out, you feel better about yourself, which makes you want to work out more.  At least that is how it works for me.  I also eat better, because I have been working so hard to look better, I don't want to ruin it with what I am eating. 

This morning, I am going to go all out and eat chocolate chip waffles.  I am excited about them.  I might also do a short work out.  Then tomorrow I am going to work out regularly and try to be a better eater.

Wish me luck! :)

Missing you...

I wish you were coming home sooner rather than later. Oh well, I guess I will just have to remain patient.

I love you very, very much. :)

New Signature and Look

After about an hour of working at it, because I suck at all things technically related, I managed to create a signature for my blog.  My best friend calls me Peanut Butter.  So I decided to use "PB" as my signature.  I got the idea for the signature from a blog that I was looking at earlier today.  I liked it so I borrowed it.  I may change it later (now that I know how to!) but for now I am happy with it.  I think it is pretty nifty.  It was also pretty easy (once I got the hang out working html).  Doing this makes me want to take a computer class.  Writing that stuff should not have been that difficult for me.  I mean in high school I wrote an entire robotics program.  So I should at least have some kind of knowledge about it somewhere in my head.

I also decided to change the font.  That took significantly longer than the signature.  But I got it done.  Yay for me.

I also stopped while writing this blog post to help my dad replace the inner workings of the upstairs toilet.  It was very interesting and a valuable experience.  I feel like I am even more on my way to becoming a responsible grown-up who can fend for herself.  I like it! :)

Anyways, I hope you like the new look.  If you don't, feel free to give me ideas for how to change it/what do instead.  I am always open to suggestions! :)

Sleep Cycle and Working Out

For about the first week of being back from vacation I had an awesome sleep schedule.  I got about 9 hours of sleep a night, got up without any trouble in the morning, and fell asleep quickly at night.  I have no idea what happened but I have screwed it up.  I think that part of the problem is my nightmares.

See I have nightmares when I am stressed out.  Right now I am exceptionally stressed out.  I have Barbri and an RA position.  While this is not too much to juggle, it is still a good deal of work.  I am trying to recover from law school.  As a result I have little to no motivation.  I can get all my work done, and I do, but it stresses me out because I would rather be like everyone else, enjoying my summer.  I dislike the idea that I am not ever going to have an actual summer vacation again. Oh well, I guess that means I just have to grow up.

I have been doing okay with working out.  I have been trying to work out everyday but have not succeeded.  I worked out five of the seven days last week, which I think is pretty good for my first week of trying.  I am working on getting to six days a week.  My eating habits are all out of whack as well.  I eat breakfast every morning and then I don't usually eat again until dinner.  I need to get lunch in there somewhere.

Alrighty, it's late, and I am tired.  I am going to make a post about Jamie Oliver's newest episode here soon.  I am so indignant about what was happening, I feel like I am more upset then he is (which I am sure is not true, it just feels like it).  G'night.

Yay!

The bestest is here! This will make bar studying slightly harder, but totally worth it! :)

And we're BACK!

This is going to be a long one, so prepare yourself.  :)

So I know it has been a really long time since the last time I wrote anything.  Since then, I have graduated, gone on vacation, moved back home, and started reviewing for the bar.  My life has only recently settled into a routine that allows me to write again.  

If you know me, then you know how I feel about sleep, namely that I LOVE it. I decided, however, that in order to do everything I wanted to do in a day, I had to get up fairly early.  So this is what my daily schedule looks like:

Up between 8 and 8:30.
Exercise.
Breakfast.
Tanning (if the sun is out/available and it is not DEADLY hot, as my hometown tends to be).
Shower.
Lunch.
Barbri.
Barbri homework.
Dinner.
Free time.

I usually finish with Barbri stuff by 5:30/6:00.  So by about 7 p.m. I have done everything I wanted to do and I am free for the night.  I am also usually so tired that I want to just nap, so I do not really do anything.  My tiredness, coupled with the lack of things to do in this town, means that I basically sit at home.  This is perfectly acceptable to me.  

I am just doing P90X again for my exercise routine.  It worked so well previously that I am just going to stick with it.  I am not following the eating plan, I am sort of just using what I know about eating well to control what my "diet" is.  I am hoping that by the time the boy comes home I am back to where I was in February.

Speaking of which, the boy has been sent on a training deployment for the next thirty days.  I am not excited about it.  I miss him so much already. He also has to do a bunch of crazy, somewhat dangerous things, which makes me nervous.  I just cannot wait to wrap my arms around him again when he gets off the plane at the end of this month.

And finally, I am going to share something with you that saddens me greatly.  If you have been reading my blog recently (or a month ago since I just stopped posting), then you know that I am now infatuated with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  Apparently, the network decided that they were not going to be airing the remaining episodes in their original time slots.  Jamie has already taped all the episodes, so they are going to air them, at 9 p.m. on Friday starting sometime this June. What kinda crap is that?! No one is going to watch it then, but I guess that is the point.  So what exactly are they trying to hide? I will leave that question open to your own thought processes.

Alrighty, I am going to try and write more often.  We will see how that goes! :)

Everything Happens For A Reason

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Today, while sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to the Bahamas, I was reaffirmed in my belief.

As we were boarding I told my mom we were all hurrying to sit. Turns out I was more right than I knew. There was something wrong with our plane. We have now been assigned a new aircraft and are waiting for the okay to board. While waiting two people run up to a group waiting to board. They were all elated to see each other and started hugging and shouting. Apparently the two new people were not going to make their flight due to an emergency.  Because of the delay they made it. Something small happened to our plane, something that slightly inconvenienced us, and because of it these two people got the chance to make their flight and be with their families.

Love it!

Next Step

I stumbled upon this yesterday and I thought it was appropriate for the changes that are happening in my life:

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbour, co-worker, longest friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance.
They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts,
and We are never, ever the same.

And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realised your potential, strength, willpower, or heart. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you become.

Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count!! Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself; it will be hard for others to believe in you.

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

The people that I have met in law school have changed my life.  I know I sound like a broken record but they are simply amazing people who mean everything to me.  I am going to take everything I have learned from them with me and make myself into a better person.  They have helped me become the person I want to be.  Even the people that have hurt me in the past two years, the people who have said terrible, untrue things, or simply given up and walked away have changed my life.

So many profound, sad, and wonderful things have happened to me since I first stepped into Sydney Lewis Hall.  And so many profound, sad, and wonderful things await me in the next phase of my life.  I am terrified, elated, and saddened by this next step!

Goodbyes Are The Hardest Part

The worst part about opening a new chapter in life is closing the old one. I am so happy to be done with law school and so proud of everyone that I have been able to hide from my upset at saying goodbye. My friends, who have become my family and one of the best parts of me, are scattering. For the first time it is becoming real that in August we won't all be coming back to the same place. We won't see each other all the time. They will not be within walking distance whenever I want to be near them.

What I am realizing, though, is that goodbyes are not for keeps. The people that I have met here, that I have fallen in love with here, they will stay with me forever. They don't know it yet, but they can't get rid of me. When they are 90, sitting in their rocking chairs shaking their canes at the annoying children running in the street, they are still going to have to put up with me. So get ready everyone. Just because you are moving away, and on to the next chapter, you never get to close this one completely. Deal with it. ;)

Graduation

Hello blogging world.

I know it has been a while since I last posted but what with finishing up classes, papers, parents, graduation, packing, and good byes I just haven't had the time or inclination to sit down and write a post.

And truth be told, I still don't really have the inclination right now to write anything.  I just wanted to get on here to say a huge congratulations to everyone who graduated on Saturday.

We. Did. It. GO US! :)

Osama

Thank you to the military who made this possible. You are amazing people who do something I never could. This is for you & your loved ones. God bless the USA!

Viva la Revolution and Hockey?

I watched the second episode of Jamie Oliver's food revolution.  I did not learn anything quite as informative as I did last time but it is still a wonderful show.  I am unsure what the LA school system is trying to hide but they are certainly putting everything they have into keeping Jamie out.  My favorite part of the episode relates to Jamie trying to take over a fast food joint.  The owner says that Jamie wont be able to sell his burgers.  So Jamie creates some awesome sounding recipes and prepares them for people on the street.  The best part, he doesn't charge anyone.  He lets them pay what they thinks the burgers are worth.  It's brilliant.  He then starts selling them at the restaurant.  And people loved them! Cause let me tell you, people are not willing to give up their convenience but if convenience and health could be combined, most people would be willing to do it.  That is what Jamie is trying to do.  I am behind him all the way.  I love this show! I feel like I have said that already, but seriously, it is amazing.  Watch it on hulu.  It's worth the time.

Let's go FLYERS! Let's go FLYERS! Let's GO!

Yeahhhhhh.  Apparently I watch hockey now.  The Italian is obsessed with all sports things related to Philadelphia.  This creates some pretty serious conflict between us when we are in football season.  I bleed blue and he is an Eagles fan.  But I had no interest in hockey.  I did not, and truthfully don't now, really care about it.  The Flyers were playing Monday and I wanted to play pool at a local restaurant.  I had to get the Italian to come, so I volunteered to wear a Flyers' jersey if he came.  They won.  So now my superstitious friend wants me to keep wearing my jersey during game time, because it is the playoffs. So apparently I watch hockey now.  Oh well.  The Flyers will win the Stanley Cup and my friend will be super duper happy! Yay!

I am sure he is annoyed with me.  I don't understand anything about hockey or the rules.  So the entire game I am constantly like, what is that? why did that happen? wait, that's not allowed, right?!  But he is patient, which is nice.  And because I have some experience with other sports, it doesn't take me long to figure out the rules.  But hockey looks complicated to me.  I don't know, maybe it is because of all the physicality of it.  I get lost in the beatings.  Haha.

So, life is good right now.  I have to write a paper and read a book.  And then I am officially done with law school.  Or school at all for that matter! WOOT WOOT!  Then I have to do some housekeeping stuff and it is all about hanging out with my friends and making as many memories as we can before we disperse.  I don't want to leave them, but I am excited about the next step in my life.  Speaking of which, I applied to the NY bar yesterday! Come August of this year I will be a real, live lawyer.  Scary, I know! :)

Law School

Is ending! I am both excited and depressed about this fact.  My last "class" occurred Monday.  It is a strange feeling.  I am excited about being done with my obligations for purposes of this phase of my life but I am not excited about saying goodbye.  At least I get to take my best friend with my to New York!! That is exciting.

This weekend I hung out with my bestie and Ms. BH.  We went to Ms. Rowe's and got pie.  Now, that may not sound like that is something that awesome to you but it is AWESOME.  This pie has been rated as one of the top ten pies in the NATION.  And my oh my was it GOOD.  This is a picture:

Nom nom nom nom noooooooooom.

Then we rented a movie and bought two bottles of wine.  We watched Up in the Air.

SUCH a good movie.  It also got me thinking.  There is a portion of this movie where Ryan (George Clooney) gives this speech about "What's in Your Backpack?"  He asks a question that was asked last week in Church.  Although he asks it differently, the jist of the situation is: if your house caught on fire (or your backpack) what would you try and save?

I hope this didn't take you too long.  Cause you actually only have a split second.  For me, it's my roommate, my puppies, and if I have time, a flag given to me by my assistant principal.  It is from the Spanish Indian war and is framed in a frame made from the floor boards of John Marshall's home.  It is literally irreplaceable.  Everything else in my house could burn.  It would suck, and starting over would be terrible, but as long as all the people were okay, then it would be fine.  As my dad always said, people are people and are irreplaceable, things are things and you can always get new things.  Don't cry over things that can't cry over you.

Don't get me wrong.  I love my things.  I really really do.  But I love my people more.  I know that I can get through anything.  And the horrible truth is that as a human being, I can get through absolutely anything COMPLETELY alone.  Humans have strong survival instincts. It's what we do.  We can lose everything, including all the people who know and love, and survive.  We create new relationships and we become close to new people.  I know I can survive anything.  I also know that my life would not be as complete as it is if the people in it were not here.  I can survive without a single material thing, as long as I have these people surrounding me.  I can be anything as long as these people believe in me.  And that is what I kept thinking during the movie - when Ryan speaks about how your relationships are the heaviest thing you carry with you in your life, I realized he is right.  But not in the way that he thinks he is. Relationships can be both the heaviest thing you carry and the easiest.  If they are good, they are sturdy.  Sturdy and solid.  Sometimes they need you and sometimes you need them.  They support you and help you grow.  I love all my relationships, both past and present.

I went to trivia last night.  We WON! Pray for Mojo FTW! We won both the deserts and the gift certificate.  It was awesome! :)  If you are in the area, you should go, cause it is amazing!

Trivia and TV

Trivia night was awesome! It was at a place in a nearby town called Mockingbird.  So much fun.  We are totally going again next week.  Mr. B won us free desert with his answer to the "shot" question.  We had tiramisu and a napoleon.  They were delicious.  I also got to eat a burger for the first time in a while because the restaurant we were at had a policy of using local and organic farmers.  Delicious!! :) (Although, after learning what I have, which you will learn too if you keep reading, I am beginning to question my decision on that burger.  But it was really really delicious and given their policies I feel safer eating burger there than I do somewhere else).

Now I am going to talk about this awesome show I learned about, purely on accident, tonight: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

I had never seen Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution before.  As a result of tonight's episode I will never, EVER eat ground beef bought from anywhere other than a butcher who I watch make it.  Here are the basics:

When beef manufacturers make meat, there is certain meat that is technically not fit for human consumption.  This meat is around the organs of the cow and can be contaminated with things like e. coli.  In order to make it fit for human consumption manufacturers "wash" the meat with ammonia.  YES, you read that right, they wash the meat with ammonia.  Then, the USDA allows these meat manufacturers to put up to 15%, FIFTEEN PERCENT, in the ground beef that they sell.  OMG. That is one of the most disgusting things I have ever learned about food.  To make it even worse, they do not have to tell you whether they participate in this practice, or what percentage of the meat is this "pink sludge".  SOO odds are every package of ground beef you buy is 15% ammonia washed meat.  Gross.

The other thing I learned from Jamie Oliver, who has a convert in me, was that the amount of sugar in flavored milk consumed by children in the Los Angeles area in a week is enough to fill a school bus and then some! No wonder obesity is such a huge problem in this country.

This is a picture of what I am describing.  Can you believe that part of the reason justifying giving children flavored milk is that when flavored milk is taken out of school, their milk consumption decreases.  Well no duh.  When you offer a child something sugary and sweet they are going to take it over something else.  It doesn't matter what the other option is.  Teach children to eat healthy, to want milk, and they will drink it.  This is not an issue with the child, it is an issue with the parents.  People are unaware of what is in their food; they are unaware of what they are feeding their children.  They are either not educating themselves, oblivious, apathetic, or potentially to busy to notice.  But people need to know what they are eating.  They need to know where their food comes from.  They need to know what they are giving to their children.  And more importantly they need to know what is being given to their children by people other than them.

Alrighty, I am climbing off my high horse now.  :)

Trivia

Word up?

Anyways, I am going to go to a Trivia night with some of my friends in a nearby town tonight.  I am excited about it.  It is going to be *most* of my good friends and it should be fun.  I will update you tomorrow.

I started working out again today.  I am hoping to succeed in losing five pounds within the next four weeks for graduation.  I don't see why I can't do it, as long as I remain dedicated to working out and eating right.  I will keep you updated on that as well.

P.S. For those of you who know me, you know that I am adverse to politics but can I just say THANK GOODNESS Glen Beck is leaving Fox "News"! I am so very happy about that.

Forgotten

This morning my clinic went to the Augusta County Correctional Facility.  My fearless leader did not tell us that we needed IDs and apparently I am the only person who does not carry their driver's license with them everywhere they go.  So I got to sit outside in the minivan (because my fearless leader drives a minivan) and read a magazine pointed at defense attorneys.  When I finished that, I played angry birds on my friend's phone.  It was beautiful outside and I was actually very happy to sit in the sun and read.  I was not personally violated by the female officer to ensure that I was not trying to smuggle something into my illicit jailed lover.  So overall it was a pretty good morning.  The articles were actually significantly more interesting than I expected.

The first article I read was about gun shot trajectory and how the science behind it saved someone's life.  It was a fascinating article about a man who was attacked by a member of the Bandidos biker gang.  Apparently these guys are some pretty bad dudes.  The defendant shot him to defend himself.  The prosecutor, who was afraid of the biker gang (again, pretty bad dudes), charged him with involuntary manslaughter.  The defendant's sister-in-law, the dead gang member's girlfriend, testified that her boyfriend struck the defendant and then start to walk away.  The defendant pulled his gun, shot the boyfriend, paused, and then shot him again.  The defendant, and the evidence, told a very different story.

The defendant's story, and the one supported by the evidence, was that the Bandido gang member attacked the defendant and as he was be attacked, he pulled his gun and shot the gang member twice, firing three shots.  The second shot was immediately fatal.  It was fascinating to learn that the prosecution, even presented with this evidence, and knowing that none of their evidence disproved the defendant's claim, or even really proved their claim, still prosecuted him.  Thankfully the jury did the right thing and acquitted the defendant.

The second article I read was about a woman who was falsely accused of molesting her students, who were children.  I did not like the tone of the article, because it called the children "little accusers" and basically made them and their parents out to be dirty, lying people out to get this woman.  It is possible that the parents were, but the children cannot be blamed for their parents.  The article was good, and I got the thought process behind it, but I thought it was poorly written.

I also read a few book reviews.  One of them sounds fascinating and I am contemplating buying it to read it.  It is $14 and part of me is hesitant because I don't want it to be bad.  I may buy it because it could help with my paper for clinic.  I will let you know more later, depending on what I decide.

After reading almost the entire magazine I played Angry Birds Rio on my friend's phone.  It is pretty awesome.  So awesome, in fact, that I came home and got it on my own phone!

As a weird, non-related, side note - yesterday in church our guest pastor (who is also my host family "granddad") said that the other guest pastor (yes we had two yesterday) was from Florida - "or as we like to call it, God's waiting room."  So I wanted to share that with everyone, but mostly *E and The Italian.  We should totally all buy that house and move to FL together.  It could be spring break 2011 FOREVER! :)

Cleanse

So on Monday I started the Raw Food Cleanse.  It is basically you can only eat raw fruits and vegetables.  You make smoothies, and the green ones are so disgusting, and eat raw fruits and vegetables.  I was planning on doing it for a week but I had to stop yesterday. 

Embarrassing story:
My clinic went to the Roanoke Department of Forensic Science as a "field trip."  We are walking around the lab, getting a tour, learning lots of new stuff, and I start to feel terrible.  Wave after wave of cold and then hot.  Then I realize what is happening, I am about to pass out.  I pull my friend to the side and I tell her that I am getting ready to pass out and that if I start going down I need her to catch me.  She has some string cheese which she hands me.  I had to make a decision - eat the string cheese and hopefully don't pass out, or don't eat it and absolutely pass out.  So I ate it.  I ate it sitting down in the hallway in front of the tour guide and my entire clinic.  They all kept looking at me and it made me a bit uncomfortable.  It was embarrassing knowing that I am about to pass out in front of everyone.  It helped a teeny bit but not a lot.  So when we went out to lunch, given that I didn't have enough to eat with me, I had to eat lunch.  So I quit the cleanse.

That makes me sad. I really wanted to do a cleanse.  But now I have to get serious about working out and eating healthy.  I weigh about what I weighed before spring break but I would like to lose a bit more weight.  I am going to start working out this week and then get back into my regiment on Monday.

Onto other news - I am graduating exactly a month from today! Yay! Then its onto spending time with my friends, family vacation, bar studying and apartment hunting.  Woot woot! Life is good.

Cleanse - Day 1

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.  That is all I have to say about this stupid smoothie I have been drinking.  It is celery, spinach, apple, and cucumber.  It's nasty.

I will give more details about my cleanse later. Get excited.

Softball and Friends

This weekend is the softball tournament at UVA.  For the first time in my three years of law school, I have signed up to play.  We showed up last night, two girls short, and had to forfeit.  Luckily there was a nice group of people from Boston who played a pick-up game with us.  It was so much fun. 

My friend from W&M, a fantastic girl I met in self-defense class, *M is playing in the tournament this weekend as well.  We met up last night and she played the pick-up game with us.  Then we went to dinner and tried to go out to drinks but failed.  We are going to hang out tonight, and hopefully be successful in drinks.

Anyways, I have some homework to do, and some food to cook, and then I am going to be headed out to the games. :)

Better but not 100%

I feel better today but I don't feel fantastic.  I am going to go to bed early to see if we cannot maintain the upward direction of how I am feeling.

I am pretty much done with law school.  I have a couple of things standing between me and graduation but they are small and just time consuming.  I am kind of excited about it being almost over.  I am also not excited about it being over.  I want to stay in one place with all my friends for longer.  I don't want us to scatter.  I want us all to live in the same place for the rest of our lives.  I know this cannot happen, and I know we all need to get away from this place, but I don't want us to separate.

Anyways, getting ready for bed right now.  I have an errand to run before bed, but I am going to bed soon.  Hopefully I can get rid of the remnants of my illness before softball tomorrow.

SICK

I have a stomach virus or some such thing.  Moving hurts.  I have been like this for a little over 24 hours.  It has just gotten progressively worse.  I almost couldn't sleep last night the pain was so bad.  I am hoping it is a 24 hours bug and leaves me soon.  Until then, in bed, watching TV and drinking plenty of fluids (assuming I can move to get them).

Bragging (A Teeny Bit)

Given that I love sleeping, more than I love just about anything else in the world.  And I don't have to be up for another hourish, I want to brag a little that I am awake and getting ready to work out! :)

Chest and back here I come!

All-Nighter and Pasta

I pulled an almost all-nighter last night.  It was an almost all nighter because I slept for about three hours.  It was all my fault.  I am the worst procrastinator ever.  Don't get me wrong, I get my work done and I do it well, but when I am not in a job related situation, and I can have all night, I tend to take it.  I completely re-wrote a pleading, edited a ten page memo (adding four extra pages), and edited a brief (adding three extra pages), in about six hours (while watching TV).  Then I napped and spent some time editing the grammatical errors, citations, and filling out a time sheet.  I am sure I missed some words but overall the documents are strong and I am proud of them.  Being the complete gunner that I am, I want to edit it one more time and send in my new edits.  I think I wont do that.  I might mention something about it to the professor and see what he says.

Tonight the Italian is making dinner.  I am excited.  He is an amazing cook and I love to eat.  It is going to be a good combination.  I cannot stay long, because I have to get up early tomorrow, but I am looking forward to it.

I did not exercise today (nor do I plan to).  I am going to exercise tomorrow before I start my errands.  I am also going to clean my house tomorrow.  Now that the assignment I handed in today is done, I have very little standing between me and graduation! :)

I also failed at eating so far today.  I am sooooo hungry.  I am going to have to get a snack before dinner.

Also, I want to chop my hair off.

Church and Basketball

I went to church this morning.  I didn't realize how much I have missed being in church until this morning. I think that the part that I enjoy most about this church is the fellowship and friendship that every single one of the members displays to everyone.  There were guests today and people came from other parts of the church to make sure that the guests felt welcome.  That is a rare occasion anywhere, but it especially surprises me in a church.  I know that may sound odd to people but in my experience churches are the biggest clique I have ever encountered.  And as we all know, trying to become a member of an already established group is one of the hardest things in life.  This church makes a point of welcoming people and making sure that they know that their presence is noticed and appreciated.  The other great thing about this church is the new pastor.  He is so wonderful.  He is charismatic, funny, intelligent, and a great public speaker.  His sermons are always interesting and never long.  He truly is a great man.

I know that church and basketball don't usually go together but we watched the VCU v. Kansas game after church today. We watched it because we are from Virginia and we enjoy watching Virginia teams.  So, GO RAMS! Final Four.  (Also, I realize that if you know me it is surprising that I watch basketball.  I started with the boy's school team and started to sort of enjoy it.  It can be pretty interesting.)

Anyways, back to working out tomorrow.  I am also going back to monitoring what I eat.  I stopped during spring break and I need to start again.  I know I feel better when I eat better.  So my goal is to gradually get back to where I was before spring break both in eating and working out.  Wish me luck!

Confession

I've got another confession to make - I miss you.  I do.  I don't want you back in my life, cause the truth is that it is so much better without you and your drama.  But I miss you.  I miss what we had.  I miss the security that your friendship gave me in the uncertain times of my life.  I miss your support.  I miss your laugh.  I miss your smile.  I miss our fun.

I've got another confession to make - I don't miss you.  I miss what I thought we were.  I  miss what I thought we had.  I miss my belief in the security of our friendship.  I miss the safety that I made myself feel.  I don't miss your drama.  I don't miss your mistrust.  I don't miss your judgments or your opinions.

You were a part of me for a long time.  And sometimes that is hard to let ago.  I think the first step to healing is admitting.  So I am admitting.  Sometimes, when life becomes overwhelming and I am tired, I miss you.  And then I think about how you walked away and I realize that I don't miss you - that you were not as great of a friend as I made you out to be.  And then, I still miss you.  I guess that is what happens when you love someone completely and then you lose them.  You understand that you were not right for each other, that you did not mesh, that things were not perfect - that, in fact, you were never really friends, but you still ache for them.

You are a good person.  You are just not a good person for my life. Thank you for walking away.  Thank you for severing ties.  Thank you for allowing me the space and time to heal and better myself.  I wish you all the best.  Please don't ever try and come back.

Long time...

...no talk.

What up blogging world?  I am so bad at this updating thing, you would almost think I don't have a blog.

On the fitness front: I have been TERRIBLE.  I tried to work out during my spring break (which was the second week of March) and succeeded four of the eight days we were gone.  I tried to make a post from my phone on the way home but it did not work.  Anyways, one of my friends, The Italian, worked out with me most of the days.  It was pretty fun.  Since coming back for spring break (the past two weeks), I have failed miserably.  I am averaging maybe three days of exercise a week, if I am lucky.  My plan is to fully jump back on the bandwagon this coming Monday.

Personal front: Spring break/awesome friends/puppy time/getting to see the boyfriend again have all helped to bring me out of my slump.  The Italian and I made dinner one of the nights we were in Florida and we each drank a bottle of wine while cooking.  We then proceeded to be partners in a game of bang and drink adult chocolate milk (introduced to me by the Italian).  This was just one of many epic nights in Florida.  I truly love my friends and am oh so very blessed to have them.

Odd comment front: A girl I met in college, and have remained friends with on facebook, got married yesterday.  I am super happy for her, she looks happy in all of her pictures and he seems to love her very much.  But that isn't what my comment is about.  R and I have been talking about getting married lately and everyone I know that is in the process of getting or already married keeps telling me that my wedding isn't for me, its for everyone else.  I am firmly against this.  I want my wedding day to be what I want it to be and not what everyone else thinks it should be.  That is why I admire this girl so much.  She married into the military and was forced to move her wedding date up 8 months due to some military stuff.  I saw her wedding album today and she got married in a purple dress with the cutest red high heels.  She had a small ceremony, with none of the traditional stuff, and looks incredibly happy in EVERY SINGLE PICTURE.  I have been in two weddings, and been to more, and have seen wedding pictures where the couple is clearing unhappy with what is happening but are obliging their families.  It is nice to see someone who wants their family to be happy (I am of course assuming this given what I know of her from school) but is still willing to exert themselves and have their day the way they want it.  So, anyways - congratulations to the newlyweds, may everything in your new life be exactly as you hope it will be.

Miscellaneous Life Front: Still planning to move to New York.  Still graduating in May.  Still drowning in school work.  Still just trying to make it to the finish line, only to start the next race. :)

Back on the Band Wagon

I have started working out again.  Due to sickness and craziness in my life I stopped for about a week and a half.  I started back up again last night.  I didn't do ab ripper like I was supposed because I was too tired, but I did do Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps.  It was a deadly work out.  I don't know if it was because I have not been working out, or if it was just a really hard work out, but I wanted to die.  TERRIBLE.  My arms are heavy this morning.  Today is plyo.  I am not looking forward to it. 

In other news - I have made a big life decision that I am quite content with.  I am moving to New York in July (after the bar) with my bestest friend in the whole wide world.  We are going to go up there, with no plan and what little monies we have, and make a life for ourselves.  We are going to be there for at least a year (then we may be headed to FL or TX - it is undecided as of yet, things out of our hands will make that decision for us).  I am super excited about this idea.  With her I truly feel like I can make it through anything.  I have said it before, and I will say it again, I am blessed with two great loves.  I have the boy who stands beside me no matter what and this amazing girl who loves me and makes me believe that I can do anything.  I am the luckiest girl in the world.  So, yeah - look out New York, here we come!! :)

Also, I have lost about six pounds total (I was down to about 10 but I gained some back during my work out hiatus).  I weigh less than I have weighed since I was a sophomore in high school! I just need to keep it up.  I have developed a bad relationship with food as of late (as in there is no relationship because I have stopped eating).  I need to get back into the habit of getting up and making breakfast, eating lunch, and then dinner.  I also have to stop with the terrible eating of cookies and candy that I have started doing. 

I think my poor relationship with food is the result of my current low mood.  I have slumped pretty bad.  But here in a bit more than two days I am going to be heading to FL with some of the best people I know.  It is going to be awesome.  We are road tripping down and then staying at the beach for a week.  It is going to be amazing and I feel sorry for the rest of the world because they cannot participate in our awesomeness. 

Anyhoes, sorry about the randomness of this post.  I guess if you have been reading any of them, you have realized that they are all random. :)

Sickness - Feb. 23rd entry

I am terrible - I wrote this on Feb. 23rd and never posted it.  But here, you can have it now. :)

It has finally caught up to me.  I am feeling really ill.  Luckily, I am on the "rest week" phase of P90X.  I am still trying to do the workouts but so far this week have failed.  I worked out on Monday by playing floor hockey.  We WON! (In a shootout, but where you need seven players to play, and only eight showed up (with three of them being girls) this is a pretty big accomplishment).  I get to play floor hockey again tomorrow, which should be awesome fun-ness.

Wow

So, it's been almost a month since my last post.  Since then I have done the first two weeks of P90X and am on my third week.  I have lost about seven pounds since I started working out and weigh less than I have weighed in about seven years.  I finally feel pretty good about my body, which is a nice change.  I wish I could make my stomach smaller, but I think that I just have to accept that I am always going to have a little bump there.

My physical health is at an all time high right now.  My emotional health is at an all-time low.  I am emotionally exhausted.  I think it is because I have to figure out what happens come May (which is only 3 months away - ahhhhh!).  I am trying to figure out which bar I am going to take.  On top of that, I have so much school work to do, and a trial in two weeks.  My life feels like it is out of control, and I have no energy left to fix it.  I can get motivated to do certain things, like walk my dog, make my breakfast smoothie, and exercise, but not to do the things that I really need to do, like school work.  This too shall pass (I hope).

On a different note.  I joined a website - skinnyo.com - which is a pretty awesome health related website.  It was introduced to me by Mrs. B.  I like it.  Feel free to follow me on it.  Just search for Karmella.  My picture is attached to my name.

Alrighty.  I promise to try and do better with the posting.  I don't promise everyday, but I do promise to try for at least once a week.  I know I have been terrible, but hey, it's not like anyone reads this thing anyway, right? :)

Update FAIL

So I have failed at updating this blog...but I have not failed at working out.  In fact, last week I worked out SIX days.  I have lost about five pounds.  My pants are becoming too big!! YAY SUCCESS.

I am contemplating starting the P90X diet.  I am doing a really good job of eating breakfast EVERY morning (including weekends) and staying on track with eating for the rest of the day. 

I bought a knee brace for my knee.  It did not help much.  So yesterday, because my knee has been hurting, I just got on the elliptical for an hour instead of doing plyometrics.  On Sunday I pulled my hamstring and a muscle in my lower back.  I took Monday off and have been working out every day since.  I am super happy with my progress, and really hoping I can keep it up.

Because of immersion that is pretty much all I have time to tell you right now.  More to come.

Update

I had a rather successful week last week on the working out front.  I managed to work out four days last week!  I also started keeping a fitness journal.

I am going to start, for reals, working out this week.  I am going to be sticking with P90X because it has worked so well for me in the past.

I am also going to try and update this blog more.  The first two weeks of school look as though they are going to kill me; but I am going to find the time to work out, and hopefully to update this blog.

Anyways, Happy New Year everybody!! I hope that 2011 is better than 2010 in every way! :)

Also, I need ideas on things to write about, so if you have any...kthanks!