Vegas Baby!!

The Hubs and I and another couple went to Vegas for a week. (Who does that?!) Yes, a whole week. We stayed in a time share just off the strip. I had never been to Vegas before and the Hubs had only been once for a trade show, so really, this was our first experience.

Neither one of us a gamblers, so we did not really know what to expect.

So we left Friday the 9th for our trip. We do not fly that often, so I cannot say we usually fly XYZ company, but this time we flew with Delta and I must say, never again (well, unless the price is too good). We were supposed to leave BWI at 530pm EST and connect to our flight in Memphis and be in Vegas at 850pm PST. Well due to weather in Altanta we left over an hour late. So for that hour we were stuck on the plane. All they kept saying was they were rerouting. So there were like 11 different connecting flights in Memphis that were missed by various passenger. We were stuck in Memphis for the night. We got vouchers for new flights, hotel, and food. The flight and hotel I was cool about, but Delta gave us $6 each for 2 meals. What the hell were we supposed to eat for $6 each? So we stayed at the Radisson for the night and ate there for dinner and breakfast, which both sucked and was not covered by the $6. The room was fine and they had Sleep Number beds which were nice to try out.

The best part of the holdover was the next day when we got to fly first class from Memphis to Vegas. First Class baby, yeah. Having never flown first class before, let me just say this is the way to fly. To bad I can't afford it.

So finally Saturday morning we made it to Vegas. We did so much I cannot remember it all. We went to the pool, I got a tan, we went clubbing, gambling, to shows, to Nevada's only vineyard, had fabulous meals, and did A LOT of walking. I even had to go shopping and by some walkable shoes that were not tennis shoes. Oh yeah, I even went to the gym.

I was also able to check of some of the items on my 101 in 1001.

15. Go to Vegas

18. Go to a Vineyard

19. Actually take Pictures during my travels

31. Eat at 10 new restaurants

97. See Cirque du Soleil

Some photos:

Various Hotels

We went to Serendipity the Ice Cream Shoppe. I tried to go to the New York location when we were there, but it was an 1.5 hour wait and that was not worth it to me. They are famous for their Frozen Hot Chocolate and if you ever get a chance to try one I highly recommend it. I meant to take a pic of the one we got, but since I always forget to take pics...I forgot. We did get a shot of someone else's though.

We got to see the water show at the Bellagio.

We went to a Winery. Yes, Nevada, the middle of the desert, has one winery. It is about 1 hour north of Las Vegas. The proprietor is so friendly and funny and they do complimentary tastings. I have never been to one that did not cost some money. It is never a lot, but it has always cost something. Many of their wines are made from grapes for nearby states, because it is a desert. But they do have a small vineyard and they do make some wines there. I think this is the first year they have been able to harvest the grapes and make a sellable product. They also have a wonderful restaurant that has some of the best lobster bisque I have ever tasted. If you ever go to Vegas, take a couple of hours and drive to Pahrump Winery. It is worth the trip.

We also had an opportunity to see an NBA summer league game and it so happens that the Wizards were playing. We got to see the #1 draft pick John Wall in action. We also saw some of the other players walking through the hotels and playing in the casinos. I didn't know who they were, but the Hubs did.

We saw Cirque du Soleil, something I have been dying to do for years. You cannot take pics inside, but you have got to go. We saw KA at MGM Grand. Even the Hubs was in awe. The martial arts is amazing and it has a story line that can be followed. We only got to see one show on this trip, but it was so worth it. And our seats were fantastic.

We rode on the gondolas in the Venetian, but those pics sucked. We went to Studio54 in MGM Grand. And we ate at some amazing restaurants, but they deserve a post of their own. We ate at RM Seafood and StripSteak both in Mandalay Bay. Plus we had coupons that we got from restaurant.com.

I think we walked through every hotel/casino on the strip. My dogs were barking at the end of the day. I definitely needed the extra days off from work when we got back. But I definitely needed this vacation and I enjoyed it immensely.

I want to get away, I want to flyyyy away!!

Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far...far away from here. (said in my best Je-nay voice from Forrest Gump)

Oh yes, I need a vacation. Yes, that is a NEED. I am exhausted. Right now I would not even care where I went. If someone said, you wanna go to Wisconsin or Iowa, I would be all for it. (Nothing against Wisconsin or Iowa, but they are not on my top list of vacation destinations). Sorry. I have no motivation for school, exercising, or eating appropriately. I have been taking copious naps or just going to bed early. And no, I am not pregnant. (Before anyone asks).

Lucky for me in about 2 weeks I will be on my way to Vegas, baby. I have never been there and I cannot wait. On top of that with my days off and the days I will be gone I will be off of work for a little less than 2 weeks. OMG I cannot wait.

It has been a while since I had a vacation. Well, I did go visit some friends in NC for a long weekend. I love going there, would even consider moving there, but it was not the greatest trip. First, the Hubs' truck was broken into the night before we left. Yes, one night without an alarm on the vehicle and someone broke into it. So, we were going to cancel, but after that I just felt we really needed to get away. So instead of leaving early in the morning we left much, much later. After car repairs. Then after being down there for one day, I got sick. I mean real sick. I will spare you the gory details, but it was bad. There is nothing worse than being sick when you are away from home. So I am not even sure I can count that as a vacation.

I did have a girls weekend in AC, but I am starting to realize a weekend is just not long enough.

So I will be spending 1 week in Vegas. Yes, I know that is a long time for Vegas, but I have found some off the strip things to do. And I need this. Hopefully I will come back tanned and rejuvenated. CANNOT. WAIT.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Yesterday the Hubs and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. I cannot believe one year has passed so quickly. The thought is just crazy. I had a great day too...would have been even better if I did not have to go to work. Lesson learned though. We have decided that we will not work the day of our anniversary (or whatever day we are celebrating it) any more.

So, Sunday morning we exchanged gifts. (More on that in a minute.) Went to work. Came home. Then went to dinner. We went to Oceanaire in DC. I love this restaurant. While we were there we were trying to figure out the last time we were there. We know it was for Valentine's Day one year, but we couldn't remember when. Needless to say, it had been years since we had been there and it was far to long of a gap in visits. The food there is de.li.cious. Every day the menu has subtle changes based on what is good at the market. It is also recognized by Slow Food DC as being a restaurant that buys as much local and sustainable food as possible. This is something that is very important to me. Also Executive Chef, Rob Klink, has become a staunch advocate in protecting marine life. So not only did we enjoy amazing seafood, but I could feel at peace eating it, which made it taste even better. They also made special menus for us celebrating our anniversary and we were able to keep them. It was actually the Hubs' idea...he is sentimental like that. One of the many reasons I love him.

Also as part of our Anniversary Celebration, they gave us a wonderful dessert. I believe it was called the Baked Alaskan, but it was a fine layer of chocolate cake, topped with strawberry ice cream (it tasted homemade, but I am not sure), topped with whipped cream. Then it is drizzled with 151 and flambe. OMG. This was so good. I wish I was not stuffed because I really wanted to eat.it.all.

So back to gifts. My DH knows how I love a certain accessory. No it is not jewelry, but it is jewelry for me. I love purses. I am not a jewelry person. I wear the same earrings every day and I only wear rings because they are my wedding set. Other than that it is a rare occasion. But give me a good purse and it will kick up my outfit a notch. You can look stylish in jeans and a t-shirt with the right purse. I will admit I was not expecting this, but I was definitely loving it. This picture I am about to show does not even do it justice, but if you see me in the near future I am sure I will be rocking it hard.

What did I get the Hubs you ask. I got him the Extreme Driving Stock Car Driving Experience at Try It Racing. So he will get to drive at neck breaking speeds around a racetrack. What was I thinking. God I hope he does not hurt himself. I will be riding along for 5 laps. NOT WITH HIM THOUGH. With a professional. I ain't tryna get killed. Nope. But I think this will be so fun. His guy friends are jealous. And to top it off he thinks my gift to him way outdid his gift to me. What is he crazy?

Anyway, all in all I think we had a fabulous 1 year anniversary experience. Cannot wait til next year.

Venus Williams, what are you thinking?

Its tennis time again. It has been going on for a couple of days now and I could not be more excited. I got to see my favorite tennis player in action, Rafael Nadal, and he looked like he was back to his old self, pre injuries.

Well, today I was watching tennis and Venus Williams was playing. Well actually its going on right now and her outfit is so crazy I had to take my attention away from my favorite sport to blog about it. Now I had seen pictures of it a couple of days ago, but seeing her with this outfit on while she is playing...no words to describe it. I am sorry I missed her first match because the commentators are not commenting on it and I wonder if they are just trying to ignore it or if all the comments are over. It is so distracting. But it is taking my mind off of her semi lackluster performance.

What is that lingerie? How much money does she have for a clothing allowance? And this is what she chooses. Where are her people to tell you "umm no honey, uh uh. Not this time. Keep it in the bedroom"?

Are parts of this outfit see through? Has she not seen what other tennis players where?

Oh, and here is the money shot....

Is that her ass? Nope. It is her flesh colored bloomers. WHO DOES THAT? Of the Williams sister, Venus is my favorite. But I think she needs a real friend to tell her this was a HUGE mistake.

The Battle with my Skin

Back in February about a week or two into the Blizzard of 2010 my forehead started breaking out. I have never really had issues with acne so this was new to me. I mean, I have gotten the occasional bump here and there, treated it, and it was gone. But this was different. My entire forehead was breaking out and no matter what I did it would not go away.

I knew it had something to do with my anxiety over all the snow. I don't know what my issue was, but I just felt like it (meaning the snow) was never going to go away. I started thinking maybe I had SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) or whatever that commercial is about how the cold and winter affect your mood. I don't know, maybe I do. But anyway, my forehead was breaking out and it was not going away.

So I had to think of something. Several of my nesties use the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) and they say it is great for acne so I thought I would give it a try. The method involves mixing oils to clean your skin. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it does work. Anyway the method calls for using sunflower oil and of course I am allergic to that so I had to try something else. Several nesties said that they used jojoba oil instead. Bet, I had that in the house anyway. So I used the jojoba oil a couple of days to clean my skin. OMG, what a mistake for MY skin. The rest of my face looked great, but my forehead got even worse. It was not the substitute oil for my skin. Huge no no for me. I was about to give up this method, but I thought I would give it another try. So i mixed EVOO and castor oil and added a couple of drops of tea tree oil. OMG, wonders for my skin. The acne started drying out and clearing up.

I also to some micro-retin-A from the Hubs that he got from the dermatologist and started putting that on the affected area.

I also was coming to the end of my conventional moisturizer for my face, so I went ahead a bought the number 1 rated moisturizer by the EWG from Keys. While there I also bought their Healing Foaming Face Wash. I have started using both every day and my skin is 95% back to its old self.

So now I am a person with a face regimen. So every day I clean my face with the face wash and moisturize. Then once a week I do the OCM. It works for my skin. I will go into more detail about my version of the OCM soon. I am so happy to have my skin back. It has been a little over a month, but it has finally happened. So that has been my battle. I have made some mistakes but now I have products in my life that will be there for a long time.

The Sunset

This is for the Hubs. He is so frustrated with where we live and most of the time I don't blame him. We moved to this condo thinking it would be a great investment opportunity and a nice starter home. It is a revitalization area and because of the nationwide economic turndown, it has taken a little longer to become a nice area that either of us anticipated. They are still building in the area, which is a good sign, but some of the bad parts have not turned around as quickly. I still believe that this home was a good investment. It is close to the Metro and close to DC. Those things are always a plus. But the Hubs is not impressed. And he is getting frustrated. But sometimes when I look out the window I do not see all of the negatives. I see this.

Yes, I know if the nasty building outside my window was gone the view would be 1000 times better. But it was still a beautiful site. Watching the sun disappear behind the trees, ah, you just know that something so beautiful did not happen by accident. And yes if I were a better photographer the true beauty of the scene could have been captured. But this reminds me that sometimes life isn't as bad as we think. Because I did not "plan" to view this sunset. It was just a beautiful night and I happened to look out the window and there it was. It was just what I needed right at that time. I will have to remind the Hubs to take a look up sometimes and not always look down.

And it just happens to check off another item on my list.

I didn't even know I had a...

CROCK POT.

How long have I had one?? No idea. I think my mother-in-law got it for us when we moved in, so that would be 2007. Yeah, that long ago. I was recently telling the Hubs that I wanted to get one so we could start having more home cooked meals. And everyone was telling me how easy it was. I was about to go buy one. Then I come home the other day and apparently the Hubs found it in the closet. Then he asks if I knew it was there. Um, no. So I am off to find some recipes.

Another great thing is I have been wanting to get away from canned beans. I have been reading that a great way to cook dried beans is in the crock pot and then freezing them. So yeah, I am excited. On my way to being a domestic wife...well, maybe.

Updates

I have been so busy lately I have not been updating my blog. I don't think it is that I have been very busy, just not managing my time very well. Ever since the snow in the beginning of February I have not felt like myself. I cannot wait for Spring. I feel much more alive and ready for the world when the weather is nice. So what has been going on...

After 1 year of having different hours and different days off than the Hubs we will finally have the same hours...we may even have one day off together, don't know yet. I will miss the people I currently work with and I know I will not enjoy my work life as much, but this will be great for my life outside of work. The Hubs has been trying to be positive and act like the different schedules was not bothering him (one of the reasons I love him), but he could not hide his excitement when he found out. So I am happy about this change coming.

I have not been working out consistently. I know my weight is up and for the first time I do not want to get on the scale. I have got to get my motivation back I just don't know how. I am hoping that with the coming of nice weather my motivation will return. I have definitely decided that I am going to get back into swimming. It is the one exercise I think I can stick with. I found an online training site that does speed drills and stroke drills, etc. so I am excited. Especially since one of my goals for 101 in 1001 is to swim 300 hours and I have not done 1 minute, not a one.

My skin and I are having a battle. I have never had acne or bad skin so this is new territory for me. I have been trying different things and I see progress being made and I have come up with a new routine for my face and its cleaning and will be updating that. Luckily it is only one section of my forehead I am battling with, but it is enough. And in my process of trying to make it better, I initially made it worse. So I will discuss the good and the bad.

I have been reading books, so I have some updates on what I have been reading.

I bought some green products and some ingredients to make my own and will be updating that.

I have been slacking on school. This is part of my all around lack of motivation. Luckily I am in an online program and they are very understanding of working schedules so it has not impacted my grade even though I have been submitting late assignments, but this is not like me. I am working on improving this as well.

So what is my explanation for my overall slackdom and lack of motivation... I am blaming it all on the Snowpacolypse, the Snowmaggedon, the 55+ inches that have poured down on the DC area in the last couple of months. I felt like all that weight of the snow was on me and I could just not get from under it. But as the snow melts, the heaviness and lack of life I have been feeling is melting away as well. New life. Yes. And that is what has been going on in a nutshell.

Holidays

I know I have been MIA for a while. It is due to the holidays. I find them physically and mentally exhausting. I love my family and despite what they think I love being around them; it just drains me. I have had the energy for this in the past because I normally take 2-3 weeks off of work during this season. That gives me the time I need to recuperate. I did not do that this year because I am trying to replenish the leave I used for the wedding and the Hubs injury. I honestly did not even realize that I "needed" that time off until I did not take it this year.

It is not just the family I find draining. It is all the Christmas music, shopping, twenty-four seveness of it that drains me. And since I did not, I have been drained and now I am sick. I have not updated my blog, cooked, really cleaned (hanging my head in shame), or anything for weeks. I think since Thanksgiving. I am surprised the Hubs is still here now that I think about it.

In coming to this realization, I realize that I am an introvert. An introvert is defined as "
(psychology) a person who tends to shrink from social contacts and to become preoccupied with their own thoughts". Those who know me may say DUH, but I did not see myself this way. I do love going out, having fun, etc. etc., but I become drained from those outings and need my time alone to recover. Nothing wrong with that (in my opinion anyway). And now that I understand my psychoses I can handle them in a positive way. I will definitely take time off around the holidays in the future. I know I need it for my mental and physical health.

Oh yeah, and since I love to read (probably a quality of an introvert) "The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World" is added to my reading list. Yes, I am branching out from my crime, serial killer reading.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Kwanzaa Everyone!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is Thanksgiving 2009 and this year I have sooo much to be thankful for. This year in June I married the man of my dreams. It was perfect day and a perfect wedding and I would not change one thing about it. Also this year the Hubs was shot on the job. At the time we had only been married for 1 month and it was the day before his birthday. Definitely not how I thought I would spend that day and not something that I ever thought would happen. But thankfully it turned out ok. No permanent damage done. But that day showed me how fragile life can be and to appreciate every day that is given to you. Based on those two things alone I have lots to be thankful for.

Even though my family thinks I am not family oriented, I really am. It is just that I am slightly introverted, or maybe very, and I need periods of recuperation from my large, loud, loving family. Anywho, I love that my family is always there for each other. When times get rough, we drop everything and gravitate together. Unfortunately we have had to pull together in times of bad to frequently this lately...the loss of a parent (love you Aunt Janice), a shooting, others being rushed to the hospital, and just having too much on your plate and needing a break. But every time we are there for each other and there is not greater feeling. I am truly thankful to have my family.

Every day remember to give thanks.

The Repercussions of being a Slacker

Well I got motivated enough to go to the gym today. It has been a while, maybe a week. I could definitely tell that I had not been in the gym in a while. I did W8D3 of the C25K program. Um, there are only 9 weeks of this program so I am very close to the end. Yeah, I was dying. I did it, but I did not look like someone who has run this distance twice. Needless to say I will be doing this distance again and then attempting week 9.

It is sad how quickly your body reverts to slackdom. Absolutely ridiculous. The way I felt tonight in the gym has motivated me though. I know I need to get in there or do some other form of physical exercise at least 3 times a week. I just want to finish this 5K program and be able to run it without walking at all. Is that too much to ask?

Slacker, Underachiever

These are words I used to use for my brother all the time when he was in school. (In the most loving way possible of course.) He was just content with getting a B in school without studying instead of studying and getting an A. How are we related?

Well now, that is me. I am in grad school and I am just not motivated. This is so not like me. If I get a B in this class, which is where I am headed, I am going to be so upset. But I cannot muster up the energy or effort to get that A.

On top of that I have been slacking on working out. I was so motivated last month with the Rocktober Challenge. But now, I don't even know what happened. I think I have worked out once this week. I am definitely working out today, so that would be twice. But I am definitely not doing what I want to be. I could make excuses, like the weather sucks right now and I just don't want to leave the house when I don't have to. That statement is true, but it is just an excuse. I have to somehow find that motivation I had last month. Oh motivation.....where are you???

I refuse to let this one bad week curtail my fitness goals. In the past, one week of no exercise would turn into months of no exercise. Not this time. Not gonna happen. I am gonna get up and do it.

That is gonna be my mantra, just get up and do it.

Bad Hair Day!

OMG. I am having such a bad hair day. I must admit I have not had many since reading the Curly Nikki blog. I mean my hair is nowhere near as fabulous as hers, and there are good days and OK days. But it has been a while since I have had a bad hair day. I wish I could just stay in the house and worry about it tomorrow. So what did I do to try to help this situation...Pulled my hair into a high pony puff and keep it moving.

What is sad is this is how I used to wear my hair all the time. I mean every day. I knew it was bad then and I felt like i was having a bad hair day everyday for like a year.

Hopefully I will have a better day tomorrow. But it is funny how your hair can ruin your entire day.

Can you force yourself to enjoy something? I really don't know. I have been trying to force myself to enjoy working out and I have been working out every day this October as part of the Rocktober Challenge. But, I must admit I still do not LIKE working out. I am hoping at the end of the month I will see big changes in the way my clothes fit and this will give me more motivation. I am not going to lie, I want to see the changes on the scale too.

Another thing that I do not enjoy is cooking. I do not understand this. I come from a family that cooks, my mom caters, my grandmother bakes cakes that people fight over. But still, I do not like cooking. So I have decided that I am going to make myself do it. I am going to pick a recipe from one of the several cookbooks we have in or house and once a week I am going to make that recipe. Once a week may not sound like a lot, but this is going to be a challenge for me. Because if I don't enjoy something I just chose to not do it. Ask my husband. He always asks "What did you make for dinner tonight?" Um, nothing. I know I am a bad wife. Trust me I do feel bad, but still. So I am going to move my way over to the cabinet with the cookbooks and pick one. Keep you posted.

Punctuality

I always wondered how very punctual people ended up married to people who are notoriously late. I first observed this in my parents. Why dad is one of those people that believes if you are 15 minutes early (sometimes 30) you are on time, if you are on time you are late. Every year my as a Christmas gift my dad get tickets for our family to go see a play on New Year's Eve. So every New Year's Eve me, my mom, dad, grandmother, one of my cousins, and one of my aunt's goes to see a play. I love it. But anyway, every year my dad is in the car waiting for my mom, blowing the horn getting frustrated, and every year my mom is moving at her own pace. This is their routine when they go places together. And they have been married for 30 years, so I guess it is not a deal breaker.

Well I have inherited the punctuality gene (I don't think this really exists) from my father. While I usually don't get places early, I am always on time. The Hubs on the other hand. I don't even think he attempts to be on time. How he ended up in a profession where punctuality is key I will never know. To try not to frustrate myself whatever time he tells me he is going to be somewhere I usually add 1/2 an hour. But obviously this is not enough time either. I don't know why it frustrates me so much. I mean, I know he is not going to be on time so I don't see why if I give him that 1/2 hour buffer and he doesn't get there for 45 min. I am upset, but I am. Then he complains about his best friend who is also notoriously late. I know he is worse than him, but how do you complain when someone does the same thing as you?

I just don't understand why he can't be somewhere at the time he says he will be. Is it really that hard?

Bucket List

I have been thinking about things that I want to do in my life before I leave this earth. Everyone is telling me I should do x,y, and z before I have kids. I don't see how I am going to get any of this done before that, but maybe if I plan right and stay healthy I can do some of these things in retirement and hopefully be young enough to enjoy it.

1. Go to the 4 tennis Grand Slams (Australian, French, Wimbledon, and US)
2. Run a 5K and then a 10K
3. Look better at 30 than I did at 20 and then better at 40 than I do at 30
4. Come up with one fabulous gift that will really surprise my husband (and not care about the price)
5. Get back into swimming
6. Figure out a way to grow bra strap length hair
7. Start my own business
   

Hopefully I will add to this list and start checking some things off.

Changing the face of the blog

I have changed the look of my blog. I will probably do this often. If I could change the paint colors and decor of my house this often I would. I get bored with the same decoration easily. Changing my blog makes me think of how bad I want to redecorate my home. I have wanted to change my the color of my living room since....well since it was painted. I think I just want a richer color. Obviously there are some things that I cannot change (lack of finances). So, I have chocolate furniture. So whatever I do must coordinate with that. I do have accessories in my living room, a painting, vases, not so much that it couldn't change though. I just want something different. I also want to repaint my bedroom. Also a color I have wanted to change for a while. I think most of the problem is I let the hubs pick the colors, so it was never what I wanted. Why, oh why did I do that? Then we also need to paint our guest bedroom. I think we are going to do something in the green family. That way if we have a child (cannot believe I am even thinking about this), the color could apply for a babies room. Never would have thought that changing the color of my blog would lead to so many thoughts.

Obama's School Speech

Today President Obama is giving a speech for school age children. This speech is supposed to inspire children to stay in school, do well, and stress the importance of school. Think this is a great idea, you know, the first Black president explaining to children that you can accomplish anything if you work hard and do well? NOOOOO! This is the biggest controversy since his health care plan. So what is the issue. Some parents and law makers are afraid Obama is trying to push his political agenda. Yes, push his political agenda on kids that cannot even vote. Yes, because they are going to go home and tell their parents..... I cannot even finish that statement because I don't know what negative impact this speech could possibly have on children. Many of them may not even listen, but for the ones that do I don't think it would be anything but inspirational.

There was this woman on the news last night crying about the effect this speech would have on her child if they were forced to listen to it by the school district. She said she would have to keep her kid out of school to avoid it. And there are district that are refusing to play his speech in school. I will not even get into how this is public school and really in my opinion they should not have a say or send your child to private school. So what do you think it is? Is it ignorance, is it racism, is it complete lunacy? I really do not know. I just hope that after the speech is made and the true contents of the speech are out for the public that these naysayers will admit that they were wrong and maybe even decide to show the speech later. But they will never admit they were wrong. God forbid Obama actually have something inspirational to say that could really affect the way children look at school. God forbid this is positive for our nation. I know if I had a child they would definitely be watching this speech. I would probably record it so they could watch it at the beginning of each school year. Just to see a black man make it to president is inspiring to me. Makes me feel like I could achieve anything and I am in my 20's. What kind of impact could that have on a child?!

Read the speech here.

i wish...

i wish i was not an adult sometimes. that i did not have to worry about getting the bills paid, saving for the future, etc.

i wish i did not have to think about what was for dinner.

i wish i had enough money to not have to think about it. not rich (though that would be nice) but enough to do what i want.

i wish i had a job that i loved. something that i would want to do no matter what the pay was.

i wish i had the energy i did when i was in college.

i wish i could lose 20 pounds without doing anything.

Getting in Shape

Being in shape has been a constant battle for me my entire life. I was a big kid and lost weight in my teens, but starting my senior year of college I started putting on weight. So I am trying to set a goal to lose 20 pounds. The problem...I hate working out. I have not found a workout that I will stick with for life or something that I enjoy doing. Every time I go to the gym it is a battle. The entire time leading up to it all I think about is how I do not want to do it. When I get there it is not that bad, but that constant battle is frustrating and I think it is why it is never long lasting.

One of the plans I tried before was the Best Life Diet. It is a plan by the guy who works with Oprah. I tried this a while ago but like everything else I eventually quit. So I am going to try again. It isn't really a diet, but a life change. You know, eating better and working out more. My eating habits are pretty good, but it is the working out where I really need help. Also I probably do not eat enough calories in a day. So while I am eating healthy foods, I am not eating enough. I have to work on that too.

So here are the Phase I objectives:
Duration: a minimum of 4 weeks
You weigh in once at the beginning and not again for 4 weeks (that is gonna be hard for me)

Increase activity level
Stop eating at least 2 hours before sleep
Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks (you have to eat breakfast, which I do everyday)
Drink more water
Eliminate alcohol (I will start this part in 2 weeks after my AHR and my trip to AC)
Take daily supplements (I have never been good at this, but I will try)
(I love in this phase that you do not have to change what you eat just yet, but I am going to try to eat as healthy as possible)

So this is my plan for the next 4 weeks. I am going to start including more strength training in my workouts and I can do that in the house. And I will go to the gym more. I think I am going to try to find we some classes to take to (break up the monotony). I also have my 2 fitness buddies that will keep me on track.

I am going to to this! I will have to keep repeating it to myself. Wish me luck.