2011 Wrap Up

Well, I was sort of on the ball and had this written on New Year’s Eve, but our internet was totes broken until … now-ish.

The school semester wrapped up really nicely. At the beginning of the semester, I thought I might try for straight A’s, but then I got LAAAAAAZY. And I also forgot until a couple of weeks before classes ended that the Library & Information Sciences school has an annoyingly effed up grading scale, so in order to even get a grade high enough to get credit for the classes, I needed an 88%, which is really, REALLY HIGH, guys. So then I spent two weeks worrying about whether or not I participated enough in the online discussions, which by the way, are UTTER bullshit, and then came the final projects. As I told one of my friends, my intention was to three quarter ass my three final projects, and I think I managed that pretty successfully. One of the assignments was WAAAAY too short (all three actually, but I think it only mattered in one case), which I am pretty sure brought my grade down significantly. I didn’t look at the teacher’s comments on the paper because once classes were over, I pretty much stopped going online for anything significant amount of time. All this to say, really, that I ended up with a B and B+ in my two classes this semester, which is exactly what I needed to not ever have to take either of these classes again. Mission accomplished! On to next semester, which holds another required course and a class all about GRAPHIC NOVELS. AWESOME.

I’m not super into making resolutions for the new year, but it is such a good time for reflection and thinking about how one wants to improve oneself. In 2012, I’ve only got three Ways in which to Be More Awesome. Or at least, I’ve only thought about three things on which I want to focus.

1. I am only reading books already on my Goodreads “to read” list. I rarely get to mark books off that list because I get so distracted by all the other shiny, happy books at the library, and I really would like to whittle it down some. Of course, since deciding this, I have been frantically adding ALL THE BOOKS to my To Read list, you know, just in case. And so it has doubled in length in the past few weeks from 250-ish books to 500-ish. Just trying to keep my options open. Though, now that we’re four days into the year, and I’m already thinking about how I’ll break my To Read List Rule, this is going to be more of a guideline than a firm rule. My focus is more intentional reading rather than just picking up random books; that strategy has often worked for me, but, for this year at least, I don’t want random books to take away from the books that I KNOW I want to read. Does that make any sense?

Additionally, Feller gave me a Kindle Touch for Christmas (!!! love it), and I’ve been scouring Amazon for cheap ass books that I might want to read. I have added about 40 books to my Kindle since Christmas, and the most I’ve paid for any of them is five bucks. Most were ninety nine cents, so I’ve got about half a year’s worth of reading just sitting my Kindle waiting for me. And once I decide how I’m using various gift cards, I’ll probably have a few more books.

2. I am super getting serious, for realz, seriously, about getting in shape. I always say I hate to put a number on it, but then I just end up slacking off and getting nowhere, so here it is, officially, I am going to run three times a week. Feller and I are going to the gym together three times a week. I would also like to take at least three fitness classes at the gym per week, but I’m a bit more flexible on that. Ultimately, I want to lose forty pounds. I remember being at that weight for about five minutes in 2007, and it was nice.

3. Imma start going to church again. I haven’t in ages, and I miss it.

4. I just thought of another thing! Number four is knitting goals: I am going to knit at least one pair of socks, of real socks, not just the baby practice socks, from Cat Bordhi’s sock book. I am going to start working on my sock yarn leftover blanket, either this beekeeper quilt or this mitered squares blanket. I am going to finish that damn Medallion Travel Bag.

5. Oh also, I’m TOTALLY going to write more often.

So, there we go. 2011 was an awesome year. Feller and I went on a great vacation, I quit a job I hated, got a job I love, started school AGAIN. I’m hella looking forward to 2012. I really think it can only bring even better and brighter things.

So…this is weird for me

I did something this weekend that I’ve never done before. Something I never thought I would want to do. Something that had anyone suggested it to me, I would have shied away in revulsion. How about no? Never. Ain’t gonna happen, no thank you. But yet, there I was.

I exercised with my partner.

When he suggested we go running together on Saturday night, I was a little apprehensive. What if I couldn’t keep up with him? Or worse! What if he couldn’t keep up with me (not that I thought he was incapable, but he doesn’t run on a regular basis)? What if he sees me all red faced and sweaty as HELL and is like “Um, actually, just kidding, I totally made a mistake. Have a nice life?”

And you know, it was fun. He pushed me harder than I probably would have pushed myself, opting to attempt week 2 of Couch to 5K, when I most likely would have pussied out and repeated week 1. It was a good run; we found a route that works really nicely for the amount of time I usually head out. And cleaning up together after wasn’t bad either.

It’s just … really nice to have someone around who’s supportive and challenges me. Even though maybe I don’t want to be challenged. He’s interested in how my fitness journey is going and helps hold me accountable. And sometimes it’s hard for me to accept. I have a really hard time talking to him about getting fit and eating right and all that shit, and it has nothing to do with him. I can babble for hours here and on Twitter about exercising and eating right (or not!) like it ain’t no thing, but when he brings it up, I kind of have to fight the urge to bolt. I think this comes from my past of casual sex; I would NEVER talk about this stuff with someone I was just casually seeing, and I’m REALLY not used sharing these details of my life with a man and that’s a hell of an adjustment. But definitely one I’m happy to make.

Ass early in the morning isn’t as bad as I would expect.

So I’ve been making a legit attempt to run on a regular basis recently, which involves waking up an hour earlier than normal in order to be out the door and running at 6 am. SIX FUCKING AM. I HATE 6 am. If I could NEVER see 6 am again, I’d be very happy. But at least it’s not 5 am. That bitch is even worse.

And you know what? Except for the fact that I hate 6 am ON PRINCIPLE, it’s really not so bad. You know what’s weird for me? It’s CHILLY at 6 am. I need a JACKET. In JULY. You know when you need a jacket in July in Tucson? When you spend 3+ hours sitting in an overly air conditioned room. Maybe. I mean, by the time I’m about halfway through my run, I DO NOT need a jacket anymore, but to start out? JACKET.

But you know? Getting my workout out of the way first thing in the morning is nice. It’s refreshing. AND I have a little bit of time to actually get ready before work. Do my hair. Put a little makeup on. Maybe stick my contacts in. AND I still get to work 10-20 minutes before I had been recently, which means I can leave work 10-20 minutes earlier in the afternoon. You know what I DO NOT enjoy? Not cooling off until over an hour after I finish the run. No matter how much cold water I stand under or how long I stand in front of a fan on hi, I am HOT. My face is RED. And I am STILL SWEATING MY GOD JUST STOP SWEATING.

I’ve also been trying to get some exercise on the stair climber in as well, since, as my feller likes to remind me, we’ll be doing quite a bit of hiking in Hawaii, and I don’t want my legs collapsing on the side of a mountain. And DANG, stair climber is hard, yo. Also, I HATE exercise machines. I get SO BORED there stomping away, but there aren’t really any conveniently located sets of stairs, though I might trying running up and down these little half sets my apartment complex has around. We’ll see.

Ideally, I’d be running in the morning 3 times a week and getting in stairs in the afternoons when I get home from work. But sometimes, after 10 hours at work, I kind of just want to sit on the couch and eat pizza. Which is why my furniture is still piled in the middle of my floor. The electricians are done, but … eh. Pizza, cheap wine and crappy TV sound WAAAAY better most nights. And this week has been a bit of a screw off week for me; I’ve spent more nights at my feller’s place than I have mine, and we’re always up so late that I need the extra hour of sleep. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll get up and try those little sets of stairs. Or maybe not.

At some point, I might want to think about doing some sort of exercise that works more than my legs; the legs of my jeans have gotten pretty baggy but the waist has not. Oh well. My legs are my problem area, so I’m not going to complain.

And in about three weeks, I will own some Hobbit Feet. Oh yes. They will be mine.

Before, not yet After

Every month, Shredheads poses a fitness challenge, and this month it’s taking your Before pictures.

I have Befores. They’re sitting on my phone, waiting for me to upload and share them but not yet. I’m not After yet, and I don’t want anyone to see me Before (for some reason Befores always look so much worse than I actually do).

But this week has been the start of me actually doing something about it. I’ve exercised every day this week (if you count cleaning as exercise) (and I totally do; have you ever tried putting a futon cover back on after washing it? STRENUOUS), and I plan on keeping up this streak for the next 27 days. I’ve 30 Day Shred sitting at home, and I have NO EXCUSE not to bust out a 20 minute workout. And this week, I’ve been so busy, that I haven’t been able to sit at home and veg or eat or anything that might derail this. Even though I totally want to; I have the last two discs of Moonlight waiting for me (stop judging me). Today, I’m even going to attempt doing two levels at once, for a 40 minute work out. I might also fall over dead, so if you don’t hear from me again, that’s why.

I’ve also been focusing on eating better. I’ve eaten more fruits and veggies in the last three days than I ever have before, and I’m also stocking my fridge with other good for me snacks: light yogurt and string cheese, walnuts, homemade pasta sauce with whole wheat macaroni, and the most delicious white bean and basil hummus I have ever eaten EVER. I’ve been eating A LOT, but it’s all been tons of watermelon or berries or cherries or peaches or celery or sugar snap peas or broccoli.

I’m feeling good. I’m EXHAUSTED, and I know more sleep will help with weight loss and stuff, and next week, I’m really going to focus on getting to bed by 10, but for now…I’m good.

Also, the times, they may be a-changing, so please send some prayers/thoughts/good vibrations my way that everything works out the way it should.

Also, also, this is pretty much the hottest blog post I’ve ever read. Who knew that I should have been blogging about all my college sexcapades all that time? And now, I’m having them with a feller I respect enough not to blog about his penis or how he fucks (hint: AWESOMELY). I think I missed my calling back then.

What a weekend

I was REALLY lazy this weekend (seriously, I was conscious on Sunday for a total of about 3 hours), but Saturday, I did drag my butt out of bed to head to Half Moon Bay to hang with one of my girlfriends. We had brunch, enjoyed the sunshine and wandered around downtown Half Moon Bay for a couple of hours. I ended up with a sunburn.

We drove into SF (yay one hour drive /sarcasm), prayed for close parking, FINALLY finding a space after driving around 10 minutes, accidentally driving up a majorly steep alley with no outlet, which resulted in having to SLOOOOOWLY back out into traffic. It took me about 10 minutes to squeeze into the TINY space, during which time I almost got ran over by the trolley, then we had a 5 minute walk to my friend’s apartment for sunblock and then on to the stores! We stopped for midday Beverages and had a fruitful hunt for dresses, though did not find one for her cocktail party this weekend.

And then I got a speeding ticket on my way home.

So, a slightly annoying, but overall good day and rest of the weekend.

Also, I am potentially going on Vacation to Hawaii in the next few months (I mean, I’m definitely taking myself on at least a vacation, but it might actually be a Vacation) (and also, I’m trying to go on a cruise next spring), and two things need to happen before then: saving money and getting fit. Saving money is going to be a pain, but not too difficult. I need to eat out less (she says as she’s about to order lunch) and cut out frivolous spending (good thing I just bought some new yarn!). Unfortunately, I have a speeding ticket to pay soonish, a dress to purchase, I can’t find my good yarn scissors, etc etc etc. Hopefully, I can get these couple of things taken care of in the next week or two and then REALLY REALLY focus on not spending money I don’t have to. Which means I might start drinking less. HAHAHAHAHA. No. I’ll just start drinking more cheap vodka.

UNFORTUNATELY, this also means that I’m not signing up for the pole dancing classes I was going to take (seriously, those women are in REDONKULOUS shape), nor am I going to join a yoga studio. Which means I’ll be running and using some of those (many MANY) workout DVD’s I own. I guess I’ll be spending a lot of quality time with 30 Day Shred and MTV Yoga and friends because taking my boobs bathing suit shopping just MIGHT be more frustrating than taking them bra shopping. And oh yeah! I need a new one of those TOO (MAH MONIES). I also need to make sure I’m eating better all the time. Bye bye, Target spinach & goat cheese pizza. Hello, cooking at home (SIGH) and keeping good, easy food handy (this will probably involve a lot of carrying food back and forth from my home fridge to my work fridge to the feller’s fridge).

And so, in the interest of being healthy, I ordered the meal that does not come with pasta, and I said no to the foccacia bread. Which was very hard. That shit is BOMB.