Radio-Free!

On Sunday Chris bought me an auxiliary cable so I could listen to music from my iPhone in the car (ya know, since my cd player is broken and all that jazz). I haven't listened to the radio once this week. I wish I could describe how incredibly happy that makes me!

I was getting so irritated listening to the same things over and over and over and over. The same songs several times a day. The same commercials even more often. Seriously, I have some of those commercials memorized because I hear them so many times. And I get stuck listening to songs I hate (ahem *Greenday*) because they play them continuously. I get these terrible freaking songs stuck in my head because I have no choice but to listen to them or sit in silence (which I have actually done on occasion).

Now, I can listen to the radio when I choose to. So far this week, I haven't listened to it and I'm okay with that. I don't really feel like I'm missing anything. I'm sure after this little hiatus I'll start listening to Woody and Rizz again in the morning, but for now I'm enjoying my freedom of music choice (and my new iPhone!) :) It's nice to be able to listen to a song on repeat because I want to and not because the radio station continues to play it throughout the day whether it's a good song or not.

Missed Monday--Oops

Man I've really been slacking around here lately. Sorry!

Yesterday I went to the yoga class on my lunch break. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. Some people love yoga, others hate it, and most (like me) just don't understand what the hell it is.

After that class, well I can't say that I fully understand it now. But I did enjoy it. It perhaps isn't the best workout in the world if you're trying to lose weight or anything, but it was relaxing. And that was just what I needed after a stressful Monday morning.

It also focused a lot on breathing, and I'm thinking that in the long run, maybe this could help me out. I felt a lot better after that class yesterday, so I can't wait to go back again next week.

Today I just did an elliptical workout for 40 minutes again--I did increase the resistance a little though. Although it's almost 70 degrees, it's been wet and rainy and gross all day and I didn't think I'd survive the rest of the day after running in the rain. I'm slowly beginning to enjoy working out inside again. I'm sure by the time spring/summer roll around I'll loathe the thought of staying inside.

I can't remember if they do these lunch classes during the summer or not, but I think I'll continue going if they do. If not I'll figure something out to do on my own time.

I also think, depending on how the next couple weeks go, I'm going to try doing yoga at home on the weekends to kind of wind down from the week. Might help reduce my stress. Worth a shot.

School has Taken Over

Sorry it's been a while. I'm thinking I'll have to just have to skip posting the days that I have class. There's just not enough time to do it when I'm working out on my lunch break.

I did work out every day this week (Tuesday through Thursday). Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I just did the elliptical for 40 minutes. Wednesday was the core strength class and it kicked my butt. I'm still sore! I can't wait for more this week.

I had some technological difficulties with my phone and my playlists got deleted. I decided it was time for a new phone. So I went to the AT&T store yesterday and got my new iPhone 5. I love it! Unfortunately I also need new headphones.

We went to brunch at Ameristar with Chris's parents. Later we're going to my parents' house for dinner. I still have homework though :( blah.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Workout #1

I did my first workout of the year today! Only 22 days late ;)
I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical during my lunch break and I loved every brutal second of it! I felt pretty great. Aside from the fact that I forgot my inhaler so it was a little hard to breathe...someday I'll actually remember to take it before I work out lol.

The only thing that sucks is that since I'm an employee and I'm getting a discount on my tuition, I don't get the benefit of using the rec center for free. Lame. But it's only $35 a semester, so I guess that's really not so bad. Plus, I can charge it to my student account, so I don't have to pay it right away, or all at once if I don't want to.

Up until then, today felt like a terrible Monday. Mondays that aren't really Mondays are the worst. Things got much better later in the afternoon though. We got our scanner issues fixed, so I was able to put the interns and grad students to work!

Later I met with my boss about this whole thesis-crisis-thing. And I got excellent news. I will be doing the editing project and I'm very excited about it. I'll be editing a manuscript (probably historical fiction), and I'll also have to come up with a cover and page design, do fact-checking on the historical stuff, and write up a nice 10-15 page report on why I made the decision I did and whatnot. My boss sent an email to my teacher about it, so hopefully we can make it work for the class, but I think as far as my thesis goes in general, I'm good to go. I feel so relieved :)

Tomorrow I'm going to the core strength fitness class and I'm hoping Kirsten will be able to join me (she has a dentist appointment before that--boo). Tomorrow evening is my poetry class and I'll be turning in my first poems of the semester. I'm excited and nervous. I don't really have to be nervous until next week though when we workshop our poems--that's when I get everyone's comments and feedback.
Wish me luck!

Decisions, Decisions

It took most of Saturday and Sunday, but I finally finished all my homework for the first week. It was brutal. I spent the majority of it on my research homework.

I'm still racking my brain on what to do for my thesis. It's like trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up: Do I want to be a writer or an editor? Do I want to do a creative thesis on poetry or do an editing project instead?

Speaking of writing, I've read a lot of memoirs and I love them. And I want to write more than just poetry. Occasionally I think, hey, a memoir would be cool. But I don't understand how to write a memoir on your life when it's still in progress. Have I done anything worth writing a memoir about? Has anything happened to me worth writing about? Not really. At least nothing I could write more than a couple poems about.

I have less than a month or so to decide what I want to do my thesis on. One of the big things holding me back from doing the editing project is that no one has ever done one before, so I have zero examples to look to. On the other hand, maybe the fact that no one has ever done one before would work in my favor and I could maybe have a little freedom with it. I just can't make up my mind.

I've been reading a lot of other blogs on various topics from health and fitness to organizing to other randomness. I read one earlier today on 10 things you should always splurge on, even when money is tight and I thought it was a great list, and I'm thinking of making a list of my own. Once I get it written down, I'll post it later this week (or next week...depending on my homework situation this week).

In other news, I finally bought us a welcome mat and I think it's adorable!

Copper's potty training is going so much better *knock on wood*

She hasn't had an accident in the house all weekend! She has, however, been peeing in her crate. She has also chewed holes in her dog bed. But if that's what's keeping her from chewing up the furniture, then I'm not complaining. 

Anyhoo, I hope those of you who had the day off like me enjoyed it. I'm going to spend the rest of my night watching Friends and Family Guy, maybe do some writing, and have chinese or something for dinner. :)

Finally, it's Friday!

It's finally Friday! It's been such a long and exhausting week. We've been having all sorts of problems with the computers and our scanner and stuff at work and I really dislike dealing with people in IT.

They think they're better than you. They think they're smarter than you. And really, all they're doing is trying to find some half-ass way to do their job. Just like everyone else. Grrr.

On top of that, I had to completely re-do the cover for one of our magazines. It was a pain. And took me most of the week to do, but I finally finished it yesterday.

On the bright side, my interns and grad assistants have all been great so far. Everyone started working right away (unfortunately without our scanner there's a little less work for the grads to do), has been nice, helpful, asked lots of questions, etc. I think in that aspect, it's going to be a great semester.

My first week of class is over. Poetry was Wednesday and I'm going to love it, I know it already. There's a lot of people I don't know, so I'm looking forward to getting to work with new people and getting new comments and criticisms on my poetry. I have to write a poem for next week's class. So that's part of what I'll be doing this weekend.

I might save that for last though (unless I get really inspired) and get the crappy stuff out of the way first. I had my research class last night. My homework for next week? Read 6 chapters in a book (it's a small book, but still...) plus three articles, and everyone had to sign up to do a presentation on either a chapter or one of the articles. I picked one of the articles. So I have all that reading, plus a presentation to do.

Much of this class will be about getting started on our theses, choosing the topic, writing the introduction, etc. I was pretty set on doing a creative thesis (poetry, obviously), but then last night she told us that the people in the Professional Writing program also have the option to do an editing project. So now I'm sort of torn. The one major turn-off for the editing project is that it has to either be non-fiction or historical fiction. Which is kind of irritating. Not that I don't enjoy historical fiction (I love it), but there are other kinds of books that still need to be researched. Just because a novel is purely fiction doesn't mean it doesn't have certain elements in it that should be fact-checked, like how to change a tire or something.

I love editing though and think I'd really enjoy doing the project if I could find a way to make it work. The major problem is that since we're technically supposed to be working on this for the majority of the semester, I have to make a decision by mid-February. No pressure.

Starting next week, Kirsten and I will be working out on our lunch breaks. I'm so excited. The Rec Center offers free classes during lunch time. Monday is yoga, Tuesday is zumba, Wednesday is core strength, Thursday is a spin class, and Friday is pilates.

Kirsten will only be joining me Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We decided we definitely want to do yoga and core strength. I'm not sure about pilates. I've never done pilates or yoga, but they really don't seem too different to me. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll be going by myself. I haven't decided if I want to try doing zumba or not. I've done it before and liked it, but I'm thinking I might enjoy spending some time on the elliptical or something. And although I love the intense workout I get from spin classes, I hate bikes in general...the seat causes too many pains in my body that just shouldn't happen. So I'll probably skip that one too.

I'm really excited about it though. I'm even more excited that I have the day off on Monday! Three day weekend! If you're off too, enjoy it! :)

First Day of Class

Tonight is my first class of the semester--poetry. I'm actually excited about this one. I get to spend all semester reading and writing poetry. Also, as part of the class requirements, we have to submit our poetry to at least one literary magazine, so I'll be forced to actually submit my work (which I totally slacked on over break).

And, thanks to all the books I bought at the AWP Conference in Chicago last year (and never got around to reading...), I have a current poetry book that I can read and review (another class requirement), so I don't have to worry about buying anymore books for my classes this semester!

I'm at a total of 6 books for the semester: 4 for my research class (although I only had to buy 2!) and 2 for my poetry class (and I only had to buy 1). So much better than the 12 or so books I needed last semester.

As far as the 100 book challenge goes...well I'm not getting very far in American Psycho. In fact, I haven't read it since I started it on Sunday. Oops. I'm sure I'll read it at some point this weekend though. And I'm totally counting any books I have to read for school as part of this challenge.

Work has been busy with the new interns and grad students. I'm hoping after the end of this week I'll have a better idea of everyone's schedules and I can plan my lunchtime workouts accordingly. I really hope it works out that I'm able to do this. I feel disgusted with myself and the way I've been eating lately and getting zero exercise. We've been eating a lot of fast food lately since we got several gift cards for Christmas and it's faster/easier than cooking and I think it's really starting to take a toll on my stomach. I've been having terrible stomach aches the past few days. So I think it's time to make a change and get back to eating healthy again.

I'm considering keeping a sort of food journal. Not to keep track of calories and whatnot, but just to keep track of what I'm eating and how it affects my stomach. A couple years ago I was having similar problems and my doctor thought I might be lactose intolerant and had me cut out dairy (I LOVE milk and cheese, so I thought I was going to die!). I did that for a month or so and it made no difference on how I felt. So maybe there's something else that's upsetting my stomach and I'm just not getting it.

Keeping a food journal requires so much dedication though. I'm still thinking about it. I might just start with eating healthier overall and if I'm still having problems then give the journal thing a shot.