This weekend was absolutely perfect. Everything about it. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, everything was amazing. I'm going to try to make this as short and sweet as humanly possible so I don't end up boring you.
Friday:
Friday was one of those days where you don't really do all that much, but somehow you still manage to have a good time. Nothing super significant, but nothing all that boring either. Actually, it was kind of a busy day! I went with the boy to feed his uncle's birds and hermit crabs (Luckily none were dead this time! Two days earlier we found out that one of the ugly poor things were dead in the watering hole!). Then we went to Hooters for dinner! Love. Their. Wings. Honestly, they have the greatest wings. Not only is the flavor so excellent, but it tastes like real chicken. Like they just killed the chicken out back right before cooking and serving it. We also tried out their fried pickles which were also surprisingly good! Then it was back to the boy's house and time for a movie. We watched (almost all of) The Company Men, which was great! A decent Ben Affleck movie. (I'm not always a huge fan, but he wasn't too bad in this one!)
Saturday:
Saturday was the wedding. The boy's cousin was getting married so I went with him and his family. The wedding was really beautiful. We all know how much I love weddings!The ceremony was held in a very nice Catholic church. It was a small wedding, but really wonderful. Just right. The reception was at a vineyard out East that was absolutely gorgeous. I'd never been to a vineyard and I can't wait to go back to another one. They came around and served Sangria, red wine, white wine, they had it all. And everything was really delicious. The boy and I walked through the vineyard a bit, mingled with his cousins and parents, and had a really excellent time.
Unfortunately, we suck and I don't have a full length picture. But that's as good as you're going to get.
Sunday:
Sunday was one of my favorite days. I don't even know why! It was just perfect. The boy and I were lazy in the morning, hung with his parents a bit, then laid out in his backyard and caught some rays. We got Subway, drank some beers and just hung out. (We also played Badminton. Dont' make fun!!) We chatted, had some life talks, and just enjoyed each other's company. At night it was time for more wings! I think I'm addicted. First it was Asian dishes and now wings. I have food problems. Many of them. Anyway, my friends and I went to this place called Kelli's where they have amazing wings and karaoke on Sunday nights. There was shoving faces, there was karaoke, there was laughing. Loved every second of it!
Attractive, I know. How disgusting.
Okay and now it's time to sign off for now. I hope all of your weekends were perfect!! :)
Lately I've been pretty up on my fitness, and I've decided a few things.
1. Long treadmill intervals suck, short ones are amazing.
Let me explain. In my One-More-Oreo circuit, there are 5 minute 30-second treadmill intervals. Full out sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for 30 seconds. The time just flies by. You only feel like you're going to pass out for 30 seconds, then you're back to walking. Just as you get to the point where you say in your head, "I know if I go just five more seconds I'm definitely not making it out of this alive", you get to stop! How perfect is that? Long ones, on the other hand, might as well be the devil. I mean, I may not be the most in shape individual, but I'd say I'm getting there! However, intervals for more that 30 seconds are the death of me. I start panting, get in panic mode, and by that time I'm well past the point of "I'm not going to make it out of this alive".
2. Running up a hill (aka: incline) is harder than you think.
I tried to do this one work out where you ran for a minute then walked for a minute, but after each cycle the incline increased and so did the speed at which you ran up that incline. It. Was. Death. I didn't think it would be that hard, but man, I was dying about halfway through. To be honest (and I hate to admit it) I couldn't even finish it! I did about 17 out of the 30 minutes and it was a struggle towards the end. A really hard, painful struggle.
3. I love the way your legs burn the day after a workout.
I've been doing all of those squats and lunges and wall sits and various other leg workouts and the next day my legs kill me to just stand let alone walk up stairs. Even though it hurts so bad, it feels so good. That's how you know you did one hell of a workout, and better yet: you survived it.
4. Resting days are glorious but horrendous.
Everyone needs a resting day. At least that's what the boy told me. You have to give your muscles a day to chill out and get their energy back. I never really thought about this for some reason, but it makes a ton of sense. Working out every day is great, but when your muscles get so fatigued you won't get as good of a workout. Therefore: resting day. However, this resting day feels so great that you don't want to go back to the intense running escapades the day after! BUT! Success must prevail. So keep on keeping on after that day of rest (no matter how much it sucks).
5. Sweating is great. Embrace it.
So, being that I'm a girl, it's not really all that attractive to be sweating just as much as the guys. However, it's just in my nature to sweat. A lot. I am a sweater and proud of it. And if you have a problem with that, then maybe you should work a little harder at the gym. Granted, I can be sitting in the air conditioning and still sweat, but that's besides the point. I used to be really self conscious about my ability to sweat, but I've come to embrace it. Sweating is a sign that you worked hard. That you pushed yourself the your limits and reached new goals. It signifies strength, hard work, determination. Never underestimate the power of sweating. If you ask me, I'd say it's good for the soul.
6. Coffee makes me so happy.
So, this part really has nothing to do with fitness. Well, actually, I do love having coffee about a half hour to an hour before hitting the gym. The caffeine gives me that extra boost and motivation. I feel a lot better if I have a cup of joe before getting my sweat on. To be honest, I feel a lot better whenever I have a cup of joe. Iced, hot, with milk, with half an half, black (well, not yet - but I'm getting there), whatever the case - I love it. It makes me happy and warms my soul. Literally. Having a bad day? Turn on that coffee pot (or Keurig) and enjoy the warmth and comfort of pure perfection.
On that note, I had some coffee earlier, yesterday was my day of rest, my legs still burn from Tuesday's workout, and I must get my butt back to the gym. What's on the agenda for the night? STARBUCKS! Hah. I'm addicted and it feels so good.
Blake Shelton's new CD came out (as did Chris Young's) so look forward to a bunch of BS or CY songs coming your way (or don't look forward to it, you not country music fans).
Isn't he so handsome?? He's hysterical too. Follow him on Twitter please? @blakeshelton. Thanks.
My legs and butt are KILLING me from this. Honestly, I can barely walk. And I had to work eight hours of going up and down a ladder. Greeeaattttttt. It's that soreness that hurts so good. You are in dying pain with each and every step, yet somehow it feels good?
Anyway, today the boy and I are spending some time together, then who knows what. No big plans for tomorrow just yet. Semi-boring weekend.
Shout out: Good Luck Taylor!!!! You'll do great at your competition! :)
Okay, so I just got back from the best workout ever. I was in a bit of a workout rut, so to speak, and needed to spruce it up a bit. My sister and I have been doing WiiFit Yoga for the last couple days and it's pretty excellent, I'm not going to lie. However, it isn't exactly the "hardcore workout" I'm looking for.
Well... I've sure as hell found it. I took this circuit workout from Mrs. How Sweet and changed it around a bit. A lot of her beginning moves works a lot of arms, and as I'm sure some of you know - I have a bum shoulder. Not only that, but my arms immediately inflate when I do something as little as pick up my cup of coffee and I just don't want body-builder arms.
I call this the One-More-Oreo Circuit. It sucks. It's awesome. I hate it. I love it.
Warm up: 10 minutes of light/moderate cardio (I chose running on the treadmill at 6.5 mph)
Now, like i said - I am not really a weight-girl because of my previous issues, but you can add weights to whatever you'd like. Theoretically I'd like to do another set of this, but I wouldn't be here to write this post if I did one more exercise. Now I'm going to go die, but maybe have an Oreo first. I hate myself.
One of my favorite workout songs. Always get me pumped.
I'm about to be a HUGE hypocrite, so brace yourself. But the only reason why I've realized this is because I am going through it.
When I got my first job, I was fourteen and working as a gymnastics instructor. It was awesome. I was taking the fundamentals of something I'd been - at the time - doing for about twelve years and teaching little ones how to do it. At the time I was also using that money to pay for my tuition, so I didn't really get the full effect of getting money for something I loved to do. When I was seventeen, I got an injury that forced me to stop doing gymnastics. It was then that I stopped paying for my tuition and started reaping the benefits from my hard work. What could be better? I was getting paid for something I loved to do. I started to coach the competitive team. Once again, putting my knowledge to good use and coaching the team I once was a part of.
However, gymnastics classes are not very long and there aren't a substantial amount of classes a day which made it hard when I actually had to pay for things. Plus, the gym I was working at was 45 minutes away so on such a low paycheck that was never going to work. So unfortunately I had to stop working there.
...then BRU came along. I absolutely hate it. Its slave labor and I get no benefits from it, except the money of course. But it's not even that great! But I'm not here to rant about how much my job sucks. I keep blaming it on the whole its a summer job and I'm in college for a reason thing.
If you're going to be doing something for the rest of your life, you better love it. Just think about it: if you're 25 and already hate waking up each morning to go to work, what's going to happen when you're 40? 50? You'll be a miserable bastard who comes home every day annoyed and hating life. Who wants that?
Everyone hates working, that's no secret. We all want life to be a constant vacation of umbrellas in drinks, flowers in hair, massages, pool boys fanning as you lounge in a chair. But that's not real. You need to at least be okay with your career. After all, you did go to college for 4 years (or not, but you still don't want to be a miserable bastard). When they call you and ask you if you can come in early or stay a little late, the only reason why you shouldn't want to stay is if you're dying to go home and be with your significant other. Because after all, that's the only thing more important in life. At the end of the day that's the only important thing in life.
In another life I'd be a chef. Someone really big time, working for some fancy restaurant that only serves the snobbiest girls with earrings more expensive than my life. I'd make the most delicious things with ease, no recipe needed. Just a pantry full of the rarest ingredients, ones that even the best of chefs would kill for. Foodies in Paris and Italy would fly me out to their restaurants for demos and praise me for going from nothing to something.
In another life I'd be a baker. I'd be able to take just four ingredients and turn them into a masterpiece of sugary goodness that brought even the biggest body builder to his knees (that is, if he'd chill out enough to eat something other than protein). Despite baking nothing but things that are bad for you, I'd be a little skinny thing that people looked at and said "How can you bake all day and still be so thin!?" I'd own my own bakery that premiered on one of those "America's Best Kept Secrets" shows.
In another life I'd live in Tennessee. I'd live in a big, beautiful, old-fashioned house. One that'd been there since before the civil war. It would be on acres and acres of land with a small barn in the back with my big, black horse named Harley. I'd be friends with all of the country music stars (Blake and Miranda, obviously), but be too cool to go to their VIP rooms and accompany them to big events. Cut off shorts, cowboy boots, and floral-y dresses would be my normal attire. I'd watch NASCAR (okay, maybe not) and drink Jack D like it's my job (without being an alcoholic). And of course I'd have that awesome southern accent and a beat up pickup truck with country music blasting. No confederate flag though; that's a bit much.
In another life I'd be a big time blogger. I'd make so much money just by telling my life story because I was so charming and funny and had a way with words. People from all over the globe would follow me and wait on my every post. I'd be able to do awesome things and blog about them and instantly have millions of people commenting on my posts. I'd sit in little unknown coffee shops and blog my little heart out (without being too liberal, of course). I'd change someone's life just by telling my story of happiness as well as my struggles. My blog would give people hope and make their day a little brighter.
However, this is not another life. So in this life, I'll just be a student for now. Graduate college and be an athletic trainer, maybe a physical therapist. I'll continue to pretend I can cook and be a wanna-be baker. I'll listen to my country music and maybe go on a trip to Tennessee one day. Blogging will be a past time and I'll continue to do it for fun - because that's what it is. Maybe get married one day and have a ton of kids that'll be in every single sport imaginable. I'll be a soccer mom and load up the kids in my COOL mom car (not a mini van). I'll do awesome things though, that's for sure. I'll enjoy being me and not any of these other fantasies I have in my mind. My life will be excellent, just a different kind of excellent. A more normal, quietly glamorous, regular kind of excellent.
I suck at blogging lately! I don't know why, but it's just gotten away from me. From now on I'm going to really try to update more often.
Here's some good news: Matt Damon started eating!!!
Get this - So, MD wasn't eating for a while, like I said. At first I blamed it on the new surroundings, but after four days of watching him spit out flakes of food, I decided I needed to take action. I looked up a few things online and found one that I was willing to try: peas. Mhm. Frozen peas. Only thing is that I have to sit there and cut up this single pea into Betta-friendly fish sized peas. I would get the pickiest eater of the bunch! At least he's eating though (even if it does take me 15 minutes to cut up the damn thing!)
Friday was the Mets/Yankees game. I started the day having to work from 5-10am, but then it got pushed to 5am-2pm. I came home, showered, the boy picked me up, and we were on our way! It was literally nonstop. The boy's best friend and his girlfriend went too, so it was a great day! The tickets we had got us into one of the clubhouses, which was really awesome. Then we went down into our seats which were amazing!
Me? Yankees. Him? Mets. A little healthy competition is good for a relationship! ;)
The Yankees obviously won. So, I obviously won that competition. No surprise there.
Finally, after a missed train, three transfers, and almost a fight, we were home. Saturday we were old people and played badminton and talked about life a bit, then I went to a friends house later on and helped him bake and cook with a few others for a party he's hosting.
Yesterday I went with the boy and his family to his uncle's surprise retirement party. I met the whooolleeee fam. Aunts, uncles, cousins, husbands, family that's not really family but kind of, the whole thing. And ya know what? It was pretty excellent. We had a great time!
Now it's the Fourth of July and I worked from 6-11:30 this morning. Not sure just yet of any of the other plans, but we'll see. Hope everyone has an excellent day! AMURICA!
