Let the on-line adventure begin

So it's been a while since I have blogged anything about my personal life, but on my other blog http://www.afrugalchick.com/ I have blogged a ton of about my finances! Lots has happened since my last post here but I can prepare that list for later. Instead, it's time to focus on 2010.

I haven't dated in forever. Haven't really met anyone interesting and been so tied up with school and work, that I just haven't really had the time to give a relationship the proper attention. So I haven't really even tried.

My new goal for 2010 is to start dating. School is finished and work is calming down, so I have a little bit more time. I am going to choose to let the internet do the beginning work for me in screening and locating people. And since most of my friends seem to find the whole on-line dating thing fascinating, I thought I would blog about it.

So January 1st, I am setting up a profile on e-harmony and we will see what happens. I promise to blog about it often and we will see what kind of interesting characters I meet!

U2 pictures- The Claw and the Edge!

Have some more pictures but here is a good one of "The Claw" (the name they gave the set) and The Edge (guitar player for U2).

The U2 concert continued

So the set U2 took with them on tour this year is the largest set ever taken on a tour. The previous record holder, from a Rolling Stones tour, would actually fit UNDERNEATH theirs. They called the set "The Claw". The tour had a total of 200 trucks and three stages that alternated from venue to venue. Here are some pictures during intermission of the stage. You can see how many people were there!

The band that opened was called Muse and they were incredible. For those of you who saw Twilight, they were the band whose music played during the baseball game. I will be downloading some of their music shortly! These are some pictures of Muse!

Before the U2 concert

Last week some friends and I headed to Charlottesville for the U2 concert! It was unbelievable! I finally got my pictures from the camera to the computer so here they are:

Alicia used to live there so she took me to the downtown mall for a late lunch. It's a beautiful area.

The town was definately ready for the concert! Most of the people downtown were talking about the concert, wearing U2 t-shirts or complaining about the anticipated traffic of the evening. I heard lots of people speaking different languages and ALOT of British accents (which are my favorite!) There were some great little shops downtown as well. We ate at an Italian place outside and waited for some friends to meet up with us. Then we went to the hotel, cleaned up and walked to the show! I will post some pics of the show in just a little bit!

Trip Down Memory Lane

Today I packaged up one of my old cell phones to send away to be recycled. Before I sent it, I went through and deleted all the numbers in the address book. Maybe 50% of those people I still know where they are. Some of them are people I don't even remember- nicknames that I can't remember who they were...

While there are some people that have disappeared, it made me very thankful for those people who are still around. Years later, in spite of change and often geography, they are still the most dialed numbers in my current cell phone.

That is something to truly be thankful for.

ODU lost and the Bengals beat the Steelers?

What an odd weekend!

ODU lost their first football game of the season on Saturday. The weather was absolutely perfect, the fans hyper but the other team better. So alas down by 3, they lost.

However, my sister text me last night to let me know that the Bengals beat the Steelers!

Some back story on the Bengals: several years ago, all of my friends were completely obsessed with football (this has not changed). Every Sunday afternoon I would be propped up at someone's house bored out of my mind while they all jumped around in brightly colored shirts with numbers on the back. So, Monday at work I looked at one of the resident football guys and said "Who is the worst team in the league right now?" Without even blinking he said "The Cincinatti Bengals." So from then on, they have been my team.

And you know what? They have gotten better. My first season I followed they were 8 and 8, got a new coach and Carson Palmer started showing promise. I have my one Bengals t-shirt that I wear on the rare events that I go to watch games. And while I know I am not a die hard fan, it does make me happy when they win.

Because they are MY team!

All Access 5 k

I love new races. My sister and I (and on occasion my mom) run races around the area (everything from 5k to marathons- thought only my sister does the marathon type races). And while you would think the races that have been around for a while would be the favorites, I really like the new ones.

Missy and I ran in the All Access 5k on Sunday morning. This race is at the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre. The weather was really nice and the course was pretty flat. Part of it was running through the parking lot (which I hated) but running through the actual amphitheater and the area around it was nice.

Afterwards there was Red Bull and Mexican food. Also we got to go back stage and see the dressing rooms at the amphitheatre where all of the celebrities have been. My sister rocked it out and finished in great time, it was not one of my better races. But I ran the whole thing and feel confident that when the 10k I am running on Halloween comes around I will be able to run it.

But here is the really great thing about new races-- they are small. There were only about 25 people in my age group, as compared to the several hundred people in my age group when I ran the Shamrock 8k.

My sister likes the pomp and circumstance of the big race, but I like not having to walk a mile to my car after running 5. I like not waiting in huge lines for food. And I liked the time to myself to just run, instead of tripping over those around me.

Regardless the exercise is great and I love spending time with my sister, so it's a win-win. And maybe next year we can run it with a stroller!

My roommate

Think she looks annoyed? Bella was sunning herself in a chair when I decided it was the perfect opportunity to snap a picture.

Quote of the Day

"All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause -- there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once."

-Joss Whedon, writer and film director (b. 1964)

ODU!

So I attended my first college football game on Saturday! It was the opening game for the ODU Monarchs, who have not had a football team since the 1930s!


Before the game, I tailgated with some friends of mine. We had amazing food and I played cornhole for the first time. I'm not half bad! Alicia played in her blue and white for team spirit!







The spot where we tailgated was only about two blocks away from the stadium, so after we finished eating we packed up and moved down to enjoy the festivities! The new stadium is beautiful and it was FULL!



ODU has never had a marching band before, so this was their first performance!




And then of course, there are the actual football players...



ODU ended up beating Chowan, so overall it was a great night!

Book Review- Max Lucado "Fearless"

Let me start by saying that this is a great book. It's one of the most relevant things I have read in a long time without actually being a book about politics or the recession. I don't generally think of myself as a fearful person. This book reminded me that fear comes in a lot of different flavors, often disguising itself as worry... which is something I do alot.

But more powerfully it reminded that me that God doesn't want me to fear. The story that Lucado highlights in the beginning is of the disciples on the boat with Jesus. The wind and waves get out of control, and the experienced sailors try everything that they can to get things under control. When they have exhausted their efforts, they finally cry out. We often do the same thing. We try every alternative possible before finally crying out to God to save us from the mess we are in. God wants to be our first thought- not an after thought.

Of Christ's 125 imperatives issued while he is on earth, 21 of them are related to us as believers NOT fearing. The second most common command only appears 8 times. Statistically it must be very important that we not fear.

But more importantly, fear affects our relationship with God. Lucado uses the word "corrodes." We fear because we don't trust. And it amazes me to think that I might not fully trust the Creator of the Universe.

None of the other books I have reviewed before have I recommended. I think this is a great book. I didn't expect anything less from Max Lucado but he surpassed my expectations.

Tailgating, Woo hoo!

I am so excited that I am going to my first college football game this weekend (it's probably only my third real football game ever, but we won't go into that). I am VERY exciting to be going to watch the first ODU football game with 20,000 other people who are VERY excited. I have very minimal football knowledge but know that Heather and Josh will give me a hand in understanding everything. Hopefully I will have pictures to post on Monday! Go Monarchs!

My Secret Project

I have been working on a secret project for the last little bit and today it can finally be unveiled. http://www.afrugalchick.com/ is up and running. I have been thinking for a while about starting a web site about coupons and finance because they are areas I am very passionate about. And people don't always realize how simple, little things can make a big difference! So, please go over and check it out! And if you have some advice or comments, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail at afrugalchick@aol.com.

5 a.m.!

At 4:45 this morning I woke up. And there was no going back to sleep. It wasn't until I thought about it later I went to bed last night at 10 so my body thought I had a full night of sleep by 4:45.

Since there was nothing else to do, I went for a run. 4.5 miles in the cool weather of the morning- it was really nice running. There still were so many more people on the road than I thought there would be!

It has begun

Today I began my last class of graduate school. And it looks like I am taking the road less traveled on this one.

For our final class we have the option to do one of two kinds of projects. Thus far 16 people have responded which kind of project they would like to do and I am the only one who chose my avenue. I know it's the more difficult but I also believe it will be the most fulfilling. So hopefully I haven't gotten in over my head!

Camping!

My camera was MIA for the bulk of the weekend, but I did get a few pics! This is one of the cabins we stayed in. It's called an A frame and is tiny but has everything you need!

This was our fire pit. The fire burned all weekend courtesy of the guys chopping wood and keeping it going. That tent in the back is where my friends Brad and Andrea stayed while they were there. It was the first time that tent had ever camped, so they decided to use it instead of a cabin.

This was the night we got there. Everything had been packed in the back of Tim's truck, so we unloaded it. We were supposed to be there when it was light but we stopped on the way to the campground to help a guy out of a ditch. Tim's 4WD was enough to pull that tiny little Celica out.

On Sunday afternoon, we loaded up the truck and headed back home. Overall it was a great weekend. No one got really injured, there were no fights and everyone seemed to have a good time! Hopefully if I ever go camping again I will have my camera the whole time and can take many more pictures!

Book Review #2: "Let Go" by Sheila Walsh

The second book I reviewed for Thomas Nelson publishers was "Let Go" by Sheila Walsh. Back when I was a kid she was a recording artist and on the 700 Club, so I knew some of her background but was interested in reading her book, especially since one of my good friends just saw her speak at the "Women of Faith" conference. I have to admit though, this was a very long, tedious, cumbersome read for me. I have several friends that I feel would probably enjoy it very much- one of whom I have passed it along to. I promise if she likes it, I will post her positive review. Walsh does a great job starting each chapter with a story from her life which were always entertaining- kind of making me hope she has a biography out there I can grab at some point.

The book is about looking forward in spite of your past. I feel like shelves in Christian bookstores are FULL of these books- Beth Moore, Liz Curtis Higgs... many authors have hit on this topic. Which means that people must need to read the content but having read so many others along the same thread it makes the chapters seem long and redundant. It's also a very emotional book, so sometimes the text felt more like ideas than actual practical content. Overall I feel like the book would have been great for another reader...just not me.

Last Night's Run

So after swinging by my mom's house last night to pick up a chair for my camping trip this weekend I decided I wanted to go for a run. And I really felt energetic so I decided to do the route from my house to the Sonic on Battlefield Blvd. It's about 4.5 miles round trip, so I usually walk the first .25 mile to warm up and last .25 mile to cool down.


The first 2.75 miles goes great. I get a good warm up and slowly run my way to Sonic. At Sonic I stretch, turn around and head back home, still feeling good. I make it about half a mile and the sky opens up. And I don't mean a little bit of rain, I mean RAIN. The kind you don't like driving in. The kind that soaks through all of your clothes so that when you run your shoes make squishy noises. And I still have 1.25 miles to go.

My first thought is "Save the Ipod!" so I take it off, wrap it tightly in my arm band and hold it as protected as I can in my hand. Water + IPOD= expensive disaster.

It took me about 15 minutes to get home with my squishy shoes, water running in my eyes and sticky clothes. When I walked in my living room, dripping on my concrete floor, Bella took one look at me and ran off. I guess I looked scary!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

So last night I get home and find this on my front door! And not only is it on my front door, it's right by the door handle. So I very carefully opened the door, trying not to mess up his web and make him angry. And it stayed there all night but was gone this morning!

Oh Yes It's Ladies Night!

So Friday night was girls night at Laura and TJ's house (they were both out of town so we took over!) When I walked in Alicia was finishing her trifle. No, it was not the recipe from "Friends." It has strawberries and bananas in it and it was wonderful!



Heather had made seven layer dip and it looked so good I had to take a picture of it too!



Then I took a picture of it after we ate as much as we could! We kind of made a mess.




Alicia was impressed with it too!




Alicia and Heather get the drinks out of the fridge. Laura and TJ's dog, Bea, supervises to make sure they are doing everything properly!


While all of this was going on, Crystal was cooking enchiladas in the kitchen. They were taking forever!




But they were worth the wait. We ate all of them!



Then it was time to play Harry Potter clue. I was Luna Lovegood, which made me very happy!



While we played Hedwig watched over us to make sure we didn't cheat. She is such a good owl!

After dinner was over, we sat down and watched "Eureeka" which I had DVR'd while we were playing. I was happy I got to watch it!

Overall it was a great night. It's been a long time since just the girls hung out! Thanks Crystal for setting everything up and TJ and Laura for letting us hang out!

The Check Is In The Mail

I mailed it today... my last payment for graduate school. I am finally finished paying for school, though the work is not done yet. Altogether I managed to pay about $10,000 in cash over the last 2.5 years so my loan is not as bad as I thought it would be. Now I can just focus on the thesis and not have to worry about paying for next semester!

The Coming Weekend

I am so excited about this weekend I can barely stand it. Tonight a bunch of girlfriends and I are getting together for a game night. It feels like forever since I have had some of them without their husbands. There are plans for enchiladas, chips, salsa, 7 layer dip and a yummy desert!

Then tomorrow morning after my 8:00 prayer/accountability group phone call with my out of town girls I am heading up to Williamsburg with mom and Missy to do some outlet shopping. I am hoping to find some great stuff at great prices!

Saturday night Alicia, Crystal and I are heading to Town Point Park in Norfolk to attend a kind of show case for local community theater around the area. Each theater has 30 minutes to present. And since I am planning on auditioning for Oklahoma at the LTVB it will be a nice chance to see what they have in store.

Sunday afternoon the band at 757 is going to be trying out a bass player. I met him last Sunday at church and he seemed really nice. So we are looking forward to playing with him.

Overall, it is shaping up to be a really great weekend!

Been Kind Of Slow

It's been a slow last few days. Taught my last voice lesson for the summer on Tuesday- I start again with my full schedule September 8th. Made some signs for The Man Called Jesus yard sale, which is this Saturday. Had a great run last night in spite of the heat. Went to the commissary Tuesday night to shop for the camping trip at church and got some AMAZING deals. I do have a full weekend coming up so that is something to look forward to!

Do You Have a Dream?

This morning as I was riding to work a guy in a blue car pulled up next to me. He had a large piece of paper in his hand and written in big black letters was "Do You Have a Dream?" He held it up to his window so I could read it. I laughed, nodded yes and he smiled and drove on. It was so quick the woman in the car with me didn't even notice.

I thought about it more when I came into work. I think one of the reasons I may often feel stressed is that I do have dreams. Lots of them. And I am working toward 5 big ones right now:

1- Finish graduate school (projected date of graduation December 2009)

2- Pay off only credit card (projected date of completion May 2010- although a good tax return or a few new voice students could move this up)

3- Get published- I actually have two options for that. I have started shopping around my short story to see if anyone is interested. The other option is that my final project for graduate school. It is a thesis created for the purpose of publication in a academic journal. Hopefully one or the other will come through soon.

4- OKLAHOMA! Little Theater of Virginia Beach has auditions on September 14th for Oklahoma. I would like to get cast as one of the lead characters- there are several female parts so we will just have to see!

5- Run the WHOLE 10k on Halloween! Mom, Missy and I are participating in a 10k down at the ocean front. I want to run the whole thing- even if I am REALLY slow!

As things get accomplished, I always seem to add a new dream to the list. It will fun to look back this time next year and see how far I have come!

The Longer Run

I have all of my running stuff sitting on my floor in the office. Once I drop off my car pool friend I am heading to Oak Grove Park for a run. It's been a little bit cooler out so I am hoping I will be able to make it. I have my trusty water bottle and IPOD. My goal- two laps around the lake, which will be about what I have to run for the 5k in a few weeks. I feel pretty confident I can do it- I got lots of rest last night and have been eating well this week.

I started reading "Let Go" by Shiela Walsh last night as my next book for Thomas Nelson publishers. I feel like it's going to be very powerful for me at this point in my life. I am excited to see what God does through it.

Run and Free Make Up

Praise God I finally had a good run last night! Turns out my legs just missed running outside- the treadmill wasn't really doing it for them. Tonight is an hour on the elliptical while watching "Leverage!"

BTW, if you like make up and want to try something new there are internet coupons for a free ten day supply of bareMinerals matte foundation. You can pick it up at Sephora (including the ones inside JC Penney). Just print out the page http://www.lovematte.com/take-matte-home.html and take it in with you. I got mine today and am excited to try it!

Last week was BAD

So last week I was not a good person at the gym. I did work out three days but I just haven't felt like it so I didn't push hard. I have been having trouble with my left shin and so rather than push through it and find a solution I just wimped out. Usually even if I don't feel like working out I will go and atleast walk on the treadmill or do the eliptical. Instead I watched television and slept.

So now I am ready to go. I did pilates last night and then ran a mile on the treadmill. Then after I ate a dinner I walked back and forth from the shopping center by my house to pick some stuff up (that's another mile). Today I have more energy and feel more alert. My goal tonight is to try to run around my neighborhood (after the sun has gone down) to see if my shin doesn't hurt as bad when I am on a regular road instead of the treadmill. I have a path in my neighborhood that is about 1.5 miles so I am going to give that a shot.

I only have a little more than a month until the All Access 5k so I need to step it up!

Sue Your College?

I don't generally get too worked up about stories in the news, but this one is just ridiculous. There is a girl in New York suing Monroe College because she has now been out of school for three months and hasn't found a job. She says the school isn't supporting her in their career placement department and wants her entire $72,000 in tuition back plus $2,000 for her pain and suffering.

Ethics aside let's fast forward a few months here. You are a potential employer. You have this girls resume, with her 2.7 GPA, in front of you and are thinking about hiring her. You google her name and what pops up? A million articles about how she sued her undergraduate program for not getting her a job.

I don't even think I would waste my time mailing her a rejection letter. If she will sue her college, she will certainly sue her employer.

Book Review: "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews

For my first book review I read “The Noticer” by Andy Andrews. Unlike books with your basic “who dunnit plot?” this book can have a profoundly different affect on the reader depending on what they are looking for while they are reading. It could easily be read as a collection of short stories with a central character or as a book of Fables, each with a different moral. Or it could be read as a book with principles to guide a life- out of this book have stemmed videos and a movement to notice the significant people in our lives. You can even go to www.thenoticerproject.com and send a “shout out” to someone you appreciate.

The story is simple enough for a child to understand. A man named Jones notices the people in Orange Beach, AL. He sees the struggles and needs that each of them has. And for brief periods of time, he interjects himself into their lives in an attempt to influence them in a positive way. Each chapter has a different principle and each person affected is very different. My two favorites were an elderly woman and a local dishonest businessman.

In the end, the stories form together to weave the simple truth that one person really can make a difference just by noticing those around. Imagine what a different place this world would be if we all took the time to notice each other.

Car pooling

I have been toying around with the idea of car pooling to work. We have another girl in the office who lives about 10 minutes away from me and meeting in the middle would be pretty easy. We discussed it this morning and have decided to give it a shot. It won't work every day, probably only two or three days a week. But it will save both of us some money in the long run and give each of us some company on the way to work. So I am keeping my fingers crossed it works out and saves me a couple of bucks in the process.

I Wrote a Story

I am not a very creative person when I start with nothing. I can take a character in an already written play and make it my own. I can take a motif from a song and expand on it. I can paint by number. But give me a blank slate and I have a really hard time getting going.

For my final assignment in my Leadership and Imagination class we had to do a project that we felt demonstrated the essense of what leadership is. They are not due until Thursday but people have been slowly turning them in. There are alot of power point presentations, some photo shopped pictures and a really cool looking totem poll and quilt. But I wanted to do something that would be useful in the future, as I try to communicate what I have learned to people around me. And a fairy tale seemed like a perfect idea.

So now I have this thing I have written and I am not entirely sure what to do with it. I am having people proof read it to catch the errors. And I will turn it in on Thursday to get what will hopefully be an A. But since the desire of the project was to use it to educate people about the topic, not trying to make it go further seems foolish.

So, as Joss Whedon postulates, "Where do we go from here?"

Moments with Christ

I am reading a book right now called "Moments With Christ." It's a devotional I bought in college but somehow got buried in the millions of other books in my house. It pointed out something I had never noticed before about Mary.

Luke 1: 26 - 34: "In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The author of the book postulates that in that one sentence, Mary has already displayed her willingness. She is already acknowledging that it will "be." She has already made herself available, she is just asking about logistics.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that don't make sense. And it's okay to ask about logistics. Mary got her answer right away- that's not going to always be the case. We aren't even guaranteed to know while we are on earth (i.e. Job) why things happen. I just hope that when the rubber meets the road I stick it out even if I can't see where I am going.

And the winner is...

For my color blind friends, it's a boy! My dad and I both thought it was going to be a girl, but everyone else wanted a boy. So I will have a nephew soon. I never had a brother so I have no clue what to do with little boys. So my friends who have little boys- look out! I will be asking lots of questions!

To celebrate I am heading over to Cheesecake Factory with Laura and JK for dessert today (half price cheesecake)! And then to the gym tonight for weights! I finally got my ipod all updated so I can lift tonight with no problems.

Missy and I decided today to sign up for another 5k. It's going to be pretty cool. It is actually run inside the Virginia Beach Ampitheatre and then afterwards you get to tour the backstage area, listen to live music and eat Mexican food. Sounds like a good day to me!

Hmmmm... what do I have to do tonight?

- I have to cross train for 40 minutes at the gym (will actually be an hour since I will be

watching Leverage).

- I have to bake dessert for my friend Jessica and her family.

- I have to do some laundry

Oh yeah, I have to find out if I am going to have a niece or a nephew. I knew there was something going on!

I am so excited!

Thomas Nelson Blogger!

I applied last week to be a Thomas Nelson book blogger. Thomas Nelson publishes Christian books and they give people free copies as long as they agree to blog about the books. I received my e-mail notice today that I have been accepted!

I went in this morning to look at the books I can choose from and all were about relationships or raising children except "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews, the same guy who wrote "The Travelers Gift" (which was given to me as a gift a few years ago).

So I will give it a read and hopefully in a few days I can publish a review for you guys!

Credit Cards

Did you see that new credit card legislation passed? Alot of it is really great for people who are responsible with their cards and some for people who haven't yet gotten in trouble. For example, credit card companies will not longer be able to go on college campuses and hand out t-shirts in exchange for credit card applications in 2010.

The best explanation I have found is by J. Money at Budgets are Sexy, which is my fav financial blog. Check out the article: http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2009/07/how-new-credit-card-legislation-affects.html. It's really easy to understand (I LOVE lists!).

I had my long run yesterday and I did horrible. I did all three miles but walked most of it. I just felt funny- couldn't figure out why. Then, while on stage last night, I felt myself starting to get a fever. By the time Ira's sermon was almost over I felt awful. I went home to my 80 degree house, turned off all the ceiling fans, put on my flannel pajamas and slippers, and crawled under 4 blankets on my bed. Definately sick- I was freezing in spite of the 90 degree temperatures.

Fortunately my fever broke around midnight and I am feeling much better today. There is Pi-Yo at the Y tonight so as long as I am still good when I get off of work, I will be there. Then home, probably to bed early again just to be safe.

I did it!

Up at 5 and at the gym by 5:30 this morning. I left a little bit before 7 so I got home in plenty of time to get to work (and even took a 20 minute nap). It really does feel nice getting my work out done in the morning so I don't have to be stressed after work today. And I have not been swimming in forever- it actually felt great. Works different muscles and seemed to give my legs a break after two mile walk/run on the treadmill this morning. My sister tore it up in the water- I wonder what the baby was thinking?

Went to pilates last night- the room they are usually in had some kind of kids class in it so we were in a horrible room. Bright lights, really hard kind of dirty floors and the music coming out of a boom box. I will hold off to go again until they are back in their other room- should only be a few more weeks.

Tomorrow is my rest day for the week so I am looking forward to taking a break from the gym. Sunday is a 3 mile run/walk to start off the new week- probably going to try to do that one outside and change the scenery a bit!

Leverage

Went home from work yesterday, grabbed the coupon box and headed to Harris Teeter for some money saving goodness. Got some free smart water and really cheap toilet paper, BIC ink pens and Morningstar fake meat (I use it in a taco soup I make- keeps the fat content down). I also bought some Vitamin Water 10, which is a new favorite of mine. Today I am trying the lemonade. Not crazy about it, but it's not bad.

After that I went home, ate some dinner (salad from Farm Fresh) and went to the gym. Did my 40 minutes on the elliptical while watching "So You Think You Can Dance?" and drove home to experience my favorite part of every Wednesday night.

Leverage has started it's new season on TNT. It comes on Wednesday nights at 9 and it makes me happy. Christian Kane is part of that reason but I also think the writing is hilarious. It's kind of like Burn Notice that way- always creating some kind of con to help the little guy. My favorite movie of all time is "The Sting" with Redford and Newman and I think my television taste is starting to reflect that same genre!

Have one voice lesson to teach after work today at 5:30. It's a newbie, so we will see how it goes. They get one lesson free at the beginning. If they hate me, they never have to see me again. If they like me, we start charging. And then I head to the Indian River Y for Pilates. I love the pilates instructor there and can rarely get to her class. Gonna be fun!

Decisions

"Bottom line is, even if you see them coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So, what are we, helpless? Puppets? Nah. The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that count. That's when you find out who you are. " - Whistler, BTVS

Been reminded lately that we are a product of our decisions. Sometimes stuff happens and there is nothing you can do about it. But alot of the times, we are just sleeping in the bed we made.

Who people marry, whether we buy a house in our price range, whether we go to the gym or sit at home and order pizza- these all have lasting effects. If you don't study for a test, you will likely fail. On the whole, no one wants to suffer consequences for anything.

I had a guy in my office on Monday complaining about punishment for testing positive on a drug test. (Pretty simple solution to fix that.) The kind of irrational logic that used to be reserved for teens who didn't use protection or middle schoolers driving without a liscense has now spread to the adults of the world. When did we forget that actions have consequences?

Last night was a 2.5 mile run/walk. I did okay but not as well as I would like. But I guess that is what training is for, right?

Because I don't get off until 5 today I will not be able to participate in any classes, so tonight will be my 40 minutes of cross training at the Mt. Trashmore Y. (I usually get off at 4:30, which means I can be at my Y by 5. When I get off at 5 the traffic is much worse so I usually can't get to my Y until 6.) Back on my elliptical machine tonight probably watching NCIS.

Harry Potter

Enjoyed a night out with the girls last night! Ate a great Cheesecake Factory salad in the mall and talked about what kind of job my friend JK should have. She has decided to let her friends pick, as she is aimless. That girl is obsessed with fashion, so we all seem to keep steering her in that direction.

Once inside the theater I was whisked away to Hogwarts. Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, owns the current Harry Potter film. Everyone does a great job but a flat character finally gets the chance to show himself. Finally got to see the guy act and he's pretty good at it. It's good to be the bad guy sometimes.

I thought the movie was fantastic, but I haven't read the book in a few years so the differences between script and book that seem to bother everyone else on line didn't really faze me.

The plot lines with the romances are adorable and I was reminded of the unstable seriousness of romance in middle and high school. And how fun it was!

Went to the gym after the movie and did 30 minutes on the machine while watching "Dating in the Dark." Great show- hilarious! Tonight is 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I have an hour between job #1 and job #2 so I will be hitting the gym. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a treadmill with a television is available!

10 k Training

So I am planning on running a 10k on Halloween with mom and missy. And I am going to try to train properly for this one.

One of the things the book I am reading recommends is keeping a training journal. So I am going to use this blog as my training journal.

Because I am going to see Harry Potter tonight I am going to have to change my training schedule a bit. Today was supposed to be "strength and stretching" which is usually perfect because I do Pi-Yo (half pilates, half yoga) on Monday nights. So instead I will be doing 30 minutes of cross training tonight (elliptical) after the movie. The Y is open until 11 on week nights which I love since I am a night owl.

We will see how it goes!

New Shoes

I do not share the same shoe obsession as most of my female friends do. I would love the world if I could wear plastic flip flops 365 days a year.

However I decided it was time for me to buy some actual running shoes. Ones that fit. Ones that are actually made to run. It was time. So I sucked it up and went to Running Etc to get fitted. And I left with these:

They were stupid expensive but they feel amazing. I can not wait to try them out.

Finally some credit!

I watch alot of television shows but my absolute favorite comedy right now is "The Big Bang Theory." Don't let the title turn you off if you don't believe in the aforementioned event, this show is hilarious.

CBS keeps moving it's time slot, treating it as if it is unimportant when it pulls good numbers for them every Monday night. But today they finally got their due.

Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper, has been nominated for an Emmy Award! Alongside comedy greats Steve Carrell and Alec Baldwin. I have no idea if he will win or not, but maybe now finally the network will acknowledge the true genius of these television geniuses.

If you don't know who they are go on youtube and watch the "Rock, Paper, Lizard, Scissors, Spock" clip. It's amazing!

Doughnuts

I have a huge problem with doughnuts. I think they are amazing. Whenever I drive by the "Hot Now" sign at Krispy Kreme it takes everything in me not to stop. The Bakers Dozen they sell at Farm Fresh are great.

But I think Dunkin Doughnuts are gross. There are almost a dozen of them in our break room and every time I look at the box it makes me never want to eat another doughnut again. I wonder what the difference is?

Seth Green on WWE

I don't watch WWE. I think adult male wrestling is like a soap opera for men, so I don't watch it.

However last night I flipped over to USA waiting for "Royal Pains" to come on so I caught the last four minutes. And what I saw was Seth Green being chased around the outside of the rink by some massively huge man with a chair.

I LOVE Seth Green. He was Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer- the perpetually cool guy who becomes a werewolf. Most people know him from the Austin Powers movies, "Can't Hardly Wait", "Without a Paddle" or "Family Guy." He is funny, cute and entertaining.

But he is LITTLE. Maybe my height. Probably weighs less than I do.And those wrestlers are big. It was like an elephant chasing a cat. And as soon as I can find a picture of it I will post it. Because it was hilarious.