Re-evaluation of my goals for January.

First of all! Today I got the clear to walk freely on my foot and take a shower without a stupid plastic bag wrapped and tied around my leg/foot. It felt really strange to be walking on my heel, I havent walked on it since before I had the surgery! Secondly, I've noticed that me not being able to move around as effectively as I would generally like, puts a dent in my plans of losing a lb a week. I don't do well with not being able to eat, or just eating...lettuce. SO! I think I'm going to have to wait a week or so on that one. However, I've been doing well with everything else, so far (I know, it's only day 4.) and have been drinking a lot more water (big grin). For the record, I want what is in the picture.

Well, I might test my luck and go to the gym to do some non-cardio type workout. They have this 22 minute circuit I can do, and doesn't require much pressure on my heel - ya know? My gym is also having a promotion this month, where you can bring a friend in on Wednesdays for free (usually $15). I'm going to have to drag someone to take a class with me. Bwahahah.

This week my goal is to start heading to bed at a decent time, and waking up for 5:30. I have big plans that are sure to fall through! I want to start going to the gym in the morning, apparently you're more likely to do it in the morning and have more energy throughout the day. Who couldn't use more energy?

My schedule would start to look a bit like this on most days:

• 0530 - Wake & Small breakfast
• 0600 - Gym. (Spinning/Total Body Condition classes/cardio)
• 0700 - Shower
• 0800 - Class till 1:00
• 1300 - Lunch and feed rabbits/cats
• 1530 - Work till 8:00
• 2000- Justins till 2200
• 2200(ish) - Bed.

I would love to wake up later, but I'd really want to go to the spinning class.

New Year Resolutions

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne

Thinking of my resolutions for 2010. Knowing my inability to stay true to long term commitments, I'm wondering if I should stick to monthly goals. Which, then again...I couldn't do monthly either. How about weekly? Oh goodness, this is truly sad!

Anyway, here's some of the resolutions I've thought of so far:

1. Lose at least 3 lbs. a month
2. Go to the gym at least 5x a week. (Which means I will have to head to the gym BRIGHT and EARLY some mornings - 5:30-6:00.)
3. Finish paying off some bills and eliminate some credit cards ;)
4. Get an A in my last semester of nursing school (graduate in May! Woo!)
5. Memorize lab values.
6. Maintain a clean and organized room.
7. Stop swearing (ah, my dirty mouth.

Here are some goals for January:

1. No purchasing items that aren't necessary (clothes, shoes, smelly stuff, take-out, soda, books, papergoods/pens, bags, etc.)
2. No drinking beverages with empty calories.
3. Lose a lb. a week.
4. After foot is all fixed: Gym at least 5 times a week.

Given, some of them are listed twice. BUT I NEED TO FIT IN MY PANTS AGAIN!!! CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN MURDER! *sniff*

<3

Whatchya Reading Monday

I started reading Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I have to tell you, I haven't had much time to read it. However, what I've read to far is wicked-awesome-fabulous-captivating-spectacular. You're probably asking "well why aren't you reading it now then?", it's because I forgot it at home and I am currently elsewhere. Darn. I can't wait to finish it and pick up the next book from the library.

I have Leviathan by Scott Westerfield up next to be read. I need to read quick before the semester starts back up again!

Ew, it's snowing.

Yes. Snow. Actually this picture was from the first snowfall that we had about a week ago. Today we had about a foot+ of snow. It's no good. Especially since I had that surgery on Thursday, which by the way I had no idea I was going on crutches. It was simple procedure (plantar wart removal) and didn't think you would need crutches - not to mention I wasn't told I was going to be on crutches till January. Well...I've been noncompliant anyway. Carefully noncompliant, I avoid putting pressure on my heel and just toe walk. The crutches were killing me, I didn't understand how I used them for so long when I was younger.

Seeing with this cold weather and my overall miserable state - I needed soup! So I made myself a giant pot of matzo ball soup. Yum!

Baking Palooza!

Baking palooza! Ok, so this is what I've been doing the past few days. Along with the help of my mother we have pumped out over 28 dozen of cookies, 6 breads, one apple crisp, 2 dozen chocolate covered pretzels, and 2 dozen chocolate covered peppermint sticks. Making cookies with one leg isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Top left: Peanut butter temptations

Top middle: Banana nut bread and Apple crisp

Middle left: Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cookies w/ white chocolate chips, and oatmeal date cookies

Middle right: Mexican wedding cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate covered peppermint sticks

Bottom left: Chocolate covered pretzels

Bottom right: A cookie tray with some peanut butter blossoms.

Now it's time to assemble the cookie baskets so we can hand them out!

In my Mailbox

Yessss! I bought more books. Okay, so some of them were from a gift certificate I received as early Christmas present. So I picked up 3 new books. I adore Amazon.com.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister “pre-majoring in perfection,” while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family's attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy.

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future - between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future - between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Cute and Functional!

I Like:

Torino™

This is my Christmas present. It's a mix of 50% dominatrix and 50% lumberjack, 100% cute. I can't wait to get them :) I have a pair of Columbia boots I bought a couple of years ago. My Columbia's failed me during a snow tubing trip where my feet turned into the color of paper and the tips of my toes had a blue hue, not to mention my feet were wet. So, I've been on the hunt for a good pair of boots that are waterproof, warm, and ties so tight that snow would NEVER get in them. I found them! Let's hope they live up to my expectations. ^_^

Dear Target

Dear Target,

Let me just say that I was skeptical when I saw Egg Nog yogurt. First, I thought the fat content must be outrageous - it's fat free. Second, I thought it must have ridiculous amounts of calories and sugar - 90 calories and only 10 g of sugar. With these numbers I had to give it a try, Archer Farms has never done me wrong in the past (Buffalo Macaroni and Cheese and vidalia sweet onion kettle chips...yumm!). I have to say that I wish this yogurt was available all year round. It's not only yummy, but it's super creamy too. To boot, it also has a cover :)

Thank you Target, this is another reason why I'm always in your store.

Love,

Crazy Target Shopper.

Ok I was bad again.

I bought more books. *head down* I'm ashamed of myself. I was excited though, I got them all on sale! I'm now able to read whenever I wish, because the semester is officially over today! Woo! I also landed myself a nice fat A. Another reason to be excited! I have soooo many books that I have planned to read over the winter vacation. It'll be interesting to see if I'm able to actually read them all.

Soooo here what my Amazon.com shopping cart looked like:

Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage by Alma Alexander

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Girl in the Area by Lise Haines

Eight Grade Bites by Heather brewer

AND A RESERVE FOR THE THIRD HUNGER GAMES BOOK!

I suck.

For the record, I completely blew my goal for December. I bought books AND I drank some Coke. For the record, I didn't go completely overboard with the Coke either, just had half of a kids cup. Try try again? I think that I should add chocolate to my list of things to cut back on as well. Oh and Bagel-fuls. I LOVE those things, perhaps a bit too much. They aren't really all that bad for you, but the carbs are probably outrageous.

Google Chrome is out for Mac now, hooray! I'm using it now. I was very excited when I got my email that the beta was out for Mac. They even have adorable themes for it too! I love Google. As a matter of fact I'm getting the HTC Google-goodness phone soon. :D

Yaayyyy!!

This needed to be done. I was much to excited about my Amazon book arrival to even straighten out the picture. :)

Detoxing

Currently...this is me. I decided that for the month of December I was going to go without my Coke. I'm dying. It's awful. I don't know how long I'll be able to do this. Sadly, it's only the first day. *sigh* I miss the cold burn as you take that first sip. School is crazy and I could REALLY use it right now. I have a 1/2 hour presentation on cultural competence and death and dying to start (due Monday), a test that is VERY cumulative (from 2007) on Friday, another test on Thursday (1oth), and a paper due Friday. I NEED MY CAFFEINEEE!!! I'm also not going to be purchasing anything in the month of December (like books, magazines, bad food, smelly stuff, clothes, basically anything I don't really need). We will see how this goes too. I'm thinking that it might not go well...I'm thinking that I'll have to convince Justin into buying my Planet Smoothie fix.

I'm going to go have my $1 iced tea now.

In My Mailbox: Week of 11/22

I have a tendency to be a book collector. Sad but true. Sometimes, *gasp* they don't even get read. I buy them with great intentions of reading it...but school tends to get in the way of that. Psh, nursing school and their unrelenting reading list. I'm going to start doing a weekly update of books that I have purchased, borrowed from the library, or lucky me gotten for free. If I'm lucky enough to see a movie or rent one from Redbox, I'll include that too!

Week of 11/22-11/28

Bought and Haven't Read Yet:

Vampire Academy Collection (Books 1-3) by Richelle Mead (Borders)

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Borders)

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (Borders)

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Bought and Read:

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Borders) - If I had a rating scale it would be out of 5 stars, anddd I would give this one a three.

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Borders) This one would be 3/5

I also bought some movies on Black Friday: Coraline, Hot Fuzz, and Aliens vs. Monsters. I rented Haunted Airman.