Emptying the Jar For September

This month has been a crazy month! After getting back into the dating field, most of my time has been spent with one person. Forgot what that felt like, but I kind of like it. So much, that I haven't gone to the gym as much as I would have liked this past month. I have a total of $10 in my jar this month. I have also gained all the weight back, again. I just have to remember not to give up, that's when people usually gain an additional ten pounds. It's like a pattern: you lose five, gain it back, get discouraged, then gain some more weight because you temporarily give up. I'm determined not to give up easily, it's October 1st and I already have one dollar in my jar.

On a side note, I found out today that I moved in next to a meth lab. Yep. When I moved in there was a crazy girl living next to me with her boyfriend, or so I assumed. About a month later there were notices on the door stating that the apartment was unfit to enter, fire department saying that it was against the law to enter. I had no idea why, and didn't find out until almost a year later (today). This morning as I was walking out of my apartment a lady introduced herself as my neighbor. I commented that it was nice to finally have a neighbor, as that apartment was empty for so long. That's when she told me that her neighbors told her there had been a meth lab in that apartment. I am officially motivated to move! I can't even imagine if something would have gone south next door.

I have always believed in angels, I think when I moved in, my guardian angel stepped in and protected me by getting that apartment evicted and condemned. A lot of friends have told me how scary it is, but I just look at what I'm blessed with. I've survived a year completely on my own, it's been a scary year, but it came with a lost of blessings and life lessons. I'm one step closer to my acceptance of being able to live in a house by myself, now that I've mastered living in an apartment by myself.

The Best Music You've (Probably) Never Heard

I love going to the gym, I think I've turned into a gym rat, but I don't care. I never go for more than an hour, usually just go for one class and then I'm done, but I am in love with the music that I have discovered in my classes. I haven't done a top ten in awhile, so here is a list of the top TWENTY songs that I have discovered since starting going to the gym. To date, I have never heard any of these on any radio station. I have discovered some music that is on the top 40 list, but I tried to stay away from those for this list.

1. Move - MercyMe
2. Skinny Love - Birdy
3. Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) - Mika
4. When the Bells Don't Chime - Brian Setzer
5. Limbo - Daddy Yankee
6. La Bomba - Ricky Martin
7. Where I Belong - Nine Lashes
8. Dale Cuerda a La Cadera - DJ Mendez
9. DJ Dale Play - Mara
10. Tranquila - J Balvin
11. Pasarela - Daddy Yankee
12. Heartbreak on Hold - Alexandra Burke
13. La Maquina - Picco
14. Wings - Little Mix
15. Quiero Bailar - 3BallMTY
16. Mashallah - Wajid and Shreya Ghoshal
17. Only You - Ellie Goulding
18. Antidote - Swedish House Mafia
19. Dum Dum - Tedashii
20. The Saints - Andy Mineo ft. KB and Trip Lee

They are mostly in order of my favorite, but I really could listen to all of them every day. It is mainly a compilation of music from four different types of classes that I take at two different gym locations, which is why there's a little bit of variety. I don't know how the instructors pick their music, but it's so refreshing to have a little variety in music. They still throw in some top 40 hits too, but what a perfect opportunity to introduce music that people never hear about. I recently started listening to Spotify, and it has also introduced me to some great music. Maybe another top ten in the making. :)

Five Years Later

I post a lot about how much life changes, and we seem to stand still, so I thought I would do a comparison going further back than a couple months, or a year. The biggest changes in my life occurred in the past five years. When people say that time passes fast, it's because they think nothing has changed much, but if you look back, and see how much has changed, you realize time passes quite slowly. So, here we go, here is a list of what my life was like five-six years ago.

1) I didn't have a steady full-time job
2) I didn't own a car
3) I didn't even have a license
4) I lived with my parents
5) I had almost no friends who lived less than 50 miles away
6) I had a five figure debt from school
7) I was still in school (internship)

Me in my "new" car  (2009)

This list is all stuff that was true in January of 2009. By that summer almost none of it was true. By November none of it was true. This was just for one year, and so many milestones passed. I have passed many more milestones since then, but for now I'm going to post about this year because it's been on my mind ever since I hit my five year anniversary at my job. The time seems like it has passed quickly, but really so much has changed. Maybe next year I'll have to post about 2010. It really is interesting to go back and look at your life, and realize just how much you had to look forward to, if only you had the hindsight back then. 

Day 379: I think I missed something

This will be the last post with the day number....cause somehow I think the count got off. I also noticed that I never input for the month of July for the "money jar," although if I remember correctly I think I had thirteen for that month. This month was a little less, at 10. It still is pretty good, though, considering I took a vacation and have been trying to hang out with friends more. I can't believe I've been living in this apartment for a year. Thinking back a year I didn't think I would still be here. Money saving techniques are coming back ten fold. I dug through my freezer when I got home for something to make for dinner and found some frozen pizza I bought sometime after moving in here last year. It was expired, but I made the most of it. A little more crispy, so I spread some bbq sauce on top and washed it down with a soda, then treated myself to a cup, not a bowl, of peach frozen yogurt. I have also discovered Spotify, which means I can listen to all different kinds of music, which will prevent me from buying so many cds. Personal favorites are the Study station (ethereal music, think sigur-ros) and the Soul station. The sweet sounds of Al Green and the Commodores have been streaming through my speakers for the last hour.

I will try to keep up on this, I guess I can always number them by the month, instead of day, since clearly that didn't work out so well.

Edit: Ok I just figured it out, I apparently went through the 200 numbers twice, I guess I need to get on here more often.

Day 341: A Series of Unexpected Events aka Best Weekend Ever

This last weekend was one of the best weekends I have ever experienced in my life. I could have never anticipated most of the things that happened this past weekend, which is why this post is mainly about unexpected events that have happened within those short, but great, 48 hours. It all started off Friday night.

I get bored easily, living alone will do that after awhile. I can only watch so many shows on Netflix before cabin fever sets in, so I go walk around places that are 24 hours for fun. These places include Cub Foods, Wal-Mart, and Mystic Lake Casino. On this night I visited the latter. I actually almost didn't go...three times. I kept trying to talk myself out of it, mainly because I haven't had much luck there lately. I put a twenty into the machine, and three machines later I was down to 85 cents. I went to one last machine, one on which I had won before, and stuck another five dollars in. I lost a couple more rounds, then the machine said I won 35 dollars! I heard a rumor that once a machine hits big, it usually hits big again, so I kept going, and three spins later, I hit a bonus round and won 40 dollars. So for this night, walked in with 25 dollars, walked out with almost 75 dollars! I left right away, not wanting to chance anything else.

The next night was interesting, because one of my friends had expressed interest in doing a sleepover/girls night. I hadn't slept very well the previous night, and had been suffering from vertigo, so I took some Bonine, and took a long nap. Luckily her phone call woke me up and I called her and said I would be right over. I wasn't the most eager to hang out, I have been feeling kind of down lately, but thought being around people would help. I got there and my friend let me in. She told me to go downstairs, which I found difficult as the lights were all off. I asked her if we could turn a light on, then all of a sudden the lights went up and I heard "Surprise!" Some of my closest friends/family were sitting there, just waiting for me. They told me that it was basically a "get well" party for me because I had been so depressed lately and they were worried about me. At first I was embarassed, as I had only told one person in that room about how I had been feeling. Then I realized that there shouldn't be this strong a stigma associated with depression. And yes, I cried. It was my party. I wanted to :) This is a picture of me after my friends did my makeup, we all pampered each other.

After all these festivities I was kind of tired, so took it easy most of the day on Sunday, resting up before a concert that I had a ticket to. It was to see one of my favorite bands, Set it Off, and one of my new favorites, Our Last Night. I actually was listening to a lot of the music before the concert, and one song, "Sunrise," seemed like it was divine intervention, like it was meant to come into my life at this exact moment to give me hope. One of the bands even has a organization that they promoted during the show, called "Hope For the Day," which is a benefit that supports music as a means for treating depression and suicidal thoughts. At the concert, there actually ended up being five bands total, there was only supposed to be four, but well worth the wait to see the last two. I couldn't hear out of my left ear until about an hour ago, and I almost passed out from dehydration after the concert (my friend had to drive me home), but it was all worth it.

I know not every weekend can be as eventful and uplifting as this one, but when I get to feeling the way I did two weeks ago, totally depressed and hopeless, I can look back to this moment and know that I have a good life and I have good friends. I am still riding the high from the weekend, just happy that so many good things happened in such a short time, because I needed it.

Day 319: A Good Month for the Gym

This entry is a little late, but it is because I was so busy....at the gym! I emptied the jar and found $15 waiting for me! I am very impressed! That means I went half the days in June. I've started to become almost addicted to going to the gym, but in a good way. There is a class almost every night during the week that I love, so I attend every week. I have not lost any weight, but I have lost a lot of inches. I can tell my clothes fit a lot looser. I figure the weight will come eventually, right now I'm just trying to stay in shape. I notice that I don't get as winded by exercise as I used to, and that I can go up two flights of stairs everyday at work without getting winded. It's small, but it is a step in the right direction. I tell people my weight and they don't believe me, so I must have put on a lot of muscle or something. I'm definitely losing my stomach "pooch." In the pictures below I am the same weight, but they are taken almost exactly a year apart. The top one was taken June 21, 2014. The bottom one was taken June 16, 2013. There's not much of a difference, but it's a good reference because I am wearing the exact same shirt. This goes to show that there's more to fitness than just losing pounds.

Day 283: Emptying the Jar Again

It's the first, so it's that time of the month again. This was a very low month, only 8 dollars in the exercise jar. I'm getting a little discouraged, but I did go frisbee golfing a couple times this month, and I don't count those. I only count trips to the gym, that way if the count goes so low that I'm paying my membership fee to only go once a month, I need to cut that out of my budget. Eight isn't too bad, that's twice a week on average. It actually would have been nine, but the gym closed early on Memorial Day. The site said there was an evening class, but I guess they forgot to update their site. Oh well.

I have also started thinning out my junk food. I don't like wasting food, so I'm only allowing myself to eat what I have in my apartment. I saw this guy on an episode of Cheapskates that really inspired me. Most of the people on there are crazy, I will never use rags for toilet paper or box up other people's food at restaurants for myself, but this guy had a good idea. He would have one week every month when him and his wife could not spend any money on anything. He bikes everywhere, so he didn't have to worry about filling up his tank, but he would use what was in his cabinets to make dinner for a week straight. If he wanted to buy something he would scour the couch cushions and the parking lots of convenience stores. I think this is a good idea, it teaches people how to be a little more frugal. This idea, along with my idea of not carrying a credit card around at all times, helps me save money. It also prevents me from hitting up the DQ on those 100 degree days for a quick blizzard. Instead I have to plan around what I have.

I just found out I might be looking at houses soon, so I've been really trying to save my nickels and dimes. I have had a lot of PB&J sandwiches with a glass of water for dinner. Not the most exciting meal, but it fills me up and costs almost nothing. I added up the cost and it's about forty cents per sandwich, 35 if I skimp on the PB&J. I use MIO to flavor my water and, while the price on those is super expensive, they last for months. Everything is a work in progress, I just tell my friends I'm on the college diet. All through college I ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches, which are really good, but now I can't eat them. Everything in moderation.

Day 280: Free Dinner and a Show

Hey internet people!

It's been a good week! Yesterday at work someone informed me that I had won a prize drawing for some committee. I am not on any committees at work, and couldn't remember signing up for anything. Come to find out, they drew everybody's name at work, and I was number 7 out of 10 to get my name drawn for a prize. Some of the prizes included tickets to Chanhassan Dinner Theater, Twins tickets, Lynx tickets, Jesus Christ Superstar, and movie tickets. My name was so far down the list I pretty much knew most of the stuff would be gone by the time I got there, which it was, but I didn't care, any of these options was fine with me. I ended up opting for the movie tickets, which were for Regal Cinema, only two in the metro area, but not a bad deal. Two tickets and $10 in concession stand money.


Later that night was Bucks night at Chammps, which is their version of Bingo. I was debating on not going, but was feeling really lucky after winning those tickets, so I headed over and reserved a table for me and my friends. A little information on Bucks: the last game of the night is the jackpot, and it grows $50 every week that nobody wins it. This week it was up to $1,550. You have to win in eleven numbers. After he called the tenth number I had one more to go...and he didn't call it. Until three numbers later. And another person won as well. We both went up there, because he can only have one winner, so he had us both draw bingo balls to see who got the higher number. I grabbed the first one I touched, and clenched my fist around it. I didn't want to look at it until I saw what color hers was. (We have the same set at work, so I know the order from low to high is blue, red, white, green, yellow.) Hers was white, which meant an N number. I opened up my fist....and my ball was yellow! I had won the final prize, which was a $25 gift card. Not bad, especially considering I didn't have to pay to play. The manager also came up to me and gave me a free app/drink coupon for being one away earlier. My luck may be running out soon, but it feels good to win something.

Day 277: Money Saving and Weight Loss Tips

Two of my friends got married at the beginning of this month, and ever since then I've been trying to lose the weight I put on for it and save the money that I spent on it. I didn't realize how expensive it was to be in a wedding, actually owe people money now, so I've been trying all sorts of things to save money. The dress that I spent two hundred dollars on also did not fit after I lost some weight. So I also have been going hardcore with re-losing the weight. I figured out some "life hacks" if you will. A lot of sites post these, so I thought I would post a couple of mine.

These are some to lose weight:

• Allow yourself one cheat meal a week, that way you have something to look forward to
• Avoid the chip/soda aisle. There is always something new/on clearance/sale that you will want
• Weigh yourself once a day, at the same time every day. It sucks, but will help motivate you
• When you are stressed/angry/bored go for a walk. Even if the weather sucks walk around the mall or a local grocery store. I like Wal-Mart because it's 24 hours and has non-food sections.
• When you are watching tv/movie have a puzzle going, it will keep your hands busy and prevent you from making a snack.
• Plan your week with little exercise routines built in. I belong to a gym so I look ahead of time to see what classes are offered. 
• Have your friends join you for a walk around a lake/park/neighborhood

These are some to help save money:

• Cancel anything you don't use/need. I still need to cancel my People.com subscription, I never read them
•  When I go out anywhere I will leave my credit cards at home and only take cash, that way I can only spend that certain dollar amount
• Leave cash/credit cards at home. If I'm going to a friend's house/the gym I will leave my credit cards and cash at home, that way it is not even an option to hit up taco bell after doing Zumba
• Along with allowing one cheat meal, allow yourself to only go out a certain number of times a week. Plan your meals according to your grocery shopping. 
• Set an "allowance" for yourself and only go to the atm when it's time for your "allowance"
• Coupon. Just about everything out there has a coupon. I even do the surveys on the back of my receipts for free food/drawings
• When your friends go out, eat beforehand (unless it's buffet) then just get a soda or light dessert. Sure, it's fun to eat out, but my friends go out every time we hang out

I know there are a lot of ways to save money and lose weight, and it's hard. I am still working on getting rid of the junk food in my place and replacing it with better things. I have been shopping the "natural" or "organic" sections of grocery stores. It's a little more expensive, but then I save that money on not eating out all the time. My friends love to go eat out, and usually everybody wants to order a drink. When all is said and done the bill is well over twenty. I also don't go to eat at buffets anymore, it's just too much money and I eat too much.

All this being said, I love my body, but I know that I need to lose a little weight so that I can be a little more comfortable. I know we all say that we're going to lose the weight, but this time I mean it. Time to stop talking and start doing. My "gym money" jar is filling up, so will post on that next week, it's going to be a low month, but I haven't given up.

Day 254: Emptying the Jar Again

I counted the dollars in the jar for April, but it doesn't seem right...only 10! I have been sick a lot this month, but that is pretty bad. At this rate it is costing me about six dollars every time I go to the gym. I think this is the lowest month so far, but I'm hopeful for the up and coming months. I am in a wedding tomorrow as a bridesmaid, and of course we ordered our dresses way ahead of time to make sure we got them in time. After trying mine on a couple weeks ago I realized that it no longer fit very well. I have actually lost about ten pounds, but it looks like more because I've been gaining a lot of muscle. As a result I didn't work out as much, in hopes that the dress would start to fit better because I couldn't afford to get it altered again. I hate myself for doing it, but I gained five pounds back to get the dress to fit better. It worked, though, and I'll just have to step it up after the wedding again.

One of the biggest factors of weight gain, that a lot of people ignore, is stress. I realized that being around certain people was stressing me out. Growing up means making grown up choices, even when you don't want to. I had to cut back on time spent with people that made me feel like a loser, because it was giving me a bad attitude towards my life in general. I would eat cookies at one in the morning because, well, I deserve it. Nobody else feels the way I do. Right? No. That's how a teenager reacts, but when an adult acts that way they gain weight. They feel bad about themselves, they eat to feel better, lose sleep from the sugar added late at night, feel tired the next day, lose self-respect for themselves and eat junk food. I could do this when I was a teenager and not gain a pound, but can't do it any more. So here is my list of things to do when I'm feeling stressed/depressed to avoid junk food:

• Drink water with Mio or other flavorings
• Do a puzzle, challenges your mind and makes you feel good when you complete it
• Go for a walk
• Sing, either on Rock Band or while playing guitar/piano
• Call a friend
• Online window shopping
• Keep a healthy snack bin in your fridge stocked with string cheese, carrots, apples, etc
• Don't buy chips!

I'm still working on that last one. They recently came out with rice krispie oreos, too, and I'm addicted. I've also tried to switch to baked chips as much as possible. Eventually I will get back to juicing too...

Day 239: New Additions, Sickness, and Exercise

I am officially an aunt! A little over a week ago my sister-in-law and brother gave birth to a beautiful girl. I have enjoyed going to see her almost every day, although lately I haven't been able to visit much. This winter has been harsh, and it's bleeding over into spring. We got another snowfall here yesterday, which is about where we were last year I guess. I can't believe how sick I've been this winter though. A month ago I was sick with the flu. Then Monday night I started feeling sick again, just kind of tired. I woke up Tuesday morning and coughed up the grossest orange and green mucous. My throat hurt so bad and I had a really bad headache. I knew it wasn't a migraine, but thought maybe it was just a cold. It didn't go away though, and an hour after getting to work I left to go to a minute clinic for a rapid strep test.

I haven't had strep since I was little, but I definitely had it, so now I'm on antibiotics for the next two weeks. I don't mind the sore throat, I usually don't talk much outside of work anyways, but the pills make me so tired and loopy. Someone asked me a question about something at work and all I could do was stand there staring off into the distance, not knowing how to answer, so I just apologized and excused myself. I can't even go to the gym, which brings me to the good news part of this good/bad news post....

I've lost ten pounds! At first I just thought it would come back after I had the flu, which it did at first, but then it went back down. My secret? I did everything they tell you to do. I have been going to the gym at least three times a week (cardio, strength, and yoga), and eating a big lunch/small dinner. I haven't even been doing my juicing the last month. I could tell the difference when I went back to David's Bridal to pick up my "altered" dress. It doesn't fit. I was both happy and frustrated in the same moment, although I think my friend was just frustrated. She suggested getting a bra to hold it up (it's strapless), but I don't think that's gong to solve everything. Oh well, I can always attach straps if need be.

10 pounds down, 30 to go!

Day 224: Fitness Goal Reached for March

It's been awhile, last time I blogged was when I was sick and basically forced to stay home. I guess that's the only time I really have to do this too much anymore. I counted up my dollar bills for March and they added up to $13! That's a total of 33 this year! I am also down 10 pounds, partly due to being sick, but also because I have really been watching what I eat. I eat a big lunch, and a very small dinner, sometimes just a string cheese with a glass of juice. I have also been noticing everything toning a lot more.

It's been hard work getting to where I am, I know that all the work I've done in the past year has paid off, and now that I'm not eating any fast food (gave it up for Lent) I'm noticing big changes in my appetite. I'm not as hungry anymore and can sustain off of smaller meals. I decided that instead of buying something every month that I would save up the money until I reached a goal of something I want. Still not sure what I want, but now I have over $30 to play with!

Day 207: 120 Hours

Today I went outside for the first time in five days and, even though it was cold, the air felt glorious on my face. My legs felt like jelly and I must have looked like a newborn deer trying to walk on account of how weak my body is. Today I was just grateful to be outside though, as small as that sounds.

I had jury duty last week, which I wasn't real thrilled about. I was supposed to go out of town Thursday evening or early Friday morning, which meant that, unless my case wrapped up within five days, it would cut my vacation significantly shorter. I got assigned to a criminal case on Monday, so I pretty much accepted this as a fact. Wednesday morning I woke up at 4:00 am in a chill. I realized I had left the window open so I shut it and pulled the covers up tighter. Half hour later I was shivering so bad my bed was shaking. I turned the heat back on, as I had turned it off the previous night (it gets hot here). I was still cold though, shivering like a wet dog. I went to the thermostat to see if it was working and it read over 80 degrees. I was still cold.

I knew I had a temp before I even got the thermometer. The next question was what to do about my jury duty. There was no number to call once you were on a case, so I had no choice. I drove to the park and ride and rode the light rail out to the government plaza. At this point I had a temp of 101, so knew I had to make my point quick. After very careful consideration, and a few questions, the judge let me go....back downstairs to the holding room. Luckily it was just to put me on call. I still had no idea what this could be.

As soon as I got home I had my mom take me to the doctor who pretty much diagnosed me was soon as I walked in: I had the flu. Strain A, we figured out once I took the rapid test. My temp when he took it was 102 and rising, so he prescribed Tamiflu. This stuff has made me so nauseous and so dizzy, I haven't been able to even drive the past five days, much less walk around my apartment. It did help it go away within the first couple days though. Those first couple days, though, I never want to have anything like that again. I felt like a baby. I couldn't hold my own head up so I had a water bottle resting next to me raised on the pillow that I would suck on whenever I wanted water. I was in and out of consciousness for 48 hours. I lost over 10 pounds in 72 hours. That second night I wasn't sure if it was going to get better soon, as my temperature that night was almost 104.

I don't know where I got this from, maybe the light rail, maybe a dirty handrail in the government center, but let my story serve as a warning: always wash your hands. I just took my last dose of Tamiflu, and I still can't stand up for more than five minutes without getting tired. I just hope work tomorrow goes well. 

Day 195: Not a good month for the gym...

Today is Fat Tuesday, boy does that describe how I have been feeling lately. I know I've said it before, but I am so sick of being overweight. I am making a conscious effort to lose weight (again). This month I counted up the money in my workout jar...$9. I only worked out nine times this month. Granted, I was sick for a lot of this month, but still it seems low. That's an average of twice a week. Hopefully I get my motivation back soon.

Anyways, for Lent this season I have decided to once again give up fast food, but also decided to really challenge myself with a couple other things. My friend laughed at me when I told her, but I have decided to also give up soda, shouldn't be too hard, and also give up negative thoughts/complaining. I feel like lately I have been a very negative person, always looking at the downside. I am going to try to go this whole Lenten season without having any outward negativity. I know it's natural to have a negative attitude about certain things, I'm just going to choose to not bellyache about them all the time.

I got my taxes back, going off of my previous post, and I will be eating at home a lot anyways, I can't afford to go out. I might even go back to what I did in college: eating only once a day. I'm really struggling these days to get started with things, not just my weight, and it's the courage to fly blindly and trust in God's plan that I am having the biggest problem with. If things are meant to be, then they will happen. But having the courage to follow through on that is even harder...more on that at a later date (maybe).

Day 188: I Don't Want to be an Adult Anymore...

Death and taxes. You can always be sure of these two things in your life. The latter is really killing me right now though. I won't go into too many details, mainly because it's complicated, but also due to the fact that I don't want to get too specific in an online public blog. Basically, I got money from a life insurance policy, which I used to pay for college. What I didn't realize was that every cent that was made in that policy, was used up as of last year. The total amount that I received from the policy, I have to pay taxes on. All in one year. How much? I'm not saying how much was earned, but let's just say it was over twenty years ago that the account was opened. So yea, basically way more than I was expecting. This is also counted as earned income, so I was put into a different tax bracket. This amounted to thousands of dollars, which totally sucks.

Lately I've been trying not to be a negative Nancy, so I look at this experience as getting a really cheap college education. I also do not have to pay interest, and it's only a fraction of what I payed. Also, unlike school loans, this is coming five years later, when my accounts are much better off than when I first graduated. Being an adult is so hard though...I really wanted to move out of here in the fall.

I'm also battling my first winter cold, which still amazes me. In past years I would get sick an average of three or four times. So far I've only had to miss a half day of work, and haven't had a fever yet. It also helped that I got sick on a Friday, so I was able to sleep all weekend. Now I just have to get back to the gym. I think juicing has helped a lot with my health. Every day, for the past couple months, I juice about 10 oranges and 8 apples a week. Basically, one glass of juice every other day. I would highly recommend it.

Day 165: Fitness Goal Reached for January

It's been extremely cold outside, so I have been forced inside, which has lead to a lot of cabin fever. I also have been going to the gym a lot. Apparently the computer keeps track of how many times you swipe your card, because a couple weeks ago when I swiped my card the lady behind the desk said, "Wow, she's been here eleven times this month!"


I started a fitness jar. Basically every time I go to the gym I put a dollar in the jar. At the end of the month I can buy whatever I want, whether it's a dinner at a restaurant of my choice or a new workout shirt. I started this on the 1st, and after carefully counting the money I had a grand total of fourteen dollars! It's not much, but when you think about it there can't be more than thirty one in any given month. I think I'm going to go for a new workout tank top. I only have one nice one that fits me. I really wanted a Zumba one, but I need to save six more dollars in a month to get that one. I guess that will be my goal for next month, even though it's a short one.

Day 159: Polar Vortex, Take 2

It was another extremely cold day again here in the Midwest, but there is hope: we MIGHT get positive temperatures tomorrow! I have been getting cabin fever lately, so bad that last week I had my first anxiety attack since college. I used to get them sometimes during finals week, but last week was almost as bad as a finals week. It included a construction project, which threw me into a job I didn't sign up for: glorified babysitting. Usually I am able to do a fairly good group with about 4-10 people. This project moved a lot of people around and now I have up to 30 at a time. I lose my voice daily trying to talk over people, and that's just the staff. I know everyone is trying their hardest, though, it's stressful for everyone. Reason number two is a certain staff member made a very discriminatory remark about how no one from my generation knows how to work hard anymore. As my blog title says, I am 30. Anyone else out there in my generation? What do you think? Most of my friends actually work more than I do because the economy is so bad and no one has the money to go to college anymore. This staff member also referred to me in a written documentation that I am an aide. No offense to any other professions, but if I go to school to earn a certain title, I should be called by that title, whether it be music therapist, aide, or doctor. Of course I can't change signed documentation, and the staff had already left for the day, so instead I buried the disappointment.


By the weekend, I was ready to do something fun, no matter what. I needed to cut loose, get out of my apartment. I had been skipping the gym and eating fast food, and was developing skin rashes on my arms, which I figured was a form of shingles, caused by the stress piling up. I figured it was either the mental hospital or the open road. I have been trying to plan a road trip for quite some time, but with the cold and snow traveling far is a dumb idea. So instead, I had a mini "stay-cation." I had one of these last summer due to the state of my bank accounts, and I have to say sometimes they are more fun than anything else.


Saturday I called up a couple people asking if they wanted to hang out, maybe go on an "adventure" (I say this all the time to my friends, no one every says yes right away, but it's fun to call it that). Nobody felt like leaving their homes on that cold and snowy day, so I plotted that evening what I was going to do. It's a good thing I did go somewhere too, because my internet stopped working for the evening. I decided to head down to Apple Valley, because they have a lot of good shops and I was in need of some retail therapy. I waited until late, though, because I hate crowds. I hit up Savers, which is a thrift store, and $20 later I was feeling better already. I walked next door to Half Price Books. They had some really cool key covers, see picture, and I also got some great clearance books.

 

Next I decided to hit up the casino, since there's not much else to do at 9:30 at night. So I went to an ATM, got some cash, then headed up to Mystic, but not before getting some cheese curds from A & W. I figured my diet would be in full swing next week, I needed to let some steam off. My GPS took me on a back road, which took forever with all the wind and snow. When I got to Mystic, I felt so at peace. I didn't even get carded (first time ever). There was a live band doing one of my favorite songs, there were free drawings and games everywhere, and everybody seemed so happy. This was the first time I have pulled out ahead at the casino in years, too. I didn't win very much, but it was enough to cover the gas out there and my cheese curds.


When I got home, which was just shy of midnight, I changed into my pjs, flipped on the tv....and my phone rang! A couple of my friends wanted to know if I wanted to hang out and play board games late into the night. I almost declined, but knew I needed to go. I am heading into my 30's and know that my days are numbered where I can party late into the night. I will always be a night owl, but doubt I will always be able to pull off 6am when I'm in my 40's. Yep, went to bed at 6 in the morning, just late enough to see light coming over the trees. I felt like total crap the next day, and missed my workout session, but it was worth it for one evening of cutting loose and having fun.

Day 140: Polar Vortex

There is a new weather phenomenon, or at least a new term: polar vortex. Basically, the cold air from the north pole is getting brought down to the Midwest, which makes for some very cold temperatures. Today it was -2...and that felt warm to me. That's how cold it has been. It actually has helped my diet a little because I don't get drive thru food, my window is frozen shut. I could roll it down today, but you never want to chance it in these temperatures. The extreme cold to heat (indoors) has caused my skin to break out, which has prompted me to use acne crème for the first time since high school.

It has been a good time to stay indoors, which I have been doing. I've been watching more holiday movies and catching up on some tv shows, such as Family Guy and Sons of Anarchy, which I recently got into. I've also been able to brave the cold with family and friends, going out to brunch on Sunday with my parents, party because I had a groupon, but also because my dad's birthday was yesterday. I was also able to go out New Year's Eve with some friends to eat, and went to a makeup party on Monday night. I like being outdoors, but even I can't handle this. They actually closed the schools two days in advance and shut down a lot of major businesses for the day. The last time this happened was sometime in the mid 90's, which would have been around high school for me.

My mom has a blog site on here and she posted a lot of good ideas for keeping warm. I try to think of it as a day to enjoy things you can do indoors. During the summer people complain about not wanting to be indoors on such a nice day, why play video games and watch movies on such a nice day. Well, these are the days to completely immerse yourself in these kinds of activities. I still make time to go to the gym, I'm just really careful to not go outside afterwards without my layers on. I think that's how I got such dry skin last week.

What are some of your favorite indoor activities? I know I will be hitting up Netflix and playing some video games in the next couple weeks until the cold snap disappears. Until then, I leave you with a picture I took Monday morning, when the high temperature was -14.

Day 133: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

I work at a nursing home as a music therapist, and one of the songs that I had to learn this year was "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Well, I didn't have to learn it, but figured it would be a good one since only that one and Auld Lang Syne are two of the only New Year's songs. It got me to thinking about past new year's eves, and how every year has been slightly different. I thought about where I was with y2K, my NYE in the roman coliseum, and the year that the we lost power, only to get it back five minutes before midnight.

This year I was invited to a party at my brother's, which was about a month ago. Him and his wife usually have good parties, so I thought why not. And they are all night owls like me, at least on New Year's Eve they are. Before leaving work, I was making plans to go to the gym with a friend, but realized at the last second that the gym closed at seven, so asked her if she wanted to grab a bite to eat instead. I had a Groupon that I had been meaning to use, so I called up the restaurant to make a reservation. They said they couldn't fit me in until 8:30pm. I asked my friend if that was ok, and she said yes, so we showed up around eight and got seated right away. I guess they either had a lot of cancellations or weren't as busy as they thought they would be.

Right after sitting down and looking at the menu, I got a text from a couple more friends. They asked if I wanted to come over and join in the festivities at their place. I told them no, I had already made plans. I could have gone to more than one party, but I figured New Year's is one of those holidays where the parties pretty much fade after midnight. It also didn't help that it took an hour to get our appetizers, and another half hour to get our actual food. Talk about slow service! My brother texted me to see if I was still coming, which I assured him I was, and that I would be there before midnight.

I left the restaurant around ten, with leftovers of course because I had filled up on appetizers, and headed to my brother's. I made it, of course, and enjoyed the rest of the evening with friends and family. One thing that I always rely on for a good NYE is to be around people I care about, people that I can be proud of to call my friends and family. I was able to see a lot of people yesterday, not just at the party, but also got to see my friend at dinner, and that's all that matters. This was pretty much how I spent last NYE too, just chilling at my brother's house, this time I was too far to walk home, so I had to drive. It was fun just relaxing until 3 in the morning, not a care in the world because people didn't have to be at work the next day, or at least they were going in later so weren't too worried about sleep.

I also have started a tradition. Below is a jar full of slips of paper. From January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 I wrote down all the good things that happened to me. I read through them earlier and I was very surprised by some of them. Some I had forgotten about and they made me happier, some made me sad. There were some, though, that I looked at and couldn't figure out why I put it in there. In hindsight some of them seemed very trivial. Overall, though, they all made me realize I had a very good year. This is a good way to look back and not be too negative about the year that has passed, and look forward to what the new year will bring.