Thursday, June 24, 2010

A Good Day After All...

Song of the moment: The Call of Ktulu by Metallica. Love that instrumental.

Today has been a long day, full of driving and naps. Let me explain. Last night I actually slept early! I am so proud of myself. This has been something that I've been trying to work on for a while. Unfortunately, I slept about 12 hours. And after my day out, I proceeded to take a nap when I got home! WAT UP WIT DAT!? I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some info on why I'm sleeping so much.


My day out consisted of driving around town looking at apartments. I felt like I was so close to finally signing a lease (I have been searching for a long time), but my mom didn't like the places. Of course, she has the final word. Were back to square one. Again. I will do some more searching after my busy next week. I'm going camping on Saturday night to celebrate my friend Neil's birthday, on Monday I'm going to orientation for UT and I can finally sign up for classes, and on Tuesday I will be driving up to Dallas to hang out with my girls Esther and Sharon! This is probably the most I am doing this summer. I was planning a road trip to California with the Boy but it would end up being too expensive. So this upcoming week is all I got away from home.


New episodes of Futurama came out tonight! The show was canceled some years ago, God knows why, but after tonight I will now be able to enjoy little bits of mana from heaven, spoon fed to me from my TV. I was super excited to watch it, and headed over to my Boy's place to witness this glorious unveiling (I'm still there now, actually). I stopped by the Sonic drive-thru to pick up a Reese's Blast (great diet food, I know!) at around 8:50. You know how long it took to get my order? TEN MINUTES. I didn't end up getting to his place until 9:15, thanks to several red lights along the way. I was super bummed that I missed the beginning of the new Futurama. It seemed like nothing was turning out for me today.


As I sat on the bed, laughing at the show with the company of my Boy and slurping up my blended cold dairy dessert, I realized that it wasn't such a bad day after all. I *did* get the blast for free, thanks to the manager, because it took so long, and my mom didn't approve because she has a higher standard than me. That means I will only be moving into someplace much much nicer :)

I'm off to play Devil May Cry on the PS2 now :) Tata for now!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Working Out

Currently listening to: Ratatat! It's electronic melodies are made by two New Yorkers and appeal to almost everyone I know.

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Since New Year, I've tried to start a successful work out routine at least four different times. The first few had the most momentum, lasting two or three weeks each, but eventually I stopped them all.

To hell with looking at my arms and thinking they are flabby! As of last week I've restarted working out. Instead of just jogging every/every other day, I'm mixing it up with some light weight training, and will be paying more attention to my diet. It's really helpful that my dad got a family membership to YMCA, because there are locations downtown I can use after the move.

My main goal for working out is to become healthier. I don't need a doctor to tell me that I sit on my ass too much! As of lately I've been feeling very lethargic, so hopefully this routine can kick-up my energy levels as well. My second goal is to look better. Who doesn't want to look their best at all times, no matter what they're wearing? I have two main culprits I'd like to get rid of-- fat on my arms and fat around my midsection, especially the love handles. My boy toy says he like's them, but hey, won't hips work just as well? Thirdly, I'd love to be more confident with my body. If I look and feel better physically, it follows that I should feel better emotionally and mentally as well!

I've been going through a lot of changes in my diet lately, including my New Year's resolution to stop eating meat and my subsequent failure to uphold it, abruptly starting a vitamin regimen that also found its way to the non-habit side of my behavior, and a higher intake of junk food thanks to my parents' well-stocked kitchen and ice cream trips with my younger brother. I know that a healthy diet is essential to see all the changes I'm hoping for, so I am definitely going to have to change. My first main change is the addition of protein shakes post-workout to boost protein and prevent sore muscles. The second would be to stop eating carbs at night!!! Midnight meals of Shin Ramen are definitely high on my list of bad habits . Thirdly, I need to add more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I believe I'm already big on eating whole wheat versus white bread and trying to avoid processed foods, but it wouldn't hurt to pay attention to what I'm eating a little more. ;)

Stumptuous.com is a great place for women to read about weight training and related topics, and it's also the source of my current routine. It's fabulously short and easy, but it's also kicking my butt! After the first day of working out, my legs were sore for FOUR DAYS. If that's not a sign of how much muscle I'm lacking.... I don't know what is. I'm also doing a little cardio on the side as well.

Bodybuilding.com
's forum area is a great website for finding inspiration, information regarding routines, diets, machines, etc., and discussing what works best for both males and females.

Two blogs I like to read regarding fitness and nutrition are:

Eat, Live, Run
- "the food journal of a girl with a healthy mission" and

The Fitnessista - a fitness blog by a personal trainer.

I am super excited to see some results! After a few weeks, I will let you know how well my work out routine is working for me. What kind of work outs and diets do y'all follow? Have you seen any results?

Monday, June 7, 2010

Summer Update

Hello everyone!

I've decided to chronicle my life regularly from now on. I've got tons to talk about too; my future relocation to the heart of my favorite city and hometown, my job hunt, my decision to join Big Brother Big Sister, my new found love of cooking, and my piqued interest in knitting.

To start it off, I am now a student at the University of Austin! I am so excited to be out of San Antonio and back in Austin. For those that don't know, I decided to go to UT San Antonio for a year and then transfer to UT Austin. UTSA was a great school and I had a wonderful time. I got to meet tons of new people, I got to feel like I was an adult (although sometimes I'd rather go back to those good ol' middle school days!), and had an otherwise nice and easy transition into the college world. But it did have it's downsides. As someone who grew up in the Austin suburbs, I longed for the vibrant downtown atmosphere. In San Antonio, I was also in a sprawled out suburban location, where I had to rely on chain stores for everything I needed. The only two local coffee shops in the area had shut down years before I started school. Also, the classes were pretty much as easy as in high school. No problem there, and they were just freshman classes, but some real brain stimulation is always good. Something to make up for those Friday nights, perhaps? Heh.

Now that I am back in Austin, I am ready! I am ready to live downtown, walk to the coolest local shops, have my own pad, and decorate it too! This begins my quest to find a cheap, yet suitable apartment. It's a big jump from San Antonio, where my brand new apartment, with in-unit washer and dryer, free cable and internet, and all bills paid, was only $520 a month. Downtown Austin, most of the buildings are 40 years old, most don't have any bills paid, and there's still nothing decent below $600. Of course what I won't be getting in amenities I will get in location, and I don't mind that.

I have been searching high and low for apartments since around February. Back then I was planning on living with my good friend from elementary school, so we were looking for 2 bedroom apartments. Some things have come up though, so now I am going to be living on my own. This means I have to restart my search!

More and more everyday I am being thrust into the world of Adult-dom. I find it thrilling, but sometimes I just wish it was a little slower, or I had a little more help, or maybe just a real job!

Until next time, Sarah.