It’s been a good exercising week — at least I think so! I recently purchased a Fitbit and I’ve been having some inaccuracies with it and so I’ve had to estimate how I’ve been doing each day in terms of mileage and calories burned. From the looks of Google I’m the only person who didn’t like theirs. In all honestly, I should’ve done more research before purchasing it but I read countless reviews where people raved about them. Now I’m back to my $14 pedometer that works pretty accurately out of the box and gives me the exact information I want.

With only 3 pairs of “workout” bottoms I have to do laundry a couple times during the week, and since I’ve been busy every day this week I’ve fallen behind. There were a pair of workout shorts I bought earlier this summer that have been sitting in the bottom of my drawer barely worn, because they were too tight to be seen out in public in. I couldn’t even be bothered to wear them just around the farm because they reminded me I really needed to lose weight. I reluctantly put them on Thursday morning and they fit really good! They were no longer tight in the hips, stomach, or legs. I could actually sit down in them and breathe! I haven’t taken many photos of myself as I’ve been going along but this needed to be documented! And I didn’t care about the fact I just woke up and hadn’t showered before taking the photo. And I didn’t care too much about the fact I posted it to my public fitness twitter account! (@GeekToFit) I was really happy!

When I woke up yesterday morning I remembered a vague dream of running continuously. I’m not sure what that means. I did go back to bed for another hour, I suppose the dream wore me out. When I got back up I was thinking that today would be my lazy day since I’ve been doing something active a couple hours a day for the past 6 weeks. I laid around for a while, had a shower, made lunch, and opted to go for a walk out of boredom. Ha. I left without my iPhone this time. It was a nice day, the sky was a nice blue with puffy clouds, and it would’ve been distracting and less enjoyable trying to find the perfect song to walk to. I didn’t do my usual 2.8-3 miles but it was still a brisk 35 minute walk. It was better than nothing especially when I planned on taking the day off.

I’ve been trying to come up with ways to reward myself along the way that doesn’t involve food. It’s so easy to use food as a reward or a way to console yourself when you’re having a bad day. I’m definitely guilty of the latter but that hasn’t been the case lately. Now that I think about it, I haven’t had too many bad days since I’ve been exercising more often. In terms of rewards, Monday I got a pedicure with Matt and Lindsey before leaving Cincinnati so that was something nice to do for myself that didn’t involve food. Last night I had a coffee date (that turned into dinner as well) with a cute guy so I guess that’s another reward, but I guess that did involve food. Hopefully the latter doesn’t happen as sporadically as pedicures or require me to hit certain milestones to do. :-P How do you reward yourself?

About a week ago I finally had enough of being sick and went to the doctor. I very rarely go to the doctor because most of the time they give me a slightly higher dose of something I could get over the counter and it’s a waste of money since I don’t have health insurance. Usually after a week of a cold I am feeling better, but it only seemed like it was getting worse and it was affecting my sleep. Long story short, I had a sinus infection. Thankfully, I’m feeling much more like myself now.

This past weekend I went to Cincinnati to visit Matt and Lindsey. It was nice just hanging out, taking photos at a couple parks, and eating lots of good food. I have some left over Green Lantern pizza (mozzarella cheese, garlic, pesto, mushrooms, goat cheese, and artichokes) from Dewey’s that I’ll be rehashing today for lunch.

I got back yesterday and I was a little apprehensive about stepping on the scale this morning. Despite not exercising as much as I had been the past few days and eating lots of good food I lost a pound. Which brought down my total to 15.6 lbs lost all together. I’ve been wanting to hit 15 lbs for a while. It’s not a big number but it’s a milestone nonetheless. It gave me a bit of a high this morning seeing that number. I had another exercising high this past week. Thursday, instead of taking the shuttle from where I have to park to campus I walked. It was only about a mile one-way, which was less than I was expecting, but it added an extra 3,000 steps to my pedometer. I remember walking back to my car with a huge smile on my face and entirely optimistic. I hope I continue to get these highs.

Onto happier things… I went back to NJ and NYC the first week of August and spent time with Andy. If you count his visit to me at New Year’s this will be the fourth time we’ve seen each other this year. I think that’s a record! I set up this trip so that I’d get to spend my birthday with him. We spent a day at Point Pleasant with his friends Dawn and Barbara and later I got burnt to a crisp. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever been burnt that badly! (I have a nice tan now!) Andy treated me to Cirque du Soleil : Zarkana; this was my first Cirque show and I loved it. He also took me to see Zach Braff’s play “All New People” which was great the more I reflect on it. It seems like in the past, things I really want to see happen right before I come or after I leave, but my timing was perfect to catch this show. I feel like being so far away from a cultural hub I miss out on a lot of things that may or may not have an impact on me now or down the line. Other people do without so I suppose if I don’t think too much on it I’m not missing out. Finally, on my actual birthday I was treated to a delicious meal at one of our favorite restaurants. I think experiencing these things is definitely better than any gift.

Those were two big things that happened this summer. Outside of the last few weeks my summer has been pretty uneventful. As you might’ve read in a previous entry, I completed Project 50, finished my book challenge a few months early (11 books in ’11) – unfortunately, none are really worth blogging about, my brother came to visit *twice*, and in my last two days of freedom I saw Glee Live in 3D. It was pretty amazing and makes me want to see them in concert!

Classes start back tomorrow, and while I’ve been looking forward to going back to UofL, I wish I had a couple more days to relax. It’ll be OK though. I have a few things to look forward to in the coming weeks, such as the AIDS Walk (please donate!), and my fourteenth (!!!) Hanson show next month in Nashville. I’m thinking about going back to Nashville to see Chromeo in October but both of these shows fall on weeknights. There are very few things I’d miss a Hanson concert for; sleep isn’t one of those things. Not sure if I like Chromeo enough to go straight after school and come back that night as well. We’ll see…

Last Saturday I spent most of the day away from the computer and my iPhone. It was such a nice feeling not to feel the need to check Twitter, Facebook, etc. every hour or so. I don’t know why I feel the need to check it so frequently other than it’s a habit.

I’ve decided this Saturday I’m taking another break from technology. I’d love to do dedicate an entire weekend to this, but I’m not sure I can do an entire weekend. Saturday I’m attending a portrait seminar provided by a local photography meetup group and later in the evening I’m going out with friends to a show and to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Needless to say, it won’t be difficult staying away from my phone and computer that day.

I’ve been staying home lately because my budget is tightening up and the internet has been my source of entertainment. I’m feeling worn down, and since having internet at home again my sleep schedule has been screwed up. There were times when I didn’t sleep well before but it’s definitely heightened. I just assume it’s due to staying up late working on homework (online), or mindlessly refreshing random social media sites, or other sites that I’m not really getting anything from.

After receiving a bill from AT&T for almost $140 (AT&T loves me because they can always count on data overages from me!) I think that’s encouraged me to cancel tethering on my phone after this billing cycle is up. I went to libraries before when I needed to do things I couldn’t do from my phone so I can do it again. I’ve been thinking more and more lately about getting rid of one social media site so I’m less distracted and actually doing something worthwhile with my time. Really the only one I could part with would be Twitter. I use Facebook to keep in contact with many people and Twitter seems to be getting my rants. I’d eventually like to convert to Google+ and use that in place of Facebook but we’ll see how well that catches on with friends.

I really need to get my goals in order, and figure out what’s important, and figure out what’s next for me. Maybe that doesn’t require me to delete anything but self discipline isn’t one of my best traits. We’ll see…

I’m curious to know how you all manage to keep your focus when we’re living in a distracted and multitasking society. Please share your tips so maybe I can try them out!

I’ve been wanting to do the AIDS walk for a while but I’ve been waiting to find someone to do it with me. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll probably be waiting forever so I’m going to do it anyway! Honestly, I’ll probably enjoy it more by myself anyway.

I have a goal of $300 and I think I can meet that goal. I’m asking in lieu of gifts for my birthday that people donate to this cause. Even if you can only donate $1 that would be helpful. I’d throughly appreciate it and you’ll even get a hug from me (assuming you live near by)! :-P

You can find my donation page here. Thank you! :)

I’m back from my trip visiting Andy in Jersey. I should add the word unfortunately to the previous sentence. I always have a blast when I visit him so it’s always difficult leaving. I still wish I would have forced him into my car when I left Tuesday morning. ;-P

Andy’s Lychee Saketini from Teak

Pretty view from a rest stop in MD or PA

Andy (probably) checking in to foursquare

Wet bikes @ Rutgers

Buildings in Manhattan

Andy Burt Reynold’s style on the couch. LOL!

Andy and I at the wedding. Thanks to Barbara for taking it!

As a result of this trip I hit 250,000 miles as I was coming home and I realized I like taking pictures of food! That’s good right?

**Thanks to Andy for letting me steal his photos from the wedding (without permission of course!)**

I finished up the Spring semester and I couldn’t be happier. This has been an exhausting semester and a complete test of my patience at times. Fortunately, I have a whole month free between now and the beginning of the summer semester. I have a few ideas for things I’d like to do during this time, but I know if I do everything that I want I’ll kick myself for not taking it easy come June. It’s difficult to find the balance between completing tasks and also making time for rest. Here are a few things I want to do while on break…

Read

With my tax return I decided to splurge on one thing: a Kindle. Unfortunately, with my schedule I haven’t been able to read a lot and so I’ll be happy to break it in! I have three books waiting to be finished, as well as books I’ve been adding to my goodreads to-read shelf.

Take photos

Every now and then I reminisce through my Flickr feed to times when I took a lot of photos. I hate that my camera bag sits in my closet literally collecting dust. I’m planning to take at least one photo a day (iPhone pictures excluded) during the month of May. I seem to have commitment issues when it comes to photo projects so hopefully 31 days won’t be such a stretch.

Travel

I’m planning to take at least one trip down to Nashville to visit a girlfriend, and maybe another trip with a long time internet friend for a photo trip.

I wasn’t planning to go back to the NJ/NYC area until August and I was almost certain that I wouldn’t drive it again. That being said I’m driving back to Jersey in late May! Ha ha. I’m visiting the boy and being his date for a wedding. Hey, I can’t pass up an opportunity to wear a dress and the beautiful necklace he gave me at Christmas! I’m also planning to visit two crazy (but not so crazy) flickr friends. I should have no problem taking a picture a day while I’m there. It’ll be fun… :)

If you’re planning a long road trip, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version of I Drink For a Reason by David Cross (aka Tobias from Arrested Development). I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed reading the book as much but listening to David read the book along with his own commentary was hilarious.

Last night I got together with a few girlfriends to have a cooking night. I’ve known most of these girls since elementary school and we always get together for each others’ birthdays. It’s nice to have a group of friends close by because I get tired of driving to Louisville (about an hour – depending on what part of town) to see other groups of friends.

Overall, I was impressed with how it all came together. We were only planning to make the main entree together, however, the sauce for the chicken had to marinate for an hour and so there wasn’t a whole lot of cooking “together” per say. We did make the peanut sauce for the chicken together. The recipe for the peanut sauce called for molasses and this was my first time ever trying molasses. Not a huge fan; the smell was a huge turn off. I think I would have preferred dipping the chicken in something garlic-y as opposed to sweetish. But that’s the fun part of cooking — trying new things.

The Menu

Appetizers

• A rosemary loaf with garlic butter
• Brie with crackers

Dinner

• Tasty Chicken Satay
• Easy Apple-Cranberry slaw
• Chickpea salad

Desserts

• Angel food cake with pineapple sauce
• Fresh fruit

My favorites were the sides, like the slaw and chickpea salad. Oh, and the bread and garlic butter were delicious, too. You can’t go wrong with bread and butter! A homemade dinner was a welcomed change because my school schedule makes me eat out a lot. I hate it!

We’re hoping to have another dinner soon and Japanese food, gyoza specifically, was requested. I’m excited about that because gyoza is one of my favorite foods. :D

If you’ve tried any recipes lately that you’ve enjoyed please pass them along!

First off I have to say I love our library! I’ve utilized it so many times over the last year, whether it was using their wifi, checking out books, audiobooks, or dvds. I’m always surprised by the selection given I live in a really small town. Seriously, you should visit your local library if you don’t already!

Anyway… I picked up a book called Substitute Yourself Skinny: Cut the Calories… I rarely make things that I’m unfamiliar with unless I see a photo of it first. This book had quite a few photos compared to other books I looked at and I was sold. I’ve bookmarked several pages of things I want to try already. Saturday I’m getting together with a few girlfriends at my sister’s house and we’re making an entree (Chicken Satay which is also from this book) together. It should be a lot of fun. I’ll share that recipe if it goes over well.

Tuesday night I opted to make this lasagna recipe since it didn’t require me to pick up any new ingredients. Overall I liked it. I think it could have used something to sweeten it a bit and cheese on the top would have been wonderful — but I guess that would be counterproductive to eating less calories. Heh. Here is a photo of what it should look like, however, mine didn’t look quite that appetizing.

I’m feelin’ lazy lasagna

1 pound dried lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 white or yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 pound lean ground beef
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped cremini mushrooms
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
2 (6oz) cans tomato paste
1 cup water
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I modified the recipe a bit and added 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic (I’m glad I wasn’t kissing anyone!), added carrots and green pepper.

01. Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare the lasagna noodles as directed on the package. When cooked and drained, drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking.

02. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, garlic, and beef. Saute until the beef is browned and the onion is tender, about 7 minutes. Drain off the grease. Add the oregano, basil, parsley, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. Stir to mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes.

03. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, and Parmesan. Mix well.

04. To make the lasagna, prepare a deep, rectangular baking dish by spraying it with nonstick spray. Arrange the lasagna noodles in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Spread with 1/3 of the meat sauce. Top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Add another layer of lasagna noodles and top with half of the remaining meat mixture and half of the remaining cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles, using the remaining meat and cheese mixture. Finish with a layer of noodles on top.

05. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes. Cut into 12 portions and serve.

During the middle of March I started receiving e-mails from NameCheap regarding my domain name renewal. I briefly thought about not renewing it because I haven’t updated since June. Though I’m sure that’s not the longest I’ve gone without posting to one of my sites. I gave thought to buying a new domain, one that didn’t allude that I only blog about Apple or cosmetic (M.A.C) products. However, moving databases makes me uneasy and it seemed like a lot of work. So I opted to renew this domain and decided I should start blogging again.

There have been a lot of changes going on in my life since June; actually there have been a couple big changes in the last four months. I’ve quit my job and I’m in a relationship(!)

Quitting my job

I’ve been at the same job since 2006 with the exception of the summer I was in Seattle. After coming back from Seattle I moved to a different store that was about 70-75 minutes away (one-way). In January after the Spring semester started I began to feel worn down and felt like there was no time to get school work done. I was spending on average 14 hours/week in the car — this isn’t counting if I went out after work or class. And when it came down to it I was spending more money than I was making on gas getting to and from work. It was like a very expensive hobby but one I didn’t like. I was planning to wait it out until the end of the semester (later this month) but after I had to lovely experience of not wanting to leave my bed for about two weeks in January/February I decided it needed to happen sooner. So at the end of February I quit.

Now that I’m unemployed I don’t see that my schedule has changed too much because I can always fill my time up with other things; some are worthwhile things and some are new ways to procrastinate*. That being said, it’s nice to wake up on days I would normally work and breathe a sigh of relief that I’m not commuting anymore. It’s also nice that I can’t use the excuse “I can’t do x because I have to work!” or “I can’t go out tonight because I have be up early for work tomorrow!”

So I’m hoping now that I’m not working I can go to school full-time without a problem and get this degree done as soon as possible. I still have about 2.5 years left; it feels like a long time but not as long as it would be if I were working. *I do need to discipline myself and get things done before their due date and not cram the night before and stress myself out. As always I’m a work in progress.

It’s complicated

It’s been almost five years since I’ve been in a relationship so it’s weird saying “I’m in a relationship.” Technically we’re listed as “It’s complicated” on Facebook, because he’s in New Jersey and I’m in Kentucky. It’s a long story that I could probably dedicate an entry or two to but I doubt anyone wants to read it.

The short version is Andy and I began chatting sometime around 2002 and finally met in person in 2007. Since then we’ve visited with one another quite a few times. We finally made our “complicated” relationship Facebook official™ on Valentine’s day.

I didn’t see myself ever trying a long distance relationship with anyone but something felt right about this. Andy and I have been friends for so long and in that time I don’t recall a single fight. Not to mention there are aspects of our relationship that I find completely endearing. For example, when we’re out of town we always send postcards to one another. Who does that these days — especially two self-proclaimed geeks?

The distance doesn’t feel like a big deal (and who’s to say there will always be distance,) and with the age of technology it’s easy to talk to one another. In fact, in the last year I’ve seen him more often than some of my friends who live in the same state. I’m not going to name names but you know who you are. I drove to NJ during my spring break a few weeks ago and already have a ticket booked for my birthday. There’s not many people I’d drive 13 hours to see unless their last name was Hanson so I suppose he’s a pretty big deal!

So what’s new with you?