Gym Membership

On Wednesday, I signed up for a gym membership.  I have been twice so far, and I love it. It's not busy like LA fitness where you have to wait on others to get a machine or limit your run to 30 minutes to allow others on.  The atmosphere reminds me of my advanced physical conditioning class in high school.

My friend, Kylie, contacted me this week about the mini-marathon.  She is already a fit unit ready to take on 13.1 miles while I have quite a bit of catching up to do, but we have agreed to run the mini together. My goal is to set my PR and run it in 2:15 this year.  With all of this in mind, I think I'll have to buy some new songs for my iPod to clock in better training hours.

I have put together a training schedule that has running, cross training, and strength training mixed up throughout the week to help me get on track. I have a tendency to do too much too fast in my initial training and therefore burning out early, so I used this article from Women's Health Magazine for some ideas of what the week should look like at the beginning of training.

It's Such a Pretty Boat...

Technically, it's a ship.  I have been so impressed with the cruise ship this year! Last year, we were aboard the Carnival Legend. I found nothing wrong with the boat during our stay (well, travel), but now that we are on the Carnival Dream, I can see and feel a huge difference. This is definitely a party boat (yes, I know it's a ship)--there is a ton of energy from the crew and fellow travelers! We watched the Eagles beat the Cowboys on the jumbo-tron.

We always (as in this trip and the last, since I'm such a seasoned traveler of Carnival cruises...) buy the Cheers! package which includes adult beverages and sodas. Only one member of the group so far (who shall remain nameless) has had a maxed-out day of drinks, but it was 1 AM by then, so no big deal. 

I am down on my money when it comes to the casino, but I have greatly enjoyed my time in there. We have made friends with other roulette players. I watched a man lose $1,000 and turn around to win $5,000 betting on black. Rest assured that I do not bet that sort of money. I'm down $70 at the moment, but we have spent more than 10 hours in there, so really I've paid to be entertained, which I'm okay with that. Maybe tonight Lady Luck will be with me.

I have held up my intentions of working out while on vacation, which is something that I don't usually take on. Yesterday, we were at sea, so I woke up early and rode a recumbent bike for 30 minutes and then rowed 2200 meters. Worked up a sweat and felt great! I plan to do something similar two other days while on board. 

We are looking forward to celebrating for New Year's Eve tonight! Until then, we will be sipping on strawberry daiquiris and piña coladas! See you next year! 

101 in 1001

In the next 1,001 days, I aim to complete the following 101 things:
(To be finished by: September 18, 2016)

Update June 2, 2016: Just based on the timing of events, many of these goals will not be completed by September.  However, they are still things that I hope to do one day, so I will continue to "check them off" as I go. 

Home, Office/Classroom, & Cleaning

  1. bring a microwave to work (January 2016) 
  2. clean/organize office drawers and desk (June 2014)
  3. finish cleaning out closet and cabinets from previous teacher (June 2016)
  4. buy a house (May 2015)
  5. start a website for my classroom (April 2014)
  6. take a cooking class
  7. throw out 10 things from my bedroom (May 2015)
  8. rid bedroom closet of old clothes (June 2014)
  9. create a monthly/weekly cleaning schedule (June 2016)
 10. figure out better organization for my makeup routine (February 2015)
 11. clean out trunk of car (December 2013)
 12. vacuum out car (December 2013)
 13. oil the leather seats (December 2013)
 14. re-organize the glove compartment (December 2013)