A blog worth reading

Ok so tonight (through another blogger) I stumbled upon this . It is a blog written by a woman that challenged herself to budget $250 in July for food and gas for her family. I just skimmed the surface so far, but she brings up some really good points and tips. And it couldn't come at a more perfect time since Nathan and I are trying a new budget method for August. Check it out if you enjoy all that crazy budgeting stuff.

Her blog reminds me a little of a blog that I had a mild obsession with....Sustainable Style. Unfortunately, it has been down for awhile and I am super bummed. Please come back Sustainable Style!!!!!

What is the number to HR?

I just sat down at my desk and checked my work email. Yes, I check it at home. And yes, I realize I am a nerd for doing so...but that's a whole other blog post. Anyway, I click on my inbox only to find an email from Boss #2 with the subject line, "Hooters". Hmmm, inappropriate much? Well, not exactly. Turns out Boss #2 decided that some of the managers would be cutting work short on Friday and going to a late lunch at Hooters. I am sure this all came out of a meeting I missed today when 5 (mostly single) guys were left to their own devices but I guess I can't complain too much, it's a short work day and a free lunch. I also noticed that it is scheduled for 12:30. In my mind it really only means one thing, beer. If it was scheduled at noon, that would be a whole different story, but I think some of my co-workers think noon and 12:30 are quite far apart.

One of the perks of the job I suppose. Actually, in all honesty, even though I just posted about wanting to make a career change, I do have a pretty sweet work life. This week is slow so I have only been working about 6 hours a day. And out of those 6 hours I have really been taking it easy. Granted, during the fall and spring sometimes I do pull 12 to 14 hour days so I guess I deserve it to a certain extent.

One other excitement is that today my furniture was delivered for my new office!! It may be old (we are talking REALLY old), beat up, and a little ugly, but it is still going to be great to have my own space. And even though I am so not a decorator, I do have a couple ideas up my sleeve to make the small space I have a little more comfortable. I found a great rug on clearance at Target this weekend and I have a few other things that I am bringing from home to just add a little something. I will be sure and post some pics when I am completed.

Today

Today at the gym was really difficult. I had set a goal to do 10 miles on the elliptical and made sure to tell a couple people my goal for the day, that way I didn't wimp out. Because some crazy part of me has to complete something when I tell it to anyone.

Let me just say today hurt. My legs felt like they could fall off since mile 1 and I had a mix of nausea and exhaustion at mile 9. Somehow I did it though....10 miles in 2 hours and 4 minutes. I was a little pissed I could hit the exact 12 minute mile mark, but I was in freaking pain.

Also gym related...I am so upset about my mp3 player. Nathan had found me a decent one about a week before my birthday and sometime when it was in my bag the screen cracked and all this black crap blocks the screen. I don't mind not having a screen but I have to go through an options menu to get to my music and sometimes I can't even find it. I am so freaking frustrated.

So now I may just fork out some money for a new one. Maybe an Ipod shuffle? I definitely don't want to spend over $100 (more like $50 would be ideal) because we are really trying to cut back on our spending.

Oh and I was going to post pics of my fabulous birthday like I promised last week, but I am having some photo trouble. grrrr....

Career or lack thereof

Since the beginning of last summer I have been a little obsessive about finding a new career path. I don't always have these feelings, like when things are going great at work or when I get a promotion, but when I do feel like I should definitely be doing something else they feeling hits me really hard.

It's not that I dislike my job. I definitely have my days, but overall I like (sometimes love)what I am doing. My boss #1 is wonderful (#2 and #3 are pretty good too) and I have great people on my team that give me a good amount of respect. But I still keep feeling like I have a ton of talents that are just being wasted.

For instance, for a many number of years I utilized my public speaking skills through presentations, plays, etc. I feel like I have a gift because I can get up in front of a group of people, feel at ease, and then proceed to deliver a good public speaking performance.

In addition, I feel like I am extremely personable. While I able to use this skill with my current clients, I just feel like in a different career I could be utilizing this skill more often.
I just have some major hurtles to overcome if I want to switch career paths. Potential employers are always turned off by the fact that I have put so many years into the food industry. This is totally understandable, but I just can't seem to get my foot in the door anywhere. Ultimately, I would like to work in an Office of Admissions at a community college, but even with the contacts I am making now working on a college campus, this goal seems so far away.
Anyone else have these issues? Or have some words of wisdom?

I am Wonderwoman!

Ok, not really.....

But I am happy to say that I have been feeling great lately because of my new found love for the gym. Seriously, Club Fitness may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Besides, you know, the obvious like marrying my husband, having amazing and loving parents, having a wonderful pup, etc.

Anyway, I joined up almost four weeks ago and starting going about 2 times a week and averaging doing 5 miles between the elliptical and the treadmill. I actually wanted to go more often but throwing in the 4th, my trip to Phoenix, and a birthday really kind of throws my whole schedule off. Last week was fairly normal so I went 4 times and on Friday hit a HUGE milestone. After feeling tired and crabby on Thursday night I dragged my ass to the gym after work and I did 8 miles on the elliptical. I was so happy/proud of myself that I told every single person I could. In fact, now would probably be a good time to apologize to those I spent both Friday and Saturday with, because I kept throwing in the words "8 miles" any chance I could get. I was just so proud of myself!!

Today I left work a tad early and headed back to the gym expecting to do 7-8 miles. I figured it was going to be really hard to do it again since I had spend the majority of the weekend drinking, eating, and being lazy. Plus, it is Monday, everything is harder on Mondays. But 1 hour and 50 minutes after I had gotten to the gym I had done 9 miles!!! I am still totally in shock. That means I averaged just above a 12 minute mile, which is better than I did last week!

So here's the downside. I am dripping wet by the time I am finished. I mean, shirt and hair totally drenched. And the Club Fitness that I go to has yet to get a shower installed. So do any of you knowledgeable blog readers know about some kind of body spray that helps cool you down quick and smell not so terrible? I heard through the grapevine that Bath and Body Works may have something like this, but my search has been unsuccessful so far.

comments

I don't know why but I just had to reply to everyone's comments from the 100th post. It was like some kind of crazy compulsion. If you made one, don't get too excited, I didn't write you a novel back or anything, but some of us have some crazy stuff in common.

Catching up

I am currently trying to get through all my blog comments and trying to comment back. Quite the challenge since I let them pile up over the weekend. I blame this on my totally fabulous birthday weekend that has left me spoiled and not wanting to go back to the real world. It seriously can't be Monday the 21st of July already. My mind just can't wrap around it.

A preview of this week's blog postings:
*My response of comments from the 100th post.
*My birthday celebration complete with (gasp!) pictures.
*My new gym routine stories and concerns
*General Teresa thoughts her about career or lack thereof.

Stay tuned....

100 posts!

I don't know why I feel like this is such an accomplishment, but it is sooo hard for me to believe that this is post 100! So, I would like to thank the academy, God....well, I think you know the rest.

After much in decision I decided to steal another bloggers idea and ask my readers to introduce themselves. Not only will it make me happy that people actually read my blog, but it will hopefully introduce me (and others) to some other blogs that I am not reading.

So please, introduced yourself in any manner you see fit. I would love to know your name, blog, city/area of current residence and how you stumbled upon my blog. Oh and just for shits and giggles maybe tell me one random thing about yourself? But again, any manner you see fit is just fine. :) I am very excited to read some comments!!!!

False alarm

This is actually post 99, I didn't realize I had a blank draft to delete.

I am happy to report I have made it through about 75% of my regular blogs leaving comments. After about an hour I just had to quit. I think A-P blog titles got hit for the most part.

Oh, and yesterday at brunch in Phoneix I discovered one of the greatest drinks ever, a Mojo Chai. A chai latte with a shot of espresso and a little vanilla syrup. I just finished partaking in a homemade one and mmmmm it was good. Now why did I never think of that? I love chai lattes and vanilla lattes, why not put the two togther? I am offically hooked.

My vacation

Today I am recovering from my short vacation to Phoenix. It was a really great trip because I got to spend some time with Nathan and my family and celebrate my oldest sister's 30th birthday. Unfortunately, the ONE thing I was really looking forward to didn't happen. I didn't get a tan. :( Terrible isn't it? I spend four days in one of the sunniest, hottest cities in the US and my legs are still look like they belong to an Albino. (No offense to any Albino readers).

However, I know most of you will be shocked to know that I actually took some pictures! Gasp! And the weren't with my cell phone camera! Whoa! I know some of you probably just fainted. As a surprise Nathan got my old (but nice) film camera up and running just in time for the trip. So as soon as I can get some pictures on CD I will be sure to post them with some highlights of the trip.

On a crazier note, this is post 99 and I'm still taking suggestions on what to do for post 100. A devoted reader suggested I do 100 Teresa drink recipes. Um, yeah, while I have a ton of cocktails up my sleeve I think 100 might be pushing it, but I appreciate the creative thinking.

The gym!

In my last post I kind of skimmed the surface on my recent new gym routine. First of all, I don't want to sound full of myself, but I am EXTREMELY proud of myself thus far. It has only been a 2-3 weeks since I started going regularly and I already feel great. No major weight loss thus far, but I don't even care. I have been doing mostly the elliptical with a little treadmill action to resulting in going the distance of 5-6 miles everytime I go to the gym. I have also tried to do a little weight training, but I am totally bored when I do it. I think I am going to have to ease into that part of working out.

I can't believe how much I am enjoying working out. I have always liked the gym better than walking outside which is what I tried to do on a regular basis and I could never keep up with the routine. Maybe its because I am not in the humid summer heat or maybe it is because I didn't have a TV to watch and keep my mind occupied. Actually its probably both.

One of the only bad parts is my crazy appetite. I feel like I eat like a horse now and it is a ton more protein. My diet had almost entirely become vegetarian during the week, but now I am a very far cry from that.

Google Reader is totally stressing me out

Why do I feel the need to rush through Google Reader and get all the new blogs read??? As a result I have been super terrible about commenting on posts and that is really upsetting me. Some of of favorite bloggers have been through emotional roller coasters and I have been so crazy skimming the blogs so I haven't commented. I suck a bit for this and I apologize. I am not going to promise anything but I am going to try and find time to do some major commenting in the next few days. But just know if I have read your blog before and you are having a tough time or recently had something super cool happen to you, I am totally thinking about you. :)

In addition, my computer time has been seriously cut due to my crazy busy job, grandpa's illness (BTW, he left the hospital on July 4th and is doing great), a great friend being in town, my new kick ass gym routine (5-6 miles on the elliptical or treadmill 3 times a week!), and so on.....really that stuff only skims the surface.

I am hoping I haven't lost my very cool and devoted readers. Oh and 100 posts is right around the corner and I am taking suggestions. I have several ideas, but would love to get some input.