Absolutely No Clever Title

If you look back to my blog yesterday, I had a little mishap when it came to taking my psych midterm. I received an email from my professor. Apparently my midterm has been accessible for the last 4 weeks and therefore no extensions were granted. I do not remember reading anywhere that the midterm was available and would consist of all essay questions. I figured it would be like every other test I have taken through this school...one-time access and either timed or un-timed. I have had "essay" questions before but only one or two...never 10!

No point on dwelling on the past. I just need to make sure that I kick some ass on my research paper and my final and I should be okay. Hell as long as I get a C in this class I pass and can continue on.

I have decided to start my diet over again. I have been counting my calories today and made sure to log them and my exercise. I managed to get up in time to go to Group Power this morning, which surprised my friend. I convinced myself to stay and get my cardio in by doing 30 minutes on the elliptical. My workout plan will be:

Mondays: Strength training (Group Power or weights, if unable to make it to class) and 40 minutes of cardio (5 min warm up and 5 minute cool down) on treadmill/elliptical

Tuesdays: 60 minutes of cardio (Zumba - either in the morning or if I teach)

Wednesdays: 60 minutes of cardio (Zumba - unless no one shows then same as Monday) and Strength training (Group Power or weights)

Thursdays: 60 minutes of cardio (Zumba - my class)

Fridays: 40 minutes of cardio (treadmill/elliptical or 60 min of Zumba if able to make it) and strength training (weights)

Saturdays: 60 minutes of cardio (Zumba - if teaching or on treadmill/elliptical)

Sundays: Rest unless bored then cardio on treadmill/elliptical

I do not really have a specific meal plan but I am going to try and eat better. I bought the ingredients for smoothies today. I am going to try them using vanilla Almond milk instead of Soy milk. Mostly because they did not have the Soy milk I usually get and the Almond milk has less than half the amount of calories per serving. Plus I am going to try and incorporate more juice and water into my diet. I bought a bunch of orange juice and I read about a little trick to make water less boring. I have a water pitcher filled in the fridge and then I have added lemon to it but I might try some lime or cucumber or orange or something else to give it just a little zing!

I'm going to try and get my 7 hours of sleep a night and drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I am close to my 8 right now but I also had some coffee...I need to finish up entering everything so I guess this is it for now. Until next time!!!!

Ya Know What Sucks?

Midterms suck! Granted I spent most of my day doing nothing because I still do not feel well but I did a little more reading in prep for my midterm which I just assumed would be multiple choice questions and when I had 1.5 hours before my midterm was due, I logged in and discovered that my midterm consists of 10 essay questions and all have to be at least 400 words. I knew that there was no way in hell I could get 4000 words typed up in just over an hour.

I WAS RIGHT!

I managed to get ONE question answered and half of another one answered. I submitted the one question and left the other nine blank. I sent an email to my professor explaining that I haven't been online much this week with being sick, the holiday, and then finding out about my nephew (which I just said some family issues) I did not see that the midterm was going to be essays. I asked for some more time and that I had printed out the questions and if I can turn them in, I would appreciate it.

My mom said I should continue to work on them tonight because it would show initiative but I told her that my test would not longer accept answers after 8:59pm and that if she says no then what's the point in spending hours to finish something I cannot submit. I'll get up in the morning, do a couple of questions (if she says yes), hit the gym, and finish so I can play catch up and get back on track.

I hate midterms. I'm just glad that it was only one that I had to worry about today. Granted in 4 weeks I'll be staring down at a midterm and a final...so not looking forward to that! Here's crossing my fingers and hoping that Mr. Procrastination finally leaves me alone and I get my work done. I may just have to start forcing myself to get up whether I want to or not and start at like 7:30am and then be at the library when it opens at 10am and then come home when my hubby leaves for work. Oh man...I can feel more gray hairs adding to my head...oh yeah...and I have to find a dress or something to wear to the Coast Guard Christmas party next Friday...and I so do not feel like I should be in a dress...we'll just have to see what I find around here.

What An Exhausting Saturday

First and foremost, my nephew is going to be okay. If you read my blog yesterday, he had a seizure but the kind that he had was brought on by a sudden high fever spike. My mom told me that it is just the body's way of shutting down so that nothing else in the body is damaged. He is okay but the doctor said it is something he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. Poor little guy. No chances of joining the military...but he's only 3 so he'll be fine!

I did get to do a little bit of Black Friday shopping yesterday. I felt like garbage most of the day and spent it all in bed, with the exception of the almost 2 hours I was gone to teach Zumba in the morning. My hubby set up our Christmas tree and then discovered that the lights were all burned out and decided to go get LED lights. With him telling me that, I asked if I could get some new Zumba shirts since some of the clothes were more than 30% off (thank you instructor discount). I was given a $60 limit and was able to get 4 new tops!!! I am super excited! Especially since 3 of them say "Instructor" on them!

I popped some NyQuil last night because I have been coughing in my sleep I guess. It caused me to sleep in until 11:30am. I did not intend on sleeping that late but without setting an alarm and the fact that I have curtains in my bedroom now I see how it was possible. Spent the majority of the day doing nothing and saving all of my strength for Bedlam. Unfortunately OSU lost and that means no rematch with Nebraska for the Big 12 Championship. OU can go to h*ll! Sooner suck!

I may have an interesting topic for tomorrow if I manage to get all my school work done. I don't actually have much but we'll see how it goes. A little bit of a clue for ya...I think I might be turning into a Trekkie!

No Good Black Friday

I had planned on trying to dig into the reasons why someone would stay up all night just to go shopping in those horrible crowds with people who have such little patience. Then I was going to commend those who stay up all night and get their shopping done online. Then go into how I managed to take advantage of some online shopping for myself (and saved my hubby the stress of trying to find something for me). None of this matters anymore because my heart aches right now.

I received a phone call from my mom an hour ago. She told me that my 3-year-old nephew was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital. She said that he wasn't himself and that my sister had taken him to the doctor earlier today. They checked him for toxins and whatnot and found nothing wrong with him. Then while on their way to Walmart, he had a seizure. I immediately wanted to jump in my car and head up there but it's a 7.5 hour drive and there's no way I could stay awake for the whole drive. It breaks my heart to not be there.

My mom asked me to call my grandma and I said no problem. She told me that she tried to call my dad at his house and on his cell phone and she couldn't get a hold of him. When I tried, it went straight to voicemail. I think I may have sounded a little more irritated than I should but I told him that I didn't have his house number and that his cell didn't even ring but he needed to call either my mom or sister. I told him that I had little info. I wanted to add that I hope his cell is just dead or something and he didn't shut it off because he's with his girlfriend.

I am hoping that I get some good news pretty soon. I have felt horrible all day. Woke up feeling sick and then got a headache that hasn't fully gone away and has left me in my bed all day long. Only got a couple of naps...maybe 30 or 40 minutes. Hopefully I'll have some good news to report tomorrow and then I'll be able to talk excitedly about my Black Friday shopping.

Thanksgiving Day...How I Love Thee!

The most difficult part of my day wasn't getting up at 6am after only 4.5 hours of sleep. It wasn't cleaning out 6 turkeys (three 20 pounders and three 10 pounders). It wasn't helping my hubby get the seasonings rubbed on and cutting the onions that were stuffed in all the birds. It was coming home 12 hours after I woke up and trying to finish some homework. Seriously...why did my professor think it would be a good idea to not assign any reading because of our midterm yet assign a discussion board? I don't even know if I answered her question...and trust me when I tell ya that I don't even think I have really answered ANY of her discussion questions let alone her follow up questions. I am not going to complain. Want to know why? Because I have aced all assignments so far (with the exception of that procrastination one that I still haven't turned in but I plan on blaming my computer..."I went to check my DB grade and noticed that my paper didn't load properly. I understand I'll have points deducted and I apologize for not catching it sooner.").

Okay...back to Turkey Day. With our 80 pounds of turkey in the smoker at 8:15am, time seemed to just fly by. That first hour or so did anyway. I know I did something I just don't know what exactly it was that I did. I ate breakfast and made coffee before starting on the turkeys...hmmm...curious! LOL! So I snapped a few pictures of the turkeys before and after they were wrapped in foil. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the turkeys right out of the foil because it seemed like as soon as the guys had just the slightest bit of foil off, they were pulling the meat right off of the bird. It was crazy! But so worth it! Definitely worth the wait.

I had to make two batches of my mashed potatoes because I no longer have a pot big enough to cook five pounds of potatoes. OMG were they good though!

So now that I lay here in my nice warm bed and fight sleep, I am going to say good night. I should have folded some laundry but oh well...I don't have the energy to go out into the garage. I'll just have to fluff the clothes so I'll have some warm workout gear for the morning. While everyone is out shopping and getting some great Black Friday sale deals, I'm going to be sleeping so I'll be well rested to teach anyone who comes to Zumba!

Thanksgiving is Coming!

This is our first Thanksgiving since my husband and I got married that we are NOT hosting it at our house! I am super stoked! That means that I do not have to stress out about making sure that my house is spotless or that I have enough seats for everyone and I didn't have to get paper plates this year! Even though we may not be hosting but we still have to get up really early!

6am is the time we're getting up. My husband is firing up his huge smoker and will be cooking three 20lb turkeys and three smaller turkeys (about 8lbs or so). It's going to take six to seven hours to cook it all. I have to boil about 5lbs of potatoes for my mashed potatoes and that is all that I have to make!!!

Unfortunately, that little thing called procrastination (the one I mentioned in my first blog) has still plagued me. I was supposed to turn in a discussion board tonight in my Statistics class and I have one due tomorrow...that is what I'll be working on while my potatoes are cooking. I have got to kick this horrible habit and fast otherwise I'm going to end up with more gray hair than I already have. It's so bad and I will be physically exhausted by the time I am finished with classes for the school year at the end of June.

I am going to add in something...not sure if I'm going to add this always but right now I just don't feel like writing it down. I have been trying to make sure that I do it every night but I have only done it three times. I read in a magazine a technique to help you sleep is to write down 10 things that you're grateful for and 1 blessing that you have bestowed upon another. Here I go!

1. I am grateful for my family.
2. I am grateful for my friends.
3. I am grateful for my health.
4. I am grateful to have a roof over my head.
5. I am grateful to have food in my belly.
6. I am grateful that my husband has a great job.
7. I am grateful to have the ability to travel.
8. I am grateful for every day that I wake up.
9. I am grateful for the snow that fell yesterday.
10. I am grateful for the extended family we have made since being in the military and have a place to spend the holidays!

The blessing that I bestowed upon others was exercise! I had 9 people in my Zumba class and 2 kids! I do not mind if children come to my class. I love kids and have so much fun. In fact one of my friends has brought her daughter the last two weeks and she just loves it. She doesn't participate the whole time but she loves to dance! When people show up, I actually think it's a blessing to me but I give them the moves and music that they need to get their sweat on!

I've got the biggest headache ever and I hope this Excedrin PM kicks in because 6am is going to come way too early! Good night all!

Another Day, Not Another Dollar

I am a certified Zumba Fitness Instructor. I only have my certification in Basic 1. The gym that I work at has 4 (soon to be 5) Basic 1 instructors and 2 Zumba Gold instructors. Our Gold instructors have conflicting schedules so when one cannot make it to their class, the other cannot cover. That is where I come in. Even though I do not have my Gold certification, my gym asked me to cover if I can. Since I do not have the training, I just talked to the two who do and have come up with amazing workouts that everyone enjoys and is escentially Zumba Gold. I have been covering the Gold classes all month for one instructor who had to have ankle surgery.

Now normally I get slightly upset when I have to cancel a class due to no one showing up but today was different. It is because of the snow! It snowed ALL MORNING! When I woke up this morning I could not see the snow because my hubby has installed our new curtains. After he let the dogs out, he came into the bedroom and opened the blinds and told me that it had snowed just a little bit in the night. It was a very light dusting...and by light I mean there were just little spots that you could visibly see that wet, white stuff.

I got up, made some coffee and ate one of my yummy muffins for breakfast. While sitting on the couch and enjoying one of my shows on the DVR I just happened to look up and out the living room window. It looked like a snow globe outside! Big, chunky flakes were falling slowly to the ground. It was beautiful. I don't normally like it to snow around here. I like the snow and think that it is beautiful but I hate that it has to get that cold to snow.

It would shift from big flakes to some snow flurries to barely there snow flurries all morning until about 11:30am. We had a nice white blanket all over the yard and the street! I actually wanted to go outside and build a snowman but wasn't sure when my hubby had last cleared the dogs "land mines" from the yard. It wasn't until tonight that I thought I might have made one on the deck since there was enough snow to make a small one!

Look at that...I started off talking about Zumba (one of my most FAVORITE activities ever) and how no one showed up and that I think it had to do with the snow and the coming holiday but the snow side tracked me! It is not time for me to try and go to bed and get some sleep because I am just exhausted and have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Even though I have my class to teach tomorrow afternoon, I almost wish no one would come but on the other hand I want to stay afterwards for Group Power.

Alright...nighty night!

First Blog

So this is my first blog on here. It is not going to be too long because I feel like my eyes are about to slam shut at any moment. I have just had this reoccuring thought all day long and figured that I need to write it down.

Do you know what the word "procrastination" means? Procrastination is defined as: to put off till another day or time (dictionary.com). I have dealt with procrastination for many years now. It has been getting worse though. I fear that it is going to start to take over. I have an assignment that was due on Sunday and I misread the assignment and told my professor that I would turn it in today...and I haven't even started it. Horrible, right?

It is pretty difficult taking classes online and the fact that I am taking classes through a strictly online school (as in no physical campus located anywhere). I am going to try and use this every day for just random thoughts. I also have a commitment issue...I don't know if this shows when a person creates the account but let's put it this way...today is 11/22/2010 and this is my first blog. I do not remember creating an account! That's how long it has been.

I think if I make an effort to keep this updated then maybe some of my procrastination will go away! Happy Reading!!!