Sunday, March 27, 2011

Fit Girl week 1

Last week I set a goal of working out 3 times. Pretty simple and I'm happy to say I met that goal. Working out does really make me feel better and give me a bit more energy. On the days I open at work it's pretty easy to pop next door for a work out. One the days I'm off or closing I go to the Bally's by my house. This also puts me in close proximity to a grocery store so I find that I can pop in and pick up some produce on my way home. I've been able to keep more fresh fruits and veg around. I make it a goal to only shop the perimeter of the store because that's where the freshest stuff is. Actually, yesterday I bought a package of frisee salad. I detest salads and have never learned to love them. I still don't like them, but I figured I could try to choke down a small amount in a the name of health. I made a small container to bring to work and mixed my own salad dressing of blood orange olive oil and pomegranate balsamic. It was okay, but not something I'm ever going to look forward to. I paired it withs some carrot sticks and cup of chicken noodle soup. So for this week I'm still going to goal myself at a minimum of 3 days, but I'm also going to up my workout time to at least 45 minutes. I figure that I can get that done with a combo of elliptical and bike. I also got an Ipod shuffle last week and made a fantastic work out mix. This has made my work outs more enjoyable. Wish me luck on week 2 of my Fit Girl challenge.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

get in shape girl

I was laying in bed this morning trying to make a deal with myself. I knew I couldn't avoid the gym forever, but I was a little frightened to go back there after my intense work out on Wednesday. So, I told myself that if it was after 9:15am I would not go work out and just stay in bed and read. I slowly opened one eye and without my glasses on it looked like I was looking at a 9...score. I reached for my glasses and looked at the alarm clock again. 8:05...damn it!

So I got my ass out of bed and got ready for my work out. This was my first time going to the Ballys by my house. This one was supposed to be bigger and nice and it was. They also have a pool that has a good view of the city. I hauled my ass down there and committed myself to 30 minutes. 20 on the bike and 10 on the elliptical. I am proud to say that I went for a whole 15 minutes on the elliptical :) That's a 35 minute work out and I felt great afterwards.

I can now say I feel much better about this whole gym thing. Plus I was thinking about the potential to meet men there. I think that really happens and if a guy is willing to hit on me when I'm sweaty and have no make up on then he is clearly going to be impressed with my cuter made-up side. The only complaint I have about today's work out is the stupid trixie who was on the elliptical next to me and thought that it was okay to talk loudly on her cell phone while she worked out. I hope that's not a normal occurrence because I don't want to have to take my shoe off and beat down bitches like that.

After my workout I treated myself to a shot of wheat grass (what does that stuff do anyway?) and an apples and greens smoothie from Jamba Juice. I then went to the grocery store and bought some fruits and veggies making sure to shop the perimeters of the store.

Now that I've got some motivation I'm going to start setting short term goals. I realize that my goal of working our 3-4 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour may not be realistic for me right now. So for this week I'm goaling myself on 3 trips to the gym where I spend 30-45 minutes on bikes and/or elliptical. We will start small and just focus on cardio for now. I'm also going to cancel my trainer appointment for the week so I can just focus on not having a heart attack. For the next few weeks I'm going to try to post my workout goals on here in hopes I feel obligated to live up to the deal. I've also told myself that at the beginning of each month I will reward myself for working out and invest in more workout gear, gyms shoes, an ipod, etc. Wish me luck.

Friday, March 18, 2011

wild times

another one from the vault

September 22, 2001

My two male roommates (from Istanbul and India) are wild. We seem to have a constant stream of foreign men in and out of our house. This can be a blessing and curse sometimes. They are really into partitying. We had a huge party last night and we plan to do the same tonight. I hope they don't plan on doing this every night because I need my beauty sleep.

Last night they got pretty loud and in the middle of the party I hear a knock on the door. I opened the front door and I'm pretty sure a giant cloud of pot smoke wafted out. There on my doorstep where 2 police officers -I nearly shat myself. I was pretty sure they were going to ship me back to the States. However, they just came into the house and knocked on the guys' doors and asked them to be quiet. Gotta love England.

I also think one of my roommates, Agnes, made out (or maybe fucked) one or both of our male roommates last night and I'm sure this will only lead to drama. This is her first time away from her family and she's really lonely. She's decided to deal with her new found freedom by getting really drunk and throwing herself all over every man at the party. I did as much as I could for her, but she's a big girl and I can't be her mom. Well, that's it for the excitement in my life.

MadGirl

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

MadGirl nearly goes into cardiac arrest

You may have noticed that about a week ago hell froze over. That's because I marched my ass into the Ballys next door to my work and got a membership. I didn't want to, but I know that i had to. As most of you know, I am not what you would call 'fit'. I like to eat and I do enjoy my curves. However, my hedonistic diet of food and drink and rising stress levels at work have driven me to do at least one thing good for body.

Today I had my first workout with a trainer. I signed up for a small training package because I knew that I would need someone to show me the ropes and keep me motivated. I was expecting to get someone who would show me how to use the equipment, help me figure out what I should be doing and for how long and then maybe show me how to stretch. However, what I got was a workout from hell that almost put me into cardiac arrest.

I was partnered with a very attractive trainer (tall, black and handsome) who told me that he was a professional rugby trainer. At this point I should have run in the other direction, but i followed. I guess the joke was on him when he discovered that I couldn't even do a sit up. He tried to start me out with some elaborate exercises and quickly discovered that I had no stamina and no idea what the hell I was doing. I was a little ticked because I was not expecting a boot camp work out and while my trainer was nice I really started to despise exercise and was pretty sure that my heart was going to jump out of my chest. Great training if I was getting ready to try out for the women's rugby team.

At the end of our session my trainer suggested that i do the elliptical for 30 minutes a day. Seriously? Did he not see my fat ass or notice the fact that I almost passed out on him? I'm going to stick with this workout thing, but on my own terms. I don't want to hate working out and need to start with baby steps. My goal is to go to the gym3-4 times a week. Maybe 20 minutes of the bike and 15 on the elliptical. I'll probably work some resistance training in there as well.

For those of you who work out what's your advice? How did you start? What worked for you? How do you stay motivated? How often do you work out? HELP!!!! I need to go from Mad Girl to Fit Girl.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bachelor #15

I feel like I'm going through a dating dry spell. Right now I've only got #10 making regular guest appearances. However, I have high hopes for Bachelor #15. Let's see if he can 1) make it past 3 dates 4) is good in bed. My wishes are quite simple these days.

I met B15 on OkCupid and he immediately impressed me with references to Pulp - I was smitten. We exchanged a few e-mails where I found out that he was a vegetarian and really into music. He actually called me last week and we had a very nice phone conversation and decided we would meet for a drink sometime soon.

Last night we met at Duke of Perth and after 5 hours of excellent conversation, 5 beers and one order of fried mac n'cheese I can safely say that this is a guy I could really like. Turns our he is a musician, which is actually a bit of a turn off. However, I'm going to be open to this and it seems that he isn't a starving artist. He's 40, went to school at Valparaiso University (right by my home town) and burnt me a CD of a Smith concert. However, what really won me over was the fact that we share a mutual hatred of children and the parents that produce them. I feel that good things can come of this....

Oh, and in other news: I joined a gym today. That's right, time to get motivated and give my mind a body some much needed exercise. We'll see how long I last.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

gluttony and lust

I am a sinner. I try to stay away from the really big sins, but I'm pretty sure that Gluttony and Lush were both on the plate for me this week and I do believe I got punished for both.

Let's start with Gluttony. It's Mardi Gras season so I figured I should stop by Heaven on Seven for some New Orleans cuisine. I met my GBF (gay boy friend) there after work and had my mind set on gumbo, oysters, and a few hurricanes. I've eaten there many times and have tried a lot of items on the menu. There is a certain item that I've always had my eye on. It's called 'Jimmy Feed Me' and is a tasting of 7 items prepared by the chef for $35. I decided to give it a try last night. I've had tasting menus before and they are usually small bites of food specially selected by the chef to showcase their culinary ability. I figured I could easily handle 7 courses....I was wrong. The portions started off small for the first 2 rounds and i was moving along at a nice pace...then the entrees arrived and I can assure you they were close to regular size entrees. Holy crap! I felt like I was going to explode by the end of my meal. It was sort of like that that scene in European Vacation where Audrey falls asleep on the plane and dreams about being stuffed with food until she explodes. Let me give you a run down of what I consumed:

fried green tomato: this is a classic and one of my favorite things to order here.
sampling of gumbo and turtle soup with a jalapeno corn muffin on the side: I adore the gumbo and had never tried the turtle soup which was equally fantastic.
blackened tilapia with a crab cake on the side
voodoo enchilada: came with a special voodoo sauce made with fruit juices and spices. the portion was enough for two people and this is where i started to get full
scallop with braised oxtail: one of my favorite items of the night. the scallop oxtail combo is always a winner.
bbq salmon: I'm normally not a huge salmon eater, but this was pretty yummy (maybe a little bit fishy) with the BBQ sauce
beef tips: I thought I was going to burst by this point, but I kept consuming. I think they tasted good, but I was deep into a food coma at this point.

And if this all wasn't enough the waitress then set the dessert menu down and said I could pick anything wanted. I went with the pecan pie which was warm and gooey and only managed 3 bites of it. So I do have to say that this was quite a deal, but bring your appetite because the portions are not 'tasting' size.

And now a little about Lust. I had 3 decent dates with Bachelor 14 and found out that he was not the best kisser. However, against my better judgement an the advice of my GBF I had B14 over for cocktails. I won't bore you with all the details (those will be given out freely over drinks). However, I will say that I imagine that this is what sex with an awkward 16 year old boy would be like. I suspect that he may even have been a virgin because at least that would explain the poor performance. I'm usually the type of gal that enjoys all kinds of sex, but I actually found myself laying on my bed with B14 on top of me and thinking that this was certainly the wost sex ever. Lesson learned.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

the art of seduction

Tonight I will be taking advantage of Bachelor#14. I realize that I could probably serve him beer and wear my pjs and I would probably still get the same end result, but I like to set the mood nonetheless. So let me give you a quick run down of what I've put together this evening...

Setting: My apartment is cleaner than it has been in a while. Hell, I even made my bed. I have a bunch of mood lighting going and some candles burning -just a few not too many. It's comfortable, but doesn't scream 'brothel'. It says sex tonight if you play your cards right, but only after you impress me with your wit.

Music: I've got the CDs in the player in this order: Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs/ French Kicks/ Jarvis Cocker/ Raphel Sadiq/ Interpol. All good make-out music.

Scent: I recently started burning incense again, but it's not overpowering. He will not be walking into a college dorm room. The scent is light and seductive.

Me: Minimal make-up. Kept my colors natural with a little black eyeliner. My hair is inspired by Reese Witherspoon's Oscar do and is pulled up in a high pony tale. I am waring a pair of dark jeans and a black shirt that accents my boobs, but hides my belly. I finished the outfit off with some cherry earrings. Underneath I've got on matching bra and panties in black lace and silk.

The drinks: Tonight we are going with rum. I've picked a caipirinha, which is a simple mix of cachaca, lime and sugar and then we are going to follow up with a little something I came up with that I have yet to name. It's a shot of dark rum mixed with a half shot of cherry herring and a half shot of cointreau I added the juice of half a lime and shook with ice. I bought some fancy new bitters so I added a few drops of that as well. It's tasty.


UPDATE: Okay B14 just left...Worst. Sex. Ever. too shell shocked to write more, but I will update later.

So it's almost time for B14 to show up. I'll post an update later and let you know how it all went.