Ice Day

So despite having a day and a half off from work due to the "Great Texas Ice Storm", this has felt like the longest week ever. Work is soo busy right now, and I am exhausted. I've had to put in late nights all week to make up for the time off and next week will be just as busy. The good news is that the week after THAT I am going to use some of my comp time to take a day off.

So Tuesday morning, after sleeping in late because of the 3:58 a.m. text message saying UNT was closed for the day, I looked out my apartment window and noticed that one of my front tires was flat. I immediate thought three things: 1) Thank goodness it didn't pop on me while I was driving on I-35 (that's happened to me twice, and it's scary), 2) What a horrible weather day to have to go outside and put on my spare tire, and 3) Can I just leave it till tomorrow? The problem with leaving it till tomorrow was that I couldn't miss any more work, so I bundled up and drove slowly around Lewisville to look for a car repair shop. After spending my ice day sitting in a Firestone waiting room reading magazines, I got the dreaded news: You need new tires, and we've found about $1,500 worth of repairs that need to be done to your car.

Can I just say as a single woman who knows nothing about cars, there is no place that makes me feel more insecure than going into an auto repair shop alone? Do I really need this repair? Are they trying to rip me off? Why can't I remember when was the last time I got that part replaced? What will happen if I don't get it done? I also know that I commute 20 minutes up and down I-35 every day in lots of traffic, and I don't want to be nervous about my car going out on me. Anyways, the guy at the counter was really nice and patiently explained everything to me and told me he would "hook me up" when I told him I couldn't afford a lot of the maintenance that needed to be done.

The truth is, I know I probably don't maintain my car as well as I should. It's a nuisance to me, and I hate spending money on it. It's time for my attitude to change, I guess. I got some of the repairs done, and I will have to save up for the later ones. So, here's the funny part of the story, as I was getting ready to leave, the guy I'd been talking to all day asked if he could take me out sometime. He was nice, but I wasn't feeling it, so I gave him the "Thanks, but I have a boyfriend" lie. As I left, I wondered if I really should have turned down the guy who could help me out with $1500 in car repairs. He gave me his number to call "if I changed my mind", and when I looked at it later, I realized he gave me the Firestone customer service line where people are supposed to call and take a survey on the service they received. So was it really all a ploy?

What an ice day.

Make new friends, but keep the old...

...One is silver and the other gold. (Ah, Girl Scouts). I got to see some of my favorite Baylor girls this weekend. Lara and Ashley came up from Houston, Stacy came down from Oklahoma, and Lauren and I made the long trek from across the metroplex to Holley's house for a reunion. It was so good to see old roommates and friends, and I am so blessed to have become a part of this group of friends. I wish I could have had 4 full years with them at Baylor, and I missed their sweet spirits and goofy jokes after they graduated. Thanks for a great time, girls! (We missed you Chelsea.)



So, about my new year's resolution ... It wasn't hard to get all my veggies in this week, so I think I accomplished my first goal. However, I bought myself a bag of valentine's candy heart, and, let's face it, Necco advertises them as a "fat free candy", but there is nothing good about candy hearts. Pure sugar. Oh well, at least I didn't eat cookies, right?

This week:

• I will go to the gym M, T, H, F after work.
• I will not drink sodas or buy any more candy hearts.
• (And continue eating fruits and veggies with every meal).

Yes we can

It's my first post of 2009! The fact that this is being written on Jan. 16 is not a good sign considering my New Year's resolution was to write every day, either in my journal or on my blog. I've done better with writing in my journal. I have decided that I miss writing, and I hope 2009 will bring a job change. I remember that one of my professors told me that good writing takes practice. She said that even just writing in streams of consciousness for five minutes a day would help improve somebody's skills. Since I've been out of the writing biz for the past 6 months or so, I've decided I need to sharpen up. Hence the new year's resolution.


My second resolution this year is to shape up. Now this resolution has been set many times before. This time is different. I lost about 10-15 pounds while I was living in England. But now, six months later, I am back at my pre-England weight. Boo America. Too much Chick-Fil-A, Mexican food, and cookie dough - all nonexistent across the pond. I also walked everywhere in England and worked out almost every day as a break from studying. Now, I spend much of my day sitting and work out 2-3 times a week. Here's why I think I usually fail: I give up on myself too easily. I have never had accountability in my weight loss goals. Also, when you live by yourself, it is much easier to eat over eat. I am hoping by talking about this on my blog, that will change a bit. More so that exercising, my weight loss obstacle is food. Therefore, I am taking baby steps to change my lifestyle.



Goals for this week:

• Eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal.
• I will not buy any cookies (my weakness) at the store this week.

See you next week!