Crunches on a Stability Ball with a Medicine Ball in My Hands

Oh you think you've made it through high school and college and have mastered the art of multitasking. Have you tried using an exercise stability ball? I thought I got a pretty good overview of the exercise realm basics between track and soccer through the years, but I was blissfully unaware of the wonders of the exercise ball. Sit-ups, wall sits, crunches, leg abductions and the rest with increased difficulty while sitting, posing with, leaning on, and/or squeezing an exercise ball. I don't even think my mind can focus that many muscles on all those activities at one time.

Breathe in and out through your nose, suck your belly button to your back, lower your pelvis, squeeze your glutes, keep your chin up, and, which exercise was I doing again. I was so busy preparing for my body for the set of lounges with a weight bar on my neck that I got lost. I try to be adventurous and creative when it comes to working out but it seems like I have to be a limber, multi-tasking, pilates guru to even make it through one set. Instead, I do my regular routine of pushups, crunches on the ball, and back extensions because the familiarity of the exercises make it too easy to drop the more difficult one I found on the internet.

There is no dearth of tips, routines, manuals, guides, videos, and iPod downloads on using an exercise ball. The real difficulty is unearthing all that advice and information into a coherent mental understanding of what your body and the ball are supposed to be achieving: strength, flexibility, tone, maybe even relaxation. If you're doing a one-legged wall sit with a medicine ball in your hand and your back pushing against a stability ball, then which, if any, of those goals are you achieving? I would much rather leave it to the experts to tell me that, but it is my body, and I'm the only one that can feel which muscles are supposedly doing their thing.

I do glimpse at others at the gym, trying to gauge whether or not their exercise activity is worth imitating or avoiding. I do get a kick out of those guys who do 10 pushups in 10 seconds and pick up their bag and leave. Yes, if only women could get abs like that. Then again, we would lose entire industries. What would we do without Women's Health Magazine, Denise Austin, or Jillian Michaels? I do enjoy watching trainers helping their clients at the gym with new routines. Heck, I get a free personal workout just listening and watching them. "Pull the weight like this and flex...," as the trainer guides his trainee and his unsuspecting fan. A few minutes later I follow along and perform the same activity and determine if this trainer is worth my time.

For all the trainers out there, why don't you point out and give some advice for some of us awkwardly looking at the machine's directions when we both know that even after reading them I won't utilize the machine to its max? I'm sure it's painful to watch us doing crunches wrong or missing a step or two in total body workout. Just watching someone curl a free weight like it's a gallon of milk makes me turn my head. Plus, the free advice will no doubt make us warm up to the idea of having a trainer. Look at Costco and all those freebie samples. Trainers, take a cue, and share your wealth of knowledge with us lowly gym infrequenters. Perhaps we'll take a liking to you and actually want you to do the job you're being paid to do.

In the mean time I'll be downloading, e-mail forwarding, and magazine-ripping all those exercise ball routines that don't contradict themselves too much. I'll add them to my jumble of a folder of exercise tips that I'll play with for a few days, and then get back to the real world. Once I figure out how to set aside time to work on my core strength, which has most likely dissipated since the last time I've gone to the gym, I'm back at square one and climbing back up the exercise ladder again.

Dealing with Defeat

I suppose I've been pretty lucky over my years. Not encountering failure too many times and finding another path when another seemed to wither away. What do you do when you fail? How do you deal with defeat? The classic story of Abraham Lincoln overcoming his numerous upsets should be inspirational to us all, but it's hard to translate a presidential story to yourself. How do you stay upbeat, rebound with a more robust attitude, and stay determined for success?

Getting a bad grade on an exam or in a class is not the type of defeat I'm talking about. I'm talking about something so important that this one event affects your future. This enormous amount of stress on your shoulders coupled with people rooting for you makes it so hard to believe the fact that you have felt defeat. Rising up to the challenge to work that much harder only makes the defeat hurt even more. What do you say to someone who has done nothing but encourage you and hope for the best? Even worse, how do you lift up yourself knowing there's another chance you could face defeat?

Perhaps every person encounters this stressful time, once, twice, many times, but there must be some internal characteristic about us that makes us push. Money, fame, satisfaction, revenge, competition, and personal ambition all can be that oomph factor that pushes even harder. I'm not sure which one mine is right now. In high school it was personal ambition mixed with competition. On my own after college it's certainly changed, but I don't know what is pushing me. Is it that bonus check once I turn in my document of success? Is it that party I'm going to throw when I pass all four parts? Is it the internal celebration that only I experience when I have accomplished a goal?

I'm trying to figure out my own way of dealing with defeat. It's hard to tell myself that I not only need to do better, but I also have to realize that I'm not going to do well 100% every try. Giving myself a day to relax and watch the marathon of America's Next Top Model episodes is helping cope with defeat and failure. I'm sure that busying myself as I usually do is essential for this post-relaxation pause. In reality, the world won't stop and politely wait for me to get back on the horse. I have to push myself and I know I'm not the only person   coping with an instance of failure. This is the breaking moment of every person where she knows she must rise up or look back with regret. So much in me wants to stop and give up because it's so hard and there are easier options. But I know that it'll be worth it, I just don't know how long it'll take. Nobody does. There is no timestamp on a dream.

Shutting out the what-if's, worries, and growing disappointment make me feel like I might not make it. What if all that I've been working for will disappear in front of me? How do I come back stronger? I'll be working on that forever probably. In this case I'll just keep working and moving toward that goal. If there are bumps, I won't wish them away, but try to deal with it. Yes, crying is acceptable, but can't let it consume me. That's silly. Wallowing in myself won't get me anywhere. I need to take the disappointment and make it useful.

My way of dealing with defeat includes frustration, anxiety, uncertainty, and embarrassment, but I know that giving up after one shot is certainly not admirable or reasonable. I will try again, and who knows, I might discover an even better way of motivating myself.

The Caffeine Battle

Coffee v. tea. I always have this mental debate in the morning. Green tea with antioxidants that fight against different cancers and jumpstart metabolism that will maybe help me reduce my 5 yawns per minute to 3. Or, the Colombian roast vanilla flavored coffee from the Fresh Market that will reduce my yawns to 0 if I add enough International Delight creamer. Undoubtedly, I end up with a few cups of coffee in my stomach and I wonder if I will ever pick tea over coffee in the endless caffeine battle.

Unless you have a tea addicted family like myself or a frequent visitor to Teavana, you might not even consider tea as a duly respectable player in the caffeine battle. No, green tea comes nowhere close to roasted coffee beans, but there are some other options. Chai tea, either from the carton mix, bag, or Indian-style using Brooke Bond tea grounds is an excellent alternative to the daily coffee grind. It's fun to mix it up. After reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I definitely discovered that there are people out there who drink more coffee than myself, but we should excite our taste buds every now and then. People like surprises and presents, so why not do the same for your taste buds?

Although Wal-Mart has a surprisingly collection of tea offerings, Teavana is definitely my favorite. Yes, the samples are pretty delicious. Plus, there are so many people trying the free tea that you don't have that guilty feeling in your stomach when the salesperson looks at you with judging eyes because you'e the only person taking advantage of free samples. Mattes, blends, and combinations of teas you have and haven't heard before with all sort of redeeming qualities that help with digestion, weight, and energy. Not all of these teas will taste like their description, but the caffeine in some of them are definitely there.

A good lead-in tea that's so great that I took the box with me to the store to make sure I grabbed the right one is this fasting dieting tea from Yogi. Yogi fasting tea helps with dieting and fasting, but that's not why I liked it so much. It tasted so delicious, and I've had my fair share of teas. Reading some of the comments on the tea, I see that other people have noticed the same thing. If you're not much of a tea drinker or dubious as to its ability to taste good, well this is heaven-sent. I've only had the tea a couple times, so I can't remark on the ability to cut down on my desire to eat (which I'm not too keen on reducing because I love food so much), but it does taste great. It's a good gateway tea which can lead you into those specialty caffeine explosion ones at Teavana and other specialty stores.

As for the caffeine battle tea might not be the resounding winner, but it's an important player. Some specialty teas come with the same or more caffeine than coffee, but you really have to be quite the avid tea fan. If you're looking to become a tea junkie, I would go for teas packed with flavor so you don't feel like you're forcing yourself to drink hot water. But don't forget about the old favorite: plain coffee. Always getting criticism but having a few healthful qualities like possibly preventing diabetes and other diseases, I can claim that while drinking coffee I'm doing good for myself. But really, I wouldn't drink coffee or tea just because of its immune boosters or newest healthy benefit. Do it for the caffeine.

Mangia!

They say, "don't eat your feelings." Sooo what would happen to that comforting, buttery, fattening, fried southern food? Where would all those chocolate bars and ice cream pints go? Don't eat your feelings. If only I didn't feel, I could probably follow that mantra. When I'm hot, I want a cold salad or tuna fish sandwich. When I'm cold, I want a latte and soup. When I have wine, I want delectable creamy French cheese. If I'm drunk, I want pizza. When I get a bad grade/get into a fight/heartbreak/insert any situation here, I want chocolate.That's the joy of being able to pick and choose the food you eat: it matches how you feel at that very moment. When I pass a vent that smells like lard (all those who've been on a college campus can relate to this), then I want some McDonald's french fries. If you're feeling light, by all means, get that salad or uber healthy edamame bean mix.

Translating all those unfair moments in life when you can't make a decision for yourself or unlucky stuff happens to you, choosing what you eat seems like a breath of justice. Yes, the metro was 15 minutes late today because of service delays and there was street cleaning that I didn't know about and got a ticket, but yes, I, me, get to choose what I eat for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Even if you get wined and dined by corporate, YOU get to choose that expensive meal that is too big to eat in one sitting but too inappropriate to bring back leftovers. There are so few decisions we get to make. Yes, I would like that Banana Republic sale to last all year, yes I would like a size smaller than XXL available, but no, I can't make those decisions. A slice of key lime pie is heavenly not just because of the lime zest, lime juice, and excessive amount of sugar, but also because I chose to eat that delicious dessert over all the other mouthwatering waistline expanding treats. 

Harking back to that moment when your parents finally let you dress yourself, that same exhilaration of controlling your near distant future exists when you get to choose what you eat. Yes, you should have that nagging feeling if you've eaten at KFC five times that week, but that has no bearing on the fact that you had the power to decide to eat there each time. Just as you have no power or decision during those 40+ hours you spend at work, all those hours outside of work is at the mercy of your decision making. Nothing makes my Type A self happier than writing in my Moleskine planner with my bright gel plan the plans that I have made for the week. If I write down buy Georgetown cupcakes on Friday evening, a kernel of excitement is released in my brain because I have chosen to eat my feelings. No, I'm not hurting or upset be cause I'm eating cupcakes. I'm TGIF-ing and cupcakes is a perfect way to celebrate. 

If I decided to follow the mantra, "don't eat your feelings." I would probably bore myself with healthy steel-cut oats for breakfast, three-bean salad for lunch, and lemon-caper salmon for dinner every day of the week. While good for you and taste bud sparking, there is no way I could eat these meals all the time, especially if I was feeling in a certain mood. You know when you see that bottle of red wine and remember you have some dark chocolate cake in the fridge, no amount of juicy salmon could compare. Then and there, a distinct click has been made in my head and I know that before the end of the night I will stop all that I'm doing and break out the wine and chocolate cake. Think of all those endorphins you just released! Why would you deprive yourself of satisfying your feelings? Nope the suggestion to "not eat your feelings" is not only foolish but also emotionally damaging. Can you deny yourself happiness at every meal every day? Certainly not. Yes, I can make myself wait and look forward to those every-now-and-then meals like chicken parmesan, but ignoring my feelings would just make me focus more on the fact that I'm torturing myself. It's much better to listen to your body and, in moderation, "eat your feelings." 

I will have my key lime pie, my cupcakes, my cake and eat them all. Thank you Marie Antoinette. There's nothing like manifesting your power in the decision to eat all the desserts, fried food, and bean salad that you want.

Bankrupt Blockbuster, Surprised?

Well...more like just reorganizing and getting away with some extra debts. Chapter 11 is not really bankruptcy, but anyways, who didn't see this coming? Who even uses Blockbuster nowadays? I don't even remember the last time I've been inside one of those places. With Surf The Channel, Hulu, $1 Redbox, and Netflix, how does Blockbuster even factor into this aggressive and completely morphed industry?

It reminds me of this HBR article I read the other day about lack of innovation and the failure of the Italian national soccer team in the recent World Cup. If you don't innovate, you will lose - hello, Blockbuster, are you listening? Take a cue from the recent World Cup losers.

In all fairness, Blockbuster had a pretty good model going for a while. Walk into the store, pick up a video, show your Blockbuster card, pay for a short viewing period, and suffer a penalty if you return it too late. Sounds just like the....public library system, except that's free. Hmm, Blockbuster, I think you're SOL, unless you come out with a Blockbuster PS4. Unfortunately, Netflix is a much more attractive method. No need to even get in the car or take a walk to the store, just use the mailbox. Could it be easier? Oh wait, yes, you can watch those antiquated movies online instantly. They have some better options online, but their improvements keep raising the ceiling of excellence. Blockbuster, I'm still peeved about those late fees, especially when you specifically wait til the next morning to recognize that I've returned the movie even though I put it in the box at 11:59 pm, completely on time and before midnight.

Even more unhelpful, if I wanted to watch all those seasons of Lost, I couldn't get the whole season in one box! Oh no, that's way too much entertainment for one person. Yes, breaking up the season of 22 episodes into 4 boxes is enough excitement for a week. Then, I have to take the time to write down when the dvd's are due, increasing the likelihood of late fees with every extra silly season box that I have to check out. All in all, good job Blockbuster for finally recognizing you can't compete and filing for bankruptcy. I daresay reducing some of those debts will help you win out in the battle against Netflix, Hulu, and the rest.

Clubbing: When Is It Enough?

Barhopping, frat parties, and nightclubs. The most important weekend experience of college. Is it? Is it the most important experience after college? Clubbing and barhopping in the major city you found that first job in can be entirely different from the previous four years of college. Or is it? What makes these experiences so different? For one, all of your friends are not within a mile radius, and every bar or club you walk into doesn't have your college flag or sports trophies on the wall. Just getting friends to get out of their weekly routine from post-work de-stress is enough, much less picking the same place to meet up. What about marrying the new and old friends situation?

You meet some great new friends at work who like partying with you and you have a lot in common since you now spend about 40 hours (probably more) together during the work week. Where do the old friends come into play? Hopefully set up a meet and greet and it all goes picture perfect according to plan...almost never. Change and new phases seem to define this transition period from college to grad school or full time career (if you do have time to go out. I'm talking to you I-bankers). How do you even get the energy to get up and go out until 3 am after having waking up at 7 am that day and worked for about 8 or 9 hours? Is it worth blowing the paycheck you just got? The clubbing experience is so different from college, it's hard to avoid the allure. Look at the hype of Jersey Shore. Those wholesome Jersey kids living it up in whatever city they end up in and ordering all the bottle service you can get. Maybe, you party even hardier than them. In that case, you need a tv show as well.

Why do you go clubbing/barhopping/party? Is it the "seen and be seen" attitude? Blowing off steam? Trying to pick up a new lady friend? Whatever the reason, when do you stop? At what age is enough clubbing? When you find that special person and want to spend all your time with them? Hardly. If anything, that'll be temporary. The excitement and butterflies will most likely fade and you'll be out partying with the best of them. It probably won't until you settle down with some children, many many years away that most of us would squirm just thinking about. Rather, when does the excitement of clubbing die down? - When you decide that you'd rather get sleep for the co-ed company soccer game tomorrow or to do those errands you've been putting off for a month. I think it's all about the priorities. What other priorities could you have? Oil change for the car? No, the parents will do that. Antique shopping to decorate the apartment? Maybe when you're 70. Apple picking that morning? Only, if your girlfriend drags you out there.

When is it enough? To be honest, never. Each "that-was-the-most-amazing-night-out" that happens will whet the appetite to do it even bigger and better next time. The notion that it's enough won't hit you until you're middle-aged and realize your mortgage and daycare bills say that your priorities have changed. But hey, maybe they'll have clubs for parents who want to blow off some steam from the brooding teenager. However, if hanging out and maintaining that grandeur social life is #1, clubbing will top the list, and until then, keep those dance shoes on.

Baking v. Cooking: Why Science Makes It Too Difficult

You know that awesome chef who hates to bake? No, not referring to myself. Some of the most fantastic pastry chefs aren't big fans of cooking. Why are such two synonymous kitchen activities, cooking and baking, so different from each other? How can someone with such talent baking not have the same passion for cooking, and vice versa? It's the science behind it. Science plays such a large role in baking that one extra teaspoon of baking soda can ruin a delicate dessert. On the other hand, an extra teaspoon of paprika or chicken broth can only add and intensify an already good flavor.

Speaking from the cooking lover side of things, the talent requirements for baking far outpace my own abilities. Having attempted a seemingly simple allrecipes.com recipe for Cranberry Nut Bread and ended up with some heavily caramelized cranberries, I realized I should take a better look into baking and what I'm doing wrong. Cooking might not always require that you follow the instructions as stringently as baking. One misstep in an instruction, and that soufflé will topple or the crust of a pie will get burnt. I know I carefully measured my ingredients, maybe added a few extra walnuts and didn't chop the cranberries as well as I could have. Could those two minuscule details have ruined any chance I had at making a good dessert bread snack?

Overall, the patience required for baking might be more necessary than the patience for cooking. That patience also requires a basic understanding of the science behind it. What makes that genoise or angel food cake so light and airy? Whisking the eggs to a fluffy state. How does ice water help create the perfect pastry crust. Honestly, for cooking, I really don't pay attention to the science behind it, and I haven't ruined too many recipes. Of course, I'm not a professional, so I daresay to get to a higher level, I'm sure I would need a better background in the science of cooking. For the average cook, science might not play a big role. As long as you know when to add more salt, when meat gets tender enough, and not to add cheese into a sauté pan, you'll probably be fine. Not knowing the science behind baking can probably cause some frustration.

In The Cake Bible the author Rose Levy Beranbaum does an excellent job of incorporating the why's of science into her recipes. How the effect of the egg whites create a certain taste and how they work with the other ingredients. Although most dessert recipes won't include this information, the average cook-at-home-turned-pastry-chef should probably spend a few minutes learning the reasoning behind the dish. Honestly, how else can you avoid silly baking pitfalls? Oh yes, and read those directions carefully! Split those dry and wet ingredients, Rose tells me. I appreciate any and all baking tips!

Speaking from experience, I've ruined a few genoise, bread, and other dessert recipes. I don't think a class on baking science will help as much as patience and experience, however. The experience I've had making dinner about 5 times/ week versus the experience I've had baking can't really compare. Maybe, the only way is to just bake a dessert at least once a week regardless of its effect on my waistline. Hopefully I can package it and ship it off to my sister at college!

Waiting For My Care Package

So the little sister sent me a text asking, why do all the other girls in my dorm get care packages from their parents and I don't? Hmm, I'm not a mother and I don't have childrearing experience, but I'm going to take a gander and say that our parents are a little busy and show their love in a different way. The second child and baby of the family is off starting her second month at a university four and a half hours away which seems like a lifetime compared to my two hour journey. She seemed to be pretty well adjusted so far, no complaints, bags under her eyes from hanging out too late on the weekends with friends, and no homesick phone calls (except to see our dog on Skype). Why is she feeling so unloved?

... She feels out of the loop. Think about those times you get back to school after Christmas break and everyone's sharing their new toys. Everyone got a big present except for you. That hurts, even if you aren't used to getting that big Christmas present. Regardless of the fact we don't celebrate Christmas and maybe put up a light-up reindeer on the front lawn, it was never a big time of year, so she should be used to not getting that big show of affection. Heck, I didn't start hugging my mom and saying I love you until I went to college myself. Dad is another story. The sharing what-you-got-from-your-parents conversation is always something a girl wants to partake in, but how badly? No, I didn't get care packages. Yes, other kids' moms worked full-time and got packages as well, but let's face it, our mom is not that way. Her way of loving us is sending an email or calling about the newest food recall or virus and making sure we take vitamins every morning.

Having a mother who is a full-time dentist, loves researching health care news, and prides herself on being a tough individual, we didn't expect home-baked cookies coming out warm from the oven when we got back to school. C'est la vie. She did, however, know how to help us with any schoolwork that wasn't math-related. An incredible analyst, writer, linguist, and researcher can provide just as much love as a cookie-baking, care-package sending mom. You just have to know how she expresses herself. Her way of showing love is being your biggest supporter (if you ask), your best consultant (if you ask), book club buddy (if you ask), and personal dietitian/doctor/dentist (don't need to ask). Although they do not manifest in pink bows and ribbons or affectionate handwritten letters, they are equal in their intentions.

Our mom loves us the way she knows how and there's nothing we can do to change it. Learn to appreciate what your mom gives you but it definitely doesn't hurt to ask the older sister, the type A organizer, to send a care package instead.

My Love for The Washingtonian

I never thought one magazine could affect me as much as The Washingtonian. It began as an innocent curiosity with no intent of getting involved in a serious relationship. Like how most relationships develop, I became to get attached. With every coming weekend or activity I always sought the advice and suggestions of Washingtonian. With its spectacular success rates, I subscribed to the weekly e-mail newsletters of restaurant openings and reviews, weekend nightlife, and any other DC happenings that an article could be written about. Slowly, I became obsessed.

I didn't notice this transition until a friend finally blurted out, "you should get paid to talk about them!" I finally realized how much I like that silly magazine. I most definitely don't fit into their classic readership: middle-aged women with above average incomes, but maybe someday. So if I don't fit their target group, why am I reading it and referencing it so much? Their excellent coverage of restaurants, events, and local businesses in an online database and well-formatted e-mail newsletters. Not typically a forte of couture women's magazines. However, the hits don't stop coming. This past weekend I attended the highly publicized Fashion's Night Out where I enjoyed some late night shopping, thumping music in the background, and a wine glass in my hand. Not to mention the blocks long line for free Georgetown Cupcake that my friend Ashley and I managed to finagle into due to our inability to stop talking. Here's a heaping of appreciation with even more admiration. 

Now, if only others could understand why I love this magazine so much. Where did I find out about Annie Creamcheese? Washingtonian. How did I know what time the jazz concert was in the Smithsonian Sculpture Gardens? Washingtonian. From whom did I get that free Hello Cupcake coupon? Washingtonian. Who notified me about DC Restaurant Week? Washingtonian. Although high-powered wealthy older women are the target, clearly there's a lot to offer to the younger metropolitan crowd, especially if you aren't a socialite with someone planning your schedules for you. So, are there equivalents for other cities? Not sure. I've tried to look up a comparative magazine for NYC, but ended up with the meager NY Mag and something inferior called Timeout.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of discovering my DC guru, but more importantly, I hope you find it just as helpful as I do. As always, thank you Washingtonian for the tip! Now, off to the gym to work off all those muffins I've been eating while I read my obsession.

"Me Time," To You

My "me time" is essential to me because if I don't get a moment to plan, write things down, or make lists, I would probably get stressed out and go crazy. That's not the only thing I do during "me time," which includes all the girly activities like painting my nails and taking a bubble bath. Most importantly, I do it when I'm by myself and am doing something that I enjoy: reading magazines, sending those catch-up emails to friends, and blissfully enjoying that cup of hot coffee debating whether a 300 calorie piece of banana bread from Starbucks was worth it or not. What do you do during your "me time?" Is it overrated and actually for those overworked mom's who are busy taking care of their hyperactive children? Does a 22-year old just graduated and currently-taking-a-break-from-studying-before-going-to-work adult even deserve "me time?" For all intensive purposes, yes. 

What would you do without that "me time?" Personally, I know a few who would be more hysterical if they didn't get their social interaction for the day, but "me time" is probably undervalued and overly ignored. The precious time you spend cleaning is probably when you're thinking some valuable "me time" thoughts but don't realize it. And then if you don't clean, I feel bad for your roommates, and your personal well-being. One extreme example is my dad. He has an incredible amount of "me time" which is when he wakes up super early because his brain is on super charge and can't go back to sleep because he worries too much. What he worries about, I have no idea. I know my crazy antics like staying up all night studying for the CPA exam and spending lots of money at Whole Foods to make him dinner are definitely contributing factors. I would say that worrying is unhealthy "me time," but I'm sure it balances with that Bass beer at dinner.  

Of course, if you're super extroverted and thrive on social interaction, you probably border on the amount of zero "me time," and on the other end, if you're an introvert happy to be away from conversation, you need exponentially more. In college, it varied with the amount of homework and studying I needed to do - the more reading, the amount of online window shopping increased and the more NY Times articles I read. Too bad I never got the hang of showering and fitting in my "me time" in one. I don't think multitasking with "me time" worked out in the end. Getting lost in thought during "me time" and cooking only ended up with burnt chopped onions, which according to some, is one of the worst tasting things you could eat. Agreed. 

So is "me time" a glorified version of doing errands? For the Type A person like myself, maybe. Unfortunately, the best "me time" happened during those many trips from UVA to DC to visit the boyfriend. Good exercise for the brain, but bad for my car and wallet. Luckily, I have substituted that 2 hour car ride with a 15 minute daily dog walk and reflection after obsessive reading of the Swedish book series (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the others). I have found that for some strange reason, browsing allrecipes.com and reading The Cake Bible have also offered valuable "me time." I wish that my "me time" could be spent doing something more valuable like painting or crunching numbers in Excel files. Life is life and my "me time" won't change. It happens while I paint my nails, read magazines, burn food on the stove, walk my dog, and drink bottomless coffee. When I start work, it'll probably be while I'm commuting back home after shouting every curse word inside my car with the windows closed and driving really slow to piss of the tailgater behind me. Regardless, "me time" will occur, whether at my own delicate spa-like experience or when I'm enjoying my time outside of the house. 

Oddities at the Gym

Like most young Americans, I am a fan of the gym. Although there are so many ways I could spend my $40/month membership, but getting in shape and watching the oddities occur in front of you are nearly priceless. My gym in Reston doesn't get too crowded, especially Sunday afternoon, except for the few middle aged folks needing a break from lawn care or cooking for the week. On my usual routine, ready to toss my bag into the locker, I peeked around the locker room and saw a large, naked woman using the hair dryer. Mmm, odd. Do odd things make you wonder about the comedic nature of other people? Do they know they are doing something odd or is it normal for them? Maybe I'm the only person who finds that odd.

Once I got to the elliptical with The Nanny Diaries, I thought I had experienced my share of odd things at the gym. I was wrong. With my music blaring and pumping those legs and arms, I finally realized the man next to me was half wheezing, half grunting and lunging with each thrust of the elliptical arms. I looked over and he looked at me with this incredulous face which seemed to say, "this is how all men use the treadmill." I avoided looking to my right side and kept to my business but winced at every loud grunt.

On to the mats, more unusual behavior. A lady in the Lamaze position sitting against the wall. If this is a new yoga position, I need to get back to class. I love working out on the mats, so I can see other people stretch and flex in different ways to get inspiration for updating my workouts. Unfortunately, I don't think the Lamaze will change my usual routine. A few crunches and planks later, the lady is still doing the Lamaze, and I realize she must be meditating. Do you really need quiet to meditate? I would bet you just need a place you can block out the noise and distractions. For this lady, it was the gym.

Perhaps it's just people being in the zone and all pumped up from endorphins that they act a little odd at the gym. Even more probable, I'm not noticing my own odd behavior. Regardless, those oddities make the gym pretty entertaining, I might have to leave my shuffle back at home.

Ecstasy from Shopping

In preparing for my alfredo pasta meal, I planned my route from the gym to the nearest shopping center, loaded with appealing stores for the shopaholic. After parking my car in the middle of the parking lot for maximum walking distance, I headed for Loft. I knew it was a bad decision considering I had just received a package from them that I ordered a week ago. Regardless, I walked in, determined to compare my style and closet with the ones the store offered me. I was doing well - just browsing, looking at the new season's colors and styles: cropped jackets, beads and sequins, and colorful sweaters. Then I made a beeline to the sale section, knowing the XS area would be barren. I beat the odds and found a great patterned top for work. Even better, I managed to find an outfit with a gray skirt, big jeweled necklace. Then I was off to the dressing room to spend some more time analyzing my options and debating whether my walk-in-closet could swallow another clothing item. Ten minutes later, I left the store with a small Loft logo bag in my hand. The thrill of walking out with the feeling of success can be rivaled by little else.

Next door, a friendly neighborhood Starbucks. Thinking I would just get coffee, I glanced at the menu and saw that the pumpkin spice latte was back on the specials list. Oh how I have missed the fall. Although it was almost 80 degrees outside while I was sipping my autumn latte, it still felt great. My mini Paris here in Reston. Mimicking my leisure experience in the French city, I sat at a table outside, drinking my coffee and snacking on a small cookie, and watching everything pass by. There's definitely something special to this pastime. Although most would not consider buying a latte shopping, I would put it in the broad category of a shopping outing. With a full stomach and some warmth from the sun, I packed up and again, went next door but this time to look at books.

My frugal mom had always praised the benefits of the local free public library system and discouraged the expensive book stores. Yes, I do read a book once, so buying a book is not a great return on your investment, unless you get a good price. Just as my previous post about coupons and deals, I found a deal of a book for $1: the Nanny Diaries. I have a steadfast habit of reading a book before I see a movie, but in this case, $1 swayed my mind.

At long last, I finally made it to the Whole Foods with my Loft bag, a full stomach, and a book. The samples at Whole Foods, while not as abundant as Costco's, are plenty delicious. Munching on some grapes and cheese, I browsed the produce department, picked up some of my newest obsession, mushrooms, and finally grabbed the chicken that caused the entire outing. All of purchases managed to fit in my recyclable bag, which gets you five cents off at some locations! The exhilaration of walking to the car with the groceries for toinght's dinner, a new top for work which will most likely be worn at a bar first, and a book to pass the time until my next blog post made it a pretty successful day. All this success even before dinner can give you an ecstasy from shopping like nothing else.

As always, I welcome comments, opinions, and remarks, so feel free to leave your thoughts.

The Value of Coupons

As this is my first foray into blogging, I will give an introduction. With a background in accounting and history, I had never put serious effort into personal writing. Recently, I woke up from a dream where I had found enlightenment, or rather enjoyment, from writing a blog for personal happiness. Consequently, here is my first endeavor. These blogs will have no relation to accounting or history, unless I receive suggestions to the contrary. They will not be pedantic or instructional. Rather, they will simply be my observations written in my own prose, hence the title of the blog.

Shall we begin? You know those packets of coupons you get in the mail from P&G, the grocery store, and other consumer goods companies? Fifty cents off when you buy two tubes of toothpaste - is that really a deal? What about those 20% off coupons in your junk inbox? I find neither of those as valuable as the ones that I actually take the time to find online. To me, the real deal is the coupon that I take the effort to look for, rather than the one that finds its way into my mailbox or inbox. 

Woot, Groupon, Living Social. Do those ring a bell? To the savvy coupon collector, probably not, unless you spend a good deal of your time online. My mom, the everlasting coupon clipper but loses them all once she puts them someplace, has just recently started looking online for those coupons that seem too good to be true. Personally, most of them are worth your search time, but rolling through those sites for those deals is really not as time consuming as you think. Just as checking your email or reading the news, adding a couple sites for coupon deals seems almost intuitive. When I was away at school, my parents and I would chat, but some of the better time my mom and I spent talking to each other was about new coupon websites and what good deals we had come across lately. Perhaps driven by materialism on my end and frugality on my mom's, we had found a hobby that gave us some level of personal achievement, money savings, and some easy conversation tips that we could share with anyone.  

Starting your online coupon clipping habits can seem daunting with our overly packed schedules, but for the OCD in all of us, here are a few tips:

- save all those coupons by bookmarking your sites, copying all of the deals into an Excel/Word file, or creating a separate email inbox category. I find this way to be much more orderly 

- start with one big coupon site like freeshipping.org or twitter.com/dealsplus. Just one of these sites can prevent website surf overload.

The actual value of coupons is the face value which it advertises, but the real value to you is how excited you are when you're clicking save or sharing the site with a friend. Everyone has that hobby that takes a few minutes every day that gives you happiness, pleasure, or even peace of mind. Online coupon clipping is that activity for me. Hopefully reading this will help you discover your inner coupon seeker or find something else that gives both satisfaction and a few pennies saved.