Just Another Manic Monday

Ugh. I hate Mondays. I'm always tired because I didn't sleep well the night before, crabby (because it's well, Monday), and just generally dreading the work week, not because I hate my job (I enjoy it) but because, let's face it, we'd all rather do something else rather than work! Like take long walks, read, sleep, watch movies, I could go on all day.
Alas, work pays bills. Thus, I work. Lame, I know. I have a lot of bills!

I hope working out will help me out. I'm going to go do circuit training at lunchtime, then back to work for a while, then picking out some plants to put in my office (it needs a little pick me up, a 100+ year old building is pretty dreary and flowers/ plants will make it a little better), then probably going for a run. I'm working on me. I have lost 30 lbs. so far and I haven't felt this good about myself in a while. I really let myself go, and it's hard to get to what I want to be. I still have bad days and look in the mirror and wish I saw someone different but more and more I'm happy with what I see. Well, happier. I know I still have a ways to go, but I like how I feel and that I do not have a double chin anymore.

For those friends who did not know, I'm also training to run in my first 5K in a very long time. I used to enjoy running, since I lived in the middle of nowhere with lots of side roads and trails to run on, so what's stopping me now?! Things are going well for me, and I think I'll be fine. As I progress I hope to run in the 10K next summer in my hometown and eventually a 1/2 marathon. I've been following the C25K plan, which is quite easy and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to start running again but isn't really sure how to go about it the right way.

I've also been doing WW for those of you who didn't know.. it's been going well. I am now working on keeping my own food journal and keeping track of points. It seems to hold me more accountable than the Iphone app I was using (because I would "adjust" the quantity for less points). Even if you aren't in WW, you should keep a food journal. You'd be surprised to see what you're consuming throughout the day. Seriously!!

Below I've put a workout routine that I've been doing (circuit training) with a student trainer for their practum. It was free advice and help, and now I'm sharing it with you, so enjoy!! I hope you find this worthwhile.

10-15 minute cardio warmup (I enjoy the elliptical for this)

Machine Pulldown @ 62.5 lbs (15 reps)
Machine Row @ 62.5 lbs (15 reps)
Military Press w/ 15 lb. dumbbells (15 reps)
Dumbbell Curl w/ 15 lb. dumbbells (15 reps)
20 weighted arm extensions (lay on back like you're going to do a situp, and holding a 6-10 lb. medicine ball, hold with both hands, extend to your left above your head, to your knees- but don't touch them, then to your right, then bring to the center of your chest, give it a light toss in the air and catch it. That's 1 rep.)
Leg Press @ 200 lbs. (15 reps)
Calf Raises- 15 reps
Hamstring Curl- 15 reps
Squats w/ 6-10 lb. medicine ball

Repeat the above sequence 2-3 times.

Then do 10 minutes cardio.

Follow with the abdominal sequence below (which you repeat 2-3 x)

Sit-ups- bring your elbows to your knees, hands stay behind head. 20-30
Weighted crunches- reach towards sky with a weighted medicine ball in hands. 20-30
Twists- using a 10 lb. dumbbell. 20-30
Flutters- kicking legs back and forth like the flutter kick in swimming while lying on your back 20-30 sec.
Superman- lay on stomach, lift legs and arms (extended in front of you) and head upward. 20-30 x
Teakettles- Using a 15 lb. weight, put rt. hand behind head and move in a teakettle motion, lowering left arm holding weight. Do 15-20 x and switch.

When you're done, stretch out to cool down and keep those muscles from locking up. Trust me, it's one hell of a workout.

~D.

Meatless Monday?

Greetings everyone-

So I came across a site today called "Meatless Mondays" which involves not eating any meat on Mondays (thus reducing your carbon footprint and it's good for you). I have decided to fully commit to this, even though I love eating chicken or beef for dinner. I am trying to cut back my meat consumption anyhow so this will motivate me even more! Check out Meatless Mondays here.

I have found a new site to use for keeping track of books I've read, ones I want to read, and ones I'm reading, called GoodReads. I like this site a lot better than Living Social Books because I've been having so many problems with their site. And they have a nice iphone app!

I'm still doing WW- but without e-tools. They wanted to charge me way more than what I was willing to pay. Oh well! I've got a notebook and it's not hard to track points. I like the lifestyle adjustment WW does for me. It keeps me accountable for what I consume.

Speaking of consumption- I can't wait until the farmer's market starts soon!! Fresh fruit and veggies from local farmers!! Woo hoo!!

That's about it here. Nothing too exciting to say otherwise- go green :) Earth Day is everyday!

Life Updates.

Hi Everyone,

I really haven't posted much, primarily because I just don't have the time. I thought I'd give an update for those of you who actually read this, although I'm not sure how many folks do. I've been very busy over the past few months, as I work full time as the lab coordinator for a biology program as well as teach 4 undergraduate labs. I barely have time to think, I swear.

Work has been good. There are a lot of really great people where I work, they are intelligent and are fun to be around. There are a some that make wanting to come to work a discouragement at times. You know the type. The "I'm more important than everyone else so drop what you're doing and cater to my needs" kind of person. They are wearing me down and it's making my job not enjoyable. I enjoy my job normally because I work with the students and interact with the biology program. There's just that one person, and even though I try not to let them bog me down, sometimes I cannot avoid them and they suck me in to a black hole of irritation and anger. I guess that's life, you're always going to have one difficult person that you work with.

*Sigh*

My other issue of the day is a so-called "friend". I was once quite close with this person. At least I thought we were. Then I find out that she's getting married (this weekend now) much sooner than previously told to me by her- which I found out by seeing her bridal shower pictures online! She then goes on to tell me all about how I'd be invited to a bachelorette party in March (never did get that invite, hmm....) and that I'd still be getting a wedding invite (funny, it's tomorrow, never saw one of those either). If you didn't want me at your wedding, you could have at least told me instead of making up some stupid story. I feel hurt and offended. I guess that's how life goes. I've continually been shown who my true friends are in life, and I guess that's part of being an adult.

Speaking of friends, I'm a tad sad because a friend of mine is moving very soon!! I'm very happy for her of course (she's going to graduate school out west) but I'm going to miss her terribly, as she was my date for Twilight and Harry Potter movies- now I'm going to have to go to them alone (since my hunny isn't down with seeing those in theaters). *Sigh* She's pretty much my only friend that lives kind of close to my house.

I am excited for the upcoming weekend though- girls night out :) I can't wait to party with my favorite gals!!! It's going to be sooooo much fun :)

Anyhow, not too much else is new or exciting. I am going to start an MBA in the Fall of 2011 (At least, that's my goal date). I feel this would really expand my career possibilities. Hopefully I will get into either the UWM program or the MTU online MBA program, which are the two that I will definitely apply to (I may apply to Marquette as well, but they are pretty pricey).

As some of you may know, I've been working on losing weight using the Weight Watchers plan, which has been working out well for me. I hope to continue until I reach my goal weight. I don't aim to be thin, just to be healthy. I am too young to be having cholesterol problems like I have already had.

Finally, I recently started soliciting for donations for the Start! Heart Walk that is to be held in Milwaukee in October. If you look on the right side of this blog, you'll see a little badge that you can click on to link to my page to donate. I figured that April would be a good time to start. For those of you who did not know, my dad passed away in April 2000 from a massive heart attack. He was only 39 years old. I have previously donated this time of year my $$ to the AHA. This year I have decided to coincide with my healthier self and sign up to do the Start! Heart Walk and raise $250.00. If I do not meet that based on the donations of others by October, I will pay the difference. I plan on donating regardless, but I hope I can get others involved and join my cause.

I hope all is well with everyone. I try to keep in touch but I'm terrible at it.

Love- D.

New Year, New Decade

Greetings Earthlings,

It's been a while! I decided to take a moment to reflect on the past decade. Sorry if you think it's lame, but then again, aren't you if reading my blog is the best thing you have to do? Ha ha, just kidding! So, without further ado- 10 years in review.

1999-

In Jan. of 1999 I was a sophomore in high school. My sister was born in late 98, so it was interesting having a baby in the house. I was a total dork, but thought I was pretty cool at the time. I really felt like I had the best life ever. That year I entered a relationship that led me into many years of heartbreak, anger, and overall stupidity on my part.

2000-

I got to travel abroad to France and Toronto, although Canada isn't really a big leap when you are from da UP. I came home from France to be devistated with news that my dad died of a heart attack. Life was very difficult in 2000, and it took a very long time to heal.

2001-

I graduated from high school and started college. It was a pretty exciting time- the big travels of the year took me to Cancun, Mexico.

2002-2004: Primarily working towards my bachelor's degree which I got in Dec. 2004. I lost another family member, to breast cancer that managed to work itself into other places in the body. My Grandma was a wonderful woman and is still missed very much.

2005- I lost my second grandparent to cancer, this time brain cancer. I realized that marriage was not a good idea, for various reasons, and lost a lot of trust in some people. I've since moved on, live and learn. I ended up meeting the best guy (well not meet, but started dating) and we've been together since.

2006- Started grad school, moved up to the land of snow, taught my first lab. Nothing too exciting.

2007- Yelled at my grad project that was a pain and didn't work, made new friends, did a lot of homework and had a lot of good times up north.

2008- One of my best friends from my childhood committed suicide, it was very sad and I'm still angry about it. I got a master's degree, moved to southern Cheeseheadland, and now mold the minds of college students.

2009- Work. A lot. Moved, again, but just to a different place. Got a Wii. Life is good. My Uncle lands in the clink for being a thief and his wife acts like she didn't do anything wrong. My family is completely dysfunctional.

It's been a wild ride, and I left a lot out for the sake of not pissing anyone off. Happy New Year!

~D.

Books of Summer 2009-

I've compliled "The List". These are books I've read from June-now, and what I thought of them... enjoy!!

Julie & Julia, by Julie Powell: This book was pretty entertaining. I'm sure the movie is wonderful. I do have to know that this lady loves to use the work f*#k a lot. It doesn't bug me, but if you are someone who blushes when a woman talks like a sailor, maybe you should just see the movie instead. This woman had a lot of guts to do what she did, I would lose my sanity and get even chunkier if I tried to cook my way through ole Julia's book.

The Pilot's Wife, By Anita Shreve: Good read, pretty short. The basic plot is that a woman's husband (who's well, surprise, a pilot) dies in a plane crash, and there are a lot of stories circulating about what happened, and she begins to discover a life she never knew he had, making her question if she ever really knew him. I thought it was a good read, but don't expect it to make you feel happy after finishing it!

Relentless, by Dean Koontz: This book SUCKED. I have mixed feelings about Koontz's style of writing, some of his books are great, this one was beyond stupid to me. The storyline was very bizarre and the 6 year old wonderchild prodigy slash creepy little kid bugged me. It took me forever to finish it!!!

Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult: I love Jodi Picoult's books. This was another good story. It's about a young Amish woman (~18) who gives birth to a baby and they find the baby dead in the barn and she is charged with it's murder, which she denies, as well as denying that she was ever pregnant. I think this is a moving story, and I enjoyed it!

Finger Lickin' Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich: I love, love, love the Stephanie Plum Series. They are a laugh out loud, tell people about them, hope they make it into a movie kind of a read. This one did not disappoint. There's never a dull moment in this series!!! I can't wait for more.

Deadlock, by Iris Johansen: This book was dumb. The storyline was a great idea, but the execution of telling the story was awful. That's all I can say, because it was terrible.

Tap & Gown, by Diana Peterfreund: I thought this was a disappointed end to a series. It just seemed like it was kind



The list is depressingly short this year, but I've been working a lot so not as much time for reading.....

Abortion, Prenatal Screening, and IVF

This seems like a heavy topic to discuss to many, I'm sure. But the three topics listed in the title have been the major bulk of discussion thus far in my bioethics lecture that I've been teaching this summer. It's amazing how controversial topics such as these invoke so much emotion and people who tend to be a quiet person can be quite outspoken if they feel strongly about these issues.
I am believer of pro-choice, I always have been, and I can't necessarily say that I always will be since I have not yet had children, although I can't say if that would sway my views. I believe that it is ultimately a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. Morally I think that it's wrong to kill a fetus if you are irresponsible and end up pregnant as a result of a mutually agreed sexual encounter. I do think on the opposite side of things that it is your choice of whether or not you want to keep a child that is the result of rape, incest, etc. Although I think adoption is a choice people can make, I'm not going to say that it is my decision on that matter. I've never been put in that situation.
It's amazing how people think that 48 hours is the window in which a rape victim can be treated with the Plan B drug and then after that, conception may have occurred and they should carry the baby to term, even if it means adoption. I think that's a lot to put on someone's shoulder's after being the victim of a heinous crime. I think this comes back the idea that it's pro-choice, not because all pro-choice advocates think that abortion is always okay, but because it should be a choice that a woman, not the government or the church, should decide upon.
I do firmly believe that there is not nearly enough education given to women to let them know what an abortion does, how it can affect future fertility, and how there are chances that even after an abortion a baby can survive (it has happened). They need to be made aware of the counseling available because I do not think that women are provided with the counseling necessary to cope with a situation as difficult as abortion.
I am aware of other's beliefs and do think that it's great that I can have a class of students with very different opinions who can debate a topic in a constructive and productive manner. It's amazing, really.
I think that it's sad that these nutters that think killing an abortion doctor is justified don't step back and look at themselves. Thank god no one in my class thinks like that. But it's sad that they justify "killing" with killing. They are hypocritical and unethical and most of all, immoral. Ugh.

In terms of pre-natal screening, I think it's great there are technologies available to screen the health of your baby during pregnancy. I do think there's an issue with the information given about problems found during pregnancy, such as Down's syndrome. Did you know that 92-93% of all pregnant women who are told that they have a fetus with Down's syndrome have an abortion, and that rate is even higher in the UK and Australia? I know a few people who have children with disabilities and I know that they would not trade their children for any other child in the world. It seems sad to me that something such as Down's is enough of a justification to person to have an abortion. I think this all goes back to the education issue. Women need to be informed of what's available for children with disabilities, educational opportunities, etc.

Moving into in-vitro fertilization, I think there should be some sort of limit put on the number of embryos that a person is allowed to have implanted at one time. Successful studies have shown that 1-2 embryos being implanted have just as high of a success rate as having 7-8 implanted. There also needs to be some sort restriction on who can have this procedure done. I mean, realistically, are you irriated like me that my taxpayer dollars will help someone like Nadya Suleman who's selfish need to have a bunch of children comes at a cost to us and to the health of those babies? 14 children? All IVF? Come on now. That's not good, at all. Or what about Jon and Kate? Their sextuplets landed them a TV show and now that the family has personal issues with their marriage it's splattered all over the tabloids for all of the media hungry hounds the USA has for citizens. At what cost to the children? I don't care if she has PCOS, are you telling me that you need to be taking fertility drugs at 25? Keep trying for a while? That's my theory. I think you should keep trying and give it a few years. Good lord. It's a little different if the biological clock is ticking. Restricting the number of embryos implanted reduces the risk of a multiple pregnancy in which a wide range of complications and birth defects can occur. I think selective reduction should also be encouraged (which I know is difficult, how do you choose which ones get to live?!) just because the health and safety is important for the babies and you could lose them all if you cry to carry all to term. (And do not use the phrase "It is God's will" because it was God's will that you could not concieve naturally, it was science that implanted those embryos). I believe it's unethical to have 8 very sick and handicapped babies instead of 1-3 healthy ones. It's also unethical for a doctor to allow someone like Nadya Suleman to have IVF again after 6 children- it's supposed to be for those having trouble concieving, not those who love the government handouts and pretend to be Angelina Jolie- which I think she is trying to do- creepy!!!

Well I could write all day, but I have to get back to work. :)

What is Friendship?

As I grow older, I realize that I understand more and more what true friendship is. See, when you're in high school, you want people to think you're cool and like you and think you're cute. Then when you go to college you see the people who thought they were the greatest things to walk the face of the earth become average, or less than average. You see yourself as a different person, you come out of a shell and explore more, make new friends, and have new adventures.
Through all of that it seems like very few friends actually stay by your side.
I had a bad relationship in my past, and we shouldn't have been together, but for whatever reason I stayed in that bad relationship even though this person cheated on me repeatedly, and I finally said enough is enough when I found out that he was sleeping with one of my bridesmaids (which they denied of course) even though my "investigative snooping" on his computer found a rather inappropriate conversation about things they did together via IM (which occurred 2 weeks before the wedding). I thought this bridesmaid to be one of my best friends, and I really felt like I got stabbed in the back by her. It was awful, I think the heartbreak of someone who I thought to be a best friend doing that to me hurt more than him doing that to me. Long story short on that, friendships were ended but I feel in our older wiser years wer are starting to rebuild this friendship. She's still with him, so they must have been meant for each other, I just think that that wasn't the best way going about it, and I think that I should have broken up with him when I went to college. But we cannot change the past. I'm glad in the end that I did break up with him, because I met someone who means the world to me and that I'm madly in love with. It's awful, but I never felt with the other person what I do feel with my boyfriend (of almost 4 years now!). I still get butterflies sometimes.
Amongst other friendships lost, was one that still stings a bit today and I still struggle to figure out why. We were great friends and then this person moved back home and apparently didn't care to be a friend anymore. I was a friend when it was convienient.
I haven't been the best friend either. I forget to call, I don't keep in touch enough, I can be a big turd. But I do remember birthdays whenever possible, and I love my true friends a lot. I think something is to be said for true friendships. I don't have very many, but the ones I do have mean a lot to me. I'm glad that I do have a few true friends. I (at times) wish I had a few more, but I'm just exhausted right now from trying to be friends with some people. A friendship is a 50/50 split and requires effort from both parties, and I for one am tired of emailing and calling people only to not get so much as a Happy Birthday from them. Oh well.

Anyhow, enough rambling. I'm off to the gym- I'm on a diet and I'm working out. Hopefully I won't be a fatty forever!

~D.