Some days are made for smoking.

I am a former smoker. It's been almost 3 years since I officially quit. Quitting was, hands-down, one of the best decisions I made. I really have no want to start again.

Except...

when I'm stressed.

Seriously, I don't know what it is but every 6-8 months, I decide I'm too stressed out, and the only thing that will help me clam down is to smoke a cigarette. It's usually only one, sometimes two or three, but I haven't bought a pack since I quit. I just bum one at work and go about my day.

For some reason, my crazy brain still thinks that a cigarette is the answer to my crazyness.

I smoked this morning. Just one, and I doubt I'll smoke again today and probably not even for a few months. And the truth is, I felt better!

When I came back inside, I felt relaxed and happier than when I had gone outside. It's probably completely psychosomatic, but that's how I felt.

I just wish when I was stressed that my brain didn't automatically go to "Put some chemicals in your body. Those always do the trick."

Any former smokers still indulge once in a while? Please, make me feel better and tell me I'm not the only one :-)

I can't die now 'cause I got another show to do.

After doing my prep Sunday night, I was able to sleep pretty well until it was time to get up and get ready. My appointment was at 9:30 and we wanted to be there early.

After checking in they gave us this thing which beeps when they are ready for me, and then beeps again when I am in recovery so I can be picked up. But all I could think about was the things they give you at a restaurant so you know when your table is ready.

Am I wrong?

After our table was ready the nurses were ready, I got taken back and my vitals were taken, my IV was inserted and all that good stuff. I had to wait for the doctor to be ready but eventually, they wheeled me into the operating room.

Can I just state for the record how much I *hate* hospitals? I know you're like, "Well, duh! Who likes 'em?" But, really. I hate them. They are full-on-anxiety-attack-inducing to me.

I tried to occupy myself and talk to the nurse, but I started getting really anxious and the amount of sedative they were using wasn't quite working. I started crying, which the nurse said was a common side effect (I don't know if that's true or if she was just trying to make me feel better), which only raised my heart rate. I told them I was light headed and they gave me some anti-nausea medication right in my IV, while also doubling the sedative.

That did the trick apparently, because I don't remember anything of the procedure itself and very little afterward. I vaguely remember being in recovery but I could barely open my eyes. According to my mom, I was offering the nurse product suggestions for products from the bakery I work at (I told my boss my job has infiltrated my sub-conscious haha)

I made it home and went straight to bed. I woke up for about 5 minutes a few hours later, but was back in bed soon there after. Around 5:30, I woke up for good and was *finally* able to eat for the first time in almost 36 hours, which was amazing!

According to the sheet they gave me, everything looked good but they took 5-6 samples to biopsy anyway. I should have results in about two weeks and need to follow up with my doctor.

I still feel a little groggy and out of it today (case in point-I was teaching a class at work today, which I totally forgot about until my boss called my 15 minutes before it was supposed to start, and I was trying to say "shot" but said "shat" instead. Oops.), but I'm glad to have it over with. Hopefully my doctor can see me as soon as the results are in, along with the results from a few other tests I've taken, and we can go from there.

Thanks for all the prayers-it really means a lot to me.

'Cause she knows that it's demanding to defeat those evil machines. I know she can beat them.

It's almost 11 o'clock. At noon, I have to stop eating solid foods. I should be eating, since I won't be able to for about 24 hours, but I've been staring at this bagel for almost 3 hours.


I'm too nervous to eat. Story of my life as of late, apparently.

In a little over one hour, I will begin my fast. In a little over three, I will start drinking lots of liquids. I have to prepare for my test tomorrow. The test I only found out about on Thursday. That I've had less than a week to wrap my mind around.

I suppose that's good. Get in, get it done, don't have to worry about it anymore. I've been joking about it since I found out.

"Between all the sweating and this test, I bet I'll lose ten pounds this week!"

I know I'm not alone in this, but I joke when I'm scared, I laugh when I'm nervous, when I'm uncomfortable. Then I turn into an obnoxious child.

"Look at me! Pay attention to me! Look what I can do!"

Baby me, comfort me, protect me.

I'm scared. For multiple reasons.

I've never "gone under". I haven't been under the influence of anything in almost four years, what if I hate it? What if I like it? What if the medicine makes me sick?

Those questions on their own make me cry.

But there's more. I'm scared that I'm not feeling as good as I was after I stopped eating gluten. I'm feeling better than when I was eating it, but I'm not feeling as good as immediately after. The instant effects have worn off, and I'm not feeling as great.

But mostly I'm scared that the doctor ordered this without knowing my family history. I didn't tell her that my grandmother died from colon cancer. I didn't tell her that when my mom had the same test six months ago, they removed a tumor.

"It would be really rare for you to have colon cancer at 23, but not impossible."

She came up with that all on her own.

I was talking with a friend last night and of course, the conversation turned to faith.

I have no problem with that turn. I am trying to strengthen my faith and I know, deep down in my soul, with every fiber of my being, that faith is following his plan and turning to him, no matter the circumstance.

But, I'm realizing, part of having faith is allowing myself to be scared. Because if I'm not scared, I don't feel like I can fully rely on him. If I felt fine, like nothing could go wrong, that I was invincible, I would have no need for God.

I always say that the worst part of having faith is knowing that one day, I won't feel like this. One day, this will be better, this situation will be resolved. But I can't fast forward through this, I have to feel it and experience it. I can't speed up my life to the part where I feel better, even though I know, I have faith, that day will come.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

Today marks the end of my first week gluten free.

And believe me, when I started it really did feel like the end of the world haha

Let me first say, that karma is a b*tch. When we started making gluten free pastries at the bakery, to say I wasn't on the bandwagon would be an understatement. But now, I'm most definitely eating my words.

For the past six-ish months, I haven't really been feeling like myself-tired, out of it, and oh lord, the stomach pains. It's gotten really bad over the past 4-6 weeks, and after ruling out some other food allergies, and talking with my mom, I decided to try going gluten free.

The second day I decided to try eating out and ended up regretting it big time. The pain woke me from a dead sleep which was no fun and led to a major minor freak out and me going to my parents at 1 in the morning. No fun at all. Plus, I was such a wreck the next morning I totally forgot to bring some food for work and when I realized I was hungry, I realized just how much gluten there is at the bakery haha

So after that lovely experience, I haven't really wanted to even try to eat any, for fear the same thing will happen. SO for now, I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies. Luckily, my favorite greek yogurt is still ok and Chex are gluten free as well. I've found a few gluten free meals and stuff, of which I tried one which was surprisingly not bad.

I will be going to see my doctor soon (she just had a baby, so I have an appointment the week she gets back from maternity leave) but I felt like I had to do something to make myself feel better, and so far, this is working. My stomach feels infinitely better, and even though I'm still a little tired, I'm going to credit that to 5:30am wake ups.

Workout in the morning, workout in the evening, workout take me higher

Workouts
Saturday: day off
Sunday: day off
Monday: 20 mins treadmill/interval
Tuesday: 10 mins elliptical, 4x15 abcoaster, 8x15 back extension, 20 mins treadmill/intervals
Wednesday: 10 mins arctrainer, 8x15 glutes, 8x15 hip adduction, 8x15 hip abduction, 8x15 leg press, 8x15 calf extension, 20 mins treadmill/intervals
Thursday: Day off (doctor appointment)
Friday: 10 mins arctrainer, 6x15 tricep extension, 6x15 pull down, 4x15 chest press, 3x15 fly, 20 mins treadmill/interval

Saturday: Breakfast-Egg McMuffin, hash browns (McDonalds), Lunch-hot dog (Canal Park, Akron, OH), Dinner-Taco, 1/2 burrito, rice and beans (El Rincon, Akron, OH), Snack-ice cream sandwich

Drinks: 24 oz water, 20 oz diet Pepsi

Sunday: Breakfast-bagel with cream cheese, Lunch-challah with peanut butter, banana, Snack-deviled eggs, 1 donut hole, Dinner-shrimp tacos, cheesecake
Drinks: 16 oz chai tea, 32 oz water
Monday:Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Lunch-salami sandwich, plum, small piece cherry pie, Dinner, Nachos with cheddar and jalepenos, corn, Snack-strawberries, blackberries, blueberries with whipped cream
Drinks: 6 oz milk, 32 oz water
Tuesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, bread heel with nutella, Snack-half bagel, banana, Lunch-Caesar salad, pear, Snack-100 cal pack almonds, dried apricots, Dinner-chicken square, plum, broccoli, berries and whipped cream, Snack-pop corn
Drinks: 6oz milk, 32 oz water
Wednesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Lunch- Chicken square, apple, Dinner: open faced sandwich with asparagus, portobello mushrooms, cheddar, steamed broccoli, Snack- Jell-o Mousse caramel
Drinks: 6oz milk, 32 oz water
Thursday: Breakfast: chicken square, Snack- 1/2 whole grain/raspberry muffin, Iced cappuccino (Tim Hortons) Lunch- Frosted mini wheats, Snack-Gelato, Dinner-Egg Sandwich, Snack-freeze pop, pretzels
Drinks: 32 oz water
Friday: Breakfast-Egg Sandwich, Lunch-Chicken Square, Snack-Peach, toast with vegetable cream cheese, Dinner-cheeseburger, corn, Snack-Freeze pop
Drinks: 6 oz milk, 32 oz water

Girl, I'm going to make you sweat, sweat untill you can't sweat no more.

Week 4

Workouts
Saturday:Nothing-sick :-(
Sunday: day off
Monday: 30 mins arctrainer
Tuesday: 10 mins arctrainer, 8x15 tricep press, 8x15 row/rear delt, 8x15 pull down, 4x15 chest press, 10 mins treadmill/interval
Wednesday: 10 mins treadmill, 8x15 hip adduction, 8x15 hip abduction, 8x15 glute, 8x15 seated leg press, 8x15 calf extension, 30 mins elliptical
Thursday: 30 mins walking downtown Detroit
Friday: 10 mins treadmill, 8x15 squat/tricep extension, 8x4 chair/fly, 8x4 squat/bicep curl, 8x6 lunge/curl, 30 mins elliptical, 2 hrs walking downtown Pittsburgh

Food
Saturday: Breakfast-bagel, Snack-strudel, Lunch-plum, Snack-apple, Dinner-BBQ chicken, mac and cheese(leftovers), broccoli, corn, Snack-pretzels
Drinks-12oz Sprite, 24oz water
Sunday: Breakfast-bagel with cream cheese, Snack- half donut, Dinner-chicken with artichoke hearts and celery, biscuits
Drinks-12 oz Root beer, 24 oz water
Monday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-apple, Lunch-salami sandwich, celery with peanut butter, 1/2 ginger cookie, Snack-banana, Chobani Greek Yogurt, Dinner-bi bim bop with peas, broccoli, cauliflour, rice, Snack-Brioche with cream cheese and jelly
Drinks: 6 oz milk, 8 oz sparkling water/pomegranate juice/ 45 oz water
Tuesday: Breakfast-Oatmeal, 1 egg, toast with nutella, Snack-pear, Lunch-bi bim bop (leftovers), rugelach, Snack-roll (sample for work), banana, Dinner-Cheeseburger, 1 teaspoon each: macaroni salad, potato salad, coleslaw, pickle, Snack-Jell-o Temptations Double Chocolate, strawberries
Drinks: 8 oz sparkling water/pomegranate juice, 45 oz water
Wednesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-cupcake (tasting for work), Snack-Chobani Greek Yogurt, Dinner- pizza
Drinks: 32 oz water
Thursday: Breakfast-Chobani Yogurt, Banana, brioche roll, Lunch-1/2 brisket sandwich, side orders (split 4 ways): fries, green beans, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese (Slow's), Snack-pretzels, Dinner-grilled chicken sandwich (Eatn'Go, PA)
Drinks: 32 oz water
Friday: Breakfast-Tex-mex omelette, hash browns, pancakes (Pamela's, Pitt), Lunch-Pizza (PNC Park, Pitt), Spinach/artichoke dip, potato chips (Omni hotel bar)
Drinks: 20 oz Coke Zero, 24 oz water

What? you work at Bally's? Look at your physique.

Week 3

Workouts
Saturday: 20 mins treadmill/intervals, 8x15 tricep press, 4x15 row/rear deltoid, 8x15 pulldown, 4x15 chest press, 10 mins arc trainer
Sunday: Day off
Monday: 20 mins treadmill/intervals
Tuesday: 10 mins elliptical, 8x15 back extension, 4x15 abdominal crunch, 8x15 torso rotation, 4x15 abcoaster, 30 mins arctrainer
Wednesday: 10 mins arctrainer, 8x15 hip adduction, 8x15 hip abduction, 8x15 glute, 8x15 calf extension, 20 mins treadmill/intervals
Thursday: Jillian Micheal's Ripped in 30 (week 1)
Friday: Jillian Micheal's Ripped in 30 (week 1)


Food
Saturday: Breakfast-Malt-o meal with raisins, matzah with peanut butter and nutella, Snack-half a donut, Lunch-semolina dumpling soup (from work), sourcream and chive chips, Snack-pear, Dinner-small antipasto salad (Mr. Pita), Snack-cheese curds, diet root beer float (A&W)
Drinks: 32+oz water
Sunday: Breakfast-matzah with cream cheese and jam, Snack-matzah, banana, Lunch-semolina dumpling soup (leftover from yesterday), lemon sponge cake, bi bim bop with zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, sprouts, cabbage and steak, key lime passover pie,
Drinks: 12 oz mint tea, McD's Sweet Tea, 4 oz milk, 16 oz water
Monday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-matzah with nutella, Lunch-salad with a little bit of ranch, apple, 5 potato chips, Snack-100 cal pack almonds, dried apricots, Dinner-Pizza (Happy's)
Drinks: 30 oz water, 20 oz Sprite
Tuesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-banana, Lunch-ham sandwich, apple, lemon sponge, Snack-half a cupcake, Dinner-clam chowder and toast (Monahan's), peanut brittle, Snack-Jell-o Temptations Double Chocolate
Drinks: 32+oz water
Wednesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-coconut pie (tasting at work), Lunch-tortellini and sausage soup, paesano (from work), Dinner-chicken and vegetables, rice, egg roll (Lucky 7)
Drinks: 32 oz water
Thursday: Breakfast-cornflakes, 1 egg, Lunch-chicken and vegetables, rice (leftovers), Dinner-grilled cheese, tortilla chips, mini cookie s'mores, Snack-Ice pop, pretzels
Drinks: 8 oz sparkling water/pomegranate juice, 6 oz milk, 32 oz water
Friday: Breakfast-egg sandwich, Lunch- mac and cheese, strawberries, Snack-peanut butter and banana on toast, Dinner-Taco and 1/2 burrito (Pacific Beach), Snack- 1 cookie
Drinks:8 oz sparkling water/pomegranate juice, 32 oz water

You can do side bends or sit ups, but please don't lose that butt.

Week 2

Workouts
Saturday: 30 mins arctrainer, 8x15 tricep press, 6x15 row/rear deltoid, 8x15 pulldown, 4x15 chest press
Sunday: day off
Monday: 30 mins arctrainer

Tuesday: 20 mins treadmill/intervals, 8x15 tricep press, 8x15 row/rear delt, 8x15 pulldown, 4x15 chest press, 4x15 fly
Wednesday: (unexpected) day off
Thursday: 20 mins treadmill/intervals, 6x15 abcoaster, 8x15 back extension, 8x15 torso rotation, 4x15 abdominal crunch
Friday: 20 mins treadmill/intervals, 8x15 hip abduction, 8x15 hip adduction, 8x15 glute, 8x15 calf extension, 8x15 leg curl, 10 mins arctrainer

Food
Saturday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-banana, piece of strudel, Lunch-broccoli with tzatziki sauce, chicken and rice (leftovers from take-out), homemade oatmeal bar, Dinner-chicken sandwich with cheddar cheese, caprese salad, pickle, Snack- Jell-O Double Chocolate
Drinks: 32+ oz water
Sunday: Breakfast-bagel with cream cheese, Snack-banana, celery and brocoli with tzatziki sauce, Lunch-pear, Chobani Greek Yogurt, piece of foccacia, Dinner-cheese ravioli, Snack-angel food cake, chocolate whipped cream
Drinks: 12 oz black tea, 32+oz water
Monday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-dried apricots, almonds, banana, Lunch-ham sandwich, apple, half hummingbird cupcake, Snack-angel food cake, chocolate whipped cream, Dinner-Seder (egg, matzoh, horseradish/apple, brisket, kugel, broccoli, cauliflower, half piece cake, raspberries, pineapple, blackberries)

Drinks: 12 oz Coke, ~30 oz water

Tuesday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Snack-IKEA soft serve (no cone), Lunch-matzah pizza, Snack-Chobani Greek yogurt, banana, Dinner-seder #2
Drinks: 8 oz iced coffee, 4 oz grape juice, 25 oz water
Wednesday: Breakfast-matzah w/ cream cheese and jelly, Snack-piece of chocolate/orange flourless torte, Lunch-Banana, Caprese Salad, Dinner- Greek Salad, Matzah toffee, Snack-hard boiled egg
Drinks: 8 oz coffee, ~25 oz water
Thursday: Breakfast-matzah with peanut butter and nutella, Snack-apple, matzah, Lunch-chilli (from work), matzah, Snack-Chobani Greek yogurt, dried apricots, 100 cal pack almonds, Dinner- Taco Bell (oops)
Drinks: 12 oz milk, 30 oz water, 24 oz Sprite

Friday: Lunch-bowl of CornFlakes, Snack-Matzah with nutella, Dinner-Miso soup, edamame, sushi, Dairy Queen Mini Blizzard (for brother's birthday)
Drinks: 6 oz milk, 8 oz green tea, 24 oz water

You just popped in the Kanye West Get right for the summer workout tape.

I've really been trying to get into shape, watch what I eat, work out, etc. I started this saying that I didn't want to lose weight necessarily, I just wanted to feel better (but who am I kidding, losing weight will most def make me feel better!).

And while that's true, I feel like I should keep track of what I'm doing-I'm not going to weigh in or anything, because numbers take the fun out of it for me, and really just depress me.

I think I'm going to do a weekly recap, so I'll just to write down what exercises I did, what I ate, what days I make my water goal, just to keep track of what I did.

I really only get weighed when I go to the doctors so when I have my next appointment on May 19th, I'll see if I've actually made any progress :-)

(I should also mention everything is homemade unless I point it out :-)

Workouts

Monday: Slept in-oops!

Tuesday: 30 mins on elipitical, 8x15 tricep presses, 4x10 row/rear deltoid

Wednesday: 30 mins arctrainer, 8x15 back extension, 8x15 torso rotation, 5x15 abdominal crunch, 6x15 abcruncher

Thursday: 30 mins arctrainer, 8x15 hip abduction, 8x15 hip adduction, 8x15 glute, 8x15 calf extension
Friday: 15 mins pilates/yoga, 35 mins hip hop dance

Food

Monday: Breakfast-1 packet Blueberry Instant oatmeal, Snack-grapes, Lunch-Chobani Greek yogurt, Chicken Salad Sandwich, Snack-100 cal pack almonds, dried apricots, Dinner-Sloppy Joe, ~7 tortilla chips, 1/4 moon pie

Drinks: 32+oz water

Tuesday: Breakfast-oatmeal and 1 egg, Snack-grapes, Lunch-Hard boiled egg, Chobani Greek yogurt,Banana, 1/2 plain, dry bagel Snack- celery, cucumber, broccoli (throughout the day), 100 cal pack almonds, dried apricots, Dinner: Calzone with ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, pepperoni, Jell-O French Silk, Misc: small piece thin crust pizza

Drinks: 6 oz milk, 32+oz water

Wednesday: Breakfast-homemade oatmeal bar, oatmeal and 1 egg, Snack-maple cookie, Lunch-hot dog, peanuts, Dinner-pasta with yellow squash, zucchini, spinach and mushrooms, piece of cake

Drinks: 6 oz milk, ~30 oz water, Starbucks Passion tea/lemonade

Thursday: Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Lunch-half portion chicken and vegetables, rice, egg roll, (all ordered in) Snack-brownie bite, Dinner-cornflakes, banana, Snack-ice cream
Drinks: 6, 0z milk, 32+oz water
Friday:Breakfast-oatmeal, 1 egg, Lunch-chips and salsa, banana, pasta with pesto and olives, Dinner-Burger with onions and bleu cheese, Snack-Jell-O Strawberry Cheesecake and pretzels
Drinks-32+oz water

Usually, I'll do Saturday through Friday, but I started this on Tuesday and had already forgotten what I did on the weekend haha

And just like James, I'll be drinking Irish tonight and the memory of his last work week will be gone forever!

I'm finally feeling better-Thank god! That cold really kicked my butt! All week, I pretty much only left the house to go to work and my parents house. Other that that, I was in bed asleep. I have my voice back and am not sneezing or coughing, so I'm gonna get back to my work out routine tomorrow. I'm pretty excited-I couldn't work out all week and now that the weather is getting nice, I'm stoked to start some two-a-days, outdoor workouts and hopefully playing some tennis!

Since I was so sick, my St. Patty's Day involved laying on my couch, watching and painting my nails. Luckily, I got a little into the spirit and enjoyed some corned beef and cabbage courtesy of my wonderful mother-yummy!

On Friday, I started to feel a little better and decided to do some spring cleaning. I did a ton of laundry, washed all my linens and my comforter, rotated my mattress, cleaned my kitchen and bathroom. I probably could have kept going all night, but I got distracted by a Jersey Shore marathon and ended up seeing some of my friends later on that night.

This weekend, we had a TV show filming at work from the Food Network:

The crew took over the shop, the kitchen and half of the office for most of the weekend. I got to see a little of them filming (in between doing actual work haha) and I'm excited to see the show when it airs!

'Cause I got your picture, I'm coming with you. Dear Maria, count me in.

I can't believe I lasted through *every single one* of my co-workers catching the cold/flu and didn't get it until now! Ugh!

It started on Friday with a sore throat that I didn't really pay attention to, since my mom and I were going to a Bat Mitzvah that night that we were looking forward to. But then I woke up on Saturday and my throat was on fire, my nose was running and just all over icky.

I got some cold medicine and went to bed sleep at 8:30 last night so I'm feeling a little better, although I'm losing my voice which is tres unattractive, especially when my job is 95% on the phone haha Hopefully this is all gone soon!

In other news, I did some running around on Friday...literally. I went to get my tire (finally!) and grabbed some coffee while I was waiting, which doesn't sound that bad, but I haven't had coffee in about a year so I was totally wired all morning! I went to Target and got these cuties:

They were a little bulky, no no wearing them to work-but I think they are super adorable otherwise! Yay for pay day! haha

Take me for what I am, who I was meant to be.

Even though, on paper, my life looks only moderately busy, this week I've literally felt like I've been on hyper-speed. I've kind of wanted to pull my hair out everyday this week. I'm not even sure why. I suppose going to school part time, working full time, still trying to maintain a social life and fit some "me" time in, is more exhausting than it seems.

Maybe that's why I spent most of the week at my parents. Ha! I was supposed to house sit for a friend at work, but she got sick and ended up canceling her trip. I had told my roommate I'd be out of the house for most of the week, and she had invited her boyfriend and his puppy to stay for the week. SO between that, and my stress, staying at my parents was a much needed break.

Another source of stress, might be my seemingly endless car issues. On Tuesday, I met with my friend Ian for coffee. When I pulled into the parking structure, I noticed my brakes felt pretty mushy (i.e. my foot went all the way to the floor). I didn't think too much of it, but when I got back in the car after coffee, they still felt the same and when I was pulling out of the structure, the brake light on my dash came on.

I ended up taking it over the shop, driving super carefully (read: slow) the entire way. They called the next morning to let me know that the brake fluid hose was cracked so I needed to replace those. Ugh.

I took the day off of work because I wasn't feeling to well to begin with. So I basically sat around and waited for my car to be done. I got a call around noon and Leto came and picked me up to get my car. I bought him some ColdStone ice cream as a thank you (and had a little bit myself hehe)

Since Thursday and Friday are my regular days off, I ended up having a "three day weekend" of sorts. On Thursday my mom and I ran some errands and ended up at Value World (2 pairs of jeans for $3 each!) and Savlation Army. I rarely buy anything but jeans from thrift stores, but they had brand new, in the box little Crock Pots! I think they are like 2 qts.-perfect size for someone who's by themself. Plus, it was only $7.50! :-) I'm so excited to use mine!

The next day involved a lot of catching up on the DVR, watching the snow collect (back up to 8inches, ya'll!) and very little of anything else. But I did get to see this on Glee:

I was seriously so happy when I heard they were doing this-and I love it!

Me=Nerd.

Today, I've been in kind of a funk :-( I'm back to work and after having three days off, I feel kind of out of the loop and things just haven't been going well today. I'm trying super hard to work on my temper and gossiping (not just today, but everyday) but today is *really* testing me. I'm really trying, but somedays, it's just really hard. Luckily, I only have one more hour and then it's home to restful night and hey, tomorrow's a new day, right?

Play my little part in something big.

It's been an eventful January. Even though work has been pretty slow, school starting back definitely had an impact. Both classes I'm taking are online, so I don't actually have to *go* to school, but they are both a lot of work! So far, I'm doing pretty well and for now, I'm just praying the semester flies by!

A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night because my thumb was killing me. I tried to ignore it and go back to bed, as it was 3:30am and I had little motivation to actually do anything to remedy the situation but I did end up finding my metal water bottle (which was freezing because my house is always freezing! ugh!) and positioned it against my thumb to cool it down.

I got up the next morning to meet my parents at the gym and noticed that it was really swollen and red. I showed my parents and my mother suggested that it was from texting (har har har...) while my dad guess that I had an infection. I started popping some ibueprofen and went to work, where my parents showed up a few hours later with icthamol to try and draw out the infection.

I was being stubborn (suprise, suprise) and didn't really want to go to the doctor, but by Monday, it hadn't gotten any better-so swollen I couldn't move it, really warm and red-so I ended up going to the doctors.

I know they are pretty gross-sorry!

The doctor decided to try and puncture it to see if it would drain, but first wanted to inject some lidocaine to numb it. She stuck the needle in, and I swear to god, it was one of the worst pain I've ever felt. I have a really high pain tolerance and that really threw me for a loop! I almost fainted-saw stars, felt nauseas, clammy, the whole nine yards. She ended up not trying again (Thanks God!) but instead sent me home with antibiotics.

It took a few days, but the swelling finally went down (as Hannah told everyone "Let's just say, there was puss involved") but finally it seems back to normal. Although the skin in peeling, but it doens't really hurt anymore so I'm not too worried. It was kind of scary though-I mean, just wake up and my thumb is 3x its normal size. So weird.

Also, a few friends of mine got married this past weekend (Congrats Eileen and Gino!). Well actually, they had a vow renewal as they got married last year, but didn't get to have an actual ceremony. They are the absolute sweetest couple, and I was there when they fell in love canoeing down the river hehe

The day was pretty eventful in and of itself! It started with me driving all the way to the gym before realzing I wasn't wearing a bra, having to go get one and then drive all the way back to actually start my work out! After that, my mother and I ran some errands, which included finding something for me to wear since what I had wasn't "classy" enough (...grr).

Although, I probably shouldn't complain too much, because she did buy me this...

(Michael Kors Sequin Tunic in Dark Camel)

And I'm in love with it.

It was a little short, but I totally rocked it as a dress with black tights and Steve Madden black patent leather pumps. I've been racking my brain to try and find another event I can wear it to soon, but so far, no luck :-( haha

The night before, I had packed all my stuff-hair products, make up, jewlery options, tights, etc-because I figured I'd end up getting ready at my parents. So I get out of shower, do my hair make up and go to put on my tights and suddenly realized I had grabbed not one, but THREE pairs of brown and not a single pair of black! All I could do was laugh, especially considering the bra incident earlier in the day! I rushed home and luckily, was able to find some black ones quickly. But in the process, I forgot my earring and my cute clutch-oh well. I'm sure my dress brought me all the attention I needed :-)

Working at the bakery, I was able to provide a cake for them as a wedding gift. The cake ladies did such a fantastic job-I gave them the invitation and they just went at it! Everyone raved about how great they looked and tasted-It was great! The sheet cake was cut up for the guests and the couple took home the smaller cake to enjoy themselves.

My mom and I have decided that we are going to try and see all the films nominated for Best Picture this year. We were able to cross another off the list when we saw:

It was pretty good. I *adore* Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth was really excellent as well. It kept my attention, which isn't always an easy thing to do. All in all, I really liked it! Can't say whether or not it's the best picture of the year, as I still have a few more to see :-)

The List

1. Black Swan
2. The Fighter
3. Inception
4. The Kids Are Alright
5. The Kings Speech
6. 127 Hours
7. The Social Network
8. Toy Story 3
9. True Grit
10. Winter's Bone

Well, I think I've wasted enough time at work hehe I'm going to go listen to Something Corporate Radio on Pandora and *try* to be productive :-)