Monday Miscellaneous

I've had a fantastic 3 day weekend! There's been a lot going on so I figured I would do some brief updates.

• In case you don't follow me on Twitter, my dream job called on my birthday to schedule an in-person interview! I'm flying out at the end of the month and am SO excited/nervous! :)
• I also spent the weekend telling some of my best friends and roommates about the interview, in case something does happen very quickly and I have to be open to it...some of them were rather surprised but they have all been incredibly supportive for which I am so thankful!
  
• I went shopping after work on Friday. Bought a blazer from H&M ($54.32) to go with black pants for my upcoming interview since my old suit is...well...old! Plus a dark gray cardigan and little black dress from Nordstroms ($68.40 but used a gift card I got for Christmas).
  
• Bought ice cream for $2.99 and watched "The Godfather" with friends on Friday night, which I had never seen but was surprisingly good!
• On Saturday night, I drove to a girls' night. We had an awesome dinner ($30) at a really cute, trendy and inexpensive small-plates restaurant. The atmosphere was awesome and the food was delicious! I had a small salad, ahi tuna entree and a small dessert plus half a glass of sangria...the perfect amount of food. Yum!
• Sunday was a full day of football and going out with friends after bootcamp class.
  
• Went rockclimbing for the first time ever today and had a BLAST! Fantastic mental and physical workout. The price was $25 for the required first-time lesson, gear and 1/2-day pass. I definitely want to add this to my workout routine, even if it's just a few times a month!

What did you do this weekend? :)

Work Out Routine

I absolutely love to work out. Scratch that...I absolutely love to take workout classes! Since I'm really petite at only 4'10" and under 100lbs, I've never "needed" to work out, but I've always, always wanted to just to stay healthy and for my own mental well-being. I feel lucky because I know for a lot of people, working out is a struggle!

Disclosure: I never have been, and never will be, a runner. And I don't like using the machines at the gym! From when I was little all the way through middle and high school, I took dance classes. In college I took two different recreation classes every semester, from dance to stretch to kickboxing. After college, it took me six months to finally join a gym. I'm now in my third year of membership at 24 Hour Fitness (thanks to the fantastic Costco deal!) and I'm addicted to the classes. I've tried a variety of classes but have settled on my favorites: Turbo Kickboxing (TKB) and BodyPump (BP). For TKB, I love the high-energy, the awesome music and the fantastic instructors. It's great for cardio but also great for toning, since you constantly have to keep your "guard" up in front of your face which works your arms. I've been taking that class since October 2008 when I got my gym membership and I go 1-2x a week.

BP is new to my workout regime as of September 2010. I knew I wanted to add weightlifting to my routine but had no idea where to begin. And the lifting area and all the machines at the gym intimidates me! I asked one of my TKB instructors one day and she suggested I take her BP class. I did...and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for! It's a barbell class (you can read about BodyPump here) that is set to music. I started with the lowest weight possible on the bar for my very first class, 5lbs total (2.5lbs per side) for all the exercises: warm-up, squats, lifts, curls, presses and abs. As I continued to take the class only 1x per week, by mid-December I had increased my warm-up weight to 10lbs, squats to 25lbs and a range of 10lbs-15lbs for everything else! That's a 5x increase for squats in 4 months. :)

I also do a bootcamp class on the weekends. I have a friend from college who is working on becoming a personal trainer so after we had seen each other frequently at the same gym, she asked if I would want to join. How can I turn down a FREE outdoor workout?! We started in July 2010 and I have been going ever since...sometimes it's just the two of us so it's like a private class! We do everything from sprints, jump rope, stairs, lunges, army crawls, jumping jacks, abs and stretching. It's amazing cross-training!

So, no matter what the cost, I will always be a member of a gym that has the classes I love. My physical and mental health thank me every day and it helps me feel so good about myself!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm 25 today! A quarter of a century...wow. It's weird to officially be in my mid-twenties, but I am loving it because I feel old enough without actually being old...if that makes any sense. ;) It's a great start to what I know will turn out to be a fantastic year!

My birthday snuck up on me after all the craziness of December and my lovely 10 day Jamaican getaway with the family. So, I'm doing a last-minute, low-key get together for happy hour with friends tonight. On Saturday I have another friend's Bachelorette party downtown so that will sort of be round two of my birthday celebration! And, as usual, my parents and brother mailed me a large box stuffed with gifts that I can't wait to open. :)

Happy Friday, everyone!

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2011: Be Open

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Instead of a resolutions or goals for 2011, I am going to focus on something. At first, I told myself I was going to focus on LOVE...mostly because I absolutely love New York City and I want to find love. But thanks to Amy Spencer's recent post on her Dating Optimist blog, I realized that that I cannot just "find" love. So, instead:

I am going to be OPEN.

Be OPEN to moving to New York City.
Be OPEN to love.
Be OPEN to a new job.
Be OPEN to new experiences. (Rock climbing. Weekend getaways. New friends. New Meetup groups. Anything!)

I going to focus on this really hard. I'm going to put all my thoughts out there to the universe. I'm ready for all of the above. It might take a few months or most of the year, but that's okay.

Bring in on, 2011! I'm welcoming you with open arms. :)

2010 Goals Review

By the second half of 2010, I had basically forgotten about my goals for 2010...but now that it's the new year, I need to recap no matter what!

• Max out Roth IRA
  My final $200 needed for the $5K limit for 2010 was auto-transferred from my checking account last week. This is the first time I've fully-funded my IRA in one year, instead of going through to March of the following one!
  
  
• E-Fund to $15K
  I accomplished this in June and it's still sitting pretty. :)
  
  
• Continue with CFA exams
  I didn't pass Level 1 when I got my results in late January. After much contemplation (and the lack of a life for the 7+ months I spent studying in 2009), I decided not to continue with the exams for now. I might try again in a few years depending on my circumstances, but it was incredibly difficult to study without a direct support group (ie family in the city or a significant other) who could cook/help out with other tasks while I studied.
  
  
• Take golf lessons
  I took a golf class in March and it was a small but fun group! Golf is an expensive hobby and since I don't have the money to devote to becoming really good (green fees and lessons), it's something I'll only do occasionally. But I still like going to the driving range when I can!
  
  
• Knit 3 items
  I finished a beanie, a simple scarf and am currently halfway through an infinity scarf. I can't seem to just sit and knit, and I'm not good enough to do it while watching TV because I need to focus.
  
  
• Volunteer
  I volunteered from January until September when my position wasn't exciting anymore. I did have fun in the beginning so I definitely want to find other options, especially one where other volunteers are more in my age range so I can potentially make some friends.
  

I don't plan on doing goals for 2011, but am having a blast reading all of yours out there! And I will be focusing on a resolution instead...

Off to Jamaica!

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My family and I are spending 10 glorious days in Jamaica for Christmas and New Year's! We haven't been on a family vacation in years due to differing schedules. After all the crazy car troubles I've had over the past few weeks, the phone interviews for potential New York jobs and the ridiculous rain, I am ready to just RELAX! Oh, and have some delicious, fruity drinks...YUM!

I'm taking some books and my knitting. I can't wait to just hang out, lay on the beach, read, eat awesome Jamaican food, explore and have a great time with my family! I'm also excited about the fact that I'll basically be cut off from the real world for a bit...no cell phone or laptop for me on this trip.

Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and an AMAZING (safe) New Year's!
See you in 2011!

Weekend Miscellaneous

I'm ALMOST done with my Christmas shopping! So far, I've spent $355.84. The last (and most important) gift on my list is my Dad. He likes running, travel, golf and Anthony Bourdain. Last year I got him an awesome Anthony Bourdain shirt (since my Dad already has ALL his books!) that he goes running in so I hit on two of those topics. I'm completely stuck this year on what to get him, and I want it to be great because he's helped me out tremendously in 2010. I have enough left in my Gift Fund to spend around $100. Any last-minute suggestions?

My fender bender is now behind me. The woman got a few estimates and the lowest was $450 which was below my $500 insurance deductible so I just paid her outright. We met up today, I wrote her a check and had her sign a note stating that the matter is hereby settled. Still glad that no one was injured, I know that accidents happen and I'll just be extra careful in the future!

In an unexpected turn of events, I heard back from my dream job! They want to schedule a second phone interview because the hiring manager did not feel like they had enough time to talk to me during the initial one, which was only 30 minutes between two people. The dynamics of hiring have always intrigued me and I know companies will set ideal dates...but that there really are no hard and fast rules at the end of the day. I'm excited and I know I'll be less nervous for this round! (Now if only I could find my dream boy...and have him stay, heh!)

Then I can go on vacation to Jamaica with my family and de-stress for the remainder of 2010 after all this craziness. :)