Center Stage

As I mentioned in my first post, now that I have some more time on my hands, I've had time to exercise. Because my hubby is still a student at the University, I'm lucky enough to be able to piggyback on his student membership and pay just $120.00 for a Wellness Center membership for the spring semester. This may not sound so great, but it is! They have loads of group exercise classes at all times of the day, so it's easy to find something you want to take at a time that works for your schedule. So I decided to try out two classes when I started my membership a few weeks ago: Body Blast and Pilates. Lo and behold, I loved them both! So I've been going on a consistent basis to each -- MW for one class, TR for the other. And I am loving it!

Monday/Wednesday are my Pilates days. For those who aren't familiar with Pilates, it's very similar to Yoga in that it focuses a lot on breathing and slowish movements. Initially, I had actually wanted to take a Yoga class at the Wellness Center -- not Pilates. Over Christmas break, I went to a Yoga class with my mom and sister and actually really enjoyed it. Actually, to be honest, it totally freaked me out at first. We walked in and people were laying on their mats in the dark. One lady was in this weird position that didn't seem humanly possible. And at the end, we even said "Namaste" and bowed to the teacher. It was totally wild... and creepy. But over the following 24 hours after we did the class, I kept thinking about how relaxed I felt afterward... and I wanted to do it again. Unfortunately, the only Yoga class they offer at the Wellness Center is around Noon, so that wasn't an option since I'm at school. So, I chose Pilates because I had heard it was pretty similar and it fit perfectly into my schedule. And I'm glad I did.

Pilates has a lot of great benefits (from what I hear, anyway... I haven't actually noticed/experienced all of these :))... here are a few I found from the Pilates website:

• It's a refreshing, relaxing body and mind work out -- this is definitely true! I feel so good afterward. No matter how stressful my day was, or if I have something on my mind, the practice of focusing on my breathing and being disciplined in my breathing and movements, making each one deliberate and on purpose, refocuses me. It is awesome.

• Build strength without bulking up - gain long, lean muscles and flexibility -- I've definitely noticed an improvement in my flexibility [read: I can now touch my toes!]. However, the Body Blast class I've been taking uses weights, and I've noticed my muscles getting bigger because of that, so I can't really see the "not" bulking up part (not that I've got these huge muscles or anything).

• Develop a strong core -- I know my core isn't awesome by any means, but I can tell it's getting stronger by how much more stable I am while doing Pilates.

• Create an evenly conditioned body and prevent sports injuries -- not gonna lie, I don't play sports. I guess it might help me prevent sprained ankles used when walking around the mall or strained wrists while carrying shopping bags? Just kidding : )

Anyway, those benefits aside, there's also something else I love about Pilates. When I was a little girl, I did a teensy bit of dance/ballet lessons. But although my dance career ended when I was like, seven, a piece of me is still enamored by ballet. If I could choose any occupation, ballerina would secretly be one of my choices.

Me, in my younger ballet days

So what does ballet have to do with Pilates? Well, we do this one exercise that my instructor calls "scraping the ceiling" (which does not at all sound graceful or beautiful like a ballerina, so I try to ignore her when she says that because it ruins the image for me :)). Here, we lie on our backs and extend our legs toward the ceiling. We point our toes, lightly hold on to the leg we keep extended to the ceiling and lower the other leg down about a foot from the floor, bounce it twice, and then we switch. I could do this exercise all day. I think of myself as a beautiful ballerina the whole time, wearing pearly satin light pink toe shoes, tied up my calves with ribbon. And for the thirty seconds we do this exercise, I forget that I'm in an exercise room with twenty other women, doing Pilates.

I cannot remember the last time that my imagination was able to run so wild. Okay, so it's not that wild... but it feels so real. And I love living in it, if only for a moment. It makes me smile and completely makes my day.

Thrifty find!

It's been so long since I last posted, yikes! It's not that I haven't had anything to say... I just haven't had the time to! Which I haven't quite figure out how that's possible, as we had a blizzard over the weekend that even provided a snow day yesterday for both my hubby and me, and even two-hours late today! Fun and exciting -- but definitely a teensy bit of a drain on my next paycheck... oh well. Sometimes, a person needs some R & R more than they need $100.

Something I've been excited to share is my awesome find from Old Navy! I dropped by last week to chat with my manager about scheduling and checked the women's section briefly to see if they had any of the new spring cardigans I've been waiting for them to get in. No dice, unfortunately. But... I did happen to spy this adorable tank!

Isn't it adorable? I just love it! Old Navy doesn't always come out with styles that I like, but this is perfect. The detail around the neck looks like something from J. Crew... just $40.00 cheaper : ) I've been on a kick of trying to only buy "special" items, specifically tops and jewelery. Something that makes them unique, pretty, feminine. Something that makes them not like every other item. And I think the fluttery detail around the neckline here is just that... and for less than $10.00. Whee!

New host, new look!

Obviously, if you're here, you know that I've changed blog hosts. Wordpress offered me some options that Blog.com did not, and now I can have a super cute layout that's real shabby chic-like. Love! Special thanks to shabbyblogs.com for making my blog so fabulous!

Perfecting a Classic

So I have this weird obsession with trying to figure out the perfect recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. So last night and today, knowing that my hubby and I needed an easy, quick supper tonight (he has an on-campus night job that starts at six on Tuesdays and I have a group exercise class at the Wellness Center that lasts until 5:15 p.m.), I Google searched probably 20 times for that gold-star, blue-ribbon recipe that I keep hoping to find.

Now THAT'S some gold-star, blue ribbon homemade mac & cheese!

I finally settled on one I found that had 4.8 stars out of 5.0 with over 1,390 reviews! So I made a quick stop after school today and just before my group exercise class to pick up a couple things to make this delicious concoction, and I was so excited about it. All day at school, I had dreamt of the deliciousness of this winning recipe that I knew I'd somehow find... and when it came time to eat it for supper, I couldn't believe it... it wasn't all that great! My usual homemade mac and cheese, made with Velveeta and a tiny bit of milk, was 500-times better than this recipe. Okay, so I'm totally exaggerating. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as amazing as all the hype from the online reviewers. Bummer.

But don't worry. My quest isn't finished. And when I find it, I promise to share :o)

Book-based movies?

Although I'm not what one might call an "avid reader", there have been a number of books I've read that have turned into movies. Most of the time, it seems as though it leads to utter disappointment. Case in point: The Notebook. I know that most would probably disagree with me, as it's probably one of the movies women borderline obsess over as being "saaaooowwww caaauute". I'll admit, it is pretty sweet. And romantic. And some scenes are definitely "that" cute. But overall, the acting totally stunk. And parts of it were boring. And that scene after the big rain storm when they were out in the boat? A bit racy for a PG-13 movie, don't ya think? It just disappoints me when Hollywood takes a "girly" book that is really good and makes a movie on it, because they think they can just take a sweet story, choose a good looking guy to play the lead actor, not work too hard on the script, and assume women will love it because it's romantic.

The Notebook, Hollywood style. Thumbs dooown, in my opinion.

Anyway, my most recent disappointment in the book-based movie realm is a book written by one of my favorite authors: Jodi Picoult. That's right, you guessed it:

My hubby and I rented it on Saturday night. The other movie we had in the running against My Sister's Keeper was Julie & Julia. I hadn't ever had a desire to see that movie, but with my recent free time and interest in cooking and blogging, I thought it might be a fun flick. Not surprisingly, the hubby wasn't too interested in that one. He's also a semi-fan of Jodi Picoult, so we chose My Sister's Keeper. I was really looking forward to it, as I just finished the book about a month and a half ago and thought it was a real page turner.

Much to my dismay, when we got home and popped it into the DVD player, we both found it incredibly boring, dull, and filled with [yet again] relatively poor acting. After about 20 minutes, we turned it off and set up the wonderful game of Life instead. Bummer. At least I had a code for a free RedBox DVD rental and didn't waste $1.07 (with tax) on it. I'm even more grateful that we didn't pay $20.00 to see it when it was in theaters.

Although this post is filled with totally pessimistic views of book-based movies (I promise I'm waaaay more optimistic and cheerful than my last two posts may have expressed : )), I do have to share one book-based movie that far exceeded my expectations.

As an undergraduate student in an Elementary Education program and as a current elementary school substitute teacher (for now... hopefully I'll be able to lose the "substitute" tag next school year!), I have spent a lot of time delving into children's books. Pretty much every elementary teacher (and I would guess any person who was once an elementary student) is familiar with the book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, children's book style

Now, I can't say the book is one of my favorites. And when I found out they were making it into a movie, I was less than thrilled. In fact, my mind said, "laaaaame". However, when my 29-year old brother and his wife raved about how great it was after seeing it on the silver screen, I figured it would be worth a rent (without a free RedBox DVD rental coupon code even!).

So on Friday night when we met up with some friends for some delicious pizza, loads of laughs, and yummy warm chocolate chip cookies (thanks Kyle!), I brought along this PG-rated movie and crossed my fingers in hopes that it would be a hit amongst the group we were with. And I am more than pleased to report that the movie was well-loved! From Flint's spray-on (sparkly!) shoes that he couldn't get off (my favorite!), to the ratbirds (hubby's least favorite), to "Steeeeeeve" the Monkey (gummy bears!), to the ice cream-covered town along with an ice cream snowball fight, the movie was filled with loads of laughs and oohs & aahs from my over-20 year-old friends and I. It was such a refreshing movie that was completely wholesome and 110% fun! It's a total dream world for a kid, and it will entirely transport you back to your seven-year old self in the best way possible. So without a doubt, go rent "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". And do it without a free rental RedBox DVD code -- I promise it's worth your dollar!

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, movie style!

Good deals...?

One or two Saturdays each month, I spend around four hours working at Old Navy. The money I earn goes into a checking account separate from the joint checking account my hubby and I share, and is thus mine to spend however I please; in other words, it is my shopping fund : ) Anyway, it's that time of year where Old Navy does an extra 50%off of their already reduced clearance items... awesome! There are some amazing deals there, and it's so fun to cashier at this time because you see people get ten things for sometimes as little as $10.00 (or even less)! However, there are some other times that I just shake my head and wonder, "what are you thinking?!" Let me explain...

Now, I love a good deal. I am a shopper at heart, and nothing thrills me more than getting something that was $50.00 for around $5.00, woohoo! But at what point does a "good deal" become nothing more than that? One woman came through my line today and bought two of each shirt she found. And they were in colors like bright yellow or pea green, in fabrics that would, without a doubt, pill up or get holes in them in just a time or two of wearing them. She bought loads of things for her two granddaughters (people share a lot with you when you cashier) as well -- a few of which were in a 0/3 month size and were adorned with Santas, candy canes, Rudophs and Christmas trees. At first, I thought maybe she knew someone was expecting a baby not long before the 2010 holiday season starts up. But then the daughter she had with her said something that made me [internally] shake my head at the frivolous spending that was going on. She said, "Mom, (insert baby's name here) is 3 months old right now. She won't fit into this Christmas stuff when it's the Christmas season next year... why are you getting those for her?" The woman shot her daughter a disapproving look and said nothing, and the conversation stopped right there.

But the daughter had a good point. Even if it is just $5.00 for five Christmas things for a 0/3 month child... why spend the money on something that little girl will probably never wear. Maybe some people are less picky about what time of year they put their child in seasonal-wear, but why not skip those five items and buy one non-Christmas-themed item that might be a little bigger so the baby can wear it for longer for $5.00 -- Old Navy has loads of adorable new spring things that are super cheap! Granted, I don't have any children of my own, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

In the end, the woman's bill came to almost $90.00. Most things people buy during this clearance event are priced around $2.00, so she got a lot of "good deals". But this brings me back to my point -- are the "good deals" she got even things she likes? Or was she just completely caught up in the, "oh my goodness, a shirt for $2.00!" whirlwind?

Not that I think I have the authority to tell people how to spend their money. But I've been the victim of the "good deal" whirlwind before. And when that has happened and I look at my receipts and see that I've spent $40.00, I look at the clothes I bought and realize that if priced for just a few dollars more, I never would have bought them. So why would I buy them now? Ah, yes. Because of the thrill of the deal. And the wave of regret and guilt that follows.

Because I've felt that way many times, the rule of thumb I live by now is this: Do I like this so much that I would I have bought this [or have wanted to buy it (I add this disclaimer if something's original price is definitely out of my price range)] if it were at full price? Most of the time, this question solves any "good deal" fever I may experience.

Now, I am proud to say that I really actually did find some great deals at Old Navy today! Let me share! Here's what I got...

• Matching slip-on shoes for my nephews that look quite a bit like this...

OldNavy.com

And I got them for... $0.47! And this is a great deal because I called my brother and found out what size shoe they wear now, so I could buy the next size up in order for them to wear them after they grow out of their current shoes and during the spring/summer months. They will be so cute in their matchy-match slip-ons : )

• Of course, because I got something for my nephews, I had to even things out and get something for my niece and their sister. So for her, I got an adorable little white ruffle top that she will look fabulous in : ) Again, I got it in an 18-24 month size so she can grow into it a bit and wear it for longer. That top was around $1.70... woohoo!

• For me, I got a nautical-looking top. It's navy blue with white stripes... very cute, and very springy (must have been a leftover from their summer things) -- and just $1.24.

• The other thing I picked up were note cards for thank-yous and such. These are such a pain to spend money on, in my opinion, because they're really simple things but I always think they're overpriced. Sometimes the cutest note cards at Target cost $4.99 for a box of eight! Sorry, but I don't think so. But I got two packages of 10 note cards for $0.74 each! And they're a super-cute paisley print. Now we just have to get to work and write our Christmas thank-yous...

So, moral of my ranting: when you're out shopping and come to that clearance rack... ask yourself, "Would I buy this [or want to buy it] if it were full price?"

New Year, New Life

Although relatively cliche, the title of my very first blog post couldn't be more accurate. In fact, even this blog is a part of my so-called "new life".

After spending four and a half years as a student at North Dakota State University (four of which I spent earing my B.S. in Elementary and Middle Level English Education and two semesters as a graduate student), I opted out of the quest to obtain my Master's degree in school counseling after this past fall semester finished. The decision to do this was a difficult one, mostly because of the friends and the life that I feel as though I'm leaving behind. However, in the first few days of what could have been another semester at NDSU (the University resumed classes this past Monday, January 11, at 4:00 p.m.), I have found my "new" life to be five billion times less hectic than my "old" life. It has been [literally] years since I have had an hour of free time to do as I please on a week day, due to school, my position in the NDSU Student Government, and other campus involvements. And suddenly, with my decision to leave the University, the friends, the life I have come to know and love behind, I have all the free time in the world. Well, outside of the workday, that is.

I spent the majority of my Christmas break daydreaming about all of the things I would do with my newly gained "freedom" that comes with life after college. On my list included the following:

• Sewing
• Cooking
• Baking
• Crafting
• Knitting
• Crocheting
• Reading
• Catching up on seasons of Desperate Housewives that I missed due to Sunday evening Student Government meetings that would typically last until at least 9:30 p.m.
• Conquering all seasons of Grey's Anatomy, which I have never watched before.

Two things, of course, that never made the list included the following:

• Blogging.
• Exercising.

However, in my new-found free time, I have become a bit of a blog-reading junkie. In fact, so much of a blog-reading junkie that when the at least one of the blogs I follow aren't updated each time I go online (which is multiple times each day), I am highly disappointed. So why not entertain myself by starting my own? And also hope that some other blog junkies out there get a similar sense of satisfaction out of creeping on some stranger's life : ) I've started many blogs in the past, and none have gone beyond the initial post. However, I can feel it this time -- I'm going to stick with it!

I suppose you're wondering about the exercise thing. Surprisingly enough, I am also becoming a group exercise class junkie as well. Hey, at least both of these potential "vices" are healthy, right? (That is, if blogging is healthy. I would say so -- it's an outlet for feelings, eh?) But more on that later. Because although I'm a blog junkie, I do know one thing: if the post is too long, even if it's on my favorite favorite blog... I quit reading.

Here's to a new me! Or rather, here's to any readers -- that I stay interesting enough for you to remain interested in my blog.