Things to do Posts

10Jun
0

Ruined

My new boss has RUINED my diet.

Now before I lay this all on him, I need to take some of the credit. I had been working to get in shape, drop a few pounds, and tone up a bit before Rhianna’s and Jessica’s weddings. Did I succeed? No. Not really. And this was my own damn fault, because I skimped on the gym about 1/3 times that I should have gone, I ate a TON of chocolate (please refer to the title of this blog – that’s my life motto, which unfortunately allows me to eat any and all things chocolate), and with stress comes less than stellar willpower to snack on salads and fruits and veggies instead of chips and cookies.

But while I’m not overjoyed with where I ended up, I’m OK with it. Because I did lose a few pounds, I am in way better shape (yay being able to run for longer than 2 minutes at a time!), and I see the slightest bit of definition in my muscles. Score.

So why this angry blog you ask?

Because I had reached a happy equilibrium where I was eating the foods that I wanted to in moderation (aka no deprivation!) and working out somewhat regularly, and not gaining or losing weight. A nice happy balance between food, exercise, and my clothes fitting nicely. Again, score!

And then my boss ruined things. With bagels.

The man eats two bagels every morning. Two. Gigantic. Bagels. Toasted, with cream cheese. We share tight quarters – if I were to stick my arm all the way out to my right, I could probably touch him. So yeah, I smell them, and boy do they smell delicious!

So I’ve started indulging in bagels. It started as once every week or two, then once a week, and now I’m eating one – in addition to breakfast and lunch – every morning at work. The bagels in the cafeteria are gigantic so of course they require 2 little packets of delicious cream cheese. So if I were to start tracking POINTS! with Weight Watchers again, I would be fucked. Because this bagel + 2 cream cheese is at least 10 points, and I only get 19 per day.

My clothes are getting tight. As previously noted, I can’t afford to buy a whole new wardrobe. Back to the gym I go. And for the love of god, if you see me eating a bagel slap it out of my hand!

Posted by Caro in Food, Health, Life, Money, Things to do, Work
10Jun
1

Will-Power

I need some, and I need it ASAP.

I’ve previously posted about my dire financial situation. I know I shouldn’t spend money. And honestly, I’ve actually been pretty good about containing myself.

And then it happened. The stars collided.

I entered my closet yesterday after doing a bit of a spring cleaning. It seems that I have ditched a substantial portion of my clothes. Anything that a) doesn’t fit b) was worn out or c) caused me to wonder what I was thinking when I purchased it in the first place was tossed. And now there aren’t many things in there.

So add to that this flier I received in the mail for 30% off this weekend at the Gap, and I’m having a bit of a situation over here.

I mean I can’t go to work naked. And I can’t go looking like a schlub either. And the clothes are on sale….

What do I do?

I’m leaning toward the idea of “I’m going to buy new clothes at some point soon anyway. They might as well be on sale.”

Thoughts? :)

Posted by Caro in Life, Money, Shopping, Things to do
25May
2

Poverty

It’s official: I’m 100% broke.

It’s my own fault and was bound to happen at some point. After all, I’m the one who decided it would be a GREAT idea to go back to school, borrow a boat load of money to finance said education, and now am stuck in a profession where I can’t find a job that pays. Seriously. My “job” in my field – yeah it’s unpaid. I work full time on the side for income so I can work for free.

Why did I think this was a good idea again? I can’t for the life of me recall what I was thinking.

Anyway enough whining. I made my bed. Now I have to lay in it. I need help cutting costs. So far this is what I’ve thought of:

*Bring lunch to work Monday, Wednesday, Friday (easy). I probably already do this 1-2 days.
*Bring lunch Tuesday/Thursday – trickier because of a lack of refrigeration/microwave. I’ll have to work on this one.
*STOP the starbucks trips. This was a bad habit. Although I have had a gift card so I’m not sure how much I’ll actually save.
*No more dinners out. Those are expensive and probably not good for my waistline anyway
*No trips to the mall. None. I should probably avoid Target while I’m at it.

Where else can I save a few bucks here and there? I guess I can take the bus to work 2-3 days a week. That will save a minimal amount of gas. Might actually help Marla too. I need ideas from all my other recessionista friends!!

Posted by Caro in Fears, Life, Money, Things to do
18May
3

Walmart Bingo

I’m going to Austin next month and one of the things I’m most excited about is Walmart Bingo: The game played by fellow Walmart shoppers. Its like traditional Bingo but instead of letters or numbers you use the bizzare oddities of nature and trailer parks that can only be discovered within the confines of your local Walmart.

To play: google images, pick a few, print them for members of your group, and go have fun in Walmart.

(click to see the whole thing)

This is actually a rather tame card, but I’m lazy. Anyway, I’ll let you know what all I find ;)

Posted by Caro in Life, Random, Shopping, Things to do, Travel and tagged with ,
18May
0

Bad Habits

I decided over the weekend that it’s time to start breaking bad habits. I don’t even know where to begin listing these habits, but I know where to start: locking my car door with the “lock” button inside the car instead of using the button on the remote.

I got into said habit pretty recently. I inevitably have WAY too many things to carry (lunch, coffee, water, purse, etc) on my way into work that I just don’t have enough hands. So I found the fastest way to solve this problem: turn off the car, put keys in bag, grab all of my crap, lock the door from inside the car, get out, close door, walk away.

I knew this would bite me in the ass one day, but I chose to do it anyway. It’s even become a regular thing now, even when I don’t have a ton of crap to carry. BAD IDEA!

So here I am on Saturday morning, running late as always, trying to find parking in the city. Found a spot – SCORE! Of course I had a backpack, a gift, and a box of bagels to deal with. I also had to come up with change to feed the meter.

For some stupid reason, I decided I would feed the meter THEN grab all my stuff from the passenger seat. Only I put my keys in my backpack, opened the door, LOCKED IT, then got out and closed the door behind me. As soon as it shut I knew I had just done something stupid.

So here I am, running late to a pot luck brunch on a warm day, now with perishables locked in my car. I called AAA and wouldn’t you know it – they can’t find me in the system. After 15 minutes she finally just said “Well you can show your card when the truck arrives. Now where are you?”

I tell her, only to have her say “Oh well that’s a problem. I’m going to have to transfer you to another number that handles calls in that area.”

Are you fucking kidding me?!? Turns out the number on the card is the number for HALF of California. You’re stuck in the other half? Yeah there’s a different number for that. One that’s not printed on my card.

About 45 minutes later I got into my car. What a pain in the ass. Breaking this habit starting today!!


Posted by Caro in Life, Random, Rants and raves, Things to do
04May
1

Psycho Donuts

Thanks to MZig, I have just been introduced (sort of) to Psycho Donuts.I say sort of because I’ve been on this website for a total of 3 minutes and haven’t actually tried any. But look at these things:

donilla

kooky monster

donut fries

These are donuts. OMG I want one. Or 10. I need to check this place out pronto!


Posted by Caro in Food, Things to do
03May
0

SwissWerks 3.0

I’ve never really had any good luggage. Or any luggage at all for that matter. I have this kinda crappy little carry on that I got in Spain almost 11 years ago. While it’s served me well for the past decade, it’s time to move on. While I’m at it, always having to borrow a large bag from J or my parents for those longer trips is kind of a pain in the ass too. So I’m asking for luggage for my birthday. I really want a matching set in plum, but I’ve found something I love enough to compromise on the color. It’s the SwissWerks 3.0 set. I don’t want (or need) all of it. Just the 20″ carry-on (to meet international carry-on size limits) and the 24″ checked bag.

I’ve decided I want the emerald green one. It’s not dark purple like I wanted, but it’s different enough that I won’t have a problem finding my bag in the mass of black ones at baggage claim.

Check it out:

Add to that lifetime warranty and I’m hooked. Now to convince a certain person… :)

Posted by Caro in Discoveries, Shopping, Things to do, Travel
03May
0

Jesse Spencer

I have a new guy obsession. He’s tall. He’s blonde. He’s got a damn nice body. And the kicker? Yes ladies and gentlemen, he’s Australian. So hot.

I’ll keep this post PG and just leave it at this: intense feelings come over me when I watch this guy on House ;)

Posted by Caro in Random, Things to do
22Apr
1

A Quick Update

Life comes at you so fast and can take you in so many directions all at once. The past two weeks certainly have been no exception. I feel that all of these things deserve their own post, but I just wanted to give a quick update. My blogging will either speed up or fall off for a while. The last item on this update should provide a pretty good explanation. Anyway, these are the latest headlines:

  • Andrew and Rhianna got married. It was a beautiful ceremony and a super fun reception. It was also my first run at being a bridesmaid and it was a completely different experience than I had imagined.
  • My cousin got engaged. I’m totally stoked for him.
  • I went to the doctor (again) for my foot. After 2 MRIs and 2 appointments within 4 days, I finally have a clearer picture of what’s going on with Marla. There are 3 issues total in my one foot (ffffuuuu). It IS a tumor, but it’s not cancerous. Hopefully the painful cortisone shot I got will make this issue go away once and for all.
  • I took a small (but very eventful!) road trip last weekend with some wonderful ladies to attend Jess’s bridal shower. It was a lovely event. I won a prize too ;)
  • My great uncle went to the ER yesterday morning. He died today. It never really occurred to me prior to yesterday that when you say “great uncle” people kind of brush you off assuming this is a distant relative and it’s not a big deal. On the contrary, I was incredibly close to this man. My mom lost her father when she was 23. Angelo stepped in and became a second father to her, even walking her down the aisle at her wedding. I’m absolutely devastated.

There’s not really much else to say. It’s 4:45am and I can’t sleep. I can say this: I have the most amazing family and an incredible boyfriend. I know that while I’m crumbling into pieces I am loved and supported. We are a close knit group and this loss has brought us closer. For that I am grateful.

And now back to Boy Meets World. Because that seems to be the only thing on at this hour.

Posted by Caro in Family, Fears, Health, Life, Things to do, TV, Weddings
15Apr
1

Italy

I’m pretty sure I already mentioned that I’m going to Italy. It’s getting closer, the planning is starting, and my level of excitement is getting exponentially higher!

Rome:  6 days. I’m so fortunate and stoked that I’ll be staying in seriously the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen: The Rome Cavalieri. I think that in the 6 days we’ll be there we should be able to do ALL of the touristy things and still have a day to enjoy the amazing spa facilities at the hotel. In reality this is a fast paced trip, but when  you have that at your disposal, you kind of have to take a day to slow down and unwind.

Florence: 4ish days. Definitely a side trip to Cinque-Terre. Maybe a side trip to Pisa if there’s time.

Naples: maybe 2 days? Really all we want to do in Naples is go to Pompeii. It doesn’t seem like there’s that much to do in Naples, so maybe there will be another day trip to one of the off-shore islands.

I’ve started learning a couple of key words, acqua being by far the most important. After all, it’s going to be hotter than hell. And I’ve experienced hell: Thailand in August, Paris and Catalonia in July. I’m probably going to spend half of my budget on acqua lol.

In terms of planning, I have my Frommer’s 2010 Italy, I have the recommendations of like a thousand relatives and friends, and I’ve recently discovered some cool sites on Italy: Why Go Italy and Life in Italy. I also have the Rosetta Stone Italian, and a guide book of key phrases that I can keep in my pocket. Rumor has it that I’m getting luggage for my birthday (I really want this in green, fingers crossed). I think I’m good to go!!

Posted by Caro in Things to do, Travel and tagged with
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