Monterey Here I Come!

For 3 says I am going to be attending the UC Academic Advisors Conference in Monterey, California hosted by UC Santa Cruz. We are leaving on Southwest Airlines tomorrow morning and coming back on Friday evening. I can't wait for this getaway. Sure I'll be at a conference and I'll be learning and networking, but I've been dying for a change in scenery. I'm very excited about traveling with my co-workers and just having an awesome time. :D

Progress Update

The Good: Yesterday I got myself to the gym. I attended a hip hop dance class. It was tons of fun, but to be honest I was a little nervous. I mean I love dancing, but our instructor looked to be a real bona fide choreographer, I wasn't sure I could keep up. But I surprised myself and I did fairly well in memorizing the routine he gave us after I just let loose and decided to dance. It was a whole lot of fun...I was sweating and I was out of breath. I think the Latin Dance class kicks my butt a little more...but I am sore today and it feels good.

The Bad:I couldn't sleep for the life of me last night...when I finally hit a comfortable sleep it was 4AM and then my alarm went off at 5AM. I really want to go to the Latin Dance class tonight, but I think I'm going to have to head home and sleep instead. I feel like if I close my eyes at my desk right now I will fall asleep. Wow...this sucks!

I'm Lazy.

I keep forgetting to blog...

The workout schedule is sucking, but I'm not giving up. I have to do some serious grocery shopping and I just brought a new vegetarian cook book in hopes to start eating healthier. Every little thing helps. The other thing I am facing is this lack of motivation. Things are going really bad at my job, and it's always been hard for me to separate my work life from my home life. The negativity stemming from my work environment is bleeding into my home life. I'm kind of sad and feeling down. Exercise always makes me feel better...so I'm continuing to push myself...man why is this so hard? Other people love exercising and they do it daily like brushing their teeth...I wish I was more like that.

Progress

Monday: Didn't work out :(
Tuesday: Power walked for 45 min around UCR's perimeter which includes a steep looong hill, I felt it and I got sweaty!
Wednesday:I went to the latin dance class at the gym, I shook my booty and I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

I feel good! I hope I can make myself do it again tomorrow! :)

Game Plan

I'm tired of whining and of being 15-20 pounds over weight, so I came up with a game plan. I'm going to start using my blog as my exercise log. I need something to keep me accountable. I'm hoping that the motivation to not let down those 3 or so people that actually read my blog will keep me from giving up. So here we go.

Day: 3-24-08
Current Weight: 145 lbs
Goal: 125 lbs
Need to lose: 20 lbs OUCH!

If I can be disciplined enough to do this, I know I will start to feel better about myself.

HERE WE GO!!!

I will try and blog about my workout when I get home from the gym today.

I'm Sick of...

* Being sick
* Getting sleepy
* Coughing
* Cough medicine
* Missing my friends
* Feeling like a chunky monkey
* Wanting a change in scenery
* Waiting for my tax return
* Being indecisive about my future
* Loading the dishwasher
* Folding laundry (can't it just fold itself?)
* Telling my cat to stop clawing under the closet door
* Waking up at 5AM
* Wanting to lose weight, but having no freaking clue how
* Shaving my legs...HAHA!

That's all for now, I just wanted to vent. :)

Hearty Tomato Veggie Stoup

Okay, so I have been very sick lately and I was craving some good home cooking. I got this recipe from Rachel Ray. A "stoup" is thicker than soup, but not as thick as a "stew".

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomato
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can small white beans or cannellini beans
1 (10 ounces) box, cut frozen green beans
Salt and pepper
Shaved parmesan cheese

To start you add olive oil into a big saucepan. Add chopped garlic and the crushed red pepper flakes


Stir for a minute.
Then add all vegetables: chopped onion, zucchini, carrots, celery.



Over medium heat stir vegetables for 10 min.
Add in the vegetable stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green beans and white beans:


Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Let stoup cool and serve in a bowl with shaved parmesan cheese on top and a side of bread. My favorite bread is "Roasted Garlic Asiago" bread from Trader Joes:


Tomato Veggie Stoup:



Enjoy this thick and hearty stoup! :)