I joined a gym, and Um... I'm WEAK.

I saw a picture of me as a Sophomore in College and I got depressed.  I used to be SOOO thin!  I don't mean to be cocky, but I looked HOT.  So I decided I would try to loose 20 lbs... My mom even has helped me with this... we have a bet that if I loose 20 lbs by my cousins wedding she gives me $100... if I don't... well... I give her $100.

This is why joined a gym.  I want to look like I was 7 years ago.  Granted, 7 years ago, I could barely afford to eat, I hated dorm food (I LOVED the salad bar, but that was pretty much it), and I had to walk ~ 1 mile to classes every day (I also made that trek multiple times a day since I always went back to the dorms between classes).  But, thats besides the point.

A few weeks ago I joined a gym and have been going with 2 friends of mine a few times a week.  (Yesterday was the first day I played hookey from the gym!!)  I do ~ 1 hour of strength and 20 minutes of cardio... I HATE cardio. Little did I know I sorta enjoy lifting. 

A few weeks ago was the first time I EVER lifted weights... I mean I've picked up dumbbells before, but I've never done reps or sets or anything.  Thankfully, the 2 friends of mine who weight lift with me are very experienced.  They've taught me a bunch.  I may not have proper form, but I'm trying to learn.  When I bench press-ed for the first time, I could bench "the bar" however I could not do 3 sets... it was (I mean IS) pretty pathetic. 

I alternate between Chest and Tri, Shoulders and Abs, Legs, and Back and Bi. I've done Chest and Tri 3 days... Next time I do Chest and Tri, I plan on attempting "the bar."  We'll see how that goes.

Funny Notifications

So.  I was going to blog about my first experience using double coupons, but this is way more entertaining.  But, I have to give credit to my boyfriend for this one.

I also have to give 9GAG the original credit.  You can see 9GAG's original post here.

Its just this reminded me so much of my letter I blogged about to my Chicago Tribune thief. 

I love free food... Haha.

Want a free breakfast?

Go Here

Corner Bakery's are offering a Breakfast Thin for FREE if you sign up and make a reservation. 

I have no idea what a "Power Panini Thin" is (which is the only thing they are offering for free).  I've searched the Corner Bakery website and tried to find nutritional info online.  Unfortunately I have had no success. It looks like low carb bread with eggs, cheese and bacon. 

I signed up for Monday morning.  :) I have tried VERY hard to have a real breakfast every morning I work out (usually Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays).  So this just means I will have one less day to make breakfast. 

"Can you please move towards the center of the train"

Quite frequently when the train is crowded someone will ask everyone to scrunch together so they can fit on the train.  Personally, I hate this and I think it is very self-centered and rude.  However I don't say anything.  I continue to read my book and just think happy thoughts. 

Today, someone tapped me on the shoulder interrupting my nook.  She said "Can you please move forward."  I had a rather obnoxious gym bag with me on the El, and I absolutely hate it when people's gym bags or briefcases touch me, so I purposefully kept a few inches between me and the next person.  I figured I was being nice.  I told the lady "No, there are only a few inches, I can not move.  Perhaps the people who are trying to get on the train should take the next one."  I used to get on the train at this station.  I know how crowded the train is at this station.  I also know that whenever I used this stop I would sometimes have to wait 2 or 3 trains because they were full.  So when the lady said "Everyone is just trying to get somewhere on time, they can't wait for the next one."  I was surprised.  I told her "Perhaps the people who live at this stop should plan for a crowded train and arrive at the station earlier... or be late." She didn't really like that answer, but I didn't move. 

Honestly, it really annoys me when people push themselves on the train.  Is your world really going to end if you are 10 minutes late?  Do you really have to be so self centered to inconvenience a ton of people?  To the people who are rude and forced themselves on the train by squishing into people... I'm really sorry if your late, but wake up earlier... I HATE waking up.  I would much rather sleep in every day.  However if you have someplace to be and you must be ontime, then plan for it.  Arrive at the train early.

There IS such thing as a free lunch

Go to Panda Express on Jan 23 to get a free lunch with this coupon.  Click Here You can get a free Firecracker Chicken Breast to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year.

The Firecracker Chicken is fairly good for you as far as Calories and Fat 240/10, however it has 1080 mg of sodium, so watch out for the rest of the day. 

If you just drink water for lunch, you can really walk away from here without spending a dime.

Happy (in a few days) Chinese New Year!

Dogs, Horses and Humans are the most abused

Dogs, Horses and Humans... If you think about it they always come back and appologize for doing something wrong.  "I'm so sorry you had to beat me..."  They hang their head low, and come back. 

Video here

I thought this video was very interesting about dog training, but that comment was my favorite.  And its so true.  I've been involved in horses, and now dogs.  Animal abuse is so abundant (especially in horses and dogs) and makes me want to cry. 

Showtime

Free Showtime this weekend!!!

http://www.sho.com/site/freepreview/home.do

Friday Jan 6th to Sunday the 8th certain Cable providers are providing Free Showtime. :) Dexter is possibly one of my favorite shows of all time.  If I didn't already have a $95 cable bill I would consider adding showtime, however since I can buy a season of Dexter for $30 or less, it just doesn't make sense to me.

However, free is always nice.

Christmas Shopping

I know I haven't posted since before Halloween.  I'm on a project of my own.  I will probably be able to write more after the first of the year... however, I HAD to post about Nordstroms....

SOOOO proud of the store. Go here  They have a sign that says

"We won't be decking our halls until Friday, November 25.
Why? We just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time.
Our stores will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving festivities. On Friday, our doors will open to ring in the new season in style.
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving."


If I hadn't done all of my Christmas shopping already, you can BET I would be visiting this store.

Some people REALLY like Halloween

The coolest part about the below video is his bio.

"2011 Halloween Light Show -- Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.
4 singing pumpkin faces, tombstones, hand carved pumpkins, strobes, floods and thousands of lights. Most all lights have been changed from incandescent to RGB LED so power consumption is a lot less than previous years. Also DMX added to show. All lights, faces and props are custom made (DIY) by me except for the roof line which are CCRs. Controlling channels have gone up 8X from last year. 1144 channels. Light-O-Rama. Riverside, CA"



House Light Show also can be found here.  I'd suggest going to his personal site and looking at the other videos. Very cool. :)

Who doesn't love CVS discounted Gift Cards

So heres the deal -

If you go Here you should be directed to the savemore.com website.

 Right now they have - Buy a $10 CVS gift card for only $5. I do a TON of shopping at CVS (considering there is one RIGHT by my work).


But the deal gets even better.  If you click on my link (opposed to going there by yourself) you will get $10 Voucher for SaveMore.com.  Unfortunately, you can not use it on the CVS gift card deal, but still... Its not a bad way to get a CVS gift card and some money towards a future deal!!

Amazon Price Tracker

Amazon regularly changes their prices.  So when you need to routinely get an item, its nice to know when it (unofficially) goes on sale.

Which is why camelcamelcamel.com is such a nice site. :) They list the all time highs and lows of an item you are interested in.  They also have something for Best Buy and other sites. The nice thing with camelcamelcamel.com is you do not have to register to use their service.  However, if you to register to use their service, you can sign up for notifications of a price drop.

C routinly takes Zyrtec every day, so I signed up for a notification when the 70 count drops below $19... Who knows if it will ever happen, but one can always hope!

I love Free

Who doesn't love free stuff?

There is a 4.99 rebate here - $5 Rebate

I found it for $4.99 at Amazon.  And the best thing about Amazon... in Illinois you don't have to pay tax. :)  Which means the total cost of this item is the cost of the stamp to mail in the rebate.