Relief/New Motivation

There’s not much to say right now. I’m done with class for the semester & not starting up again until February, so the past month has been a little weird(what to do with my free time? Facebook! Twitter! reading books for fun!), but stress-free in some ways, worrisome in others. Recently, I’ve been reading blog posts from Not Martha, The Fat Nutritionist, and Bodies in Motivation and have found real inspiration.

Last week, I went for three 45-minute walks – Tuesday through Thursday. My iPod was handy for distracting  me from “yes, you are walking” and “OMG, my calves hurt.” In addition, I went for my annual physical on Friday. I used to see an MD., but he since moved to Philadelphia three years ago, I’ve been treated by the APRN in the office. She’s a really lovely person who, even though I’m totally not in the best shape ever(even though round is totally a shape!), never makes me feel bad about myself. I really like her so much – we are building a rapport & I trust her(but I can’t lie – I really miss my MD who moved. I loved that guy!).

I know I could/should be healthier. What was wonderful to find out during this visit was that I actually am healthy. My blood pressure is completely normal(124/76), my fasting glucose levels are great(can’t remember that number), and my “bad” cholesterol is 99.

When we discussed my concerns, I mentioned that I  sometimes feel a weird tightness in my chest, sort of a sharp pain but it always ends fairly quickly. So I had a quick ECG to find out if anything is wrong. Turns out, nothing is. It turned out “beautiful” – direct quote. So I’ve been feeling lots of relief. APRN thinks that I have acid reflux. Which, the more I thought about it, completely makes sense. I have some of these symptoms.

I’ve had lots of time to think lately about where I want my life to go, what my career goals are, and yes, how my body & brain will help me achieve them. It’s only fair of me to treat them kindly. So my plan is to take more walks, use some exercise DVDs, and change some eating habits. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a baker & I will love food forever. I cannot give it up. Nor should I – but I need to modify and be sensible.

We’ll see where this takes me.

New blog!

I’m excited to announce that I started a reader/reviewer blog. It’s called (library)Liz Reads.

I hope to review YA novels, post some book news, and things of that nature, but I because I read more than YA, I may review more than YA. Basically, if I’ve read it, I want to review it there.

Please email me with any comments! Thanks for reading!

Re-Reading.

Reading and knitting are my favorite hobbies. Something I’ve noticed is that I tend to knit the same patterns or same types of patterns over and over. And I tend to re-read the same books over and over.  This habit began for me in childhood. I lived in a very tiny town(fewer than 1,000 people) and it had one very tiny library. I read every age-appropriate book in it by the fourth grade, if it even took me that long. I devoured the books lying around the house, age-appropriate or not, so I learned what quaaludes were when I read Elvis and Me at age 9.

I also didn’t own many books. I distinctly remember when my dad bought me A Wrinkle in Time at Caldor (it passed his test because it was a Newbery winner), and I remember reading it but not really understanding it. Other than that, I owned The Velveteen Rabbit, Anne of Green Gables, and a few others that I can’t recall right now. But I’d read them over & over, also borrowing books from my teacher’s library at school, and working those into the rotation.

Now that it’s summer, even though I’m enrolled in a class, it has me wanting to re-read all my books. I’ve already started with the teen section. I finished Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen this morning. I know Along For the Ride was just published on Tuesday but while waiting for my library to acquire it, I needed to keep myself busy.

I’ll be reviewing Keeping the Moon for the blog shortly! It’s my favorite Sarah Dessen novel and the one that I think gets the least attention.

changes

My class has finished & the next one starts on June 6th, so until then, I plan on reading, sleeping, & knitting some fun stuff!

I’m way late on this one but Jellicoe Road has been sitting on my shelves for awhile and I’ve been feeling guilty. Now that I have some free time, I’m turning pages like a hurricane. Can’t wait to finish!

Also, changed to SpringLoaded theme b/c it’s fresh and fancy.  I swear, this blog’s appearance could change weekly, I’m so indecisive. But this one’s a keeper for now. The perfect mix of dark & light.

One more thing…I’ve been playing with Picnik, a photography application. It’s really fun. Here’s a before & after of Mia:

distractions

I’m currently distracted by a new iPod Touch. It’s fantastic and I love it.

I want to change up what I listen to a little. I don’t listen to many podcasts. I download The Rachel Maddow Show, Wine Library TV, sometimes Keith Olbermann.

Does anyone listen other podcasts? Let me know!

edited to add: also been listening to/watching Freezer Burns. I don’t consume too many frozen foods, but it is so fun to watch someone else review contents of the freezer aisle.