The Gear: Craving Routine (and Workouts!)

I found my new awesome Nike gym bag at Ross for $24.99 and it took everything I had not to jump for joy in the store. It's true what they say, at Ross you dress for less (and workout for less).

The other thing I hate about the holidays is that they screw up my schedule. While I appreciate having some extra days off, I love having a routine, my I-go-to-work-on-weekdays-then-to-Zumba-and/or-yoga routine. Today is exactly two weeks since I have set foot at the gym (yikes!) and I am so ready to go back. Last night I got so excited just packing my brand new gym bag for today's Zumba and Yoga classes and I can't wait to shake it then stretch it.

Until next time!

-Liz

2014 New Year Resolutions

Look at me looking all giddy at the gateway to 2014!

I don't always like the holidays, each year varies, but this year I am definitely glad they are over. I was a scrooge all the way up until Christmas eve, but boy am I excited about the new year! I always like the feeling of having a fresh start. Reflecting on my life at the start of the year and deciding what I wanna get right this time (by way of resolutions) is way more exciting to me than Christmas is. This year I have six things that I want to accomplish:

          1. Lose (an additional) 20 pounds (plus the 6 I gained in the last month or so);

          2. Pay off those 3 debts that have been hanging over my head (you know who you are!);

          3. Blog more often (about random, silly things. Why not? It's my blog after all.);

          4. Start jogging (again);

          5. Take a trip somewhere I've never been; and

          6. Be a better friend (I can be such an a-hole sometimes).

So that's it, that's my 2014 to-do list! What are you new year's resolutions?

Until next time!

-Liz

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I had only ever heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie, but had no interest in watching it and one day, months ago (maybe a year ago), my friend at work mentioned this book to me so I added it to my reading list. About a month ago the book and movie were brought up again at work in conversation so I decided I must read it immediately and see for myself what all the fuss was about. Luckily, I already owned it because I bought it months ago at a thrift store after having added it to my reading list (a common practice of mine) and oh is it good! I couldn't put it down and I even found myself thinking about it at work and anxiously awaiting the moment when I could be reunited with it to continue reading it. You know a book is good when your thoughts about it are competing with your thoughts about going to Zumba after work–something I love, but more about that another time.

I had been advised about the violence this book contained so I was prepared for it and, surprisingly, I handled it rather well. I mean I was creeped out and repulsed by it, but no nightmares. Thankfully the entire book is not like this, but it does have several episodes of violence, more specifically, violence towards women. In fact, this book's original Swedish title (the author was Swedish) was Men Who Hate Women.....so there you go.

In a nutshell, this book is the first of the Millennium Trilogy written by Stieg Larsson. It is a fictitious crime/mystery/thriller novel that takes place in Sweden where journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by a wealthy man to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his teenage niece from forty plus years ago. Mikael is later assisted by badass computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. 

I like the characters. They have depth and you become intrigued by them, especially with Lisbeth.

This book brings to light that even Sweden has it's problems, past and present. Besides the statistics about violence against women, I found it interesting that there was a Nazi movement in Sweden in the first part of the 20th century. Coincidently, I found an article about recent violence in connection to Neo-Nazis in Sweden. Now I don't know about you, but when I think of Sweden I think of that nation that is often referred to as the nation which has one of the highest standards of living in the world and where people are happiest, not one of violence and Nazis, but I guess no country in the world is perfect and immune to evil. Also, according to this book Swedes eat a lot of sandwiches and buy a lot of Ikea furniture, go figure!

I am already reading the second book in the series, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and I'm looking forward to figuring out who Lisbeth is. I moved the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movie to the top of my Netflix queue and it has now been sitting at the top of my DVD player for the last two weeks. I am trying to build up the courage to watch it. The book I could handle, the movie I am not so sure. I don't even like watching shows like CSI or Law and Order because of their violent themes.....Anyway this post is way longer than I intended it to be. If you're still reading, first, I wanna say thank you, second, I wanna say I really liked this book (I think I established that at the beginning). I think that any time you are both, entertained by a book and able to take something away from it is a double bonus!

Until next time!

-Liz

My Big, Fat, Greek Scrapbook - Part 3

This is Ios, our second island and third stop in Greece. What can I say, it is a party island, but besides the nightlife, Ios is known for being the place where the famous Greek poet, Homer, died and where he is buried. I wish I would have spent a little more time on this island.

Yes, we camped the first night.

Homer Monument - Ios Island

Leaving Ios for our next island!

Until next time!

-Liz

I Don't Know About You, but I'm Feeling 22!

You know you're having a great day when you can't stop checking yourself out on the security camera at the store. Yes, this is a true story, it happened to me today! I was at the pharmacy counter of Walgreens checking in to get my flu shot when I caught a glimpse of myself on the security camera and then I just couldn't stop looking. It was the strangest thing because I usually avoid looking at those dreadful things. There's been countless times that I've looked and seen a big girl with frizzy hair at the bank or grocery store's camera only to look away horrified after realizing it was ME!! Today was different, I didn't recognize myself, but I liked what I saw.

Now allow me to back up for a minute. If you don't know me then you don't know that I've struggled with weight most of my life, so now you know.

This summer I was introduced to the South Beach Diet by my friend and co-worker, Tasha, and I was able to lose 20 pounds! I started on June 17th and lost the bulk of those 20 pounds at the beginning, but I have been beating myself up about not losing any more weight lately. I've only been maintaining the weight I lost and not trying hard enough to lose additional pounds.

These days my weight loss fluctuates between 20 and 23 pounds. This morning I was at 22 pounds and seeing myself on camera made me realize that, even though I have a long way to go before reaching my goal weight, I have come a long way and losing 20 pounds is a big deal. I look good dammit! Loosing weight is no easy feat, but keeping it off can be even harder so I need to be proud of myself. In Taylor Swift's words, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!"

Until next time!

-Liz

P.S. Yes, that is me attempting to take a booty shot :)

My Big, Fat, Greek Scrapbook - Part 2

After a few days in Athens (remember this is in the summer of 2008), my friend and I headed down to Santorini, one of the most beautiful islands I have ever been to and one of my favorite places in the world. As our tour guide said, Santorini is the island which has more churches than houses, more donkeys than people, and more wine than water. I am very pleased with the outcome of my scrapbook pages and I'm excited to be about half way done scrapbooking this trip from five years ago!

Until next time!

-Liz

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, first published in 1939, is said to be John Steinbeck's greatest masterpiece. At the time, this book caused so much controversy that it was banned and even burned in some places due to its telling nature of what life was like for the poor migrant workers in California. The rich farmers were portrayed as greedy and ruthless and the government was portrayed as protective only of the interests of the wealthy and not of those of the poor. People thought this book to be inaccurate and overdramatized, but it was mostly the members of the Farmers Association of California who felt that way, go figure.

The main characters of the story are the Joads, a fictional family from Oklahoma forced to leave behind all they know because of the dust bowl of the 1930's. Like countless other families of that era, they go seek out the advertised opportunities of the promised land of California and journey across the country, but instead of finding work and a better life they only find "Okie" hatred, prejudice, and injustice.

"They were hungry, and they were fierce. And they had hoped to find a home, and they found only hatred. Okies—the owners hated them because the owners knew they were soft and the Okies strong, that they were fed and the Okies hungry; and perhaps the owners had heard from their grandfathers how easy it is to steal land from a soft man if you are fierce and hungry and armed. The owners hated them. And in the towns the storekeepers hated them because they had no money to spend. There is no shorter path to a storekeeper's contempt, and all his admirations are exactly opposite. The town men, little bankers, hated Okies because there was nothing to gain from them. They had nothing. And the laboring people hated Okies because a hungry man must work, and if he must work, if he has to work, the wage payer automatically gives him less for his work; and then no one can get more." Steinbeck, John. (1939). “The Grapes of Wrath.” Penguin Books; page 233.

I started reading this book a few years ago and had the hardest time getting into it. I wanted to give up on it more than just a few times, but as a Californian and more specifically, a Steinbeck country native, I feel it is my duty to read all Steinbeck literature. If not I would be like an Englishman never reading Shakespeare or a Spaniard never reading Cervantes and that simply cannot be. So instead of giving up on the book completely, I'd read as much as I could handle then put the book down.....for a month or two.

Eventually I would get to like the book and then love the book. When I got almost half way through it I started feeling like I was really getting to know the Joads (it's hard to keep the characters straight because there's so many) and I felt for them as they struggled every day to stay afloat; I admired their optimism about all the wonderful opportunities that were awaiting them in California (or so they thought); and I was terrified for them as they were nearing California because I had the sneaking suspicion that they were going to have to endure a lot of hardship in this dream land where they did not know they were not wanted; and lastly their courage to keep going after all the bad things that happen to them was very inspiring.

I'm not gonna lie to you, this book is a little depressing, it does, after all, take place during this nation's great depression, but you become invested in the characters and you start rooting for them and hoping they achieve their dreams, which are the most basic of dreams, like finding their livelihood, a home to call their own, and their daily bread. My heart ached for the Joads as they suffered through the trials and tribulations of that time which included, but were not limited to poverty and displacement, illness, hunger, and even death. Worse yet, they had to do it all in an unknown land far where they were despised, from home.

Though it took me a while, I fell in love with the Joads and their story because despite all the horrible things that happen to them, they try to keep the family together as much as possible and not only that, they remain kind to one another and to perfect strangers. I was especially moved by the constant generosity the Joads and the other families in their situation gave one another despite having close to nothing.

"Learnin' it all a time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need--go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help--the only ones." Steinbeck, John. (1939). “The Grapes of Wrath.” Penguin Books; page 376.

I know this book is required reading at some high schools and colleges, but it wasn't for any of the schools I went to and I’m glad. I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much back then as I do now. I highly recommend this book. It is reminiscent of some of the issues going on today in our country and around the world (like immigration issues and social and economic inequalities among others). As a forewarning, I want to add that this book may stir up many different emotions, but if not, at the very least it will be a good history lesson and that in and of itself makes reading it worthwhile.

Until next time!

-Liz