FREAKED OUT!!!

My biggest ENEMY is ME! In specific my procrastination and (self diagnosed) adult A.D.D. I will be taking the BEC part of the CPA Exam in 2 weeks! I am not prepared at all! I haven't been studying. I was planning on taking it on November 30th and even then I was pushing it. I need to attempt in passing the BEC part this year because it will change for 2011. Right now it's just multiple choice. In 2011 it will be multiple choice and simulations---and will be heavily graded on communication skills. What got me in this mess was procrastinating to pay and schedule my exam. This morning I went online to schedule my exam. Clicked on the downtown location and the latest I could take the exam was Nov 17th!!! At this point I was thinking "damn it I have to drive to the burbs to take it--oh well." I clicked on a testing location in a west suburb, found a space for the 30th but it ended up not letting me book my exam. I called but had no luck! I checked other locations and nothing! So I had to quickly process in my head whether TWO WEEKS was even possible! I decided that I definitely wanted to take this exam this year and that I would do my best for the next two weeks to absorb what I could. I will also be doing some praying!!! By the way, in the past month I have attempted start up my studying but my adult ADD gets in the way :(  I seriously, don't know how I did it in undergrad and grad school.


Wish me luck and remember me in your prayers...


In the mean time, I will tell myself:

Endlessly by Duffy

I just heard this song today, okay like 20 min ago.  I thought it was very pretty! I really like Duffy's voice. It reminds me of older music. This song is from her upcoming album, "Endlessly." I've also heard some songs from her first album which are very soulful and sad.

Sex and the Single Guy

I ran accross the blog, Sex and the Single Guy yesterday.  I googled something and this blog came up...so I started reading a couple months worth of entries.  Although, I feel bad for some of the things this guy writes about. It's good to know that there are guys that go through these kind of dating issues.  I also learned and related to a few things he writes about.

México!

Happy Independence Day to México!

I hope to see you soon! I miss the smell, food, culture, scenery, and family...

Flirty Girl

OMG time sure flies!!! I had gone to an event a year ago with Idalia called Sheckys. At that event we bought a package deal from Flirty Girl which included 5 classes, manicure, and eyebrow shaping. Flirty Girl offers all sorts of fun and challenging fitness classes. From lap dances to yoga classes! Below are the classes I crammed in 5 days. Why? Because my package expires on the 16th! I know, I know...always waiting last minute to do things!

Video Vixen
It was fun learning some choreography in this class. I really liked the instructor for Video Vixen. Her name is Kristen. I was actually able to learn the moves. Not sure if it was because of Kristen's way of teaching or if I was focused. We learned choreography from the video "Hot Like Fire" by Aaliyah. Aww, I love some of Aaliyah songs. By the way Kristen's dream was to be a back up dancer for Aaliyah and this is her favorite video. We learned the moves that start on 1:58. It keeps repeating through most of the video. Check it out below!



This is my favorite Aaliyah song, Try Again. I remember I use to listen and loved watching the video when I was in HS. I really like her hair, makeup , and choreography. The song too! Sorry, I got side tracked but I really wanted to share this video :)



Abs & Booty
This class was no joke! I guess it had been a while since I had really worked my booty muscles. I was SO sore from my booty on Monday and Tuesday! It was kind of painful when going up the stairs, when sitting up or down---walking was no fun either.

Pole Dance
I didn't enjoy this class so much. I was at the very far end and couldn't see what the instructor was doing. Not only that, the tricks were a little to advance for me. Nothing like them days at Hawkeye's!!! Maybe I'll end up taking a workshop. Or try lap dance ;)

Brulesque
I enjoyed this class too! For the beginning of the class the instructor taught us to swirl a baton. After that we started learning choreography. All the moves were sexy but of course classy and very lady like ;) The choreography was cool because at the end we got to incorporate some baton swirling (or at least attempt). Oh the song that was played was "I'm a Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears. For some reason this reminded me of Eva.

After I was done I had scheduled a manicure. I picked a color by Opi named "Cuckoo for this Color." It's a metallic teal color.

Belly Dance
I had taken this class a while ago. I can't even remember if it was last Fall or early Spring of this year. I swear my memory is getting BAD! Good thing I'm keeping a blog now. I remember I did have fun and got to wear a hip scarf.

I can see why a lot of women go to Flirty Girl. It's a fun atmosphere and you do learn some good stuff.

Long Run, Sat Sept 11

Yesterday was my last long run before the 1/2 marathon! It's probably my last long run in Chicago for this year. I really enjoyed it. The weather was great...it was cool enough and there was light rain during parts of it. I love my running playlist and get excited when I hear a favorite song---yesterday I got super happy when I heard "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. Even though, I've only been doing long runs for a month I may miss them but don't worry I'll get over it quickly.   


Overall, my training for the 1/2 marathon has been an awesome experience. Each long run was a challenge but was able to complete without any major issues. I had the opportunity to enjoy the views from the Lake Shore path and ran 6 miles with Yolanda :) Shout out to Yolanda for being a running buddy! Although, we only ran together once, knowing that one of my great friends is also training helps me stay motivated. Thanks Yolanda! Keep up the great work! 

Bang!

Yes, it was time for a haircut! It had been about a year since my last cut. It took me so long because I wanted to let it grow as much as I could bare. I felt that if I went in sooner for a cut I would end up chopping it short again but I want to let it grow long again! It's still a short-medium length but long enough to have bangs! I was contemplating on whether to go to my usual place (Vidal Sassoon) or a new place. Vidal Sassoon is not budget friendly so I decided to go with a new place. I searched on Yelp for salons near my place. A few good spots came up and one of them was Bang. Since Eva goes there, I thought it would be a great place to try. I called on Friday morning to make an appointment---I was excited to hear that there was availability for that evening with Eli. On the Yelp review, Eli's name was mentioned alot. Later on Eva let me know that's who did her hair. My appointment was at 6:45PM. You would think there is no way I could be late for this. All I had to do is leave my work area at 5:45ish and walk over a few miles. Yes, I managed to be a little late. I decided after work I would walk to Binny's which is a few blocks from my work. I ended up buying a bottle for "A Sprinkle of Growth"! I had a little of time to spare so I thought perfect time to stroll over to Trader Joe's. I got what I needed from Trader Joe's but didn't end up leaving from there til 6:15! At this point I knew I would have to be lucky to make it on time. I walked over to the Chicago bus stop...this bus took forever to come. I was contemplating on whether to take a cab. I decided I would take the Chicago bus, get off on Milwaukee and take a cab from there. I hoped onto a cab and got there ten minutes late---not bad. I finally saw Eli around 7:05-10, he was still finishing up someone when I got there. He asked what I wanted to do with my hair and I replied "I want bangs but don't know about the rest of my hair, I'm letting it grow out." Then he asked a couple of other standard questions. After that I got my hair washed and conditioned by Edgar then Eli did his thing. We chatted about hair, running, my job, etc. He was pretty cool. He did a great job! I just have to see how it looks wavy and down. Yesterday I had it in a pony tail with my bangs down. 


I'm very happy to have bangs again!!!

P.S. I found a perfect shade of hot pink for my lips! It doesn't look that hot in this pic but it is :)

Sprinkles for Accounting

I decided to bring in cupcakes from Sprinkles. I had posted on facebook that I was at Sprinkles last Thursday (Sept 2nd) so my co-worker asked if I bought him one. I didn't mind bringing him one of the four I had bought but felt bad just bringing one for him. So I decided I would treat my dept to some Sprinkles. I took around the menu so everyone could pick what cupcake they wanted. This past Wednesday I picked them up and brought them in on Thursday. Below are the cupcakes!

Column 1: red velvet, Column 2: Strawberry, Column 3: Peanutbutter Chocolate,
Column 4: Lemon Ginger, Coconut Chocolate, Dark Chocolate

I couldn't help it I bought an extra red velvet to have as dinner on Wednesday

Early Bird?

Deep down inside, I've always admired those early birds. Some are lucky to be early birds by nature, others through hardwork and dedication. Let me tell you, I'm not an early bird by either means. Over the weekend, one of my facebook friends posted a link to an article about waking up early. Waking up earlier has been one of those things on my mind that I need to do but never seem to get around to it. After reading the article, I decided I need to attempt in becoming one of those early bird people. Not necesarily because I want to become a CEO (see article) or some other big title but because right now I'm in need of more time. Today, I was motivated enough to get up earlier and go for a short run. I'm very proud of myself!! I did notice that I had a little more energy at work. I hope I will be able to keep it up! I know it's going to be tough as the weather gets colder but some way I will have to acquire the motivation to wake up early :)

Sprinkles anyone?

Have some sprinkles and watch yourself grow!!!  Wow that almost sounded like a Chia pet commercial :)

Not sure if anyone has noticed but I feel like I've grown a lot this past year or two. I want to continue growing and in the process share it with all of those that are willing to read. 

For my first entry I just wanted to share a quote I found this past Friday:

"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life."

-  Herbert A. Otto