Lent 2012

I will start off by admitting, I'm not sure if I'm Catholic.  Yes, I was raised Catholic and when there are important masses to attend, I will be there in full spirit.  I do believe in god and do my best to maintain my spiritual side with prayer, keeping faith, and having hope.  I hope to be able to give a more definite answer after some time.  Moving on to the topic of lent, this year I gave up my biggest distraction, facebook.  I'm not going to lie, I did not do it as a sacrifice per se but I'm hoping what comes out of it will be positive.  I wanted to make time and energy so I will be able to work on relationships that are meaningful, my heart/spiritual side, and other things that will bring me happiness.  Today it has been a week since the start of lent.  The first day without facebook was hard but now I have my energy refocused on other things and I'm glad facebook is not there to distract me.  

It's been way too long...

Can't believe it's been seasons since I last posted.  I guess it's better then years.  

Major events since the last blog:

Leonardo Ramirez was born!!! <will dedicate a post>

Ran my 2nd half-marathon.

Had a happy birthday! 

Became a proud madrina :)

Sat in for CPA exams.

Spent time with family during the holidays.

Joined at fitness challenge at work and lost 13-15lbs (some days I weigh more then others)! 

Committed to participating in lent. <will write a post>

With this extra day in this February, I'm ready to continue updating with another post :)

Summer Time!

I'm a week late!!!  But happy SUMMER!!!  This is my favorite season of the year.  I think it goes back to when I was a youngin in school.  At that time I didn't know it but Summer was ME time!  Got to be outside, do a bunch of nothing, eat some paletas, cool off at the fire hydrant or with the hose on those hot days, hang out with some friends and my brothers when they let me.  I also remember the few but very awesome Summers I spent in Mexico. 


What's in store for Summer 2011?


Bike Riding 
Running
Walking
Beach
Farmer's Market (maybe Lincoln Park)
Lincoln Park Zoo
Moving in August (again)!  I'm actually very happy that I get to move in with two great friends. 
Studying (extremely difficult during the Summer <sigh>)
Continue my search for a new position
Win the Mega Millions or Powerball (or $2,500/week for life<---this is a scratch off)
And 
Baby Ramirez (aka Limoncito) will be born at the end of July (or the latest August)!  


Shout out to the Summer Birthdays (including me)!!! 


Below is a pic I took last Summer on one of my Sunrise bike rides on the Lake Shore Path.  I'm posting it as a reminder of how much I enjoyed my bike rides on the LSP.

This is a pic I took during my 1/2 marathon.  Yes, another pic to remind me to go out there and run!

Making a list (checking it twice)!!!

It's apparent that I need to have a list of the tasks I need to accomplish otherwise I will get sidetracked.  I will start tonight!

Example:

I logged into gmail to answer a specific email that I hadn't gotten around to.  What do I do?  Click on the reader tab to see if anyone had posted to their blog LOL I guess I enjoy reading my friend's blogs! 

Example:

As I was typing this...the Santa Claus song popped in my head, in specific Jackson 5 was singing it (b/c it says "making a list and checking it twice).  So of course I looked it up :0)

Checklist before bed:

• reply to email
• update part of my resume 
• get clothes ready for tomorrow's casual work day
• drink some water
• read my FAR book or leisure book
• get ready for bed 

Okay, I don't want to get carried away, that's enough before bed!

 

num num num num

I

PIZZA!!!

Today I felt the need to show my love for pizza.  Mostly because I'm craving some delicious cheese pizza with some fries.  With the right combination of dough, lovely sauce and wonderful melting cheese, pizza is my perfect meal! My food goal for today is to go get some pizza with a side of fries :) 

My new nail trend!

Nina gave me a bottle of Opi Black Shatter yesterday!  Love it!  I'm too lazy to take a pic of my nails but below is the effect you will get when you add a layer of black Shatter to Silver.  I painted my nails a   Fuchsia color then have the Black Shatter on top.  

Getting My Fitness Back On Track

Now that Spring is here (although Chicago weather is not representative of that), it's time to get back on the fitness wagon!!!  These past two years, I've been taking a break from activity during the winter.  Mostly because I either walk or run and prefer to do it outside.  Yesterday, I started my 2 month membership of Hot Yoga at TruHarmony.  I purchased it for $40 at dealsgoround.com.  A very nice deal indeed!  My first class went well.  By the end all of my clothes were drenched in tons of sweat and I managed to keep my injured ankle in tack.  I didn't get to practice all of the poses because of my ankle and frankly I'm not in the best shape.  But that will change as Spring passes and Summer appears :) Time to work on my pushups & crunches!

I also wanted to share this cool strap & sling I bought for my mat.  You can use it to carry your mat around but it's also a yoga strap and resistance cord all in one!  I bought mine at Target for $11.99.