GNO week 1

Good morning, dear readers! Last night started up a new session of Girls Night Out, and so far, I'm very excited. Each session is with a new group of girls from a different school. This semester, I'm working with girls from the middle school that I went to and that my younger sister is attending as well. While it may be too early to tell, this group of girls already seem more behaved than my last group. My biggest hope for the next two and a half months is that they really are this well behaved and their behavior stays this way.

I'm working with another advisor this session (three different advisors thus far) and she seems to be really good at her job. She said it's her fifth year in the program and I can definitely tell. She's very firm, and starts off like that so there will be no questions later in the program...but not bitchy firm. I can tell already I'm going to like her. She relates to the girls well, but makes it known she has a low bullshit tolerance. The perfect balance, if you ask me.

The first week is like the first day of the semester in school. We explained the program, introduced ourselves and talked about the expectations of GNO. After a few ice breaker activities, our physical activity was Zumba. I was really excited for the Zumba, especially because the class was taught by the lady whose class I take every week at the Y. Most of the girls seemed to really get into it. After the night ended, a friend/dance teacher at the Y actually wrote on my page that the Zumba instructor told her how impressed she was with the girls. We're off to a great start! The only problem that I had was not realizing we were going to be doing a physical activity on the first night. I wore Chucks instead of quality tennies and was a tad dehydrated. Which means that today my calves are killing me with every step I take. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

The advisor told us some of the other physical activites that we're going to be doing, and I'm really excited for them as well. Some of the activities are repeated every session and some are new, to me at least. We will be doing yoga, step, kick boxing, and relay races, among others.

25 Things you may or may not know about me.

I've grown tired of Sucky and Super posts. Maybe I'll come back to them in a few weeks. I've done this a few times before on Facebook, but I never grow tired of the list of random facts about myself. I'm really fascinated by these for a number of reasons. One, I like to give friends/readers/followers a little insight into my life. Two, I find it really interesting what people decide to share with others and what people find relevant enough to share. Three, I find almost every time I learn something new about myself, something in the back of my mind that I've never really verbalized. So, enjoy.

1) I get freckles on my nose in the summer. I really like them.
2) I love reading detective/murder mystery novels, but I know that I could never think out a plot to write one on my own.
3) The word panties creeps me the fuck out.
4) I still have all my trolls from the 90s and don't plan on ever changing that.
5) It's a life goal of mine to have a room of nothing but books in it.
6) I think my toes look weird if I don't have polish on.
7) One of the best things anyone ever said to me was just a passing comment by someone who probably doesn't even remember saying it.
8) No matter how long I consistently work at 8 am, I will never be a morning person.
9) I don't like rice.
10) If I'm not married by the time I'm 30, I may have a meltdown.
11) I've convinved myself I'm going through early menopause.
12) I don't eat very much red meat.
13) Children, until they reach their teens, are my weakness. But I don't want any of my own.
14) Even after college, I still mark up books, highlighting and noting worthy passages or wonderfully written lines.
15) I would love to work for a non-profit.
16) I could probably eat eggs every day of the week.
17) Failure terrifies me.
18) I hate the cold with every fiber of my being. Moving to a wamer city has crossed my mind more than once.
19) I'm scared of being in a dead-end job the rest of my life.
20) Oatmeal is such a comfort food for me. I love eating it in the winter.
21) I've never had one cigarette or tried one illegal drug.
22) If I do get married, I'm not changing my last name or my mind about it. Let the flame war begin.
23) I am so head over heels in love with my man friend, it's disgusting.
24) Fuck is easily my favorite swear word. I probably say it every day. Several times, in fact.
25) I am one crabby lady if I don't have a soda in the morning

Sucky and Super

I dropped the ball on a post last week, so today's Sucky and Super post encompasses the last two weeks. Enjoy, dear readers!

Sucky:

My memorial tattoo

• Tuesday was the eighth anniversary of a very close friend's passing. January 3rd is the hardest day of every year for me, and not once does it get easier. My friend passed away very young, two weeks before his 20th birthday. Not only was the loss of him very difficult, but the cause was even worse. He was killed, and everyone (cops included) knows who did it. Unfortunately, evidence was tampered with at his base and it likely to never be proven. Every year on the anniversary I visit the cemetery with flowers for him. This year I wasn't able to make it before it got dark and it was closed. I felt so guilty, and that made dealing with it even harder on myself. 
• Friday I had the worst day of work I've ever had at this job. Now that the holidays are over, callers are back to being rude, impatient, ungrateful, demanding and argumentative. The day had been dragging, and I was growing more and more frustrated every hour. In the last hour or so of my shift, I had the most unbearable call I could ever imagine: 18 straight minutes of nothing but being shouted at, argued with and my offers ignored. I was actually shaking and nearly in tears when I transferred the call to a supervisor.

Super: 

• New Years Eve started off on a Sucky note, but it actually turned out to be really nice. I'm too broke to be able to go out, so I decided to have some friends over, but plans got switched up a little, so it ended up being just my man friend and me. I made dinner for the two of us, which got destroyed at first but the second try was significantly tastier, and we listened to a local radio station's top songs of 2011. After a rough start, our first New Years together was really nice.
• New Years Day my man friend and I spent the day at my dad's. We watched the Packer game, another win of course. I'm so excited for the play-offs to start! We also stayed for dinner, which was a great end to the day. 
• For Christmas, I got a lot of exercise materials, which I really like. I've been trying so hard the last few weeks to stick with healthy eating and working out and am determined to keep it up for once. This past week I worked out four days using my new fitness hula hoop, my Biggest Loser yoga DVD, and went to my weekly Zumba class. I can already see a difference and it's a great feeling.
• After four years of credit card debt, I have it nearly paid off. As of today, it's down to $30, and with Christmas money I got this weekend, that balance will be paid off tomorrow. There are no words to describe how relieving this is. 
• Last night was my final Christmas celebration. We had some great food and got to spend some quality time together. My mom moves down to Tennessee in a week, and it was our last family event with all of us together for a while. 
• I had a phone interview this week. Again, nothing in my field, but a full-time, permanent position in town for a company very well known in this area. There's actually a lot of room for advancement in the company, and I'd be making pretty decent money as well. I have several friends working there, one of whom is how I heard about the position. I feel like the interview went well, but I'll just have to wait and see.

Sucky and Super...just a tad late

Eventually, I'll get a Sucky and Super actually posted on a Sunday. I blame the holidays.

Sucky:

• My bad leg has been absolutely atrocious, to the point of me legit sobbing every time something hits it. The only thing that helps with the itchiness and sensitivity of the veins is an herbal supplement Hawthorn berries. With my financial situation, I can't afford them. So I don't buy them. Christmas day a bag had hit it and I was crying so hard my mom offered to buy me a bottle to help with the pain.
• Friday night my favorite bar closed. It's been kind of a stomping ground for my friends and myself and I'll really miss it. There have been so many memories and great nights, and let's face it, days, spent there in the last year and a half and I'm so bummed to see it shut down.

Super:

• Friday night my dad and stepmom came over to see my house/our Packer themed Christmas decorations. Dad hasn't seen my house yet in the eight months I've lived there (whoops) so I invited them over. I really enjoyed hanging out.
• Christmas Eve/Day/Monday after celebrations were all wonderful. There was no arguing between my sisters, I got some great presents that I'm really excited about (Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell, some work out stuff I wanted, cooking stuff, gift cards and a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives book to name a few) and gorged for three days straight.
• Thursday, I got to spend one last night at previously mentioned bar. Every Thursday there's a drink special/DJ and I used to go every week for many months. I stopped going for a while, but this week was my friend's birthday. Right before his party, we all found out the bar was closing, so it was perfect timing to say goodbye and have one more night of fun. It was hard to go home early, but I just can't be exhausted at work.
• The Packer game on Sunday was just great. They were finally playing like they were actually trying (I guess the loss actually did them some good), it was really fun to watch (scoring helps that), and of course they won. That puts their record at 14-1 and clinched home field advantage. It was a good day for Packer fan.

Here's to hoping 2012 is better than '11

Today I looked through some old Facebook notes and found my list of goals for 2011.

• Getting a full-time, permanent job in my field
• Moving out of my mom's house
• Getting to a weight I'm happy with
• Getting my fiction piece published
• Get my credit card and the debt to my cousin paid off

I have accomplished one of these. And that's moving out....as a 23 year old, college graduate should be. Only took me a year after graduating to actually do so.

Which makes my 2012 goals as follows:

• Get a full-time permanent job, preferably in my field, but I'll take what I can get
• Get to a weight I'm happy with - and finally get my belly button repierced as a reward
• Get my fiction piece published
• Get more followers on this blog
• Get my debt paid off and put a dent into my student loans and car payment

Some of these goals can be accomplished with plenty of hard work...others may have to rely on a little luck, and/or other people taking a chance on me. Maybe a combination of the two. Consider my fingers crossed and my motivation listed.

I'm not gunna waste this, this opportunity's mine*

Sucky and Super, week 3

Sucky:

• A former classmate from high school passed away. I was never close with him, but it was such a terrible happening. Even worse, not very many people from our graduating class showed up for the services. If any of his family or friends are reading this, again, my deepest sympathies.
• Even though we were not very close, I made sure to attend his wake to pay my last respects. My funeral attendance is taking quite the toll on me lately. They're never easy to deal with and, unfortunately, I feel like I've been experiencing so many in the last few years. I'm up to 9 in the last 5 years.

Well, after that first note, nothing else seems worthy of noting. I had a few minor annoyances this week, but nothing serious. After putting those inconveniences after such a tragic death, none of them seem so bad anymore, so I'm skipping to some Super updates.

Super:

• My skin is clearing up (for now at least). I've had problems with acne since 6th grade, and I'm slowly starting to accept it's just going to be something I deal with for the rest of my life. I've tried every product known to man. for about two years in college, my face was actually remarkably clear, but since then, it's back to break outs. Right now I seem to be on a good streak, luckily just in time for the holidays.
• I have just about all my Christmas shopping done. I only need to buy one more present, and I'm going halvsies with my sister for our not-so-baby-anymore sister. Now just to wrap it all...
• Tuesday I had an interview! It wasn't for anything in my field, just a receptionist position, but it's close to home, full-time/permanent and the interview actually went really smoothly. I have a good feeling about it.
• Friday I had another ugly sweater party. It was with a  group of friends that I've had since middle and high school. We always have so much fun together and this was no different. We played the new Logo board game, which turned out to be a blast, but significantly harder than any of us expected. We also exchanged Secret Santa gifts. I got a gas card, which is splendid for commuting 45 minutes each way to work.

*Tonight, Tonight by Seether

Sucky and Super Sunday...a day late

Life has been a tad hectic lately, so Sucky and Super Sunday is a day late this week. At least it's only a day late.

Sucky:

• My bad leg has really been flaring up. I have 85 year old woman legs, and have varicose veins coming in. The doctors can't do anything about it, and it hurts wicked bad. The last few days have been terribly painful...and people keep accidentally bumping into it, making it significantly worse.
• I've had a headache every day for at least a week. I've had a problem with headaches since I was in about 4th grade, so I'm pretty used to them. Lately, though, it's been worse. I know they're mostly stress-induced because they're not like my typical aches. Sometimes I worry my body will become immune to Aleve.
• Nothing, really. Aside from feeling like I'm physically falling apart at the seams, it's been a pretty decent week.

Super:

• Tuesday my man friend and I decorated Christmas cookies. We're experiencing a lot of firsts together as the holidays approach, and I couldn't be happier to be spending them with him.
• Saturday was the last day I got to spend with my GNO girls. We went up to a camp about an hour away where they played games, learned how to build a fire and did some team-building exercises. It was actually quite a bit more fun than several of the weekly sessions.

• Saturday was the first of the two ugly Christmas sweater parties I have this year. It was so much fun, and everyone looked so ridiculous! My sister, cousin and I all rocked matching sweater vests, turtlenecks and knee high socks.
• Sunday I got to actually watch the Packer game. I missed the last two because of work, so I was really excited to see it this week. It was a great game to catch: an easy 46-16 win against the Raiders, putting us at a 13-0 record so far.