Being lazy…

I joined another gym.

I actually belong to two gyms now. And you’re probably thinking… what does the title of this post have anything to do with being lazy?

Well – I have one gym that I go to – which is a full out gym – it has classes, a pool, a ton of exercise equipment – and I love going to this gym. I love being able to swim laps in the pool, then sitting in the hot tub and then maybe going to sit in the sauna for 15-30 minutes to finish it off. And I also love the classes they offer – body pump, body flow and zumba and also the cycling classes there are also a blast.

So why belong to two gyms? Well… this new gym I joined just opened and is one block away from where I live. It’s a basic gym… cardio equipment, free weights and also other weight machines. It’s no where near the scale as my other gym and it also doesn’t have classes. And there’s no contract, there was no signing up fee (special deal) and it’s only $15 a month. Not bad right?

Family and friends asked me why I joined… and I naturally said… “When I’m too lazy to go to my other gym… I’ll just walk to this one…. ” To say that I got some funny looks for saying that is an understatement.

Yes… when I’m too lazy to go to my other gym – which is really only a 10 minute drive from me – I’ll just walk the 5 minutes to my new gym and workout there. I know, it sounds kinda dumb… okay, more than kinda dumb – but when it’s freezing cold outside, I don’t want to get into my super cold car (whose heat doesn’t work) and then drive to the gym. I’d rather walk 5 minutes in the freezing cold and then run on the treadmill.

I guess it doesn’t really sound like I’m being lazy… but really… that’s my excuse for joining this new gym. At one block away, it’s definitely more convenient. But I don’t want to give up my other gym, whose facilities are so much better and classes are so much more fun. I even did 3 classes in a row the past two Sundays…

Okay, this post really isn’t going anywhere other than the fact that I’m so lazy to want to drive to my regular gym that I’ll join a gym that’s a block away and just walk there instead.

I guess I”ll just say I’m lazy and proud of it – if it means that I’m still working out and staying healthy… right?

It’s Snowing…

Finally here in the Washington DC area. Not that I really want it, but I’ve been feeling gypped (did you know that came from the term Gypsy?) since we just keep missing the big snowstorms and everyone up north is getting it all.

Again, not that I really want the snow – especially after all the snow we got last winter – but I’m really hoping for a snow day tomorrow. Or at least the ability to work from home.

I actually left work early today – and the rest of the day worked from home. I’m actually still working right now, but there’s something different about working from your couch, music on in the background and looking out the window and seeing the snow fall. Much better than sitting at my desk at work.

It’s kinda nice to have a quiet night in… this is pretty rare for me… and if it weren’t snowing and the city weren’t actually shut down because of it, I’d be out having dinner with my friend Nicole at one of my favorite restaurants in the city.

But, I’m just sitting here on my NEW comfy couch… listening to music, blogging, researching my upcoming Colombian adventure and thinking about whether I should clean and put some laundry away… I’ll leave that until another time and will continue to research my next trip.

 

 

This cold weather is tiring…

I want the warmth of summer… I want the light rain of spring.

I’m tired of this cold weather. I no longer want to be bundled up in thick sweaters, cumbersome coats, hidden behind scarfs and underneath hats…

I want picnics in the park…even when there are giant ants trying to eat our food.

Copyright 2010: Newmodnernmillie

Bogota, Colombia… Here I come!

I just bought my round-trip ticket to Colombia. One of my items on my Bucket List 2011 is soon going to be crossed off!

I will be leaving Saturday Feb 19th and coming back Saturday Feb 26th.

I’m extremely excited but nervous. I’ve been solo backpacking before… but when I went to Guatemala, I knew people there! I don’t know anyone in Colombia at all.

I’m extremely excited for the adventure and now, I’ve got to start planning everything.

I’ll have 6 full days in Colombia. I already wish I could have a longer time there, but I won’t be getting there until Saturday evening and I want to make sure I have a day to recover when I get back to the states. I already know 6 days won’t be long enough, but it’ll have to do.

Planning planning planning! So excited!!! Think there will be a chance for me to meet Shakira? <– My ultimate girl crush by the way!

4 weeks and 2 days until my next adventure!!

Who knew reading could be an addiction?

My name is Millie and I am addicted… to reading.

You’d think this wouldn’t be something I’d be ashamed of… and I’m not really – but I do have a problem.

Reading has been a passion of mine since I could remember. I love books and books love me. My favorite place is the library or bookstore. Amazon.com – my downfall.

You’d think that my parents would love that I read all the time… but no, they didn’t. Why? Because reading to me meant I didn’t do my chores. I would get distracted. I won’t tell you of the time that the kitchen got set on fire because I wasn’t paying attention to what I was cooking because I was too busy reading.

Oooops.

I can go to the library and get 10 books and be finished within a week. I’ve learned to not start a book right before bed because I’ll stay up all night finishing it. I hate putting down a book before it’s been finished.

I used to collect books. I still have tons of books, but not nearly as many since I’ve moved so many times. And I read everything. I don’t discriminate against books. I do however have a guilty pleasure of reading romance novels. Who doesn’t love a good love story? I’ve read all the Harry Potter books, the Twilight series, Lord of the Rings, Sookie Stackhouse, Chronicles of Narnia, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, all of Dan Brown books… I’ve read a lot of books.

But it is a serious addiction. Once I finish a book and if I like it, I’ll find more books by that author and I have to read them. Like now. And sometimes I don’t have the patience to wait. Actually… it’s not sometimes, it’s I never have the patience to wait and see if it’s available at the library.

Recently for Christmas, I got an Amazon gift card and I used it to buy a Kindle. Worst purchase ever. I have the kindle on my computer and also on my iphone – where were both free downloads. I’d buy kindle books – and read them at my leisure – but it’s had to read on the computer and iphone. But I didn’t do it all the time. But now I have a Kindle that easily fits into my purse and I take it everywhere. And since I take public transportation to work, it makes it that much easier to read on the go. Especially since I don’t have to worry about taking my heavy books with me.

But I looked at my spending through Mint.com – and I’ve bought 51 Kindle ebooks since July! 51! How is that possible? Okay, I know that it’s possible, but I’m blown away that I bought that many books. And that’s just e-books. That doesn’t include all the actual paperback book purchases I’ve made nor all the books I’ve loaned from the library.

Seriously, I have a problem. 51 books. And I’ve read them all.

It’s gotten a bit worse with the Kindle – and I’ve already spent $50 this month alone on e-books. I need to stop reading so much.

I mean, it’s not like I read all the time. I do have a life – but 45 minutes of public transportation each morning and evening – and of course time before I go to bed – means a lot of time to read.

I need to find a cure… anyone know of a way to curb my addiction? I’m not going to stop reading all together.. I however need to curb my spending habits on books. I’ve set a budget for only $30 a month on books.

Is that fair? My friend Jamie said I should do $15  -since that is about the price of one book or about the price of two e-books. But we’ll see… I do know I won’t be making any more book purchases this month! Good thing I’m halfway through January!

I need to stop being such a nerd.