It all started about a week ago when I was looking for something to read. For some reason I have been hating everything about reading lately. I’ve come to realize that it is because I have been reading books like Fast Food Nation and other books about current events and just really deep stuff. So, I decided that I would try to read something light. It has been so long since I’ve actually read “chick-lit”. I think that last super girly books that I’ve read were the Gossip Girl, It Girl and The A-list series that I had read throughout high school.

I’ve found that when I work out it makes time go by a lot faster if I read a book to keep my eyes entertained while I am on the stationary bicycle or treadmill. That way I don’t spend the whole time watching every second tick by until finally I reach my 30 minute workout time. I’ve had great success with this because when I get into a book, time just zips right by and without knowing it I workout for 45 minutes which is over my goal. Hooray!

However, it is also very possible that one of the reasons that I have hated reading so much is because I read while I workout. This may in fact be causing my brain to associate reading with the unpleasantness of having to work out.

I also have found that I very much enjoy reading e-books instead of physical books. This is really handy for me because when I carry books around with me all day they tend to get damaged. Covers folded over, or even food and drink spilled on the pages. No bueno!

E-books are snazzy (word choice, really?) because I can read them on my iPhone. That way I always have my book available and I never lose my bookmark! In fact, I can store many books using Stanza, which is my favorite out of all the free reading apps. That way if I finish a book, I’ll always have a backup. You just never know when you’ll have to spend time waiting around with nothing to entertain yourself with. It’s quite brilliant. A definite plus for me is that nobody can see the cover of what you’re reading and try to make small talk. Not to mention avoiding any humiliation when you feel like you want to read Gossip Girl but you realize that you are now twenty years old and an adult and should probably be reading something more mature. Psssssssh.

Now that I’ve set up the back story, I want to say how much I freaking love Confessions of a Shopoholic! Not even just the first book but all of the books in the series. I am currently reading number five and to be honest, I started the series just last Saturday. I’ve been zipping through the books because it’s such an entertaining read.

I would like to point out that I did see the movie first but, the books are FAR better. In fact, the books and the movie are basically not even the same story. The main character, Rebecca Bloomwood is the same. She also has a roommate named Suze which is also the same as the movie. Oh, and she has credit card debt. So yeah, that’s basically all that is the same. It turns out Rebecca Bloomwood is actually British. I love this because I’ve found myself using British terms randomly. For example, I keep saying that stuff is “brilliant” and I was telling somebody about doing hot yoga and how my, “mum thinks I’ve gone mad” and just a bunch of other awkward British things.

I really hate books with annoying main characters, like Bella Swann. I seriously would like to punch that girl. HARD. I also hate books that are written in the first person, like Twilight. This series has both a main character who I sometimes find annoying and is also written in the first person. You’d think that this would be a deal-breaker for me. Nope, not at all. Being written in first person really adds so much depth to the story because you have this girl, Rebecca, who is addicted to spending money and finds happiness in material items. Sometimes her excuses for why she need something are totally bogus, like buying new clothing for work being an “investment”. But, the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I realize that I’ve done that too. I’ve felt the need to buy a whole new outfit as an “investment” in myself. Hello, interviews? The truth is that I know that Rebecca is excessive and I honestly just want to hold her hand and help her. I feel the connection with her that I felt with the O.C. and I feel like I just want spend Chrismukkah with her and the Cohen family.

So, what you should gather out of this is that if you would like a highly entertaining super girly read then you should check this series out. Also, Stanza is the best free app for e-books on the iPhone, books are a good way to pass the time while working out, and I am turning British. The end.

I work with the most beautiful people. Really. I have never worked in such a loving environment in all my life. I have met so many amazing people through my work. New friend Sarah introduced me to Hot Yoga. She goes about once a week to Federal Way Hot Yoga. I expressed interest in this because I haven’t done Yoga in a really long time but when I did it seriously in a class environment I always found myself pushing myself to make it through and feeling tall and just amazing afterward.  I’d heard about Hot Yoga and done a little research but it was never something that I wanted to do on my own because it was a new experience. So I decided that I was going to do it and I told Sarah. She was excited and ready to help me out and gave me many tips about drinking a lot of water beforehand so I was fully prepared. I also received a beautiful pink Yoga mat for my birthday from friends Misty & Tony that I had never really fully put to use, so gosh darn it, I was going to do it! I also invited my beautiful, amazing friend & co-worker Katie to join us.

We arrived early to register as newbies and changed into our workout attire.  The instructor was a very charming dude and even met with Katie and I beforehand when we were registering. The class started with standing poses. I pushed myself to do about 80% of them. Sarah had given me advice beforehand to really listen to my body so I don’t over-do it on my first time. I was sweating like crazy but it was so good to stretch out. Especially back-bends were much needed and the heat helps to relax the muscles and make it a little bit easier. The second half of the class contained work on the floor. I was fairly exhausted from the heat and felt a little dizzy so I only made it through about 40% of the floor work. With practice I figure that I can only improve.

I recall laying down and thinking “oh gosh, it’s probably only been about 30 minutes and I probably still have an hour to go” but it turns out that it had been much longer than that and the 90 minute class was over before I knew it. I left feeling tall, alert and spiritually cleansed. It was wonderful.

I waited until today to write my full review because I wanted to see how much pain I would be in. It turns out I am in no pain at all. I still feel energized and I slept better than I have slept in months. I feel positive and ready to take on the world.

The studio that I went to had a new student deal where you can attend 10 sessions for $10. I’ve already paid my $10 and I’ve got 9 more sessions left. Therefore there are no excuses not to go. The benefits are clear, I feel amazing and there are no worries about money because I’ve already paid. The rates are much higher after the introductory period but I can budget something out. For now, I’m set with my 9 sessions.

Oh yes, I am going to do this again. Soon.

Someday I hope to be as graceful as this:

New season of project runway THIS THURSDAY!!11! Stoked!

I do my best to keep these cleared out, but it seems like every time I log in to facebook I see this:

I’ve fallen victim to these facebook games from time to time but not for more than a few days at a time. Facebook has tons of games that are exactly the same. They are just tailored to different likes. They all have one thing in common though, they are all just a big waste of time. I guess you could say that as with any game that you may play. I’m not even going to try to defend games like The Sims that suck you in for 5 hours and then you suddenly realize that your day is gone. These are different though. They suck you in and then you have to keep playing for days and days to achieve anything. Or you can strategically plant 2 hour plants on FarmVille, but you’ll still have to build your life around picking your crops if you don’t want them to die.

The thing that gets me most about these games is that I wonder how many people actually pay real money for something stupid like a pink garden shed. Truth be told, you can succeed at all of these games if you pay. To me, that just takes all of the fun out of it. Sure, it may be fun to see how much faster your farm can grow or how many levels you can earn in Mafia wars but really if somebody paid a ton of money, they get advantages and can easily be ahead. Of course, they look really stupid for wasting real money on a game.

The same thing is said for those stupid “games” that ask you to answer questions about friends. It can all be anonymous to the other person but if you answer a ton of questions about others you can see who the sneaky little beasts were who answered a question about you. Most of the time the questions are pretty tame but in total it is just a bunch of gossip and in order to find out who said what, you have to spread more gossip. Totally lame.

I really think that facebook has lost its core purpose. It’s not just a site used to communicating with friends and family, now it’s a playground for petty drama. I always liked facebook more the myspace because they used to do a great job of verifying that the people on the site are real by making you seek verification from someone else in your school. Now they let anyone join and soon it will just be spam bots.

I’ve always thought of facebook as being more mature than myspace, but that’s just not the case anymore.

I miss the old games on facebook like Scrabulous. Games where you could simply play with a friend while you’re in class and pretending to take notes. That and freerice.com were all I needed to get through a day of school.

I don’t mean to complain about facebook, I just don’t understand it anymore. So there.

My amazingly glamorous friend Erika celebrated her 25th birthday today at a super swank restaurant (no matter how many times I try I NEVER spell that word right) in Seattle.

It was a black & white party and everyone was all dressed up and it was amazing.

Awesome friend Katie and I carpooled and had such a hard time trying to find parking but finally decided to park in a garage.

So Erika asked that we don’t share this story with anyone but it’s just TOO GOOD not to. Erika was blowing out her candles after the whole birthday song shabizz. She was wearing a gorgeous outfit but was wearing a corset and couldn’t seem to get enough air out to blow out the candles. So everyone tried to help. We finally realized that the candles were trick candles and somebody said “Oh, they got you Erika!” and we all laughed. Then, Erika admitted that she had picked out the candles herself and had no idea. We couldn’t figure out how to get the candles to go out and then finally had to drop them in somebody’s water glass because we were afraid the smoke alarm at the restaurant would go off.

Cool story bro? Right? I thought it was hilarious.

I am so blessed to have been able to meet such amazing people through my work. Love it!