So first things first! I've read a few books this year but not near as many as I had this time last year. My GoodReads does a pretty good job of listing them out. I read a Free Friday book called Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer and it actually had me laughing at the absurdity of it. It was a terribly great book. The kind that you read and shake your head that you're reading it but continue to peruse. I also read the first book in a new series by Rachel Vincent called Blood Bound. I really think that's a series that will take off with a mind of its own. I liked the way it was written and the story line wasn't played out. Urban/Science Fantasy is my genre these days. That seems to be the only genre that holds interest to me. A few other books of note that you should check out if they tickle your fancy:
Wrong Side of Dead (Dreg City #4) - Kelly Meding
Shadow Walker (Stormwalker #3) - Allyson James
Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) - Chloe Neill
The Mortal Bone (Hunter Kiss #4) - Marjorie M. Liu
Reckoning (Strange Angels #5) - Lili St. Crow
Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2) - Jennifer Estep
Silver-Tongued Devil (Sabina Kane #4) - Jaye Wells
Truth (XVI #2) - Julia Karr
Last Breath (Morganville Vampires #11) - Rachel Caine
Sins of a Demon (Kara Gillian #4) - Diana Rowland
Now that I've shared some books, I should mention that I went to see Hunger Games this weekend. It was an interesting movie. I liked that they stuck with the major plot points and the actors were incredibly well chosen for the parts. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, and the little girl that played Rue looked exactly like what I imagined as I read the series. You can definitely tell that the movie was geared towards the people that read the books because some plot points weren't very well discussed or noted. My significant other had some major questions since he didn't read the book but he didn't hate it as much as Twilight series some other movies. The only other issue I had is the camera work. You can tell they were doing their best to keep the bloodshed but also get a PG-13 rating. The shaky camera work during the major battle scenes kind of makes you dizzy but I overlooked it since I know they were trying to get the heart of the battle understood while still keeping the rating. So if you've read the books, check out Hunger Games. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the story and the way Hollywood made it.
I haven't had a whole lot of time for new books since January. I started talking to Jenn and Lily about maybe starting to workout again. Jenn was going to look into new gyms since the YMCA was just too expensive and not quite as fun. She went to Anytime Fitness and signed up at the end of January and called me to meet her there the next day. I was weary because I'd heard of the place but worried about how much money I'd be spending a month. When she told me it was less than $40 a month, I decided to try it. We've been members since February 1 and have worked out at least 3 times a week since then. I haven't utilized the 2 free hours with a trainer yet; I think I'll wait until I know I won't embarrass myself. The first thing we did after joining was hit the ground running with Cardio Kickboxing on Thursdays.
This place has classes Mon-Thurs at 6pm and we decided what better way to start off than with no excuses and just doing it. So we started with Cardio Kickboxing and attempted the Yoga on Mondays. It wasn't too terrible but I'm just not sure that Yoga is for me. We haven't done the abs/glutes class on Tuesdays because it just seems too daunting when we peek. We'd peek into the room on Wednesdays to see the Zumba class and totally wussed out week after week. However, we did get brave a few weeks ago and attempt Zumba (thanks to Shana and Kyle). Here's the thing...it's a freakin' blast!! The teacher, Mallory Jarrell, is amazing and just following her is fun since she's always smiling and really getting into the music and dances. It helps that it's music that you hear on the radio everyday and not the Zumba specific songs that some other instructors use. I've officially become addicted to her class and now Jenn and I are going Mon-Wed! This week I think we are going to attempt her abs/glutes class and hopefully it's not too painful. Jenn and I have practically gone stalker-mode on Mallory and discovered that she's an incredible artist too, so check out her ish!
So my goal for this whole workout thing is to lose about 40lbs. I'd like to get my BMI down and get back to a healthy weight for someone of my height. A lot of people say that you should set mid-goals to that you feel like you're doing something and you can reward yourself but I can't seem to think of anything to really reward myself with. I am definitely enjoying my workouts and am trying to eat less crappy food and more healthy but I'm terrible at cooking things not from the box. However, I do eat less calories in a day than I used to so that helps me along with my workout. One of the other things I'd like to do now that I'm working out is attempt to get in there in the mornings. I know the people that are closest to me roll their eyes at the idea but I went this past Sunday at 5am since I had to take my folks to the airport and it wasn't that horrible. Obviously, I was tired when I woke up but it was still invigorating when I was done with my workout. I don't know, I'd like to try it and see how it goes. It might help me be less stressed during the day and I'll keep doing the workouts/classes after work as well. Honestly, I'm having a great time going to the gym and it's gotten to the point now that I actually feel guilty when I don't go to the gym or when I try to bail on it.
For example, last week I almost didn't go to Zumba on Wednesday because I had some personal things going on and I felt like I needed to take care of them . Luckily, they were handled halfway home from work which was still a few minutes before the class started. I also was playing my Zumba playlist (the songs from the actual class) in the car with Cisco so that had me in the mood to dance. I ended up having Cisco drop me off at the gym so I could do my thing in Zumba and I had a blast. It was such a good release after a stressful day!
Anyway, now that I've added fitness to my list of everyday activities I have less time to sit around reading/eating/video games/surfing the web so it benefits me as well (minus the reading thing...that bugs so I'll have to find some time to do that). If you're interested in the playlist that Mallory has us dancing to, check below!
Starships by Nicki Minaj
Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce
Jai Ho!
(You are my destiny) by Pussycat Dolls
Shake Senora by
Pitbull ft. T-Pain
Sexy and I know it by LMFAO
Good
Feeling by Flo Rida
Prrrum (Remix) by Cosculluela
Dance (A$$) [Remix] by Big Sean ft. Nicki Minaj
Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5
Say Na Say Na by Aneela
Caipirinha Zumba Fitness
Tambourine by
Eve
Tonight (I'm lovin' you) by Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris
I'm a Lady by Santigold
Thanks for reading and I'll leave you with this favorite quote of mine:
"I never thought I would need bravery in the small moments of my life. I do."
- Tris in Veronica Roth's Divergent.
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