Bike Riding and Weight Loss

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Jenni Elyse

It’s time for another weight loss update. I lost 3.8 pounds this week! I’ve now lost 24.3 pounds total and I’m only a little over a pound away from being under 200 pounds! :D

I’ve been doing really well with my eating and exercising. I still get cravings for bread and sweets, but I’ve been dealing with them by only having a little of something rather than going overboard like I would’ve in the past. I also try to eat a healthy alternative “sweet” instead of the junk I really want. However, if a healthy alternative just won’t cut it, I’ve turned to the 100-calorie packs by Nabisco and Keebler. They satisfy my sweet or junk-food tooth just enough without undoing my entire day/week. I highly recommend them!

I’ve become a bike riding monster! I try to ride my bike everyday and everywhere I can. In fact, last Wednesday, I rode my bike home from work. It was 11 miles, the longest I’ve ever ridden in my life. I didn’t think I’d make it, but I did. I just kept making little goals each step (or pedal) of the way. It ended up only taking me an hour and 15 minutes to get home. Now, Corey wants me to ride my bike home at least once a week. I think it’s a good idea; I just need to prepare myself mentally to do it. ;)

On Saturday, I started riding my bike on part of the Provo River Parkway, a paved trail that starts at Utah Lake and ends at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. The trail’s really convenient for me because you can get on it about .5 miles from where Corey and I live. It makes riding my bike to the library a little bit easier too. I’ve only explored part of the trail because I start riding my bike in the evenings when it has cooled off a bit and I don’t want to get stuck that far from home when the sun goes down. I’ll have to start at Vivian Park and make my way home on a weekend or something so I can ride the whole trail. ;)

Corey also got a personal trainer. He needs to start building up the muscle in his femur because it has atrophied since his surgery in December. He was going to do physical therapy, but our out-of-pocket cost is more than it is with the personal trainer. And, I get to work with the personal trainer too! :D The hardest thing for me with exercising, especially resistance exercising, is knowing what to do. Now, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Corey’s sessions started today and I start on Thursday after work. I’m so excited, but a little scared too. :?

A Frazzle Dazzle Day

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Jenni Elyse

Do you ever feel frazzled for no apparent reason? If so, then you know how I’ve been feeling for the last week. I feel so frazzled that I turned down hanging out with my friends tomorrow night. 8O I want to spend time with them, but it just seems impossible to do right now.

I don’t know why everything seems impossible either. It’s not like I have a lot to do right now. I work, I come home, I eat dinner, sometimes I clean, I ride my bike for about an hour after it cools off a bit, I spend time with Corey, I spend time on my computer, sometimes I read (not as often as I’d like to right now), and then I go to bed. Sure, most of that time is spent sleeping or at work. And, I have some pretty steep deadlines on the horizon, but I’m not needing to put in any overtime to accomplish them. It’s not like my free time is affected. What’s the big deal then?

I think I feel so frazzled because I’m spending way too much time on my computer doing something frivolous. For the record, I don’t consider blogging, reading/sending e-mail, or talking with friends as frivolous or a waste of time. But, I do consider aimlessly-playing-Solitaire-or-Mah-Jongg-for-hours-because-I-don’t-feel-motivated-to-do-anything-else as frivolous and a huge waste of time.

Also, I still feel like my routine isn’t back to normal from when I went to Las Vegas. As I said in the “Beware of the Groove” post, I’ve seriously never had a business trip affect me as much as this trip has affected me. The only time I had a near breakdown was when I was gone nine out of 14 weeks in 2004 with hardly any weekends or free time. But, that was because of the umpteen million trips all at once not just one measly little trip to Vegas.

As some of you know, changes and I don’t mix very well unless I instigate them. For example, I instigated the bike riding so I’m completely okay with it and I love it! Whereas, my routine changed because of work-related stress and events so I’m kicking against the pricks as hard as I can!

What do I do now? How do I get rid of this frazzled feeling? I just need to either deal with the change in my routine or go back to my previous one. I also need to put my computer down when I start playing Solitaire or Mah Jongg. At that point, its usefulness has run out and it becomes a hindrance. And, most importantly, I need to calm down, take a breather, and just be okay with things.

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Jenni Elyse

Enna Burning Cover Title: Enna Burning

Author: Shannon Hale

Series: Books of Bayern #2

Genre: Fantasy (YA)

Pages: 336 Pages (Paperback)

Original Publication Date: August 26, 2004

Overall Rating:
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Summary from Goodreads

Enna and Princess Isi became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but after Isi married Prince Geric, Enna returned to the forest. Enna’s simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders, and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But, as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn.

In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?

My Thoughts

While I was reading The Goose Girl and even after I had finished it, several people told me that they or someone they knew had a hard time getting into Enna Burning. And, many of those people didn’t end up finishing the book because of that. All I can say is that those people missed out on a very good book.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into Enna Burning, but it also took me a couple of chapters to get into The Goose Girl. Once I got into the story, I thought it was very intriguing. I loved exploring the fire-speaking element of the story and seeing more of the wind-speaking element explored in The Goose Girl. It was interesting to see how both of the languages worked together. I also enjoyed getting to know Enna better since I only knew her through Isi in The Goose Girl. I also enjoyed seeing Isi and her relationship with Geric through another perspective.

I’m looking forward to reading River Secrets, the third book in the Books of Bayern. And, I’m looking forward to the release of the fourth book, Forest Born, in September.

Spending Time with Friends

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Jenni Elyse

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to meet a friend I’ve been conversing with for the last couple of years. Kathy lives in California, but her family’s from Utah. She was in town for Father’s Day and wanted to go to lunch with me and some of my friends so she could finally meet us. Unfortunately, with such short notice, it ended up only being Tawnya and me, but we still had a great time.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my good friend Angie. She and her family moved to Seattle four years ago and I haven’t seen her in two years. She’s in Utah for a family reunion and wanted to see me so we went to dinner together. Even though we only had a few hours together, it was so good to see her and my godbabies. (I’m the unofficial godmother to her three children. It’s unofficial because neither of us are Catholic and it’s actually kind of an inside joke.) This was the first time I met her youngest, Cavin.

It’s July Already

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Jenni Elyse

My title mislead you, didn’t it? I can’t believe it’s June 24 already! I feel like June has flown by at whirlwind speeds. I don’t even remember what I’ve done for the past 24 days. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. I remember what I’ve done most of the time because I’ve blogged about it.

I guess I just feel like June has been a blip on the radar screen because I haven’t finished reading a single book this month. 8O I feel like I’ve been too busy working, recovering from my business trip, practicing for choir, or just not doing a good job of managing my time once I get home from work.

During 2009, excluding June, I’ve read at least three books a month. My goal is to read at least 30 books this year so the three-books-a-month standard has been right inline with reaching my goal and, so far, I’ve read 16 books.

I wanted to read Enna Burning, River Secrets, and The Time Traveler’s Wife this month. I’m very close to finishing Enna Burning and should’ve finished it a long time ago, but alas, see my previous excuses. I know I won’t get through the other two books, but I’m going to try to get through The Time Traveler’s Wife because it fits this month’s tag on Shelfari.

About three or four weeks ago, I went through my book list and picked the books I want to read for the rest of the year. It was so hard to decide. I just have so many books I want to read. At the same time, I really want to reread some of my favorites. I also need to reread those books that have their sequels releasing later in the year. I also had to keep in mind that I may add another book each month for the monthly Shelfari tag. Hopefully, some of the books I’ve chosen will coincide with the monthly tags.

In July, I’ll reread the Twilight Saga.
In August, I’ll read the Dragon Star trilogy. This is the sister trilogy to the Dragon Prince trilogy that I read and loved so much last year.
In September, I’ll reread The Hunger Games and then read its sequel Catching Fire. I’ll also read Forest Born, the new book in the Books of Bayern series. But, I need to finish Enna Burning and read River Secrets before Forest Born is released in September. And, finally, I’ll read Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate.
In October, I’ll reread Graceling and then read its prequel Fire. Then, I’ll reread The Host.
In November, I’ll reread The Paradise Snare so I can finally read the other two books in the Han Solo trilogy.
In December, I wanted to reread the Harry Potter series, but my good friend Ali keeps pestering me to read the Mistborn trilogy. (Okay, it’s more like suggesting than pestering.) I think I’ll read those first and start off the brand new year with Harry Potter instead. Luckily, I have the Harry Potter audiobooks to keep me satisfied until then.

If, and that’s a very big if, I’m able to read all the books I’ve planned to read, I’ll have read between 39 to 45 books for the year. If I have to cut any of the books from my schedule, I’ll cut my favorites and move them to the back of the line.

Now, enough about me and the books I’m reading or plan to read. What books are you planning to read this year? Have you read any good books so far? If so, what?