Same ole, same ole

I haven't posted in awhile, but a lot has been going on! Classes, TAing, and labwork are keeping me really busy, but it's a good kind of busy. Unfortunately the labwork has also been going slowly because I've been waiting for some material from our new collaborator in industry. Luckily last week he contacted me with some paperwork to fill out (agreeing I'm not going to distribute their stuff, etc) so I'm hoping to have the material next week or after I get back from BMES (which has seriously sneaked up on me). I need to finish my poster today so that I can get Monty to look at it quickly so I can send it to be printed tomorrow. That way I can be sure to get it in time to leave on Wednesday! I'm pretty thrilled to be going on this trip, but so much as been occupying my time that I haven't had time to really think about it!

The gym class is also going really well -- I'm MUCH stronger than I was 4 weeks ago when the class started. The first time I lifted I was only doing 3 or 5 pound weights for my arm exercises (the ones with free weights anyway) but the past week I've been lifting 10 pounds always, but 12 pounds for one or two of my sets. It's pretty exciting to actually feel stronger and Keegan says he can already tell a difference in the way I look. I can see a difference in my legs and upper back, and although my arms feel stronger they don't have that defined look (yet). I might do more sets to increase my muscle mass there, but I haven't decided for sure. We've spent the past two weeks learning more core and ab exercises, so I'll definitely be doing those at least 4 times a week. I also get to class and run 3 miles before going to do the 45-55 minutes of weight training, so it's no easy feat. I also run 2(+) miles on my off days because I enjoy it. I'm running faster (which is really not saying much, because I just jog really) but hopefully I can work my way to consistent 8 minute miles instead of 10-11 minute miles. I'm not in it for glory (like racing) but I guess more for endurance, running for 40 minutes straight or something means more to me than running 1.5 miles at a 7mph pace. I also walk (and sometimes run the last mile) on an incline.

Last week Keegan was working in Cambridge, MA for the branch of his office up there. Although nothing is official, he is most likely going to be transferred to that office in the coming months, at least for a temporary assignment. They loved him there but his boss here is reluctant to let him go (they should get into a bidding war over him! pay him more money to stay here!) He really likes the projects they work on in that office and because there are few engineers there, his work would stand out more and he could start making (even more) of a name for himself at the company, moving up quickly and having more independence (although he does almost all of his work with minimal upper-level input anyway). So I guess I'll keep everyone updated on that too. I don't want him to be away from me, but if this will help him advance his career and make him happier at work then I definitely want him to pursue it. He also said that the Philadelphia office was looking to recruit him too -- my man is in high demand and I'm so proud of him :-D

Candy corn

I love candy corn. I just finished my first bag of the Halloween season, and Halloween is still more than a month away. I know a lot of people don't eat candy corn, and to tell the truth I'm not really sure why I like it. It doesn't have a distinct taste or anything (other than painfully sweet), but I guess I was trained to like it from a young age (my poppop used to always give me candy corn when I was little) and I just never outgrew it. I mean, it is "made with REAL honey!!", a ringing health endorsement if I ever saw one.

It's okay though, I'm still running my 3 miles/day so I'll work it off. Or build more muscles to help me burn the extra calories.

#24: Tuscan chicken

A few weeks ago I made some angel hair pasta with chicken that had been breaded in some "tuscan" seasonings, whatever that may have entailed (that's just the seasoning that I bought). I also put some sun-dried tomatoes in there, and then a bit of olive oil. It was super-tasty and I'm looking forward to making some more grilled chicken + random seasonings. I bought a bunch of chicken at the store a couple weeks ago when it was really on sale and I just froze it. I always do this, but right now we've got like 15 chicken breasts in our freezer, so I have plenty of meals I can plan.

I've been slacking on the goal to make a new recipe every week, but I'm still keeping up with the spirit of the "resolution" which was to add more variety to my(/our) diets. That's really what I was going for when I made that "goal" anyway.





Next I want to learn how to make some sort of stuffed chicken meal because those are always quite tasty and will be even MORE tasty when I can choose exactly what to put in them. Mmm, I'm already excited.

Things that make me sad

... seeing baby undergrads wearing Duke 2012 shirts and realizing they will be gone before me. Le sigh.

That's mainly it for now. I just saw several kids wearing that shirt when I was in the gym today and it was a bit of a downer.



The gym class is going really well though! I've only had it two times obviously, but I think the instructor is going to be very helpful and I'm glad to have at least 2 days a week when I'm guaranteed to be in the gym. I've been to the gym (/on a run) every day for the past 2 weeks, so I'm keeping up with the exercise for now. I'm sure once my TA duties ramp up and my courses get more involved it'll be more of a challenge for me to get there every day, but I'll do my best.

The instructor said she was going to teach us how to make our own lifting schedules and then we'll be able to tailor them a bit more to what we each want to accomplish. She said most women are there to tone and firm their bodies, which is mostly what I'd like to do too. She told us that we'd probably gain 2-5 pounds in the class because we'll be building muscle, but that overall we'll be smaller (typically). She also said that women who had never done any sort of weight training class would see the quickest improvements in terms of strength initially with how much they're able to lift and the number of reps they're capable of. That's nice, I'd like to see some sort of results to encourage me to keep going. So far I've been going for a run before class so I've been getting my cardio in that way.

I'm not sure that I'll be able to physically see a difference other than just knowing that I'll be capable of lifting more. I guess I could measure my arms, chest, waist, hips, etc now and again in December? I'm not sure Keegan would be the best critic either, since he'll just say I look good all the time (perks of having a husband required to say nice things!). I don't want to have crazy Madonna man-arms or anything, but it'd be nice to have a little definition. Another "side effect" of the class is smaller boobs (damn! sad) but I guess that's something I'd be able to notice.

I'm really enjoying the UNC class too, it doesn't seem very difficult so far, but I'm (re)learning a lot for now. We'll see how much more challenging it gets as the semester progresses. It's a bit annoying to drive to UNC three times a week though.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BEGINS TONIGHT!! That is all.