Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Lost in translation...

I definitely have been lost in translation for the past few days! My first homework assignment for my "German to English" translation course was a news article and let me tell you - most of the language might be simple but translating tone, jokes, and slang/local language is VERY challenging! It was a rough weekend due to some bad family news so homework was really not a top priority but between Saturday and Monday evening I was able to get everything completed as well as I could hope to and turned it in a day early. Today I am thinking a nap after work and then some chill time with Gina before the homework madness begins again on Wednesday.

This week our new assignment is "personal documents" which includes a birth certificate and a school transcript. Might not seem so difficult but the form is part of the challenge on this assignment - trying to make columns, charts, etc. in microsoft word so that my translation resembles the original text without the formatting being lost between myself and the client (in this case - the teacher). Should be interesting to say the least!

I am definitely enjoying the work, just not enjoying working full time and having homework in the evenings when I would rather be at the gym, crafting, hanging with friends, or just vegging... but that is life.

Luke is enjoying his project management courses as well. Half of the class is a lecture/discussion and the other half is a computer based project where they learn the software for project management. At least we are both taking classes and busy at the same time but that lucky punk will be done with his certificate in 3 months whereas mine is 6 classes and will take 2 years to complete, blegh. Definitely nice to have a husband that is as driven and motivated as I am - maybe even moreso because he procrastinates a lot less than I do haha.

One thing I really enjoy and appreciate is the fact that even in our Master's programs we never did homework on Sundays. It was ALWAYS a day of rest away from work and homework and while that made Saturdays and Mondays a bit busier (especially for me, the procrastinator), it was always nice to be able to count on that one day a week where we had no other commitments other than church and could finally spend some quality time together after a busy week of papers and tests. Was definitely nice to have the break on Sunday and just chill with Lukas and Winston after church guilt free :)

Monday, February 20, 2012

"30 Before 30" Bucket List

We had a little chat at work the other day about birthdays. A few of the early 20's girls were whining about their ages and it got the rest of us thinking: What birthday justifies the biggest freakout - aka signifies the biggest life change - and why?

Although 40 and 50 are big milestones, we really decided that 30 is the biggest change you hit. You are officially an adult at that point - no going back. Even into your later 20's you can get away with being more childish, waffling around about what direction you want your life to take, even still be living at home for whatever reason. But 30 and above - you really need to shape up, fly right, and figure out what direction your tornado of a life is heading - for the near future at least.

I am not so excited about having only 17 months left before I hit the big 3-0 but instead of whining about it, I decided to start planning. I have done so much in the past 10 years to be excited about and have so many stories to share with my friends and future children - why not add some more things to that list instead of freaking out? I also have so many awesome friends who are 30 and over and I realize life DOES go on once I become an official "adult" so why not get a good head start into that decade of my life.

In the spirit of planning and moving toward the big 3-0 with confidence instead of dread, I give you my "30 before 30" bucket list:

30 Before 30 Bucket List


Exercise Goals

1. Run a 5-k in 30 minutes or less

2. Run a 10-k in 60 minutes or less

3. Run a half marathon in 2.5 hours or less

4. Run a marathon in 5 hours or less

5. Meet my goal weight by 29th Birthday and stick to it for a year – unless I am preggers 

Travel Goals

6. Go see another Broadway show with Lukas in NYC

7. Go to French-speaking Canada

8. Go to Boston/Salem

9. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail

10. Beach vacation with Lukas

Crafting Goals

11. Free motion quilt a lap sized quilt

12. Learn to do needle turned applique

13. Finish a queen sized quilt for our bed

14. Sew a skirt

15. Sew a shirt or dress

Misc. Creative Goals

16. Re-learn basic cords and notation on my guitar

17. Start Mandolin/Banjo lessons (still undecided which)

18. Take a dance class with Lukas

19. Learn to cook more recipes/meals

20. Bake a YUMMY cheesecake – with a spring form pan (oooo fancy! ;-))

Personal Habits to establish/achieve

21. Read the BOM/Pearl of Great Price/Doctrine and Covenants beginning to end again

a. July 28 2012 – July 28, 2013

22. Establish a habit of dedicated prayed morning and night – not a hurried “before I shower/fall asleep” prayer

23. Make Family Home Evening a priority with Lukas

24. Read scriptures once a day with Lukas

25. Attend the temple regularly

Other

26. Move out of our 1 bedroom apartment

27. Learn to control my personal budget

28. Practice my French by speaking/reading/writing

29. Try something random/new/exciting!

30. Have an AWESOME birthday party :)

So there you have it - 30 things to accomplish in the next 17 months. I know my dear hubby will help and support me on this journey, as will my awesome friends, and I thank you all in advance for your support :)
 

Now... what I would like to know is: What are your goals? Maybe you don't have a big milestone coming up or a whole list, but what is something fun/new/interesting/important you would like to accomplish in your life/this year/ASAP? Do tell! :)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

A little running and too much elliptical = my life

Welcome back to the "Tiffany talks about working out" show haha.

Honestly, nothing else is going on in our lives right now so this is really all you are going to get until we get a bit more exciting ;-)

Our boss's husband is the director of a super fancy pants gym in the area and we were able to get a free month trial - SWEET! I believe we are already in week 4 of our trial, crazy! It is an awesome gym with great facilities and classes but rather pricey. We have been going 3-4 times a week lately tho and decided that it is worth the health benefits, especially for me strength training as part of my rehab, and will try to sign up until the end of April. There is a hefty sign-up fee but if the director can swing it that we don't have to pay that (they do it off and on through the year, so it isn't so strange) then we will go for it. If not... well, it has been fun :-p

We have been enjoying kettlebell class and Luke moved up to the 20lb bells last week. I tried the 10lbers last saturday and was ok for part of the workout but had to use the 5lbers for the rest of it. I was SO SORE and needed to use the 5lbers the whole time yesterday in class, ouch, but I'm feeling good today so no permanent damage haha.

We branched out a little last week and tried a beginner spin class - torture, pure torture... but I think we will go again this week. Tonight we are aiming for the "butts and guts" class... will let you know how that is if we make it. Hoping for 4 classes total this week and 4 lunch breaks at the gym too. So far I've been to 1 class and worked out for 2 lunch breaks - doing good! Thank goodness Wednesday is a rest day on both accounts tho... I'm gonna need it!

I was able to run today on my lunch break - decided to go with the good ol "run .5, walk .2" scenario... couldn't quite make myself stick to it completely but I didn't run more than .75 straight and still did my 3 miles in 31:45 - pretty darn good for me! Half a mile of that was jogging at a 6.5mph pace which is a good push for me, leaves me winded but not wheezing like a fat kid... but I think I'll go a little slower on Thursday just to make sure I don't hurt anything.

Also picking up my prescription for PT sessions tonight from the doctor and will try to schedule a session for this week with the PT at the gym. It is actually a separate fully functioning practice, but for women only, which is kind of nice and nice that it is right there at the gym. Not planning on going more than once a month... can't afford it otherwise but hopefully they will be able to help me out a bit and get me on the right track to being stronger and running again.

We decided to give up hopes for a half marathon in April. I am bummed but I just can't start training this month without getting myself hurt and it isn't worth it. We are also spending our race money on the gym through April so it is good to wait. There is a race in Philadelphia on May 26th that I am still hoping to train for - will have to start March 4th so we'll see how things are at that point. If I can't do so much yet, we will do a 10k on June 16th and my goal for that is to do it in 1 hour. A consolation race for not being ready for a half marathon... I can handle it :)

Other than cardio and taking classes, Luke has been able to play some pick-up soccer games at the gym on Wednesdays which is great because that kid sure does love soccer :) There is also an indoor league beginning in April and you don't have to be a member to join so even when we leave the gym at the end of April he can still play. We also found out that an old friend organizes outside soccer games on Saturdays in the summer so that will be fun for Luke once the indoor season is gone. He likes working out and taking classes with me, but I know that soccer is so much more fun for him and I am so glad he can play again.

Next Monday Luke will be starting his certificate in project management at UDel and will be pretty busy and I start my translation certificate courses from NYU a week after that so between classes and the gym, we aren't going to be doing a whole lot. Not a bad way to spend the cold, wet days of Winter/early Spring tho so I can't complain.

All is well even if not changing much... grateful for no change if it means no bad changes ;-) Hope things are good or better with all of you too!