"Dances with Smurfs" Coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

As most of you know by now, Disney announced that they are expanding Animal Kingdom and putting in a new Avatar themed land. When I first heard the announcement, I was pissed. Yet again, Disney is going outside the company to build an attraction. But once I cooled down and started analyzing the situation, I started to realize that I was not being fair.

To be honest, I have not seen Avatar. To me, it just seems way too weird and is probably too long to hold my interest, so I never took the time to sit down and watch it. For all I know, it may be the best movie ever. Also, I have not seen or heard anything about what this new "Avatarland" will be like. All I know is that they are spending $400 million on the project and that construction will begin in 2013. So, again, it may be the best thing ever.

Disney has needed to do something with Animal Kingdom for a very long time. It's attendence numbers have never been where they wanted them to be. I know every time I go to the park, I only hit Expedition: Everest, Dinosaur, and Festival of the Lion King, then I'm out. I'm usually gone before lunch. It has never been my favorite park, and I'd say there it's not at the top of any Disney fan's list. So this new project may just be what Animal Kingdom needs to get off the ground.

Besides, ever since Animal Kingdom opened back in 1998, Disney has been promising us "Beastly Kingdom" (For those who don't know, this was a themed land devoted to Mythical creatures and was supposed to be Disney World's thrill park). Maybe this is a realization of this plan? I do know that this is most definitely Disney's answer to Universal's "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" (Which I still haven't seen).

I still have mixed feelings over this move by Disney. I feel like that this is a huge risk that they are taking. But ultimately I'm going to hold off judgement until I see the completed project.

What are your thoughts?

Politics and Disney

So I was going though the news feed from google and came across this story from CBS News. Basically, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is in some hot water for "running off" to Disney while his state has been struck by this freak blizzard. Christie's critics are outraged, saying that the governor should be at his post during a situation such as this. What's caused the biggest mess is that the state's Lt. Governor was also out of the state, leaving the Senate President in charge of relief efforts.

I read some other stories about the backlash against the Governor's vacation, all saying that he should have canceled his vacation and returned to Trenton. First off, Christie was at Disney before the blizzard even struck New Jersey. Second of all, how is he supposed to come back when the airports are shut down? Really, what all this is about is an opportunity for the governor's critics to lash out. They smell blood in the water and attack. So far, it's worked as Christie has dropped 5 points in the polls.

Anyway, the reason why I posted this here instead of the Rant blog is because I was wondering if Disney has any special cancelation policies for situations like this. Like vacation insurance? Governors, Congressmen, Senators, Cabinet Members and other heads of state take vacations to Disney parks all the time. What happens in an emergency? Regardless of who you are, a Disney vacation takes a lot of planning and money to make it work out. Could a vacationing official get some sort of refund from Disney in the event of a state or national emergency? The story just got me thinking. I'm thinking I may email Lou, or WDW Today or even the Cats and see what they can come up with.

Well... I'll stop rambling now. Carry on.

Long Time, No See

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you guys in on what's happened to me over the past few weeks. First off, I haven't been on the blog or on any other blogs because my Compaq P.O.S. finally died. Not just crashed... she dead. I could replace the hard drive in it among other things, but it will inevitably die again. Besides, I was sick of that piece of crap anyway. So I am computerless for now. I'm in the library now just so I can keep up with all those things that I have to do with a computer. Thank God I have the iPhone! Otherwise I'd be totally lost!

In other news, I've had a lot of developments happen in my absence. I'm still on track to graduate in December (Hallelujah, praise Jesus) and I start a new "career" job in January at Sen. Cochran's Jackson office. I'm really excited about that!

I've also had a slight change in my career choice. As of right now, I am not going to law school. The more that I think about it, the less and less that I feel that law is the path that I should go down. I still think it would be exciting and that I would do well with it, but I just don't think that it's "my dream". So, instead, I'm going to work full time in the political field (plenty of opportunities this year since it's a state wide election year) and go to school part time to get a masters, probably in Political Science and/or Communications. Politics was always where I wanted to go so I'm not changing my goals, simply changing how I reach it.

Well that's pretty much it from me. I'm still waiting on De'Dee to send me the pictures from October so when she does, I'll get on to my picture post and reviews of Not So Scary, Whispering Canyon and the Brown Derby. In the mean time, I'm going to try my best to finish up the trip reports and Club 8 updates.

Time to Vent

Mongello guys! Just thought I'd let you guys know what's been going on in my world since I last posted. I've just sucked as a TVer for the past few months. I've got a race this week and what have I done? Not a damn thing! Yes, weight watchers has been working wonders for me... I feel like I've lost a good deal of weight. I feel lighter and even look lighter a little bit... but I haven't trained at all for this thing. In the past month, I've gone to the gym twice and to the park 3 times. That's it. Last week I had every intention of going to the gym and doing something everyday. I went Monday and got a kick ass workout in. Literally, I did great but I kicked my ass. The next day, I couldn't move. I pulled something in my back. I'm just now to the point that I can half way bend over.

This week is just go go go. I leave Thursday for the World, but I also have two tests (both were scheduled for Thursday... Why does that always happen to me? Got all semester for a test, and two professors choose THAT particular Thursday to have a test?!) I've also got a boat load of papers, memos, research, book work, summaries, etc. etc. etc. to do in the next two days. Thankfully I have Wednesday off, so I'll have a little time to finish everything.

I'm going to do my best as far as exercise this week. Nothing much I can do at this point. But I'll do fine. I always do. I'll manage some how. Even if I just suck during this race, at least I'll be in Disney! Less than 3 days!!!

Just Checking In

Hi guys! Nothing really going on here, but I thought I'd check in anyway. Don't want to lose any momentum in my posting.

Well lets see... I've gone for a wog every day this week. I'm actually quite proud of myself. I've gone everyday and did two personal bests this week.

On Tuesday, I went for a 6 mile wog. I did some jogging and some super fast speed walking, but I was only able to make it to 5 miles before the deluge began. At that point, I was still feeling good. Had the storm stayed away, I know I could have made it to 6... maybe more. The fact that I felt so good kinda made me feel better about not making it to my goal, so I was happy.

While I was telling Justin about it that night(I'm loving this buddy system, it's really working for me!), he mentioned that he needed to do a 10k for yesterday. Now, I had only planned on doing a 5k, but I figured that if he was doing one, I could do one too. So yesterday morning I did a 10k. Not including the Renaissance (because that race sucked!), this is the farthest I've gone since January. I'm really happy with that and I'm hoping to plus it a little next week.

Today, there won't be any training because I'm hitting the road and going to the Neshoba County Fair up in the northern part of the state. It's a big deal here where lots of political speeches and campaign rallies are held. I'm going with the Lincoln County Teenage Republicans group (I'm a chaperon... how funny!). I think it will be a lot of fun and it's right up my alley. I'll post a "Non Disney Trip Report" when I get back. Maybe something interesting will happen.

Well, that's it for me. How's everyone else doing? Things seem to be getting a little quite again. Where is everyone? Let's not backslide! Oh, and don't forget about our Virtual 5k this Saturday! "See" you all there!!

A Moment of Weak Strength

Hi guys! Just wanted to boast about my most recent victory. As I've mentioned before, I've been struggling over the past few months. I've been giving in to my old habits (or as I call them, demons) of over eating and laziness. No excuse for it at all. But, the past few weeks have been different. I've slowly begun wogging again and I've been doing excellent as far as diet is concerned. I've run another half marathon recently (Race Report coming tomorrow, I promise) and will be running a 5K this weekend, so I think I'm back with it.

That being said, I had a weak day today. I gave into my craving for Chinese, which is one of my biggest weaknesses. I didn't do too terrible. A friend and I split a small order of sesame chicken and fried rice, but I still felt guilty afterward. That stuff just isn't healthy, even in small portions, but I love it! Then came tonight, which was a moment of both strength and weakness.

Just about an hour ago, I went to walmart to pick up some supplies (for my last day of summer school! WOOT!). Along with those supplies, I got a pack of cinnamon rolls. I get to my car and before I know it, I'm already taking the first bite. I'm driving home, attempting to wolf down as much as I can before I get home, knowing that I can't bring them in. That's when I think, "What the hell am I doing? I'm ruining everything that I've done just over the past few month!" What's really sad is that the rolls weren't even good... I was just eating them because they were there. It was at that moment, just about 45 minutes ago, that I realized that I have an honest to God food addiction. I've always known, but I've never had the "Come to Jesus" moment that I've just had.

It's embarrassing to admit this in such a public forum, but it is what it is. Thankfully, I only ate one of the rolls before I through them out the window (don't worry, pastries are biodegradable). I'm actually kinda proud of myself right now. I stopped myself from doing the self destructive behavior that has gotten me into some pretty serious trouble.

So, hello guys. My name is Matt and I am a recovering food addict!

Ramblings of an Insomniac

Ok... I'm on my third sleepless night this week. I don't know what the deal is. It's like I just cannot shut my brain off and go to sleep. On the nights that I do actually get to sleep, it doesn't happen until around 2 or 3, which means I'm either asleep til noon or pass out at some point the next day. I know that the sleeping late is causing the problem, but I just can't fix it. I thought I had yesterday though. I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night, and managed to stay awake most of the day Thursday. That night around 8:30, I took a sleeping pill and crashed. Slept soundly until about 7, then got up and got some stuff done. It was very nice, and I thought I'd be able to keep it up. But, of course, here I sit, wide awake! This is SO annoying! I love getting up early and getting a fresh start to the day, but I can't do that when I'm still awake at 3:20 in the morning! I've tried everything! Warm milk, white noise on the radio, relaxing music, watching PBS... hell, I even counted sheep, but nothing! I know the sleeping pill will work, but I don't like taking them. I'm afraid I'll get addicted to them, and will never sleep naturally again. What do you guys do when you can't sleep? I'm desperate for advice!

In my futile attempts to sleep, I've thought about a few goals I want to accomplish this summer. Most are fitness goals, but I have a few others.

1) I really want to be able to jog 3 miles in 30 minutes by the time Fall Semester begins. I know this is doable, I just have to focus on that goal and probably lose a few pounds in the process. Next semester (if all goes well), I will only have a limited amount of time to get my workouts in and 30 minutes for a run is about all I can spare. Otherwise, I'll have to do the runs at night, and I don't like doing that, mostly because of increased pedestrian traffic around campus and the fact that I think these late afternoon runs is what is causing my insomnia. Anyway, I know that I can do this.

2) Also, by the time the Fall begins, I'd like to be down to 200 pounds. Currently, I'm hovering between 235 and 245 (I don't know if it's the scale, water weight, or what), but I really can tell in my face and belly that I am losing though it may not be showing up on the scale.

3) This is more for academic purposes, but I really want to increase the rate at which I can read. It takes me forever to read a book, if I even finish it. I don't know why, but I've never really had an interest in reading for long periods of time. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy reading. So long as what I am reading is in a short form like articles and blogs. I could do that all day! And when studying, I can focus on text books and notes, so long as I'm in an absolutely quite room free of distractions. But as far as actually sitting down and reading a book just for the fun of it, cover to cover in a reasonable amount of time, I just can't do it. I don't know if I'm ADD and can't focus, if I just lose interest, or what. But, I'd really like to be able to read one book every one to two weeks (depending on the size and how much reading is involved in my summer classes). I'm thinking that if I take the book and divide the number of chapters the chapters up, say one chapter a day, or whatever, I'll be able to do it. I literally have an entire library of half read books, that I'd like to finish someday.

Well anyway, that's it from me today. I'm hoping to have the Club 8, Weekly Running Report, and a Running to Disney update and hopefully an AZ immigration law (Amanda? Hello?)/Gulf Oil Spill (ugh...)/Sestak (hee hee!) rant over on the Rant blog up by the end of the weekend.

Alright... back to bed. Goodnight!

Apologies

My God... has it really been nearly two months since I last posted? Jeez...

Well, I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you guys know that I am still alive. Things have been INSANE over those past two months. School took a lot of time and energy from me and away from training and Disney things, so I had to give up on the blogs for a while. They're still a little crazy this week with my sisters graduation, but I'm hoping to have some time to catch up on everyone's blogs, podcasts, etc... I'm SOOOO far behind and I feel clueless.

I'm picking up where I left off on the revamp. Nothing big is happening, but I'm going through and deleting old irrelevant posts and will start introducing different segments over the next few weeks. I think they'll be fun and maybe you'll enjoy them.

Also, I have decided to abandon my run to Disneyland for this year. My training thus far has sucked and since half the year is over, Disneyland is totally out of reach by December 31. However, Walt Disney World is totally with in reach. So, I'm running to Disney World instead.

That's it for now... I'm back!!!

Hiatus

I posted this over on the fitness blog, but I figured that I may as well post it over here as well since this deals with all aspects of my life, not just fitness:

Wow. Has it really been over a week since I last posted? A lot can happen in that time, and boy has it! To be frank, this last week sucked. Everything about it sucked. Diet, life, everything... I just feel like I have failed in the past few months and it all just got to me. So, I took a little break from everything for a while to give myself time to think and regroup. I just didn't know I had been gone for over a week!

Things are finally seeming to settle down a bit here... or at least I'm adjusting to the increased stress. Now that I'm finally getting a pay check from work, grades so far seem good and I've lost a couple of pounds, I'm starting to see that I'm doing some good and seeing some results. And I have a few more little plans that I've worked up for all areas of life that seem to be helping me cope with the stress.

So, it seems like I'm back again. Let's hope I can stay.

Just Random Thoughts

Hey guys! Just thought I'd post some random things that have been going on in my mind.

First off, the job is going pretty well. Being a cashier is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. If I could just get the damn produce codes memorized and remember how to do food stamps, I'd be set!

Training has been shot to hell this week, as it has every week since WDW. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things, but it seems like there is just one thing after another that is keeping me from running or going to the gym. Some times its an excuse, sometimes its not. Since snowmaggedon is coming tonight, and my night class will more than likely be canceled because the entire state is freaked out, I should have time this evening to make it over to the gym. I hope so...

The "Marathon Makeover" people here in Jackson have finally announced the date of this year's Renaissance Half, which will be June 12. Even though this race is very dull, it is local and my aunt and I are almost positive that we're doing this one. If anything, it will be good practice for the Wine and Dine (which I am also almost positive I'm doing). We haven't registered for either, but should be soon.

Well, I think that's it for now. How's everyone else doing?

A Day of Firsts... sorta

Hey guys! I finally got my computer fixed! Huzzah! No more viruses (knock on wood). Now, I'm in the process of adding all of your blogs back into my "feeds" so I can keep checking in on you all. I'm pretty sure everyone's blogs are on my blog list, but I'm not sure. So check and make sure so I'll remember to "follow" you again. I had about 30 something blogs in my feed and now I can't remember where they are. Oh well... you guys are the important ones.

Today kind of feels surreal. I don't know why, but it does. I guess it has to do with the fact that I start my first "real and official" job today. That means that Uncle Sam knows about it and it's not a work-study. Its not what I wanted as I'm just a cashier at a local supermarket, but its a job so I'm happy about it.

What I'm not happy about is my performance this morning. Yes, I did get my lazy butt out of the bed at 5:30 am and went walking, but that's all I did. I walked. No running, no jogging, not even any wogging... just walking. And I only went 2 miles at that! And I am SORE! I shouldn't be like this... I feel like I did when I went for my first 2 miler about 3 years ago, except then I was happy and amazed I went 2 miles. Now I'm disappointed. I have got to fix this. I'm headed over to the gym in a few minutes to get some extra miles in on the bike and elliptical. At least I know I can do something on there.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to get to all of your blogs at some point today. If I don't post something, that means I haven't "found" your blog, so be sure to send me a link!

The Bet

Hey guys! First of all, let me apologize for my very few, short posts. My computer has been infected with a really bad virus and I have yet to be able to fix it. Until I can, posts will be very few and far between. I am hoping that soon I can get rid of this Microsoft POS and go Apple. Only time will tell...

Anyway, on to today's topic...

Since I can't participate in this year's Princess Half, my aunt and I have come up with a bit of a contest. At 5:00 am CST on March 7th, I will be running 13.1 miles around my hometown. At the same time, my aunt will be running the Princess. In a since, we will be racing each other. If I win, she has to buy me a new pair of running shoes. If she wins, I have to prep and plant her flowerbeds and yard for the spring. Although I do enjoy yard work, I really really want those running shoes!

I have to prove that I did run that morning, so I'll have to get pictures.

I think this will be fun. Yeah, I'll be in boring Redneck Hell, and she'll be in WDW but it'll be fun none the less. I figure there will be taunting along the way so that should be amusing.

Would any of you like to do this with me? You don't have to get up as early as I am, but for those of you on the East Coast, it wouldn't be too hard I wouldn't think. I think it would be kinda cool if all of us are out running a half "virtually" together.

Just Some Announcements

Hey guys, I've had some things on my mind so I thought I would share them with you.

The Princess Half Marathon- Let's recap on what was going on here. My cousin is signed up to run this race, but she is getting married the next week, so she has decided not to participate in it. That left her entry open and she offered it to me (yes we realize that's not exactly legal, but in today's PC world, I doubt seriously they would say anything...). I would have to find a way to get down there and get a room and of course, any park tickets I chose to buy. It seemed like a good, fun thing to do, but due to some conflicts and finances, I will NOT be doing the Princess this year. The race is not during my Spring Break, so I would have to fly down Friday night, run the race on Sunday and then fly out as soon as the race was over. Just seems very tiring and the cost is crazy just for a 2 day trip.

Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon- Why is this race start with "Disney" when the others start with "Disney's"? I just found that interesting. Anyway... As long as finances hold out, I will be doing this race. This race is more practical because, it should take place during my Fall Break, which will allow me to turn this into a mini vacation, which I'm excited about. Also, did you know that (from my research) the rooms for this race actually cost less than the same rooms during the Princess? I found that interesting. I just found this race more doable, so why not?

Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge- As of now, I've started training for the Goofy. However, I'm still unsure as to whether or not I will actually be able to make it down for marathon weekend (I've explained why before). But I am still serious about at least doing the training for it. I'm also seriously thinking about turning this into a Dopey. Still not sure, but since I'm training to do 39.3 miles, why not tack on an extra 3.1?

One Crazy Week

Well, maybe more like two weeks, but crazy none the less. I've had all evening LSAT prep classes, new classes, adjusting to a new schedule, fighting with Residence Life, moving to a new dorm room, and a computer virus... Ugh! So, Sorry I haven't really been around, I've been reading blogs and commenting when I can (or my computer would allow) but things around here have been insane! This week should be better.

I finally joined the gym and went for a walk today. Only got two miles in, but I intend on going to the gym and getting some miles in the pool and on the bike and elliptical later today. This campus is just so damn hilly! It's going to take me a few weeks to get readjusted to the terrain, so short walks will all I'll be able to muster in the meantime. Hopefully it won't take me too long.

Just a Few Announcements

Hey guys! Just wanted to fill you guys in on some things that I've decided to do to. Here they go:

1. I've mentioned this on some blogs and many of you know already, but to make it official, I have decided that I am going to train for the 2011 Goofy Challenge. Notice that I said train. I'm still unsure what will be going on next January since it should be my first semester of Law School and I'm not sure if finances will hold up. But, assuming that all works out, I will be down there participating in the race. If they don't, then no worries, I'm still going to do the training!

2. Again, scheduling and finances permitting, "I" will not be running in the Princess Half Marathon, but my cousin who is registered but can't make it will be!

3. I am going to try my best to be in the World for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in October. This race seems very cool and it's during a time of year that I have never been, so I'm really looking forward to this race.

4. This is the main announcement I wanted to make today. I have decided to join in with Jonathan, Justin, Chris, Mike, Trace, and Jeff and run to a Disney Park in one year. Since everyone else lives on the opposite side of the country from WDW and I'm not all that far away, I've decided to run to Disneyland. For me that will be 1,874 miles. Now... I am going to try to get there by December 31, but if I don't make it, I'm not going to beat myself up. I'll get there when I get there, haha!

Resolutions for 2010

Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be fun to post a “Resolutions” post. I make a list every year and usually fall short of them. However, this year’s list is different in that it consists of things that I either have to do or really want to do, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t be able to reach them this year. Here they are:

Get Healthy- I will have to say that I made some pretty strong advances in this area. Though I haven’t lived up to my standard at the end of 2009, I made some great attempts to do so and learned a lot. Now, I just need to learn to control my stress eating and divert that habit to something more healthy. I made a complete list of my

fitness goals for 2010 over on my fitness blog. Check it out and let me know if it’s plausible!

Control my laziness- If I have learned one thing this year, its that I’m LAZY! You don’t have to ask me once to put things off. My laziness has caused me some big problems in all areas of my life and it has to stop.

Pass the LSAT and get accepted into Law School- This was a resolution for last year, but since I changed my major and had to stay an extra semester, I decided to hold off on the LSAT for a while. But now it’s time to take it. I’m sure I’ll do fine, but naturally I’m freaking out… both for the test and the application process. I’ve got LSAT for Dummies and The Princeton Review: LSAT study guides and I’m taking a review class for it so hopefully that will relieve some stress. Not sure when I’m taking it yet, but I will for sure let you all know.

Network more- As I mentioned in a previous post, I feel kinda guilty about not keeping up with you guys and the rest of the Disney community as I should. I’m attempting to remedy and have made some pretty good progress over the past week. I’ve almost caught up with podcasts, I’ve begun blogging a great deal more than I have been, I’ve read everyone’s blogs and tried to comment when possible, and I’ve even begun venturing back into the forums some. Now only if I could get DisFriends to cooperate with me, I’ll be set!

Run More- After the 2009 WDW half, I really began slacking off on my running. I want to change that for 2010. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to achieve this:

One thing is that I’m going to impliment at “Goofy Training Program”. I haven’t decided what that is just yet, but basically it’s going to get me ready just incase I decide to run the Goofy next year. That’s still up in the air, but just incase, I want to be ready. I do know for sure that I’m going to be running the Full Marathon in 2011 so this program will have to get me ready for that.

I’m also giving myself a new challenge. I’m not going to talk about it much here, but it’s definitely ambitious and sounds a lot like something a Goofy person would do! I’ll discuss this in a later post after Marathon Weekend.

Also, I want to complete a half marathon in 2:30. I finished the Disneyland Half in about 2:45 so it’s certainly doable, if I would just train hard enough for it. I’m shooting for it during this race, but I seriously doubt that I make it, but who knows!

Read More- I have SO many books that I want to read. I buy them with ever intention of reading them, but life (and laziness) gets in the way and I wind up shelving the books only to forget about them. Well, I’m going to try and change that this year. I’m going to attempt to read one non school related book every week. This will be hard to do considering all the school reading I have to do, but I’m hoping that with enough practice, this will help with my pursuit of speed reading.

Work More- This basically means to get a job! As soon as school starts back, I’m going to attempt to find a job in a law office. I’ll take anything from runner to clerk, receptionist to janitor… as long as I can add something from a law office onto my resume. Jobs in this field are scarce, but I’m going to try. After a few weeks, if I haven’t had any luck, I’ll start looking elsewhere until the “right job” comes along.

I think that is all. It should be based on the size of this post! I will be sure to add and cross things off as they happen. I’m also going to add a link to this post in the side bar, so you can keep up with these resolutions and help hold me accountable!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all have a healthy 2010!

I've Been a Bad Citizen of the Community

I have just sucked as a member of the Disney Community as of late. I haven't visited a forum in probably a year or so, I totally forgot that I had a DisFriends account, and most of all I'm a terrible listener... As I may have mentioned before, I’m like 6 to 8 months behind on listening to my podcasts.

What's bad about that, I'm only subscribed to four Disney podcasts (All About the Mouse, Those Darn Cats, WDW Today, and WDW Radio) and three non-Disney ones (Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Meet the Press, and Fox News Sunday - Which I'm even farther behind. Thankfully I don't have to catch up on them since they're all news based). But I'm slowly getting caught up.

I am caught up with Those Darn Cats as of today and have begun WDW Today, which I’m almost halfway finished with. Next will be All About the Mouse and WDW Radio. They're always last just because of their length. With my "certain way of doing things", I have to be able to listen to a show all the way through in one sitting. If I know I can't get the whole thing it, I won't listen to it. Hence the reason why I'm so far behind with these too. AATM should be easy since it's divided into sections more so than WDWR. I'm almost tempted to just start fresh, but I will get as far as I can.

What podcasts do you guys listen too and how do you go about catching up when ever you get behind?

I's be Tard!

Things have been SO hectic around here for the past week. That's what happens during finals week. You lock yourself in a room and study and study and study and study......

And that's pretty much all that I've done the past week. I just realized that I didn't even leave my room all day yesterday!

Although I'm running on about two hours of sleep, I managed to crank out a 3 mile run this morning. Nothing spectacular, but I did manage to run most of a mile (minus any major hills). Assuming that I can work in some sleep between now and tomorrow morning, I'm going to attempt 6 miles then. Stay tuned for that.

On the weight training front, I'm planning on doing a heavy chest workout today. For me, a "heavy" lifting workout involves me working each part of that days target 3 times. (Normal is 2 times and "Light" is 1 time, FYI). Also, today is the first day of my sit/pushup program. I haven't had time to do them just yet today, but I will probably when I get in from the gym tonight. I'll talk about that workout in more detail in tomorrow's post.

Snowy Tundra Here?

Yep, The Tundra has found it's way to Mississippi. We were all pretty surprised because IF it snows here, it is usually late January before it happens and even then it rarely sticks (with the exception of last years "big" snow where my hometown got 7 inches - bear in mind that Brookhaven probably hasn't gotten 7 inches in a century much less in one night). It was nice and with it being so early, hopefully we'll get some more. Maybe even in time for Christmas!

Ok, now on to the non-existent training update. Since next week is finals week and my big 25 page "thesis" paper (the one that I have just barely started on) I have spent every waking moment either in class, the library or at my desk reading and writing. I have done some situps and pushups but no running or going to the gym at all. Diet has been ok... mostly because I tend to forget to eat when I'm freaking out over school work.

I'm going to attempt to work a run in tomorrow morning and start back full force Monday morning for sure. Maybe if I get up early (which means I have to go to bed early which hasn't been happening) and get a run in, it will help me calm down and focus. If not, at least I'll be getting training in.

I NEED this vacation... only 31 days to go!

Time to get Serious

Hey guys! I know, I know.... It's been forever since I've updated this thing. I've just been bogged down with school and such. I think that now that I actually care about my major and know what the devil I'm doing, I actually want to do my best and that takes up alot more time that last year, ha ha.

Things have been doing pretty well on all fronts (with the exception of Dieting and Cardio). Life hasn't thrown me many curve balls as of late (knock on wood) and everything seems to be going all right. By the way, I FINALLY got my car back this weekend. I missed her SOO much!

With all of that, I have GOT to get back into the swing of things. I have done virtutually no running since Disneyland and very little cardio at all. On top of that, dieting has gone to hell in a hand basket. Fortunealy, I've been in the gym lifting weights almost every day, so that has held off any significant weight gains (and I'm starting to get some muscle too!)

With about two months before the WDW Half Marathon to go. I have GOT to get with things. So, as of tomorrow, the diet is being jumpstarted, I'm getting back into running, and I'm getting back into the "cardio section" of the gym and maybe even the pool.

I'm also going to get back to the blogging. I feel that you guys have been a vital part of my success in this whole thing and since I've been away from the "Blogasphere" I feel like I've been slipping. Well NO MORE! I'M BACK! I'm going to, at least twice a week, start posting progress reports so you all can either encourage me or adminsiter a good ass kickin' whenever you seem fit.

Well that's it from me today. BTW, I have my Disneyland pictures on my computer so look for some trip reports this week too!