It's tomorrow it's tomorrow!

I leave for Israel tomorrow! Wow I can't believe it is here already. I am going on the birthright Israel trip and I have been talking about doing this for so long. It's amazing that tomorrow is the day. I am all packed! Well, nearly all packed, there are many details. Something about being in a desert for 10 days requires lots of attire. It's brutally hot during the day, which means lots of light clothes and sandals. However, it gets quite cool at night so I have to bring sweatshirts and pants as well. In addition to that I had to gather my toiletries, pharmaceuticals, trip itinerary, adapter, a journal, travel books, etc, etc, etc. 


It is a 12-13 hour flight and the second we land we start touring. So I had better get some sleep on the plane. I am debating staying up really late tonight so that I'm so tired tomorrow I will actually be able to fall asleep on the plane. My sleep is also most likely dependent on the number of loud people I have around me as well as the excitement of going to Israel!


Just wanted to do a quick post. I need to get back to going over my checklist and uploading some new tunes to my ipod.

Back in the Saddle

During finals I tend to neglect nearly everything except for my studies. So, now it's time to bring in some more balance. Since I've been home I've  been exercising again and have been active. Tempting as it was to just sit by the TV, I have done some productive things! lol. 


I ran and biked on Tuesday and then yesterday I went horseback riding. Gosh I'd missed it while at school! Above is one of my favorite horses I used to ride at the barn, his name is Macintosh. He is GIGANTIC. For those of you who know horse terms, he was a solid 17 hands (in people terms that means his back is 5'8). To this day I do not think I have met a horse with such a personality. It may be hard to tell, but in the picture above I am feeding him a strawberry nutri-grain bar. YES that was his favorite food. He always chewed with his mouth open but nutri-grain bars he always ate with his mouth shut so as not to loose a single drop. He'd eat just about anything though--goldfish, pepsi, granola bars, fruity lifesavers, peanut butter sandwiches, mints, and of course apples and carrots. He's also a loud guy, if he wanted attention, he'd start digging or stomping with his hoof. Or if I was leading him, he'd use his face to give me a shove, just to say "Hi!" Or the best is when he's in the wash stall to get a bath. He hates baths so he'd just walk around in circles. Eventually when he was tired of that, he would go to the bin where all the brushes and sponges were and he'd take them out with his mouth and drop them on the floor. When that was done he'd start throwing them with his mouth. He was definitely one of a kind!


Anywayyy Macintosh is no longer there, he was at the barn for sale for 4 years but his owners lived elsewhere and eventually reclaimed him. So yesterday I rode Pablo, who has a much quieter but still very sweet personality :) And he's a ton of fun to jump! 


Today I plan to go to the gym again. Riding sounds lovely but it's expensiveeee so once a week for that is enough. 


I think that's good for now. I had better wrap it up as I have a million errands to run at the moment (yet here I sit in my PJ's...) 

And so it comes to an end...

I haven't blogged in a while as I was quite wrapped up in finals. The only material I could have written about was the number of people next to me in the study room or the countdown of days left until finals ended. Not much else more exciting than that! So I spared you all :) 

I am now back home--had a great last weekend. My dad drove down Saturday morning and helped me move out. I couldn't imagine moving houses...moving out of a dorm was enough! The hardest part was all those little chotchkies hanging around, so much detail. After everything was finally moved out and the car was filled to the brim, we headed off for a nice last day in DC. First was lunch, then shopping in Georgetown for mother's day, then we went back to the hotel, rested, and got some dinner. Early the next morning we hit the road and had a nice smooth trip back. 

Home is great. Family time, quiet room, lots of time to decompress. 

Today I've been busy, I went to my mom's French class lunch (they do a lunch every now and then). I got to practice my French which was nice. In addition I got to see my former French teacher, who was here visiting from Zurich (where she now lives). The lunch was hosted by Isabelle, the French teacher of my mom's class. I find it so interesting the way people from other countries have such a different heir to them. I couldn't quite place it, but just the way Isabelle carries herself and presents everything is different, but a nice different. The other women in the French class are American so no other base of comparison there. My former French teacher is French but she became an American citizen. She's lived in so many other countries as well, so she has an interesting mélange of cultures. 

Soooo after that I went to the beach to promote the summer play group I've created. It'll be for 3-4 yr olds every morning in the summer. I'll do an interactive Spanish lesson with them (early language learning is the best time to do it) as well as other activities such as arts and crafts, music, games, and cooking. I handed out free lemonade and fliers. Hopefully this program works out! It's the first year I've tried something like this. 

And that's the story. 

Balancing with...a yummy lunch?

I was a bad blogger this week, I didn't blog, not even once! I've been working on this super-long project for my human resources class and my week was devoted to that. The final result: 31 pages gahh it's done!!


Last night my boyfriend and I had a study date, we both had plenty of work to get done. So yes, I was productive on a Friday night. Though only somewhat...you know how it is studying with other people, you start talking!


Remember when I said I was going to go to lunch at Jetties? That never happened last weekend, so we went this weekend. It was absolutely delicious and it's a gorgeous day. You can see my sandwich above--it's hummus, avocado, bean sprouts, tomato, cheese, carrots, and lettuce on multigrain (I always ask for it without cheese though, I'm picky and I only like melted cheese). We ate outside and enjoyed people-watching as an Avon breast cancer walk came through. It was a sea of pink shirts! They were just passing the halfway point at 13 miles. Mind you it's 90 degrees and humid as can be, I fully admire them for walking a marathon in that heat.


Later I had a presentation for my human resources paper which means all aspects of the project are done-da-done-done. I am so very happy :) I now have 3 finals on my plate, however, I think that eating out with friends has been helping me keep my sanity. It's a good way to clear my head and remember to breathe, relax, and laugh. In years past I'd lock myself in the library and eat all my meals there. That only resulted in information overflow and everything running together. This method seems to be working better because it constantly refreshes my mind. 


That's about it for now. Eating dinner and then studying...

Girlies Weekend!

I can count on one hand the number of times I have gotten my nails done: 4. Once for my bat mitzvah, once for the Inaugural Ball, once for my brother's bar mitzvah, and now once yesterday. Yes, I finally got my nails done "just 'cuz." It's something I never really did because up until college I basically lived at a horse stable--worked and rode allllll the time and having a manicure just wasn't the most sensible thing. However, yesterday two of my roomies wanted to get their nails and eyebrows done. I figured hey, you only live once, I've got 2 weeks left in the semester, yes, I am going for the splurge. 

It was lovely. First we walked to Georgetown to get our eyebrows threaded. I've gotten mine threaded before, however, this time we got them done at a kiosk inside a mall area. It was kind of strange having people walk by staring at you wince and tear up as my eyebrows were being ripped out. But hey, it was worth it. The lady did a great job and it was only $10 (not the usual $30!!!) And the other advantage of getting it done was that there was frozen yogurt in the same shopping center. Mmmm. If you know me, you know I LOVE fro-yo. 

Next was the nail salon in the Watergate shopping area. There are actually two nail salons and we went and booked ourselves for the cheaper-looking place. However, as we walked by the higher-end salon, we noticed a student special--$10 manicures. Of course we went for it! They were really nice there. We all got cappuccinos as we were getting our nails done, and the whole thing was very relaxing. The most stressful part was choosing which color I wanted. Such problems, I know! After much deliberation, I ultimately decided to go for a very subtle, translucent, baby pink. Simple elegance.

After getting our nails we picked up some groceries for dinner. Try going grocery shopping with half-wet nails! But we are all quite talented you see, our nails escaped unscathed :) 

And that was my day. Ahhh. Today? Paperrrrrs! I have to work on my marketing paper as well as my human resources paper. Wish me luck :) 

Back on Track

Or rather...on pool. 


When you get sick, are you ever secretly happy? For the past two weeks I had this nasty nasty head cold that I just couldn't seem to shake. This of course also meant no laps at the pool--yay!! I know that's bad, but who likes going to the gym? I love my workouts...once they're done! My cold, however, has run most of its course and I am again well enough to go to the pool. So, off I went. It's always hard getting back into the groove of things. I was juuust getting into the habit of going all the time when I got that pesky little cold. Anyway now I'm back. I think I will go again tomorrow--it helps to go a few times in a row. I don't really mind the swimming as much as the boredom; I wish I could do something to help pass the time. Bringing my ipod isn't really an option in this situation ;) 
Suggestions?


On that note, Happy Friday in t-9 mins! 

Happy Hump Day!

Is it just me or has it been a long week? It is now halfway done :) Then again, I have the majority of my work due tomorrow so I suppose tomorrow is my technical hump day. Actually, sometime tonight whenever I finish all that work will be the time when I'm over it and on my way to the weekend. 


Does anyone have weekend plans? I am going to Jetties this weekend with a friend. He and I have been talking about going to Jetties since October. Somehow we never made it and have waited allll the way to the last 3 weeks of the semester to go. Better late than never, right?


I don't have much to say this time around. I haven't been doing anything aside from school work and summer planning. I've been pretty busy trying to put my summer camp together between designing ads, fliers, contacting newspapers, etc. Hopefully next time I have more to say! 

Some DC Fun and a Lovely Day in the Library...

Guess whose house I went to yesterday? America's! Twice a year the White House gardens are open to the public--once in the spring and once in the fall. It was relatively easy to go. My boyfriend and I walked over to 15th and E street where there is a visitor's center. We arrived around 1:15 and were given tickets for 1:45, which meant we were allowed to get on line to go in at that time. To kill our half hour we walked around making fun of the hoards of tourists. Yes I'll admit it, we're a little mean. But just a little. It's just that the huge-camera-fanny-pack-sandals-and-socks-map-the-size-of-a-horse look is a funny one to sport ;) I'll spare you any more of that...on to the white house! Once we passed through "airport security" (metal detectors, pat-downs, and bag checks) we were officially in the White House South Garden. It was so surreal just walking around the president's back yard. We saw the rose garden, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, the Oval Office, the Putting Green, the West Wing, and the new White House Kitchen Garden (an herb and vegetable garden recently planted by Mrs. Obama and some elementary school children). We also enjoyed looking at pictures that were set up along the grounds for us to look at. My personal favorite was the picture of Caroline Kennedy on her pony "Macaroni," following her dad. It was quite adorable, but I must say, she should have been wearing a helmet! I have suffered one too many horse accidents. The weather also could not have been more perfect. Sunny skies, mid-60s, and a slight breeze. We spent about a half hour in the garden and then we went to lunch at Cosí. I had a hummus and veggie sandwich on whole grain. It was nothing gourmet, but did the job. Then it was lentil soup and a little leftover pasta for dinner--healthy and soothing. 

After a wonderful Saturday, today had to be spent a bit more productively-- in the library. First, I planned the majority of my Human Resources project/final paper. It took a while, but it feels good to have put a mildly-sized dent in the work. Now I am in the process of studying for a marketing quiz that I will take tomorrow. I still have a ways to go before I call it a night, so I should get back to it. Plus it is past dinner time...I should go eat. I'm thinking avocado and melted soy cheese on a whole wheat wrap. I know, my vegetarian ways are oh-so-appetizing. But trust me, it's actually really good! 

See that elephant? If he can balance, so can you...

Hi! Welcome to Salad n' Sundaes. To start off, I have a confession to make: I am an awful vegetarian...I do not like salad. I mean I will eat it, but it is not my food of choice. Something about it is just not satiating. Perhaps that is due to my pickiness. I do not like creamy salad dressings, any type of cheese, and I don't eat meat. What does that leave? Eh, some airy greens with not much taste and not much fuel-power either. But hey, the point of this blog is BALANCE. It is important to maintain it in life. I love to eat healthy. Yes I just said that. Despite being a college girl, I'd pick the tofu dish over pizza any day. Do I diet? NEVER! Am I fit? I'd say so. I eat well the majority of the time and allow the splurges when appropriate. If I am out with friends and that ice cream cone looks great, I'll get it. However, I will then be twice as healthy the rest of the week. I'm not saying eating a salad entitles you to eat an ice cream, but it's better than eating ice cream all the time, right? 


It is best not to overdo the good stuff--it's not healthy and you grow immune to it. Yummy foods taste juuuust that much better when you only have them once in a while. And that goes for everything. Who can enjoy a sunny day when you've just had 2 weeks worth of sunny days? You must admit, a nice day is even nicer when preceded by a horrible windy and rainy mess. Or TV. I will look forward to watching an hour of my favorite show on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. However, if I were to sit and watch 8 hours straight of television, it would no longer be as enjoyable of a process. In fact, you may even find me BEGGING to do something productive either physically or academically. 


So yes, this is my blog, my goal is to convey to you the meaning of balance and talk about my quest to achieve it while hopefully encouraging you to do the same. 


Sit back, enjoy, and don't read too much of me or you may find you grow sick of me as well! (kidding, of course).