NY con mis pollitos

Me, Shaimaa, Nabil enjoying some Halal food

The Egyptians.

And me.

I had so much fun with this group of students. I love them. They've gone home now back to the college dorms, but I broke the rules of the trip and stayed behind to be with my aunt for a little longer. Oops. ;)

And you know, New York has had a clear jump in security since the underwear bomber from Christmas. I got stopped in Penn station and my bag was tested for explosive particles today. I imagine that Times Square is going to be even more strict tomorrow evening. People have already began gathering over there to secure their spots for a clear view of the concert and ball drop. Millions of people from all over the world gather here. It's kind of insane because it gets very packed, and you can't move. If you have to use the bathroom, you can't leave. I won't be going there as originally contemplated, rather I will stay in Brooklyn with family and watch it from TV.

To come full circle to my diet, I have been walking here all day everyday and eating 2 meals and one snack around lunchtime. I skip lunch to save money, and am sure to drink water.

Ok, the truth is..

I forgot what account I made to write in, the password, email, everything.. lol so I will write here :) I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, if ya do ::high five:: if not, I am talking to a wall, which is ok too.

Well, classes finished last Friday, which means I have more time to do as I please. I really slacked this semester.. and still made it out with a 4.0. I suppose I am kind of smart then. Or perhaps my teachers are just extremely lenient and nice.. or a combination.

Well, my weight isn't anything pretty to look at. I weighed myself 2 weeks ago and I was 216.0, so I am approaching a 20 pound gain. I decided that I want to work it out by myself and on my own, because truthfully if I don't have it inside of me to pull out of this mess, then maybe I don't have it at all. I know I do, and I have faith in myself. I know I can.

I put away a couple of my old workout t shirts in a bin in the basement this morning. It is my ever growing bin of clothes that fit me in April at a luscious 198.0 lbs, which are just too snug to even try for. It would be nice to wear them again for graduation, they're nice clothes and I really like them! I also like the pictures of myself from the summer where I was looking trim. When I came back from my trip to Russia I remember feeling so fat in all of those pictures, but now that I look back and compare, I actually looked quite nice, and it would be lovely to be like that again. Luckily, it's only 20 pounds away, and comparatively not too insurmountable of a task.

I went to the gym yesterday and today, and It's been different than the other times I've been there. Let me preface my story by saying that I haven't been to the gym before that in 4 weeks, and have been pie-ing it up like you would not believe. Well, anyway I remember that people working out next to me would sometimes be reading books while on the treadmill or elliptical, and I thought.. how could they concentrate? With the bobbing up and down that you do while working out, how could you stay focused? Well, it's actually a lot of fun!! I finished 'Teacher Man' while on the treadmill, now starting 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn', and the best part is that the time just flew by, I was so into the book. And I remembered how bored I would get on the treadmill before when I would just watch FOX news and CNN playing on the TV screens, and the time would just drag on so painfully slow, I barely could stand 15 minutes. Staying entertained really is key to working the workout.. PLUS I am now able to use my iPod again. It has lots of nice Christmas music on it, I've got Ol' Blue Eyes and Sarah Brightman serenading my workout.

I'll write again soon. If not for the world then just for myself to keep things documented. Have a safe and happy holiday!!!