Foiled...Again.

If You Wanna Be Happy…

alichristina1 — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:56:12 +0000

Another fun night at the bar… Honestly, people complain about being waitresses and bartenders all of the time – but if you have never done it – give it a shot… even just for a week. It is one of the worst/best jobs you will ever have. Some times it really makes you want to pull your hair out – but some times you just have a great night and everyone around you is in a good mood and so fun… and luckily that is how tonight was!

I had a blast at work, and a pretty great day overall. Nothing really to post about, except that tonight the bartender played a song that made me soooo happy. If you have ever seen the movie Mermaids with Cher (and Winona Ryder and teensy tiny Christina Ricci) you might know the song…

I love this clip from the movie, because I have such awesomely fun memories of my family dancing in the kitchen while making dinner… we are a party crew I guess. Cher and Winona Ryder in this scene make me think of me and my mom – we always get so goofy together.

Anyways, if you haven’t seen the movie, its wicked cute. And the song is awesome – everyone in the bar was totally rocking out to it… and I think its like 30 years old!

Tomorrow I am going to yoga FINALLY – had to skip todays hip hop class due to a bad case of insomnia last night… I swear, I am the worst sleeper in the world. And speaking of sleep… I’m gonna go try and get some!

Irish Bars and Galway Girls…

alichristina1 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:13:41 +0000

So, I work in the bar across the street from my house… it’s an Irish bar… and in Boston that means that it’s REALLY Irish. I love it.

Tonight was pretty good – fun people in the restaurant, all that jazz… but I wanted to get your opinion on something… one of the waitresses in the bar is about to start the Atkins Diet. She wants to lose a bunch of weight, and is totally committed to doing this. Now, I would never discourage someone from trying to get healthy and drop pounds, but I have some serious qualms about Atkins. It seems to me that cutting out all other food groups is A. unhealthy and B. unrealistic. I say unrealistic because eventually you are going to HAVE to eat something besides protein, and then you are most likely going to gain the weight back. I told her I think she needs to try something much less drastic, but she is adamant. And yes, this became a major debate in the bar: Atkins Good or Atkins Bad?

I am in no way, shape or form a food expert. I was a vegan for 6 months and a vegetarian for about a year (I still prefer to eat veg. as much as I can). I read a lot about diet and nutrition, and I think common sense alone leads me to believe Atkins has got to do some serious damage to your metabolism and internal organs… but I ask you – has anyone done it? Does it work? I’m so intrigued…

Anyways, I thought I would leave you with another song… it’s not on my summer theme, but I absolutely love it… and lucky me – we play it at work pretty often… also, if you have seen the tearjerker PS I Love You, this song was in it (if you haven’t seen it, don’t do it to yourself. I was a mess. And I don’t even like Hilary Swank that much…)

Hope you all have a wonderful night!

Craving Summer

alichristina1 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:06:06 +0000

So despite the fact that it is absolutely FREEZING out in Boston today, I am so so happy to see the sun shining!! At least it might melt a little of this ice and snow that is piled up everywhere. I have to admit, I really hate the winter. I think everyone gets a little bit of seasonal depression, but I swear I have never had such a tough time getting motivated and feeling good this winter. Spending so much time indoors just isn’t my style. After going to college on the beach in South Carolina, I feel like everyday should be gorgeous and sunny. I think that has contributed to my weight gain a lot – not having the opportunity to strut it in a bikini kinda takes the wind out of your motivation to work out.

BUT… SUMMER IS ON THE HORIZON!!! February makes me happy because its a short month – which always makes me think summer is right around the corner… and this is helped by the fact that when I walked by Urban Outfitters today they had all of their summer stock in the windows!! I am totally going to ignore the wind chill here and try and get into summer mode… I decided that I am going to start listening to songs that exclusively remind me of summer… and I am going to upload the videos on here… at least that way, I might keep my motivation to get back into shape to put that 2 piece on… let me tell you, this pale skin could blind someone right now!

So, I present you with David Guetta’s Baby When the Lights Go Out… not only does the video make you want to be on a beach immediately, it also makes me want to run! This song was pretty much the anthem in Greece this summer… so many good memories attached to it…

Also, I would just like to send everyone over to Kath’s awesome blog – she and yogadownloads have hooked up and they are offering her readers 50% off of downloads… after work tonight, I am definitely going to be taking advantage of that deal! Thanks for being awesome Kath!

I’m off to serve chicken wings and beer to drunk college kids now… the Celtics play the Lakers tonight, so hopefully there is a crowd… I need to make some money so I can fly somewhere ridiculously hot… like here for example…

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.

alichristina1 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:02:52 +0000

When I started blog about a month ago, my life was pretty different. I was just finished with graduate school, living very happily with my boyfriend and my sister, and getting very into cooking. I started this blog to inspire me to keep cooking and to document how much the kitchen was growing on me… Except for I have done a pretty lousy job actually getting myself in the kitchen. What can I say? It’s not as fun to cook if its just you spilling vanilla extract all of your floor, and burning dishes and setting fires. Without the bf, cooking just lost its appeal. So, I decided to stop stressing about the fact that I don’t cook, and that I probably will never magically love to do it. Instead, I am just going to use this blog to talk about pretty much whatever I want… which is fine, right? Seeing as how it is, actually, my blog. So… what can you expect a lot of? Hmm well, what I can tell you right now is that my major goal is to get to Australia hopefully by mid-April. Maybe I should explain that… Over the past summer, I lived and worked on the island of Mykonos in Greece. It was a literal dream come true… Look where I lived!

My house is the one with the double blue porches, right next to the red porch (Rhapsody Bar)

You can see my laundry hanging over the side of my balcony… I lost a lot of underwear to that sea! So anyways, I lived in that dream house with a lovely group of people (including two girls who are now and will be forever two of my best friends). And we all worked at Skandinavian Bar, a crazy nightclub on the island. We worked super long hours, and partied pretty much constantly… seeing as how that was our job and all – we were party promoters! It was incredible!

Anyways, so here I am in Greece, living this dream life with these dream friends and working in this dream job… and thinking life couldn’t get better… but it did. I met an incredible Australian guy on this island, and he moved into the house and started working at the same bar. We spent basically all of time together, and never got sick of each other… The last thing I was went to Greece looking for was a guy, and I think it just goes to show that when you are not looking for a relationship – you find one.

To continue… I met this guy. He was awesome. And did I mention his Australian accent?!! My last week in Greece (I had to come back for my last semester of grad school), we left Mykonos and went to another island (Ios) to go on a vacation together. Leaving him was the WORST thing ever. I bawled my eyes out on a 7 hour ferry ride, a 3 hour wait in Athens, the entire flight to NYC, and then the entire flight to Boston. I was a mess. I missed my best friend. The last thing he said to me in Greece was “Don’t worry, I WILL see you again.”

Laying on the Beach in Mykonos... I miss being tan.

Now, I am a pretty realistic person, and didn’t believe him at all. So imagine my shock, when 3 months later, I am walking down the street, and find him waiting on the corner with my lil sis! They had arranged his entire trip, and he had canceled his European leg of his vacation to come and be with me in Boston. We lived together for 3 months, and while I am not going to say it was always perfect – it was pretty damn close.

At the Top of Prudential Tower in Boston

On January 15th, his travel visa expired, and he had to go back to Sydney. Which brings me to my point… my goal right now is to save up enough money to get to Sydney by April. This would be accomplished by finding a job… which I am constantly on the hunt for. Anyways, this has been a very long and rambling post. But since I will be focusing on getting to OZ and all that entails… I figured you might want the background story. Additionally, I will probably be posting lots about yoga, top chef, and random other things that grab my attention. And maybe I will throw in a few cooking adventures… you never know.

*If you are into travel blogs – check out Lindsey’s – my Greek roommate*

Top Chef – You’re Killing Me

alichristina1 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:11:03 +0000

Ok, seriously?! I LOVE Top Chef. I don’t miss an episode and usually rewatch them during the week a few times. I think it’s fascinating to watch these people bust out these incredible meals under such ridiculous time constraints. However, I have to say I am incredibly disappointed by this season. The show seems have lost its focus on food, and is now just allll drama. For Jamie to be going home and Leah to be staying, YIKES. Leah has repeatedly been in the bottom three, and really doesn’t even seem to care about cooking or learning new techniques. It’s a shame, because I feel that the show is getting less interesting by the week, with Jamie and Jeff’s creativity eliminated. Such a bummer – I hate when your fav show starts to disappoint.

Aside from that, not too much as been happening… I MAY have gone out last night and had 1 (read: 2 million) drinks too many. I felt rotten all day, and I hate that. I hate knowing your day is going to be lousy and difficult because of the choices made the night before. But you know what, I am going to cut myself a break. I had a lovely night with a dear friend who I barely see, so I guess I will attribute my gluttony to that! Haha. Oh justification… how I love you.

I swear I will try and cook something soon. There are been so many good recipes going on in the blog world, and I miss being in my kitchen burning things. I am hoping for a cookfest on Saturday (after my yoga date with my college roommate ).

Hope everyone is doing well – have a fantastic evening!

TV… it’s not all bad…

alichristina1 — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:22:02 +0000

Haha, okay, first of all, I used to barely ever watch TV! Living in the South, being outdoors was so much more appealing than sitting in doors rotting my brain… but ever since moving to Boston, I am guilty of turning into a bit of a TV junkie. I swear, it is just too cold for me out there!

I have to admit, I LOVE the show dieTribe. I really admire any woman who can get out there and confess their weight worries and announce their weight on national TV. Additionally, this group of girls is just so likable and relatable for the most part! I have been fortunate to never have to have battled more than a 10-15 lb weight loss, and even that is a major struggle sometimes, and can feel so overwhelming. Right now, I am trying to shed about 5-8 lbs, and just generally tone up… beach weather is on the horizon… despite what that groundhog said! People who are fighting/have fought off major weight gains – all my admiration!

Anyways, very random post, but if you haven’t checked out dieTribe, give it a shot! Its a little more motivation to get out there and shake shake it!

Back in the Groove…

alichristina1 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:38:25 +0000

So, I have to shout out to Polly from yoga is yummy again, because after doing her 10 Minute Yoga for Runners yesterday, I woke up and couldn’t wait to get to my class! I went to another $5 community class at Back Bay Yoga – it was a really good workout – not as challenging as the last one, but still difficult. I liked it a lot because it focused on mental relaxation, which is something I have really needed the past few days. It was such a good getaway from being so overwhelmed and stressed – and my lil sis came with me, which made it even more enjoyable! So, thanks again to Polly for inspiring me to get back in the groove! I cannot wait for Friday morning, when they have Hip Hop Yoga!! I will definitely be there!!

For dinner, I just heated up some delicious soup that my older sister’s bf made – lotsa veggies and little sausage thrown in! So good! I am still pretty hungry though, so I am heating up a sweet potato! Delicious! I am going to try and get an early night in bed tonight, and hopefully tomorrow will be as wonderful as today was! Have a great night!

A long time gone…

alichristina1 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:29:17 +0000

Well, I have been a total slacker on this blog lately… but things have been so hectic with job hunting and trying to move and such… ahh life, it gets in the ways sometimes doesn’t it!

Anyways, along with falling off the blogging train, I totally lost my drive and motivation to do yoga… what can I say… it’s been some downtime for Ali! But really quickly, before I run off to waitress tonight (Superbowl + Waitressing = $$$ ) I wanted to post about Polly’s 10 Minute Yoga for Runners, since it is the first yoga I have done in weeks, and has totally inspired me to get back into it… give it a shot, she is so cute and the poses feel soooo good!

http://yogapol.typepad.com/yogayum/

Hope everyone has a great night and have fun watching the game (I am not too sad about missing this one – don’t really support either team, and at least working will stop me from indulging, right?!)

xoxo

Thank God for Top Chef…

alichristina1 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:02:05 +0000

Well, after an absolutely incredible weekend with my friends, and a lot of partying for the bf’s going away party, I am completely worn out! Without going into too much detail, I will just say that I may have had a little too much to drink this weekend, a few too many snacks, and the most minimal amount of exercise possible! But you know what, it’s okay, because it was the perfect way to spend time with those I love so much.

So now my apartment is very quiet, and my lil sis and I are watching Top Chef – my favorite show. Tomorrow I am getting back on the healthy trail, and will be going to visit my mom in New Hampshire for a few days. I am excited to go, because her kitchen is much better for cooking than mine, and I am definitely already thinking of good things to make tomorrow. Also, my mom has been raving about her new jazzercise class, and I can’t wait to go with her (I know, its so 1980s…)

So, now that the bf is back in Australia, I am going to try and pass the time by cooking more, working out more, and trying to save some money to get there sooner than later… I am trying to stay optimistic, and am thinking that hey, at the very least, maybe I will have a banging bod and some mad culinary skills to show off in the land down under!

Hope you all had a wonderful past few days…

xoxo

Surprises are the Best…Friends…

alichristina1 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:49:59 +0000

I had an amazing day today…

I woke up, and did a 14 minute am yoga session on Exercise TV, which really woke me up (which I needed after having a horrible sleep… my radiator likes to bang and scream around 3 am…). I attempted to do the yoga ab workout, but my sides were so sore from yesterday that after a few minutes I threw in the towel… I am all for feeling the burn, but not for writhing in pain.

So after making some coffee and getting my day going, I went to Logan Airport to pick up my very good friend Lindsey, who I was so lucky to meet and live with this past summer in Greece!! We had an amazing catch up for about 2 hours, and then, my other good friend and roommate Holly bounded through the door!! A total surprise summer reunion… if I hadn’t been so surprised I would have been in tears! The summer and experiences I shared with these girls are unparrelelled, and having both of them in apartment was INCREDIBLE!! My little sis is the best for arranging all of this, and the bf did a great job keeping Holly’s visit a secret… I am so fortunate and blessed!

Anyways, I am sure glad I got a little yoga in this morning, as the rest of the afternoon was filled with chips and salsa, pizza, wine, and ouzo shots (hey… it was a greek celebration!). I am going to do a ‘zen in your den’ yoga flow before I go to bed tonight, and am hoping I burn off at least some excess calories walking around the city tomorrow, playing tour guide!

Tomorrow is the bf’s going away party so I am pretty sure there will no post, but lots of drinking and partying… hopefully I will maintain some composure… and if not… there is always a new day to try and be good, right!

Have a fabulous evening!