Hey there 2012…

And I finally got used to writing 2011 on everything. Oh well, the old brain in my head isn’t always so quick with majors changes like this.

Let’s talk resolutions, yes?

As some may know, I’m not a resolution person. I told a coworker the other day that I resolve not to murder stupid people. This could get tough. But even though I don’t really make resolutions, I always have goals floating around…

If I were to create a real resolution to share with the public, it would be to attend to my blog more. I finally just got a great work-school-friend balance and I could maybe start to sneak in some blog time. But I would much rather spend that time with my friends. I miss all my friends back in Illinois like crazy and got to see them while I was in town for Christmas. But I need to start skyping and g-chatting with them more. Plus my new friends here need Alisa time as well. Luckily I’m on a similar schedule with most of them, so they understand that 9pm is WAAAAAAYYYYYY past my bed time. (Yeah, the loser NYE party ended at 8:30, and most of us were asleep before 10pm.)

So I guess that would be a goal as well, spend more time with my friends. A lot of my Illinois friends and I are planning trips seeing how some even have friends out this way. Guests are always welcome at Casa Alisa (and I will even cook for you!) Also, I want to spend even more time with my new friends and make some great bonds. I feel like I put them on the back burner, because they live close by and I see them all the time.

Did you know that the most popular resolution is to lose weight? Go figure, Obese America wants to lose weight. But as anybody who has seriously worked out knows, most of the resolutionaries will be out of the gym before the end of the month. It’s a shame that as a nation, we provide ourselves with a clean slate and have the opportunity to start a great healthy habit, but we fail.

To avoid the stress of the resolutionaries (seriously, nobody wants to listen to you yap on the phone while slowly walking on my treadmill), my gym buddy and I are taking to the streets. Because of the mild winter, I was able to talk him into running outside for the next few weeks. Let’s hope that it doesn’t get too cold or start snowing, otherwise it will just be me and G-dog. This convincing took more than just a few minutes. He’s a stubborn one. Luckily, the tiny gym will be ours again in a month.

 

Are you a resolution maker? Or at least a new year’s goal maker?

I think they are silly, but to some they are a big kick in the butt they need. A friend is celebrating her two year anniversary of quitting smoking all from a resolution.

What were you New Year’s Eve plans?

I was supposed to get together with a friend, but she cancelled on me last minute. After comparing invites, I decided to get together with some friends that were having an early party. Most of us are in the food industry and had to work over the weekend, so it was a nice relaxing evening and I was in bed well before midnight!

Feel free to report me to the DBFS

The Department of Blog and Family Services… you know, the other branch of the DCFS. Yeah, I ‘m so far past slacking that I have no excuse. None. I’m busy. Really busy. I work full time and go to school full time. I was not prepared for how busy that would make me. But I’m here and I’m going to counseling so the DBFS will give me full custody of this blog back.

I’m not going to do a full recap of what has happened, because that’s boring and nobody wants to read that. But I will tell you that the more classes I take, the more I want to do sports nutrition. I’ve aced my first nutrition class, so I’m off to a great start. So what does that mean for you? It means, you should ask me what to eat. Or something like that… I would love to work at the Olympic Training Center or with an NFL team. Or even on the collegiate level. So, in a year or so, I will be able to tell you what to eat and will have a degree that tells me to do so!

Since moving out here I’ve dropped 2(!) sizes. Granted a big part of that is my schedule (on my  feet up to 12 hours a day), but a bigger part is making sure the athlete in me is happy! I’ve been hitting the ‘mill often (my knees can’t handle all the hills out here). Plus I’ve been trying to eat like an athlete, which makes a huge difference, apparently.

So that leads me to another big thing. I haven’t raced since August. And there’s a weird burning in my legs asking for a race, so I’m shopping around. I found a 5k series in March that I’m going to sign up for, but what about after that? This is where you guys will help me.

Do I continue training for shorter distances and get faster? I love doing speed work and those workouts leave me feeling amazing!

Or

Do I re-train for a longer distance? After August’s disaster of a half, I feel the need for a redemption race, but do I have the time for long runs?

I will be doing the 5ks (there’s 3 in the series) as fun runs, so I can start training hardcore after those. I am really up in the air on this one. I’m leaning towards the shorter distances (5ks and 10ks) and then come June, deciding on a half or not. And if I do a half, that will take me one step closer to running a full marathon, which is still one of my goals.

Finally, I’m going to try to update at least once a week, but if you really need more Alisa in your life, I do update my twits somewhat frequently.

 

What’s your favorite distance to run?

I’m a big fan of the 5k distance. I have yet to race a 10k, but I think I will fall in love once doing it.

If you could go back to college, would you study  the same thing? Or would you do something totally different?

Obviously, I would study something different, which is why I’m in school now! But I don’t regret my first time around in college. In fact, my poli sci degree could come in handy (seriously Congress? tomato sauce on pizza is a serving of vegetables?).

I ramble and then share an awesome video.

The title of this post is like an outline of what’s to come.

I have a great new idea for The Biggest Loser. Get rid of Anna and hire me as a trainer. And for every five pounds I lose, the team gets one bonus pound. I’m pretty sure I have all the same credentials Anna has, plus I can actually yell (years of being a lifeguard and a camp director have given me no sympathy for anyone’s ears). Plus motivation, what more motivation do you need then to beat your trainer in losing weight? Come on BL, call me up and we can work this deal out.

I love my Luna and Larry Coconut Bliss ice cream. Obsessed is actually a better term. If this stuff was a person, I would be a stalker outside the window. It’s only sold in the Whole Foods by me, which isn’t a problem, because, HELLO, I love Whole Foods AND I’m glad to have my Luna and Larry close by. But I’m not allowed to go to Whole Foods frequently. It’s my shopping weakness. Any other store (including Trader Joe’s), I can contain myself and at most will buy one thing not on my list. But I walk into Whole Foods and all bets are off. I will buy anything I see and think I need. Like cereal. I love cereal, but I don’t need five boxes. Yet, I step into WF and end up with five in my cart, whoops. So to fix this problem, I stocked up on my ice cream to avoid going to Whole Foods to frequently. I stocked up. And you know what, all five containers have lasted over a week so far!

Have you heard of My Drunk Kitchen? No? For shame. Go youtube that biz and report back afterwards. She’s drunk and makes a fool out of herself on the internet, what more do you need? The sad thing is, she will probably make more money off of this, then I will in my life. But either way, she’s good for many laughs.

Have you heard of Songs to Wear Pants To? This one I will forgive, but again, go look into it. You need a song written? Tell him about it, give it a genre, a rhythm, some lyrics perhaps, whatever you want, and ta-da, you have a song. You used to be able to download songs for free, but they are still amazing and worth your time.

So you know what’s really awesome, combine My Drunk Kitchen and Songs to Wear Pants to and you have this:

 

I hope you actually read my rambles before you got to the video. If not, I hope you at least joined the video.

 

Favorite ice cream flavor… and go…
Anything! But mainly stuff with chocolate or Irish cream flavor.

Thoughts on Anna? How about my plan to be a trainer?
Wouldn’t that be awesome if I got a job on Biggest Loser?