This calls for some serious eating and exercising plans. I am not going to restrict, but I am definitely going to be counting and watching. I will be aiming for the 1800 calorie range a day now. I would go lower, but I need energy for all that is going on in my life right now (Working, Volunteering, Martial Arts, ACE personal trainer program). I just feel like a beached whale these days. My clothes don't fit and I am definitely not comfortable in this over-sized skin suit.

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I received $150 in the mail today from my Dad for my birthday. It was nice to get, but he sent me the same card as last year. That irks me slightly that he didn't notice that. It was probably my step mom who picked out the card, though. The money is the important part, I guess. Ah well.

I also got probably the best paycheck that I ever will get from the fitness club that I work. It was almost $300 and was a nice addition to ye ol' money pot. I know it won't last long, but it was nice to get.

I basically got money for my birthday this year: $40 from my mom and step father, $20 from my step sister and her husband, $80 from my nana and papa, $100 from my grandma and granddad, and $5 from a friend. It's mostly all going towards the credit card bill that I have. The bill hasn't come in the mail yet, but I am pretty sure that it will be arriving soon. It's going to be over $400 and I have to get it paid off as quickly as possible; it's way too big of a thorn in my side to just ignore.

I did get a couple of real gifts. My friend Laura and her Mom bought me the Elv1s 30 #1 Hits album. I was so incredibly excited to get it since I adore Elvis (I share the Elvis love with Laura's Mom). The other real gift was some nice smelly bath stuff from Veronica which was nice. I like getting money for gifts, but real presents are cool every now and then as well. :-)

Yesterday was fun. I can't say that it was the best birthday that I have ever had, but it was good. I guess it just always seems like no one remembers my birthday or really cares about it. It's at such an odd time of the year that most people are on vacation or completely brain dead from over sun exposure. I am used to it, though, so I will survive. Some year, I would like someone else to bake my cake, though. haha.

We (Laura, Chrissy, Liz, Christine, Veronica, and Ryan) had a greasy meal at the local pub, washing it down with a beer and then headed to Liz's house to basically drink the night away. And drink the night away we did. We also managed to watch Wayne's World and Scary Movie 2 while we were at it. Good stuff, but strange to do on a Sunday night. It felt like I was completely betraying God and guaranteeing my own place down below.

I ate a lot of junk yesterday/last night and drank a fair amount. I probably ensured a 5-10lb gain for myself. Uughh...

I am not too hung over today, just very tired. Childcare this morning was interesting; I fell asleep a couple of times. I am just glad that it is only volunteer, so I was able to fall asleep a couple of times.

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Looks like my Mom is quitting drinking tea (she drinks a lot of tea) cold turkey. Seems kinda odd if you ask me. I just could never picture her without her tea. Pretty soon I will be the only caffeine consumer in this household. My Mom says she is doing it so that she can sleep at night and not have such strange dreams. I guess if it works for her... I don't think I could go back to not drinking coffee. I depend on it too much and I missed it when I quit there a little while ago. I like the taste and smell of it too much to let go again.

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I didn't talk about the CPR course I took on Saturday in here. I almost completely forgot about that horrendous thing. Well, I guess it wasn't horrendous so to speak, but it was pretty boring and quite long. I need the Level C - Basic Rescuer, though for my ACE Personal Training course; it's a requirement before you can write the exam.

The course was held at a local community college and ran from 9 AM until 4 PM. We did have a 1 hour lunch period, but it really wasn't all that much in comparison to the amount of time I spent cooped up in the fire testing room in the police building of the college (the scent is still embedded in my clothes from the room).

The course itself was quite boring and confusing; the instructor went way too fast and I am sure I missed more than I was able to ingest into my frazzled brain. I guess the fact that I was excruciatingly tired that day didn't help any. I did manage to pass the test at the end, though, and I am now the carrier of a wonderful certification card. Whether I would be able to save the life of someone with a heart attack at this moment is an all different story, though. I will probably get numbers confused in my mind because there are so damn many of them. Maybe if I review the manual every now and then it will all come to me... *sigh*

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Speaking of the ACE Personal Training course... *sigh* I am so not going to be ready to write the exam on November 8th. I know that is a fairly far ways away, but when I am only on Chapter one and I have been there for the past few weeks, I know I am not likely going to be ready in time. I have been so busy lately and when I finally do get some time to myself, I am in dire need of sleep or mindless drivel. Argghh... maybe after the summer when I am not working as much and am only balancing 3 courses (all of which are advanced, Grade 12 ones, which are technically the equivalent of an OAC course) at school I will be able to handle it (YEAH, RIGHT!).

I guess I just have to keep plugging away at it for the rest of the summer (when I can find time) and make the judgment on October 9th (I have to have signed up for the exam by then) as to whether or not I will be launching my body to Toronto a month afterwards for the exam.

P.S. I forgot to mention that on last Friday I saw Spy Kids 3D with my little cousin, Jessie. Is it just me or is that the hardest thing on the eyes? Yoinks! I was lucky to be able to see well enough to drive the car home afterwards...