History, Harry Potter, the Zoo, and Working Out.

History - As we all know, or perhaps have forgotten, school for Mindy right now is non-existant... almost. What I mean, is that there is currently the semester break right now here in Germany, so classes themselves don't exist, however there are still things to do for the last semester. For me, there is basically only my History of East and West Germany class to study for. I have pretty much the entire semester worth of information to read about, and memorize before the middle of April (like the 18th of April), so I should get crackin (my parents are coming the first two weeks of April, so I want to be done by the end of March)...but yet, I just keep procrastinating. Even now I'm procrastinating. Hmmm.... I hate having to study.

Harry Potter - Well, I started Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisheit (aka Harry Potter, book 1) recently, and I LOVE IT! Okay, so I figured I would... but since I'm reading it in German (and the beginning seemed a bit boring) I was a bit skeptical. But, the reality is, I love it. My German is well enough that I don't have to look up every word (only the occassional word), so I can really enjoy reading in German, which is really a first for me (all other books that I've tried to read have been boring thus far). I can't wait to finish this book, and buy the next!

The Zoo - So, I called the zoo here in Saarbruecken yesterday about volunteering, and I was told to call back next week and talk to the secretary. So, next week I'm going to call, and hopefully I can volunteer there on a regular basis (I need something to occupy my days, which occurs outside of the four walls of our apartment). I really hope it works out this time.

Working Out - So SELF Magazine has this thing they do every year called "The SELF Challenge." It is a workout/eat healthy/lose weight program which runs for three months. I decided to join it this year, in the hopes that it would help me stay on track with an eating right and working out program. I have made a few changes to the program, but overall I'm sticking to the work outs which it gives me and such, and feel healthier already, even though I'm only on day three! (Could have to do with the fact that I was sick, and now am not so much, but you know... I like to look at the bright side). Since I'm not trying to lose weight, I follow a healthy 1800-2000 calories/day "diet" (which means, that I just try to eat a healthy amount of grains, fruits, veggies, milk, protein, and fats), and do three days per week of cardio (bike riding... oh boy is that hard), and strength training (excercises they tell you... this month focuses on abs and arms.. and my arms are S.O.R.E. today). If anyone else wants to do it (or check out their other plans hey have on the site: such as the "couch potato's plan" or the "diet plan" or a "set your own goals plan", just click here to go to their site, and click around to find what you are looking for! It is very informational, and helpful, and has already taught me a few things about eating healthier (for instance, I get just as full and content for a small amount of cereal, and a couple of servings of fruits for breakfast, instead of from a huge bowl full of at least somewhat unhealthy cereal!). I still need to learn to eat enough Veggies, and not so much fat however.. oops...

So here's to a happier, healthier me - to having way too much free time, stuff I can procrastinate on, and a wonderful book to read and enjoy!