It's how you get to Carnegie Hall

Good news!!! My presentation on investing in the auto industry in Eastern Europe is done!!!! I basically have no schoolwork to do this week!!!!! All I have left of the semester is class on Saturday morning and a two hour exam to take before May 13th. My Summer classes begin in the last week of May. You know what that means?? 4 weeks of being able to exercise!!!!!!! I can't wait. I'm going to plan to go to a couple of boxing classes and tomorrow evening (weather permitting), I'm planning on running outside!!

I wish exercise gave me license to eat sugar...whether I'm working out or not, I know how difficult it is to stop eating sugar. If I start, I don't know if I could stop in time for classes to begin for the summer. Best to not start. Best to stick to what I'm doing. It's not perfect, but it's working. Nope, no sugar as a celebration. As a celebration, I'm going skydiving!! Yup. I'm going skydiving on May 21st and I can't wait.

It's funny, I was just remarking to someone that I've been learning a lot about myself lately. Grad school is really presenting a set of challenges that I never thought I'd want to take, let alone live up to. And each time, I learn a little something more that helps me perform better the next time. This semester has really shown me what I'm made of, how to work in a group and how recognize and trust the talents of others. Each time I have to work in a group, it gets easier and more intuitive. Each time I have to present in front of my class, it gets easier and I'm less nervous. It's all about practice, practice, practice. Just like first dates and job interviews are practice practice practice.

It's how we improve and eventually excel. It's how we test out what we may want to do. It's how we take an idea and apply it in the 'real world'. I really hate that expression. The 'real world'. As if I've been living in some made up John Hughes movie in Shermer, Illinois. Anyway, just like I practice presenting in front of my class, I try out new behaviors in group projects, I practice new behaviors at work and with friends. I practice so that I can become the person that I want to be, the person who my cat thinks I am, the friend that some of you think I am, or the daughter or co-worker or classmate or whoever. It's how we become who we will be.

Yup, Uncle Sam cereal (3/4 cup, 10 grams of fiber!), approx. 1 cup skim milk, 1 hard boiled egg and a grande americano.

Yogurt time!!

Big ol' salad and two stuffed grape leaves...yeah, two. I ate one before taking the picture. So, I did a little something different with my salad...green peas!

And for dinner, chicken with madras curry, basmati rice and 1/2 a baked sweet potato. heavy on starch...but yummy.


And popcorn for a snack...