Owl-Husky Talk

Listening to :: Nothing (It's the day music died! Music Education Awareness Month, duh.)

I am Zan, and I am a huge fan of Uconn.  You must think I'm just another bandwagon-er, but you'd be sorely mistaken.  Ever since I was little, I remember going to Uconn basketball games, pep rallies, and other events with my family.  For as long as I can remember, Uconn was THE school that I wanted to go to.

Now, as I sit here typing in Philadelphia, you must be wondering 'How did this girl end up at Temple then?' Well, let's go back to a faraway time - senior year in high school.  Now I applied to several places, but my top two picks were Uconn, of course, and Temple. Uconn was amazing, the campus was beautiful, they had a good band, and the academics were great, but the prices was really high for out of state-ers.  Temple was a little dirty, just as good education, was known to have a good music program, AND the price was pretty good.  So when it came down to the wire,  I had my father choose for me, and he chose Temple because of the proximity to him, and because it'd be pretty easy to transfer if I didn't like it.  So ever since, I've been an owl who half-wished she were a husky.

Back to the present - this past Sunday and Tuesday Temple had the chance to hold the Women's Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight games, so of course my family went! Uconn was in the first game, and boy was that a stressful game!  Georgetown was a great team and not intimidated at all by Uconn, and as a result they actually overtook Uconn several times.  Luckily though, Uconn pulled through and they passed onto the Elite Eight.  The second game on Sunday was a lot less hair raising.  It was Duke vs. DuPaul, and although it was pretty tight, Duke had a clear advantage over DuPaul.

Going into the Tuesday game, I was seriously worried that Uconn might lose to Duke.  When we got there and the two teams started to warm up, it was apparent that Duke was a bit shaken by their competition.  While Uconn would miss a few baskets here and there in their warm-ups, Duke wasn't doing too well.  I'm not saying that they're not a fantastic team-because they definitely are-but it seemed like they were intimidated by Uconn's previous performance.  As the game started, it was pretty tight, but with each basket Uconn made, the spread was further and further apart.  Even worse for Duke-every time that they would get possession, Uconn would snatch it right out of their hands and then make another basket like it was nothing.  Several times throughout the game, Uconn's score was double that of Dukes! And I'm not talking 10-5, I'm talking about like 50-25 and 66-33. It was insane, but highly pleasing.

Some fun little anecdotes from Tuesday that don't really matter, but I thought they were hilarious.  During the time outs, there was a huge rivalry between the Duke Devil and the Uconn Husky.  The Devil even had a piece of tape that read "UNCONNstitutional," which I thought was a little lackluster, honestly.  The real rivalry started before the game, when the Devil would taunt Uconn's mascot, team, etc. with various dismissing movements.  Uconn took it in stride, though, and at one point the Husky even wagged it's butt at the Devil's attempt to shake him.  Another fun-but-not-so-related story is every time Duke would try to score free throws, two Temple students would yell something to the effect of "T U!" or "LET'S GO TEMPLE" and, surprisingly, sometimes it worked! Oh the power of Temple. <3

Sunday!!

Of course, because I'm just a little off when it comes to Uconn, I decked myself out in Uconn wear. Little did I know that every single team's main colour was blue on Sunday! Luckily I had my Uconn hoodie to show my allegences, and all was right with the world.  I even did my make-up and hair in blue, and for Tuesday I had blue nail polish as well.  I think my team spirit lent itself pretty well to the victory. Haha, just kidding. Uconn's ladies are fantastic with or without my fandom.

Tuesday!!

So I think it's obvious what I'll be doing this weekend-following the Men's and Women's Final Four and Championships!

Be a Good Sport and Hug Somebody!
HEART
Zan

 :: A Quote To Leave You By ::

"You know, there are just as many Duke graduates waiting on tables as there is from any other school in the country. They may just be working at a better restaurant."

~ Geno Auriemma before Uconn's first game ever at Duke~

Time, where do you go?

Listening to :: A Way Back Into Love - Music and Lyrics

So, complete and utter fail on my part, I apologize.  I fully intended to post last week's post on time, but I just kept forgetting.  Instead, I'll combine the two week's in this post, and I'll do an extra post this week sometime.

So good news and bad news on the Fitness Front.
First the good news!
Fun Stats ::
Start Weight :: 185 (January 19)
Last Week :: 177
Current Weight :: 174.5
Goal Weight :: 150 (October 9)
Last week I was officially ten pounds down from the start of the semester. Now, notice that horrible, evil, little past tense I used? Yes, it's true, I gained some back. Here's the update:
Fun Stats ::
Start Weight :: 185 (January 19)
Last Week :: 174.5
Current Weight :: 176
Goal Weight :: 150 (October 9)
I gained a pound and a half back.  I'm pretty sure it had to do with the UCONN games this past Sunday and Tuesday and the fact that I am HORRIBLE at eating when I'm with my family. Therefore, I intend to continue on my routine and hopefully this will correct itself. If not, I suppose rolling around on the floor whining wouldn't be a bad option.

In other, slightly more upbeat news, I've been hacking away at Pokemon Black. My pokedex is coming along just fine and I'm progressing (slowly, thanks to school work and a slight social life) but that stupid subway battle thing is standing in my way of complete and utter success.  Now, I've never been good at the battle towers or anything like that, but this is just annoying.  I'll probably ignore it for a while or else I'll become obsessed with trying to defeat it.

Unfortunately, for this post there will be no make-up or food. Mainly because I haven't really put forth the effort to cook in a while. I'm planning on changing that tonight though, so expect an update on that! Also, as I mentioned before, UCONN women had games on Sunday and Tuesday, which I attended. Now I don't want to talk about UCONN and my fanaticism with them just yet, but that'll be another post I'll be sure to put out before the Final Four for men and women start!

I hope this wasn't too disappointing a post, and I promise to put up one, probably two, before the next weight check in! Hopefully this will make up for it:

Lololol Real Estate Joke

Fly a Kite and Hug Somebody!
HEART
Zan

:: A Quote To Leave You By ::

"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it."

~Edgar Allan Poe~ 

Excuses, Excuses

Listening to :: The Cave - Mumford and Sons

So I realize I'm a little late, especially since my weigh in is tomorrow and I haven't posted the stats for next week.  The main reason for this is the giant load of work that's been assigned since we got off from spring break.  While it is a lot, I feel like I'm doing pretty well in my subjects, so I'm thankful for that at the least.

Snivy! Although he's evolved now...

Another thing eating up my time is the new addition to my obsession - Pokemon Black.  Although a lot of the Pokemon in this generation are kind of hokey or just sad, really, I do love the graphics, the interface, and the plot-line.  I know other people don't really like the whole 'be a hero-save the world' thing and would rather just be Pokemon Masters, but I'm a fan.  My starter was Snivy, which I promptly named Severus. And once you start naming Pokemon names from Harry Potter, you can't just STOP. That's ridiculous.

Last week I went to a conference about design and technology, and it was very inspiring.  Each speaker had an amazing story to tell and such passion about what they do, that it was hard not to be enthralled by the whole thing. The panel discussions that they set up, especially the final one, were the most interesting because they interacted with the audience and it was informal but still very educating. :)

Now, I feel it's time to make up for my week of silence, so here are my stats!
Fun Stats ::
Start Weight :: 185 (January 19)
Last Week :: 180
Current Weight :: 177
Goal Weight :: 150 (October 9)
So last week I went back down to my lowest weight! I was seriously surprised, I'm not going to lie.  Coming off of spring break and losing weight was pretty spectacular.  I hope I can continue this downward pattern consistently!

Of course I can't forget the make-up and food! My make-up was inspired by my shirt and my desire to be loud and colourful.

This is the corn-beef and cabbage and potatoes my sister and I made for Saint Patrick's day! Let me just say, I love this meal, so imagine my surprise when I brought it to my apartment and my roommates were like "Oh! What's that?" or "Ewww, you eat that?" Dear people, this dish is a glorious classic. Do not hate, LOVE. You never know how you'll really feel until you try something new!

Try Something New and Hug Somebody!
HEART
Zan

:: A Quote To Leave You By ::

"The beat is everywhere, but every life has to find its own flow."

~Jay Z~ 

Spring Break or Spring Slumber?

Listening to:

Fears come true.
Fun Stats ::
Start Weight :: 185 (January 19)
Last Week :: 178
Current Weight :: 180
Goal Weight :: 150 (October 9)

So obviously I haven't been doing too well on keeping up on pretty much anything this past week.  I have been able to keep my calories in my range though! (1200-2000) So at least I don't have that as a fail.  My exercising at home has been lack luster, as has my work ethic or general will to not be asleep.  My, how I love sleep. I could do it all day! Really, I could!

In other news, as per my father's request, I made Jambalaya for Fat Tuesday.  It wasn't as spicy as the batch for the New Orleans party, but it was still pretty rocking!   I've also been cleaning a bit with my sister, which means throwing/donating stuff. D:  I'm so sentimental about things, so I took a few pictures of some of the things 'we' decided to donate. I know, I'm ridiculous, but someone has to send them off to their new homes with love!!

Looking into the future, tomorrow my dad is going to take us to a movie and concert! Rest assured, you will be hearing about this!  I hope to get some of my backed-up work done as well, although it looks as though sunday/monday/tuesday are going to be epically frightening and filled with rushed worries.  Oh and when I get back to school, the gym will be the pea to my pod. Or will I be the pea and it will be the pod? Either way, we'll be together forever! Or at least until some progress is made.  I'm sure the next check in will be no winner either, but I'll do my best!

Dance in the Rain and Love Somebody!
HEART
Zan

:: A Quote To Leave You By ::

"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."

~Bruce Lee~ 

Tattoo Time

I look bad, yes. But my tattoo looks awesome!

Listening to :: Get Your Hands Off My Woman - The Darkness

I'm a wimp. This is a generally accepted truth among friends and family.  This being said, when I told my friends that I was getting a tattoo, hilarity ensued.  Some of my friends were shocked that I would go through with it, others thought it was cool, and a few people I know gave me looks that I knew were questioning my sanity.  This tattoo wasn't for them really, and it was barely for me.  It was in memory and honor of my Mother.  She had a good amount of tattoos (5 or more? I'm not sure.) so I thought that would be one of the best ways to honor her.

Getting the tattoo was a huge experience in itself. Although it wasn't really painful, I did end up 90% fainting while she was outlining the tattoo.  After it was all done, I went to stand up and my foot was asleep just enough for me to fall down.  My sister said it was a bad fall, but I don't think so. I just hit my head on a mirror, no big deal. :P

Will I get another one? Not for a little while. Heh heh. I'm still a bit of a wimp, but I'll probably get another some day.

Original Design 

Do a Draco Roll and Hug Somebody!
HEART
Zan

:: A Quote To Leave You By ::

"The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos."

~Unknown~ 

Concerns and Om Noms

Gumbo

 Listening to :: Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae

So this week had its good and bad parts. I had several exams, but I also (co-) organized a dinner party with my friends and it was fantastic!  I was originally going to make decorations for it but I ended up short on time after all the studying and working out.  Everyone brought something that they made or brought, and it was a great way to not only celebrate the first half of the semester down, but also to eat wonderful food.  I have a few pictures of what I made, but I didn't get a chance to get a picture of them plated, so I apologize for that.

Jambalaya

Let's go on to this week's Stats!
Fun Stats ::
Start Weight :: 185 (January 19)
Last Week :: 177
Current Weight :: 178
Goal Weight :: 150 (October 9)

 While I did go up by a pound this week, I'm trying not to worry about it.  The past week I didn't go up or down drastically in calories and the rest of my routine was relatively the same as the other weeks so I'm choosing to attribute it to muscle for the time being.  Of course if I continue to go up I'll change my attitude, but I don't want to worry over what is possibly just normal weight fluctuation.

As you can see above, I've decided on a goal date!  I wasn't really too concerned with that for a while, but then I started thinking that if I have some lofty goal floating over my head without a deadline, I'd never achieve it.  I set it as that date, because that'll be my 21st birthday, and it's far enough off that I won't have to stress out about it for a while. That way, I can lose weight the healthy way!


Going into next week, I am a bit concerned though.  It'll be Spring Break so I don't have the gym and I don't have the luxury of controlling my meals.  At school I cook what's available and healthy, but at home I eat what my family wants.  Hopefully that'll be somewhat healthy.  I also tend to snack a lot at home, so that's another worry.  For the gym concern, I plan on stretching twice a day and doing various exercises every day.  I'll either do the calisthenics (thanks for the vocab kyle! :P) that I know, or I'll Youtube some stuff.  Hopefully I'll do some yoga as well. We'll see!

Now onto the Beauty stuff!

Eye Make-Up!

Full face Make-Up 

I know it's been a while, so I took some pictures for you!  These are all for that dinner party that I helped to put together.  It was New Orleans/Mardi Gras themed so I dressed nicely and did corresponding make-up and nails.  Deep Purple and Emerald Green were my main colors, and I wore a grey dress so that the colors would pop.  I mainly did that because I didn't want to overload my friends with my fondness for colour.  My eye make-up is a healthy mix of Coastal Scents, Urban Decay, and Smashbox, although there are a few other brands in there for foundation, mascara, etc.. I did my nails with OPI polishes (I don't have them with me at the moment but I'll update this when I get back) and a black striper.

Nails!

Love and Hug Somebody!
HEART
Zan

:: A Quote To Leave You By ::

“Be yourself, don't take anyone's shit, and never let them take you alive.”

~ Gerard Way ~