Alexandra's World

I will never do squats or lunges again!

2006-08-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

My legs feel and look bigger. I warned the personal trainer that this would happen…

URGH!!!!!!!!!

POPEYE WAS NOT THE LOOK I WAS GOING FOR!!!

It’s official…

2006-08-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

I’m rejoining the rat race.

I didn't think it would happen this quickly... I was starting to get used to the "unfortunately...." emails. But as of last Friday, I had two job offers. One with a huge bond company and the other with an accounting firm, one of the big four.

After a lot of consideration (A LOT), I have decided to go with the huge bond company - how could I say "No" to their offer? It was SO GOOD, I just couldn't!

I signed the contract yesterday and it's all official.

I start work on the 21st... I’m so scared!

Busy Bee...

2006-08-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

Busy day yesterday. I met with a personal trainer (just a consultation.) He gave me some exercises to do to help me achieve my goal, which is to slim down. I'm actually sore today so that's good. I was a bit sceptical since all I did were lunges, squats and push ups. I can only do 3 push ups (real ones…) by myself. He made me do 10! I almost fainted!

After being tortured/traumatised at the gym, I walked down the street and bought 4 new work shirts, dropped them back off at the flat and went into town.

I shopped for about 4 hours (bought new towels, a cute skirt and some fashion magazines) and then met Benjamin for a sushi dinner. I was so exhausted by the end of the day!

Love

2006-08-03T04:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend when we were in London, Benjamin and I were sitting in a taxi after a delicious meal at one of our favourite restaurants. We had a four course meal and lots to drink (he had wine and I have lots of water – I never drink alcohol) I think we were too stuffed to even talk.

I glanced over at him and saw my husband in a completely new light. There he was in his dress shirt and trousers, looking a little older, a bit more distinguished and his belly was protruding because of the huge meal. This is a sight I have NEVER witnessed before as he’s quite fit and always has a 6 pack (some people have all the good genes. I will gain weight even if I look at food!).

I sat there in a complete daze thinking about how he’ll look as he ages (I don’t intend to age). His hair will recede, his belly will expand and his face will wrinkle and I will LOVE him and desire him just the same, if not more! As I was transfixed on his face, he turned his head and smiled – the smile that I fell in love with… The smile that lights up his entire face and my entire being.

I love this man and I want to grow old with him. I cannot imagine life without him.

Big life altering decisions…

2006-08-01T00:49:00.000-07:00

After two years of not working, I have decided to rejoin the rat race! It’s going to be a shock to my system. Lately, when I spend hours spamming out my CV, I sometimes stop and wonder WHY am I doing this? Do I like rejection? Do I like being depressed?

It’s not going to be easy to get back into the race. My CV is quite choppy. Once I graduated, I only worked one year before I stopped working… Wish me luck…

It doesn't matter...

2006-07-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

who plays Mr. Darcy, I just LOVE his character!

I watched Pride and Prejudice (the newer one) 5 times in the last 24 hours!!! That's right 5 times! I just love this movie/story. It's so beautiful.

I LOVE the passion that Mr. Darcy has.... sigh... he's absolutely dreamy.

Facial...

2006-07-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

This was my first facial in a long time. I think my skin is a mess and I was hoping for a miracle. On the contrary, she said my skin was in “very good condition, slightly oily (DER – I can supply the oil fields with oil if they ever run dry!) with a few clogged pores”

Basically, the £45 facial made my skin a bit smoother. I was hoping for PERFECT FLAWLESS PORELESS skin… or at least a promise of it in a few treatments. But NO she told me to come in to “MAINTAIN” my current skin and to keep my “blackheads at bay!!!” WTF? I didn’t just pay £45 to maintain my current skin condition!!! Did I??? Ahhh... I did!!!

Well, I didn’t NEED to pay anyone to do that! In fact, I could have just continued my own regime and squeezed my own blackheads, which I would have very much enjoyed – I love the sight of them oozing out of my pores! (is that too much information?)

Oh and to kick me while I was down she said, “you may breakout in the next few days from the facial. This is normal, since the dirt/bacterial has been pushed to the surface, but don’t panic, they will go away in a few days.”

IS SHE ON CRAZY? Don’t panic?

PANIC!!!!

The last thing I need are blemishes in the next few days. Benjamin and I have a dinner Tuesday, a boat party on the Wednesday and then we fly to London on Thursday! I DO NOT NEED BLEMISHES… and I will PANIC!

Ps. apparently, oily skin and one or two blemishes a month doesn’t constitute “acne prone skin,”
which means that I have been buying the wrong products for the last 10 YEARS!!!

Benjamin has such an effect on my schedule

2006-07-24T00:30:00.000-07:00

"I'm late, I'm late..."

This morning I was hoping to go to the luxurious gym right after he left for work. However, he was late getting up and didn’t leave at 8 am when he usually does. Instead, he left 20 mins late at 8:20 am.

I know it’s only 20 mins, but these 20 minutes were essential and already allocated. My plan was as follows:

8:00 – 9:00 GYM
9:10 – 9:30 Get price adjustment
9:45 – 10:45 Facial
11:00 – 11:30 Grocery shopping

Now this has all been pushed back. I will have to do my gym after grocery shopping. I know it only seems like a hour, but I really hate it when my morning errands run into my afternoon. Besides, I always tend to get lazy or make excuses to go the gym if I don’t go first thing in the morning.

You may wonder why I didn’t just leave before Benjamin? Well, it’s because he works such long hours and I barely get to spend time with him so when he is around, I try to capitalise on that time. I used to just carry on sleeping in the morning when he left. Then I realised that we only had 4 hours together in the evening... sometimes less… So I then made an effort to get up when he did and make breakfast. This way I spend an extra hour with him in the morning. I also try to meet him for lunch once or twice a week.

I'm so annoyed…

2006-07-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

I think our cleaner is taking us for a ride. She charges us £40 a week because she only does 4 hours minimum. This would be fine if she did a good job, but as I look around I can see all the spots that she missed.

The thing is, I don’t believe she actually stays the entire 4 hours. This last time she came, I gave her 2 extra things to do and she still finished an hour early. I could see her prolonging some of the duties... She even brought the garbage down during her shift, rather than at the end when she leaves - which makes the most sense and is what our old cleaner in London used to do. I think she got tired of stalling and after 3 hours she left saying that she had to leave early this week. But why didn't she mention this when she came in?

She has keys to our flat, but not to the building. She also cleans another flat in the building so sometimes if I’m not home, she can let herself in. We did order the front door keys for her and she’s eager to get them so she can come when I’m not home. That makes me nervous.

I just know it’s because she stays about an 1 or 2 and banks the entire £40! One time she came on a Friday and I left her a little note, “See you next Friday” and she left me a note saying she would be in Wednesday! I couldn’t believe the audacity. The flat doesn’t need to be cleaned every 5 days! I texted her and asked if she could come Thursday or Friday, she said that she would come Wednesday, because she was going away next Tuesday! WTH??? This didn’t make any sense and I don’t think it’s right that she tells me what days she's coming. Especially when we agreed that she comes on Fridays! In the end she came on Friday.

The reason why I’m a bit hesitant to let her go is because she was recommended to us by a close friend. But we’ve spent £160 on her so far and the flat isn’t that clean. I’ve found a website for cleaners that will come for a minimum of 2 hours and that are only £8/hr. I think this is perfect since we only have a small flat – 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - it'is only 1100 sq ft!

I joined the luxurious gym!

2006-07-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

I was so hesitant… Although I had spoken to Benjamin about it this morning, I still got cold feet. I have issues with committing (except to Benjamin of course!) – especially to something that is a “YEAR LONG” commitment and is going to cost us £75 a month regardless of whether I go or not! What a waste of money it will be if I don’t go! I MUST GO!!!

Benjamin was right; I instantly felt 101% better after my work out. I love the 5 star life style!

I did some chin pull-ups and I think I’m a lot stronger now… or weigh a lot less, which cannot be possible since all I do is EAT lately! Before I would have to subtract 100 lbs from my body weight, now I only have to subtract 90 lbs! That means, my pipes can handle 10 more lbs of me! Maybe it’s the 5 push up I do almost every night (there’s a little secret of mine: Just do 5-10 push ups every night and you will have toned arms!)

I figure that if I go at least 16 times a month (that’s 4 times a week) it’s about … £4.69/session (that's $8.67 US)! Holy smokes, that’s expensive… I didn’t realise it was still so much!!!

I feel faint...

sigh… I guess you can’t put a price on your health!

Gym Membership

2006-07-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Is £75 too much to pay for a gym membership?

I've been debating about this for quite sometime now... The gym is amazing with big open windows and a ladies' only gym. There is another gym that is only £40, but it's not even close to the luxurious £75 one...

I guess it just seems like a lot of money becuase I'm not sure if I will go often enough to make it worth it, but I guess paying so much for my membership will force me there.

The manager has emailed to me to let me know that IF I join tomorrow, I will get the rest of July free. Basically, it will only cost me £900/yr for 11 free days of working out!

Lol... The sad thing is I'm yearning to join!

Hello Friends and Blog World

2006-07-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

After months and months of reading blogs, I have finally decided to start one of my own. I don’t know how often I will update this or if anyone will read it, but here I go.

I am part Chinese and part French. My husband, Benjamin, is Scottish and English and we have been happily married since 2003. We just moved to Edinburgh Scotland and I’m trying to get used to the culture shock of leaving the big city - London. He is working for a big company out here and I'm very fortunate that I don't have to work.

I am hoping to have children in the next few years and we would also like to adopt some babies from China. This may explain why I LOVE reading adoption story blogs. I also love reading about mixed race couples too, since I'm mixed and our children will be too.

Welcome to Alexandra's World.

2006-07-15T01:51:00.000-07:00

This is the world through my eyes...