week in review

Yesterday morning I was so stressed out that I almost started to cry. I was at the office. That would have been embarrassing. A combination of a busy work week, studying for the GMAT, planning and making dinner for 20 people, and putting the finishing touches on my trapeze costume nearly put me over the top. So, what did I do to keep those tears from streaming down my face? I IM-ed Ross and told him how excited I am for our trip to Cabo in 5 and a half weeks, specifically relaxing on the beach together drinking margaritas. Thankfully the distraction worked to get me back on track and plugging away on deliverables. Words of advice? Keep calm and carry on! Who has time to freak out? Not me, that's for sure.

I don't think I have yet posted I'm studying for the GMAT! This was a decision driven by a few people and opportunities. I'm really excited about the prospect of business school, though I'm not sure whether I'll apply for Fall 2013 or Fall 2014. I do know that I'm taking the GMAT this May, and so far the studying has been going rather well. It's been interesting to relearn about fractions, exponents, roots, and sentence structure! Although I thought it would be 10-15 years before I was in a classroom again, I'm noticing a lot of anticipation for that change of scenery. This should be a fun ride!

Despite taking a 3-hour class every Monday night, it is recommended that I study for 12-20 hours per week. That's a lot of extra time! To help balance it out I'm trying to get up 30 minutes early and put in some time over a cup of coffee. I bring my materials with me to work so I can take advantage of waiting for the metro and any trip, despite the length of duration (my ride to work is only about 10 minutes on the train). I have also been cutting down on after-work activities so that I can build in at least one hour every night. So long as my excitement stays high I feel optimistic about maintaining this schedule, despite how aggressive it may be.

Rainbow fruit kabobs!

As I have posted before I volunteer about 50 hours a year with the Junior League in Washington, DC. This year I'm working with a wonderful group of women, one man, and children in a transitional-housing program. This Thursday was my turn to provide dinner for the approximately 20 people. I could have easily ordered catering trays from Cosi or Panera, or picked up boxes from Bojangles. Instead, I chose to prepare the meal myself! By doing this I tried to promote healthy eating habits and well-balanced nutrition (something our Junior League group focuses on with the families). For dinner I chose to prepare baked chicken nuggets, baked zucchini sticks, a chopped salad, and fruit kabobs. There was iced tea and lemonade for the parents and Juicy Juice for the children. Everybody LOVED the dinner and complemented my cooking :) One mom even said she thought the chicken was from Chick-fil-A (that just about made my day!!). A big thanks to Pinterest and the Skinny Taste blog for helping me search and choose recipes. For certain, I will be making these at home!

• Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets
• Baked Zucchini Sticks

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how the kids would react to the zucchini sticks. Turns out they were all for 'em! That was unexpected, so in preparation I built an approach to encourage the children to try them. If a child asked me what the zucchini sticks were, for fear of them making an icky face and deciding not to try them I crafted the following response; "Well, I'm not sure. They look kind of like french fries. Why don't you try one and tell me what it tastes like?" I wish I got to use my tactic but I guess it's better that the kids weren't picky eaters after all!

Next week is my flying trapeze show!! And this time I'll actually have a big audience; my Dad will be coming into town to watch and cheer me on along with my old flying buddies Natalie and Jeff! For the past few weeks I have been practicing and honing in on my trick for the show (which is why you haven't seen videos lately). I don't want to give anything away, so next weekend or the following week, I promise to share a detailed overview of my costume and performance. In regards to my costume there are a few hints I CAN offer;

1. My class' theme is "candy".
2. I have a tutu.
3. I'm wearing a leotard.

And, in regards to my trick, here is the only preview I am sharing!

Tonight will hopefully involve a trip to the gym to keep up my Tough Mudder training, making chicken parm, and finishing a gift for my trapeze instructors!! And then tomorrow I get to look forward to celebrating Ross' 30th birthday again along with a few other friends. We have two other couples joining us for a fun-filled Saturday night in DC! Can't wait to hang out with Vinnie & Kelly and Darnell & Marcie. Should be a great time and I hope you have a great weekend, too!