School & working out

I decided to write a post in English again just for the heck of it. (what does that phrase even mean? For the heck of it? Literally? Well I just felt like writing in English again, alright?) Lately I've been reading a lot of fitness blogs, and looking at pictures of fit people for motivation. I've really decided that this is it, it is now or never that I'm going to get fit. Unfortunately I belong to that group of people that say that they are going to do a lot of stuff, and possibly even start their projects, but never finish them. This has got to stop. I work out five times a week since I play soccer, but I still haven't shred the pounds from when I had a surgery on my knee and gained some weight. I would gain a lot of speed through getting more fit. I have a few other people in my life who are trying to achieve the same thing, so we exchange fitness tips and recipes. Our soccer practice isn't going very well either, it's not the hardest practice, so I need to kick it up a notch with doing my own stuff as well. Shape magazine arrived today - perfect for some more motivation! I made this delicious mango smoothie yesterday with protein powder added to it. I really dislike protein powder with just milk, but when you make a smoothie of it, it almost hides the flavour of the protein.

My school has been going very well. We recently received our 4 week grades (given after the first exam week so that students know how they are doing in their classes). I recieved 4 A's, 1 B and one class where the professor chose not to grade us at all. My goal for this semester is to get 5 A's and 1 B, so I'm doing well so far. I put a lot of effort into my school, so it's nice to see that it pays off. It feels like this semester is just flying by. We are already in March! Soon it'll be May and time to fly back to Finland. Cheers!

Books!

Jag ska för en gångs skull skriva ett inlägg på svenska. Jag får skriva så mycket engelska annars också här i USA, plus det här frågeformuläret som jag lånade från Lara råkade vara på svenska... Det har gått en stund sedan jag senast skrev här på min blogg. Här är en lista på saker jag gjorde under den tiden:-åkte hem till Finland för jullov
-hade en skön jul med min familj
-fick fina julklappar och gosade med våra katter
-spenderade tid med mina närmaste vänner
-var lat
-åkte till London för en vecka
-blev magsjuk
-åkte tillbaka till USA
-spenderade 3 dagar i New York
-såg Mamma Mia på Broadway
-spenderade en dag i Hartford, Connecticut där jag och min vän Terhi besökte Yales Campus(en dröm jag alltid haft!!) och shoppade på Ikea
-flög till Dallas med superflygbolaget Southwest airlines, rekommenderar starkt!


Efter detta började skolan och jag har haft det superstressigt. Jag har 18 studiepoäng den här terminen och det är mycket mera än vad man brukar ta. Förra veckan hadde jag två prov, matematik och sociologi. Jag var ganska så utbränd när sociologiprovs dagen kom, så jag hadde inte pluggat tillräckligt, jag tror inte att det gick så bra. Matematikprovet fick jag klart A på. Inga problem där. Det förvånar mig ibland hur lätta amerikanska kurserna kan vara jämfört med t.ex. kurser i finska skolor. Mina rumskamrater sitter nu just och försöker räkna fysik i vardagsrummet, uppgifter som jag hadde i högstadiet i lång fysik... Kommande vecka har jag psykologiprov och engelskaprov. Engelska kursen är på engelsk litteratur, så språket är ganska svårt att förstå. Om folk som talar engelska som modersmål redan har problem med att förstå Shakespear, så hur ska jag då klara av det? Jag har inte haft tid att läsa några andra böcker förutom skolböcker. När jag får andningspaus i något skede så brukar jag titta på tv-serier på Netflix för att koppla av hjärnan från alla stress. Nu just vill jag jättegärna bara växla till Netflix och titta på One Tree Hill, men jag måste ännu läsa sonetter till engelskan och läsa psykologi.

Senast lästa: The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon

Senast köpta bok: Clockwork Angel och någon som jag inte ens kommer ihåg. (Man köper för många böcker om man inte ens kan komma ihåg den senaste man köpt...)

Senast lånade bok:Exploring Lifespan Development (min psykologi bok)

Senast fådda bok: Hundraåringen - Jonas Jonasson

Favoritbokhandel: The Shakespear bookstore i Paris.

Favoritbibliotek: Virkby bibliotek, det bibliotek jag fick växa upp med.

Antal lånekort: 6 stycken. Falköpings bibliotek, LSUS, Helsingfors uni, Esbo/Vanda/Hesa, Kyrkslätt, Lojo.
Använder som bokmärke: Mest pop just nu är ett roligt tecknat hundkort jag fick av Jenny till födelsedagen i december. Men har en hel del bokmärken för övrigt jag också använder. Hundöron är stora No No.
Favoritfärg på bok: Jag har ingen speciell favoritfärg, men boken ska vara vacker! Brukar välja bok baserat på pärmen.

Favoritmat/snack vid läsning: Lösgodis!
Favoritdryck vid läsning: Läsk
Favoritställe att läsa på: Sängen eller soffan.
På den sidan hålls jag i den bok jag läser just nu: s.45 i Vindens Skugga.
Den här boken köper jag till en förälder: En som tagit sig till top 10 listan och som jag själv tyckt om.
Den här boken köper jag till min bästa vän: Något som jag själv tyckt om, anser mig vara ganska välläst så jag vet ofta vad jag talar om :D
Den här boken köper jag till en partner: Beror på vad de tycker om.
Favoritgenre: Fantasy, klassiker, ungdomsromaner, nästan vad som helst.

Favoritformat: Tjockpärmad är min favort, men pocket är så mycket bättre när man reser långt bort.
Författarfavorit: J.K. Rowling!!! Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Suzanne Collins, Tolkien, David Eddings, Meg Cabot, Terry Pratchett.
Den tjockaste bok jag läst: En Harry Potter, eller en av David Eddings böcker. 

Den tunnaste bok jag läst: Jaa-aa. Svårt att säga.
Favoritljud när du läser: Det bästa är när det är knäpptyst. Som barn kunde jag fördjupa mig i en bok var som helst, men nu i den här åldern är man så lätt distraherad.
Favorittidning: Någon mode eller träningstidning, jag tycker om att koppla av hjärnan med en tidning, plus man får också motivation för tränande!

Prenumererar på: Shape, Fitness, Vogue, Marie Claire.

Favoritbokblogg: Följer inte med så många, men min vän Laras läser jag och sedan niotillfem på ratata.
Mitt bästa bokminne: Kan nog inte komma på det nu mitt i natten, men alla Harry Potter-böcker har varit otroliga läsminnen för mig.

Senaste bokfyndet: Det var väl när jag beställde alla Hunger Games böckerna online för väldigt lite!

Senaste impulsköpta bok: Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

En bra bok att ge bort: The Hunger Games!
Bokgenre som jag undviker: DECKARE!!!
Så gör jag med böcker som jag inte vill ha längre: Packar dem i lådor och lägger i förrådet.
Så här håller jag koll på vad jag läst: Jag håller en lista över vilka böcker jag läst vilket år. Borde faktiskt skriva bokdagbok för jag jar två stycken bokdagbokshäften, måste bara börja fylla i dem.
Så här sorterar jag min bokhylla: Var dom får plats.

Nästa bok jag ska läsa: Beror på vad man är sugen på. Kan växla med varannan bok tjock, varannan lite mera snabbläst.

Happiness...

My finals are over! I had my psychology and biology finals on Thursday. I studied like crazy the night before, and I had a lot of help from my friend G, while studying for bio. We also did some bonding there :) Oh the discussion you might get sidetracked into when studying at 1 am... All in all, I did alright on my bio, I got a high C from the finals, which ended up giving me a C in the class, so pretty alright. I kind of messed it up by not making such a good grade on my first exam in the class, and it was just hard to get the grade up from there. Me and cell biology don't get along too well. In psychology I ended up making an A on my final and therefore making a B in my class. I was very content with this grade! The studying paid off for once :) During the final I remember getting so nervous that my hand was shaking, because I knew the questions and I just wanted to get through quickly so I wouldn't forget the information (Don't ask why my brain thought that. The strange things that goes on inside there...) I also couldn't believe that I knew so many answers. I think I should try this studying more often! This time I actually started studying on time, but no matter how early one starts, one will end up stressing the night before the exam anyway. One wants to review everything and be sure that one knows everything one needs to know.

I had a great time tonight with my roomie K. We went to the Boardwalk here in Shreveport (it was technically on the Bossier side, since we crossed the Red River. The Shreveport area consist of two cities that has blended in together, Shreveport and Bossier. Apparently Bossier is the more "ghetto" one.) The Boardwalk is just like a huge outlet mall. All these shops along small streets, and there is also a tram that runs through these streets! I enjoyed it very much, but didn't find anything worth buying really. The river was very pretty when the lights from the city reflected in the water. Shreveport has many casinos where rich people come to gamble away their money, hence one can see many glittery skyskraper casinos with fancy water fountains while driving through the city. We really live in the outskirts, it took us about 20-25 minutes to get downtown. After walking around the Boardwalk me and K hit the worldmarket (a store with different products from around the world) and I found Julmust, the Swedish Christmas soda that I've been dying to get my hands on! Oh the feeling that overcame me when I once more rejoiced with this wonderfully addictive drink!

Tomorrow I will finally head home. It feels strange to leave Shreveport. I have had a great fall, and I actually enjoy my stay here. It is much calmer than William Carey, no drama, there isn't constantly things going on around me, since I don't live in a dorm now, but an apartment. We soccer girls don't run into each other 10 times a day. It is wonderful! Right now it looks like I will definitely stay here until I finish my bachelor degree and after that we'll see where the road of life will take me. Until then peace out!
Dallas-> Frankfurt -> Helsinki here I come!!

Enjoy some Prince Charlez & Kendrick Lamar!

West coast state of mind

The next 18 hours will be hell.

So today I had my two first finals; ISDS (computers) which went really well, might I add and sociology. ISDS is very easy and I finished with an average of about 99% in the class. My second exam, sociology was another case though... This is how I felt after the exam...

I didn't have to make a very high grade on the exam, but I'm actually not sure if I made a high enough now. When I saw the questions I just thought "I need to sleep, I want to go to sleep, I can't stay awake." Note to oneself: don't take exams with only 3 hours of sleep... The body and mind needs energy and it is much harder to focus, when one is tired. Well, we'll see how I did on the exam. I knew I had seen all of the questions, I just couldn't remember what the words meant, or who did which experiment.

I will be facing my two hardest finals tomorrow; biology and psychology. I didn't study very well for psychology during the semester, so now I have to pay for the lack of effort. Biology is not going well just because it is a very hard class. I will hit the vending machines shortly to load up on snacks and a coke to keep me fueled until tomorrow! Good luck to each and everyone who is battling with finals! Put in that extra effort and soon you'll be able to enjoy your well-deserved Christmas break! Peace out!

This is how I will feel for the next 18 hours. Don't contact me.

Finals week in Shreveport

It's been a while since I updated my blogg. Tonight I suddenly felt the urge to write again, so I decided that there was no better time than the present to get to work. I'm currently on a study break. I've spent the past three days locked up in my room together with my psychology and biology books. I need to do well on these exams, so for once I decided to put some effort into studying. Between reading about studies on bullies, leadership and aggression, I procrastinate (the usual facebook creeping) and occasionally engage in eating. Yesterday my roomies were watching an American football game on tv, so I found the perfect combination of old-fashioned Christmas music and biology notes and BAM the noises were blocked out.

It is interesting how different study routines people have. Some of us have to listen to loud music while reading about quant physics, while others have to sit in complete silence to be able to focus. I, on the other hand, prefer silence, but I can listen to music in worst cases. The music has to be the kind that doesn't make me want to dance and sing along to it (note: no Disney or Lady Gaga!). The old-fashioned Christmas music worked well here.

A short update on what has happened since I last wrote here; I went back home to Finland for the summer. There I spent most of the time working, playing soccer, and I also had a surgery where my toncills were taken out. It was such a relief to finally get rid of them! No more angina for me! The doctor said that I couldn't have taken them out at a better time. I will spare you of the nasty and graphic details, but apparently, it was very hard to get them out since they were in such a bad condition.

This past fall I've been living in the city of Shreveport in the state of Louisiana. (The only state that begins with the letter L! haha! Just a small detail I like.) I live in an apartment with three other girls, and while I share the bathroom with one other person, I have my bedroom completely for myself - privacy!! Something my last school definitely lacked! We played a pretty good season, I was very satisfied with my own performance, even though I know, that as a team we could have gone further if only we had done certain things better. I'm looking forward to next year though! I scored 6 goals and assisted 3 this season, which put me as the second in our overall points. I got my fair share of playing time, both as a forward and a center-mid, even though I definitely prefer playing forward. Haha, here is my LSUS soccer picture for this year!

Here we are then, preparing for finals. I will have two finals on Wednesday (computers and sociology) and two finals on Thursday (psychology and biology). My flight to Helsinki leaves on Sunday from Dallas. I'm very much looking forward to seeing some snow, so I'll be hoping there will be loads of it when I get back to Finland!! Good night from Shreveport!

Relief and lactic acid in my musles

So my second final is finally over! I'm so glad that the I won't have to attend that class any more. It sounds harsh, but the class was beyond boring. Our professor just read everything straight from our slides, and we could have studied that on our own. He's a cool guy, and really smart, but the teaching skills are lacking something... Now I just have to get through history and theater and then that will be the official end of my career as a student at William Carey!

I've done Insanity now for 6 days in a row. We've gradually gotten some people to join us, me and C are not the only ones any more! I think I just recruited one more today again :) The workout is truly insane and I feel like I've already gotten more toned! Today was cradio power & resistance and it was sooo tough even though it was only 40 minutes long! We're going to do recovery and cardio abs tomorrow to get a little bit of "rest" if you can call it that!
Peace out!

INSANE!

I finally got the workout program for the summer. We received two dvds with twelve different kinds of insanity workout programs. I am soooo excited!! I really look forward to trying them all out. I already tried the fitness test and cardio abs with C, and they are INTENSE! But I will get there! I feel like I've got a really good summer coming with soccer, this workout and then I'll work at V and hang out with my friends. And there might even be a day when I don't feel like doing aaaaaanything...

While waiting for results from me, one can look at the extremely fit dancer Sophia Boutella. Maybe that could be me after the insanity? Peace out!