Attention: El train riders.

Lately I have been reading incidences regarding theft on the Red Line train. This isn't meant as a scare tactic but just thought I'd post some tips:

If you need to ride the El to run errands try to do it during daytime hours.
Now I know you must be thinking: things happen in the daytime also. Very true,but your risk of something happening goes up at night,especially if you are riding alone. There is usually more people in the daytime as well.

Please,if you can,do not take your purse,and take only credit cards.

If there is any way you can take a small coin purse or just put your credit card in your pocket,you are better off. Buy a CTA pass if you can so that you don't have to carry that much cash. Especially with the times right now,more women(as well as men) are getting pick pocketed. Again,things still can happen no matter how careful you are but at least with credit cards you can dispute the charges and cancel it all together if someone ends up stealing it. Lot of city people know this but for those who have recently transplanted from a small town or come down to the city from the 'burbs they tend to be too comfortable and are the ones that end up having this happen to them the most.

Use the buddy system
Especially if you are going to be riding late at night coming back from the bars.

Lastly,if you see something suspicious,get off and go inside to the nearest building.
Immediately call the police if you can.

If you can,carry Mace with you,it's good to have on your keychain in case you need to use it.

The El train system is a wonderful source of transportation that can help us avoid paying 30 dollar parking fees,but at the same time you are going with a number different kinds of people so it is always a good idea to take precaution.

Get fit with Body By Gilad!

It's getting towards the end of the month and I am still focusing on working out and eating healthy. If you want to get really fit with fast results,may I suggest "Body by Gilad" workout programs. I have been utilizing his exercise as far back as high school so I know it works. I have tried all sorts of exercises but find that I get bored real easily. With Gilad's programs,you will never be bored. He mixes it up with a combination of cardio,weight lifting,squats,abs,you name it. And they work! Choose from a variety of dvds that target all types of body parts and you will be strutting North Ave Beach in no time.

Check out  Body by Gilad for further ordering information,or tune in to your local listings on Fit Tv.

Doodleganza at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Just found a neat event that is held  the first Tuesday of each month at the Museum of Contemporary Art. "Doodleganza" is basically a free event where people can come and experience some hands on art while they feature different artist to guide the participants into making it. It's not quite an art class,but more of an "art party" that does not require any expertise of art whatsoever.

This event occurs the first Tuesday of every month and starts at 6pm. A great "happy hour" event where you can relieve some of that stress from work. It can be very therapeutic if I say so myself.

Check out different free events every Tuesday by checking out MCA's site.

Healthy Eating in 2010!

I vowed myself after New Year's that I was going to eat more healthy. So far so good!

After much reading,I learned that fruits and vegetables,not carbs,should make up the majority of your diet. I have also incorporated a trail mix of nuts and raisins so I can snack on in a healthy way between breakfast and lunch to curb my appetite. As far as proteins,egg whites,chicken breast,and lean turkey meat are some of the things I have included as well.

Stay tuned as I blog about my exercise regime with Body by Gilad.

Material Posessions or Having "fun"?

I have been debating on this forum on this particular topic and most people got the question. The question I posted was" would you rather spend your money on material things like nice house,car,etc or,would you rather spend your money on vacations,eating out/having drinks,etc. Most of the people on there got it but one particular person has not gotten the concept,she believes you can do both.

Really both? Are you well-to-do?Living at home? Then ok,I can see the point there. But for the average Joe,some take priority of having a nice place to live and spend money towards that than to splurge on eating out at fancy restaurants 3-4 times a week. Some prefer to enjoy life more and are perfectly fine living in a shack and not drive a car.

I honestly think this girl still lives at home with her parents and don't know quite yet how it is to live in the real world.

It really is about where your priorities are in life. I also believe you can have a great blend of both lifestyles,as long as you don't go one extreme to another,unless you want to be among the millions that are in great credit card debt that can't seem to pay off their bills.

I think that this is the reason why the economy is in the state that it is right now-I am hearing countless stories of people that have not seemed to "learn their lesson" and continue to just not care.

I had an interesting conversation with someone the other day. She hails from a poor country and have always had a low standard of living. So when the economy went downhill in the US she pointed out that she was able to cope with it because she has been living this way for a long time out there. My husband says this to me also. People that have been put in this situation before tend to be more resilient than those that are not used to it.

Maybe this concept will now be coming to the US,we don't know for sure if the state of the economy is going to recover completely to where it was during the Clinton years. Perhaps people will start living like the people in France for instance,small housing establishments and taking public transportation,or just own one car instead of 4.