I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Write It

Remember that episode of Saved By The Bell where the girls sing "I'm So Excited?" If you're a lover of the show like I am, you'll know what I'm talking about. That is one of the classics. I feel like singing that song (without the whole I'm so scared part) over and over again right now. It just keeps getting better and better. I don't even know where to start so I guess with the small stuff...

Remember those plane tickets I bought to Europe a couple of months ago. Well the departure date on those tickets is May 2nd, as in three days from now. Saturday begins our two-week whirlwind journey around southern Europe and I cannot wait.

All of the big stuff is planned and booked (plane tickets, train tickets, hotels, etc). Now all we have to do is get there and enjoy ourselves.

I've been saving for the past six months to pay for this trip. I saved enough and put together a nice little budget of how much we have to spend in each city. When I put together the budget, I was assuming a 1-1.5 conversion rate. Well that rate has dropped heavily and guess what that means for me? My $$$ is going to buy a lot more gelato. Maybe we'll get to take that gondola ride after all.

My Q1 bonus gets added on to my paycheck TOMORROW. Could you ask for any better timing? And since it's a bonus for working hard day after day, you better believe I am not going to feel bad about spending it on well whatever I feel like at the time. I'm going to have to bring an extra suitcase just to bring home the stuff I buy. I'm pretty sure it's about time my shoe rack started overflowing again.

Did I mention that I'm going to Europe in less than three days? And that I won't have to work or worry about anything else while I'm gone? I'm not sure what I'm the most excited about- shopping in Madrid, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or seeing the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Or any of the other things we're going to do, see, eat, and buy. We got a camera to take with us so I'll definitely be posting pictures when I get back. And if you email me your address I'll even send you a postcard :)

Nashville Part 2: The People

There is one main reason I would love to live in the south- southern hospitality. I love walking down a street or into a store and having someone smile and say hello. In DC people look down and bump into you as they hurry by.

In Nashville, they walk slowly, look up, and smile when they see you. And say how ya'll doing? I used to hate the word ya'll, but I'm beginning to think it's one of the friendliest words (if you could call it a word) in the english language. I came home from our trip swearing to be nicer and more considerate (especially to strangers).

Friday night after the expo we searched all over town for a good place to carb load (really just an excuse for me to eat pasta), and everywhere either had a long wait or didn't have anything that sounded good. Then my dad remembered this great restaurant, Mere Bulles, near our hotel that he'd been to once like a year ago. I asked if they had a table and if there was a dress code (my sister was in basketball shorts). The host smiled and said that he could seat us right away and that we were just fine as we were.

We sat down and because of a small miscommunication between servesr we didn't actually get to order anything until thirty minutes later. So we got another server about thirty minutes into our meal, and the rest of the evening was fantastic. I had a delicious warm goat cheese and spinach salad topped with an amazing strawberry viniagerette. They only had one pasta dish that didn't fill the bill for me so I ordered chicken crusted with honey, walnuts, and almonds with a cranberry BBQ sauce. I'm a lover of good food, and every part of our meal was outstanding. And the dessert was even better- chocolate cake, carrot cake to die for, and a strawberry dessert that was half cake and half cheesecake. What more could you want?

All of that for free.

The manager came out after we finished our desserts and told us that he comped our entire meal because of the delay when we were first seated. I still can't believe it. That's what I call standing behind your product. He wanted us to know that the restaurant is not normally like that and the free meal was his way of apologizing. Even without the free meal I would've recommended the restaurant based on the food and service, but to me that shows class. That shows accountability and a complete understanding of how to really take care of a customer.

That's kind of how the rest of the weekend was as well- people treating people like they genuinely cared. Like they were actually people and not just things. Amazing really. So wherever you are, whether you're in DC or Alaska- maybe today just be a little nicer to people. Say good morning to your neighbor that gets on the elevator or smile at the cashier at the grocery store. Just lookup and notice the people around you and try and make their day a little brighter. And if it's a group of people, maybe even throw in a ya'll.

Nashville Part 1: The Race

There's way too much from this weekend to cover in one post so I'll start with the most important part- the race.

Okay so I've tried to write a race recap post three different times and started over every time. Imagine a trashcan full of crumpled papers right about now. So I'll keep this short and sweet. Okay maybe not so short.

I had two goals for this race. The first was to finish the race without walking. And the second was to see my sister and dad cross that finish line with me. And I achieved both of those goals, so I'm happy with that. My time was 20 minutes slower ((2:32) than my normal pace but running alongside my sister for the first time made it completely worth it.

The first six miles were incredible. I was lost in the joy of the moment, running alongside 30,000 other runners. The course was great, the fans were amazing, and my body felt great. I remember telling my dad that I was going to have no problems finishing, that I was going to pick it up for the last two miles and finish strong. Around mile nine I still felt great. That feeling ended quickly right around mile ten when the temperature hit 80 degrees. The last three miles were the hardest three miles I've ever run in my life- physically and mentally. The average race temperature is between 65-70 degrees, and the high temperatures just seemed to sap the energy out of everyone. I was physically exhausted.

But even more than that, the race was mentally exhausting. I always say that running is mostly mental. Your mind is much more likely to quit before your body actually needs to. We just let ourselves quit. Know why it was so hard? Probably about 90% of the people (and that's not an exaggeration) were walking the last two miles because of the heat. So rather than being able to go on cruise control for the last two miles of the race to finish, I had to manuever around thousands of other people to get to the finish.

If you think running 13.1 miles is hard, try running the last three miles while everyone around you is walking. Try telling yourself that it's not okay to walk when everyone else thinks it is. So I finished sore, sick, and tired. But I finished. We finished.

So that's the race. I can't believe it's over, and I can't believe that I'm already planning the next one. We're thinking the Bay Harbor half in Maine.

Somehow we didn't get any pictures of my dad at the actual race so you'll have to enjoy the sisterly bonding before the race. There is no way you are getting a picture of me after the race :) Oh and please remember that this is at 6 AM before running a half-marathon. You're lucky I even took pictures.

There's a Piece of Me in All 13.1 Miles

Tomorrow marks an accomplishment that means so much more to me than just finishing a half-marathon. I've done that before. This one is different than all of the others.

Almost exactly five years ago I went on a cruise with my family. After the cruise I saw pictures of myself and vowed, out loud, to run every day (or at least 4x a week) until my brother's wedding three months later. My sister-in-law laughed and told me that there was no way I could do it. She laughed, and I listened. I ran my butt off that summer (literally). I wore a khaki skirt to the wedding that summer and got complimented on how my butt looked amazing in the skirt. I never looked back. I continued running for the next three years, completing three half-marathons with my dad, one each year.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I was that girl that the guys might actually look at. I wasn't just the best friend anymore, I was the girl to watch. I'd just never felt comfortable in my own body during high school. And now I finally believed that I was actually beautiful. I met my husband in May of that third year. We met in May, I ran the third half-marathon in November, and we got married in December.

And I stopped running for a year. And then 18 months. And around two years from my last half-marathon I hit a point in my life where I've never been before. A point where I would come home and put on sweats because I didn't feel comfortable in any of my fitted clothes anymore. A point where I was too self-conscious and sad on days to even leave the house. A point where no matter what I did or what my husband said, that beautiful girl (I thought) was gone. I tried to start running again and failed time and time again. I had shin splints, I couldn't jump, blah blah blah. My body couldn't handle it.

So I started WW and slowly but surely the weight came off. And the running got easier and easier. Tomorrow I accomplish the goal I set for myself back in December- to find myself again. And to never lose myself again. I'd much rather be the girl who wears sweats because they're comfortable, not because it's uncomfortable to wear anything else. And the girl that looks at her legs in lingerie and thinks to herself that her husband is lucky to have her. And the girl who loves herself inside and out.

So here goes nothing. Two and a half years all wrapped up into 13.1 little miles. And if it doesn't all go as planned, who cares. I got something better than just dropping a couple pant sizes. I got myself back.

Play it Safe In the Sun Box

Alright, here goes. I'm going to try it one more time. Last year I lucked out and got the Play it Safe in the Sun box before anyone else could even order them. And then my box got stolen right off my doorstep.

Boxes go on sale at 12:01 PM today on Allure's website. I'm hoping to actually get my box this year. It really is a great deal, full sized versions of a bunch of products (listed below) for a condensed price. I will definitely use at least the majority of these products, which makes it worth it for me.

This year's box includes:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Fix
• Arbonne® No Sun Intended Bronzing Powder
• AVEENO® CONTINUOUS PROTECTION® Sunblock Lotion with SPF 70
• Ban®Vanilla Twist™ Antiperspirant
• Burt's Bees® 25th Anniversary Beeswax Lip Balm
• Coppertone® NutraShield™ Faces SPF 70+ with Dual Defense™
• Garnier Nutritioniste™ Skin Renew Anti-Sun-Damage Daily Eye Cream SPF 15
• jane iredale – THE SKIN CARE MAKEUP® Facial Blotting Papers
• Jergens® natural glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer
• JOHN FRIEDA® Sheer Blonde® Go Blonder Shampoo and Conditioner
• Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri Wheat Leave-in Conditioner

Making Exercise Fun

For me the only way to stay motivated to working out is to mix it up (or train for a race) so I don't get bored. Because you better believe I get bored. So here are some of my favorite workout ideas I've come across in the past year.

Skip to My Lou (not the real name, this came from a Self Magazine in the fall):

1. Warmup like normal
2. Run 1 song at a medium pace (5.5-6.0)
3. Skip for 1 song (4.5-5.5)
4. Run 1 song at a fast pace (6.0-7.0)
5. Repeat intervals 3-5x.
6. Cool down and stretch like normal.

Crunching Cards (this was a suggestion from Jillian on Biggest Loser):

1. Get a deck of cards.
2. Pick a card from the deck and do the exercise and number of reptitions that match the card you pick. Face cards=10 reps, an ace= a one minute break, and all other numbers=that amount of reps. Spades=crunches, diamonds= pushups, clubs=lunges, and hearts=reverse crunches.
3. Continue picking cards until you get through the entire deck.

The exercises that Jillian included in this are great, but the best part for me about this workout is that you really can make those things anything you want. So for instance I might try it out with pushups, lunges, dips, and bicycles. There are so many options, and it's never going to be the same workout. But I'll let you in on a secret- you're always going to be doing the same amount of each exercise so you'll get a equal workout all around.

So those are some of the workouts that keep me entertained. What are your favorites?

The Countdown Begins

Just as a quick note, I decided that rather than actually posting weekly menus and recipes (unless of course they're amazing), I am keeping my weekly menu on my right sidebar. I'll update it daily with our meals and link to any online recipes. This is my cop-out way of doing Menu Monday because I'm horrible at sticking to a meal plan I planned out ahead of time.

And on to what this post is all about. If you looked at the sidebar already, move up a little bit and you'll notice that my half-marathon countdown is down to a little over four days. So I've decided to dedicate the rest of the week to running. I'll be posting about my favorite running songs, training workouts, and of course the upcoming half-marathon. I normally would write about this on my running blog but don't have time to deal with two this week. And since most people I know read this blog, well this blog it is.

So here's my first post in my all-about-running week. I ran 10 miles on Saturday and felt great. Three weeks ago I was scared to death of this half-marathon and now I'm eager to get there. Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to this weekend in Nashville:

• The Biggest Loser contestant Dane completing a marathon (look for me on TV) right along side the other 23,000 of us.
• Pedicures after the race. My feet desperately need some TLC.
• Eating nothing but carbs the night before. I do love carbs.
• The miles and miles of bands and cheerleaders that will motivate me to the finish line.
• Getting off work early on Friday to catch my flight.
• Free drinks and snacks after the half.
• The goodie bag we get for entering. Nobody even cares if we run. I love a good t-shirt and health expo freebies.
• Crossing the finish line while my name is called out in the Tennessee Titans' stadium.

There are so many more things I'm excited for but those are the biggies. I'm such I'll be a ball of nerves come Saturday morning but for now I'm only excited. Nashville here I come.

Sucker for a Series

The best TV shows are the ones that end with you wanting to know what happens next. The ones that you season pass on your TiVo because you don't want to miss any part of the storyline. The ones where each episode leads into the next and is connected to all of the ones that came before it. Those are my favorite kind of shows.

So it's no surprise, I'm a sucker for any books that are part of a series. I love that by the end of a good series each of the characters is developed so thoroughly that I feel like I know them personally. And I'm sad to see them go.

Two years ago I did a giveaway on my blog and asked readers for book recommendations. One of the top recommendations was the book Redemption by Karen Kingsbury. I had no idea when I bought it that it was part of a five-book series. I just finished reading the fifth and final book of the series and wanted to let everyone know about these great books. I used Redemption in one of Fluent Brittish's book swaps, and everyone that read it loved the book.

So here I am taking that recommendation and passing it on to you. Karen Kingsbury's Redemption series is about people like you and me. It's about a family that goes through trials, struggles, and hardships. About individuals that sometimes forget their faith but always eventually come back around. About relationships between friends, family, lovers, neighbors, and strangers. It's about life. Life as I know it and life as you know it. And I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to remember that no matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets, it will always be okay.

So if you're looking for a good book, I've got five for you. Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice, and Reunion.

And if anyone feels like buying me the next series- Firstborn by Karen Kingsbury, I like new books. And gifts.

Simon Cowell on Miley Cyrus

I can't be the only one out there who thinks Miley Cyrus' voice is terrible. Okay maybe not terrible, but definitely not great. I really wish they would let Simon critique the star performances each week. I doubt half of them would have ever made it through the auditions, let alone win Idol.

I'll give it to you. Miley is a great performer, and Hannah Montana's a cute show. I'll even admit that I want to see the Hannah Montana movie. But does she have amazing vocals, not a chance.

I've seen her perform The Climb two different times live, and both times I cringe as soon as she gets to the chorus. Or maybe I start cringing during the verses. Who knows. All I know is that as much as I like the song, I'm always glad it's over.

All Done Playing it Safe

I never thought I'd say this, but I think my body is getting used to running. A good five mile run doesn't even make me break a sweat. All I've been doing for the past two months is running with an occasional day or two on the elliptical.

And my body is getting complacent. I'm in shape but don't feel like I'm getting any leaner or stronger, both things that normally happen when I run so much. The problem is all I've been doing is running. I've been so focused on this half-marathon and afraid of hurting myself, I haven't been willing to try anything else. Especially now that I've got less than two weeks left.

But you'd better believe that as soon as I get back from Europe (since that's right after the half), I'm going to shake up my routine. I'm ready to get back into spinning, weight training, and step aerobics. I'm planning to continue running, but my body is ready for something new.

So help me out readers. I need something to shock my body. Shock it into swimsuit shape, not just running shape. What do you do when you're in need of a good workout?

Please Say You'll Go With Me

There are three concerts I'm dying to go to in the next three months. Problem is I can't find anyone to go with me since Richie is either studying or isn't interested in the group.

So I'm hoping that one of you wants to go with me. Obviously one of you that lives in the DC area since all of these concerts are in DC. Although those of you that don't live here and want to come visit, I'm more than happy to host visitors. I really want to go to all three but Blue October is my number one right now, especially after listening to this song from the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Did I ever mention that one of Blue October's songs (Calling You) was the text on our wedding invitations? Hmm that story tomorrow.



So please say you'll go?

Blue October- Monday, April 27th at 9:30 Club
Rascal Flatts- Saturday, June 27th at Nissan Pavilion
Keith Urban/Sugarland- Thursday, August 20th at Verizon Center

Days 1-3 in the Life of a Law Student Wife

This weekend began the time of year that I hate the most- law school finals. Yes, it means that the year is almost over. But it also means that I'm husbandless for the next three weeks. And on top of finals, Richie's got a 50-page paper due tomorrow night. Last year I went into a down spiraling depression that ended only when he came home from his last final. It consisted of a lot of eating and lying on the couch not talking to anyone. This year I'm determined to enjoy myself and do as much as possible to help make it easier on him (and me). Rather than focusing on how much he's studying and I'm alone, I'm going to focus on all of the great things I get to do with the time I have to myself.

So here goes. Days 1-3 (i.e., this weekend) in my life as a supportive and not lonely wife of a 2nd year law student.

Day 1: Worked until 7:00 PM because I knew Richie was studying.
7:00-8:00- Ate dinner with Richie.
8:00-10:00- Watched two episodes of What Not to Wear. Didn't learn what I should wear. 10:00- Had the urge to get out of the house so I went to CVS and spent $30 on a ton of stuff including The Firm workout kit normally $50 (got it for 75% off- $12.50!!).
11:00- Got gas and treats for my husband. Got hit on at the gas station even though I was in sweats. How many times does a guy need to turn around while in line for two minutes? Apparently the answer is three. Sometimes I wish the ring on my finger was a little bigger.
12:00 AM- Watched three episodes of Say Yes to the Dress.
3:00 AM- Went to bed.

Day 2: Woke up at 10:00 and showered. Woke my husband up at 11:00.
12:00 PM- Went to a BBQ at the law school; chatted with friends and met Richie's classmates.
3:00 -Took a two-hour nap.
5:00- Wrote a grocery list.
6:00-8:00- Went grocery shopping; stopped to rent three chick flicks (Blue Crush, She's the Man, and Coyote Ugly) with gift cards from our wedding.
9:00-11:00- Ran nine miles while watching She's the Man (great running movie by the way).
11:00-1:00 AM- Caught up on the last three episodes of Heroes.
2:00- Went to bed.

Day 3: Happy Easter!
7:30 AM- Woke up the first time; Richie didn't sleep well so we went back to sleep.
11:30- Got up the second time; made breakfast for Richie.
1:00-3:00- Clipped coupons from the last three weeks. Gave half to my friend who came over.
3:00-5:00- Chatted with friends on Facebook (who knew there was chat on Facebook!!?).
5:00- Made my first ever Easter dinner- ham with a pineapple glaze, rosemary cheese breadsticks, scalloped potatoes, and green beans.
6:00- Ate dinner with Richie.
7:00-8:00- Found friends' blogs through Facebook. Read blogs.
8:00-9:30- Dishes.
9:30- 11:00- Made homemade strawberry chocolate eclairs.
11:30- Ate cream puffs and blogged.

So the keys to distraction are: cooking and eating a lot, cleaning/shopping, watching a lot of mind-numbing TV/movies, running to burn off all of that eating, and chatting with and reading about friends I normally don't have time for.

We'll see how long I can keep this up.

You Know It's a Good Day When...

...your work week ends early for the Easter holiday. You can drive home from work with the windows down. And waiting for you at home are jelly beans and chocolate eggs you don't have to feel bad about eating.



Gotta love Easter. Happy Friday!

What If I Never Started Blogging

I was watching Lie to Me tonight and a point at the end made me think twice. What if Blunt didn't lie about his illness, or the mayor didn't bribe the engineer, or the engineer would have confessed a few minutes earlier.

You can look back at your life and ask, "What if I did this?" or "What if I didn't do that?" The problem is that we'll never know what the outcome of those ifs would've been. That's why they're ifs. Every decision we make no matter how small it is makes a difference in the rest of our lives. For instance, what if writing this blog post means that I won't get as much sleep which means that I won't be as alert in the morning at work... and the list goes on and on and on. It's like that game where you have to connect two seemingly disconnected people together. It always works out somehow.

What if. What if. What if.

I say forget the what ifs and think about the what nows. We're going to make decisions, some that we look back on and wish we wouldn't have. But we did. And rather than looking back and wondering what if, we should be concerned with what we're going to do with where the if we chose took us. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes it's fun to wonder what if but seriously, what good does that do anyone? So no more looking back at the past and regretting or wishing it had turned out differently. It didn't, and nothing you can do today can change the past. But it can change today.

So to bring this post full circle...I guess we do need what ifs. What ifs for before we make the decisions that we'll look back on and wish we would've made differently. Maybe if we think about the what ifs before we make those decisions, we won't have so many what ifs to imagine differently come tomorrow.

The Difference Between Someone Who Can Cook and Someone Who Can Cook Well

I could have titled this post the difference between me and my husband, but the post isn't about my husband being an amazing cook. It's about what I think makes for a good cook.

When someone says they can't cook, I think that's a lie. I think that if someone can read or follow directions they can cook. There are plenty of recipes out there that consist of five ingredients or less and five steps, tops. Don't tell me that you can't take a piece of chicken out of the package, sprinkle it with some seasonings, put it on a baking sheet, put it in the oven, and take it out again. How about dumping a bunch of stuff in a crockpot and turning it on. Nothing tough about either of those things. And there are a million of other recipes out there that don't take a whole lot more effort. Did I convince you?

However, not everyone can cook well.

I think cooking well means more than just following a recipe correctly. It means being able to save dinner when the recipe doesn't turn out so well. Or combining two or three recipes to create their own. I can't do that. Yet.

I like tried and true recipes that I know are good. But I'm trying out a lot of new ones, and it's helping. We've all got to start somewhere right. Nothing to lose except for burnt cookies and dry chicken.

So start. Cook something. Anything.

Good, Better, and Best

This is going to be quick because it's time for bed. I'll try and post as much as possible this month, but it's going to be a busy month for me. With the half-marathon two weeks from Saturday and flying to Europe the week after that, we'll see how much blogging I have time for.

But I'm here now. This weekend was great. The weather was beautiful on Saturday and Sunday, and I got my 8-mile run in outside on Saturday. That's the longest I've run since my last half-marathon November 2006. I'm beginning to think I may actually make it. Only six runs left until the half.

My run was followed by watching The Women with the girls and then brunch on Sunday with a couple of other married couples that we hang out with often. Have I ever mentioned how much I like brunch food? Fruit dip, my quick and easy breakfast casserole, crepes, and cinnamon rolls, definitely a delicious combination.

Tonight I made Honey Bunches of Oats chicken (I baked mine) with potato wedges and corn for dinner, did laundry, caught up on missed episodes of 24, and ran another five miles while watching the first half of 10 Things I Hate About You. It was a good night.

And now it's time to end that good night with a good night's sleep. Be back as soon as I've got another few minutes between buying train tickets and watching movies on the treadmill.

Committing Fraud is as Easy as Eating a Salad on the DC Metro on My Way to a Bullfight

Out of the three transactions listed below, which do you think put a hold on my credit card for "possible fraudulant transactions?"

1. Salad from Au Bon Pain
2. Tickets purchased online to a bullfight in Madrid, Spain
3. Adding $20.00 to a DC metro Smartrip card.

The answer?

All of the above. This is getting ridiculous. I've talked to both of my credit card companies (yes, I've tried two different ones) three times each tonight to no avail. They authorize one transaction then mark the next one as suspicious. Can someone please tell me how I'm supposed to plan a trip to Europe when I can't buy more than one thing at a time?

A Productive Day

Can I go home yet?

BEFORE

AFTER

Out With the Cooking, In With the Fried Rice

Have I ever mentioned that I'm addicted to fried rice? Look what just opened underneath my apartment. Twenty percent off for apartment residents.


At least I walked down three flights of stairs. Better not put those jeans away just quite yet.


Disclaimer- This isn't actually the restaurant in my building. For safety reasons I didn't want people to know exactly where I live.

How to Make a Post Comment Worthy

I've had this conversation with multiple people, seen it mentioned on multiple blogs, and wondered about it myself multiple times. What makes a post comment worthy? Why do you comment on a post? I looked back at my posts to see which ones got the most comments, and it didn't help much at all. Other than the giveaway and carnival (e.g., Thursday thirteen) posts, the rest seemed quite random until I took a closer look.

My top 30 commented posts are below. And you want to know what all of these have in common. All of these posts are about one thing- my life. And ladies and gentleman that's the secret.

People want to get to know you and what you're doing in your life. Blogs are like tabloids. They want to know it all, every juicy detail no matter how mundane you may think it is. Spoken by a girl who reads more blogs than tabloids because the details of the lives of real people are much more interesting to me than celebrities.

In "Friends" fashion...

1. The one where I blogged about relaxing at the spa.
2. The one where I poured out my full heart to the world and said goodbye to good friends.
3. The one where I vented about my horrible experience at the doctor's office.
4. The one where I knocked my parking pass off before work and swore someone stole it.
5. The one where I almost lost it on a DC driver or was it a tourist?
6. The one where I blamed my idiocy on Turbo Tax. And apology to Bob from Turbo Tax.
7. The one where I calculated that I've paid $1000 in parking tickets in the past three years.
8. The one where I warned my neighbors to stop stealing packages from my apartment.
9. The one where I ran into (almost literally) my junior year prom date. Ugh.
10. The one where the IRS forgot to tell me I wasn't getting a stimulus check.
11. The one where I saw the outcast hoping for a friend and tried to be that friend.
12. The one where I met a "bloggy buddy" for the first time in real life.
13. The one where I counted how many cupcakes I could make for $3.00.
14. The one where I was on a break.
15. The one where I figured out what it meant to be happy.
16. The one where someone hijacked "Playful Professional" to enter giveaways. And won.
17. The one where I went back to school.
18. The one where I confessed to eating a pack of ramen noodles a day for a week straight.
19. The one where I decided to be a 100 calorie snack pack instead of chocolate cake.
20. The one where I told you how to dress when you're broke.
21. The one where I bought my first nail file. Ever.
22. The one where I found the origin of the song Skiddamarinkydinkydink in my bedroom.
23. The one where my husband got his law job.
24. The one where they made the ten month old pay for a seat she wouldn't sit in.
25. The one where I talked about QA bugs and boob jobs.
26. The one where I got my hair cut like Lauren Conrad.
27. The one where I figured out how to buy lingerie. And feel good in it.
28. The one where I found my skinny jeans.
29. The one where I signed up for a half-marathon or bought tickets to Europe.
30. The one where I heard a girl ask if rice was a vegetable.
    

Resolution Recap #3

I kind of fell off the wagon this month, but here goes anyway. Richie's in finals in April so hopefully I'll get back on the ball again befoe we're gone for all of May.

• Run a half-marathon (at least one) with my dad. -Running country music half April 25th.
• Lose another 10 lbs to get back to my healthy weight. - Cruise= +3 lbs. Oops.
• Save enough money to pay for our trip to Europe in August. -I spent the money we saved on plane and train tickets to Europe in May. Spending all the money saved, check.
• Learn how to play Stay by Sugarland on the guitar. -Next.
• Keep a record of the year by writing on this blog and/or in a journal.- 1o posts. Just average.
• Start dating my husband again. - Oops again.
• Try a new recipe at least 1x a week. -The whole not being hungry thing didn't help.
• Simplify my life so I have time for the things that really matter. - Ooh I did this one!
• Try not to hurt people with my words (this means I have to think before I speak). - Better.
• Renew and strengthen my relationships with the people that mean the most to me. - Okay.

Wow that was worse than I thought it was. I went into vacation mode the beginning of March and apparently never got out. The only real thing I did was train for my half-marathon and enjoy time with family and friends.