MIA but I can explain!

Yep, I've been MIA for a hot minute. And as much as I want to SNEAK back in and act like nothing happened - a lot has happened since my last post. Let's get right to it.

So in chronological order, this is what I've been up to.

Did this. Yep, see Sam run and I may have done a little late birthday celebration. The day started out so innocent - a little bike ride around a city park. But the innocence didn't last - and after a day of drinking copious amounts of Pinot Grigio, shopping under the influence of said Pinot, and bar hopping later with less drunk friends - our day was finished and our havoc wreaked. Who says turning 25 is old and boring?

Speaking of old and boring - HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to see Sam run. I just saw her today and she still doesn't look a day over 22... 

I also did this. I know what you're thinking - what's a wild possum doing in a vet's office? Well that, ladies and gentlemen, is not a wild possum. It's my peculiar cat Phoebe. And for the record, the vet is super expensive. Clean my cats teeth for $200?! She licks her own genitals - I think the teeth clean is too little too late, but thanks anyways.

Then I did this - my home away from home... AN AIRPLANE. I got sent back to Oklahoma City for another two weeks of work - this has almost everything to do with my absence on the blog. Let me expound:

14 days of 12 hour shifts spent staring at a computer. I felt like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I mean I was DONE. And even if I did somehow get motivated to write a HLM post, the company I work for is BIG BROTHER like crazy with their IT programs and there was NO WAYYY I was logging into blogspot on their internet. 

 The good thing about working in the office - I got to dress pretty! What I do in my career is not relevant to this blog therefore I need not talk about it. But what I can say is this: I do NOT get to wear pretty office clothes often. So I went a little crazy - note the shoe collection I brought with me above.

I could really get used to wearing cute outfits on a daily basis...

I also did this - drank shit tons of water. Was it good? Nah, just OK... hehe.

Oh and oh yeah - I forgot to mention that the day before I left OKC, I was around 5 to 10 miles from the Moore, OK tornado? Yes. It was so scary, ya'll. One minute the skies are blue and the birds are chirping and the next minute the sky is black and covered with hail, wind, and rain, and the tornado sirens are going off outside of my door. 

But my eyes were glued to the local news streaming from my phone the entire time and by the grace of God, we were missed. 

It is always hard to watch the aftermath of natural disasters on the news no matter where they've occurred. But there is nothing more sobering than seeing emergency personnel dig for people in piles of rubble on a national news station and realizing that that could have been you. My heart was broken leaving OK the next day and it still is. It's just amazing how devastating those storms can be with only a 45 minute warning.

One of my best friends and her husband just moved to OKC from Washington state and they are just as clueless about tornadoes as me. So I couldn't leave town without giving them a parting/house warming present: I got them tornado helmets.

Is this a silly gift? Yes. Is it a joke? Hell no. If something ever hits their house or office, I want to make sure their brains are covered. This is shit no one thinks about until your in the middle of tornado alley during peak season.

The day that I left OKC, I flew to Charlotte, NC and continued onto the mountains  where I met my parents and sister and did some pretty serious wedding planning. 

My favorite part of the week - she said YES to the dress, ya'll! But not before trying on one and a half billion dresses beforehand. She's got such a cute figure so it was hard to not love them all. For the record, this isn't HER dress but here's a little taste of my afternoon shopping... so dramatic! But doesn't she kind of look like the trophy from the Oscars?

And after a refreshing week in the mountains catching up with the kinfolk, I headed back to the shore to hang out with the boyfriend, my friends, and of course my dog. We have been a little obsessed over our backyard and back porch lately... Here's some of our work.

And since I got to Wilmington I have:

• Attended a lovely bridal shower for a friend
• Acquired the most AWKWARD sunburn ever
• Given my dog a bath, twice (white dogs are the WORST!)
• Ordered the Justin Timberlake album on vinyl
• Eaten delicious Thai food
• Gone running, of course

And right now, I'm sitting on my back deck finishing this post and waiting on see Sam run to get here and drink delicious sangria. BOOM. It's good to be back.

see Sam run Saturdays on Sunday: 30 Day Squat Challenge

Oops! It's not Saturday, but you guys don't mind, right?

This post will be just like me, short and sweet. I challenge YOU, readers, to this epic squat battle:

That's right, day 30 ends with 250!! You can do it! I jumped in on day 2 today. Let's go!

 Squats are a girls best friend!

-see Sam run

see Sam run Saturdays: "Post 29" and Control

Happy birthday to me!! Well, yesterday anyway...

Yesterday was my "post 29" birthday. Healthylittleme coined the term because I get nauseous at the very sound of that "T" word!

It bothers me that I can no longer say I'm in my twenties. This particular birthday makes me feel like I haven't accomplished as much as I'd hoped to by now. I don't have a house of my own, or a career, I haven't finished my Master's degree, I'm STILL a poor college student...

This got me thinking about what I HAVE accomplished thus far (way to be positive, right?) I am in graduate school, I have run races, and even a 10k, I bought the car I always wanted, I have two wonderful rescue dogs, I have the love of one of the most genuine men on the planet, I've lived on my own for 11 years now, I have authored books, I have been on NPR, and I have some of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. And now, lets add to it that I am getting in the best shape of my life. Not for anyone else, but for ME.

My pity party is over about no longer being in my twenties. You may return to your regularly scheduled programming.

That being said, this past week has been insane for so many reasons and my diet and exercise routine kind of, sort of fell off the face of the earth. But this is a new week and it's time to get on it! It's time to step it up! It's time to regain control.

I don't know about you, readers, but a big part of my weight struggles and relationship with food comes from feeling out of control. There are so many aspects of life that we are not in control of and I, personally, dealt with that by seeking comfort. Had a bad day at work? Hello cheeseburger and fries! Get a bad grade on an exam? Come to momma, ice cream! I feel like this is probably the case with a lot of people. We turn to comfort food to make us feel better. And it's not only food, it's other things like curling up on the couch and watching reruns of Friends despite the fact that you own every season on DVD and should probably be working on your thesis. No? That just me? My point is we often turn to familiar things of comfort to deal with the aspects of our lives we can't control, and that usually turns into a life of pork rinds and an ass that fits perfectly in the couch. We all need those comfort days, but sometimes they turn into comfort months. You know what's even better than mac-n-cheese and a Lost marathon? Having a fitness level you can be proud of. Having the confidence to wear those shorts you've been eying. Setting a goal and smashing it!

It took me THIRTY (I said it and I just threw up in my mouth a little) years to realize that the one thing you can control is YOUR choices. They may not always be perfect, but they are YOURS. You control you. You will fall, but it's your choice whether you pick yourself up or stay down. What's your choice?

Happy Saturday!

-see Sam run