Relaxing..

I know that you are thinking that someone who has my schedule has no time for this. But even on the days that I work 15 hours, or days like yesterday where I work 13.5 hours and then go to the gym for 45 minutes of the elliptical, (YES I DID THAT, I am SO proud!!) I have 20 minutes before bed to relax. Really hard core greeners, avert your eyes.. because I take a 20 minute shower almost every night.
Yes, that's right. This is how I wind down. I have little to no time for naps, lounging, TV watching any day of the week. So I indulge with the shower. Let me tell you how it works: I light a candle and shut off the lights. I have a bath pillow, and when I get in the shower, I lay down. Yes, I lay down in the shower. I don't wash hair, face, nothing for at least 10 minutes. I lay there, brain shut off, hot water coming down, and I relax. I let my muscles de-compress. I put my feet up, put my head on the pillow, and I just breathe in the candlelight. I have been known to drift off for a couple of minutes in the shower. It is SO relaxing.
When I can tell that I won't have hot water for much longer, I wash up and get out. Due to my dry skin, I use baby oil AND lotion, and the combination smells amazing and makes me sleepy for some reason. I get into something really comfy, and go directly to bed. Usually, this makes me go right to sleep, and I will sleep well. Even though I'm sure some people will be mad at me for wasting water, I need this. I need this 20 minutes at the end of a crazy day where I can sit, relax, clear my head, wind down, even cry once in a while. I will never shower in the morning regularly again. I think I have trained myself to get sleepy with this ritual. I highly suggest doing this if anyone out there has a crazy stressful day. Light a candle, get the water hot, lay down, and just BE for a while. Warning... it's a super addictive habit. You will never be the same.

Goodnight everyone :)

Wedding Weekend!

I've been MIA all weekend because one of my good friends got married and as a member of the bridal party, I have been otherwise occupied. It was a great time!
Friday was a half day at work, and then off to get nails done. Jenny found a salon that had a full service bar... yes it was as awesome as it sounds. It was drinks one and two of about 100 for the weekend :) After a mani/pedi, a glass of champagne and a martini, it was off to take a small nap before dinner and the bachelorette. Dinner was at a steakhouse, so options for me were limited. I ended up with a poached pear salad and bruschetta. (Did I spell that right? I don't even know.) I (stupidly) got the small salad. After it came, I really wished I had gotten the large. It was crazy delicious! Peaches, mixed greens, goat cheese, pecans, some sort of amazing dressing.....yum.... not to mention the margarita and martini that came with dinner :) After dinner, and after the older/too young/pregnant people left, it was out to the clubs. At this point I don't remember exactly what I drank, but I can tell you that it was my first experience with PBR.. thanks Lindsay. We went to 3 different places, drank, danced, laughed a LOT, took some fabulous pictures that I hope to post tomorrow. Jenny didn't want any of that tacky bachelorette stuff, so no sashes or stupid "props" or anything like that. Thank God, because I also hate those things. No one on the outside looking in would have been able to tell it was a bachelorette. Her dad was nice enough to pick us up afterward, so it was a fun, SAFE evening.
Saturday I spent most of the day in bed recovering from Friday. I'm not used to drinking like that anymore, so good thing I had nowhere to be until the rehearsal at 5. After the rehearsal was dinner, where I really got to hang out with and talk to the other bridesmaids. They are all from out of town and I had never met them before this weekend. They were all really nice, fun girls, and we all got along really well the entire weekend.
Sunday was the wedding! We went to get our hair done at 10, and there was more champagne and some bagels and things to be had. Of course I had champagne... Jenny had the bottle with her at one point because the time was being cut close, and we weren't sure whether or not it would rain, and I think she was stressing. Actually, I KNOW she was stressing. Time was being cut really short, so the ladies at the salon were nice enough to let me and another bridesmaid get ready there, and the other girls went ahead. After finally being done and getting to the church, things seemed to go smoothly. Pictures were taken, we all got down the aisle, and the ceremony was beautiful. I was surprised when it was time to go back up the aisle and I realized that a joke from the night before had actually been approved by Jenny... therefore the bridal party exited the church to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Hilarious. Because no wedding is complete without Lady G. (FYI, this was a groomsman's idea. They were the best group of guys to hang out with during the wedding, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard for so long. They were always doing something crazy and ridiculous.)
After a few more pictures, it was off to the reception. We were introduced to Jay Z's "Bring Em Out" and danced our way into the room. The party was so much fun, and the DJ managed to play music that didn't offend the older crowd but still made the younger crowd want to dance. The groomsmen were in hot demand by the two flower girls, and they were all good sports and great with all the kids there, so everyone in every age group had a great time. After the DJ was done, the bridal party went out for drinks AGAIN, and I was finally home by about 1:30 in the morning this morning.
Today was mainly a lazy day, sleeping and recovering from the entire experience. (Although I did squeeze in a small workout at the gym this afternoon.) It was such a great weekend, I had a great time and met some great people. I wish people got married every weekend!!!

Its EARTH DAY!!

So I think I will write this post in green...

Do YOU live green? Do you know how to do it, and do you understand the huge effects of a few simple changes? Let's start with my favorite, and definitely the easiest thing to do. Reusable shopping bags. You can get these almost anywhere now. In America, we go through over a billion plastic bags every DAY. These bags clog the landfills, and never decompose. They are also made using petroleum, so cutting back would lower gas prices. Not one person reading this can claim that they wouldn't like to pay less for gas. Buy a few larger, sturdy shopping bags that will hold a ton more groceries, be easier to carry, and save the environment :) If you forget these bags, ask your store to use paper instead of plastic. One thing I do not like about Target is that there is not a paper bag option, but we did give out reusable bags on Sunday, and we give you 5 cents off your order for each reusable bag you use to bag your groceries. There are a couple of regions in the country that have outlawed plastic bags and Styrofoam take-out containers. Imagine the dramatic cut in waste if the entire country did this.
Use "green" cleaners and laundry soap. I personally like the Seventh Generation brand, they sell it at Target and Whole foods, and I promise it cleans everything just as well as chemical-filled cleaners. Everything we use to clean our kitchen, bathrooms, and our clothes will eventually end up back in our water supply. Maybe you don't think of this while you are scrubbing your sink, but that water goes back down through the sink, through the sewer system, and winds up back in our drinking water. Mmmmm, I bet it tastes good. And there is a side benefit to using these as well... they are safer for children and there are no awful fumes. Win :)
Buy a water bottle. Buy a travel coffee mug. Use these every day instead of buying bottled water and using a Styrofoam cup at the coffee place.
Stop buying single-serve portions. Packaging makes up one third of the garbage in landfills, so if you buy in bulk and portion them out into reusable containers, it will save on a ton of garbage.
Try to have one day a week be "meat-free" in your home. It is now a proven fact that the methane gas produced by farm animals is partly responsible for global warming. 9 billion animals are consumed in this country every year, and if everyone could make one day be meat free, this number would significantly reduce.
Buy organic. Organic produce is grown without the use of damaging pesticides and chemicals that filter into the soil and create poisonous conditions for wildlife. (Do you really want all that crap on your food anyway? And if the health risks aren't enough, did you know it is now proven that all these chemicals and pesticides make you FAT? I will explain this in a different post, but it's true, so think about that.)

This list is a list of things that I actually do, except for me, every day is meat free. Could I do better? Of course. I drive an SUV, and since I cannot afford a new car I will be keeping it around for a while. I love SUV's, but I will try to make sure my next one is more fuel efficient. I am known for leaving things plugged in, for leaving lights on, etc. I am working on this. The point is, if everyone made a few small changes in "greening" their lives, this planet will be around for longer, and will be a much better place for future generations.

Please let me know what you do to live green, I would love new ideas. Happy Earth Day everyone :)

Warning: Adult Language. Not Suitable For Children.

Last night I couldn't bear to look at Molly's face anymore, begging for a run, and my knee felt better so we went. It started out ok, but as it went on and on it hurt more and more, and I got super frustrated. Why does this always happen to me?? I always get really motivated to work out, and then I hurt myself somehow, and by the time I'm healed I no longer want to do anything. Its a vicious cycle. Right now, I am really motivated to run. It was starting to be something I looked forward to doing, but even if I had to drag myself out there, the feeling after I accomplished the 2.6 miles was a high. I don't know what to do, I don't know how to fix it other than icing it and taking ibuprofen. I mean, I am walking/running 2.5 miles. I did not go into this thinking I was in amazing shape and could take on a 10 mile sprint. I don't think I overdid it at all, and yet still, here it is, sharp pains and acting like a total baby.

Look right-knee. It's time to man the fuck up. I'm tired of all this complaining and your attitude. Get better, and do it quick. I don't have time for this shit, and I am on my last nerve with you. I know you don't like running. My whole body has never liked running, not ever in 26 years. But to he honest, I never expected this reaction out of you. Ankles? They are a different story, soccer really hurt their feelings and they never quite got over that. But you knee? Are you serious? Are ankles passing around a petition? Because I cannot have that. Don't think for a second that none of you are irreplaceable. They make plastic that will function and not hurt me, so keep it up knee, and you won't live in this body as long as I do. I promise to get you new shoes soon, but I don't have the money right now and I don't think its fair that you are rebelling because I can't afford fancy gifts. If you are a gold-digger, you came to the wrong person. I need to get in shape now. Hold out for another month, and I will get shoes that both you and ankles will enjoy. So all three of you... grin, bear it, and get it done.

Molly and I also got into a fight last night. We take a route that goes over a bridge, and there is a 4 foot wide sidewalk with the road on one side, and a chainlink fence on the other to prevent people from falling about 30-40 feet to the ground below. Needless to say, there is not a lot of room to go if something happens. Every time we cross this bridge, I pray that there is not another person also crossing the bridge at the same time. Or that, if there is, that they don't have a dog. Because Molly hates dogs, and takes it upon herself to try to kill each one she sees, and 4 feet is not a lot of room for controlling her without being taken out by a tractor trailer. Do you see where this is going? Yes. Last night was the night that another dog owner and his dog dared to cross the bridge at the same time as us. I saw them before Molly did, so I pressed her up against the fence and grabbed ahold of her harness, and yelled a warning to the man with the now super scared dog that Molly is not friendly towards other dogs. Then she saw the dog... and in the words of Ceasar Milan, she entered the Red Zone. Its a good thing I saw them first and was able to get a good grip on her because like I said, there is not a lot of room for error here. I was holding with both hands and pressing her up against the fence, she was doing the best she could to get free, and the man and his coward dog walked by as fast as possible. I felt bad, because he had to go into the road for a second, but there were no cars at that moment so he was safe. Safer than getting his dog closer to Molly anyway. After they were gone and still safe and sound, Molly got chewed out. Bad. She was in trouble for the rest of the night.

All in all, I did not feel good about myself when I got back last night. I was mad that my knee hurt, (pretty brutally at that point may I add..) and I was mad at Molly, and I didn't feel that I had gotten a good enough workout in. Tomorrow, I am going to go to the gym and try the elliptical and talk to a trainer about what workouts to do that won't kill my knee altogether. I quit, yes, but you have to give 30 days notice and therefore I have 30 days to be able to go. I also bought Jillian Michael's DVD, No More Trouble Zones. I can't do this yet because there are a lot of squats and lunges involved, but when I can, I'm scared and excited at the same time. Scared because she is scary and slightly annoying, and excited because I heard her DVD's really work. Let's go knee. Get it together. See what you are holding me back from?!?

Not A Good Blogger...

Sorry guys. I suck lately. I haven't had much happen this past week that's interesting, and I've been super tired as you know. The good news is that I think I finally caught up on much needed sleep last night. I went shopping with a friend and came home and took a 2 hour nap. Went to bed for the night around midnight, and slept almost straight through till 11. It sucks because I wanted to get up early and go running, (powering through the knee pain!!) and get my grocery shopping done because I am seriously out of food. But I think my body needed to rest, so it is what it is. My knee still hurts but thanks to icing and ibuprofen, its getting better. So I am definitely going tomorrow. I feel bad, I can tell Molly misses it just in the way she is acting, so her knees are apparently fine lol. If I didn't have to work in 45 minutes, this wouldn't be an issue, but I do... stupid Target. And since I need to work till 8, groceries and running will wait till tomorrow afternoon. Ah well, I only work at Target three days next week, and I have the whole weekend off for my friend's wedding... very excited! Let's hope I look ok in my bridesmaid's dress!
Well, I better get ready for work now. Blah.. hope everyone else has a better Sunday afternoon!

Sorry, I Just Woke Up

Today was kind of a waste of a night off. I have been so tired from the lack of sleep at the beginning of the week that I came home and passed right out for a couple of hours. I wanted to go running SO badly, but I hurt my knee and its finally starting to feel better, but its not 100%. After thinking about it, and reading about a similar injury on IITGI, I decided to not run till its completely better. Hopefully this will be Saturday. The good news it that this seems to be a common injury among new runners, so it doesn't mean I have bad knees! I do need to get new running shoes ASAP so let me know how you all want to donate to this... :)
I ate the last of my spinach this morning in my smoothie so tomorrow I will have to get creative with my meals... it means I will probably have to wake up earlier and make oatmeal or something with fruit, and Quiznos for lunch. I just tried Pacific Natural's Carrot/Ginger/Cashew soup, and eh.. it was good, but there was something about it I didn't love. I think I will stick with their tomato soup from now on lol. And I also had my last vegan cookie dough ball. Apparently I need to go grocery shopping sooner than I had expected!
This is all I really have for today. I've been in a sleep-deprived haze for the past few days and I don't have any super exciting news to share. I can tell you that my friend's wedding is next weekend, so hopefully I will have some pics to share from that. The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend and I plan to run and spend some time outside. I hope you all have a great weekend! I will try to get on and at least say something at some point... hopefully I will be cheering right after a good workout!

I Heart Sleep

Sorry I've been so bad about the posting. Lemme explain... extreme lack of sleep. I'm not talking the normal lack that I get from working so much, no. I'm talking about getting an hour and a half Sunday night, and about 2 hours Monday night. Bru-Tal. Sunday night I just couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned all night. Also, I have circulation issues in my legs, (have I mentioned this before? I think I may have..) and when my feet go either extreme hot or cold, they tend to stay that way for a while. And my feet were HOT. No matter what I did, they were so hot and it was so uncomfortable. So that was Sunday... Monday, J brought the kids over for the night before they went back to their mother's. When the kids come, poor Molly has to be shut in the second bedroom. She is big, and they are little, and she terrifies them. So needless to say, Molly hates this. Monday night, all I listened too was her whining, and scratching, and throwing herself at the door. At this point I was so unbelievably exhausted that I had a small meltdown. Yesterday at work I was a zombie and got nothing accomplished. I got a normal night's sleep last night, but I totally could have slept all day I think. I'm exhausted even now. I have tomorrow off from Target and I'm looking forward to a LONGG nap after work.

One of the worst things about lack of sleep is the effect on how I look. I'm serious, because right now my skin looks all matte and un-glowy, (its a word, a new one,) and dry and just not attractive. The circles under my eyes are pretty dark, and basically I look like a drug addict. Not a good look, especially at work. The other worst thing about no sleep is that... I didn't get to sleep. I LOVE sleeping. Its one of the reasons that I can get lazy quick and start not working out. My bed is so comfy, and I could sleep all day sometimes if people would let me. (Speaking of working out, I would like to throw in that I actually did go for my run with Molly on Monday, lack of sleep and sore knee and all. I'm badass.)

I'm going to stop talking about this now because I'm already tired, and its making it worse. I'm hoping that between tomorrow and the weekend, I can catch up on my sleep and be good as new on Monday. For now, the coffee machine and I have become dear friends.