February 20

Oh Del Taco, how I love thee...
Went out with a friend tonight. Super fun, even though the plan wasn't exactly what we had intended. Note to self, when approaching what you think is a "lounge" type bar and you see girls in tight, short dresses and SUPER high heels, you should probably think twice about going in anyway. Or you can go in and enjoy being the oldest girls there, feel the thump thump thump of the music shake your arms hairs, and talk trash about how we're soooo glad we're not in our 20s anymore. Yay for making awkward situations fun!

Anyway, after we had had enough of the "club," I dropped my friend off and enjoyed some Del Taco chili cheese fries. Delish.

February 19

Friends rule
Today was the awesome Saturday team workout. These are fun, because you can put yourself on teams with your friends, no matter how many times your trainers tell you that you can't. We were supposed to have 3 guys and 3 girls on our team of 6, but we're rebellious and we don't care. Jimmy crack corn...

Here are (some of) my ladies. LOVE them.

After the workout, I was supposed to go and visit my gimpy, broken ankle friend, but instead, I backed out and laid on the couch all day. I did not put on make-up and I spent the day catching up on my trashy TV shows on my DVR. And then a friend came over with food, booze, and movies (and a big 'ol bag of chips and a giant container of salsa).

All in all, I'd say an A+ day.

February 14

Duh duh dunnnnnn...
The dreaded "holiday" for single people. Actually, this year, I could have cared less. I have amazing people in my life, and, sure, I would have liked to have had a man to buy me stupid shit, but I didn't... and I was fine with that. In fact, I got texts from friends all day, my uncle sent me a sweet card (with $), and a friend from the gym took me and another singlet out to dinner after our workout. I'd say it was a pretty damn good Monday.

Aside from all that bull honkey, the workout today was reeeediculous. Not that many of you will understand, but it was SEVEN rounds of 15 kettlebell swings (35lbs), 15 power cleans (65lbs), and 15 box jumps (20inches). After round 1, I was dead. After round 3, I wasn't even halfway done. At round 5, I was in my head, breathing a mess, and almost in tears because I was the last one doing the workout. I managed to get through the rest of it, thank goodness.

But the really awesome part was that I usually have to modify the weight. I can never do what we CrossFitters call Rx (prescribed weight). Tonight, I did. And I hate being the last one done. It always gets in my head and I freak out. Tonight I was the last one done. It started to get in my head, but I talked myself out of it. It was a giant breakthrough for me.

Here's a picture of my weights after the workout. Not super exciting, but it's my first full-on Rx'd hardcore workout. And after that is my name with an Rx next to it on the board (last one done for that class). A proud, proud moment.

February 12

He shoots, he SCORES!!!
Went to a local hockey game tonight. I'm not sure what it's really called, but I consider it minor league hockey. I like it because they're scrappy and the refs let them fight. Anyway, some friends have season passes and I got an invite tonight.

They game was slow at first. Our home team was losing the entire game (it was 3-0 at one point). And then the third period happened and we somehow came back to tie it at 5. Super exciting. Went into OT and we won. Word.

The guy in the orange is like their super fan who goes around the stands, dancing and handing out shirts. I would love his job.

February 8

Bear hugs rule
Today was a whole bunch of stressful. I'm not going to dwell on that. I am, instead, going to focus on the fact that I have rad friends.

My workout sucked. Well, I didn't so much suck at it, as it just plain sucked. 150 wall balls. What is a wall ball, you ask? You hold onto a 14 lb. medicine ball (imagine a 14 lb. beach ball), squat, and then THROW the ball up as high as you can against the wall, and catch it as is comes down while you're simultaneously crouching back down into a squat. Repeat. 150 times. They don't look difficult. But let me assure you, they are. By number 20, I was out of breath and could hardly throw the ball up. Yeah, 130 more to go after that realization. Wall balls are literally my least favorite thing to do.

Lately, my pal and I have been doing an after-workout workout. We try and run a mile - which is 4 laps around the building - or do something equally as stupid after our ridiculous workouts. So she came in just for the after-workout mile (she worked out this morning). Well, after doing 150 hell balls, my legs were pretty shot.

3-2-1... go. We started the run and I looked like a friggin ruh-tard because my legs wouldn't work. I ran the first lap. Pretty much walked the 2nd lap, and then literally walked the 3rd lap. And I was done. I quit.

I never quit.

I was pretty pissed at myself, but I was done. I didn't have it in me tonight. But the anger at myself was about to bring me to tears. So, being the rad friend that she is, my "running" partner saw this I'm-in-my-head moment and said we were getting dinner.

Needless to say, the dinner cheered me up (on top of the fact that it was nutritious and delicious). She rules. And that is all.

February 5

Borba Bitches
These ladies are my heart and soul at work. Some of them don't work with me anymore, for stupid economical reasons, but I will love these ladies forever. We had a good run a few years back when we all worked together. Now we just support each other in our adventures. Like Tanya and her first girl that she's got baking in the oven (she has two adorable boys already).

February 3

Dear Thursday, you stressed me out
It wasn't supposed to be that stressful. A simple meeting for half of a day, come back to class, teach, go home. Yeah, no. I don't know what happened, but today was stress-FULL! So by the time I got home, I was wound up and ready to explode.

So this helped me unwind.

Food and ciders at Yard House. (The half yard isn't mine.) And then food and beer at the bowling alley to root on my friends who bowl in a league. Yay for awesome END of days. And food. And cider. Not so much beer though, because I don't really like it.

February 1

It's our month-iversary...
Happy monthiversary, happy monthiversary
Happy monthiversary, HAAAAAppy monthiversary!!!!
Yay!!!

Thing #1... the picture for today....
This was a taken a few months ago but I got to see it today. So I took a picture of the picture before handing it off to our memory book (yearbook) parent. I thought it was super cute and pretty much describes how I am as a teacher. This is me on crazy sock day (Red Ribbon Week) with a few of my 6th grade girls. I'm trying to get them to be goofy in the picture (hence, my dorky pose) and they're sooooooper embarrassed. In fact, I think I had to beg a few of them to be in the picture.

 

Thing #2.... February 1st is one of my amazing friend's birthday. I know she doesn't read this, but I want to give a shout-out anyway. I've known this friend since I was 6 (see below) and we played on our first soccer team together. We've remained friends throughout the years. In fact, she and I (and some others) spent a day climbing Half Dome in Yosemite last summer. She and I also spent 13 days last summer in Peru. She was also my partner when trying out for The Amazing Race last year. We obviously didn't get picked... we think we were too normal. Lame. Anyway, happy birthday CK!

January 30

I love me some firemen...
... and anyone who knows me, KNOWS this. So a friend of mine (and her awesome daughter) posted on Facebook that their neighbor, a fireman, was moving out of their complex on Sunday. And he was kind enough to have his HOT, YOUNG friends help him move. Well, I of course jumped all over these statuses and was like, hook a sista up!

So they took immediate action. But apparently it was too late. :(

 

It looks a little odd at the bottom corner because I had to edit my phone number out. Yeah, they so did. I'm pretty sure this did NOT get posted in their window, but it was definitely the thought that counted. 

January 29

I like big BUTTS and I cannot lie...
Reason #546 why I love my gym... we actually go out and do stuff together. This weekend, a lot of us went karaoke-ing (sp?) at a bowling alley bar (yeah, we're classy). It was awesome to interact with people outside of the sweaty gym and to see people sing (and dance) their butts off. So much fun. I, of course, didn't sing. I need a lot of liquid courage for that.

This is one of the girls that I've actually known before we started working out together. In the background is the owner of the gym and one of the guys who records a lot of our workouts (on what we like to call the Spartan Cam) and posts awesome videos for us.

January 26

LOVE!
I seriously LOVE the people that work out at my gym. I know I talk about it a lot, but it really is awesome. I work out in the evening (5:30 class) and it's usually the same people who work out with me. We've even named ourselves the ninjas, (as opposed to some of the guys who call themselves the Spartans in the morning classes) (and because we think we're so freakin' funny).

These are some of my lovely ninjas. I seriously LOVE these girls. And I love that restaurant. We eat there frequently.

One of the girl's 6-year old daughter took this picture. I kept her finger in there because she ruled for doing this for us.

January 24

Part one: There's hope after all
A really good friend of mine texted me today. She wanted to share some good news, which I completely appreciated. See, this friend has been in a relationship with the same guy for over 10 years. From the outside, all of her friends knew (and have known for a very long time) that she deserved soooo much more. But on the inside, she struggled to leave. And I completely understand. This is coming from someone who spent 8+ years loving the same guy, even though he didn't love me the same back. But she finally got the strength the leave him and this is the text I got today:

Part two: Birthday loveliness
I would also like to take this opportunity to give a birthday shout-out to one of my good friends, H-bomb. Love her, love her, LOVE her... She's my Dave Matthews Band partner in crime and I've loved her since our senior year in high school. Happy birthday, Pien.

January 23

Laces out
After my weekly Sunday cleaning and laundry, I went out to visit my friend who broke his ankle last week. Poor guy. I really do feel for him. Aside from the fact that he can't go back to work (teaching) because his district won't allow crutches or a wheelchair (I don't get it either), and that he has to have surgery on it tomorrow morning, he lives on the third floor in a complex with no elevators. He was a champ climbing up and down those stairs tonight, though. I think I would have cried in frustration at least once each way. And he's an amazing left-foot driver (who wouldn't let me drive, no matter how many judgmental looks I got when we got in and out of the car).

He's worried about going stir crazy and getting fat. I told him to go up and down his stairs at least once a day and he'll not only get out of the house, but also get some exercise. I just hope he concentrates so that he doesn't take a stair to the tooth.

January 22

Today was an old friend's birthday. And by "old," I don't mean hunched over and needing a walker, I mean I've known her since high school. (Shout-out to Facebook for reconnecting me with high school friends!) We went out to dinner in my old 'hood. I lived in this town for almost 9 years. It was where I went to college (undergrad, credential, and grad)... it was home for a long time. I haven't been there in the few months since I'd moved, so it was good to be back.

Another friend suggested a restaurant in the downtown area. You really can't go wrong if it's in the downtown area, you just have to be careful of the age group (mean? median?), being that it's in a college town. And as many times as I had gone to the downtown area, I had never been to this restaurant. It had a great food, awesome drinks, and a rad musician playing (whose album I bought within minutes of hearing him play).

Good times with good people....

January 20

Slacker McSlackerson
Yeah, yeah... I'm slackin... It takes me a bit to get these posts up, but rest assured that the pictures are being taken. I don't want my thousands of readers to lose sleep over it.

 So Thursdays are my days off from CrossFit. However, this particular Thursday, I was talked into going for a run. I'm not a runner. I don't enjoy it. I'm not good at it. I know it's all mental but I'm not trying too hard to break that mental block down. I know I can do it because I trained for and ran a half marathon in 2008, but I am just not one of those people who "go for runs." So in an effort to amp up my exercising for the summer bathing suit weather, I agreed to go for this run on my day off. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of excuses were made after work so that running wouldn't happen, but my friend insisted that we were going to go. So I finally gave in and was about to change into appropriate running attire when I got a text.

 

We went to Yard House instead, where I gracefully mowed down the mac and cheese and a pear cider. Sure, it's not getting me any closer to bathing suit season, but it was delicious and it was my day off, dammit!

January 16

Pure awesomeness

I can't just go with one picture for Sunday. There were too many fantastic friggin things that happened. So instead of pictures, I'm going to go with videos.

First, one of my awesome friends went skydiving. She invited us all out to celebrate in her awesomeness (and fearlessness). This video was when we all breathed a sigh of relief that A) she didn't chicken out or pass out from fear before the jump like I would have, and B) the parachute worked.

Second, it's been a few years, but I got to see one of my favorite singers again last night. I've loved this man from the moment one of my old co-workers introduced me to him 10 years ago. It's very rare that he plays without the rest of his band, but when he does and I know about it, I'm there. And as a side note, if it could happen, I would marry him.
Here's part of one my favorite Dashboard Confessional songs from the show, Saints and Sailors.