December 3rd.

As I sit here, still at work, (and still working), going on a 14 hour workday, wondering how much longer I can keep going at this pace, I realize in 3 weeks, I'll have 12 days off in a row. I also have 3.5 vacation days to use in the next 15 days. So, really, I only have 10.5 more days to work this month.

I can do this. I can power through and get done what I need to, because in 17 days, I'll be able to power down and these long days, nights and weekends of work, will feel like a distant memory.

It's December 3rd, I will get through this.

Is it just me?

I don't know if it's just me, but I still think I can do anything. I know I can't actually, but I still have a weird confidence of "yeah, I can handle that." Especially when it comes to running. I once walked a half-marathon because I thought it wouldn't be that hard to walk 13 miles. (Note: it was much harder than I thought, mentally and physically). But I did it. It was the first year they did a Nike+ challenge and if I finished I would get a key chain and a t-shirt, so I had some incentive to finish. I signed up for the Drumstick Dash 10k last month and barely trained. My training basically consisted of playing a weekly soccer game and run/walking 4 miles on Monday. I figured that if I can run 4, I can run 6. I know I can finish the race, and that I'm not actually racing, I'm just out running an organized event. It most certainly won't be my best 10k, but I can do it.

I have lots of friends that run and it seems like we each take a different approach to running. Some of my friends are very scheduled and stick firmly to a plan, others make their own plan, and I seem to do whatever I want, usually without a plan. Per Runner's World, I'm an "independent" runner. I also seem to be an "up for anything" runner. I'm like that for more than just running though, if it piques my curiosity, I'll almost always give it a try. And if it's something I haven't tried in a few years, I try it again knowing that my tastes might change. Being open-minded about things makes life fun. If you always so no, you never know what you might miss out on. So, the next time you feel challenged, accept it head-on and go for it. I bet you'll like it.

Thankful.

A couple of weeks ago, Adam got a job offer for his dream job. Of course, that was great news and we were both really excited about it (still are), but the day we got the news it made me stop for a second (ok, a few minutes) and realize I have a lot to be thankful for. My life is good and I really don't have anything to complain about, but sadly that doesn't stop me. I try to be optimistic most of the time, but I also seem to have more complaints than I should. One of my wise co-workers made a comment about a project that we were both complaining about and asked, once the project is over, will we stop complaining or will we find something else to complain about. I thought for a moment and didn't have an honest answer. I'd like to think that I'll stop complaining when it's over, but realistically, I think I'll fill the void with something else. History does have a tendency to repeat itself after all. One of my favorite quotes is "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." In this situation, I remember my past, so I'm going to work to change it. I'm going to remember that life is good, my life is pretty much as good as it gets and I don't need to complain.

Instead of focusing on the negative, I'm going to focus on the positive. And I'm going to keep reminding myself that I have lots to be thankful for!

I also pledged to run at least a mile everyday from Thanksgiving until New Years (twitter hashtag: #RWRunStreak) and I tend to be much more pleasant (and productive) when I run, I'm hoping that helps things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

July?

I just looked at the last time I posted. It was July. I have no idea how that happened. I've thought about posting a lot, but always when I'm doing something else, then when I find the time at a computer, I don't remember what I was going to say. But trust me, it was good.

I've been kind of an internet voyeur lately. Instagram and twitter are mostly to blame. I don't think I've even been posting many statuses to the facebook lately. That's actually probably a good thing. But I enjoy consuming other people's content. Instagram has turned into a lens to look at what everyone is doing in near real-time. I like it. My sister is a photographer, so it's been a great way to keep up with her and what she's doing and seeing (like Sandy, perhaps you hear about that hurricane that hit NY...).

Here's my quick update:

• Adam got a job, a real, full-time job at Medtronic. Hurrah!
• I'm back to working a lot. Probably more than I should. I'm working on finding that balance again.
• I'm trying to take more time for myself. To photograph, to write, to run, to dance, to read. I haven't been successful yet. Call this a work in progress. 
• I discovered that I love JCPenney (JCP, as the cool kids say) and platform shoes
• I've been spending a lot of time volunteering, Art Buddies, Mentoring a U of M ad student and with the March of Dimes. I like giving back. 
• I re-discovered what it's like to have a good group of lady friends. Why have I spent so much of my time hanging with boys?
• Somewhere along the line I became a food snob. 

I know a lot of people have been doing Thankful Thursdays and such... I had a really good post in my head the other day. Hopefully I'll remember it, but lately I've been thinking about how great my life is and that I really don't have anything to complain about. Really. 

Jackpot.

No, I didn't win a giant jackpot in Vegas. As per usual, we pretty much broke even, which I'm always happy with. It essentially means that we get a bunch of free entertainment. But my jackpot came when I unexpectedly ran into my college roommate. I haven't seen her in about 8 years. We were randomly paired together as roommates freshman year, she became fondly known as "Lindsey with an E", since there was also a "Lindsay with an A" living in our triple room. She and I also lived together for a semester our Sophomore year before she transferred. I ended up transferring the next semester and have only seen her couple times since. Her family moved back to Canada so she had little reason to come to back to MN for any reason, but what are the odds of running into her in Vegas? Adam and I were heading to the Mirage to see Seth Meyers do a comedy performance and she and her husband were getting ready to see Cirque Love. I don't even know how many entrances there are to the Mirage, but the fact that we opted for the one that had us walking by the glass door of the Starbucks she was sitting inside is still giving me some shock. We walked by and I saw her profile and thought for a second, no, that can't be her. But I was curious enough that I walked back to the door and walked in and called her name. She looked as shocked as I did. We only had a few minutes to catch up, but I was happy to get to see her, if only for a few minutes.

Overall, our trip was great. Very relaxing, as I was hoping it to be. I didn't even think about work once, which is pretty good considering the day I had before we left. Now, I'm back to thinking about getting back in shape. After a few days of vacation eating and drinking to excess usually does that. Turning 30 doesn't hurt the matter either. I was sick almost the whole month of May with allergy issues, then I was busy dancing the first half of June, now that it's July I'm focusing on running and biking. Adam's car is acting up, so it gives me a good excuse to bike into work this week. I've given up on running a half-marathon in early August, so I'm trying to find a couple longer races 10K-10 mile for early fall. Subaru is sponsoring a Mud Run in August, a 10K obstacle course that sounds fun. Hopefully I can handle it. There's also the Breath of Hope 5K on August 18th. So, I've got a couple of events on the horizon. We're also trying to keep Adam's blood sugar at healthy levels, so I'm trying to cook more and keep things nutritional. Although, I still have 6 cupcakes and half a delicious carrot cake in my freezer left over from my birthday, so once those desserts are gone, I'll really be focused on eating healthy... I always blame the baked goods and not my lack of will power.

30.

I've been rounding up my age for a few months now, "I'm almost 30," I'd say. But now that I'm actually 30, it feels a little weird to say, "I'm 30." I spent most of my birthday on my own, it was a Monday and most people work on Monday's, but I refuse to work on my birthday. I went to the MOA to do some returns and some shopping. I stopped for lunch and had a glass (or two) of champagne- you only turn 30 once after-all- the bartender carded me, but he didn't even notice it was my birthday, let alone that it was my 30th. Adam and I went out for a birthday dinner on Monday, the waitress took a long time coming to our table, so when she finally did, she told us she wasn't going to card us since she assumed we were of age due to our wedding rings. I'm glad that she guessed I was over 21 because I'm married, not because I look old. Overall, I'm excited for the next decade of my life. At 20 I met my future husband, at 22 I got my bachelor's degree, at 23 I got my first "real job" in advertising, at 24 I got engaged, at 25 I got married, at 26 I got my Master's, at 27 I tore my ACL, at 28 and 29 I got promoted. At lot has changed over the last 10 years and I'm looking forward to what will change over the next ten.

To get thirty kicked off properly, we're off to Vegas for a couple of days. We're trading in the humidity for some "dry" heat and plenty of time relaxing by the pool. Happy 4th!

One week ago...

Our house got broken into.

I was meeting some friends for dinner and got a text from Adam stating he thought our house was broken into. You think? You don't know? I always thought getting robbed is something you notice immediately. You come home and your whole house is ransacked with drawers open and turned over. But not for us. It was subtle. He came in through our air conditioner in the back of the house, grabbed some things and left. How do I know it was a he? Both of our neighbors saw him. One before he robbed us as he went knocking door to door asking if anyone needed landscaping work. And the other after as he walked away from our house with a red bag. Not a backpack, but a red bag. My custom color red and strawberry Timbuk2 messenger bag to be exact. Not only have my neighbors seen him, I've seen him. We were robbed on Friday in the afternoon, then we CAME BACK on Tuesday around 5:30. I was home sick, so I was sitting on the couch watching TV when I heard a knock on the door. I widened the blinds just slightly so I could peak out and see who it was without them seeing me. I saw a black teenager wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt.

THE SAME CLOTHES HE WAS WEARING ON FRIDAY.

My heart started racing and I quickly changed out of my pajamas to answer the door. He was walking away from the door when I finally answered it. I asked if I could help him. He asked if we needed with any landscaping. I couldn't believe it. He not only came back wearing the same clothes, but he's asking the same question about landscaping. My mind was racing and I didn't know what to do. As he walked away after I said we didn't need any help, I snapped a photo on my phone and watched him walk to the next house. I ran over to our neighbors house to see if it was the same boy that he saw last week. I wanted to call the cops if it was him, but I didn't want to call if it wasn't. But what are the odds of the same guy, wearing the same thing, asking the same questions coming back to a house he already robbed? It just didn't make sense, I couldn't wrap my foggy head around it all.

The neighbor wasn't home and couldn't verify my suspicion. The neighbor at the next house was home and outside when he was approached about landscaping needs. He had the same thought I did and headed toward the neighbors house that I was already at. We looked at each other in shock of the coincidence. He had heard the description of the suspect, as I had, and we both were beyond suspicious, but neither of us could verify it. At this point, the teenager had turned his attention to us and was watching us as much as we were watching him.

He asked if everything was alright. My thought, why are you asking me that? Am I not allowed to talk to my neighbors? I didn't know what to say, my head was still spinning so fast and I couldn't make sense of what was going on. I told him everything was fine, but I'm sure the look of panic on my face said otherwise. He watched me walk back to my house and again asked if everything was fine. I said yes, again, everything was fine. I told him there had been some suspicious activity in the neighborhood and asked how often he asks for landscaping. He lied and said it was his first time out. I questioned him and asked if he was out on Friday. He claimed he wasn't. I told him there had been some burglaries in the area. Why I told him that, I don't know. How often do you have conversations with your robber?! His response was, "how many." I said I didn't know, but a few. I was trying to be as vague as possible. He asked "what did they take?" Who asks that? I told him I didn't know, again trying to be vague. His last question, "do they have a suspect?" I wanted to shout loudly, "YOU, you're the suspect!!!" But I didn't. I just told him I didn't know and I turned to go back into my house as I watched him walk back behind the apartment building where our other neighbors also saw him go. On Wednesday, we confirmed with both neighbors that it was him. I'm kicking myself for not calling the police on Tuesday, but I was so shocked that he came back I just couldn't think straight. At least the next time I encounter the man who robbed me, I'll have a better idea of what to say.

As for the things he took, we're thankful that it's all replaceable and not of major sentimental value. Portable electronics mostly, and 3 bags/backpacks of mine. The most annoying thing for me is that he stole my soccer bag with my expensive, custom knee brace inside. He stole a smelly, sweaty bag of used soccer gear. I hope he was pleased with himself on that find. I was feeling OK about the whole break-in situation, but once he came back, it's left me with a nervous, anxious feeling. I keep wondering if he'll come back again, and when.

I can buy new stuff, but can I buy some peace of mind?

Self Evaluation.

Today is a Monday and I can't seem to focus. We had a whirlwind weekend driving to Chicago on Friday and getting back Sunday evening. I barely took any photos (there are a few here: http://redshoeprint.tumblr.com/), but we had a good trip despite the lack of photographic evidence to prove it. We took in a Cubs game, saw a concert, went to Gino's East (the pizza place we dined at to celebrate our engagement almost 5 years ago) and caught up with a good friend. It was short and sweet, but I'm glad we got to go. Adam and I haven't gone anywhere together since last May, so even though we didn't have much time there, it was nice to get away together.

My distraction for the day however isn't Chicago, it's my health. When I got back from Vieques, I had a migraine the following week and then another the week after. It felt like my head hurt for most of March, it was awful. The diagnosis is this horrific allergy season that is causing frustrations for most allergy sufferers. Either way, constant headaches/not feeling good, caused me to eat poorly and not work out. Two things I intend to change starting today. I'm making a commitment to working out regularly and eating better. Now that my work life has calmed down I feel like I can finally focus on this and really commit to it. I'm also planning on running the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in August. I really like that distance, so 2 years after ACL reconstruction, I finally feel ready to take that distance on. Training starts May 14th, so I've got a couple weeks to gear up and get physically and mentally ready for training. Ready. Set. Go!

Dancing like a teenager.

I started taking a tap dance class with the dance teacher that I had a kid. She first taught me at 5 and 29, she's teaching me again. The problem, she thinks I can still do everything I could do as a teenager. I'm a solid ten years out of practice. I can still do the tap steps without much issue, but the leaps and turns are a whole other issue. Not only am I older and out of shape (as compared to my teenage self), I've also had knee surgery. A double turn used to be something I could (and would) do in my kitchen without even trying. Now? Ha. I can barely do one. I still haven't built my muscle back up to what it was pre-surgery and let's face it, I was focusing on running, not turns. But this dance has become my new athletic challenge. Naturally, as I get older, I don't use all of the muscles that I used to when I danced 5 days a week, but that doesn't mean I can't use this dance as a way to really get back in shape and to rehabilitate me knee. My doctor said the best thing I can do for me knee is to keep using it. I'm sure he meant leaps and turns with that recommendation.

Chicago.

Getting ready for an impromptu Chicago trip this weekend. Eee! I'm looking forward to seeing some friends, the cubs, and good music. It's going to be a quick trip, but I think it will be a good one.

Movies.

I love movie theater previews. I'm the kind of person that wants to get to the theater exactly at the time listed. I don't want to get there any earlier, but want to get there just as the previews start. I sort of hate when I miss them, or even worse, when I get to the theater and the movie has already started. I never know how much of the movie I've missed, usually only a couple of minutes, but it plagues me the whole movie. Thankfully Adam knows about my love of the previews and goes along with getting to the movie at the listed time despite the fact we know the movie won't actually start for another 20 minutes. Generally speaking, I've found that how much I like the previews usually correlates to how much I enjoy the actual movie. So when we went to see Cabin in the Woods last weekend I was worried. The previews were awful. Movies I would NEVER want to see. I was getting ready for a couple hours of annoyance and was more than shocked when I really liked the movie. Thrillers aren't really my thing, not past the age of 16 at least, but this was funny, scary and thrilling, but not so much that I audibly screamed or jumped. Overall, it was a really good movie. We ended up seeing Hunger Games (finally) last night and seeing those two movies so close together has me itching to talk about them with someone who has seen them both. I noticed some odd similarities that I don't think I would have ever noticed if I hadn't seen them in such close proximity. Both were good movies for very different reasons. Go see them.

Birthday Blues.

My birthday is almost 3 months away. I'm not fretting about turning 30, I'm fretting because I don't know how I'm going to celebrate. I have a love-hate with my birthday, I always have. Mostly because I've rarely gotten to celebrate how I want to. That whole twin thing really gets in the way, especially when you're the submissive twin that concedes to keep the peace. Throw on 4th of July weekend with 95% of people escaping to a cabin and you're left with 1.3 friends in town and if you're lucky 1 of them doesn't already have plans. I threw a birthday party for myself last year which was successful in that it was a party, not successful in that I didn't know a lot of the people that came and a fair amount had no idea it was even my birthday, they were just there to see the bands.  I did have a good group of friends show up, so I shouldn't be too pity party about it, but I always have expectations greater than reality. That's my own fault, I need to turn my optimistic self down to a realist from time to time. But nonetheless, I'm slowing coming upon a milestone birthday without a way to celebrate. And since it falls around 4th of July (July 2nd), I'll get a few extra days off of work. Milestone birthday + extra vacation time, sounds like a prime opportunity to take a vacation. However, Adam working contract means a world of uncertainty and I'm stuck thinking about what I'd want to without the ability to actually do it.

I'm also not 100% sure of what I want to do. I think about my friends from over the years and so many of them don't live in MN anymore, they're scattered across the world... looking at some of the friends I invited to our wedding, they're now in Boston, New York, California, Prague and Australia. It's a little hard to get them together for a gathering.

The first and most logical idea is to visit my sister in NYC. But I know, that will most likely turn into a repeat of our 21st when everyone knew it was Heidi's birthday and no one knew it was Heather's. Heidi's always been the more vocal of us and has a lot more friends, so she tends to garner more attention in any social gathering. I went out there for our 27th birthday, (recap of that trip here), I had just finished grad school and was job hunting so it wasn't so much a vacation as just visiting my sister over the time that happened to be our birthday. That birthday was less than ideal, but I think it was harder for me to see Heidi so upset about it. I think that's why I end up the submissive twin, I'd rather sacrifice my happiness because when she's sad, it makes me sad, but if she's happy, I can find a way to be happy too. Also, it's a lot easier to agree with my sister than fight with her.

I was hoping writing would help me narrow down what I'd like to do, sadly, I think I'm more confused than when I started. Have a birthday suggestion for me? I'll gladly take it!

A little of this, a little of that.

It feels like it was just February, now it's almost April. I feel like I blinked and I missed March... but I didn't.

I went to Vieques, Puerto Rico to vist a favorite friend with another favorite friend and we had an amazing time.

(How could you not have a good time with this view?!)

My friend, Janna, is the proud owner of the Bravo Beach Hotel , if you're looking for an island escape, go stay there! 

I got promoted last week to the fancy new title of Senior Brand Sociologist. I also moved departments from Consumer Engagement to Brand Planning. 

I've also been reconnected with some old friends, and it didn't happen through social media! It happened the "old fashioned way", via conversation. As it turns out, my childhood best friend and a college roommate both work together across the street from me, and they just discovered that they both know me. I'm looking forward to the in-person reunion to take place soon and the small world feels just that much smaller this week. 

Let there be light.

There's been a Bridgeman's down the street from our house that's been closed for about 5 years. It's just been an empty building since then. For some reason, Adam decided to google it and discovered something amazing... a Pizza Luce is moving in! I thought it must be a joke or a fluke, but I didn't believe it. After some of my own digging, it was confirmed. I'm so excited to have a bar/restaurant that's so close and also so good right by our house. We went to brunch with my parents at the Hopkins Luce (that used to be Baker's Square), and they did a really good job with the re-design, and of course, it was a delicious. It's expected to open in June or July, I can't wait. But I also get a little sad knowing that we're probably only going to live in our house for a couple more years. Of course the neighborhood starts to get "cool" as we begin to think about where our next house is. But the upside is that hopefully all the renovations in the neighborhood will help improve our property values and make it that much easier to sell our house. I keep thinking there has to be a young couple like us out there that will love our house when we're ready to move on. But I do know that getting a Luce isn't a bad thing for the neighborhood and gives us one more pizza option at just a block away. Hopefully all the walking to Luce will offset all the increased calories I'll consume!

Just Write: Slow Down.

As I spent most of my 3-day weekend (last weekend) working, I wondered: why? Why do I keep working at a pace that can't be sustained for more than a couple days. Why do I work at a job that often demands my nights and weekends. Why don't I just slow down and stop? After reading this post from a friend, I realized that things don't always end up as we thought they would and her words were the catalyst for mine.

One of my favorite quotes is from High Fidelity... Read the book if you haven't and if you're not into that, at least watch the movie. It might be the only book turned into a movie that I like both equally. Of course they feature my two favorite cities, London for the book and Chicago for the movie. But I digress... My favorite quote is:

"Some days I'm afraid I'll go berzerk, throw the country A-K rack out on the street and go work in a Virgin Megastore and never come back."

Some days I want to throw my hands up in the air and say I'm done, I'm going to go find a nice relaxing job. But then I wonder, would I be happy? I naturally move at a fast pace. I get frustrated at the grocery store when people walk to slow and I can't go down the aisle as fast as I want. And don't even get me started on slow skyway walkers, I spend my lunch hours weaving through the slowness. I love visiting Chicago and New York and the thrill of all the people. I'm also pretty sure I have an unhealthy love for elevated trains and subways. But I don't live there, I live in Minneapolis where I drive to work, because the bus is too slow. I have my exciting "city job" but I don't live in the city as I always thought I would. It seems as though when we're not looking our life travels down a path that we may not have planned. It's not necessarily wrong or right, it's just a different path and before we know it, we're miles away from where we thought we'd be. Again, not right or wrong, just different.

Quality over Quantity.

I've been trying to focus on quality over quantity this year. Quality time, food or goods to name a few. A couple years ago, I had such a hard time saying no to invites because I didn't want to miss a thing. But now, I realize that my time is more important and I shouldn't do something that I don't want to just because I was invited. I also used to be upset about "missing out"on something, and I've realized that it's just fine to miss something. You can't always be there... life goes on. Learning to say no has allowed me to have more quality time for myself and with Adam, it's really nice. I don't know why I didn't do it a long time ago, but I think that's part of growing up.

The other week, my family and I went on a brewery tour to the Harriet Brewery. It was awesome. I highly recommend going if you like beer. They were really friendly and it was inspiring to see so many people following their passion. It's easy to see how happy people are when they really love their job. After the tour, we were going to go out to dinner. I spent a couple days looking at different restaurants in the area and found one that I thought would go over with everyone. My family loves food, but we all like different things and as I discovered very different qualities. I wanted to go to a pub and my brother to a buffet. A buffet that has sushi. Ummm, no. In my opinion, sushi should not be at a buffet. His reasoning was that the price would be cheaper, by $2. Despite my protests, we ended up at the buffet. As I watched my brother pile his plate high with shrimp, I realized that he hasn't experienced quality so he still goes after quantity. I'm not a foodie, more of a food appreciator, but I've eaten some amazing food and less often is more.

I remember as a kid being excited about having a lot of halloween candy. Now, I'm happy with just two pieces of dark chocolate. Is this another part of growing up? Learning to know that quantity doesn't always make it better? If so, I'm ready to turn 30 and the quality I have yet to discover.

Mac & Cheese

This is a recipe I found off of Cooks.com, it's pretty much the best Mac & Cheese I've ever had.
I get asked for the recipe a lot, so figured I'd just post it out there (and I wanted to pin it to pintrest, but there wasn't a photo with the recipe).

CROCK POT MACARONI & CHEESE

2 c. dry macaroni
2 lb. box Velveeta cheese
1 stick butter
3 c. milk

Cook macaroni until almost done. In crock pot on high, mix butter and cheese cut in small pieces until melted. Add macaroni, milk and stir well. Set crock pot on low until meal time, stirring occasionally.

This is a photo of my crockpot when the recipe is doubled. 

Being Petty.

(Warning, this post may only make sense to those working in Advertising)

I really hate when I care about things that don't matter, or things that I can't change. I just keep thinking about it, it festers and I get in a bad mood. It's really not good all around. What's my issue right now? Our conferences got "names" instead of just room numbers. My floor got bad bands. It's not that I just think they're bad bands, they're universally known as "bad bands." Nickelback, Hansen... no one wants to book a meeting in "Nickelback". Not when your options on other floors are "Beatles," "Dylan" or "Radiohead." I'm sure it's a Creative thinking he's being awfully funny, but he's making a lot of people mad. It's not just the names, its what they represent. Is my floor thought of as a worthless bands while others are timeless classics? I know you can never make everyone happy, but let's not intentionally make people mad.

At the same time I'm getting all worked up about this, I wonder why? At the end of the day does it really matter? No, it doesn't. I know it doesn't, but I can't help but read into it. If they're going to make fun of us, I'd hope they could at least be clever enough with it that we don't notice immediately. It also doesn't help that the "who we are" section on our websites features one female and several men. It just reminds me that I work in a boys club and it's not changing anytime soon.

This Monday isn't starting off as I had hoped it would.

Be Present.

At my yoga class today, the instructor started off the class telling us to stop dwelling on the past and future and just be present. I have a memory that doesn't forget and constantly dwells on the past and I'm also a planner thinking about the future. So I'm going to try to de-clutter my head and just be present. Be in the moment and not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow but just right now.

Soccer.

I've been playing soccer for a year since surgery. Last year when I started playing my knee hurt after every game. For awhile, I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it, but I kept at it. Now I feel good after a game and my knee doesn't hurt. We had our second game of the winter session today and I was playing better than I have in awhile. I was stealing the ball and making passes, I'd like to say it was because our team was a little better than the other team, but I wonder if I'm playing better because I'm improving. I stopped playing soccer when I was 12 to focus on dance. I was a decent player when I was a kid, but that was an all-girls team of rec soccer. When I started playing 6 years ago as an adult, I was out of practice and out of shape. I'm sort of amazed that I even kept playing, but I'm really glad I did. I really enjoy the camaraderie of a team sport. Of course, the better you are at something, the more enjoyable the activity usually is. So here's to improving and sticking through the times when it's not so easy. And also hoping we win a game soon. We've had two tie games, with no goals, this session. We need to score some goals, and perhaps I'll be the one to do it... Now that's crazy talk, I think I've gotten 3 goals in my entire 13 year soccer career. I'll just focus on feeling good and improving.

Weekend Calm.

Almost every weekend used to end with me trying to fit in all the housework on Sunday evening, typically after dinner. Laundry, dishes, cleaning. It was always too much to do and not enough time, but week after week I kept doing it. Adam would always make fun of me for my Sunday evening surge of energy. Tonight, I'm relaxing on the couch, enjoying a cup of coffee (decaf) while Adam is frantically trying to fix his headlight. He bought it yesterday afternoon, yet he waited until 9pm on Sunday to attempt to put it in, now of course, he's less than pleased with how the process is turning out. I have to say, I love my new Sunday routine and wonder how and why I spent so many years with my previous routine. Now that out our house has been decluttered, it's so much easier to keep clean and to maintain it. I didn't know if we would be able to maintain it, but we have, and it's so much easier than I thought it would be. I used to spend so much time just picking up the house that I barely had time to actually clean it. Now that its already picked up, I can easily clean. And I can get it all done before Sunday night and enjoy my evening.

Short week.

For the fact that is was a 4 day work week, it sure felt like a long week. I find 4 day work weeks tend to mean "cram 5 days worth of work into 4" which usually isn't fun, but it's 5pm on Friday, so that means I've survived. And I won $100 (split 4 ways) playing pull tabs at lunch today, so happy weekend to me!

2012, Let's Do This.

I've been thinking about a year end recap of 2011 for a couple of weeks now, but I still haven't quite figured out what I want to say. 2011 had some ups; awesome trips to Miami, NYC and Vegas, and downs; Adam getting laid off and Tom passing away. But we made it through, we survived. The fact that the more negative things happened near the end of the year makes it easy to say good riddance to 2011 and to want to welcome 2012 with open arms.

We are starting off 2012 with a decluttered organized house (yes, I'm still excited about that). It makes me feel like an adult, like an almost 30 year old. I'll turn 30 in just under 6 months. 5 months and 3 weeks... but who's counting? I've never been one to dwell on ages, but this one is hitting me a little harder than the other ones. But I'm excited for it. Two years ago, I read a comparison about how people act in their 20's vs. 30's. At the time, I laughed at the differences, but I can already see some of them emerging. Two years ago, I didn't want to miss a thing. Now, my time is more important than being at every event. I would prefer to foster quality friendships than keeping a larger circle of acquaintances. The older I get, the more I know and that's a great feeling. Overall, I want to think of 30 positively and not dwell on the fact that my 20's are almost over.

Turning 30 also signifies that I've been with Adam for 1/3 of my life. One Third! That sounds crazy, but I met him when I was 19 and started dating right after I turned 20. I was just reading a friend's blog and she stated that she thinks people should get married close to 30. While I didn't, I do agree. It's hard to grow up and find out who you are all while sustaining a relationship or marriage. Marriage is dynamic and you need to find someone to grow with, or is at least patient with you while you figure it out. While I can't say how much one changes from 30 to 40, but from 20 to 30 it's a lot and it's difficult to balance it all. But it's all I know. Somedays I wonder what our life would be like if we met later, but I also know we wouldn't have the life we have now if we did. We wouldn't have the memories and the experiences, both good and bad, and they have helped shape who we are.

So, here's to 2012 and to the experiences and adventures that are in store for us. Happy New Year!

De-Cluttered.

Since my last post up until today, I've been cleaning and decluttering our house. It feels amazing. Adam will attest that I may have gotten a little obsessed with it over the last few days, but I'm also confident that he enjoys the results. It all started with two things: 1). My parents bought us a new dining room lamp and 2). Adam wanted to paint his office. For whatever reason, these two events set me into a mission to clean and declutter. My first mission was the baker's rack that I successfully removed from the dining room with only an $8 Ikea purchase. That led to some kitchen and dining room re-organization, but I was satisfied with that much until Adam told me his plans for the office. He was going to clean it out except for his desk, bookshelf and the clothes rack. I asked why he even needed a clothes rack to begin with and he responded that with the beer and records in his closet he didn't have anymore room.

Beer and records? Did I marry a teenager?

Needless to say, I saw that as a challenge and I wasn't going to be wrong. While Adam was sleeping, I organized all of his clothes and as I suspected, they did in fact fit in the closet and dresser- with some adjustments and donations of course. Now is probably a good time to mention the fact that we home brew, so we tend to have a lot of beer on hand. I actually didn't know where it was until Friday when Adam told me it was in his closet. After another round of kitchen organization, we have a place to store the beer and the empty bottles without it being an eye-sore.

On Wednesday of last week, I really wanted to get a new bookshelf, but after the donation of around 30 books, I don't need it. Instead, I bought storage containers for the basement and some picture frames. The baker's rack had become a default poster storage space, so without it, I needed to find a new place for the posters. Guess where they landed? The wall. Shocking, I know. After years of talking about getting frames, I went out and got some and hung them on the wall. I put 5 small photos in the kitchen and then 9 bigger posters in the office and bedroom. It feels so nice to display some more artwork around the house!! It's also nice to know that I can do it myself. With just a hammer, a level and some nails, I can hang up pictures, it's great to remind myself of what I'm capable of. Adam probably would have helped, but he was in the midst of computer surgery...

The end result of my few crazy days of cleaning, I finally feel like our house is a home. It's only been 6.5 years, but it feels like us. A couple of Adam's guitars are hung on the wall along with posters of our favorite bands and  few pictures I've taken. It's organized and everything has a place. (Well, almost... we still need to finish organizing the office...). I hated cleaning our house because it always took so long to pick everything up just to clean, where now, I should be able to just clean and not have to pick up nearly as much. We also donated 12 bags and 5 boxes to Arc's Value Village (on 66th and Penn if you want to purchase any of our donations), so our small house doesn't feel so cramped. Our dining room is actually started to feel big. With just two of us, I knew we should have enough room in our house, even though it is small, but it finally feels like we have enough room. It's such a great feeling to finally feel organized and calm at home. I love it.

Now that I'm back at work, let's see just see if we can maintain it. I hope we can.