Pinterest Inspired Wednesdays - Valentines

This week, I am joining Suz from 30 Before 30 List for Pinterest Inspired Wednesdays!  If you are unfamiliar with Suz's blog, you should definitely check it out.  Hers is one of the first blogs I began reading, and I have always found Suz's writing to be both insightful and motivating.

Last week as I was browsing through pins, I came across this depiction of the bible verse Romans 12:9-10.

{Source}

This lead me to what turned out to be a delightful blog called Homegrown Hospitality.  The author, Stephanie, had posted a PDF file of a Valentine card to print on cardstock and attach to treat bags.  I instantly felt the need to create Valentine treat bags for all of my co-workers, so I started by printing the card on both salmon and white cardstock.  Several days later on Monday evening, I visited my sister's house after work and took my nieces to Wal Mart to help me pick out candy for the treat bags.  Naturally, I agonized over what to get (it's the perfectionist in me), and I ended up with five bags of candy.  Surprisingly, we could not find any treat bags throughout the many isles of Valentine's Day paraphernalia.  Just as I was about to admit defeat and simply purchase sandwich bags, we found clear treat bags in the Wilton isle.

Yum!

Upon returning to my sister's house, my nieces began distributing the candy to each of the treat bags and closing them with the provided twist ties, while I cut out the Valentines. As with any creative project I undertake, this was much more of an ordeal than it needed to be. I obsessed over cutting out the Valentine cards with perfectly straight edges, and about making sure the candy was evenly distributed between the varying types. Luckily my nieces know how to handle me and I was running short on time, so I was able to force myself to go with the flow and not focus on everything being perfect.



The Sun Chips were for the facility supervisor,
who is diabetic. 

At this point I needed to head for home, but not before giving each of my nieces and nephews a treat bag, along with my sister, her husband, and my sister's friend that was visiting.  The next morning when I arrived at work, I punched a hole in the top of each of the Valentine cards (a hole punch was the crucial tool we were missing the previous evening), and tied a card to each of the treat bags with the hot and light pink curling ribbon with which my oldest niece had provided me.  All that was left was to distribute the bags!    

       

Putting together holiday treat bags for family, friends, and co-workers used to be a regular festivity for me, but it is something I have not done in several years.  I had forgotten the joy of putting a smile on someone's face and brightening their day through such a simple act.  While I do not envision myself assembling treat bags for each holiday as I have in years past, I do plan on making more of a conscious effort to celebrate and honor those people in my life who impact it on a daily basis.

Don't tell anyone, but I kept all of the Milky
Way Midnights for myself!  (They're my favorite.)

Fab Five Goals for 2012.

For the New Year's Eve service at church, members and guests were asked to come with a list of their top five goals for 2012.  Below is the list I created.

FAB FIVE GOALS FOR 2012

1.  GOD

• Strengthen my commitment to and my walk with God. Discover His purpose for my life and start living according to His will.
• Develop and strengthen my prayer life.
• Take the new members class at New Life Worship Center and begin serving in a ministry.

2.  FINANCES

• Educate myself about money management and apply the principles to my life.
• Reduce my personal financial debt by at least 1/4 this year.

3.  HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle, by exercising regularly and making a conscious effort to reduce junk food and eat nutritiously.
• Get to a healthy weight by the end of 2012.
• Develop and strengthen my thought life.  Write in a journal regularly.

4.  ATTITUDE

• Count it all joy in 2012.
• Learn to live life each day with a spirit of gratitude.
• Learn to respond to disappointment, frustration, and other negative emotions with grace.
• Fill my heart with love, faith, patience, courage, kindness and joy.

5.  RELATIONSHIPS

• Commit to making relationships with family and friends a priority in 2012.
• Strengthen existing relationships and actively pursue new relationships.

What are your goals for 2012?

30 Second Shred.

This evening I tried the Level 1 workout of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for the first time. Almost immediately I was discouraged when the workout began with push ups. I barely squeaked out two (on my knees at that) before I was maxed. I failed to make it through the entire 30 second set of jumping jacks, and when "jumping rope" it was all I could do to bounce let alone have my feet leave the floor. Having only five pound weights, I discovered during several of the other exercises that I had to completely forgo using them, five pounds proving to be too much. During the lunging exercises, I was barely able to lower into a squat. To add insult to injury, I was reminded just how inflexible I am during the cool down. As embarrassing as it is to admit all of this, I am further shamed to reveal that I actually cried once the workout was over (and not out of joy or happiness). 

There is no other way to say this - I am completely disgusted with myself. I have let myself become a lazy, lethargic individual who does not want to exert even the tiniest amount of effort beyond what is absolutely necessary in any given day. How the hell did I let myself get THIS out of shape? More importantly, how do I get myself back on track?

One thing is clear - this is going to be a much longer, much more difficult journey than I had originally anticipated. I just need to remember that everything in life is a process and I will not be perfect at everything on the first, second, or even the hundredth try. It is okay to fail, as long as I keep getting up, dusting myself off, and trying again. As frustrating as the slow progress may seem, taking baby steps to reach my goals is better than taking no steps at all.      

Laughter Wanted.

Whenever I am in need of a good laugh, the following commercial never fails to deliver the desired result:



This commercial is a close second:



What is your go-to when you are in need of a good laugh (or two)?

City of Wonder.

Hi, my name is Rebecca.  And I am addicted to the Facebook game City of Wonder.

Having once been obsessed with the games Mobsters and Mafia Wars (I have found that obsessions are easy to come by when one is bored at work), I am aware of just how easily (and quickly) I fall under the spell of things that for all intents and purposes appear to be competitive.

By golly, I want to win the competition.  No matter what it is.

It starts out so innocently.  You begin to build your civilization.  Grow your population.  Add allies (that is if you are able to convince any of your Facebook friends that it is absolutely necessary to life that they start playing the game).  Then, all of a sudden, your slow and steady progress isn't good enough.  You want more.

The creators add items that you can "purchase" for your land only through parting with exorbitant amounts of gold.  The only problem is, you earn one bar of gold every time you reach a new level.  That insane asylum you want (a special just for Halloween - and something you may very well end up needing in real life) costs 35.

But wait - I can take surveys to earn more gold!  Except that 7 times out of 10 you don't qualify for the survey - and you can only attempt to gain gold this way once per day.  So, countless time is spent attempting to qualify for and take mind numbing surveys, all for a measly four to ten gold each.

Then you start dabbling in other ways to earn gold.  Buy a subscription to Shape magazine for 28 gold!  Sign up for Netflix for 60 gold!  Join Columbia House for 80 gold!  When you find yourself starting to consider parting with your hard earned money to straight out purchase gold, you have to ask yourself, "Do I have a problem?"

The answer is most likely yes, you do.

Funny how a click of the mouse can become so addicting, isn't it?

Looks like I might have to quit this one cold turkey.

The dark side of getting older.

Dear Metabolism,

I suffered deep and utter embarrassment today when at the university health benefits fair I had to divulge my weight to a petite (and very much skinny) younger woman.

(Yes, I am at the age now when suddenly because I work on a college campus most everyone must be younger than I am.)

(Except for tenured faculty, of course.)

(And perhaps the secretaries of the various departments on campus.)

I "volunteered" to tell this woman my weight so that she could tell me:

• (a) that I am obese according to my body mass index (of which, by the way, the Wii Fit had already informed me months ago thankyouverymuch) and
• (b) that my body fat percentage also lies outside of the healthy range (what a shocker there).

So, my older and increasingly loathed (not to mention much slower) metabolism, would it really be so hard to function at the capacity of my late teens/early twenties?

It sure would make things a whole lot easier on me.

(And by that I mean I could continue to eat whatever I want, whenever I want.)

(After all, the unhealthy choices just taste so much better.)

Begrudgingly yours,
One Not So Mindful Eater

World's Dumbest Employees.

You've heard of the television show World's Dumbest Criminals, right? Well, yesterday I could have been on the show World's Dumbest Employees.

It all started with a rocky Monday, followed by an email received Tuesday morning that sent me over the edge in terms of anger towards and complete dislike of my job (not the job itself, but rather certain individuals who have the innate ability to suck any and all joy out of the work environment).  Having contemplated looking for alternate employment for quite some time, I finally decided to take the plunge.  In addition to searching for open positions at several universities out of state, I applied to four positions posted on the human resources website for the university at which I currently work.

My intentions were never to keep my job search a complete secret from my boss, but rather to wait and see if I landed any job interviews before discussing the matter with him.  I saw no need to rock the boat and jeopardize what little comfort I have by prematurely announcing my hopefully impending resignation.  As fate would have it, however, the public announcement of my job search would not occur at my own discretion. 

(Can you see where this is heading?)

Thursday afternoon, a graduate student from another laboratory randomly said to me, "Oh yeah, you applied to a position that was posted by [your boss]."  I can just imagine what the look on my face must have been.  Color drained, an expression of utter disbelief followed by an unspoken plea for mercy.  Least to say, the next time I crossed paths with my boss, he told me to stop by his office before I left for the day.  Talk about AWKWARD.

Lesson learned?  When searching for a new job, only apply to listings that are clearly in no way even remotely related to my current position.  In other words, don't be such a dumbass.

Cruel to be kind?

A week ago today, I made a decision that I will be questioning for quite some time.

Late Saturday evening, January 23rd, I was startled when I caught a glimpse of something outside on my patio as my two cats, Gabriel and Juliesan, frantically walked back and forth through the blinds. At first I thought the two were chasing an insect that had found it's way inside my apartment, but upon closer inspection I realized the cause of all the commotion was a stray cat sitting directly outside the sliding glass door.

It was cold and rainy that evening, so against my better judgment I slid open the door to let the stray cat inside. Not wanting to chance any aggressive behavior between the stray and my two cats, I coaxed the stray to the second bedroom, which is solely the "cat room." Aside from a couple of instances of hissing, the stray followed me willingly and without hesitation. I worked quickly to set up a clean litter box, food bowl, and water bowl for the stray cat, while also moving Gabriel and Juliesan's things to a different location outside of the room. The stray cat started purring almost immediately, and was extremely affectionate, albeit being obviously malnourished and having been outside for quite some time. After determining the stray cat was a male, I decided I could not in good conscience put him back outside to fend for himself, yet I knew I could not permanently keep him either. Although he appeared to be healthy, to be on the safe side I kept him separated from Gabriel and Juliesan.

Fast forward to Monday. In the morning I called the Humane Society to schedule an appointment to bring the stray cat to the shelter. By this time I had given him a name - Jack. The earliest appointment the Humane Society had was nearly three weeks away, and I knew I was already in danger of becoming attached to my new furry friend. I went ahead and made the appointment, unsure of what else to do. With the appointment so far away, coupled with having discovered blood in Jack's urine, I scheduled an appointment for him with Gabriel and Juliesan's vet to have him examined. At the vet, Jack was given a physical exam, along with a de-wormer (for precautionary measures) and a urinalysis. Jack's urinalysis came back clean, which meant that although he would not need medication, he would need to be put on a special diet. Armed with samples of food and a hefty bill (even with the discount the vet gave me), I brought Jack back home and got settled in for the next couple of weeks.

Throughout the days leading up to my appointment at the Humane Society, I continued keeping Jack separated. I would visit him in the morning and after getting home from work, petting him and attempting to play with him. (I say attempting to play with him because without fail after the second or third time I would tease him with a toy, he would unintentionally end up getting my fingers rather than the toy with his claws, and they were sharp. There was no competing with the speed of his reflexes.) Juliesan did not like being kept out of the room knowing I was inside with another cat, so once or twice I let her in to see if she and Jack would get along. While Julie is fairly accepting of new and unfamiliar cats, Jack was not so open to making a new friend, so least to say his interaction with Juliesan was short lived.

I could feel myself growing increasingly attached to Jack as each day passed, and I tried the best I could to find him a new home. Unfortunately, everyone I know currently has all the pets that they want. I even put a desperate plea on Facebook, asking if anyone was willing to take Jack in. My resolve wavered between knowing I could not keep Jack (not only because of the stresses it would bring to my already overburdened finances, but more importantly because there is a two pet limit at my apartment complex, and with biannual inspections coming up I could not risk breaking the rules) and trying to figure out a way I could make keeping him work.

On Wednesday, February 10th, it took every ounce of my willpower to walk into the Humane Society for my appointment to surrender Jack. Luckily the process was relatively short, as I spent the entire time struggling to hold back tears. Once Jack was taken out of the carrier I brought him in and placed in a holding cage, he looked directly at me and let out a sorrowful meow, as if asking me why I was abandoning him in that strange place. I turned to leave, and before I could even get through the door leading outside the tears began to fall, and I proceeded to cry like a baby until well after I reached home.

Every day since, I have obsessively checked the adoption listings on the Humane Society web page to see if Jack has been made available for adoption. So far, he has been listed under a separate area for found and stray animals, although I highly doubt anyone will claim him. The vet did say he had been neutered, which leads me to believe he did at one time have a home, but he was not microchipped. Jack's listing was also lacking a photograph, and without there being a picture of him it is not likely anyone would recognize he is their missing cat, if he indeed belonged to someone prior to showing up at my door. I have thought several times about going to the Humane Society and trying to get Jack back, but they would probably think me crazy and would not release him to the person who brought him there in the first place. Last night I had a dream that I did return to the Humane Soceity. Jack was sitting on an examination table, and when he saw me he immediately jumped down and came over to me, purring and rubbing up against me as cats do when they want attention. It was all I could do to keep myself from crying all over again.

Not a day goes by that I do not miss Jack. Unfortunately I was faced with two equally unappealing choices - either put him back outside, or take him to the Humane Society. I chose to take him to the Humane Society with the hope that although it might be a scary and stressful place at the start, someone will see him and fall in love with him the way I did, and will provide a healthy and happy home for him. I just wish there was a way I could have communicated to Jack that by giving him up I was not abandoning him, but rather I was trying to do what was best for him, regardless of the way I felt.

I just hope I made the right choice.

A late Christmas wish.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1, ESV

---

I read the following through Clever Girl Goes Blog.

---

"My name is brandy. And I have a blog.

And a plea.

I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.

He's a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He's the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He's the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favourite pink roses just because he loves me. He's a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He's made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He's listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.

The holidays have hit us hard. He's recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He's the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I'm overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.

As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren't sure what's happening. He'll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what's going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as 'brandy's hot awesome dude'). If you don't pray, please keep him in your heart.This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.

I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven't seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).

I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I'm throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn't a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It's just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven't already? Please tell someone you love them today.

I did."

---

To go, or not to go....

Recently I was invited to a New Year's Eve party through Facebook by an acquaintance from college, whom I will refer to as Double H. I was both surprised and flattered by the invitation, seeing as how I have not spoken to him in over six years (and before you ask, no, he did not merely invite everyone on his friend list). While it could be fun to go to the party, let's face it - I am not nor have I ever been socially savvy. I am more than a bit nervous about showing up to a party by myself where I know a single person that will be in attendance, and barely at that. To make matters slightly worse, I noticed today that one of the invitees is a guy I winked at on match.com, whose response was "thanks for the wink, but I don't think you are a good match for me." Thank goodness he is currently listed as not attending the party, as I can only imagine how awkward it would be to run into him should he recognize me! (I shudder at the thought.)

All possible and likely embarrassing catastrophes aside, attending the party could result in several positive scenarios. First and foremost, I would be venturing outside of my comfort zone, which I feel is important for me to do if I am going to continue to grow as an individual. I mean, I could actually have fun! Not only that, but it would provide the potential to cross off the following two items from my 30 Before 30 List:

27. Hold a conversation with a stranger.
30. Make a new friend (one not connected to someone I already know).

Knowing I will most certainly chicken out at the last minute if I plan to go by myself, I have thought about emailing Double H and simply being honest about my apprehensions, and asking if he or anyone else would like to meet up before the party and arrive together. Would this be completely and totally lame? Another option would be there is an Indiana Ice hockey game that evening, so I could ask Double H if he or anyone else would want to catch the game before heading to the party. What do ya'all think? What would you do if you were me?

....and much hilarity ensued.

I just finished reading one of the most hilarious blog posts of all time, written by one of my favorite authors, Jen Lancaster. Whether or not you are a fan of Twilight and are anticipating the upcoming release of the movie New Moon, I daresay you will find it as hilarious and gut busting as I did. All you need do is click the link below.

New Moon... the Jennsylvania edition

Go on.... Do it. (You know you want to.)

You can thank me later.

Only in my dreams....

The new 2010 Lotus Evora.


Yes please.

Honest Scrap Award.

A few weeks ago now, I was given the Honest Scrap Award by Steph at The Adventures of Jon and Steph. The rules for this award are as follows:

• List ten honest things about yourself that your blogging friends do not know about you.
• Give the award away to seven bloggers.
• Let the seven bloggers know they have received the award.

Without further ado, here is my list! :-)

1. Whenever I am driving by myself, I almost always sing along with the music to which I am listening. I can just imagine the things people must have thought when passing me or pulling up next to me at a stoplight. :-D However, I rarely sing when there are other passengers in the car. Despite being in choir for several years while I was growing up, there are few people around whom I am comfortable singing.
2. One of the things I am complimented on most often is my handwriting. Believe it or not, I have also been told that my handwriting is so neat it is hard to read. Go figure.
3. I often think I should have chosen a career in editing. No matter what I read, I am extremely aware of misspellings and grammatical errors. I have been known to correct such mistakes, even when I am reading a book for pleasure.
4. For my 29th birthday this past July 4th, I asked for My Little Ponies. That's right - I said My Little Ponies. (Don't judge.)
5. It is no secret I loathe Britney Spears and think she is a complete trainwreck. Therefore, it pains me greatly to admit I own her most current CD, Circus - and LOVE it.
6. I readily admit my biggest fear is losing a loved one. However, I rarely reveal a second fear that weighs just as heavily on my heart - the fear that I will never meet someone with whom to spend the rest of my life.
7. Since moving out on my own, I have lived in three different apartments. Not once have I fully unpacked and made my apartment into a home. Currently, my lease is up in less than two months.
8. At several different jobs I have been referred to by bosses and coworkers as a machine, not only for the sheer number of hours that I work, but because of the speed with which I am able to get things done. I go back and forth between being proud of this fact and being saddened by it.
9. I own an inordinate amount of lipgloss - more than any one girl should own in her lifetime.
10. If I had the money to spend on one purely selfish desire, I would get a complete set of veneers. My teeth have always been my least favorite physical trait.

There you have it! I am giving this award away to the following bloggers:

• Nicole at Sleepyjane
• Amber at Girl With The Red Hair
• Suz at 30 Before 30 List
• Liam at Liam's alternate reality
• Sarah at Stories of a Phoenix
• Nici at Ryan and Nici
• Tudor City Girl at Tudor City Girl

I look forward to reading everyone's responses!

Happy Fourth of July!

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and wonderful Fourth of July holiday! I am in Washington, D.C. celebrating my birthday with my best friend Tory and her husband Warren. Today we are going to do as much sightseeing as possible, and then we are going to end the day by watching the Fourth of July fireworks! Least to say, I am super excited. I will post pictures as soon as I get the chance!

Playtime.

In light of my recent plunge into singlehood, I have found myself taking more pictures of my cat Gabriel than I care to admit. (I am as of yet unsure whether I find this hilarious or pathetic.) However, I recently purchased two cat toys that made for some extremely amusing pictures.

Meet Gabriel. He's a Maine Coon/Tabby mix.

The first toy I bought is called a Playser. It has multiple images
for endless hours of playtime entertainment.

In this picture, you can just make out the red dot by Gabriel's paw.

My favorite is when Gabriel chases the laser image up the wall.

The second toy I bought is a classic doorknob toy.

I think I am going to have to eventually get one of these toys
for each of the doorknobs in my apartment.

Within minutes, Gabriel had already managed to tear one
of the feathers off of the toy.

It certainly is the simple things in life that make me the most happy and bring a smile to my face.

A Case of the Mondays.

Today, I definitely had a case of the Mondays.

1. I turned my alarm off in my sleep, waking up an hour after my alarm had been set to go off.
2. After already running late for work due to the alarm fiasco, my cat Gabriel had yet another hairball, which I then had to stop getting ready for work to clean up.
3. Feeling guilty about the hairball and despite the fact I brush Gabriel regularly, I made myself even more late by spending several minutes grooming Gabriel in the hopes that I wouldn't arrive home from work this evening to more hairballs (we shall see - I'm not holding my breath on this one).
4. While getting in my car so I could finally be on my way to work, I knocked over my mug in the center console cup holder, spilling orange juice all over the passenger seat.
   
5. I found out the house I had my heart set on buying (it is down the street from my sister and her family, and would have been absolutely perfect for me) has been sold, which greatly dampens my enthusiasm towards buying a house.
6. Late last week my co-worker and I ate lunch at Pizza Hut, where I decided I was in the mood for a stuffed crust pizza (which only comes in large, by the way). After working all weekend and forgetting to take the leftover pizza home, I sat the pizza box by my computer this afternoon so I would surely not once again forget it. Naturally, as I was driving to my second job, I realized I left the pizza sitting on my desk - and am now without dinner for the evening.

All trivial things, I know (except for the house thing - I really am upset about that), but it just doesn't make for a good start to the week. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

The End of a Tradition?

Last night as I was watching the news, a story aired that caused me great sadness. Emmis Communications, a broadcasting company that for the last 26 years has sponsored one of the greatest traditions in Indianapolis (at least in my opinion), is as of now no longer going to sponsor the event due to a lack of funding resulting from the struggling economy. The event I am speaking of is the annual Labor Day fireworks celebration, Sky Concert.

Fireworks have been an integral part of my life since birth (I was, after all, born on the Fourth of July). To this day, my father claims that when I was a child, he had me believing the fireworks that always occurred on the Fourth of July were specifically in celebration of my birthday. While I can offer little insight into the truth or falsity of my father's claim (I can recall no memory of ever believing such a thing), there is no denying the fact that I am extremely fond of any and all displays of fireworks.

Even though it has been several years since I last attended Sky Concert, it has always been and will continue to remain one of my favorite fireworks shows. I only hope that the economy rebounds quickly and Sky Concert does not remain in the dark for long.

Outrun the Sun Race Against Melanoma.

I realize it has been quite a while since I last blogged. I was all set with pictures and stories to recount my vacation in North Carolina, when unexpectedly my world came crashing down around me. The day after I got back from vacation, I found out my now ex-boyfriend Brent wanted to break up with me. The man who told me in the beginning of our relationship that all he wanted was the opportunity to prove to me not all guys are the same and that given the chance he would never be like the guys of my past (many of whom hurt me deeply), gave up and checked out of our relationship just when I needed his love and support the most (which is another story for another day). Not only that, but he kept me hanging for almost a month while he "just didn't know what to do," and I did everything I could think of to show him how much I love him and believe in us as a couple.

Least to say, I have not been in much of a blogging mood.

But, there comes a point where you have to force yourself to get back in the saddle and move on with your life. Step by step. Bit by bit. One day at a time.

Part of my method of dealing with emotional heartache is to keep myself as busy as possible, which translates to working every single hour that I possibly can at both of my jobs. This time around, I am also including that to mean being open to and taking advantage of opportunities to which I would normally not give a great deal of thought.

Enter Outrun the Sun Race Against Melanoma.

One day I got a text message from my friend Mary, asking if I wanted to be a part of her team and participate in a charity walk/run to raise money for melanoma research. I have participated in similar events before, such as Walktoberfest and Race for the Cure, but not in recent years. It didn't take long for me to decide to join Mary's team. Not only will it give me the opportunity to spend quality time with a friend whom I only see rarely, it will allow me to get involved in a great cause. This year on Saturday, June 6th, our team will be doing the one-mile family walk, but I am hoping in the future to train and do the 5 mile run. If you would like to find out more information on the event or to make a donation, you can do so by clicking here. Any and all support is greatly appreciated!

In all of this, I have been greatly inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Amber at Girl With The Red Hair (formerly from Amber Alert). Amber recently completed her first half-marathon, and since then has decided to participate in another race, this time for charity. In doing the Scotiabank half-marathon, she will be raising money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. This is a cause close to Amber's heart, as heart disease runs in her family and both her grandmother and father have had to have surgery as a result of heart attacks. If you would like to give your support to Amber, you can do so by clicking here. At the very least, I highly recommend you check out her blog (both old and new). You won't be disappointed!

I want to say a big thank you to those of you who have not given up on me in my lengthy absence. Although I have not been commenting a great deal lately as well as not blogging, I have still been checking/reading each of your blogs daily. Hopefully, this post will be the beginning of the end of my prolonged silence.

Goodbye Indiana, Helllloooo North Carolina!

I am sitting at the airport waiting for the departure of my flight to North Carolina. I will be gone for five glorious days (glorious because it means I won't be at work) visiting my friend Emily. I am super excited, although I will miss everyone back home, especially my best friend Tory who is in town visiting from Delaware. I am hoping for warm weather and to be able to break out my flip flops while I am gone! :-) Unfortunately, the high temperature for Indianapolis when I return Monday evening is 48 degrees. Yuck.

The flight is boarding now, so I better go!

My First Blog Award!

Recently I received my very first blog award from Suz at 30 Before 30 List. Most of the blogs I read have at least one, if not several awards that have been given to them, so when I saw Suz had chosen my blog as one of her seven favorites for the Kreativ Blogger Award it made my day. Suz's blog was one of the first I started reading on Blogger, and it has provided me with much inspiration, not only in regards to my blog but also in my personal life.

For the award I am supposed to list seven things I love, so here goes!

1. Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits - I am in no way, shape, or form a fan of seafood, but these biscuits are more than enough to get me to this restaurant (of course, it doesn't hurt that it is also home to one of my absolute favorite alcoholic beverages, the Sunset Passion Colada.)


2. Tulip Magnolia Trees - Each year I look forward to Spring for one specific reason, and that is the blooming of tulip magnolia trees. When I am out driving, every time I pass one of these trees it puts a smile on my face, no matter how I am feeling. I hope to one day live in a house with a huge tulip magnolia tree in the front yard.


3. Thunderstorms and Lightning - Even though thunderstorms scare me because they often occur in conjunction with the threat of tornadoes, I always get excited at the prospect of a good thunderstorm. I find it incredibly relaxing to be able to sit outside on the porch (or balcony, or wherever) and listen to the rain and watch the lightning. I would love to one day experience a thunderstorm in the deserts of Arizona.


4. The NHL Playoffs - There's nothing better than a hard fought seven game series in pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup. Speaking of which - today was the first day in round one of the playoffs. Let's go Red Wings!


5. Electric Blankets - Brent keeps his house way too cold for my taste, so when I am at his house I am almost always snuggled up with the electric blanket he bought me for Christmas. Enough said.


6. Chinese Calligraphy - I have always been fascinated by Chinese calligraphy. I think it is incredibly beautiful. I would love to learn to draw a few characters, so that I could paint them on canvases to hang around my apartment.


7. Spa Days - While I have never actually been to a spa, I can only imagine how much fun a day at the spa with my best girlfriend would be. I am a big fan of manicures and pedicures, so surely I would enjoy indulging in the variety of other ways to be pampered at a spa.


There you have it! I am also supposed to name seven of my favorite blogs to receive this award, but alas, I enjoy every blog I read so much I cannot choose between them all. So, I am passing this award on to everyone on my blog roll. :-)