Life is good

My headline says it all.

Really, life is good. Life is busy. But, things are great. Work has kept me insanely busy the last 4 weeks. Boy, I can't believe I am four weeks into the 10. Anyways, when I am away from work, I find myself always on the go. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, it's just a big change of pace which is funny, because I thought I was busy before my shift change. I went from working 2 part time jobs that complimented each other nicely, to working overtime/45 hrs a week. Then, I babysit and play volleyball on Monday (my "weekend") and Drew and I have been trying to play golf on Tuesdays. So, yes I have been staying very busy - but I do it to myself so I am smiling about it. The last 5 days or so were super busy. I had to be at the station during the morning show Saturday (it was nice to see everybody) after working Friday night, then again Saturday night. On Sunday I did army stuff with Drew and went to a bridal shower before going to work. Monday was the big Jimmy Buffet concert and Tuesday Drew and I had dinner with another couple.

Jimmy Buffet was COLD this year. Burr!! Luckily, mother nature held off and it didn't rain on us. Unfortunately, I ended up in jeans and a jacket instead of the fun floral clothes I planned on wearing. But, we still made sure to wear our glow in the dark bracelets/necklaces. This is Jill and i trying to show off our glow sticks with a tough face :) We really did have a great time. A big group of us took a boat over again. And, Buffet wrapped up the show with one of my favorite songs... FINS! Check out all the fins behind me too!(Drew has a way of capturing me in the most awkward photos.)

Here is Drew and the future bride. Mallory, Drew and Mallory's fiance Patrick are all in the military. Mallory and Patrick just got back from their tours in Iraq and will be getting married this summer. Drew is in the wedding, and as you can tell was excited to see Mallory this weekend. She and Patrick are stationed in Texas.

And here are some Lexi pictures. Unfortunately, they are not the most current. These are actually from a couple weeks ago - she is even bigger now - and is not even close to growing into her paws! Thankfully, she loves water! She even seems to understand the word bath. Drew and his sister were talking about giving her a bath the other day within a couple minutes, she walked herself into the bathroom and climbed into the tub. She just sat there waiting for someone to bathe her!

And lastly, but certainly not least. I got the most amazing surprise the other day from my fabulous friend Kelli. God bless her. She sent me this fantastic box of Gluten Free goodies, all made by General Mills. I can't even begin to describe how excited I was to open it. At this point, I have only had the fruit snacks (yes, I said fruit snacks) and they were yummy. I'm planning on having some cereal tomorrow and maybe a fruit roll up or some gushers. Thank you thank you thank you Kelli for thinking of me. I can't wait to try it all!

Mothers Day

Happy Mother's day to all of those moms out there, including my own mother!

I too, got my first Mother's day card today. Little Lexi and Drew got me a card and recorded Lexi barking in it! I also received some beautiful frames with pictures of Lexi and I from her first bath... bringing her home the day we got her and playing in the yard. It was a really sweet, unexpected gift. She definitely isn't that small anymore. I will upload some more recent pictures ASAP.
It turned out to be a pretty nice day here, and a great way to wrap up the week. Yes, my weekend starts now. Work is going well. The first night I produced was rocky, but I've sailed through the last two weeks. Eight more to go, and then it's the big question mark as to what I do next. Stay on full-time? Or go back to my part-time schedule. Only time will tell. I will say, with the first two weeks under my belt, it is beginning to NOT feel like work again. For the most part, I have always felt as though working in news is more of a learning time and not work. That's how I feel again. I am learning about what's going on in the community and nation. I am though looking forward to my days off - who doesn't like personal time! Although, I expect them to be pretty busy. I am still playing sand volleyball Monday nights. And will be doing a little babysitting Monday mornings.
The good news though, I have been able to enjoy some of the time after work. It turned out to be a late night, but Drew and I saw Iron Man 2 Friday with another couple. The two of us really enjoyed the movie. The other couple thought the first one was better. My advice: see the movie. There is something about Robert Downey Jr. that I just love. His Tony Stark character is so pompous and arrogant it's fantastic.

13.1

I did it. I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon this Sunday. And boy, was it a lot tougher than I anticipated. Now, I have to be honest. I did not train as well as I should. Originally, I had planned to run the entire marathon, but opted for the half when my training began to suffer due to work, spending time with Lexi and pure laziness/loss of motivation. Drew and I signed up together and once he hurt his knees I lost my running partner and sort of gave up. Regardless, I FINISHED! I pushed myself and finished the race in a little over two hours. I did have to stop a couple of times to walk - my hip flexors and knees were on fire. But, even with the added walks I kept at a 10:20 mile. The pouring rain and thunderstorm didn't help much either. Thank you mom for coming out and supporting me at mile 9. I was definitely in need of boost of encouragement and that was the perfect spot. It actually brought tears to my eyes. I was hurting at that point and did not expect to see a familiar face. The day was a big accomplishment on many levels. 1. I have never done anything more than a 5K, 2. I hate storms and ran through thunder and lightening, 3. I survived work only a couple of hours later! It was really exciting to be a part of something that has become such a big event in the city. I wish the weather had been better to really showcase the type of event it can be, but maybe that curiosity will pull me to running again in the future...

Will I ever run the race again?
- Depends on when you ask me :) During the race I had had enough, but I am feeling more optimistic (and less sore) today. I would absolutely do the relay. I think that would be a lot of fun to get 3 other people to be a part of. I would want to do the 3 or 4th legs of the race because once we hit mile nine the half and full marathoners split off. I would do the half again knowing that I need to completely commit to training and practice the course. It's way too hilly not to. As for a whole marathon... I now realize the only way I would agree to that would be if I was able to train with a running group. It's way too rough on your body not to prep properly. Plus, I think the motivation is really important.

Things that surprised me:
- How bad my lower back hurt after the race. I didn't notice it running, but as soon as I crossed the finish line and bent down - holy moly! It was and still is a bit sore.
- How much the crowd/spectators are motivators. Cheering definitely makes a difference.
- How I couldn't eat afterwards. My stomach didn't settle until about 3:30 or 4pm. I thought I would be ravenous or hungry, but my body was totally against digesting anything. The orange I had after the race made me sick and the grilled cheese I ate hours later went right through me. I definitely wasn't expecting that response. Then again, I did just push my body beyond what I've ever asked it to do before.

Overall, great experience. Sadly, I don't have a picture. It was rainy and as soon as I got to my car I got out of there so I could take a short nap before going to work. Maybe I'll stage a picture with my medal later...

Goodbye Overnights, Hello Daylight!!

Yes, I think you know what that title means! After nearly a year of working the 1am to 9 (or 10)am I am switching gears!! I had a meeting at the station yesterday and was asked to help fill in while one of the producers is on maternity leave. So, for the next 10 weeks I will be producing the 10 pm show Wednesday through Sunday. Yes, I do in a sense lose my weekend, but I can meet up afterwards when I get done at 10:30. Regardless, as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would say, "my life got flipped-turned upside down" because my hours will now be... wait for it... 2pm - 10:30pm. Not exactly normal, but not crazy ridiculous either. I will finish out my current schedule/shifts this week and begin producing THIS SUNDAY.

So, thank you everyone who has either 1. dealt with and accommodated my crazy hours and 2. has listened to me, telling me to keep my head up when I've been frustrated.

Also, for those of you thinking of Lexi, she is doing MUCH better! Our little pup is almost back to normal. It's actually been hard to keep her from running around. I feel bad putting her in her cage, but I don't want her to get too comfortable and not letting her femur heal. Drew is definitely excited that she is getting better. He's anxiously waiting to take her on walks again. He thinks she is getting restless without them. I told Drew to wait and hear what the vet has to say tomorrow. Lexi has an appointment for another round of shots and therefore the vet will be able to see her progress with her leg.

Poor Lexi

Our little (not for long she's already 24lbs!) Lexi has a boo boo. Drew and I took her to the vet after he notied she was walking funny. They were finishing up a walk and on their way home he said she was walking almost sideways. She was limping, babying her back right leg. The vet was able to pin-point her pain to her femur. She mentioned a handful of possibilities, but decided to treat it as a bruise for right now and gave us an anti-inflammatory. If it doesn't get better in the next couple of days, we will have it x rayed. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but only time will tell. Right now, she's sleeping a lot and moving very little which is strange for her. We usually take her on walks two or three times a day just to wear her out! Maybe Drewwill finally find time to do some laundry and clean up a bit...

Four Fabulous Days with Friends and Family

Who would have thought being 24 would be so much fun! Boy, I am exhausted but it is so worth it. I just had the most fantastic weekend. My wonderful sorority sister and best friend drove in from Chicago to celebrate my birthday and spend time with me. I've only seen Emily once since we graduated nearly two years ago and that visit was a short half hour. So being able to spend some time with her was amazing. Emily drove down to see me on Friday and finally got to meet Drew and little Lexi (ps. she's already 25lbs!!). The next day, Emily, Drew, my two brothers and I met for breakfast down by Drew's house before heading to the Reds game. As luck would have it, the Reds were playing the Cubs. Between the Cubs winning and Emily trying her first Skyline cheese coney, she left the stadium a happy girl. It really was the perfect day for a baseball game. Each one of us left with a crazy farmers tan! The fun didn't stop there. After taking a short nap, the four of us (minus my brother Kevin) headed to dinner on the river. We were starving. Can you tell Drew and I were pretty excited to get our dinner! Not only was the food fantastic, but so was the view. A handful of the Cubs players sat diagonally from us! Emily was in heaven!! She left the restaurant with the first baseman's autograph thanks to Drew embarrassing her! The laughter and fun continued through the night. Sunday morning she said goodbye and headed back to Chicago. My family gathered to celebrate birthday's. My 24th birthday was Monday and Kevin's 21st is today!! We had lunch at Uno's. I really enjoy going there once in awhile because I can order a gluten-free pizza. Every so often it's nice to have the option of not ordering a salad. We came back home for presents and dessert. My mom made a mouth-watering trifle for the two of us. The celebrations continued on Monday (my actual birthday). Drew and I went out golfing. Now, the first hole was pretty rough. I definitely had some problems there, but after we got through that first one, I started to play better. I didn't expect a lot from myself. It was only my first time playing this year and 3rd time playing ever! But, I will never get better unless I practice. My fabulous four days wrapped up with a fun birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a sand volleyball game. So far, 24 feels good.

Post 100!!!!

Post 100! It's hard to believe I have that much to share. Well, I wanted to make sure that this post was an exciting one. Originally, I planned to wait until Easter, but then my dad woke up "a new man" and invited Lexi to Easter dinner. Now, it might not sound like exciting news, but if you know my dad, then you'll know that he is NOT a pet person. We were allowed fish when we were little, but that was it. And is still it. He has graciously invited invited Lexi to our house for Easter dinner and I am so grateful. Easter should be interesting. It will be nice to have everyone together.

Really though...who could resist this face???