Disgusta

This was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a while. I didn’t spend 90% of it in a quiet room watching Netflix with my headphones in not interacting with anyone, so it was an automatic win (I use Michael’s studying as a crutch to not have much of a social life of my own).

Friday I helped Val clean her rental house for new tenants moving in. It was sweaty work and to reward ourselves we went to dinner at Cali N Tito’s, it was awesome to sit outside on a summer night and have a drink and hang out with my best friend. From there we ventured downtown. I haven’t been downtown after 10:00pm in 100 years and I was wearing sweaty gross clothes and generally feeling very out of place. We had a super fun time and didn’t make it home until almost 3:00am, but I did manage to put off an awkward, I don’t know how to talk to people, we are both married and not 19 anymore vibe.               

7:15 came early and I was grateful that the hangover gods were kind to me. I worked until 12:30 and met Michael and his family for lunch at Big City Bread and he brought Stella! I love when she can go everywhere with us. A delicious fried egg sammy was inhaled and I got to catch up with my in laws. From there we boogied West to Augusta to check out the apartment that Michael is going to be living in. The apartment is beautiful and I am going to be spending a lot of time at the pool.

On Sunday we hit the town to explore and see the campus. Every time I have mentioned that Michael is moving to Augusta for nursing school I get a lot of “oh, DISgusta” but I’d checked it out online and knew they had a downtown area, and it was on the water, a lot of medical students, the Masters etc. etc. and I was hoping to get there and drive around and think “see, it’s not that bad!” But that was not the case. It was disgusting. Run down and dirty and not well maintained. It looked unloved and abandoned and I am thoroughly confused as to why. We will do some more exploring and make the best of it when I visit, but the reality is that we have been spoiled by Athens. Oh, good ole Athens. 

It might come true

When the phone call about nursing school came we were both kind of dumbstruck. I mean, Yes! Of course! Hooray! But also, Wait? What? Where?!?! The nice lady from Augusta who just called and dropped a bomb on us said she needed an answer by noon the next day. So we told her we would call her back. We spent that night thinking through all of the implications of him accepting the spot.

He will be moving for two years and we haven’t even been married a year.

We will be supporting two households with one income instead of one household with two incomes.

We have a dog and 2 cats.

We spent the first six months of marriage figuring out how to be married and live together well and we’d finally hit a sweet spot.

We will be apart.

When Michael and I met in Alabama I was coming off of the roughest year of my life. I’d moved to Kentucky for graduate school and was faced with a lot of challenges. I was the only one in my program and had a hard time meeting people and making friends. I was almost 500 miles from home and had only ever lived 65 miles away before. Graduate school was so so hard and due to unforeseen circumstances my roommate had to move home so I was living alone. I felt very alone and lost and I was very depressed. The first night we found out about nursing school my biggest fear was that living alone would mean that I would feel lost and confused and depressed like I had when I was in Kentucky. I couldn’t bear the thought of pulling onto our street and seeing an empty driveway. I have since realized that this situation is nothing like that one, but boy did those fears come rushing back initially.

Michael called the next morning to accept the position and was met with yet another hurdle. He had taken Statistics and Microbiology as the school recommended but did not take Chemistry 2, because they had not mentioned it. He had taken it in the past and gotten a D, which was not acceptable for the program. They apologized for the mistake and told them he would no longer be accepted. We were crushed. But Michael was not going down without a fight. With the help of his advisor he learned that if he could take and pass the CLEP exam in Biology 1 and 2 that score, combined with other science classes on his transcripts would fulfill the Chem 2 requirement.

So, in addition to course work and upcoming final exams in Stat and Micro he was tasked with studying for, scheduling, taking, and passing the CLEP. He was admitted to the program provisionally pending his class grades and test score. And he proceeded to study without ceasing for two weeks.

He got an A in Statistics and passed his CLEP yesterday! The Micro final is next Thursday and Friday. I could be more proud of my husband. At this point we are 99% sure that he will be moving to Augusta in 2 weeks! All of his hard work and determination paid off, but seriously, you should see the dent in the couch where he sits to study :) 

Be careful what you wish for

I like blogging, but often feel uninspired, or directionless. I flip flop between “no one is reading, whats the point” and “I don’t want anyone to read anyway, its really just for me” or “am I writing about life? Or exercise? Or what?”

I blogged about my high hopes for the Third of July and it rained and was a bummer. And then I lost steam. And life got complicated. Really, really complicated. I have debated about writing about it because I do not want to compromise my personal security, but I figure everyone who reads already knows what’s going on and also my address, so if they want to sneak into my house and rob/hurt me while my husband and dog are living 2 hours away they already have the means to do so.

My husband is a dreamer. We even read a quote about dreamers and realists at our wedding. Since we met 3+ years ago he has had a lot of big dreams for his career and our family. He has dreamed of moving out west, or becoming a medic, and toyed with the idea of joining the military. A little over a year ago we stumbled upon the idea of nursing. He is a great people person, fantastic under pressure, and nursing has a lot of different specialties and venues for practice which is good for his tendency to get bored once he has accomplished a challenge.

 He decided to apply to a satellite nursing campus in Athens for a school that was located in Augusta. In May we found out that he was waitlisted and would not know if he got a spot in the program until June. In the meantime, he was told to take Statistics and Microbiology to fulfill the prerequisite requirements. This was super frustrating because he was taking demanding classes for a program he might not get in to, and had to drop several clients at work to make time for class. The classes also required a significant amount of devoted, quiet, study time with internet access for homework and quizzes over the weekend. This meant no lake trips, camping trips, or any travel at all really this summer. But, it would all be worth it if it meant he could get in to nursing school. Unfortunately, the end of June came and the phone call didn't.

To say we were bummed would be an understatement. We had 2 weeks of searching for what he wanted to do, coming up with and weighing options, and generally feeling lost. Then, on Wednesday, July 17^th the call came. He was offered a spot off of the waiting list and into the nursing program! ….At the Augusta campus. The good news we’d been hoping for finally came, with strings attached.

A penny saved is...not worth it sometimes

In my last post I mentioned that I bought 2 tops and 2 pairs of shorts for running from Wal-Mart. It is worth mentioning that my husband and I like to cut corners when we can to save money. We don't have cable, we didn't turn our heat on last Winter, and we use the same coffee grounds and filters for a week before changing them (NOT. ew. so sick.). Anywho, I saw some dry fit shorts for $7.48 and tops for $5.48 at Walmart and though I'd give em a whirl (name that movie).
Guess what friends....you get what you pay for. I was really excited about these shorts because they are a cute color of course but also because they are spandex-y unlike my other running shorts. Meaning they will stay put, I wont have to pull them down every third stride and I wont chafe. After one 3.5 mile run I can say that all of those facts are true. However, the dry fit or wicking material did NOT stand up to the sweat test.

You're welcome for the awkward crotch shot. Please keep in mind that this was not a long run and it was not a sweaty run, it was only 74 degrees out. Please also keep in mind that I did NOT pee my pants.

Now, on to the shirt. Admittedly I bought a size small when I meant to buy a medium, but I did not realize that until after I used scissors to solve the problem. I spent most of my run pulling down the neck of my shirt in an attempt to stretch it/swallow successfully. The neck of this shirt was way, way too tight and small. I needed a bigger size and never would have purposefully bought a small. But maybe I also need to wear a v-neck/scoop neck when I'm exercising to prevent claustrophobia. But I'd already ripped off the tags and sweated in the shirt, so it wasn't going back to the store. I took matters into my own hands and cut the neck of the shirt. Naturally.

I learned about cutting up my own clothes from my friend Valerie.

Yes, that was the brightest colored outfit I've ever worn in my life. And yes, I learned my lesson about buying cheap running gear. But that does not mean you will ever see me shell out $80 for a shirt I will be sweating in cough, cough Lululemon...

Laugh at the rest

We had a super summery weekend complete with a trip to the farmers market, berry picking, and swimming at the waterfall. I know that there are a lot of people out there who think that Fall is the best season of the year but I disagree. I mean there is just no beating fresh Summer produce.

On Sunday we stopped into Walmart because I knew that they had some super cheap workout clothes. I got 2 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for running in addition to these awesome finds.

This is real life.

Even though Summer is in full swing we have been enjoying some unseasonably cool temperatures. I am all about hot weather but I am not complaining since I went on a nice cool 74 degree run at 8:00pm last night. I’m not exaggerating. It was 74 degrees on July 1st and gorgeous.

I used the run to think about all of the petty, unnecessary fights I have with my husband. Last night we argued about the thermostat. In the past it’s been about the Tupperware cabinet, or how to load the dishwasher or who finished the milk etc. These arguments are a waste of time and energy and all they do is create a divided feeling between us. I know it sounds trite but we are lucky to have air conditioning, and each other. I need to give a little more.  I saw a quote today by Herman Hesse that said “Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest.” Yes. That. Times infinity.

It’s the last day of work until I get a 5 day weekend and the best holiday of the year. Yahoo!!! After work I have to go buy a beard for my Uncle Sam outfit. Yes, this is real life. Get excited!!

Weekend Goals

Last night we me Ms. Frances at Hendershots for the final night at their current location before moving. Yay for being spontaneous and going out on a weeknight!

This weekend we will be staying in town. I am so excited. It is only the second weekend we’ve had in town in 8 weeks.  I have already mentally filled all of our time with chores, errands, and summer activities but all I really want is to relax. Whyyyyy do I always try to cram so much in….I am telling myself that as long as I go berry picking, buy tomatoes, and go to the swimming hole nothing else really matters.

Then 2 days of work next week, and looooooong Third of July weekend. Yahoo!

I am super proud of my runs this week. I am training for a Fall half marathon and following a mix of 2 training plans. One plan recommended being able to run 3 miles comfortably 3 times a week prior to starting the plan. So I set that goal for myself. I am happy to say that so far this week I have run 3 miles twice at a slow but comfortable pace-especially considering I am running in heat and humidity. I am too stubborn (read: lazy) to get out of bed and run before work so I have been running at 5:00pm, not the coolest part of the day. It is worth mentioning that I am actually looking forward to my runs (I KNOW! I am as shocked as you are). This morning I mixed up my training time and went to the gym 2 hours before I was supposed to meet with Jody so he was with another client (duh) luckily, Michael was able to train me.

 Shocking fact #1 before I knew Michael was going to be able to train me I had the thought “no big deal, I will just jump on the treadmill, Yay!”

 Shocking fact #2 I enjoyed training with Michael and was not cranky or wanting to kill him. Ahhh love.

I plan to get my third run in this weekend. So I guess my weekend goals are:

Buy fresh juicy yummy summer tomatoes

Berry picking/See Carrie and Patrick

Waterfall/See Frances and Zach

Run

Relax and love on Michael

See how I refrained from writing clean house, return things, go to wal mart, grocery shop, food prep blah blah blah. I am prioritizing my summer fun and relaxation. And using that as an excuse to slack in areas of my life that clearly aren’t as fun or rewarding :)

Cheers to the weekend!

Counting Down

I don't like to make a big deal about my birthday (although my husband did make it really fun and special this year).
Thanksgiving makes me feel guilty (choosing between families, someone is inevitably left out).
I'm kind of a Scrooge about Christmas (but getting better after marrying an elf).
New Years Eve always seems like a lot of work for a hangover.
I think that all of this ill-will towards holidays stems from being a child of divorce. I'm not here to win sympathy or to point fingers or blame my parents. I know that they did the best that they could and I love them both dearly but when holidays are spent in rotating shifts the magic gets lost and for me the guilt and stress took over.
However,there is one day of the year that I love. Truly, madly, deeply. The Third of July. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't already really super pumped up about it. In fact, last night I made Michael model a patriotic headband I bought at the dollar spot at Target (6 weeks ago, yes, I am a nut for anything red, white and blue).



Two years ago Michael were on a road trip on the 2nd and 3rd of July, when boredom took over I offered to entertain him by singing all of the patriotic songs I knew; America The Beautiful, God Bless America, This Land Is Your Land, and on, and on. I have to admit, my talent was pretty amazing. I remember impressing even myself with how many songs I was able to come up with in their entirety and how long I was able to entertain us. We then decided to stop at Rarity Mountain at a scenic overlook in Tennessee to take some pictures and because it was the Third of July I was wearing my most favorite patriotic shorts in all their glory. You're Welcome, Tennessee.

Last year, being an Olympic year and all, I could hardly contain my American Pride. I went shopping and bought allll of the red, white and blue things. And then I challenged myself to see if I could go from the Third of July until the Olympic opening ceremonies, July 27, wearing red white and blue in some form every day. Let's just say it wasn't very challenging.

For my birthday in February I begged (and begged and begged) Michael to buy me this Uncle Sam outfit.

After tricking me into thinking he wouldn't buy it for me all week by saying ridiculous things like "you know Uncle Sam is a guy" and "when would you ever wear that?!" He gave it to me. Best. Birthday. Ever.

So yeah, I will be wearing that to fireworks on the Third. My family is so lucky they get to sit with and Uncle Sam impersonator.