My Kind of Valentine

I had a serious boyfrend in college, and one valentine's day I got roses in the mail. They were great, but a new hooded sweatshirt would have been better - with dark chocolate hidden in the pockets.... I shouldn't complain about the roses, but it's hard not to complain when you receive Valentine's gifts like the one I got last night:

A Coffee mug full of dark chocolate and peanut M&M's with a wine bottle stopper and opener. Can you think of anything better than chocolate and coffee and wine accessories?! I mean, yeah, a million dollars comes to mind, but let's be reasonable here folks...

It was the perfect end to an awful day and the perfect Valentine's Day gift - aren't moms the best?!

Love yourself,

Overshadowed.

If any of you are friends with me on facebook, work with me or are with me on a fairly regular basis, you may think that I'm a huge complainer.... and while I probably am a complainer 87% of the time, I realized this weekend that my complaints often overshaddow the things that make my life so wonderful...

So for this post, I am going to erase the idea that my job puts me to sleep, pretend that I don't have college and car loans to pay for, and forget the fact that I have to wait 2 weeks for results of a biopsy on a really gross mole that I just had removed - and point out to you the little things about my past weekend that are often overshaddowed by all that complaining I tend to do.

FRIDAY

• (insert complaint here about how awful my Fridays at work are)
• Dinner and Magic Hat beers at Mac's with Annick and Bobby Z, - which according to most dictionaries qualifies as a double date...I am getting so mature, right?!

This is Bobby Z. I'm allowed to post this picture because I have 100% confidence he will never see this blog.



SATURDAY

• Went for a run in my beautiful neighborhood with beautiful houses that I dream about living in if I get married and quit working in the near future
• Watched a Glee marathon on tv (need I say more?) 

SUNDAY

• Went for another run in my beautiful neighborhood with beautiful houses that I will live in once I get married and when I quit working
• Met Bobby Z for lunch at Jason's Deli and scored a FREE soft serve ice cream cone (woot woot)
• Krogering.... love love love grocery shopping but hate hate hate buying groceries
• Made AWESOME (low fat) cookies! (insert second "woot woot" here)
• Went to Nick Foor's (Annie's sister's fiance) for a fun little Super Bowl party where it was quite the full house - Nick, Annie, Jackie, Stephanie, Shane, Nate, Nancy Chuck (aka my second family) and the host himself
• Needless to say there was amazing food, amazing company and an amazing outcome of the game... but anyone who beats the Steelers is okay in my book

The host and Jackie

Me and Gil (ughh winter skin is the worst)

So see! I can get through an entire weekend post without complaining (second paragraph excluded)... and I have to say, I feel good - great even. So many times I place all my attention and focus on the negative in my life, that I forget that I have just as many, if not more, great things going for me. I have friends, my own apartment, free time to do what I love and a supportive family.

Sure it's fun, and sometimes even necessary, to sit with your roommate and bitch all night, but it's 10x more fun to enjoy the positive things in life - the things that are often overshadowed by all that's negative. 

Love yourself,

Dedicated or Just Deranged?

I ran 10 miles Saturday morning.


Yes, I said Saturday morning.


The same Saturday morning that rained, then iced, then sleeted then snowed.


Dedicated? Sure..


Deranged? Most definitely.


My face was pelted with ice beebees.


My shoes were wet.


I got strange looks.


Dedicated to training for a spring marathon: Sure.


Deranged for training for a second spring marathon: Most definitly.


Back to sanity for deciding that I'm too busy to train for 26.2 miles: stay tuned....

p.s. I am fully aware that this is the worst quality photo ever. My battery died after the first take. 

Happy Friday?

No. This is what my face does when I think about going to work on Friday. I hate Fridays.

But on a more positive note, I hope you all wore RED today for National Wear Red Day for Women's Heart Health! Heart disease is the number one killer of women - more than cancer...  spread the news and the awareness!

Love yourself.

Endorphins

endorphin en·dor·phin (ěn-dôr'fĭn)  n. Any of a group of peptide hormones that bind to opiate receptors and are found mainly in the brain. Endorphins reduce the sensation of pain and affect emotions.

I'm sure many, if not all of you, have either heard of, or know what an endorphin is - whether it be in your mandatory college health class, your new years resolution issue of Glamour or from your personal trainer at the gym... because we all have one of those, right? oooooff course!


But anyway, I bring up the topic of endorphins, because after some serious daydreaming this morning at work, I realized that this might be the best hormone ever invented secreted. Sure it may take some serious will power and motivation to get those peptide hormones into binding action, but once binded - MAN is the feeling it creates awesome.... allow me to explain...

After a day of constant himming and hawwing on whether or not to attend a spinning class after work, I walked into my apartment with not only a bad attitude, but also with the mindset of sitting on my ass for the rest of the evening, (and mindlessly eating my freezer stash of dark chocolate kisses).... that is until I walked straight into a damn fitness circus that was my living room: My roommate was on the floor in midst of the last exercise from Jillian Michael's 30-shred program, music was thumping and her boyfriend Nick was in a knee bent stance, fist pumping Gill (my roommate) through the last of it....

Okay, I'll be honest, that was a TOTAL exaggeration, but I'm going for a theatrical explanation, so please, bear with me... I'm almost done.


Soon after discovering the madness in front of me, my roommate finished up the last bicycle ab move and  popped her sweaty little head off the floor and, with a total unecessary and chipper voice mind you, shouted "Hey Gill!!!"


....I'm not going to lie, I was annoyed. Here I was all ready to be a total bum the rest of the night, complain about my job, eat chocolate, watch the Biggest Loser - you know, the typical depressed 25 year old evening - but for some reason I felt like I didn't necessarily need to exercise, but that I should exercise..... ughhhh the pang of guilt! Gets me everytime!

And it did. 15 minutes later I somehow found myself in the spinning room of the Urban Active and in the middle of the warm-up to a 45 minute class. How I got the motivation to get there I cannot tell you - but I will tell you that those 45 minutes of intense cycling and loud techno music not only reiterated my hate for Sandstorm, but really got my chemical brain action rockin'. I walked out of that spinning room refreshed, tired and happy - ready for a perfect evening of Biggest Loser, hanging out with *Annick and responsible chocolate decisions. Endorphins, you saved my evening.


So, next time you feel like you want to rip off your stuffed monkey's head in rage, please, stop, think and go exercise. Think about endorphins and what they can do for your mood. Run up the stairs a few times, do some jumping jacks, go to a fitness class - anything to get those endorphins flowing and your mood elevated. 


*Annick - the combination of Annie and Nick.

Will Run For....

I love to run.

I also love beer.

Especially Magic Hat drafts during happy hour, with $5 cheesy, gooey pizza.

I love waking up Saturday mornings with a cup of coffee and a 10 mile run.

I also love re-living my college days with occasional Friday night beer pong games.

I will run for beer.  

I do run for beer.

My Other Gil

Lets face it, the biggest reason why I started my own blog in the first place is because of Ms. Annie Gilbert. And since we got that fact out in the open, we might as well bring up second one - she is the reason I'm resurfacing in the ever-so addicting blog world. So thank you Annie, for adding one more thing to my life that I feel like I should be doing while I'm indulging in reality TV. But, in all seriousness, I'm really excited to start this blog again, and since Annie is not only the force behind blogging at 866, but also the girl I share a closet-sized bathroom with, my first post of 2011 will be called:

Annie Gilbert: 10 Reasons Why She is Quite Possibly the Perfect Roommate.  

1. She pays half my rent. Enough said. 
2. She LOVES to clean. Anyone who gets excited about the thought of having 3 hours to do nothing but vacuum, dust and scrub – while wearing a bandana – is just about perfect in my book. 
3. Her family is fabulous. Not only do I get cards in the mail from her parents every holiday, but I occasionally get the opportunity to play with her 2 adorable nephews while having absolutely no responsibility for dirty diapers or cleaning up - not to even mention that I have secretly adopted her older sisters as my own because I've always wanted an older sister and they are just, plain and simple, awesome. 
4. She loves reality shows. Having a roommate who has no problem admitting to not only watching, but loving Teen Mom is always good to have - especially if you feel the same way, which I do….  oops, accidental confession.
5. Guilty Pleasures. Fruit Snacks, Fruit Snacks, Fruit Snacks... it makes my not-so-secret freezer chocolate stash seem normal. 
6. Alcohol. Going to the bar with someone who gets drunk from 2 Blue Moons, like myself, is just wonderful – as is having a roommate to drink wine and watch twilight movies with. 
7. Blogs. Do any of you read blogs and find yourself bringing up bloggers in everyday conversation, and talking of them like you know them? Well I do, and so does Annie... always creates lovely roommate conversations and jumpstarts apartment DIY projects.
8. G. The fact that her last name not only starts with a G, but also a G-I-L, makes our apartment decor a no-brainer, like this shelf above our couch:
 


9. Primates. This is a new fact that we recently found out about ourselves... but monkeys do not just scare the crap out of us, they fa-reak us out.... just thinking about their hairy, naked bodies walking on 2 feet just gi ves us the willies... hmmm, do people still use that word? oh well, I just did.  
10. Look in Annie's purse then look in mine: you will find a planner, on occasion a notebook, and colored writing utensils.... this really has nothing to do with living together, but it's just a fun fact that doesn't make me look insane, but makes us both look insane... two is always better than one, right?



So there you have it folks! Reasons why Annie Gilbert is my perfect roommate... and yes, I do realize that some of the above numbers really have no direct relevance to living in the same apartment, but we have so many stupid similarities and behaviors that makes it so much easier to understand and tolerate each other and why we don't look at the other dumbfounded when the other feels the need to proclaim that she's not making her desk calendar pretty..... it really can be an exhausting household, but it's my perfect environment, and I couldn't ask for anything more, well, except for a career, serious boyfriend and more money... but that's an ENTIRE different story

You can (and should!) read more about my roommate Annie at her blog: Accidentally on Purpose.