Some stuff and things

My husband thinks he's all badass now that he has a Google Reader set up (which I set up for him) and he keeps saying he hasn't noticed my "feed" being updated lately. Ok smart ass. So here are some random updates with my life. I've also added some completely unrelated and random photos from my phone, because no one likes a blog post without pictures:

1. I incorporated my business, hooray! Now there's an Inc. at the end of the name and it's extra special. We  did it because our tax guy said he can save us 15% on taxes this way. I'll take it. Now I have to set up a business checking account, etc. I've been working on rebranding my business cards, web site, etc (and by rebranding, i mean adding the Inc. onto my logo. tada.).

We opened one of the bottles of wine we got in Napa for our 9th year dating anniversary. Is it weird that I place as much/maybe more importance on this date than our actual wedding? Maybe because we've been celebrating it for longer?

2. I just committed to a trip to southern Georgia to visit my dad's family. My grandma and her sister (who are both in their 90's) got into a car accident recently and have been in the hospital and in rehab. Grandma is out but my great aunt is still in rehab, out soon hopefully. They rear-ended someone while they were on their way to a peach orchard to pick peaches. How sad/sweet is that? Not much slows them down but this really threw a wrench in things. Anyway, my dad is planning to go visit in September. I wasn't going to go because I have a wedding to go to that weekend and the sheer boringness of sitting around and "visiting" with relatives that i'm not very close with (other than my grandma and great aunt), not to mention the cost of the flight, arranging my work schedule etc. And did I mention my extreme travel anxiety? Double gulp. But I'm going to go. And I'm also going to try to guilt my sister into going. Muah ha ha. 

My cat doesn't get enough love on this blog. Here ya go.

3. I'm training for an 8k. The Rothman 8k which is part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend. I'm scared out of my mind to be honest. It took everything I had in me just to complete a 5k and that was a while ago. I've started training and I'm beginning to realize that running is a 90% mental game. My sister is going to do it with me and she's not a runner either, so I'm sure we'll take lots of walking breaks. We will be handsomely rewarded with cheesesteaks to the face.

My city. Did you know Batman is currently filming in Pittsburgh right now? My facebook wall has been crowded with Batmobile sightings and people lamenting the "Batman traffic" backups. We're pretty fancy here.

4. This one kind of goes with number 3. I'm trying to get back onto the diet and exercise wagon. With all the traveling we've been doing this summer, I've definitely fallen off. Pasta and pizza in Italy, cheesesteaks in Philly, ice cream at the beach, deep dish pizza in Chicago . . . I'm not good at eating healthy while traveling. But summer is winding down and I'll be home more often so I've been cooking more and making more of an effort to limit my intake. I've also been slacking in the cardio department, but hopefully I'll keep up with my race training.  I am proud to say though that I stuck with my lifting routine throughout the summer and I seriously love it. I've noticed such a change in my body since i've started seriously weight training. None of the half-assed stuff I used to do with the resistance machines. I'm so much stronger and I have more than doubled the weight i can move on some of my exercises. Even though I've been eating like crap, I've only gained about 4 lbs from my initial 18 lb weight loss. One of the best things about having more muscle is that it burns so much more calories. BUT, I want to take those four pounds back off and then some.

We walked around downtown and played tourists in our own city the other night. 

5. I have baby fever. Again.

Hugs and Kisses

I’m not a hugger. I don’t have any kind of weird aversion to human touch or anything like that, its just not my first instinct to hug people at random. For the first couple decades of my life, this was never a problem. Then I met my husband. He comes from a lifestyle of wreckless hugging behavior. I think it was the fault of his small catholic high school.

Oh hey! I haven’t seen you in two days . . . how bout a hug?

You’re leaving the party so soon . . . we must hug!

I just saw you on the street . . . awkward public hug time!

from FastCompany.com

I save my hugs for meaningful situations. I hug my parents when I haven’t seen them in a while. I hug my husband when he’s especially sweet. I hug babies when they do cute things. I hug friends when they are sad. When a hug becomes a normal part of a goodbye routine, it loses its meaning.

We had our typical Tuesday night of 25 cent pizza slices at our favorite local bar. This usually happens once a week. Not seeing someone for seven days does not warrant a hug. But of course, when its time to leave, my husband has to initiate the hug train.

We announce that we will be parting ways and we start to get our coats on. This is when the awkwardness begins. For me, anyway. I start walking towards the door, bidding my farewells, hoping my husband will follow suit. No such luck. He makes his rounds, hugging each friend. Then I look like the cold-hearted bitch, standing at the door, waiting for him to finish his hugs. What do I do? Do I come BACK into the bar to dole out hugs?

And then there are the people that you’re not yet at hugging status with. People you have only met a few times. But what are you supposed to do, hug everyone at the table and just skip over that one person? Like some cruel game of duck duck goose? No, it always ends in an awkward loose hug.

So for anyone who might feel snubbed by my non-hugging approach, rest assured that I do love you. I’m just waiting for that perfect appropriate moment to bestow my embrace upon you. When the moment comes, it will be all worth it.

(Unless I’m drunk. Then I will hug total strangers, homeless people, gyros, toilet seats. )

Mandatory Introductions

I hate introductions, so here is what this bloggity blog will entail:

Arts and Crafts

I have been an arts and crafts junky since I first discovered pipe cleaners. I’m one of those people who looks at something in a store and thinks, “Twenty dollars for a throw pillow?! I could make this!” I’ll share my crafty successes and failures as well as some how-to tips.

Home Improvement/Design

My husband and I bought our first house about eight months ago and it’s still so exciting. I’d love to tell you that it’s a cute little cottage and that we have eco-friendly bamboo floors as well as rustic details left from the generations of people who have lived in it. But alas, it’s a two story townhouse in a planned community with a bunch of young families and yuppies. What makes it even sadder is that it is built on the top of a giant hill in a historic town that was ravaged by floods and never quite revived. So all the townspeople look up at us in disgust. They fought the development for years. But I don’t care. I have lived four different apartments in the last five years, so I was ready for walls that I could paint. My DIY attitude makes me believe that I can tackle any home improvement project. Sometimes they work.

Random

It’s inevitable that some of my daily life will creep into this blog. I’ll try to keep the “Dear Diary” entries to a minimum, but this is mainly for me to keep track of my life.

My Career

Not sure how much I’m going to delve into this topic. It would probably be boring to most readers. I quit my job as an accountant about a year and a half ago and have been trying to make it as a freelance writer. I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near there, but I have big dreams. And I’m making some progress. So I’ll probably use this space to gloat when I get new gigs or new articles published. That shit doesn’t fly on Facebook, but this place is all about ME.

Fitness

I’m trying to get in shape and just become generally stronger. Why should you care? Because looking at my progress will probably make you feel better about yourself. I was always the girl picked last in gym class. No, really. It always came down to me and the morbidly obese kid that smelled like hot dogs. And they always picked the fat kid first because he could at least come in handy defensively. I was the skinny, quiet shy kid until college, when I miraculously became the outgoing, newly formed beer gut kid. I blame most of this transgression on my boyfriend (now husband) and PBR Light. I hate working out and I hate the gym, so you should be able to get a few laughs out of my pathetic attempts.