how to turn a sad morning into a happy afternoon.

This morning I was having a really awful time feeling sorry for myself. I decided that I needed to work on my attitude and make the most out of the day, and so I decided to get some fresh air. I pulled off my work pants and sweater, and quickly changed into my running clothes. I took the steps downstairs, and started running for the river. I ran past cars and buildings and buisness men, and straight for the water. It felt so good to be outside that I kept running all the way to Belle Isle, a little island about 1.5 miles away from where I work.

I just kept running through all of the stress and all of the pain. For the first time in a long time, it didn't feel like I was working out. It felt like therapy. I ran over a suspended bridge and looked to both sides; I was surrounded by water. I could smell fresh mulch and hear the leaves rustling in the winter air. I could see birds flying above me and ran past walls colored in grafitti. I felt lighter than air. I ran all the way across that bridge until my toes landed in the sand and I sat there for a minute, just looking at how peaceful the river was. I looked up and down and left and right and every direction greeted me with something beautiful and refreshing. It was hard to force myself out of that trance, and run back to the office. But I promised myself that I will run outside at least once a week, giving myself a break from the usual gym routine.

The fresh air lightened my mood and made me really happy. I take for granted things that are just within reach of my office building, and it was nice to be reminded that a place so peaceful exists so close to my everyday routine. It's amazing how time in nature really made me feel good and gave me so much positive energy, which has helped today become pretty great.

Some other great things that happened today:

[01] My boss bought me some chips out of the vending machine after I mentioned that I was craving them :)

[02] Sean's car was making funny noises, so I picked him up this morning. Not very happy about his car, but it was nice having a few unexpected moments with him today!

[03] After my run, I had a warm chicken breast with a side salad - made with love by my mother in law last night.

[04] I have realized that I do have supportive friends who love me and appreciate me, and a husband that I can always lean on if I need to. I am a lucky girl and have no reason to spend my day sulking.

[05] I stepped on the scale today and lost 2 pounds over the weekend... whoop whoop!

How do you shake a bad mood?

a little post about why social networks suck..

I know I am in the minority when I say that social networking sites sometimes create more drama than they're worth. On second thought, maybe I'm in the majority. Either way, I usually debate back and forth on whether or not to delete my facebook account on a weekly basis. I kind of joked about how silly facebook can be on Friday, but it's heartbreaking to know that deep down, people who hide behind computer screens sometimes say things that they would never say to your face. And it's a lot easier to do when you don't see the emotional repercussions your words have caused. But words can hurt, even really eloquently written and intentionally planned ones, and you can't take back things you have said... especially if they're sitting in an inbox like a bomb waiting to explode, able to be read and re-read and then analyzed. It really sucks.

I'm not going into specifics, because the person isn't here to defend themselves and also because I would never use this blog to bash anyone individually. But I'm sure anyone who reads this can relate in some way. Sometimes I overthink things, and over feel them. But I cherish my girlfriends and apologize if I have ever made anyone feel as though they are not important to me. That my life would somehow be better if they were not in it. But when some one tells you over facebook that the relationship you've both shared for two decades has felt ''fake'' for some time now, and it hasn't felt that way for me.... well, it hurts. Even through the beautiful imagery and pretty words. I want to say that if this person had said these things to me, face to face, they would have seen my face and my emotions and maybe they wouldn't have been so harsh.

I just really feel that facebook is not the place to have a serious talk. It isn't the place to tell some one you've been hurting for a while, because you can't see the other persons reactions and therefore you keep hurling insults when you've already broken them down. And neither is text or gchat or any other place other than face to face for that matter. Because if I would have been told these things in person (and I highly doubt they would have been told to this degree), there would have been room for dialogue. Room for empathy and compassion and time to re-word and re-explain. In short, the conversation would be left with something salvageable. Especially when 20 years is involved.

Overall, it's just really sad. I think that we have become so obsessed with computers and technology that we forget about our core; we forget about where we came from. The source of everything is and always will be relationships with other people. You can't hug your computer, and it's certainly not going to love you back. When things are written down, they stick around and continue to cause pain. You can't take them back. So my advice to anyone out there, is to please please please respect your friends enough to tell them how you feel in person. It's true that people sometimes grow apart, but you'd be surprised how easily relationships -especially friendships- can be built upon and made stronger if you just meet your friend for coffee or brunch and talk to them human to human, rather than computer to computer.

a little chuckle for your friday morning.....

I wish I could take credit for this, however you can find the original source here.

I give you....

A template for every awful Facebook discussion you've ever witnessed:

How hilarious is this! Did you find yourself picturing friends who would fit the categories of these stereotypes? I sure as heck did!

I hope you have the best weekend ever!

[I know Denise will be!!!]

xx

helloooo out there

This week has flown by. I've been running around all week at work and also planning my surprise for these lovelies... how is it already Thursday?

This week...................

*Sean and I met with a realtor and talked about buying a house {more about that later!!}

*I listened to Copeland non-stop in my office, man I miss them :(

*I drooled over this adorable wedding video

*I also watched this crazy ass movie.... seriously, blew. my. mind. {Kirsten Dunst is in it, how could it not be amazing?}

I think I'm in a little bit of a winter funk. Meaning, all I want to do is sleep and watch trashy reality tv. My best friend is visiting from D.C. this weekend, and my god-sister is having a baby shower... so hopefully they can pull me out of it!

What do you do in the winter time to keep your energy level up?

New Inkkkkkkkkk!

This weekend I listened to my body and caught up on some extra sleep that it's obvious I needed. I say this because I left my friends house warming party at 10:30 and went straight to bed Friday night, only to wake up on Saturday at 11 o'clock. Similar things happened Saturday night... I'm such a party animal.

HOWEVER, I did manage to get some new ink over the weekend... and I love the way it turned out! If you're in the Richmond area, I highly recommend Josh. This is the second tattoo of mine that he's done, and he also did my husbands quarter sleeve.... he is amazinggg and definintly takes his time! fyi: he did my entire sleeve by hand, and I am so glad I gave him as much freedom to create as I did! I literally said, "draw the solar system on my arm"

This was the first tattoo that I've gotten so far that felt like a tattoo. Meaning... the other 7 didn't hurt and were never very sore. And I was able to go out to the bars afterwards. With this baby, I felt physically drained afterwards and my arm was so sore. But it was totally worth it... and now I am even more excited about my next piece than I already was!! {plus Josh gave me an amazing deal!}

Before:

please excuse the crappy photo quality...

After:

Sean was determined to get me out of the house yesterday, since I had basically slept for the majority of Friday night and Saturday... and so we had a really great day shopping and watching No Strings Attached with the last of our movie gift cards. Ummmm, does anyone else find it utterly ridiculous that matinee ends at 3 o'clock and a movie ticket is almost $14 per person??!! I also spent $10 on a small coke and popcorn, needless to say I did not feel guilty about using my 'student i.d.'................from 3 years ago. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should -- it is hilarious!!

What did you do this weekend?

Blah Blah Blah.

To be frank, today has been the very opposite of fun. But tomorrow is Friday {and pay day} and that thought is the only thing getting me through this 12.5 work day - yes. twelve and a half hours. of work. Somebody shoot me.

In hopes of lifting my spirits, and anyone elses out there who needs a little nudge, I wanted to share a few things online that have been keeping me awake at my desk this week.

[01.] Sean and I are trying to buy a home -yes an actual house!- this fall. Other than searching for cute little bungalow's like this beauty, I've been thinking a LOT about Urban Homesteading. I can't wait to have my own little backyard garden!

[02.] My friend Nicky just got back from India, and her stories are HILARIOUS! I literally laughed out loud after reading some of the things she's seen on her travels!

[03.] She & Him videos. Zooey always makes me smile!

[04.] My friend Gina works at a chocolate shop... Zoe's to be more specific. She brought a box for us to taste last weekend -- best. chocolate. ever. {my favorite is the pistachio. and the coffee. and the caramel apple. ugh... you get the idea...}

[05.]  Yes, my celebrity crush is Michael Moore. I may or may not ask him to marry/make love to me on a regular basis. Judge away, everyone else does.

On a lighter, more excited note................ I'm getting my quarter sleeve filled in this weekend! Expect before and after pics on Monday!! :)

why it's important to have girlfriends...................

All of us together this weekend....

I've been through a lot with these amazing girls!

 ''B9'' - 4 of the original 6 roommates...

pretty lady on the left just got engaged!

There is something so energizing about surrounding yourself with intelligent, funny and beautiful {inside and out} women. I'm used to hanging out with mostly guys {not to mention living with one} and I often miss the estrogen! I love love love my husband, but every once in a while I just need a girls night. I'm sure you can relate.

I'm so very lucky to have these girls in my life. We've been through it all. And I am so thankful that we can come together, after not having seen some of them in almost a year, and things are exactly the same as when we left each other the last time. That's how you know you have good friends.

It was a weekend of deep belly laughs, secrets, inside jokes and all around ridiculousness! Just what I needed in order to get back to my center and focus on what lies ahead --