Sunshines and Dark Clouds

More Sunshines and Dark Clouds! Let's get it!

SUNSHINES:

• I just downloaded a bunch of awesome new music to my iPod so even though I'm working today, I'll be jamming out.
• Boyfriend and I got tickets to see our favorite comedian Kevin Hart tomorrow in El Paso! SO EXCITED!
• We've been re-watching True Blood and I'm totally into it... can't wait for May and the next season to be released!
• The weather has been perfect on the weekends: warm, just a little wind, plenty of sun. Bring it, summer!
• We can finally leave Remix out by herself without her tearing up the house. She is such a good dog.
• Boyfriend and I bought tennis rackets (raquets?) and tennis balls and played some awesome tennis. What a workout! But it was great to be playing outside in the sun.
• I've been super productive at work all week, which makes the days FLY by. Here we go, weekend, here we go!
• I found five bucks in my jean pocket. Awesome!

DARK CLOUDS

• It's an on Friday, so I'm working.
• It's been hot hot hot, but our air conditioner isn't on... so it's fan city for us.
• Shadow and Mix, after their last bath, are now traumatized by the baby pool... which we bought to help them keep cool this summer. Sigh.
• It's spring, but my legs are still deathly white!

That's it for me! HAPPY FRIDAY!

The L Word

No, not lesbians. Love. Amor. The big "L"!

I read an article in the New York Times (my favorite newspaper) about love and it really stuck with me. The article said that when we are born, we imprint on the brain of our mother. There is a synchrony that still doesn't explain that incredible bond between mother and baby. When we grow up, we are subconsciously looking for that same "oneness", as the article calls it.

New relationships stimulate our brains and introduce us to new experiences, new feelings (va-va-voom), and a new support system that is very similar to the kind of support we had as infants. In that, we absorb our partner and become "we" instead of just "me".

I can't help but think about how amazing and how crushing love can be. Before Boyfriend, I had an awful experience with a guy that, clearly, was not right for me. It basically came down to one question, as all relationships really do... am I more important than feeling insecure/the distance/money/another girl? Because with the right person, the answer is always yes. With Boyfriend, he is most definitely more important than any other reason and he's never hesitated to be with me based on a stupid reason that is never a REAL reason for real love.

That relationship taught me a lot about real love, because it most definitely was not real love. At best, it was chemistry and companionship. But it wasn't a forever type of thing. I used to believe that love is giving all you have to give at any given moment (so your love at age five could be as real as love at age 20 or 40), but now I'm of the school of thought that you can't ever really be in love with someone that you aren't with. Love is something that grows from mutual care. It can't just spring up based on strong feelings on one side.

In that, I know for sure that I have that "oneness" with Boyfriend. Not only is he super attractive and strong and handsome, he is sweet, thoughtful, and supportive. And I don't know for sure, but I'm almost positive that we love each other the same amount, which is incredibly rare. We both feel lucky to have the other and because of that, we are very careful with the most important things to us: our relationship. There's nothing I hate more than seeing people use a relationship as a bargaining chip (as in, "if you don't ___, we're breaking up"). I would never put something so precious to me out there like that.

What do you think? Have you found the supportive, oneness of love?

Fashion Icon

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about fashion, but I do have a few go-to girls when I'm looking for a cute new style. My favorite fashion icon?

via

I love that red hat!

via

Beautiful lace

via

I wonder if I could ever pull off those colored jeans...

via

Gorgeous!

Who is your favorite fashion icon?

Danger, Danger!

In the never-ending drama of Las Cruces and the amazing citizens, someone decided to take out a gun and maybe shoot it (the details are still fuzzy) just a few blocks away from my house. A school was locked down and, at Boyfriend's pleading request, I am locked down, too. I'll spend this evening with Shadow watching old episodes of Glee with some baked Cheetos and a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Have a great Monday!

Sunshines and Dark Clouds

Let's get to it:

DARK CLOUDS:

• It's time for the reboot of my ovarian operating system (sorry if that's too much info!) so I'm feeling not so great. Blah.
• Just as I got together a nice glass of juice, I tripped and spilled it all over my nice, freshly washed countertops. Now I have sticky counters and no juice.
• Boyfriend and I watch old episodes of True Blood before he goes to work but he always has to leave RIGHT at a good part... so being the good girlfriend that I am, I turn it off until he gets off work so we can keep watching it together (though on the inside I'm DYING!).
• With all this dust and wind, my house is getting SUPER dusty! I hate it!
• We gave Remix and Shadow baths last weekend and they are already back to being dusty.

SUNSHINES:

• Boyfriend and I saw The Hunger Games last night... INCREDIBLE!
• I'm off all weekend! Yay for off-Fridays!
• I somehow have extra money in my bank account... I'm attributing it to the fact that I bring my lunch 90 percent of the time to work, that Boyfriend and I have been cooking together during the week, and that eating healthy means we don't snack as much.
• The weather has really been cooperating and it makes me want to be outside walking or running or swimming! I LOVE SUMMER!
• Remix learned how to shake. I'm so proud of her! She's too cute.
• I'm getting a pedicure tonight. That is definitely a cause for celebration!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Great Thursday

Today is a great day.

You know why?

Not because I got out of my out-of-town meeting a whole hour early (although that definitely helps)...

Not because I enjoyed a wonderful gyro and hummus dinner with my love (although it was delicious)...

Not because it's THURSDAY and I'm OFF TOMORROW to enjoy time with my family (and my mom's college roommate who came in to spend time with us!)...

But because it's almost time for...

THE HUNGER GAMES!

T minus 5.5 hours. YAY!

Manic Monday

Boo, Monday. I don't think anyone actually likes Mondays (at least, anyone who works or goes to school!), but this one was especially strange. We started out with a cool morning, but by 1:00 it was totally overcast and by 2:00 it was HAILING. Then, in true NM weather fashion, by 3:30 the sun was shining and the temperatures were pushing 45.

Weird, weird day.

But I'm glad it was today instead of this past weekend. On Saturday, Boyfriend and I took Shadow and Remix for a three mile walk/run and it was absolutely beautiful for all but the last half mile when the wind kicked up a little. But because the sun was still shining bright, we dragged the dogs out into the backyard when we got home to give them their first baths of the year.

They were not fans. I think they both like water, but they disliked having water poured over them. But on the plus side, now they are super fluffy and smell great!

I was supposed to have coffee with a friend tonight but she picked up an extra shift last night (she's a nurse) and was exhausted, so we rain-checked. Though I love seeing her, I'm happy to have a night to just RELAX, because I'm booked the rest of the week :o). I'm having coffee with another friend Kaitlyn tomorrow, dinner with my mom on Wednesday, then HUNGER GAMES premiere on Thursday night! Woo!

Speaking of, I'm SO excited about the Hunger Games! Are you ready for it? I've been re-reading my books to get ready!

MARCH MADNESS

It's MARCH. The cold, windy, dusty month in New Mexico. But right now, I don't even care. Because it's time for

MARCH MADNESS!

Don't worry, I've already filled out THREE brackets. The first I filled out before I found that Melo is not eligible to play for Cuse, so I made a couple more. I also have NMSU going to the Sweet 16 because I'm a romantic like that.

I LOVE Cinderella stories. I even wrote a story about it in my column for the Pulse, which was picked up by Fox Sports a couple years ago... you can read it here: KACHOW

In spite of that, I can't help but love Mizzou (where both of my uncles went and in the state that my mom was raised, plus one of my top choices for college as Mizzou's J school is BOMB), so I called for them to win it all.

Who do you have?

Working Out

If you've been reading my blog carefully, you'll see my (brief) mentions of working out. I had a friend ask me what my workout schedule is for each week so I thought I would lay it all out for you... and maybe also give myself come credibility.

Mondays: On Mondays, I like to start off the week with some cardio. Usually, I do about 30 minutes on level 4 on my elliptical. My hrm and the machine say I burn about 450 calories doing that.

Tuesdays: 30 Day Shred, Level 2. This is tough, but I like Jillian Michaels. She is tough but effective. The 30DS is only 20-25 minutes, but it's intense, and it works with weights. I use heavier weights than they do, because I use this DVD as strength training.

Wednesdays: More cardio... usually P90x Kenpo X. It's a lot of punching and kicking, but it goes quickly. I do about 45 minutes. The DVD is actually an hour, but they do a LOT of stretching and I don't spend as much time doing the bizarre yoga stretches they do. I stretch my arms, my legs, my quads, my back, my neck, etc. Then I fast-forward and get started!

Thursdays: 30 Day Shred, Level 2 again OR some P90X CardioX. CardioX is a mix of yoga, kenpo and plyometrics. I do the yoga and the kenpo, but the plyo moves are really rough on your knees, so I go easy on those and really focus on the kenpo.

Fridays: If I'm off, I really like to do Dance Central on my roommate's 360 Kinect. It's SO FUN. It may not burn a lot of calories on its own, but between songs I do cardio moves (like jumping rope or punches) and whenever we "freestyle", I mainly just do a lot of big jumps or something to get my heart rate up. If I'm working on that Friday, I do something quick like the elliptical for 25-30 minutes.

Saturdays: On Saturdays, Boyfriend and I work out together. We either go bowling (and use heavy bowling balls) or go on our 5K walk with the dogs. We love it! And I love getting to work out with him.

Sundays: NOTHING! Woo!

At first, I only worked out three times a week and even that was hard. But now, I feel completely off if I miss a day. I can tell I'm getting stronger and getting myself in better shape. One of the best motivators is Boyfriend. He is so sweet and so supportive that I don't ever want to let him down. Plus, I ALWAYS feel better after I work out. My skin has cleared up. My hair is shinier. I sleep better. Everything works better if I move during the week.

What about you guys? Do you work out?

LITTLES

As I've mentioned before, I was a sorority girl in college (Pi Beta Phi til I die! lol) and it was one of the best experiences of my life so far.



This was when I was VP Administration on the Executive Board for my sorority, junior year. Awesome pledge class, awesome year.

In being a Pi Phi, I formed life-long friendships and made amazing memories. In what other world could you experience one of your sisters (who eventually becomes your roommate, and one of your favorite people ever) riding a bike down campus at 3:00 in the morning while other sisters drive next to her playing "Eye of the Tiger" on repeat? Exactly. Hilarious stuff here.

Also, it brought me my Dino Family... why are we called that? Because I do an impressive raptor imitation and Trish does a monster Pterodactyl screech. Here is one of our most epic dino battles to date:



Sorry about the flash, but it was LAAATE and we were so tired.

So if you're one of those "you bought your friends" people, keep it to yourself, please. I don't care if you weren't Greek, really. We all had plenty of non-Greek friends and most of the time, mixing Greeks and non-Greeks was chill and everyone had a great time together. I had a great time, it was worth the dues (which paid, not for friends, but for memories of riding in limos to formal events, to sisterhoods at movies/local restaurants, for t-shirts commemorating Watermelon Bust [just as fun as it sounds], and a family I was lucky enough to find), and though I was partied out when I left, it gave me a place to call home while in college.

Another great thing about Greek life is the Big-Little relationship. My first little was Britt, the one on the left:



We were friends before (her best friend was my first college roommate and one of my oldest friends, Danielle), and I have so many fond memories of cackling away with her because she is HILARIOUS (fact: we were once on TV during an NMSU basketball game because of it. The game was shown on ESPN2 and the camera zoomed in on us. At the same time, I said something to Brit and we both cracked up like it was the funniest thing ever. The camera watched us, zoomed in, for a few seconds before the commentators chuckled and they moved on. Truth).

My other little, of course, is Dianna on the right. She and I were clearly meant to be big/little as we have the same birthday (weird!). Also, she is equally hilarious and so much fun to be around. Right now, she is on a billboard campaign across the town because she is a beautiful, skinny redheaded model and they needed her to represent the amber beers for DLVs. I love seeing her face when I'm driving home because it makes me so proud and happy!

ANYWAY I'm going on and on about Littles because I'm going to dinner with my little in a little (get it?) and I'm excited to see her. She is in the nursing program and, of course, SUPER BUSY all the time, so I'm so happy that we still get together to catch up.

More later! Happy Monday!

Sunshines and Dark Clouds

It's time for some Friday SUNSHINES AND DARK CLOUDS! WOO!

Let's start with Dark Clouds to get them out of the way:

• Remix keeps DIGGING out of our yard to chase our neighbor's rabbits (they're domesticated but they live in the yard and taunt my dogs endlessly). She's getting too old for this...!
• I have a great saute pan but I don't know really how to use it, yet... I think I'm not using enough butter or oil for the bottom because I keep burning the bottom of my fish on it!
• I need to clean the bathroom but I keep putting it off... I don't wanna!
• My Scentsy plugin bulb went out and apparently, you can't just buy a new one from the store because the wattage is too low. That's how they get you. Special order, I suppose.
• Teen Mom 2 is over. Don't judge. I love trashy reality shows.
• Boyfriend is still getting over being sick, so I think a quiet weekend is in order.

Sunshines:

• I'm finally getting through the Shred Level 2 without wanting to die. Progress!
• We watched Hugo this weekend and REALLY liked it! Can't help but love Martin Scorsese.
• The weather was off and on this week, but there were times when it was perfect... warm evenings, no wind, perfect sun. I can't WAIT for summer!
• Boyfriend got his taxes done and he got back a lot more than we thought he would. Holla!
• Boyfriend bought me some beautiful pink carnations. I know a lot of girls don't like carnations (Charlotte from Sex and the City calls them "filler flowers"), but I think they are beautiful... especially when they are all in a tight bunch. So pretty!
• It's time for MARCH MADNESS! Break out your brackets and wait for them to fall apart like they do every year! Can't wait!
• It's FRIDAY and I'm off and we're having lunch with my dad today. Can't wait for some quality time and some green chile cheeseburgers (I told you I love it on everything!).

Have a great weekend!

FRIES!

I've had really specific cravings lately (don't worry, definitely no chance of being pregnant! lol). I think while trying to eat healthy, I end up wanting things I haven't had in months just because I'm trying to eat healthy.

My big craving lately?

via

GREEN CHILE CHEESE FRIES

With me trying not to eat french fries (for Lent), and definitely trying not to eat ranch dressing and loads of cheese (for the health reasons!), these are especially tempting. And living in southern New Mexico has led me to become a green chile fanatic... I want it on EVERYTHING (soups, pizza, sandwiches...!).

When is Lent over? Easter morning I'll be at Village Inn with a big plate of these!

Checking In

Again, sorry I've been MIA. After I got sick, Boyfriend caught my bug so we've been just trying to get over it and return to normal life in our house. We are going through a lot of tissues and orange juice... and Nyquil! :o)

Let's see, what's happened... on Saturday, we took Shadow and Remix for a 3 mile walk/run along the Triviz trail. It was great! Remix and I were a little tired by the 1.5 mile mark, but Shadow and Boyfriend were going strong, which inspired us to keep going. When we finished, Remix and I collapsed in the car... but I was proud we made it! :o)

Other than that, our life has been filled with normal work stuff. Boyfriend is up for a promotion at work which would mean a raise and more hours... yay! So he's been working a lot trying to get it. And I'm always busy at my job, which makes the time go by faster, I think.

And tonight I had dinner with my best friend Val. It's been too long since we went to dinner just the two of us without any other friends or Boyfriend or anything, so it was great to just relax, eat some yummy sushi and girl talk without distraction! :o) Val and I have been friends for years: we met in middle school, but lost contact when she moved to Albuquerque, then reunited in freshman Honors Physical Science, where we were lab partners. We've been best friends ever since, so she knows everything about me and she has seen me at my worst and at my best. It was great to just relax and talk to someone who knows what I'm trying to say without having to say it.

I've also been trying to be dedicated in working out. I alternate between Jillian's 30 Day Shred (I'm on Level Two which is scary and hard lol!) and Boyfriend's P90X DVDs. I don't do the hardcore P90X workouts (like legs/back or chest/arms); I mainly do CardioX, Kenpo or yoga, but they're all great workouts. The yoga definitely reminds me of my younger days on my high school pom squad: during our off seasons in advanced dance class, we would do tae bo or yoga to have fun and stay limber! I'm not as flexible as I was back then, but the poses are still familiar and fun to me.

Not a whole lot else to report. I'm working on a column about embracing the changes that come our way, whether it be job opportunities, career moves, life moves, etc., without relying on a set, five-year plan. I'm definitely a five-year, predictable, semi-annoyed with surprises kind of gal, but what kind are you? Any advice on accepting unpredictable changes in the post-college world?

Bad Blogger

I know, I know. I'm a bad blogger. I'm sorry for disappearing all week, but I'm been sick and trying desperately to get better to avoid taking time off work. Too much to do!

But with the help of Nyquil (glorious, glorious Nyquil) and some orange juice and lots of sleep, I think I'm on the mend.

Stay healthy, my friends.