Nicknames

It all started in college when a certain un-named friend of mine met a guy who had worked previously as a radio intern and got the nickname "Joe with the Big Junk." He told her (in detail. on their first date!) about how he got the nickname, the details of which I will spare you, but it started a trend among our friends (or probably just between us) of adding people in our phones, mostly dudes, in that naming convention.

 

It's a fun game, especially as you are kind of getting to know someone. And even more especially if you are getting to know more than 1 someone's at once. I don't save anyone in my phone until I've come up with the perfect name.

 

 

A few examples:

• "Jesse Plays Paintball" - a guy I dated who told me in excess about his paintball field.
• "Matt from Tennessee" - pretty obvious, and I don't remember anything about him so being from Tennessee must have been the most outstanding thing about him
• "Ryan the Hasher" - this phone number is probably 3 years old but I still remember quite a bit about this guy. His #1 passion was 'hashing' And I wonder why it didn't work out...
• "Crazy Matt with the Ex" - pretty self explanatory

This is not a way to keep people straight. It's just a way to remind myself of who they are and maybe something memorable about them. Online dating can be hard enough, the last thing you need is to ask someone for the 3rd time what they do for fun. And when you meet someone out at a bar, well... any memory is better than no memory.

 

Does anyone else do this? Or something like it? Please tell me I'm not alone...

8 Ways to Make August Amazing

1. Load up on fresh summer fruits & veggies. I'm talking strawberries, sweet corn, snap peas, string beans, blueberries, cherries, kale (ew.), bell peppers, the whole kit and kaboodle. I'm going to try and incorporate fresh fruit or vegetables into each meal!




2. In keeping with the healthy & fresh theme (and trying to maintain my zen from Anamaya), practice yoga at least once a week. I wasn't really a yogi before, but I've really been missing it since I've been home. Time to find a studio. Any recommendations?



3. Make a list and check things off of it. I've felt kind of scatter-brained all summer as I dart from one place to the next. I've been consistently neglecting my to-do list, which just means nothing really gets done.  I'm also going to keep it in one place - my trusty, full-page notebook.

4. Lenten-adventure throw-back: I'm going to make my bed every day! I've gotten completely out of the habit, and it just annoys me every time I come home.

5. Be patient with myself. School is starting, my best friend is getting married (!!!), I'm traveling for work, and all of that has a tendency to turn me into a panicked ball of stress that books last minute trips out of the country. And I don't have that luxury this time, so I've gotta just be patient and give myself time. Everything will get done (and up to snuff), I just gotta trust myself!

6. Keep blogging! See #5, all of that also equaled no blogging. I'll do better! Writing is an excellent outlet for me, so even if it's just bulleted journal-type entries, it's in my best interest to keep it up.

7. Eat less cheese & dairy. In Costa Rica we were pretty much dairy free for 7 days, and coming back I've been a cheese-a-holic. I need to rein it in, that much cheese isn't good for anyone, and surprisingly I've noticed a difference.

8. Say yes whenever I can. This month is going to be nuts, but in a good, exciting, fun way, and I don't want to miss a single minute. It's already off to a great start, I enjoyed a frosty cold one at Sweetwater on Friday after work and hit up a Sunday afternoon end-of-season tennis party.



What are your plans to make August awesome?

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Pura Vida

Sorry I disappeared. I've been busy!

 

 

My dream came true. I visited Anamaya Resort & Spa in Montezuma, Costa Rica for 7 perfect days. Rather than try to document my entire trip, I'll give you a top 10 list and lots of pictures.

 

10. Two 25 minute flights in a 12 passenger caravan airplane.

 

 

9. Jumping over a 15ft waterfall into the pool below.

 

8. Listening to a sweet new friend serenade us on the guitar in the evening.

 

7. Driving 45 minutes across part of the country to find La Playa Secreta en Malpais. In a car crammed full of 8 beautiful, wonderful girls.

 

6. A bonfire on La Playa Hermosa while a thunderstorm rolled in.

 

5. Spending Friday night at Chico's with the locals and our favorite resort staff.

 

4. Twice daily yoga. (And watching the geckos chase each other on the ceiling during evening savasana)

 

3. Teaching an entire bar of Costa Ricans how to do the Wobble.

 

 

2. Enjoying 3 beautiful, delicious meals every day with friends.

 

1. Meeting 12 incredible people who will remain etched on my heart forever <3 p="">

 

Ya'll, this trip was perfect in every. single. way. possible. I wouldn't change a single second. I found myself again. I smiled so big I thought I was going to explode. I sobbed and sniffled my way through yoga one night because emotion just overcame me. I met people who inspired me, who motivated me, who helped me be me. I remembered what it felt like to have people in your life who care, who are invested, who take you for you, nothing more and nothing less. I was inspired to re-invest in personal relationships, find a new focus in my professional relationships, and chill the heck out. I am finally excited about starting school (in less than a week...!!), I have finally allowed myself to be done with toxic friendships once and for all, and I'm just excited about life again.

 

 

 

Pura Vida, indeed.

 

(And back to regularly scheduled programming.)

Quitter quitter quitter.

Sometimes, it's okay to feel like a quitter. Right now, I do.

 

Remember that fast-approaching triathlon I've been posting about and training for over the last 6ish weeks? It came and went this weekend. I worked another nearly 60 hour week and was reduced to tears in my all-glass-fishbowl office Friday morning. I spent Friday night with a great friend who is moving this week, and I woke up Saturday morning still fighting back tears.

 

So I did what any girl does. I called my mom, and I cried. And she told me I'd be foolish to do anything but lay on my couch all weekend and relax. She was a little bit right. I laid on my couch all day Saturday watching episodes of Breaking Bad (still obsessed!) and committing to doing my triathlon on Sunday, but in Atlanta rather than in Charlotte. Mentally, it was exactly what I needed.

 

And then I woke up Sunday morning feeling a little bit better, a little more like myself. I laid in bed all morning waiting for my gym to open, and as soon as it did, I was there. I swam 250 yards (which is 25 extra, mind you), rode 8 miles on the indoor bike, and ran/walked almost 2 miles around the track. It took me an hour and ten minutes to do it, and I figured if I had really done the race, I'd add another 15 minutes to my bike time since I was inside versus actually on the road. And to be honest, I felt really, really great while I did it. So all my worries about being undertrained? Gone. And I think I actually have an even better plan for going forward. And then I came back to my house and continued to sit on the couch watching Breaking Bad.

So yeah, I'm still really embarassed that I 'quit' and didn't spend 4 hours in the car on Saturday, an hour and a half doing the triathlon, and then driving four hours back on Sunday. I am not a quitter, I rarely give up, and I usually end up burning myself out in the process. In fact, I'd imagine that's how I got here in the first place. In case you're worried, I held up my end of the Ramblin' Rose Ambassador program by blogging about the race, plus I have another one scheduled for September. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let life get in the way of that one.

Life, lately (as in, early July)

Life needs to cool it. I worked a smooth 60 hours last week, plus had a holiday thrown in. Busiest week of work since I started in 2010, and we were 1 team member short for most of the week, AND I was on my own Friday. Exciting, fun, but stressful and exhausting. I am hoping for a little less excitement this week but considering I'm flying to Boston Monday and returning Tuesday, I think the excitement levels will still soar. I guess this makes up for the (few and far between) weeks that I say "things are so quiet, I'm getting so much done!"

Good news though, we're officially halfway through 2013 and I'm officially halfway to my goal to read 50 books this year. I'm going to try to step it up a notch in July, because I think school may get in the way of reading during the second half of the year. Just a hunch...

Speaking of school, Orientation/classes start August 5! Can't believe it. I am going to try to squeeze some sort of trip in between now and then, but I'm not sure I can swing it. I am not a very good solo traveller, and I was having a hard time finding anywhere to go that was both in my budget and would be fun for me by myself. I was looking at Caribbean all-inclusive resorts and then found Anamaya Resort. Fingers crossed it works out! If not, I guess I'll just have to wait until Colombia later this fall and spend as much time as I can at the lake in the meantime!

Also, I started and then stopped kind of, sort of dating someone. He was great at first pass, pretty good at second pass, and then the wheels kind of fell off. I was willing to give it a go, but he had some pretty serious personal stuff to work out and apparently I'm not cut out for that. All's well that end's well, and now I know that while musicians can be H-O-T, they may not be my 'type.' And good teeth are still up there as top 3 qualities in a man.

Looking at my calendar over the next few weeks, maybe I don't need a vacation. Maybe instead what I need is a stay-cation and to catch up with friends that I've been missing. I've got several things scheduled over the next few weeks that I think will leave me feeling rejuvenated and fulfilled. People I haven't seen in months (or years!), or haven't spent real time with, or who I've only seen in passing and said, "hey!" before running to whatever is next.

 

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Current Dream Vacation

Several months ago, a friend from work went on a week long yoga & surf retreat. She came home happy, rejuvenated, excited about life, and just... renewed. I didn't ask a lot of questions at the time, other than how it was, and got a pretty generic "AMAZING!" answer. Shame on me for not probing more at the time.

As I was researching trips, I remembered my friend's experience and asked her about it. Upon a few And then I decided that I have to go. The reviews on TripAdvisor are nothing but glowing. Yoga junkie I am not, but couldn't we all spend a week practicing yoga, surfing, and enjoying the company of strangers? Plus, there's a 6-passenger plane ride involved, zip-lining, cooking classes, massages, and so much more.

Anamaya Resort in Montezuma, please have me! And Delta, please lower the cost of your flights. Anyone want to join me? Right now I'm tentatively planning to go July 20-27, because nothing says relaxation like booking a trip less than 2 weeks in advance.

The rest of 2013

 

When I find images for blog posts, I usually search a "__ + tumblr" because I guess that's where all the good pictures are. As I was exploring for a different post, I came across this image, and thought it would be fun to talk about all the things we want. Plus, we're halfway through the year, so why not reflect on some of the resolutions we made in January? What do you want for the rest of 2013?

 

I want to throw a surprise party. I want to fall in love. I want to save money. I want to continue to make my parents proud. I want to take another incredible, inspiring trip. I want to stop picking at my fingernails. I want to be with all my best friends in one place, and take a picture. I want to donate blood. I want to thank the people who mean the most to me. I want to hire someone to work with me. I want to get all A's, and I want all the kids at school to like me!

 

What do you want? What are you dreaming of? What would make 2013 the best year ever?

 

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