Party Like You Are Eight Years Old

There are a few holidays each year that usually end up being kind of a let down. My birthday is one of them, because it is on New Year's Day. The night before is almost always a great time, but no one wants to do anything on January 1st. I opened all of my gifts at Christmas, everything is closed, movies are sold out, it's cold outside, and hangovers abound. Generally not the best day.

Another disappointing one is Valentine's Day. I really don't know many adults who love, or even like, February 14. We are all obligated to spend money on each other and find creative gifts. It is a pain to take your significant other out because the restaurants are packed. Really, Valentine's Day hasn't been fun since we made cardboard mailboxes and took home class name lists and made cards for everyone and stuffed our favorite candy in the envelope. You always put more candy in the envelope for your best friends and that cute boy in your class. Those were the days!

I decided to bring that back this year. On Saturday, February 13 we are going to have a Valentine's Day party, grade school style. All of our friends should use the creative side of their brain and decorate a box, then bring cards for everyone (including candy, of course). I'll make food and cupcakes and buy a few bottles of champagne.

If this party ends up being a good time, maybe we can make it a tradition. Kind of like my new birthday brunch tradition to make January 1st a little better.

New BFFs

I love meeting new people. My idea of a great night out is when I stay up into the wee hours of the night having a drunk, yet wise and profound, conversation with a person who was a stranger to me only a few hours ago. After reaching into the depths of this person's soul during our incredible discussion, they become my new BFF. We part ways promising that we will keep in touch and go camping this spring and go to that Pixies concert and try out that new restaurant...

The truth is, I will probably never see that person again. I might add my new BFF on Facebook, then stay updated for the next several years on whether or not they were happy about the American Idol outcome or where they took their new puppy on a walk. I am great at meeting people, but terrible at following up. Unless it is a relationship that can be sustained with the occasional email/text/FB wall post and meeting for lunch every few months, I am not your girl.

I had a fantastic time on Saturday night and met half a dozen wonderful, interesting, exciting people that I would love to see more of. We made promises of Superbowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo parties and I was so excited about my new group of friends. Now that the pomegranate martinis have left my system, I can see that there is a high probability that I will not be doing any of those things with those people.

I guess that it is in my hands as much as anyone. If I really want to make new friends, all I have to do is call the number on their business card or add them on Facebook and send them a message, but I have come to find out that I do not really operate that way. And that's okay with me. I love the friends that I have now, and I neglect them enough as it is. Instead of looking for something new, I should concentrate on spending time with the people that are already around me.

The Bed Tent

I am this close to looking around on Ebay and buying a bed tent, just like the one I had when I was a kid. Of course, I would also need to buy a twin bed to go along with it. If there is a company out there that manufactures queen-sized bed tents, I would be eternally grateful. Winter - specifically Christmastime - tends to make me nostalgic for my old toys. Probably because I usually got them for Christmas, then played with them through the winter before chucking them in my closet in the warmer months. I would love to ask for Barbies, Hot Wheels, Legos, Creepy Crawlers, and Batman posters this year.

I am sure my friends and family would be happy to buy me those things. They are all cheaper than the stuff on my wish list these days. I could have all of the Legos in the world, but it would never be as fun as it was when I was nine. So I'll ask for clothes and shoes and jewelry and kitchen appliances, and have the grown-up version of fun. I guess I can't complain... I like dressing myself up instead of Barbies and driving a real car instead of Hot Wheels. I cook meals and desserts instead of Creepy Crawlers, and I hang up art and photos of my family instead of movie posters. Not a bad trade-off.

I'm still going to hunt around on Ebay, because nothing can replace the bed tent.

Catch Up Blogging

We have had a crazy year! Apparently so crazy that I have completely neglected my blog. A lot has happened in the last few months. I got a new job in the Intelligence Analysis Training Program section of Lockheed Martin, which means I am working in Levi's office now. I'm the Training Administrator for all of our courses. Levi is an instructor for the Analyst's Notebook Applied course, and he was recently promoted to Course Manager. Our office just moved closer to our house, and both Levi and I got our own offices with big windows. Windows + promotions = we like our jobs.

Levi went out of town for work/Army Reserves for the month of October, so naturally I booked a bunch of visitors and trips. It was so great to have everyone come visit. Grandma & Grandpa Averett, Mom, and Tobi and Brady, all within six weeks! I also got to visit my family in Southern Utah for a few days, which was fantastic. On top of all of that, as soon as Levi got back from his business trip, we jumped on a plane and flew to Manzanillo, Mexico for Ashley & Adil's wedding. That trip was so incredible that it gets its very own blog post.

I decided to relive my awkward pre-teen/teen years and get braces again. Here is a lesson for all of you kiddies out there - when you get your braces off and your orthodontist tells you to wear your retainer, DO IT! Otherwise you will be a 27-year-old metal mouth. I was really dreading getting them on, but it is not as bad as I thought. I mean, it sucks, but it is not the end of the world like I made it out to be.

So, that is what we have been up to lately. We have had such an incredible year; I'll try to post more good times before 2009 is over. Every time I tell my grandma about the fun things we are doing, she tells me that I really need to keep a journal. I always take a lot of photos and post things on Facebook, but I thought that updating my blog more than annually might also be a good thing to do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Iz Your Frigerator Running?

My fridge is not actually going anywhere, but I searched for "running" on Photobucket and found this gem. Also, that fridge could possibly outrun me at this point, depending on how tough those little legs are.

I have still been running a couple/few times each week, trying to get better at it. It doesn't seem like I am much better, but I do take a little longer to improve in just about everything. One thing that has changed... I went on a bike ride on Monday night, which I have not done for a couple of weeks, and my usual route kicked my butt. I am sure that fridge could have gone farther than I did.

I guess I need to mix up my running and biking nights. So much to think about! On the bright side, I am slowly getting smaller and stronger, which is a big plus. I must be doing something right.

Once I go out on a run, or jump on a treadmill at the gym, my mind kind of goes blank. I want to just run until I can't run anymore to see how far I can go. Problem is, the distance I can run is not growing. Everything I read says that I should aim for a time limit instead. To start out, alternate between running and walking for 20-30 minutes. Maybe that will help me feel like I am improving more than busting my butt for the first 15 minutes, then dying slowly on the way home.

Pow! Bam! Smack!

When I was a "tween" I did not bother with New Kids on the Block and whatever else those other girls were going crazy for. I know this has something to do with the fact that I am the oldest child and I did not have anyone to mold me into a cool kid. My youngest sister just turned 12 and she gets obsessive over things like Hannah Montana and High School Musical like every other 12-year-old out there.

What did I choose to focus my pre-teen obsession on? Batman, of course. Batman everything - from Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney to Adam West and whoever played the Bat in the awesome cartoon. I watched it all and actively drooled over every version of Batman and Robin. I had posters all over my room and spent my time daydreaming about being rescued by a man in a bat costume and his teenage sidekick. I watched reruns of the old Adam West show every day after school, then laid in bed and used my imagination to put myself into the episodes.

So imagine my excitement when I could drool over Batman again, at 26-years-old, without being considered nutty. I watched Jon Stewart interview Maggie Gyllenhaal a couple of days before I saw Dark Knight. She talked about how exciting it was for her to be rescued by Batman, even though it was on a movie set. She had never gotten into Batman when she was younger, but now she is a convert, and she obviously has a bit of a crush on the superhero now. Just like me! I would have cut off my right hand to be in Maggie's spot when I was 13.

Between my overwhelming crush on Batman and the pictures of Health Ledger that I would tear out of tween magazines and hang all over the place, I was in young-Cali heaven for 2 1/2 hours yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever get as excited as I used to... it might not be hormonally possible.

Day One: Strangely Nervous

It turns out that I am afraid of running. I have never been very successful at it in the past. Usually I put on my workout clothes, then go sprint until I can't move anymore and don't try it again for a very long time. There were a lot of things that I have done wrong in the past, so this time I am trying to be a little more prepared.

Before I went to sleep last night I told myself that I needed to get up this morning and go on my first run. No sleeping in, no hangover, no excuses. Apparently I made myself so anxious that I kept waking up during the night and looking at my clock. It was that same feeling I get when I am starting a new job or taking someone to the airport and I am terrified of being late.

The sixth time I woke up it was finally 6:30. I threw on some yoga pants and running shoes and my MP3 player, drank some water then left the house. My expectations were pretty grim. I figured that I would run past three houses, then stop to walk. Hopefully I could do that for twenty minutes, then crawl back home. Instead, I started running right out of the door and ran all of the way to the park that is about 7/10 of a mile from my house. I rested for a minute, then alternated walking and running back home. (I mostly walked up the hills and ran on the flat part. Running up hills is not fun.)

I am definitely not sprinting at this point, but I am not jogging either. Somewhere in between. And I don't totally suck at it! 7/10 of a mile right off is not bad for someone who doesn't run EVER.

So overall, I feel pretty great about my first day running. Not only did it burn some calories, but it also got me out of bed and moving early on. I ran off sleepiness and a faint hangover. I haven't been as tired and lazy today, and I drank much more water than i usually do. When it came time for lunch, I wanted something healthy because I did not want to undo the work I did this morning. If I can keep this up, I will be in summer dresses in no time.