Speed Blogging

Time to play a little catch-up, since my vacation from work turned into a vacation from all-things-internet last week. It's always nice to take a break from social media, but nice to get back to it, too! In the interest of time and your attention span, here's the past 10 days, each in 100 words or less (kind of like speed dating, but less creepy): 

Friday:

Made it to the gym early for the first time in forever, had a crazy day at work, then met Dan at the mall (my very least favorite place in the whole wide world) to do fun things like purchase a new suit and look at ties (yawn). Can’t really complain, since I was rewarded with Taco Bell for dinner. I call that a win. 

Saturday:

Worked out super early, then hit the road (in the snow!) for my college town. Met up with wonderful friends, had lunch, and checked into our suite. Freaked out upon discovering that the wedding ceremony was to take place outside in 30º temps, was incredibly relieved to find that a last-minute change had been made and I would not lose a limb to frostbite. Enjoyed a beautiful ceremony, catching up with friends, yummy cupcakes, and dancing with my hubby. Headed back to the suite to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Just as I was getting into bed, the terrible sickness began. 

love this picture!

Sunday:

The terrible sickness continued. The morning was rough. Dan, who left at the crack of dawn for a day of military training, was also sick and was sent home, I was still 2.5 hours away. My wonderful friend kept me company while I considered dying and helped me finally prepare for the drive home. Drove an hour without pulling over to be sick (miracle), stopped at Wawa for a slushie that made me feel a billion times better, finally got home. Hubby and I crawled into bed and slept for 15 hours straight. 

Monday:

Dragged myself into work, still feeling horrible. Didn’t get much work done. Struggled mightily to stay awake, not get sick, not hack off my aching head with a letter opener (that’s gruesome, sorry). Felt the best I had all day at 4:55, when I crawled into my car and headed home for another 15-ish hours of sleep. 

Tuesday:

Felt a bit better. Went to the gym after work for a slooooow recovery workout, then grocery shopped for “snowstorm essentials” (ice cream, wine, wheat thins). Made amazing pasta for dinner. Stayed up way too late, much like a kid bargaining for a snow day -- I was absolutely sure that I’d wake up to 2 feet of the white stuff and a day off. 

lemon chicken, capers, and chives over angel hair

Wednesday:

Woke up to 2 feet of snow, jumped for joy, promptly stopped when I discovered that my office was still open. Cursed under my breath while husband drove me to work over increasingly dangerous roads. Sat at my desk sad and alone, as everyone else was snowed in. Finally left around 1:00, fit in a quick workout, and finally plopped down in front of a beautiful fire to read and eat for the afternoon/evening. Snow day: salvaged. 

snow!

Thursday:

Slept late. Read in bed amidst husband/cat/puppy snores (heaven). Took Teddy for a long, snowy walk. Ventured out to pick up our favorite sandwiches for lunch. Spent another evening on the couch with a fire, a good book, and a glass of wine. Ate delicious breakfast for dinner, despite a sadly failed attempt at hollandaise sauce. 

Friday:

Got up at a reasonable hour, hit the gym for a nice laid-back workout. Stopped at Whole Foods for gorgeous tulips (on sale!) and Dunkin for a humongous coffee. Got some work done, took the pup for a walk, cleaned up the house a bit, watched some Netflix. Headed out to see wonderful friends for the evening. Enjoyed great food and even better company.

looks like spring!

Saturday:

Gorgeous day, took full advantage with a run outside. Ran into this guy also out enjoying the weather:

Cleaned like crazy all day. Happy to report that our bedroom carpet does still exist. Completed five loads of laundry, scrubbed the bathroom floor, and spent at least three hours doing dishes, I’m pretty sure. Ate takeout since I couldn’t look at my kitchen for one more minute, watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for the billionth time, and collapsed into bed.

Oh Andie Anderson, you get me every time.

Sunday:

Got up in time to sweat a little before kicking off my mom’s day of (early) birthday fun. Headed out to a vineyard for tastings and a glass of wine in the sun, then stopped at a great lunch spot. Saw a local production of Into the Woods (one of our favorites) that was extremely impressive. Finished off the evening at our new favorite Italian restaurant. Happy (early) birthday, Mom!

 

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites: Toes, Trips, and (Movie) Trailers

Isn't it funny how things always go a little haywire the day before a 3 day weekend? (Answer: no. not funny at all.) After Monday's ridiculousness, things quieted down enough that I was tricked into believing we could slide gracefully into the weekend. Ha. In the past few hours, my to-do list has doubled in size, I've had almost 300 pages of "suggested reading" dropped onto my desk, and we've suddenly reached a very time-intensive wedding task: the gathering of the addresses. Now I know what I will be doing while sitting out on the dock this weekend...

Despite all that, though, it's nice to slow down for a minute and talk about the happy parts of the week. Even though it wasn't all sunshine (literally), the good managed to outweigh the bad yet again and little delights like these made it a great one.

It's been quite a while since I got caught in the rain during a run (and the last time it didn't end so well), but yesterday's 8-miler was graced with about 20 minutes of downpour. Luckily I was prepared with a plastic bag for my phone, so I was able to keep on trucking and enjoy the little shower. It was a nice distraction on what turned out to be a pretty great run... although I think my brand new shoes might disagree:

not exactly the way I was hoping to break them in...

One of my poor toenails is just hanging on for dear life. I have always been a little squeamish about feet, so I'm trying not to think about it too much. But speaking of toes...

Too many pictures of my feet for one post? I promise I'm done now.

There's nothing like a lunch-time pedicure to make you feel special (and kill any chance at productivity for the rest of the afternoon). Thankfully, the poor woman who treated my toes did a great job with the aforementioned almost-casualty... you can barely tell how sad-looking it really is. I don't typically splurge like this, but I thought it would be the perfect way to get ready for:

This pic is from my very first trip to the lake with Dan: I was 18 and we had been dating for about a year. Thankfully, my choice in swimwear has come a long way since then...

We are headed to the lake this weekend for some sunshine and a visit with Dan's wonderful grandparents. We've been trying to plan a trip down for months now, and this long weekend seemed like the perfect time to sign up the dog-sitter and pack up the car. Hurray for relatives that live in gorgeous places and are sweet enough to host us... and feed us... and drive us around in the boat!

Naps. 'Nuff said.

Despite the crazy amount of work that has converged upon my cubicle today, I am quite comfortable in the assertion that my boss is the best in the world. While my previous manager was pretty great too, I am now incredibly lucky to be working with someone closer to my age who is so laid back and good at what she does. I really don't miss the days that I dreaded coming into work.

Thought I'd end on an anticipatory note: Christmas is still a lifetime away, but this is just one of many reasons I wish it would hurry up...

Happy weekend, everyone! Have a safe and fantastic holiday!

   Love,

    Meg

Weekending

Nothing like a little dose of Monday to kill that nice three-day-weekend feeling, right? 

I seem to have taken a little unintended blogging vacation, but am working hard on getting caught up today so that I don't spend the whole week behind. Adjusting to a different type of workday is definitely a challenge, but I hope that as I start to take on more individual tasks in the new position it will be easier to get things done.

This long weekend actually felt shorter than most, thanks to all the driving, lots of events, and a few too many cocktails. Since my cup of coffee is the only thing standing between my head and my desk right now, I'm going to stick to just a few highlights.

 -- Our weekend was bookended by two 7-ish hour drives. We left home super early Friday morning and arrived in SC by mid-afternoon, and didn't get home until almost midnight last night. I'm sure it would have been a different story had I been the one actually driving all that time (thanks to my wonderful hubby for getting us down and back safely), but I actually love long car rides like this. It was nice to read, nap, talk with the hubs, and just enjoy the scenery. I had been craving a long drive recently anyway, so the timing was perfect.

 -- Our hotel was fabulous, which was lucky considering the small fortune I spent for two nights there. The room was excellent, the service was great, and most importantly, the treadmill was fantastic. Running outside just wasn't a option, which normally makes for a miserable morning workout, but even I am a sucker for a treadmill with its own personal TV. How I Met Your Mother and Friends distracted me so well that I made it through almost 15 miles on that thing (over two mornings) without hating that I was stuck inside.

 -- Although we didn't get much of a chance to explore Charleston while we were there, we were able to enjoy some of their excellent foods and beverages. I had a particularly fantastic plate of chicken salad on Saturday, Dan was pretty pleased with some macaroni and cheese, and we stopped for a great brunch yesterday:

(that omelet included smoked salmon and dill cream cheese. be still my heart.)

The bellini pictured above was the perfect before-noon adult beverage, and I can safely say that I consumed my fair share of tequila over the course of the weekend as well:

(an awful picture of me, but worth it to showcase the size of that beauty)

They also served a blue margarita at the wedding that was incredible. And of course no alcohol-soaked weekend is complete without a late-night trip to Taco Bell... yum.

 -- The best part of the weekend, though, was getting to hang out with some wonderful people:

cuddled up with a (finally) sleeping nephew

with my (fingers-crossed) future sister-in-law and my brother-in-law (although not the brother she is dating)

my handsome hubby!

I think this may be one of those rare days that calls not for an afternoon run/workout, but an afternoon nap. Hope that your Monday is fabulous!

   Love,

    Meg

South End of a Bunny Going North (among other things)

It seems that over the past several, life sort of got in the way of my blogging (I hate it when that happens). There were too many things to be done, and just not enough minutes in the day to do them and write about them, too. This week will likely bring more of the same, as I work through my last real week at my old job (before I start two weeks of hell training my replacement next Monday), get ready to head out of town yet again this weekend, and fight the never-ending battle against our apartment and its messy tendencies. Hopefully I will find a bit more time to write about all of that excitement (I know, I know -- hang on to your seats).

Until then, here's a little peek at what we've been up to lately:

I'm finally getting to run outside in the mornings again -- the sunrise right now gives me just enough time to get in a quick 4-5 miles before I have to head home and get ready for work. It has been pretty chilly a few mornings, but this view beats the treadmill any day.

We've enjoyed lots of time at the dog park lately, getting to know our neighbors as Tess chases their poor pups at top speed. I laugh because when we first moved in about a year and a half ago, I thought going to the gym was the perfect way to meet people from the neighborhood. A year and a half later, I've not yet made a single friend at the gym, but we meet new people practically every week at the dog park.

Important to note: Tess only gets to sit on the benches like a human (which she loves) when she is the only canine present. Spoiled much?

Saturday morning I bit the bullet and ran my first race since last October. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt and glad I (finally) made the decision to run it. There will be a more detailed race recap coming soon. A huge thanks to my awesome mother (a race pro at this point), wonderful father-in-law, and this handsome guy:

who came to watch me run. It was so amazing to see their faces when I got past that finish line!

Saturday evening I did a little baking...

and Sunday morning woke up to assemble this guy:

(A little hard to see, but there are two back paws, a tail, and two ears -- retrospectively realized to be backwards. Those things in the top right corner are supposed to be carrots.)

Hopefully the title of this post makes sense now. The recipe was actually pretty easy and turned out very cute. He tasted delicious, too -- I used boxed devil's food cake but made my own icing, which I think helped. If I ever do this again, I think I'd try a spice cake to go with all that coconut.

And just in case you needed reassurance that all is right in Toby's world:

... never fear, this guy doesn't miss many naps.

On top of all that, there were several hours spent on taxes (no pictures there... it wasn't a terribly exciting process), lots of miles run, some quality Easter time with family, and one very long-anticipated Saturday afternoon nap for me, as well.

Now, I'm off to create my weekly to-do list -- you know, the one I've been writing in my head all weekend but waited until now to put onto paper. I'm thinking the first item on the list will be "write weekly to-do list," in an effort to ensure that at least one thing gets checked off between now and Friday...

Happy Monday, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Introducing...

It seems that a certain furball may have let the cat out of the bag yesterday (terrible pun absolutely intended), but there is a special someone who I'd like you to meet:

Dan and I are thrilled (and Toby is clearly not-so-thrilled) to welcome Tess, a 3 year old black and tan coonhound, to our little family. She is a very large sweetheart who likes to cuddle, eat, play outside, drool, and sleep... a lot. She has adjusted fabulously (even though her brother has not) and we are very much in love!


   Love,

    Meg

The Christmas Let-Down

There's nothing like the morning after a three day holiday weekend to jolt you back to reality. 6:30 this morning may as well have been 3 AM, as alert as I felt. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually wake up until about halfway through my run, which was luckily on the treadmill this morning -- I swear one of these mornings I'm going to open my eyes and find myself miles away from home. My only consolation this morning is that while it felt like a Monday, it is, of course, Tuesday, and the beginning to a four day week followed by another three day weekend... I could get used to this.

Our weekend consisted of one wonderful date night, two days of pure and utter chaos, and one of incredible laziness that just barely made up for all the sleep previously lost. Santa found our house (thankfully... we have no chimney) and brought me a lovely new laptop, a beautiful snowflake necklace, a gorgeous KitchenAid mixer, and lots of other nice things. I am very lucky to have married such a great shopper who takes Christmas very seriously, from the diamonds down to the chocolate in my stocking.

Somehow all of the baking got done, some just minutes before it was to be served/gifted. We handed out 16 tin cans of these yummy cookies:

[via, because my pics are all still on my camera]

They were a huge hit and looked super cute thanks to this wonderful printable label. The downside of this little project is that there are currently 6 enormous containers of fruit cocktail, canned peaches, and mandarin oranges from those tin cans in our fridge. We will be eating (un-)canned fruit until at least St. Patrick's Day...

I also baked brownies and made Santa hats like these:

... that of course weren't nearly so cute, but basically got the point across. Finally, I whipped up oreo balls dipped in chocolate and marbled cheesecake bites. My poor kitchen will never be the same: it looks like we had a small snowstorm of crushed candy cane bits, drizzled chocolate, and graham cracker crumbs.

The real adventure of the weekend, however, was our foray into veterinary care. My stepmom headed up to New York to be with her family for the holiday, and we volunteered to care for the pets over the weekends that she is gone (luckily there is a housesitter there during the week). This task is complicated by the fact that one cat is diabetic and needs insulin shots twice a day, and that currently all five cats (Yes, five. No, she's not a crazy cat lady. They're all very sweet and impeccably clean.) are being treated for some virus that requires two doses of a thick pink liquid each day (think pepto bismol but chunkier). If you have a cat, you can relate to the fact that trying to get liquid down such an animals throat is roughly as easy as scratching your ear with your little toe... and probably as painful. These cats certainly aren't dumb, so catching them got increasingly more difficult as the weekend wore on and typically involved shutting doors behind us to trap them in, launching ourselves under beds and between recliners, and holding on for dear life once we got a handful of fur. We started wrapping them in a towel upon capture to avoid minimize the claw marks we sported across our hands, arms, and faces. Then I would gingerly place my entire body weight on top of the cat while Dan gently attempted to pry open their mouth and stick the syringe down their throat while navigating the rough terrain of sharp teeth. It was nothing short of a miracle when we were able to check off all five cats for a dose, and I swear I have never felt so proud of anything before in my life. Dan and I will be resting up this week in preparation for another three days of this next weekend... all I can hope is that my stepmom will come home to five healthy cats and a daughter and son-in-law who are still alive.

For now, my goal is to get through this week with minimal stress, maximum sleep, and a little bit of pre-planning for what is shaping up to be a fun New Year's Eve. I am also hoping to catch up on the gazillion blog posts I have neglected to read over the last month or so... I am looking forward to finding out what my favorite bloggers are up to lately!

Hope that you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and that the transition back to the office (if you had to make it today), has not been too painful. Only three and a half more days until the weekend!

   Love,

    Meg

Saying Goodbye

Please excuse the silence around here in the next week or two as I help care for my dad in what are sadly his last days. I am incredibly lucky to have lots of wonderful friends and family supporting me, but even with their unyielding love, times are tough right now. Having to watch the strongest man I know slowly slipping away is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am thankful that he is spending most of this time sleeping comfortably. 24 years was surely not as much as i would wish for, but luckily it was time enough to make lots of memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It breaks my heart that he will never hold his grandchildren, but I can't wait to tell them stories about the man that made me who I am today.

   
   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites: Wonderful Person Edition

I feel like I may owe today a thank you note for finally getting its butt in motion and showing up. Not like I've been waiting for it all week or anything.

It has been one heck of a week (see: all the fun I had on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a really wonderful cold), so if ever a weekend has been earned, I think it's this one. I have lots of exciting plans to sleep, drink hot liquids, stick close to my couch, buy stock in Kleenex, and not cough up a lung. And maaaaaybe (please don't tell my mom) a Christmas movie or two... all in the name of feeling better, right? I could use a little holiday cheer in my life right now.
Luckily, despite the abundance of ick in my week, it was also filled with just enough wonderful to even things out. This particular week, wonderful seemed to come in human form (ok, ok... and maybe in the form of half a dozen donuts. oops.) Throughout the little rough patch of the past few weeks months, the phrase "you find out who your friends are" has really rung true. Unfortunately, there have been a handful of people who have proven... less than supportive. Luckily, it goes both ways though: other amazing people have truly left me speechless with their constant love and willingness to listen, distract, feed, coach, or just sit there and listen to me cry. While I've been hurt by the silence of a few in my life, the holes they left have been more than filled by some truly wonderful people. Since we're sneaking up on my favorite holiday and all, it seems like a good time to give a little thanks for those people. There's no way to mention everyone, but here are a few of the highlights:

this is one of my very favorite pictures EVER. I promise I had on clothes.

This beautiful lady found time in her incredibly busy first-year-teacher schedule to come spend last weekend with me. M is the kind of friend who shows up with pumpkin spice donut holes, doesn't blink an eye when you ask her to go with you to visit your sick father, and makes you laugh even when life really isn't funny (otherwise known as: the best kind of friend). We had a fantastic time talking about weddings (!), sharing cheese fries, admiring this guy, and laughing until we cried over this gem. I am so so very lucky to have this girl in my life.

My mom has always born a striking resemblance to superwoman, but these days when I have needed it the most, she has kicked it into high gear. She has taken me out to dinner three nights in the past week (once with two of her best friends, who are truly some of the nicest ladies I know), refilled my wine glass or coffee mug countless times, and spent hours listening as I talked my way through emotions and stress. She never complains when I call her daily (sometimes more) and always makes time to answer my basic cooking questions, provide advice that is always right in the end, or just laugh at my latest crazy cat story. It is no great surprise that the voice of reason in my head sounds an awful lot like her. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that I don't know what I would do without her to keep me from going insane, becoming a hermit, burning down my apartment building, or a myriad of other awful things.

Not many people can honestly say that they have awesome coworkers. Even though some most mornings, getting out of bed is a painful process, I am incredibly lucky to get to spend my days with the people I do. The other half of my two-person department, especially, is a wonderfully spunky and sweet lady who has become a confidante, friend, and partner-in-crime. She has me in stitches multiple times a day, and I cannot count the number of trivial stories I have been halfway through telling when I realize that she has no reason to care, but she always listens anyway. She also chased me out of the building at 1:00 yesterday when she couldn't listen to me cough a minute longer, with strict instructions to make myself tea and go to bed. Which I absolutely did... after purchasing the aformentioned donuts.

this picture has nothing to do with anything... but really, who doesn't need a little more wrinkled cuteness in their life?

A large group of people I am thankful for today share no common bond or connection, besides the fact that I don't actually know them at all. They include the guy at the seafood counter in Harris Teeter, who is always smiling; the random whiz who posted on a cell phone blog and helped me fix my phone; the wonderful vet tech who clipped my furballs claws even as he slithered off the counter to escape; the guy who understood my barking this morning as "grande skinny peppermint mocha." They include whichever neighbor had a fire yesterday evening and filled the street with that wonderful fall smell, and the one who didn't laugh at me when I attempted the elliptical today and had to give up after less than 10 minutes. They include Terry Gross, who consistently makes an hour at the gym the most interesting hour of my day, and David Crane and Marta Kaufmann, who created a show that I can watch a million times (and have) and never once get sick of it. And they include all of you wonderful bloggers out there, who share love stories and recipes, workout tips and adorable baby pictures, exiting news and everyday moments. Your words always keep me going.

And of course no post about wonderful people would be complete without a mention of this guy. I am incredibly lucky to have a husband who can make me laugh from halfway around the world, checks in on my father constantly, and puts up with all of my quirks. I finally printed out some pictures from our mini-wedding to frame, and I love having his face around the apartment a little more. Now if only his actual face could be here....


Happy weekend, everyone! Hope it is filled with equally wonderful people.

   Love,

    Meg

TGIF

Somehow, the past six days, spent crammed into a tiny hospital room with a constant rotation of nurses, PCAs, students, family members, friends, and the occasional crazy food services worker, have left me slightly less than energized. Somewhere under the cover of beeping IVs and whirring blood pressure cuffs, or along the lengthy trip between parking garage and top floor, far corner, or possibly while I was trying desperately not to pass out at every mention of needles, my sanity executed a perfect "ditch-and-run." And despite the fact that my dad is finally home and resting, I am still left searching for it, checking under the rather large stacks of work on my desk, peering into the precariously balanced sink full of dishes, and poking around the dusty corners of this neglected blog. I've been trying desperately to lure it back with long runs and generous amounts of coffee, and I'm hoping that it has the good sense to return home at some point during this long-anticipated three-day weekend... we will see.

It has certainly been a trying week, but thankfully, we have all somehow limped across the finish line. Some of us are a bit worse for the wear, but we're all still pushing forward, thrilled to have made it through this first stretch, and trying not to think to hard about the second starting line, looming in the distance. Luckily, my dad will have the rest of the month to recover before heading back in for round two.

Thanks for bearing with me as I attempt to get back to blogging as quickly as my sleepy little brain will allow. And just in case your weekend needs a little happy...

... we've got you covered.

  Love,

    Meg

The Day of Two Pumpkin Iced Coffees

Hey, sometimes you have to do what you have to do, you know? Today required a little bravery, a good deal of suck-it-up-and-be-a-grownup, an inordinate amount of patience, quite a bit of determination, and two iced coffees. Who am I to argue with my cravings on such a stressful day?
To start, no day that starts with a doctor's appointment can ever be truly recoverable. I am an absolute wimp when it comes to doctors: they make me nervous and nauseous and I typically go to great lengths to avoid them. Today's appointment was with a doctor I'd never met before, and thankfully she was extremely sweet and quite efficient without being rushed. I wouldn't call it a wonderful experience, but it wasn't a terrible one either... and the best part is that it's over. On the way back for a long day at work, I celebrated by picking up my first cup of liquid strength: a pumpkin spice frappuccino from Starbucks.
For the rest of the afternoon, I sat at my desk trying really hard (and generally failing) to concentrate on work. Finally, my dad called to let me know that his biopsy had gone well and he would be headed home soon. It will be a while before we hear any results, of course, but I was so relieved that the procedure had gone well and he was one step closer to treatment. I am not very good at the waiting part of all of this, so I'm really eager to get him on the road to medicine and recovery... I know it's easy for me to say, when I won't be the one experiencing the sickness that goes along with treatment, but I'm enough like my dad to know that he is also looking forward to getting things started. For now, though, all we can do is cross our fingers and cool our heels for a few days.
After work, despite knowing that I hadn't fueled well today at all, I headed out for my normal mid-week mid-distance run. I knew there was a good chance that this would blow up in my face, but just couldn't face the guilt I knew I'd feel if I headed home to collapse into my couch like I really wanted to. Luckily it was cloudy outside -- still awfully humid but at least the sun wasn't beating down on my shoulders. I had to stop once or twice to work past some stomach issues, but was able to run pretty hard otherwise and was generally happy with the results. My average pace has been dropping quite a bit lately, thanks partially to the cooler weather and hopefully in part to my hard training. This week I've completely failed at getting out in the mornings before work, but I've fit in several great afternoon runs and am feeling good about my progress. Or is it just that I have bigger things to worry about right now? Either way, running has been, as always, an ideal escape from the perils of real life right now.
Before heading home, I just couldn't resist my second seasonal beverage: a pumpkin iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. So the real question:

Honestly, I never guessed that this might be a hard choice to make. In years past, I've been sorely disappointed by Starbucks' pumpkin drinks, and when I discovered DD's pumpkin iced coffee last year, I was sure I had found my coffee soulmate. It was the perfect fall drink and I've been looking forward to its re-introduction in stores for months. Shockingly, though, I was pleasantly surprised this morning by my frappuccino. I think Dunkin Donuts will always be my first choice, but I certainly didn't hate the frappuccino either... both made me smile today, and that's certainly all I can ask for.

   Love,

    Meg

Honestly

When I first envisioned this blog, I wanted it to become a cozy little corner of the internet where I could go to escape and recharge. A space of honesty, where I could overshare without (too much) fear of judgment, where I could bare my soul and feel at peace, where I could whine a little but avoid the face that Dan gives me when I'm complaining too much. A place to talk about food, running, family, the military, my fiance-now-husband, my Dunkin Donuts addiction, and my dreams... or everything all at once, depending on how I felt. I needed an outlet for triumph alongside tragedy, the banal and the strange, the best and the worst.
Writing with honesty, as I've discovered, isn't easy. Certain topics in this blog have proven infinitely more challenging than the papers I took weeks to research and write for my college seminars. But I spent more sleepless nights than I care to admit over the title of this blog, and I (finally) settled on "Enjoy the Ride" because it captured not just who I am, but who I want to be. It issues a challenge: embrace the highs and the lows of life, confront them head on, ride them out with a smile. It reminds me that terrible as life can be, it can also be twelve kinds of wonderful, and that it's my job to make it through the rough patches intact enough to appreciate the good times. And large part of that, for me, is writing. 
So long story not so short, I know that despite the ache in my heart and the fog in my head, I have to find the words to write about what is happening in my life right now. Because right now, my friends, is a low. A lower low than I've experienced in quite a long time. The worst part, though, is knowing that I'm not yet to the bottom, but still hurtling along a downward track in the dark, hoping like mad that I'm going to hit an upswing soon. Some days, it seems like the past few months have brought nothing but bad news, bad luck, and bad nights of sleep. I'm struggling to keep smiling and stay positive: some days I lose that battle, but some days I win, and that's enough encouragement to keep trying.
For right now, the details are overwhelming in themselves. Last week, my typically healthy father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. By the time it was discovered, on a chest x-ray that seemed more like a formality at the time, it had already spread into his lungs. Thankfully, an MRI today let us know that it has not spread to his brain yet. He goes in for a biopsy tomorrow, and then will start treatment. This particularly awful round of drugs has a 10-15% chance of sending him into complete remission, so for right now all that we can do is hope like heck that he falls into that percentage.

There are really no words to describe how hard this is -- my dad has always been one of the most supportive people in my life, and I honestly never considered that there would come a time when he might not be there. The thought of losing him is incomprehensible, and so many times I've wondered if there's any chance that all of this might be an awful nightmare. I feel helpless and terrified, but I am also determined to stay optimistic. We certainly have an uphill battle ahead, but I'm trying hard to take it one step at a time and believe that everything will work out in the end. Thank goodness for my mom, Dan, a few amazing friends, and several incredible coworkers -- I feel so very lucky to have so many people who I know are there for both me and my dad no matter what. A longtime colleague of my dad's dropped by today to remind me that he was here for anything I needed, and that he had an endless supply of corny jokes just to make me smile. I think he may be surprised when one of these days, I show up at his office door requesting a full dose of terrible humor. Sometimes that's what it takes, right?

   Love,

    Meg

Lagging

I am so very behind... on everything. I'm behind on laundry. I'm behind on dishes. I'm behind on the constant battle to prevent our apartment from being overtaken by clutter and cat hair. I'm so behind on work that I doubt I'll be able to catch up even this week. I'm behind on magazines and my Netflix queue and reading all of your wonderful blogs. I'm behind on all the errands that need to be run, as evidenced by my woefully empty refrigerator and the fact that Toby enjoyed real tuna for dinner because he finished the last of the cat food this morning. I'm behind on staying in touch with people -- I owe so many friends phone calls and facebook messages that it makes me a little shaky to think about it. And, of course, I am inexcusably behind on blogging.
Lest you get the impression that I've been sitting around with my feet up, letting the world pass me by and my responsibilities simply pile up, here's a little snapshot of what I've been up to in the past week-ish:
 -- I've worked a ton of overtime. This is pretty normal for some jobs, but not at all for mine. This week has been absolutely crazy, to put it mildly. Not exactly fun, but woohoo paycheck! On the other hand, I don't think my cat recognizes me anymore...
 -- I've run two races -- the half and then a 5k this past weekend. Both were tough in their own special way, but I was really happy with my times and pretty excited to get into racing after months of training. Now, I'm lengthening my daily runs a bit, adding in a few more structured workouts (think tempo runs and speedwork), and looking forward to a 10k in about a month.
 -- I've listened to about a million hours of Pandora... thank goodness for the year's subscription I got for Christmas last year. Thanks dad, and don't worry -- I'm getting your money's worth!
 -- I've eaten lots of meals with my family. That's what you do when you have an awesome family. And also when you're broke and grocery-less. But mainly just when you have really nice parents.
 -- I've cooked a lot of vegetables. My new favorite dinner consists of chopped garlic and onion, olive oil, a little white wine, some lemon juice, and whatever veggies I can find in my fridge (typically okra, mushroom, squash of some variety, etc.) It's the easiest meal ever and I don't feel quite as guilty as I do on nights I make that other thing I love to cook (pasta, of course). 
 -- I've gotten very little sleep. It seems like every night when I get home from work/dinner/running, there are a billion things to around the apartment. Last night I found myself scrubbing the microwave at 11:00. The rest of the kitchen may be a mess, but this morning I appreciated my sparkling clean microwave.... as I yawned and poured myself a large cup of coffee.
Tonight, however, I am sitting in bed and it is only 9:30. I am minutes away from a wonderfully long night's sleep, which will hopefully be enough to get me through another long day at work tomorrow, a long run tomorrow afternoon, and maybe even a quick run to the grocery store. And one of these days, just maybe, I'll get ahead. Or even just a little less behind. Honestly, I'll take what I can get.

   Love,

    Meg

In Which I Appear To Be A Boring 50-Something

(no offense to all of the 50-somethings out there who actually have exciting lives. You all put me to shame.)

Happy.... Tuesday? I think? Three days weekends always throw me off so badly... although certainly not so badly that I couldn't use one every other weekend or so. This week's only saving grace, so far, is that it will only last for four days. And that one of those days is almost over. Have I mentioned that my coworkers are driving me a little crazy? 5:00 can never come fast enough these days.

My weekend was surprisingly quiet for a holiday one, which I did appreciate. In fact, the past three days really bordered on boring. Not that I'm complaining: I was able to catch up on sleep and a few magazines, lounge around, clean the apartment, and knit myself a sweater vest (ok so I'm kidding on the last one, but I sort of feel that old....) 

Friday evening I stopped to purchase my first ever stick of bodyglide on the way home from work -- thrilling, I know. I read by the pool for a little while, ate a bowl of pasta, and went to bed super early. Really, I'm just a blast when I'm all alone in the apartment... I think even the cat has a more exciting life.

Saturday I got up super early and headed out for my very first double digit run. I had 10 miles on the calendar, and while it wasn't exactly easy, it was a lot less horrific than I expected. I was dripping from the heat when I finished and left little puddles everywhere I went (especially the floor of the Starbucks where I stopped for water... you know they appreciated that), but I made it through 10.27 miles. I am seriously amazed that in the past few months I've gone from struggling through two or three miles to running 10 without wanting to just fall into a ditch somewhere. This is definitely a good sign, considering (drumroll please) I registered for my very first half marathon this weekend. I've been considering this race for several months now, but finally got up the courage this weekend to make it official. My goal is simply to get through it in one piece, I'm not concerned about times or negative splits or anything technical. If I'm still able to smile at the finish line, I'll call that a victory. The race is two months from yesterday, so I still have several weeks to run long, and I'm hoping to build up to at least 14 miles a few weeks out so that I know I can make it the whole way. Any advice for first time half-marathoners? I could definitely use it!

After a nice long shower, I headed up to Washington DC to see my brother-in-law and spend some quality time with my sister-in-law, who flew in for the weekend. It was so great to get to hang out with her and my newest little nephew again. He is just the cutest! After a long day at the hospital, we grabbed dinner at a surprisingly good little mexican restaurant and headed back to the hotel where Dan's family has been staying.

Sunday morning I did a quick little recovery run on one of the hotel treadmills that looked like it was already outdated by the 1980's. I was just thankful I made it 3 miles without it flying apart! We made a dunkin' donuts run and went back to the hospital for the morning, and then I left for home around 2 and drove through a few crazy storms on my way back. After a quick stop to pick up a new sports bra (on sale!) I spent the evening being lazy, doing a little laundry, hiding from yet another huge storm, and generally loving the idea that I didn't have to get up for work the next morning. I could get used to that!

Yesterday I made myself get up at a reasonable hour (ie before noon) and headed out for a run. I was shocked at the difference in temperature between 6:30 (when I usually run before work) and 10:00. I was miserable and after only about 4 miles decided to pack it in and head for home. Of course, once I figured I'd take advantage of the heat and head down to the pool for a little while, the clouds came out and it got much cooler. Story of my life... but at least I had the pool to myself! Last night Toby and I went over to my dad's for an excellent dinner that I've been craving for quite a while -- nothing says 4th of July like hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, and strawberry pie! I ate so much but it was all worth it. I caught a couple flashes on my way home, but otherwise didn't do the fireworks thing this year -- Dan and I usually go together, and I just wasn't interested in doing it without him. Instead I headed home and finished up the laundry.... too exciting, right?

This evening is also going to be a wild party: I'll be hitting up the gym, getting groceries, and then curling up in bed with a good movie. Exactly what all 23-year-olds dream of, right? Luckily, I don't mind being boring... I just wish my hubby was here to be boring with me! I hope that all of you had much more exciting things to do this weekend! Hopefully you were able to eat some great grilled food, catch a few fireworks, or maybe even relax on a river (that's what Dan and I did last year for the 4th -- lots of fun and sunburns!). And here's to hoping that something will happen this week to infuse a little excitement into my life... just not too much!

   Love,

    Meg