Updates on My Life

Tuesday after work, I met Chris in Farmington to go look at a duplex. We had gone to look at a different one last Saturday and that one was just awful. So I didn't have the highest expectations for this one.

However, it was beautiful. The carpet, the kitchen (which has a dishwasher--thank God!), washer and dryer hookups, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a back deck. I loved it. So we told the guy we really liked it and wanted to fill out an application, so he let us fill it out right then and there. In the dark. (The electric wasn't turned on, so by the time we got around to filling out the application it was pretty dark, but I had a flashlight on my phone! woo!)

We filled it out, gave it back to him and we were on our way. It's extremely hard to be patient when you find a place you really love and have to wait however long to find out if you got it. We knew we'd probably know before the weekend, because Chris told him we'd be interested in moving this weekend. Wednesday night I was trying to Skype with Chris but for whatever reason my video wasn't working. He got impatient and called me to tell me we got the duplex! I didn't believe him at first lol.

But we got it, and we move in on Sunday. Yes, Sunday, as in, two days from now. And cue me freaking out. Hello stress. I'm not a good packer/mover. And this is the first time I will be moving without help from my parents/family, etc. It's just me, Chris, and his dad.

Chris came down to help me last night. We got a decent amount done, but I still feel like I have a ton to do. And it's driving me nuts being at work (when just about everyone else is gone for fall break) not being able to be at home packing.

On the bright side, packing gives you an excellent opportunity to throw shit away! I got rid of a lot of clothes. I had summer dresses that I hadn't worn at all this summer, so I got rid of them. Same with shirts, skirts, pants, etc. If I hadn't worn it yet this year, I got rid of it. And I'm not just throwing all that away. Initially I wanted to try to take some of it to a resale shop, but I don't have the time or patience for that, so I'm going to donate all of it instead. My mindset was, the more I can get rid of, the less I have to pack.

Other stressors in my life right now: Game 5 between the Cards and Nats today. Blah. The election and all these debates. We're screwed regardless of who gets elected, of that I'm 100% positive. But it will be in drastically different ways depending on who wins. And don't ask me my opinions because I'm in no mood to start up any political arguments on here. Also, homework. Just about everything is due Monday. So of course we're moving this weekend. I have gotten some of it finished though, so I don't have too much left to worry about, thank goodness.

Rest assured, I will have tons of pictures to post after this move. So that'll be a post sometime next week (whenever we get internet probably). We will have cable Monday though. Priorities. :)

Skim Milk Shortage?!

It would appear that there is a skim milk shortage in this town. Monday I went to the gas station on my way to work. No skim. Yesterday, I stopped at the gas station up the street from my house. No skim. Today, I went to the University cafeteria (who almost always has 2% and skim). No skim. They had 2% and chocolate. What does a girl have to do around here to get some skim milk?!

Ok, yeah, I could probably stop being so lazy and just go buy a gallon from Schnuck's, but where's the fun in that? And when I stopped at Rhodes on Monday, I realized why I grabbed the Vitamin D milk last week instead of skim (ok, it's still my fault for being colorblind)--that's all they have! They had 2% and Vitamin D. That's it. Of all the different kinds of milk they could sell and those are the 2 they sell? What is wrong with these people?

In other news, I have not worked out since...sometime last week probably. Although I only had one midterm (which was Monday night), I have a lot of other projects to do and a ton of reading. So I haven't really had much time. And I should be working out between work and class today, but I forgot my stuff. I'm trying to keep myself from getting into the habit of going back home for stuff in between work and class because if Chris and I move any time soon, I won't have that option.

I did, however, get a new sports bra that I can't wait to wear. I read Mama Laughlin's blog (she's awesome and hilarious) and she mentioned in a Q&A that she wears Moving Comfort. I had never heard of it, but she swears by it, so I looked it up online. I loved the styles and that they came in real sizes and not just small, medium, large, etc. So I bought one. I tried it on when I got it and I love it. Now I just need to work out so I can wear it :)

Speaking of bras, this weekend at Fleet Feet they're having a sale on their bras, and Moving Comfort is one of them. So I plan on heading up there to see what I can find. Plus I have a coupon too! So I'll get a new sports bra for me, and probably some headphones for Chris so he'll go run with me again :)

I have to work all day tomorrow and Friday, while everyone else is off enjoying fall break. Boo. At least it will be nice and quiet.

Wedding and Family Reunion

I got zero exercise this weekend. Boo. But I ate somewhat healthier this weekend than I did last weekend, so that counts for something right?

Friday night we had dinner at my mom's and watched the Cards beat the Braves! She made chicken tortellini soup. It was so good, and perfect for a chilly day.

Saturday we were up super early. We got all dressed up for the wedding that wasn't until 1pm so that we would have time to drive to Farmington to look at a duplex. That was a major disappointment. The outside looked nice, but the inside was just gross. The carpet was stained, the walls were dirty, the bathroom was disgusting. All that time spent driving there and back and we could have just slept in later. Blah. Oh well. We'll hopefully be going to look at another duplex sometime this week. Fingers crossed this one will be nicer!

Did I mention it was cold Saturday? I'm glad I at least bought a jacket to wear with my dress.

This is kinda blurry,
but the jacket is from Target,
and the dress is from Dillard's. 

The wedding was nice, minus the part about being in Waterloo. The more time I spend in Illinois, the more I just hate everyone. I'm kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, eventually we realized that the church was only about 12 miles from Red Bud, which just happens to be one of the few places you can buy Michelob Golden Draft. So we drove to Red Bud and bought some. And put six in the wedding gift because we're awesome.

After that we headed back to St. Louis and had Buffalo Wild Wings for a late lunch (we had 4 hours to kill between the wedding and reception). Then we went to Target and walked around for a while because we had nothing better to do with our time.

Eventually we made our way to the reception hall, Andre's, in South County. Nice place. The decorations were nice, the cake was pretty (I believe the groom's mother made it, along with a couple thousand mini-cookies as favors). The food was good (at least what I ate of it). I guess what I had at BWW upset my stomach so I wasn't super hungry. But I had salad and pasta con broccoli and both were delicious.

I also drank water all night thanks to my stomach ache. Not that that's a bad thing, but kinda boring. I wouldn't have minded at least having a Sprite or something. Oh well. Everyone else who had cake said it was delicious (there was both chocolate and yellow). I didn't eat any because I don't like cake. I know, I'm weird. Whatever.

We were pretty lame and only danced to a couple slow songs all night, but I was okay with that. My feet hurt lol. We left kinda early. We were exhausted. And needed gas after all the driving we had done.

Photoshop wouldn't let me fix the stupid red eye. 

Yesterday was my family reunion and it was COLD. Well, mainly windy. When the wind wasn't blowing it was tolerable. We had all sorts of food. Tons of desserts. I had chili and a hot dog with pasta salad and the best potatoes you'll ever have in your life. I don't know the exact recipe, but it's potatoes cut up, cheese and sour cream, and bacon. Basically a loaded baked potato, but cooked sort of as a casserole in the oven. I went back for seconds but it was all gone :( 

My first midterm is tonight. I'm not too worried about it. I got As and Bs on all my quizzes so I think I'll be okay. And this week is fall break for everyone but me. Boo. Everyone else is off Thursday and Friday and I have to work. I hate being a grown up sometimes. 

I hope you all had a great weekend and survive your Monday. :)

Thoughts for the Day

I bought milk this morning at the gas station on my way to work. I thought I grabbed skim milk. I was almost to work before I realized that the bottle I bought was red, not pink. Apparently the red one is "Vitamin D." Why does there need to be a "Vitamin D" milk, when milk already has Vitamin D in it? If they're adding more Vitamin D, how much more is it? What it really comes down to for me is that it has much more calories and fat than skim does and it just didn't taste as good. Which is sad because I really wanted some milk this morning.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to think this, but as far as healthy eating goes in this country, wouldn't it be beneficial to sell more products in single-serve sizes? I don't mean everything when I say this, but things that come in bags/jars/containers/etc that are about 2-2.5 servings. For example, if I were to go across the street to the vending machine and buy a bag of Cheez-its, it would be a slightly larger bag that's roughly 2 servings instead of 1. Since I'd be getting this from the vending machine, I wouldn't take the time to sit down and split it up to make sure I only eat one serving. And this happens all the time. Coffee drinks you can buy at the store or gas station, sodas, most snack foods, etc. Clearly, it would be better if we all just ate healthy foods and gave up all the junk. That is obviously something that won't happen in this country any time soon, possibly ever. But wouldn't it be beneficial to everyone if all of these pre-packaged snack foods/drinks were sold in ONE SERVING sizes? It wouldn't get people to eat healthier foods, but it would help with portion control. It would also help if healthier foods were less expensive and more accessible, but that's another topic for another day.

The Wild Card game is this afternoon between the Cards and Braves. Unfortunately, thanks to their horrible timing, I will miss almost all of the game because I'll be driving to St. Louis. I'm hoping I can pick it up on the radio at least on the drive home. As long as the Cardinals win, that's all that really matters. I'm wearing my shirt that says "Own October" on it. I wore it when we were in Chicago and they won, so maybe it will be lucky again today.

Own October :)

Chris and I are going to my mom's for dinner tonight. She's making chicken tortellini soup and I'm so excited. Perfect day for soup :) Tomorrow we have a wedding to go to and Sunday I'm going to my family reunion. Another busy weekend!

So, back to the milk...I seem to have started a small debate on Facebook, so I'll ask all of you:
How do you like your milk?
Thick and creamy? (whole milk)
In between? (1-2%)
or
Almost water? (Skim)

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy #WildCard day!

Random Lunch

Today's lunch is a lot of random things because I haven't gone grocery shopping in at least a week, probably two. So I have applesauce, a huge orange my boss gave me, a pbj on an english muffin, and some crackers and cheese. Teddy Grahams for dessert if I'm still hungry.

So far I've had the applesauce and orange and I'm feeling pretty full. I'm thinking I'll wait a while before I eat anything else. I've been overdoing it lately with eating until I'm way past full and my stomach is getting pretty angry with me. So I'll eat when I'm hungry again. Or just less full? I don't know. I've got a long day today. I'll be working until at least 6, but I'm guessing it will be closer to 7 before we're done today.

I went to Target last night and got the gift for the wedding we're going to this weekend, plus a jacket to wear with my dress because it's supposed to be cold apparently. I did not get the main thing I went there for. Go figure. I'm too lazy to drive back there later tonight so I guess I'll just live without. I have too much other stuff to do tonight. Homework and packing and sleeping. I've got a full schedule.

Speaking of homework/school...I got an A on my first paper!!! First paper as a grad student and I get an A. I'm so excited. I really was expecting something more in the B-range, but I'll take it. My next paper is on Uncle Tom's Cabin which I have never read. It's not due for a few weeks though, so I have plenty of time to work on it.

After that I'll have one more short paper to write on The Red Badge of Courage and then my final research paper. I can't make up my mind on a topic for that one.

Anyhoo, these past couple days have been pretty busy and I haven't had much time to squeeze in a run, but I'm hoping I can do one Saturday or Sunday this weekend.

100th Post!

If you couldn't tell by the title, this is my 100th post! I'm excited! I can't believe it. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me and I hope you continue to read and don't forget to tell your friends! Or my family...because apparently some of them live under a rock and have no idea I write a blog. :p

Anyhoo, on to the weekend festivities. As I said in my post yesterday, I didn't eat healthy at all. And I'll tell you right now so that you are all aware (in case you didn't know): McDonald's Monopoly is a diet ruiner. Dear God the amount of Mcds that has been had, and will be had. Ouch. I think Mcds Monopoly is worse than holiday eating. Sheesh. But Chris likes to play. And it's nice to think there's a possibility of winning something, I guess. Just ordering the food is a freaking game. They put pieces on the nuggets but on a large fry and a medium drink. So if you want all those pieces, you can't buy the meal. Gah!

So I spent most of the day Saturday at the drag races with my dad, sister, and uncle. I got sunburned :( When I got home, my mom asked me if it was more fun or more boring than I thought it would be. My answer was both.

I have to give credit to my sister for some of these pics...she's a better photographer than me :)

On the one hand, it was way cool to see all the cars and how fast they go and how loud they are and all that. On the other hand, it sucked. Where we were sitting, it was hard to see the board where they posted all the times and speeds. After almost every single car drove by, everyone stood up and leaned over to try to see the scores. So I saw very few because I'm short, and I got tired of trying to see around everyone else. 

Me and my sister Becky inside one of the Toyota funny cars

Got to see lots of cool burnouts

These were awesome and super fast. On average it took them less than 4 seconds to get to the end of the track. 

Funny cars

Overall it was a pretty good day. We had a few bumps (literally and figuratively) but it was fun. Oh and about halfway through all this, we were covered in black from the smoke and rubber and stuff from the cars. Gross. It took quite a while to scrub it off of my face, which really sucked with my sunburn. 

Becky, my dad, and me

Saturday night Chris and I went to Applebee's for dinner (I had the Oriental salad with grilled chicken) and it was delicious. And we had potato twisters for an appetizer because those are delicious too. After dinner we headed downtown. It was a mess. "Taste of St. Louis" was going on so everywhere around Market/Soldier's Memorial was packed. 

But The All-American Rejects were playing a free show...and once they started playing, it was totally worth it. They are so good live. And I just love their music. They played a few songs from their new album and I was surprised by how much I liked them. 

Sunday morning Chris and I woke up way too early (we never can sleep in for some stupid reason) so we went for a run. After our run (which was about 3.3ish miles) we went to Waffle House. It was my first time (second ever) since I got food poisoning there a few years ago. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad. I had a sausage, egg, and cheese wrap with hashbrowns. Not my favorite, but it was pretty good. 

Later that day we went to the Cardinals game. We spent entirely too much time looking for nachos that were rumored to come in a baseball helmet. We never found them :( We did spend too much money though. Woops. We both got new shirts, food, and ice cream. 

None of that seen here :)

It was a good game and the Cards won! So close to making the playoffs!! 

Lovely pic Chris took of the stadium

We also got knit headbands for breast cancer awareness and they are super cute. Can't wait to wear  mine! :)

Later that night we went to see Hotel Transylvania. It was a cute movie. Too many people in that theater for a 9pm movie on a Sunday night--plus a baby--but whatever. It was good and we had popcorn and I ate a ton of junior mints :/ 

Overall, it was a great weekend, and I've got a lot planned for this weekend too! In the meantime, here's a pic of one of my new outfits from Target:

Seriously, everything but my shoes is from Target

Recap (the short version)

So I don't have all my pics from the weekend ready to go yet. Sorry :( But I promise I'll have them up sometime tomorrow!

It was an excellent weekend though! Minus the sunburn. Leave it to me to get sunburned the last weekend in September.

As far as eating goes . . . nothing healthy was eaten this weekend. Oops. I did get some exercise in though! Did a lot of walking Saturday. All day. So much that my toes are blistered :(

Sunday morning Chris and I went on our first run together. We had planned on doing about two miles. After the first mile, we were feeling pretty good, so we kept going. And going. We ended up running about 3.3ish miles. I have no idea how long it took. And we walked for a minute or two once or twice.

I had fun though. Chris didn't because his headphones suck and they kept falling out of his ears. So we're going to get him new ones so he'll keep running with me :) That's the longest I've run in quite a while and I felt pretty great.

Today I ran between work and class. It was cold and windy and rainy. I was looking forward to running in the rain. The cold and wind? Not so much. I ran for 30 minutes though and ran about 2.25 miles. I'm so slow. I guess the weather may have played a factor in that. And waiting at stoplights to cross the street. I hate that. It was a good run though and I only stopped once for a couple minutes.

I suppose I should stop procrastinating and get back to my homework. Lots to do the next couple weeks with midterms and all. My first midterms as a grad student! I'm pretty sure I only have one though . . . lol.

Have a wonderful night and be on the lookout for the weekend recap (the extended version with pics) sometime tomorrow! :)