Moving In

I've been so busy the last few days moving back to Kalamazoo.

Friday I went down to see Hannah and her family for her birthday. That was a blast, but way too short.

Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Kzoo to move me into my new apartment. There were a few bumps in the move in day, but those were resolved and hopefully smoothed out. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with my roommates.

Sunday was spent catching up with Nichole who now lives conveniently right across the parking lot from me :) We went to Panera for dinner then out to see Crazy Stupid Love. Three words: Ryan Gosling's body. Oh my god! Seriously the man can do no wrong. The movie was really cute too. I would go see it again. I liked how the whole story line was kind of a mystery and there were a lot of unexpected things that happened. Afterward I came back to the apartment to work on putting away kitchen stuff. My room is still in boxes. I can't wait till everything is put into place.... eventually.



Today I went outside to hang by the pool with Nichole. The sun was blazing and the pool was a bit chilly to actually go swimming in, but it was nice to get outside and enjoy the last bits of summer. After the pool I came back and worked on putting my clothes away.

Things My Future Roommates Should Know About Me

I'm sure we all have habits and certain behaviors that define our daily lives. Some may be normal, others may get on each others nerves. Since we're moving in on Saturday, I thought I'd take this time to share a few of those things I know I do and probably should try to stop. I probably should apologize right off the bat for these things that may annoy you in the future. I'm sorry, I will try to work on my bad habits.

1. I tend to sing along with songs. Most of the time it just happens and I don't even realize what I'm doing. Feel free to tell me to shut up.

2. I dance... a lot. When I'm cooking. When I'm cleaning. When I'm listening to music. When it's completely silent. When I'm sitting. When I'm standing. All the time.

3. I have a habit of leaving dishes in my room. Eventually I'll get around with picking them up but yeah, they might stay there for a few days. I also tend to leave dishes in the sink. These usually get cleaned up within a few hours, but I can see this being a problem for those living with me.

4. I'm either really organized or, most of the time, I'm messy. I know where everything is, but it's scattered around. The only good thing about this... it will probably stay within the confines of my own room, so no worries :)

5. I've been told I'm a whiner. I mean, I don't see how I complain that much but my family has pointed it out before.

6. I'm broke. I'm sorry if I can't go out every night or go on shopping trips all the time because I have no money... and right now, no job.

7. I love Kraft Mac n Cheese. It's a problem for my wast-line but so good in my stomach :)

8. I might talk to myself sometimes.... I swear I'm not crazy. You can feel free to ignore me.

9. I come up with kind of crazy ideas every other day. Things I'm going to do eventually. Most of the time they don't get done.

10. Which also leads into the fact that I'm a huge procrastinator. I wait till the very last minute to do all my important stuff (and not so important stuff).

Hope you're not already dreading having me around after this. I'm sure it was bound to come out eventually.

"Fitblr" Favorites

I woke up early for another morning jog. This time I went 3.1 miles and finished in an hour. I figured it took me an extra 15 minutes or so to wait at all the lights and go in and talk to my mom, so it was probably more like 45 minutes of actual run/walking. I wish I was faster. Right now I'm just trying to work up to a straight mile again before I work on speed, but I get so discouraged when people can basically walk faster than I can jog it.

One of the reasons I've started to work out and get motivated again is from reading two blogs that really have inspired me lately: One Twenty Five and Ben Does Life. I had heard of Ben Does Life here and there in fitness blogs that I've read over the past year or so. He's made local, national, as well as international news. Ben made headlines after making an incredibly inspirational Youtube video called "My 120 pound journey"(I cry every time). I'd definitely recommend checking it out, because you pretty much can't not get up and get exercising after you watch it. If he could run at 358 pounds (at a faster pace than me nonetheless), then you really can't make any excuses for yourself. Since Ben started he's run 5ks, 10ks, marathons, and even two Ironmans. His blog is pretty amazing! I've laughed, I've cried, and I've gotten jealous of the way he does life.

Liz at 125 is this Canadian bad ass, who recently announced she's skipping over to Europe to travel and climb Mount Everest! Seriously, I think she's super cool and just want her life. She used to be 200 pounds and then a few years ago (around the same time as Ben, started the blog to keep her accountable. Her goal weight is 125 and she's already down 50 pounds.

So I guess in a way, I owe Ben, and Liz, for getting me back out there, getting one step closer to my goals every day.

What are you waiting for? Go out and DO LIFE.

Love and Peace,
S

PS. I totally agree with Liz in that I hate the word fitblr.

Morning Jog/Walk

I mapped my "run" this morning which turned out to be roughly 2.6 miles. Farther than I thought it was going to be. Weather was perfect this morning! A comfortable 68 degrees and the sun was still behind the morning clouds. It took me roughly 45 minutes (because I walked a lot of it). I did however run the full way from the light at Division and the Parkway to the turn toward the water and the open space, past the volley ball courts. It was a major accomplishment seeing as when I first started running last year I could only do about half that before stopping to walk. Probably if I had really pushed myself I could have made it a bit farther too. I'm hoping by the time I go back to school in a few weeks I can run all the way from my house to the sculpture that marks the start of the TART trail. It's quite a bit farther for two weeks so we'll see. I guess it just depends how much running I can fit in between now and the 26th.

I told my dad he better start training too or else he won't be able to catch up (lies because he can already run 3 miles without really training... lucky). Now I just need to find a 5K to sign up for to keep me on track. Anyone know of any races coming up in Michigan?

Off to cross off thrift shopping with Sandy at Goodwill!

(file under perfect Sunday)

Summer Music Playlist

Songs I just can't stop listening to. Some are old, some are new, some are pop, some are indie, some are rock. All in my opinion are great for summer.

• Miss Me by Andy Grammer
• Who Says by Selena Gomez & the Scene (yeah, I know, but it's a good song to jam to with the windows down or sing shout along to while dancing around the house)
• Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
• Kids In Love by Mayday Parade (LOVE LOVE LOVE. I haven't been able to stop listening to it)
• Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
• Lost in my Mind by The Head and the Heart
• Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
• Talk on Indolence by the Avett Brothers
• She Gives it Away by Beth Hart
• Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too by Say Anything
• We Sing In Time by The Lonely Forrest
• The Galway Girl by Steve Earle (this song is for every season and every year)
• Me & All My Friends by Walk the Moon
• Coyote by The Lonely Forrest (I know I've mentioned this before)
• Fragile Bird (I've mentioned this one too)
• We're Gonna Make It by The Orange Peels
• Animal by Ellie Goulding
• When I Grow Up by Fever Ray
• Crazy Bitch by Buck Cherry
• The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga
• Dance Without You by Skylar Grey
• E.T./ Waiting for the End by Michael Henry and Justin Robinett
• Lisa Baby by Walk the Moon
• Going to California by Led Zeppelin (Classic)
• To Kingdom Come by Passion Pit (Passion Pit is always a good decision)

There we go. 25 songs perfect for the summer.... now that it's almost over. Listen to it on the beach, on a nice bike ride in the sun, on a run, on a walk, while reading a book while laying in the grass, blast it in your car, dance to it naked around your room, wake up to it, go to sleep to it, relax to it, or pump yourself up...

Live

Laugh

Love your life.

and love music.