I started and it kind of fell off in December (the cooking; the gym thing held on). For the most part, I’ve been hitting my twice a week goal. There were some weeks where I only went once or didn’t go at all but for the most part, I’d make it to the gym. Now that Daylight Savings is here and it’s still light after work, I’m hoping to add a day of running during the week which is important since race season is upon us.

So I’ve been working out, eating more healthily, and planning my meals. I’m trying to snack on fruit more often and even reduced the amount of sugar I consume by simply changing my tea cup (I switched out my 16 ounce cup for a 10 ounce cup) and enacting a one-cup maximum per day. Before, I had been drinking upwards of 2 cups a day, which was technically 4 cups. So it’s like I cut out 3 cups of tea per day. Isn’t math fun? One of my newest obsessions has been steel cut oats. The best thing is you can make a big pot on Sunday and eat them all week long. And the even better part is you can make a big pot in your slow cooker (I have one of those now. Best thing ever!).

So far my efforts have been working. I’ve really cut down on the amount of processed meals I’ve been eating and I feel much better. Combined with the workouts, I’m feeling pretty unstoppable. I’m down 11 lbs so far (and even kept off some of the weight I lost during my church’s annual fast at the beginning of the year) and I’m about 8 pounds away from my goal weight.

There has been some happy changes to my routine so it’s been a little bit of a struggle to maintain my gym nights but I’m encouraged that I’ll be able to keep things up. I like the small changes I’ve made and after almost 5 months, they’re still in tact. I look forward to my gym nights and while trying to figure out what to cook everyday is pretty hard, I enjoy cooking (though I still have my occasional bowl of cereal for dinner).

I’ve made a lot of small changes but do feel this way is more sustainable. I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to lose those last few pounds but mostly I’m excited that I’m on the road to a much healthier lifestyle.

A couple of weeks ago I received a survey from the School of Kinesiology at Michigan. Go Blue! (It’s a habit). Now, I LOVE filling out surveys. I have no idea where I picked up that habit but I love doing them. If you give me a survey, there’s a good chance I’ll fill it out.

Since taking some market research classes, I’ve become critical about surveys. I’ll read a survey and then silently critique it in my head. So I get this survey from my school and they were asking for prospective students and alumni to fill it out. A lot of the questions were related to how the school is now, which is in a completely different space than where it was while I was attending, 14 years ago (what?! Lies!) and it’s been 15 years (WHAT?! SHENANIGANS!) since I applied to the University so everything has changed. While I was in school, Kines was still considered a ‘Division’ despite the fact that we were the third largest school after LS&A and Engineering and you applied to the school/division directly as a freshman and that was it. Now they have a secondary admissions process for its upper level Athletic Training, Physical Education, and Sports Management programs (and apparently SM students can pursue a dual degree with the Ross School of Business). That’s some pretty serious stuff.

But I digress, I had a problem with the phrasing of some of the questions so after I finished, I emailed the person who sent the survey and relayed my issues. And yes, as I was writing the email, I couldn’t believe I was THAT person. But I have very valid critiques.

Here’s the issue: you’re reading the questions and a lot of them were “How do you think your study of Kinesiology prepared you for your career path?” and being the literal thinker that I am, I can’t answer that because I didn’t study Kinesiology; I studied Sport Management and Communication. I know you’re sending this survey out to a wide swatch of alumni, but at least phrase the question, “How do you think your study in the School of Kinesiology prepared you for your career path?” and so the semantics issue has been eliminated. Because technically, I can’t answer these questions because I didn’t study that. So you have a flawed survey and suspect data.

Yes, I was being nitpicky, but if you’re in market research you need to have your stuff down. And if you’re letting questions like this go through, then really? I’m supposed to take this seriously? Because I won’t.

So moral of the story? Don’t send me a survey unless you’re positive your questions are air-tight.

Because you’ll hear ALL about it.

So I searched the Internet to see what was out there. I’ve seen the metal medal (ha) holders but even at $20-something dollars, it was more than I wanted to spend. I also wanted to display my bibs and even though I’d love to plaster them on the wall like wallpaper, I don’t think anyone would like that but me. My friend Kim shared a great idea that I loved and pinned on Pinterest (follow me on Pinterest!). She framed the medal she received from her first half marathon and I thought that was a great idea. So I bought a picture frame and some matting that I could cut myself since I wanted to display my bib along with the medal and mocked one up. I loved the way it looked but then wondered if I was really going to hang so many pictures on the wall. I figure I have a few more years of racing ahead of me and that would be one massive wall of frames.

Then I ran my half marathon and received this medal. Do you see this medal? Do you see that it’s a cork stopper? That would require a shadowbox frame and I didn’t really want to get one. Since I plan on doing this race a several more times, there will be several more potential cork stopper medals so I had to look for another option.

I restarted my search following my Turkey Trot (which I didn’t write about, but it was Thanksgiving morning – a great way to make room for the feast) and came across Running on the Wall and found my inspiration. A couple of trips to Michael’s and Home Depot later, I had my very own bib holder.

While it’s not as polished as the ones at Running on the Wall, for less than 10 bucks (I’m guessing; I don’t have the receipts anymore), I have a fantastic place to display all of my bibs in one place. I’m still on the hunt for medal displays (I’m not sure if I want to make one myself or just buy one from them) so if you have any ideas or pins, let me know. Tag me in the pin or link it to this post. I’d love to see how you display your medals.

Side bar: I remember when I was practically dying to go out clubbing on a Friday night or just out hanging with friends. Never would I have thought being in my pajamas and in bed at 9:30 as a great evening. But it’s the best.

Anywho, one of my favorite things about SYTTD, besides watching people try on wedding dresses, is Randy. I absolutely adore him and if I could have him help me shop for my wedding dress, I would be in heaven. So imagine my surprise, and joy, when I received a call from a friend to come with her to attend a taping of “Randy to the Rescue” as she went dress shopping.

Me? Help you dress shop? AND I get to see Randy? What the what what?! Naturally I accepted and had to warn her not to get offended if I’m more excited to see Randy. Just being honest and managing expectations.

We showed up to the Fairmont Hotel not quite sure what to expect but looking forward to dress shopping. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (which you totally should. It’s a private account but if you send a request, I’ll accept. Just let me know and I’ll give you my handle), you would have seen one of the confections that caught my eye:

I want to put this dress on and twirl until I fall down.

Thankfully, the cameras did not follow us around the entire appointment. They had a mini camera attached to the top of the mirror to capture our conversations as she tried on dresses but it kind of made us hyper aware that it was there, but we eventually forgot about it. We didn’t make for very compelling television though. Between dresses we were either messing with our phones, chatting in whispered tones, or one of us (usually me) would wander away to look for more dresses. And Randy. But mostly dresses.

And Randy.

Randy Fenoli is just as charming in real life as on the television.

After a handful of dresses, the bridal consultant, Kim (if you’re shopping for a wedding dress, go see Kim Storms at Bridal Galleria in San Francisco. She was really helpful and amazing!) pulled out what turned out to be the winner for the night. Once my friend decided she was going to buy the dress, things got a little exciting and the cameras appeared around our station to film the exchange with Randy.

What? Cameras aren’t a usual thing at dress shopping excursions?

We had to wait until they were finished taping the runway portion with the cast bride, but then Randy came over. A funny thing happened the moment we started filming: we shut up. It got really awkward really quickly. No one knew what to say and no one really directed us. Her other friend and I both looked at each other as if we expected the other to give some hint as to what we were supposed to be doing. Do we share our opinions on the dress? Do we fluff the dress? Do we just sit here and look awkward? That last one? Okay! I can do that!

I wanted to laugh at the absurdity but then Randy appeared and charmed us out of our shoes (he is super nice and has a fantastic handshake. I really appreciate a good handshake), laughed, and then bled on the dress. Yes. He bled on the dress. He was smoothing down the skirt of the dress and was pricked by the straight pins they used on the dress and accidentally wiped it on the dress. Whoops.

We ended up having to film the “Say yes to this dress?” question twice and it was kind of awkward feigning suspense and excitement when we already knew the answer. So while I highly doubt we’ll make the final cut (though I wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself playing “Where’s Talda” since I was wandering around so much) it was a fun experience and my friend is going to make an absolutely stunning bride.

One of my goals this year was to get my finances into fighting shape. My budget program of choice, You Need A Budget (or YNAB – I wrote about it before) has been helpful to get me to think more in terms of staying on budget, however, I noticed that I was still struggling a bit between paychecks and unable to make any contributions to my savings accounts. So I decided to take the time to take advantage of the many webinars, video tutorials, and fairly active forum YNAB makes available to learn how to use this awesome program. What’s the point of having a sword if you don’t know how to wield it?

I signed up for one of the introductory webinars and, you guys, I learned to much! I can’t believe I didn’t take one sooner. I was content with just reading the how-to’s and tutorials but that obviously wasn’t working. Sometimes you just need additional help. During the webinar, I realized my problems had stemmed from an incorrectly designated budget account. I made my savings account and “on-budget” account, meaning that that money was being counted as spendable, but I was only spending money from my checking account. You can see where the issue lies.

Now that I’m properly educated on how to use YNAB, I’m excited to get going again. I reorganized my budget categories, correctly assigned my accounts, and instead of budgeting for the whole month, I’m now budgeting with each paycheck so I can make sure each dollar is being distributed. I have a few aggressive savings goals for this year that pretty much hinges on getting my finances correct. I have benchmarks for an emergency savings fund, my everyday savings, our wedding fund, our apartment fund, and I need to set aside some money for my life insurance that I want to set up and start making a real dent into my student loans. Look at how grown up and responsible I am.

Even though I just started on the new regime, I’m really excited. I keep checking my YNAB app as if there were some changes since I last added transactions (of course, there hasn’t) and I look forward to payday just so I can fiddle with my budget again. It’s nice to know that I’m taking the first steps towards being in control of my finances and to stop being controlled by them.

What are your financial goals this year? What are you doing to reach them?

2012 has been very, very good to me. I was incredibly blessed. I started working after being laid off for 2 years (and have been learning a lot!), celebrated the mister’s 30th birthday with him and made my first ever carrot cake (to delicious reviews), set a personal record for a 5k race, celebrated my 31st birthday in Olympic style, wandered around Yosemite National Park with the mister, and mentally and physically tested myself in a half marathon. All in all, this year was pretty great.

Happy Olympic birthday to me!

It’s us! In Yosemite! On bikes!

I “ran” 13.1 miles & all I got was this really awesome medal. And blisters.

I’m looking forward to 2013 because I know this will be an even better year. I do have some very exciting news I’m bursting to announce but I’ll hold off for now (no, I’m not engaged. I promise I’ll let you know when that happens). Just trust me, you’ll be excited too.

Aside from my annual resolution to make 2013 better than 2012, here are a few of the other things I’d like to work on in this new year:

My resolutions for 2013:

1) Continue getting stronger

After donating my gym fees for the majority of the year last year, I reintroduced myself and started getting my $10 worth each month. SO far it’s been almost 2 months since I started back up and while my weight loss has been pretty stagnant, I am feeling stronger and better, which is a pretty awesome thing. I’ve been doing a bit of cardio and then weight lifting a couple days a week and I look forward to my gym nights. I have a new gym, I have a semi-solid routine I do each day (I moved from the predetermined circuit section to using the other machines on the floor) and I’ve been slowly adding in new machines. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be using the free weights!

While, yes I’m really gunning to lose weight (which won’t happen until I rehab my eating habits) I’m really glad to be active again. I just feel better overall when I’m active. We’ll see how things go when the weather warms up again and I dust off my running shoes. I do believe my gym work will help improve my running, which leads us to…

2) Run!

I do plan on continuing to run (I have a clever DIY project I made over my Christmas break to display my racing bibs to share with you all) and I am hopefully going to be able to run 2 half marathons this year. I’m definitely going to revisit the Healdsburg Wine County Half Marathon and hopefully will be able to fit in a second one. I do plan on doing a couple of shorter runs as well because I really enjoy the race experience. And also the medals. Okay, I do it for the medals.

3) Practice Korean

Yes, this is on my list again. Don’t judge me! I do hope to carve some time out during my busy week to practice some Korean, even if it’s only for a few minutes. That’s better than nothing, right?

4) Have fun

Life is for the living. My goal is to have fun, whether that means going for a run, hanging out with friends, or spending some quiet time alone. I will enjoy what I’m doing and strive to do the things that I like to do. I want to explore and have new adventures, laugh, love, and have those moments where Instagramming/tweeting/Facebooking is the last thing I’m thinking about. I want to live less through my smartphone and more though myself.

Here’s to 2013.

The entire routine. Every day (except for 2 & 3, which would be once to twice a week).

That’s a crazy amount of products isn’t it? That’s what I thought. After mulling it over, I decided the best course of action would be to head to a different Origins store for a second opinion. So on a Friday after work, I headed towards the nearest Origins store and brought my conundrum to a very helpful saleswoman. She sounded appalled that I had been recommended so many items and after I told her my concerns (remember: combination skin, sun exposure and a new one: keeping my face looking fresh since I don’t wear makeup) and the caveat: I needed something that wasn’t complicated and can easily be done in minutes on a daily basis, she set about to put together a routine for me.

She gathered five bottles (5! That’s less than 8! We’re already doing better than the first time) and walked me through the entire routine, which was one she used herself. The base consists of the Checks and Balances face wash, followed with A Perfect World toner and A Perfect World Moisturizer. She added two additional optional products: Modern Friction and A Perfect World serum. This was something I could easily do every day, and honestly, is really only one more product than I was already using (face wash and moisturizer).

The starting lineup. Much more realistic for me.

Six months later and I’m loving my new skin care routine. My face looks cleaner for longer. I had a problem with oil creeping back to my face halfway through the day and making it seem as if I didn’t wash my face. Now my face still looks clean well into the afternoon. I ended up getting the Big 3 and the Modern Friction scrub, which is probably my favorite product out of the bunch. I am way too ridiculously excited to use it twice a week; like, scrub days are my favorite days of the week.

I’m glad I found a system that works for me. Yes, it is spendy but considering that I’m still using the same stuff I bought six months ago I’d say it was money well spent.

What I wasn’t expecting was the emotional reaction I had to the film. Fans of the comic book know that Uncle Ben dies (and Gwen’s dad, which I totally saw coming but was still caught off-guard. Oh, uh, spoiler alert) and the way they portrayed his death and the after-effects with Aunt May exclaiming how she couldn’t sleep and watching Peter listen  to an old voicemail from Uncle Ben really made me think about my dad. It was hard to push through the rest of the movie and I was a sobbing mess by the end of it. Not so much because of what happened but because of the emotions that were stirred up within me.

It’s been almost 3 years since my dad passed away and while I think I’m relatively okay, I know there are still…I’m not sure I’d say unresolved feelings but it’s still a very tender and emotional thing for me. It’s been so long and I realized I never really had a big, cleansing cry. No one knows how you’re supposed to grieve. Everyone reacts differently and I always just expected to have a really big, massive ugly cry and be okay afterwards. But I never had that emotional release.

My dad died and we had to instantly move into the transition mode. I didn’t really have time to think, “Oh what are we going to do?” We had to immediately figure out what to do. We had funeral arrangements to make, people and organizations to notify, and affairs to get in order. I spent the whole first year dealing with that, house hunting and moving, and finishing school. I’ve had smaller moments when I’ve had to cry and I’m sad but I haven’t sat and just bawled. Sometimes I wonder if I’m SUPPOSED to do that, if that’s something I should expect to do. Am I still experiencing these waves of sadness because I haven’t had that cleansing cry or really dealt with my emotions? Does it get easier than this? Am I going to be able to one day watch a movie with a father character dying and not cry because it reminds me of my dad?

I just don’t know. I guess the grieving process is never really done. At least, that’s been my experience so far. You’ll always kind of grieve in some way. I have my own triggers that brings me to tears. Grieving is just so singular. It’s weird because there’s no right way to do it and while I tell people that all the time, I haven’t really figured that out for myself just yet. I really wish there was a right answer. It’s just awkward. I feel like I’m just forever in this awkward stage. I can’t bring my dad back; we can only move forward. I just wish there was some kind of way to know that I was actually moving forward and not just treading water.

The mister has encouraged me to talk to a grief counselor and there really isn’t a reason why I shouldn’t. I can come up with several stupid reasons not to but nothing that resembles a real reason. I just need to know that it’s okay to feel the way that I do. It’s okay to cry every once in a while when something reminds me of him or because I’m just sad. It’s okay that I didn’t sit and have a big cry and it’s okay if I never have that big cry. It’s okay to still feel like this just happened even though it’s been almost 3 years. That it’s okay to feel this way because this is exactly how I feel. I can’t be wrong; there’s no wrong way to feel and that’s okay.

I just really need to know that it’s okay.

As I said before, I didn’t really train as much as I should have. This wasn’t the distance where I could mess around and expect to do well like I did for my last 5k, but yet I allowed myself to be talked out of running at every turn. That was a huge mistake. I was arrogant and stupid and grossly overestimated my ability to run 13.1 miles for the first time ever.

I was a bundle of nerves but ready or not, I was going to run. The race started fairly well. My whole plan was to alternate between running and walking (this helped to inflate my ego and confidence in my ability to finish this race without much issue. I’m trying not to smirk as I write this.) and because I’m a genius, I didn’t have anything to actually time myself to make sure I stayed on a 2 min run/1 min walk pace. I ended up running until I needed to walk, which worked for a while but I ended up running out of steam a lot sooner than I probably would have had I regulated myself.

I started touching the mile markers at 7 miles because I had never ran that far before and it seemed appropriate. Things were going well until around the 9 mile mark and then I hit the wall at mile 10. I could barely convince myself to move and ended up walking most of the last 3 miles, which was kind of disappointing. I thought about quitting several times during the race but when I touched that 13 mile marker I was proud that I kept going through the sore muscles, blistered toes, and a slightly wounded ego.

I did end up running across the finish line (even though the pictures make it look like I just walked) and my final time was 3:10:31. While I hoped to finish under 3 hours, I’m happy to have finished at all. Sure I could barely move and had to shuffle but I conquered 13.1 miles and had the medal to prove it.

I wore that medal all day. Looked great while shopping for snacks at the gas station on my drive home.

Would I do this again? Abso-freaking-lutely! I’m already looking for my next half and I’m sure I’ll sign up for the Healdsburg race again next year. Would I do a full marathon? Right now I say no knowing full well that I could change my mind later on (remember when I said I wasn’t going back to school?). Let’s just say I’m keeping my options open.

I can do that. I ran a half marathon.