Throwback

I don't usually follow themes.  Anywhere.  On my blog.  On Instagram.  On Facebook.  But I do like Throwback Thursday because I am nosy and I really enjoy knowing about people's pasts.  Maybe it's the psychologist in me.  I've been thinking of doing a post about my high school years to let you all know what I was like before I became interested in the healthy lifestyle for a few weeks now, and I almost posted it yesterday.  I realized that today is Thursday, so it would be perfect for Throwback Thursday.  So, long story short, here's a little history of me as a high school student.  I will begin with freshman year, and each Thursday for the next month I will discuss each year.

Freshman Year

At the beginning of the year, I was still in the midst of my "awkward" phase.  I am certain that my "awkward" phase lasted longer than most.

My friends and I spent all of our time in my bedroom at my dad's house.  My sister and I had our own computer with THE INTERNET!  We spent time switching between making CDs (that all sound exactly the same when I listen to them now) and chatting in chat rooms, probably with 59-year-old creeps.  We definitely used AIM a lot to chat with our love interests.  Surprising we had any boys interested in us.

I still thought I was an actress and preformed in several plays.  I somehow convinced my best friends to do it with me.  Now I just stick to stage managing.

When we weren't on the computer, we were outside.  None of us could drive, of course, so we walked a lot.  I think this walking helped me grow out of my awkward phase.  This was the extent of the exercise I got.  

The February annual trek to Santa Barbara began to visit my soul mate.  It was during this trip that I fell in love with Santa Barbara and was convinced I was going to follow in her footsteps and go to UCSB.  Spoiler alert: I went to Santa Barbara City College for a year before returning home for a boy.  This annual February trip has lasted to the present day, except now we don't travel to Santa Barbara.  We travel to wherever she is living.  Except this year, when she came to visit us!

We had a LOT of sleepovers.  We also took a lot of pictures with disposable cameras.  And ate a lot of junk food.  And we laughed a lot.

We were also really annoying big sisters.  We shared a line with our little sister who's bedroom was downstairs.  We figured out that our phone had a mute button, so when she was talking on the phone, we were always listening.  

I finally got my braces off and graduated to a retainer.  Which I wore religiously until a year and a half ago when I forgot it on a three-week long trip and it didn't fit when I returned home.  Oops.

Freshman year was my absolute favorite year of high school.  We were so carefree and fun.  There was rarely any drama and we couldn't drive, so we were forced to spend time together.  None of us had jobs, so all of our time after school was spent together.  I am still friends with every single one of the people you see in these photos, and I thank freshman year for bringing us together and keeping us close.  As the years went on, we began growing into our own skin and finding ourselves, which has to happen, but this year, we were one cohesive unit.  And it was incredibly fun.

Tell me about your freshman year in high school.

I'm a Guest!

Heather at Run like a G! asked me to guest post a few weeks ago and today is the day!  If you feel like reading why I am terrified to run a marathon (because I am) please stop by her blog, or click here.  And if you don't follow her, please do.  She's one of the most lovely people I've ever met and her posts are always so positive and inspiring.

Feel free to give me reasons as to why I should not be terrified to run a marathon, because I have been throwing around the idea in my head for awhile now.

Thank you Heather for the wonderful opportunity!!

Outside All Day

Thank you all for your well wishes! That was one of the stranger things that has happened to me. I definitely stayed on the couch all evening and fell asleep early. My fever was gone by morning and I have been totally fine ever since.

Yesterday started with some grooming for Milo. He obviously adores getting his nails trimmed.

Then Boyfriend and I went with his dad and brother who are in town to visit his grandpa. It was gorgeous and out of cell service, so I had all day to just be away from technology and off the grid. It's always so refreshing. We had been invited to a sushi party that evening.

We were discussing the fact that I don't remember not having sushi parties and that they are just such a way of life for me. I've been so lucky. And maybe if this teaching thing doesn't work out, I can get a job rolling sushi. ;-)

This little lady and I spent a lot of time laughing at each other.

Today, I wasted a lot of time in the morning avoiding my run. I eventually got to it and it was so gorgeous outside, I got totally lost in it.

I now have a lovely runner's tan that I've been missing for a couple of weeks since I haven't been outside much lately. I came home and sat on the couch for a few minutes before getting to my next outdoor adventure.

My mom, sister, the baby, Malcom, and I all went for a lovely hike in the redwoods. My mom was in her natural state, of course.

It should be known that my mother has an obsession with Trillium so she has to take a picture of every single one in the forest.

I always feel so rejuvenated when I am in the woods. Nature is where I am meant to be. I guess it's just so cleansing to me and I don't even realize how much staying inside all day kills me until I spend an entire day outside.

I'm pretty lucky to live with the big trees. She's pretty lucky to be growing up here too.

Needless to say, I was starving when I got back to my dad's. Thank goodness dinner was ready for me. I had to take a picture because it was so green.

It's back to the grind tomorrow. We only have three more weeks at our placement before we go to our last placement! I cannot believe how close I am to finishing it.

Where do you feel the most cleansed?

Where Did My Mojo Go?

Some how, I have lost my blogging mojo. This vacation has totally thrown off my schedule and I think my blogging spirit is on vacation right along with me. I honestly have forgotten what day it is about 85 times this week. I've really enjoyed getting to the gym and any time of the day and having nothing planned. Yesterday I did sprints. Really fast, really hard.

Then I obviously enjoy pain, so I did leg day. I took a long time between sets, let's just put it that way. The guy at the front desk said as I was leaving, "Wow, how long were you here? Three hours?" Well, no, but I did move a little slower after those sprints.

Boyfriend's dad is in town and this is my very first time meeting him. He was incredibly nice and took us (including my mom) out to dinner. I snapped this on the way down to te resturaunt. I mean, it's too ugly here.

Today, boyfriend had to go back to work. I was up a little later which meant I got to the gym a little later. I ran about 35 minutes and realized that the Crossfit-inspired circuit class was beginning. I debated going out there and then received a text my my workout partner that she was there. 

My decision was made for me. It was a workout for time. We had to partner up and do 100 reps of each move before moving on to the next. Let me tell you how much of a beast my partner is. She just had a baby and we came in second.

I finished up with a cool down to get to six miles for the day. When I got home, I was feeling rather strange and achy. I figured it was from the hard workout and I needed to eat. Well, I still felt strange after a snack and I took my temp.

For someone who runs cold and averages 96.6 for her temperature, this is pretty high. This is also the weirdest thing because I have no other sickness symptoms. Just extremely tired. I took it 4 times over and hour and it hasn't gone down. If you need me, I will be on the couch for the rest of the evening. Luckily I have this guy to keep me company.

Have you ever had a fever with no other symptoms?

The Rest of the Visit

Here's another picture from our mini hike on Sunday. The view was just too much beautiful to not share.

Yesterday began at the bagel shop again. I opted for breakfast at home. There's only so much eating out I can do before I get tired of it and want to eat my own food. We spent the day in my college town before heading back so that I could meet up with my former mentor teacher and the ladies. When I got back, I took my soul mate's husband for a run.

I took him down to the local trail that I absolutely refuse to run on alone. It's not safe. On the way back there is a massive hill. We went from running 7 minute miles to an almost 9 minute mile really quickly. I was shaking when we got home and luckily we had this colorful dinner ready for us.

We finished the night with fruit salad and games.

When I finally made it into bed, I found a belated Valentine's gift from the boyfriend (who had also bought me a new purse earlier in the day).

He's the sweetest. I can't wait for my back rubs when he gets home from work on Thursday! We were all tired and passed out early.

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye this morning. We finished the trip the way it began, at the bagel shop. Then I headed to the gym.

The rest of my day was uneventful, just how I like it. This introvert needs some alone time.

Do you have a favorite breakfast place?

Friends In Town

Saturday morning began with first class service from our good friend. She's fabulous.

It was also someone's half birthday (already!!!!!!!!!!!) so I stopped by my sister's house to watch the main event: eating her first food.

She was confused about the yam. But she and Bailey had a really long talk about it, and Bailey can't wait for her first food.

The main event of the day was when my soul mate and her husband got into town. They are I siting for the weekend. My mom made homemade Mac and cheese and we played board games.

Today, I was up before the rest of the house and decided to get my long run in early so I could spend the rest of the day with my guests. I was so pleased to see that it was absolutely beautiful outside, especially since it had rained nonstop (quite literally NONSTOP) since Friday morning. There was no way I wasn't going to run outside.

It was so lovely to be out in the fresh air.  I mean, look at that bright blue sky!  Apparently this was the eye of the storm, so it's been great while it's lasted.

I was incredibly thirsty, so I rushed straight into my dad's house and gulped some water without cooling off, so I finished my cool down on the treadmill.

After a shower, the group headed to my soul mate's favorite bagel shop (we are going all four days she's here). They have gluten free bagels, but I opted for a salad. And a huge coffee.

Then we made our way south to boyfriend's home town. It's actually a little tourist town with Victorian houses and little shops. We conveniently went while they were having their annual volunteer fire department game day. We had no idea it was happening, but we pretended like we went on purpose.

Then we made our way to the beach where my mom was in her natural habitat.

We also did a little hiking.

It felt so good to be out in nature. If I go too long without it, I don't feel quite right.

We ended our adventure at a fabulous little vegetarian resturaunt where I got chili and when I declined the bread, he offered to sub a gluten free chocolate chip muffin. Umm. Yes please.

Notice the compression socks. I did wear them all day. Now we are back at the house just relaxing and hanging out. My mom is catching up on technology. Apparently she has had too much nature...

I get an entire week off this week, so I am enjoying tonight like it's a Saturday night. I'm in my pjs at 7:30pm and will be asleep by 9. I'm so wild.

Do you get a long weekend?