T-cubed. Three Things Thursday.

Heather & Me in Tuscaloosa!

 1. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason. I had been trying to figure out for awhile now how I was going to ask my good friend from college, Heather, how to be a bridesmaid in our wedding.  I really wanted to ask her in person and well, she lives in Memphis and works for a crazy sports agent who basically never lets her off work so I had basically come to the conclusion that I was going to have to ask her over the phone. When I heard she was going to Chicago this past weekend and had a 3 hour layover in the Atlanta Airport on her way back to Memphis, I was like "oh oh oh I am coming to see you - we can do dinner" ... so her and I (and her mom) had dinner Sunday in the Atlanta airport and I asked her to be a bridesmaid. ...she said yes... and we were/are both so excited and thrilled.  Her and I have so many funny and amazing memories from Tuscaloosa and she has been more than excited from day one about this wedding planning stuff.  Now Jimmy has to let her off work - I hope 500+ days is enough notice.  I would like to thank Michael Orr for sharing his free AirTran tickets with Heather. Without him and his generosity this past Sunday never would have happened.

2.  Yesterday as I was pulling out of my apartment complex to go to Walmart for a pizza I saw some dude wailing on his girlfriend.  I initially just thought "oh my god" and kept driving but then as I watched the play by play in my rear-view mirror I had to turn around to say something (since I hoped someone would stop for me if I was in her shoes) and ended up calling the Chamblee cops.  It made for an intense trip to Walmart full of 3 police officers, russian translators, and me and 2 other women who stopped having to give our statements.  Looking back - I would totally call the cops again on someone beating their girlfriend.  You just never know how it could play out if you didn't. I felt like a good samaritan for the day.  She ended up wanting to leave with him and not press charges.  I really hope she is okay...

3. Today is my last day of no sweets and only one diet coke per day.  I cannot believe I made it a whole 30 days with no cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candy etc and only 1 diet coke per day... my office used to joke that I sweat out diet coke.  I think I will totally stick to the only one diet coke per day and move to only one sweet per week.  But I a cannot wait to eat a monster cookie from corner bakery, a strawberry and cream cupcake from cami cakes, and a chocholate chip cookie from the cafe in my building.  Surprisingly, after I made it thru week 1, it really was not hard to stay away.  It didn't help that I had the support of Kyle and my whole office.

and there you have it kids. another edition of three things thursday. 1 more day to the weekend!  I hope you have something fun planned. =)

30Day Personal Revolution

One of my favorite Twitter people is @jesswuv (blog: jess runs) and a little while back she elected to do something called "tr30days" in which she introduce me to this website. It is all about a 30 day personal resolution. And well, 30Day Personal Revolution is exactly what it sounds like -- you spend 30 days doing things to improve your life. You make a bucket list and swear by it for the next 30 days. I thought the idea was wickedly cool and since I like to steal awesome ideas I have stolen it.

What is even cooler is that I mentioned it in passing to my coworkers and all 3 of us are doing this in September. You'll notice that I am cutting sweets out and limiting myself to 1 diet coke per day. The WHOLE cupcake loving office is doing this to hold each other accountable.

So my bucket list for the next 30 days. Starting today. September 1.

:: FIT ::
1. Run 3 days a week (dogless), 1 run with dog, 4 spin classes, and 4 awesome swim sessions.
2. Ab workout - 1 per day before all my evening shows.
3. No sweets. No cookies. No cupcakes. No ice cream. Nothing. this.is.gonna.be.so.hard.i.will.die. *i am a cupcake & cookie lover*
4. Only 1 diet coke per day.

:: SHARE/CARE::
1. Take the 4 bags of clothes to Goodwill that have been sitting in my closet.
2. Finally get involved with Girls on the Run here in Atlanta

:: PERSONAL ::
1. Read at least 1 chapter per night before going to bed.
2. Go back to having 4 date nights with Kyle J per month. me.him.me.him
3. Take a Saturday afternoon to get a good (but cheap) massage - my body needs it
4. Put at least $400 in savings to use towards the wedding, my next car, or the future move back to DC. Just save it.

why do i run?

one of my favorite blogger’s allie posted on the reasons why she runs (you can find her blog and her entry here).  and with that and even though i do not hit the pavement or treadmill nearly as much as i want and need to, i have decided to piggy back her idea and explain why i run.

we all know i started running about this time last year (holy moly, my runniversy is coming up in may!!) and i did so because i got involved with a little organization called team in training.  i got involved because my friend from middle school and high school was diagnosed with CML (chronic myelogenous leukemia) which is a non-curable, but manageable form of leukemia.  i wanted to do something to show i cared and wanted to help her and find a cure. so. i ran. and i walked. and i ran some more. and i loved it.

so a year later (almost) i am still running and in bullet form, these are my reasons.

• i have a stressful job and sometimes i just need to exhale
• sometimes i need to have a hour alone to myself
• so i can eat cupcakes and lots of them
• the running clothes – so funky and fun
• it gives me a reason to discover more great music
• the running community is just inspiring
• it is an excuse to take a hour away from the office to enjoy the weather
• there is nothing like crossing the finish line of a marathon – total sense of accomplishment – even more than graduating college
• finishing ANY race is a feat and makes you thankful and grateful for your abilities
• i have a legitimate excuse to go get a massage
• knowing that you have burned 1000 calories before most people are awake is a pretty awesome feeling
• it reminds me to shave my legs more than 2 times per week
• you cannot rely on anyone else to make you do well – how you do is all a direct result of how you prepared
• the free tech tees at the end of races. oh and the medals
• i can eat brownies and cookies without feeling too guilty
• i know that if i am ever being chased i can make it pretty far and hopefully escape
• Most importantly, it’s all about the mental toughness
• last but certainly not least – because i want to and because i can

think about it … why do you run?!