Race Day

Emily, this photo is mostly for you - appropriately dressed in red, white, and blue with lipstick and mascara. A girl has always got to look her best! :)

friends

Last night I went to dinner with someone I've known since roughly the fifth grade. She was one of my best friends all through high school and I probably had more classes with her than anyone else in the history of my education with the exception of Matt Dickamore. I could tell you stories about the time that we sang opera in math class with our teacher Mrs. Fritch or how we had this zany chemistry teacher who was mistaken daily for a student. Courtney is married now and other than meeting up for dinner last summer, I haven't really talked to her since high school. I was amazed at how easily we just picked right back up where we left off. It makes me feel good to know that if I met her today, we'd be friends all over again.

It is easy to look back and think that we made strange decisions when we were in high school, but sometimes I think that the friends I had then (and have now) are really the best around.

Have a great weekend! I am off to DC for this.

Life in New York

When I pop out of the subway by my office every morning, this is what I see. Today, I stopped for a minute to take a photo because I feel like I'm starting to take this stuff for granted.

Not one of those days

I feel like I need to start blogging more often just so that I can reteach myself to have one long coherent thought. I feel as though my life these days is broken up into a million different scenarios that are all mashed together. Maybe that is why I am so good at making lists. You see, I make lists for all types of things. I make them at work - I have a notebook full of lists with the date written at the top of the page so that I can keep track of what I spend my days doing as well as keep track of everything that I need to do. If it is written down, there is a 98% chance that it will get done. I'm not sure what happened to the other 2% but I'm not perfect. There is my confession. I have lists on my phone. I make lists on church programs. I have a list on my wall of things that I need to take care of.

There are just so many disruptions here in New York and I am slowly but surely adjusting. My elevator gets no phone reception which I find to be one of the biggest annoyances in my life currently. I generally enjoy talking to people when I am walking home from work and when I have to cut someone off in the middle of something good just so that I don't have to stand outside in the rain or wind or freezing temperature, I feel bad. I ran into a friend on the subway the other day and just as we were in the middle of a meaty conversation, it was my stop. (True confession is that I went an extra stop just so that we could keep talking.) On Saturday, Traci and I were hanging out in a hotel in Connecticut just enjoying Saturday morning when the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate. Luckily we were able to get into the car to stay warm, but I didn't even have a jacket on me.

I hope this doesn't come across as complaining because everyone is always so good about rolling with the punches and letting me call them back when I am in my apartment or letting me get on the subway and call them back. I am just adjusting.

In other news, I darkened my hair a few weeks ago. I didn't want to go really dark, but I was thinking that I wanted to be a brunette again. A few days after I had made the change I was at a birthday party for a friend and she said to me, referencing my hair, "You know, I've always favored people with brown eyes and blonde hair." Then today at the dentist, I made some intelligent comment to the dentist and he said "How did you know that?" My reply was "Um. I'm smart?" The hygienist quickly piped in, "Just because she's blonde doesn't mean she isn't smart!!" What I'm really trying to tell you is that I just can't win.

You want a Spring playlist?

You've got your Spring playlist.

1. Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

2. Stuck in the Moment - Justin Bieber

3. And the Boys - Angus & Julia Stone

4. Last Tears - Indigo Girls & Brandi Carlile

5. Landslide - Gwenyth Paltrow & Glee

6. Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

7. Basketcase - Sara Bareilles

8. Running back to you - Matt Wertz

9. Goodbye to you - Scandal

10. I'm into something good - The Bird and the Bee

Weekend

This weekend was great. I was able to spend some good quality time with Traci on Friday and Saturday, which is always a treat. I invited her to attend an event with me in Connecticut where we intended on watching some basketball, but instead we ate large amounts of cheese and heard really drunk people sing horrible karaoke while playing shuffleboard. Every time I am around people who are drunk, I thank my lucky stars that I don't have to worry about looking like a fool in public and not remembering all the details. I always remember every detail. Unless it is at 4am and involves group congo line "ice skating" through the kitchen, but those are minor details and I have photographic evidence.

I was asked to speak in church on Sunday and so the balance of my Saturday was spent figuring out what I wanted to say. I thought it would take 20 minutes, but I was still typing away on my computer 4 hours later. Needless to say, I'm running 8-10 miles tonight either in the rain or on a treadmill. I vote for the treadmill.

In other news, here are some pictures from St. Patrick's Day that I put up on facebook. My boss gave me the hat and I wore it all day. And I ate a green bagel for breakfast.

When Erin got up and asked some guys in the pub if she could wear their hat, I knew that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Also, I am running the DC Half Marathon this weekend. I have a feeling that this weekend would have been a lot more enjoyable if I would have trained. You'd think I would know better by now. There are lessons I am being taught over and over - maybe one day I will internalize. Maybe.

Does this finally mean that I am an athlete?

Who do I think I am?

Doesn't get much more exciting.

A friend told me yesterday that she can't wait to come visit me in New York and follow in the footsteps of my exciting life. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Let me give you a run down of my day yesterday, which is VERY typical:

7:00 am: alarm goes off- snooze

7:09 am: snooze

7:18 am: snooze

7:27 am: snooze

7:36 am: snooze

7:45 am: realize what time it is and get out of bed

8:30 am: walk the half mile to the Subway because I have just missed the free shuttle from my building.

9:15 am: get to work late because I have just missed two subway cars by mere seconds.

6:00 pm: leave work

6:30 pm: realize that I have an hour until I am feeding the missionaries, so I go to Starbucks, order a tea and play a game on my phone that I am addicted to .

7:30 pm: eat dinner at the Greek Kitchen around the corner from my house with the missionaries. It was super delicious. I will be going back as soon as possible.

9:00 pm: activities committee meeting at the church at Lincoln Center.

10:20 pm: get home

10:30 pm: in bed

11:30 pm: talk to yourself about how you are crazy for being addicted to some stupid game on your iphone, say your prayers and go to sleep.

Other items of interest:

Advice on how to live on a tight budget. Let's just say that I might get invites sometimes because of the subway card I buy every month and my willingness to shove someone in a turnstyle with me.

Rebecca & Derek's fabulous wedding is finally up on Martha Stewart's website

Last night I was at Starbucks as previously mentioned and Adele's CD was playing in the background. I heard the people next to me talking and the conversation went like this:

Guy: Oh, this is totally my song!

Girl: Who is singing?

Guy: Here name is Adele (pronounced - Ah dee-lee)

I just shook my head. Learn how to pronounce her name if this is "totally your song."

Happy Wednesday!

Lessons I have learned

• Running in Central Park is good for my soul.
• You know how I run into people I know everywhere? Last night, Stef invited me to a screening of a web series she was in, "Octane Pistols of Fury" and I ran into a girl I knew in elementary school. I called her name and she knew me immediately which made me feel good considering that people I've vacationed with in recent years can't remember my face, let alone my name. Lesson learned - I don't only run into Mormon people. (case in point - I just got back from lunch where I ran into a friend)
• This past weekend was super girly - I loved every second of it. It was much needed, so thank you to all who were involved.
• I have a ton of weekend trips lined up: DC, LA, Houston, Duck, Charlotte, Seattle, & Orlando. By the end of this, my big birthday will be upon us. Heaven help me. I'd like to take suggestions in the comments for what I should do/go (other than to my bed to sleep it away) Lesson - I have really enjoyed spending my weekends at home. I am a sleep in/eat brunch kind of girl.
• No matter how much time passes and even though I think that I will somehow outgrow it, I need to take iron pills so that I don't want to sleep the day away. Will iron make me a morning person? Here is to hoping.
• My celebrity sightings continue - saw Robin Williams the other day and some designer that I can't remember the name of. I saw others, but there will be a full post about that experience.

Grateful for: Being Single

I have had some varied experiences with men as of late that I'd like to relay to you. I will keep this as anonymous as possible to protect the reputation of the guilty parties.

• I went speed dating a few months ago and had 6 matches, which I thought was a pretty good number considering the number of times I said "yes". I had a guy email me soon afterward and ask me for my phone number which I thought was considerate since he already had it via the speed dating "you got a match" email. He's told me at least 3 times now via text and email that he'd like to take me out and then has done nothing. I invited him to a group activity last week and ran into a friend while with him. She asked me how I met him and turns out, she met him speed dating, too. Apparently she got the same "funny" email from him that I did, asking for her number and he's taken her out and asked her on a second date already. Not so charming anymore, Speed Dating Guy.
• I had a guy stare at me on and off for over an hour the other night in the temple. Awesome. I had not showered in 2 days. Glad I ever spend time getting ready for anything. I have heard that he wants to ask me out. I'm not super optimistic.
• Got an email from a guy that I really care about that just said "Loser" with no other text.
• Had a great date with someone, he told me he wanted to see me again - that was a month ago and I have heard nothing.
• Got a text from someone today saying that they never see me on gchat anymore and they are wondering if we are still friends. I emailed and texted back. No response.

And before anyone out there thinks that I am a manhater, I will tell you that last night I had dinner with Scott and it was great - he is wonderful. I also had a man friend volunteer to run 11 miles with me on Saturday. The next man to tell me that women are complicated is going to get a punch in the nose.

On my to-do list

• Run 10 miles tomorrow morning in preparation for the half marathon I'm running at the end of this month.
• Find a place to take a friend visiting from the UK to dinner on Saturday night. eek. Any suggestions?
• I'm thinking of going grocery shopping, but I don't want to get overwhelmed.