Spring Fever

It has been a wild few weeks!

Boyfriend had to go out of town for a bit, leaving me and Kitty to party. Then, I spent some time at home with my parents and my new niece Gabby, leaving Boyfriend and Kitty to...nap?

Now we're back in one place, and it is wonderful! We both took Wednesday off to spend time together and things are getting back into full swing. I even did my first post-marathon run! Six miles up the big hill by our apartment.

We're both winding down our second semester of graduate school. After this, I'll have two semesters left and Boyfriend will have three. It is exhausting working full time and going to school full time. I am taking extra classes in the accelerated track, just so I can finish before him, but ... eternal bragging rights ... ;)

For our one year celebration in March, I gave Boyfriend a bird feeder. We love it! In the mornings, we can sit and watch the birds! We're 90. They're just so fun to look at! We all like it, except Kitty. She makes these weird yipping noises because she wants to hunt, kill and eat them.

Running ... Away Part 2

I didn't die!!

Poster Emily made me :D

Things went really well! I was slow and everything in my body hurts. It was a journey! I wanted to quit a hundred times and I went through the whole spectrum of emotions-- from deliriously happy, to so defeated. I am so glad I did it though. I listened to a ton of Taking Back Sunday and Katy Perry. The last few miles I had Roar on repeat.

 

I feel accomplished :) During the race, I reflected (because there was so much else to do) on my life. Not the whole 25 years, specifically the last two to three and everything that has changed.

I've done four marathons now. The first three very clearly marked major life events, I don't tend to be cheesy, but it feels symbolic. My first marathon was the day after my college graduation. Yep. That was how I chose to celebrate; in bed at 8 p.m. and up and out of the house by 6. It was a real party. The next was a few months later, just one week before I was getting married.

After I got married I didn't run for awhile. I said I got busy, tired, distracted ...when truthfully I got miserable. To steal from Ann Prachett's Sacrament of Divorce, "I knew how we treated each other, and it wasn't well." Being married didn't change how we treated each other either, in fact it made things worse; unhealthy and unsafe.

Eventually, I broke away and out of the cycle. Eighteen months after my last marathon, and with no training under my belt, I signed up for another race. This time I ran the 26.2 miles, three days before my divorce would be finalized. I don't know if it actually had anything to do with what was going on in my life at the time, but that race was euphoric. I had literally been running from so many things in my life that it felt good to work it out on the pavement.

Spencer, Paula, Me, Mom

This year, nothing big is happening. Not in my life at least. Except the realization that everything is OK. Well, not OK -- better than ever. It has been a wild ride, with some drastic changes, but I'm OK with them. I know that to be happy, I can't hold back. I don't regret anything, I'm not the least bit sorry and I would do it all again. Every. Single. Thing. Every "mistake". I have realized I don't want forgiveness from anyone but myself. Because all of my missteps got me to where I am today and that is a wonderful place to be.

Running ...Away!

I have a marathon this weekend!

What the what?!?

I'm actually looking forward to it. It is my fourth overall. I ran the Salt Lake City marathon last year and did better than I ever have done before. Maybe, that is why I am so excited to run it again this year. I have three theories:

1. I did great last year and am looking forward to running it again, even if I don't do as well. The Salt Lake Marathon has so much energy. It is perfect.
2. This last year has been one of the best of my adult life, I'm happy, I'm carrying that momentum through to this race.
3. My brain could be broken? While I'm happy, I'm also busy. I'm working full time, going to graduate school full time so that I can graduate in four semesters and I moved again.

Either way, I'm looking forward to Saturday.

Support Team:

Cute baby & dumb friend

cute dad, mom is running the 1/2

Playlist: A lot of Brand New, Katy Perry and Taking Back Sunday
Gear: Arm band for iPod, Minimus New Balance Shoes
Plan: Eat at every aid station, FREE FOOD!
Goal: Last year I finished about 3:54, I would like to have a sub-four again. But with work and school, training has been minimal, so I just want enjoy my race and not die.

This week has been a little rough, Bella (the dog) has been sick. I keep monitoring to look for perkiness. The tests from the vet are inconclusive thus far. So I'll run out that worry too :). I'll write an updated post after. Unless I die.

Part Two of Dealing with a Hoarder: Someone Who Breaks Things or Throws Them Away

Happy Easter!

This was a great weekend. Boyfriend and I made wonderful granola bars to send off to his sister who is on deployment. They turned out great, were easy and were something I had never made before. So, hopefully she likes them.

I'm also supposed to make a confession. A few weeks ago I complained about all of Boyfriend's hoarding. I mean...come on. It is a little ridiculous. But, I'm not the only one who didn't know what I was dealing with.

The same night I wrote that blog, I accidentally threw away the screws that hold our TV onto the mount. He MADE me dig threw the OUTSIDE garbage bin to try to find them. I gave up almost immediately, which made him incredibly happy*. I found the first two screws. He found the second two, one of which I immediately dropped back into the trash. It was an accident. Finally we  dug all the screws out and the TV was assembled without trouble.

We went about five weeks accident free. A pretty decent amount of time considering we brought the cat home too. Until this weekend ...

Last night ... I ran over Boyfriend's phone with his own car. It was an accident! I was backing out of my parents driveway and he was running after me when he dropped his phone inconveniently underneath the wheel of the car. We didn't know what was going on until the sickening crunch and it was already too late.

Poor phone. Poor Boyfriend, what is he getting himself into?

Date Night: March Madness

Today, was a day!

Originally, I was going to the Farmer's Market with my friend. But, then those planned changed and I was going to a family Easter event. But then THAT turned into, "No dumb Whitney, family Easter is on Sunday. Duh" And Boyfriend was like, "We have date night."

Date night is something we've been doing since September. It. Is. Awesome. We get pretty busy. We both work full time and are going to graduate school, so we don't always make time to hang out without the distractions of TV and homework. So, date night is one night a month and this is how it works.

Alternate planning months, plan one activity and go to one restaurant neither of you has been to before. And, everything that is planned has to be a surprise.

This afternoon, Boyfriend and I drove down Salt Lake. It was his planning month. We went to a great vegan/vegetarian restaurant called Zest. Our food was great and the service was super friendly. A little, slow but not in an annoying way, in a laid back way. They let you enjoy your food and the atmosphere.

This scary spider hung out with us until we went

inside because Boyfriend was getting a sunburn.

He then became our friend.

I want to make it clear, Boyfriend is a meat-eater. For the first two and half years I knew him he a) ignored me because I was vegan and b) made fun of me because I was vegan. He has completely come around now though, to not teasing. Not to vegan eating. I'm pretty sure Kitty already likes him better because he slips her shrimp and chicken under the table.

After lunch, I had no clue what we were doing. We went the the Salt Palace and started walking around. There was a Health Care Provider conference going on, which I thought was weird and maybe the worst idea ever. Luckily we walked past that.

We kept walking. FOREVER. I had no idea the Salt Palace was so big! Finally, we made it to convention center five where they were having ... the tattoo convention ... at first I was confused. I had no idea what we were doing there. Kind of thinking, "Is this a last resort thing Not Babe?"

But then, of course, he explained to me. He knew I had been throwing around some ideas for a tattoo and the convention had artists from all over the country and all over the world. I could find an artist I liked or at the very least get a pretty solid idea of what I liked or didn't like. I loved it!! He always has the best ideas (I'm proof of that!).

After about an hour and a half of walking around the convention, I took the plunge! I found someone I liked and started to discuss. The rest of the blog will be conducted through photo entries. Thank you.

Look. At. My. Face.

The mountains, based off of this image of Ben Lomond peak.

Brad from Las Vegas! He was nice. 

Eeee

Blood AND Gore

Back home, after some of the oozing has stopped!

I love it! I think it is gorgeous and dainty. It'll look better in a few days when it is done oozing and scabbing and peeling. ;)

P.S. Boyfriend is now currently winning for date night! Something we haven't done before and something we won't be doing again.

P.S.S. Boyfriend mentioned that I should add a little bit of info ON the tattoo and why I chose it. It is pretty simple. I love the mountains. I love hiking. Being in nature makes me feel nice. When I left Utah and moved to Greece and California in 2013, the only thing I missed besides people were the mountains. They're a nice reminder of home and they make me happy. 

Updates About Us, but Mostly About Kitty

For the last couple of weeks I have been very angry. But, since there hasn't been a way for me to let this out, it has been beneath the surface and spitting out at the people I care about most. Mostly: Mom (I've hung up on her twice this month) and Boyfriend. I might have been snappy at my dad too, but I'm way too scared to yell at him. So, I'm angry AND whimpy. I'm only super mean to the people who won't yell back. Real great.

Boyfriend and I have been
together a year now. Crazy

Kitty begging for food.

I got a great new shirt.

I know, that getting over large trauma is a complicated process. Grief is a complicated process. The last couple weeks I have been focusing on my anger and it has made me negative.

So, as of now, I'm going to do my best to move on from this stage. Maybe I'll return to it, but I realize how dumb it is to focus on the things that suck when there are so many things that are awesome.

For example(s):
1. Kitty is doing FANTASTIC! She and Boyfriend are best friends, even though he sometimes still pretends not to like her.
2. I'm taking a photography class with my mom. We spend time together. It's nice.
3. I love my new apartment
4. I don't hate my job
5. I'll be done with school the first part of December! I'll have my Masters of Professional Communication, which I think is kind of like being a wizard? I'm not sure.

I know I'll be sad and angry still, but I'm making a conscious effort to move past the crap and focus on the good. For my own good, and ... so I can stop yelling at everyone around.

The Exodus of Kitty

When I was about 9, my parents let me get a kitten. Her owners were standing outside of Winagers in Roy and giving away the litter. I picked a small black one and named her Abby. She was sweet, but a little a wild.

The black spot is the back of Nick's head
as he waves goodbye.

A few weeks later, at my youngest brother's birthday party, my aunt picked up Abby and looked at me like I was nuts. "This cat is a boy, dipshit." Just kidding. She didn't say that. But! It was a boy. We promptly renamed him Diablo, since his favorite activities seemed to be biting, clawing, drinking from hoses and chasing the neighborhood dogs.

His wild side couldn't be contained and shortly after we got him, he ran away. To sow his wild oats, go adventuring or whatever.

A few months later, I convinced my parents to let me try again. It was September, and I remember my mom picking me up from school so that we could go search the pounds. We went three days in a row and I still couldn't find the right kitten for me. I wanted one that looked exactly like Diablo, all black. But, this time an actual girl.

At the end of the third day, we found her. She was sitting in the drop box outside of the pound. I always thought it was so nice that she never actually had to go in the pound, she was just waiting outside for me.

On the way home, I named her Babybelle. Since, Diablo's nickname was always Baby, I thought I would skip the extra step and just name her Baby. But, I never called her this. We all, very originally, took to calling her Kitty. Kitty became her official name when a couple of years ago my brother's wife said, "Whose Babybelle?" If after almost ten years Lindy didn't know that Kitty was Babybelle, then Kitty was probably just ... Kitty.

For the last 15 years, Kitty has lived at my parents, ruling their backyard. She had her heyday, where she brought in all sorts of creatures and set them free in the house. She even brought a bird in once and left it to fly around the living room. I still vividly remember Nick, about 8, in his underwear, screaming and fluttering at the top of the stairs, "Kitty's got a bird! Kitty's got a bird!"

She developed rivalries with other cats and more importantly my Dad. After years of doing battle, he scares her when she walks in the house, she poops on him while he sleeps, Kitty was finally banished from the house. She quickly went from an inside cat, living the life of luxury, to an outside cat with a bed in the garage.

When I moved back last year, I knew that the next time I left I would be taking her with me. As Nick put it so eloquently, "There's no way mom and dad are letting you leave without taking Kitty."

Last night, we officially moved her into the new place. She's nervous and has spent the majority of her time hiding underneath the chaise, but she is adjusting more quickly than I thought she would. I bribe her with soft food to move things along.

It is officially starting. Boyfriend, me, Kitty. Adventures.