Anybody Out There?

Oh boy, it's been a while (again)! I can not believe it's been almost 3 months since I last updated the blog (again)! How is this possible? How is it mid-July? How is summer half over? Where is 2012 going???

So I have all of May and some of June logged in my planner for my "Gratitude" blog. I'm trying to piece together the rest and hopefully will be caught up by the end of this coming weekend. Why do I do this to myself? It takes 5-10 minutes a day to do the blog and I keep falling so far behind. I had Dr. Oz on the other day and Dr. Weil was his guest. He said keeping a gratitude journal makes you live longer--how about that?

A quick update on the last few months:

- I lasted with not eating any meat whatsoever for 7 weeks. It was a great experience and I will definitely do it again. I visited Grandma & Grandpa in the beginning of May and had a little bit of chicken. I've been gradually inching back to eating chicken 1-2 times a day. It's time to read a book or two that will totally gross me out---my plan is no meat for at least one month each quarter. August is my "no meat" month for Q3.

- I started running! Yes, me. I mean, I'm not running everyday or anything, but I'm trying to not hate it. A bunch of us in Andy's family decided to run Avalon's "Run from the Sun" 5k this summer in memory of Melissa. I ran for the first time in years in June; I did 1 mile and thought I was going to die. Yesterday, I ran 3.2 miles (on a treadmill, no less) and I was so excited. The race is Sunday and I'm confident I'll be able to run the whole thing. I'm in love with "yurbuds"---earphones that are designed by marathon runners that stay in your ears and sound great. I saw them on The View one day and had to try them out, they've made a huge difference!

- I've been to 6 DMB shows so far and each one has been filled with incredible memories. A few were lackluster sets but I was happy to spend the time with such special friends. Mansfield N1, Camden N1 and both Pittsburgh shows were especially great.

- I've fallen in love with reading again. It had been so long since I read a book and now I have a list a mile long of books I want to read. So far this summer I've read The Necklace, Water for Elephants, The Middle Place, American Idol- The Untold Story (please do not judge, it was very interesting and it's actually fascinating what a business/brand American Idol has become) and half of 50 Shades of Grey (so far I could take it or leave it). Next on my list, The Help.

- I'm loving my job at GlobalOptions. I get to meet new people all the time and I never have the same day twice. I still feel like I have a lot to learn but I am getting there. I feel so lucky that this opportunity fell in my lap (thanks Ian!)

- Andy & I decided to extend our lease for at least an additional 6 months. We love the house (minus a few quirks and a very hot 3rd floor; ie: my office.) We have no desire to move again unless it's into a house that we are buying so it works for us to stay a bit longer for now. It kills me to pay such high rent but we are in a great area and it is nice not to worry about the bills when the A/C isn't working, the sink is dripping, screens need replacing and so on.

- We booked a couple of trips and I'm reallllllly looking forward to them! We're going to CA in September. I'll spend a couple of days with Becky and then Andy will meet me and we'll stay with Craig & Debbie for a few days. We're going to the Irvine show and will get to see Maureen and a few other Cali friends. In November we're re-doing our honeymoon; 9 days in Aruba!! I hate to wish the summer away but this fall is going to be awesome!

I'm sure there's a whole lot more I could write about but it's time to get working on the Gratitude blog. Hopefully this is the last time I have to play catch up like this!