And We're Off....And We're Both Losing Weight

Tomorrow I'm headed to Dewey Beach, Delaware for the 4 day weekend with some of my closest friends. It should be an awesome weekend, especially since my favorite cover band, Mr. Greengenes, will be playing there Sunday night and the weather gods are calling for sunny skies (fingers crossed). Super stoked! The last time I went to the beach my friend commented that he hasn't seen me in a new bathing suit in the last five years, so I decided to fix that. I bought this bathing suit from the Oakley Store last night

Oakley
Top: $40
Bottom: $35

..I'm pretty pleased with my last minute find. I only had one requirement; it had to be strapless or have removable straps, as I'm going to be in a wedding in August and the bridesmaids are wearing a strapless tea-length dresses. Nothing worse than having crazy tan lines with a nice formal dress. Having a fairly large chest I thought it would be more difficult because the strapless bathing suits that are trendy right now make my boobs feel like a sausage...kinda...maybe...your thoughts?

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! :)

In my very first blog post, I talked about my friend Marie's upcoming Big Hat Party and came up with some dress and hat options for the affair. While I didn't select any of the initial options, I am pretty happy with the outfit I chose. Pictured below are me, my friend (and beautiful bride) Marie, and my grandmother.


Dress: Forever 21, $24.80
Shoes: Payless, $15.99
Hat: Macy's, $35.00

It was a fantastic idea and party. Marie makes a crucial Black Eyed Susan, the official drink of the Preakness. Here's the recipe:

1 oz Vodka
1 os Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
1/2 oz Cointreau
6 oz Orange Juice
3 oz Pineapple Juice

Combine ingredients, stir, and pour over crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple, orange slice and cherry brochette.

Enjoy! :)

Take me out to the ball game

One of my favorite things to do during the spring/summer months is go to Baltimore Orioles games. Typically we head to Pickles Pub before the game for a beer (or two...or three...) then head on over to game feeling good. Last week was no different, except my sister and I went to Pickles both before and during the game :P Here's a pic of my sister and I at the game


As you can see, we had awesome seats (thanks to my wonderful co-worker, Karen). Unfortunately, we didn't really need them...the game was delayed 3 times due to rain. My sister and I didn't care though. We made the most of the night and bonded...sister style :) To quote my sister, "You're like my sister and my friend...is that normal?" For us, yes. Yes it is. <3 you sister!

Singledom

I am single. I have been single for the past eight years now. During those eight years, I have learned so much about myself, gained some self confidence, and worked on being happy with me. I have gone to therapy, bought my first car, took surfing lessons, started running, acquired an excellent job (which I adore), made new friends and lost some old ones, ran my first marathon, went back to school for my masters, moved to the city, volunteered, and traveled a bit. I'm pretty happy with my life and consider myself lucky. At one point, I was the complete opposite; I hated the way my body looked, the way I acted, my relationships (or lack there of).

I try to remind myself of how far I've come and focus on the positive aspects of my life. Be present, not worry about the future. But sometimes, it's just hard to remain so positive. Everyone around me is in a relationship and I'm kinda down in the dumps about being single today. I am so over dating. Meeting boys in bars, on-line dating, awkward first dates, being stood up...it's so draining. I just want to meet someone I have an undeniable connection with and have that guy not be a tool. Someone who is a nice, sweet, and genuine person. Is that too much to ask??? Sometimes I think it is and I will be single forever. Ugh.

Running to help save lives

Last year I ran in the Baltimore Marathon with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. It was such an amazing experience. I seriously had a huge goofy grin on my face the entire 26.2 miles.

For those of you who are not familiar with Team In Training (TNT), TNT is a program which trains individuals for endurance events while raising money to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The mission of the society is to cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and Myeloma and to help improve the quality of life for the parents and their families. What a great cause, right? Since I caught the running bug last year, I decided to run another marathon, this time the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25, 2009, with TNT.

Most of us know someone whose life has been touched by cancer and I am honored to be running for two individuals. The first is someone very close to my heart. Her name is Kathi Hahn, she is my best friend Ashley's mother. Mrs. Hahn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in late 2007 and was given a clean bill of health in May of 2008. On August 11th, Ashley and her family were given the horrible news that her mom now has leukemia. Mrs. Hahn received a bone marrow transplant on February 6th. The recovery process has been a long and grueling one, but Mrs. Hahn doesn't let it show. She's amazingly positive and such a fighter. She is truly the strongest person I have ever met in my life.

Mrs. Hahn and her team

I am also running in memory of Aaron Riley. Aaron's family and the Hahn family bonded while Mrs. Hahn was recovering in the West Virginia University Hospital. He was just 21 years old and when he was diagnosed with Leukemia on October 5th. He had the first cord blood transplant ever done at the West Virginia University hospital on March 31st. I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron while visiting Ashley and her mother in March 2009. He was so upbeat and hopeful. A truly amazing human being. He sadly passed away on April 26, 2009. My deepest condolences go out to his family.

Aaron with his nurse

Click here for more information on my training and progress with TNT.

I Want My MTV...

I admit it. I am in my late twenties and I still watch MTV. Not just one show, but several...The Hills, The City, Road Rules/Real World Challenge, Real World, Making the Band, etc, etc, etc. I try to justify my love for The Hills & The City by saying I'm watching it for fashion, hair, and make-up ideas, but in actuality, I addicted to the drama. So good. My other MTV favs are usually kept a secret because they're pretty embarrassing. Especially Making the Band, there's no logical explanation as to why I love P. Diddy (Puff, Puffy, Diddy, Diddy Combs, Sean John, Diddy Doo Doo).

Anyway, while watching The Hills Monday night I saw the first 2009 MTV Movie Awards Promo! Guess who's hosting?!?! My crush :)

MTV Shows

Mark your calendars - MTV Movie Awards are May 31st!

My First Peeve Post

One of my biggest peeves is inconsiderate people. I often hear that I am too nice and constantly putting others before myself. So when that isn't reciprocated, even just a little bit, it seriously irks my nerves. Prime example, dude stood me up this weekend. Yup, the only running date I had this weekend was with myself.

He called me Friday night and we made plans to meet up at 11:00 AM at a nearby park. He said he would call me at 10:00 AM on Saturday to give me directions to our meeting spot. I drug myself out of bed at 9:30 AM, slightly hung-over from the previous night, and put on an outfit that looked something like this:

Find me on Polyvore

At 10:00 AM, no call. 10:15 AM, no call. 10:30 (the time I should probably be leaving my house to meet this guy), no call. 10:45 AM, no call. I decided that since I was already in my running clothes, I might at well go for a run by myself for several reason; a) It was crazy beautiful outside. b) I didn't want to waste a minute more of my time on this . c) I didn't want to be by my phone in case he did call...I might feel badly saying "no" and actually meet up with this guy. Seriously?! I could have slept in...god knows I needed the extra sleep. Ah well, next! :)