31 Days

31 Days of being sober. 

 

Yes that's right 31 - wow March was a long month.  Now some of y'all who have not been in my company during this past month of nondrinking might be asking yourself - "What the heck, Pav? You of all people love a bottle glass of wine.”  I would reply, “Heck yes I do – I heart those delicious grapes. Along with hops – can’t forget the beer – love that too.”  So what’s the deal?

The deal is this – the roomie, the personal trainer, and I decided to go a month without drinking.  Now if I were a good Catholic I would say I did this for Jesus. But I’m not Catholic – I’m Baptist and we drink in the closet.  We decided to do this because 1.) We wanted to get motivated about running a half-marathon 2.) When is the last time I could say I went a significant without drinking …hmmm good question – 18?

I dragged my feet big time about doing this – I mean seriously – a whole month?!  Of course I agreed but part of me was not so sure I would actually be able to do this.  And let me tell y’all the devil was tempting my butt.  First weekend in I get a phone call from my ex telling me he is going to my new neighbor – where is the wine opener?  Oh right – well someone get me some water so I can chug it. Second I was on spring break and my nursing gals like to celebrate in style.  Third – Fat Tire has come to North Carolina.  This is one of my favorite beers.  Seriously?! I have begged and pleaded for you to come East and March is the month you decided to make it happen. It’s okay I have successfully swiped two Fat Tire pint glasses from different bar establishments.  Four- Two good friends had birthday parties.  Five – I just bought a ridiculously expensive computer that when checking out I almost fell over at the price.  I needed something for my nerves.  

What did I do calm my nerves? I got myself a YMCA membership.  And found a new addiction – cycling.  Must try it if you have never done so.  AMAZING.  And amongst all this soberness I realized how proactive I have become and my workouts have improved so much!  Dang you grapes and hops.  Also it is possible to go 31 days without drinking and you can still have a good time.   

 

So blog friend Cheers to whatever might be in your glass. 

Meet the newest addition to the family

Well for the amount of time we spend on computers - they are like part of your family. Anywho's I am off to purchase the Macbook. My dear IBM thinkpad (which I have had since '04) is about to kick the dust and after last weeks little hiccup (I say hiccup because the AC power cord caught on fire - oops.) I think it is time to make the investment. I know these computers are super expensive (I am freaking out about that part) BUT everyone I have asked has said they are worth investment. I cannot believe how people rave about these computers. Hopefully after I spend some bonding time with mine I too will be a Mac fan for life.

Babysitting Highlights

Last night I babysat for one of my favorite 3 year olds. Henry is a darling little preppy blonde hair child who I just want to hug and not let go. Ohh he is so cute. Okay so moving on to last nights highlights ....

When I arrive to babysit, Henry was in the tub having a bath. I went in to say hello and this is what he says (looking up at me with his big brown eyes) "Guess what?! I just peed straight up in the air!" Me - Trying to hold in laughter respond - "You did?" and he says "Yes. And I peed in the tub." Oh jeeze.

Later on that evening as I am putting this little gem to bed he tells me that when Mommy and Daddy come home I can just spend the night. This way we can play in the morning and if I want he can come over to my house. hehe. I just love that child.

Cole

Last week I found out that my friend Cole had a stroke. I met Cole through kickball and he was the pitcher for our team. Cole had just turned 28 and this just completely baffled me because he was by no means unhealthy.

This is the email that was forwarded to me from one of our friends about what happened...

So on Friday, Cole asked Rachel and his friend Bobby to take him to the hospital because either he was not feeling well or they called him back into the hospital. So when he got there he had the stroke right in front of Rachel. He was at the hospital when this happen. He had an infection that got into his blood stream which caused him to have a blood clot in his brain which caused the stroke. When I talked to Melissa yesterday she said that the doctors said that he probably would not make it through today. They said that are pretty sure that he is brain dead and if he was still alive today they were going to do a cat scan to see if he was.

Wednesday his family decided to pull him off life support. On Saturday morning the roomie and I went to his funeral. I have been to several funerals, however never for a friend that is my age. The sight of his mother brought me to tears. I sat trying to wrap my mind and emotions around what was going on. Cole is the same age as my older brother ... what if something like this happened to him? What was the last thing I said to him? What about my friends?

Cole had a tattoo that said Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This verse just hit home for me. So often I allow myself to become wrapped up in the what if's and etc. and you know what? It's not worth it. Take it one day at a time and if you live each day to the fullest then you have no regrets.

So blog friends - tell your family and friends you love them. If you are mad about something forgive. Life is too short.

Spring Break

Hey Y'all!
Just wanted to put up a quick post to let y'all know I am still here! Officially on Spring Break for the next 3 weeks - yes that is right 3. I spent the day cleaning and packing (what I could) for the move. I have lived in the same townhouse for the past 3 years and I still had things in boxes from when I moved in. Anywho - time start packing - I am off to go see the Goodson Family in Winston for the rest of the week. Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Money

Isn't that on everyones' mind these days? Money ... money ... money. Since starting school I have been trying to be careful about budgeting and watching how much spend. However, I have never been very good about it. I mean I have X amount of dollars that will keep me afloat for X amount of months but of course considering gas, rent, living, etc. can make your head spin. I picked up a part-time job pack in the fall, however they had to close one of the stores causing everyones' hours to go down the sink. I had been using the money from the part-time job as my fun money - but when you get put on the schedule for 4 days in the whole month that is not much fun money. I should be grateful that I have a job and expressed that to my manager who was very apologetic about the whole situation. HOWEVER I need help on learning how to stretch a dollar. Anyone have some suggestions? Does buying the Sunday paper and clipping coupons really make a difference? How do you prioritize - especially when spring is around the corner and concerts and fun spring dresses are knocking on your door? Help friends - because I'm freaking out and Goose informed me she has no desire to even look for a job. Something about not having opposable thumbs.

It's another Saturday night

and I ain't got nobody... well that's not true - I have Ms Goose. However as I am sitting here working on some school stuff that song keeps popping in my head. Perhaps it's because I am suppose to be out gallivanting with friends in search of possible prospects and therefore eliminating my need to sing Sam Cooke songs to myself and Lucy. It is just gross outside (cold and rainy) and honestly I have no desire to go out...which works out well with my school work and my wallet. Plus its cool that I'm like the dog lady in training - which I'm pretty sure is better than being known as the cat lady. Okay maybe I should reconsidered going out tonight.

Trees and Exercise

I have no desire to focus on studying for my Dosage Exam - math and conversions make my brain spin round and round - I figured I would post instead.

So it has come to my attention I have some issues with trees and exercise. I love working, exercising, etc outside - especially love biking, running, horseback riding, etc. on trails. Now as most of you know trails typically have trees and lots of them. About two years ago I was biking on one of the many trails around the area - it was a fabulous warm afternoon for early spring. I had just gotten back into town and needed to do something. I hopped onto the bike and took off - thinking I was just like Lance Armstrong. Needless to say my foot came off the peddle, my balance went way off, and I crashed into a tree. Awesome. Real talent on this end. I ended up breaking my elbow and wrist - super awesome. My boyfriend at the time was just simply in aw of what I had managed to do to myself. One moment on the path - the next in the woods.
After my biking disaster it of course was the joke to not let me anywhere near a bike again. Well apparently biking is not my problem as I found out early Saturday morning.
Saturday morning I decided to get up with Ms Goose and go for a 3 plus mile run at the lake. It is a new trail we started running just a week ago. Well Saturday morning circa 7:30 am it was a bit chilly and I had a baseball cap on plus my ear warmers over the top. Just call me hottness. Okay so I had just finished the first mile and started to settle into a nice pace. I saw the base of a tree to the left of me but did not see any of the trunk past my upper thigh and BAM! My shoulder slammed into the tree. I did not know what end of the world was up and what was down I was in such shock. Since I was wearing my baseball cap my peripheral vision was a bit limited. Needless to say I felt like a huge dork - looked around to make sure no one saw me - checked to make sure my shoulder was okay and I took off to finish my run. Unfortunately my run was not as successful as I had hoped since my shoulder was throbbing. My time was terrible. By the time I got home the whole thing is black and blue. I must say it is a pretty awesome looking bruise. One of those that when you show people they wince and look all gross out. When I informed my roomie of what I had done to myself she told me I was not allowed outside without supervision. Super.

My Friday Night in Pictures

Okay so we have these

(because who doesn't love doing school work on a Friday night?)...

+

showing this

(oh yes - I think this might make #98 for times watched)

while laying in this

with my one and only snuggle buddy

Ms Goose

and of course while drinking a glass of this

So maybe that school work might not really be accomplished after all...eh its Friday night.

God, Its Pav...

I am not sure how many of you are religious but I am in need of some direction. My relationship with God has had its ups and downs. Growing up we were tight. Then came college and well for awhile there I never bothered to say hello and I really felt like my life was missing something..then one day I realized how I really let our relationship go. I allowed another relationship to take priority...so when that one ended I knew I needed to get myself back on track again. For awhile things have been great, but once again I have started slacking and I am struggling to find that connection I had several months ago. I am allowing myself to get pulled down with emotions that should not even exist, rather than focus on one's that pull me up. I need to stop being a bottom dweller and start focusing on all the good around me. So last night I opened up my Bible and started searching for some encouraging verses and well I just can not find the one. You know when you have that moment and you are just like - YES! This is what I was looking for. So I am asking y'all - what words do you find encouragement from and gives you strength?