Spill It Sunday [3]: 2013 Recap

Okay, I’m aware that it’s Thursday and 2013 is long over. We can make this a joint Spill It Sunday and a Getting It Together Thursday about how I almost got my life together this year. I’ve had a busy few weeks (hasn’t everyone?) and haven’t given my blog the love it deserves. So here’s to 2014 and a five day late “Spill It Sunday” hosted by the lovely Arman. And you know what? I’ll throw in some selfies, too.

The theme of this week’s Spill it Sunday was shocking events of 2013. I’d say a shocking event was how shockingly boring my life was compared to 2012 (although I did do a ton more traveling). I kind of went shocking/memorable so there you go.

 

Event: BluePrint Juice Cleanse
I did a juice cleanse. I’m absolutely insane, I know. I would link to the post on my other collaborative blog but then I definitely look even more nuts. I still look back and I’m shocked the only thing I ingested for three days was juice.

I was having a ton of stomach issues around the holidays. I put on weight (probably because I a) needed to and b) started training again). I decided a juice cleanse sounded like the easiest way to lose some weight fast, kill my sugar cravings and reset my metabolism(I’m that girl who believes crap in magazines). I did a lot of research first –  a lot of fitness bloggers, food bloggers, etc. – to make sure it was worth it.

 

Juicing in Palm Springs is not for the weak of heart.

 

If I wasn’t currently so terrified of sugar I would honestly probably do another, just because I was SO focused and creative when I was on it. I had so much energy for weeks afterward, it was unreal. I’m going to try and do Gwenyth’s Elimination Diet sometime this month just to reset because I now know it’s not really good for your metabolism to not eat food.

Discovery: I can be good at running
I didn’t discover running this year, but I discovered that if I tried, I could be decent at it. I discovered running over ten years ago when a gym teacher/later my first cross country coach noticed I had good endurance running in class. My friends all decided to run cross country in high school so being the follower I am, I decided to run cross country too.

 

In honor of this being Thursday, here is a Throwback Thursday photo of the girls’ cross country team my senior year. We got mud racing before mud racing was cool.

 

I’ve fallen in and out of love with running. I had a lot of injuries early on and fatigue later on. Running has pretty much saved me from being an absolutely miserable person. I can go out on the trail and get out all my extra energy and anxiety. I can get centered and collect my thoughts and ideas for the day. If I’m having a bad day or have something to work out in my mind, I go for a run. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve broken down crying on a run because I just suddenly ‘got it’.

This year I came out of my self-imposed half-marathon retirement. I PR-ed at my first race in almost two years. I honestly never thought I would see a sub 2-hour time when I crossed the finish line but each race I keep surprising myself a little bit more.

 

Meal: Maison Premiere in Brooklyn
Honestly, I don’t remember all the details about this meal. There may have been 1-2 bottles of champagne involved. I was out on a date with a boy [note that I refer to an adult in his late twenties as a boy] and after assuring said boy that even though I am allergic to shrimp, I’m not allergic to oysters (thank God), he took me to La Maison.

La Maison is an oyster bar/Brooklyn-y restaurant with an amazing outside seating area and approximately one million (okay, maybe 40) different types of oysters to choose from. I love oysters and I love champagne and I love when boys take me on nice dates so this was a winner in all three categories. I do think I ended up in Little Haiti (my own invention) at some point that night and we all know how I get out of my comfort zone in America (terrified – but for some reason love it when I’m traveling).

 

Trip: Hawaii

My dad decided one day in that he wanted to “see Pearl Harbor and see a volcano” so we should go to Hawaii. This trip was in the works for over a year but then I got my job at AEO and couldn’t really bounce for a week and then it was summer and pointless to go [and then hunting season for my father] so it didn’t happen until this spring.

 

My dad looks so genuinely excited here, I love it.

 

I also love traveling with my dad because he lets me take charge. Truthfully, I’m really good at trip planning. We basically did every essential Hawaiian thing you could do (surfing, whale watching, seeing a volcano erupting and of course, Pearl Harbor). I had never thought to go to Hawaii (but then again, I’ve never thought to go to 60% of the places in the world I’ve been to) but think every day how I have to go back. I’m currently trying to convince my dad to retire there so I can continue to freeload off of him (kidding… kind of).

 

Realization: I like being single.
Okay, this is weird. I spent the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 being SUPER depressed and heartbroken. I hadn’t been single in almost two years and suddenly I was. Once I worked through it, I discovered dating as dating is fun. I then figured out how to have fun on my own and not depend on anyone else for my happiness. That transitioned into me discovering how I like having time to do what I want, going to visit whoever I want whenever I want and not feeling obligated about anything. Who knows, this is the last time I could be single in my life so live it up, right?

 

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