RUN, MERRY, RUN!

update tiiiiiiiiime!  yay!

are you soooooo excited?  do you loooooooove dragging out your vowels like i do?  you better believe it.

let’s just dive right into it, shall we?

good news, i’m still doing well on the “soda water, extra lime, hold the booze please” part of my new middle name…ish.  in fact, i made it 3 week…ish.

now, i was hoping to make it a whole month.  but i did have to take just a quick jump off ye ole wagon.  at first i was kinda bummed.  but then i analyzed the situation & determined it was worthy of said jump. 

i mean, i had a 1st date people.  how am i not going to have a beer to calm the nerves of a first date?!  if i hadn’t, then i woulda been even more of a rambling nervous wreck with an attack of the blushing tomato than i already am.  and that does not make a good 1st impression.  not one bit.

and then there was champagne sunday.  which, admittedly, i did dust off the party tiara for a bit.  but it was worth it…how’re you going to say no to champagne sunday??  it’s so classy!  and it’s sunday!  the day that most people refer to as “sunday FUNday”!  it just had to happen.  i’d already passed on 3 sunday fundays.  if i missed one more, my sunday funday spirit might have suffered.  and i can’t have that happening.

but i’m kinda back on the wagon. 

i've decided not to drive it, ole santa is doin a pretty good job. but maybe i'll sit 2nd row.

 i’m going to allow myself a bevie every once in a while.  but, surprisingly, not drinking is not as difficult as i thought it would be.  so i’m going to try and be good and not drink about 85% of the time.  i think that’s realistic.

i mean, really…it’s been pretty easy indeed.  my friends have been super amazingly supportive (of course, they are my friends after all), and i even got a CouldntBee to join the ranks.  i thought that being among drinkers would be hard…that i’d be grumpy pants and a bitter critter all wrapped up in a sober shell.  luckily, this has not been the case…i get a little loopy & have a faux alchy buzz.  which is nice.  although, i will admit that i cannot hang until 1am.  by 11pm, i’m ready to head home and crawl into bed with a good book.  really, though, i owe a lot of credit to my one true booze-free love.  topo chico…

seriously...i love this drink

i love it so much, that i need to write a love letter to it real quick…

dear topo chico,

i cannot begin to express my love for you.  you have been there through many a dinner party…faithfully staying in my hand and warding off the temptation of that makers on the rocks.  you are sparkling and have a really neat bottle that makes me forget you are not a newcastle.  you are just truly delightful.

love always,

merry

ok ok, so that was a really shitty love letter.  i’ve never written one, so pump yo’ breaks before you criticize.  plus, it’s a bottle of mineral water…it can’t read.  so there!

but yes, i’ve been rockin it in the non drinking department.  for the most part, that is.

now on to the super fun & exciting portion of today’s blog…the part where i talk about my adventures as a fledgling runner. 

*sigh*

i’m really loving it.  i’ve been doing the couch to 5K thing.  and the weather, with the exception of this dreary week,  has been so effing delightful lately that i just can’t wait to get home from work, lace up my running kicks, and hit the street.  i found a nice, cheap, digital watch w/ stop watch feature.  and i invested in a lime green ipod shuffle (my old clunker of an ipod just ain’t good for the run…but it still works so i can’t fully retire it).  so come 7pm, i’m a runnin fool.  ok, ok…more like a walk/jog fool.  but hey, i gotta start somewhere! 

at first, i thought that i would die.  i’m old.  i’m out of shape.  and i’m trying to run.  all of that does not sound like it should go together. 

hey, if this guy can run...then so can i!

but, you know what?  it’s not all that bad.  and i’m not all that horrible at it. 

now if only the sun would come out again…because running in the cold sucks.  and i don’t want to go to the gym & run on a treadmill.  that is not nearly as delightful as running outside. no sirree…not one bit.

REDUSE, REUSE, RE-MEREDITH

ok kiddos, so it’s that time again.  that time where i say “hey, i’m going to be a healthier version of me”.  and then i talk about what i want to do and how i plan on being better.  hopefully, for all of you kids out there that are in a similar boat this is helpful.  for those of you that aren’t or that have no interest in this sort of blog post, suck it.  haha, kidding.  sort of.

 

so when you think about what all goes into being “a healthier version” there are a few key things one thinks about…food, physical activity, and general lifestyle. 

 

first up…food…

for the most part, i’ve been really good about this.  i’d say about 75% of the time i’ve been eating yummy, healthy good-for-me food.  in the past few months, i’ve drastically decreased my fast food intake.  and i’m slowly giving up my love affair with potatoes.  main problem for me is that when i cave, i cave big time.  so moderation, thou art a bitch.  so now i’m steppin up my game.  potatoes, it’s officially over.  doneski.  you don’t love me as much as i love you, and that ain’t cool.  i’m dating a new type of potato…his name is sweet potato.  and it’s really nothin serious, just a few dates every once in a while.  so booyah.  oh yeah, and when i do decide to kick it with a “bad for me” meal, “moderation” is my new middle name.

 

 

secondly…physical activity…

no more excuses.  i’m done with them.  they are dead to me. 

secretly, i want to be a runner & a cyclist.  like, in a big bad way.  i have no idea.  and i’m definitely not a runner.  at all.  except in my dreams.  but let’s face it, people who run look cool.  and they talk about this “zen” that they get from running.  and i want to be one of those people.  i want to look cool & be in a zen state while looking cool. 

see? doesn't that rando person look cool??

added bonus, working out is good for me.  and i am most def on the official hunt for an older men’s 10 speed…for when i wanna bike in a zippy, non leisurely manner.  but really, i just want to get off my ass & do something.  walk, run, jog, bike, disc golf, gym, whatevs.  so “getting off my ass and being active” is my new middle name.

 

 

lastly…general lifestyle….

get ready for this.  it’s kinda big.  i’m taking a zack morris time out from drinking.  yowza.  i don’t know for how long.  just for a while.  i don’t need those extra calories, i don’t need to drink to enjoy the company of my friends, and i don’t ever ever ever want to be a sad, schwastey pants almost 30 yr old.  i don’t plan to be a totes teetotaler forever, just for a bit.  cuz let’s face it, i’ve been a bit of a partier for a minute.  not on the alcoholic level, trust.  but my party tiara has seen quite a few parties.  so…for a while, my new middle name is “soda water, extra lime, hold the booze please”.

 

 

 

how do ya like that?  my new official name is Meredith Moderation Getting Off My Ass And Being Active Soda Water, Extra Lime, Hold the Booze Please Contrary. 

if you can say that whole name fast 5 times, then you deserve this high five

 

so, i will be updating you with this every so once in a while.  i plan on rocking it.

 

ok, ok, ok…so while all fo the above is 100% true, and a big part of the reason why i’m starting this, i must admit something.  i tried to sneak past this reason, but, well, you lovely readers have been with me for a little over a year and i just can’t lie to you.  so here was the real motivator for starting all of this.  are you ready?

*sigh* i want these real bad

BAM!  yes, i really really really want to rock these overalls this summer.  i know, it’s a little “tooooooralooooratooooralooooralie! c’mon eileen!” but i don’t give a flying fuck.  i want to rock overalls all effin summer long.  only problem is, if you do the math… fat bank + overalls = faux FUPA.  and while i can rock a fat bank like no one’s business, i absolutely REFUSE to rock a FUPA.  especially if it’s not a real one, just an illusion.  so yes, the main inspiration is materialistic.  but hey, all of the other reasons and benefits are good ones. 

and the main point is that i’m going to do something about it.  so there you go.