Another Milestone

2 years ago today I started at my current job! My boss brought in cookies today to celebrate which was so sweet. 

What a whirlwind the past 2 years have been. I've never worked as hard in my entire life at a job before, which is both good and bad. I feel incredibly accomplished professionally, and like I am on a true career path with great growth opportunities ahead. The downside is just that I wish I had a little better work-life balance. 

Speaking of work, not sure if I mentioned this before or not but effective Jan 1 I got promoted! I'm very excited - it feels great that my hard work, late nights, and weekends were all worth it!

Back To It

In the past 2 months I have only worked out 7 times. That is so unbelievably crazy. My schedule used to be: Crossfit 2 days per week during the week, pickup soccer on Tuesday and Saturday, and soccer game on Sunday. That's 5 times per week, on a good week. 

Between year-end craziness at work, vacations, and bad weather (which means no soccer), I have barely been working out. I don't feel fat, just less toned than I would like. 

But....starting today I'm back. I have Crossfit tonight and tomorrow, and a soccer game on Sunday morning! Next week I've already signed up for my Crossfit classes so I have no excuse not to go. My goal for January is to work out at least 3x per week, which is very achievable.

Speaking of goals, my New Year's Resolutions are to:

1 - Work out 5x per week - if I can't make it to the gym or there's no soccer then I'm going to start doing the Workout of the Days at home - no excuses!

2 - Eat out Less - this should save me money, plus help me be healthier. I'm not off to the best start so far, but not a terrible start either. I hope to only eat out for lunch 1 day a week and dinner 1 day a week.

3 - Buy less clothes. I'm running out of room in my closet, plus I have lots of clothes as it is. I've been trying to put together some cute outfits with the clothes that I already have and just wear the stuff that I already have more often.

4 - Take better care of my skin. I have always had bad skin (aka breakouts) and given that I will be 30 at of this year I think it's time to start investing in my skin so I don't feel like a teenager anymore. 

Now that I've posted these on the internet I really have to follow them.

End of 2013

There is so much to catch up on! Since I last updated, I left for Christmas Vacation. I took the bus to Pittsburgh and my Dad picked me up. We spent the night in Pittsburgh, I had brunch with my BFF Jenna the next morning, and then my Dad and I drove to Cleveland to meet up with my Mom who was already there. 

Jenna and I

My sisters and my brother in-law arrived the next day and we had a nice relaxing low-key Christmas. After spending the week in Cleveland, I flew to St. Louis to see my boyfriend and his family, which was also nice and relaxing and low-key. I was supposed to fly back to DC on Sunday the 29th, but my grandfather passed away December 29th (more to come on this).

I changed my flight the day of to fly to Cleveland instead of back to DC, and took the entire next week off to stay in Cleveland with my Mom, along with her brother who lives out of town, and her sister who lives in town. Together, the 4 of us helped do all of the funeral arrangements. 

My sister and my brother in-law drove the boyfriend and I back to DC on the 5th. I can't remember the last time I had taken 2 weeks straight off from work, and luckily it was pretty slow when I was out so there wasn't too too much to catch up on. 

Last week was pretty uneventful - just work, cleaning up my apartment, and relaxing. The weekend was also pretty uneventful - the weather was cold and rain, I worked most of the day Saturday, the boyfriend and I saw American Hustle which was good (not great, just good in my opinion) at this super cute old theater (as in it used to be an actual theater) called The Avalon, and my friend Michelle came over to hang out on Sunday. 

This week I have been busy trying to clean, organize and make some space in my apartment for my cousin Jenny who is....moving to DC this weekend!!!! - more to come on this. 

That's all for now!

Weekend Update

This past weekend was really fun and really busy. I got home Sunday evening at 8pm and fell asleep at about 8:30 because I was so tired. 

Bowling was a really fun time, even if I'm not very good at it. 

Here is the boyfriend in action

Saturday the weather kinda sucked (super cold and rainy) but the cookie exchange party was a really fun time! I couldn't believe how many people came (at least 20!)

Weren't these the cutest invitations!

Sunday I saw my friend's 2 month old baby who was so tiny and adorable. 

Yesterday we had a happy hour after work to celebrate the end of our project we had been working on since August. After happy hour, I headed to Georgetown for a massage which was wonderful and much needed. 

The rest of the week isn't too busy, just crossfit, my department's holiday party, dinner at a friend's house, and happy hour on Friday. I just need to put the finishing touches on my Christmas gifts (assuming they all arrive in time as I've ordered all my gifts online and none have arrived yet), and do laundry. 

I also went to eye doctor today and my eye is almost 100% healed. I can see nearly perfect again (with my glasses on) and will be able to wear my contacts again around Feb or Mar of next year. Hallelujah! I can't wait! In the meantime I still have to do my drops hourly, the ointment at night, keep the plug in my eye, and start on Restasis. Not too bad if it means I can see!

Winding Down

Work has been steadily going from non-stop craziness to normalcy. The past 2 months I've only worked out a handful of times due to the perfect storm of working long hours, eye problems, and scheduling issues. However, last night I was able to leave work at 6:00 AND make it to crossfit! I feel like I'm finally back: I'm able to leave work on time, I'm finally able to make plans with friends, and I'm able to have time to work out. Hallelujah!

This weekend is jam-packed: birthday bowling celebration in Arlington, Cookie Exchange party in Alexandria, soccer in DC, and seeing my friend's baby in Maryland. So much traveling in just one weekend. 

Besides just working all the time, nothing else is new. I've been trying to order all my Christmas gifts as it is less than 2 weeks away and I've only bought 1 present. The weather has also been crazy around here. We had a snow day (aka work from home day) on Tuesday: 

I've also been cooking a lot lately. Here are some recent concoctions: 

Hangar Steak with salsa verde, plantains and guacamole

Shrimp Couscous: 

I've also made Skyline Chili, Penne w Ricotta and Spinach, and cookie dough for the cookie exchange:

That's all the updates for now. More to come soon. 

Thanksgiving / My Birthday

Thanksgiving went by so fast but was such a fun time. The boyfriend and I left for Cleveland very very early Thursday morning. My mom rented a house right on the lake that had 5 bedrooms: my sisters each brought him their significant others, plus our friend Jeet joined along as well making it 9 people in the house (my parents stayed at my grandparents house). It was so much fun all being in the house as opposed to a hotel, where we could all relax and hang out. 

View of Lake Erie from our bedroom 

My dad picked us up from the airport, and we drove to my grandparents house to change, and then did a 5 mile Turkey Trot race. It was sooo cold outside - I think it was about 20 and windy and snowing. It was really fun though - I walked it with my parents and the boyfriend ran it with Jeet and the brother-in-law. 

After the race we went to the house to shower and change, and then headed to my aunts house for Thanksgiving. She made a delicious meal for all of us and I had a great time chilling out with my family. 

Friday afternoon we all went to our hometown to get lunch, do some sightseeing, and shopping. Then we all went back over to my aunts house again for pizza which was also a fun time. 

Saturday morning I was supposed to fly out at 8am, but once I got to my gate they were looking for volunteers for a later flight which I happily took for a $300 voucher. Saturday was also my 29th birthday, and once I arrived back in town I took a nice long nap, and then headed to my friend Jesica's house for dinner and cake:

Sunday the birthday festivities continued when my sister and my brother-in-law took me out to lunch at Founding Farmers. They also got me mini cakes for dessert which were delicious. 

Today is Monday which means back to work. At least there's lots of good sales to keep my occupied (although I haven't bought anything yet). 

Almost There

This past month has flown by! I don't have much to catch up on other than the fact that I've been working non-stop. I just keep trying to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel and the fact that busy season is almost over, so I can finally get my life back. 

The boyfriend made it back home safe and sound from his trip to Saudi Arabia and I'm so happy to have him back. 

I've been having some eye issues lately so I've been forced to wear my glasses which is becoming quite annoying. I had an eye infection back in September that apparently never fully went away, and it just kept getting worse and worse and now I can't see properly out of my left eye (it can't focus on anything). I've been having to do drops, ointment, and lots of doctor visits and I can't wait to be able to see again!

Those are all the updates for now, more coming soon!