Bonus time

Usually the second weekend of the month is reserved for trips to Raleigh to visit the boyfriends parents and to wash Pepsi trucks.

Not this month!

Just to be clear, I enjoy those weekends quite a bit and always leave having had a great weekend. However, I am happy to have a bonus weekend at home with the boyfriend to do whatever we want. And to not leave my sweet pups at home.

Last weekend we ran into some extra time we weren't expecting and didn't really know what to do with so we planned ahead for this weekend. And we're doing two things I'm super excited about.

Numero Uno: Painting!

The spare bedroom in the house will one day become a lounge/reading room. But for that to happen, we have to paint it and get all the stuff we intend to hang off the floor. After this weekend that problem will be solved and all we'll need is a quick trip to IKEA to give the room a purpose.

Back to the painting, I know most people don't enjoy painting. It's a chore. You can pay people to do it for you. I'm not that person. I really enjoy painting, especially when it's going to totally change a space. For example, I painted the kitchen and dining room of my old house within 24 hours of getting the keys. I painting my living room purple on a whim one Sunday afternoon. I up and decided to take down the wallpaper and paint my hallway on weekend for fun. I'm that person. I also painted the boyfriends dining room while in the process of moving in and painted his kitchen a few weeks later.

It's a bit of a combination. I enjoy painting. I'm not afraid of colour. And it's a relatively cheap and easy way to change the look of room. Plus it can be a quick process.

All of that said, we're painting the lounge room this weekend and I cannot wait!

Numero Dos: Date Night

The boyfriend and I don't eat out much. Not because we're recluses, we just both enjoy cooking and can prepare some damn good meals so why go out all the time. Every now and then we do on your own nights which usually mean he cooks something I won't eat and I'll get take out of something tasty like pizza or mexican. But rarely do we go out to eat together.

We actually didn't have our first meal out together until in May when we went to Charleston. We have since gone out a handful of times, but it's still a rare occasion.

All that said, I'm super duper excited to go out Saturday night. Throw on something other than my usual attire. Eat some tasty food. Have an excuse to Eat dessert. Just be out of the normal routine. It's going to be a grand time!

Introducing....

The divorces are final. I've got my old name back. And we’re nearing the one year mark.

I think it might be time to finally introduce the boyfriend.

*insert drum-roll*

His name is Charley. And I think he’s the cat’s meow!

I was looking back through my old calendar last night and we were reliving some of the first few times we started hanging out. It was really fun to think back to when it all started. I can remember the exact moment when it crossed my mind that I could be interested in him beyond our friendship.

We had met a couple years back through our spouses. They worked together and slowly we became couple friends. You know, dinners, movies, weekly ultimate Frisbee and a few trips out of town. Never once during that time did I think about him outside of the capacity of a friend during that time.

Then the ex-husband moved away and those couple’s nights came to an end. He started showing up less and less for ultimate, but I never thought anything of it. Come July, I joined PDCF, of which he was already a member. We chatted here and there at the gym, but nothing too serious. Then one night I had hurt my knee and was going to sit out the WOD. He said he was taking a rest day and asked if I wanted to stretch it out and join him and his pup for a walk. Thought it was a little odd, but didn’t put much thought into it. When I got there he informed me that he and his wife had also separated and she had moved out a month ago.

Hold the phone! We are both getting divorced at the same time?!? Oh well, guess it happens, right?

Back to that exact moment.

I was at my then brother-in-law’s house watching the Olympics. There were a few of us there, including Charley. At some point during one of the events he was giving me a hard time about my “boyfriend” Ryan Locthe being a moron (It’s true, he totally is). I looked at him to reply and he didn’t look quite the same to me at that moment. Something had changed and it gave me a serious case of the butterflies.

What no one tells you is that no matter how old you are or what you’ve been through in your life, a crush is a crush is a crush. Over analyzing, sweaty palms, butterflies. The whole nine yards. That was me. I was on the phone with the college kid 24/7 wondering if he liked me too. I was a 28 year old soon to be divorcee that felt like I was in elementary school all over again. I liked a boy! Did he like me back? Circle yes or no.

Time passed and it soon became clear I wasn’t alone in my feelings. The year flew by and before I knew it I had moved in and our divorces were right around the corner.

And here we are, a year later from when all those butterflies started kicking around in my gut. Every now and then I’ll catch him glancing my way at the gym and I still get those butterflies. 

Idle hands

I've got somewhat of a dilemma.

I’m really enjoying my new job and the work I’m doing. It’s pretty different from what I've done before. Doing accounting work is like a giant game of match.

Part of issue is I’m having a hard time managing my work flow. Not that I have too much to do. Quite the opposite on most days, I breeze through my work too quickly.

I’ve run into this issue before.  But in positions of employment, my work space had a bit of privacy so I was able to fill the lulls with the internet. However, my new work space is a tiny cubicle that has my back to face a hallway. Meaning, everyone can see what I’m working or not working on as they pass.

Very few people here have privacy when it comes to their work space. The few that do are the ones who have offices and those folks keep their doors closed mostly. An abundance of privacy! Lucky.

My days working for a non-profit I hated my job and how the organization was run, but I had an office.  And at Dunder Mifflin, I didn't quite have an office, but I had some privacy. And my boss didn't mind what I did in my down time as long as my work was finished. Those were the days!

Now I’m resorting to slowing my work down and stretching it out so I don’t have to look busy when in actuality I don’t have any work to do. I hate not doing my work to my best ability. I don’t want my co-workers to think I do my work at a snail’s pace. But I also can’t twiddle my thumbs until something lands in my inbox.

What’s a girl to do?!?

To good friends

In case you didn't know it, I share my life with some pretty fantastic people!

I came home yesterday to find a card in the mail from my first friend from college.  We lost touch after college, but over the last year have reconnected, thanks to my divorce.  The first time we got lunch last May, we spent a solid five hours catching up. We've gotten together for lunches and dinners here and there this past year and it’s like we never lost that time after college. Picked right up where we left off.  That’s a good friendship.

Then there’s the college kid. Sadly, I haven’t gotten to spend as much time with her this summer as she’s been back and forth from Charleston to home. Thus she hasn't been back to CrossFit either. However, when she is here, we make sure to squeeze in some girl time. We can have fun doing practically anything. And we have the BEST junk food/movie days!

And we can’t forget about one of my other favorite people, my old boss. Practically my first boss. She is fabulous! Sadly, she moved a few months back. She has an amazing energy and it’s just fun when she’s in the room.  Plus she’s a sugar fiend just like me. It’s never going to be a bad time when she’s around, that’s a guarantee.  The only flaw is that when we do get together, we always seem to run out of time.

I adore my friends and would do anything for them. This past year I've learned how important good friends are and who I can always count on. They've all been amazingly supportive this past year. They’re all one of the best things that came out of my divorce!   

Now what?

What am I supposed to do now?

There are few times in my life when something ends and I feel like I need to fill a void. This is one of those times.

The boyfriend and I spent a good portion of the weekend watching the 2013 CrossFit games on ESPN3. And all of a sudden it was over last night.

What now?

That's excitement right there! 

I ask myself this every four years or so after the World Cup ends. A month of one to three games a day and all of a sudden it ends.  

This is a very similar feeling.

Beardy was my favorite athlete! 

I didn’t even watch every single event. Not even every heat of the events that I did watch. Yet, I still have this void.

I was thoroughly entertained with this year’s events. Mostly because I have a year of CrossFit under my belt and can really appreciate what these athletes are putting their body through. It was incredible to watch.

While I’m sad it’s come to an end,  I’m really happy that I won’t have to hear about how Rich Froning is a God anymore. Impressive he’s won three in a row, but I just can’t get behind a guy like him.

Should have been the winner, but I'll settle for 2nd.

I’m sure we’ll see plenty of folks replicating the games events over the next few weeks in my gym. There were already a couple of guys doing the 21k row on Saturday.  Even I tried to do my own version of the pool event yesterday afternoon. Believe me, I’m paying for it. This just makes me wonder what kind of mental state these folks are in to be able to push through the pain and soreness to continue on for 4 solid days.

Handstand walking at it's best!

I don’t have the strength. I don’t have the will power. And I don’t have the mental abilities to ever attempt anything games related. But I’ll gladly watch everyone else push themselves to get there!