on mtv.

while getting ready for the gym yesterday morning i had the channel set to mtv and this came on:

and while i don't absolutely love usher and think some of his songs are gross, i adore the choreography done in this video... so fun! it's mostly the hoppy thing he's and a few of the dancers are doing!

there are two things that i learned about mtv yesterday:

1. there are more acne companies advertised than videos played
2. taylor swift music videos apparently make me cry (such a sucker)

it's so strange to have mtv now. i haven't watched it years.

new favorite snack.

dear fage greek yogurt,

are you sure this is good for me???

because i love you.

day no. 2 @ ballys

this morning i got up at 6:30 to make tim coffee (big history of christianity test today) and read while i drank my coffee. i left at 7:30 to make it for an 8am *free* session with a personal trainer named bridget.

the session went pretty well. we didn't do any training, really. i didn't even use up the allotted half hour of time i had with her because to be honest, i can't afford her and didn't think it was fair to take up a lot of her time. i know what those free sessions mean for personal trainers looking to make a living. she was super helpful. we didn't spend time at every machine but we did sort of go over the basics of how to adjust the machines and such. at the end of the session she asked me what i was going to be doing today for my workout. i confessed that i was probably just going to spend 20 minutes on the elliptical because i had only slept for 3 hours the night before. (true story... i never have a hard time getting to sleep but last night was like the 2nd or 3rd time in my life i can remember not sleeping well) she knew that i wouldn't be pursuing a training package (we covered the "my husband is in school" basics) but pleaded with me to make sure i did weight training 3 times a week.

she said: "you really need to be doing weight training 3 times a week... especially since you've already been to physical therapy twice. it shows that you're pretty weak and you're too young for that."

dang it she's right.

i am so tired of being such a weakling.

for whatever reason (genetics, i know), i am just not naturally sturdy or muscular. i think i'm in okay shape mostly because of the activity level required at my job and the fact that most of the time, i eat a lot of healthy foods. but i'm not strong.

i'll never be ms. muscles but i definitely want to be able to do more weight on those machines. after i got out of the practice of weight training, i was always been intimidated by the crazy looking machines and hated looking at the instructions because i don't like to look like i don't know what i'm doing and i don't want to be bothered by a trainer trying to show me how to do things right just so they can get a client.

well that's just pride! and by assuming that's all trainers want to do when they help you with a machine is just judgmental. i'm so over that.

i hope to go to the gym at least three times a week. i might keep updates on here to hold myself accountable and i know i need to keep a little notebook of what i'm doing so i can stay consistent. it's imperative that i strengthen my body at this point. aches & pain are one thing but having chronic pain so bad you're in a perpetual bad mood is another.

and speaking of bad moods, what a difference exercise can have on your mind! i know i sometimes struggle with depression and i know what when the sun goes away it's going to be even harder. i have the answer right in front of me.

the following are just a few pictures from our honeymoon. i wasn't working out or super active when we went on this trip, but being in sedona, arizona was exhilirating. and not just because i was a newlywed (although that helped! ;D) tim and i took several hikes while we were there. there was a lot of hard work involved and time spent as we made our way up various mountains.

once you get to the top the rewards make it all worthwhile, right?

and then some!

hunger games

so, may i just say that i am addicted to this series??

the plot is incredible

the main character strong, honest, determined, protective

and i am on the edge of my seat!!

my favorite books are the kind that keep you on the edge of your seat

i love a good book addiction every now & again

in book addiction world, this book is crack

i had to put it down this morning after an hour of reading...

because i have to go to the gym!!!!

i joined a bally's yesterday for just $21.99 a month. as long as i can get my butt out of bed a couple of mornings a week, i have a pretty good class schedule to choose from... day & night, depending on when i'm working. it's huge and has a really nice pool so i'm actually thinking about finding myself a swimsuit for some exercise. husband says if i don't go, he's cancelling the membership for real this time. so i have to go. i will say, it's much nicer than the last gym i was a part of so that will help motivate me. and... it's pretty close to a whole foods, which also makes me happy! i think i may stop by there this afternoon for some salsa & some sort of healthier jelly or preserves for a peanut butter sandwich. we don't have a microwave at work and i try to stay away from lunchmeat as much as possible... pb&js never let you down!

i'm off!

have a great day!!

hide yo kids, hide yo wife... we gon' find you

this weekend, while visiting with our new chicago friends, amber & dan

and their friends visiting from out out of town, kris and kristi

we went on a youtube hunt for videos to make us laugh

while we found tons, this by far is my favorite

tim found it via dennis miller's website...

there are no words

and the remix:

we love this guy...

he absolutely cracks us up

and after each time we watch it

we walk around the apartment singing:

"we gon' find you, we gon' find you"

&

"hide yo kids, hide yo wife, hide yo kids hide yo wife"

:)

more of the boys

not sure if i've posted this yet or not

my friend amber commented on facebook that in the above photo

you can tell who nash's momma is :)

looking forward to getting these two together next weekend!

anthropologie

more desktop excavation for ya

the following are pretty things from anthropologie

most of which i could never afford

:)

these are teaspoons for stirring honey into your tea

they are $128

but also awesome

gorgeous rug

(not even going to tell you how much this costs)

doorknob

(there are a ton of these to marvel at)

pretty bowl

(they have hundreds)

"edamame serve ware"

why you need special serve ware to serve your edamame i don't know

and they're $150

but super neat

i believe these are cheese carving tools.... ?

i want them

so very betty draper of me, i know

gorgeous

obsessed with that beading

whew!

clean desktops are the best!

getting rid of two things on my desktop..

i love this hair

and i love these bangs

i have to keep telling myself no

even though this picture has been on my desktop for awhile

everytime i go for the bang thing

i look a bit crazy and uneven

*sigh*

now this has also been peering at me from my desktop for quite sometime

may i introduce to you:

max & nash

do you see the resemblance?

those stuffed dogs crack me up!

my sister in law alicia found them somewhere in japan

apparently daschunds are quite popular over there

she would like to get a dog and sees them constantly

which, for a spanburg, is hard

because we love daschunds!!

i don't know that i want any other kind of dog ever again

♥

in other news,

tim & i are on our way out

it's 10:07 in chicagoland

and highwood is having a pumpkin festival all weekend

live music, people, food... pumpkins

they are trying to break the record for most pumpkins lit

(the standing record is over 30,000 or something)

tomorrow they will light them all through town for a minimum of 5 minutes

i will be visiting the lovely amber and will miss it

but wish us luck!

this could be what highwood is known for, people!!

will post soon.

and we will "offically" have Internet on Wednesday-ish?

had to stay up here alone this weekend....

and the next....

and i'm struggling through the depressed life-change phase

but things will be okay.

until then....

♥

last hurrah in indy...

tim & i had a great date night

much needed time together since these past few weeks have been a bit crazy

it was wonderful!

after tim dropped me off for physical therapy

he took me to teavana...

and this will be my last time in awhile...

i am sipping a cup of the Earl Grey White Tea as we speak!

it'll be great to enjoy a cup in the evenings

with minimal caffeine so i can sleep easy!

i also splurged and purchased some more of the

Arcadian Apple & Emerald Bamboo Forest

(Julie, we are trying this iced before I go!!!)

since they will soon be discontinuing it

while we were at the fashion mall we stopped in The North Face store

where i lusted after this beauty

this coat is extra cute in black

and in person

and perrrrfect for highwood, IL

where it's 15 degrees cooler than jamestown

a young woman working in the store noticed my teavana bag

and we had a great tea bonding experience

i let her smell my teas

i love having tea friends :)

after the mall, husband let me have first choice at where we would eat

and with a little negotiating we settled on mexican

since it was a last hurrah i ordered a patron margarita

that's right, it was awesome.

after mexican we drove to broadripple so that i could get red mango

pumpkin spice is back!!!

then we drove over to nora so that tim could get huddles

we had a great drive home

lots of laughs

lots of connection

it felt great to be carefree

as we haven't been so in awhile

tonight: drink tea & clean my disgusting kitchen

tomorrow: bloomington

sunday: tiffany & then the last sunday at my store

next week will be extra crazy!!