Weekend Re-Cap...

This weekend turned out to be a lot of much needed fun with some of the greatest people in the world!

Friday:

 My friend Samantha and I took a little journey down to my old stomping grounds (Stillwater) to visit our friend Dustin. In typical Meagh and Sam fashion, we stopped for coffee beverages on the way out of town...

A Caramel Macchiato and A Pumpkin Spice Latte. Perfect roadtrip companions. :)

We got to Stillwater and I realized how much I miss being there. It's such a great place to be. Perhaps I'll be back there someday. Anyway...I got to give Dustin his apartment warming gift and I think he liked them (He didn't say otherwise). They were a very practical set of glasses that you could write your name on with chalk...so basically...kind of awesome, right?

This one says "D-Mo". There were also ones labeled "Giggle-snort", "Dustinov", and "Dustin".

We did a few of the Stillwater musts...Hideaway Pizza and the Stonewall...then we watched Hocus Pocus! I. LOVE. THAT. MOVIE....and it made me excited that Halloween is next month!!!

Saturday:

Moving on...I am a genius. Why, you ask? Well, because I registered to do the Out of the Darkness walk for the AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) on Saturday morning. It was a great cause, and I'm so happy that I was able to do it, but man..it was early. We had to leave Stillwater at 6:15 AM...AM!! But after some McDonald's coffee beverages (Starbucks in Stillwater wasn't even open yet!) we were good to go. We arrived at the walk site right on time....

Where was the walk, you might ask?!?  It was at my favorite place!

THE ZOO!!!!

"I love him. I miss him. He still talks to me"

It was a really great walk and a great way to remember and honor the people that have been lost to suicide. The little boy in the picture made me want to cry...his shirt was so sweet. I'm glad I got to support this cause.

 Look at the animals! I don't think i've ever been to the zoo that early. It was really fun. All the animals were active because it was about time for them to eat. AND I finally got to see the elephants! I'm not sure why I love the zoo so much, but it really is one of my favorite places on earth.

Once the AFSP walk was over, it was time for some last minutes errands in preparation for my AMAZING friend Elisabeth's birthday festivities! Somewhere along the way I cam across this really random assortment of figurines...they were animals made out of fruits and veggies. A flamingo made of watermelon, A skunk made of a red onion, A squirrel made of a Peanut...and....

A walrus made out of grapes!?!  Who thinks of this stuff??

Finally it was festivities time! I absolutely love celebrating the births of my friends and Elisabeth is one of the greatest people I know. She has such a sweetness about her and I am truely honored that I get to call her my friend!!

We ate at Bourbon Street and had less than stellar service from some dude who called himeself "Buddy Holly" (no, seriously...he did). We had a good group of people, if I do say so myself...

That elevator shot is one of my favorites of the weekend. Julie was there too! And I decided to wear Kenny's hipster glasses.

Sunday:

I rounded out the weekend by going to a movie with my best friend in the world, Wesley! He's also pretty amazing and I'm glad I have him in my life. Sadly, I don't have a picture of our movie adventure to add...so i'll just leave you with this one, which leaves me not wanting to touch anything....ever.

So, it was a wonderful weekend! I hope everyone else had a good one too!! Until next time...

  Peace.

-M

busy...Busy...BUSY...

That was a really long break. My appologies to the three of you that read this blog. I'll try not to let it happen again.

I have some bad news. Remember that whole "30 Day Shred" Challenge business? Well....I fell off the wagon, indefinitely. In all honesty, I got a little bored with it. Plus, it wasn't helping (at all) in my weight loss journey...it was actually causing me to gain a little. I know it was muscle because for the week that I didn't do it at all, I lost somewhere around 6 lbs. So, I'm going to try to do it a few times a week instead of every day. I mean, it really does wonders for toning.  No one said that I'd complete all of my challenges, right? Right.

Anyway...life seems to have taken over...well...my life. Seems a bit strange to say, but I feel like life has gotten kind of intense over the past month. Not all bad, but definitely not all good. Here's a rundown of current/upcoming events:

School/Work:
I work at a University, so it's kind of exciting when school starts back. Campus is pretty dead in the summer--with the exception of a few summer class students--so it's nice when everyone comes back and the campus is buzzing again. But along with the students comes more work for me! Contracts, and chapels, and events...it's busy. I still love my job and I'm SO blessed to work with such great people!

Sickness:
I've felt a little like death for like a month now. It comes and goes, but I haven't felt 100% in a while. I'm hoping its just the weather--which has been BEAUTIFUL this week, FYI--but we'll see. I'm not going to let it get me down, even though all I want to do is sleep. :)

Sleep:
I just want to sleep always! Until last night, I haven't slept an entire night in about 3 weeks. Last night was great though. I slept like a rock (however rocks sleep). AND I took a fabulous nap yesterday as well. I think sleep will be returning to me soon!

Dreams:
I've been remembering my dreams a lot more recently. I'm not sure if they're real dreams though, or simply 'almost-asleep' thoughts. Either way, they've been relatively good dreams. And some of them have had really cool 70's-esque lighting...weird, right?

Friends:
Had a little girl's night outing with a few lovely ladies (one who was visiting from Houston--Shout out to "Mir") which was a blast...even though we ended up at a shady karaoke bar.  Some random dude told me (had a friend tell me) he thought I was pretty...yay? haha.
I've reconnected with some old friends. :) Facebook is a magical thing. :)
A great friend from high school/college had a labor day cookout (complete with smoked meats and such) and I got to see TONS of people I haven't seen in a while. It was really fun and much needed!

Phone:
Plugged in my phone a few weeks ago to update my software....and well, it decided to purge EVERYTHING. Pictures...gone. Messages...gone. Contacts...gone. Apps...gone. Everything...gone. I cried for about 20 minutes, then realized that I was being silly. It's just a phone. I'm not dead. It'll be okay. I'm slowly rebuilding my phone life. Little by little.

Family:
My Cousin is in town for a few weeks (she has one week left here). Then she's off to Marine boot camnp! I'm so proud of her! I think she'll do great.
My dad's pending nuptuals....
I've seen my nephew a lot recently....He has to be the quirkiest kid in the world. I love him to pieces!! AND I'm ready for another niece or nephew...Here's lookin' at you, bro!

Future:
My dear friend Elisabeth's birthday is this weekend (expect a special (heavy photo) blog post about that. I'm not sure what I'd do without her; she's amazing! I'm excited to celebrate her...youth!
It's September, which means that October comes next, which means that HALLOWEEN IS SOON!!!! It's my favorite holiday and I'm SO excited! Also, I will be doing some sort of Music challenge starting in October. I know I originally had a Couch-5k routine planned, but I might push that to the spring. We'll see how it goes....

Well, that's about it. Nothing too major happening, but I think some good things are on the horizon. I'm ready for cooler weather and cardigans! and boots! and scarves! I have a feeling we're going to have a few more weeks of warm weather though before I get to enjoy fall...but I will celebrate when it finally arrives! Until next time...

  Peace.

-M 

Weekend Round-up...I Need Coffee & A Massage...

I can't believe it's Monday already! Why do weekends seem to go so quickly?! One of life's unanswerable questions, I suppose.

I had a really fun weekend though! I will chronicle it in the photos below....enjoy!

FRIDAY

I had the honor of celebrating the birth of my dear friend Ashley! Along with her fantastic roomie, Elisabeth! It was a fun night! We had dinner at a restaraunt that none of us had been to before, and it was actually quite delicious.

The big-talking Host, Rico, was kind enough to take our picture! We all look a little strange in the eyes...but its okay.

After dinner we headed downtown where more fun was had.

 

The evening ended in us walking to our car in the rain. It was still a great night! I love these ladies!

SATURDAY

I, along with my church's youth group, took a little journey to Frontier City. I'm not gonna lie, I was really excited about spending a whole day outside in the sunshine...even in this crazy Oklahoma heat! I mean, look at that! I was all smiles, for serious.

I was less smiley once I actually go there and started sweating, but it's okay...I survived....Until my best friend tried to make me ride that horrifying ride pictured below...

Why would someone voluntarily get into a giant slingshot!? ah! No thank you! But I was going to take one for the team and ride it anyway...but...Luckily I got out of that it, thanks to the lovely Rachel... 

It's a fun story...maybe i'll tell you about it sometime...haha.

Apparently others look strangely on people who stand in line for rides at amusement parks while wearing a neck brace and ranting on about how she was injured riding the very ride they were all standing in line for...This girl is hilarious!. :)

After all of the standing in line (and really only riding a handful of rides) it was time to partake in what we all came to the park for...SWITCHFOOT!

I saw them a few years ago with The Goo Goo Dolls and they were great! They were even better this time!! Plus, I got to share the musical goodness with my favorite person in the entire world...Wes!

Just in case you are unaware, he's the best.

It was a long, hot, sweaty, crowded, but fun day...And by the end of it...

My feet and legs hurt so bad....to the point where I actually thought that aputation would be less painful...(yeah, i'm dramatic when i'm tired and sore). haha.

 

It made me realize that I'm not a youth anymore...I'm an adult and I get tired at 8:30. My feet hurt when I'm stomping about an amusement park with hundreds of children and youth. That's my life now....I'm cool with it.  It's a good thing busy weekends like this are rare for me. I'm not sure I couldn't handle it!

  Peace.

-M

Getting into a routine...

Technically, I'm on day 11 if the 30 Day Shred and I think i've done pretty good thus far. I've only missed two days. They were both Wednesdays (I have a lot going on Wednesday evenings and I just don't have time). I've even done Level 2 a few times and I didn't die! [my abs hurt like I was goign to die, but I didn't]

 So...If you read the previous post, just ignore that schedule. ha. I've decided that I can do the workout everyday, but i'll just skip Wednesdays. If I feel like doing some other form of exercise in addition to the 30DS then so be it. But I'm not going to be a workout nazi...that's just no fun.

That being said, i've noticed a lot of differences just in the 9 workouts i've done (I haven't done it yet today). I'm not losing all that much actual weight, but i'm stronger and definitely more toned...and I've already lost about 1.5 inches around my waist! It's a work in progress for sure, but I'm getting to where I want to be.

This was a very boring update, but it's what I have for now. Until next time...

   Peace.

-M

I Fell Off the Wagon....

It's true guys...I've fallen...but i'm going to get back up! I skipped day three of my 30 Day Shred Challenge. Completely SKIPPED it. [even the Fonz disapproves of this].  I could make up a number of excuses (letting my muscles heal, i've had a cold for a week, yada yada yada) but the truth is, I just didn't have time, nor did I have the energy. It's lame, I know, but I'm not giving up.

It wouldn't be a challenge if it were easy, right? I will continue with the 30DS today and add another day to the end of the challenge (or perhaps use one of my "free" days as a 30DS day). It'll work out.

To be honest, I enjoyed the day off. haha. My legs were pretty sore yesterday...so I guess because of that, I let myself be a slacker for a day.  I will survive, and so will this challenge! I owe it to the Fonz!

   Peace.

-M

Revisions...and a few aches....

Well, I successfully completed Day 1 of the 30 Day Shred (I'll refer to it as 30DS from now on) Jillian kicked my booty! WHEW! I felt all 27 minutes it! Felt it in a good way though...It was definitely tough, but it wasn't excrutiating and it's definitely something i'll continue to do...
That being said, my muscles are a little sore today. Not bad, but I can tell they were worked out. ha! I find they hurt a little more the longer I sit...They're fine after I walk around for a bit....But, I've decided to revise my 30 DS plan just a little to give my muscles some time to rest and to add variety. Instead of doing the 30DS for 30 days straight, I'm going to break it up a little. I'm going to do 5 days of 30DS [Monday-Friday] and let my weekends [Saturday & Sunday] be "free" days.

Let me define "free": I have the option to do absolutely no working out on one of the two days...ONLY ONE! On the other (or both if i'm feeling particularly adventurous) I can either do a 30DS routine, or a jog/walk, or a bike ride..etc. Variety is good, right?

I think this will work out really well. I've been reading a lot of testamonials about 30DS and a lot of people had better weight loss results when they combined it with another form of cardio. That's my goal. To tone, add muscle, and lose weight. Plus, the 30DS system has 3 different levels of difficulty, so I can change it up weekly or daily (as I see fit).  This, combined with better eating habits (not fully healthy, but better) I should see great results!  We'll see if i'm this optimistic in a few weeks. ha.
I'm really excited about this particular challenge and I hope that I can make it all the way through. It'll end up being more than a month, but it's okay. My September Challenge is a music challenge which can easily be done simultaneously with this challenge. I'll get in to that a little bit more in a later post. I have 3 of the 4 bands picked out already, and I might consult my readers for the 4th [see my previous post for more details].

   Until next time...

   Peace.

-M

A Future of Challenge...

Hello All!

I've been absent from the blog world for a little while, but I decided today was as good a day as any to find something to write about...

I have decided that I really enjoyed having a challenge in my life. (a fun challenge, not a tough life challenge) That being said, I think i'm going to try to do a challenge every month (at least until december). I already have them planned out...sort of. It's going to be exciting!

August is going to be a tough one, but I figure it never hurts to start out with something that won't be easy...I mean, country music WASN'T easy and that turned out pretty great!  During the month of August (1-30th) I am going to do Jillian Michael's '30 Day Shred'. I'm hoping it kicks my butt, in a good way! It seems like the perfect time to start a more intense workout routine. I've been jogging/walking/biking pretty much everyday for about a month now, and I seem kind of stuck in an almost boring routine. This should be just the boost I need! Plus, it will help tremendously (I hope) with the "weigh down" we started at work a few weeks ago (I'm 7 lbs down so far!).

Not all of my future challenges will be exercise challenges. I have decided to alternate them between music and workout and whatever else comes to mind...and if anyone has any ideas on other challenges that could be fun...Let me know! I'm always open to suggestions.

Here is a tentative schedule of challenges:
August--30 Day Shred
September-- Four, week-long music challenges [Four bands/artists I don't love. One week each.]
October/November--Couch to 5k
December--???

I could probably do another challenge during October and November, but I'm not sure what I want to do. Maybe learn a new skill or something? Ideas are welcome! Until next time...

  Peace.

-M