So today is a very happy day. It's the boyfriend's birthday! I'm going to do my best to not actually make this a sappy post, but to spend a little bit of time talking about him because he is a big part of my life, and you should know him, too.
I guess first I should tell you his name is Omar.
He works for the Pirates and the Penguins. His work ethic is exceptional and I admire that. He does what it takes to get things done and although he hasn't quite caught his break yet, I know it's coming.
His doppelganger is this guy...which is sorta nice cause Dexter is my favorite show on television. When you ask my nephew Emry who Dexter is, he points to Omar.
He is actually 11 months younger than me, but often times more mature acting. I like to joke that I'm a cougar. :)
We've been dating for 3 months... actually today is officially 3 months...but it feels like it's been longer. We had an instant connection from the first time we talked and we've built successfully on that over the past few months.
He is 1/2 Egyptian, but doesn't really look it with his ginger hair and freckles, although his beautiful sisters most definitely do. He claims he tans really well, but we haven't made it to summer yet, so we shall see 'bout that.
He is by far the most well rounded guy I've ever dated and can easily carry a conversation with all types of people... between music, culture, politics, sports, exercise, lifting, running, theater, travel, etc, he's got it covered.
He has been to Egypt a handful of times and did an internship in London. We're actually heading to NYC this weekend to celebrate his birthday. This is also exciting because he spent a chunk of his childhood growing up in Brooklyn. He is taking me to see his old stomping grounds and we're going to hopefully see a few musicals as well. I'm stoked!
He is also a runner and is training for the Pittsburgh Marathon as well, but he is planning on doing the full (cray cray) as long as his body doesn't decide to crap out on him. He is also a blogger and has been discussing his workout regime and his plans to get his body healthy again. You should definitely start following him too! Attempt on Life
He is a very random person and is very quirky. I think that's what makes me laugh the most when I'm with him. He knows how to defuse issues before they become problems and isn't afraid to say he is sorry when he is wrong. It's refreshing.
I think the fact that he agreed to go on vacation for a week with some of my friends that he hasn't even met yet, says something about his personality/character.
Am I rambling too much about him?
We still have a lot to learn about each other and I think we both have a great approach to this relationship. I couldn't be happier with how things have progressed. My friends often tell me that they haven't seen me smile as much as I have the last few months.... okay starting to get sappy.
Regardless, Happy 26th Birthday Omar!! Do me a favor and thank your mom for me.
:)
I've definitely had my sh*t together the last week or so... okay maybe not completely in the food consumption department this weekend, but definitely in the running/exercising department.
Friday I did 4 miles in 37:23
I have no idea how I did it this quickly.
Sunday I did 6 miles in 1:02:44
Sunday was a bit of a rough run, but I kept pushing through the hills and just kept swimming. Also, played volleyball Sunday night, which was a nice little side workout.
So now that I've gotten you caught up on my running, and I've logged the workouts I was supposed to log last week (hello accountability), I figured I'd write a little about something I saw on Pinterest. I have an obsession with that website, and it's not a small minor obsession, it's a full fledged love obsession. But that's neither here nor there, back on topic:
Before you think I'm going into some woe is me sort of deal, I'm not, so keep reading. I actually think I do, well for the most part, have my sh*t together. This e-card just made me think about where I thought I would be at the age of 26, almost 27.
Every little girl has some thought, at some point, about their life as a grown woman. What it would be like to have a successful career, have a boyfriend, get married and have babies. I mean who didn't determine their future by playing the M*A*S*H game. Do you remember that game? Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House? I'm pretty sure I determined how my whole life would turn out playing that game over and over and over again with my friends. Here is a link to an explanation of MASH incase you grew up on another planet.
When I was young, I always said I was going to wait until I was about 25 to get married. I would proudly state that I wanted to go to college, get my degree and establish myself and my career before getting married. It's funny how as I've gotten older, the idea of establishing myself and my career never changed but that the age in which I wanted to get married kept getting pushed further and further away from 25. I'll be 27 in less than a month, and most likely won't be married anytime soon. I've stopped putting an age requirement on that sort of thing. When I'm ready to get married, I'll get married. If that's in 2 years, great, if that's in 10 years, fine, if it never happens, well then it just wasn't meant to be for me. If I end up never married with 14 dogs and I'm the crazy dog lady that every kid in the neighborhood is scared of, then that's pretty awesome, too.
It's also interesting to note that the thought of buying my own house and supporting myself independently for many years was something I never thought of when I was younger, but that buying a house by myself has been a goal of mine for the last 3 years. I have been saving and planning and budgeting and saving and saving and saving in preparation, and soon enough, it will become a reality. I'll be able to say I bought my own house, with no co-signer, and no financial help from anyone else. I'd say that means I've come a long way with getting my sh*t together.
I think I worry sometimes about people/society judging me because I'm not married or planning a family just yet. I think everyone moves through these stages at different times in their lives and that society needs to learn to back off. I am very happy for my friends who are married. I am very happy for my 3 brothers who are married. I'm very happy for everyone who is starting a family. I love spending time with my nephews and seeing my siblings happily start their own families. I know, when the time is right, I'll join them in that journey, but for now it's just not the right time.
So maybe society would say that I might not have my sh*t together because I'm not married or popping out babies, but most days, I think I'm doing juuuuust fine! Now if only I could get this biological clock to quit ticking.... haha
I am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to work from home two days a week. I am very spoiled. I do my best not to take it for granted either. I know that if I ever decide to get another job, it's going to be very hard for me to go into an office every day of the week. The added bonus with working from home, along with being able to throw in a load of laundry, tidy things up, make healthy meal choices oh and can't forget working in my jammies, is the fact that I get to go for lunch time runs. An hour is enough time to get in a good weekday run.
Today wasn't exactly a good run, but I did it. I also made sure to change my route so that I hit a lot more hills than normal (as you will be able to see in my splits below... miles 2 and especially 3 were a doozy).
Mile 1 - 9:55
Mile 2 - 10:12
Mile 3 - 10:36
Mile 4 - 10:00
TOTAL TIME = 40:43
Not too much to say about this run. My legs were tired and I tried to push myself the last 0.5 mile or so because I just wanted the run to be over.
One thing before I go though, it's amazing the effect music can have on me. It can evoke such strong emotions and take me back to certain times, good and bad. Today, during my run, a song came on that has always brought about strong emotions in me. It took me back to a time when I was hurting... the first time I heard the song, the lyrics were just perfect. It's like the person writing them knew exactly what I was going through at the time (a bit dramatic I know, but I can be that way sometimes) and it hit me hard. I used to listen to the song on repeat. I put it on my running mix because hearing it usually pushes me to go faster and harder because it stirs up so many emotions in me. Well today, it caused me to break down a little and I actually cried. Sounds a little pathetic as I write this, but I guess it's just that kind of day. The song ended and I pulled myself together and finished strong like nothing happened. It is what it is fronds.
