I loved the library.

Growing up, I loved to read. I read all the time. My favorite books to read were The Baby-Sitters Club series, Sweet Valley Twins series, R.L. Stine books, and Christopher Pike books. I know, not the most high quality literature out there, but it didn't matter. I was reading multiple books a week.

I loved going to the library to find new things to read. Luckily, we lived in a pretty small town so I could go to the library whenever I wanted, all I had to do was ride my bike. Going to the library was a treat for me, so when I would get in trouble, my parents would ground me from the LIBRARY! It didn't happen often, but it happened.

I had my library bar code memorized so when I put books on hold, I could type it out super duper fast. I remember feeling very special about that!

Since I was very particular about the books I read and only liked certain authors, I never liked it when the librarian suggested other books for me. I would get really mad about it. I'd go home and tell my mom, "The librarian was trying to get me to try different books again!" (Insert big dramatic preteen eye roll.)

When I was in middle school, the librarian posted a job for a library assistant. It would be a job for a student. Me and my friend Sherrie wanted the job really bad! We both applied and she ended up getting. I think it was because she was almost two years older than me.

One of the most exciting things ever was when my mom would take me to the Elizabethville Library! It was in the same county but about 20 minutes away. It was exciting to see what new books they had. A day I got to go to the Elizabethville Library was a magical day!

Funny Story: While I used the library a lot, as I got older (middle school) I started buying a lot of books and collecting them. I still have hundreds of Baby-Sitter's Club books in my basement. I was very picky about my books and didn't want them wrinkled or ripped. I wanted them looking completely new, which obviously meant I had to be careful when reading them. One night while I was reading Ann M. Martin's biography, I fell asleep on it. When I woke up, the book cover was completely bent backwards! 

I BAWLED!!!! 

Why did I bawl!? 

The book was probably about $4. Why was I so anal about my books!?

Did you like going to the library?
Do you go to the library a lot as and adult? I do in the summertime!

Weekly Workouts

I ran... 24 miles

I lifted... 2 times.

I went to 1 tap class.

I had 1 rest day.

I did my PT exercises at home the days I didn't have my appointments, but I had 3 appointments.

Saturday- Epic lifting session @ Planet Fitness and my PT exercises. I was there for 2 hours, just taking my time.

Sunday- PT exercises. They make me knee hurt, so I didn't want to run. Ugh. I thought my knee was supposed to feel better?

Monday- 6 neighborhood miles & PT. Luckily, my knee felt good when I woke up and I didn't feel pressure at the numb part of my leg when I ran.

Tuesday- 6 neighborhood miles again & PT. The numb part was not noticeable. Very good. And good sunrise!

Wednesday- Lifting upper body & PT. The numbness in my leg has decreased A LOT. It even is starting to feel itchy! That means the nerves are waking up. The PT taped my knee and it felt SO STRONG when I went to tap class. In fact, after tap I really wanted to go for a run but I did not.

Thursday- 6 neighborhood miles & PT. The tape REALLY made me knee feel strong. It is crazy how that works! This was my best run in a long time thanks to my knee.

Friday- 6 neighborhood miles & PT. I was super tired since I had to get up at 4:30 and it was raining the whole time. But I got it done and it was enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to this coming week! I hope my knee continues to feel good.

I'm also excited because I learned some new exercises at PT. I'm hoping to get to the gym Saturday and Sunday so I can do them properly.

Friday 5!

Hey all! I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5 2.0!

Today I'm going to share 5 things I'm looking forward to this weekend! This is gonna be short and sweet, guys! 

My week... ugh. I am seriously going to have a nervous breakdown before the school year is over. I'm serious. On Thursday afternoon I nearly had to call someone to my classroom because I thought I was going to have a panic attack. I thought I was going to die. That's what a panic attack feels like right!?

Okay, done complaining. Just one more day of work and the weekend will be here. And I am looking forward to...

1. Paul's Chili Cook Off! Paul is in a Chili Cook Off that takes place tomorrow at Millersburg's 28th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I tried his chili... it is the best chili you will ever eat in your life! Come by his booth tomorrow for a sample!

2. SLEEP. I had to get up at 4:30 twice this week so I could go to my PT appointment before work. I look forward to not setting my alarm on Sunday!

3. Sushi. I literally just decided that I WILL be eating sushi this weekend.

4. Catching up on blogging. I have a lot of great post ideas and I'm hoping this weekend I have time to actually write them!

5. Mentally recharging. I need to come into next week with a new outlook or I am not going to make it until June.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you ever had a panic attack? What does it feel like?

Have you ever entered a food making competition?

What are YOU looking forward to this weekend?

Meg Go Run UPDATES: Part 1

Hey everyone! I hope your week has been going well. Mine has been so busy it the business continues! I'm looking forward to Sunday, which will be the first day I can just CHILLAX. You know me, I love my chillaxing time...

Sometimes I feel like I tell you stories or bring up issues, and then I never remember to update you on how things turned out. Today, I'm going to update you on a couple things that have been going on in my life! I'll update you on some more stuff next week, hence this post being "Part 1".

Prehypertention: A couple weeks ago I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was pretty high. I thought it was because I was nervous, but they still gave me printouts about things I could do to lower my blood pressure! I made the rash decision to stop adding salt to my food. I am proud to say that I haven't added any salt to my food since April 10th! Okay, there is ONE exception. I added salt to the delicious dinner Paul's dad made us on April 23rd. But other than that, I have not picked up the salt shaker. Should I keep going? I do really miss salt.

Our salt shaker is from Alcatraz!

Gaining 4lbs: At this same doctor trip, I accidentally saw how much I weighed and I wasn't happy. I weighed 4lbs more than I wanted to. I went a little crazy for 4 days and started tracking my calories and macros. I was in a dark place during those four days. Counting calories reminded me of a time in my life when I was very unhappy. On the fourth day, I weighed myself and was down 2lbs. That calmed me down a little bit and I stopped tracking everything. I am out of that dark place. It sucked. But I learned I CANNOT EVER KNOW HOW MUCH I WEIGH. It's sad, but it's the truth.

We still need to keep our scale to weigh the cats.

Tap Class: I have been taking tap for a little over a month and I am enjoying the teachers and my classmates. We are learning two routines for a recital at the beginning of June. I do wish I was in a harder class as this New Beginner class isn't very challenging. I'm not saying I'm perfect at everything because I'm NOT, but I want more of a challenge. I am thinking about finding some videos on Youtube that can teach me some skills so that maybe this summer I can join a more advanced class. I will not rest until I am in the most advanced class the studio has to offer! (This will likely take me years.)

"Like" Jar: One of my goals for 2017 was to write down one awesome thing that happens each week and put it in a jar. At the end of the year, Paul and I can curl up on the couch and read about all the wonderful things that happened over the course of the year. I am happy to inform you that while sometimes we forget to put something in the jar each week, for the most part we remember. And if we forget, we will think back to what we did the previous week and just add it to the jar late.

Tell me how some of your long term and short term goals are going!

Paul was gone... AGAIN!

Remember how a couple weeks ago, Paul was away for a few days and I had a horrible time coping? I was basically convinced I was going to get raped, murdered, and chopped up into little pieces. Or that my house was going to catch on fire while I was at work and the kitties would be trapped. It was NOT a happy couple days for me, and I was so relieved when Paul came home.

Well, guess what? This past week, he was gone again for a couple days! This time, I did much better coping. I basically decided that I could either work myself into a frenzy again, or I could just CHILL. I opted for somewhere in the middle.

(The funny thing is, statistically, a woman like me is most likely to be murdered by her husband. So when Paul is away, I'm actually safer!)

I still took all the proper precautions I took last time... which I won't get into specifically because I don't want to advertise to the world what I do, but I chose to trust in those precautions, thus, relaxing.

Actually, I took a couple less precautions than I did last time. I didn't lock the bathroom door when I showered. On my morning runs, I didn't run loops around my house, I ventured out a little farther. And since this was such a busy week for me at school, I barely had time to obsess and worry about the cats while I wasn't home.

One thing I did do was take my hair straightener with me when I left the house in the morning. Normally when I leave, it is still a little hot, but I'm not worried about it because Paul is home. But when he's not home? That warm(ish) hair straightener goes with me!

Never leave the house without a turkey sandwich and a hair straightener...

Speaking of the cats, when Paul is gone, it's like their world is turned upside down! They are used to having him home all day. When he's gone, they're stuck with my schedule, which is a lot busier. For instant, on Wednesday, I worked all day, then was home for a few hours, then went to tap class and didn't get home until nearly 9pm. Thursday was crazy. I was at work all day, came home for just an hour to teach piano lessons, and then went back to school for our show. I didn't get home until 8pm! Jelly just looked so forlorn...

I can really work myself into a frenzy about things. You know how scared I get to fly and how I'm convinced that the plane will crash? Well, when Paul flies, I am barely scared at all! I just figure he'll be fine... But I do check his flight status to make sure they landed in one piece.

Do you ever have to CHOOSE to calm down and not worry about something so you can be happy?

I love Mondays!

For some reason, I woke up on Monday morning feeling like I had a new lease on life.

Maybe it was because it was the first day of May.

Maybe it was because I only had 26 days of work left in the school year.

Maybe it was because I had just a normal, non-crazy work week ahead of me.

Maybe it was because I got a really good night’s sleep.

Maybe it was because I set my alarm for a half hour earlier so I wouldn’t feel rushed in the morning.

Whatever it was that put me in a good mood, I was thankful for it. On my run, I said hello to a bunny rabbit I saw in a yard. “Hi Busty!!!” I said to him. (We call Christmas “Busty” and it has just turned into a pet name for all animals.) Then later on in my run I saw a black cat and said hi to it too. I’m not superstitious, so I was happy to see the kitty.

At work I tried very hard to be productive. I had on my new skirt, a new pair of underwear and no bra. I basically felt like I could conquer the world!

Nothing particularly bad or good happened at work, it was just a normal day. I LOVE NORMAL DAYS. I also love Mondays. On Mondays, I don’t have any piano lessons after work and can just go home and do whatever I want.

Do you like Mondays?
When was the last time you were in a great mood for no reason?
Do you talk to animals on your run?

Weekend Wrap Up!

Happy Monday!

After a very stressful week, I was happy to enjoy a low key, ZERO STRESS weekend!

I hope your weekend was whatever you needed it to be!

I had to get up at the butt crack of dawn because I had a PT appointment at 7am! Normally I get up at 5:30, but this day I had to get up at 4:30! I am a firm believer that any alarm set in the 5 o'clock hour is okay, but once you get into the 4 o'clock hour, that's just next level insanity! At least I won't have to do this on a regular basis.

Unfortunately I was a little late getting to work due to taking a different route that morning. There was road work on 81 so that just threw a huge wrench into things. Then the whole rest of the day, I felt like I was behind and trying to catch up. 

It didn't help I decided to clean out the cabinets in my classroom. I found old technology in there that will never be used again. Old record players, projectors, programs from concerts that happened over 30 years ago...

Since it had been such a crazy week at school with the musical, open house, and three days of PSSA testing, I decided to let the 3rd and 4th graders watch the DVD of their show. They loved seeing themselves onstage and actually sang right along with the recording. Aren't they sick of those songs yet!? I suppose not. Me? I was excited to delete them off my phone forever!

I had a weird lunch. Chicken, Greek yogurt, and a whole carton of blackberries. They were 99 cents at Aldi! I think blackberries are my favorite berry. Oh, and a lime seltzer water.

I couldn't wait to get home and see the kitties. They had been having a rough couple days because Paul had been gone since Wednesday, and since Wednesday and Thursday were my busiest days, they didn't get much attention or human interaction at all. When I got home, I fed them, gave them lots of loving, and did a round of treats. They love to run for treats!

It was so beautiful outside and I wanted to relax on the back porch, but I felt guilty not spending time with the cats. So I went out in the grass in my bare feet for a couple minutes (I love that feeling!) and then I went back inside.

I poured myself a can of key lime sparkling water with a shot of spiced rum. It's like a mojito without the mint! Then I blogged and watched The View.

I felt very guilty about not cleaning my house because it really needs cleaned. We haven't cleaned it in a month. I know, it's disgusting. But I was just too tired.

Speaking of disgusting, this cake looks messed up but it was SO GOOD!

A friend at work sent a piece home with me. I ate half and saved the rest for Paul.

About and hour before he was supposed to eat, Chrissy put on his one man show entitled,

"I'm so hungggggggggggy!"

I went to bed around 8pm and slept until 8:30am the next morning. The kitties woke me up a couple times during the night, but I was able to fall back asleep.

I was feeling refreshed on Saturday morning! 

It was dreary and rainy, so I didn't really feel like running. I had to go to the gym to do my PT exercises, so I figured I'd lift while I was there. Other than that, I had zero plans for the day!

I ended up being at the gym for two hours! I wasn't bored because I had good podcasts to listen to.

Of course when I don't have plans, I try to think of something to do. I didn't want to be away from the kitties for too long, so I decided that after the gym, I'd go to Community Aid to look for a puzzle, do some shopping for fruits and veggies for the week, and maybe pop by Kohl's and just to putz around... my shopping scores were chronicled on yesterday's Vlog!

Finally, I bought the perfect romper!

And I almost bought these pants... but they were a little more than I like to spend on something that is trendy and I'm not sure what top I would have to go with them...

Paul had been in Denver for the past couple days and was due to arrive in Philly and then take Amtrak to Harrisburg. Unfortunately his Denver flight was delayed, so he missed his connecting flight. I ended up having to drive to Baltimore to pick him up at the airport around 11pm. Ugh! Luckily the drive didn't suck as much as I thought it would. I had two really good podcasts for the way down, and Paul and I talked the whole way home. He's not a big caller or texter while he's gone.

Jelly missed his daddy so much. He finally just crawled in his White Castle box to wait.

It was a joyous reunion when we got home at 1am!

Even though I went to bed super duper late, I got up around 9:30 on Sunday morning. I didn't want to sleep the day away. I had PUZZLES to do!

Paul and I finally watched Survivor from Wednesday (I'm pissed at the result!!) and we watched Samantha Bee's Not the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

Then I did my PT exercises. My knee hurts from the exercises so running didn't sound like fun. Ugh.

Yeah, I workout in my jammies. Don't hate!

Then started another puzzle! It's the one I bought yesterday with two missing pieces. It's hard. I have done all the "easy" parts. Now I just have, oh, 300 pieces of white snow and green trees to do!

Paul made mushrooms and turkey burgers on the grill. We ate dinner and started plowing through the 27 episodes of Seinfeld we have accumulated on our DVR!

Speaking of Seinfeld, I'm starting to get Seinfeld hair...

Do you like walking in grass in bare feet?

Do you ever feel guilty for not cleaning more?

What hour is just next level crazy for you to wake up?

What's your favorite thing to do when you have a whole Saturday to yourself?