I have found that there are a lot of ways to measure progress at the gym. Instead of focusing on the number on a scale or my number of reps, I try to focus on how many times I need to go cool down in the locker room so that I do not throw up all over the gym floor. Today’s workout had some intense cardio, and I found myself in the locker room twice, trying to catch my breath and soaking up the sweat pouring off of my face with a handful of paper towels. It was definitely not my best day, and I felt a bit like I was dying. So now I am sitting in my car, trying to find the strength to drive home.
I have been quite tired recently and fear that I may have accidentally become reliant on energy drinks and caffeine to get me through the day. I’m not really sure how to correct this at the moment because without them I feel as though I have died and come back to life, but only a quarter of my brain came back with me. It’s as if when I am awake, my brain is still asleep. I’m trying to think of what I can do to jumpstart my mind back to full power, and I am open to suggestions.
I have finally stopped sweating and have put together the perfect playlist to drive home, so I will end this blog here.
One thing that I take very seriously is my birthday. It’s the one day of the year where I hold all of the power, and I can make ridiculous requests of the people around me. Growing up, this started by simply getting to choose what I wanted for my birthday dinner, which is a big deal when you are one of five kids sitting at that table. At one point, I started enforcing a dress code for my birthday dinner, which typically included the fanciest thing that everyone had in their closet. This eventually led to some awesome dance battles and thrones being made in my honor. My intense desire to harness this power resulted in last night being one of the best birthday parties I could have imagined.
Yesterday, I got to celebrate my 24th birthday with some of my favorite people on the planet. My lovely friends gathered in a lodge and spent the evening fulfilling all of the silly requests that I had made for this party. My party rules/requests were as follows:
All attendees must perform a choreographed dance, either solo or in a group.
For anyone adamant about not dancing, I will also accept a karaoke performance or a presentation on a topic that you are passionate about.
Come prepared with at least three compliments for me as there will be a Honey Roast.
I have to start by saying that I am genuinely impressed by the commitment that everyone had to these rules. We had a few beautiful karaoke performances, some absolutely astonishing presentations and one stunning dance performance. Every single one of these was absolutely perfect in its own way. Two of these presentations were made about me, because apparently my friends are just so passionate about the way that I am. There were some truly embarrassing photos thrown in and a pretty accurate description of my pros and cons.
Karaoke was a popular choice and performances included: Tequila by The Champs, Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit, I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys, and Happy by Pharrell Williams. All of these were wonderfully done, but I think the highlight was the duet on the song Tequila, because that’s definitely a song that takes two people to sing.
The only official dance of the night was done to the song Yeah! by Usher, and it was a performance I will not soon forget. The energy, heart and true talent of this individual was shining bright on that dance floor. His dedication and willingness to fight through the nerves of dancing in front of a crowd is something I am deeply appreciative of.
The Honey Roast was lovely, and most of the presentations counted towards this request as they were created about how wonderful and hilarious I am. One sweet attendee came prepared with a multi-paragraph story about meeting me and the way our friendship has grown from there, and it almost made me cry in front of everyone. I would also like to count the homemade cookie cake that I was surprised with as part of the Honey Roast, because it was just the most thoughtful thing in the world. It is also the most delicious thing in the world.
While it is fun to believe that my birthday temporarily gives me some sort of magical powers that can persuade people to do these ridiculous activities, I know that the real reason any of this silliness took place is because I have people in my life who truly care about me. I’m surrounded by people that love me and want to bring me joy and put a smile on my face. I truly feel so lucky and I just love my friends so much. Last night was so much fun and I am so deeply grateful for all of the love and kindness I received.
It was a wonderful reminder that being strange, goofy, and fun is well worth the embarrassment that it can sometimes bring. This weekend I encourage you to do something just for the pure joy of doing it. Open your heart up to joy and light!
I will only be 23 for approximately 30 more minutes, and as always, the passing of time is putting a pit in my stomach that I just can’t shake. I’ve felt very odd and emotional all day and I can’t quite figure out why that is. I was sitting in my car after the gym and just started crying for no reason. Such peculiar behavior.
Looking back on this past year, I have a lot to be grateful for. I’ve met some incredible people and have formed friendships that I hope last a very long time. I’ve worked hard in the gym and have made progress that I’m extremely proud of. I’ve taken on challenges and made some tough decisions. I’ve tried new crafts and hobbies. I attempted to be someone that runs for fun; that lasted about two weeks. I got bangs 😃 I traveled to a new city and saw The Bean ™️. I was brave for one week and tried a lot of new food. I hid a sweet potato and a lightbulb around the office for a few weeks. I spent a lot of time with my lovely nieces and nephew and got to watch them grow even more this year. I got my first tattoo. Most importantly though, at 23 years old, I started a blog!
This year has felt incredibly long, and at the same time has absolutely flown by. It feels like just a few weeks ago I was sitting in my apartment, with this same weight sitting on my chest, listening to 22 by Taylor Swift while it was still 100% relatable to me. I’m not sure why my birthday always makes me feel a bit uneasy, but I know the feeling will pass. I’m looking forward to another year full of growth and strength and silliness. I am looking forward to another year spent with my favorite people, doing my favorite things. I can’t wait to see what all I can accomplish at 24 years old.
My birthday wish is for everyone to do something kind for someone else after reading this. Go out of your way to make someone happy! Bringing others joy will bring you joy, which will bring me joy. And the world goes round. My second birthday wish is for everyone to compliment me 😃 I know it’s not Sunday, but go ahead and say something nice!
As one might say (over and over and over), this has been my LeBron year, and in a few minutes I will be leaving that title behind. It has been wonderful and joyous and emotional and challenging and heartbreaking and beautiful. I am extremely grateful for it all. I’m extremely grateful to be seeing another year of this incredible life.
If you couldn’t tell from today’s title, I am currently writing this blog from the beach. My sister and I got up at 5 o’clock this morning and drove a little over an hour to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, we witnessed the sunrise in the rear view mirror while we were on the highway because I did not get ready as fast as I thought I would this morning. Regardless, we made it to the beach and have found quite a few shark teeth already! There’s not a ton of people here, and for most of the morning it was overcast so we didn’t have to worry too much about being scorched by the sun. It has been a very relaxing experience so far.
As I am laying here, I have been thinking about how grateful I am for the friendships in my life. I hung out with sweet Morgan last night and we searched for The Miracle at the softball game, only to find out he wasn’t playing and was hiding from us the whole time. My new friend Kayla and I have been brainstorming the concept of a “byob, byop” (bring your own bait, bring your own pole) fishing birthday party. Great in theory, but not great once I have a fish on a hook right in front of me and I’d rather die than touch it. I fear I’d panic and throw the whole fishing pole into the water and Kayla would have to dive in after it. Yesterday, I talked to my friend Dylan, who I text every 3-6 months to see how his life is going, and I am always met with an awesome response that brings me great joy. He’s been catching up on the blog and I am just grateful for the many ways to stay connected to the people I care about.
The sun is definitely out now so I am going to reapply some sunscreen and get back to enjoying this beautiful day. Hopefully we find a lot more teeth in the ocean. Wish us luck!
I just got home from my nighttime walk after a very tiring day. I consumed an unfortunate amount of caffeine today and needed to burn off some energy. I was about 2 miles in and was starting another lap when I heard an odd noise ahead of me, so I decided to turn around in fear that it may be something that could snatch me. I’m already at 6,100 steps for the day and it is only 2AM. Walking is going to be my new career.
Friday was my last day at my job, and it left me with some mixed emotions. I’m more than ready for a change and was very unhappy in it for a while now, but I am going to miss a lot of the people I was working with. I made some truly lovely friends, and even though I’m not far, I worry that those connections will fade now that we no longer have any obligation to see each other. Although, I’m sure I will see people as I do my new day job: walking. Plus I know I have more Waffle House nights in my future with my new friends. Despite the rumors that have been going around, I’m actually not on the first flight out to Chicago! I will be where I’m at for a while, and I am trying to find the joy in that.
A tough lesson that I’m learning this week, is that things change and people change and most things don’t last forever. Sometimes, you outgrow people that you once hoped to spend your life with. To spend a third of your life loving someone, just to not know if you’ll ever see them again is hard. Working a job you once loved for a year and a half, only for it to amount to nothing is hard. Fighting with family that you just want to laugh with is hard. But nothing lasts forever. Both the good and the bad are temporary. You’ve just got to flow through them both. One moment you’re like, will I spend the rest of my life waiting for someone that can’t bother to call me back? The next moment you’re laughing till there’s tears in your eyes at a Paint & Sip while someone rips open the refrigerator, demanding to know where the Sip went. There are highs and lows and everything in between, and you have to go through it all for the greater good.
It feels like I am starting a new chapter in my life. Things feel a bit messy right now, but I think it’ll all be for the best. I’m very excited to see what this all leads to. I know it’ll be something good!
I hope that this week is full of laughter and joy and silly things that remind you of how fun life can be. As always, I am beyond grateful for everyone that takes the time to read these silly little blogs.
Stay blessed, Dawgs❤️
P.S. Saying that something is “for the greater good” makes you sound a bit like a movie villain. That’s just one reporter’s opinion.
As I write this, I’m currently waiting on one of my colleagues for our team stretch, and he is nowhere to be found. He was warned that if he doesn’t show, everyone can punch him one time. So, if anyone sees Chris today, you have to punch him one time (and one time only).
I am standing here writing this because I have been informed by some of my Dawgs that they have been waiting for an update on my exciting life. While I have been busy and have lacked inspiration a bit, I don’t want to keep my loyal subscribers waiting. In the chaos of the last couple weeks, I have been trying to make note of things in my digital Blournal™️. Here are a few things that I have documented. As always, feel free to guess which ones were said by me.
“I would bring an iSpy book and I would ace that thing.” -In reference to what book would be brought to a desert island.
“What if you were going through crisis?”
“I don’t.”
“What’s the Harlem Globe Trotters of this soup?”
“Is the Waffle House good?”
“It’s bussin.”
“The redbull went right to the soup in my stomach.”
“Dump him. Dump him like last week’s juice.”
“I think I’m addicted to playing pool.”
“Imagine we ran out of cabinet budget.”
“I was just getting see-sick from seeing too much.”
“What’s the Harlem Globe Trotters of me?”
I spent some time in the infamous gymnasium this evening and for once it wasn’t for anything basketball related. I did see an old blog character there and started thinking about the way my life has changed in recent months. I almost started spiraling but luckily, I was pulled back to reality when The Cat in the Hat started her performance on stage.
Now, I’m going to try to find some food from a truck and hang out with my awesome sisters. While this was not my most creative blog, I hope everyone enjoys all that I felt was noteworthy over the last couple weeks.
I hope everyone has a weekend full of laughter, warmth, and peace. I encourage everyone to try something new this weekend! Listen to Noah Kahan’s new album! Go see a local musical! Call an old friend! Punch someone that’s slacking on their team building exercises!
Be well, Dawgs! ❤️
*All suggestions of punching Chris are for entertainment purposes only. Dawg With A Blawg does not support violence against innocent coworkers.*
Today is a wonderful day for a lot of reasons. I’m alive, I’m breathing, I’m able to move my body, the sun is shining, I’m spending time with people I care about, and I’ve laughed a lot. There’s a long list of reasons why this is a good day. The number one reason though, is that someone I know is celebrating being clean and sober for ten years today. One of the trainers at my gym has reached this massive milestone and I truly could not be happier for her. While this isn’t a close friend or someone that I know very well outside of the time I spend at the gym, she has still impacted my life in a way that I will always be grateful for. She spends every day uplifting and encouraging everyone around her, and pushes them to keep showing up for themselves. I want to share some of the things she’s said that have really stuck with me.
“Just because you haven’t yet, doesn’t mean you can’t.”
“You didn’t work this hard and come this far just to quit.”
“There’s a version of you six months from now that needs you to show up for yourself. There’s a version of you six months from now that will be glad you didn’t quit when it got hard.”
“Don’t hope for something easier, work to be stronger.”
“Don’t quit when you’re tired, quit when you’re done.”
“The only person you’re in competition with is the person you were when you walked through those doors.”
“Speak kindly to yourself.”
These are all things that she has essentially shouted at me while I am mid-burpee, dripping in sweat, struggling to catch my breath, and ready to fall over and give up. These words push me to keep going every single time, no matter how impossible it feels. This extends far beyond sprints and push-ups and kettle bell swings. I carry these words with me in everything that I do. The mental strength that I have built over the last two years has come directly from hearing these things over and over from someone that doesn’t give you the chance to give up on yourself. It has made such an insane difference in my life and in the way I show up for myself every day, which is why I wanted to share it with you lovely people.
I wanted to pass along the words that have changed my life for anyone that may need to hear them. There will be challenging times and moments that seem impossible to get through, but you just have to keep going. The only way to get the outcome you want is by learning not to quit when things are hard. You can slow down and you can modify, but it’s important to keep putting in the work. When I first joined this gym, there were so many things that I watched the people around me do that I just thought I would never be capable of. I thought I’d never have the confidence to try a box jump or to pick up heavy weights. I thought I’d never have the coordination to get a double-under or the endurance to run even a quarter mile without wheezing. But I have done all of those things and so much more. I’ve accomplished things that once felt impossible, because for two years I have been told that I am capable and that I can do hard things.
I know that this blog is a bit more serious than usual, but I just think it’s important for everyone to know that you are capable of anything you set your mind to. You are deserving of the life you want, no matter how far-fetched it may feel in this moment. My life has changed for the better because I crossed paths with someone that taught me the importance of showing up for myself and putting in the work even when it would be easier to quit. That’s something that I will spend the rest of my life being grateful for. To anyone reading this, please just keep trying and keep showing up for yourself. Again and again and again.
Happy Say-Something-Nice-About-Me-Sunday! You guys know what to do😘
This weekend I stayed busy. Harper and I worked hard to get our steps in to do our part for the team wellness challenge. Yesterday morning, we went on a walk through town. About a mile and a half in, we realized we had gone too far and it was way too hot to continue on, so we turned around and tried to find the shadiest path to walk home. Harper’s exact words were, “Wait, there’s a big shadow up there.” And that is how we navigated our way home. Later that night, we were joined by JJ and we went on a Nickelback Walk™️, which is where we walk and listen to Nickelback. On this journey, I saw a night bee. What was a bee doing out at night?
I’ve decided that starting tomorrow, I will begin my journey towards doing my big one. Some of you may be asking, what is my “big one”? That’s a good question. It’s where I chase after my goals and get better in every way possible. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. It’s where I’m just better. Six months from now I’ll look back and think, “Wow, I really did my big one this year.” In the words of Timothee Chalamet, “I’m really in pursuit of greatness.”
My big one starts with my mentality. I believe that your thoughts become your reality, so my first mission in this pursuit is to guide myself back to a mental state of gratitude and positivity. From there, I can achieve anything. My next move is changing the way I fuel my body and using that fuel to go crazy in the gym. I have to start treating every day like I’m training for the Level Up Games. I also need to greatly limit my screen time if I am going to accomplish any of this. I must recover the part of my brain that has been captured by Instagram reels. I just love posting on my story too much to just outright delete it, so I will have to find another solution. I also plan to master a handstand by the end of the year, and I want to be able to do one unassisted pull-up. Lastly, I will realign myself with joy and whimsy and seek out opportunities to experience and create both. These are my goals and I know that I will achieve them.
Everyone feel free to follow me on Instagram to view my previously mentioned stories:
I’ll be improving my diet, increasing my daily movement and working to be more mindful, joyful, and less stressed out. Additionally, I am swearing off all romantic endeavors as they always lead me astray and distract me from my goals. I can’t risk having an upset heart when I am pursuing all around greatness. My big one is about me and all that I can achieve when I put my mind to it. However, nothing is accomplished alone. I will need the support of my lovely subscribers to keep me on track with my goals.
If it feels right for where you are right now, I encourage you to think about what your “big one” would include, and to join me in this journey towards it. I hope the week ahead contains laughter, love and warmth for you all!
For dinner tonight, I am enjoying a bowl of peas. I am eating this bowl of peas while I write this, wishing there was just something I could do to have more energy throughout the day. Surely it’s not by properly fueling my body with more than a can of peas. The six grams of protein I’m getting from it must be beneficial in some way. Surely I’m not overly fatigued and getting sick right now from over exerting myself at the gym and just having peas to recoup. That would never happen to me.
Today was an odd day. It consisted of skipping down the hallway at work with my colleagues in attempts to win blossom points, an uncomfortable meeting, an unfortunate drive in the rain, a tough but rewarding workout, and an overall state of exhaustion. I still laughed and I still danced, so it’s a good day in my book.
I just wanted to share that I had the best weekend of my life. I watched my nieces and nephew for the whole weekend and it was just the most wonderful time. They are the funniest, silliest, and sweetest kids in the world and I’m so grateful I got to spend that time with them. We played a lot of games and dress up, and had some fun and messy craft time. My sweet nephew showed me his best impression of Cookie Monster and I have to say, he is very talented. I love them with my whole heart and I’m excited to see them again tomorrow!
I fear that my lack of blogging has come across as a lack of interest, but that is not the case. I have been working on my little project and just have not had the mental capacity to work on two posts at once. I have overcome this hurdle though and hope you were all excited to see that Dawg With A Blawg notification in your inbox. I hope to wrap up this project in the next few days, and I’d just like to give a fair warning that it is very long. It’s more of an extensive essay than a blog, so just be aware of that should you choose to read it.
I hope you all have joy in your hearts and know that if times are tough, they will get better. They always do.
As I’m writing this, I am sitting on the windowsill in my empty bedroom, staring at the most glorious sunset I’ve seen in a while. This will be the last time I sit in this window watching the sky change colors at the end of the day. My apartment is empty and it is almost time to leave. I’m sitting here thinking about the last year of my life and all that has changed and I am feeling quite emotional about it all. Although I am not going far at all, I am going to miss this place a lot. I thought an appropriate end to this chapter would be to sit in my favorite spot and share some memories from my time here.
One of my favorites is the time my sister and I were sitting in the living room with all of the lights out, watching the lightning during a crazy storm. I don’t remember what exactly we were talking about the entire time, but I do remember that we would try to predict when the lightning would strike again by counting down to it. I think there was only one time that it actually happened when counting down from three, so we started counting from other numbers. My sister started somewhere around 95, and the sky finally lit up when she got to 90. We both got excited and shouted, “NINETY!!” as if that would cue more lightning. It sadly did not work, but it sure did make us laugh.
Ninety!!
Another highlight would be the time we had a game night that ended with JJ and I having a foot race. We somehow went from playing Uno to sprinting through the parking lot. I say “somehow” as if I didn’t blatantly say that I was completely sure that I could beat him in a race and was willing to prove it right in that moment. We got our running shoes on and headed outside. Long story short, I did not win that race. I did try my best though and I didn’t fall down, which is always a win in my book.
A night that I will always remember and will probably never hear the end of, is something I now refer to as The Great Christmas Meltdown. I had just returned home from watching Marty Supreme on Christmas Day and was talking to my sister about a small fear that had slowly crept into my mind as I watched that movie. During our conversation, that small fear quickly turned into a full-on panic attack, an uncomfortable text, and an expensive Doordash order. My sister witnessed what was probably one of my most insane moments as I sat there trying not to fully spiral out of control. While the memory itself is not necessarily a positive one, it made me grateful to have my sister’s support on a night that just felt like the definition of being 23.
In June, I had someone here visiting for a few days and there are a lot of moments that I really cherish from that weekend. The first would be when he was trying to teach me and my sister some self-defense moves. He was showing us all kinds of crazy stuff and I couldn’t even comprehend how to do a lot of it. He managed to pick me up and lay me on the floor in half of a second, and as I was laying on the floor, I thought two things. #1: “I need to get a lot stronger because if this actually happened to me in the real world I don’t stand a chance.” And #2: “Of course this is what we’re doing right now. Of course we are standing in the living room showing my sister how to throw someone to the ground and break their arm. What else would we be doing?” The second thing that I think about a lot is when he just kept putting my socks in the freezer all weekend. Just disappearing into my closet and then trying to sneak them in the freezer as if I wouldn’t notice. It was another good reminder to just be strange and silly. The last moment that I think back to frequently, is when I was sitting on the couch, crying just a little bit, after he told me he was moving to Chicago. It was bittersweet, and believe it or not, that conversation is the reason that I am moving out of this apartment today.
Standing up to this in .5 seconds
I could write a million more paragraphs about the memories that this place holds, but I can’t risk losing the attention of my lovely readers. Instead, I will do a speed round of everything that comes to my head with no further context. #1: Being surrounded by blueberries as I laid my head down on the counter saying, “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me.” #2: Watching the most insane show ever created with my sister and her boyfriend and calling those days “Tim Sundays.” #3: Looking at my kitchen counter that was covered in plants and being proud of my ability to learn and grow. #4: Being told by a five-year-old that I don’t have enough toys in my house and could I please get more toys? #5: Crying a whole lot while my mom held me. #6: Discovering I could do 10 consecutive push-ups.
And finally, memory #7-#348: Dance Parties™️. My favorite part of this entire year was the countless dance parties that I had. I think it’s important to note that I am not just talking about anytime that I was dancing, because a true Dance Party™️ consists of me blaring my music, dancing like my life depends on it, while my sister sits on the couch and watches as I try to get her to participate. For awhile this was happening at least 3 times a week. Around 7PM, music would come on and I would dance for at least 45 minutes as my sister sat nearby. It was like a nightly routine at one point. If I was ever in a bad mood, she would put on Carry Out and I could not help but stand up and dance. I’d stop dancing an hour later and my bad mood was cured. I sure do miss those dance parties.
This past year here has been very special. My life has changed greatly, as have the people around me. It has brought me great joy and great pain and a whole lot of growth. It’s led me to a brand new season of life and has helped me to learn that change is unavoidable, so sometimes it’s best to dive headfirst into it. I encourage everyone reading this to think back on the last year and reflect on all that is different and all that has remained the same. Think about where you’d like to be a year from now and ask yourself what changes need to be made in order to get you there. Remember that you are capable of anything and everything that you set your mind to!
Be mindful of what you’re building your life around, Dawgs ❤️
