Pray for Boston

Being a part of Marathon Monday by running the Boston Marathon is on my bucket list. To cross the finish line of one of, if not, THE most prestigious running event in the world is one of my dreams. It is one of the most celebrated and uniting days of the year in Boston and today it has been marred by tragedy. Today this event has forever been changed. Today, once again, our feelings of safety and comfort in our own town, state, and country has been changed. About four hours into the marathon today, two explosions went off near the finish line. People were killed. People were injured. People are and forever will traumatized. How could this happen?

I am overcome with emotions. I am sad, horrified, angry, scared, mad and confused. It is unfathomable to me that some heartless, hate-filled people would do this to innocent people, especially on such an inspirational day. A day that thousands of people worked their asses off for. A day where millions of loved ones and strangers come together to cheer on these people. A day that now will forever change the game of racing, large public events, but more so, will forever change the game of life. Its unreal.

Nut. Milk.

Nut. Milk.

So for the last three days, I have had a liquid diet of juice. By choice. Yup, no chewing. (Not even gum.) Just juice. Cooler Cleanse fresh-pressed, raw, vegan juice. The night before I began the cleanse I didn't sleep well out of anxiety and fear for not eating real food for three days in a row. Although I received a lot of support from friends and family about this cleanse, it still didn't stop the anxiousness. Most people I told about the cleanse were really supportive and excited for me. I was very appreciative of that. People who hadn't done a cleanse before were kind of glad I was their guinea pig because some of them had toyed with the idea of doing one as well. And those that had done it before had nothing but positive things to say about it. This was reassuring and I was glad to have the support and curiosity. Many people also asked if I was going to blog about my Cooler Cleanse experience. My answer: "But of course!!" I love to over-share. And I'm pretty good at it.

I purposely did this cleanse during the work week to assure myself I would be kept busy during the cleanse and not just be laying around the apartment bored or doing longer workouts and running around doing errands on the weekends. Also the timing of it was just perfect which helped my reasoning about doing it (as explained in my post a few days ago.) I also knew that, regardless of the time, if I was spending $174 on juices, I wasn't spending money on anything else and I was going to do this thing just as it is recommended. So how did it go? Well, thanks for asking!! I am sure I will give you more detail than you ever wanted to hear. Additionally, this is probably the longest post I have written to date (although it's three days worth if information so be prepared), but you know what? This is my blog, so I'll do what I want.

Win it for Ware

I have a new crush in my life and his name is Kevin Ware. And yes, <gasp> he is a basketball player. Shocking, right? I most certainly have a type. I do love me some tall, athletic basketball players. But Kevin Ware is also in college. And before you think I am some cougar/cradle robber, I have my reasons for my new Kevin Ware crush. (And I am sure I am not the only female out there who feels this way.) My crush on Kevin Ware isn't an I-wanna-have-your-babies-crush, but an admiration-crush. 

In case you have been living in a bubble for the last few days and haven't watched the news or picked up a newspaper and don't know who Kevin Ware is, do yourself a favor and do NOT Google him. Although he is now kind of America's sweetheart, all that will most likely come up during your search are horrifying images and gruesome videos. Don't look at the pictures and don't watch the video. Trust me. (And for those who put them on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter, shame on you!) Lemme explain...

Bring it Juice

I love food. Like really love it. I am not from the school of "eat to live" but from the school of "love to eat." And when I don't eat, look out, I get hangry. That's right, hungry-angry. Hangry. And when this happens, take cover because I am not fun to be around. I get snappy and moody. It's not pretty.

Although I am also someone that does try to eat healthy a majority of the time, I do have my "slip-ups" from time to time. But they are totally allowed. I mean, I am not going to live life with no hamburger and fries. I'm not. That's no fun. Everything in moderation is the key. But really, for the most part, my diet is pretty healthy.

Because I love to eat so much, it may surprise some of you that I want to try a juice cleanse. This is not for the purpose of losing weight, but for cleansing my body AND my mind. I want to challenge my body on a different level than I have before. I usually challenge it with exercise and other physical activities, but by doing a juice cleanse, this is taking it to a whole different level. I want to start Spring on a new, high note and also start the last leg of the school year super-charged and feeling great. My Spring break ends Tuesday night so if I do a three-day cleanse for my three-day work week, it will start off the tail end of the year hopefully very positively. I think it will be a good "reset."

Stocking up on Undies

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I am headed to Europe this summer for three weeks. I will be seeing many different cities in eight different countries in those three weeks and am beyond excited. I have never been to Europe before or traveled alone so this is a big deal for me. My airline tickets are booked and the trip is now paid in full so there is no looking back now. Only forward. And I guess that's the best way to live life anyway.

Although I am super psyched for this trip, I am very nervous as well. As per my usual fashion, there is always some anxiety to go with everything. (Working on this. And getting better actually.) On a trip so long and so far away, of course there are the usual concerns of the language barrier, getting lost, not seeing everything I want to see in such a short time, etc... And then there are the not-so-normal concerns that cross my mind. Of course I am not going to let any of these ruin this trip of a lifetime, so I am open to any and all suggestions to alleviate any stress related to any of these. With that being said, here are some of the worries I already have about my upcoming Europe trip.

1) Laundry. This is by far my biggest cause of anxiety for this trip. (#firstworldproblems, huh?) 24 days. 1 suitcase. Summer heat and humidity. This adds up to sweaty, smelly clothes day after day. I can't go out and buy a completely new Europe wardrobe with outfits for each day. That would be silly. (But if I could afford it I probably would.) I also know Europe is not basketball shorts-tank top (my go-to summer attire) friendly for walking around so I will have to mostly wear dresses. This is totally fine also. Those who know me, know I have plenty of those. (Some might say too many.) Since I will be in a different hotel pretty much every night, I don't know if I will have time to send them for the laundry service. (But if I can, I most def will.) I do plan to take a shampoo size bottle of detergent and handwash and hang some stuff every few days, but I can't do this with everything. I am not one for re-wearing clothes that are unwashed, but I may have to get over that. I will however, stock up on extra underwear and bras. That's for damn sure.