Pool Party

Had a great time with some friends tonight. About 15 or so of us had a pool party.

friends, food and a hot tub...sounds good to me!

I just kept wishing it was really friday the whole time, so much so I think
I will be doing it again on friday.

Check out my insane tan lines. This is called Melanie does not know how to use spray sunscreen. Now I walk around looking like I have some freak rash. Yeah me!


I think we could have gotten another couple people in there.

soy beans and running

hey guys!

Food!
I cannot seem to eat enough edamame lately, I wonder if that means I am lacking in some vital nutrient. (To be fair I also ate at Krispy Kreme this week, I wonder what "vital nutriet" that covers!) If you have not tried it yet I found these easy steam bags of it at Target and it makes a great snack. (The edamame that is! There shall be no steaming of donuts!)

Exercise!
I took my first step to running today. I have no idea why I seem to want to run so bad. But I am going to give it a shot! I am following this guide and here is what it recommends week one.

Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one.

I actually found this pretty manageable so I shall keep going!

Fun!
Kelly and Scott had their birthday dinner last night. It was good to get to spend time with them again.
I ended up last night at a bar showing the UFC fight. I really enjoyed it. I have no idea why but I so found myself pulling for Matt Hughes.
I am very excited I get tomorrow off work!
I have been staying up entirely to late lately but it's been worth it.

Any of you guys on twitter?

Peekture

Are you guys amused I seem to be too lazy to write here? That is why you just seem to get pictures! ha.

Last night I went to a cookout at Molly's new place. (wow, what a townhome!) Gabe and Molly went ALL OUT and had some awesome food.

Here is a picture from last night - the 3 amigos!


Then today we had a "party" at Seacoast called Mayhem. Lots of fun, food and 80's music for all!

Me and Ellen


Me and Michelle


On a totally different topic if you see that shirt I am wearing it is just a L. That's right not an XL just a L. I don't even know the last time I could say that.

yup yup!

If you look back you see that one year from today I started Jazzercise! Wow has it ever changed my life.

-Almost 50 pounds GONE!
-I consistently work out for a solid hour 3-4 days every week
-I went from a size 22 at lane bryant to a 16 at old navy! (woot!)

Plus now I get these crazy thoughts in my head like I want to start running or work on auditioning to be a jazzercise instructor.

another day another dollar...

Anyone ever feel like all they do is work? I know I sure do! I suppose I will just be thankful I have a job and quit complaining!

Same ole stuff going on with me. Super busy, on the go go go all the time. Whew I am tired just thinking about it!

Jon and Al's daugther Alyssa turns one this week so I will get to see them this weekend. I look forward to it.

Ok since this is a pretty pointless post I will at least include a picture.
Last Friday, at McFly.

Me and the best friends a girl can ask for.

a few things...

- I just spent a week at the beach with friends. What an AWESOME thing to do.
- I have been house hunting. Wow, I can't believe I am going to be owning my own house.
- Dating. Ha. Interesting to say the very least.
- Working on taking my training up to the next level. What is next? Running? A mini marathon? I just feel like I need to do more. I want to be a lean mean buff machine! (A girl can dream right?)

long week.

Boy was it a long week for me. I was so glad when the weekend got here! I am so thankful for all the awesome friends in my life because sometimes I just don't think I could make it without them!

I haven't been able to jazzercise this week and it has really affected me. I have a heel injury and it is keeping me sidelined. I am going to have to suck it up and go see someone about it. It is just not getting better. I also had some minor vein surgery this week. (Can you say over 100 shots in a 12 inch area - YOW!) So that was also another reason keeping me from working out.

I had so much fun today at the St. Patricks Day 5 points celebration. A whole day of live bands, friends and fun. Not to mention I found a new band I really enjoyed. The Blue Dogs. Woot!

words to live by.

If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind...

Full Song

wow.

Yes, it has been forever. I mean 7 months is a ton of time to pass without updating. What a 7 months it has been.

It is hard for me to think that it has been almost a year since Mat told me he wanted a divorce.

Over the last year I have:

-Lost almost 50 pounds
-Become a jazzercise fiend! I so love working out.
-Reconnected with with old friends and made awesome new ones
-Performed during the halftime show at a Charlotte Bobcats game
-Found an awesome church

Don't get me wrong, it was rough. I even lost Gracie, the best dog ever. But life is too short to stay down forever.

I am loving life. Who knew?! I am also looking forward to dating again etc. It is so time.

me.

I would just like to take a second to say....

Unread Kittehs and Jazzercise

--

Caroline - Thanks for asking about Jazzercise. I too am still going about 3 times a week. I am totally loving it although my teacher kicks my butt! Are you guys doing the new "4 minutes" routine? wow, hard.

Apparently Ryka shoes are like the "official shoe" of Jazzercise and I am dying to get my hands on a pair of Studio D's.

Ryka Studio D's

How to be a Woman

I came across this in someone else's blog today and It really hit home with me.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/05/how-to-be-a-woman/


1. Get to know your authentic self.
Discover the real you. Don’t blindly accept the role you were conditioned by others to fill. You have your own path to follow. Be your own independent person. Don’t allow peer pressure to force you into an inauthentic role.

2. Own your power.
Accept full responsibility for your life. Don’t live as a doormat, a sheep, or a victim. Stop giving away your power. You must accept that you’re the creator of your life and that no one is coming to rescue you. Many women stressed the importance of taking responsibility for your own financial future instead of leaving it in the hands of a spouse.

3. Find your voice.
Build the courage to express yourself authentically. Speak your truth. You deserve to be heard. If others react negatively, that’s their problem. Ask for what you want; you can’t expect others to be mind-readers. You teach others how you want to be treated — not by dropping hints but by telling them directly. If you don’t speak up for yourself, who will?

4. Find your tribe.
Consciously build and nurture a supportive network of positive relationships, including family and friends. Drop relationships that drain you; maintaining them is self-abuse. If you don’t like your current relationships, it’s up to you to change that. Surround yourself with good people who love you and inspire you. You deserve the very best relationships.

5. Practice self-care.
Avoid overwhelm by taking time to sharpen the saw. Give yourself permission to do what you enjoy. Demands from other people can wait. Accept that you can’t do everything for everyone. You can’t give to others when you’re empty inside.

6. Express your creative side.
Cultivate outlets for creative self-expression. Explore music, art, writing, poetry, etc. Build a business. Be artistic. Put your ideas into physical form.

7. Embrace conscious sexuality.
You and you alone must decide the role sex will play in your life. There are no right or wrong answers. If you want it and enjoy it, let that be enough. Different women had widely varying opinions on what kind of sexual expression they personally preferred, ranging from waiting until marriage to having guilt-free one-night stands. But the commonality was that they consciously decided and accepted what was right for them, regardless of how other people felt about it.

8. Be beautiful.
True beauty comes from the inside. It can’t be found beneath a load of cosmetics and surgical alterations. Recognize that you’re a beautiful person on the inside, and you’ll broadcast that awareness on the outside. You are beautiful.

9. Keep your heart open.
Regardless of how badly you may have been hurt in the past, keep your heart open. You’re stronger than you think. The rewards of love outweigh the risks of being hurt again. You’re here to express love, not to live in fear.

10. Become wise.
You are highly intuitive, so work on deepening your ability to trust your intuition. Keep learning and growing. In the long run, your wisdom will become one of your greatest assets, both as a way to meet your own needs and to help others. (Many women placed a very high value on developing their wisdom.)

update!

hey all,
Yeah I know I hardly post. Yet somehow I get angry when none of YOU guys have posted. Funny how that works huh?

I really don't have much to say. Life sucks for me at the moment. I'm 32, living with my parents, without a job and my husband left me. Not really winning any great achievement awards there.

I suppose overall I am doing ok though. I no longer spend my days crying and have started to do some new things.
- I have had 2 job interviews with a company that I like.
- I went to Jazzercise by myself last night, got a good workout, met new people and had fun
- Found a church I enjoy going to

Not really sure Columbia is where I will be staying. I definitely would consider a job in Greenville or maybe even Spartanburg. So if anyone lives there let me know of anything!

I would love to be able to find a group of Clemson loving friends that I can start going to the football games with in the fall.

So that's an update from me.

Baby Alyssa!

She is just 4 days old in this picture. She is a tiny 5 pounds.

Alyssa Katie

My brother and his wife welcomed their first child into the world yesterday. This is my parents first grandchild and they are so excited.

Congrats Jon and Allison!

update

Hey all,
Thank you to those of you that have emailed me lately. Yes as many of you assumed Mat and I are divorcing. About a month ago he told me he no longer loved me and wanted to end our marriage. As you can imagine I have been extremely devastated. I am currently trying to pick up and move on even though it's the most painful thing I have ever done in my life.

I have moved back to South Carolina and am currently living with my parents and looking for work.

Feel free to email me anytime.
Thank you for thinking about and praying for me.

Over You - Daughtry

Now that it's all said and done,
I can't believe you were the one
To build me up and tear me down,
Like an old abandoned house.
What you said when you left
Just left me cold and out of breath.
I fell too far, was in way too deep.
Guess I let you get the best of me.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should've started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I'd doubt you,
I'm better off without you
More than you, more than you know.
I'm slowly getting closure.
I guess it's really over.
I'm finally getting better.
And now I'm picking up the pieces.
I'm spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together.
'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,
I got over you.

You took a hammer to these walls,
Dragged the memories down the hall,
Packed your bags and walked away.
There was nothing I could say.
And when you slammed the front door shut,
A lot of others opened up,
So did my eyes so I could see
That you never were the best for me.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should've started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I'd doubt you,
I'm better off without you
More than you, more than you know.
I'm slowly getting closure.
I guess it's really over.
I'm finally getting better.
And now I'm picking up the pieces.
I'm spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together.
'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,
I got over you.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should've started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I'd doubt you,
I'm better off without you
More than you, more than you know.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should've started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I'd doubt you,
I'm better off without you
More than you, more than you know.
I'm slowly getting closure.
I guess it's really over.
I'm finally getting better.
And now I'm picking up the pieces.
I'm spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together.
Well I'm putting my heart back together,
'Cause I got over you.
Well I got over you.
I got over you.
'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,
I got over you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C_oHwLcivY&feature=related

life.

my life will never be the same.

check in

hey all,
I just wanted to take a second to thank those of you who have reached out to me during this time. It really means so much to me. I have had some great emails and several really nice phone conversations with you guys.

Thank you for showing me good friends make such a difference in life.

stuff.

I cannot begin to tell you how hard it is to separate and pack up 8 years worth of stuff.

pictures, wedding mementos, disney souvenirs all make me cry uncontrollably.