A collection of happy thoughts
For Valentine's Day, David brought home roses for me. After I was done with work, we packed up a picnic and ate dinner while overlooking Los Angeles from Griffith Park. We didn't bring cameras or our phones, and we just enjoyed the moment together, laughing, eating, and talking about what we wanted for ourselves and each other in the next year.
Some of our dearest friends from Chicago - Jose, who married David and me, his wife, and their two beautiful girls - will be visiting us here in Los Angeles in June. I am beyond thrilled, and David and I are already plotting the adventures we will have with them! Hint: Disneyland will be involved.
We got our taxes done last week, and I hope that it is a much less painful process than it was last year. The fact that we got much, much less back in taxes (and even had to pay a small amount in federal taxes) will reduce the likelihood of getting audited, like we were last year. (That, and the fact that all of our W-2's were included. And we didn't apply the undergrad tax credit for my grad school status. Yeah, our tax lady last year really messed up.) I think we are passed the time where doing taxes meant a chunk of money heading back to us, but at least it's done.
I met someone through my volunteer gig who is a PsyD student, and she has agreed to meet up with me to discuss her work (as she's doing pretty much exactly what I want to do right now)! She also offered to invite me to join her the next time she attends a therapeutic training. This is my first remotely successful attempt at networking, and I am absolutely thrilled. Hopefully, almost two years since I graduated from school, I will make a connection in Los Angeles that could help me in getting where I want to go.
My work bestie moved away to Pennsylvania, but she is continuing to work remotely. This means that at least I get to chat with her every day, even though I'll miss our hour (and a half, ahem) long walks during lunch. I threw her a baby shower/going away party for her before she left, and I made a cookie monster cake for her. There were things I would improve if I did it again, but I was pretty damn proud: C is for Cookie!
While it hasn't been that long since I last cried (I am a crier, after all), it has been quite some time since I feel like I have been genuinely depressed. This is an incredible relief for me. While I know this doesn't mean I won't experience it again (duh), it is exhausting being depressed, and I am so happy for this feeling of a real rest after running a marathon.
David and I recently signed up for The Daily Burn, which is a website that has a bunch of workout videos for $10 per month. I haven't gotten super motivated about exercise yet (last year David and I completed the Insanity workout series, and both of our sets of knees about up and left the building by the end of it), but they have a lot of different videos of differing lengths and intensities, as well as a significant amount of recovery videos. There are actually two videos that guide you in using a foam roller and a lacrosse ball to work out muscle tension and injuries. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. I still (STILL) have injuries that I developed when I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2008, and this video helped me work through some of my hip and IT Band tension. It's not gone yet, of course, but I feel much more motivated and willing to exercise when I am not constantly in pain (shocker). So! This makes me hopeful.
I love the fact that I live only an hour away from my parents. I am able to go out for a single day and enjoy their company, without it being a stressful event. I often go by myself (especially if David is working), but yesterday we went together. We hung out with my mom and my aunt, and later my aunt left and my dad came home. Mom and I made dinner together, and Dad told David and I need to prepare for a potential natural disaster. You know - normal stuff. I am so grateful to be able to have those moments of normalcy with them. after five years of only seeing them during holidays, illnesses, or funerals, I am incredibly happy to be able to spend this time with them as an adult.
I have a playful, hilarious dog, and a weirdo, loving-in-her-own-way cat. I have friends on whom I can absolutely rely, and friends who may not be the most reliable, but they are fun additions to my life. I have a family who loves and respects me (even if my dad and I have silently decided to avoid certain topics to improve our relationship). I have a husband who loves and supports me, and who can still surprise me in his bursts of silliness. If I were religious, I would call myself blessed. But, as it is, I am so goddamn lucky that sometimes I feel as though I may burst.
Some of our dearest friends from Chicago - Jose, who married David and me, his wife, and their two beautiful girls - will be visiting us here in Los Angeles in June. I am beyond thrilled, and David and I are already plotting the adventures we will have with them! Hint: Disneyland will be involved.
We got our taxes done last week, and I hope that it is a much less painful process than it was last year. The fact that we got much, much less back in taxes (and even had to pay a small amount in federal taxes) will reduce the likelihood of getting audited, like we were last year. (That, and the fact that all of our W-2's were included. And we didn't apply the undergrad tax credit for my grad school status. Yeah, our tax lady last year really messed up.) I think we are passed the time where doing taxes meant a chunk of money heading back to us, but at least it's done.
I met someone through my volunteer gig who is a PsyD student, and she has agreed to meet up with me to discuss her work (as she's doing pretty much exactly what I want to do right now)! She also offered to invite me to join her the next time she attends a therapeutic training. This is my first remotely successful attempt at networking, and I am absolutely thrilled. Hopefully, almost two years since I graduated from school, I will make a connection in Los Angeles that could help me in getting where I want to go.
My work bestie moved away to Pennsylvania, but she is continuing to work remotely. This means that at least I get to chat with her every day, even though I'll miss our hour (and a half, ahem) long walks during lunch. I threw her a baby shower/going away party for her before she left, and I made a cookie monster cake for her. There were things I would improve if I did it again, but I was pretty damn proud: C is for Cookie!
While it hasn't been that long since I last cried (I am a crier, after all), it has been quite some time since I feel like I have been genuinely depressed. This is an incredible relief for me. While I know this doesn't mean I won't experience it again (duh), it is exhausting being depressed, and I am so happy for this feeling of a real rest after running a marathon.
David and I recently signed up for The Daily Burn, which is a website that has a bunch of workout videos for $10 per month. I haven't gotten super motivated about exercise yet (last year David and I completed the Insanity workout series, and both of our sets of knees about up and left the building by the end of it), but they have a lot of different videos of differing lengths and intensities, as well as a significant amount of recovery videos. There are actually two videos that guide you in using a foam roller and a lacrosse ball to work out muscle tension and injuries. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. I still (STILL) have injuries that I developed when I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2008, and this video helped me work through some of my hip and IT Band tension. It's not gone yet, of course, but I feel much more motivated and willing to exercise when I am not constantly in pain (shocker). So! This makes me hopeful.
I love the fact that I live only an hour away from my parents. I am able to go out for a single day and enjoy their company, without it being a stressful event. I often go by myself (especially if David is working), but yesterday we went together. We hung out with my mom and my aunt, and later my aunt left and my dad came home. Mom and I made dinner together, and Dad told David and I need to prepare for a potential natural disaster. You know - normal stuff. I am so grateful to be able to have those moments of normalcy with them. after five years of only seeing them during holidays, illnesses, or funerals, I am incredibly happy to be able to spend this time with them as an adult.
I have a playful, hilarious dog, and a weirdo, loving-in-her-own-way cat. I have friends on whom I can absolutely rely, and friends who may not be the most reliable, but they are fun additions to my life. I have a family who loves and respects me (even if my dad and I have silently decided to avoid certain topics to improve our relationship). I have a husband who loves and supports me, and who can still surprise me in his bursts of silliness. If I were religious, I would call myself blessed. But, as it is, I am so goddamn lucky that sometimes I feel as though I may burst.