Run, Brittany, Run!

I have never been a runner. In elementary school, I was always that kid who was huffing and puffing trying to complete that evil mile run for the Presidential Fitness Test. In high school, I swore I would never run unless there was some sort of murderer chasing me and I didn't think I could take them down on my own.
This past January, I decided to change my status as a non-runner. A friend told me about the Couch to 5K (C25K) program, and I decided it was at least worth a shot. So, I downloaded the app onto my iphone and hit the treadmill.
The first day of my new life as a runner was absolute torture. I struggled to make it through running for just one minute. Every time the little voice in my phone would say, "Begin running!," I wanted to chuck my phone across the room. I ended the day with some serious doubts about whether or not I would actually be able to complete this program.
Even though I considered giving up after the first day, I decided I needed to stick with this program, and I am so glad that I did! I can now say that I have joined the running world, though I don't think I can officially call myself a runner yet. I can only run about 2 miles or so without getting winded right now, but I find that I'm able to run a little bit more each day. I'm hoping that I'll finally be able to finish the C25K program in a couple of weeks.
On July 14th, I will be running my first 5K. I'm going to run The Color Run in St. Paul with my dad and my friends Katie and Chase (Go team Running Rejects!). I'm really looking forward to crossing that finish line... I think at that point I'll finally be able to say that I am, indeed, a runner!

Happy Mother's Day

With Mother's Day right around the corner, I thought it would only be appropriate for me to start my return to the blogging world with a few words about my mom.

Strong, funny, caring and loving, my mom is an amazing woman, who I am lucky to also be able to call my friend. 

My mom has helped to shape me into the woman I am today, and I am so thankful for all that she has done for me. From sacrificing so I could have a good education to driving me to various music lessons to cheering me on at every major event in my life, my mom has always been there for me. She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders, never letting me give up when things got tough and always ready with words of wisdom and encouragement.
Since I live eight hours away from my mom, I can't be with her this Mother's Day. But, I love her more than she even knows, and I hope that she has the wonderful day that she deserves.

My mom and I at my wedding in 2007

My mom and I on our family cruise in October 2011

I love you, mom! Happy Mother's Day!

More than a Number

Fat. 

I hate that word with a passion. Maybe it's because I'm insecure about my own weight; maybe it's because I have heard it spit out in hate to describe others... I'm not really sure why I hate that word so much. I just know that I hate it.
In first grade, a boy in my class told me I was fat. It was the first time I had ever heard that word used to describe how I looked, and it hurt. I found myself looking around and comparing myself to the other people in my class. I wasn't a small kid, but at that point in time I certainly wasn't fat either. However, I found myself feeling fat and feeling bad about myself.
A few years after first being called fat, I found out that my best friend's grandmother referred to me as her chunky friend. I hadn't considered myself to be much larger than my friend, so this really stung. I started to see myself as even larger than I actually was. I became conscious of everyone else when I walked into a room and found myself looking around, comparing my weight to everyone else's.
Twenty-some years later, those feelings still linger. I often feel bad about myself, beating myself up for not being as thin as I would like.
I'm not telling you all this because I'm trying to throw myself a pity party. I'm telling you this because it has taken me over twenty years to truly realize something: I am so much more than a number on a scale or a size sewn into the back of my jeans.
I would be lying if I told you that I'm finally happy with myself just the way I am. I know that I need to lose weight. The difference between the old attitude I had about my weight and my new attitude, though, is that I am now wanting to become healthier. It's not about reaching a smaller number on the scale... it's about making better choices for myself.
I have recently really started trying to watch what I'm putting in my mouth. I've been trying to make healthier choices instead of reaching for chips and candy. I've been trying to exercise more... I take the stairs at work (all five floors, often feeling like I'm going to collapse before I get to the top) and I try to get down to our workout room at home at least a few times every week. I'm taking baby steps, but I'm already feeling healthier. I have even lost eight pounds, and I have to tell you... that feels pretty good.
So, why have I shared all of this with you? I guess the first reason is to remind people that words hurt and can have a lasting effect on a person. Watch the stuff that comes out of your mouth because you never know how much it crushes another person.
Second reason... I have quite a few friends who I know are also struggling with weight issues. They are all so much more than numbers, too. Please, don't ever let anyone reduce you to a number on a scale, because that's all it is... a stupid number.
I'm making a choice to be more than a number and to be a healthier version of the person I already am. Change has to start from the inside, with your attitude. If you can change that, the rest will follow. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure that out...

Love Sick

As my husband walked through our front doorway tonight with his arms full of flu-fighting goodies, I couldn't help but think "that's why I love him." After working all day, I know he was exhausted and ready to just be home and do nothing. But, he took the time to take care of his sick little wifey, and I appreciate him so much for that!

I love my husband for so many more reasons than just bringing me tummy-calming packages of saltines, though. He is an amazing husband and an all-around awesome person, and sometimes I look at him and wonder how I got so lucky. 

Thanks to my hubby for loving me even when I'm sick, grouchy and whiny! 

Back to the Beginning

This coming Sunday, Ryan and I will celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary. As hard as it is for me to believe that we have already been married for almost five years, it's even harder for me to believe that it has been almost seven years since he asked me out on our first date. 

In August 2005, we met in Concepts of Wellness class at Union College. We both sat in the back of the classroom and bonded over making smart-alec comments about how much the class sucked. We were both in a relationship with other people at the time, and I actually thought he was interested in my cousin because he was always talking to her. 

Eventually, we both found ourselves single and started talking about the possibility of hanging out. He finally made the big moved and asked me to a 1920's banquet that the school was hosting. The only problem was that he asked me out on the day of the banquet... in an email. Luckily for him, though, I kind of liked him, so I called him and told him that I'd love to go (my mom asked me what I was doing, since "what kind of guy asks you to the banquet on the day of it and in an email?"). 

Going to that banquet with Ryan was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. The banquet was boring and pretty lame, but the company was great. I just knew that there was something special about him. Never before had I felt so comfortable opening up to someone the way that I was able to open up to him. We just really hit it off. 

The next few days after the banquet, we hung out a lot and talked about what we each wanted out of a relationship and where we saw this going. November 8, 2005, we officially became a couple... and the rest is history! 

Ryan and I on Our First Date

Attack of the Realtor

I posted this story a while ago on a blog that I had started to share funny stuff that happens with Ryan and I. However, I haven't been back to that blog since posting this story, and I'm not sure that I'll keep that blog going.
I thought this story was too funny to just let it die when I delete the other blog, so it's time to share it on here! I apologize if you have already read this. If you haven't read this before, though, please enjoy!

Too many hours spent watching HGTV and too many nights being woken up by our upstairs neighbors' enthusiastic games of adult jumping on the bed drove my hubby and I to do some house hunting of our own. We weren't stupid enough to believe we could actually afford to buy one, but figured it couldn't hurt to look and dream. 
Watching all of the house hunting shows made us realize that we couldn't just show up to random open houses as ourselves. No, we had to reinvent ourselves into more successful, home buying-type people. We were no longer Ryan and Brittany, the pre-approved for absolutely nothing security guard and college students. Nope, we were Ryan and Brittany, paramedic and PR professional, newly approved for $250,000. 
After tromping through a series of houses that we informed the realtors were "not quite what we're looking for," we decided we needed to look at some brand spankin' new construction. The "it's all included" Celebrity Homes commercials must have been particularly catchy that week because that's where we headed. 
Upon pulling up to the Celebrity model home, we were greeted by a sweaty little man who was busy wooing another couple. Not one to lose a sale, he excused himself from the couple and rushed over to us in his pit-stained shirt and food-stained tie. 
Sweaty man spent five minutes offending my nose with his BO and my ears with his idiotic gibberish. It was clear that he had no intention of listening to what we were potentially looking for in a home... he was set on selling this one. He then sent Ryan and I off to explore the quaint model villa on our own, daring us to find anything we didn't like about it and promising to give us more info before we left. 
A broken door knob, peeling linoleum and a hole in the wall convinced us that this Celebrity villa was not for us. We agreed to skip stopping back by sweaty man's office and hoped he'd be too busy talking to the other couple to notice us leaving. We made our way to the front of the house, slowly opened the door, made sure the coast was clear and ran like heck to our car. 
As I opened my car door, I realized we had been spotted. I saw sweaty man opening the front door and heard him yell, "Wait! You forgot your information packet!"
Realizing he was losing a sale, sweaty man started to run down the driveway towards our car, frantically waving the info packet in the air and yelling for us to wait. That's when I realized he wasn't going to give up. Panic set in. Who knew how far this crazy, smelly little man would go to sell this cruddy house? 
"GO, GO, GO!!!" I screamed at Ryan. 
Ryan hit the gas just in time! I turned and looked through the rear window just in time to see sweaty man reach the end of the driveway. Screaming something I should probably be glad I didn't hear, he chucked the info packet into the street and threw every ounce of his sweaty hatred into flipping us off. 
Watching sweaty man's ticked off face and pudgy middle fingers fade into the distance, Ryan and I broke into hysterical laughter. 
That was the day we swore to never buy a Celebrity Homes Villa. That was also the day we vowed never to return to that neighborhood again.

Standing Up for Love

In November, Minnesotans will be asked to vote on an amendment that will be put on the 2012 Minnesota ballot as: "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Minnesota?"

In November, I will be voting NO. 

In the past couple of years, many of my friends have come out and let the world know they are gay. They are all amazingly strong people, who have already had to fight through stereotypes and unnecessary hatred. It hurts me to know that most states already would not recognize a marriage between them and whoever they choose to spend their lives with. It completely breaks my heart to think that my state could permanently take that away from them. 

I truly believe that all people should be able to make a lifelong legal commitment to the person they love, regardless of their sexual preference. No one should have the right to block someone from marrying the person they're in love with simply because that person is gay. Love is love. It doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, bi or whatever... you should have the right to love who you want and to marry whoever you want. 

Please, if you live in Minnesota, take a moment to consider what voting yes would do to the gay and lesbian couples and families who have fought so hard for the few rights they have been granted in the U.S. You would be responsible for taking away their hope. You would be responsible for telling them that their love is not as important as a heterosexual couple's. Please, join me in taking a stand against this proposed amendment. Vote no.