A Post from 3:00 AM

Hello there, relatively small amount of people who like to keep track of my life! Thought I'd send out an update since I'm laying in bed at 3:30 with the inability to fall back asleep (which usually isn't a problem for me, but I'll get to that later).

So, things have been going pretty well. I'm still working my job as an ABA therapist for children with a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum. This job is teaching me new things every day, and the kids I'm working with truly astound me sometimes. I think the best part about this job is gaining the perspective of how lucky my siblings and I are for being typically developed (all jokes aside), and how amazing it is that these kids manage to just get through the day sometimes. Sure, I've been punched in the face, I've had a clipboard thrown at me, and I've been peed/spit on more times than I can count...but let me tell you, I've got such quick reflexes now and my ability to just tune out aberrant behavior is astounding. Also, I've kind of become a hard-ass teacher. The hours aren't as great as I'd hoped, but I'm sticking with it for now, and I'm looking to start working with another provider to fill in the gaps in my schedule pretty soon. The one thing that is guaranteed with this job is that I know that at the end of the day, I'm doing something to help others, and that's always been a simple goal in my life.

If anything, I'm learning a lot about money management. Mostly that I know nothing about money management, but I'm getting there. Learning how to stop leaning on that damn credit card and only use my real money. Budgeting is tough when you're not exactly sure how much money you'll make in the next month, but it's teaching me a lot. Mostly that I can't buy things. Sigh.

I went to Virginia a couple of weeks ago for one of my best friend's Morrgan's wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL. Such a gorgeous location, gorgeous dress, gorgeous decorations...but hey, Morrgan and I basically became friends because of our strikingly similar Pinterest weddings, so I may be biased. I got to channel my inner wedding planner and helped decorate the barn she got married in (totally kidding about the wedding planner part...okay, not really. I was meant to be J.Lo in another lifetime). The ceremony was beautiful and had me practically sobbing in my chair. One of my other best friends, Sri, came down for the reception and to stay at the hotel with me over night as well, and it was SO great to see and catch up with her! We all had a blast at the reception and at the bar after. Morrgan and Christopher, you throw a great party...and you should do it again. Like in December, or something. It also got me super into wedding mode, and now I'm feeling prepped and ready to rock MOH duties for my OTHER best friend, Janae's wedding! I have too many best friends. What a problem to have!

You guys looked fabulous!

Rockin' the dance floor at the wedding.

I'm running my half-marathon on Sunday! I've been training since the beginning of September, which isn't really that long, but I think I'm ready. I've also been running pretty consistently since March (and I started running two years ago. I think I might be selling myself short. Whatever). The last few weeks have been pretty much training-free due to traveling and my grandpa needing heart surgery, so things have been hectic. The last long run I did was two weeks ago and it was my 11-miler, and that went super well, so I think I'll be okay. The worst that can happen is that I'll die.....and the chances of that are prettttty slim so I'll be fine. I'm excited because the race covers a lot of my old routes I ran in Madison, so it will be nice to get back to my roots (heh, pun intended). If anything, I'll cry through the race, then go to lunch with the family and drink away my pained legs with Janae after. Totally kidding. Kind of.

Also, shout out to the wonderful Breezy Barrett, who will be cutting my hair on Sunday. If you live in the Madison area and you're looking for an excellent stylist, let me know and I'll send you her way. She's excellent and I've never walked away unhappy (how's that for some publicity, Breeze?). Plus she's hilarious and you'll totally never have another awkward silent hair stylist experience ever again. Guaranteed.

Speaking of fitness, I've also started to really think about what I've been eating lately. I'm usually pretty good about maintaing a balanced diet and eating enough fruits & veggies, but I've always had a pretty bad sweet tooth. The kind where after any meal I need something sweet? Not good. So, I started giving up sugar this past Monday. It's crazy to me the way your body adjusts to going off of something you ingest every day. I'm still eating fruits (so there's some sugar there), but I'm staying away from pretty much all pre-processed foods. You'd be shocked to see what has sugar in it. Tomato sauce? SERIOUSLY? The first couple of days I had killer headaches from withdrawal symptoms. Kind of made me feel like a meth head (totally kidding). But now I'm finding I have a lot more energy and the thought of eating something really sweet grosses me out (minus the dream I had tonight where I ate this giant...log-like thing made of oreos and marshmallows and graham crackers... we can't all be winners). I'm pretttty sure the energy piece is probably why I'm up at 3:30 in the morning; I went to bed at 9:00 and six hours later I'm feeling ready to start my day. Which, coming from me, is quite an accomplishment. I'm going to seriously stick to this at least through Thanksgiving, allow myself to eat whatever the hell I want on Turkey Day, and then decide how I feel after that. I don't like to set up huge goals for myself because I end up being disappointed. One step at a time, folks.

Other than that, things have been going well! Going to a couple of big football games in the next few weeks, which will undoubtedly have me without a voice. Christmas season is coming up, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't already listened to some Mariah or Michael Bublé. I don't do it too often...I just don't turn it off when it comes on shuffle. Shut up. I have a feeling it's going to be a crafty (aka., cheap) kind of Christmas...but it's the thought that counts, right?

Alright, kiddos. I'm off to bed. Or at least off to watch like four hours of Grey's Anatomy until I have to get up for work. TTFN, Ta-ta for now!