29 Things I Love

As a way for you all to get to know me, I thought it'd be fun to make a list of things I love. And since I recently turned 29, it seemed like a great idea to list 29 things I love. So here you go, in no particular order:

1. My family. I am basically obsessed with my son and my husband. They are awesome in every way imaginable.

2. Running. Definitely my favorite workout activity. In fact, I love running so much, last year I completed a half-marathon and am proud to say I ran the whole way (i.e. no walk breaks). It was one of the hardest things I've done and I'm working to get back into the kind of shape I was in when I ran.

3. Cathe Friedrich. I love Cathe. I mean, I'm probably not on par with a true "Cathlete" (yep, that's a thing - look it up) but she is my favorite aerobics instructor. My top three Cathe videos are: "Low Max Step", "Low Impact Circuit", and "Kick, Punch, Crunch"

4. Chocolate. Yep, I'm definitely a self-professed chocoholic. Semi-embarrassing admission: there are way too many pictures of me where I have tiny speckles of chocolate stuck in the corners of my mouth. Is that weird? No, I didn't think so either.

5. Enell bras. I am definitely blessed up-top, and the only bra I've found that keeps the ladies in place when I run are Enell's, and believe me, I've tried a lot of sports bras! I wasn't even paid to write that either!

6. Lists. There is something about lists I love. I make them at work all the time. Sometimes I'll write down things I've already done just so I can cross them off.

7. Nail Polish. My nails are almost never bare, mostly because they are now stained so bad from all the nail polish that they don't look so hot on their own. Right now, they are purple and sparkly.

8. Parentheses.You've probably already started to notice that I use them - a lot. Deal with it. I also use hyphens a lot. You've been warned.

9. Smiley Faces. Yes, I know some/many people hate them, but I love them. I laugh and smile a lot in real life, and my writing follows suit. They make me happy :-)

10. The Ocean. I love, love, LOVE the ocean. Definitely my favorite place to be. Right now, we're about 2-1/2 hours away from the nearest beach, but our long-term goal is to own a small oceanfront condo. That would be amazing!

11. Animals. We have one cat and one dog and they are so much fun.

12. My Mom. She's basically my best friend. We talk everyday on the phone. She lives about 10 hours away from me and that makes me sad :-(

13. Cooking. It's one of my favorite hobbies. I am always trying new recipes (from cookbooks and blogs - I don't make them up myself). My favorite cuisines are Thai, Chinese, and Indian. Yum!

14. Blogs. I love reading weight loss blogs. I find them so inspiring. If you know of any good ones, let me know!

15. Curly Hair. My hair is curly and I love it. As a kid, I of course hated it, but I now realize how great it is that I can take a shower, throw in some mousse, and be on my way.

16. Pesto. I have a small garden which is basically 30 basil plants. I make A LOT of pesto.

17. My Job. I work for a local school system and love it. Kids rock.

18. Large Bath Towels. There is nothing better than wrapping up in a big towel after a nice, relaxing bath. Similarly, there is nothing worse than only having tiny towels around that don't even fit around your waist.

19. Reading. Love it. You must, too, if you have made it this far down my list!

20. Celebrity Gossip. I try hard not to buy the magazines, but I do check people.com more times a day than I'd like to admit.

21. Shellfish. Shrimp, scallops, crab = yum! But not lobster - it always looked too much like a big roach to me.

22. Purple. It's my favorite color. Am I too old to have a favorite color? Nah.

23. TV. I watch more TV than I'd like to admit. Mostly comedies. Like I said before, I love to laugh.

24. Dancing. Not doing it so much, as watching it. Have you seen the documentary 'First Position"? It was so good! And I love 'So You Think You Can Dance.' There's something about watching the dancers do things with their bodies that I didn't even know were possible that motivates me to be stronger.

25. Vacation. I am on summer break right now from my job and I love it. Definitely the #1 perk to working in the public school system.

26. Facebook. I wish I didn't enjoy it as much as I do. I spend way too many hours reading about people I'm not even close with in 'real life.' I think I need a Facebook intervention.

27. My Garmin. I guess this links back to running, but I can't imagine running without it.

28. Watches. I have a thing for big, chunky Fossil watches. I stalk TJ Maxx a lot since they have them cheap.

29. Romantic Comedies. Doesn't matter if they are books or movies, I love them. 'You've Got Mail' is one of my favorite movies - I was obsessed with Meg Ryan and wanted her haircut so badly.

Well, thanks for stopping by and getting to know me a bit better!