Updatin'

Lately I've been having a difficult time sorting my thoughts.

I'm not very good at managing stress. Really, I avoid stressful situations. I have been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work this term has brought me and then all the sudden one of the happiest moments of my life. I got engaged.

                         

                         

People ask E and I how our relationship works. We have become the kind of relationship that many of our friends strive for. Maybe we got lucky, but not in the way of "soul mates". We got lucky because we have partners that understand that love, passion and commitment are not free. They don't come without work. That work comes in many forms. From simply listening and following through, to encouraging and pushing one another to improve. A good relationship, one that stands the test of time, is one that fosters growth, both personally and within the relationship. They always say "You can't be loved by someone until you love yourself." I can't agree with this more. Taking care of yourself, psychologically and physically is the greatest gift to your partner. The second greatest is patience, because somedays you will be ahead of the game, others you will be far behind, but either way you're in it together. You have to help each other stay at pace.

It is much easier to remain stagnant than to evolve, but stagnation is what makes us old. It's what closes our minds and makes us inflexible to change. This is a whole different tangent and I'm too young to be any sort of expert on the matter.

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

It took about 6 days for me to fully realize I was engaged. I think I've fully realized it, but maybe in a month I will feel different. I honestly don't know how to conduct myself as a bride. I do know there's about a million things I have to think about and do, but frankly, the only time I have to do that is when I need to sleep. I have been taking herbal sleeping supplements to avoid losing nights of sleep. I think that all of these "bridey" tasks will have to wait until after this term is over. I do know that I am shooting for a late July date, 7 months is enough time to plan a wedding.... right?

I'm very happy and it's a time for celebration, so I'm working on chilling out and having a good time.

In other news:

I have NO desire to work out. This week I have done one 5 mile run and a couple sessions of yoga. I'm starting to feel pretty nervous about squeezing into my halloween costume, but whatever. I haven't gained any weight, just getting a bit soft. I have of course, set my goal weight loss for before the wedding. I would like to lose 10-15 lbs by the time I'm trying on wedding gowns. I plan to do this by going paleo. I really do agree with this kind of nutrition, but it doesn't change how much I enjoy cheese and bread. This is something E and I are going to take on together. At the moment, I'm thinking 6 days a week paleo and 1 day off. My sister and her husband have been doing paleo and have had great success. I'm hoping my skin will clear up.

                   

I also need to make a new training schedule. I still want to run a half marathon. There are a lot of them to choose from, but I don't know if I want my first half to be in the rain and cold. I definitely need to channel my stress into something productive though, something that doesn't include cheese sauce and tater tots.