Comfort clothing

I never understood the yoga pants as 'pants not to do yoga in but daily wear pants', until I had my 3rd kid.  I now, often spend most of my day in some sort of loungewear.  Sweats, yoga pants, pj bottoms, etc.
My husband teases me  for wearing yoga pants as my pants for living in, not working out in.  He says to me, "Hi, I work out.   I wear yoga pants to make it look like I work out", all the while making a running man type motion, with the occasional bum sticking out. while saying the above phrase.

But in all seriousness, I have this J Crew pullover heather gray hoodie I bought a few years ago that I bought in a moment of weakness.  It was a moment of weakness because it was during the stage of life now fondly known as "I give a damn".  Let's be honest though. A hoodie from J Crew screams FASHION vs a hoodie from say, Wal-Mart.  This hoodie does not scream FASHION but it is THE MOST COMFORTABLE piece of clothing I own.  I've been living in it daily.  I only wash it as needed,  for fear that it will one day die in the wash if I wash it too much.  It's gotten to the stage of perfect softness and wear, although it pretty much came this way.  I've been looking to find something similar from J Crew but no such luck.  It will truly be a sad day when this hoodie dies.

What's your favorite, most comfy piece of clothing you own?

me and my favorite hoodie

xo,

june

Big Changes

If you know me in real life, you probably know that I love your kids. I think kids are just the greatest thing ever. I have 3 nieces and 2 nephews and they are so awesome. Babies are my favorite (they are so squishy!) but I really do like kids. But for some reason the thought of having my own has been completely terrifying. But, this year, my sweet hubs and I have decided to try.... to have a baby that is. I'll admit, I'm completely freaked out.

I love my life. I have a job I love, and while I work long hours, I like the people I work with and I feel like I'm making a difference. I love lazy weekends where I don't have to do anything at all. Or pick up and spend the entire day with friends without thinking about anything at all.

I love to sleep. Really LOVE to sleep. Josh jokes that sleeping is my superpower. While I get decidedly less sleep than I used to (6 am runs, I'm looking at you) if I don't get at least 7.5 hours of sleep a night I'm a mess. Bring on the Diet Pepsi, I'm not going to make it through the day mess. I need at least one day a week were I can get a solid 10 hours - and its not a want - its a need!

I love my messy, small, cluttered apartment. I love paining my nails 5 nights a week if I want. I love the unstructured nature of my existence. How we can eat out most nights without even thinking about it. I love watching hours of TV, and reading whole books in a single day.

As I write all this, it occurs to me that I'm pretty selfish. I'm selfish with my time, my sleep, my personal space. And you can't be selfish with a baby. They need. Lots and lots of things.

But, they also love. The relationships that I have with children in my life has shown me how much love is packed into little tiny bodies. And how they want to share that. And if we are blessed with a baby, my life will be a whole lot less selfish, but also filled with a lot more love.

(If you have any advice, please share. I need all the help I can get!)

I am a runner

This is not something I ever thought I would say about myself 18 months ago – right before I started running. When I first started, running was so hard. And you know what? Its still SO HARD. I keep waiting for it to get easier, to be able to proudly declare “I am a runner!” but I don’t think that’s the kind of runner I am. It’s the most physically difficult thing I have ever done, and gosh if it isn't mentally tough as well.

I've been thinking about how hard running is a lot this winter, mostly because running has been torture. First of all, this winter has been cold. REALLY really cold. I've lived in Virginia for many years now and don’t ever remember so many really cold days. One run we had this winter, we were running along the tidal basin in DC, the wind was blowing, and we were running on packed snow/ice. The ice in my CamelBak was frozen.  At one point, when I got snow in my shoes, I just stopped. I couldn't go on. But because our car keys had run again, I was convinced to keep going. I was cold for days – shaking, with bright red splotches of skin. After another particularly cold early morning run in maybe 12 degree weather, my running friends and I instituted a temperature minimum of 15 degrees – which included the wind chill. That has helped, but gosh, running in 20 degrees is cold too.

I've also had a lot of injuries this winter. I've struggled on and off with shin splits, and this winter they were really bad. I also fell a couple times, twisting my ankle. Last time I fell, I lay on the ground wanting to cry, not from pain as much as from frustration. Luckily I run with really good people who dust me off, give me a hug, walk me home, and then bandage me up.

I've missed some of my really good running buddies. Due to a variety of circumstance, two really good running buddies were unavailable for part of the winter. Thankfully they took turns, and I have a few other really good running friends I can rely on too. I am so lucky in this regard. I have probably run alone for a total of MAYBE 10 times. That’s it. So lucky.

One weekend last month, I went for a run alone, and it was so hard. As I reflected on how hard it was, that is when I realized: I am a runner. If I wasn't, I would have given up a long time ago.