If it hit you in the face...

Intrigued? You should be. This is going to be a good one.

This is the subject of my inspiration for my blog post today.

Why? Because I can't turn on my radio, or TV without seeing or hearing them.
I can't get on Facebook because the lovely high school kids I'm friends with are posting about them. And Twitter is BLOWING UP about them.

Yes, they are a boy band.
Yes, I'm sure they are wonderful.
No, I have not heard them sing...
And No, I have no intentions of hearing them.

For the children of today, I have only one thing to tell you:

You wouldn't know a good boy band if one came up and SLAPPED you in your face. 

And I'm NOT just talking about the boy bands of the 1990's. 
Remember the Temptations? They were a "boy band". So was the Jackson 5. 
My favorites were of course, NKOTB (New Kids On The Block), The Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC. 
Around the same time at N*SYNC and the Backstreet boys, came 98 degrees, 5IVE, and others that only had one hit wonders. 

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I listened to the Backstreet Boys first album. But I can tell you that it was more than enough to damage the cassette tape, to where I am positive I convinced my Daddy to get me the CD...! 

I am a huge fan of the Pandora App I have on my phone. It's free. And it plays any type of music you can think of. Since I recently started running, I needed to find some music to listen to while I was running that would keep me pumped up and in the mood to run. And then I found the "Backstreet Boys Radio" station on Pandora. 

BINGO! If a constant stream of music straight out of the late 1990's doesn't get you pumped up, you're crazy! Everybody, Hit me baby one more time, it's gonna be me, you drive me crazy, bye bye bye, genie in a bottle, livin' la vida loca, and others are just a few that have continued to make my runs bearable. Not to mention I'm pretty sure that when the Backstreet Boys are playing, I run a little faster... and probably a little bit sillier. But who cares, I'm running, and that's all that matters. 

Back to my main point... I'm sure these little man-boys are great singers, and I know that all of the late elementary-high school kids (and yes, the mothers of these said children) are head over heels in love with this new boy band. Whatever happened to the Jonas Brothers?


Hell. Whatever happened to the Backstreet Boys? I know they're still out there. Or, couldn't someone convince Justin Timberlake that he needs to orchestrate a N*SYNC reunion? Talk about selling a ton of albums. That right there would do it in a heart beat. Don't you remember New Year's Eve 2 years ago? New Kids On The Block AND the Backstreet Boys preformed? And I was rocking out at home... And then both of those bands went on tour together and made even more money than they already had.

So kids, get on iTunes, and search Backstreet Boys.

Do the research. I guarantee you that their songs are way better than anything this 'One Direction' mess has got going on...

7

There are 7... Count them! SEVEN days left of this semester and I will finally be free of the Spring semester... aka, the semester from hell, the 5 months that nearly drove me to kill people, semester without friends, etc. (There's plenty of other ways that I refer to this semester, however some of them are not appropriate. So, I'm just going to leave you with those...)

If you don't really keep up with my life except in this blog, then you don't really know how insane my life has been. Spring semester is usually the hardest, in my opinion. Mainly because it's a easy, nice ride to the top for the first half, then the week before spring break happens. And for whatever reason, every professor in America thinks that it is perfectly okay to assign the biggest, craziest, most important assignments of the semester over spring break. So you don't really get a break, you basically just work on school crap the whole time. This was no different for me this year. Mom and I went to Washington, DC, and as soon as I got back to Wilmington, my feet hit the ground and I haven't really stopped since.
I had 18 hours of classes last fall, and 3 of those were big elementary education classes, PLUS 2 history classes with tons of reading and writing and I didn't feel as stressed out as I do this semester with only 13 hours and 4 classes.


Seriously?

Oh, and not to mention all the EXTRA work, meetings, stuff in general that I'm having to do on TOP of everything else for internship in the fall. I have a weekend full of going through old files and jump drives to find papers and projects that hopefully (by some miracle) managed to be saved on my computer so that I can upload all of that into my ePortfolio for my teacher internship.

With only 7 days left, I'm finding myself even more thankful that it's almost over.  The end of July will mark 2 years since I left Los Angeles and came back to Wilmington. And when I sit down and think of all of the things that I have accomplished since that tearful trip home, I'm amazed at what has happened. And I have so, so many things to be thankful for.

Recap:
-UNCP
-Apartment
-New and amazing friends
-3 STW TEC weekends that will forever be in my heart as 3 of the best weekends of my life
-2 amazing Women's retreat weekends
-Chancellor's and Dean's lists for different semesters at school
-An aunt times 2 last summer, as I became an aunt to precious twins Iris and Tucker, who joined big brother Keller!
-Celebrations of weddings, engagements, and babies with friends from my past, and from church
-Mourning the loss, but celebrating the lives of a few people who impacted me more than I'll ever be able to understand
-Survived turning 25... and then 26
-2 inductions into 2 national honors societies! (in two months!)
-1 semester away from my DEGREE!

I hope that anyone that reads this, knows how thankful I am for the blessings that have been placed into my life. I have a family that is amazing beyond words. A church family that prays for me and takes care of me and is always there to listen. A TEC and VdC family that somehow God saw me deserving enough to be a part of. I have the best friends in the entire world. And even though I have made quite a few mistakes along this bumpy little journey of mine, I know, without a doubt, that I am exactly where God wants me to be for this moment in time.

I can't wait for the next 7 days to go by, and for this semester to be over. And I can't wait to walk into my 2nd grade classroom and to be able to start my student teaching internship in August.  And I REALLY can't wait to walk across that stage and grab my diploma in December!

Thanks, Pinterest.

I love Pinterest, don't get me wrong. It's given me thousands of ideas about my future classroom, hundreds of DIY projects that I'll never be able to do... It's made me understand that I'll never have the house of my dreams, because who can really live in something like that based on a teacher's salary... and it's given me great recipes that even if I had the time and money to try, I'd never be able to complete all of them because there's just too damn many.

Perhaps the worst thing that Pinterest has done for me, is make me realize how old I really am. Yes, I know, I'm not "old"... but after coming across THIS website, I realized that in fact, I am old if I'm basing old on these factors...

Not that anyone really cares, but I'm going to go through this list and explain myself.

1. "You just can't resist finishing 'in west Philadelphia born and raised...'".
-On the playground was where I spent most of my days, chillin out, maxin, relaxing all cool, and shooting some b-ball outside of school. when a couple of guys who were up to no good, started making trouble in the neighborhood, I got in one little fight and my mom got scared and said you're moving with your auntie and your uncle in Bel-Air.-
Point. Proven. 
2. You can name these TV shows:
Good Burger (Kenan and Kel), Doug, ?, Rocko's Modern life
- I wasn't allowed to watch Rocko's modern life, but I still know it.
3. "Your AOL Profile had to be perfect"
- I spent countless hours making sure the colors, fonts, answers to the silly questions, and my favorite quote was PERFECT. All to just change it the very next day.
4. Goosebump books
-I didn't own all of them, but I read a bunch of them.
5. Everything could be settled by rock, paper, scissors...
-Yes, yes it could. And if it couldn't be settled by that, then there really wasn't a reason to argue over it.
6. Listening to the radio to record your favorite song... ON A TAPE!
-I can't even begin to imagine the number of times that I actually did this. Too many. But what a great excuse for the day...
7. You always dreamed of being slimed
-Watching Double Dare such games where people were slimed always made me happy. I did want to be slimed.
8. You know the real meaning of TGIF
-Back then, TGIF meant 3 uninterrupted of various shows such as: Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Step by Step, and Muppets Tonight. I lived... LIVED for Friday nights on ABC. Friends would come over, or I would go up the street to a friends house... we ate more popcorn than we should while watching Corey and Topanga's love story unfold. And cried, like we knew them, when they finally tied the knot. TV just isn't as good now. I don't care what anyone says.
9. You'll never forget your first boom-box.
How could you forget it? It weighed 30 pounds, and carrying it anywhere usually resulted in putting it in someone's red wagon from the neighborhood. More often than not, it just sat on a bookshelf in your room.
10. Had to have the coolest slammer
-Because if you didn't, all the other kids at school and in the neighborhood would talk mad smack about you.
11. Lisa Frank School Supplies
-Say no more. All of those wonderfully bright colored crazy looking animals made any 3rd grade girl happy. And God forbid you not have anything Lisa Frank! :)
12. Collected every beeny baby you could get your hands on...
-I have them in my mother's attic to prove it, if anyone doesn't believe me. And by ''EVERY" that does include all of the ones that McDonald's put out in their happy meals...
13. Original Walkman
-The was the best Christmas ever.
14. You know the Macarena by heart
-And can remember the first time you ever heard it at the skating rink and thinking "this is even dumber than that chicken dance song" but you still did it...
15. All of the Cool Kids wore ring pops
-Yes. They did. And I did too... just not in school like the cool kids did. Which made me an uncool kid.
16. Tamagotchi, Giga pet, Nano pet
-Took it everywhere, laughed when it's poop killed it, and wanted every color that they made. My mom still has a few of them, I just wish I could find the batteries that go inside of them! That would REALLY make my day!
17. You remember NOW the original
-Remember it? I had it! And it was NOT a CD... it was a cassette tape! Refer HERE for more on that subject.
18. Begged your parents to let you stay up to watch Are you afraid of the Dark?
- I actually did not do this. Seeing that one episode about the clowns was more than enough for me to understand that that show was not something I wanted to waste my time on.
19. You predicted your future by playing MASH
-Yes, we all did. And it was entertainment at it's finest! Now, I've discovered that you can go to THIS website and play it online. Which I agree is a 'greener' and 'eco-friendly' way of discovering who you'll be marrying and where you'll be living, there's just something about MASH on a piece of wide-ruled paper.
20. Everyone wanted your Dunkaroos at lunch
-They did! Especially because the other kids didn't have them... I was in Wal-mart not that long ago in Pembroke, and actually saw Dunkaroos on the shelf. Words I thought? "1995 called, it wants his cookies back."
21. Remembering your school banning Slam Books
- If they did, I don't remember it. I went to middle school in the 90's in the worst area of downtown Wilmington, people there usually just confronted the other, or threatened that their older 'brotha, sista, or cuzin' would shoot the other person after school. Slam books at DC Virgo weren't really needed. Fighting was our* answer.
(*Our= the crazy ass people at my school, not me! I didn't talk to anyone in middle school, ever.)
22. Saturday morning cartoons were worth watching
-Because of the TMNT... And if you have to ask, you weren't watching them. (Refer to the website!)
23. You remember renting VHS tapes, not DVDs.
-We still HAVE VHS tapes ... and until the last remaining dual DVD/VHS player is no longer working in this family, I'll still have them.
24. You wished Jumanji was a real game
- Awesome movie, but I didn't want that game to be real.
25. You still miss your trapper keeper
-Find me one person that doesn't miss the trapper keeper. I dare you.


As you can see, I clearly meet well over 20 of the 25 listed ideas of being a kid in the 1990's... not that anyone doubted, but seriously. Kids today have absolutely no idea how awesome the 90's were. A kid today can get on the internet and look up anything! I argued day and night with the boys in my neighborhood over lyrics to songs, or who the best power ranger was, and if Corey and Topanga really loved each other. Now? GOOGLE IT. Google has all the answers.

And, I feel ancient.

RYBO

I realize that I normally wait 2 months to post after a "catch up" blog post... but I wanted to do this one, and I just finished studying for a test tomorrow and haven't quite calmed down from the studying... so I'm writing it now before I forget. And this post (and any others that may contain this same theme) are mainly for ME. So don't feel that you have to go on and read all of this :)

Months ago, I bought this book on my kindle fire for like 99 cents and there it has sat in queue waiting for the day that I would actually have time to read it. Well, fortunately for this book, this time was last Friday night. The book is called Run Your Butt Off, A Breakthrough Plan to Lose Weight and Start Running [No Experience Necessary!]  

I started reading it, and it was like I was having a conversation with the author, instead of reading. I liked loved that. I also liked the fact that everything was spelled out for you. The basis of this fitness routine, is that you start with walking and then build up slowly to the running. For example, this week is my "Week 1" and all I have to do is walk for 30 minutes, 4 days a week. When I say "all I have to do" I don't just mean that I'm going out strolling around my neighborhood looking at the crazys around Lumberton... I mean I'm walking at a pretty fast pace, to where my legs actually feel like I'm doing something with them. (Even my thighs!)

Along with the walking, I'm also eating better... which means I've forced myself to eat a healthy dinner AND only drink water today, AND (the big kicker) I've only had ONE snack after dinner. This was my biggest issue. Whenever I would eat dinner, I'd eat, but I wouldn't eat enough I suppose, and then I'd be stuffing my face full of chips, crackers, candy, etc. until I went to bed. Which is how I've put on all this weight since moving back from Los Angeles.

Here's the thing about my lifestyle in Los Angeles: I had it made. I only shopped at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Ralph's. I RARELY ate fast food. I RARELY drank sweet tea. I worked out almost everyday... whether that meant I went to take yoga or pilates at the gym, worked out at the gym, or went hiking/running/walking in Runyon Canyon behind my apartment (which really meant Cameron forced me to go with him, but I totally felt better afterwards!)... It also didn't hurt that my gym membership was paid for by Cameron. In that respect, I felt like I was wasting his money if I didn't go, which was even more motivation for me to get my ass there... not to mention it was literally less than a block away at the end of my street.

Fast forward almost 2 years, I'm the heaviest I've ever been and I'm not really happy about it. I've always had issues with my weight and body. And I'm not saying that I think I'm overweight, or fat... or ugly. But I'm not happy and I could definitely stand to shed a few of these extra pounds I've racked up since moving back to the South.

SO... This Run Your Butt Off thing seems like something that's right up my alley. I can pace myself based on how comfortable I feel with my progress. And as long as I'm continuing to eat better, and keeping up the exercise... I think that I'll be successful with this new change. I'm also excited about it, because running is something that I can do for the rest of my life... (or until I need new hips or knees). So that's a big plus as well. And I don't need a gym membership. I can run OUTSIDE. Around the neighborhood. At the beach. Etc.

Today I did my first walk for 30 minutes... and I actually enjoyed myself.

And when I watch the Biggest Loser tomorrow night, I will be drinking my water, and NOT eating something terrible for me. Go Me. !