It's that time of year again!

That’s right folks, my birthday is less than FIVE days away. Which means, I am now officially accepting birthday gifts. (But to be clear, I will unofficially accept gifts all year round.) Let's be honest, I've been compiling a wish list for the past 360ish days. But who's counting. Oh right, me. I'm counting. 

First up on my list - a TRUCK.

What would I do with a truck you ask? Oh, very simple. I would immediately turn it over to Taylor so that he would SHH and get off my case about not letting him have one. 

Probably not that exact truck. Actually I have NO idea what kind because once I hear the word "truck" I immediately shut down and instead start thinking about teacup pigs.

OHMYGOD.

Are you dying yet?

Anyways, if you feel compelled to buy us a truck, you're going to have to call Taylor for the specific requirements on that one. There Tay Tay, are you happy? I put it out there in the Universe, hopefully the Universe rewards us. 

Next up - patio furniture. 

Because THIS is what our patio currently looks like.

Oh wow, gorgeous. Pull up a bucket, or better yet, a wooden stake, and have a seat! And enjoy the scenic views of the parking lot. It’s a lovely homestead. Anyways, THIS is what I would like for our patio to look like.

And THIS is what I will settle for.

And it’s on SALE! I came this close to buying it, but then I remembered how redneck and charming our current set up is, and I refrained.

Third on the list? STEAK.

I'm serious. 

ILOVESTEAK.

Yeah, I googled filet mignon. That happened.

And then, NEW SHOES.

Because my shins are starting to hurt which means my Mizuno’s are PISSED they haven’t been retired yet, but I’m poor so I force those bastards to work until their last dying day. So yeah, that completes my list. For now. Probably.

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Mmmk. Back to real life now.

Running streak is still going strong. Well, I might be lying about the strong part. But it's going. 

Yesterday morning was a 530am track workouts with the non-serial killer. 1.5 mile warmup and cool down with 7x200m squeezed in between.

It's been three weeks since we started and we've gotten progressively faster every week, and THAT makes me really really happy. 

And then this afternoon I squeezed in an outrageously hot 2 mile run through some neighborhood hills. 

Not gonna lie, it SUCKEDDD. That was mostly my fault, for waiting until noon to run. But today I am super thankful for the way running makes me feel. It clears my head and lets me hit the reset button, even if it's just for 17 minutes and 23 seconds. #SAPPY

Then there was dinner. Oh, dinner. 

(This is actually last night's dinner but I forgot to take a picture of tonight's so WHOOPS. My bad. Brown sugar bacon pork chops with corn and broccoli for the win!)

After dinner, I whipped up THIS homemade 5-minute strawberry frozen yogurt from Just a Taste. 

It totally hit the spot. I really love when I stumble upon a recipe, and I have all the necessary ingredients sitting in my fridge already. (Cause we all know that if I have to leave the house to go to the store, I'm going to come back with a $200 Target receipt, a Walking Dead board game,  peanut butter Pop-Tarts, a push-pop, and a guilty face.)

And now I'm here on the couch, enjoying fro-yo and watching Mud with my husband, celebrating the fact that tomorrow is Friday.

LOVE&HUGS,

Nat

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Movies from my childhood

A couple of weekends ago, Taylor and I finally watched Frozen. The hype was pretty much unbearable. And the questions from people who just COULD NOT believe that I (a grown twenty-something with no children, nieces, or nephews) and Taylor (a grown twenty-something dude with no children, nieces, or nephews) had not yet seen Frozen?! The shock! The disgust! The internets abuzz, and posts like this suggest if you haven't seen Frozen, you don't like to smile?! I can assure you, I do like to smile. Smiling's my favorite.  I stand firm in my belief that it would’ve been much weirder for us to reply, “OMG, OMG, YES, YES! We were first in line at the theaters on opening day!" Uh, no.

Anyways, we watched it. The verdict? Meh. I dug the snowman, I loved Kristen Bell (what else is new?), and this guy was funny.

But it wasn’t life-changing. And I thought it was a little slow. It was in no way shape or form even comparable to any of the Toy Story movies.

BAHA. LOOK IT'S ME WORKING OUT!

But it did cause me to stop and think about what I was watching as a kid. So for your reading pleasure, I’ve compiled a list of movies from my childhood (AKA, the 90’s) that still haunt me in some way shape or form. Drumroll please:

Never Ending Story

I've got to be honest. I remember nothing about this movie's plot line, but I remember EVERYTHING about the giant flying dog. 

RAHHHHRRRRRR! Scary?

 Jumanji

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO TERRIFIED. 

Being trapped in a world of freaky nature phenomena?! NO THANKS. 

LITERALLY my worst nightmare. 

And the monkeys? NO. Just, NO.

THAT IS SOME SCARY SHIT.

Anastasia 

For those of you that haven't seen it, the Meg Ryan and John Cusack voice chemistry is undeniable. 

This movie WILL cause you to be wildly fascinated with anything and everything related to the Romanov dynasty. As it did for me. I mean, it, you'll get lost in it. And just so you know, little girls who are obsessed with Rasputin? NOT cute.  

But in general, Anastasia was the perfect combination of funny, creepy, and downright magical.

PS: For the record, Anastasia kicks Frozen’s ASS. I will fight you on this one. 

Honey I Shrunk The Kids

And in general, all the "Honey..." movies.

 What I want to know is, how did Rick Moranis not get his parental rights taken away after he shrunk the kids the first time????? Honestly. He shrunk the kids, he blew up a kid, and then he went and shrunk HIMSELF. I am beyond confused.

Little Rascals 

I'd be lying if I said I went a single day without singing "two pickles two pickles" or giving a coworker the "O-tay!" Those moves are beyond classic. 

But best of all, this movie taught us that the most effective stress reliever of all time is the little rascals chin wave. Am I right?! Seriously, next time you piss someone off, just give them the ol'...

THEY'LL LOVE IT. 

My Girl 

(And My Girl 2 for that matter.) 

Oh man, best coming of age films EVER. I own both of these on DVD, and they just make me feel all the things. 

And when Thomas J. gets stung by the bees????? OHMYGOSH. OHMYGOSH.

(PS, I wonder if Taylor will let me name our daughter Vada Sultenfuss...)

Mrs Doubtfire 

I don't know who dreamed this plot up, but as an adult, I'd really like to buy that guy a drink. Hey, let's take Robin Williams, give him boobs, a British accent, and make him nanny his own children. 

Yeah, that's the beginning of a PERFECT STORYLINE.

Field of Dreams 

When I was like nine I had the flu and was stuck in bed for a week. It was at this time that I fell in love with Field of Dreams. And a child in love with Kevin Costner is a weird thing y’all. 

IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME KEVIN. WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?!

And side note 8395879581: I remember the first time Taylor made me watch For the Love of the Game. My expectations were high. Like unreasonably high. Unfortunately, no one appears from a corn field and nothing supernatural happens. I mean, what kind of baseball movie is that??!! 

So, that is why, to this day, Field of Dreams > For the Love of the Game.

Whew. Reliving your childhood is exhausting.

LOVE&HUGS,

Nat

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In case you've forgotten how I feel about 3 day weekends

Let me remind you.

I LIVE FOR THEM.

Anyways. A quick picture-filled recap for your viewing pleasure.

Friday was filled with one-eyed selfies, chick-fil-a salads, cupcakes, and wedding pictures.

(And yes, this is my favorite picture of all 1,159 of them. I can't believe you even had to ask.)

Once 5 o'clock hit, it was weekend time baby!

Saturday was the day of 5k’s, parties, and a proposal!

Sunday was the day of pool time, birthday emails, and drinking games.

Monday was the day of group dates, naps, and ice cream sandwiches.

 Then around 10pm Monday night, it hit me. I realized I had to go to work the next day. 

So this morning came early, as always. I got in a little mini workout at our apartment gym, and then rewarded myself with breakfast. I'm sure the cast of The Biggest Loser would disagree, but for me, food=reward, ALWAYS.

Birthdays at work are fantastic for the following reason: CAKE.

Yes, that is a badass train cake. It was both awesome AND delicious.

After cake, I was supposed to meet up with Brittany for a track workout, but I'm an idiot who forgot her socks, and then it started raining, so we called it a bust and rescheduled for Wednesday morning. I did however manage to get a couple rainy miles in before dinner by running circles around my apartment complex, day 1 of the Runner's World Running Streak is COMPLETE. 

  

 Weekend meal prep is a total lifesaver. I had Taylor throw our dinner in the oven while I was running, so once I got out of the shower, it was ready to eat. Instant gratification. 

Turkey sausage, roasted potatoes, and asparagus. Delicious.

I also got my new paintings from Says Katie today! 

I'm completely obsessed! They are BEYOND adorable. Now I just need frames and I will be one step closer to living in a real house instead of a bare walled apartment. Baby steps y'all. 

And now it's time for relaxation. Because Taylor is studying up on how to save lives, so likewise, I need to study up on how to cook really delicious meals. And also how to look like Miranda Lambert. Life is hard.

LOVE&HUGS,

Nat