Success!

It turns out that my last blog post did EXACTLY what I hoped it would do; it made me feel SO much better!  As early as the very next morning I felt refreshed and renewed.  I wish I would have done it much sooner!  Maybe this is my lesson to not keep things bottled up.  It is so exhausting and draining! You know how when you're feeling down in the dumps, you kind of want to wallow in that and feel sorry for yourself instead of change your attitude?  There's somehow this strange comfort in being miserable.  It's very weird.  But once you ARE able to come out of that funk, you wonder what the crap were you thinking?!  Why would you rather do nothing and stay depressed than make the effort to be happy?  It's DEFINITELY worth the effort.  Just getting the hope that there is something good to look forward to feels incredible.

I'm feeling really great.  There are a few more things outside my purge of a blog post that have contributed to this new feeling of awesome:

• Days after I wrote the post, my boss came in to town and let us know that our request for more vacation was granted.  An extra week of vacation next year!  And then he said, "You know what? Why don't you take that extra vacation THIS year, too!"  Well, OKAY!  We also have a possibility of a raise.  It's been a really rough, stressful year at work, so....  HAPPY DAY!

• Hockey season is back.  I've been to 3 games already.  It's nice to hang out with my hockey friends again.

• I'm getting back in to shape.  I have 5 running races coming up in the next 2 months.  While it's been hard to get back in the habit of running and working out, I'm starting to "enjoy" it again (or rather, I enjoy the feeling I have after I'm done - I still hate running).  My left knee still gives me pain sometimes, as well as my right Achilles that I strained back in August (couldn't walk for a few days), but I'm determined to work through it.

• I've decided to join a Triathlon Club.  It is quite pricey, but with my brother Todd and bro-in-law Jer's help, I'm working out my current finances to allow for this extra expense.  I'll officially join the club in January when I've had a few months to save and after all the holidays are done.  I'm REALLY excited for this!

• The holidays are coming up!  The weather is trying to figure itself out.  A few days of cold, rainy days in the low 50's followed by a few days of sunny, warm days in the 80's...  But Fall is in the air.  It's refreshing to have that little nip when you walk outside.  It makes me excited for what is to come.  I even pre-ordered 3 new Christmas albums! Ha.

• I get to go home in a few months. I LOVE going home!

• I've been invited to a Halloween party.  While usually I loath dressing up for Halloween (the pressure of coming up with a cool costume, and being willing to shell out the dough for a decent and not cheap-looking costume is too much.  Then comparing everybody's costume to yours and know that they're doing the same..  UGH.  I'd rather hand out candy to the cute kids), I actually came up with an OK costume that just might turn out great, thanks to the help of my friend Michelle and my bro-in-law Steve.

• My good friend Michelle is arranging for me to come visit her in the next couple of weeks.  I'm excited to see where she lives and to have some girl time.  We always have great fun together!

• My birthday. While I've dreaded turning the awful old age of 30, I'm excited for it to come so I can just be done with it! Ha.  Then I can stop panicking and move on.  Plus, I might be going on a 30th birthday celebration sometime in April with one of my HS friends.  This is still tentative and in the works.

• I am considering visiting Germany again in 2012, this time with my cousin Richard.  I REALLY hope we can make this work!  It all depends on the $$.  That's always the issue.  But I would LOVE it.  And of course I always welcome a chance to visit my sister, Tami.  :)

Lots of good, fun things to look forward to!  No reason to be down in the dumps.  Plus, I came across this video that made me realize that there's no need to view the single life as a failure.  I'm not living in the 50's.  I am a strong, capable woman who does not need to marry in order to survive in life. I do not have to settle just for the sake of getting married.  I have the luxury and opportunity to make a life of my own, and if I come across somebody who is worthy and strong enough to be with me, then lucky for him!  ;)   I get to CHOOSE whether or not I get married.  I have had the courage to break from the traditions, even if sometimes it seems like I would rather have not.  I do not need to feel like a failure because I'm not married.  That is not the measurement of a successful, fulfilling, happy life.

Oh yeah.  The video.  :D

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