1 – This week has been one for frantic texts to blog friends turned real-life friends, constant prayers for clarity, and eating my feelings. But it’s also been a week where I realized that I’m not as broken as I thought I was and I’m turning into an independent and smart woman. I’ve lived so much of my life being afraid to stand on my own two feet, being scared to acknowledge my own feelings. It’s quite fun to see how I’m coming into my own. Twenty-four has really been a great year so far. And I’m excited to see what the second half of this age has in store for me.
2 – I went to see a podiatrist last Friday. I’ve been experiencing excruciating pain in my ankles and arches when I run and I wanted to get my feet checked out, to make sure there wasn’t anything else going on. The verdict? I spent $60 to be told I need to stretch better. I’m pretty bad at stretching my calves and ankles after I run or do any type of physical activity so my problem lies in my super tight muscles that are having to overcompensate and use muscles from other areas of my lower legs when I run. And because of all this, my knee hyper-extends when I run which is causing further problems. He gave me some strengthening/stretching exercises to do (and I plan on buying a foam roller soon!), but I’m also thinking of getting a sports massage to ease out all the tightness that’s built up over time. Except people on Twitter scared me of how painful it would be. Question: Is it worth it? My mom has had multiple sports massages before her races so I know they work. But would it help my issue, or would more frequent stretching be good enough?
3 – Today is the fourth anniversary of Minnie’s death. She was the first dog I ever had and one of the best dogs to ever exist. (Yes. In the world.) Last year, I wrote a commemorative post on her so hop on over to read it, if you’re so inclined. I never thought the day would come when she wouldn’t be an everyday fixture in my life and I can’t believe it’s been four whole years since I last saw her face. When we took her to the vet after feeling a strange lump by her throat, I never imagined she would be given a death sentence. Just six weeks after that appointment, she was gone forever. (And it was a horrible six weeks of watching her quality of life diminish so rapidly, we knew the most humane thing to do was put her down. Worst day of my life.) Pets, man. They completely destroy you in the best possible way. 🙂
4 – Remember how I used to complain about hating my long hair and how I couldn’t wait to cut it short again? Well, now that it’s short, I’m regretting cutting it. I look at my pictures with my hair when it was longer and get sad. I think part of my problem is I’m not a fan of the cut (the shorter layers barely reach my chin, which I hate) so I’m hoping once it grows out a little, I won’t hate it so much.
5 – A reminder to #twookclub-bers! The poll for our July book chat (to be held on July 29) is going up on Sunday night. A variety of books have already been suggested by a handful of you, but if you haven’t been on to suggest something, do so before Sunday night! We have a few frontrunners so it’ll be interesting to see what you guys choose for July!
Questions for you: Should I get a sports massage to help with the tight muscles in my ankles? Do you prefer your hair long or short?
I’ve actually never had a sports massage! I usually have a couple of massages, but most are purchased with groupons and are the ‘relaxing’ types. You really need to get a foam roller! It’s cheap and it works!
My hair is super long right now since I am cutting it for locks of love. I like it some days, but some days it’s alot to manage. I am looking forward to cutting it in October, but am not looking forward to having it THAT short (it will probably be chin length). I prefer my hair around shoulder length.
If you use the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, you only have to cut off 8 inches of hair. (And I hear it’s a better program than Locks of Love.) That might work better for you!
When I cut my hair for LoL, my hair was about to the middle of my back and was a little above shoulder-length when my stylist chopped off my ponytail. So maybe it won’t be as bad as you’re expecting! Have you measured it?
I’m hoping once my hair grows out a bit, I’ll like the cut more but for now… I keep it back as much as possible.
I’m not sure if any of the (few) massages I’ve had were “sports massages,” but can’t you always tell the person to be more gentle if it hurts?
I love my foam roller, and I kinda feel like that’s all I need when it comes to a massage
I think I’ll try extra stretching & foam rolling, and if I still have pain, try the massage. And if I still have pain after that? Time to throw in the running towel!
That sounds like what’s going on with my feet yikes!
Heck yes to number 1! You ARE a strong and independent woman and you shouldn’t doubt your gut instincts or think it’s because you’re “broken” because you’re not.
Pets really get us in the best way possible. I bet these last 4 years have just flown by. I put my dog down 2.5 years ago now and I could swear it was just this past fall. I remember her so vividly and I still miss her like crazy. Don’t even get me started on my kitty. I love my puppies because I don’t have to worry about that for a long time, but my other dog is getting old (he’s 13) and I cannot go through another goodbye with the pet I’ve had for the longest in my whole life. He’s getting old 🙁
I’ve never been a long hair kinda girl. I had it a bit longer when I was in high school (I really wanted LONG hair and BANGS) but with my curly hair it was impossible to keep it looking nice. It’s a long of maintenance for me! My short hair is SO easy to take care of. In the summer I let it grow out because I wear it curly & it needs to be longer, but you’d literally never know that it goes past my shoulders my July because curly it winds right up to below my ears! Crazy.
Have a lovely weekend! Talk to you at some point I’m sure <3
Dutch has helped me in so many ways to heal from Minnie’s death, but it still hurts whenever I think about those last few weeks of her life. I try to remember the good times, but those last few weeks were so tough. I don’t know how I’m going to handle Dutch dying. I’m way more close with him than I was with Minnie so every time I think about him dying (he’s already 10!), it fills me with SO much anxiety and panic.
I loved my hair SO much when it was short before that it bums me out I don’t like it now. Hopefully, once the shorter layers grow out, I’ll love it but right now? It just annoys me.
I just got my hair cut short (like SHORT. One inch of hair. TOTAL) last summer, and I’ve kept it pretty short since then. I LOVE it. It’s cute and unique, and much easier and cooler now in the summer. I’ve heard it’s nice to have short hair when babies start grabbing, too, so we’ll see how that goes! I kind of miss my long hair and I might grow it out again, but for now, I’m loving short hair. I never thought I had the “right face” for it (my face is huge), but then I saw 16 people get their heads shaved, and every single one of them looked amazing, so I figured I could pull off short hair (and I get a ton of compliments, so it must be working). The only thing I don’t like is that I have to get it trimmed WAY more often, or it looks like a mullet.
I think I might go for a mohawk soon, though…
Your hair is really, really cute! It’s perfect for your face. I’ve thought about getting my hair that short (because I just hate my hair around my neck!) but have never been able to bring myself to do it. I should just go for it one of these days! Hmm…
Thanks! It took a LOT of talking myself into it, but finally I just had to go ahead and DO IT without thinking about it too much, and I’m glad I did! The stylist looked a little scared when I told him what to do, which didn’t help, but when it was done, I loved it! I hope you do it one day! Just to see what it’s like! You’ll be so surprised! And even if you don’t like it, it’ll grow so quickly!
I’ve never had a sports massage, but it seems like if you are really tight it would be worth it…as long as you commit to stretching and the exercises afterwards. Otherwise, it would be kind of wasted.
I hear you about losing dogs. It’s so hard! They really are the best. I can’t wait to see my parent’s dog this weekend!!
I think I’ve decided to try the stretches/strengthening exercises I got from my podiatrist for now and if I’m still having problems, get the massage. We’ll see! Thanks for the advice!
Bob is only one and I already am anxious about losing him.
I’m so anxious about losing Dutch, it’s crazy. I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. Pets just destroy your emotions!
I don’t really like sports massages. They are painful! It’s much better to get a nice oil massage and have them pinpoint a couple of places, but not dig too hard. When I cut my hair for Locks of Love (as you probably know already) I hated it. Actually, I didn’t mind when it was first cut, but as it started to grow out, it was a PAIN. I prefer long hair. I want mine back too!