wellness wednesday? forget you!

If my most recent post didn't make this apparent enough, the last several days around the Carter house have been ROUGH ones . 

(And not just because I've been a raging-she-woman-of-death-and-fire.

Although that probably doesn't help right?)

 

Between the two of us, Christian and I are working 4 jobs right now. 

So on top of work, commuting, battling with crazy kids, and training for this triathlon (whyyyyyyy), I think we are both a little frazzled by the end of the day. 

Sometimes when this happens, it's a natural reaction to go into survival mode and stop reaching out to each other. I am especially guilty of pushing Christian away when life gets a little unbearable.

We had a little heart to heart last night, and after a lot of talking and a lot of tears, I was yet again reminded just how thankful I am for this guy. I just really really love him.

Neither one of us are perfect.

(Hello, my middle name is "practically the most imperfect person you will ever meet!")

But what's most important is that we are both trying. 

It doesn't matter whether or not dinner gets made. 

Or laundry gets done. 

Or dishes are clean. 

Or sleep is had.

Or beds get made.

It matters that I love Christian and he loves me and we are trying our best to be good and happy and kind and charitable GOSH DARNIT.

And at the end of the day, isn't that what matters most in EVERY aspect of life?

Whether you are single or married or young or old or male or female or fat or skinny or average or normal or crazy, sometimes I think we all just need to slow down, stop freaking the heck out, and just say to ourselves

"I'm doing the best I can, and that's all that matters."

pms gotcha down?

Yesterday was the literal worst day in the history of ever.

I felt like I was swimming through jello the whole time I was at work. And let's not even talk about my mental processing... Or SERIOUS lack thereof.

So, I got home last night. 

Didn't make (or eat) any dinner. 

I forwent my exercise schedule.

And then I watched Keeping up with the Kardashian's for like 3 hours, all while eating a Krispy Kreme donut instead of aforementioned dinner.

And to end my day, I popped a melatonin and fell asleep at 9:30 and didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning.

(Don't worry, I didn't subject Christian to any of this. I let the poor man do his thing while I wallowed in all my dramatic, feminine glory)

Also, Keeping up with the K's totally made me cry, which was so weird.

Mostly because I was simultaneously disgusted.

Just when you thought they couldn't cover any more ground, the Kardashians up and made me cry while I also was vomiting in my mouth. That's something only they could accomplish, I think.

My hormones were obviously out of control last night.

Sometimes life is just too much to handle...... even over something as dumb as being exhausted. 

And sometimes you just need to subject yourself to crappy food, and even crappier reality t.v. to feel a little better, amiright?

arizona

Our trip to AZ last weekend was a whirlwind. We crammed in as much as possible in our 3 short days there.

First stop, Bryce Canyon.
(which yes, is technically in Utah but I DO WHAT I WANT.)

Aaaaand basically those are the only pictures we got ha!

We also spent several days with my dearest friend Nicole and her family, who over the course of my life has become my second family. It was so much fun and so much busy that I took one crappy iPhone picture and that's it. Sorrynotsorry. 

I was too busy having fun and pal-ing around with my best girl. 

Finally, we also stopped by the Salt River and some random bridge on our way back North.

Fun fact: I'm absolutely terrified of bridges. 
This was me, feigning happiness, while white-knuckle gripping the railing. 
23 years old, infant at heart.

Arizona we love you. 

awkward and..... awkward

This is a story that involves a bathroom and the things that happen therein. 

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

For those of you who've made the drive between Arizona and Utah, you know that between Lake Powell and Flagstaff is no man's land.

Also when we roadtrip, I usually drink about 3 liters of water and a gallon of Diet Coke so..... 

On our way down last Friday, I was absolutely bursting at the seams and we had to stop at a gas station so I could use the bathroom. It was the only one for miles. Probably in the whole state actually. So I'll be darned if I wasn't going to get my bathroom break. 

Well, I'm sitting in there just doing my thing..... 

And sorry to be graphic but you know how sometimes there are certain things you don't like to do in a bathroom when there are other people in the stall next to you? I'm sorry but I really hate going #2 when others are present.

THERE I SAID IT.

So finally the lady in the stall next to me leaves and I proceed to finish when all the sudden the door opens again. Which first made me mad.... and then I realized whoever had come into the bathroom was just standing there. Like..... wt eff?

So I've decided that there are 3 options:

1. This is a serial killer waiting for me to exit the stall, thus becoming his next victim.

2. Maybe Christian decided to join me in the bathroom, you know just to make sure I'm okay? It HAD been like 10 minutes.... a gallon of DC will do that to a lady......

3. This is someone who is even more paranoid than I am and this lady won't even enter the stall if someone else is in the bathroom.

 It was none of the above.
I sat there for a good minute, trying to finish my business and making some embarrassing noises in the processes (read: farting. There. I said it again.) When I finally can't handle the fact that this weirdo is just standing there listening to me be embarrassing.
So I cut things short and come out of the stall and there is a gas station employee, just standing there waiting to clean like I'm the biggest nuisance in the world, while HOLDING THE DOOR OPEN.
Guys, this gas station is about the size of a tic-tac, so basically what happens in the bathroom can be heard by everyone else when the door is open. And then me being my typical overly-nice self, started apologizing as I "got in her way" to wash my hands and use the paper towels.

All the while, this lady doesn't even acknowledge my presence, let alone apologize for the fact that she just stood there silently and awkwardly listening to me do my duty (pun slightly intended) for a good 5 minutes.
At this point I'm fuming, so I come out of the door in a huff......
OH WAIT NO I DIDN'T BECAUSE THE DOOR WAS OPEN ALREADY.

And I start to explain to Christian what happened but OH WAIT he didn't need the instant replay because he saw and heard the whole thing go down because OH WAIT THE DOOR WAS OPEN.

And you want to know the worst part of this story?
I didn't even get to finish perusing Instagram in the only spot we had service for the next 3 hours.

It's a rough life.

wellness wednesday: the bike ride to end all bike rides

I started road biking about 5 years ago when my family lived in Arizona. About 10 minutes from my house was the most beautiful loop that we would ride all the time.
The whole thing is about 23 miles of pure awesome, and I've been dying to take Christian on that ride for years now.

Look at this hottie in all his scruffy glory.
Well I can officially cross that off my bucket list because this weekend when we were visiting Arizona, we conquered that bad boy. And I couldn't have been happier.

This look is what I call "hipster athletica", what with all my bike gear and spandex and wayfarers and all.
Just tryin to keep it real, you know?

 Mid-ride, and in a lot of pain because we stopped at the top of a hill to take pictures.

 Conquered!

 

And oh so happy!
Arizona, we love you!

*Just a side note... if you are ever going on a long-ish ride, it's pretty important to make sure your bike is adjusted properly. My bike seat was too low, and it made me feel like I was riding a motorcycle the whole time. Also, my knees were killing me and I felt like my frontal lobe was going to come out of my head because my shoulders were so scrunched, and all kinds of nonsense. So much drama over one little bike seat.*