Memorial Day: And Other Musings

First things first:

Thanks to all our military men and women who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms of this country.

I'm going to be honest, I don't have a theme for today. I don't have much else to say on Memorial Day, though I am grateful to our military for their sacrifices, that's about it. So, I've decided to give you a collection of random musings I've had lately. I know you've been waiting for it.

Fifty Shades of Grey

Probably not what you thought I was going to talk about next right? ;)

I have heard a lot of mention of "Fifty Shades of Grey" lately and saw a lot of vague postings on pinterest, but I didn't know what it was about. So, I looked it up on wikipedia. At work. Bad idea. Haha.

For those of you who don't know, apparently "Fifty Shades of Grey" started out as erotic/bdsm fanfiction for Twilight. The "author" then went and changed the names and got it published in a limited amount until it got really popular and now "everyone" is reading it. It has been dubbed "mommy porn." Awkward.

 ew.

Here's why I don't think I will ever read this trilogy:

1) Anything that started with Twilight makes me sick.

2) Unnecessary trilogies are annoying.

3) Most importantly, the writing. I saw the books in Target the other day and read the back of the first one. Just by the description, I knew I would never buy these books. Then I started seeing quotes from the books on pinterest. 

 really?

The writing is so bad that I think I would be too distracted for it to succeed in producing the intended affect. I think it's the kind of book that if you get a few chapters in, no matter how bad, you just have to read the story until the end. But I don't think I'd be able to get past the awful writing in order to get far enough in that I'd care to finish.

(somebody shoot me now)

I do not mourn the fact that I will not be reading these books. I'm pretty sure I'll keep a few IQ points for abstaining. Sorry Grey fans.

Arachnophobia & My Own Crazy

I straight up have arachnophobia: the fear of spiders and other arachnids. 

 (this is the only spider picture I'll use because a picture of a real one would freak me out)

Basically, I don't like creepy-crawly things. Not a fan. I have learned to kill small, slow-moving spiders with a shoe, but that's about it. If it's big, fast moving or I don't have a shoe, I'm a crazy person. 

Tears, hyperventilation, the works. It's not pretty, folks.

But almost as bad as an actual spider is my own crazy.

I will often have the feeling that a spider is crawling on me. I will freaking lose my mind. Swatting at myself, increased heart rate, etc. Only to find out that 90% of it the time it's my own hair grazing my arm. 

Really? I just had a mental breakdown because my hair was touching me?! 

Of the remaining 10% - 9.5% is the wind and 0.5% is an actual spider. And that 0.5% is a pretty generous percentage. I'm a lunatic.

Update On My Trip & Running

Did I tell you guys this? The European Adventure trip with my lovely cousin, Jaclyn, is officially booked!!

Leaving July 21, returning August 4.  I'll have a few hours in NYC where I might go see the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, because why not?

Then I meet Jaclyn at the airport and we fly to Athens, Greece. A day in Athens, 2 days on Santorini Island (in a beachfront hotel!) and another day back in Athens.

Then we fly to Prague, Czech Republic where we have the day to ourselves, and the following day we start in Prague for our 8-day tour. We'll go to Moravia, Slovakia, Auschwitz & Birkenau Concentration Camps, Krakow, Poland,  Zakopane, Poland, Budapest, Hungary, Lake Plitvice National Park, Croatia, and Split, Croatia. And possibly some other stops I'm forgetting.

As far as my running goal- not happening. But don't lose faith, friends! I'm not running (or climbing many stairs) because my knee is really messed up from the fall back in December. Trying to run aggravated it enough that I saw a doctor. Tried Physical Therapy, but it wasn't helping. I might need surgery.

Since I wouldn't be able to get surgery and heal before the trip, I'm pretending that's not happening (it's not for sure anyway), so instead I'm trying to get it stronger before the trip. I joined a gym (whoa!) and I saw a personal trainer who helped me created a balanced cardio and strength training workout. So we'll see!

 (in case you're confused, I don't look like this at all! haha!)

Um... now I want to take a nap, so I'm going to stop writing. ha! 

Enjoy the holiday weekend!! :)

J