2013 a year in review

2013 is over, and yet I still find myself trying to date things 2012.

Let's reflect.

January, I was engaged to be married, but miserable.
February, I ended my engagement. Things started to look up. I started seeing Peter, and my cousin Jenna has a beautiful baby boy, Isaac.
March, I ran a St. Patty's day 5K in Naperville.
April, I turned 24 years old, and though it may have seemed fast, I moved in with Peter.
May, Jacqui had the most precious little baby boy. My nephew Chevy Lee.
June, I said goodbye to Chubbs.
July, I got drunk on the 4th of July.
August, Carol Stream Public Library hired me. I ran the Elburn Days 5K. And travelled to Madison for grad school orientation.
September, I started at UW Madison. Gonna finish my masters in my PJs. And I ran my first 10K.
October, Best friend Lizzie got married, and is having a baby girl!
November, I got snapchat and went to my first body building show.
December, I ran the Go Santa Go 5K with John and Sheena downtown. Peter turned 26, and we went to Blue Man Group and spent too much money on fondue. Tanta Gerti turns 90.

Overall, my happiness level has increased 10-fold. I lost 10 pounds, and gained back 13. I lost some friends, gained new family, and rekindled old friendships.

chest day and bench pressing

BENCH PRESS. Get it?! BENCH?!!

MmmM CHEST.

But really, chest day is not my best day. And I quote:

Aimee: So, how much did I press today?
Peter: Pfft, maybe 60 pounds... once?

My form is lacking, and my upper body strength is definitely not as good as my lower body strength, but it's probably more than I've ever benched before, so that's a plus.

All day long I've been waiting for the DHL people to deliver my bridesmaids dress for my dear Lizzie's wedding. I got and email, a text, AND a voicemail saying they would be here on Monday (today) and that I should be ready and waiting for them. Have they come yet? NO. Dumb.

The day Aimee, Jersey, and Katie became movie stars

Today I went out to Naperville to hang out with these lovely ladies. And while we were at lunch, we got to be extras for a movie! We were sitting by the window at Features, a bar downtown. Outside of the bar, a whole bunch of techy guys were setting up lights and cameras. The assistant director came into the bar, sat at our table, and told us that we might be in the shot, and to not look outside the windows, not look directly at the camera, and not to make eye contact with any actors. So, we were doing our best to do that, you know, making grand gestures and not picking our noses. After they were done filming, a production assistant brought us a waiver to use our likeness in the movie. So, they took our photo, we gave them our names and email addresses, and if that scene doesn't get cut, we'll be at the end of the credits! How cool?!

The movie is called, "Precious Mettle." So when it comes out, make sure to go and see it and keep a look out for our faces!

Here goes

Me with new-born baby Chevy, my nephew.

October 22nd, 2012. That was my last blog post. Since then, I've gotten unengaged, bought a wedding dress, become an auntie, and been accepted to (another) graduate school to finish my MLIS.

But I'm not here to talk about all that. The way I've handled the last four or five months haven't been, well, ideal. I pissed a lot of people off, and some of them are probably still pissed off at me. But, like I said, I'm not here for that. I'm here, on my little piece of internet real estate, to talk about how I'm bettering myself as a person, both mentally and physically.

When you go through major changes like I did this year, you learn a lot about yourself, but you also learn a lot about others, the ones you associate yourself with. I know I'm not going to stay friends with every-single-person I meet. That's unrealistic. When I ask my mom or dad how many friends they still have from high school, or even college, the numbers are quite low. Yes, you might have a high number of Facebook friends, but let's get real, many of those friendships are fake. Oh hey, girl-I-haven't-seen-since-high-school, happy birthday bestie!! Do you think that girl who has over 1,000 Facebook friends is 'actually' friends with over 1,000 people?! No. Anyway, I guess sometimes major changes 'need' to happen, because then you know who really has your back.

Anyway, switching gears almost completely, I'm seeing someone new, named Peter. He is a body builder, who knows how to take care of himself, both mentally and physically. He's pretty freaking wonderful, you're probably going to be hearing a lot about him.

I miss blogging, I'm going to do it more often, promise. Great ready, because loveyourself-todayy is back in business.

Myself

I started a Facebook event yesterday. Just a little something that let's friends know when I'm coming back to Illinois. I want to have a picnic, bring a volleyball, maybe have a few friends bring their instruments, just hang out without any worries.

It got me thinking how I don't have to compromise being myself around my friends from the states. They know I don't enjoy getting drunk. They know I don't enjoy going out to bars or clubs. And they know I'd rather hang out at a coffee shop until it closes, then run around town looking for an open bagel shop because I'm craving bagels. And then go back to my house and watch, "Mr. Beans Holiday."

I don't know. I guess I'm having a tiny problem committing myself to friendships while I'm in Montreal. I don't want to compromise myself by going out to bars and going out clubbing, when I know that's not who I am. It seems, though, that all I ever get invited to is that. I decline politely because I simply do not enjoy doing those thing, and I have a sinking feeling that my friends here will just stop inviting me. One thing I can do, though, is invite them out places. I'll do that soon.

I can't change who I am for the sake of friendships. If I did, it would go against what this whole blog is about: being yourself, loving yourself, accepting yourself.

I guess I just feel like a rhino in a flock of unicorns.