Alright, so I know I said I'd TRY my hardest NOT to wait months and months and months to add another post but I was SO incredibly busy the last quarter of 2013 that I almost considered pulling out tufts of hair on an almost daily basis. School was VERY demanding last quarter, the most intense yet (and unfortunately I have a feeling it isn't going to be much better this quarter). Thank you everyone for your patience and understanding.
So a fair amount has happened in my life since my last post. I guess I'll just go on a month-to-month breakdown for 4Q2013. Aside from school and group meetings, I didn't have much going on in October. Mama came to visit which was awesome, as always! I miss her dearly and wish I could see her anytime I wanted, but unfortunately living on opposite sides of the country makes that extremely difficult. Will and I decided to throw a little Halloween shindig at his house in Alabama. Had a few friends over for a fun night. Everyone wore costumes and while very low-key, we had a super fun time!
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| The Boys were Batdog and Robin for Halloween! |
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| We opted for Charlie and Maverick from Top Gun |
November. Half Marathon time! I headed out West to run the
Santa Barbara International Half Marathon. I didn't beat my goal but that's okay. I can say yes, I should've trained harder, yes, I should've run more, yes, I should've done this or that or whatever. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I trained to the best of my ability and all that matters is I crossed the finish line. I didn't have to be hauled off by a medic (although I did come home with really terrible blisters and finished with a very painful foot cramp but it is what it is - I'm an athlete and athletes push through to the end). The course was beautiful and very peaceful. It rolled through different parts of Santa Barbara, CA that I'd have never been able to see otherwise and it finished with an ocean view. Doesn't get any better than that! PLUS I got to see my mom, my best friend out there, and her mom. My running buddy also joined but he was a monster and ran the FULL marathon. Maybe one day I'll get that fire to run 26.2 miles but right now, I'll keep my maximum race distance at 13.1. Will I fly out for it again? Probably not. But it was really fun to do a destination race! After the footrace came food (In-N-Out Burger, you always have and always will hold a very special place in my heart) and shower in preparation for hitting the Santa Barbara Wine Trail. We all thought it was a GREAT idea to just go wine tasting without resting properly. I'm not sure how mom, Ashley (best friend), and Beth (Ashley's mom) felt since they walked the half marathon (Ashley's very first half marathon so we were all very proud of her for this accomplishment!), but Ryan (running buddy) and I were DYING the next day. No, we weren't hungover by any means, but our legs were VERY sore (mine especially as I barely sat down once we finished dinner - Ryan at least got in a nap while he waited on 4 grown women to get ready). It took days for me to be able to stand up without cringing. DAYS. But it was totally worth it! The long weekend in Santa Barbara was a blast!
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| At the Santa Barbara Pier for some absolutely fabulous and VERY fresh seafood! |
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| First stop on the Santa Barbara Wine Trail. Yes, we wore our medals. We were proud. |
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| WE FINISHED!!! |
After getting back to Atlanta, school continued and FINALLY Thanksgiving break came (although not much of a break considering I did schoolwork the majority of the time and one of my professors gave additional reading assignments over our "break"). I did however get to spend it with Will and his family since I couldn't be with mine. It was lovely to experience Thanksgiving traditions with him. His mom and stepdad were there as well as his grandmother, stepbrothers, aunt and uncle. I truly enjoyed myself and I am looking forward to many more holidays with his family.
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| VERY cool (and old) mill and dam we drove past on our way back to Will's |
December. December was nuts. I had final projects and papers due, schoolwork and reading out the wazoo. I was very stressed and overwhelmed with grad school for the first half of December. And I didn't even procrastinate as much as I have in the past - it was just a very demanding quarter. However, I got A's in both classes so couldn't really complain too much. I finished my 5th quarter of grad school (only 3 left including the one I started this week) and have 8 A's and 2 B's in my program, 3.8 cumulative GPA so even though I have a few mental breakdowns every now and then, I'm more than pleased with my hard work and efforts! Let's just hope it pays off in August when I'm done, ha! Aside from schoolwork, I went with Will to his dad's side of the family's Christmas party. I was a little anxious and overwhelmed at first as it's been a VERY long time since I've met a significant other's family and I obviously wanted their approval. Funny how one small gesture gave me all the gold stars I would have needed - I simply offered to help clean up and do the dishes. They cooked an elaborate meal for me so it was the very least I could do. We got to relax and hang out with his family and watch football all day. Perfect Saturday afternoon.
Fast forward to Christmas. My parents unfortunately couldn't fly out for the holidays as my grandma had another stroke this past November but I was still able to spend the holidays in good spirits with Will and his family. They've been so wonderful to me since Will and I started dating and have welcomed me with open arms. Will drove up to join me for McElroy Sibling Christmas, where we spent a few hours relaxing and hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law. We went to his daddy's for Christmas Eve brunch and spent Christmas day with his mom, stepdad, grandma, aunt and uncle. Even though I couldn't spend Christmas Day with my parents and family, I very much enjoyed spending it with his. The Saturday after Christmas, Will and I left Alabama for a few days to go to Clearwater Beach, FL with his mom and stepdad's side of the family. We went to the nicest shooting range I've ever seen in Tampa, went deep sea fishing off the coast of Clearwater Beach (we caught 14 gray snappers as a group and I caught 3 individually - not too shabby for my first time), enjoyed fabulous seafood, went to the Hard Rock Casino for New Years Eve day, went out to experience the Clearwater Beach night life to ring in the New Year. Will's stepbrother turned 21 on New Years Eve so celebrating with him was an absolute blast! His stepbrother told me earlier in the month that I wasn't allowed to steal his thunder on NYE and my response: 29 is not a milestone. If I didn't have to age, it'd be wonderful but this birthday celebration is all about you. We had an absolute blast and hopefully we'll have many more shared birthday celebrations!
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| Brian and me at McElroy Sibling Christmas |
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| Will and me at McElroy Sibling Christmas |
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| Our first Christmas Day together at his aunt and uncle's house |
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| Tacky Sweater Love! |
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| Right after I caught my first fishie! |
This pretty much sums up the end of 2013. I know this is a long post, but as I said, the last 3 months of the year were a bit crazy yet refreshing at the same time. I look forward to what 2014 has to offer. Sure there were bumps in the road last year but 28 was one of the best years of my life. I learned a lot and grew as a person and I welcome 2014 with open arms. I am truly the happiest I've been in years even with all the stress of grad school. I will finish my MBA this August and the plan after that is to move to Alabama so Will and I no longer have to do the long distance relationship. Right now though, my focus will remain on finishing these next 3 quarters with As and hopefully graduating Suma Cum Laude from The University of Georgia! I will do my best to not go another 3 months without posting but I can't make any promises.... Until next time, y'all be good! And try to stay warm in this frigid weather (to say I'm looking forward to Spring is an understatement)!
xoxo,
Britt!
