10 for 10

So I thought I would take a few days, give both of us a little breather between posts. I realize now that this only makes it more difficult for me to remember the evening with expected clarity. I'll get straight to it though. I remember saying in a previous post when I attended one evening and the male to female ratio was 1:1 and how I never thought this would happen again, that there would be just as many guys and girls in attendance, especially with a larger group. I stand corrected. With 10 of us in attendance, we had another even split, 5 guys and 5 girls. I'm almost still amazed that it happened. I think the word is spreading that you don't have to get a martini, they have beer too!
I have noticed that I am starting to get down to the drinks on the menu that probably don't get much attention, or in other words, might be quite gross. The Nuts and Berries was no exception. I am giving it a high 6.8 because the raspberry in it tried really hard, I can tell, but the frangelico ruined it. Good thing I followed it with the ever so faithfully delicious sour patch kid. Regardless, I had a great evening. Plenty of great conversation and laughter. Thank you Sandi, Amy, Mike, Brian, Jenna, Adam, Paul, Justin and Meagan for coming and making history.

Day 7: The end?

Well today was officially the end of the 7 day Cardigan Challenge. I honestly picked out another outfit for tomorrow not really thinking that today was the last day, and for a second I got kind of sad about it. Ridiculous. It's not like I'm losing the cardigans, I own them, I can wear them again, pull it together! I think I might wear the outfit anyways because I never said I couldn't do more, just that I had to do 7, so maybe you'll see me back here tomorrow. Well you will anyways because it's martini night tomorrow. Back on to our normal schedule. So today, by request, I wore a lime green cardigan. It's somewhat short but fun and it makes me feel like it's summer time. Going back to work on a friday is always somewhat depressing, my weekend is over, I have the early shift, it's a longer than normal shift and of course today, the end of the challenge. Lucky for me, I have an incredibly good sense of humor and lucky for you, you get to read the next bit about what happened at work. So it was getting close to lunch time for me and the reinforcements have been around for about 15 minutes or so and to kill some time I go to talk a fellow associate. Now said associate is about 55 and sometimes a little awkward but we've worked together for over 3 years now so I would say we're pretty comfortable around one another. So I'm standing behind him for maybe 1 minute when he turns to me and with slight hesitation says "you realize you have a hole in the back of your pants, you can see your underwear." To which I respond with a reassured yes, because I did know there was a slight hole, due to the walkie that I have to carry on my pocket and the fact that the jeans themselves are over 4 years old. No big deal, normally my shirt covers it anyways. So I go home for lunch, like I normally do, and for kicks I go look in the bathroom mirror and my mouth drops to the floor as I realize the hole got bigger. It's no longer just a worn out area, it's a full on hole, down the side of the pocket. Not only can you see my underwear, you can see the color and the pattern. Goodness me, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm glad I went home on lunch though so I could change. The day did get better, not that it was necessarily bad, when the rep from the millwork department made a surprising friday visit. It doesn't matter what has happened that day, or even that week, when he visits, you forget what a bad day is. Sigh. Moving on. I got out of work and eventually met up with Amy at her parents house for a fun filled girls night. We ate chinese to which I tried my first crab rangoon and may have enjoyed it. We then made mojitos (without mint), grabbed the candy and headed downstairs to watch the movie Gran Torino. Soooooo good! I love Clint Eastwood, I seriously think he has gotten better with age. The rest of the night consisted of the following:

• two more mojitos
• digesting the movie
• wii fit plus; skateboard, soccer, running, marching in a parade, etc
• amazing girl talk
• blogging and trying to go to bed by one
• still being up at two after another hour of talking and taking ibuprofen.
• borrowing the best red sweatshirt in the world

This was quite possibly the perfect ending to a week long, ridiculous yet fun challenge. I almost dare say that a round 2 is in the future.


* I would like to add that if by some chance the beginning and the end don't flow, it's because this was a two-parter

Day 6: Back in Black

Day 6. I feel like this challenge could truly go on forever. There is so much more potential in my closet. Today was a hard choice though. I thought for a little bit I was going to have to do some fundraising stuff at Younkers which means I had to wear khakis. Which also means that I had to wear my polyester TNT training shirt. So how do you pair these two items and throw a cardigan in the mix? You wear a classic black. That's what you do. Then I was met with another challenge, my jacket was shedding on my pants. I've never noticed this before because I always wear jeans. It's kind of disturbing that it sheds as much as it does. So between not actually fundraising and the shedding, I think I had on 3 different outfits, all pulled together with the classy black. The only time I regretted wearing it was when I joined Jenna and Adam at their home to celebrate their potential home owning status and sat on the couch and then stood up with a cat on me. Not really but this is the one downfall of wearing black, everything shows. Enough about the cardigan though, the day was great and I am so happy for the Weilers.
I also highly enjoyed having girl time with Amy at JPs and trying, and partially succeeding at getting some fundraising done.
And it's never a bad day when you don't work.
Another good day all around. Could it be the cardigans?

Day 5: Blue Skies

Yesterday I wore my favorite spring time cardigan even though it was unbelievably cold outside. It's light blue, half sleeved and v neck. It's incredibly comfortable and even though I have green eyes and not blue, it apparently brings out my eyes as well. Good to know. I had the day off and started by staying in bed chatting online til 10. I don't care how much I get made fun of for always being on the computer or g-chatting, it is an incredible way to keep in contact with friends and also get other things done. Multi-tasking at its' finest. In an effort to get on track with my training I went outside for a run. And at some point, even though I checked the temperature and it said it was 25 degrees, in my head I thought I would dress for 40. Bad idea, we all know that it was only 22 with a windchill to make it worse. Needless to say, it just makes it hard to get excited for the rest of training in winter....can't wait for those 90 minute runs, ha. So after this I went and got subway for Esther and I and got a car wash. Sometimes I think I don't take good enough care of my car. Every week (most of the time) I go to Esther's and we catch up on the week prior and I get to tell my stories from the week and hold babies and in some ways we both live vicariously through one another, which is great. This week was even better in an odd way. This week felt like we were adults having adult conversations, not just giggling and reminiscing. Hard to explain I guess, it's nice having people close that have known you for more than half your life. I came home and did some fundraising work and started to read a very large book. Sometimes I miss reading for fun. I love getting sucked into a completely different world and escaping, even if just for 15 minutes at a time. By this time on a Wednesday, it's time for the Brewery. It's too bad that we didn't realize until we got there that it was 80'S NIGHT! Rats. Plus, they were out of cider. I tried my hardest to like beer, but tonight was not the breakthrough night we all hoped for. Maybe next time. Also, for the first time, we danced. We've danced at 84 East, but never here. It was slightly awkward but fun all the same. I'm starting to really enjoy our weekly gatherings. There is always something to look forward to without it being a month away.
This was really long, but when do I ever do a short recap?
Exactly.

Day 4: Go Green!

I was thinking today that I should have planned a little bit better and taken a picture of myself in each cardigan. Too bad I didn't because now it's too late. Not that I really planned this at all, it must be part of goal to be more spontaneous. Today I wore a favorite. Green, old and comfortable. It's quite possible that I owned said cardigan in high school. Regardless, I love it. It made yesterday bearable a day after. Does that make sense? I think maybe.
Last night I got to catch up with a friend for a bit and she had an extra ticket to the MSU vs Iowa game and I turned it down. Am I nuts?! I love college basketball and, gasp, haven't been to a game ever! What can I say other than I was a great student and committed to my friends more than my school...anyways, I reallllllly hope that opportunity comes up again because I miss East Lansing. I know that really had nothing to do with today but I did wear green and white today....just saying.
Nothing amazing happened today, but nothing horrible either. Just the kind of day I needed to get me through. Tomorrow is potentially a very busy day off but those are just the kind I love, especially if they're productive.

Day 3: What was I thinking?

Ok, today was an off day. I woke up super tired and for some reason decided to skip my run this morning, bad idea. Then when getting dressed I didn't really think about the fact that I'd be wearing a cardigan. I picked out a sweater over a cami which means I had to put a cardigan over the sweater. I mean it wasn't the worst thing I've ever worn but I also decided to wear my hair curly and I'm just throwing it out there that some days I look like I forgot how to pull it all together. I almost wished I had taken a picture so you could know what I mean, because I think it'd be obvious. So, having to work an extra long shift at work when feeling like this makes the day slightly crappy, even without anything happening. So lucky me, after being at the Depot for 10 hours, I came home to run 2 miles. And the frustrating part was that I only cut 13 seconds off of the last run. 13 seconds? At this rate I'll finish a half in full time. I hate the treadmill. It's quite possible the only thing that saved the day was seeing my aunt and cousins for 15 minutes. There's nothing like a hug from a 4 year old to make the days' troubles seem so distant. And then dinner was toast and coco wheats. I was reminded that I actually don't like coco wheats, those are the chocolate ones. I like cream of wheat. Ahh, some times you just have to have a bad day to appreciate the good ones, and hopefully the good ones to come.

Day 2: The Borrowed Gray

I love color. I love adding little splashes here and there, in all aspects of life. I've noticed recently, like this past year, that I have started to accumulate a lot of black and white. I used to make fun of my friend Lindsey cuz it's all she wore but now I understand it's almost essential. So for day two I wore a gray cardigan, the perfect blend of black and white. Not just any gray one though, the one I've been eyeing in Meagan's closet, which means it had to be a good day. I went to church and met up with Katie and chatted about life for a bit, which was really nice. I like being able to catch up with people without feeling rushed or like I'm balancing. After church I came home and did some fundraising work and then took a nap!!! Yay for naps! Then I did all the stuff that normal people do on a Sunday but I can't do because I work. I did laundry and made brownies and cleaned my room (kind of). Then I went with the roomies to Family Dinner at the Weiler home. I love family dinner time. It's such a great ending to the weekend and also a great start to the week. I love cuddling on the chair with Amanda and I love Jenna's hospitality and I love just laughing with friends. And I love it even more when we end with a dance party. I love anything that includes dancing though, nothing new there. Then because Amy locked herself out of her place we got to have a slumber party. A great day in a GRAYt cardigan. Today I feel blessed.