Hello Again

Well.

It's been quite awhile. It's been over nine months, in fact. (No, I did not conceive and/or birth a child. I just didn't blog.)

In those nine months, I have been very busy. Here's what happened:

In March, I ran the Get Lucky 7K with MS, a family friend from years ago. Fun fact: she used to be my babysitter! Now we live in the same city again, which is super awesome. I am looking forward to running with her more once we're both healthier (more on that later).

Also in March, SH and I drove down to New Orleans (!!!) and headed on a cruise to Mexico. We hit up Cozumel and Progreso. I love the ocean so much.

In April, I worked out -- a lot.

Straight-up Beast Mode.

I have no idea.

In May, I ran -- a lot. And I looked super buff doing it.

Even though sometimes I literally wanted to vomit. I was running fast, y'all!

In June, I ran the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon (the 13.1 version of Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota). I went up there with my assistant principal and her friend, and we had so much fun together -- and stayed in an old brothel! I kicked major ass at this race, PRing by nearly 20 minutes. After, though, I was a hurting unit. But it was so worth it.

I also started working at the gym. I loved it so much that I told them I wanted to spend even more time there. And they let me!

Also in June, my sister came to visit me, and we helped the Twin Cities kick off Pride with the Beer Dabbler. We had so much fun, and I think we're hoping to make it an annual event. (I'm not sure my sister knows this yet, though.)

For the Fourth of July, I celebrated with Jay, one of my very first Minnesota friends.

How cool is this photo?!

Also in July, I headed to Des Moines for 80/35, an annual music festival. I hung out with my best friends in the entire world and had entirely too much fun -- like, entirely too much fun.

In August, my best dude friend came to Minneapolis, and he took me to the Chelsea vs. AC Milan game, the first event at U.S. Bank Stadium, home to the Minnesota Vikings. It was my first big soccer match, and it was so much fun. I'm now a Chelsea fan?

Also in August, I ran Ragnar, a 200+ mile relay race. I accidentally signed up for this after an afternoon of being on a pedal pub. While I was super nervous and knew virtually no one, it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite experiences.

Team Never Trust a Fartlek

Also in August, I went to Omaha/Lincoln, Nebraska, for my sister-in-law's sister's wedding. (Confusing, right? We're all pretty much family.) It was so great seeing my whole fam.

Me and my bro -- digging the aviators. I don't think we've looked this much alike since we were way younger.

In September, I headed to Chicago with two of my best friends in the whole world -- one from Michigan and the other from Massachusetts. We met there for a girls' weekend -- and to celebrate the wedding of one of our dearest Freedom Writer friends. It was such a wonderful time; we only wish KW could've been with us.

Posing in front of the Chicago River, noting how many people were hating on us for being the prettiest people on the planet.

Stuffing our faces with the best pizza imaginable.

Also in September, my boo and I headed to Iowa for a weekend. We hit up the World Food Festival (where a cute little guy called us the "beautiful teacher couple" and J officially asked me to "go steady"), and then we drove down to Knoxville for Peace Tree's annual Brews & Muse (and my sister's birthday party). We had so much fun.

In October, my boo and I won a costume contest.

Look at me I'm Sandra D.

Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson (I didn't know that was her last name until just now).

A week ago, my best Minnesota friend and I flew to Atlanta to present at the National Council for Teachers of English Annual Convention. We had such a wonderful trip to an amazing city, and we kicked so much ass at our presentation.

And just a few days ago, I hosted Thanksgiving. My mom and dad, my aunt and cousin, and my boo and his daughter all joined me. It was such a beautiful day with some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

So there's a recap of nine months of 2016. This is not at all what I intended this blog post to be about, but if I write the actual entry, this post would be like 1,000,000 times longer than it already is. So, stay tuned for an actual blog post tomorrow morning. :)

Peace, friends.