o holy night.

My boss's wife has the worst way of complementing me. Seriously. It's like she knows exactly how to make me feel shitty about being skinny. It's weird. I'm going to blame it on the fact that English is her third language (THIRD! who does that? #jealous), but she has this impeccable way of giving what should be a sweet compliment, except she says it by essentially saying "you used to be fat." Umm... thanks a billion?

Also, I'm pretty sure she's giving her teenaged daughter an eating disorder. Shame. But it's none of my business... ?

I'd like to point out that I'm wearing skinny jeans to work... because none of my other pants fit. NO PANTS. It's been so hot the last few weeks that my skirts-and-dresses-only regimen denied me the opportunity to squeeze the last weeks of wear-ability out of my pants.

I wish someone had told me last year how expensive losing weight was going to be. I spent $9 on fancy cheeses for my salads. NINE DOLLARS. At most, I'll get six servings out of that purchase. And my gym membership, which is about to lapse... don't even wanna think about that. And turning over my closet THREE TIMES... ugh, I can literally see thousands of dollars flying out of my closet. THOUSANDS. I couldn't help but think yesterday as I clicked the "purchase" button, "I wonder how long these clothes will last." The answer is: not long. And for that reason, I kinda regret spending the money.

But the sad truth is that I have a job where my appearance matters and I can't come dressed in running tights even though that's the only thing that fits right now. Must spend money to look respectable. If you have any coupons or tips on where to shop where I can get decent clothes at a dirty price, I'm super receptive to ideas. But keep in mind: it has to be crazy cheap, nicely made, and not anything I'll get attached to in the inevitable event that I'll have to donate the lot in a few months' time.

Now, business.

I spent ALL DAY yesterday deep cleaning the shit (literally/figuratively) out of my apartment. One of the best feelings in the world (for me, at least) is coming back from vacation to an impeccably clean house. It's already chaotic enough unloading your life from a suitcase, it eases the process coming home to sparkling floors and fresh linens. You should try it.

Despite my domestic calorie torching, I was still in the mood for some gym time. When 9pm rolled around, I dressed for the gym. I spent my time on the elliptical watching Mckayla Maroney eek in a silver medal performance on the vault, then I did some triceps/biceps/shoulder work in the weight area. After that, I walked to my car enjoying the very rare chill (in Iowa? In August??) with the brilliant idea to go for a run.

Yep, I totally went for a run even after going to the gym. Running in 50 degree weather is my favorite thing to do, but I fear it'll still be months before we see that kind of weather. But it was a crisp 63 degrees when I left the gym and I just had to capitalize on it. HAD TO. I set my Nike+ iPod kit to 5km and hit the pavement on my favorite route.

There was a moment when I was running when I realized that I LOVED IT. I was sweating and I could feel the burn in my hamstrings and in my lungs as I pumped my way up a tough hill realizing that the steady rhythm of my breath and the quiet tip-tap of my feet was calming. I got to the top of the hill with a huge smile on my face knowing that for the first time ever I ran without once thinking "this sucks."

I managed 5.8km in 43 minutes and I was truly sad when it ended. I could have run more but it was late and I knew I had to be up early for work. I'm glad I stopped when I did because I was ten shades of sore when I woke this morning. Oh holy night, what a feeling. It was horrible.

I loved it.