Lazy Sunday

I had a pretty low key weekend. I have been running around and going out too much and it wore me down. I feel like I have something on my schedule every day. So I stayed in Friday night because I wanted to get up at a decent hour Saturday to run 11 miles. Good decision. Then I spent the afternoon at the pool with Jon. It was freaking hot and the pool is like bath water.

One of my friends from Virginia Tech, who I have also known since elementary school, is going away to graduate school for a year at Carnegie Mellon. So his girlfriend threw him a surprise going away party Saturday night. That was fun and he was super surprised, which is always nice!

I was going to go to the beach with Logan today, but my throat has been bothering me and as I said I feel run down. So I felt bad, but I texted him last night bowing out. We're going to a wedding in August though and we will get to go to the beach then! So today was the laziest Sunday I have had in awhile and it was great. I woke up at 9:30am and made a yummy breakfast--baked peanut butter pancake. (I should have taken a picture because it was so pretty). Then I washed my sheets and did other laundry. Also cleaned my room and dropped some stuff off at Goodwill. It was a pretty productive Sunday as well.

And dinner was delicious! I haven't had kale chips in a good week so it was time for those with some ketchup and encrusted tilapia! Now is it really time to go to work again tomorrow? Boo!

Short Week!

Well when you don't start your work week until Wednesday it goes by pretty quickly! I took Tuesday off because Verizon was coming to hook up FIOS! I also needed to get my hair cut, definitely a good reason to take a day off, haha. The Verizon guy took forever, but I actually felt bad for him. Of course, my complex put the wall mounts in so we could get Verizon, BUT they failed to actually wire it from the ground up to the apartment. So the poor guy was outside in the 95+ degree heat with a ladder wiring up the building! I don't live on the first floor either! So he started around 11:15am and I was waiting and waiting so I could go for a run. Well finally at 12:30pm when it didn't seem like he would be done anytime soon I asked how much longer and he said, "oh maybe two hours." Ummmm, what?! I had my hair appointment scheduled for 3pm so I needed to go on the run soon. I asked him if he minded if I went running and he said no. I knew he wasn't going to leave with my stuff because I knew who he was. Anyhow, went on the run and it was HOT, but not too bad. Thank you to the Arlington residents running your sprinklers! Very refreshing.

So I finished my run and of course I had to shower. Umm, more awkward. My friend said it sounded like a porn he watched once. Ughhh, no. So he finished around 1:15pm and showed me how to work everything. It's awesome and I am so happy to say sayonara Comcast!

On another note I also made Banana Bread on Tuesday. I followed this recipe from fitsugar and it turned out pretty good! Especially with some butter or sunflower seed nut butter!

Next up, who loves falafel?! ME! I had it twice this week in a whole wheat wrap with tahini, pickle, cucumber, hummus, spinach (one night), and mozzarella cheese. The other night I had it with sweet potato fries, but tonight I had it with a baked sweet potato (not pictured). So the falafel kind of looks like poop balls in the picture, but I swear it's good!

Let's see, what else?! Well I am feeling pretty confident about my potential opportunity and life is great right now! Tomorrow is Friday and I have some fun stuff planned for the weekend.

RIP Miss Kitty

Well this day really took a turn for the worse. First the root canal and then my Dad had to put our family cat down this afternoon. I kind of knew it was coming because she hasn't been doing well since last week and she is 23!! Still it's sad and I am a lot more upset than I thought I would be. I cried on the phone with my Mom and she could not stop crying. I had to hang up because it was just too much. She had a great, long life, but a pet that is around that long you kind of just get so used to them that you think they will be around forever.

She was the prettiest and sweetest cat ever. I don't even like cats at all, but I loved her. I am severely allergic to them, but I would pet and cuddle her and then just wash my face and hands. I know it could be a lot worse; I could be losing a human family member. She was a huge part of my family though. I am glad I went and rubbed her head this morning before I left. My dad already buried her in the backyard so that was it. Now she isn't suffering and can join Amber and Molly in pet heaven.

And The Weekend Continues

I am trying to look on the bright side here. At least I get a four day weekend. Why, you ask?! Well, my back molar, which is already a crown, has been bothering me for the past two months. My dentist said it might need a root canal, but to keep an eye on it. Well it got worse, so painful to hot and cold and sometimes ached all the way to my ear. I don't need a Doctor of Dental Science degree to know that's not good. So I stayed the night at my parents (since my dentist is out that way) and went at 8am this morning. He looked at it and took an x-ray and gave me the bad news, yeah you probably need a root canal. But then he referred me out to an endodontist? If you don't know what that is, it's a dentist who specializes in saving teeth. Okay whatever, told him I'd like someone near Arlington since I didn't think I'd be doing it today. He found some dude and I decided to call them when I got in the car. Talked to the receptionist and she said if I was there in the next hour or so they could get me in. Greaaaaat, Gainesville to Arlington in rush hour. We all know what that's like. Nevertheless, I decide to go for it since it's only 8:25 and I didn't plan on getting to work 'til 10:30am.

Route 66. Nothing more needs to be said. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. I wanted to curb stomp the imbecile behind me. Subaru station wagon thing. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was tailgating me in 20mph traffic. I'M SORRY SIR, but I cannot go faster when there are 650,000 Northern Virginians in front of me. And please forgive me that I like to maintain a fair amount of space between my car and the car and front of me. CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I LIKE TO AVOID FENDER BENDERS. Not Mr. Subaru though. He decides to cut into the HOV lane and then cut in front of me. WOW, YOU'RE AWESOME. Now you're one whole car length closer to work!! GET A LIFE DOUCHE. (Note: I sound pissed in this post, but I was as cool as a cucumber in the car jamming out to Bieber and found it kind of funny.)

Alright, so I arrive to the endodontist office around 9:45am. Not bad considering I got gas before I left Gainesville. I start filling out all the crap, they make copies of my insurance stuff, blah blah. Then Dr. Root Canal's dental assistant takes me back. Dr. Root Canal is nice looking, somewhat young, pretty blue eyes. He asks what the problem is and I tell him. He then does the cold air thing. Does this hurt? No, not really. He does it on another part and I make a horrendous face and yell out something that sounds like "ahhh" and he says okay, sorry that's all I needed. Yes, you need a root canal.

Dr. Root Canal: Have you ever had one?
Me: No, but I've had orthognathic surgery.
Dr. Root Canal: Oh really, that's different. When did you have that?
Me: (Thinking--no shit, sherlock, it's different, just pointing out that I have been through some serious dental stuff). Umm, a little over two years ago.
Dr. Root Canal: Okay, two years ago; what did they do?
Me: Moved my upper jaw up and forward and lower jaw forward.
Dr. Root Canal: (Looking in my mouth again) Oh, I see. Well, they did a really good job.

So then he asks me some more questions about that. How was it? Painful? Were you wired shut? Truth be told, it wasn't painful. It was just ANNOYING. I was wired shut for 12 days and I forget this sometimes now, but man it made me appreciate food. Everything was liquid for 12 days and I wanted real food. Twelve days doesn't seem like a lot of time, but trust me it is. I lost ten pounds and had no boobs or butt! :) I digress.

So Dr. Root Canal does his thing and it really wasn't bad at all. I really thought it was going to be some kind of horrible. He advises me to take ibuprofen and prescribes me Vicodin? UMM WHAT?! Jeez Louise, if I need that this is not going to be good later. He said that it's like an ankle sprain and that the teeth and jaw will be sore later from all the drilling, pounding, etc. Special. It was at that point I decided not to go into work. And I am already on annual leave tomorrow (I'll explain in another post) so that's how I got my four day weekend.

All was well until I got the bill. Alright, your portion is $588! Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Kill me now. That's after insurance dude. The bill was like $1621 and adjusted to $1000 and after my insurance picks up their part I owe $588. I hope my health insurance picks up some of it, but probably not. It was at that point I realized my biggest fail in life: not going to dental school! Ha, no I never thought about it, but thinking about how much money my mouth/teeth/jaw are worth I really should have gone that route! You see between dental checkups growing up to now, expanders, cavities here and there, wisdom teeth removal, two rounds of braces, crown, orthognathic surgery, and now a root canal I'd venture to say about $75k has been bled from someone's pockets whether it be my parents, mine, insurance company, adjustments, discounts, etc. I think I should insure my mouth! ;) And yes I take care of my teeth, brush twice a day, floss, and six month checkups. I was just a mouth breather as a child since I couldn't breathe out of my mouth because of my enlarged adnoids, which were removed in middle school. My pediatrician and dentist didn't catch it early enough and it messed up the development of my jaw. Thus I had a really small mouth and overcrowding was a huge issue. Wow, that makes me sound kinda messed up, but I'm pretty normal now. Haha, as normal as one can be.

Okay, on another note, the NFL lockout is over and it seems to be all people can talk/facebook/tweet about. And you know what?! I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING F#$%. This is what's wrong with America. Here we have a bunch of rich millionaires acting like children that finally come to an agreement and "save" the NFL season. Meanwhile, our economy continues its steady descent into oblivion and the average American cares more about the freaking.NFL.season. What a joke. Maybe it's because I hate the NFL and pretty much all professional sports, but I really could care less whether the NFL is around tomorrow or twenty years from now. I would be a little sad for all my favorite Hokie players not having a chance at their dream, but my god, there are more important things going on right now than an NFL season!! I guess we have to wait for the other group of rich, spoiled millionaires on the hill to "figure it out" and come to some sort of agreement.

Weekend Warrior

Well, my week finally turned around and I had a great weekend! So our softball game, well, we're a little rusty. We were at bat first and did okay, but then our opponent went to bat and I was playing catcher. They cracked ball after ball into the outfield. I was starting to wonder if there was a softball they couldn't knock out of the park. I am happy to say we finally dusted ourselves off and instead of getting stomped we just got crushed! Haha. They hit one home run so far out of the field it went into a parking garage! I hit at all three of my at bats, but they were lame grounders so I need to work on hitting. Oh, I made an awesome diving catch in the outfield too. It was epic. You probably saw it on SportsCenter. And I had just finished a pop sickle so the stick was still in my mouth... super safe!

Happy hour with coworkers Friday was hilarious and fun. Happy hour is great too because it makes for an early evening ;) and I was asleep by 10:45pm on a Friday night. Whatever, don't judge. Thus I was up early on Saturday to make some pancakes before going to get new running shoes and then head to the pool with my friend/coworker. Cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes are delicious. They sound gross, but they're amazing. I got new running shoes at Potomac River Running and a Nike hat since I had a 10 miler planned with my friend Kim on Sunday and it's about 3867282 degrees out every day lately. I am trying to ramp up my miles and training because I plan on running the Richmond Marathon this year. My first full marathon!! Anyhow, here's a little montage of me getting pumped for softball, new running shoes, and then all geared out for the 10 miler.


After the pool I went to bikram baptiste yoga. It's like a 100 degrees in there, but didn't matter since it's like 120 degrees outside. It was a pretty good yoga sesh, especially since I hadn't been in two weeks and it wasn't crowded at all. Kim and I ate at Boulevard Woodgrill last night and I had the seafood kabobs--yummy. Then we came back here for a chill night and watched The Guardian since we wanted to be up by 7:45am to beat the heat for the 10 miles. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Yes, it was hot, and it was a lot hillier than I expected. I usually bike that route so biking hills is MUCH easier than running them. However, since I dorked it out with all my gear plus took a Gatorade G2 and a Clif Gel + caffeine I really found it to be a pretty enjoyable run. We finished in about an hour and 40 minutes and that included a few walking breaks. Pretty good training run. I like that I have the whole day ahead of me and my workout is done!

Is It Friday Yet?

No, I mean really. This week is dragging and it sucks, so I just want it to be Friday and time for happy hour after work!

I cannot even begin to describe the annoying things happening this week. Why does an awesome week have to be followed by a crappy one? Does this mean I can plan for a good one next week?! Wah, woe is me. At least we finally have our first softball game tonight, which I am pretty excited about. It was rained out last week. The downside? This HEAT. It is ridiculous and only going to get worse tomorrow and Thursday. Really puts the skids on running outside, which is hard for me because I hate the torturetreadmill.

Okay, I can stop whining for a second to talk about VIRGINIA TECH football! Specifically recruiting. I feel like we're having great success in recruiting with Shane Beamer on board now. Our most recent commit, Augie Conte, commited to Virginia Tech even though both of his parents are Hoos (we all make mistakes in life). Yay, go Hokies!

And let's go 1411D! We better win tonight.

Nathan...

thinks he is so cool that he deserves his own blog post. I am giving it to him because I was going to write something else, and it was kind of whiney so I deleted it! This is Nathan:

Wow, look at all those beers!

I met Nathan approximately two years ago. Actually exactly two years because it was the summer of 2009. No, Nathan I am not obsessed with you. I only know because this lovely photo came from my "Summer 2009" folder. Little did he know it would be the best summer of his life because he now knew MUAH, me, Taylo, Tay, the bestest person ever. Currently, Nathan loves to entertain me on g-chat during the work week and via drunk texts on the weekend! What a swell guy. Sometimes (rarely!) he will entertain me with a real life, in person, visit. Like maybe happy hour this Friday, Nathan?!

Nathan also loves to correct my mistakes on this blog. He also pretends to hate this blog and asks who in the hell is reading it, but then asks me at least twice a week for a link to it! Nathan is obsessed with rowing too. That's why I don't see him much in person. He is alive and well in my g-chat and text messaging world, but he is too busy rowing his boat down the Potomac to see me in person!

Winning At Many Things

Life, negotiating, and running. First of all, I am waiting to hear about something and once it's final then I can talk about it on here, but since this is really public and you don't need an account to read it I don't want to talk about it yet. Secondly, I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I mothereffing hate COMCAST WITH A FIERY PASSION!

So I called Verizon to ask them something about my Internet (thank god I only have cable through Comcrap) and they mentioned that I could get faster Internet plus FIOS for $69.99. Umm what? I pay $72 for Comcrap plus $22 for Verizon Internet. Yep, they can set me up with a sweet deal for $69.99. Will it lock me into a contract? Nope! Sounds too good to be true. Let me call Comcrap and see if I can drop their asses like a bad habit. Oh yes I CAN! Here's the exchange:

Comcrap: I am sorry to hear you want to cancel. Why is that?
Me: Oh, I just HATE COMCAST and can't stand your service, plus I am getting a way better deal with Verizon.
Comcrap: We're sorry to hear that! What do you not like about it?
Me: Everything. The service, the technicians and their timing or lack thereof, the price...
Comcrap: Oh, well we see you called x and x, and we had someone there x. Did they not resolve the problem? And we can give you a deal for...
Me: No! I don't care anymore, I already signed up for Verizon. I want to give a date to cancel my service.
Comcrap: Okay ma'am.

So I call Verizon back and they gave me FIOS with HD, 220 channels, fastest Internet connection available, and free DVR for 3 months at $69.99 a month! WINNING! I can't wait for July 26.

On to the next thing. This is random, but I feel the need to talk about elevator etiquette. I don't really have a problem with this except at work. I want to say that it is weird if it's just you and me in the elevator and you face me. STAND FORWARD. Not only are you facing me, but you're staring at me. Very AWKWARD. Also, if you're waiting for the elevator to come get you (and I know you might have been waiting a long time) stand to the side! It's rude when everyone is flooding out of the elevator and you're blocking the way because you're trying to get on the elevator. Lastly, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, press a floor and then not get off on it. I am trying to go to the 11th floor asshole. I already have to stop at 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10, THEN 11. Do you think I also want to stop on the fourth floor to check out the scenery because you pressed the button not knowing what day it is and that you really work on the fifth floor?!

Do not be this tool

Times Are A-Changin'

Or at least I hope so. I was stressing about something I had Tuesday evening but it went really well. Actually better than expected. I have a great opportunity, but hopefully I can work out some life issues that go along with it so I can take it. It's funny because I never thought I'd be here at this crossroads, but I am happy. I am so happy. And I wouldn't be here if I hadn't gone through all the bullshit, highs, lows, what ifs, and unknowns. If you want things to change you have to do something about it yourself because no one is going to do it for you. I think these lyrics by The Weepies say it all: "You know there will be days/When you're so tired/That you can't take another step/The night will have no stars/And you'll think you've gone as far/As you will ever get....But in the end, the only steps that matter/Are the ones you take all by yourself."

It's hard to want to make a change. It's even harder to actually MAKE that change. People will doubt you. You'll doubt yourself and wonder if you should do it, but you know what's best deep down. And if I have learned anything over the past six months it's that you should never, ever live your life for someone else. You're never going to please everyone so do what makes you happy. I think some people might try to talk me out of my decision if that's what I decide to do, but I know what I know. And you know what? That ship sailed, it's in the effing Indian Ocean by now and it ain't coming back!

There's one other thing that I hope works out, but I am trying to just let that be and what's meant to be will be! I.HATE.NOT.BEING.IN.CONTROL! Ahhhhh, so much has happened this week. On another note, what does everyone think of Google+? I like it, but it's kind of boring so far. I am guessing that will change once more people are on it. Then again I don't like the functionality so far; everything seems so disjointed.

And I will leave you with this gem. I am OBSESSED!!

New Yorkkkkk

I am still recovering from the weekend. Late nights, running all through the city one day, Central Park the next, walking even more, eating, plus the bus rides wore me out! I didn't get back to my apartment until 9:15pm Sunday. Needless to say I was a little startled when my alarm went off at 7:30am. The bus ride up was not too great since East Coast drivers seem to forget how to drive if a raindrop falls. It wasn't even raining hard, but traffic was pretty much stop and go the whole way up. Then it took FOR.FREAKING.EVER to get into the Lincoln tunnel. Plus I was starving. Can you imagine my crankiness? Traffic on the East Coast makes a sister want to pack it up and join the Amish. Nevertheless I got there and the fun began!

There are a ton more photos, but you'd have to be my friend on facebook to see them all. I'm not posting them all here, obvi. Posting photos on here is kind of a pain. We enjoyed sushi, diner food, sweets, Italian, huge slices of pizza (x2, fail for healthy eating!).










And I am still super tired after getting eight hours of sleep last night. Honestly, today wasn't the best day so I am finding it hard to write more. Plus I have something kind of important going on tomorrow and I am not as focused on it as I should be. Why does so much life change have to happen at once?!

Happy Weekend!

Yep, I'm not at work again. You're probably wondering to yourself, "does this bitch ever work on Fridays?!" And as of late, the answer would be no. At least not a full Friday. Haha! I'm off to NYC in a couple hours and I cannot wait.

Back to the Casey Anthony thing for a hot minute. People are kind of getting on my nerves now asking how the jury could be so dumb, they got it wrong, how can they live with themselves, etc. There wasn't enough evidence people. I would never want any of these fools serving as a jury where I was on trial. Ha, not that it would ever happen, but just saying.

This is my first summer "in DC" and so far it has been awesome, except for the tourists. I know I am a tourist when I go to other cities, but come on, there is something special about DC tourists. And I don't mean special in a good way. They're just so unaware of their surroundings and landmarks. I can't tell you how many I've heard say, "ohhhh look there's the White House." I look and think to myself, "WTF you morons. That's the U.S. Capitol!" SMH.

Anyhow, I am going to the gym to preempt all the damage I am about to do this weekend!

Serious dehydration vs. DC public bathroom faucets

So I woke up at 6am to get to work by 6:45 to meet a coworker for a nice morning run around the district. Getting out of bed was rough, but once I was up it was fine. I am not looking my best at that hour, but I can accomplish a good run. Exhibit A:

I know you love my sweet headband!

Anyhow I was out the door at 6:10am. Impressive, I know. I should have known things weren't going to go smoothly that morning when I was skipping down the stairs of my apartment building eating a banana and 2/3 of it broke off and fell on the floor. I picked it up and considered still eating it. I thought, "it was only there for a couple seconds." Then I thought, "ew Taylor dogs live in this complex." I tossed it. Phew.

I got out of the metro in DC and realized it was already HUMID! Boo. How rude. I got into my building just before 6:45am to meet my coworker. We headed out and I assumed we were doing the same six mile route as last week. Wrong. It was still six miles, but we went off roading on grass, down to the Kennedy Center, and into freakin' Arlington! Hey, why don't I just go back to my apartment and shower at this point?! So we hit mile three and I am getting into a groove. Mile four I start to experience some chills. Odd, huh, considering it's 7 something and 28376743 degrees outside and as humid as a gas chamber. Whatever, not much I can do, but run! I finally tell my coworker I need water. We have a little over a mile left. He says there are some around the WWII memorial. Three water fountains. Three fails. NONE WORK! KILL ME NOW. I had to bite the bullet and go into a public restroom and just let the water go into my hands and then into my mouth. Please note I did not put my mouth near the faucet, but still gross. Well, I survived and finished the run in 53 minutes. Not bad considering I was on the verge of fainting and we stopped three times!

So I looked it up and chills are a sign of serious dehydration. If you experience chills, disorientation, or severe cramps you should stop running. Ooops! Better luck next time.

Totally Terrific Tuesday

I know you like my use of alliteration in the blog title. I do because I loved English in high school and actually, I still love it. After having three and a half days off I thought going back to work today was going to be rough, but it really wasn't. You know the saying, "this too shall pass" means so much more to me as of late. People say that all the time and you think yeah, yeah, whatever, shut up. But I can't tell you how different things are from January to now, and even March to now. I didn't believe things would change in January, and that what I was going through would pass, but it did. One thing I will mention is that I hated, HATED my job this past fall/winter. Now, I am in a different place and it just doesn't matter as much to me. Sure, we're there 40 hours a week (more for others), but now I realize there is so much more to life. My job isn't who I am and it doesn't define me unless I let it. The one thing that never lets me down at work is my coworkers (well most of them anyway, ha). We have been through so many ups and downs together, but still know how to have fun.

And you know what else I have to talk about today? I am sure it's not hard to guess. CASEY FREAKIN' ANTHONY. Oh yes. I'll be honest, I did not follow this trial much. I followed the story back in the day because that was at a time when I used to know every single current event going on. About nine months ago I stopped reading most of it. This world really is too depressing and keeping up with all that stuff is a real downer. Alright, so the jury found her not guilty. Honestly, I do believe that was the right verdict. The evidence (or lack thereof) was circumstantial. This wasn't about the jury, the defense, or even really the prosecution. The fact of the matter is the prosecution barely had a case because investigators botched it from the beginning. It was an inept investigation that could have never resulted in a guilty verdict. And you know what? That's awesome and sucks at the same time. We live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA where you're innocent until proven guilty. They did not prove she was guilty. We just celebrated our freedom yesterday and our justice system is part of what makes America great. We screw up. We get it wrong. People end up in jail who should not be there. People who should be there get off (cough, OJ, cough), but it's the way it goes. I do believe Casey Anthony did it (my opinion, which I am entitled to here in America!), but the jury was right. In the end Casey Anthony has to live with what she did. I believe "what goes around, comes around" and Casey Anthony will not go unpunished. And we can't forget the most important person in all of this, her daughter, Caylee Anthony. Poor child was barely alive before she was taken out of it. That's the tragedy and hopefully she is resting in peace.

Happy 4th!

Hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July. I really do love this holiday. I went running and the neighborhood is nice and quiet, which is always nice. Going back to work tomorrow is going to be rough, but at least it's a short week! I am going to a friend's bbq in DC so hopefully I'll see some sweet fireworks. Last year I was in San Diego for the Fourth, so I'll leave you with this photo from then.

Not the best photo, but it's hard to take a decent photo of fireworks! It's crazy how much things can and have changed in a year..

Long Weekend

So it seems like I find more time to post at the beginning of the week, and then it drops off because I get busy or caught up in doing stuff. I have been really busy the past four days meeting up with friends for lunches, happy hours, and other stuff. I have actually been off work since around 11 on Friday, which has been nice. I haven't worked a full Friday in a good three weeks and I won't this Friday either because I am going up to NYC! Winning.

So here I am on day two of my three day weekend. I hate how fast it goes! I went out Friday night and just chilled last night. Not really sure what I am doing tonight, or for the fourth yet. I don't want to do anything big because it's a Monday and I obviously have work the next day.

Oh I did yoga yesterday morning for the first time in about a month! I wish it wasn't so expensive so I could go more. There were two slight problems for this class though. One was my fault: I was just a little hungover. You'd think yoga would probably help a hangover. Well, it's about 95 degrees in there and I can tell you that it does NOT help a hangover, so no need for you to try! Secondly, it was PACKED! You know like every space covered with a mat. A little too close to my neighbors. And I try not to judge, it is yoga after all, but the chick next to me was really into her breathing and "letting it all out"!

I just finished eating homemade pancakes with coffee, and reading postsecret. Pretty much my favorite Sunday ritual.