being an auntie

333 days until 30 and today I became an auntie again! I have a brand new nephew, so new in fact, that I don't even know his name yet. His mother is my sister by choice, we are not blood related, but as far as I am concerned, you may choose who you call family. And if given a million choices, I would still only need one as far as she is concerned, she is my sister, her husband is my brother, and their son is my nephew!

Being an auntie is my favorite job I have ever had. Rowan, my 5 year old nephew, will tell you that I am the best Auntie Lizzy ever! So when Erin told me that they were expecting a boy, I was over the moon! I mean, I have experience being an auntie to a nephew. It's like getting a promotion at work, where they only make you do the things you are already good at! Not that I don't think I wouldn't make an amazing auntie to a niece, I will, but there is just something so wonderful about having a nephew! And now I have two!!!

"don't get old"

I started swimming laps more regularly to add some cross training to my marathon training schedule. Yesterday I went to swim some laps before teaching lessons and the 19 year old lifeguard, a friend of mine, asked why I would need to swim laps since I am already so tiny. I replied "I'm tiny because I swim and run, don't get old."

A friend my age, Emily, mentioned that she had been going to morning swim at another pool, so this morning I headed there to punish myself a little more. We were talking with another 19 year old that was there swimming about having to work out more, needing surgeries for old athletic injuries, and the like. Her advice to this young swimmer was also "don't get old."

It's absolutely impractical advice when you think about it. You don't have a choice, as time passes - you get older. I think what both Emily and I meant by "don't get old" was "make sure you take care of yourself, your body treats you the way you treat it, as you get older."

But it's a lot funnier to just tell people "don't get old."

how to go on vaction in your own town

I think it's important to like where you live. I certainly do. In fact, my style blog is named after Reston - Reston Style. Reston isn't a city or even a town. It's a place, a place called Reston. And I went on a staycation in Reston with my very dear friends over memorial day weekend. Here's how we did it:

post-its

I love post-it notes. My favorites the super sticky square ones with lines. Everyday at work I make a little check list of all the things I have to do that day using an ultra-fine sharpie and a super sticky post-it.

I loved post-it notes so much as a kid that I begged for (and got) Doctor Barbie just because she came with a pad of mini post-it notes!

It's not just sharpies and post-its though. I have a deep affection for all things school/office supply related! I love little notebooks, stationary (though I don't write many letters anymore), stickers (did I mention I am 29 going on 8?), and I keep a paper calendar that update with colourful papermate flare pens - they write like ultra fine sharpies without bleeding through!

Here's the proof:

solar powered

I am fairly certain that I am solar powered. I spent the entire Memorial Day Weekend outdoors doing active things and I feel extremely rested. This seems to happen every summer.

The only conclusion that I can come up with is that I am kindred with Superman and that Earth's yellow sun give me super energy in the summer.

be present

I wrote about this concept on my style blog, but I kinda felt like I had more to say on it. 'Be Present' can me:

• be present and accounted for
• be present in the moment and enjoy your life
• be present, don't live in the past
• be present, don't wait for the future
• be present in your mind and body

I just love that. More people have asked me today what my necklace means and I just love telling them. I can see the message get through to them, as it does to me. It's a great saying.

I am working on being present. I need to be reminded quite often to stay calm and just enjoy things as they happen.

348 days until I am 30, and I plan to be present through all of them!

who is this girl?

Everyone said I was making a big deal out of nothing when it came to turning 29. I was told "it's just one more day" and "it's really no big deal." But 29 is already so different from before 29.

Before turning 29:

• my room was a mess
• my car was a mess
• my training was inconsistent
• I was afraid to share my feelings

29 year old me has always:

• had a clean room
• had a clean car
• had a consistent training record
• been able to share exactly what she is feeling with the people that she is close with

Maybe 29 isn't so bad :)