Ok it's been a while

Not even going to count my last post as a real post, so here I am, starting this blog fresh.

I've been on the usual health kick that naturally comes back every time I go home. My parents are marathon running health machines, so it's always a bit intimidating to sit on the couch eating 'breakfast' in your pajamas at 2pm when your parents come back from like a bazillon mile run. Fair play to them though, almost 50 year olds with better bodies, endurance, and lifestyles than both their 20-something daughters.

Pity party table for one.

No but really, it's so inspiring. My mom couldn't do a pushup to save her life 3 or 4 years ago, and now she could put a marine to shame. That's a total exaggeration, she is tiny and not in the military, but you get the idea, and now she can fit into jeans I tell myself I can fit in, but obviously can't. My dad however probably could put some of his military colleagues to shame. He has this fun new game called 'let me see how many pull-ups i can do from everything that will support my weight'. Oh and what fun he has. On his own. While people stare at him. Because no one was expecting to see a 49 year old man in business clothes doing pull ups outside the post office (not a true story, but it's not even an exaggeration. This event could totally happen, and probably will). ANYWAY enough about how my parents are living better lives than me. My life before Christmas consisted of very few things: eating like a student, panicking about assignments, not sleeping, and spending way too much time convincing myself that it was okay to watch a weeks worth of tv in one day because the universe was against me and refusing to allow the success of my many projects. So naturally going home is a more than welcome break.

Being home is probably my favorite thing in the entire world and I genuinely don't care what people think about that. Stuttgart is the place I've lived longest in my life and is my home. It has my parents, my cats, (and if we are both home at Christmas) and my schwessie. What is a schwessie you ask? Well schwessies are also known as: schwoosums, schwester, schwessie bessie, schwestifer, schwessilein, schwessles, Arnolad Schwessinator, Sylchwester Stalone, Vivienne Schwesstwood and many others. Still don't know what it is? Well, it's one of my favorite people of all time, my sister. However being home this year was a bit different because we had to say goodbye to one of our fat little kittens, the grumpus (Mango). Mango was my little kitten from the moment I picked her fat butt up at the animal shelter god knows how many years ago. She would sleep on my pillow, chest, face, lap, under the blanket with me etc, almost every single night since we got her, so sleeping without her was very hard. Luckily, Snoops came to the rescue.

 When I'm home I genuinely forget about most things like: having a dissertation to write, being recently unemployed, having spent too much money on Christmas presents, personal hygiene (what? who am I trying to impress?), wearing different outfits (what? leggings and an over-sized shirt are totally in fashion, and comfortable), and focusing more on things like: cat naps, playing with cats, sitting with cats on my lap, taking pictures of cats, looking for the cat and making her play with me when she doesn't really want to. Some call it harassment, I call it love. Everyone calls it obsession, I call it what? I can't hear you I'm too busy loving my cat. I guess spending time with my family should be there in the list.

We spent a lovely Christmas with my French Grandpa, and then a couple magical days in the mountains in Garmisch. My family definitely got tired of the broken record of OH MY GOD I LOVE IT HERE SO MUCH I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE YOU CAN'T MAKE ME LEAVE I'M SO HAPPY I'M SUCH A MOUNTAIN PERSON IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE wait what it's time to go home?! We spent those days hiking/running in the gorgeous mountains, drinking hot chocolate, playing board games, laughing way too loudly in restaurants, dad taught me how to spit like a man, drinking whisky, and I spent a lot of time plotting my return to Garmisch.

New Years. Ah what a hyped up waste of champagne and fireworks. I mean seriously why don't we save the champagne for a 'Hey, I've done some work on my dissertation today' day, or 'I got out of bed before noon' day, and being completely honest, I'd get out of bed before noon every day if champagne or fireworks were waiting for me, (hint for people who want me out of bed before noon). So tired of the 'new year new me' crap that people go on about. It's not that I'm a totally frigid negative ice queen so much as it's just that you're going to make the same stupid decisions, mistakes, lifestyle choices as you did last year, and the year before that, even though you promised yourself 2012 was going to be so different because it was 'your year'. Well you know what it was 7 billion other people's year too, so whatever. But it is good to start fresh and be positive (something I clearly need to learn how to do), and I mean gyms must make a killing in January membership sales, so to each their own. I was looking forward to a big night of staying home, not spending money, being warm, and a game night with my family.

So after what was possibly the most needed and best trip home since moving to London, I'm back in London, eating better (gone veggie again), running more, hit a record of 10 pushups in a row (toned muscles, I'm coming for you), slightly more depressed but working on that whole 'positivity' thing, and spending more time in my local library than I have in my school library in my entire student career (and actually being productive! what....?!).