Hi Friends,

I have been hearing an awful lot of  “You haven’t been blogging!” I haven’t had any fun adventures to share with the world, but I will do a post soon on my accomplishments so far in Ireland. Buttttttt that’s not the point of this post. I participated in a blog swap through 20 something bloggers. I got swapped with Alex, and the first thing I did when I visited her site was to read about her, and it’s funny, we have a lot in common (such as:  yoga, chocolate, coffee and cheese). One thing I did find interesting is that she likes Bourbon barrel stouts. Well Alex, my company makes Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and I suggest you give it a taste, if you haven’t already.

So for this blog swap, I wrote a post that she put on her blog, and below is Alex’s post on summer. Enjoy!

XOXO-

Al

It’s that time of year again! It’s the 20sb.net Blog Swap. Nice to meet all of you over here at Allie’s blog! So what are we talking about this year?

 ”As summer nears its end and it’s back to school time for many, we think it would be fun to reflect on summer. Did you take any great vacations? Did you melt in the heat? Do you have a favorite summer memory from your childhood? Share anything summer-related with us!”

 This summer was busy. In May, I graduated with my Master’s of Science. I didn’t take classes and only worked. I decompressed. I changed priorities and focused on myself and those people who are most important to me.

 This summer was filled with me time, family time, and friend time. I went to Gulf Shores for a music festival with some of my oldest friends. I attended a baby shower for a close friend in town, two grad school friends’ weddings, a family reunion on my Dad’s side, and my ten year high school reunion. I also spent a lot of time with local friends going to the beach and happy hour and even the local indie theater to see movies like Back to the Guture. I ate more froyo this summer than I think I have my entire life up to this point.

 I got over a guy. I met another guy… and another. I almost gave up after getting hurt twice. Then I decided to date all the boys I could before school started. Some say I was crazy to go on so many first dates. But it’s been a wonderful learning experience. It has helped me understand more about what I need and want in a relationship (and that, yes, I do indeed want a relationship, not a bunch of hook ups). It helped inform me of the kinds of red flags to look for early on. Ultimately, I see that being happy as a single woman is a better option than meeting a guy who will just make me confused and upset.

 I got skinny. Not really. More accurately, I rocked it at the gym and met my personal weight loss goal and most of my personal fitness goals (i.e., number of push ups and the amount of weight I could dead lift). In total, I’ve lost 35 pounds since January. And I can do almost 50 girl pushups at once. I feel so great. Empowered. It doesn’t hurt that I fit into some of my old clothes.

 I had a mild breakdown over what I want to do with my life – specifically, with regard to my career and education. But I was able to make some difficult decisions so I can make better choices. It won’t be easy, but it is what’s best.

 All in all, I rediscovered myself this summer. I took a deep breath in. And I let all the air out.

 I found that many of the seeds I planted earlier in the year began to grow. Things revealed themselves and began to shift this Spring. Those manifestations bloomed this Summer.

 This might be one of my favorite summers ever.