I Might Never Not Be Sore Again

June marked my 30th birthday. I don't feel particularly different; really 29 almost seemed less interesting. I will say that one marked difference between being say, 26, and 30 is it seems like no matter how much I work out, I will feel sore. That, and it takes longer to get back into shape when it's so easy to fall out of it.

It's my second summer back in Cincinnati, which means it's the time of nearly suffocating, heavy, hot air. You can't be outside for a few minutes without breaking a sweat. Disgusting, but I suppose I chose to move back here. The husband and I have love-hated having a yard for the first time. During the spring we played the weed or plant game (definitely weeded non-weeds and left real weeds a few times) with the landscaping that was left by our predecessor. We are learning all sorts of things: pruning rosebushes, that hostas need to be separated when spanning 4 feet in diameter, vines are annoying parasites... We also have our first vegetable garden, which is slowly growing in this oppressive Midwest heat. I'll have to post a picture soon. We're also getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. These little jerks in our back yard are savages, truly. I once ran out fully clothed in the heat with a hoodie and pants on to water the garden and got bit square on my neck. Bastards!

Aaand because I love me some lists, here are a few...

Summer highlights 2012 in the 'Nati:

1. Loveland Bike Trail- This is a great trail that is fairly flat, protected, and mostly shaded. It's great to stop in Loveland for lunch and browse around, or do Newtown to Milford, etc. 
2. Lunken Bike Trail- A (much) less shaded and shorter option, you might catch a glimpse of some old-school planes around the airport.
3. Bunbury Festival- I'm really excited about this. Great line-up and I love the park.
4. Washington Park- Opens today! And Over the Rhine, one of my all time favorites, is performing for the grand opening on July 22, and I am crying inside because we are out of town that week and can't see it.
5. Smale Riverfront Park- Just another beautiful new piece to the downtown scene. See the pretty lights and water?

Guilty pleasures.. for my workouts... right... 

1. Boyfriend, Justin Bieber. Every time I acknowledge that I find this song catchy, I die a little bit inside. So wrong. But so catchy.
2. Payphone, Maroon 5. The music video is stupid. It makes no sense. Why did he save the girl and run out and then become the fugitive? What about the real robbers? Were they actually in a relationship before? IT MAKES NO SENSE. But I love belting out this song in the privacy of my own car. I love that it's jaded.
3. Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepson. This is a vapidly silly song. I blame Jimmy Fallon for getting it in my head by creating this video with her and his band. They are having so much fun cheesing it up. $#%^#&.
4. Pause, Pitbull. Tell me this doesn't make you want to stop drop and pause.
5. Wild Ones, Flo-Rida feat Sia. I love Sia. Also, I kept listening to this because it sounded to me like she was singing "Running with Wilson, I'm on the prowl." Which made no sense. Wilson? Like the volleyball in Castaway? No, it's wolves. Which actually makes sense. I just love fist pumping after the opening riff and the beat comes in.