5 Reasons Logan Huntzberger Is the Best.

Everybody has an opinion about which guy Rory should've ended up with. But as the new series (!!!!!!) gets closer to its premiere date, it's time to set the record straight: Logan was, and always will be, the best. 

Here's why. 

1. Without Logan, Rory wouldn't have become Rory. 

Hear me out on this one, because I already hear the Team Jess/Team No Guy people coming after me with pitchforks. Sure, every boyfriend had an impact, but this was different. 

Without Logan, Rory never would've taken the internship with Mitcham. Without Mitcham, Rory never would've had anyone nay-say her. Without the nay-saying, Rory never would've dropped out of Yale and spent a year with the DAR, only to return to Yale with the fire of a thousand suns, more sure than ever of her career path. 

Logan's dad was a grade A ass, but that interaction and hiccup is what pushed small-town, goody-two-shoes Rory Gilmore to be the ball-busting world-beater she turned into. Without that hardship, she wouldn't have learned what she's made of. (She would have, just maybe not as soon.) Because of it, she knew she could overcome anything. 

2. He's cocky, but has good reason to be. 

Mmkay, yes. I'll admit it. He's kind of an ass sometimes. 

BUT. 

He is crazy smart! Like, sure, his daddy is rich and he has access to everything on this planet with a snap of his fingers, but he also actually learned things at school. He's quick-witted, well-read, and can totally hang with Rory conversationally. And YES, he takes it a bit too far sometimes (see above photo), but if you think about the privilege he grew up in, he's really not that bad. And he does always realize when he's been a "buttfaced miscreant," as our girl would say. 

(Clearly I'm getting into this as though this are real people. Just go with it.) 

3. He does man things. 

When Logan is wrong, he apologizes. He goes to his girlfriend's mother (not an easy thing to do) multiple times to prove his love for her daughter. He buys Rory gifts for no reason (#birkinbag). He whisks her off on fun dates and surprises her by unexpectedly coming into town from another country. He gives Luke his second Valentine's day present, originally intended for Rory, so that Luke doesn't look like the goober he is and has something to give to Lorelai. He shows up at the hospital after Richard has a heart attack and stays to help as long as he's needed. He made VERY SURE that Rory was ready before they slept together. 

The list goes on and freakin' on, people. 

4. He works hard and plays hard. 

This scene in particular is so awesome to me. I loved this goofy little display, even though Rory was kind of mortified by it. 

Though he certainly doesn't work at all during his first stretch on the show, when Logan finally hits his stride, he works really hard. His plans for he and Rory in California are evidence of how seriously he took his job and his relationship. But even in the midst of work, chaos, and sometimes disaster, Logan knows how to lighten the mood and just laugh. The party he threw Rory after she was bailed out of jail was a classic. Sure, it was a touchy -- dark, even -- time in Rory's life, but Logan managed to take something dismal and help her see that it wasn't the end of the world. 

5. OKAY YES, HE'S RICH AS HELL. 

Somebody had to say it. 

This is a factor. Not because money is everything, but because money buys you oppurtunities. Rory could easily spend her entire life jetting around the world, covering story after story for whatever publication she wanted. She could CREATE a publication. She could give millions of dollars to charities that put books in low-income schools, or start programs that foster more women in STEM, or build an entire city out of junk food. 

And, you know, there's also the whole "Go on a European vacation once a year and have a killer closet" thing. Not that she'd care about the second part so much. 

My point is, she'd have the world on a string. And I know she'd use it wisely. 

COME BACK, LOGAN. Hope we get to see more of you in the reboot. But, for now, let's just all agree: Logan is the best. 

#teamlogan

My First Camping Trip, Part II

Catch up on Part I here. 

SO. 

• We boarded a bus that took us upriver. Before we'd gotten on the bus, our rafting guides were announced, and we were placed with the only female guide on the river, Emily (henceforth known as Guide Emily for clarity). 
• When we got to the river, we realized why Guide Emily was the best one: most passionate and strong as a freakin' ox. Seriously, her arms were like tree trunks. 
• James and Brittany, our fifth and sixth riders, were placed at at the back of the raft. Emily and I were in the middle, Parker and Jordan were up front. 
• Right when we put our raft in the water, Emily started giggling uncontrollably from pure joy. 
• Within about 3 minutes, we hit our first major rapid and got sucked into some kind of terrifying whirlpool vortex death machine. 
• Brittany, back right, started choking a little on the water that was cascading in and over our raft. 
• "LEAN LEFT! LEAN LEFT!" 
• We followed Guide Emily's instructions and finally managed to free our raft from the pocket of suction, but not without everyone having been SOAKED to the bone and a little frightened of just how powerful water can be. 
• We learned that white water rafting was a niche sport until the movie Deliverance came out, which started a booming tourism industry. 
• I will NEVER UNDERSTAND why anyone would ever ever ever ever want to white water raft after seeing Deliverance. 
• That's like saying, "Space travel?? SURE!" after seeing Gravity or The Martian. 
• That's like saying, "Dinosaurs?? YES, PLEASE!" after seeing Jurassic Park. 
• That's like saying, "Abandoned hotel through the winter?? WHY NOT!" after seeing The Shining. 
• What part of that movie makes you say, "Hey, YEAH! I'd like to do that!" 
• Is it the part where that little inbred boy follows them down the river? 

• Is it the part where the only nice and conscionable man on that trip gets his arm snapped in half while rafting? 
• Or was it this charming fellow that people wanted to see more of? 

• Or MAYBE people were hoping to see these dance moves instead. 

Just adorable. 

• Or maybe it was Burt Reynolds' open scuba vest that, to my 2016 eyes, looks like something that a gay man would wear to a nightclub on Bear Night. 

• Either way, I don't get it. 
• We got about halfway down the river when Guide Emily asked if anyone wanted to "ride the bull." 
• This entailed someone passing their paddle back to her, climbing to the very tip of the raft, grabbing onto a little piece of fabric, and going through a Class 4 set of rapids with nothing else to anchor them to the boat. 
• Obviously, I was game. 
• I will now provide you with a series of pictures taken by the Ocoee Rafting Photographer - please note the change in everyone's faces as we start, then actually see the rapids, then get hit by them. Jordan is a particularly good one to watch. You can actually see him realize that his wife is probably going to fall in (I didn't) and start death-gripping my vest - meanwhile, I'm smiling like an idiot. 

• So it was really, really fun. By the end of the trip both Emily and I had ridden the bull, though sadly her time didn't get photographed (which is a real shame because she had it way worse than I did). 
• After rafting, we tried to go get lunch at the Tanning Salon/Pizzeria (no, I am not making that up), but it was closed. 
• So we went to the only other restaurant in Ducktown: Hardee's. 
• There, a very surly teenage girl took our orders. And when I say "took our orders," what I really mean is that she took one order and then walked away mid-sentence of the next one. 
• #ducktown 
• After we ate (and got milkshakes), we stopped by the gas station for some cold beer and headed back to our little home in the woods. 
• Parker immediately resumed his work of trying to start a fire. 

• Emily and I were more interested in lounging. 

• Jordan went fishing and actually caught a fish on his first cast. But we still picked on him a little bit because he was dressed like a mix between Prison Mike and Survivor Man Michael Scott from The Office. 

• Finally, after about three hours, the fire starter Parker bought, that had come pre-loaded with 1,000 strikes, broke in half. No more strikes. Struck out. So stricken. 
• So Jordan came over to offer his support, and within minutes, the two of them had a fire started. 

• We FOR SURE were singing "Parker started the fiyAH!" over and over. 
• Just look at that thing! 

Such pride. 

• For the rest of the afternoon, we sat around, drank, made s'mores, talked, ate hot dogs, talked some more, drank some more. 

• As night fell, we started to hear this long, high-pitched scream that sounded very human. 
• Every 30 seconds or so, we'd hear it. That was scary enough until we heard the second scream from behind us, far off in the distance. 
• Whatever these things were were talking to each other. 
• WERE THEY HONING IN ON US?! We (Emily and I) were very unsettled by this. 
• Jordan theorized that they were coyotes. But they sounded like women. Or like maybe this guy. 

• We didn't hear anything for about ten minutes, then, suddenly, the howl was RIGHT BEHIND OUR TENT. 
• ...
• ...
• ...
• ...
• ...it was Emily. Trying to play a prank so she wouldn't be so scared. But then she scared herself by imitating the coyotes, which was funny, but when the laughter died down we were all scared again.  
• We all carefully crept into our tents and prayed for no coyote attacks. 
• They spared us. 
• The next morning, Jordan made "cowboy coffee" (pouring the ground straight into the boiling water) and, surprisingly, it was some of the best coffee I've ever had. Very impressed. 
• We packed up the campsite and thanked it for providing such a great weekend. All I could think about on the way home was how thankful I am to have such an awesome husband, and sibling, and for Parker to have chosen a significant other so well. The four of us always have a great time together. 
• 'Til next time, Ducktown! 

My First Camping Trip, Part I.

I SURVIVED. 

Big, bold headline to start. 

I am also VERY thankful that I had not seen Deliverance prior to this trip. Although I did immediately come home and stream it on Netflix, which was probably a poor choice for future camping trips. 

You may have read last Friday that I was striking out with Jordan, Parker (my brother) and Emily (his girlfriend) on my first-ever camping trip. So much fun, so many stories. So I'll give you a play-by-play of the weekend. 

• We depart about two hours late because Jordan had a work emergency. 
• As we're driving, it starts to rain. So we're late and it's raining, and because we're late, we have no idea whether or not there will actually be a campsite, since you can't reserve them in advance. 
• Jordan is a little flustered and misses our turn, so we end up driving about 4 hours instead of what would've been 3. 
• Off to a good start.
• Jordan had planned to arrive around 4 so that we had plenty of daylight to "make camp," which is a thing outdoorsy people say to mean "put up a tent and build a fire." 
• Instead, we have about 10 minutes of low-level daylight left when we get to the site at about 8 PM, so Jordan deftly assembles the tent with a little help from me, then gets to work on the fire. 
• I start to gather firewood (small sticks, medium stick, and larger logs, as I'm instructed) and immediately discover two woodland creatures living by our campsite: a giant frog and a teeny tiny garter snake. 
• Instead of losing it re: seeing a snake, I cover my total panic by stating, "SNAKE," in a very loud, clear voice. I knew upon seeing it that it was a garter snake, but it was still two tiny, shiny eyes staring at me from within the bowels of a dead tree stump. 
• I pick up a log and five GIANT daddy longlegs crawl off of it. 
• I also discover with horror that the last people to use the campsite decided to use the facilities, i.e. POOP, in the middle of the dirt road leading to where we pitched our tent. 
• Human. Poop. 
• Their toilet paper, which also should have been disposed of, is sitting in a crumpled pile next to the HUMAN POOP. 
• We avoid it all weekend. 
• Jordan grabs his headlamp and starts a fire using the few scraps of wood that I gathered (and dry, because it also rained while we were driving out there - yikes).
• Because it is SO DARK, he also has to turn the headlights of the Jeep on in order to have something to see by. 

Why yes, it was dark as hell. 

• Having never been camping before, I was trying to talk myself out of being freaked out. The dark is not my favorite thing, particularly unfamiliar dark. Add "outdoor" to the unfamiliar darkness, and it's basically my own special little horror movie. 
• To keep myself from being scared, I nervously chatter to Jordan. "Wow. This fire is impressive. Seriously! How did you learn to do that? Well, you're good at it. I feel so protected! Also, cute shirt. Did I get you that shirt? I can't remember. Blue looks good on you, though. You should wear more blue. I love you! What are you thinking about?? Do you miss Tom Hanks?" 
• #myhusbandisasaint
• Eventually, we got the fire going. I remembered that I actually know how to make/stoke a fire from my childhood home's wood burning fireplace, so I help Jordan and actually do a pretty damn good job taking our fire from small to medium. 

Look at me go! 

• Parker and Emily were driving in from Nashville, so Jordan and I had a couple of hours to ourselves, we decided to make dinner using the MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) we bought. 
• I had a penne with marinara, Jordan had something called Chili Mac. ...mmm. 
• I am sad to report that Jordan's was absolutely better than mine. Like, not even close. Mine tasted like what I would imagine shards of fiberglass soaked in unseasoned water would taste like. 
• Jordan's, though the name was MUCH grosser, tasted like what I expected - not great, but definitely not terrible. He shared with me. 
• Emily and P rolled in at about 10:45 and we got the party ROLLING! 

They were in color in person.

• They'd already eaten, so we toured them around the campsite (included the HUMAN POOP), they set up their tent, and we cooked some marshmallows. 
• After some catching up and giggles, we all headed to bed to get good rest for the day ahead. 

• We piled into our tents. Jordan's and my tent is mesh at the top, so we could see the stars We could also see the moon, which happened to be a full one that night and VERY bright. 
• I felt stupid complaining about it, but the moon was so bright that it was as though a giant lamp was being held over my face as I slept. While Jordan slept peacefully, I flipped around in the tent all night like a fish.
• I started with my head in one direction, then flipped so my head was at Jordan's feet to try to find some SHADE FROM THE MOON (yep, that's a real thing). 
• At one point in the night, we hear a gunshot in the distance. I am convinced that someone is going to come shoot us to death and that I will wake up to a crazy mountain man's face grinning wildly through the mesh ceiling before he puts me out of my misery. 
• The murderer does not show up, though several trucks drive by around 3 AM. With each passing car, I shoot up straight in my sleeping back and prepare for battle. 
• They keep driving. 
• I jam up my shoulder a little bit trying to sleep on my side, but it's worth it. I finally fall into a deep sleep for three hours or so, until we were all gently awoken by the sweet sounds of the crow:

• Jordan and I got up a little ahead of P and E and got "ready" for the day. That entailed wiping down with some baby wipes, changing clothes, and brushing our teeth over the little river flowing behind our campsite. 

• Once I was able to see everything in the daylight, I started to really appreciate where we were. Though the night had been a little sleepless, the area we had chosen was gorgeous and secluded, and it started to be exciting that we were really fending for ourselves out here.
• Jordan got started on coffee while I started setting things out for breakfast burritos. 
• When Parker did wake up (last, of course), he immediately asked for a marshmallow. And so his trail name was born = MARSHMALLOW. 

• Once the whole gang was up and moving, Emily and I started preparing the potatoes and sausage for our burritos, while Parker started what would become an hours-long odyssey to start a fire with a fire-starter he'd bought at an outdoor store.

• For anyone going on any future group camping trips, I can't recommend our breakfast highly enough. Let me just include this recipe really quick: 

One-Skillet Breakfast Burritos - AKA Camp Food: 

1 package of Andouille sausage
Carton of eggs
1 ziplock bag of chopped peppers and onions
2 russet potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar cheese
Small tortillas

Crumble and cook the sausage while chopping the potatoes into consistent pieces. Add the potatoes to the sausage mixture and let them soften. Crack 6 eggs right into the pan and scramble the mixture together. When you're ready to serve, add chopped peppers and onions. Lay tortillas on a flat surface, scoop the sausage mixture in, and top with cheese which will melt upon sprinkling. PERFECT camping meal! 

• Then we sat around, drinking coffee/tea and and hanging out for a while as Parker continued to work on starting a fire.  
• Jordan made him what's called a "featherstick," and is supposed to be helpful. 

• It turns out, starting a fire without a lighter is pretty challenging. 
• I snuck off to go to the bathroom, i.e. tee tee in the woods, and was of course, immediately caught by a passing car. #classic 
• After our breakfast pans were cleaned, we finished the coffee and started getting ready to go rafting on the Ocoee. 
• We piled in the car and drove to Ducktown, which was about 15 minutes from our site. Ducktown is exactly as you would picture it: very small, very rural, lots of ducks.
• (Just kidding about the ducks.) 
• We get AMPED for rafting - I am the only one on our trip who's never been, and I am extremely excited. 

Emily, I know you're going to kill me, but this picture is way too funny not to share. 

• We get geared up - vests, helmets, and paddles - and board the bus for our river adventure. 

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2! Spoiler alert: 

Emmy 2016: Fetch or Wretch?

It's that time of the week. Let's recap a night full of, as Amy Poehler once put it, the rat-faced people of television! 

Can I just say something before we start? I saw this headline today: "Amy Schumer Shut Down the Sexist Question, 'Who are you wearing?' Once and For All!" 

Mmkay. 

First of all, what Amy actually said was who she was wearing, she just happened to make a joke about how she was also wearing an OB tampon. #classicamy 

It really bothers me that the question, "Who are you wearing?" is being deemed as sexist. Y'all, these celebrities don't own any of these clothes. These gowns were loaned or were custom-made for them by design houses as a means of promotion. When Kerry Washington steps on the red carpet looking FIERCE AS HELL (we'll get to that in a minute), she's a walking advertisement for Brandon Maxwell. It's not sexist to ask women what designer has created the look they're wearing - it IS sexist to ONLY ask them about that. 

Whew. I feel better. Okay. Let's get to judgin'. 

FETCH. 

1. Felicity Huffman

Girl, I don't know whatcha man is wearing, but you look great. This is simple, understated, well-fitted - hair and makeup are on point. I also love her, which never hurts. 

2. Padma Lakshmi

I mean, it's Padma in a skin-tight, slinky, silver, sequined gown. Do I really need to say more? Fit is fabulous and she looks super striking. 

3. Priyanka Chopra

The actual definition of "feeling myself." Priyanka is such a knockout 100% of the time, but everything about this look makes me want to applaud. That color on her is to die for, and she clearly  l o v e s  how she looks in it, which makes it that much better. She was twirling all night, including when she came out on stage to present an award. You go, Priyanka. 

4. Kristen Bell

Beautiful. My only quibble here is that the makeup could've been a touch more punchy, just so everything wasn't quite so beige, but that dress is SUPER fabulous and really unusual. I love that all four dresses featured so far are totally different, which just goes to show - it's not about fitting into a mold, it's about finding what works for you. 

5. Emilia Clarke

That fit. WOW. She looks like she was poured into that dress, and I mean that in the best way. Totally beautiful. Again, could've punched up the makeup, but I love that she kept her hair back so that all you see is dressdressdress. 

6. Kate McKinnon

Jordan's girlfriend Kate doesn't always get it right, but she really nailed it last night. Sure, there are some minor fit issues around her waist, but overall, that dress reads as lovely. She is glowing, which, once again, makes a huge difference. And she won! Love her so. 

7. Tina Fey

So really I have a couple of bones to pick here, but I loooooove this color and love that Tina knows what works: her tiny, not-a-real-human waist is showcased. It does read as a little "bathing suit cover-up" if you're not careful...man, I don't know anymore. I may have just talked myself out of this being Fetch. Let's move on. 

8. Sarah Paulson

I waffled a little on this, but ultimately, this dress is pretty spectacular. The craftsmanship of the dress alone is pretty incredible, but when you pair it with Sarah Paulson, who I find to be particularly fabulous, it really sings. Perfect color on her. Not completely in love with the plunging neckline, but whatever. More than anything, this was a great night for her because DAMN did she ever deserve that win. If you haven't seen American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson, you need to RUN, not walk, to your computer and start. It's worth every second, and its cast (rightly) cleaned house last night. Watching Marcia Clark get absolved on stage by Sarah Paulson was tear-jerking. 

Now, for a declaration.

The winner of the night: 

Kerry "Slay All Day" Washington!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the Fetchest of them all? KERRY KERRY KERRY. 

I mean, come ON, right?? Every angle, every photo, everyTHING about this look is so fierce it's almost hard to look at directly. I can't even form a full sentence so here are some fragments: pregnant. Glowing. Natural hair. Goddess. Perfect skin. Cutouts. Fit. 

She is not of this world and we are lucky to behold her. 

Le sigh. Soak up Kerry, because now it's time to rot your corneas with these MESSES. 

WRETCH. 

1. Sarah Hyland. 

Sarah's dress got caught in the limo door on the way here, so she borrowed a friend's workout leggings to make do. Really, though, it's pretty terrible. I understand the idea, but everything about it is aging and unflattering, from where the bodice hits her midsection to the two giant, floppy dog ears she's wearing as a skirt. It's not good, girl. Reconsider. 

2. Giuliana Rancic

Giuliana looks like a small mammal who got caught in a wind tunnel outside a bridal salon. She is tangled up in that tulle and she can't get out. SOMEBODY HELP. 

3. Sofia Vergara

I know I know, I said that thing about knowing what works, but y'all - it's just tired. She wears the same tight, bustier, corset-backed, ass-featuring dress to every event. Come on, Sofia. You're gorg. Find something else. 

5. Gabby Hoffman

This isn't really fair, but I can't get Gabby's character on Girls (has long underarm hair, takes baths in front of her brother) out of my head when looking at her. Know your audience, Gabby. This men's shirt is just not cutting it. 

6. Alia Shawkat

Oh - sorry! The barbeque is down the street. No, you're totally fine - happens all the time! You can leave your heels here and grab some flip flops from the basket at the back door. Thanks! 

7. Michelle Dockery

Hot take, I know. Listen, the overall look is gorgeous. The level of formality is exactly right, she's perfectly accessorized, her head styling is on point. This is a personal preference. I reeeeeeeeeeally don't love tiered (or pick-up, for that matter) skirts. But what's bugging even more about this dress is the two little boob ruffles. Each breast looks like a hooded head. Not my thing. Sorry, Michelle. Love you though. 

8. Aziz Ansari

This is what you should look like at the end of the night, not the beginning. Not here for the tie-less look. Also, those pants are too tight. ...I feel bad, because I love Aziz so much, but it's true. 

And the Wretchest goes to...

Anna Chlumsky! 

*needle scratch*

Um...what?? 

My Girl has been playing dress up in her grandmother's trunk. Tonight, she's wearing a brocade quilt she found. The little ring of elastic around the hem of the skirt was her favorite touch, because she did that herself with her own sewing machine. It says, "I'm here to look classy, but if I need to drop at low at the after-party, this skirt gives me the freedom to do so." 

Wince. 

You know JLD personally, right?? Take some style tips from her. And ask her what her skincare regimen is because THA BITCH DOESN'T AGE. 

5 Reasons Camping Terrifies Me.

First, some context. 

This weekend, Jordan and I are headed to the east Tennessee to camp for two nights and white water raft on the Ocoee. We're meeting my brother Parker and his girlfriend, Emily, and I am jumping out of my skin with excitement to see them. 

But I'm a little scared, people. I have been camping exactly once. I was about 11 years old, and it rained so hard and so long that night that our tents collapsed in on themselves. 

So, as you can imagine, it was a real pleasure of a trip. 

I am definitely not the kind of person who imagines the worst-case scenarios (HAHAHA yes I am), so don't worry, I haven't thought of everything that could go wrong. 

Ladies and gentlemen, in no particular order, my camping fears. 

1. I (or others) get eaten by a wild animal. 

Just like this scene from The Parent Trap in which Meredith gets eaten by this lizard. 

Guess what? We live in the woods. And bears are particularly active this year. And we're gonna have a bunch of food. Out. On the ground. Guess where we're sleeping? Also on the ground. I'm going to get mauled by a bear. Don't we need some kind of whistle? Horn? Spaceship? Something? 

2. Creatures bite me all night long. 

Now listen, I take pride in not being scream-y and girl-y about bugs (except ticks and roaches). I don't lose it when I see a spider - I just help it back outside where it belongs.

But y'all, mosquitoes LOVE ME. As in, once I went out in workout leggings that were mesh in the back. I put bug spray all over my body except on the backs of my legs, because, what mosquito is going to bite THROUGH mesh? None, right?? Wrong. I got 13 bites in a the half hour I was outside. 

I'm basically going to be The Mummy at the end of the movie. #mynightmare. 

3. No sleep. 

Let me confess something to you that I'm ashamed to admit: I have become a pretty finicky sleeper. 

I wish this wasn't true, but it is. Also, I think I just officially realized that I am O L D.

I like the house to be 70 degrees, I need exactly the right pillows, and a sound machine needs to be on. I know. I hate myself a little bit. 

But in the woods, you don't have a sound machine. You hear every snapping twig and hooting owl and scooting bug and grumbling bear and slithering 35-foot snake. And, you know, you're sleeping on the ground. Although Jordan did get some sleeping pads. Maybe I'll take some Tylenol PM? But then what happens if I'm too asleep and don't hear the werewolves approaching me? And then I'm too groggy to wake up and run away? 

Thanks a lot, Tylenol PM. 

4. Murderers. 

I mean, you had to be waiting for this one, right? I'm pretty much 1,000% positive that we will get murdered. I think that's a totally reasonable fear. 

Jordan does carry a large knife on camping trips, though, so maybe that'll help. Maybe he can Mick Dundee the scary meth-head who lives in the woods and is going to come kill us and eat our bones. 

5. We run out of s'mores. 

The most grave and terrifying fear of all. Unlike Toby, who is widely regarded as THE WORST, I will never say, "No more s'mores." Never. 

Jordan made a grocery run earlier this week, which was super kind and awesome, but also means that he got normal amounts of food. For s'mores, he got 4 Hershey's bars, a bag of marshmallows, and a box of graham crackers. That's right right amount of food, except you need about 7 more Hershey's bars. I'll go get them. 

I know I know I KNOW everything is actually going to be fine and it's going to be really fun. I'm just being stupid. I don't want to end up like those Naked and Afraid contestants shivering alone in the woods and fighting off mountain lions while night-vision cameras watch impartially. 

OH MY GOSH DO NOT GOOGLE NAKED AND AFRAID GIFS. Don't. Do not. Do not do it. There is porn in there. WHY?!? I MEANT THE TV SHOW!!! People are disgusting! 

Okay. Anyway, I'm going to wrap up this blog post in which I basically word vomited all over you and say that I'll report back first thing Monday with a full report of how our weekend went. 

Who knows? I might have turned a real Outdoor Girl. But probably not. 

Hope Jordan remembers to bring my faux fur and my air conditioned tent. #beverlyhillswhatathrill

Anxiety.

It's a pesky little concept. 

Anxiety is something I never really thought I struggled with. And, to be fair, I don't have a chronic anxiety problem. It isn't something for which I take medication or see a counselor (though man oh man do I believe in counseling and therapy!). But it is something I've learned more about recently, and I'll tell you why. 

First, let me share how anxiety creeps into my world.

Mine is a social anxiety. Sure, I experience other types from time to time - anxiety about work, about money, about big looming life decisions - but the majority of the time, my anxiety shows up in one of the following ways: 

• Inviting people over, then stressing to an absurd degree about my house (what it looks like, whether it's nice enough, hosting, etc.). 
• Tightness in my chest at the thought of an upcoming social gathering with people I don't know very well and whether people will like me.
• Playing a social interaction back in my head (sometimes over and over) and worrying whether that thing I said or did has made a person start spontaneously disliking me. 
• Knowing someone is upset with me and being slowly eaten alive by that information.

Have you been there? 

I know many of my friends struggle with anxiety in a more debilitating way: playing back the day's conversations long into the night, restless, unable to sleep until they know beyond a doubt that they didn't offend or upset anyone; that same tight-chestedness, but all the time and spanning from activity to activity; being so racked with doubt and fear that everyday decisions can seem overwhelming. 

Do you relate? 

I think anxiety, lots of times, is born out of being sensitive. And I don't mean "sensitive" as in, "get your feelings hurt easily." I mean truly sensitive - the definition of the word - a person who senses. If you're a person like me who senses the social balance in a room when you walk into it, or who senses when someone is upset before other people catch on, or who reads about tragedy in the world and feels like it has happened to you: that's sensitivity. And I think that's a great quality (though I'm admittedly a little biased). It makes for creative, loving, intuitive people. But it can also be a tinderbox for anxiety. 

This is where my friend Meredith comes in. 

There's a concept in carpentry (h/t Glennon Doyle Melton) called that really applies here. When the joists (the weight-bearing pieces of a building that preserve the structural integrity) get overloaded with bearing the weight of the building, carpenters go back in and add reinforcements. They add a board on either side of the joist, creating a stronger, more stable structure. The act of adding those extra boards is called "sistering." 

When I first heard this explained, a lightbulb went off in my head. I don't have any biological sisters (hey, Parker!); instead, I have a handful of girlfriends who are more like family. All throughout my life, when I've needed extra support - when the weight of my own world has become too heavy - I have looked to my left and to my right and found my sisters to help me bear the burden. 

In this particular case, at this particular juncture in my life, the concepts of sistering and dealing with anxiety fit like a hand in a glove. 

Meredith, one of my sisters, has taken her own winding and fascinating path to end up exactly where she is right now. She has done loads of research about anxiety and has dealt with it in very real ways herself. She's a certified yoga instructor and a pharmacist, so she's deeply familiar with the inner-workings of both the mind and the body. Meredith decided a few months ago that she was going to use the work she'd done to overcome her own anxiety toward helping others overcome theirs. Aside from just talking about anxiety, this program involves movement - actual yoga - to accompany the mantras and lessons you learn each session. I took Meredith's pilot program in February and noticed a tangible difference in the way I moved through the world: 

Suddenly, I felt lighter, more at peace, less mentally frantic. I wasn't re-tracing my conversational steps. I wasn't freaking out when people came over. I could separate my thoughts from my SELF - the deepest and truest part of me. I could be still. It was world-rocking and incredible. 

Since her course, there have been moments when I slip back into my old habits. When that happens, I have a list of mantras (provided by Meredith's coursework) that I return to to remind myself of what's important; of how to stay grounded. It has helped me enormously.

You can get more of an idea of what the course is like by visiting this link and listening to the free workshop Meredith put together to explain the program. Stick with it - if it sounds a little "rah-rah-cheerleader" for you at the beginning, just give it some time. I can guarantee that you'll learn something, be intrigued, and, if you decide to pursue the course, your life will be changed by this important and meaningful work. 

Because y'all - we have ONE LIFE. Who wants to live it tied up in knots about things beyond their control?? 

Life is hard. Anxiety is paralyzing. Sistering is important. So let me lend you one of mine. 

To learn more, click the photo above or visit meredithmcelroy.com.