TWENTY-EIGHT

It's officially I'm 28. I was born at 4:58pm back in 1983. Granted I'm in Alabama today, so I turned 28 at 3:58pm central (weird).

I got back yesterday from my usual whirlwind pilgrimage to New York. It was crazier than usual, but I did a lot of things, went a lot of places and saw a lot of people.

Today is a low key birthday day, but that's okay. I've been celebrating for a week already and I have a birthday happy hour with my Auburn peeps planned for tomorrow.

Nice to meet you 28, I hope we get along well!

2010 Cups of Coffee

Even though I haven't had time or desire to blog lately I thought I should let yo all know my 2010 coffee count was 477. I wish I could have hit 500, but I'm pleased nonetheless. Most of these coffees came in the for of VENTIs or LARGE DD Iced Coffees.

It's been very weird to NOT be counting my coffees this year. It was a fun little project.

I'll be back to blogging eventually, right now I'm too busy LIVING to be blogging :P

BCS Bound

Auburn DESTROYED South Carolina and is headed for their first trip the BCS Championship Game!

It's always GRRReat to be an Auburn Tiger, but this season has been one helluva ride!

This is footage of Toomer's after the SEC Game:

Friday 5

1. Boyfriend: Many of you may have seen this on Facebook already, but just wanted to mention it here. I have a boyfriend. He's really awesome. It's all still very new and young. I'm very happy and I'm sure I'll talk about him here at some point in the future.

2. Auburn Football: Unless you are living under a rock than you probably know Auburn is having an AMAZING football season (even if there was scandal surrounding it). We are 12-0 after coming from a 21 point defecit to beat Alabama AT Tuscaloosa. Unreal. Tomorrow we face the 'Cocks of South Carolina in the SEC Championship. If we win the game then we are headed to Arizona for the BCS game in January. We are currently ranked #1 in the BCS polls. It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!

3. Staycation: I spent Thanksgiving break here and it was stellar. I got to sleep, clean, unwind etc. Some highlights including hiking through Chewacla State Park, running in a Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trop 3 mile race, attending an Orphan Friendsgiving dinner, hanging out with the boyfriend and like I mentioned watched the Iron Bowl.

4. Winter Break Plans: I really enjoyed my time here for Thanksgiving, but I am looking forward to being in New York for Christmas. I WAS going to drive, but between a friend's wedding down here and my plans to be in Nashville on New Years, flying was a better option. Plus my mom really prefered that I fly and she is paying for my flights. So I'll be in New York 12/20-29. I'm excited to see people, run on the boardwalk by the beach, to NYC, and maybe even play in some snow!

5. NKOTBSB: So I'm REALLY considering getting tickers to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys joint Tour this summer. What a Teeny Bopper Dream. Stupid Kevin in BSB needs to take off his cool kid hat and rejoin BSB. I mean all of NKOTB is EASILY older than him. I'm sure he could use the money!

New Tattoo

I got this beauty this weekend. It's been somewhat of a mantra for me this year. I couldn't be happier with it!

The Serenity Prayer

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. But God, grant me the courage not to give up on what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.”

I shared this helpful prayer with a younger friend of mine who is just not entering her quarterlife crisis. It's a crazy time for all of us, but you need to learn to thrive in chaos!

10 Years

A good friend of mine totaled his car today, thankfully both him and his passenger are fine.

I then weirdly realized that today is the 10 year anniversary of my car accident in high school. It was devastating. I had had my license for 3 months and had been making payments on a NEW CAR THAT I WORKED ALL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL TO BUY. This day back in 2000 was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We didn’t have classes, but we had mass. I usually skipped days that were just mass, but since it was my senior year I figured I would go. I was making a left to park behind my high school and was hit by a mini van. I NEVER saw the mini van. Thankfully the front of my car took the damage and me and my passenger were fine. The car wasn’t totaled, but it had A LOT OF DAMAGE. After I got it back my mom wouldn’t let me drive to HS the rest of the year. I eventually had to sell my nice “new” (aka had the whole front of the car fixed) and ended up getting an older Jeep my sophomore year of college. I loved that Jeep and only cracked a tail light on it over 5 years!

November was a shitty month this past decade. 2000 - Car Accident, 2001 - Grandma passes away, 2007 - Dad passes away.

THANKFULLY 2010 as a whole is a new slate and has been very good to me. I have high hopes for this decade. Big things are gonna happen.

Rest In Peace Daddy

Missing you everyday Daddy: April 25, 1949 - November 18, 2007

My Dad was awesome. He is pretty much the reason why I am as awesome as I am. My Dad was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island in the same town I grew up in. He was the first in his family to graduate college (with a Art degree) and after being a hippie in Southern California he went back for a Masters in Education.

My Dad was an art teacher in a low income, minority school district and he LOVED IT. He spent his ENTIRE career there (33 years). After teaching for 20ish years he went on to administration. He was a middle school assistant principal for a number of years and a high school assistant principal for a number of years. They wanted him to be principal, but he didn’t want to deal with politics.

When I was in first grade my Dad started a Saturday enrichment program for K-12 students. Some of my favorite childhood memories were from that program. My Dad also piloted a night school program within the school district so people could get their HS diplomas.

My Dad was a pretty big deal in the K-12 Education world. Even after he retired he couldn’t stay away. The last year of his life he was teaching in an education certificate program at a Dallas Community College.

My Dad was great at what he did. He was loved, feared and respected. I see so much of him in myself.

I should also mention that my Dad was and probably will forever be the funniest person I ever knew. He was witty, sarcastic, smart, quick, etc. Freakin’ hilarious. I thank him for my stellar sense of humor.

We both loved the beach, margarita swirls, Broadway musicals, slot machines, Law & Order: SVU, etc.

The last 3-4 years of his life I pretty much talked to him everyday, even multiple times a day. Since he was retired he was available to talk whenever. I generally would calling him when I was walking to and from class in grad school. Even if it was just a few minutes we’d have a great chat. I can honestly say we were best friends.

When I think of my Dad the first thing that comes to mind is the laughter. It makes me sad that so many people in my life didn’t get to meet him or will never have the chance. He would have been such an awesome Grandfather, awesome.

I do still plan on dancing to “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady at my wedding. It was a song he always sang to me when I was little and we always talked about dancing to it at my wedding. I’m not quite sure who I’ll dance with, maybe my sister.

To close one of the readings at his funeral was from Ecclesistes 3:1 and I find this part so fitting:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…

Today is a time laugh and celebrate.

Love you Daddy!

Lovin' Life

I PROMISE major updates once I get through this week. Work is still busy and life has just been chock full of awesomeness. Plus Iam kicking off FULL MARATHON training today.

I'm honestly on top of the world right now!

Oh and today is my Freddie's 3rd birthday. Can you believe it. I love my little guy.

It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a blog post!

Football Weekends

If you haven’t heard Auburn Football is kind of a big deal. Pretty much everyone including those living another a rock have heard of Cam Newton. I had my very own run in with Cam while he was on his scooter driving around campus. I crossed in a cross-walk in front of him and lost my cool due to sheer excitement of seeing him randomly out and about.

My sister and one of her friends came down for the Arkansas game in mid-October. I always enjoy having my sister down and it was great to have her friend Colleen visit and experience Auburn for the first time. I scored them great tickets for the game and not soon after the game started them were all about Cam. It was a great game and I’m glad my sister FINALLY got to see an Auburn victory – she has seen them lose both times previous that she had been in for games. A lot of fun was had.

One of my favorite game day experiences thus far has to have been the LSU game. We were the only 2 undefeated SEC teams and someone was going down. It was also the last game that Time, Michelle and I were going to be together at. Despite having our tickets together – we rarely had all 3 of us at a game due to various commitments. The LSU game was action packed. A lot happened in our end-zone which I love. Auburn WON and Cam Newton and Zac Etheridge came over and stood on the wall RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Like 5 rows away. RIGHT THERE. It was amazing. I was actually on ESPN



Next weekend 11/13 is our last home game against Georgia. Should be a good time. I’m hoping to make it to the Iron Bowl game in Tuscaloosa since I have opted to not go to New York for Thanksgiving and stay here for a MUCH NEEDED staycation. I have been on the go so much that I need some time to just lay low and relax.


Selections
The MAIN reason I dropped off the blogosphere was due to orientation leader selections. We had 3 straight weeks of interviews in October. We were hiring for both our freshmen camp counselors and transfer orientation leaders. We did a week of a combined first round group interview. We have over 110 camp counselor applicants and over 65 orientation leader applicants. We narrowed both pools after the first week and then did a week of individual second round camp counselor interviews followed by selections and callouts then a week of individual second round orientation leader interviews followed by selections and callouts. It was crazy, but also very rewarding.

5K
Somewhere in the mix of things I ran a 5K sponsored by the Student Government Association. I was up way to late the night before and had drank slightly throughout the weekend. Somehow despite not being properly prepared for the race AND having my ipod die after 1 mile I set a PERSONAL RECORD of ~27min and 30seconds. A-MAZING. My goal is a 23:28 time by May when I hopefully run the Race For Hope in DC again. I’d love to have shaved 10 MINUTES off my time with a year.

NOLA
So aside from my 2nd half marathon that I already blogged about I really got to enjoy the city. New Orleans was only 5.5 hours away. My friend Melissa is from Louisiana and was able to hook us up at a cool/creepy bed and breakfast in the old Garden District. Out side of the race we did a lot of walking around and riding on STREET CARS. Seriously thee street cars were so old tyme I LOVED them. There was so much to see and do. I loved the old houses – the architecture was amazing. I am fairly certain I could have looked at wrought iron balconies and other decorations all day. I also loved how arsty the city was – such talented painters and musicians.
Of course we hit up Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street. Also keep in mind I was there for HALLOWEEN – it was madness. I was a little too tired and sore for hijix. HELLO I ran a half marathon that day and was wearing GIANT shoes. I should mention that I was a drag queen for Halloween. Her name was Ikea Wonderland and she was fabulous! Oh and my good friend Jacky from college also happened to be visit a friend in New Orleans the same weekend so we got to hang out a few times which was AWESOME. I’m so glad I got to go to NOLA and I really can’t wait to go back. If you haven’t been GO. I can’t wait to fully day drink and explore cemeteries on my next visit!


NODA
I am currently in St. Louis for the annual National Orientation Directors Association Conference. I’m thrilled ot be spending time with colleagues at institutions all over the country and to see my bestie Kelly!

Not my words, but great ones nonethless

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson

Jazz Half Marathon

Work and life have been crazy, but I am going to try and update on things. They just may be out of order. Let's start with my half marathon.

Friday - hit the road at 5pm with my friend Melissa for the 5.5 hour drive to New Orleans. Stopped halfway for a quick dinner with a friend in south Alabama - I specifically picked a place I have eaten at before and get a club sandwich with a mac and cheese side because I don't want to try anything new the night before a race. Get to NOLA around 11pm. We are staying at charming/old/creepy/cute bed and breakfast in the Garden District. Settle into the room, lay out race stuff, sync my playlist to my ipod. The last thing I do before trying to fall asleep is "remove" my ipod from syncing/charging. I remove the ipod when it's safe to remove and I look to make sure the playlist was added and the charging screen is FROZEN. FROZEN. I nearly lose my shit. I'm like I can't run without music etc. I try a few things to try and make it work, then I go to the mac troubleshooting website and through a few weird toggling of buttons I get it unfrozen. So now at 1am after this near heart attack I'm supposed to fall asleep? Yeah right. I laid in back awake for at least 2 hours. Then maybe slept an hour or two before waking up at 4:30. I laid in bed until 5:45 when my alarm went off.

Saturday - Despite not really sleeping I feel pretty good. Make a peanut butter and banana sandwich thin and get ready. Thank goodness Melissa is from outside NOLA because my GPS was tweaking out trying to get to the race location. So we get to one of the race parking lots and see a TON of people there waiting to pre-pay in the lot. It's $10 despite it saying it was $4 for race people - either way I only have a twenty and no debit card. STRESS. The race is supposed to start in 20 minutes so we leave the car unpaid and Melissa says she'll get change for my $20 and pay for it after the race starts. The starting line was not organized by pace or anything. It was elite runners in the front and then a free-for-all in the back, I tried to get towards the front 1/3 of the group. It was all very cramped and there was roughly 3,500 runners.

I should also mention I executive decision to wear my compression shorts OVER my compression tights. My compression shorts have a back pocket that I needed for my gels, but I thought it'd be too chilly to not wear tights. I was nervous about trying something new for race day, but I had to roll with it.

Race starts - its PACKED. And running with men is very different than an all women's race. Men seemed pushier. I end up breaking away from the street and head toward the sidewalk with others to try and get past all the congestion. Within the first mile or two a lady next to falls over a groove in the road that I saw. I was so shocked I couldn't even react - luckily she had 2 others with her that helped her up. I then focus on the ground (let me tell you New Orleans does NOT have the best roads). I was (always am) worried about falling or twisting an ankle. The lady that fell got up and kept going, personally I don't know if I could come right back from that.

First mile I ran it 9:12 min. I was both excited and anxious. I figured my time may have been fast because I was trying to get away from people so much at the start. Mile 2 - 9:04 min. I think okay well maybe I can work up a sweat on these first few miles despite it being chilly out which hopefully will keep me from having to pee. Mile 3 - 8:54 min. I saw 8 and I was not happy. I actively trying to slow down to a 10 minute pace with in the next 2 miles. By the 10K split my time was 1:06:00ish. I was over the moon. I was like okay I'm hoping for 2:10 so now I just need to keep close to the pace I'm at and I'll even get a NEGATIVE split.

The race route was essentially run 6 miles out to Audubon park - run the park and run 6 miles back on the other side of the street. So I was feeling great UNTIL I'm in the park and the wind is blowing and some tree debris gets in my eye. So I'm like rubbing and trying to like cry it out whilst running. I should also mention I kinda felt like I had to pee at this point, but since it was later in the race as opposed to my other half when I had to pee since almost the beginning I thought I could wait it out/sweat it out. Well my stomach as a whole suddenly feels funky and I begrudgingly decide to stop at the port-a-pottys. There are 2 people waiting. Well WHOEVER THE EFF WAS IN BOTH STALLS TOOK SO DAMN LONG both people in front me leave the line. So I go in and barely pee. WTF. I'm not mentally prepared/willing to do anything else in a port-a-potty besides pee so I hope for the best.

After a 1/4 mile or so I'm out of the park and now on the loop back when I was get overcome with despair. I bathroom break took too damn long and didn't even make me feel better. I don't know what to do. I walk for 2 minutes to gather my thoughts and try and psych myself back up. Also while walking it gives me time to acknowledge how bad my feet hurt (I've been struggling with foot strain for 2 weeks). I hurt and I'm down, but I AM NOT OUT. I REFUSE TO BE.

The 6 miles back were hard for all the reasons I mentioned AND the sun was in my eyes. I spent most of the race back with my head down. I didn't want to be blinded, I wanted to focus on not tripping on shitty roads and I didn't want to see all the people passing me. I don't really look at or focus on my pace. It ranged from 11-12:30 min/mile I'm sure. The last few miles dragged. I am thankful there were so many people throughout the race cheering and acting a fool - it kept my spirits up.

The last 5K of the race was hard because I knew I wasn't going to hit or come close to my goal time. It was more of a matter of just hot far from it I was going to be. I really debated running full gusto the last few miles knowing I still wouldn't hit my goal time, but I KNEW that if I did that I would be down for the rest of the weekend. I had a choice time or enjoy my weekend. I chose my weekend and I don't regret it.

My unofficial time I kept on my ipod and paused during my bathroom break was 2:16:00ish. My official chip time was 2:19:00 (on the nose!) which put me at an average pace of 10:37 min/mile. Really it's not too shabby at all considering everything.

Redonk

This Video Blew My Mind!

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

The band is named Hollerado and I am totally going to check them out!

Friday Five

1. Sleeping in: After a crazy weekof work last week and a long travel day last Thursday it was glorious getting to sleep in on Friday and Saturday. I used to not really like my bed at my mom's house, but my sister put a foam pad from heaven on it when she was living at home and took over my room. For whatever reason she left the pad and it's glorious.

2. NYC Dinner: Friday night I met up with Colleen, one of my best friends, in NYC for dinner. Colleen now lives in Connecticut so she was able to jump on the Metro North Train and I jumped on the LIRR train and we got up. Colleen and I have barely seen eachother the this year. I saw her for 1 night when I roadtripped home and surprised her in Delaware. Other than that it was actually the first weekend of October the last time I saw her. Even though we talk om the phone multiple times a week it was great to SEE her. We ate at a resturant called Josie's West - it was yummy and healthy and mostly organic. It was reasonably priced for NYC and felt very chic. I highly recommend it. Good times!

3. Boardwalk and Beach: Saturday I was hell bent on going to run on the boardwalk since I didn't get to do that. It was a BEAUTIFUL day like mid-70s. I took the train to Long Beach and was pleased to see so many people out and about. I did a quick 2 mile run on the boardwalk since it was the day before my half. After my run I went down to the beach and stretched/did some yoga on the sane with the salt water licking at my feet. Wow I wish I had the beach this close here - I'd be there all the time. I loved running on the boardwalk with the salty breeze in my lungs and watching the waves crash. It was pure bliss.

4. Dunkin Donuts: Whilst home I got my fair share of Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee. My first DD stop was in Georgia on the way to the airport and I wanted to try their Pumpkin Iced Coffee. FAIL. IT WAS GROSS. I was mad that I "wasted" that trip on Pumpkin coffee. Lesson learned - stick with my toasted almond iced coffee. Don't worry I drank a BUNCH while I was home. I even stopped on my drive back to Auburn for DD in Georgia and got 2. One for the drive and one for Monday at work. I get so mad when I'm out and about on Long Island and how DDs are EVERYWHERE! Why are they not here, it kills me.

5. Soreness: I was SORE after my race. As soon as I stopped running I was sore. As soon as I got up from sitting down I was sore. As soon as I got up from my nap I was sore. Walking I was sore. Sitting smushed in my seat for my flight home I was sore. Monday I was straight up walking like an old man. I still felt a little sore on Tuesday. Wednesday I went for a 3 mile run. Yesterday I skipped a work out because I was so tired, but I will run after work today. I need this weekend to catch up on sleep and relax.

Race Day in Review

*Despite not getting as much sleep as I would have liked on Saturday night I was up and ready to go Sunday.
*It was COLD on Sunday morning and I debated wearing compression tights instead of compression shorts - but I had never run in the tights before and I didn’t want to try anything new.
*Get to the park and use the potty before there is a line.
Texting with my friend Jess who is also running to find out her whereabouts.
*Drink like a bottle of water because of nerves.
Meet up with my friend Jess and her friend. I loved their cute outfits for the race. *We drop our stuff at gear check, take our pre race energy gels and make our way to the start.
*We go to the 11 minute corral - the race starts with the seeded runners who got to wear black bibs, I kinda had to pee, but I ignore it because I know I will sweat it out and the lines are long.
*The race starts with silver confetti and we pretty much stand still for 2 minutes until out group gets to the front.
*Right out the gate I feel good, cold, but good. I am a concerns about having to pee already since it’s COLD out. However I really don’t want to lose time stopping so I vow to push through and hope to sweat.
*After my first mile I see I’m running a sub-10 pace which is exciting, but I also don’t want to over do it so I try to keep myself around the 10 min pace as much as possible.
*While running I see 2 ladies with homemade shirts that say “a DIVA is a female version of a hustler” - I am immediately mad that I didn’t think download that song and put it on my playlist.
*I spent a lot of the run looking at what everyone was wearing (I’m such a girl). LOTS of pink and black. I see a number of women with iRUNLIKEAGIRL gear on.
*I was in awe of all the women themselves and how different every single one of us were.
*Around mile 4 I see ladies in line for port-o-pottys, but I decide not to stop despite the fact that I have to go and I’m still not sweating. Plus I just drank a bunch of water with my 2nd energy gel.
*By mile 6 all I can think about is having to see and decide I MUST stop. I know my pace will pick up if I pee so I try not to stress out about losing time.
*Finally right before mile 7 I see pottys and only 2 people in line. I pause my Nike+ sensor so I can track my time minus the bathroom break.
*Get in and out pretty quickly and feel MUCH better, unpause Nike+ sensor.
*I pick up my pace quite a bit to try and make up for some time and believe it or not after a mile or so I catch up with a few ladies I recognized from the pack I was running with (one girl was running with just a sports bra and had quite an ample bossum [I should have just worn a sports bra - I mean it was all women, who cares] and one girl had a camel back and awesome tights on)
*Next thing I know it’s mile 10 and I still feel good. Still around a 10 minute pace.
*Finally like mile 11 I start to sweat - it had been so grey and cloudy all morning. I’m starting to get really tired and notice people starting to pick me off.
*Mile 12 we get feather boas and tiaras (I opt out of the tiara). I keep telling myself to push through and keep up my “suicide pace.” I muster the strength to run full force and pick off a bunch of people
*The last mile of the race was not scenic - we ran through like a truck depot/parking lot which was hella awkward.
*I finally see the finish line in sight. Sadly the crowds were as loud and crazy as I hoped (however throughout the race I enjoyed seeing dad and kids cheering and holding signs for moms).
*Crossing that finish line was a beautiful thing.
*I RAN THE WHOLE DAMN THING. I only stopped to pee. No walking, no jogging, all running. I’m pretty much I ran in the 9:15-11:55 min/miles range the whole time.
*My legs felt STRONG - I remember looking down at my quads as I ran and being impressed with myself - my ankles were a bit mad at me for running the whole time, but they got over it.
*After the race it was time for medals, champagne, roses, food, pictures, and stretching.
*Met back up with Jess to recap the race, chat, celebrate and then say our goodbyes.
*Try to keep moving and walking because once I sit I know it’s going to be hard to get moving.
*Meet up with my aunt for brunch, head home for a shower and 2 hour nap before my flight back where I slept most of it.

I am so proud of myself. I had a great race. I’m looking forward to my next half on halloween weekend, then after that Triathlon training I’m coming for you!

PS - my unofficial time not counting the potty break was 2:11:54

Half Marathoner

Yesterday was great. Finished in 2:13:23 which is WAY faster than I would have hoped! I promise a full recap this week. In the meantime this video illustrates how I'm feeling today.

October 1st Friday Five

1. Weather Woes. I’m currently writing this on my flight home to New York. We have about 20 more minutes until we land and we should get in just about on time THANK GOD. Yesterday I get a call from my mom alerting me to Tropical Storm Nicole. What? I know that the weather channel always prepares people for the worst, but I was STRESSED. I didn’t want my flight cancelled or to spend hours at the airport. I monitored the weather all day today and made back up plans incase I had to stay in Atlanta for the night, but I mostly prayed that I got to New York. Seriously last night and today was so stressful. I’m just happy to be on my way and get my full weekend.

2. 100 mile month. My half marathon is on Sunday and I have been training with a regimented training schedule since June. After falling off the wagon in only slightly in July/August with my trip to New York for my birthday I missed hitting triple digits for my monthly totals. Well I conquered September. 103 miles for the month of September. Between my half marathon on Sunday and the one I signed up for in New Orleans Halloween weekend I feel good about hitting triple digits again. Have I mentioned that I’m running a second half marathon at the end of the month. I’m in the best shape of my life, I want to go to New Orleans and I figure a half marathon in New Orleans on Halloween weekend was meant to be. So does this mean I can tell people I ran a marathon in October?

3. President’s Party Barn. Tuesday was a student leader reception at the President’s house. This was the second year in a row that I’ve attended this event. I should also be clear that the event doesn’t happen IN his out, but rather NEXT to his house in his party barn. Party barn is a term for like shed’s outside fraternity houses where they host their band parties. Last year the President built himself a fancy party barn. There was yummy food and I got to see a lot of awesome students I know as well as celebrate the 10 fabulous students that are directing out orientation programs this year.

4. Chill. After MONTHS of staring at a new frozen yogurt place in town called Chill I had some this week. It was actually then evening of the President’s reception and I turned down dessert there knowing that there was an opportunity to go to Chill with students. I got a Pumpkin/Snickerdoodle cookie twist that was law fat/fat free. I only got a little bit, but it was DDDDDDDDDDDD-LICIOUS. I will need to get more since it is only a seasonal flavor. It reminded me of UConn’s Dairy Bar pumpkin ice cream which was the yummiest ice cream I think I’ve ever had.


5. Bad Pumpkin. Chill was a good Pumpkin experience, however Dunkin Donuts was not. On my drive to the airport I stopped in Georgia for my first DD Iced Coffee in nearly a month (and the first of many of this trip). Well I had heard the DD had a new pumpkin flavor and a lot of people were talking about it. So when I stopped I really wanted to try it, but in the back of my head I was worried if I didn’t like it than I would get my first DD fix off of a gross coffee. Seeing all the pumpkin stuff in the store I had to try it. After I ordered it I noticed it was “pre-sweetened.” FAIL. I don’t like sweetened drinks. I was still open to it. Umm it was HORRID. It tastes like a candle (not that I know what a candle tastes like), but it tasted like a fragrant pumpkin candle. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I DID NOT LIKE IT. Luckily I ONLY got a medium instead of my standard large. I drank it anyway because I was thirsty and it was a DD Iced Coffee. However the rest of my trip will be filled with my beloved Toasted Almond.


This weekend is shaping up to be quite awesome. Can’t wait!

New York Bound (Hopefully)

This week I am been busy at work and have been extra swamped since I am leaving early today and taking off tomorrow for Nueva York.

However Tropical Storm Nicole is trying to mess up my plans. Luckily it seems the strength of the storm has fizzled, but there is still rain. Most of it looks west of New York, but we all know how airport delays pile up and my flight isn't until 7:40pm. So I'm stressed, I just want to be in New York and get my long weekend hassle free.

You'd think I'd be worried about the half marathon, but truth be told I'm not. I'm worried about the DAMN WEATHER.

This week I had such a crazy work week that I had to pack and make my playlist last night - both tasks took longer than I would have liked. I'm only packing a carry on and a backpack. I am a chronic over-packer so I have to weed through my pile of stuff I "wanted to bring" twice until it was a reasonable amount. I also didn't want to pack my bag to capacity because I am *HOPING* my mom sees how stupid big most of my clothes are on me now and buys me a few items - therefore I need room to bring them home with me. It's weird how my suitcase is like 60% running stuff and 40% non-running stuff. I have 2 little runs I plan to do - one of Friday and one on Saturday then of course RACE DAY SUNDAY.

I made my race playlist - added a FEW new songs, but mainly stuck with songs I've run to in the past and I know how I react to. So my 2.6 hour (in itunes time) playlist consists of 44 songs. I'm hoping to finish the race in under 2:30:00 so really that's like 37 songs. Again not worried about the run, but to think that I'll be running for 37 straight songs is a cool way to measure it. I have to admit like 6 of the songs are David Cook songs (I know you're judging me and I don't care).

OK must get back to work, but I hope to write some blog posts at the aiport on my flight and post them today/tomorrow/Saturday. Plus look forward to a full race recap next week, but I'm sure on Sunday I'll post a little sumthin' sumthin'

Wish me safe and on time travels!

9/24's Friday Five

1. As per my plan to "Measure My Year in Cups of Coffee" I hit my 300th cup yesterday. You may not be impressed, but my "cup" is usually in the form of a venti from Starbucks thanks. My stats should increase quickly since I'll be in New York next weekend and enjoy my beloved Dunkin Donuts - I'm coming for you Pumpkin Iced Coffee!

2. I saw this quote on my friends Facebook the other day and it has really made me think "If someone wants to be a part of your life, they will make an effort to be in it." So true, so true...

3. I've been listening to a good mix of tunes lately - most notably: Florence + The Machine, New Kids on the Block, Regina Spektor and I'm hoping to pick up the new Maroon 5 album this weekend.

4. I recently got in contact with my college friend Mike to recommend my sister for a job at his company. Mike was someone I was never very close with, but we ran in the same circles and I've always admired him. So when my sister emailed Mike about the job and said I recommended her to apply, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mike said "I have always had respect for your sister and think she is good people." I know it sounds lame, but Mike is probably one of the most successful people I know and he is truly going places in life so coming from him I take that as a HUGE compliment. My sister is meeting with Mike today for an informal interview. FINGERS CROSSED.

5. So Blogspot is FINALLY catching up with technology and added a "stats" feature so you can see who reads your blog, page hits, keyword search entry points etc. Well it turns out that "Redneck Bingo" is what has led MANY people to my blog. Awkward?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Triathlete in Training

A couple of weeks ago I saw during a Student Organization Fair that Auburn has a Triathlon Club. I was too intimindated to go talk to them at their table and I meant to look them up. Well yesterday I finally did. The club is open to students, faculty, STAFF and even the community. They have various training groups like 6x a week. I left a message through their contact page and got a response with the hour! The guy was very supportive and invited me to come out to a practice. So next week I think I'm headed to SWIM practice.

I know that if I have a group to train with, teach me and support me that I can totally do a Triathlon this spring.

So yesterday I went out and bought some necessary "gear"
*Padded cycling shorts
*4 pairs of dri fit socks
*Dri fit compression tights (I may return them because honestly it’s still too damn hot here to wear them anytime soon)
*3 dri fit running tops on clearance for $2.88 each
*Puma short sleeve running hoodie on clearance for $2.88
*Goggles, nose clip, swim cap
*Ear buds (dog chewed on old ones that still work, but worried about them not working for my half marathon)
*Various Energy Gels

I still need to get a proper swimsuit - I don't think my tankinis are going to cut it. I also really need a bike. Luckily I found out that the City of Auburn allows people to "check out bikes" for two week period for FREE. So I am going to look into that ASAP when I get back after my half marathon.

Speaking of my half...I am SOOOO excited. Like no joke. Next week at this time I'll be headed to the airport. I GOT this half. I'm just looking forward to a long run and the high associated with race day. Plus not sure if I mentioned that I'm doing another half marathon on 10/30 in New Orleans. Yeah I'm crazy I know, but you know what if you got it, flaunt it and right now I have the ability to run 13 miles so I'm gonna!

I really may add a "donate" button to this blog incase anyone wants to contribute to my triathlon training supplies and race fees! So in anyone or anyone's company wants to "sponsor" me I wouldn't turn you down.