full steam ahead

so i've been running the past few months and I LOVE IT!!! its soooooooooo addicting! i'm up to 7-9 miles, but i plan to run a 1/2 marathon in Oct. i actually think i could run a full marathon...even though i know i am FAR from running that distance. i just think its possible. just sayin...

ive been thinking about starting a running group. cant decide if i need to wait until next spring or go ahead and do it now...or not do it at all....

ITS SUNDAY!!!!!!

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! i am not usually this excited about sunday nights, cause it means that i go back to work tomorrow. however...this particular sunday i am super excited because i have been on-call for 10 days and i go off at 8am tomorrow!!! wooooohooooo.
this means....
-no waking up in the middle of the night panicked that i did not hear the phone
-no carrying that stupid 1990's cell phone
-i can go for a bike ride!!!!!
-i can go camping
-I CAN DO WHAT EVER I WANT

anyway....went swimming today. looked to see how many calories that i could have possibly burned, and to my pleasant surprise it said that a 3 hour leisurley swim burns 977 calories. are you kidding me? why dont have a pool of my own???? a horse trough...a wade pool...anything!!!! (because i live right next to the hood in an apartment, thats why)
then i went for a 2.6 mile jog...burned another 200+ calories, oh yeah! it was not an easy run. when i run with my friend, i feel as if i could run FOREVER. i mean it. at least a good 5 miles before stopping. but by myself...i made it 2.6, but after 1.5 miles and i was ready to quit. are you kidding me??? thats just plumb ridiculous. i have come to the conclusion that i need that feel of competition...that maybe i still thrive on that. all i know is that i feel like i can run a LOT further when i run with someone.
so i've lost 17 lbs since april 24th. that's not even 2 lbs a week!!! but, you cant really count like 16 days of that cause i was gone on my trip. so i guess im happy with that. no, im not on a "diet"...i hate that word!!! ive made some lifestyle changes, such as eaty healthy and exercising. i know what your saying...how did i ever think of that???!!!??? im a genius...maybe i could make money off this concept. i mean...people make money on crazier things! im not judging...just saying...

no more blah....

so...im tired of the mundane...life is too ordinary. so many things i have wanted to do over the years, but let life swallow up all that with "stuff." well...my goal is put a stop to that! so...im starting a list.
...and my first adventure is an overnight hiking trip. been looking up some cool looking spots close to here...found a few up by st louis. im super excited and hope that i stick to it!
a couple of my others on my list...
-5k, 10k, half marathon
-train ride to chicago
-white water rafting, kayak or canoe (for real, no baby stuff)
....to be continued....

wow...loooooong time....

so...i haven't blogged since, well, since i first started this job with the state. now i've been working here 20 months! hard to believe...
just a brief update, and i will blog more later...my job is fine...i mean good. its a good paying job with great benifits! i started out as an alternative care worker and now i am an investigator as of Dec 2009. its a challenging job at times, as well as a rewarding job at times...as are so many jobs.

recently got back from another amazing trip to the middle east...i will write more about that later...

so for now, i leave you with this quote...perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and undesrstand each other, we may even become friends...

call me debbie downer...

I discovered this show 2nite called secret millionaire. I loved the concept. The show takes a multi millionaire for a week and they live off of a welfare salery in basically a scum part of a city.On this particular show, they took a guy worth aprox 5o million and dropped in him off in the nothern part of vegas or some where.

Homeless people everywhere...prostitutes...drugs... crime. he stayed in this shady hotel. there were roaches...he had to work to earn his stay. so he goes around all week volunteering at diffferent places, looking for someone or someplace to donate "at least $100,000."

Ok...this dude is worth about 50 million... $50,000,000...fifty million...dude, do you relize how much money that is! he owned a "small fleet" of planes...a helicopter...at least one ferari, 2 porche, and at least 3 other high dollar cars...i think they said like 30 places of real estate...this sweet mansion...

so I'm sorry if his $20,000 donation to the boy in the wheel chair, $30,000 donation to the lady handing out food to the local community and $100,000 donation to the "Street Teen" ministry didn't impress me. The man should have gave each a million! him giving that amount would be like me droppin a $20 to all of them...seriously, come on. give me a break.

and now he's gonna go back home to his luxury...congratulating himself on "doing something for those less fortunate"...
well good for you buddy!

what a weekend. first off...friday was my last day as a full time staff at the shelter. that was sad...but I was ok because all i could think about was my weekend in gatlinburg!so I get in my car and head off. of course, I stop just an hour down the road for some chick filet! i love that place and I never get to have it.so back on the road...jammin to my music, drinkin my rockstars and mnt dew...when suddenly (5 hrs into my trip and in the middle of no where) my car begins to over heat. now...my car had done this one other time a few months back in the same very area. so I had some water and antifreeze in the trunk. figured i'd pour some in, wait 30-45 min, then head off again. well...about 2 hrs later, while I was still setting there in the dark, with no heat and my car still broke, a trooper finally stopped. he was kind enough to take me to the next exit to a hotel where I could wait out the night. fun times! It was a shady little place, but cheap. i definatly didn't sit in the chair next to my bed where there appeared to be some sort of stain left behind from a previous guest. i turned the heat on high cause it felt about 10 degrees warmer in there than the 20 degrees it was outside. i slept ok, after I checked under the covers and behind the head board for bed bugs (thanks to a local news program on bed bugs last week). however, when I woke up, i believe the temp of the room had only risen about 15 degrees. so...when I decided to brave thw cold and pull back the covers I quickly dresses and went down to the front office, where my dad picked up.but the weekend was great! i have been blessed with some awesome friends. they are really truly indescribable. we had a great time visiting, eating shopping…reminiscing about old times…
saturday morning when i woke up, i seen the mountains touching the sky...what a beautiful scene! Looking out over the mountains and trees...listening to old and new friends laugh and tell stories. What a great weekend!

well...today is my last official day at the shelter. however, i have volunteered to do thursday nights, 10pm-6am. at least for a while. we will see how it goes. and i'm going to volunteer over the holidays and do computer work for them. monday i start my new job with children's division. that's exciting...and a little unnerving. got to meet new people and learn a new job. that's not always easy.

i am soooooo excited about this weekend! i am meeting my friends from ky in gatlinburg! we always have a good time together. i hope this becomes an annual event.

man...20 days till christmas...and all i have bought is one present! but, i hope to take care of that this weekend. can't believe another year is come and gone! the four years in high school felt like an eternity! then after that...well, it's like you wake up one morning and it's your birthday...then you wake up the next morning and it's christmas. wow...what just happened!