My, oh my how time slips away! It's been far too long since my last blog, and sadly, I see this becoming a trend. Hopefully I can nip this in the bud pretty soon and get back on my blogging horse! What have I been up to...
Faust is over. It was a great run! I had so much fun being in the show, and I especially enjoyed the girl time in the chorus dressing room! We all looked so goofy in our 1930s wigs and our drag queen makeup... But we loved every minute of it! (If you don't count the headaches and the itchy scalps from the wigs!)
My senior recital is Sunday. Ahh!! This semester is almost, over. I'm about to graduate with a bachelors degree in Vocal Performance, and I still don't know what I want to do with my life! lol I mean, yeah, I want to sing. But exactly how I want that part in my life, I'm not quite sure. Thank goodness God gave me a "go with the flow" kind of attitude. I'm really open to whichever direction His will sends me! I'm blessed because I got accepted into a summer opera program in San Francisco for a month this summer! It's the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute program. And I got a role in a full production opera! That's so great! Hopefully this will be one of those life-changing summers where I either realize that I can't live without opera or that it's really just not for me. I DO love it, though. We'll just see what happens! I auditioned for IU grad school for a Master of Music, but I haven't heard back yet. I have a hunch that I didn't get in - it's REALLY competitive. But, you never know till you know! So, until I hear the official word, one way or the other, my future is still undecided. If I get in, then great! I'll be in school for the next couple years. (Wait. That IS great, right?...) If I don't get in, then I'll work, make a little money, continue taking lessons, pray a LOT, and try to figure out what that next big step is! I'm not really worried. Either way, my life is in God's hands - and I'll always be able to sing. Singing is what brings me joy. Not necessarily all the other stuff that surrounds it. It's comforting to know that the creator of the world holds my future in His hands and that I really don't have to worry about every little tiny step I take. As long as I'm seeking Christ, and living my life to be like Him and to serve His people, then I'm doing the right thing!
Speaking of serving people, I've just begun a new part-time career (YES! A career - something that I can work at for the rest of my life, that I enjoy, and that I can take with me wherever I go!) with Mary Kay Inc. as an Independent Beauty Consultant! I am the MOST excited about this opportunity! I don't think of it as a job (sure, the money will be nice), but I think of it more as a way to reach women, to communicate with them, empower them, and build their self-esteem! Mary Kay is not just about lipstick! It's about growing as an individual, putting your faith first, and taking care of our bodies! I am learning so much already, and I've only technically been a consultant for about a week now! I am so lucky to have Paula Kirkpatrick as my Sales Director. I know Paula through church camp - from counseling her girls at camp and having her parents as the camp managers for several years! Paula is a woman after God's own heart, and she truly uses her Mary Kay "job" as a ministry. That is where I want my business to go. I don't want it to be about me, or the makeup, or the profit, but I want it to be about changing lives and bringing women together through the Holy Spirit. But I do love the makeup and the parties :-) I am SUCH a girlie-girl!
I think that's enough for today. Please pray for me! Pray for my ministry through Mary Kay, pray that God will lead my steps and determine my future and give me peace of mind, and pray that my recital will be fulfilling on Sunday! Thanks for reading!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Happy February
Well, it's officially been 1 month since I've blogged. Woopsies! Where has the time gone?! I guess I'll do a little updating.
Big fat losers...
I'm playing a real-life version of Biggest Loser with some of my friends and family! It's been going pretty well, so far! I've lost 5lbs with pretty little effort. We're going based on % lost since everyone is starting at different weights. We weigh in on Fridays, and it's $2 per person per week ($3 if you gain that week!) for 17 weeks, and the winner (or loser, if you will) wins all the money!! So far, Marly is kicking everyone's butts! She's awesome! She's lost like 10 lbs in the past month. I'm so proud of her! (I'm a wee bit jealous, too, but I'm mostly just proud of my best friend!)
I've been keeping track of my daily caloric intake and exercise with a website called Lose It!. It's also an iPhone app, but I don't got no monies for fancy phones like that. This website is great! You can have friends on there like Facebook, and you can keep each other accountable and check each other's progress. It's really fun, and it's really helping me lose weight just by giving me a visual image of what I put into my body and what exercises I do to burn calories. If you want help losing weight, this is a great site to get started with!
"Je ne veux pas valser"...
I'm in the opera chorus for Faust this semester. It's been going really great! We had all of our musical rehearsals last semester, and now we've been doing staging rehearsals. I love it very much. It makes me miss being in theater back in high school, and it makes me really excited for a possible career in opera :-) My friend Rachel got one of the leads, and I'm so proud of her! She's singing the role of Siebel (a teenage boy), and she's rocking it out! I can't wait till we get to dress rehearsals so I can see her do more!
My favorite scene that we've staged so far is the waltz scene because... well, we get to waltz. That should have been pretty self explanatory. lol My waltz partner is great, and we have a lot of fun dancing! Also, I get to have my little moment on the front of the stage with Siebel trying to get him to waltz with me. But he's a chicken (see this section's title). I'm excited to see what our costumes are for this production. It's a new production, and it's set in the 20s in Germany. Hopefully I get to be pretty ;-)
She works hard for the money...
I've applied for the administrative assistant position at the job I currently work for. I've been wanting to do this job for a while now, but up until this point, I've never had a class schedule that would allow me to work during day shifts. I've been trying to get an interview, but that has been difficult. We had Icepocalypse 2011 this week, which postponed my originally scheduled interview, then I submitted my availability for the next few days, then I was given an interview time that did not fit my availability, and now I've again submitted my availability for the next week. HOPEFULLY something will work out, and they'll be able to squeeze me in for an interview. I'm not sure if any of my other coworkers applied for the job, but I do feel like I am qualified for it and that the administrators would benefit from my assistance. :-D
Cross your fingers that an interview time works out and that I get this job! The pay is the same, but the job is very different - more along the lines of something I could actually use in my future. (In case you didn't realize, I have no desire to be any kind of technology consultant... like, ever... even tho I'm kind of good at it.)
Icepocalypse 2011...
As I mentioned before, we experienced Icepocalypse 2011 in the midwest this past week. It was tragic. Everything - I mean, everything - was covered in about a quarter inch of solid ice. Made walking, driving, scraping your car, EVERYTHING really difficult. IU classes got canceled for about a day, which should tell you something.
Yesterday we had a pretty nice day. It was cold, but it wasn't freezing. Most of the ice was melted. Except, however, there was some black ice behind my car yesterday morning as I was headed to my first class, and ZIIING! I wiped out. Pretty hard, too. Day one of Icepocalypse 2011 I wiped out, too, but it was just funny and not painful. Yesterday's wipeout was a little more tragic. The first time I had my hands full, so I just fell straight down. Yesterday my hands were free, so of course out of instinct, I tried to brace myself and ended up with really sore, asphalt-filled hands. :-( And also 2 people saw me and asked if I was ok. I was. It did give me an opportunity to bond with a girl who had also fallen twice. lol Good times.
This kind of phrase was pretty common this week, "I walked out of my apartment, fell twice, turned around and went back inside. No way am I going to class/work." I don't blame them.
It's currently blizzarding outside. Awesome. #sarcasm
Is it summer yet?
Big fat losers...
I'm playing a real-life version of Biggest Loser with some of my friends and family! It's been going pretty well, so far! I've lost 5lbs with pretty little effort. We're going based on % lost since everyone is starting at different weights. We weigh in on Fridays, and it's $2 per person per week ($3 if you gain that week!) for 17 weeks, and the winner (or loser, if you will) wins all the money!! So far, Marly is kicking everyone's butts! She's awesome! She's lost like 10 lbs in the past month. I'm so proud of her! (I'm a wee bit jealous, too, but I'm mostly just proud of my best friend!)
I've been keeping track of my daily caloric intake and exercise with a website called Lose It!. It's also an iPhone app, but I don't got no monies for fancy phones like that. This website is great! You can have friends on there like Facebook, and you can keep each other accountable and check each other's progress. It's really fun, and it's really helping me lose weight just by giving me a visual image of what I put into my body and what exercises I do to burn calories. If you want help losing weight, this is a great site to get started with!
"Je ne veux pas valser"...
I'm in the opera chorus for Faust this semester. It's been going really great! We had all of our musical rehearsals last semester, and now we've been doing staging rehearsals. I love it very much. It makes me miss being in theater back in high school, and it makes me really excited for a possible career in opera :-) My friend Rachel got one of the leads, and I'm so proud of her! She's singing the role of Siebel (a teenage boy), and she's rocking it out! I can't wait till we get to dress rehearsals so I can see her do more!
My favorite scene that we've staged so far is the waltz scene because... well, we get to waltz. That should have been pretty self explanatory. lol My waltz partner is great, and we have a lot of fun dancing! Also, I get to have my little moment on the front of the stage with Siebel trying to get him to waltz with me. But he's a chicken (see this section's title). I'm excited to see what our costumes are for this production. It's a new production, and it's set in the 20s in Germany. Hopefully I get to be pretty ;-)
She works hard for the money...
I've applied for the administrative assistant position at the job I currently work for. I've been wanting to do this job for a while now, but up until this point, I've never had a class schedule that would allow me to work during day shifts. I've been trying to get an interview, but that has been difficult. We had Icepocalypse 2011 this week, which postponed my originally scheduled interview, then I submitted my availability for the next few days, then I was given an interview time that did not fit my availability, and now I've again submitted my availability for the next week. HOPEFULLY something will work out, and they'll be able to squeeze me in for an interview. I'm not sure if any of my other coworkers applied for the job, but I do feel like I am qualified for it and that the administrators would benefit from my assistance. :-D
Cross your fingers that an interview time works out and that I get this job! The pay is the same, but the job is very different - more along the lines of something I could actually use in my future. (In case you didn't realize, I have no desire to be any kind of technology consultant... like, ever... even tho I'm kind of good at it.)
Icepocalypse 2011...
As I mentioned before, we experienced Icepocalypse 2011 in the midwest this past week. It was tragic. Everything - I mean, everything - was covered in about a quarter inch of solid ice. Made walking, driving, scraping your car, EVERYTHING really difficult. IU classes got canceled for about a day, which should tell you something.
Yesterday we had a pretty nice day. It was cold, but it wasn't freezing. Most of the ice was melted. Except, however, there was some black ice behind my car yesterday morning as I was headed to my first class, and ZIIING! I wiped out. Pretty hard, too. Day one of Icepocalypse 2011 I wiped out, too, but it was just funny and not painful. Yesterday's wipeout was a little more tragic. The first time I had my hands full, so I just fell straight down. Yesterday my hands were free, so of course out of instinct, I tried to brace myself and ended up with really sore, asphalt-filled hands. :-( And also 2 people saw me and asked if I was ok. I was. It did give me an opportunity to bond with a girl who had also fallen twice. lol Good times.
This kind of phrase was pretty common this week, "I walked out of my apartment, fell twice, turned around and went back inside. No way am I going to class/work." I don't blame them.
It's currently blizzarding outside. Awesome. #sarcasm
Is it summer yet?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Bye Bye Bacon Frittata
Last night, as I was working, I rediscovered Hungry Girl. Hungry Girl is a woman, not a nutritionist, who loves food but fights the same battles as basically everyone in the world who loves to eat but doesn't want to eat themselves crazy. She offers low calorie recipes and tip and tricks to help you stay on track. As I was browsing through the contents of one of her cookbooks, there was a recipe for a frittata that seemed interesting. I perused a couple of online recipes looking for low fat, low cal frittata recipes, and I got the jist of how to create a healthy, delicious frittata.
So I did! This morning for breakfast, I created what I call the Bye Bye Bacon Frittata. And let me tell you, it was so good! And I didn't feel guilty eating it. It was full of veggies (green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, onions), and I used reduced fat cheddar cheese. To cut back on cholesterol, I only used 1 whole egg, and just the whites from the rest.
The catch was the bacon. I called it Bye Bye Bacon because I had 5 pieces of bacon left in my fridge. Now, if I'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier, I don't think bacon should be part of my meals. At least not much. So, this was my farewell moment with the bacon that I dearly love. I spent a long time debating how I could possibly fix something with bacon and not have it full of fat, so I thought - "Why not just take out all the fat?" So I did. I tenderly snipped off ALL the fat from the bacon with kitchen shears, AND then I cooked it on a George Foreman grill, so that squeezed out even MORE greasy fat.
Here's the recipe and a couple pictures. It was very delicious, and one serving was JUST the right amount!
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 whole egg
2/3 cup water
1/2 a green pepper
1/2 a red pepper
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 an onion
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Bacon pieces (I used 5 slices)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a small baking pan (I used a 8x8ish pan). Slice bell peppers into strips, slice cucumber (then I halved the slices), and set aside. Chop onion and sautee in water until tender. Place all the vegetables in the pan. Trim the fat from the bacon, and cut the bacon meat into half-inch strips. Cook on a George Foreman-like grill to remove more grease and fat. Add the bacon to the pan with the vegetables. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese in the pan. In a bowl, combine the egg whites, the whole egg, and 2/3 cup water. Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk until fluffy. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and bacon in the pan. Cook for 30 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the frittata and let it continue to cook. When done, slice into quarters and serve!
Makes 4 servings. Add a tablespoon of salsa for a little bonus!
So I did! This morning for breakfast, I created what I call the Bye Bye Bacon Frittata. And let me tell you, it was so good! And I didn't feel guilty eating it. It was full of veggies (green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, onions), and I used reduced fat cheddar cheese. To cut back on cholesterol, I only used 1 whole egg, and just the whites from the rest.
The catch was the bacon. I called it Bye Bye Bacon because I had 5 pieces of bacon left in my fridge. Now, if I'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier, I don't think bacon should be part of my meals. At least not much. So, this was my farewell moment with the bacon that I dearly love. I spent a long time debating how I could possibly fix something with bacon and not have it full of fat, so I thought - "Why not just take out all the fat?" So I did. I tenderly snipped off ALL the fat from the bacon with kitchen shears, AND then I cooked it on a George Foreman grill, so that squeezed out even MORE greasy fat.
Here's the recipe and a couple pictures. It was very delicious, and one serving was JUST the right amount!
 | |||
| Bye Bye Bacon Frittata |
4 egg whites
1 whole egg
2/3 cup water
1/2 a green pepper
1/2 a red pepper
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 an onion
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Bacon pieces (I used 5 slices)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a small baking pan (I used a 8x8ish pan). Slice bell peppers into strips, slice cucumber (then I halved the slices), and set aside. Chop onion and sautee in water until tender. Place all the vegetables in the pan. Trim the fat from the bacon, and cut the bacon meat into half-inch strips. Cook on a George Foreman-like grill to remove more grease and fat. Add the bacon to the pan with the vegetables. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese in the pan. In a bowl, combine the egg whites, the whole egg, and 2/3 cup water. Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk until fluffy. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and bacon in the pan. Cook for 30 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the frittata and let it continue to cook. When done, slice into quarters and serve!
Makes 4 servings. Add a tablespoon of salsa for a little bonus!
 |
| Bye Bye Bacon Frittata with Tbsp of Salsa |
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year, Friends!
2010 has come and gone, and 2011 is looking bright as ever! My New Year's Eve was spent in my apartment with Jason. I fixed us a DELICIOUS meal of chili, veggie pizza, and corn bread. It was my first time making chili, and I think it was pretty successful! (Jason's really particular about how he likes his chili, and we don't completely see eye-to-eye. He thought mine was pretty good for a first try!)
I ended 2010 very happily. I got to spend about 2 weeks at home with my family and friends, got to rest a LOT, and got some great Christmas gifts! My apartment is still not all put back together yet - there are boxes of this, and gift bags of that still laying around in places, along with my still full luggage. Woops! But as I rang in the new year, guess what happened. Again. Jason fell asleep. He was sick - AGAIN - during the holiday, and so I just said Happy New Year to myself :-/ But that's ok! I'm not sad about that. People need to rest when they're sick. He's better now, thanks to off-brand Pedialyte.
On the morning of January 2nd, however, something tragic happened. I woke up late for church that morning, so I had to rush to get ready in a jiffy, since I was singing with the praise team that morning. I showered, did my hair and makeup, and went to throw on some clothes. As I was pulling on my dress pants, I realized something very sad. They didn't go up. They just didn't! About a year and a half ago, I took those pants in about 2 inches because they were too big for me, and at this particular moment, they were too small!! So, hastily in my hurry, I ripped that stitching out in desperation - I needed to wear pants! As I pulled the stitching out, the reality hit me - I've gained about 15 pounds. That's a lot of pounds. I've been in denial of this, and I've sucked my belly in, and I've strrreeeeetched my jeans out before putting them on. That morning, the reality of how much my weight gain is affecting me became real.
So I'm doing something about it. That afternoon, I got home from church and wrote out my New Year's Goals. I don't call them resolutions. That seems to intimidating to me. I call them goals because they're something that I'm working towards. Here are my 2011 goals:
*Drink more water.
*Take your vitamins.
*Eat healthier.
*Do something active every day.
*Practice. Seriously.
*Pray like you mean it.
*Keep a clean house.
*Save more. Spend less.
I'm very satisfied with my goals. I believe they're practical and worthwhile. So far, I've been doing OK with them. Hopefully with diligence and prayer I'll be able to accomplish these goals and have a happy, healthy, successful year!!
I wish you all a blessed new year, and I hope that you work hard to keep whatever goals you're working towards!
I ended 2010 very happily. I got to spend about 2 weeks at home with my family and friends, got to rest a LOT, and got some great Christmas gifts! My apartment is still not all put back together yet - there are boxes of this, and gift bags of that still laying around in places, along with my still full luggage. Woops! But as I rang in the new year, guess what happened. Again. Jason fell asleep. He was sick - AGAIN - during the holiday, and so I just said Happy New Year to myself :-/ But that's ok! I'm not sad about that. People need to rest when they're sick. He's better now, thanks to off-brand Pedialyte.
On the morning of January 2nd, however, something tragic happened. I woke up late for church that morning, so I had to rush to get ready in a jiffy, since I was singing with the praise team that morning. I showered, did my hair and makeup, and went to throw on some clothes. As I was pulling on my dress pants, I realized something very sad. They didn't go up. They just didn't! About a year and a half ago, I took those pants in about 2 inches because they were too big for me, and at this particular moment, they were too small!! So, hastily in my hurry, I ripped that stitching out in desperation - I needed to wear pants! As I pulled the stitching out, the reality hit me - I've gained about 15 pounds. That's a lot of pounds. I've been in denial of this, and I've sucked my belly in, and I've strrreeeeetched my jeans out before putting them on. That morning, the reality of how much my weight gain is affecting me became real.
So I'm doing something about it. That afternoon, I got home from church and wrote out my New Year's Goals. I don't call them resolutions. That seems to intimidating to me. I call them goals because they're something that I'm working towards. Here are my 2011 goals:
*Drink more water.
*Take your vitamins.
*Eat healthier.
*Do something active every day.
*Practice. Seriously.
*Pray like you mean it.
*Keep a clean house.
*Save more. Spend less.
I'm very satisfied with my goals. I believe they're practical and worthwhile. So far, I've been doing OK with them. Hopefully with diligence and prayer I'll be able to accomplish these goals and have a happy, healthy, successful year!!
I wish you all a blessed new year, and I hope that you work hard to keep whatever goals you're working towards!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
No Title
I went to dinner tonight with Jason and a bunch of the IU Cinema folks. Jason does a podcast for the Cinema with his friend, Andy, and the Cinema director. It was a really fun time! We ate at FARM on Kirkwood. I'd never eaten there before, but I'd heard of it plenty. It's pretty cool! All the food they serve is locally grown or raised. I really enjoy eating in places like that because I feel like I'm helping out the economy! You're welcome, America!
What I really enjoyed about tonight was that I got to get a little glimpse into Jason's world. He and I talk all the time, of course, but when he talks about the Cinema, I never really understand... Now that I've met some people and learned a little more, I feel like I can really appreciate all the hard work he's putting into this project! I'm so proud of him!
I got pretty dressed up for this evening. I'll admit, I was probably a little overdressed, but it's whatever. I looked good. :-P It's not very often that Jason and I are invited to fancy dinners or outings, so of course I made it a point to make sure I could go to this one. I had a friend mention over the summer that she wanted to be with a guy who would take her to black-tie affairs. (First of all, that's hilarious because she was dating a guy in radio...) This was the closest we've gotten to that, besides a wedding or something. I loved it!
I can see the sparkle in Jason's eye when he talks about films. It really is a passion of his. If someday, he would want to go back to film school, I would TOTALLY be supportive of that. And at the same time, when he talks about his job now, and his responsibilities and how far he's come, and can see that he sits a little taller and talks a little louder - he's proud of himself! As he should be!
I've been thinking a lot lately about what my future holds after I graduate. Probably because I just finished up this semester and I only have one more semester until I graduate. The other night at a Christmas party, one of my friends said that everyone needs to write out their life goals. Whatever they may be. I don't think I'm to the point right now where I can definitely write out a set of goals... I've never been the kind of person who is so focused on having a good career or making a ton of money or whatever. I want a family and a happy life. Whatever that may be.
I kind of forgot where I was going with this blog... Dang.
In other news...
Marly and Jase are engaged!! He proposed on Monday morning! He was going to wait until Christmas, but he just couldn't do it! I'm so excited for them. Marly's been wanting and waiting to get married for such a long time, and now here it is!! They're thinking probably April 2012. I can't wait! :-)
What I really enjoyed about tonight was that I got to get a little glimpse into Jason's world. He and I talk all the time, of course, but when he talks about the Cinema, I never really understand... Now that I've met some people and learned a little more, I feel like I can really appreciate all the hard work he's putting into this project! I'm so proud of him!
I got pretty dressed up for this evening. I'll admit, I was probably a little overdressed, but it's whatever. I looked good. :-P It's not very often that Jason and I are invited to fancy dinners or outings, so of course I made it a point to make sure I could go to this one. I had a friend mention over the summer that she wanted to be with a guy who would take her to black-tie affairs. (First of all, that's hilarious because she was dating a guy in radio...) This was the closest we've gotten to that, besides a wedding or something. I loved it!
I can see the sparkle in Jason's eye when he talks about films. It really is a passion of his. If someday, he would want to go back to film school, I would TOTALLY be supportive of that. And at the same time, when he talks about his job now, and his responsibilities and how far he's come, and can see that he sits a little taller and talks a little louder - he's proud of himself! As he should be!
I've been thinking a lot lately about what my future holds after I graduate. Probably because I just finished up this semester and I only have one more semester until I graduate. The other night at a Christmas party, one of my friends said that everyone needs to write out their life goals. Whatever they may be. I don't think I'm to the point right now where I can definitely write out a set of goals... I've never been the kind of person who is so focused on having a good career or making a ton of money or whatever. I want a family and a happy life. Whatever that may be.
I kind of forgot where I was going with this blog... Dang.
In other news...
Marly and Jase are engaged!! He proposed on Monday morning! He was going to wait until Christmas, but he just couldn't do it! I'm so excited for them. Marly's been wanting and waiting to get married for such a long time, and now here it is!! They're thinking probably April 2012. I can't wait! :-)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I might get your heart racing in my skin tight jeans...
There's a lot on my mind this evening. I'm at work, so consultant evaluation forms are kind of clouding my thoughts a bit, but I do have some pretty good stuff moving around in my brain right now that I just KNOW my blog needs me to put on it.
Buckle up, world.
My IU grad school application is in. It's done, finally. $135, a TON of stress, and a frantic 30 minute panic attack later, I've officially applied to grad school. Yeah, I only applied to IU. Some people might not think that's a good choice, but it's my choice. And I'll deal with the consequences or the benefits. Where I'm at in my life right now doesn't put me in a position to go to any other school. My first reason is location. That's the honest truth. It might seem lame, but I don't really care. My LIFE is in Bloomington right now. I live here, I work here, I have friends here, I have a boyfriend here. It's not merely the town where I go to college. I don't want to uproot. I'm a midwestern girl. I grew up in Indiana. I know the southern part of this state pretty darn well. My family is just a couple hours away in case I ever needed to be home for something. It just works, and I like that. Also, I love my teacher. Ms. Wise is awesome. I'm resistant to changing teachers because I've made such progress with Ms. Wise. She and I speak a lot of the same language, and she has a way of teaching that really connects with me. I'm sure I'd do fine with another teacher, but when I think about having someone new, I can't help but think about what I would be missing. The last reason, and probably the biggest issue, is the fact that it costs so much money to just apply to schools. Frankly, I just couldn't afford it. I'm going to be in enough debt when I have to get my own loans and start paying for my own school and rent (yes, I currently have a pretty good situation where my parents still pay for a lot of my "cost of living," for which I'm very grateful) that I certainly don't need to get a credit card and start charging things like money is fake. Money isn't fake. It's very real. And I really don't have a lot.
Charlie Grable passed away on Monday morning. Charlie was a dear friend to all of us at First Baptist Church. He had been suffering with his health for a little while. While his death won't be easy for us all to handle, especially his wife, kids and grandkids, we all know Charlie's in a better place now, and he's free from pain. He's back to his old self again, probably cuttin it up with the best of them up there! We're all sure going to miss him.
Thanksgiving was last week. I love Thanksgiving. It's a great holiday where we step back and take a look at all of the gifts God has blessed our lives with. I have such a blessed life. God has given me a great family, wonderful friends, a caring and loving boyfriend, a shelter over my head, enough money to get by, food to eat, shoes on my feet, an education, and a job. I sure don't say thank-you to God nearly as much as I should. He gets all the credit. I'd have nothing without Him. The Thanksgiving celebrations at home were much smaller this year. Not everyone could make it in town, but those of us who were together had a great time! It's so good to see family and to spend time with loved ones.
And with Thanksgiving comes overeating. And with overeating comes large Becky. That's what I am. Right now, I'm so large. I'm the largest I've been in my life. My friend Heather posted on her facebook that she feels like herself only in a fat suit. That's EXACTLY how I feel right now! I feel the same as I normally do, just a little squishier and thicker. Not cool. The problem is that I legitimately do not have enough time to eat healthily or to exercise regularly. Next semester, however, this will be a different story. If all goes as planned, I should have enough time to dedicate to regular exercise and a healthy diet. No more McDonald's meals because I don't have time for anything else. Plus that's such a waste of money. Bluh. I want to get back to where I was last year this time. And overall, I just want to feel good. I don't feel horrible now, but I am frustrated. I want to not be frustrated.
Where have jeggings been all my life?! I bought my first pair of jeggings on Black Friday 2010 (aka the best Friday in the universe), and I LOVE them!! They're perfect! They're just skinny jeans that you can actually move in! You can't get more perfect than that. Skinny jeans are great for wearing with boots, but they are so darn restricting! These jeggings (or jeggins as Charity lovingly refers to them...) are just what the doctor ordered! If I had more money (which I most certainly don't...) I'd go right to the store and buy a few more pairs! Want to know a secret? I've already worn these jeggings 4 times in the last 5 days. Woops? Maybe.
I'd like to start a youtube series of myself singing Katy Perry songs in opera voice. There. I said it. That's what has been on my mind the most. lol It could be hilarious. Her songs are so ridiculous. Why not sing them like they're serious and operatic?! Duh. Stay tuned, world.
Buckle up, world.
My IU grad school application is in. It's done, finally. $135, a TON of stress, and a frantic 30 minute panic attack later, I've officially applied to grad school. Yeah, I only applied to IU. Some people might not think that's a good choice, but it's my choice. And I'll deal with the consequences or the benefits. Where I'm at in my life right now doesn't put me in a position to go to any other school. My first reason is location. That's the honest truth. It might seem lame, but I don't really care. My LIFE is in Bloomington right now. I live here, I work here, I have friends here, I have a boyfriend here. It's not merely the town where I go to college. I don't want to uproot. I'm a midwestern girl. I grew up in Indiana. I know the southern part of this state pretty darn well. My family is just a couple hours away in case I ever needed to be home for something. It just works, and I like that. Also, I love my teacher. Ms. Wise is awesome. I'm resistant to changing teachers because I've made such progress with Ms. Wise. She and I speak a lot of the same language, and she has a way of teaching that really connects with me. I'm sure I'd do fine with another teacher, but when I think about having someone new, I can't help but think about what I would be missing. The last reason, and probably the biggest issue, is the fact that it costs so much money to just apply to schools. Frankly, I just couldn't afford it. I'm going to be in enough debt when I have to get my own loans and start paying for my own school and rent (yes, I currently have a pretty good situation where my parents still pay for a lot of my "cost of living," for which I'm very grateful) that I certainly don't need to get a credit card and start charging things like money is fake. Money isn't fake. It's very real. And I really don't have a lot.
Charlie Grable passed away on Monday morning. Charlie was a dear friend to all of us at First Baptist Church. He had been suffering with his health for a little while. While his death won't be easy for us all to handle, especially his wife, kids and grandkids, we all know Charlie's in a better place now, and he's free from pain. He's back to his old self again, probably cuttin it up with the best of them up there! We're all sure going to miss him.
Thanksgiving was last week. I love Thanksgiving. It's a great holiday where we step back and take a look at all of the gifts God has blessed our lives with. I have such a blessed life. God has given me a great family, wonderful friends, a caring and loving boyfriend, a shelter over my head, enough money to get by, food to eat, shoes on my feet, an education, and a job. I sure don't say thank-you to God nearly as much as I should. He gets all the credit. I'd have nothing without Him. The Thanksgiving celebrations at home were much smaller this year. Not everyone could make it in town, but those of us who were together had a great time! It's so good to see family and to spend time with loved ones.
And with Thanksgiving comes overeating. And with overeating comes large Becky. That's what I am. Right now, I'm so large. I'm the largest I've been in my life. My friend Heather posted on her facebook that she feels like herself only in a fat suit. That's EXACTLY how I feel right now! I feel the same as I normally do, just a little squishier and thicker. Not cool. The problem is that I legitimately do not have enough time to eat healthily or to exercise regularly. Next semester, however, this will be a different story. If all goes as planned, I should have enough time to dedicate to regular exercise and a healthy diet. No more McDonald's meals because I don't have time for anything else. Plus that's such a waste of money. Bluh. I want to get back to where I was last year this time. And overall, I just want to feel good. I don't feel horrible now, but I am frustrated. I want to not be frustrated.
Where have jeggings been all my life?! I bought my first pair of jeggings on Black Friday 2010 (aka the best Friday in the universe), and I LOVE them!! They're perfect! They're just skinny jeans that you can actually move in! You can't get more perfect than that. Skinny jeans are great for wearing with boots, but they are so darn restricting! These jeggings (or jeggins as Charity lovingly refers to them...) are just what the doctor ordered! If I had more money (which I most certainly don't...) I'd go right to the store and buy a few more pairs! Want to know a secret? I've already worn these jeggings 4 times in the last 5 days. Woops? Maybe.
I'd like to start a youtube series of myself singing Katy Perry songs in opera voice. There. I said it. That's what has been on my mind the most. lol It could be hilarious. Her songs are so ridiculous. Why not sing them like they're serious and operatic?! Duh. Stay tuned, world.
Monday, November 8, 2010
13.1 and Done
Well, folks, I did it! I ran the Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon on Saturday morning in Indy with some friends from church! We ran for World Vision and ended up raising over $1000 as a group to support a clean water project.
I'll be frank. I never ever pictured myself doing anything like that before. I'm really proud of myself. I'm not in shape, by any means, and looking in pictures, I can see that I need to lose some significant weight, but nevertheless, I'm really proud of my accomplishment! I finished in under 3 hours, which I guess was my goal? I didn't really set a goal because I pretty much had no idea what to expect. I've never attempted anything like this before, and I didn't really have enough time to do the training schedule as I should have. I kind of just winged it. (Wung it? I feel like that should be the past tense of 'to wing,' but spell check tells me it's not. lol) And it worked out!
We met at the church at 5-stinking-30am and drove in the cold, cold darkness up to Indy. It was an incredible feeling to be in a group of about 10,000 people all shivering and in layers of super attractive running gear (sarcasm, y'all). It was an awesome sense of unity! I love things like that, where you feel so close to the people around you because you're all in the same boat, even though you know nothing about them.
Around mile 1, I broke away from the other 3 girls I was running with because I felt too congested in the mass of people, so I just started to run to the empty holes in the crowd. I'm glad I ran it by myself, because I could set my own pace, walk whenever I felt like it, and act a fool listening to whatever crazy music came up next on my stupid little ipod - anything from random music that Jason put on it, to opera, to Lydia's junior recital, to 90's Christian music. I have exquisite taste. lol
Around mile 2, the sun came out. I got a little toasty, so I threw off my sweatshirt (they donate all the clothes that people throw off during the race). That was maybe a bad choice, because I really needed it when I finished!! But oh well. Someone who doesn't have a sweatshirt at all will benefit this winter from something that I tossed aside.
Around mile 6 or so, John Robertson (College minister at SOCC) and I played the "I'll pass you, then I'll stop and walk, and you pass me, then you stop and walk, then I'll pass you...etc." game for a few miles until a sweet jam came on my piece-of-trash ipod, and I zoomed away! At mile 10, however, I started to feel like death. My hips were hurting, my knees were hurting, my ankles were hurting - everything hurt. I had been smiling the entire race because it was just so fun and exhilarating, and the people cheering us on were awesome!! But at mile 10, I just wanted to be done. Like John said, "If there had been a 'It's not too late to back out' bus, I would have jumped right on it!"
But then at the next water/gatorade station... there was... CANDY!!! I had the most delicious mini Reese's cup in the world. Just the pick-me-up I needed to keep on truckin'.
Brenna and Jason were there cheering for me (and for everyone) at Mile 13, and they took some sweet pictures of my gorgeous self (sarcasm)! I was pumped up, and I ran till the finish line! I think. There's a good chance I walked a little bit - But as soon as I actually could see the finish line, I for real ran! I ran hard! 2:57! It felt so good to be done!
When you finish a race, they throw a medal on your neck, wrap you in a space blanket, and shower you with food and presents! I got a sweet hat, a bagel, granola bar, banana, apple, gatorade, and chocolate milk. And I ate it all. Well, not the hat. But I ate all the food! I was so hungry!
I don't know if I'll ever run another half-marathon. At this point, there's really no reason to. I've done it. I'm not addicted to it. I don't need to beat my time. I'm proud of myself that I did this. Maybe I'll do it again someday. But I'll definitely need to train better and buy a new pair of running shoes. Mine are shot.
After the race, I could barely walk. On Saturday evening, I sang in our Studio Recital and by the time I got home, I was hobbling around like a geriatric. It was SO painful. My knees felt bruised. I iced my knees for a couple hours and slept real good. The next day, my knees were really bad still. Today, I discovered an awkward toe bruise on the very tip of my second toe on my left foot. I knew it hurt! Bruised, indeed. But I can almost walk without complaining again! Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back on my game.
Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and thanks for supporting!
 |
| Team World Vision, from Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington |
I'll be frank. I never ever pictured myself doing anything like that before. I'm really proud of myself. I'm not in shape, by any means, and looking in pictures, I can see that I need to lose some significant weight, but nevertheless, I'm really proud of my accomplishment! I finished in under 3 hours, which I guess was my goal? I didn't really set a goal because I pretty much had no idea what to expect. I've never attempted anything like this before, and I didn't really have enough time to do the training schedule as I should have. I kind of just winged it. (Wung it? I feel like that should be the past tense of 'to wing,' but spell check tells me it's not. lol) And it worked out!
We met at the church at 5-stinking-30am and drove in the cold, cold darkness up to Indy. It was an incredible feeling to be in a group of about 10,000 people all shivering and in layers of super attractive running gear (sarcasm, y'all). It was an awesome sense of unity! I love things like that, where you feel so close to the people around you because you're all in the same boat, even though you know nothing about them.
Around mile 1, I broke away from the other 3 girls I was running with because I felt too congested in the mass of people, so I just started to run to the empty holes in the crowd. I'm glad I ran it by myself, because I could set my own pace, walk whenever I felt like it, and act a fool listening to whatever crazy music came up next on my stupid little ipod - anything from random music that Jason put on it, to opera, to Lydia's junior recital, to 90's Christian music. I have exquisite taste. lol
Around mile 2, the sun came out. I got a little toasty, so I threw off my sweatshirt (they donate all the clothes that people throw off during the race). That was maybe a bad choice, because I really needed it when I finished!! But oh well. Someone who doesn't have a sweatshirt at all will benefit this winter from something that I tossed aside.
Around mile 6 or so, John Robertson (College minister at SOCC) and I played the "I'll pass you, then I'll stop and walk, and you pass me, then you stop and walk, then I'll pass you...etc." game for a few miles until a sweet jam came on my piece-of-trash ipod, and I zoomed away! At mile 10, however, I started to feel like death. My hips were hurting, my knees were hurting, my ankles were hurting - everything hurt. I had been smiling the entire race because it was just so fun and exhilarating, and the people cheering us on were awesome!! But at mile 10, I just wanted to be done. Like John said, "If there had been a 'It's not too late to back out' bus, I would have jumped right on it!"
But then at the next water/gatorade station... there was... CANDY!!! I had the most delicious mini Reese's cup in the world. Just the pick-me-up I needed to keep on truckin'.
Brenna and Jason were there cheering for me (and for everyone) at Mile 13, and they took some sweet pictures of my gorgeous self (sarcasm)! I was pumped up, and I ran till the finish line! I think. There's a good chance I walked a little bit - But as soon as I actually could see the finish line, I for real ran! I ran hard! 2:57! It felt so good to be done!
When you finish a race, they throw a medal on your neck, wrap you in a space blanket, and shower you with food and presents! I got a sweet hat, a bagel, granola bar, banana, apple, gatorade, and chocolate milk. And I ate it all. Well, not the hat. But I ate all the food! I was so hungry!
I don't know if I'll ever run another half-marathon. At this point, there's really no reason to. I've done it. I'm not addicted to it. I don't need to beat my time. I'm proud of myself that I did this. Maybe I'll do it again someday. But I'll definitely need to train better and buy a new pair of running shoes. Mine are shot.
After the race, I could barely walk. On Saturday evening, I sang in our Studio Recital and by the time I got home, I was hobbling around like a geriatric. It was SO painful. My knees felt bruised. I iced my knees for a couple hours and slept real good. The next day, my knees were really bad still. Today, I discovered an awkward toe bruise on the very tip of my second toe on my left foot. I knew it hurt! Bruised, indeed. But I can almost walk without complaining again! Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back on my game.
Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and thanks for supporting!
 |
| Mile 13! Almost done! |
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