hi, hello there.

the other day as i was browsing around facebook i saw my dear friend megan's post about claiming the award for the worst blogger ever. knowing megan and all about her adventures in the last few months (seriously this girl is doin big things!) it occured to me that i have also fallen off the bandwagon. originally moving i had said i would keep up with things and continue writing, wellllll that definitely didnt happen and its about time i fixed that!

so lets start with the job and the move. its going great!!! i have made it through 2 retreats, 1 with an 8 member exec board including a sleepover and a trip to the beach, and 1 with 65 members over 2 days learning the ins and outs of guiding campus tours! 

family picture at the beach!

things are going to get crazy busy as i am starting my official travel this week and so does our fall event series. i have really fantastic coworkers that have just enveloped me in their circle no problem:) they are some of the nicest, most welcoming people i have ever met! i have also settled in from the move to my little town. i have a routine now through the week that seems to fit it all in, i think. many have asked how it is moving from such a big city of vegas to the college town of statesboro? truth is, its very similar to flagstaff, the town i went to college in. the bigger adjustment than town size has actually been the adjusting to the south. the humidity down here is unreal, but my hair loves it:) and it rains all the time. which i personally love! the food is for sure different, and i can say that i have officially tried hashbrown casserole haha. ive been here just about 2 months now and things are really good:) i still have my bouts of homesickness that comes in waves, thank goodness for technology that they are all only a phone call or text away!

yes that is candied bacon on top of ice cream.

but we get to tailgate!

and bonfire smores are a normal thing:)

training. many have asked if i am still planning on doing the full marathon next month, so let me clear that up. HELL YES!!!! (seriously have we met people) i have been training like a mad woman and have made it through 10 weeks of training and have logged about 290 miles since the 2nd week in july. boom. 

not too say this hasnt been an incredibly tough process. adjusting to a new climate alone has definitely been rough. i swear i have never, ever sweat so much in my whole life as i have down here haha! sure i would have probably liked to take some time to adjust to my new life before jumping into a training plan, but that isnt how life works, you just gotta go with it. i think its actually been a blessing in disguise. with all of the changes, moving literally from one coast to the other, going from a steady 12% humidity to 75% on a regular basis, to having to find completely new running routes and finding a new gym, running has been the one constant thing in my life that hasnt changed. it may be a new plan but the comfort of sticking to a training plan and knowing that i can do it no matter where i live is incredibly helpful. not to say that i havent fallen apart a few times like after a really tough 1/2 marathon 2 weeks ago in which i fought for every mile after 5 and then had more rough, rough training runs throughout the week. and in those instances i say, thank goodness for an amazing friend and family support team. i am so grateful to be able to reach out to a few new marathoners that i saw struggle through the process a bit and have given me so much great advice in my own struggle. i cant tell you how incredible it has been to have them! 

this happens.

and so does a good recovery:)

so in the theory of changes...there are a few coming for this little blog of mine. its about time actually! it started as something small and has grown a big part of my life but hasnt done much evolving. i think its about time to change that:)

the big, big news!!

hey y'all!!! i swear i am still alive, just writing to from a very different part of the country now...statesboro, ga to be exact!! now let me do some explaining.

after finishing my masters in january i started job searching all over the us. and after quite a few rejection letters i finally got the email i was waiting for, an offer for an interview in georgia! so while in boise i was making plans to return home sunday of memorial day weekend, shop monday for a new suit, and then hop on another plane down south for what i was hoping would be the start of an amazing new adventure. after a whirlwind of interviewing i was back home waiting/crossing every limb i have for the good news phone call. on wednesday, june 5th while on lunch at whole foods i got that fantastic phone call witht the job offer!!! i accepted the job friday morning and started a whole nother whirlwind of my own. there is A LOT more to the craziness of the story but i dont want to bore you with all the details:)

literally the moment after my new boss
offered me the job:)

so i turned in my notice the following wednesday, the 12th, making june 21st my last day of work, and then planning to leave monday the 24th for georgia for a start on july 1st!! told ya it was a whirlwind:) i was lucky to have a great boss that opted to let me make that monday, the 17th my actual last day so i could get ready for the big cross-country move. it was amazing to have a few more days at home to get things figured out, uhaul trucks rented, goodbye parties planned, running in there, and time with the family.

my fantastic parents!

a quick change of plans happened and we actually ended up leaving sunday the 23rd to go stay the night in flagstaff on our way! my bff jessica lives in phoenix, she and my mom came up with a plan to stay that sunday night there so i could see her before leaving! theyre the best:) so my mom and i bid farewell to my dad sunday afternoon and piled into the uhaul for a very slow trek up to 7000 feet flagstaff. it was during the 1st day that we realized a 30 hour gps drive time was going to be a little unrealistic haha. we didnt really take into account a uhaul truck pulling a dolly with my car on it!

my dad giving last minute instructions:)

our route!

of course a stop for late for the train!

after a great night of visiting mom and i headed out to the 40 for the next few days of our adventure. we decided on the way to collect state signs to help pass the time! plus ive never driven cross-country and i needed something to remember it all by:) instead of capturing the arizona sign we opted for a famous one instead...

and so began a crazy 3 day long trek across the us, literally from one coast to the other. i still cant believe my mom put up with that long in a truck! it was incredibly bumpy but the landscape getting greener and greener on our drive across was kind of awesome. we were super lucky to not hit any substantially bad weather. it was however windy from the moment we left vegas consistently until we got to oklahoma city! that was kind of awful i wont lie.

we were only in tennessee for about 2.5 seconds
there wasnt even a good sign for us to stop at!

finally, finally, finally wednesday afternoon we crossed into georgia!! made our way through atlanta to statesboro pulling in around 1030p. 1st thing we did after checking into our hotel was get my poor car off that damn dolly! plus we were so happy to be in something that didnt feel ever rock/crack/pebble/bump when we went over it to go find dinner that night, which unfortunately meant another night of fast food:/ thursday though we actually got to sleep in and spent the day house hunting! i had a few leads on things it was just a matter of physically seeing them and then making a decision. after seeing a few great ones, and a few not so great things, i decided on a 3 bedroom house with a roommate! she amazingly let me move in the next day-well to the living room at least. she had just started roommate hunting and didnt know they would find someone so quick so they still needed to paint etc. which was ok because we had plans to spend the weekend in savannah with my great aunt and uncle anyway before my mom went home.

my new digs:)

my fantastic mama!

that sunday i had to put her on a plane back to vegas and it was very sad to be honest:( we are super close and she was so amazing to drive all that way with me and help me move in. it was nice that she was on summer vacation! last monday the 1st i began my job. let me tell you, working a full week after being off for 2 was rough lol. and i am no longer living in the living room! i spent just about all last week moving in and getting settled. my new comforter arrived monday, the last big piece to my new room.

oh, i forgot to tell you what im doing! i am working in admissions, running the campus visit program, advising the volunteer tour group, and coordinating different recruiting events on and off campus! it is so seriously right up my alley and has already been a great adventure! i am almost done with week 2 already. i have met some amazing people and everyone here is sooo super nice, welcoming, and just darn excited im here:) i have been waiting for an opportunity like this for a really long time and am so excited its finally here!! its the start of a grand new adventure in life both professionally and professionally:) did i mention i was really, really excited about it all??!! i cant thank everyone enough for their love and support these last few months in helping me get here:) so follow me along this new adventure of working, running, and living in the south. i cant wait to experience and share it all!!

welcome to the south.
we have margaritas in mason jars here:)

the 4 year runniversary.

in my general nerdiness, i know exactly the day i began running. that would be today! its a day that changed so much in my life and who knows where i would be without it. heres the recaps of the last 2 years in case you havent read them. so in honor i put in some double digit miles this flat, downhill miles that ended at my favorite breakfast place in vegas! it let me think about the last year and the races/places i got to do/see and some of the outside things that changed too. i was also rewarded with this...

helll-o red velvet coffee cake!

#8 the et 1/2 marathon

rachel, nv

august 4th, 2012

2:18:41!

holy omg this one was tough! it started at midnight just outside area 51, and ps i am totally afraid of the dark. a headlight was required and the course was no joke. the 1st 6.5 miles were straight up a 800 foot elevation gain. luckily the last 6.5 were a straight shot down to the little ale-inn. 

#9 the nike womens 1/2 marathon

san francisco, ca

october 14th, 2012

2:08:34!

i finally made it through the lottery and into the race! it was as amazing as i was hoping it would be and a vacay with some of my favorite people to boot. the super hilly course was nothin to laugh at. but the bling, was 1000% worth it:)

#10 saints and sinners 1/2 marathon

boulder city, nv

october 20th, 2012

1:57:15!!!

so i got a little crazy and decided to sign up for back to back halves, just to see if i could do it. for the record...i totally can. and can totally rock it!

#11 the kaiser permanete southern california 1/2 marathon

irvine, ca

january 12th, 2013

1:56:03

this wasnt in the original plan. it actually came right in the middle of training for surf city the next month. while in town for my grandpas 80th birthday i needed a 12 mile training run and found a 1/2 only 3 miles from the hotel. some quick convincing to my friend jen and i had a buddy that paced me all the way to a shiny new pr!

#12 surf city 1/2 marathon

huntington beach, ca

february 5th, 2013 

1:58:03!

a long time in the making, this was a half run half cheer on friends from college to their 1st full marathon event! the weekend turned into a big reunion and i had a blast:) 

i did of course also have a lot of fun this year...

 midnight 5k

st george, ut

may 26th, 2012

27:08!

tarmisha decided she wanted to run a 5k and it doesnt take very much to convince sandy and i to run:) so we headed up north 1 friday after work to st george and ran at midnight! it was so fun.

roadrunner 4th of july 5k blast

las vegas, nv 

july 4th, 2012

27:30!

instead of the traditional morning 5k on 4th of july, sandy found a night one instead. a few light up tiaras later we had ourselves 1 very festive group!

 police and fire 10k

las vegas, nv

august 11th, 2012

57:34!

ive never done 2 races on back to back weekends before, but came home with a win in my age group for a fun experiment! ran into lots of runner group friends and even saw sno-cones at the finish line. only in vegas haha!

ragnar relay series

las vegas, nv

november 9th-10th

 

i had been dying to this 200 mile overnight relay for quite some time. 2012 was finally the year to do it! i joined a team with sandy and had an amazing time being stuck in a van for 30 hours with 5 other girls chasing another van plus getting out a running a total of 21 miles as well. it was a total blast! 

10k turkey trot

dana point, ca

november 22nd, 2012

52:59!!!!

with how much fun my mom and i had at the 4th of july race the turkey trot it didnt take much convincing to get in a few miles before all the turkey family fun! i think this is for sure going to be a new tradition:) plus a shiny new 10k pr is always good.

the ugly sweater run

las vegas, nv

decemeber 15th, 2012

 

who doesnt want to hunt for an ugly sweater then run it? joined by some new ragnar friends (seriously, those girls are lifers) we headed to fremont street dressed up and on the hunt for beer and hot chocolate. soo fun!

the color run 

las vegas, nv

february 16th, 2013

we had such a blast year, there was no way we were missin it this year! next time though, we will not line up in the way way back haha.

the hot chocolate 15k

san diego, ca

march 24th, 2013

1:23:07!

chocolate at the finish line plus a sparkle skirt and wings? wow my mom will let me talk her into just about anything;) but omg was it worth it!

wow i spent a lot of the year running! i had a blast and cant wait to see what this new year brings:) now off to enjoy this...

clearly my mom and i think alike;)

i am runner strong.

monday was a bad day. a bad day for the people of boston. a bad day for runners. a bad day for americans. and a bad day for the running community all over the world. it was supposed to be a good day, a great day actually. it was patriots day, the running of the 117th boston marathon, and opening day for the red sox. but it wasnt, it was a bad day. 

source

i was off that day. i had been sick all weekend and still couldnt muster the energy to go to work. on the couch after eating the 1st decent breakfast id had in 3 days, i got the notification from nbc on my iphone that 2 explosions had happened at the finish line of the boston marathon. i couldnt believe it. it couldnt possibly be real. for the rest of the day i watched the cnn coverage of the attack, took a phone call from my very cute concerned aunt, constantly updated my twitter feed to check on friends, and sat there in utter disbelief like everyone else. i couldnt believe it. why would someone take such a sacred and joyous day to turn it into a horribly, bad day.

 

this will always be what i think of when someone brings up
the boston marathon finish line. one bad day doesnt get
to change that. (source)

all day yesterday i read so many people's beautiful, heartfelt posts and just didnt know that i could compete. not that this is in any way a competition! i just didnt know that what i would write could stand up to what they had already said. and so my blog sat, rather quiet for the day, when it should have something very runnery, very inspiring to say.

then i got an email about what i would be doing saturday morning. as part of my new years running resolution i decided i really wanted to volunteer at a few events this year. race volunteers are truly amazing and i thought it was about time i got my butt in gear. so a few weeks ago i signed up for the rage triathlon, the race i did last year, to do just that! fast forward to today and an email bounced in my inbox about what i would be doing. after i got over the shock that iI need to be there at 530a i read on to find out i would be at the swim area to begin working crowd control. after that was over i would head over to the finish line to help for the rest of the day. i was totally stoked! they warned to bring extra sunscreen and comfortable shoes since it would be a long day.

just before the race started last year.

my day continued on and i was totally excited that i would be so involved in the race. and then it hit me, i would be part of the finish line crew, just like so many of the brave volunteers that ran right to where the people that needed the most help where and where the blasts when off. not that this race is anything nearly as big as boston, but it made ya think for about a half a second. and then the true runner/american/spunky girl in me came flying out. no way was i letting some coward make me afraid to run a race, or spectate a race, or volunteer at a race! i LOVE this sport. running turned my whole life upside down and helped me find who i really am. that's the beauty of running, it can be whatever you need it to be.

plus, EVERYONE deserves this feeling.

so this saturday i will arrive at boulder beach at 530am with a very big coffee in hand to be a part of a race. and i will continue to toe the start line of half marathons big or small. and on october 27th i will line up with 30,000 of my closest friends to run the marine corps marathon because it's part of who i am. and no one gets to take that away because i am runner strong.

source

the graduate.

so its been just over a month since i finished school and for some reason i havent been able to write about it all yet. i have tried a few times, mostly ending with me staring at a blank page. its almost a little unreal to be done. and to say that i have a masters degree. plus i will have no more homework ever again! it was kind of awesome getiing ready for surf city and not having to worry about what was due or finishing up things before i left. the other free days during the week are friggin sweet as well:)

the crazy thing is it was right about 2 years ago, almost exactly that i made the decision to go back to school. (read all about it here!) there were definitely some naysayers, actually quite a few that told me there would a lot of things i would have to give up. for example, i probably wouldnt run as much. i most likely wouldnt travel very often. i really wouldnt have much of a life at all with working full time. even with all those scary thoughts i embarked anyway!

the life of a runner and a grad student.

it was hard, i cant even lie. and there were many a days i thought it wasnt ever going to end or that i could just stop. but then as the classes started to tick off and the months started flying by i realized how fast this was really going to go. so i bucked up, figured out a schedule that finally worked, and became determined to finish! i pushed out the people that told me it was too much work or that it was a silly thing to even be doing. i focused and relied on the people that were crazy supportive instead, luckily there were a lot more of those than the other:)

as my last class finally came to a close it all started getting real, really real. and after staying up until 2am on a saturday night to finish my nightmareishly long 30 page paper because i just couldnt look at it anymore, i was done. all i had to do was read over it and turn it in. i had really finished! i told my mom that once the paper was done all i wanted was a cupcake from the cupcakery to celebrate. so as i came bouncing downstairs that sunday-at about 2 in the afternoon-i was finally able to tell her it was time for cupcakes! it was the first of many celebrations:)

that monday i turned in my monster paper-that wasnt actually due till wednesday, yay me-and waited for my final grade. i had about 30 points to play with and still keep my a in the class. and i waited. and waited. and waited some more. and waited. then, on friday morning that week when i was off and we were leaving that afternoon for my grandpas birthday i got my official grade on the paper...and 88%!! which added up meant i got a 95% in the class! which really meant i had completed my masters program with a 4.0!!

to continue the celebration i did when any normal runner does, i ran a 1/2 marathon with my favorite running buddy jen:) i know, totally normal! the original plan was to have a graduation party in vegas that weekend but when your grandpa turns 80 and has a party, he pretty much wins haha. so i decided on having the next weekend instead!

after some serious searching for the right place i found bjs cocktail lounge. it had a great atmosphere, friendly, and had a pool table so people had some things to do. the people there were great and let me bring in all kinds of decorations. jessica flew out from denver to join in the festivities, and i had family come from all over! there was cake of course-whats a party without cake-that was delicious. we had a blast and had soo many different people came to have a drink or 2!

jessica stayed for a few extra days and in true style we decided to make the most of our time. which in our case meant a trip to some place special...

it only took 1 quick question from jessica for us to end up here!

i LOVE her:)

i had been saying for months that when i graduated i wanted to go buy something from tiffanys for myself as a reward for finishing. well after some looking i realized that may not be the most feasible thing ever and there wasnt anything that super caught my attention. so instead i set out to buy myself a watch! i havent had one since i worked at old navy almost 3 years ago because i was everyones time keeper for everything. soon it just became associated with work and i took it off the moment i was off. but i began thinking how much i really wanted now. so after some hunting i picked out a perfect one from fossil that i love! it was the perfect gift:)

i couldnt get a good picture, so i had to borrow!source

now that ive been done for that month ive been doing some adjusting. its weird to not have worry about homework on wednesday nights. or wonder when was the last time i logged into post something for attendance. when i went out of town the last 2 times i didnt have to even think about homework. i did think i would have so much more time then i actually do. kind of makes me wonder how i even made it all fit for that long! i did start to think about the naysayers the other day and all the things they told me i couldnt do. when i actually thought about it, i realized how many things i really did do, and there were quite a few!

*trained for and completed 6 1/2 marathons-cut back on running my ass

*traveled to england for one of my best friends weddings

*held my full time job successfully

*trained for and completed an olympic triathlon

*became single and even more independent

*finally got to participate in ragnar

*lost 25 pounds

oh and yes, i will participate in a graduation ceremony in the early summer. where and when is still being worked out with my advisor. who knows where this will take me next. i have some big picture ideas im working on now. i was finally able to sit down and write this when it all became very real upon coming home one night to a package on my front doorstep. my diploma was inside:) its really real now! 

master of arts in education
higher & postsecondary education