The Mini

The Mini is coming....next Saturday (May 2) to be exact. I'm excited...but a little nervous. Not so much about how I'll do (I really don't care so long as I finish and don't get forced to ride the bus....not kidding). It's more that I'm afraid I might die. Ha! Not really...but sort of.

My mom and I are going down Friday, the race is Saturday, I'm contemplating trying to catch up with a friend afterward, but I'm pretty sure I'll just pass out and fall asleep. So we'll see how it goes.

The good thing about this whole endeavor is that I actually look forward to running now...so I'm thinking I will at least continue doing a couple miles a few times a week. As for training for another distance run....still undecided. But all in all it's been good.

And many many thanks to my friend from Life group who runs with me, pushes me, and encourages me. Don't think I would have gotten this far without her!

Turns Out I Get Seasick

Yep. I discovered that fun little fact the first night of my cruise when I had to ditch my friend Sarah in the middle of dinner for fear of puking all over the table. Fortunately, I never actually got sick. I made it to the first women's restroom which conveniently was out of order....found my way to the second women's restroom, out of order again! Are you kidding me? So I just walked a lap around the ship, felt much better, returned to the dining room and ate dessert (that was all I was able to make myself eat that night....it was soooooo good.)

So clearly I was on a cruise. We left from Charleston, made 3 stops at different islands in the Bahamas, and a final stop in Port Canaveral, FL before returning to Charleston. It was a great trip...very relaxing. I'm pretty sure we took an afternoon nap every single day, never got up before 10, and spent most of our time in lounge chairs in the sun (when it was sunny and not too cold...) All in all it was good.

A few things I discovered about myself on this trip:

I don't like driving through mountains at night.

I apparently do get seasick

I am a huge dork (ok, I've known that for quite some time....but let's just say it was way more evident on this trip)

I'm really not sure how to barter...(I managed to barter when necessary, but probably not very well...)

I want to go back to the Bahamas. Mostly, I want to live there for awhile with people who call the Bahamas home. Experience what real life is like there....not tourist life.

Sarah's a good traveling buddy.

On another note....in addition to cleaning the rooms daily, the housekeeping team also came in every evening (usually sometime during dinner) to "turn down the sheets," leave Andes mints for us and....A TOWEL ANIMAL!!! That's right....we had an elephant, a snake, a monkey....all sorts of different towel animals left for us on a nightly basis. Sweet! Honestly, I'm pretty low maintenance, so it was kinda silly to me that they turned down the sheets and leave a mint every night...but the towel animals? Oh that was awesome.

Pictures will be coming soon.

Lifelong Friends Part II

St. Louis is awesome. Great friends are even better.

This weekend I got to go see my dear friend and college roommate in St. Louis...and I fell in love with that city (again) and remembered (I had never really forgotten but it just became even more evident) why we were meant to be lifelong friends. I personally think we were meant to always be roommates, but she had to go and get herself engaged and blow that plan! Jeez...

My dear Katie had an itinerary for the weekend that involved an urban chic restaurant, breakfast at the London Tea Room, meals at 2 different Crepe Restaurants, dinner on the roof of her building, strolls through downtown, and a walk around the Wash U campus. Let me just say it was an incredible weekend. (Partly because of the food....GLORIOUS!!! But mostly because I remembered why Katie is such a good friend.)

We would just sit and talk over coffee, tea, gelato...whatever and get lost in conversations about helping people, serving people, how the church can be involved in helping and serving lost and hurting people. We share similar passions but approach them and think about them from different angles, and that is something I love!

Katie is amazing friend. She is a lifelong friend. And I am so thankful for the blessing she is in my life.

*My roomie reunions over the past month have been terrific. My goal is for this to continue for many, many years.

5 Miles

Last Saturday, Sarah and I did 5 miles.  FIVE MILES!!!!  Yea buddy. 

Not gonna lie, we walked a mile in the middle.  But still.....I was pretty pumped.  And Sarah is awesome.  Such a great encourager.  She pushes me even when I say I need to stop.  Running outside and with someone is so much better than inside or by yourself.

Indy Mini here I come!

Lifelong Friends

Two of my college roommates were in town visiting this weekend.  There were 2 sad parts:

1. Katie - my 3rd college roommate and queen of awesomeness - was not here.  I'm still crying over that fact.
2. They left to return to B-town.  Boo.

However, there were many many highlights.  Here are a few.

1. I got the best ab workout of my life (all from laughing.  score!)
2. Collapsing onto my bed giggling and eating peanut brittle immediately upon arrival.
3. Amazing dinner.  A classic "cardboard shack" concoction of pasta deliciousness.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
4. Curulean: Japanese Restaurant/Sushi Lounge of AMAZINGNESS in Winona.  Best meal I've had in a long time...maybe ever.  I want more now.  Now...
5. Reading, chatting, and drinking coffee all morning long.
6. They like (put up with) my dog (when she's well behaved.) 
7. Popcorn.
8. Spontaneous Dance parties in the kitchen
9. French Techno music
10. Falling asleep on the couch watching a movie.

It was a weekend of sharing old memories and making new ones.  They are life long friends and I love them.

Two weeks and I'm going to St. Louis to visit my Katie!  More epic greatness to come.

But for now...I am content, having had an amazing weekend with great people.

*There may or may not be pictures coming soon.  Fortunately I was the only one taking pictures all weekend...so that means I am in COMPLETE CONTROL of what gets posted.  (evil grin)

Impress or Impact

I was visiting a church this past weekend for work, and got the chance to hear a different Pastor preach...and I was challenged!  Love it when that happens...

Have you ever considered the difference between Impressing someone versus Impacting someone?  I never really had, but he offered a good thought.

You can impress someone in the short term....but impacting someone takes long-term effort and energy.

You see, impressing someone can be fairly simple, it doesn't necessarily take a lot of time, and the person you are trying to impress doesn't need to have a deep understanding of who you are.  You can keep them at arms length, yet let them get just close enough to impress them.

Yet impacting takes work.  It's difficult, it takes time, and it requires closeness: them in your space, and you in theirs.

I think this rings true in many areas of life....not just relationally.  Take a job for instance.  In the short term, you can come in, show proficiency, keep things running smoothly, and earn praise and accolades.  But have you made a dramatic difference?  Have you tried to leave a lasting impact in the organization?

Often in our lives, we sail through the impressing phase, hit a difficult spot...and rather than digging in and fighting through it, we give up thinking "I've done something good here.  It's time to move on."  NO!!!!  The good stuff...the great stuff is just ahead! 

Impact comes when you hit a challenge, dig in, fight through, and come out on the other side.  You've worked hard, taken time, and gotten messy doing it....but what a glorious mess.

I'm tired of just making an impression...I want to make an impact. 

Finding the Bright Spots

It's been an interesting/chaotic/rough week.  Lots of stuff happening...good, bad, and other.  And I'm exhausted.  So I've decided to look for the bright spots of my day that make me smile.  Today's bright spot was early this morning.  

I was up visiting my grandparents last night, and by the time I was ready to head back home with Misha (my dog) in tow...it was super windy, raining/snowing, and altogether gross.  So I stayed at my parent's house and decided I would just leave early this morning to get back to the office.

This morning, I loaded the dog in the car at about 6:30, ran to Starbucks, and was on my way.  I realized after Starbucks that I had forgotten something at the house...so I ran back, left the car running, ran inside and ran back out to find.....

Misha sitting in the driver's seat.  She looked so cute and innocent as if she was saying, "Come on mom...let's go home already!!!!"  I stood in the driveway laughing for a good minute or 2. 

Normally I make Misha ride in the back...but she just looked so stinkin cute that I acquiesced and let her sit in the passenger seat....where she remained with her head in my lap the whole way home.  Awwwwwww.  (Sarah N. please refrain from gagging or mocking me as I know you will upon reading this since I know how much you love Misha and dogs in general....)

It definitely made me smile.

That's all I've got...Now I'm on my way home to run, grab dinner, watch The Office and do massive amounts of laundry.