My computer crashed. :( Sad day. I had just uploaded a ton of pictures, too!
I tried reviving it, and even took it to a specialist but it was very persistent about dying. :/
No more blog posts until I find a new one.....................LAME.
All my love!!!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving
....is my favorite holiday.
I recently watched a stand-up comedy show where the dude (Jim Gaffigan) sorta made fun of Americans in that we didn't really try for a holiday: "so......our national holiday is specifically set aside so that we can eat until we literally feel like we might actually explode?!.....................don't we do that EVERY DAY!?" and he went on and on "ohhh wait! this day is different - we choose to surround ourselves with people we hate as well!!"
ha. ha. ha.
I know it probably is like that a little bit for some people on Thanksgiving - but I genuinely love it.
I may be guilty of overindulging in food more than once a year (or more than 100x per year for that matter...) - but I freaking love Thanksgiving food....and I freaking LOVE my family / friends that I get to share it with.
So there.
I am thankful for so many things this year I wouldn't even really know where to begin.
Probably most importantly I'm grateful for vanilla beans, coffee, butter, wine, and anything covered in chocolate (mmmm chocolate). :) - kidding. Well, actually, I'm absolutely thankful for those things (life would be so sad without them!) - but there are more pressing feelings of praise to express.
My faith in the Lord. I am always hesitant to post on Facebook or here much about my relationship with God for a few reasons........most of them are relatively silly to be quite honest. Firstly - I know first hand that when one says the name "Jesus" it has this instant "I'm uncomfortable" affect on SO many people it's enough to clear a room.....and no I'm not talkin "hey-zeus" - I'm talkin Jesus - that really important Guy who loves us (get over it. I'm not asking you to join some cult, nor would I ever impose myself on you - but I shouldn't be afraid to express how I feel about something!). Secondly - a relationship like that is pretty personal...intimate even....not necessarily something you share with just anyone.
That said, however, I feel it's so important to just say it out every now and then. I feel so blessed to love and know the Lord. :) It's an unparalleled feeling.
I stumbled across this recently:
"A Woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough. She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in him, she is enough."
I like it.
Moving on to more areas of gratitude, it's always a given that my family/friends are my rock. They are the glue in my life that helps me remember who I am. I would be completely lost without them. They may be crazy, but they're my brand of crazy. If you need cosmos for Christmas cheer - I fully support you.
My job, my school, my silly recreational life (running / cooking / baking). I love love love my life. I definitely tend to be busy - but it's the good kind of busy. The productive / happy kind (that complain about anyways for good measure).
And then there's Noah. He'll probably get all embarrassed and 'mad' that I write about him on this, so I won't say much....only that I am so grateful for him. It's as if my heart is breathing new air...and it's quite sweet and lovely and exciting.
:) - ha. Makes you kinda wanna puke doesn't it?...all this lovey dovey crap.
I love jokes and living most of my life with sarcastic undertones........but deep down, at the heart of it all - I'm nothing but a big hopeful pushover.
Here's to a wonderful day where we get to just reflect on the things we are truly thankful for.
Home to Me - Josh Kelley.......a sweet song from awhile back.
I recently watched a stand-up comedy show where the dude (Jim Gaffigan) sorta made fun of Americans in that we didn't really try for a holiday: "so......our national holiday is specifically set aside so that we can eat until we literally feel like we might actually explode?!.....................don't we do that EVERY DAY!?" and he went on and on "ohhh wait! this day is different - we choose to surround ourselves with people we hate as well!!"
ha. ha. ha.
I know it probably is like that a little bit for some people on Thanksgiving - but I genuinely love it.
I may be guilty of overindulging in food more than once a year (or more than 100x per year for that matter...) - but I freaking love Thanksgiving food....and I freaking LOVE my family / friends that I get to share it with.
So there.
I am thankful for so many things this year I wouldn't even really know where to begin.
Probably most importantly I'm grateful for vanilla beans, coffee, butter, wine, and anything covered in chocolate (mmmm chocolate). :) - kidding. Well, actually, I'm absolutely thankful for those things (life would be so sad without them!) - but there are more pressing feelings of praise to express.
My faith in the Lord. I am always hesitant to post on Facebook or here much about my relationship with God for a few reasons........most of them are relatively silly to be quite honest. Firstly - I know first hand that when one says the name "Jesus" it has this instant "I'm uncomfortable" affect on SO many people it's enough to clear a room.....and no I'm not talkin "hey-zeus" - I'm talkin Jesus - that really important Guy who loves us (get over it. I'm not asking you to join some cult, nor would I ever impose myself on you - but I shouldn't be afraid to express how I feel about something!). Secondly - a relationship like that is pretty personal...intimate even....not necessarily something you share with just anyone.
That said, however, I feel it's so important to just say it out every now and then. I feel so blessed to love and know the Lord. :) It's an unparalleled feeling.
I stumbled across this recently:
"A Woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough. She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in him, she is enough."
I like it.
Moving on to more areas of gratitude, it's always a given that my family/friends are my rock. They are the glue in my life that helps me remember who I am. I would be completely lost without them. They may be crazy, but they're my brand of crazy. If you need cosmos for Christmas cheer - I fully support you.
My job, my school, my silly recreational life (running / cooking / baking). I love love love my life. I definitely tend to be busy - but it's the good kind of busy. The productive / happy kind (that complain about anyways for good measure).
And then there's Noah. He'll probably get all embarrassed and 'mad' that I write about him on this, so I won't say much....only that I am so grateful for him. It's as if my heart is breathing new air...and it's quite sweet and lovely and exciting.
:) - ha. Makes you kinda wanna puke doesn't it?...all this lovey dovey crap.
I love jokes and living most of my life with sarcastic undertones........but deep down, at the heart of it all - I'm nothing but a big hopeful pushover.
Here's to a wonderful day where we get to just reflect on the things we are truly thankful for.
Home to Me - Josh Kelley.......a sweet song from awhile back.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Picture not so perfect....
So...I SUCK at taking pictures....at least at appropriate times. You know what I mean??....friends or family get together - haven't seen em in awhile...have a wonderfully hilarious evening together only to have no pictures to help remember it! I hate that! And who likes a blog post without pictures anyway right??
Too many words!! Not enough visuals! :) That's how I feel at least.
On that note.....let me write. :)
Today has been probably the most unproductive day I've had all year. Last night was a wonderful evening spent with a bunch of good girls doing silly things / drinking too much champagne......today I've literally spent all day recovering....apparently I am no longer young and unaffected by alcohol (my new running shoes are taunting me in my room...but sudden movements make me queasy).
While I can't quite bring myself to study for my quiz on Monday....I am also unable to sleep any more...so here I am!.............and I have no idea what to write about.
Life?
Sure.
It's been just fine. Same story, different day. I've started the painstaking process of nursing school applications again....mainly just filling them out for practice (ha) so that I can perfect the art come Spring. I have to say, I've been relatively discouraged by this whole thing (shocking right?). I want nothing more than to just be a nurse. To serve people like that. Unfortunately, I am consistently bogged down by feelings of exceedingly low confidence. SIDENOTE: this is not a cry for help. I'm not fishing for words of encouragement - just merely stating my feelings on the topic. The points system is just that.....a system....and a skewed one at that. The more points you have, the more likely you are to get in. Sounds simple right? WRONG. You get 5 points if you live in Albany, and 1 point if you have a phD....Amber pointed that one out - and seriously what the EFF is up with THAT?! (not that I have a phD - but you get my point right?!) NO POINTS for experience....zero / nada / zip.......but rather acceptance literally hangs on grades and essay points. Ugh. I am not stupid - I know this....but I'm also not a straight A student - and I am DWELLING on that fact. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm terrified that I am going to be in school the rest of my life. ugh.
haha says the 5 year old girl throwing a temper tantrum.
To soothe my frustrations I've started pondering all schooling options. LBCC is NOT my only option (thank GOD). So we will see.
Just know.........that it's a sensitive subject. And pray with all your heart that I get accepted SOMEWHERE this year so that I don't go off the deep end of insanity. :)
Work has been BUSY. I always boast about loving my job - and I do! I really truly love it. I love my work family, and I LOVE that every single day I honestly clock out having learned something new........but oh man we've been busy! And I'm tired! :) Thank goodness for my wacky schedule and the fact that I now have 5 days off to forget about it all!
We had some really sweet patients this week though. I had one lady (84 years old) telling me love stories like you wouldn't believe. I got sad when we couldn't chat anymore because it was time to make her sleepy. She was SO faithful, and just so so so filled with hope that I couldn't help, but feel uplifted. There's an ongoing joke at work that I should quit my role as 'anesthesia tech' and just be the "OR Greeter." YES PLEASE!!! I want that job. "Hi! Welcome to surgery!! We will be removing your appendix today! Are you warm enough? Is there anything I can get you (that's not food or water)?? Would you care to have a nice chat and tell me all about your life before you drift off into dreamland? YOU WOULD!!?? Excellent." I love talking to patients......at least the ones that aren't super whiney and obnoxious. No offense....but seriously some people need to get over themselves. I understand that your hand is just excruciating right now - but you should have thought about that BEFORE sticking it in the lawn mower blades.............
Kidding. I'm not usually that heartless. Compassion is huge at the hospital....but humor is definitely necessary.
FOR EXAMPLE:
This is a funny story....LAUGH.
:)
A couple of weeks ago I was helping transport a vented (someone breathing with assistance) patient from surgery back up to ICU when their arterial line came disconnected at one of it's little hubs. I'm not sure how many of you have cut through an artery for fun - but those suckers have STRONG blood flow. Literally within seconds it looked as if there was a brutal stabbing down the length of the hallway (the public hallway, I might add). Terrible?? YES. Blood loss to the patient?? Minimal (I reconnected it as soon as I noticed that my pants were all wet...gross). The look on housekeeping's face?? Pretty hilarious......
I helped clean up! I'm just saying...ya gotta laugh. Ish happens. Such is life.
I can't even tell you how many stories I have (everyone has) like that. I may start a blog just for them............................somehow I have to find time for all these ideas. :)
On that anti-climactic note....here are some pictures I've found on my phone...some old, some newer....mostly all taken at awkward times....but at least they're pics!
That's all I got. :) Enjoy. Happy Saturday. All my love and all that jazz.
What would life be like if we could see the soul of each person, rather than what we see on the outside?
Too many words!! Not enough visuals! :) That's how I feel at least.
On that note.....let me write. :)
Today has been probably the most unproductive day I've had all year. Last night was a wonderful evening spent with a bunch of good girls doing silly things / drinking too much champagne......today I've literally spent all day recovering....apparently I am no longer young and unaffected by alcohol (my new running shoes are taunting me in my room...but sudden movements make me queasy).
While I can't quite bring myself to study for my quiz on Monday....I am also unable to sleep any more...so here I am!.............and I have no idea what to write about.
Life?
Sure.
It's been just fine. Same story, different day. I've started the painstaking process of nursing school applications again....mainly just filling them out for practice (ha) so that I can perfect the art come Spring. I have to say, I've been relatively discouraged by this whole thing (shocking right?). I want nothing more than to just be a nurse. To serve people like that. Unfortunately, I am consistently bogged down by feelings of exceedingly low confidence. SIDENOTE: this is not a cry for help. I'm not fishing for words of encouragement - just merely stating my feelings on the topic. The points system is just that.....a system....and a skewed one at that. The more points you have, the more likely you are to get in. Sounds simple right? WRONG. You get 5 points if you live in Albany, and 1 point if you have a phD....Amber pointed that one out - and seriously what the EFF is up with THAT?! (not that I have a phD - but you get my point right?!) NO POINTS for experience....zero / nada / zip.......but rather acceptance literally hangs on grades and essay points. Ugh. I am not stupid - I know this....but I'm also not a straight A student - and I am DWELLING on that fact. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm terrified that I am going to be in school the rest of my life. ugh.
haha says the 5 year old girl throwing a temper tantrum.
To soothe my frustrations I've started pondering all schooling options. LBCC is NOT my only option (thank GOD). So we will see.
Just know.........that it's a sensitive subject. And pray with all your heart that I get accepted SOMEWHERE this year so that I don't go off the deep end of insanity. :)
Work has been BUSY. I always boast about loving my job - and I do! I really truly love it. I love my work family, and I LOVE that every single day I honestly clock out having learned something new........but oh man we've been busy! And I'm tired! :) Thank goodness for my wacky schedule and the fact that I now have 5 days off to forget about it all!
We had some really sweet patients this week though. I had one lady (84 years old) telling me love stories like you wouldn't believe. I got sad when we couldn't chat anymore because it was time to make her sleepy. She was SO faithful, and just so so so filled with hope that I couldn't help, but feel uplifted. There's an ongoing joke at work that I should quit my role as 'anesthesia tech' and just be the "OR Greeter." YES PLEASE!!! I want that job. "Hi! Welcome to surgery!! We will be removing your appendix today! Are you warm enough? Is there anything I can get you (that's not food or water)?? Would you care to have a nice chat and tell me all about your life before you drift off into dreamland? YOU WOULD!!?? Excellent." I love talking to patients......at least the ones that aren't super whiney and obnoxious. No offense....but seriously some people need to get over themselves. I understand that your hand is just excruciating right now - but you should have thought about that BEFORE sticking it in the lawn mower blades.............
Kidding. I'm not usually that heartless. Compassion is huge at the hospital....but humor is definitely necessary.
FOR EXAMPLE:
This is a funny story....LAUGH.
:)
A couple of weeks ago I was helping transport a vented (someone breathing with assistance) patient from surgery back up to ICU when their arterial line came disconnected at one of it's little hubs. I'm not sure how many of you have cut through an artery for fun - but those suckers have STRONG blood flow. Literally within seconds it looked as if there was a brutal stabbing down the length of the hallway (the public hallway, I might add). Terrible?? YES. Blood loss to the patient?? Minimal (I reconnected it as soon as I noticed that my pants were all wet...gross). The look on housekeeping's face?? Pretty hilarious......
I helped clean up! I'm just saying...ya gotta laugh. Ish happens. Such is life.
I can't even tell you how many stories I have (everyone has) like that. I may start a blog just for them............................somehow I have to find time for all these ideas. :)
On that anti-climactic note....here are some pictures I've found on my phone...some old, some newer....mostly all taken at awkward times....but at least they're pics!
This one really captures my double-chin quite nicely. I'm not 100% sure what the ice pack is for - but I remember my arm hurting a LOT, and my sweet recovery nurses (Kelly / Tracy) fashioning me a boo-boo healer.
Ruby and I went to the frolic last year. Such a cute cowgirl! I miss her!
JennyJen dancing her heart out.....as she likes to do. :)
This was after a delicious dinner at my parents this summer post Da Vinci Days I believe. Scotty, Crystal, Laura, Jimmy, Noah and myself all went for a long sunset walk. Jimmy is jumping for joy!
Dr. Taylor (little dude in green) saving our patient, Bob (caped metal dude) while Sonny provides anesthesia........normal.
MY WORST FEAR.
Bad (yet kinda cool?) lighting of Ava "messing with the chickens!!!!!". She kept screaming that over and over again. It's pouring down rain right now, and sadly, my bike is still in that exact same spot. :/
Important form from work. :)
Kevin on his birthday this past year.............we made him do a lil birthday shot. :) ugh. the idea sounds TERRIBLE right now.......
Coolest truck at the hospital. It is literally LESS THAN AN INCH off the ground! Look at that! Low-ridin........no big deal.
Remember this!? Best sushi night EVER. Jenna come back. Nathan make this!
AND.........I started getting into the whole photo thing and found some oldies......but goodies......
Me: badass. Laura: annoying. Typical. :) Love you sissy!
Yep. Just eatin dinner at the ping pong table with my sloppy joe hat on.........
I want to cuddle MYSELF in this picture. How stinkin cute is THAT???
That's all I got. :) Enjoy. Happy Saturday. All my love and all that jazz.
What would life be like if we could see the soul of each person, rather than what we see on the outside?
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
H.A.W.A.I.I.
Welllllllll...considering Jenna's next guests have already left her lovely island - I've decided I should get on the ball and start posting some pics from this crazy adventure!
So without further ado......here's a bunch of pictures.....maybe I'll sit down and write one of these days too. :/
So without further ado......here's a bunch of pictures.....maybe I'll sit down and write one of these days too. :/
First night sunset.....
First mai-tai on the beach.....
BEAUTIFUL date night with Jenna and Nikki (Nicci?) - view from some make-out point....we ate mochi ice cream instead......
Part of the trail that I hiked......incredible!
Tentatively taking pictures at the top.....TERRIFIED.
Please turn back............or DIE.
Shaking arms..............gotta prove I was there!
Don't forget to wipe your shoes while hiking!!!
Ah.........leisure time again. I miss the beach. :(
Dole plantation!! Only appropriate for me to stick my head in a pineapple.... :)
How cute are YOU!?
Easy navigation to wherever you want to go AFTER the plantation...
SUNRISE at the beach! How cool!!!
My smokin (literally) drink!! Jenna ordered it for me because it looked so fun......turns out it was $20. OOPS! SUCH a fun evening with not just Phil and Jenna (and baby) - but Freddie and Erica were also there!! Cool Oregon crowd!
These trees are so incredible they look fake!!
SERIOUSLY?!
One of the many waterfalls we visited.........very lovely. :) We even swam in one!
I cried when I went through security to come home..........not kidding.
Miss you sweet Jenna (and your little lady in your tummy).
Loved Hawaii. Can't wait to go back!
Previous post basically sums it all up - life is busy busy busy....but so wonderful.
Until next time.........
LOVE
-Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
-Be at rest once more, oh my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
Psalm 116
S.O.T.W. - Joy, Page CXVI
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
BUSY.
Well fall is here....and although it is absolutely wonderful outside (yenno....leaves are turning, air is cool and sweet to breathe)...my life has picked up again.
Work is just as prevalent as ever and it's not that I don't love what I do....I just wish it could sometimes be more of an optional thing yenno? Like...what if instead of doing that heart case today - we all just went out to breakfast instead? Bloodies anyone? Bacon???
Oh......right. The patient with their failing heart. Sigh. Skip the bacon and off to work.
In addition to my silly "have to pay the bills" schedule, I'm also a student again. I'm excited to be one step closer to nursing school (SO MANY STEPS)...but I can't say that I entirely felt the same joy my professor did tonight whilst discussing the "excitingly awesome" world of enzymes and substrates.
Ugh.
Oh well. So. Yeah. Back to the grind has me a little worse for wear as far as time management goes...but I'm working on it!
I am planning a whole post on Hawaii / Florence / summer in general - but this is really all I can manage right now. :) Promise I'm working on it though!!
Teaser pics:
I did this INCREDIBLE (seriously most amazing hike of my life) hike up one of the ridges on the island, called Kuli'ou'ou. It was beautiful.....but challenging. I started counting stairs towards the end and got to around 330 before I realized it was actually just depressing me to know. So beautiful though! SO SO beautiful.
Jenna and I...just bein cool. Hangin out by the ocean. About 10 minutes after this pic was taken I got stung by a jellyfish. It's out there in that wave right there....
Freakin Jelly.......
Ah well - love you all. More to come! :)
Song this week: Star Mile, Joshua Radin.
For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.
Sadness flies on the wings of the morning, and out of the heart of darkness comes the light.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
H2C 2011!!!!!
So........sometime late summer 2008, my friend Candace asked me if I would be interested in running "hood to coast" with her and a team of 12 from Portland. Having JUST then mastered running a little over a mile, I decided I was up for the challenge (ha.....what was I thinking?!). I'd heard of hood to coast before, but as I wasn't a diehard runner (or exerciser in general, for that matter)...I really had no real understanding of what I was getting myself into.
Hood to coast is described as "the mother of all relays" and honestly.....there really is nothing like it. You have to experience it to understand. I did just that in August 2009. I remember thinking during my first run (which was 7.2 miles in the HOT sun on HWY 26) "I am NEVER doing this again. I hate every second of running....why the HELL did I think that this would be fun?!".....................and then seeing that exchange.........the bright cones where zillions of people are waiting for their teammates to come in. I remember seeing my person and thinking "oh my word she's cheering me on!...I can do this!" and somehow mustering up what little strength I had left in me to sprint it home and hand off the 'baton' (aka snap bracelet). The feeling was exhilerating....addicting even............so addicting that I ran it again in 2010 with that same team, and then AGAIN (I must be certifiably CRAZY) this year!
Although I absolutely LOVED my portland team, I decided to do things a little different this year and put together a team a little closer to home. SO.Without further ado I present the names of our 2011 Hood to Coast Team # 90 "CPR Certified"(in their running order):
1. Kay Miller 7. Lisa Hudson
2. Jesse Staggs 8. Ben Wallace
3. Myself 9. Tyler Bushnell
4. Candace Loretz 10. Windy Noss
5. Maria Dunn 11. Robin Wade
6. Charla Staggs 12. Danny Dill
Runners 1-6 were in "Van 1" and 7-12 "Van 2." The basic breakdown of the race is to literally RUN (relay style!) from Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood to the sandy beach at Seaside. THIS IS 200 MILES. All the while we have drivers taking care of us (THANK YOU Dexter and Amber!), and making sure we get to our exchanges on time.
We ran, this year, in 30:10. That's an average pace of 9:05 per mile......which is so stinkin awesome I can barely contain my pride for my team.
The race is HUGE....bigger than huge......it's gargantuom!!! (how the heck do you even spell that?!) - There are thousands of people running.......thousands of vans/people decked out in hilarious garb. You see team names such as "Go NADS, honeybadgers, roadkill grill, run lola run (while wearing red wigs the whole race), etc"...........and the costumes did not disappoint either.
All hilarity aside though, the main point of this race is shown through the team work and cooperation it takes to finish the damn thing. You have 12 people signed up to RUN from point A to point B to get you just that many miles closer to that lovely sea breeze. They are committed to getting less than 2 hours of sleep in a 30-40 hour period of time (I think our van averaged about 45 minutes per person), cramming themselves in a stinky sweaty van, and eating nothing but nuts and bananas for an unreasonably (and probably unhealthily) LONG amount of hours, and all the while having a SMILE on their face. WTF. I mean I complained and whined just as much as the next person - but I could never have done anything like this without the sheer dedication of my teammates. We freaking rocked it. And I feel so blessed / grateful to have this experience in my memory now.
OK. I'm over typing. Let's look at pictures!!!!! :)
Hood to coast is described as "the mother of all relays" and honestly.....there really is nothing like it. You have to experience it to understand. I did just that in August 2009. I remember thinking during my first run (which was 7.2 miles in the HOT sun on HWY 26) "I am NEVER doing this again. I hate every second of running....why the HELL did I think that this would be fun?!".....................and then seeing that exchange.........the bright cones where zillions of people are waiting for their teammates to come in. I remember seeing my person and thinking "oh my word she's cheering me on!...I can do this!" and somehow mustering up what little strength I had left in me to sprint it home and hand off the 'baton' (aka snap bracelet). The feeling was exhilerating....addicting even............so addicting that I ran it again in 2010 with that same team, and then AGAIN (I must be certifiably CRAZY) this year!
Although I absolutely LOVED my portland team, I decided to do things a little different this year and put together a team a little closer to home. SO.Without further ado I present the names of our 2011 Hood to Coast Team # 90 "CPR Certified"(in their running order):
1. Kay Miller 7. Lisa Hudson
2. Jesse Staggs 8. Ben Wallace
3. Myself 9. Tyler Bushnell
4. Candace Loretz 10. Windy Noss
5. Maria Dunn 11. Robin Wade
6. Charla Staggs 12. Danny Dill
Runners 1-6 were in "Van 1" and 7-12 "Van 2." The basic breakdown of the race is to literally RUN (relay style!) from Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood to the sandy beach at Seaside. THIS IS 200 MILES. All the while we have drivers taking care of us (THANK YOU Dexter and Amber!), and making sure we get to our exchanges on time.
We ran, this year, in 30:10. That's an average pace of 9:05 per mile......which is so stinkin awesome I can barely contain my pride for my team.
The race is HUGE....bigger than huge......it's gargantuom!!! (how the heck do you even spell that?!) - There are thousands of people running.......thousands of vans/people decked out in hilarious garb. You see team names such as "Go NADS, honeybadgers, roadkill grill, run lola run (while wearing red wigs the whole race), etc"...........and the costumes did not disappoint either.
All hilarity aside though, the main point of this race is shown through the team work and cooperation it takes to finish the damn thing. You have 12 people signed up to RUN from point A to point B to get you just that many miles closer to that lovely sea breeze. They are committed to getting less than 2 hours of sleep in a 30-40 hour period of time (I think our van averaged about 45 minutes per person), cramming themselves in a stinky sweaty van, and eating nothing but nuts and bananas for an unreasonably (and probably unhealthily) LONG amount of hours, and all the while having a SMILE on their face. WTF. I mean I complained and whined just as much as the next person - but I could never have done anything like this without the sheer dedication of my teammates. We freaking rocked it. And I feel so blessed / grateful to have this experience in my memory now.
OK. I'm over typing. Let's look at pictures!!!!! :)
Top of DA MOUNTAIN!
Re-create pic from 2 years ago! WOO! 2011 was AWESOME!
First hand off - nice one Jesse!
Dex aka "team mom" - always makin sure we had our agua......Mt in the background!
Danny cooling off....
This was somewhere around 11pm...........
2nd van exchange - somewhere around 8am....nice one guys!
Maria kept finding little treasures.......all fun and games until she's running down the road at 3am with a SLEEPING BAG in her arms. Dang girl. We kept it.
Glowy and fun! Notice Jesse's badass attitude.
Ze girls. Robin / Maria.
The field we slept in. Notice how it looks cold?
It was.
We had to pry Jesse / Charla out of their sleeping bags. Jesse wanted to just run in his, but the safety vest wouldn't fit.
Getting closeeeeer!!!!!!!
Charla-la running down the mountain!!!!! YIPEE!! it's only 91 degrees!!
LAST EXCHANGE!! YEAH KAY!!!
Sister / Jimmy were our volunteers - we saw them at one of our exchanges! COOL GUYS!
We made it to the beach!! And this guy had a giant corn dog! We followed this van for a LONG time....Maria needed a pic.
Hello Mr. Crab. We like you better than mountain creatures...
Yesssssssssss! VICTORY.
Post party fun. Yes Noah, I WILL take a back rub.....or 3.
Chris' father in law ran so he participated in the merriment post race. Jesse is sad his glass is empty...
I'm not sure if this is pre or post keg-stand...but that was probably one of the funnier things I've ever witnessed of my dear sister. First one ever.
Awe. :) Clover and I. Her dad freakin rocked it!
Speaking of Danny Dill......
Boys decided to surf the next day....."hey jimmy - how was it?! did you like it?!" upon his first day of surfing.....Jimmy - "HATED EVERY SECOND!! I didn't know I was going to swallow the whole ocean!! GROSS!"
whatever......they're wearing wet suits and lookin good.
Nice sand-beard.
Boys being boys.
All in all the race - and post race festivities were an incredible success! I am sooooooooo happy it's over with - and already looking forward to trying again next year.
WHO'S WITH ME!? :)
Love you all. I'll probably write more later.....but for now - this will do. :)
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