Back to Reality . . .

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to travel down to beautiful Destin, Florida for some time at the beach.  I've taken this trip each of the past 3 Aprils for the Fudpuckers Volleyball Tournament.  My roommate always plays in the tournament and it's fun to watch her, but for me, this 4-day mini-vacation is all about laying on the beach doing nothing but soaking up the sun and drinking some ice-cold Coors Light.  Honestly, it's a little slice of heaven!

And of course, on the Monday morning we have to leave to head back to real life, it's always slightly depressing.  However, this year, what I was greeted with on Tuesday morning as I returned to the office made my return to reality even more depressing . . . or should I say disgusting.  This is what was at my desk on Tuesday . . .

That's right folks, I was greeted by a mousetrap . . . at my desk.  Who does this little critter think he (or she) is?  I mean how rude to attack my place of work as I'm coming back from vacation and trying to readjust.  Diving back into the real world is hard enough after a few days away, and now I have to watch out for rodents?!?!?!  I might just have to take a "sick" day to deal with this!  :)

Anyway, just wanted to share the "extracurricular" activity that's happening in my office.  Anyone want to head back to Florida with me?

I almost peed my pants . . .

To get to my friends in time. This past Saturday morning, I woke up at the ungodly time of 5:30 AM to make the drive to Lexington for a great day at Keeneland with the best friends a girl could ask for. I opted out of driving the night before because- and this won't surprise any of you who know me decently well- I have a severe case of road rage, and the traffic I would have encountered on Friday night would have definitely put me over the edge. So I figured I would save the other drivers on the road (and myself) from certain disaster by waiting until morning.

My drive went by fairly quickly thanks to the super-sized Vanilla Iced Latte from McDonald's and my new CDs (thanks Drew!). However, also thanks to the Vanilla Iced Latte, I found myself with an extremely full-bladder about 45 minutes from my destination. This did not fit into my plan, and nothing was going to stand in the way of me getting to my friends or Keeneland on time! So . . . I drove on. I drove the full length of the Bluegrass Parkway and managed to keep myself together until I reached my planned orange juice and champagne stop (a girl has got to have Mimosas at Keeneland right?). And, after I had relieved myself and picked up my party supplies, my friends and I were off to the races!

Now, I'm not telling you this story to impress you with the size of my bladder or to highlight my extreme dedication to sticking to a plan at all costs. I'm sharing this with you because as I was driving and wondering if my bladder would in fact hold out until I made it off the highway, I realized how blessed I am to have friends I would honestly consider peeing my pants for. I mean I was so incredibly excited to see these people, I was willing to go against the laws of nature and ignore a basic bodily function! But, that's what these women are worth to me. That's the impact they've had and continue to have on my life. It's been four years (crazy!) since we've graduated and gone our separate ways, but whenever we get together it feels like we are all living at 325 Columbia Terrace again, sharing the community bathrooms and eating Kevin's extremely unhealthy but oh-so-good family dinners. These friendships have been some of the greatest blessings in my life, and I wouldn't be who I am without these women. Their love and support is unconditional, and I can only hope I give those same things back to each of them.

Well, I could go on forever . . . but I won't. I'll just leave you with a picture of these wonderful women from this past weekend. I mean let's be honest, who wouldn't pee their pants for these girls??

Way Back When . . .

This is my dad . . . with hair . . . in a high school cooking class. I know what you are thinking-- he was a knockout and the ladies were undoubtedly crawling all over him.

I randomly found this picture on my dad's newly established Facebook account. One of his friends was kind enough to tag him in it, giving his oh-so-creative daughter easy access! And, as I believe any good daughter would do, I decided to use it to bring a little joy to myself and my blog readers.

But, unexpectedly, finding this picture did more than just give me a good laugh. It made me think about all the memories my dad and I have shared, and it made me grateful that the man in this picture grew up to be the bald-headed, soft-spoken, hard-working, incredibly caring man I am lucky enough to call my father.

So, while I'm most likely going to take extra precaution to make sure none of my middle or high school photos are ever within the reach of my children, I hope that if they do somehow stumble across one, they will be reminded (after a good, long, hard laugh) of all the good times they've had with their mom.

Putting My Best Foot Forward

I'd like you to meet the newest member of my shoe family. These bad boys are going to carry me back into the running world! I've designated tomorrow as Day 1 on my road to running recovery, so I took some time yesterday to get some new running shoes. Now, I'll be honest and say I can always think up a reason to buy new shoes, but this is actually a legitimate and functional purchase. "They" say that you should replace your running shoes every 6 months, and the pair I've been wearing around (notice I didn't say "that I've been running in") are about 3 times that old, so I've been due for some new kicks for quite some time now.

I decided to get serious about my return to the running world so I got refitted and even bought some arch supports since apparently I land on the inside of my foot with every stride. My friend at the running store guaranteed that the arch supports would help me enjoy my running a lot more, while allowing me to run faster and farther. Hopefully these $35 pieces of foam and plastic live up to those promises!

So, all in all, I feel ready to get back out there. I've got new gear and the promise of warm and sunny weather to keep me motivated! So, wish me luck as my new shoes and I set out on our first 3 miles of the season!

Happy Easter!

Lauren

What's my passion?

Sometimes the most thought-provoking questions hit you at the most unexpected times. That's what happened to me today. It was Performance Review time with my boss, and I have to say, I was a little nervous, but we ended up having a really good conversation that included her asking me the question that is the title of this blog entry . . .

What is your passion?

This was part of a long conversation about several things that I won't bore you with, but the question has stuck with me for the rest of the day, and I've realized it's one that I haven't stopped to ask myself in a really long time. So, in view of the "self-makeover" I've decided to embark on, I thought it would be fitting to think about the things that I consider my passions at this point in my life.

So, after six hours of thinking (and admittedly, I'm sure I'll continue to consider this question for a much longer period of time) this is what I've come up with:

- I'm passionate about people. I'm passionate about the things that make each and every person unique as well as the things that connect us. I'm passionate about the relationships- romantic, friendly, or otherwise- that people can have with one another. And, I'm passionate about helping people realize their own potential and capabilities by being a positive influence and encouragement in their lives.

- I'm passionate about my faith. When I really stop to think about it, where would I be without Jesus? The answer in a word: LOST. God has been so faithful to provide for me, strengthen me, and teach me throughout my life. As I look back, there is no way my life could have come together the way it has if God had not been in control.

- I'm passionate about realizing my own potential, and I think this passion stems from the other two I've mentioned. I feel that I owe it to the wonderful people in my life who have loved and cared for me and to the God that has been so faithful to me to make the most out of the opportunities and talents I've been given. And as cheesy as it sounds, I want to constantly work to do better and be better.

So, the question is, what do I do now that I've made this discovery. It wouldn't do me any good to write all about this and not take any action. So, I'm pledging right now to start thinking about these passions with every decision I make and in every situation I'm in. I can think of far too many times over the past couple years where I haven't honored these passions, and I don't want to look back years from now and be in the same situation.

So, here's to honoring my passions. Hopefully this blog will help you think about yours!

Lauren

The Thong Dilemma

Now . . . I know I said my blog was going to be dedicated to the upcoming changes in my life, and in light of that, I bet your thinking the title of my post is absolutely ridiculous. But never fear, I'm going to tie it all together for you!

Part of my "life makeover" as I've decided to call it was to begin working out consistently again. I have to admit I have been absent from the workout world for quite some time now. What started as a week off to reward myself for finishing the Seattle half-marathon somehow turned into a 5 month couch potato session. But, I'm back on track.

But, as I walked into the gym yesterday after work, I realized that I was inviting an old obstacle back into my life as a result of my return to the in-shape world. The problem, in a word is UNDERWEAR. Don't worry, I'm not going to go all crazy on you and refuse to wear undergarments. It's just that I realized yesterday that my workout clothes and my comfy non-thong underwear do not play well together. What's a girl to do when she can get away with wearing comfy underwear under her work attire and not at the gym?

The way I see it, I'm left with two options . . . confidently display my underwear lines with each step I take on the Stairmaster or become a slave to thong underwear for the sake of fitness-fashion. I'm not sure how I feel about either of these options, and I'm not coordinated enough to work out in the droopy or saggy pants that would hide my problem.

So if you are a dedicated exerciser, feel free to share your advice. I'm not sure what road I'll take, but let's be honest, there are a lot of attractive men at the gym and I'm not sure my underwear lines are what I want them staring at!

One debt down . . . two more to go!

Well, I did it. It's hard to believe enough time has passed for me to pay off a student loan, but it's true. Yesterday, I received my annual bonus check from work, and though it was a little smaller than I had hoped (let's be honest, the economy has not been kind to companies that depend on disposable incomes), I had plenty to pay off what remained of one of my school loans. I was even able to put a few extra bucks into my savings!

Funny as this may sound, the process made me take a look back at my life here in Nashville over the past four years. All in all, I have to say I am proud of the person I've become from my time here in this city. I went from a not-completely-confident grad student to a woman who can hold her own.

I guess all this to say that my little victory yesterday made me realize that I should be proud of my past, in fact we all should, and that I am more than ready to welcome the challenges of the future. I don't know what challenge is next for me, but I feel that something is coming and I'm ready for it.

So, whether it be a big victory or something as simple as brushing a little debt off your shoulder, I think these events are meant to make us take stock of life and what we've accomplished and what lies ahead.

Okay, enough with the deep thoughts on a Friday. I'm off to celebrate my small victory in New Orleans! Have a fabulous weekend!

Lauren