School is in full swing (although I don’t think I can recall a time when it was only in half swing, or two thirds…), my role in my research position is picking up, I did a decent job at getting sick on Tuesday, I have a jobjob interview on Saturday (but don’t know enough of the deats. yet to say I’d take it if it were even offered), annnnd life is just pretty full at the moment. But instead of writing about all of that, which none of you would care about (or at least I really don’t…) I thought it was due time for a little gratitude.

1. God has blessed the city of Minneapolis with 40° days, which is more than enough for me to justify shorts. Give me 32° and I’m in. Gotta start on that tan at some point, right?

2. Said events have allowed me to experience once again the phenom of “muddy calfs syndrome” … which makes me feel like a runner, regardless of my actual running frequency and/or status.

3. Truthfully… the frozen yogurt wasn’t like extraordinary or anything. But these ladies are. And that’s what counts!

4. Much needed new shoes, next day delivery, crazy outstanding customer service from Zappos.

5. Family. No matter what yours looks like. You only get one.

And with that mis amigos, yo te digo adios. Get your friday confessionals ready, cause I have some stuff to unload and I don’t want to be the only one who has wound up on the naughty list! Wishing you warm weather, happy hearts, and fast feet!

-E

Back when I asked you guys for your #1 pump-up song for my “reader’s choice spin mix”, (keep those entries coming btw – CLICK HERE to go to that post!) my east coast homie and fellow BAMF Karyn told me I should check out this other chica’s blog, Mindful Living. So I clicked my way on over to Christina’s blog, and am SO glad I did – this girl is awesome! Not to mention we have a crazy amount in common: we’re both the same age and the youngest of sister-only families, both marathoners (and both decently fast one’s at that ), both entering the health/medical field, both teach (or taught/may be teaching again soon!) spin, both are super close with our families, and we’re both lifelong athletes. And oh yeah, there’s the healthy lifestyle blogger thing underlying somewhere in there too.

Christina recently tagged me on the Beautiful Blogger award – thanks lady! I LOVE fun facts! Cmon.. think back to your college orientation weekend.. job training.. summer camp. It gives you a chance to learn something you probably wouldn’t know otherwise. Or… if you’ve been around the blog long enough, stuff you DO already know, but a nice catch-up for new readers! Following the rules of the game, you get seven of my favorite “fun facts” and in turn, I get to pick seven of YOU guys to do the same! Kind of like a Pay It Forward (gotta love H.J.O. at age twelve), and an Ice Breakers remix. Here we go!

1. I have a personal mini-hardware store residing in my left hip.
   After a few months of “groin pain weird-feelings” back in the fall of 2008, and a final push from my spots med doc out east, I finally went in to have my hip x-rayed. After touring all that Boston’s medical scene had to offer, I finally wound up with a bone/hip specialist at Children’s Boston, and two diagnoses: fibrous dysplasia, and a fractured left femoral neck (a la tension side). I had surgery in December over Christmas break back in Minneapolis, and many a pool running sesh ensued. Unfortunately, surgery was not an “end-all” solution, as fibrous dysplasia isn’t something you really “cure”. I will post more on this on a later day, but I may be lookin’ at surgery #2 here soon. Biiiig bummer!
2. My dad and I have matching identical tattoos.
   Haha – I cringed at the word “matching” for whatever reason. It’s not a pinky promise, but that pinky squeeze is something special my dad and I have done for as long as I can remember. It means something along the lines of  ”I’m glad I’m with you.”  We had thought long and hard about what to get, and when I thought of our special pinky squeeze, I knew it was right. We got it done before I moved to Boston and before my dad moved to Philly at Steady Tatoo. Tatted by Rodger – they took the picture of our hands together when we went in for our consult.. I think he did an awesome job! I have loved my tattoo every second since of every day since he was inkin’ it in me!
3. I would not be a runner without my mother.
   My mom is my best friend – this we know. I’ve mentioned our occasional mother daughter runs that I love. (Especially ones sprinkled with a little Christmas!) You might not know that she is also a very accomplished runner!  My mom didn’t start running until she was out of college, but she definitely had the natural talent! She has run 22 marathons over the course of her running career, broken 3 hours twice, WON a marathon outright for the ladies, and definitely put in wayyy more miles than I have! Some of my very first runs were just a few miles long with my madre. She gave me the genes
4. I am on the Triathlon Team at the U of MN.
   Check out our team page! Next up are the Collegiate National Championships down in Lubbock, Texas in April. The plan as of now is that my fractured/fibrousdysplasiaed/lisfranc’ed self will be injury free at that time, and I’ll be ready to compete!
   
5. I have endometriosis.
   I have mentioned it before briefly… I have a whole long post written on it that for whatever reason I just don’t want to publish, but it’s a fact! Hahah I wouldn’t call it “fun”… but it’s part of life. Be very thankful that I didn’t pull my “endometriosis” image off of google images. Search at your own risk. Photo credit goes to a fellow blogger dealin’ with the same thing. Maybe my fun fact #5 should have been “My hot water bottle is one of my best friends.”
   
6. I treat my training gear with about as much excitement and love as I would my own kids. Meet Rilo, and Gomer.
   
   
   
   (Sorry for the camera angle….) The day when GOMER was delivered into my hands, I knew I had a gift from God. True story – I have a permanent tan line around my bicep from this lil guy. It’s my second birth mark. Then, several years later when RILO came into my life, it was like a stolen child was finally returned. Hahhaha.. issues. I know.
   
7. I grew up as a “minority” student. And I am sooo thankful!I went to a K-8 elementary school where over 50% of the students were native spanish speakers, 20% were african american, caucasians made up about 15%, and the remaining 15% were from different ethnicities. The school is still extremely diverse – check the stats!  Then I moved onto a high school that was also super diverse! White kids made up about 20% of the student body. I say I’m so thankful because being around so many students coming from different backgrounds, having different beliefs, different lifestyles, and different opinions taught me right off the bat that everyone in the world is DIFFERENT and that is an amazing good thing. NTM I was understanding my 2nd grade buddies from Mexico City before I ever took my first “spanish class.”

Alright, time to share the love chicos y chicas! TAG – you’re it!

• Susan – Susan Runs
• Frayed Laces – Frayed Laces
• Courtney – Pink Cowgirl
• Melissa – A Fit & Spicy Life
• Katie – Faith, Food, & Fitness
• Karyn – Marathon Maiden
• Jenna - The Foodie In The City

But you can’t really put a limit on Paying it Forward.. can you? I think not. So I definitely encourage ANYONE who wants to go and give your seven fun facts to let er’ rip! Sadly, this is all I have time for, and it took me 1.5 hours on the ellip plus over an hour at home. Someone asked me how I blog while I’m working out, and I gave you a picture last time, but keep your eyes out for a live post from my steady spot on my Life Fitness elliptical, complete with play list and intervals, to come! As for now, I have a double date with my BFF and my madre. And hopefully I can see the boyfriend somewhere in there too. Adios!

-E

Mom’s signature cookie (L) & one of Grandma’s best (R): hazelnut wedges (L) and spritz cookies (R)

It was a very untraditional Christmas in the Dr.TriRunner household – this was the very first Christmas I have been at my own house! For those of you that missed the news, the Midwest was hit with quite a bit of precipitation. And by precipitation, I mean feet of snow (Duluth got 24.4 inches!!), some snow/rain mix, snow emergency declarations, shutdown interstates, buried cars, and more spin-outs than MNdot knows what to do with! Needless to say, driving conditions were not ideal, and for that reason we canceled our trip, for the first time EVER, to little Albany, Minnesota for Christmas. Instead, it was spent right here in the good ol’ MiniApple with Dr.Mom!

The storm is movin on after three days of snoowww

Did it feel the same? No, obviously not. But was it everything I wanted? Definitely! Christmas in Albany = the whole fam (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, inlaws, and the likes) and Christmas this year at Home = me and my madre. And it was perfect! I had a sleepover at my mom’s house, which included Christmas eve mass, the children’s pageant, stir fry for dinner, and an attempted Italian indie movie. (Subtitles = falling asleep on the couch = FAIL!)

Talk bout a busy photo! This represents some of the slight chaos that is the annual children’s Christmas pageant.

We both slept for ten glorious hours, and then, it was Christmas day!

It started out slowly with large amounts of coffee, like any day should. Eventually (after helping dig our neighbor’s stuck car out of the alley) we got our act together and set out for a Christmas run! My phone charger had been sadly abandoned at my house, and we made that the destination for our slowpog (slow-sloppy-jog).

Upon returning home, charger safely in waterproof pocket, we decided what a better time than when we’re all soaking wet and chilled and wearing minimal winter clothing than to go out and shovel for two hours! Dr.Madre lives on the corner, so shoveling is no simple task. NTM the two-car driveway, and the whole-house-length of STREET we shoveled out to fit in cars for my neighbor’s family who was visiting! You know what though, if you’re going to pick a day to be a good Samaritan, Christmas is pretty darn fitting, don’t ya think?

After finally getting some breakfast (at 2:15?!), we moved on to a few presents for each other! This year’s gifts were all very practical and useful, which is definitely what we aim for. As I have gone from being the youngest child in a family of four, to still the youngest child, but now with divorced parents, sister, brother-in-law, and Dr.Dad all living on the other side of the country, we have paired down the gifts and the focus has shifted to time together with the ones you love. I think my mom really liked and appreciated the things that I got for her, and if not, she did a great job acting!

You might be saying – um, family? You saw your mom, but… – well, yeah, on Christmas day I did only get to see my mom. But I got to talk to my dad (long enough for my phone’s battery to die), grandparents on both sides, and send along love for my sister & BIL. A little of the non-traditional-Christmas shock was taken away by the fact that I will be seeing everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) in just a few days for my sister’s WEDDING PARTY!! Trust me, more to come on that later.

The day ended with a trip to see the movie Sherlock Holmes! I had never been to a movie on Christmas day before, and had no idea so many people went to do that! I wouldn’t necessarily call it movie of the year or anything, but it was enough to hold my attention, and perfect for the dorky I-Love-Adventure girl in me. (National Treasure anyone?!)

Day after Christmas? Mmm.. not really feelin it, but I also don’t really feel the need to ruin the mood now. I’m dealing with some health issues that I’ve mentioned before, and today just happened to be one of the days it decides to act up. I’ll come back to it later. But for now…

Well I was going to leave you with one of my favorite scripture verses about Christmas and Jesus’ birth.. but everyone has their own beliefs and I’m definitely not trying to push mine on anyone else! I know why I’M CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS, and I’ll leave your choices up to you. Instead, I’ll leave you with a couple flashback photo and post from Dr.TriRunnah’s Christmas 2008:

p.s. If you’re checkin’ the blog and you see the background/layout change multiple times in less than 3 minutes, fear not my friends. I am workin on some design options, and fighting it out with WP at the moment. Rest assured, things will be straightened out and the Docta will have the final word. Have a lovvely night,
-E

Ahhh.. home from the gym, showered & cleaned up. Came home and checked my emails. I believe my face looked a little like this while reading a particular message:

Said message was sent via facebook, and was a response to my “hey, sorry… who is this?” question. It went something like so:

i am a very nice man to get a long grate with todd.

Well at least he managed a period at the end of the sentence. I don’t know if he’s trying to tell me he has a long grate, or he wants to go get that long grate with a man named todd. Bahahahha!! This is what you get when you accept a friend that you “can’t figure out where you know them from”… only to find you really don’t know them at all. Unfriend. (Word of the year for the Oxford dictionary!) Do you ever get random azz friend requests/creeper messages? Or overhear people completely eff up the english language? (Non-native english speakers don’t count.. I know I make up tons of my own phrases in Spanish!) Another favorite of mine is actually from some chick, and it was in a text conversation that my buddy showed me. She was trying pretty hard.. and apparently she just learned the phrase “Granted….” as in “Granted.. I rarely attend class…” or whatever example you want to insert. I say she must have just learned it because she used it about 5 times in a 5 minute text conversation. And I say she must have just learned it because she thought the phrase was “Granite….” Mmm yep.. girls can be dumb too.

While I was getting photoboothhappy, I decided to show you two of my favorite items of clothing that I happened to be wearing today. Exhibit a) my Tin Fish (the restaurant where I work) hoodie, which I felt the need to embellish with Mr. Rainbow Fish:

Annnd Exhibit b) my very favorite ever track zip up. I think I got this my freshman year of high school, and it’s still crispy clean because I’m OTT protective of it I take good care. If you can’t tell what the design is.. think starting blocks and Usain Bolt.

Aright aright. Done with that! Do you have a one-most-favorite-ever item of clothing? I don’t know that this jacket is IT for me.. but it’s near the top of my list!

MOVING ON…

We are on the eve of Thanksgiving, and I just wanted to take the moment to say I am super thankful for all of YOU! I finally figured out my Google Analyticator, and am so happy to see the new readers I have coming to the site, as well as the readers that keep coming back time and time again. I also wanted to pass along this lil’ message from my my man Emerson:

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thought it rather fitting.. don’t you? Well I have a BIG day tomorrow – 6:30 am spin + run, over to my mom’s to help cook cook cook, the WHOLE FAM coming over!! and fooootball with gramps. A very good day if I do say so myself. Do you have big Thanksgiving plans? Or if you don’t get to this until after you are stuffed of turkey and pie, What is your favorite part about Turkey day? Mine is definitely all the family time. IIII love them to the end of the world and back! And hey – you guys too!

Have a lovely night, and hopefully a LONG weekend!

-E

Happiest time of the year

(Grrr.. haven’t figured out how to embed video with new self hosted. Help?) Just change the words up a lil bit and you’re good to go. Hah – I think I’ve probably blogged about 5 different times about how much I love Sundays. Not going to lie though… I am getting excited for christmas songs to start playing on the radio.. christmas lights going up.. the HOLLIDAZZLE!! Can’t wait! Haha no one shoot me for saying that. I was going through photos on my phone… I took this the DAY after Halloween:

Yikes! I was just checking to see if there were any cute halloweeny coffee mugs on sale, and then tripped over a reindeer and faceplanted into a pile of gingerbread christmas cookies. (Kidding! Although that wouldn’t be such a bad thing to faceplant into….) Let’s get through Thanksgiving first, but then please believe, I will be going alllll out.

p.s. (and then I promise, I’m moving on) did you know Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE 2nd FAVORITE holiday? (Favorite has always gone to Easter, and that’s not changing any time soon!) I loveeee Thanksgiving because

1. it’s smack dab between my mom’s birthday and mine
2. at least in our family, it is such a WARM get together. all of us gathered at one house (we’re hosting this year.. I don’t know the official count but I know it’s over 20!) , no stress of presents, just family, food, and loove <3
3. it’s in FALL! Although being that I live in MN, there have been many a snowy thanksgiving day
4. puuumpkin
5. the family walk. which happens at just about every holiday we celebrate as a family that involves a rather large meal (thanksgiving.. christmas.. easter.. birthdays.. reunions.. haha basically every get together involves a large meal)

Good things. Moving on!

GIVEAWAY

So glad to see the entries coming in on my POPCHIPS GIVEAWAY! You still have until Wednesday night, so fret not my friends, but I would say go do it NOW because we all know how it goes when you say “Oh, I’ll come back and do it later” and then you check my blog on Thursday saying “wasn’t there something SWEET going on at Dr.TriRunner last week?” and then comes the compulsory smack to the forehead when you see that YOU were not the winner because indeed YOU didn’t enter! Let’s avoid that, shall we? GO ENTER NOW!

RUNNING NEWS:

And that would FINALLY include some real running.. not just on the dang xRunner and all this RSC business. As of Monday, I have had THREE successful lovely half hour runs, as prescribed. I will fess up (since there were no Friday Confessionals this week.. my bad) that I ran outside one of the days instead of on the treadmill (shhhhh) BUT I ran on the grass/dirt on the side of the path. I always run on that anyways! Here is my train of thought – tell me if this makes sense:

So I understand that the treadmill is a softer surface to run on then cement or pavement. Obvio. But softer than grass or dirt? Maybe once Minnesota hits our frozen tundra/arctic phase come December or January, but we’re not there yet. The grass is pretty darn forgiving, and in fact, according to the RunnersWorld staff over in good ol’ BritLand (that one’s for YOU my love!), it’s “better”. There are some cons associated with running on grass (instability), but I would consider myself a “seasoned grass-runner” being that for at least 70% of my runs I hop down on the dirt trail. Plus… do I need to even mention the entertainment factor? Look at the Runnin’ It page, and see reasons Why I Run. Even back in 2008 (haha how’s that for a throw back post? That egg plant parm looks good!!) I was b!tchin about the treadmill. Nooo thanks.

Anyways, long story short – I ran outside on Friday. And it was WONDERFUL.

I have properly inserted my temporary orthotics. Thank you Dr. Scholls.

One in each

I did get an actual scrip for real orthotics, but I need to see first if my insurance will cover it. In the mean time, I have had good success with using a heal lift in my left shoe, so that’s what you see here.

CHECKIN OUT

Time for me to get a move on. I apologize for the lack of blogging this week, but I have been entirely robbed of any social life by this:

Wasn’t I just blogging about my last anatomy exam? Oh wait. Yes.. Yes I was. Test on Monday tomorrow!! Eeep!

And last item before I leave – I have to toot my own horn here for a sec. I’ve gotten to be quite the fried rice connoisseur:

All ready for some sriracha lovin. And yes, I am using a plastic bin full of sweatshirts as a table. Look at that goodness:

Crappy lighting. Not at all crappy food! I go on little kicks with foods, as many of us do, and fried rice (or just asian in general) has definitely been the theme of the week.

Questions for you!

1. What’s your current food craze?
2. What’s your favorite holiday? Do you go all out? What are your traditions?
3. Are you a treadmill runner? I know my girl F.I.T.C. is a champ at knocking out the 6, 7, 10 milers on the dreaddy no problem. I don’t know how she does it?
4. Have you entered my giveaway yet? Hahah.. no? GO DO IT!

Happy Sunday!

-E

p.s. I’m not the only one havin’ a giveaway!

Quick running update:

I am currently alternating between coffee, Powerade, and water. I did my third 20+ miler of this “season” (haha.. I never know what to refer to it as! This Twin-Cities-training? This period? Season works for me), and it felt fine. I ran it way slower than I did my last 20 miler because that is just the pace of the group I was with, and their company is worth way more to me than proving I can run sub 8s for a long training run. I ran into this situation two years ago when I was training for Med City – running with a group that is slower than my pace – but I seemed to do just fine when I ran a 3:19, so hopefully that trend will carry through!

My upcoming schedule for running/racing looks a little like this:

• September 5th – St. Croix Valley Triathlon
• September 12th – the Capitol Run – 20+ mile training run
• September 20th – October 4th – Taper time
• October 4th – Twin Cities Marathon!
• October (3oth or 23rd?) – Monster Dash Half Marathon
• November XX – Turkey Trot 5K
• January XX – Winter Carnival Frozen Half Marathon
• April XX – Boston 2010

I don’t know what other little races will pop in there.. but I usually do a few 5Ks just for fun (like the Turkey Trot! I think there’s a Jingle Bell 5K too…) so we’ll see. I also need to look at my budget because I’ve spent more this year on races than I have on the past. I don’t know that I’ve necessarily raced more,  but they have definitely been more expensive races. Especially with triathlons – that is not a cheep sport! Luckily, I’ve found ways to cut costs here and there (carpooling, sharing hotels, discounted bike shoes, etc.) but that is a whole ‘nother future post!

I promise – my Ragnar Post will be published soon! I made a photobook of the whole event.. so I’ve been putting a lot of time into that instead of writing up the dang recap! I leave you with photo of me n’ Rilo – my mom and I were getting a little carried away with sports mode on her camera I’m bringin’ the McMac along to Philly, so maybe I’ll get a post up while I’m there! Otherwise, catch you when I get back!

-E

• just finished with finals
• getting ready to fly home to Minneapolis for the summer
• sad because I had to defer my 2009 Boston Marathon
• hurting with the hip/car accident. still going to PT. still dealing with the insurance fiasco
• just ready to be HOME

School got out April 24th, and wow – so much has happened since then! I’ll try to be brief:

• moved back to Minneapolis.
• looked into transferring back to the U of MN, realized deadline was June 1st, applied.
• got in (well they better take me.. half of my credits are from there anyways!)
• now a kinesiology major / pre-med track still. MUCH better fit!
• so really.. MOVED back to Minneapolis (!!)
• healed (mostly) with the hip
• took a summer class
• moved into my own place
• adopted a dog
• still working at the restaurant
• picked up a 2nd job
• had to have my dog adopted from me just 2 months later
• training for Twin Cities 2009
• joined a great group of women for training. finally got my ass back in the pool!
• joined the U of MN’s tri team. still going back to TURC – the University Running Club
• did my first “real” triathlon!
• getting ready to register and head back to school.I can’t believe summer is almost over!
• *eta* sister got MARRIED!

Work is at the restaurant is great as always, but I can tell I’m definitely ready to wind down. I took a lit class this summer to knock out one of the required courses, and I could tell I missed having a school schedule. That isn’t a promise that you’ll never hear me stressed with school, but I like having that academic side too.

Right now the biggest things on my plate are figuring out registration. As a transfer student (which still is hard for me to grasp since half of college education is at the U of MN), I register LAST, definitely leaving me with the short stick in terms of class schedules. I am guessing I’ll have 8ams AND evening classes – we’ll see. I’m just worried I’m not going to get the stuff I need that is actually part of requirements – both for staying on track for med school, and completing a kinesiology degree. There really hasn’t ever been a time when registration didn’t stress me out.. but at least for the spring semester I’ll be back with the rest of the juniors.

ANYWAYS, time to wrap up! I got in an 8 miler this morning, and I worked the lunch shift at the restaurant. Now I’m headed off to go find me some CYCLING SHOES! I’m looking at the Pearl Izumi Tri Fly shoes.. but we’ll see. Hopefully I can find something on sale! And my bike is coming to me tomorrow!!

the Tri Fly IIIs

My bike!!! A Quintana Roo Kilo!

Thanks for hangin with me while I get this back in action!
-E

p.s. Saw Harry Potter last night – torn between loving it and frustrated because they had to cut so much from the book!

Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in.

-Robert Frost

Hahah I love that quote. Not that I forced my mom to take me in or anything.. yikes! But it’s true – there is no turning family away. Not here.

I am currently blogging to you from the futon up in our office, watching this 6 year old kid on Ellen who knows basically everything about the solar system and knows more already than half the people I know. Except he just got on the floor and did something called the “swimming tuna”. I’m tellin you – he’s gonna get all the ladies.

 It’s almost time for a refill of my big ol’ scrabble mug of coffee.. Dunn Bros coffee.. ohh I love being home! 

There is a lot to do today! I promise a full catch-up later on: running, school, next year’s decision, the whole deal. For now though, it’s time to go refill this cup and relax a little. My flight, which was supposed to leave out of Logan at 6:05 last night, didn’t leave until 9:50 due to the SNOW STORM in Minneapolis. The plane we were picking us up was coming from Minneapolis so we had to wait for it to wait to be de-iced along with all the other planes. Finally though, it took off, got to Boston three hours later, and by 2:00 this morning, I was home. And of course I was up by 8:00… but it’s ok. I’m HOME!

My attempt at taking a photo out the airplane window with my crappy cell phone. PS  I forgot my camera in Boston.. smart! Cell phone will have to suffice for the week to come.

Caio!
-E

Dear blog friends, compadres, homefries, homeskillets, buddies, amigos, and all the rest,

I have not forgotten you. No, no… it is once again my ever-so favorite time of the semester. Midterms. The joy of back-to-back tests, the sleepless nights, the post-it notes covering everything in sight, the highlighter marks permanently staining my hands.. what could be better? (Read: kill me now.)

I know what could be better… MINNEAPOLIS.. and three days and 2 hours from now I will be on a plane headed home sweet home. Please excuse my absence until further notice. And by further notice hopefully I mean FRIDAY. 

Goodbye, bonne nuit, hasta luego. 

-E

P.S. Running is going GREAT! I’m up to 4 miles.. which means when I’m home.. I can RUN THE LAKE!!

(Just a taste.. I promise there are pictures at the end of this novel!)

My G-Pa's killer homemade bird feeder. And cutie birdies!

Well, here I am one day past the two week mark from surgery. I don’t have a day-by-day recap for you, since during the second week there were much less of the “milestone” moments. I guess to sum it up, I am still feeling good, not fantastic-amazing-go-run-a-marathon good, but good. I mean, I did have hip surgery just two week ago, so I think I should still be a little sore every now and then, right? I’m trying to get in to see Dr. Troung before I go back to Boston, but tomorrow is New Years day, and then it’s like the weekend.. and I fly back Sunday!?! Grrr. a) I want him to snip the strings.. he said I could do it at home on my own but I’d be much more comfortable in the hands of a trained doctor. b) I want him to see it and make sure everything looks just like it should. c) I need to talk to him about PT and if I need to go see one out in Boston.. and if I need new exercises to get increased mobility (like sideways movement vs. up and down, front and back..).

I know this isn’t part of “week two”, but I got to SWIM on Monday!!! And it was fabulous. I love the pool at my Lifetime SO much. It’s a saltwater pool and it’s not too cold but not nasty warm either. Perfect. Juuust perfect. So Monday was the first day I swam and yeah it felt great, but it still felt sort of tight. I only swam for half the time that I usually do, and all super easy – no need to pull/tear/strain anything on the first day. Then the 2nd day (yesterday, Tuesday) I pool ran for half and swam for half and tried to really focus on stretching out and staying loose with each stroke – it felt amazing!! Leaving Lifetime is going to be R.O.U.G.H. 

So there’s my 2nd week wrap-up for ya. But speaking of leaving Lifetime, I guess I should open this up to everyone and maybe get some feedback – you guys are all so amazing with sharing experiences and “oh.. I did that too!!” that sometimes it feels like were all at some big slumber party. Oh, memories of middle school. Anyway, here’s the deal:

As I think I mentioned before, I am applying to be an RA for next year. Not only is there the obvious benefit (or in my  case, necessity) of free room and board (which at my school is an astoundingly ridic. amount), but I would also be put in a leadership position where I can use my creativity and help other people, something I love. Aright, great. There are some 500+ RA applicants each year, and only about 150 spots. I know I am an Honors student and have a good “resume”, but that doesn’t guarantee Jack. And to be honest, without some extra source of financial aid next year, staying at NU isn’t a guarantee. Less than that actually.. it’s a probable definite no (or maybe I should say probable definite not-a-good-idea, knowing that I’m the one going to be paying too). 

[Warning.. sorry - this is turning into a Monster post!!]

No one is forcing me too, in fact it was sort of my idea, but I am applying to some other schools for next year. Sort of as a back up plan. Sort of. (And I guess I should say school (singular) because the 2nd school I applied to.. I really don’t want to go there. But hey – free app.. why not?) This school is an excellent private school here in MN, and I would not at all feel like it was a “back up” if I ended up going there. In fact, academically, they are a lot more selective than NU. I’m trying not to count my chickens before they hatch – I mean, I haven’t even been accepted there yet. The app. deadline is not for another couple of months, and I wouldn’t find out till I’m already done with the semester out in Boston. But.. by then I will know whether or not I have the RA position.. I’ll be able to weigh my financial aid at each school.. I’ll be able to make some good and fair comparisons. 

You’ve heard me rave time and time again about how much I LOVE Boston and LOVE Northeastern and LOVE LOVE LOVE etc. I know. But being home now for winter break, the FIRST time I’ve been home since I moved… well if you went to school anywhere far from home you know what I’m talking about! Seeing my family and spending time with my mom and my dad and seeing my sister (who is actually now moving to D.C… another story) and being at the lakes and seeing my old running team and AHH. I love Minneapolis! (You’ve also heard me say that one too, to be fair.) Part of me WANTS to transfer (what.. again?) and be close to home. I think my best bit of advice for anyone just starting their college career, or just about to, is that there is no ONE right college, at least IMO. I do love Northeastern. But I think I would equally love “the school” here. (And just to clear things up – no, I’m not headed back to the U. At least not yet.)

Anyways, that’s my dilemma as of yet. If you read through this entire thing – wow.. major props. 

I’m headed out with another DF (haha.. I will never not laugh typing that) to Lifetime for a “spa day” followed by lunch at Panera if we have time. I gave her a gift card there as part of the gift, but she might end up doin’ that one with the BF or another friend. I have movie plans for tonight, and a pretty low key new years - just the way I like it. Hope everyone has an amazing last day of 2008, but if not, hey.. it’s just the last day of the month.. like the last day of any other month. There’s always tomorrow.

(and as I promised, pictures from Christmas!)

The all star grandparents <3

Ry, mom, and me.

Playing with g-ma's manger. My grandpops BUILT that manger. Mad skills..

Working on a secret gift that won't be given until NEXT Christmas

Two of the cuzzos.. champin some Jason Mraz

Back in Minneapolis.. our Christmas tree at HOME

B-T-Dubs.. does anyone need to buy their kid a saxophone!? Hahah - you will find this ad on craigslist.

Lovves,
-E