Brrrrrrrrr...

I think Colorado must want me to go home since it has been warm in Alaska than it has been here for the last couple of days. Or Colorado is preparing me for home. Either way I have been enjoying snow and very cold weather for the last couple of days! It started snowing on Saturday night and kept right on snowing until Tuesday, very unusual for Colorado. Then, instead of the typical warm right up to 60 degrees and melt all the snow away, the temperature dropped to around zero! This morning when I went out to warm my car it was a balmy 11 below zero!!! Unfortunately classes kept on trucking so I spent the snowy days inside studying like mad for my two practicals I had this week. Thankfully they are done with and now I can catch up on some research.
But of course I distract myself from stuff that needs to get done and spend my time indulging my baking desire! Pictures of what I have been busily doing are below.
Other than baking and studying I haven't been doing a lot. I bought new shoes which are the coolest but unfortunately it snowed this week so they make my feet cold and I have favored my slipper crocs instead! I also have failed miserably at making a fire twice now. I do believe the problem lies in the logs because this time round I even used an accelerant and still no lasting fire. The logs smolder and create coals but then the flames die and Kara is still cold. I even had Christmas music, but no luck.
The best news for this week is that my cousin had her baby, Kennedy LaVon! My dad and I can't agree on whether or not she is my second cousin (I think so) or my first cousin once removed... Either way she is B-E-A-utiful! Born on 12/8/2009 at 11:17 am. She weighed 8 lb 14 oz and was 21 inches long. Jess and Kennedy are doing wonderfully and are heading home tonight. This is Jess and Derek's first baby and it was very exciting for the whole family. Welcome baby Kennedy!
Well that is about all I have been up to, freezing and stuffing my brain full of...STUFFING! I realized just now I forgot my customary note to self on the last post, whoops! Apparently I need a note to self: don't forget your note, note!! Enjoy the pictures and I will enjoy my cookies!

Note to self: Family is a wonderful thing, the bigger the better!

My pretty hearth all decorated for Christmas, minus my little pumpkins!
The lights, it is kinda hard to see but they are pretty!

Whoops, one of my pans cooked a little TOO hot!
But most of the cookies made it!

Time to catch up...

Well, it certainly has been quite a while. While I have been extremely busy, nothing really has changed for me since I last updated. But I felt like writing tonight, instead of doing homework. Actually, I felt like putting up pretty pictures that I took this weekend.

I stayed here in Colorado for Thanksgiving and it wasn't bad. I actually spent the first weekend of our break in Idaho with my lovely and very pregnant cousin. We hit up the craft fair which make it feel much more like Thanksgiving. We also went to a couple of basketball games. Due to having excellent connections, we also were given the privileged of VIP passes. The VIP passes let us into the catered, buffet style dinner they were having at the games! Such luck we had!

Break was fairly relaxing other than that and I got some much needed rest. Unfortunately it feels like it wasn't long enough and I still didn't get my work done. Oh well, there is always tomorrow right?! I got to indulge my baking desires this weekend and made quite an array of goodies. Three pumpkin pies (all homemade), peanut butter blossoms, and chocolate chip cookies were the products of my baking craze. I also cooked up a yummy turkey breast and some mashed potatoes on Friday. I wanted leftovers and cold turkey to snack on!

Well, that is about all I have been doing. Lots of cooking, cleaning, and learning. Probably not as
much learning as needed but I've been trying.
Yummy peanut blossoms! These are my favorite Christmas cookie and I probably will be making many, many more!

The pretty flowers my mom and dad sent me for Thanksgiving! They came with lots of good fruit!

So I threw some things in a pan and I got a really good pork chop out of the deal. I just sauteed up some apples and onions with my pork chops, very very yummy!

My favorite little cousins

Here is a shot of the three cutest blondies I know. They are my second cousins and are turning three really soon. This picture is from when the whole family was down for the wedding in August.

Note to self: Family is amazing.

Learning things the hard way is... hard

An interesting fact of the world is that some people learn from examples and other people have to learn the hard way by making the examples that the "smarter" people learn from. Now, I have no idea why this is the way of the world but it is. Why you might ask, am I wasting my breath (or the minimal amount of energy it takes to type) on this subject. Well today I read a friend's blog and it broke my heart. You see she isn't one of those people that learns ever lesson the hard way, but unfortunately one of those people are in her life. Sometimes it is no big deal to know those people, and truthfully I think that everyone is "one of those people" at least once in their life. I think that what counts is how often you ignore good advice and do the dumb thing, only to regret it later. Anyways, back to the breaking of my heart. I am so saddened that she has to be involved with someone who is only going to turn around and wish he could change his actions. It drags her down and brings someone else into the middle who doesn't deserve that at all. The actions of this "dumb person" will be his regret to carry one day, when he finally wakes up and realizes that he missed so many important things in his life and there is no way to get them back. I could strangle him right now, but I think that might be a little forward of me since I have only met him once. I wish I could show him a slide show of everyone I know who has been affected by the same circumstances and tell him to wake up, stop being immature, and start living the life he made. GRRR! He is so dumb, so selfish, and so going to regret this. Boo on him, that is all I have left to say.

I know that this has been a little ambiguous, but it isn't my story to tell so I leave anyone who doesn't know the details slightly out of the loop but so be it. The basic gist of my rant is such, learning life lessons the hard way is hard, so if you can at all avoid it do so. I know that this is how some people grow, but come on.

On a happier note, but still the same subject, I am so proud of my friend. She has so much strength and will go so far. I have worried about her and her situation a lot, hoping that everything was going to work out but after reading her blog today I know that my worries were silly. She has overcome so many obstacles already and doing the best thing for herself and everyone involved. I love her dearly and am so glad that I know her. :)

Today I was also introduced to a very humorous website so I figured I'd put it up here. Unfortunately the person who showed it to me is probably the only one who reads this... Anyways, go check out Surviving the World and laugh because I sure did!

Well that is it for today, I vented my frustration, expressed my support for a dear friend, and shared a little laughter. More to come later.

Note to self: Learning life lessons through osmosis is much easier.

I write tragedy and try to find the comedy...

It is about time I write again and finally I have some inspiration, if you can call it that. Like I don't have enough on my plate right now, life threw me another curve ball. I guess I just needed to be reminded that it can ALWAYS get worse, so you better start looking on the bright side of things. Before I rant further, I better lay out the story of the day first. Hang on for the ride folks, it gets twisty and curvy and I end up with the short end of the stick.

SO, picture this. Kara is spending a few hours in her condo before she has to get back to campus for meetings and study session. She needed to wrap up a package and mail it off soon so she starts getting it ready. However, she realizes that she is out of packing tape so she decides to pack up her materials, go get the tape from the store, and then head to the post office where she can finish up. Next scene. Kara driving down the semi busy road, softly listening to music and being happy because it is a pretty day. Flash to image of green light turning yellow. Kara decides that she can either slam on her brakes or keep going, so she keeps going. Then Kara is almost entering the intersection when a truck turning left DIVES across in front of her, phew they made it. BUT WAIT! Little silver Oldsmobile who also wants to turn left doesn't make it and there is Kara, slamming on her brakes with all her might but sadly beautiful Santa Fe collides with dumb silver car. BOO, very bad ending I know. So now poor little Santa Fe has a few scratches but thankfully she can be thrifty in a fight. Oldsmobile is very sad and unhappy and had to get towed away. But that is what you get for trying to turn on a yellow light. There are traffic laws for a reason. Granted, if I had selected to stop I wouldn't be writing this at all BUT I still was in the right. The driver of the other car was VERY nice, which makes it a lot more sad. But the cops came, got our statements, and gave her a citation. *Kara does happy dance because her insurance doesn't go up AND she gets her car fixed by the other insurance* All in all it was a day I could have lived without but I gained some experience and probably will be the safest driver on the roads for the next few months.

So back to the "moral" of the story. I have been fighting a lot lately with all the "curve balls" I have been thrown and frankly I was getting really sick of it all. But thanks to this little mishap today, I have turned a new leaf (for now) and am looking on the bright side of things. I am lucky that the accident was so minimal (for my car) and I am thankful that I can even sit here and write this. I have been looking at my glass as a little less than half empty lately but it is time to remember half full is always the better outlook and there is always a bright side to everything. Take my car accident for example. While we were sitting in the turn lane (where the cop moved us), with everyone rubbernecking at us, a trucker drove by. Now maybe he was having a bad day or something but whatever it may be, as he passed us he laughed. Now this wasn't just a small chuckle, because I heard it as he passed. Frankly it was rude, but if I brightened his day a bit then I guess I can deal with the laughing. But honestly, who laughs!?

I digress. So I am glad to be here, glad that things weren't as bad as it first appeared, glad that everyone was so nice, and glad that I handled the whole situation alright. Things could be worse, I could not have a car, or a leg, and that would stink! But if that was the case, then I guess I would need to find the silver lining in that situation as well. Anyways, here are some pictures so everyone (if anyone reads this) can see the pretty car.

Pretty car before damage

Minor dents. Luckily the damage was confined to this area only!

So there you have it. My tragedy that I found the comedy in. Until next time, hopefully it won't have to be another tragedy!

Note to self: Things can always get worse, so focus on the good.

Long time, no write...

I am pathetic I know... With my slow internet at home and everything else this summer being crazy busy I had no time to write. Now that I am back in Fort Collins, I am going to make an effort to keep on top of things. I am still crazy busy (and it is only the first week of class), but I will try my best.
I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Santa Fe. It is pretty exciting for me, I have wheels now! I got all my stuff comfortably put in my new condo and I think that I will have a good year, at least leaps and bounds above last year.
Anyways, I am going to have to work back into this slowly but I will write more later. Off to homework, what fun!

Note to self: Get it together!

Almost home...

I have one more final tomorrow morning and then I am home free. Home sounds so lovely and perfect and just the opposite of here. Thank goodness. So far finals have been good but I have been so unmotivated to study for any of them, which has been bad! Oh well, I feel okay about most of them.
I have got my room almost all the way packed up, I've come a long way since last Friday where everything was a disaster! I am sleeping in a sleeping bag tonight with one pillow, everything else is packed. I just have a massive amount of cleaning to do tomorrow before Lauren and I head out to the airport. It is going to be so nice. She is kindly letting me stay with her and her dad over night before I fly out bright and early Friday morning.
Well, I don't have much else going on really right now. Finals are almost over, I am almost home, and I am getting happy. On another great note, Rita should be a mom sometime really soon or maybe she already is. I am so excited for her! :) Welcome to the world Ethan!!
Alright, I am done for now...

Note to self: You can do it if you set your mind to it.

The calm before the storm...

Lauren and I hit Old Town tonight, one final evening of freedom before the storm that is finals. We got some good food, shopped a bit, got some more food (ice cream) and then came back to my apartment. I failed miserably at my goal of finding presents, which is what we set out to do. Instead I came back with a full stomach and a much needed Nalgene for myself. I have been going all semester without a water bottle even though I spend ALL day on campus. Seriously, going to school has become my 9-5 job except it starts at 8 and goes to 4. I digress though. All in all it was a wonderful evening spent relaxing with a great friend. It was desperately needed because both of us are stressing out big time because of all the stuff we have to do between now and next Thursday when we both leave. It was good to destress a bit first, regain our steam before we have to plow ahead.
On another note, I had a really good day. I have a job for the summer and a research volunteer position for when I come back here in the fall. I am working for Fish & Game doing a sonar project on the lower Kenai River. It is definitely a new experience for me, I haven't ever worked shifts before. But I have decided to stop worrying over it and be more positive, because there is a bright side of everything.
Well, this is just a short and sweet summary of my day. I needed to do a bit more relaxing before I start making progress on my list of things to do. I feel like I need to share my list, so here it is.

Kara's big list of things to do before summer is finally here and she is finally home:
1.) PACK
2.) Study for finals (x4)
3.) Write 10 page paper
4.) Clean apartment so she can leave

It may not seem like a lot but you haven't seen my room! :P Anyways, I am making this short and sweet post very long. Farewell for now, more later when I can check something off of my list!

Note to self: Look on the bright side, it is always much happier!

I have a dream...

No, scratch that. I have a goal. This goal consists of writing on my blog more than Rita. I know, I know that seems rather silly of me to compete over blogging but the thing is since she is having a baby and all you'd think that maybe I'd have a bit more time on my hands. So far I am losing this race by a long, long ways. Basically how every other horse except Rachel Alexandra lost the Kentucky Oaks (which is the girlie version of the Kentucky Derby). Actually for the whole 2 or 3 people that read this blog, probably no one will get it. So I'll explain. Key facts that are important to know:
0.) I like horses (I wanted to make this one first but I already started my list. It is time consuming to change numbers.)
1.) Rachel Alexandra is a horse, she won the Kentucky Oaks race on 5/1/2009
2.) R.A. won by 20 1/2 lengths. That is a LOT! A length is one horse body, so she beat the second place horse by 20 horses (basically...)
3.) I realize now that this comparison is probably really lengthy and makes no sense to anyone but me
4.) I'm stopping now
So, back to the competition/goal/dream thing that I started with. I set it for myself because I felt like this was a good outlet for my random thoughts in my head. Rita does not know, until now, that we are in a race that she has already won. Congrats to the winner!

Now that I have lost everyone, on to talk about my day. I have finally, yes FINALLY, started packing! Yay me! I got one whole box, some misc. stuff, and a shelf into my storage unit today. While it may look like nothing is gone from my room, I feel very accomplished. I have been dreading this task for a long time, I don't really know why though. Weird how somethings just seem so daunting that you don't even want to begin. The weirdest thing is that once I am packed, I am one step closer to home. So why didn't I pack weeks ago? Beats me!

Today Lauren and I hit the bike trails around campus. It was an awesome day with awesome weather that got up to the high 70s. We biked for about an hour, just meandering around through trails that took us by some horses (of course, of course!) and then we made our way to Dairy Queen! Yum, yum... After a tastey Blizzard we headed back to campus, making plans to bike once more this weekend. The best part of the ride though is when we stopped at a playground at the end of the trail and messed around on the swings for a while. While we were climbing the slides Lauren eagerly said "You'll have to come to my house this weekend and we can go play on the swings." Seriously, despite what it may sound like we both are in college. It was probably the funniest thing I had heard all day and it made me feel like we were 5 and she was asking if I could come over to play for a while. All in all it was a wonderful way to destress after making it through humpday.

When I got back to my apartment there was a package card waiting for me. Unfortunately it is not as fun to pick up a package here in Colorado because I don't get to drive to the little post office and see my Pita's smiling face. However, I did get a pound of cheese curds in the mail today. There is not one thing in the world that could have made me happier than the moment I opened my box to find cheese curds! I think that my mom has had some time on her hands if she found a place to order me some yummy cheese curds! :) I love my mom by the way, she is so awesome! Another exciting thing that I got in the mail today was a pretty little card from Rita. It was almost like I went to the good ol' Nikiski post office back in the day because of that card. Rita is wonderful as well.

Well, I have pretty much wrapped up everything. I hopefully will be more on top of things despite the dreaded finals week approaching quickly (it is next week!). Only 8 more days and I am home. Actually I should say 7 because today is almost over. For those of you who don't know my counting system you may wish to correct me and say I actually have more but you are wrong! You can't count the day I get there, because I see the people I care about on that day. Plus, you can't count today because I am already living it. And since today is almost over, you might as well not count tomorrow because I am almost living that day as well. See, it makes perfect, logical sense! I am done now, off to bed and sweet dreams...

Note to self: There is not a monster in the storage unit, so start packing!

Ho-hum Day

An interesting thought to start out with. When I first started writing this post I said that my day was uneventful, like every other day. But then I paused a minute to analyze that statement and realized I have a problem! And probably a lot of other people do to. This problem is that instead of enjoying the day and looking back over the new little things we encountered, people classify their day as "exciting" versus "ho-hum" by having to have major events happen. Now this is silly, because my day was not like yesterday. I went to different classes, I had to do homework I didn't finish the day before, it was rainy and cold, and if nothing else it was Friday instead of Thursday. So now that I have ranted about my irrational statement, I will start over.

My day started out with me not wanting to get out of my comfortable bed and while I was in between dreamland and reality I had some really strange dreams. One consisted of an annoying buzzer going off for what seemed like an eternity. Oh wait, that was my alarm clock that I was ignoring! Then I went to biochemistry class where the girl stole my paper yet again! If I haven't shared this with you, let me briefly explain. Every day I get a school paper before class. They are free and easily accessible right outside the classroom door. All semester now this girl as been asking to look at the comics and "ramtalk" (silly comments submitted by students) section of the paper, right when I get mine. Occasionally I outsmart her by quickly starting my sudoku or crossword, but today she overcame me. So, in effort to point out that this was MY paper that I was just about to start using as class is getting started, when she said "can I see that when you are done" I replied "when I am done with the sudoku?". UNFORTUNATELY, she did not get the hint and simply said "no, I want to read the ramtalk." Bah humbug. I had to share because I am that nice person who can't say no and I had to look on as she read all the comics as well as the horriscopes before returning my paper. Alas, maybe next time... Enough ranting and complaining....
All my classes are finally wrapping up but now is the time I am starting to get worried about my finals. I have tons to do before I finally get to go home but such little time to do it in. I will get it done, and once it is over I am home free!
Right now I am looking outside at a cloudy, gloomy sky wishing that the beautiful sun we had earlier this past week would return. Unfortunately it looks as though this weather might continue for the rest of the weekend, I guess it is good encouragement to study for my tests, write my papers, and start my packing. I know, I have a lame weekend planned but I am going to enjoy it!
Well, that is about all I have. I felt then need to write but I didn't think I really had much to say. Look how wrong I was!

Note to self: Open your eyes and cherish the little things.

Relay for Life

Last night at about 6pm I packed up my backpack with a sleeping bag, candy, swimsuit, and my cape and headed over to my friend Kristen's apartment. I also brought a homemade chocolate cake I had made up the night before. From Kristen's we drove to the Student Rec Center on campus to participate in a 12 hour Relay for Life event. Relay for Life is an American Cancer Society sponsored fundraising event for cancer research. Teams spend a couple of months fundraising and then we walk around the track for a 12 hours. The only requirement is that each time has at least one person on the track at all times. Our team was the largest with 24 members so we had a pretty easy time meeting that goal. Our Relay for Life event at CSU had about 40 teams, over 400 participants and we raised over $25,000 dollars! It was an awesome experience and I had so much fun. I stayed the whole night, some people came in shifts, but I did not walk the whole time! I walked for about three hours to start out and then for another hour or so over the rest of the night. We closed up at 8 am this morning with a lot less energy than we had the night before.
I decided to join my friend's Relay for Life team in memory of my cousin, Andy Bouwens, who lost his fight to cancer three years ago. It was uplifting to see such a wide array of people coming together for one cause and work extremely hard to support research for the cure for cancer. When Andy was battling cancer I found myself realizing the importance of living for today. Recently I had forgotten that but my Relay for Life event refreshed my belief in living in the moment. After listening to some of the survivor stories last night, you realize that you never know what direction life might take and how important it is to live in the moment and not so much for tomorrow. You can miss a lot of things that go on around you if you get to focused on the future. I am thankful for all that I have, frustrated by the stuff I have been going through, but I am going to live day by day and take pleasure in the small things. It can be hard to accept you don't have control on a lot of things but once you do you can start really living.
The rest of my Saturday was spent laying around, watching movies and doing some homework. It was nice to relax but I also missed home a lot today. Only 19 more days though, so I know I can make it. Anyways, I just wanted to share my unique experience for this week.

Note to self: Embrace this moment and each moment after.

Stay Strong

Today I got the most wonderful card in the mail from my mom. She knows me so well and has always been there for me. The card had the most amazing message that I think everyone should hear. So I decided to put it here so in case anyone else is going through a hard time or just needs a reminder that they are special, it is here!

I send you this card with a smile and a hug. Your wings may be a little damaged now, but you can still fly. You can still touch the sky. You can still make a rainbow. You're hurt, but you can still dream. You can still try. Through all of this, never forget what a special person you are.
As you dodge these curve balls that are coming at you now, don't let anyone take away your hope, get you down, or make you give up. While you face these problems that touch the land mines in your soul, don't let them steal your power.
Stay strong, encouraged, and hopeful. Know that you are special and you are loved.
Refresh your spirit with the lessons you've learned. This is just a passage you're going through. You know your heart. You know who you are. There will be answers. Just be patient. Be satisfied with doing the best you can. When you're down, don't stay there. And never, never forget what a special person you are.
- Donna Fargo

I thought that this was so beautiful and so true. My mom is my hero and I hope that I can be like her one day.

Note to self:Always remember what a special person you are.

I Need Home

Bad day. Not much to say about it except for sucky! I am counting down the days until I can head for home and happiness. 24 days, not much longer to get through. The saying is true, when it rains it POURS!

Note to self: Avoid the lonely company of old memories.

Rainy Day

Today has been a cold and rainy day but thankfully it has stopped snowing. Yesterday we had sort of a blizzard in Colorado but Fort Collins got mostly rain. It flooded so much here that the dip in the lawn outside my apartment flooded and two ducks came and swam around in it all morning. That was a cheery sight for me to wake up to. Animals remind us of the simple joys in life and make it hard not to smile at their silly antics. Speaking of that, Henry is probably the best at making me smile. Hamsters do funny things all the time so if anyone needs a pick me up, I'd recommend going out and getting a hamster.

So I've spent some time thinking about friendships and what friendship means. Friends are there to add to your life, not subtract from it. This is unfortunately the situation I have found myself in for the past year, people I call friends subtracting from my life. Think of Super Mario 64 (oh Justin would be so proud) and recall how your health is a pie chart. Well, it is like I was running into one of those bomb things over and over, each time subtracting my health in little pie pieces. So I first ask how did I end up here? Well, easy. In a desperate attempt to make friends with people that had things in common with me I allowed myself to be shaped as easily as a piece of clay. This is your classic example of the "queen bee" mentality so accurately detailed in the movie "Mean Girls". Now you might say that is is a high school phenomenon and perhaps I should have already outgrown this phase by the time I reached college. This is not the case for me because I had no experience with such a vicious social system during high school. I thought that I had avoided such a common practice but that was me counting my eggs before they hatched! In retrospect it is easy to see how and why everything went so wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the beauty is that now you can see it coming in the future. Don't let others manipulate your thoughts and actions. I did and I lost my voice and my self amongst a variety of other things. Quick side note, this is not an effort to throw a pity party for myself, I've done that enough recently. Basically I have come to realize the healing power of writing, something I thought that I would never enjoy. So I take the time to put down some thoughts that have been helpful to me. It is important to take care of you and what defines you. Others need to tell you that you are wrong to define themselves, don't allow that to happen. Don't be afraid to go against the norm, especially when you feel wrong following the norm. Take an active part in defining who you are and if you don't know who you are yet, be sure not to let others decide it for you. No one has the right to determine what defines you.

Well, that is probably enough inspirational writing for everyone. Beware, I may have random posts of inspiration in the future. :) This rainy day was a good one after all, one healing rain drop at a time.

Note to self: Define yourself by your thoughts and actions, not others.

Hawaii

It is about time I get my Hawaii pictures out where everyone can see them. Too much studying to do this week to write much, but wanted to share my spring break in pictures.

The ocean was so pretty and the weather was so warm!

Here I am with a giant crack in the ground. We went to the Volcano National Park and hiked across an old lava flow and into an old lava tube. Pretty neat!

Here is Tyler and HIS giant crack! :)

Yay, the ocean didn't claim me. This was right after I got dominated by a wave, sad day for Kara.

Mom and I parasailing! We are coming in to land on the boat after about a 10 minute flight.

Dad and Tyler taking off, Tyler got his butt wet!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to the sea horse farm. It was pretty neat and this little guys are so curious!

I even got to hold a sea horse. Here is Kara, the person, holding Kara, the sea horse!

In honor of my experience at the sea horse farm I got a henna tattoo of a sea horse! It was neat but unfortunately it is now gone. :(

Well that is the condensed version of our Hawaii trip in picture form! Now off to more studying, what a bummer week I have!

Note to self: Better late than never!

Look what I got!

I needed something warm and fuzzy to keep me company these last few weeks, so today Lauren convinced me to go out and buy a hamster! His name is Henry VIII and he is a Robo Dwarf Hamster. He is very active and cute but hard to hold sometimes. Here are a few pictures of the friendly little guy. Finally something feels right.



Note to self: Lauren can be a bad influence.

My first...

Yikes,am I really going to do this?! I guess I can give this blogging thing a try. I blame Rita, she invited me to her blog and now I have spent the last hour fiddling with my own. But everyone needs a good distraction every now and then, I tend to take my fair share almost every day.

Today was like, well, every other Wednesday. Between school and school, I have more school. I am not complaining though, I like staying busy. The weather today was very nice and got up to 70 degrees. I decided that such nice weather called for a good bike ride. Right as I was starting out I fell in behind another rider and instead of turning around where I normally do, I kept following him. Maybe not the smartest idea since I didn't know the road but I figured eventually I could make my way back to something familiar or at least turn around. I was delighted to find that his path was just a giant loop around my apartment, so I ended back where I started but a little more tired. I want to race in the Fireweed 400 this year with my dad so I need to start training. He wants me to do the 200 race with a relay of other ladies but I wanted to try the solo 50 mile race first. After today's ride of 14 miles I might have to reconsider, that is a lot less than 50! However, I felt really good after the ride so maybe I'll make it!

I have been reading this wonderful book called Note to Self (hence the title of my blog). It is a collection of stories by 30 different women on hardships and heartbreaks. Sounds uplifting, I know! It is really about overcoming all of life's troubles and each story ends with a small note to self that reflects on the story. I thought it was a clever idea and thank goodness I saw the book sitting on my shelf or I would still be thinking of a title. :)

Well there you have it, my first blog. It rambles and is really about nothing but if you have reached this far then I guess it was at least entertaining. Now time for bed.

Note to self: Take a chance, they often pay off.