It's a brand new day

HONK!  So I wanted to share a cpl exercise related notes with you guys.  First and probably the one I'm happiest about is Amanda and I went and walked the track Sunday night in Adel after the kids went to bed.  We did 5 laps and we even raced the straights.  Like I told Liz W, I won of course.  Amanda says her pants were falling but that sounds like an excuse to me......I kid, her pants were totally falling down which was hilarious but I still would have won.

Secondly I had a great walk/run today around the Draz's neighborhood.  It went well and I actually enjoy getting out in the heat sometimes and working up a sweat.  Plus it helps me work on my sexy tan, ooooohh yeaaaah.

Anyway some exciting things on the horizon.  Stay tuned. and as always.........

HONK

Matt

More walking tour!

I have kinda fallen down on the job as far as blogging is concerned from the past few days. But never fear! I have still collected quite a few photos for your enjoyment. I have not taken a walk every day, but I think the frequency is increasing. Finding things to take pictures of is really motivating. And it makes me notice the little details all the more. Here is from Thursday's walk I think: There is this house a street or two over with this massive sculpture garden. 

Shiny Easter Island Guy

Here we have some unidentified things and a megaphone. 

This is Chapel of the Cross, the church out of which my program is run. It is really pretty and old.

They have some really lovely rosebushes out front.

Last night, Drew, Merrick and I went to trivia at a pizza place! I went for a nontraditional choice of pear, mozzarella, goat cheese, caramelized onions, and walnuts. It was pretty delicious. Unfortunately, we did not win trivia. 

Here starts today's photos. Here is the back of a school and its playground. The bike path runs right behind it, so that was the route I took and just cut through the little path between them. But in doing so I was inadvertently following this old lady dressed in neutrals with long grey hair. And then she turned off the connector path and I swear she disappeared. I was really creeped out because there just really wasn't anywhere she could have gone, and the connector path is just too short to lose someone on. Yikes.  

Being Carrboro, this school has an outdoor classroom of course! It reminded me a whole lot of Camp Mikell as I was traipsing through the woods to get to it.

Here is ANOTHER park within walking distance. It has some gentle "hiking" trails, too! They are great, except when you get lost. That happened at the beginning of the year and I ended up in some neighborhood and I had to call Cory to google map where I was and direct me home. 

Here is a picture on one of the trails! They are just long enough for a walk, but short enough that they don't feel like you are too far away from civilization.

I liked this flower.

One time when Cory was visiting, we went exploring off those trails, and stumbled through some shrubs into this... commune. It reminds me of in LOST when they found where the others lived. This picture doesn't do it justice. It is like half, bright and shiny, and half unkempt and sort of abandoned looking. 

They have gardens and solar panels and chickens and other communal things. Here is a path through it. Cory and I could not find a road leading OUT of the area, however, but luckily stumbled back onto the trails that connect to the park! 

Carrboro is the type of place where the graffiti is friendly messages. It didn't really show up but, the back of this sign says "We are all one."

So anyway. My walk today was longer than anticipated once I decided I wanted to find the commune again, but it was a good one. Luckily I didn't get blisters from walking in flip flops this early in the season. I have taken a couple of naps today, so I am worried I won't be able to sleep tonight. I don't know why I was so tired! Anyway. I forgot to make my bed like twice last week! It was kinda funny to me really, that I would forget since I've been doing it a couple months at this point and really like walking home to a nicely made bed instead of a rumpled one. This post is long and annoyingly inconsistent in its formatting. Grumble. I feel like I have a lot to do this week because I'm driving home this weekend and then to Birmingham for a wedding. I am excited about the home and the wedding part, but less so about the packing and prepping part.

Picture Time!

So I'm at the airport in Atlanta right now waiting for my last flight back to Huntsville.  I don't leave until 10:50pm, so that's real fun.  Our earlier flight from Newark was delayed a couple of hours (which SUCKED) but it was good because it made my layover time a little shorter.  You win some, you lose some.

Well, I didn't think I was going to run today since it was the end of the conference and travel, but Leigh set her alarm for 6:00am instead of 7:00am, so I woke up and couldn't really get back to sleep.  I went down to the hotel fitness center, but the treadmills were definitely taken so I made my way outside.  And it was cold.  6:30am is not a nice time for me in general and add in the cold - NOT a happy Liz.  I thought about going back in, but started out anyway.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be (which I'm totally okay with), and I was able to regulate myself a bit better (which was a bonus).  New Jersey is different, but there is definitely a lot of green and bright flowers everywhere.  So I took a couple of pictures of the road I was running down behind the hotel.  It may be blurry.....

So green!

I meant to take more pictures of Princeton itself, but most of the time we were running around to one thing or another and there wasn't much time.  But the main observation is that every building looks like a church and what's that like, going to class in a church?  We were having these conversations right when classes got out and students were around us, so I'm sure they thought we were idiots....but that's okay.  We appreciated the beauty of Princeton. :)  And speaking of beauty, there are flowers everywhere!  More specifically, they have a love affair with azaleas.  They reminded me of south Georgia and being at my grandma's house.  She had them everywhere.  But these stuck out more because they were multicolored and just so lovely to look at. :)

Anyway, I'm glad that I got to run today because I won't feel bad for being a slug all day tomorrow....well until I have to leave for the night again hah.  I have a feeling I'll be taking Monday off.....

Until next time friends!  And hopefully more rested....hah.  HONK!!

Walking, walking, and more walking!

So no hike yesterday.  It was supposed to rain all afternoon, ended up not raining, but Leigh and I got to walk around downtown Princeton.  We've been doing a LOT of walking this week, and my left knee is definitely feeling it.  Tonight was a late night and tomorrow we'll be going home (back to reality...oy), and I'll be getting back home super late tomorrow night.  So no running tomorrow....if you couldn't guess hah.  I would like to get some running in on Friday, but it may be a sleeping-all-day-until-I-have-to-leave-for-camp-day.  We'll see how that works out. :)

I took a pretty picture of these gorgeous azaleas here on campus, but it hasn't made it to the computer yet hah.  Overall I feel like I've eaten relatively well and the walking has seemed to help for sure.  Hopefully next week I'll be able to make it out a bit more. :)

I think this is all this go 'round - short and sweet I guess haha.  Until next time friends!  HONK!

"Personality" (or just weirdness) of Carrboro

I have had a rough two weeks. I'm just gonna be honest. I have been overwhelmed with work, home/intern stuff, and personal life (family, etc). I think I am finally making progress with work struggles. They were having me facilitate group therapy sessions by myself, and I just am not equipped for that (personality nor training-wise). I finally got out of that this week, and so far things have been a lot better. Today I was able to spend some time organizing the linen closet (which is a beast), so I'm hoping to make that part of my job more smooth. Also, today I got cake.

Anyway, my walking has been slacking, partly because I was out of town this week cleaning out my aunt's house (so I was active, just not so intentionally). Today I was productive just after work, and I was going to postpone it til tomorrow, but then Matt texted me saying he'd posted, and I realized I didn't have any real reason to skip out. Plus the past couple days have been miserable weather (cold and dreary), and today it was beautiful out. The only problem with that was that that meant EVERYONE was out and about, which makes taking pictures a little more awkward. In seeing everyone though, I realized what a great place this is for people watching! There are just all types everywhere you look. It's pretty cool. 

This is Weaver Street Market. It is kinda like a local version of Whole Foods. There are picnic tables all around outside, and they have a cafe. BEST PEOPLE WATCHING EVER. There will be music and poems and dancing and dogs and kids and stuff. Also, they have delicious cinnamon rolls!!

And here is the Cement Lady. She creeps the hell out of me. Especially at night when she is in the shadow of trees under a streetlamp. I have no idea why she is here.

In the same yard as Cement Lady, sits Fake Rocket. Another monument I have no clue why exists. Yay Carrboro! haha.

This picture needs to stay full size. If you'll remember, there was a cabbage patch kid in a tree in one of the other pictures. This is that yard. It is full of awesome. But I'm scared of getting caught photographing it.  **edit** I had to shrink it to fit everything in. Grumble! So now it's hard to tell all the decor. 

And here is their neighbor- Ah, serene garden path. Also, the yard is immaculate, but the photo isn't big enough for that. 

So yeah. All this in a 15 minute walk. It is a high concentration of... unique. 

Busy day

So this morning was the first morning I was like "I just don't want to make the bed.  But I did. 

I have an appointment for advising Friday at 2 pm with a professor in the Nursing program.  So this morning I went to the registrar's office and filled out the form for readmission.  Then stopped by the financial aid office and they pointed me towards filling out the FASFA paperwork online.  I'm almost done with that but need some info off our W2s from 2010 to complete it.

So yeah, I'm doing this. Provided the appointment with the advisor is productive, I'll be taking classes this summer.

After I had reached my stopping point in the FASFA form I changed clothes and went for a walk around the Draz's neighborhood. It was a little rough as my legs were almost immediately sore. I have a theory why but it's not appropriate for public consumption ;)

And now I'm at work.... till midnight.....

Anyway, HONK!  Love you guys!

Matt

Ahhhhhh treadmill

I'm at PRINCETON!!!  Today was about a half day, which was registration, followed by opening worship, first workshop, and a lecture to end it out.  It's been pretty great.  Although I've discovered that there is a law in New Jersey that you can't buy alcohol at a store after 10:00pm.  And being Episcopalian, that makes for an unhappy Liz hah.  

This morning Leigh and I (Leigh Hall is here with me - YAY!) went to the gym here at the hotel and got a nice workout in.  I walk/jogged and ended with some ab fun and pushups.  It really made me realize how much I miss getting on a treadmill!  It's really good for me because it regulates my speed, which means I'm not exhausted and unable to finish by the end.  (Does that make sense?  My brain is super tired from today hah.)  The other bonus about this conference, other than it just being awesome, is that there's a good amount of walking around.  I'm really glad about that - it'll keep me moving and going after sitting through different workshops and whatnot.  Leigh and I are planning on going on a really nice hike tomorrow around the school, and I'm pretty pumped about that.  As long the weather cooperates, we'll make that happen.  And hopefully have some awesome pictures!

My left knee is a little sore tonight, but I'm really hoping it'll have cooled off a bit by tomorrow.  I loved getting on the treadmill today and just banging it out.  It gave me a little boost to realize I'm not as bad off as I am.  But definitely have a long way to go! :)

Until next time friends - HONK!