From couch to 5k

I know a lot of people who have been running races.  I used to be a runner in high school and my first couple years in college, and ran between 1-6 miles a day, but for me it was a chore, not really something that I enjoyed.  Through some research online, I learned that I had probably pushed myself to run too fast or too far.  I wouldn't doubt it.  It wasn't about the joy of being active and moving my body.  It was more about burning calories and staying thin.  In my opinion, that is the wrong reason.  I wasn't trying to be healthy.

Seeing all these people I know run races, I became interested in doing one myself.  I want to get back into running the healthy way, a way that works for me.  I searched the internet looking for a training program to help me prepare for a race.  I found the perfect one... "From couch to 5k."  It is designed for people who don't run, and since I haven't gone running in a couple of years, I would fit into that none runners category.  I liked how it eased people into running without overdoing it.  This one is 9 weeks.  After picking a training schedule, I searched the net for a race.  I picked the Turkey Trot: Six tunnels to Hoover Dam in Boulder City, NV.  It is on Thanksgiving morning, and only 20 miles away from my house.  There was another race in Las Vegas on the same day, but the one in Boulder City seemed a lot more interesting.  Instead of running around an outlet mall, I will be running next to Lake Mead.  I prefer fresh air.

 

I introduced the idea to my family and to my great pleasure, Amber, Jason and Perry are going to run it with me.  I am so excited.  I bought some new running shoes to get me pumped.  

Sabrina's (Cousin) Wedding in Seattle

This is the most recent photo with my whole family.  Taken at Sabrina's Wedding.

(Jason, Amber, Trey, Blake, Me, Mom, Dad, Rachel, Perry)

Rachel and Perry Stotts.  You can really see her prego belly.  Baby!  I am so excited for her.  In this photo she is 17-1/2 weeks.

Trey, my nephew, on the dance floor.  It is so cute.  Almost every time he hears music, he has to boogie.  He is a little stud.  

I think we are doing the macarena.

Blake, Dad and Trey.  It was really great to spend sometime with Blake on this trip.  I haven't had quality time with him in several months.  I love my brother so much.  

Amber, Trey and Jason Hall

Me and the big man.  Aunt Penny is trying to slouch out of the picture.  Haha!

I am so happy to be holding Trey.  He is transitioning from being happy too, to wanting to have someone else hold him.

The "kid" table.  We are hardly kids anymore.

(Tia, Rachel, Perry, John, Rochelle, Me, Jason, Trey, Amber, Blake) 

Rochelle (my cousin) and her boyfriend John

For the tossing of the bouquet, there were only three of us cousin who are not married, me, Tia and Rochelle.  She practically leapt to get the bouquet.  John caught the garter.  What a coincidence.  We'll see what the future brings.  

And finally a photo of the bride and groom.  

Sabrina and Jeff, who are now Mr. and Mrs. Wilz

Chauncy has a boo-boo

I was out in the valley looking for a job.  Sitting at a stop light, I saw a car in my rear view mirror slam into my precious Mercedez.  I was only a little shaken up.  The man who hit me ran to my car to see if I was okay.  I was.  He admitted to me that he wasn't really paying attention to the road.  Thanks a lot mister.  He suggested that we pull into a parking lot to get off the road.  I was afraid that he was going to drive away and it would be a hit and run.  So, I followed him until he stopped.  The police took their sweet time, and the man decided to tell me his life's history, which was fine.  He seemed really nervous, and I was just feeling inconvenienced.  The man's insurance company has to pay for everything, the damages on my car.  All is good, but Chauncy is hurt.  You could definitely tell whose car was of better quality.  Chauncy is a hunk of steel.  The man's Blazer suffered the brunt of the damages.

The trunk was pushed in.  You can see that the alignment is off.  It won't open now. 

The bumper is bent out away from the body of the car.

It is hard to tell in this picture, but the mirror is broken (the red on the left).

Very dented and the the bumper is falling off because it was pushed too far forward.

There is a silver piece that goes above the wheel.  I need to go back to the scene of the accident to see if if is there.

My mom told me that I may be a magnet for fender-benders at the fault of others.  This is my third accident that wasn't my fault.  

Utah Trip

Both my sisters and their husbands went to Utah.  My parents and I decided to meet them up there for a little vacation.  We stayed with the Waltons and the Westensees.  I quite enjoyed myself.

I know it has been a while since I have written and I apologize. I guess my problem is that I don't know what to write about. I had a successful recital and Graduated with my Bachelors. Woot! Since then, I have been looking for a job. Not so woot.

This is one of my senior portraits I used for my graduation announcements and my recital posters.

The day before my recital, Perry (Rachel's husband) was playing with his bluegrass band at a campout. We went to support him.

The Day of my Recital. My roommates and other friends gave me these lovely flowers.

Uncle Jim

A little snippet from my recital

Hey! She looks like me!

On my Graduation Day with my Yancey Grandparents.

On the big screen

On to a brighter future. I sail away!

Four days till my recital...

As the semester wraps up, my Senior Recital draws near. Instead of doing an internship, I have to do an hour long recital. I also had to write a very long research paper, advertise with a poster, and design a program for the recital. But prior to all this, I had to pass my last jury (a singing test). I had to sing a few songs in front of a small group of voice professors and they determined whether or not I was proficient enough to graduate and do my recital. To the left is my poster, sort of. I had a hard time figuring out how to get it on here, because the scanner was 8-1/2" by 11" and my poster is 11" by 17". All the edges are cut off, but this just gives you an idea of what it looks like. My recital is on Saturday, and I am very excited about it, but I still have some work to do.