Thanksgiving and SEC Championship

SO, it has been a crazy past few weeks. I have had a great month of November. Work has been great, diet has gone well (20 pounds and in second or first place in the competition!), and been really busy! Thanksgiving was great with just Mom, Dad, and I enjoying each other's company. Mom had fallen and hurt her knee a few days before Thanksgiving, so all of our plans changed abruptly. We went from being on the go every second to just relaxing and taking care of mom!

Sleeping with the boy in front of the fire....how we spent a lot of the break.

    Last minute, I decided to do some Black Friday shopping with friends. It was hilarious to watch people who were so intense in buying things! We began our night at 10:30 and our first stop was Starbucks for coffee. Well, Starbucks didn't get the memo that they should be open then on Thanksgiving for the start of Black Friday. So, this began our adventure to McDonald's where everyone else who wanted Starbucks went. 30 minutes in the drive thru line, almost leaving my friend Jessica at the McDonald's because I forgot to get the change, and two cups of coffee later, we were on our way to Calhoun Outlets. Mrs. Seehorn, Brady, Jessica, and Andrew and I were ready for the mayhem! We had a blast there and finished all the stores with not too many purchases. It was around 2:30 am by then and we headed towards Chattanooga. We hit up Chick-fil-a for an early morning breakfast and went to Toys-R-Us and the mall. It was all around a good time. We returned home that morning around 7 am. Exhausting but great! Dad left Sunday AM for China and I decided to take a few days to help mom out. I, also, got to have my traditional date day with Avery Carr and make an amazing Gingerbread house!

Avery showing off the gingerbread house! She did it all by herself!

   Mom came home with me for the week. It was good spending time with her. I took her home this past Saturday and on the way home found out I got to go to the SEC championship! I LOVE where I work! I just had mentioned that I would be going through Atlanta Saturday and they hooked me up! It was so much fun to watch the game. I had my first SEC game period this year, then this....a blast!

Ticket

Carolina running in

Auburn running in

Celebration at the end of the game

    Now just getting ready for Christmas Season. I love this time of year, it is my favorite. I will share my Christmas stuff later...ciao for now!

A Year Ago....

So, to FINALLY continue my back trekking....a year ago is when my trip around the US took place. So, after my round with St. Louis. I did a "wonderful" trip across Kansas...there is nothing in Kansas! Why they put a toll road for you to go through it....gotta make money somehow! After an overnight stay in Colby, KS, I made it to Denver, CO.

I have a wonderful friend from college, Holly, that invited me to stay with her while I was there. First on the list of "to-do's" was eat lunch...I will never have anything that compares to the freshness and true flavors of Denver food! It was amazing!

 After our lunch, we went even higher than the "mile-high" city and hiked the Rockies. It was gorgeous! There was still snow on the ground from snow earlier in the week. It was just beautiful there!

After that, we toured around town and she introduced me to spaghetti squash....another new favorite of mine! Also while I was in Denver, some friends from Charleston were there. So, Thoma and Valerie and I got to spend some time together while we were there. We toured a candy shop and went around downtown Denver. It was great! Hard to leave that place and can't wait to return!

     I decided to make a hotel reservation that night for Salt Lake City, Utah and be ahead of the game. So, I started my trek to Salt Lake by way of Cheyenne, Wyoming. On my way to Wyoming, about 2 hours out of Denver, my alternator decided to die on the car....not a fun problem to have in the middle of nowhere as I like to call it, or Loveland, CO. Four hours later, I had a new alternator (thankfully they had a small Ford dealership there). I headed back on my 9 hour trip to Salt Lake...I just had to make my reservation!

  This caused my trip through Cheyenne to be a lot shorter than it was supposed to! But, I got to see some of the life size boots they are famous for! It was so cool!

    Alright, enough for today.....more to follow later.

OVO!

This weekend was very busy and a blast all at once! I finally made it home to Dalton to see my parents and friends. I made it home late Friday to a nice, warm fire my Dad had made....it was great since it was freezing outside! Saturday morning, I woke up and had brunch with my friend Jennifer and her wonderful family! The clutz in my spilled my coffee as soon as I got it...thankfully it wasn't scalding and didn't burn me or any of the children! I was excused because I was sitting on the "kids" side of the table. The girls told me from then on out, "Don't spill it!" Hilarious in the end. After that I met my friends Courtney and Chris and some new friends in Atlanta. We watched OVO which is Cirque du Soleil! It was great! I loved it, and it being my first time seeing it, I was very impressed! Then, we went to a brazillian steakhouse for dinner and ate our hearts out. It was great spending time with them and laugh til we cried! Sunday, it was church, which was great to see my church family, and lunch with the Carrs. Avery is the smartest girl I know, smarter than me for sure. We had a blast and got "Sweet Treats" from Panera.....only we found out they weren't called "sweet treats" but "Bakery Items" after Matt had gone and ordered a "sweet treat" to add to his meal! Hilarious! Overall, a great weekend and I look forward to the next trip to Dalton to see everyone again and maybe have a little down time! Until next time!

Back to the Gym

Well, after sitting around miserable because I can't run, I decided it was time to get back in the gym! I have been thinking about it for awhile, so I finally got motivated and joined. The doctor told me I was allowed to do eliptical, cycling and swimming after 3 weeks (which will be this Tuesday) but no running. Great thing is, the gym has all three!!! So, now to stay motivated and stay in the gym! The new adventure this week! Along with a new gym membership, I got a new hair color...was going a little fun with red/purple color to peak out underneath the blonde. She did it a little more blonde than I wanted it, but oh well.....it will change again in a few weeks!
     Also, this week, was sad because our dog of almost 14 years was put to sleep. Darla Mae had been with us since we were pre-teens. She had definitely lived a great life and was having a hard time getting around any longer. She was supposed to come stay with me the next few weeks, so Momma had taken Darla to the vet to get pain medicines for her to be able to make the trip to my house. They just knew there wasn't much more they could do. So, now she is just as happy and healthy in doggy heaven. It was a hard day Friday for all of us! But, I have sweet Brady and crazy Beau to keep me busy now.
     I tried out a new church today close to my house. I really enjoyed it. It is different than other churches I have visited, but I liked that about it. I am at the point now, I am just ready to find a church! AND today I turned the heat on in the house.....I am excited about cooler weather, but not looking forward to the cold! Next week is hopefully just a normal week, but I am really looking forward to going home to Dalton, FINALLY, to see all my long lost friends and meet with some college friends in Atlanta on Saturday to see Cirque du Soleil's OVO! Until next time!

What Color is That?

SO, it has been very busy since I last posted. Mom and Dad came in town for Mom's birthday and her 30th college reunion two weekends ago. It was great to spend time with them and utterly hilarious! Mom was bound and determined that the people standing in the alumni section were way too old to be her class......much to her surprise, she had some classmates standing around! I guess Momma just ages well! After traveling to Clinton for the morning/early afternoon, we car "toured" Newberry. I wasn't able to walk too much, so the amount of walking done at PC was enough for me for a bit. Mom, of course being herself, decided I needed to ice my foot....she went into the Clinton Hampton Inn and got me a bag of ice. She is special....and I love her. We then headed back to Columbia. Mom decided on the way back we needed to take the scenic route and find North, SC so we can say we had been to 90 miles southeast of Due West. :)



Momma and I in North, SC



We celebrated Mom's birthday that night with Olive Garden to eat and lots of cupcakes from Cupcake here in Columbia and Dad's totally AMAZING pound cake! (Needless to say I broke the diet....yet somehow still lost weight!). We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

The week was my busiest yet with flu shots. I was out of town 3 days of the 5 and worked way over my normal 40 hours! That left me with tons to catch up on at the office when I got back! It was a good week overall and I got to meet some awesome people in satellite locations!

I got an itch to change things in my house this weekend. So, I decided it was FINALLY time to change bathroom colors in my room, as well as my bedroom. After much scrutinizing over the colors, I figured it out, bought the paint, and was ready to go! A friend of mine was amazing and offered to help me paint. After 3 hours Friday, our first coat was done! Light blue with an accent wall in the bathroom and light gray in the bedroom. I spent Friday night with friends just relaxing and letting lose. Saturday, woke up early to see some of the cutest twins in Columbia. Ate some Moe's...which was way overdue, and came back home. My amazing friend came to help me finish the painting. We finished the second coats in about 3 hours as well. When we finished moving all the furniture back and were inspecting our work we noticed something funny. The trimming in the bedroom looked blue......weird. Then looked in the bathroom.....dang it the trim is gray! We somehow, still unbeknownst to us, switched our paint cups and trimmed in the wrong colors! So, we got back to it and fixed our problems. Now, all is painted and looks so good! I bought a new comforter and now just have to decorate the walls!



The new bedroom and comforter...just have to add the wall art!



Other than that, just have been catching up on work and resting. We start a new Bible study this week, which I am excited about too. AND it is halfway point for our weight-loss challenge at work! I am down 16 pounds so far....totally pumped! Hoping to lose that much more in the second half! Pressing through.....until next time.....ciao!

You did what???

   A lot has happened in the world of Lauren since the last post. I got to visit my first satellite location for flu shots in Spartanburg, which was a lot of fun, and then I headed to good ol' Mobile, AL. After working all day Thursday, I drove straight to Mobile and got to visit with all of my besties there and attend a beautiful wedding in Pensacola. The first part of my trip was spent with Nikki and her precious children, Vivi, Luke, and Logan. I was blessed and excited to spend the majority of my Friday with Luke and Logan as Nikki had to work. Logan is 3 months and absolutely precious....but poor baby was sick. Luke is my sweet boy who is so funny. He decided to rename me this weekend to Wanda. We have no idea where it came from, but it brought us all to tears in laughter as he continually called me this. Nikki and I got to have a long-needed "Girls' Night" Friday night. It was great! We had Zia's (one of my fav's) and it wouldn't be a meal with Nikki if we didn't get something free.....she got us a free dessert...AMAZING! After being stuffed there, we went to the mall and did some shopping, then went and saw a movie. It was great to be back with such a close friend. Saturday morning came early and I got to attend my sweet, athletic Vivi's soccer game! She rocked! I was so proud of her.
    After the soccer match, I had to rush to get ready for a wedding of my friend April's in Pensacola. It was gorgeous and I was so happy to see her happy. Plus, it was a beautiful drive to and from Pensacola. After the wedding, I came back to spend time with my other bestie, Tiffany. She and I had a wonderful "Girls' Night" as well with dinner at Bonefish Grill! It rocked! Then we went by Target and got some amazing chocolate chip cookie brownies to make. We allowed the boys to join us and we had a great dessert and catch up time. Sunday, I got to spend with Tiff, Johnathan and the growing twins. They are getting way too big and are talking up a storm! Seems like yesterday Brooklyn and Jacob were being held in my arms as babies. Sunday night, Nikki and her fam, Tiffany and the kids, and Cheryl (another friend) and her kids got together at Olive Garden. We had a blast to catch up and enjoy food......can you see my diet was blown this weekend? Anyway, it was great. Monday I got to go to my old work and surprise everyone and catch up with old co-workers. It was then lunch, scrub purchasing, washing the car and back to Columbia.
    It was a busy long weekend, but great fun! I miss them so much! Then, it was back to work Tuesday to play catch up on everything I had missed. It was a crazy day. Tuesday afternoon, I had an appointment with Ortho because my foot was not getting better from hurting, but only worse. Well, it seems like I should probably listen to my body when it says I am hurt and not be stubborn and go run further/do the Mud Run injured. Seems I have ruptured my plantar fascia. Rare to do, and I was like,what the heck?!?! But, glad I have figured out why it is hurting. Now I am on strict restrictions with a "sexy" sock to wear to bed that lifts my foot in a very awkward angle (no sleep last night because of it), no weight bearing, no running, heel supports and a horrible injection of medications that I swear was given to me so that I will hurt worse and obey orders. Anyway, that has been my busy week in a "brief" discription.
    In this next week, I will be out of town 4 of the 7 days for satellite flu shots, so I am hoping I can walk appropriately. And the whole fam is coming into town for Mom's b-day....so excited! That is about it.....until next time!

Anniversaries.....

Lately there has been a lot of anniversaries going on. A year ago over the past few weeks and the upcoming weeks a lot of major changes happened in my life, from ending my long-term relationship, becoming unemployeed, and moving from Mobile, AL. This all started the beginning of my "new life" as I like to call it and a heavy start of my adventures! I could not have been more blessed and watched God lead me more blatantly than in the past year. I have traveled the United States and seen His beauty everywhere, and really gotten to explore more than I ever imagined of the US, with a lot of stories to go along with it! I have a wonderful job with Johns Hopkins that I never could've imagined, it is truly a dream. I have run a 10k, biked a 15 mile bike race, and done a Mud Run which is more running/biking than I ever thought I would complete on my own, better yet races! I have gotten to travel more and vacation more than I could imagine to fun and different places. It has truly been an amazing year that I could not have ever imagined or dreamt of on my own! I could not have imagined all of these things last year at this time. That being said, on to the present!
    This weekend I went to Greenville to visit my vacation partner, Tiffany. She and I had gone to Disney World back in June, which was a blast. So, at that time, we decided we were vacation partners and started planning our next adventure. My friends, Ben and Leslie, moved to Australia after they were married in July. SO, my thought was, what perfect timing to go to Australia to visit such great friends and get to tour Australia as well! Tiffany was down with the idea. Sorry for the tangent.......

We sat side by side doing the same thing on our
 own computers to assure we were going together...

         SO, after watching tickets over the past few months, we decided it was time to buy! So, after a WONDERFUL dinner at her mom's house, we made Jello and bought our Australia tickets! It was very scary and brought much panic to do, but it was done and so exciting!!

OMG!!!! We are going to Australia!!!

  

         After we got over the excitement that we were REALLY going to Australia, we celebrated by watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail....classic. The next morning, we woke up and made breakfast, then carved pumpkins. I carved a PA in my pumpkin.....creative, I know....and Tiffany did an awesome job of carving a surgeon with her surgery supplies from the hospital....it was awesome. And Greg, Tiffany's boyfriend, carved a pumpkin with just a face....which we figured out later on made the perfect patient! Overall, it was a great 24 hours in Greenville! The rest of the weekend was very relaxing and now onto craziness of October and flu shot traveling!

The patient, the surgeon, and the PA

Overcoming Obstacles and Exceeding!

So, the USMC Mud Run was yesterday and I am proud to say my team and I completed all of the obstacles and the full race! It was amazing! We began the trek to the Leatherneck (the name of the course in Sandy Run, SC) about an hour before we were to sign in with directions in hand. As we are almost to the exit, we see signs saying the exit is closed. Really? Surely it is just for Mud Run participants open. Oh no, it is fully closed. So we are re-routed to the net exit 4 miles south. We get to that exit and see that they have loped us around to the "back" of the line....approximately a 2 to 3 hour traffic standstill. We, at that point, had exactly 40 minutes to check-in. Well, the navigation skills of Ricky did us good and he found us a short-cut through a dirt road....very bumpy I might add, but amazingly quick! It got us within 1.2 miles of the entrance to the Mud Run. Well, after 20 minutes and 0.2 miles of progress, we decided we needed to get out of the car and make it to the starting line for our start time. We had 20 minutes until our start time and were supposed to sign-in an hour early. So, we pulled off to the side, parked and headed to the entrance. We managed to have a bathroom break, check-in, and start all on time, and maybe early!

    So, we began. Katie, Lindsey, Ricky, and I began the run. We got to the first obstacle...3 5 foot walls to "jump" over. We learned this course was all about team work. First obstacle down, on to the second. Sliding down a pole that is parallel to the ground. We were being yelled at by Marine men at this time...Katie and I didn't like it. Third obstacle, a rope swing....forget any skin in between your legs from then on out. We hit our first mud pit and we could forget hearing (mud all in the ear canal) or any clean part of your body from that part on! But we were so pumped and continued on. I would have to say the walls that were at least 20 feet high were the scariest, and for some reason they decided to have them right after a mud pit. Ricky and Lindsey were pros and completed the entire mud pit....Katie and I got stuck and completed it in shallower mud, yet still covered! We finished all 32 obstacles and got to the finish line approximately 2 hours after start time! We were so pumped!

    After we finished the race, we made sure to get our t-shirts and had a random guy take our picture for us.

 Then Katie, Ricky, and Lindsey went to the back of the fire truck to get sprayed. The line for the "showers" got short, so I lined up. After 2 showers for all of us, we were all clean enough to walk our mile back to the car. So, we walked back as our "cool down" and got in the car to drive back to the Leathernack to finish cleaning up and changing clothes.

We, then, had to wait on Lindsey's roommates to finish the race. In the meantime, I saw some people from work who had just finished.

We left the Mud Run around 7:30 and headed to Five Guy's for a celebration dinner! I know, against the diet but I had only eaten breakfast and was STARVING! Then, conveniently next door was Cold Stone....no worries I got the smallest size and had strawberries...that's diet right? Then, we dropped Katie and Ricky off at their house and Lindsey and her roommate Caroline headed back to my house. We took the longest showers of our lives because we were still so muddy and then collapsed!

     Overall, an amazing day! I am so glad I stuck to it and did it! We grew closer as friends and family! Ricky was definitely the MVP because we could not have gotten up the 15 foot over unders without his lifting and strategic planning! I am ready for next year's! Our time was 2:09:13 and were in 2728 place overall and 1188 in our category. Which, I have to say that is pretty good overall and for the first time not knowing what we got ourselves in to! Now, on to the next adventure!!!!

The End is Coming.....

So it is T- minus 5 days until the USMC Mudrun and new details are coming out about it daily. They now have pictures and video of all the course. It is crazy to see what we got ourselves in to! I am really pumped about it, but super scared too! It doesn't help that I have an injured foot and have been advised not to do any physical activity for awhile....more than a week, I am told, because it won't heal that fast. I, being the stubborn person I am, have decided I will take care of the foot after Saturday and just pray I don't injure it more Saturday!
   I have been preparing this week by my hardcore training of the Biggest Loser. It has kicked my butt on challenging and I was sore like crazy today! Hopefully it will help put the final touches on my upper body strength (it is weak).
   Really excited about the weekend though and hope to report greatness after Saturday! Just pray I don't have a disconnected foot! Ciao!

What Did We Get Ourselves Into????

This is the question that Lindsey asked me Wednesday night, and I asked myself again, when we watched the Mud Run video and read the new course information and saw pictures. Pretty much, we are going to die. I am no longer worried about the running part....heavens that looks like it will be the easiest portion! I am scared about the under/over logs without letting your feet touch the ground, the arm walk that you can't let your feet touch the ground, and climbing over the wood walls that are 15 feet tall! I have NO upper body strength and this isn't looking good! It is either going to be a humorous disaster or a broken bone or 10! We will previal, though! And, I was sent the waver we have to sign. Let me quote a part of it...

I recognize and acknowledge that running or walking in a road race and particularly in this mud race activity is a potentially

hazardous activity. I represent that I am medically able and properly trained and am physically and mentally able to participate in this race.

I will have to say I don't know if I can agree with all of that! And it goes into all of these injuries and probable problems....ah!

Anyway, I will keep you posted on that one! Today was our first weigh-in for the weight loss challenge. So far, I am down 10 pounds and going strong on the diet. I told the "2 week diet" commenter that he could no longer say that because I am longer than two weeks and still following through! I just hope it sticks and the pounds keep dropping!

Other than that, nothing really exciting is going on. I am finally staying in Columbia for a weekend with nothing planned! It is quite nice! Peace out until next time!

An Awakening

So, this past weekend my family and some close family friends went up to Lake Keowee near Clemson for a getaway. It was beautiful there and the perfect weather! It was, also, the first time my "Mud Run" team was together before the race...and pretty much the only time! Katie had Lindsey and I scheduled to do a 5 mile run Friday morning. I came into it with high hopes of finishing it with no problem.....Lindsey was greatful that I hadn't run more than 3 miles in a LONG time! My high hopes hit the ground about 2.5 miles into it when I remembered I forgot my inhalor and therefore couldn't breathe. It was a disappointing time and I struggled the rest of the run, wishing I had done better. So, I decided to try to convince someone else to do my portion of the Mud Run for me.....I know, I know....slacker. But, the coaxing someone else part didn't work...so I am still in and trying to get in shape to do this race in less than two weeks! The rest of the weekend was spectacular, and although I didn't stay strictly on my diet....I didn't gain any weight back, which was a good plus!

  After the run, we returned back to the lake house to enjoy jumping off the dock roof and relaxation....it was grand!

 We went to the Clemson vs PC game on Saturday and had a great time with friends and a surprise visit from extended family.

Sunday was church day and a cookout for all Lindsey's friends. It was great! And Monday was spent relaxing and enjoying breezy weather with a book in the hammock overlooking the water. You couldn't get a better relaxation weekend! It was hard to return to work!

   The first "weigh-in" comes this Friday for our work competition. From what I hear, I am competing against 33 people and it is going to be fierce! I will keep you posted! Ciao until next time!

Back Trekking.....

So, I have decided to FINALLY document my trip across the US. Figured since I missed blogging about it like I wanted to while on it, I can go back and tell you all about it. And include some of my favorite pics. So, hopefully this won't bore you! I figured I might as well write it down while I remember it, so that I can remember it later in life! So here goes....

     I decided to go on a trip around the US last summer, I have never been to the "middle" of the US. We have always flown from East to West coast. So, I wanted to embark on this adventure and see all the "sights" of the "middle." I began planning and figuring out the best way to go around August, with my ETD being January/February. Well, after leaving my job a little sooner than planned, the trip got pushed up to November. And what a perfect time to go! So, I pitched the idea to some friends, all who had to work, and to Mom and Dad, who had to work too. Mom, then, goes full force trying to convince me not to drive, by myself, because it is dangerous. Dad decides that I just need a gun and a full vehicle service and I am good to go. So, it is a plan. I move all my stuff from Mobile to my parent's house in Georgia and pack up everything I need for a 2 + week trek across the US.

     I left Dalton, GA on a Friday morning with my first stop being St. Louis, Missouri. Handy GPS in hand and 2 atlases, I begin. I put in my handy dandy GPS St. Louis, MI. And we begin. Drove through Chattanooga and Nashville, very uneventful, very pretty. I follow what handy dandy GPS tells me to do, though I remember the atlas telling me different. Handy Dandy GPS has to be right, right? So, after driving about 3 hours, I am totally second guessing my handy dandy GPS. This is after I am about an hour from Louisville, KY. I am not supposed to be near Louisville, KY. So, I pull off onto an exit, pull out my accurate atlas and check. Yep, going the wrong way. Zoom out on GPS....since when is St. Louis beside Lake Eerie? Yea, MI is not Missouri, it is Michigan.....Note to self, learn the 2 letter states symbols. After calling Mom to tell her about this, she begs, once again, for me to please come home and just fly out to LA. No ma'am....I am on a mission! So, thankfully I pulled off on the exit that goes straight to St. Louis, MO! Just added a few hours onto the trip, but that is ok! More states to see! Drove through Indiana, saw the sign for Terre Haute and almost cried....never do I want to return close to there! Drove through Illinois and almost veered to go to Chicago, but kept on track for St. Louis.

     About 3 hours out of St. Louis, I remembered one of my best friends from college was from there. So, I gave her a call to see what all I needed to do while in St. Louis. Smartest decision of my day! She not only told me everywhere to see/eat/etc., she hooked me up with the awesomest tour guides in the world! Her cousins. And, her parents let me stay at their house that night. Oh, tangent, my one part of the trip was that I wasn't planning any of it, just driving until I got somewhere, then stopping and getting a hotel room. So, to have a free place to stay the first night was great! Back, to the trip. So, I get to St. Louis and meet up with Courtney's cousins to start the tour. I saw all of downtown, the Arch, the Union Square, amazing churches, the World's Fair grounds and everything that it encompasses, the largest AMOCO sign in the world, and then it was time to EAT!

St. Louis pizza was the first on the menu from Emo's. AMAZING! is all I can say! They have a special cheese in St. Louis that makes the pizza. That was along with the toasted ravioli and salads we had (omg, I am craving it now!). So, I became a total glutton. (Oh, another side note, I also decided that I would not eat anything on this trip I could get back home). So, after eating the deliciousness of that meal, we decided that I couldn't leave St. Louis without a trip to the famous Ted Drew's custard on Rte 66. I got the apple pie custard. It was, again, AMAZING! And the coolest part of this trip was that Ted Drew was actually there that night and I got my picture with him! People who have lived in St. Louis 50 years hadn't even met him. I am there one night, and cabam! It was rather exciting. So, after that, we did some more touring and I headed to the parental's house for some sleep.

   This is probably long enough for now....so I will post Day 2 and on later on....

Game - Cocks -----Get Me Out!!!

So, today has been a pretty amazing day. It began with presenting a project that I have been working on to everyone loving it (which I was so happy about and relieved!). Then, I was invited to attend my first SEC game ever.....how could I pass that up??? My mom told me to go, so I was all for it. Though, I had worn an orange shirt to work today to show how I wasn't a Gamecock fan.....ironic? So, my wonderful Momma came to visit me at work and bring me a more "neutral" colored shirt. And, she got to meet everyone I work with, which was a hit! I have the funniest, awesomest mom. She had everyone laughing, which is hard to do! So, the day proceeded wonderfully. As I was leaving work, I was totally pumped for my first true football game! So, one of the top guys at the plant stopped as I was walking (with my work shoes in hand and old shirt and purse) and decided to talk to me about the game. As I am talking to him, I am searching for car keys. I can't find them anywhere, great, just what I need. Well, we finish the conversation and he drives off and I continue to walk to the car, hoping I "locked" them in the car. Still can't find them anywhere. So, I get to the car and switch hands of "stuff" and find my keys, hung around my finger.....showing to the top guy....I only wonder how crazy he thinks I am....or true blonde! So, on to the game!
     So, no traffic on the way in, unfortunately missed the tailgating due to work, but made it in time to go into the stadium. Since I was going with Pepsi people, we got pretty nice seats in the club section! It was great! So, we find our seats and go on a search for food. Get to the concession stand and what do I see.....all Coke products! Well, great! The #1 rule I have to follow in my job - "No Coke Products when with Pepsi People." So, decision made, no drink for me. So, we sit down (because no one got drinks) and eat our food. Did I mention we were sweating like banchies because of how hot it was outside????? Anyway, game starts and it is a pretty good game at first. I didn't mind so much the screaming of Game - Cocks across the stadium or even Cocky the Game Cock. That was first quarter. And I would like to say I only made one mistake in cheering really loud for Southern Mississippi! By halftime, I was dying of thirst....so we went searching for SOMETHING, ANYTHING to drink that wasn't Coke product. Thankfully (we walked only halfway around the stadium) we found lemonade! Thank heavens! And headed back to the seats.
    By third quarter USC was beating Southern Miss miserably and I couldn't handle the cawing when the Gamecocks did a good play, so we left. It was a pretty good experience for the first SEC game....though it would have been far better off watching UGA or Clemson :)
    Overall, the day went well and I didn't break the diet too badly at the game....and I walked forever to the stadium and back and climbed stairs, so that counts as training right? Well, it is way too late and my morning starts way too early tomorrow....peace until next time!

The Start to Another New Adventure

So, I have wanted to start a blog for awhile now, but just was too insecure about it. I figure, with all my travels I have had a lot to post about, and now that they are dying down....I start a blog. Makes sense, huh?
Well, today starts another new adventure in my life. We are having a weight loss challenge at work for the next FOUR MONTHS! It ends December 31st, which, as you can see, takes us through EVERY great eating holiday! Oh, this is going to be a tough one! And it doesn't help that on my first day of dieting, I am starving. Well, I figured if I blog about this adventure, that I might stick to it a little longer. I am a little more motivated....because we all know that I am always up for a good competition and sometimes get too competitive in these things.....and because a patient of mine asked me, "What two week diet are you on this time?" I found offense and want to prove him wrong! So, today we start that adventure.
Also, I am preparing for a Mud Run...the United States Marine Corp Mud Run to be exact. It may sound fun to most of you....but, it is going to kill me. Look it up, www.usmcmudrun.org, and you can see. Pure torture that I am subjecting myself to. It is that competitive nature again...Ever since moving to Columbia, I have become a "new person." I would venture out to say I have become a runner....and NEVER did I expect me to EVER have this title! For those of you who don't know, I ran a 10k in March after training 3 weeks and decided that since I finished it running, that running was for me and I invested in some awesome running shoes. They made me invested in running. So, back to the preparing. I figure preparing for this run, along with the weight loss competition, I should be back in tip-top shape in no time! We pray....We found out today that we have a start time of 3:02 in the afternoon. GREAT HEAT time for Columbia! Guess I need to start running in the middle of the day, instead of trying to "wait" for the "cool" night! Also, in the training suggestions it states to "train like you are running the race." Which means I should duct tape my clothes and spray myself down with a waterhose before I run. Plus lots of pull-ups and push-ups. Needless to say, I didn't know what I was getting myself in to when I signed up. So, I will keep you posted on this too!
Hopefully, I will get to blog often and keep you posted on the status of these two adventures, along with whatever other adventures come my way!