Legs. hurt. really. bad.

So Wojtek and I went on a bike ride today.

Turned out to be a bike marathon. But twice as long as an actual marathon. 55 miles to be exact.

It started with Wojtek asking, "Do you feel adventurous?" and ended with extremely sore butts, thighs, arms, and necks. And numb toes.

In between included such highlights as riding through a completely sketchy town on the east side of the river that looked stuck in the 1940's, passing through the SIUE campus, eating copious amounts of candy from the vending machine at the Lewis and Clark museum, having flashbacks of my infamous fall while going down a gravel road, and barely being able to pick up my bike and go up the stairs to my apartment. Good times.

But I was actually pleasantly surprised at my ability to keep pace the whole time. If it hadn't been my first real ride of the year I would have kicked butt. But right now my butt is kicking me for putting it through torture for 5 hours. Yes, 5 hours on that tiny bike seat. Padding doesn't do much for ya after that long.

I had thought about riding to school tomorrow but it's definitely looking like a bus day now!

Oh say can you see..... well, no I can't.

Going back to the eye doctor today to get the rest of my contacts. I've gone for nearly 6 months on a single pair of contacts. Now, mind you I rarely wore them and wore my glasses pretty much all the time, but I am so much more a contact fan. You can't wear sunglasses or ski goggles with glasses on very well, which puts a bit of a damper on the stuff I do outside. So I'm really happy to be back into a fresh, clean pair of contacts. Ones that I can actually see out of, too!

I've been a glasses girl since I was little - 4th or 5th grade, I think. Started off with the teal and purple swirled plastic frames, worked my way into pink metal frames, and finally now ended up with some sleek black rectangle frames. I went a whole 2 years without even owning any glasses, too, after I switched to contacts in high school. I'm pretty sure that's about the time when I started bumping into corners and doorways.... I'm at least smart enough now to use both. :)

Long time, no blog

Yep, been a while. Surprise, surprise... I can't keep up on voice mail much less a blog.

Fail.

But lo and behold, I have returned. Back in school this week after being off for spring break. I spent that time in Keystone skiing with the fam plus James's fam (the guy my mom is seeing). We had a blast! Great weather, great food, great game-playing (Oh Hell anyone?)... good times. Hit up my Picasa page to see all the pics because I'm just too lazy to post them.

I will, however, give you a little treat I made --



(This was the result of me giving up on schoolwork for the day. Apparently my creative side only comes out after my studious side is exhausted.)

But anyway, here's to hoping that I'll be a little better at posting more frequently than every 2 months.

Welcome, 2009!

This is the year where things are going to happen. Graduating, moving across the country, starting a career... Lots of excitement, and along with it, plenty of anxiety. But I feel confident that things are going to work out just as they are supposed to, the good and the bad. I'm going to focus on the opportunities as they present, and let things fall as they may. Keep the expectations at bay and reality in check. Deal with it as it comes!

All in all, I'm just ready for a new year, ready for a fresh start (even if it's not until May or June), and ready to hit the rest of my life ahead with full force! Watch out, world! (Okay, that was just cheesy...)

Wishing you the best in 2009!

There's no place like home

Just a quick note to say that I cannot WAIT to get back home on Friday! It has been a loooong 6 months and now it's down to 2 more days in the clinic. I fly back early early Friday morning and then have 3 full weeks of absolutely no obligations! How wonderful for a change!

I must say that I've never been one to get homesick. Even when I was younger I loved taking off and doing my own thing, not tied down to one place. But -- 6 months is a really long time to be away from people (and animals) that you care about. It doesn't help living in someone else's place surrounded by someone else's things. I've been lucky to find great housing and even made a few new friends along the way, but I'm starting to crave being in *gasp* St. Louis. (Don't tell anyone I said such a thing!)

On that note -- I'm off to start packing!

Rise and shine!

I woke up early this morning, went out to the kitchen to make breakfast and caught a glimpse of the sky outside the window. I was a little surprised to see pink. It's funny how despite the fact that I'm usually up when it's still dark, I never think to look outside at some point to see the sunrise. And they happen every day, so it's not like I have that excuse, like a solar eclipse or something. Doesn't help that I'm currently living in a "plaza" level apartment (fancy word for basement) and out of all the windows except for one all you can see is brick from the other parts of the building.... so it was a nice surprise. Definitely starts the day off a little brighter :)

So of course I had to run out with the camera and fire off a few shots. So in case you weren't up to see the sunrise this morning, I've got you covered. Enjoy!

Lazy days

There are few things I love more than snuggling up on the couch in my flannels on a snowy day. It snowed all day on Thursday and it was beautiful! Cold, but beautiful! I love the way the snow crunches under my boots, and how it always seems to be calm when there are snowflakes in the air. But -- I can only last outside for so long. It's the coming inside and warming up to a bowl of soup or hot chocolate that really makes the day. Growing up it was pretty much a tradition to go out and play in the snow, and when we were ready to come inside my mom would have Lipton's chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows ready for us. It really helped to get out the chill from having snow put down my coat from my brothers...lol.

So guess what I did all day yesterday? Snuggled up in my pj's and watched The Office. Fabulous!

Oh, and I got the pictures from when Wojtek and I spent the day in Boulder. I'll leave you with a couple of 'em.

The non-existent view.

In front of a house for rent. Boulder must be pulling out all the stops when it comes to real estate.