Hunt Camp

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week I got a chance to knock off an item from my 32 list.  I got to visit the Big Spring Hunt Camp or in my life the Jones family Hunt Camp ("camp").  I have been wanting to find some time to go to camp for awhile but honestly had some requirements in my head of who needed to be a part of the adventure. 

All the pieces fell into place for Thanksgiving which is the end of hunt week at camp and all of the people I wanted to be there, were there!  I had asked a lot of questions about what to expect from this place before I got there as I was envisioning no electricity, water etc.  I was pleasantly surprised by camp and really enjoyed just being able to hang out, drink and make fun of catch up with the family who was there.



sign at the entrance



Kay cabin and did I mention it was gorgeous

The best part was the fact that we still had the camp cook there so all our meals were cooked and cleaned up for us, including thanksgiving.  I think I am now spoiled as that was the way to do Thanksgiving!

the feast!

 

 

Little things

So the past week has been both exhausting and amazing.  Let's start with amazing.  Last Friday I had a chance to attend the Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration which was a great excuse to get all dressed up and hang out in Richmond with lots of friends for the night.  I will also say that I'm feeling like the Crossfit is paying off (more later).  Overall the night was a blast and much needed.

Neil decide he wanted to come play &
he even wore appropriate Longwood colors!

the girls

As I left work last weekend I was already dreading how crazy this week was going to be and boy has it lived up to its promises.  After working for a bit Sunday morning and feeling like I'm at work early in the morning and at events until late in the evening a couple of days ago I saw a professor friend post this:

Wednesday near Farmville

An important milestone in my professional career... I've realized there is no such thing as "catching up" on work. Until today, I thought perhaps it was possible. I'm now abandoning that optimistic dream. Never. Going. To. Happen.

         With this as a response:

                  



 I have been living the expectation of "if I can just make it through this week, everything will be fine" fantasy. Of course, next week at this time I ill recite the same mantra!

How many times have we all felt like this?  I didn't necessarily like reading this but realized how true it is and how I just need to step back and do the best I can while enjoying the little things.  So in the last few days I've taken those moments to reflect on those little things, in no order:

• I work with some amazing students and one group  that sometimes gets a little less attention than others because they are so high functioning and amazing!  They know who they are.  I needed the reminder from an outside perspective to remember this but as long as I remember it right?
• That glass of wine at the end of a crazy day is a good thing
• Starting the day with a text and conversation from someone who makes you laugh!
• learning that with 10 weeks of Crossfit that I have lost 10.25" from my body measurements!
• A virtual apples to apples game that has been happening since mid-July and that made a come back this week and makes me laugh...alot!

So let's all celebrate those small things and realize that things are still going to be there tomorrow, next week, etc!

Apple Butter and Family

One of my favorite times of year is October, no not because of the weather, it's because it's Apple Butter weekend for my family.  I don't know where it came from but now every year my extended family gets together for our national holiday called Apple Butter.  The whole idea behind it is that we make apple butter, which is delicious and amazing and easy to make.  

This kettle makes 40 gallons of Apple Butter

I was extra excited this year because Dad came down from NY with some of the immediate family so it was nice to catch up with him! 

Dad got to join us this year

So besides the making of apple butter and cider it gives us all a chance to catch up, connect and sometimes to make fun of each other!  It seems that there is always a college football game that can stir up some drama rivalry and this year was no exception.  This was the year of WVU (where most of the family's loyalty lies) at Texas (where poor Vince went to school).  There was lots of prep work for the smack talking that started pre-weekend and continued throughout.

Hook 'Em got a present of a WVU shirt that Vince was not supporting

the game watchers

As usual this weekend did not disappoint, I enjoyed those who were there and we stop for a minute second to talk about those who were not in attendance.  I also got to fill up my friends here with fresh apple cider and I have my fresh stash of apple butter for the year.

All 40+ of us!

Crossfit and My Brother?

So I have an older brother (in case you didn't know) who's about 2 1/2 years older than me.  As in the case with most siblings we've had our ups and downs and went quite a few years talking only once every six months or so.  A few years ago that changed and he and I are very close now and we communicate fairly regularly...with him being on the west coast sometimes that's hard.

Isn't this a typical brother/sister pic? I don't trust him!

About 4ish years ago or so my brother started talking about this Crossfit stuff he was doing.  Let me mention that by education he is a computer engineer, but he started talking about this gym he was opening but it wasn't what I would be used to as compared to a 'regular' gym, it was a Crossfit gym so I couldn't walk in and jump on a treadmill.  So for a few years he busted his *ss working as an engineer and getting Crossfit Genesis started.  Then he took the plunge and decided he wanted to leave the computer job (I didn't understand what he did anyways) and give Crossfit his full attention.  While I've seen/heard his struggles through the past few years as he's done this, I've never been prouder as I see how happy this makes him.  

Check out his hard work!

I got to see Crossfit Genesis a couple of years ago when I went to visit him in Cali.  I didn't get the chance to try a workout though.  Little did big brother know I really wanted to have that experience, so I got really excited when earlier this month I heard that Crossfit 1st Due was opening here in Farmville.  

Where I'm spending my free time!

It's been two weeks since I have started and let me tell you I am addicted!  For people who don't believe that you can get a thorough workout done in only 15-20 minutes, let me tell you, you can!  There are times I don't think I can get through a work out but there are always people around to support me and encourage me through it.  It's becoming a great and very solid stress reliever and been a good excuse for me to walk out of work at 5pm to get to class. If you have a chance I highly recommend checking out a Crossfit near you.  Thanks brother for the introduction and the impact I don't think you realize you even had!

New Year

This time of year is always bittersweet for me.  Today marks the start of another academic year.  Campus during the summer is very quiet and there's a more relaxing pace of life happening.  For most of the summer that means no evening or weekend committments so very 9-5.  After awhile though I miss the students coming in and out and having those life conversations with them.

Longwood's Rotunda

A couple of weeks ago we welcomed our first group of early arrivals and today we welcome our first year students, the Class of 2016, crazy that by the time they graduate I will have been done for 15 years (I will always be a Hartford Hawk)!  So while my 9 to 5 is out the window I know I will settle back into the 'routine' of the year quickly. 

Welcome to Longwood...I hope your time as a Lancer is as great as mines been for the past 5 years!

Welcome to Longwood!

Living the Gypsy Life

After last summer I told myself I wouldn't travel as much and I would spend more time at home.  So when this spring rolled around and my summer leadership experience offers started rolling in I had a long internal conversation with myself and kept reminding myself of how tired I was last summer.  In my infinite wisdom I decided that putting both  leadership opportunities back to back were a good idea (with some vacation thrown in there of course).  Now here I sit 4.5 days removed from spending the last 17 days on the road.

While I won't bore you with specifics, here are some highlights, because yes I'm very excited about them!

First up was my first ever trip to Texas..San Antonio to be specific.  While getting to catch up and spend quality time with my good friend Rick was a highlight, so was seeing the Alamo and Riverwalk.

Remember the Alamo

Rick on the tour of the river.

So really the reason for this trip was some work with my wonderful sorority Phi Mu ahead of their convention.  While I couldn't stay for convention this year I have committed that I will be there in 2 years when convention is in Boca Raton!  If you ever get the chance to go to the JW Marriott resort in San Antonio though, do it, it was gorgeous!

my chapter's banner

From Texas I went straight to NY to Dad's house.  This was a short trip and really the reason for the trip was to run the Boilermaker 15K (9.3 miles).

It's been a few years since I've been to upstate NY in the summer...it's a much different place than in the winter!  I also got the pleasure of having lunch one day with all 5 of my nieces and nephews.  Lots of laughs and hugs there!

all 5 of my kiddos and a doll!

the two oldest Tebowing.

After a quick 36 hour trip stop at home I was off to Indiana to work with Triangle Fraternity.  One of the best parts of this leg of the trip was getting to see the beautiful Cara, well that and the other 10 new friends I've made, let's not talk about the ongoing group text message (game of Apples to Apples) that we've had running since!

Cara and I

I can't express how excited I was to head home last Sunday.  While it's been a blast, there's something to be said to sleep in your own bed and have a schedule of your own!

the road home

Beach Week

One of my favorite places to go is here...Emerald Isle, NC.

I've grown up going to this beach, more so now that I live in VA and only have to drive 4.5 hours to get there.  Well last week was beach week so basically I was in heaven and above was the view we had.  AMAZING!  


There was a fairly large group in for beach week this year, which made it fun and I don't think I had to be alone on the beach very much at all...or ever!  Finally on Friday we decided we should take the 4yo to the aquarium to see the penguins that were on display for the summer.  I do think penguins are adorable.

The poor guy up top though was molting so he was not playing nicely with the others and looked kind of awkward sitting up there.  I guess we all have those days right???


Right before vacation two exciting things happened. I hit my first 10lb down mark...clearly that didn't last with vacation but hey it was a stepping stone right?  Second my new running shoes came in the mail.  

Currently I am a loyal Asics fan and just keep buying the newer model of what I have, so these are my 2170.  Yes I even starting breaking them in over vacation and ran 3 times that week, including one hot and steamy 5.6 miles trip.  


And one more picture of my heaven.

Long time coming...

I feel like this post has been one that is a long time in the coming, or at least one that I've been thinking about, I even wrote it and then sat on it for 2 months before I actually posted it.  One of the main things I am tackling with this 32 list is getting my weight under control. I feel like I have always been the fat kid, I remember being overweight in middle school and while I played sports all through high school I also remember being bigger heavier (at least in my head because clearly I didn't get on a scale) than my friends.

 Adorable at age 4

and it begins...about age 11 or 6th grade

(I am sad to say that even then I was a size 14 pants)

Enter college...headed into my third year I dropped some weight, again scales weren't a part of my life so I don't know how much, but I didn't do it in a healthy way but used supplements, that were not as well known about as they are now and probably stayed at that size through graduation. 

Summer 2000, what I think of as my skinniest,

 maybe not the healthiest though

I feel like the harder life transition besides starting college, is the year or two after graduation, which is when I started putting weight back on.  I also diagnosed with low thyroid soon after college, which if you are familiar with involves weight gain and LOTS of sleeping. Lovely right?


I worked with a trainer for a few years while in CT and directly up until I moved to VA 5 years ago which is where I slowly started putting weight back on.  Boy do I miss her and I have not found a trainer I like as much since then!


Now I'm at that time in my life where I'm actively working towards losing weight, yes I know it's about how you feel, but honestly I don't feel good about myself right now.  I'm slowly getting there but there's still work to do.  In the bigger picture as I look to my future and know that I want kids to be a part of it, I know that I need to lose weight. 


Losing weight is something to struggle with, I know that for me to be successful I have to change eating habits, which I do really well for a day or two, then I slip fall off the wagon for a day.  I'm down about 8ish lbs, give or take and it's SLOW...I mean I seem to struggle with the same up 1 lb a week, then down the next.  I need to figure out what's going to work for me and stick with it. 


Ugh I'm over feeling like I will always be the fat kid in life............

Adventures in the Mid West

So life or really just work and festivities got in the way and delayed my wedding related post last week!  So as previously mentioned I spent the first weekend of May traveling to IL and MO to see a friend get married.  My friend Neil and I always have fun together but add in some travel and you know it's going to be good.  This trip proved to be nothing but entertaining.

Neil and I at the reception

After very little sleep we rolled out of bed and onto our plane(s) to St. Louis where we then drove to Waterloo, IL, the birth place of Neil, to spend approximately 27 hours hanging out with his parents and family.  Of course there's a winery about .2 miles from his house so we HAD to go, and being a beautiful day it was nice just to relax on the deck with a bottle or two.

Saturday morning dawned a GORGEOUS and warm hot morning so as we were on our way to get pedicures Neil commented on a dry patch on his arm.  I looked at it and commented that it probably wasn't a dry patch but looked like a bite of some sort, similar to what my spider bite had looked like years prior (see evidence below).

Notice how red it is?

So this set in a motion a quick trip to urgent care, who did confirm that it was a spider bite and ended in antibiotics, but that clearly wasn't going to stop the wedding fun.  

Our friend Erika and her husband Dan were married in a beautiful garden and we had a blast, as evidenced by how rough our travels were home Sunday morning!  All in all it was a wonderful trip and it was so much fun to be able to celebrate the bride and groom, they are one of those couples that you can just tell fit together and they seemed to have a blast at the event.

So yet again another fun filled and successful travel weekend with Neil!  Good thing our next trip doesn't involved planes, but it does involved driving and the beach....could be dangerous!

Clean Closet

I love the feeling of having a clean closet and dressers!  It wasn't that painful and I think I was pretty honest with what to keep and get rid of.  So two bags of clothes and 5 pairs of shoes later I have officially gone through my clothes. I have realized that I wear my shoes to death, the ones that got thrown away were falling apart.

 

I also used a little trick I saw on pinterest, turn your hangers the opposite way of normal and then as you wear things turn them around. At the end of six months any hanger that hasn't been turned is clothes that should be gotten rid of. 

So as I mentioned in my last post, I don't have a TON of clothes.  Honestly I think it's because I dislike shopping right now.  As I'm embarking on this journey, I'm starting to lose weight and right now I have clothes that fit, but not JUST RIGHT.  So I did start a box of a few things that fall into that category. I'm giving myself another month or two and then we'll try them on again. if I don't like then, they are going to goodwill. So glad that this is a big check mark off the list!

Stay tuned as I am sure there will be entertaining post early next week as I head to St. Louis to celebrate my friend Erika's wedding with Neil.  Our adventures are always a good time, and this is sure to be nothing less!

Sorting Through the Mess

As the semester winds down I'm starting to work on some of the 'little' things on my list.  This week I started the daunting task of going through my clothes and figuring out which ones I can get rid of.  Surprisingly I don't have a TON of clothes, I'd rather spend my money on traveling than buying clothes, and I just don't like clothes shopping (post on why coming later), as I get very frustrated about things not fitting.  This may also explain why some of my favorite workout clothes are starting to fall apart.

Does anyone else end up feeling like they make a big mess when they try to go through clothes?

 

This was just the stuff from the closet in the front room of my house, my skirts, dresses and some summer tops.  I did pretty well and got rid of a lot, but did keep three things that are going in the give it 6 months pile and then try on again as they are just a LITTLE too tight for comfort right now.  Hopefully this weekend I can tackle the rest.

On a different note I am very excited that my new work computer came in.

Surprisingly it's been sitting in that box for a week as I have to wait for like 23935825372 things to happen before IT can set it up, or just 3 steps.  I know when it gets set up I will be preoccupied for at least a day or two so I'm okay with the slowness at this point.  Next week that may change!

Last thing for today, yesterday I ran downstairs to the cafe in the union to grab something to eat.  There was a young lady two people ahead of me in line who asked the cashier to tell her how much a bagel and cream cheese would be.Then I see her sitting at the table counting out change to try and make sure she has enough.  I told the cashier I would pay for it and as I walked out I stopped the young lady and told her I bought her bagel and good luck with finals.  The look on her face was one of shock and I think she almost got teary.  To me it wasn't anything major but it was something that needed to be done and I was happy to do it. 

Just What the Dr. Ordered

Sometimes a weekend away is what the doctor ordered.  I had a great weekend last weekend hanging out in Charlotte with my cousins, who I hadn't seen in like a year, my bad, but it's always a good time when we get together!  Lots of wine, good food and playing cards.  The best part was getting to hang out with this little one.   

I love kids but never know how they are going to react to people they don't see often, but this little one and I hit it right off again!  I had a blast running around town all weekend and getting to catch up.  This was her Easter outfit right before we went to brunch, how cute, I do think she enjoyed the escalator at our brunch location more than food itself!

As I count down to the end of the semester...2 weeks until finals start.....one of the biggest events left is Spring Weekend.  This is an ALL campus event and really just means I'm working around campus most of the weekend.  Had this conversation with a good friend of mine who is also in higher ed...all higher ed friends will appreciate this. 

OK off to work some more, by work I really mean wander aimlessly and see what's going on with Oozeball and various other happenings!

Done!

Ok so I did it and while I wanted to dislike it I couldn't help but like it.  

Yes, I enjoyed the Hunger Games!  So much so that I am borrowing the next two from a friend to read.  I think I managed to read it all in less than a week!  So now it's done and I'm looking for a movie viewing partner!

Finally doing it.

So I spent a fun, and very rainy weekend with this thing pet, Catcher.  I love her but sometimes she is high maintenance and wouldn't even go out in the rain to use the bathroom.  I do have to say that since there were people over hanging out Friday night she definitely stayed up past her bedtime and then slept most of Saturday morning which was nice!

Ok seriously I've finally broken down and am going to do it...I've started reading "Hunger Games." 

I even asked my favorite librarian aunt for her opinion on reading it, as she was the one who a couple of years ago got me to finally read this and I loved it!

Her opinion on Hunger Games was not overwhelming but after the movie came out this weekend, I got notified that the library had the copy I requested waiting for me, so I dove in last night with the idea that I'd read the first one and if I like it enough I'll read the other two and if I didn't I won't.  Seems easy enough.  So I'm about 3 chapters in and the jury is still out, I'll let you know!

Am I Becoming a Klutz?

Do you ever feel like you need to spend a couple of days wrapped in bubble wrap?

 

 

Source

For whatever reason that's what I feel like this week.  I think my body and house may be safer if I was wrapped in bubble wrap?

Why you ask, well earlier this week I dropped a jar of Tahini Butter as I was making hummus.  It went everywhere, the cabinet doors, counter, floor, there may have even been some on the ceiling.  Oops!  Then yesterday as I was walking to my car I feel and did this.

The problem was that I was in a hurry to get to softball practice, and I was already "late", so what did I do? I poured some rubbing alcohol onto it and then threw some band-aids over it so it wouldn't be openly bleeding and went to softball.  Don't worry I properly took care of it when I got home and it definitely hurt more than it needed to, but now I'm walking around looking like a 10 year kid with skinned knees.

Hopefully my klutziness is short lived and I don't manage to maim myself too much this weekend!  

 

Stay tuned for a 3 month check in on my 32 in 32 list. Hopefully coming this weekend.

Too Many Thoughts

So many thoughts and so many ideas for a post so I figure I'll choose one now and then get to another one later this week.  I just looked at my list for the first time in a month or so, I pretty much know what's on my list (because duh I made it), but haven't read the whole thing recently.

The exciting thing is that I realized that I can officially cross off #17 from my list.  I presented in February at the AFLV conference, which is funny because 10 days later we did the same presentation as a webinar.  This was an intentional plan but the team I presented with realize how hard it can be to adapt an in person presentation to a webinar.  The friends I did this with and I are much interactive presenters so not being able to see faces, ask questions and get feedback was HARD!  Good experience but glad they are over!

I also got notified this week that I was selected to facilitate at Phi Mu's IMPACT, which is right before our convention.  That means I get to cross another thing off the list!  So excited for this experience, even if I won't be staying for the entire convention being there for part of it will be amazing.

Ok enough for tonight. More to come soon.