Who I see When I look through the mirror...

Jesus, Dance through me...

Walk with me...

Father... guide my footsteps and all of my ways...

...Jesus, be the center of me...

Shew and moments

Well, ok so today was good, this week has been great {well ya no, better :) } I have been doing great with my running this week! How??? Not sure, it just happened, woohoo! Monday night, I sent a txt to this girl, Kaitlyn, that I work w/ @ McAlister's Deli, to see if she wanted to run Tuesday morning at 6:30a. She sounded excited to run w/ me! So we ran 45min around Boone, in the pitch black, dark morning. Oh how it felt so good, so fun. So, because running w/ people takes away any feelings of "having2 run", I sent out another txt to a girl in one of my nutrition classes. She is an awesome athlete with three kids and a husband. Although she still travels from Wilkes daily, she still was very excited to get out and run. We had the most awesome run!!! We ran a very intense 52min with a mixture of flat ground, hill sprints, rolling hills, and stairs. I love to run w/ her because we are actually/ pretty much on the same level! Which is awesome! I usually have to slow down the entire run or have to walk, but today was perfect.

Ok, so any way, I guess you can tell that I have been workout buddy deprived :). For real, it's kinda killed me mentally and physically. I need that zone of friendly workout conversation to keep me focused, in shape, and well yeah happy. I get pretty depressed when I don't know anyone, or if I do know the people around me, there seems to always be a barrier between me and them. I will be honest, I'm pretty much an aloner. I will make friends, but for some reason, I cannot get to close to them. So, a workout relationship works out pretty well for me. Anything other than that, I feel vulnerable in a way, meaning the other person finds out way2 much about me, then well, yeah, I get scared, and back away. Again! I always do that. It's frustrating. I met 3great girls on the 3rd floor, great christians. But, for some reason, I just can't make myself get to know them any more than I do. I really really like them though. I don't know. Does that make any sense or am I just weird? I'm probably just weird. Well it's4 real. When I was younger, it seemed that my friends that knew me the most, ended up being the ones that hurt me the most. So, I bought a dog, something that would not kill over within 3years like my lil Guinney Pig, Pookey. My dog, Kayley, has been one of my greatest pals ever. For seven years, she has always been by my side, no matter what. When I cry, she knows, some how she always knows when I'm hurting or upset. She would jump all over me and lick me like crazy, which 4ever made me laugh. She is even there when I perform my daily pushups. lol I'ts pretty funny. I get licked within every pushup and end up smashing the dog, but that's her fault :). So yeah, Kate's my pal :)

Man, I have made it through another week! This week has been so busy (thank God!), but it has been good. I hate to be in the place being lonely and bored, not good! Last week was hard, because I was faced with several test failures, loneliness, little home sick, miss my dog, miss John and Sara, was not sure if I should continue working at McAlister's, and so on. So, like I said before, WORRY4 Nothing, Be anxious4 Nothing!

Yes it's true, I'm really thinking about giving up my campus job :( :( :(. I really enjoy coming into work @ 8:00 in the morning with a stream of "good morning.. hey Elizabeth how are you.. hey honey, ok now do the lettuce, lol in exact words :)" I enjoy working, because that's one thing that is mine. My job, my responsibility. If I know my job and do well, I feel empowered. Unfortunately, the job honestly is taxing on my body in order to function afterwards for Finance tutoring, Purchasing class, then sweat to get to my Finance class across campus. By the time I finish my day at 5pm, I am so run down, my feet hurt, it's easier to get behind in school and depressed. One reason I try to line up a work out the instant I get out at 5pm.. zone out and breath... just zone out and breath!! Today, once I started running, my feet quit aching, my stomach quit hurting, and I felt so relieved, Shew.

After my run tonight, I came back into my dorm for a nice hot shower, oh it was so great, so great! I overheard my suit mates in the other room talking about a Study Abroad information session with a Mexican Dinner, downstairs of our building. I opened the bathroom door and asked them about it. It was goin2 go on in 30min. Knowing me, I was thinkin, "well you guys go have fun", but I'm like no, "are you guys goin???" So I walked downstairs with them to the thing. It was actually fun! I offered to help prepare the mexican dinner and got my picture made several times, lol... oh after a run to, my hair was not all that great. But, the pics will be posted on the Appstate web site somewhere. I'll keep you posted on that. I was "Elizabeth Horton, the cheese prep", I thought that was cool. The meal was great! I was starving.

Well, My Law book seems to be calling out to me. Guess I better go see what it has to say tonight, my guess is a bunch of stuff about contracts and obligations.

Have a great night! ~ long blog, and honestly not sure what all I talked about, but it's probably something that's weighing on my heart that needs to be addressed and heard. Thank you for listening.

Think on These Things

Hello bloggers :) So today has been a good day so far. Work was good, no complaints, however, I never knew lettuce could be such a pain to deal with. But, overall, work keeps me going. So, I am writing to you in avoidance of my school work overload. Taking a mental break.

This morning while I was spinning lettuce, I began to think of who God is, how He works, and well why. God takes the sin and cares of the world onto his shoulders. No man put forth on earth has the ultimate powers of the Living God. Meditating on that, I started to think of how can we focus on the worries and fears of life that creep up from time to time, when we least expect it. Knowing this, I quickly turned my focus back on the lettuce... Being creative is the most awesome gift. (I am rambling, but>) A meek and quiet spirit comes when we put our focus and thoughts in the right place and on the right things. Here are a few quotes that I quote in my head daily to keep my mind straight: "Be anxious for nothing" "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself" "Love does not boast or envy; love lacks nothing; love is merciful and kind; love never fails" "whatever is lovely, honorable, and of good report, think on these things!"

Well, here and always, have a good day! Elizabeth

Appalachian Girl

Hello people! I am living in Boone! Kinda shocking :) n going to Appalachian. So today has been a good day. It started off great, I got up out of bed at 6am, got ready, fixed lunch (1/2 turkey sandwich), some snacks (triscuits, 1/4 string cheese, carrots, and n apple), then fixed my breakfast. I had hot oats w/ 1/4 banana,fruit pieces, milk, and an apple sauce cup. I quickly cleaned my bowl n spoon, :) said hello to roommate #2, then headed out the door to the Library. I am so privileged to see the most amazing views as I go to and from my dorm room and roaming the campus roads. My beautiful view contains the gorgeous duck pond and its water fountain...


My Journey to work is so refreshing, containing beautiful stone archways...


My first day of work at McAlister's Deli :)...

As you can see, I take great pride in my job and having the privilege of working...

And my face shows quite the expression of fatigue or my first day of school exhaustion.

Ok, so back on track with my day.... So, today I got up early and headed towards the Library. It's kinda cool to say that I have a 24hr Library. One night I was in the library after 11pm and 2 cops were running the desk... ~ mysterious ~......

The Library was nice and quiet this morning with many studious people at work. I chose to sit near the windows at the large wooden tables. The library is quite beautiful. My favorite floor is the 3rd floor, out of 4, b/c it's the "quiet floor". I guess I just like the name.

So, here I am sitting in this large chair in the library studying The Law of Environmental Business. I took long extensive notes for an hour n fifteen min before class. And what do you know, right as class started @ 9:30am, we were asked to tare out a blank sheet of paper for a quiz! Yikes! But it was great, because I had just reviewed and rewrote the Jurisdiction of Federal Court! And, what do you know, that was the quiz... Shew, thank goodness :)...

I. Subject of Matter Jurisdiction II) Territorial a. in Personam b. in Rem III) Federal Question IV) Diversity of Citizenship. Now, don't you feel educated... lol no sorry couldn't help myself but to fill you in on what I am studying.

Tuesday night, after my Environmental Health class, I passed one of the professors office and couldn't help but to laugh:

This little sign made my night :)! I was tired and hungry, but this guys creativity was just so cheerful, I couldn't help but smile all the way home. I thought it was quite funny to see a man of great stature that obtained his Doctorate Degree put this on his door. Very cute :)

Tomorrow, Fri, September 3rd, Me and my mom are going to Old Salem to kinda celebrate her early Birthday present. I have not been there since the 3rd grade. So, stay tuned for more upcoming events in the life of, well, Me :)

Hello

hmmmm ahh hey bloggers... It's been awhile huh??? ! ? I hope all of you have been doing well. I'm good, just pretty tired and feel a little sick. I have been working way2 much lately and have the most disasterouse room you have ever seen! I went running 2day B4 church! I really needed that, it has been a while since I've been able to really get a good run in. My hips are my proof :( So sad, but I am extremely determined to get my body back where it should and has to be! So determined, but I HATEEEE cutting back on my diet! I stay so freaken miserable when I have2 do that, so I would rather just run than watch every measly carb that enters my body... ya no :) Oh how I love oatmeal :) I seriously could eat it all the time... me n my mom were talking of starting an oatmeal diet. lol not serious, but it would be cool.

My dog has been fighting dog allergies for like months it seems. She has been biting her feet and the back of her tail til she is like reddish brown :( The vet prescribed this "top of the line"... "new on the market" allergy medicine. He said it was only $49.00 for 15days and that I was supposed to give her the pill everyday for a month, then slowly decrease to one pill a week... What a way to cure puppy allergies!!!! So... I'm like, "so what was the pill that you guys prescribed B4 this one came on the market???" Well, yeah so he was like, "oh that was just some blah ble blah pill, this one is much better." I left the vet with nothing and went to Wal-Mart. I found this dog oil that has wheatgerm oils and lots of other minerals. My mom pours it on Kayley's dog food every night with an allergy pill. She absolutely loves the stuff and I only paid $8.00 for the oil and the allergy pill. Success!

I now have a much happier pooch!

Well, I just thought I would stop n say hello... 4give me... I'm a little overwhelmed. It's pretty bad, and I am embarrassed to say this, but I have been promising someone a nutrition plan since May!!!!!!! Don't ask what my problem is, I just can't seem to catch up with anything or with any body. I'm forcing myself to do better though, I have got to... I cannot afford this lack of discipline. In September, I will only be working @ the Y 4days! That will really help my tiredness levels... I hope.

Ok, I guess I am goin to go back to bed now... sweet dreams bloggers :)

My Dental Experience :0)

Hello Bloggers! It has been a very good day so far... thank goodness! No, but this weekend was quite an ordeal for me. Saturday, I had the great opportunity to get my wisdom teeth pried out of my mouth! The Moms of Mercy Dental Clinic traveled to Sparta, NC to offer low income family's [or students] ;) to get their teeth worked on for free. Most of the dental people were dental students from all over North Carolina, and I knew several of them! That brought me a lot of comfort in the midst of watching hundreds of people w/ bloody mouths :4 Four of the students were from my college, WCC that I graduated from! It was really cool to see them in there uniform and out from under their Biology books.

So, anyway... I wanted to fill you in on my little dental experience. Saturday morning me and my mom got up at 4am to leave the house by 4:50am. I met two of my friends at the Melody Square, the little antique mall down the road. We then headed up the mountain to Sparta. I wish I felt good enough on the way home to capture some pictures. It is so pretty up there. We passed 4 deer on the side of the road beside streams. I wondered how long it would take to get to Charlotte from there, and sadly my mom said ~ 3hours... not duable for the fam... but it would be a pretty little place to visit anyway. While my mom waited on me for 9 HOURS! to get my teeth taken out, she roamed the little downtown streets. She sent me a txt while I sat there in anxiety :)... showing me a little coffee shop... Oh coffee, I thought. Finally! The Oral Surgeon was ready to see me. I was the last patient to see him, and he only saw six that day! There were like 50 dental students, so people who came hours before me just walzed right up in front of me. Sad, but they wanted me to only see this one dude named, Dr. Rabe... They claimed he was the finest. So, I waited all day long to see the finest :) I guess that's not such a bad offer. He gave up his entire day for the clinic for free, on top of his 60hr work week. He looked exhausted, but he was so nice to me... which I was truly grateful. After the surgery, I was so hungry!!! But, oh so numb... I wish that he did not give me so many shots. I could not talk at all, not at all after that.

Ok, so about 7pm that night I managed to pour soup in my mouth. It was so good. I then helped with the dishes and cleaned my room. After all of that, I was ready to hit the bed. My mom woke me up ~ 11pm to give me some extreme pain killer. I don't do meds at all, except for Advil, so that was like way to much. My mouth would not stop bleeding at all that day, so as I was changing the guaze... I was on the floor soaking wet! I then just repeatedly kept asking "why am I wet." My mom was like "Elizabeth! You fainted... whats wrong!" honestly was kind of funny... but the scary part was... my vision left me for ~ 1min. I then was kinda freiked b/c I felt dizzy, no vision, and hungry to an extreme! I then sat on the floor and pushed myself down the stairs to get food. My mom fixed me some oatmeal... I loved it... Then my mom had txt my brother n he came home in a flash. He left ~2am to go to Wallgreens and Wal-Mart to buy me some Ensure and soup. What a weekend it was! I finally was able to leave the house yesterday. I have really enjoyed my time at home... even though I'm in a lil pain... there is nothing like home. I cleaned, practiced my ballet, worshiped, organized the cats "pad/house" downstairs (she is so much happier).

Shew... ok, I really better shut up b4 I lose some of you readers... a lil long I know.... sorry :)

Great Way to Start my Wednesday!

This morning was a lot of fun! I woke up ~ 6:30am... my mom had already made Jello, watered the garden, read her Bible, and did her ab exercises! I thought that was pretty good for how early it was... I was so so proud :) ! !!!! ! !! She then wanted to leave the house early to get some grocery shopping done. I was excited she had so much energy. So, I jumped in the shower, threw my clothes on, put my makeup on, and tossed my hair up. We then left for Wal-Mart at 7:30am. We strolled around buying veggies, fruit, salsa, eggs, Advil, and cat food. It was pretty fun... no traffic jam in the aisles, it was a nice way to ease our shopping in stress free :) As we left for the checkout... I saw Tabitha! working on her day off :( so sad, I so understand though.... ugh work... that's a whole nother story. After shopping, we filled my car with a few groceries and mom took off for her 8hr day @ work. Me... I went home... put groceries away... fed the cat... pet the cat... played with Kayley. Finally... breakfast time!

I started a pot of tea on the stove. I used 3bags of Lipton Tea with 1orange tea bag. I first boiled the water and let the tea bags steep for ~5min. I added ~1/4-1/2c Organic Raw Sugar (my mom's recipe... except she uses 2 Lemon Tea bags w/ the Lipton).

There it is... Steeping

Here is where we drain the tea bags to get the ultimate flavor
and pour into the gallon container

I then fixed some oatmeal. I have changed up my morning routine a little. My mom has been fixing me a great bowl of oats w/ an egg white every morning w/ mashed fruit. She sprinkles a touch of raw sugar to enhance the flavor of the oatmeal. I have enjoyed this so so much. I is quite excellent and I am truly grateful that she has taken the time to perfect my oatmeal breakfast for me :) ! Today is the first day that I can chew my fruit without having to mash everything! What a delicacy! I made my oats this morning with: heaping 1/2cup oatmeal, 1 TB Wheat Germ, 1 TB Wheat Bran, and few Sunflower Seeds. I mixed the dry mixture.

I then poured water in the bowl. I added two egg whites over the oats! This is a great way to get high performance protein in your diet, especially when you are on the GO! I absolutely love this concoction. After adding the egg whites, I heated the oatmeal in the microwave for 1 1/2 min.


I lightly poured Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze over the hot oats and sprinkled 1 TB ground Flax and little raw sugar over the hot oats

In a small Starbucks mug, I cut up about half cup of
fresh strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, and placed in the cup

After heating the oats one last time for ~ 40sec, I poured the freshly mixed fruit over the oatmeal

And Finally! Paired my oatmeal breakfast with a tall glass of freshly brewed Iced Tea! :)

What a great way to start my Wednesday :) !!
Hope you guys have a great day 2day!

John and Sara ~ a big part of my family :)

One year ago ~today was my brother and his gorgeous wife's 1st year Wedding Anniversary! They have been married for two years now, which only touches how long they have loved each other. They are one of the few couples that have stuck together strong and still madly in Love. My heart goes out to both of them as they reach new milestones throughout life and conquer the impossibles.

There is no greater love than one that is pure in heart and true

I love you John and Sara!

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Love,
Mom, Ben & Crystal, Laurie, Elizabeth, Stephen, and Tyler
We Love You!!!!

A nice ending to a Good Day

Hey Bloggers! What's happenin today??? I had my midterm yesterday... after the test I totally new that I blew it. The test was really hard. It was just complicated w/ 50 computer, technology, database something questions and 6 essay questions. I finished the exam in 85minutes. I had a tiring headache afterwords. I just new I failed... But, my teacher showed us our test scores Today! I have never seen a teacher grade anything as fast as this guy does. I really really like him, he is so nice, funny, understanding, and he treats us as people/students instead of objects... I hate being an object! I'm a person w/ feeling you know! :`)... Ok, so anyway... The highest score in the class was an 84 and the lowest was a 63. My grade was right smack in the middle... I made a 73! I never felt so happy to get a C :). Today was a very good day. I have felt very sick all day, just from driving myself day after day! But, I knew today was my last day of school til Monday, so that really helped cool me off. I spent 3hrs in the coffee shop on my computer. I read an entire chapter in my computer book, took notes, researched, and typed a page for my forum... so productive :)

I wanted to show you my glory pic I took after finding out my grade... not the best picture setting, but the mirror helped get all of me for you guys :`)

My Lil studious Pic

Check out the bus station I stood at while waiting for that Orange Bus... that always left me... smack flat in the rain.

Well, the bus station is no more, it is now a pile of dirt w/ a truck on top. Boone has more construction than I have ever seen in my life! I am telling you, It's scary to look at it all. It starts 2miles from the college and is dragged on for miles. There are bulldozers everywhere, cranes everywhere, and tractors everywhere! Driving is kinda dangerous, b/c there is road blocks in diff places of the road everyday... you can see trucks rolling over huge Mt. high dirt piles.. turning that into a 6 lane highway! It is honestly insane.

I was studying on the 3rd floor of my building the other day and the whole place shook as if it was an earthquake! But, no it was construction workers blasting out a parking lot! So freaky :`)

Anyhoo.. I'm back.. have a great day :) Tomorrow is another 2ble shift 8-1 and 5-9, sigh
It'l be ok, I'm looking forward to Saturday.

My mom had a prayer meeting tonight w/ a bunch of ladies. One of them brought a Raspberry Chocolate Tiramisu served w/ coffee and raspberries.
Oh my gosh.. after my staff meeting I totally tried that :`)
Oh so good.

Today

Hey bloggers :0) this is going to be short, but just wanted to keep you guys connected. My midterm is tomorrow! I looked at my study guide this morning, it is 23 PAGES! To top it off, it was not posted til today :( What luck huh... and I am already suffering from severe sleep deprivation, no joke. So anyway, please please pray, that's a lot of material for 3weeks. It has been a while since I have posted a picture... Maybe this little cheerful image will bring thoughts of summer, I love the dancing clouds.

The Rush

Oh man, it's been a week... let me tell you! I originally decided that I could only work on Tuesdays and every other Monday. That way I could totally focus on school and not kill myself (generally speaking... I am not depressed any more :) wam so happy). Well, my schedule grew after the first of the month. I added in some personal training Tues and Thurs @ 7am before school, then I find that I am working Tues, Wed, Thur, and dble shifts on Friday! Sooo not good! So, every night last week I stayed up til 3. By the time Thursday came, I was about to be sick. Then Thursday night rolled around... I got in the bed @ 9:30p!!! So needed that... then woke up Friday ~7am, relaxed, ate some oatmeal, then went to a cycle class, got dressed, spent the day at the Library, picked up a coworker, went to work, came home ate watermelon w/ the fam, and crashed! Today, I thought I would be really exhausted and weak, but I am ok. I really took it easy yesterday so that I could recover. I just did some weight training w/ a guy this morning and ran stairs. I decided not to go out for a run. I am happy with my decision because I know, If I exhaust myself one more time until I feel recovered... well it won't be good.
Ok, so anyway about my problems :). Summer school is going really good. It's very very hard... new assignments every stinkin day, but I am grateful to be busy with something productive. I will be able to take 12 credit hours in the Fall, instead of 15!! 15 is way to much, I enjoy school, but when I pile the work on myself, it causes me to hate everything, and then I make B's and yes, possibly a C :( not cool.
I am at the Library now, filling my brain full of knowledge :). I have to complete 3papers by Monday with 3different pages of notes on how I wrote the paper, 1 Forum, 2 Forum replies, Midterm on Wednesday in my Computer Info Systems class. I had a group presentation last week in my Business Writing class. Me and this girl, Krysten, had 4 days to complete Chp. 10 and describe every little detail about the chapter with examples, and an exercise at the end. We only had half an hour. I added an exercise about persuasion with body builder supplements. That went really good, they seemed to enjoy it and how it tied to the presentation. It's been Kinda hectic! But I like it, strange. I started writing my papers at 6am this morning.
My sister is moving tomorrow, she is very happy. I hope you guys have a great day and may God give you strength within everything that you put your hands and mind to!

Long haul

Hey Bloggers. It's been a while, sorry. This is going to be short, but I did not want you to think that I just dropped off of the face of the earth. I am really tired, feel kind of dizzy... have lots to do... and you know how it goes :) Thanks for listening! God Bless

Well, I am catching you guys up a little today on what I have been doing lately. On Mother's Day, I was a Junior Marshal at App. It was a pretty neat experience. I got to stand and follow a fellow ROTC army student. That was kinda cool, after I got over his whining of it being so hot every few minutes :) spoiled kids, what am I goin to do w/ them :). The ceremony lasted 2hrs and I only had to work for 3hrs. So, it was pretty cool. I met the Dean over my college, the College of Applied Arts. He was pretty down to earth, and very talkative.
Getting ready for the event was quite a challenge! I could not find anything to wear! I rarely rarely ever shop. Pants are the worst thing to shop for (right Sara!) I have to try on at least 30 pairs of pants before I can find one that suits me. When I do shop, for like school or something, I buy like a shirt here, a skirt there. So, when it comes to finding a nice outfit that matches! Good luck... I live in workout clothes, Y shirt, jeans, caprees, and short sleeve shirts.

This is a little scary image of my wardrobe panic, lol oh it was bad :)

Oh yeah, found the outfit :)
My little power pose

As I got dressed, I continued to take pictures of myself

and one more

And lastly, here it is... my Junior Marshal outfit with sash :)

Mission accomplished!

Last Saturday I went cycling on the road for the second time! It was brutal, but lots of fun. I rode with S. Handy (our radio guy and great father) and his son. (I might have already shared this w/ you guys, but I'll tell you again if so). We had only ridden 45min, when Steve had said, "ok guys, we have only gone 10miles, so we only have 18 more to go!" I was like oh your kidding me! So we just strolled along, dodging dogs, dodging cars, and so on. We finished at 2hrs with 28.3 miles. Once we got off the cycle, my legs felt crazy sorish numb! If you have not ever cycled out doors on the road, you need to at least try it once. There is nothing like it. It at first feels very dangerous. No seatbelt, but lots of cars. You are like placing your life in the "hands" of a small framed bike! It's quite an interesting feeling. My pre-workout meal was my lovely oatmeal :) made w/ organic oats, flax, wheat germ, wheat bran, seeds, dried papya, fruit, plain yogurt, and pumpkin, coffee w/ raw sugar, skim milk, and vanilla extract, and egg whites w/ one yolk, spices, and onion. It was so good, I always get hungry when I admire the pictures I take of my food. :) My Picture at the top is kinda blury, but I thought you might want to see me in my cycle (well actually a runners) outfit :)

It's Saturday!

Wow I made it to Saturday! :) I kept focusing on Friday night all week long, because my week has been so busy working double shifts, but once Friday got here, it almost seemed like a disappointment. I probably had such a huge expectation of what it should be, and when it did not go as planned, I was like well, hmm, ok. Does that make sense? I was off of work today, but ever since I woke up I wish that I had to work. Weird I know, but it's probably because I knew Id be alone all day and feel unproductive, eat, and fall asleep (and that's pretty much what happend). Except I did clean my freezer today! Wow so much better, and we had our 1yr old left overs for dinner! It was a squash casserole, chicken, and brown rice... I hate having nothing to do, even if I have lots I have to do, It's just hard alone. So, to blast my misery :) (not really) I did 15min of pilates when I first woke up, ate breakfast, then spent 2some hours in the gym, doing nothing but hard lifts, mt climbers, pushups, tons of abs, so on, and so on. My first hour and 15min in the gym, I worked out w/ a guy from work, S Greene, pretty big trainer. He helps push me a lot, especially w/ pullups, and stuff I have never even thought of. We worked back and biceps till they were totally spent. Once he left, I didn't really want to go home, so I stayed and worked rear delts, chest, lil front delts, and triceps. I did not even run today! I worked to hard in the gym, which depleated my running energy :( I have spent the last hour with an ice pack on my arm. I still am dealing w/ that slight elbow injury. Hopefully it will be healed before too long. Anyhoo, Yesterdays workout was pretty awesome too. After work I lifted 2hrs and 15min, then met a friend to run 5miles. When I am not in school, I have to get out energy some how! So bloggers, What kind of stuff have you incorporated into your workout lately?????

Relay of Life

Hello fellow bloggers :) It's been a while, sorry for the slack updates. I have had so much going on in the last 3weeks with not one day off, even Sunday! So, I am taking Saturday as my excuse to stay home and clean!!! I think I am going to have to go to Boone sometime Saturday, to get my summer school books, woohoo App starts back on Tuesday. Because I have not gotten the chance to fill you guys in on my week, I thought I would play a little "relay" of what Ive been doing today...
Today, I got off of work at 8am, yes that's right, off at 8a, and went in about 5a, what fun :) I have been planning a Stone Mountain day for the past 3weeks. So, today me and my friend, Tabitha, went down to Stone Mountain and hiked a 3mile trail. It was a lot of fun...

Stone Mt. is gorgeous!
And here is me and Tabitha
Me out on a limb
Want an awesome glute workout??? Hike a Mt, I am already sore!

Look, I am on top of the world :)

My souvenirs: pine cone, flower, and a cool rock, all in front of the view of my lil car


The butterflies were absolutely everywhere!
Everywhere we walked, we had to check for butterflies

After hiking for 3miles we worked up quite an appetite. With our packed lunch, we headed down to a stream for a picnic. I packed 2 turkey and cheese sandwiches on Flat Everything Bagels, apple and carrot slices, and grapes. Tabitha added delicious strawberries and cucumber slices. The lunch was so delightful!


The fruit was so sweet and refreshing and
Oh man was the sandwich so so good!

Our picnic scenery complemented our meal quite nicely


As we were leaving, a deer walked right up to my window :) She was not scared at all, she wanted to be fed I think. "say cheese :)"

We had a fun time, it was much needed. I loved to see so much nature and happy animals and insects. The fruitfulness of a prosperous land is quite enjoyable and uplifting.

Polar "Listen To Your Body"

Good afternoon bloggers :) I hope everyone is having a good day! I have finally purchased a watch! I have been without a watch on my wrist since January! That has really messed my scheduling up. But, now I feel so much better that I have a watch, I no longer look at my wrist 20x b4 I realize there is nothing there to look at. I have been wanting just a simple watch w/ a heart rate monitor on it. I have recently purchased the Polar heart rate monitor watch for women. I really like it. I just set up all of my info and have been reading my watch manual for the past week. Usually when I buy a watch my brother would always set everything for me. So, I never learned how to deal with electronics, in fact, I absolutely hated reading the instructions and setting stuff, because he could do it so easily. I got way to overwhelmed, even with my Ipod, when my brother moved out and got married, I was just SOL with it :) I had the same songs for 2years! I am now conquering my electronic slump! I really enjoyed figuring this watch out. I just took a Fitness Test with my heart monitor and it said I was an elite athlete :) I thought that was a touch from God to see that today, because this morning was kinda hard at work. I work with some of the best athletes and trainers, sometimes it's just hard. I was reading about our running club this morning and it said that "all runners are welcome, from beginner, intermediate, to elite." After reading that I was just thinking, what type of runner and athlete am I?" Sounds a little cheesy, but I always see myself as the intermediate or if I know I am pretty good, I feel that I have to lower myself when I am around others so that there are no hard feelings. I hate jealousy with a passion. So, anyway back to the elite thing, that really lifted me up to know that, maybe I am an athlete. I keep saying I want to be one, so yeah, ok, I'll shut up, but just had that on my heart. Thanks for listening!

Almost to tears

Well, it was another beautiful day in Wilkesboro. Have you ever worked out so hard that you brought yourself to tears? I have to ask myself the question of "why do we 'athletes' do the things that we do? What does it prove? And to whom are we trying to impress?" I am not out there to impress anyone, but, id have to say, myself. I train hard in hopes of becoming an athlete. One sport, just one sport! I have not ever been on any type of sports team, but I have a great desire too. Running and weight training has been a great training tool for me spiritually, physically, and mentally. I discipline my workout, therefore I discipline my life. However, I have slacked off of my discipline a Whole lot within the past year! Shoot, you should look at my room! Such a mess of clothes, good grief. Anyhoo, today while I was working out, it felt so weird to me, I felt as if my body was numb to the pain. I am not as sore as I should be, or thought I would be from my Tuesdays long workout, so I don't think it was from my previous workout. As I started my run, my legs felt numb, or light weight, but w/ a slight soreness pain. I rain 3.6 miles around town for about 30min. I then went upstairs @ the Express and stretched and performed an ab, pushup, plank, spiderman, and back flutters for 30min. That is probably my favorite part of my workout. It gives my body great relief with different movements to ease out the pain. After that lil routine, I went down into the weight room and worked shoulders, delts, and quads. At this point, I had enough, but oh yes of course, I just kept right on til I finished w/ satisfaction. I did all kinds of shoulder stuff on the bosu (upside down w/ one leg), leg extension 30lb alternating, 75lb 2sets 15 w/ holds, step ups 30lb 2sets 15 w/ pulses. After my last set, I honestly was brought to tears (go figure). I probably just needed to eat some almonds or something to fuel my energy expenditure over a course of a few days. I finally got up "ok, your done, not one more, go home" and as I walked towards the door, I remembered, calves. "Ahh man", so I finished 2 sets of calf raises 70lb. So, all this to say, "What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve?" These are very important questions. I realize I am very guilty of fighting for something, but not really even knowing what. It's exhausting. I was training for the CIS Race this Saturday, but I have had such a busy semester, and last few weeks, I missed many workouts, which causes me to become a little too over trained to run as well as I would like. For every goal we have must come with a plan. "A goal without a plan is only a wish." Your probably wondering about my photo above right? Meet a lil part of my family. We grew up to be very strong individuals, we know what it takes to fight to succeed. Now, we just got to succeed, in which we are. I really miss my lil family circle. But, I believe it's starting to form again, maybe better :)

Tuesday's Long Workout

Yesterday was awesome! Well I honestly spent my entire day working out, but considering that I have been so busy and had no workout in 4days! that my body needed it. I started my Tuesday out with a good hearty breakfast of oatmeal, ground flax, wheat germ, wheat bran, cinnamon, nutmeg, tarragon, and clove. I topped the oat mixture w/ 1/2 apple, blueberries, pumpkin, plain yogurt, and apple butter. Oh yes, of course, adding a touch of Vanilla Soy Milk really pulls the dish together. And the coffee, can't go w/o that!
After my breakfast, I met a friend of mine from work behind the Y for a bike ride! I have not ever ridden on the road b4, so this was both pretty exciting and nerve racking! I wish I remembered to take a picture of me on the bike! But, I 4got :(. My friend, Steve H., a great christian family man who works at our local radio station, offered to lend me his extra bike and teach me how it's done. He was an excellent teacher. It probably took about an hour to set the bikes up before our ride. We had to check the tires for air, fit the seat to my body properly, set up the lil computer thing, learn proper techniques, and the different gears. So, right when we started to get on the bike and pull out for a test ride, my shoe got stuck on the pedal and I fell over! That usually seems to happen when I workout, from time to time, I always have to go home with some sort of scrape and bruise :) We made a test ride behind the Y, on the runway and greenway. I felt pretty confident, so we headed for the road! He wanted me to be the leader. Our first road was German Town Road. That is the road that is apart of our (YMCA's) Triathlon. I hear it's one of the most brutalist hills. But, honestly, we were just scooting along, it was fun, not too hard. We then encountered a rottweiler, named bear. I know his name b/c his owner made a sprint out of his trailer yelling "bear' ! That dog scared me so bad, but luckily Steve carries pepper spray, and the guy tackled the dog, so we were good. After an hour of riding, my rear was hurting oh so bad, that I was beginning to 4get how to use my gears! It is so true, when working out becomes your sport, the proper gear is extremely vital! I won't be wearing runner's shorts for cycling anymore, wow so painful! We road 16miles in 1hr and 16min. Our average speed was 14mph and topped 30mph. It was fun! But, after all of that, I had to go home and eat! My post workout meal was 1/4c Tuna and a boiled egg. The perfect combo to replenish the muscles after a hard workout.
I then took a nice hot shower and got ready for lunch. I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I used Whole Grain bread that I bought from Stick Boys Bakery for $3.00 a loaf. I topped it w/ Organic Peanut Butter, Morello Cherry Jam, apple slices, banana slices, and sunflower seeds.

I paired my sandwich with carrots and celery, and some apple slices

It was, oh so good!!! :)

After lunch, I went back to the gym. Too mix it up a little, I went to the Express Y, instead of the same Y 2wice in one day. I was on the treadmill for 35min, which included a power walk warm up, run, sprints, run, and cool down. I was drenched when I got off. I then did some power training with the weights. I started w/ chest presses 20lb each hand, abs, leg lifts w/ 20lb, push ups, Lat pull, push ups, plank, push up position performing rows 20lb ea 15reps., squats 145lb 12 reps, lunges, Dead Lifts 135lb 8reps (these were so cool, try them on a bench press w/ the bar. Stand on the bench and take the weighted bar off rack, then go to town :) The advantage of doing this is so that when performing the deadlift, the 45lb plates don't hit the floor, so your hamstrings can get the full benefit. I then did more squats and called it a day. My post workout snack was a prune and 1 almond. I absolutely love that combination. It is such a pure food that really satisfies my body.
Ok, so after all of that, I came home w/an amazing aroma that filled the house. Mom had made an Olive oil, herbed chicken with brown rice and stirfry. I made the salad :)

The flavors were so delightful, oh no joke, it was so good!

After eating half of my meal, I filled half my plate w/ salad and topped it with a little salsa.

For my dessert, I had another prune and almond, and called it a day! It was about 9PM when my mom and I were ready to sit down! We put on a movie, The Blind Side, such a good movie! And went to sleep.