Bye Bye Blog...at least for now!

I obviously haven't been keeping up with my blog the last several months. I thought it would be a great tool to record life's journey and document it with pictures. My goal of taking more pictures to post on the blog has not been accomplished.

Between work and wedding planning, I am burnt out from spending so much time in front of a computer. Working a full-time desk job is a challenge for me coming from active careers as a dancer, a fitness specialist, and a wellness coordinator. I am trying to rid myself of some of the clutter and online distractions and the blog is the first thing to go! I'm sorry for my 3-4 fans out there, but maybe I will pick it back up when I have children. I have set some pretty heavy mental and spiritual goals for myself this year and I plan to spend more time working on those.

I love this picture that I posted from my Colorado trip in 2007. It's so serene. I hope that everyone finds peace in their lives and takes the time to reflect on the beauty that naturally occurs around us and forget about the distorted perceptions of beauty that our society has developed! Poor Jessica Simpson!!!

I've Been Tagged...

OK, so just when I was ready to call blogging a past-time, Johnna tagged me. Because she is such a good friend, I have decided to play along. The instructions were to:
1. Go to the place where you store all of your pics on your computer and open the 4th folder.
2. Open the 4th picture
3. Post the picture and give an explanation
4. Tag 4 people ( I skipped this part...I don't even know 4 people with blogs)
The pic posted here is from my "C'ville (hometown) Friends folder. The lovely lady on the left is my best friend Jess. She's been my best friend since our parents carpooled to pre-school. She likes to make fun of my blog! We only get to see each other about once a year at Christmas or maybe a wedding. This pic is from our friend Nick's wedding in September 2007. The beautiful chick in the middle is another wonderful friend, Beth. She married one of my best friends from high school, Josh. She will tell you that she didn't like me at first, but I guess I grew on her. I can't imagine a trip back to C'ville without an evening of wine with Josh and Beth. I actually spent many nights as a 3rd wheel on their couch during weekends home from grad school...FUN TIMES!
Great Girls, Beautiful wedding and an all-over fun weekend in the Burgh!

Friend moves out...Fiance moves in.

Well I really have dropped off the blogging wagon. I knew it had been a while, but didn't realize it had been 2 months. I have discovered Facebook in the last month or two so that's taken over my online interests. I also don't think I have too many bloggers out there reading this profile so I've kind of lost interest. Feel free to comment and prove me wrong if that's the case.

Anyway, last week Katie moved out after 4 years of living together. It was truly bitter sweet as I felt sad that she was leaving, but excited for the new chapter of my life to really begin. Ryan and Odie moved in and we have been crazy busy getting organized and making my house, our home. It's nice being here together and not having to worry about who's driving across Plano this evening, if there's food at my house for Odie, if Ryan needs to drag over his work clothes or I need to pack my hairdryer...It's nice just to start settling in and enjoying each others company.

As for Katie, her house is really coming together. She got new paint and carpet and is really making it her own. It is funny to see it go from Ryan's bachelor pad to Katie's first house she bought on her own. It's an exciting time for all of us and there is a lot to be Thanksful for!!!

Little Buddy!

I never understood the connection that people had with their animals. I never really understood until I met Odie! Odie is Ryan's dog and therefore soon to be my dog, or maybe we should refer to him as my step-dog. He is the sweetest little buddy!! Odie will be staying with me for a few days since Ryan went home to Florida and his sister is moving home this weekend. He is the best little snuggler and truly appreciates every ounce of attention he is given. I'm sure we will go on many walks this weekend and keep each other in good company while Ryan is away. I am convinced that Ryan is some sort of dog whisperer that he was able to train Odie to be the little "robot dog" that he is. So yes, now I understand how dog can be a man's best friend. Cats on the other hand...I'll never understand!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the Road Again...

OK so not really quite yet. I still have to get a new helmet and have my bike inspected. I truly believe that Ryan (and Paul) did a fine job putting the bike together, but I'm not taking any chances. My new bike is much prettier than my busted up KHS. Once I can afford to get rid of all the old components that survived my crash, it will really look sweet! I am afraid that a cool bike will make people think I am supposed to be faster though. Let's just hope I keep this one in one piece!
I know that I promised an accident pic in an earlier post. I have now decided that I really don't want my friends and family to see my "elephant man" look, but here's one that's not so bad. I wasn't too swollen at this point. Like Ryan says, it was like a free trial of collagen in my lips. I don't think it's a good look for me!

Brain's no good if it's on the road!

I found that quote in my title from Trek's website, which ironically was the maker of my cycling helmet. Oh how true it is!!



This helmet, cracked like an egg, could be my forehead and I am so grateful that it is not!! I was riding with 6 other members of the Paradigm Cycling Team on Saturday. I set off at 7AM with the intention of riding 50 miles. I was feeling a bit discouraged about 5 miles in when the rest of the group sped ahead and Lauren and I lagged behind. She is my faithful riding partner though so I was thankful to have someone to keep me motivated. We had just started chatting, I couldn't even tell you what we were discussing, when I noticed a Gigantic crack running parallel on the road.
By the time it registered that I had nowhere to go, I just closed my eyes and hoped that I came out of it in one piece. My front tire wedged down into the crack and I believe I was still clipped into the pedals when I went face first into the concrete at about 17mph. My helmet is dented and cracked and my bike is totaled. I am typing this blog 5 days later, so obviously I am in MUCH better shape than I should be.
Amazingly enough, I have zero broken bones, zero lost teeth and at this point, it seems that I still have all my brain cells too...
I am not quite ready to post pictures of my ugly mug, but it gets better everyday. They put 40 stitches in my face and mouth in the ER. I got about 1/2 of them taken out today and it looks pretty good. The plastic surgeon is pretty confident that I will heal well, although it will take several months. I better be back to normal by May 2009 though!!
I appreciate everyone's kind thoughts and prayers so much! I am so thankful as this could have been so much worse, but it still was difficult to see myself in the mirror those first few days. Somehow Ryan still managed to make me feel beautiful and I love him even more for that. He has taken such excellent care of me and it has been amazing to see this side of him. I know my parents wanted to be here, but they can feel confident that I had a good home-health nurse!
I will post pictures in the coming weeks, but in the meantime...Wear your helmet when cycling and especially on a motor cycle. If your child argues with you about wearing a helmet, scare some sense into them with stories like mine. Remember, Brain's no good if it's on the road!

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered...FINALLY!

What a pain computers can be!! I still have not gotten everything on my laptop backed up so that I can send it back to hp. I am pessimistically nervous that they will find several things wrong that are not covered under my warranty. In the meantime, I have diligently been working to get the address labels made for our Save The Dates. Sounds like an easy project, right? Well in the wonderful world of technology, it somehow manged to take me all week. I had originally deemed that job to be Ryan's, however he gave up days a go. He is now at Nationals for Youth Soccer and I was happy to drop those things at the post office at 10PM tonight! I know I have stated this in an earlier post, but why do all men think that women get a high from wedding planning? Maybe this is my cry for help...RYAN!! Oh, who am I kidding, he doesn't read this Blog! :)

OK, now that I've thrown him under the bus, I'll post a few pics that hopefully paint the picture of how much I really do love my fiance. He has only been out of town for a day and I miss him already!