seriously?

WSU's Henry goes down at NCAA's, still All-American

DES MOINES, Iowa -- As she took her mark in Friday evening's women's 3,000 meter finals at the 2012 NCAA outdoor track and field championships, Weber State's Amber Henry figured nothing could hold her back; not even a broken clavicle, torn meniscus and bruised femur were going to kept her down.
Turns out, it got worse before it got better.
Henry, a junior from Mountain View, Wyo., and the 2012 Big Sky Conference women's steeplechase champion, was cruising along at the NCAA meet on Friday but half way through the race, she caught one of the barriers, fell and in the process, dislocated he arm.
Undaunted, Henry used her jersey as a sling for the next lap and caught back up with the pack. Just after that lap, she "popped" the elbow back in place and took off.
Henry ran her slowest time of the year, 10.26.30, and finished 11th, but earned the respect and admiration of not only her fellow competitors, but the fans as well.
"Everybody thought she had broken her arm," said WSU assistant coach Paul Pilkington. "Everyone kind of gasped when she got it back in place, then cheered her on. What a unbelievably tough competitor."
Her 11th place finished earned her second team All-America honors.

I truely believe that the sport of running can show a lot about the character of a person. Amber Henry has a lot of the good stuff. I have known her since high school when she came and stayed at my house for a week to train with my high school cross country team.  she was an undertrained high school athlete that also played basketball and volleyball, so her running only lasted about 3 months a year and she was still good. of course she exploded in college once she was able to get some consistent training in. 
another example of just how tough this girl is: last summer i lived in ogden and ran into her on a trail. i asked her how her training had been. she said good except for she broke her toe a week ago. and i looked down at her foot. she had cut a hole at the end of her shoe so her big toe that was broken, and black and blue could hang out of the shoe and be "more comfortable" to run on. yeah, i know right?
so i wasn't surprised after reading this article. i would totally expect this from her.  regardless, it is completely inspirational. 

I am so happy it's friday. nothing like working a full time job to help you really appreciate the weekends. i am not loving this whole being-grown-up thing just quite yet.  i am tired all the time, feel like i have no life, and feel like i have to save ALL the money that i do make, which makes me feel like it's all for nothing (i'm a work hard, play hard kind of person). last night i was thinking about what it would be like to be working full time and be tired and come home and have multiple kids to take care of.  many of my co-workers are mommas that do just that. i have a greater appreciation for them and for what my mom did growing up. i hope that i am able to not have to do that, but i admire people who do that to help provide for their family and make ends meet.  selfless love. i want that.  

Weekends like the one above are really what make everything worth it.  Time with my love and good friends in nature, just enjoying the beauty of life.

sorry for whinning, my job really isn't THAT hard. i like it. it's just this whole being responsible and having to grow up thing that is getting to me. it's just an adjustment and a change that is good! but hard to get used to.

all in all, life is the best.

meowmeowmeowmeow

My first week of work was a success. I organized my boards on pinterest, planned my primary lesson for tomorrow, successfully stalked on facebook,  oh and i guess wrote up some quotes and sent in purchase orders. the perks of having a desk job. amirite?
in all seriousness, the first week was weird, but good. i got a free pair of running shoes to test out. i like my coworkers. oh, and i have developed a new obsession with having a kitten.
i love cats more than anything. okay, more than most things. but anyways i have had to suppress my love for them because Justin doesn't understand it and we are not allowed to have pets in our place (dumbest rule ever).   My love for kitties resurfaced and is now at an all time high. it began with my co-worker talking all week about how bad she wanted one of these
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Gross right? I pretended like i thought it was as cute as she thought it was, but i am pretty sure she saw right through me.

All this talk of cats led me to create a new board on pinterest titled: kitties. and i proceeded to look up cute kitten pictures to post in it. (note: you can never be sad while looking at kitten pictures, it's just not possible).  Then my friend Kaylee sent me text yesterday this is what was in it:
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and this message: "My parents cat just had kittens.  You don't want one do you? I think there is one white and the rest might be siamese.  They are so cute and I really like the mom."

uhhhhhhh..... YES I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ONE!!!!!!


and here are the pictures that followed.

How can i deny these creatures? As you can probably understand, the culmination of all this kitten talk in the last two days has just left me feeling kitten hungry.  screw being baby hungry, i want a kitten. 

This would probably be the ideal situation to have in my backyard (yes there are 8 of them). 

 

I don't know why being a "cat lady" has such a negative connotation.  I personally think that having multiple furry creatures that love you and cuddle with you and look cute all the time sounds like a dream come true.

I am going to try to convince my landlord into letting me get one. any ideas people?

TOO MUCH! too much has happened in the last couple weeks! i finally graduated with a bachelors in environmental studies (what do you do with that you ask? i would like to know as well).  i finished up my collegiate running career with a individual conference championship in the 10k and a second place finish in the 5k, and the first team conference title.  so bittersweet. i love this sport and i love competing.  I have the best teammates a girl could ever want. i feel bad because i have totally taken advantage of the fact that i get to spend 2-3 hours with my best buds everyday, without having to put any effort into organizing things.  

I start my first grown up job tomorrow at icon health and fitness in the freemotion section.  I can't wait. it is pretty much a dream job for me right now.  i get to do desk job stuff (not too fun) but also test out some equipment and work with really great people.  i am nervous to start a new job, mostly cause i am scared of being the new girl and not knowing people/ not having people to eat lunch with/ making a fool of myself.  

umm... Justin and I teach primary to the 11/12 year olds. i feel completely inadequate and if it is a preview of how my life as a mother is going to be then i know i am going to fail miserably.  when i ask one of them to do something and they say "no." i just kind of act like they didn't totally just act like the brattiest kid in the world.  i don't know what to do. i bribe them with food (which would always work for me), i am way nice to them, then i am way mean to them. NOTHING WORKS! i feel like they are like dogs and they can sense the fear in me.  

crazy life. 

the last 2 1/2 weeks have changed me a lot.

<------- the girl on the left is why.

her name is brittany and she is my friend and teammate. she was in a repelling accident a few weeks ago and fell 60 feet. she miraculously survived and didn't hit her head. in true brittany form, she tried to laugh off the fall, even when she couldn't feel her legs anymore. she has undergone multiple surgeries and been through excruciating pain. if i were to think of all the people in my life that love running, i mean really, really, love running, like enough to run 21 miles on their 21st birthday, i would think of this girl. she has always had such a happy and cheerful attitude no matter what and always makes everyone feel like they are the most important person. She continues to have a positive and happy attitude throughout all of this that she is going through. in every picture she has her bright genuine smile, in every phone conversation she wants to know how we are doing.

she has helped me to realize how amazing and happy life is. we all have it so good. she has also helped me to realize that it is extremely important to make sure the people we love know just how important they are to us. she has also been a great example and taught me to be more selfless and genuinely care and want to know more about all the people i interact with on a daily basis.

i have been thinking a lot about just how fragile life is and how so many unexpected things can happen so quickly. and i want to make sure that i remember to take advantage of everyday and don't waste it.

goin out with a bang

this year of running has been so frustrating for me thus far. almost every workout i have struggled with the paces, i bombed a really big race in seattle. couldn't even come close the my times from last year. i just haven't been feeling strong mentally or physically. the most frustrating part about it is that since i didn't have cross country last year i took that time to build up a big base in mileage and i felt so strong. but ever since indoor started i have felt like everything has been a struggle.

this weekend was the indoor conference meet in boise. i was so lucky to have my in laws there as well as my parents. cheering me on for all 40 laps of my races. the first night i ran the 5k and got 4th. i felt okay about that race. i ran hard, but not gutsy at all. i tend to let people get into my head and let them think they are better than me. i knew it was going to be a close team race for the championships so in the 3000 on saturday i decided to run really gutsy and not let my head get in the way. it paid off. i beat the twins that i have been trying to beat for a long time and had a kick!! i never had a kick!!! it felt good to finally feel happy after a race.

wanna know the best part about the weekend?!?!?!

WE WON!!!!!!!!

first Western Athletic Conference Championship, and first indoor track championship since 1994.

I am so proud to be a member of this team. this is the greatest way to go out as a senior. We have all wanted this so bad and worked our butts off. it finally paid off! Go Aggies!

this semester i am in a class called conflicts in africa which is taught by dr. ann laudati. she is someone i have grown to look up to immensely. she has done a lot of work in africa trying to figure out why some of the conflicts are conflicts and what can be done about them. after taking this class i have realized all the information i know and hear is so surface, and most people don't understand the bigger picture and deeper reasons behind what is going on. i love it that all the ideas i had in my head before are being challenged. the class is challenging in itself to me because it is in reading and discussion format (which is so hard for me because i am so shy) and has really challenged me to speak up more.

today we watched a documentary called pray the devil back to hell. it was inspiring to say the least. i can't believe i didn't know anything about what happened in liberia and what led up to then electing the first female president in africa.

anywhoo, i posted the video below. it is 53 minutes long but well worth it. it is very dear to my heart and i think that everyone should watch it to get a sense of the kind of amazing things that are happening over there a midst so much chaos.

Watch Pray the Devil Back To Hell on PBS. See more from Women War and Peace.