tough stuff

In case anyone was itching to know:

Packing up 13 years of your life is hard in more than one way.

Dobby, save me from Jersey.

Read it

I read this bogus article last week and it's been bugging me ever since. After a hard run I went on the internet in search of ways to run better, faster, stronger... and longer. Instead of finding what I wanted in the magical world of the www. I found this.

I don't think I've met anyone who gets a "lip licking anticipation of perfectly salted, golden brown french fries after a hard trip to the gym."

these do look really good.

photo via weheartit. Thanks Ahlin!

Whenever I work out, I eat healthier. I eat more healthy food and up my calorie intake, not with fried food but with the real good stuff. (Usually pre-made or pre-cut from Sunflower Market because I struggle with the whole cooking thing.)

Another thing I don't agree with in this article is the line, "self control is like a muscle: It weakens each day after you use it." It later explains how if you work out, you are more likely to let yourself have a massive slice of pizza. They left out one critical part about muscle growth. Yeah, your muscles weaken in the short run. But overtime they grow because of the constant breakdown and will be stronger than they were. Self control will strengthen as your your lifestyle changes. I hate most fast food. I used to think it was fine; but after watching supersize me, I won't eat fast food the same ever again.

Enjoy the article, Hocus Pocus Bogus.

lets get some shoes

I finally found some Leather Brogues



"I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes." -Oprah

blast from the past

I cleaned out my closet today and I found a few gems; so of course I tried them on! They will be in a box headed to the dump until tomorrow, this is just like Toy Story 3.

Tommy Hilfiger Jacket, 7th grade.



Itchy sweater vest, 1st grade. (I usually wore this with limited-too zip off pants and some sweet tevas with socks) Cut offs made from stretch jeans. Bad. Limited-too slippers, still just as comfy but I've grown out of the the glittery butterfly stage.



8th grade Graduation Dress which must have been HUGE on me back then. I'm 6 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.



I'm excited to clean out my closet in another 6 years.

some sick kicks

My knees have been creeking like crazy, so I decided I was due for a new pair of running shoes. I went to Runners Roost and talked to one of my favorite men in the running world...Greenwich coach Mongo, and he convinced me to try the Nike LunarGlide+ shoes. They are lightweight and really conformable and I'm gonna LOVE them. They have amazing reviews on the Nike Website. To make things even better, they have neon accents! (I'm not gonna get hit by a car at night)


The lighting in this picture does not do them justice.

My running update--Today I successfully ran more than 40 minutes without throwing up in the middle of my run! I need to remember that I can't run like I'm in shape when I'm actually out of shape. Baby steps, I'll get it back. And these sick kicks are gonna help.

Holy Frizz!

I've got a problem. I hate doing my hair--any of my roommates would know that I don't own a blow dryer because I wouldn't really use it. I only blow dry my hair when I know it will freeze when I walk out the door or when I have some place "important" (in broad terms) to be.
In Utah, my hair is pretty tame. But at home THIS happens:



I wish my hair was long again so it wouldn't matter so much. The fro isn't so tame when its short. Now, I end up wasting time smoothing it out. Here's the good news... Albert Einstein wasted his time too.

Sometimes I wonder...

Where I would be without this box.

This box is important-- but i have a few other boxes with my first scribbles, alphabets, spelling tests, and report cards (O for Outstanding, E for Excellent, A for average... we all know the drill). More boxes for later in my life with National Latin Exam scores, voice recital programs, my first auto CAD projects, PSAT and SAT scores, clippings from the local newspaper about pole vaulting, college recruitment letters, acceptance letters. And of course, nothing beat that hole-in-stomach feeling of stress when I opened the email or snail mail after 12 short years of school to determine a huge part of my future. I have finished that part of my life, I have over achieved. So now what?

What is an overachiever supposed to do during the summer when relaxing time has to be been penciled in. When I try to relax a little bit, I think of what I could be doing to get ahead. It is very hard for me to have more than a 2 week break in productivity. I carry my moleskin "brain" with me 24-7 and during the summer time, I fill my to-do lists with get more books at the library, watch harry potter 5 for the third time and call so-and-so. They are not important lists and a part of me wishes the list could say, "wake up at 5, study for this test". Is that weird? I love to learn, and I hate sitting around. This is what those boxes have created. I don't know if its a good thing or not yet, but those boxes define everything I have done. Now there will be less things to put in a box, but more to be put into a brain, a life, a real future. These boxes started something that won't be finished any time soon. Because I have those boxes I have the ability to fill new hypothetical boxes. Unfortunately, these box filling activities have been put on hold for another month. But i'll still give it a try.

Idaho and the 4th

I went to Idaho with my parents and Ben for a wedding and just to be around our grandparents for a week at the end of June. Lots of family time.
I painted at my grandparents house, it was cool to get tips from my Grandpa Manning. Here is a picture of me with my mini painting in front of his huge painting that I love...

(After seeing this picture, I put the boyfriend shorts in the back of my closet. Why didn't anyone tell me that they make me look 5 sizes bigger than I am?)

We went boating on one of the last days, I forgot how much I like it. But I wish I didn't have an infection in my cornea... I had to wear an eyepatch (or iPatch as ben likes to call it). I would like to be 100% healthy at some point this summer. From the dislocated knee cap to ulcer in my cornea I think I have had my fare share of weird ailments for a few months.


I came home just in time for the 4th of July, my last in New Canaan. On the 4th, everybody in town comes to Waveny Park dressed in their polo shirts and lily pulitzer to sit on a picnic blankets and enjoy the evening before the fireworks start. This is a tiny exaggeration, not everyone is like that but I will miss the extremes. There are few places like New Canaan and I am glad to have grown up where I have.
Rachel, Shiloh and Harper came up for the weekend and it was fun to see them. I used to be afraid of babies. Scratch that. Terrified of babies. Luckily I've grown out of it and really like hanging out with Harper.