So, this happened yesterday.

Wow, most amazing experience ever!!!!!!!!

Jumping from a plane 2 miles above the earth,

doing a flip in the air,

free-falling at 120mph for 60 seconds..

Totally surreal.

Totally crazy.

Totally awesome.

I'll be back to share soon!!

Noteworthy Mid-Week News

Yesterday was a monumental day. Okay, you don't have to beg, I will tell you about it.

-- We took our next-to-last exam yesterday in my summer class (my class is over in less than a week!! where did the summer go?!?!) I studied and felt prepared, but then again, every time I have felt prepared I walk out of the exam thinking I failed and every time (well, once) that I didn't really study I felt like the exam was easy. So I just didn't even know what to think anymore.

Turns out, I got an 88!!!! Which is 2 points from an A, mind you.

Thanks, Avery. I know.

And from what my classmates said about their grades, that was a pretty good score! So, YAY ME!

Hopefully one day I will be smart enough to graduate.

Rude. Looks like that cap went to someone's head.

-- So, I ran yesterday. I don't even know how long it's been since I've run now. It's been way too long since I've run any kind of significant distance, that's all I know. But I'll take what I can get... which right now is like 2.5 miles.

Apparently, I under-estimated the heat. It was *only* 90 degrees out when I left (which, compared to 115 like it has been, seemed like a breezy spring day) and cloudy. Turns out, it only felt like that for about a mile, and then THE SUN CAME OUT OMG. I ran my first mile at a 10:20 pace, which is pretty speedy right now for my injured, weenie-in-the-heat self. Once the sun decided to join me though, it was downhill from there. Okay, no it wasn't. I wish I was running down a hill. That would have been easier. I walked like 4 times. Yes, during a measly 2.5 mile run. Don't judge. The only thing that kept me from laying down on the asphalt and passing out or dying was my love handles and an impending trip to the Bahamas. So I trudged forward, painfully slowly. But I finished up strong and ran the last 1/2 mile at a 9:20 pace and seriously thought I was going to vomit everywhere when I stopped. I love and hate that feeling. Mostly hate. But, GO ME!!!

Okay, whatever B. We can't all be super speedy long distance runners with 6-pack abs like you.

In related news, I can't wait til FALL!

-- I cheated on Paleo yesterday. And boy was he pi$$ed.

It was like 3 in the afternoon and I was starving.

Paleo was no where in sight...

Conveniently, Tostitos called... and man he was tempting.

My stomach growled, and I caved.

Mmmmm salt.

I seriously only ate like 7 chips, and I kid you not, not 5 minutes later my stomach was in KNOTS. Knots that lasted HOURS. Paleo found out I cheated and took it out on my stomach in the form of severe cramps! I thought I was going to die. Not cool, Tostitos, not cool.

A likely story.

And still, it's amazing to me that I used to eat those things all the time and couldn't tell the difference. Now? Seriously not even worth it. How do I always forget that?! SALT IN THE FORM OF FRIED, CRUNCHY GOODNESS... NOT WORTH THE PAIN. Fine, I'll take a nice, healthy apple next time. (With peanut butter, please? NO!)

-- Lastly..... umm, I can not believe that this will be me in 3 days:

I will more than likely be making that face and screaming profanities the entire way down, too.

OMG OMG OMG OMG I can't believe I'm jumping out of a plane on Saturday!!!!! Holy crap. OMG.

I told my professor I was going and she gave me excellent advice: Don't go splat! Thanks, Dr. Warner, I'll try not to! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

...3 birthdays...

so, it's currently 12:14am and i'm waiting for josh to come home from running a solo half marathon... in the dark, obviously. which is crazy to me. half marathons are hard enough, let alone by yourself in the middle of the night. (ps he is running at this hour due to the excessive heat... at least it's a bit cooler without the sun). he sure is dedicated to his training program. he even forwent (is that a word?) a glass of wine at dinner and a piece of ice cream cake afterwards. seriously, that is dedication. i, on the other hand, enjoyed both and they were super delicious and even though my stomach hurts now, i do not regret it. ice cream is just needed sometimes, especially when it's in cake form. not paleo-ish friendly of course, but that's the beauty of the ish part. it means that i don't have to be paleo 100% of the time and can still enjoy the indulgences that make life wonderful, like ice cream cake with oreos on top.

isn't it beautiful? just look at it. mmmmm.

speaking of paleo.....some people have asked about it lately. it's going well. i wrote a little about what i eat & some of the questions i get asked a lot under the"paleo-what?" category at the top of the blog. so check that out if you have questions. so far i have lost 6-7 pounds and am down to the weight (maybe even a bit less) that i was when i was running 20+ miles a week half marathon training. i am currently running 0-2 miles a week and hitting the gym 2-3 times a week if i'm lucky (in other words, i am exercising a whole lot less than i used to, simply because i'm busier now days with school). so there's that.

anyway. today we celebrated mine, amy, and mandy's (josh's sisters) birthdays! mine was the 9th, amy's was the 16th and mandy's is august 3rd. sushi and a hibachi grill were involved. perfect.

man, i sure do love fried rice. and that ginger dressing they put on their salad. srsly.

afterwards everyone came over for that aforementioned beloved ice cream cake.

the angry birds were not invited but they showed up anyway.

apparently we really like the EVO around here

birthday party snapshots

ha! no idea what's going on here..

avery kept doing this super cute excited face. the cutest part was the hand-twirl that accompanied it (however, it's not pictured.. sorry)

somebody's gonna be walking soon...

we ended the evening by releasing colorful lanterns with our friends (slash neighbors), who were also having a birthday party. happy birthday, nikki!




it was so pretty.

so anyway... josh is back from his run now. super happy cause otherwise i was gonna have to go searching for him half-asleep in the dark. and it's 1:20am now, which is waaaaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.

the other day, he came home from his run looking like this:

okay, so he kinda just looks sweaty.
here, have a closer look:

yes, those are bugs.
ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

i knew there was a reason i haven't been running. besides that it's 100+ degrees, with like 23847% humidity and i'm injured. bugs. bugs is that reason. i would probably freak out if i was covered in bugs like that.

oh, and we crossed off #5. make root beer floats. sweet.

done and done.

my boy his home.

my babies are asleep (lola is snoring)

and i am about to join her...

my apologies if this post has lots of typos.

i've typically been in dreamland for like at least 3 hours by now.

plus i'm in an ice cream cake coma.

so ya know. i can't help it.

goodnight. good morning. and have a happy sunday!!

birthday love. it's been fabulous :)

25 before 26.

i can't even believe this is the 3rd annual little list i have made!! but they're so much fun, so why stop now?!

{read about the concept here, 23 things list here, 24 things list here}

so here we go, 25 things i hope to accomplish by my 26th birthday -- july 9, 2012

1. go on a road trip {08.04.11}
2. get a professional pedicure {12.19.11}
3. run a marathon (pending injury)
4. give blood (ha! let's see if 3rd time's a charm...)
5. make root beer floats {07.22.11}
6. plant a garden... even if it's a tiny indoor one
7. ride in a hot air balloon
8. go to the drive-in
9. pet a sea lion
10. go strawberry picking {05.27.12}
11. host a cookout with my brothers & family {06.16.12}
12. do a muddy race {05.19.12 -- re-cap}
13. ride in a helicopter {09.06.11}
14. do something brave -- new haircut or color.. tattoo.. something {03.31.12}
15. go to chicago, washington d.c., or new york city
16. ride 100 miles on my bike
17. make homemade jam
18. re-decorate living room {05.12}
19. get underwater film from 5 years ago developed
20. visit the grand canyon {01.14.12}
21. run more than 13 miles at once
22. take kosmo and lola to a dog event
23. carve a pumpkin
24. get a crock-pot {12.25.11}
25. try a new food {it was ethiopian!}

here's to another year of life and a new list! :)

the bear graduates.

Lola is the bear, in case you weren't sure.

For whatever reason, we call her Bear around here.

Josh started it.


Small detail.

Anyway, last night my baby bear puppy girl graduated from puppy class! She is a genius!

They had to perform a task one last time -- lay down and stay while you walked around the entire store... until you call them, and then they had to come.

She passed with flying colors! Norman didn't even have to step on her leash!

Brilliant I tell you! Brilliant!

After all the dogs had their turn, it was time to graduate!

Roobee went first, and she was not too sure about the cap..

Lola didn't seem to mind it though.

Congratulations, Lola Bear! We are proud of you!

scenes from lately.

1. school has been all-consuming. luckily, i've had lola to help me study. also luckily, only 2 more weeks left! man, it has flown by!
2. the dude at cricket's cafe at school is running a great deal on hand-sanitizer. makes for a good laugh at 8 in the morning when i go to get my coffee :)
3. josh's new look. you like?
4. umm.... it's been HOT. like, i broke a sweat walking to the mailbox the other day. ridiculous. i need to migrate north for the summer.
5. i got some new hot pink running shoes for my birthday!!! (thanks, B!) took them for their first run yesterday... which coincidentally was also my first run in way too long. it was less than stellar but i'm working on it.
6. i've gotten to hang out with little mia a couple times in the past few weeks. if you've been around for awhile, you know i used to watch her when she was a baby until they moved. they've been back in town for awhile this summer so it's been awesome to catch up with them and see mia... she's almost 3 now!!
7. pretty flowers at an outdoor wedding i went to this weekend... one day i want my yard to look like this :)

so that's a little of what i've been up to.

time to study and gear up for a crazy week!

happy monday!

24 before 25 -- in review.

check out the list here.

i guess i did decent.

15 out of 24.

okay, so that's only like a 62% which is an F.

ahh well..

so, clearly i missed a few...

• go sky diving
• give blood
• get a birthday calendar and send family birthday cards
• go on a girls' trip with cousin
• to chicago
• visit cousin at her house in argos
• go strawberry picking
• go salsa dancing with the gang on sunday
• keep up with one race per month trend

i don't have too many excuses reasons for not doing these... give blood has been on the list twice now, so i guess i am just not really motivated to do that. i've also been meaning to start sending out birthday cards to my friends & family since i moved away for college (like 5 years ago!), so i just don't think i am organized enough for that ;) we were supposed to go to chicago last fall for josh to run the marathon but when he got injured that was out. no where to go strawberry picking around here that i know of, and my friends quit salsa dancing on sunday shortly after i made the list. and obviously running one race per month was not a good idea since i've been injured since december -- but i did it up until then!

but guess whaaaat?!?!

i get to cross 2 of those things off the list within the next 3 weeks.

maybe i will cross them off now -- even though they weren't completed by my birthday, they were at least planned by it.

okay okay, you don't have to beg, i will tell you which ones.

sky diving and girls' trip with cousin!!!!!!!!!!!!!

heck yeah!! i'm going sky diving in 2 weeks (ZOMG!), and then the first weekend of august cousin and i are headed off to the bahamas for a girls' weekend!!! i am super duper excited!!!!!!!!!

it's pretty much going to be the perfect way to close out summer.

so, that's the list in review.

the new list will be posted shortly..

as soon as i figure out what i wanna do in the next year :)

The Big 2-5!

So my birthday weekend was pretty fun.

Minus the part about having a huge test to study for...... because I didn't really study for it. shhhh.

But the weird thing?

I took it this morning and umm...I was the first one done. Which never happens. This could be good... or really bad. But I felt pretty good about it. But still, maybe I'm falsely confident? Oh well, we'll see... our lowest test grade is dropped anyway, so I'm not too worried.

Anyway, back to my birthday because that's way more important/exciting/newsworthy.

Started the day off with facials with my mom.

Don't we look shmexy with no make-up and all?

yeah, thought so.

and we accidentally both wore striped shirts because we are super cool.

It was really nice and relaxing though. We even got hand and foot massages which I didn't know were part of a facial, but hey, I'm not complaining.

So anywho.

I don't remember what I did for the rest of the afternoon but it was definitely not study. I am pretty sure studying on your birthday is illegal.

And then we went out for my semi-surprise birthday dinner!!! I knew we were going out to dinner but I didn't know where we were going. Turns out, B took me and 13 of our friends out for dinner at The Marketplace.

Lots of my favorite people came!

Including my "special surprise guest" from out of town....

My best friend Kristen!

I had a slight idea she was coming since she was supposed to be in town this weekend anyway (even though she wouldn't return my calls...rude) but what mostly gave it away was when Josh stole a phone number from my phone and then told me my "special surprise friend" got lost and went to the wrong restaurant. Yep, sounds like my directionally-challenged friend, Kristen. We have many memories together that include getting lost..... hahahaha the good ole days.

But either way, I was so happy to see her!!! Best friends for 10 years and this is only the 3rd birthday of mine she's been to...

Anyway, I had never been there but it was a really neat place!! They had a really cool outdoor patio area that we might have eaten at, had it not been 100+ degrees outside.

we had a little photo shoot courtesy of Erica

And then our food came so we went back inside.

I had grilled scallops & shrimp with a sweet potato casserole and it was delectable!

I also tried some of almost everyone else's food and it was all good, too.

Then as we were leaving, a little old(er) lady chased us down the street begging for our leftover food, telling us she missed church that morning and had been robbed. I offered her some Teddy Grahams and granola bars (they were in my present from Kristen) and she turned them down due to only having one tooth (which she lifted up her gums and showed us) and a bunch of other excuses, but she really, really wanted what was in our "to-go" box... (which was a big ole' juicy steak and I have no idea how she'd be able to gnaw on that thing with only 1 tooth.. it is not like we had a box full of pudding).

So umm..pretty sure she just wanted a free nice dinner since she saw where we were leaving from. Sorry lady, I'm all about helping people in need but not people who just want a free ride, especially when my B works really hard and spent a lot of money for us all to have a nice dinner.

Interesting way to end the evening... ha! You never know what will happen when you venture across the river!

So that was my birthday dinner. It was wonderful and I loved being able to celebrate with everyone!!!!

all the girls + Justin :)

I'll be back soon to report how I did on the list.

Happy Tuesday! :)

happy birthday to me! (& formal introductions)

so today is my 25th birthday. WOOHOO!!

i wonder what i should do for my quarter-life crisis?!

really, the only thing that's exciting about turning 25 is that my car insurance premium went down. YEAH! and, now i can officially rent a car by myself should i feel the need. so that's cool.

other than that, i guess i'm now officially mid-way through my 20's and that's kinda weird. but so far turning 25 doesn't really freak me out. it does seem a little strange to say i'm 25, but i think 26 will feel weirder. it's like 25 is on the fence of being "old"... but 26 jumps to the other side. but whatever, i'm ready. i have a feeling the 2nd half of my twenties are gonna be even better than the first, and i can't wait.

we started off the birthday celebrations with, are you ready for this? ice cream! i know, i know -- you totally didn't see that one coming.

we went to polly's freeze again (the place with the perfect ice cream to chunk ratio) and SURPRISE ---- my mom, mark, josie, and emily met us there. i had no clue they were coming.. i guess i should have known something was up when i went to my mom's house to study get my nails done and she kept trying to get rid of me. ah well... i'm super gullible.

anyways, i think i first mentioned them last summer but since they keep randomly popping up on my blog and probably aren't going anywhere any time soon, here are some formal introductions...

this is my mom and mark. i sat there for about 3 minutes trying to take a picture of them but they kept talking and looking away. oh well, you get the point. my mom and mark got married almost 10 years ago... and then got divorced about 5 years ago. and now they are back together. :) i'm super happy for them and it makes me happy that my mom is so happy. so everybody's happy, and that's always good.

mark has two beautiful daughters -- josie (next to my mom) who is 15, and emily who is 12. they were 5 and 2 when we met them and i was 15. crazy!

and of course, mom and markus (as i call him) are also the parents of mack and roobee.

(the bookends of this photo from may)

so, that's the story of mark, josie, and emily in case anyone was wondering who those random people are that kept popping up in random posts. now you know :)

they are really awesome people and i felt super loved and special at my little birthday ice cream outing last night. they all totally went out of their way to make me feel special and give me lots of attention, can you tell ?

:D

no, but really.. i do love all of 'em and we had a good time.
more to come. for now, i must go study... (def NOT a good thing to do on your birthday.. booo)