It is Finished...

Hey Purple Monkey friends! Well, I did it. Well, I sorta did it. Confused yet? This past Sunday, I participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March. 26.2 miles of uphill both ways kind of hiking. I made it to about 18 miles before I had to quit. My heart started acting funny and just wouldn't let me finish. But you know what? It's a triumph anyway. Never in my life have I attempted something like this. And never in my life would I have considered even contemplating something like this. But I did. I trained for it. I signed up. I got up at 3 in the morning to be at the base. And I walked more than half of that bad boy.

Random side note...I met up with a group of guys from Kansas around mile 8 who really made the hike enjoyable. They were funny and supportive up til the end.

Guys, it was an awesome experience. I stepped out of my comfort zone and did this in memory of those who were continually out of their comfort zones. They are true heroes and they deserve to be remembered.

5 Days and Counting...

Can I really do this? Am I fully prepared? Should I just quit now and cut my losses? What if I twist my ankle the day before? These are just a few of the things that have been running through my head today. The day where boys become men and girls become women is fast approaching. Earlier this month, I was wishing that it would hurry up and get here. Now I'm terrified of it. That's right everyone, the 26 mile hike is in 5 days. 5 short days. I'm freaked out. I'm scared. My heart races a bit when I think about it. I just want to finish this thing. That's all I want. I don't care how mangled my body is when I'm done. I don't care how long it takes me. I just want to finish.

But if I don't finish, I'll know that I did my best and that's all that matters. Right? I need some verification here!!

Babies, movies and nail polish.

Now, you may be asking yourself what could these three things possibly have in common with one another. Okay, you may not be. What am I...a mind reader? I'm just guessing here. Anyway, back to the original question. What do these three things have in common? Well, I'll answer you. I was involved with all three of those things this weekend. Not really a fun answer, was it?

I went back home to help host a baby shower on Saturday. It was super fun. There was a small speed bump at the beginning, but once we pounded our way through, everything went off without a hitch. The mommy-to-be got lots of great baby stuff to welcome the fabulous little bundle of joy. Fun times. Fun times. I'm so ready to meet the little guy, I can hardly stand it!!

After that, I had a girl night/slumber party. We watched "Rent" and painted our toe nails and finger nails. I always enjoy hanging out with my gal pals and justy being plain old goofy. Wait, I'm like that no matter who I'm with. Never mind.

The Midnight Bandits Strike Again...

Okay, it wasn't really midnight. And all we really did was some chalking and just a little saran wrap. Today is our pastor's wife's birthday. So, last night, the bandits struck the house with chalk. We told her happy birthday and that we loved her and stuff. See? We were nice! Then we decided to get a bit mischievous and wrapped the shed with saran wrap. We were actually thanked for that since it would keep random stray people from getting into their stuff. So, it really probably wasn't like a strike at all. We didn't come in with guns blazing and do some serious vandalism...instead, we kind of sauntered in with toe nail polish and powder puffs and made the day a happy rainbow of love.

Did that make sense to anyone else, or am I just that tired?

Old School

So, last night, I did something I haven't done in a really long time...and it was a blast!! I went over to a friend's house and played video games. Old school video games. We played Donkey Konga (I was in charge of playing the little conga drum thingy...a task at which I was horrible) and Mario Kart. There were four of us and we all got to play together. I have to admit this though...I don't really play all that well with others. I kept wanting to throw stuff at them so that I could get ahead. I just wanted to win once! Is that so wrong?

Loads of laughter and tons of fun were had.

If you don't already have this, I implore you...find friends that you can hang out with and kick it old school. Play a game you played as a kid. It makes you feel alive.

Three Girls. A Car. A Mission.

Operation Road Trip was a huge success. We had an absolute blast. There are a million bunnies out at night. Seriously, I saw more bunnies along the side of the road than I knew existed in the great state of New Mexico. We got there late Friday night, but still stayed up to chat with the sweet family who let us invade their home. Saturday, we got up, got ready and hit the town. It was so much fun. We visited with old friends, frequented old haunts...all the usual stuff. It was great. And then we ran into a nasty little sand storm on the way home. Not fun. I was really gritty and gross. I hate that.

But all in all, the weekend rocked!

I hope yours was as much fun as mine!!

ROAD TRIP!

Can any other two words in the English language elicit more excitement than "Road" and "Trip"? Especially when pushed together to make the most glorious phrase "ROAD TRIP!" Well, that's what I'm going to be up to this weekend. Now, normally, road trips are taken when people want to go somewhere more glamorous than the town they live in. Not so this time. A few of us are hopping in the old car this afternoon to head to a town that is about 1/6 the size of the town we live in. Woo Hoo! Let the good times roll, peeps! In all seriousness, we're going to go visit some friends, eat lots of food and drink lots of chai tea. Should be a blast.

I expect all of you to wait with bated breath for my post next week to let you know how everything went. I know you all will want to know. I mean, I would if I was you.

Who Moved My Cheese?

For those of you that don't know, that is the title of a book that's all about change in the work place. I've never read it though, so I don't really know what they talk about. So, when you think about it, that's kind of a cheesy title for me to use on this post. Oh well, what's done is done.

Anyhoo...the reason I brought this up is because things are going nutty here at work. My boss put in her letter of resignation yesterday. That makes me sad. *sniff sniff* She is the coolest boss ever. Hang on...*grabs kleenex and blows nose*...okay, I'm better now. And now my office mate and I are getting moved down the hall, around the corner, and away from everyone else. Blegh. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me and that while I was sommer-saulting ever so gracefully in the air, the floor was removed as well.

But it just strengthens my resolve to have faith in the Lord. He has the whole situation under control.

My Friends

After going back through and reading some of my ramblings in my blog, I noticed something. I have some stinkin' awesome friends. So, I would like to devote this post to those of you that I am privileged enough to call my friends. You guys freakin' rock! And you're all so special in unique ways. You make me laugh. You make me cry...in a good way, of course. You push me to the edge of myself and then some. You enjoy spending time with me as much as I enjoy spending time with you. You share your hearts. You share your lives. You love me for who I am. The way the world is these days, friends like you are few and far between. I'm just ever so lucky that I have so many of you. Now all of you, raise your glass for a toast. What? You don't have a glass? You didn't see where this was going? Well, go get one. I'll wait.

Ready? Here's to you...my friends. May your lives be filled with as much love as you have shown me and continue to show me. And just so you know...that's a lot of love. I am honored to be your friend!

Is it Possible to Amputate from Waist Down?

Most of you are aware that I'm training for a 26 mile hike at the end of this month, right? Okay, well, if you don't know that, then...Hey guess what everybody! I'm training for a 26 mile hike!! We all up to speed? Okay. This past Saturday, my walking buddy and I walked our longest walk to date. We don't want to go the full 26 miles before the actual event, but we got on up there...we walked 20 miles. I kid you not. I came out of it with relatively few blisters this time, so that's good. However, from my lower back down to the toenail on my little toe hurts like you wouldn't believe. I've heard that pain is your bodies way of telling you to stop. Well, I don't have that option!! I've got to do this thing!! I've come too far to stop now!! Plus, I've already paid the entrance fee...and it's non-refundable.

Not to mention the fact that this hike is very dear to my heart. If you're interested in what it's all about, click on the "Bataan" link to the right. It'll explain everything.

I hope today finds all of you happy and in good spirits...and in less pain that I'm in!!