A gathering of thoughts.

Ok I have been writing this post for days now. But I now have a moment to sit and finish it. It is a bit random, but aren't most of my posts? Anyways bear with me.

First of all, perhaps you have noticed a little green leaf logo on the right hand side of my blog. “My blog is carbon neutral” is an initiative, originally started in Germany by the “Make it Green” program, that has the goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Running a blog with 15,000 visitors (which I am no where near, but now my blog will be super green) per month can emit 8 pounds of carbon dioxide per year (think computers and servers). This group will plant a tree for my blog, neutralizing my blog’s carbon footprint for the next 50 years! So if you are reading this and you have a blog, you should add this as well! :)

Arkansas Boathouse Club is really gearing up for the Head of the Hooch regatta that is taking place in just over a week. Everyone really seems to have made the commitment to coming down and working hard, and from a coaches perspective, that is really great to see. Unfortunately one of the boats that I am rowing in at the Hooch (women's 4x) has not had a chance to practice at all. So if we cannot get our act together this weekend and get some water time, the first time we will be rowing will be next Friday afternoon. Haha I am sure it will be a fun race no matter what.

*Mom do not read this next one*
I have not been treating my hands very well recently. I took out a single the other day and collected a multitude of new blisters. Not to mention I was on a cooking spree today (explanation below) got a cut on my finger while using my super sharp (but super cool) knives. It is not bad at all, just a little stingy when I squeeze limes. Also how do hangnails occur?

Ok so between my grocery shopping yesterday and today, I am pretty sure I could feed an army. Well hopefully I can at least feed 11 hungry dinner guests. Yay! I am hosting my first dinner party in Little Rock tomorrow night. We will be having fajitas (with all the fixins) and Mexican Chocolate pots de creme (a recipe that I have been saving for a time like this). I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. But today I did a lot of the prep work. Like making the pots de creme, and mashing avocado, and attempting to make a tortilla de patatas (and kind of failing(even though I used Spanish olive oil and everything!)) and cutting meat into strips, etc.

ALI IS COMING TO LITTLE ROCK THIS WEEKEND. Aka tomorrow! I cannot even express how excited I am to see her. :D I will show her all 5 exciting things there are to see here in Little Rock. haha But seriously I hope she is ready to have a stellar weekend, because I am!

Also I have gotten a second wind in the jumpee arena. I am now up to 9400 done. Sweet huh? I am almost to my next milestone, 10,000! WOO! Well anyways I am not sure how next weekend will go. I will be at the Hooch and racing 2-3 times. I do not know if i I will be up for 400 jumpees. Not to mention I will be in a car all day Friday. But I bet jumpees will be a welcome relief to sitting in a car for 8 hrs.  Rowers really are crazy people.

Ok so if you have made it this far through my post, you are a saint. haha Remember to vote! I have decided to close the polls on Sunday evening, so you still have a few days to get your vote in. And let me also say that just because I have not chosen a new goal yet, does not mean you do should stop donating to the cause!

Which animal should I donate next??

Go here and vote!!
Thanks! :)
http://www.snappoll.com/poll/346205.php

Another Milestone (!) and an Allergy to Running

So I apologize for my short hiatus, but I have been running around all weekend, and have been too tired to post! Friday night I volunteered at an event at the Little Rock Zoo called Boo at the Zoo. It is basically a safe trick-or-treating place for kids and their families. It was exhausting being there for almost 5 hours handing out candy to sugar crazed kids and their semi-panicked parents. haha But I ended up having a good time. :)

Dempsy and Murphy

If you click on this picture and look
closely at my right knee,
you can see the welting!

Saturday morning I woke up early to run a 5k. It is more of a fun run here in Little Rock called the MudRun. The race is about 3.1 miles and all of the runners had to overcome a couple of obstacles (like crawling through a tunnel or walking across a balance beam) before ending at a 300 ft mud pit that you had to navigate through in order to cross the finish line. Well I made it through the race (I am not much of a runner so that is an accomplishment!), and I made it through the mud pit (although my sneakers were not so lucky) haha. But during my walk back to my car, I noticed a burning sensation on my right leg, I looked down and I had huge welts all over my knee! At first I was convinced that I was allergic to running, and the only cure would be an immediate stop. But apparently that was not actually the case, I guess I got into some type of insect (I am guessing fire ants) and they just went to town. Now that the swelling is under control, I count about 25 bites. Crazy, the area is still hot to the touch, but they feel much better today. Well after the race, and I popped a couple of Benadryl I was toast for the rest of the day. Thank goodness I was dog sitting for some friends that have great Netflix selections.

Today I got up and coxed for the Discover rowing program that was going out. I think sometimes I forget what it was like to be a beginner, novice rower. So it is good to be a part of these classes that bring me back down a little bit. I was supposed to volunteer at Boo at the Zoo again tonight. I went down there all dressed in 80's garb (partial thanks to Cal for the super sweet jacket and scrunchy) and as soon as we got there, there was a tornado warning for Little Rock. It began to pour and hail. Everyone that was already at the zoo was escorted into a storage room to wait out the storm. Once the first front had passed, we were told to go home. (Also I know it looks like I am not wearing pants in that picture, but I am. They are just super cool, gold lame, spandex, so it is a little hard to tell) haha

Anyways, I am plum tuckered out now. I cannot believe how much I did this weekend. Not to mention 600 jumpees from Friday to today. Crazy! That means that now I am at 8800 jumpees. WOOO! Only 6200 to go. Number is getting smaller!

On another also really exciting note I have hit another milestone, I received an anonymous donation on Friday for the remaining $120 I needed to raise to buy a water buffalo!! Much thanks to whoever you are! Your generous donation will help to bring a family out of poverty, and that is the best gift anyone can receive. But I think we can all continue this little task. I think that since I still have 6200 jumpees to go, and a month left in my internship, I can raise enough money to buy a second animal! So everyone, lets do it. Lets get the word out and get the donations coming in! I will post a poll on here tomorrow so you can all vote for what my next animal should be! :D THANKS EVERYONE!

Vandals and a trip to the Chenal dentist

So yesterday a few people decided to go out for a pick up row. These usually go off without any hitches, but yesterday was no ordinary day. Everything seemed fine at first, I was doing my jumpees, and a couple of others were erging. Until Cal got there, and she went down to get the launch boat ready to take out. She unhooked it from the dock, and shoved off. About 6 ft from the dock, she realized that the engine would not start. Which was odd because it just came back from the shop and should have been working fine. Well, apparently some crazy hoodlems came into the area where our boat was parked the night before and cut our gas line, stealing our gas tank, and making the launch undriveable. Oy. Thank goodness the North Little Rock fire department happened to be right there to pull her back in. Also thank goodness a couple of people on the team were able to run out to the store and get us a quick fix. We have a more permanent fix today.

The dentist stresses me out. One thing that stresses me out more than going to the dentist, is going to a dentist that I have never been to before. That is the worst. But as I did not go to the dentist over the summer, I was way over due for a visit and had to find a new dentist here in Little Rock. I was recommended to a couple, but finally chose one, Dr. DJ Dailey. It turned out to be a very upstanding place, the staff was super nice, and Dr. Dailey was great. This how ever did not mean that I would have no problems. There are always problems. Ugh. I have some cavities. Which is weird to me because I think of myself as being a pretty good teeth brusher. But never the less, they are there and I now have to go back on Monday for the dreaded fillings. :( I wish my dad were here to hold my hand and drive me home from my appointment...

So even though my day was not 100% great, I was still psyched for practice. Today was just kind of a steady state, longer piece. We took out an 8 and a single (Me!). I rowed and rowed. I rowed just over 10,000 meters, which is about 6.2 miles. But I got a charlie horse in the middle of the row, those are never fun. And I was using oars I had never used so I now am the proud owner of many new blisters. Good thing I decided to use lime in my dinner tonight... OW!

Also today I cooked half of an organic, pasture chicken. And I have to say it tasted happy... :)
Today's Spanish word is: Cattle = Ganado


I am now at 8200 done, so just 6800 to go. I appreciate all of your support. I still have about $120 to go before I hit my $250 goal! So tell your friends and you mom's about me!!

Milestone!!! :D

Here we are! I am just over half way through my jumpees. I have completed 7600. And it feels good. I went out for a little pizza celebration this evening. I have to say when I stated this task of 15000 jumpees, it seemed so daunting, but now that I am over half way, I am excited to finish! It is the last half of the race, and I am confident that I can do it!

I hope you all are telling your friends about my mission to raise $250. I am at just about $130 right now, so half way. I still have a little ways to go, but I am confidant that I will make it! But I need your support! So let your co-workers and neighbors and friends know about my little fundraiser so that I can get to my goal. I really appreciate all of the support and encouragement that I am getting from everyone!

Today's Spanish word is: Middle = Medio


I hope you all are enjoying the Fall! I am! And I am thinking about making an apple pie or an apple crisp later this week/ this weekend. Mmm Delish!

The book

Ok so I am going to try to keep this post brief, but as I had such a cool and interesting weekend, I am not sure I will be able to do that. So my Uncle Paul came into town this past Thursday. I had a great time this weekend showing him all around Little Rock and introducing him to all of my new friends. On Friday he came to visit me at work and we had lunch in the cafe, followed by a tour of the Heifer campus. Which is always informative. Friday evening we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant just outside of down town called Cajuns. It was delicious and it overlooks the river where I saw some of my rower friends out for a row. :)

Saturday started bright and early with the Suzan G Komen Race for the Cure. ABC decided we wanted to send out a boat to row in between the two bridges that the race goes between in support of all of the women walking. We have a boat that was painted pink for just this occasion last year. Last year there were an estimated 40,000 women that walked in the SGK race, I have not heard any stats yet for this years race, but it seemed to be another good turn out. After we got off the water, the lovely people at the boathouse supplied brunch for the rowers and kayakers that were supporting the race for the cure. Post brunch, Uncle Paul and I headed into downtown to pick up my first organic (and local) order from the Little Rock Food Club. Not only did I order milk, but I also got some fruits and veggies, yogurt and chicken. I am very excited! I have, thus far, tried the milk, apples and yogurt and have been impressed by it all. (Although I will say I think I mistakenly got 2% milk instead of skim, but no harm no foul. I'll just have to do some extra jumpees this week...) haha Also on Saturday I went to one of my friend's husband's rugby game. I have never seen a rugby game before, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience.

Saturday evening I went to a Heifer sponsored dinner called the 100 Mile Meal. The premise of the meal was that everything that was served came from with in 100 miles of Little Rock.  And I have to say not only was everything delicious, there was some great discussion from a panel of experts on eating locally and sustainable. The evening did not disappoint. And then I conked out early as I had a very busy day.

This morning, Uncle Paul and I were invited to another brunch with some friends. The food was delicious and I was really pleased that my uncle was able to meet so many of the people that have become a part of my life here in Little Rock. After the brunch, we had a couple of hours to kill before I dropped Uncle Paul off at the airport, so we decided to make a quick trip to the Little Rock zoo. Normally I love zoos, but this zoo was a tad depressing. Apparently it is really lacking in funding, but regardless, the animals just looked sad in their small habitats. :( But it was nice to be spending the time with my uncle.

I would also just like to take a moment to remember my friend Laura Lynam who passed away 6 years ago today. She was such a vibrant spirit and she is still greatly missed my many.


Thank you all for the support you have shown me.
7400 done! (Almost half way!!) 7600 to go! I am almost over the hump!

Early to bed...

Early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. That is how the saying goes anyways. I wonder what the back ground on that saying is. But I got up early this morning to do my jumpees, and I am tired now. Perhaps in the long run it will make me healthy, wealthy and wise.

Yesterday, post work and post jumpees, I did a massive clean of my apartment. I cleaned the whole kitchen, the living room, my room and my bathroom. The common areas were gross. I am not sure my roommate had ever mopped the kitchen floor. Bleh. And I gave my bottle of febreze a run for its money. But it feels nice to be in a clean house. I did all of this cleaning because my great uncle is in town. He arrived this morning and is here until Sunday to visit me and explore Little Rock. As we were looking for a place to eat this evening, I think he was a little in shock at the cuisine differences between here and Boston (where he is from). A lot more fried foods here. haha

But we ended up having a nice dinner right in down town. Tomorrow Uncle Paul is going to come visit me at work for lunch and then go on a tour of the Heifer building. Yay! I am very excited he was able to come down here this weekend. :D

Spanish words To Hide = Esconder
Quilt = Edredón 

So since I last wrote, I have done 400 jumpees. That makes the grand total 6800! Only 8200 more. haha
Thanks for the support! I am still hanging out at about half way to my monetary goal. So tell your friends about me! :D Night all

The Epiphany

Ok all, I have really never had what one would call an epiphany. Until today that is. After reading several articles and discussing with co-workers I have decided to make the switch to organic milk. I don't want to severely gross anyone out, but apparently it is common for un-organic milk to contain some amount of blood and puss from infected cow udders. I know, I know the FDA allows some amount of gross elements (such as rat droppings and insects) into a lot of our foods. But for some reason this milk thing has really gotten to me. And just ask my roommates from last year, I love milk!! So my 2 week milk hiatus that I have been on has been painful to say the least. And I know what else you are going to say. 'Aren't you just a poor intern? How will you afford the price hike or buying organic milk?' Well to you I will say, I will just have to cut back in other areas.

I have been encouraged to go organic in other areas of my life. And I totally agree with organic and local buying, but for now, I think this is a good first step as I am not buying anything organic or local now. (Maybe I will look into buying my organic milk locally, hmm.) Also I am gong to try to start buying all of my fruits and veggies in season. So that means no more strawberries in the middle of winter. I am really starting become conscious of the foods I eat, where they come from and how they are produced. I feel really good about this. :)

Also today I tried borscht today for the first time. And I loved it! I could eat cabbage all day long... mmm. When I got back from the boathouse this evening, I had a lovely time peeling and eating my first pomegranate of the season whilst watching Love Actually. What a great night. :) I am now ready for the Holidays to start! Amazing what one movie can do to ya.

Today's Spanish word is: Blind = Ciego
Well 200 more jumpees completed. 6400 down, 8600 jumpees to go! yay!

Getting caught up: Kachunga and the Alligator

Kachunga and the Alligator!

So the last you heard from me I had a hectic weekend planned. Friday night a couple of us headed to the State Fair. It was awesome. I am a sucker for fair food. I had a pulled pork sandwich, grilled corn and deep fried oreos (SO GOOD). I think I might still be full from that. We also went to an alligator show, it was called Kachunga and the Alligator (actually I saw an add for it on tv today). It was a bit bizarre, and Steve Irwin-esque.  Soon after that I headed to bed early as I knew I had a busy day on Saturday.

Fried Oreos!

I got up early and headed to the Red Cross so I could take an 8hr course on CPR, AED and First Aid. It was long, and only slightly painful, but I am glad I did it. Now if you find yourself choking and I am near by, I can attempt to save your life with my new skill set. Or as my instructor said, 'you will be deader than a grave yard' haha. (By the way did I mention that my instructor is 80 yo? He was a fountain of great sayings like 'madder than a cat in a sandbox'). After my class was over, a group of us got together and headed over to North Little Rock to partake in the World Cheese Dip Competition. (Did you know cheese dip was invented right here in Arkansas?) We were all really excited, but when we got there, we found out that all of the competitors had run out of cheese dip hours earlier! So disappointing. So we scrapped that plan and headed to a restaurant near by for dinner. And then back to LR for a little late night exploration of the city.

Sunday I got up and was greatly encouraged to watch Boondock Saints (which I had never seen before). So I did, and I have to say it was pretty good. A little out there, but pretty good. Mid- day I was invited to a crew team brunch, where we had pumpkin pecan pancakes (say that 5 times fast), delicious omelets and I learned the how to play bocce ball. So all and all it was a good weekend. :)

Today's Spanish word is: To Frown = Fruncie el Ceño 
And I must say that I am all caught up on my jumpees! Yay finally!! So that is 6200 down! WOO. Only 8800 to go!

Hey all!

I promise I have not forgotten about all of you or my obligations! I have just had a very busy, slightly hectic weekend. I will tell you all about it tomorrow when I am not exhausted and falling asleep at my computer. :) But I will leave you with this comment, if you have never listened to the group Vampire Weekend, look them up. They are great and I am obsessed with them right now! No worries, they do not actually sing about vampires. haha :D

Day 28/29: What a weekend (That technically has not started yet)

I apologize for the lack of post yesterday. I know, you must be terribly upset with me. But I was a bit of a space case yesterday afternoon, and totally forgot to post. But worry not, 200 jumpees were completed. ( I am still in debt 50 jumpees.) After work I popped out my jumpees, and headed over to Kitchen Co. Kitchen Co is this really cute food specialty store, not unsimilar to a Williams Sonoma. I took a sushi making class with 3 other people. And it was a lot of fun! But I have to say, I might leave the sushi making to the professionals as it never tastes quite as good when you make it yourself. Always fun to try something new though. :D

After my cooking class was over, I headed back to Heifer. Yes back to work. My coworker and I were putting a little goody on every one's desk to celebrate World Egg Day, which is today. Hurray for eggs! Did  you know that eggs are hight in protein and the nutrients in eggs can help prevent loss of eyesight as we age? Yum yum yum! After our egg egg-stravaganza (haha get it?) I got an invite to hang out with a couple of friends, so I did. And by the time I got back, I crashed and totally forgot about posting.
Also another interesting fact about today: Today is John Lennon's birthday, he would have been 70.
I will give you TWO, count them two Spanish words today, just to make up for yesterday.
Word 1: Faucet. Faucet = El Grifo
Word 2: Tear or teardrop. Tear = La Lágrima

I have not done my jumpees for today yet, but y'all know I'm good for them! I plan on doing them between when I get out of work and when I leave for the State Fair! (Which, have I mentioned how excited I am for that?) If I have not, I am SUPER excited! haha I love fairs!
So 200 down (from yesterday), I will complete 200 today (maybe even 250 to get myself back up to speed). Currently I 5550 completed, 9450 to go. After today I will have 9250/9200 to go (depending on how many I do.) I will keep you updated.
Thanks for the support! :D

Day 27: Almost caught up

Ok! Here we go, I am only 50 jumpees in debt to myself! Almost there. Nothing too exciting to report today. But I am (hopefully) taking a cooking class tomorrow on how to make sushi! Yum! (Lets just hope this one does not get canceled too!) And the State Fair is this weekend! YAY for delicious food and roller coasters and throwing up said delicious food! haha And I have my all day Red Cross class that I am taking on Saturday. So the next couple of days will be full of things to do. But for today, I think I will call this a wimpy post and head to bed. :)

Today's Spanish word: To melt! To melt = Derretir

250 more down. 5350 completed. 9650 to go! Yay!!
Thanks for the support everyone!! :)

Day 26: 5000

Well here ya have it. I am through my second milestone! And I have to say I feel exhausted. As would you if you had completed over 5000 jumpees. haha But it does feel good to be 1/3 of the way done. There is no going back now. 

I wanted to show you all a picture of the really cool building I work in. It is the most environmentally friendly a building can be. It has received a platinum rating. There is a big water tower that collects rain water to be used in every part of the building except for what comes out of the faucets. Another cool fact about the building is that it is 62 feet wide at its widest point, is designed to capture the maximum amount of sunlight for solar heating and lighting. Also most of the steal that the building is made from, comes from recycled cars and washing machines! Pretty cool. 


Todays Spanish word is business! Business = Los negocios 
250 more down! 5100 done, 9900 to go. (Also I am still in debt 100 jumpees.)

Day 25: Almost to my next mile stone

So I assumed that when I got to 5000 jumpees it would be super exciting and slightly dramatic. But as I did not do my jumpees yesterday, and did 250 today, I am 150 shy of 5000. So, today I have completed 4850 jumpees. (The extra 50 was difficult to say the least). Tomorrow (if I do another 250) I will be done with 5100 jumpees. Oy this is getting complicated.

Tonight I was invited to a small dinner party at my boss' house, and I had my first introduction to venison. I cannot really say if I liked it or not because it was ground and mixed in with ground beef and it was served in a 'firecracker enchilada'. The enchilada was good, but I will not pass judgement on the venison just yet.

Also I have to say that my mother is a saint. I just received a care package from her, and it has all of the things I was out of (including chap stick for my ever so chapped lips!). So THANK YOU MOM!! :D Miss you!

So I have had a comment that I probably already know the Spanish words that I am posting on here. It is true, I have been putting up pretty basic words. But review is always good. But I am going to start putting up words that I do not know as well. On that note today's Spanish word is to twist! To twist = Torcer


Thanks for reading all! 

Day 24: A day of rest

Today, my body told me that it would like a break. And me, being the nice person that I am, obliged. So I did not do my jumpees today. The plan is to tack on extra jumpees every day until I am back to where I need to be.

Today's Spanish word is: To thunder! To Thunder = Tronar


So I am still at 4600 completed. And I still have 
10400 to go. But I am confident I will make up 
these jumpees quickly and get back on track. 
Thanks for all of the great support!!

Day 23: Fall is in the air

It was a beautiful fall day here in Little Rock. A little warm during the day, and it is a little overcast now (even though there is a 0% chance of rain, which I do not think I have ever seen before haha), but beautiful. We had a great row this morning, with a great turn out. Love it when that happens. And after today's practice, I am even more excited for the Head of the Hooch! My jumpees went pretty smoothly after practice, and then I headed home.

Today has also consisted of  a lot of laundry, some cleaning and a mini grocery store run. And now I am having a relaxing time watching NCIS and having what might be one of my new favorite beers, Fat Tire. Cal and I might be going into downtown Little Rock tonight to check out the scene. I hear there is a pretty cool bar that has over 100 types of beer on tap.

I have the promised video of the jumpees, but it is not uploading well, I will put it up tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

Today's spanish word is: finger! Finger = El dedo
4600 behind. 10400 forward. And shout out to my newest donor! :)

Day 22: Another one bites the dust

It is good to be home and in bed. Today was a long day, and it has been a long week in general. This morning, I took a Red Cross class on the prevention of transmitting blood borne pathogens like Hep B/C and HIV. It was pretty interesting, and got me excited for the day long class I am taking next week on first aid, CPR and AED usage. Also today I went to a presentation at work on the projects that are going on in India. It is always interesting to hear stories from Heifer projects first hand.

After work I headed down to the boathouse. I started my jumpees, and then went out in a single. I would estimate I rowed close to 15,000 meters, maybe a little less. So once I got in and finished my jumpees, I was finished. I am now completely ready for bed, and am headed that way now. :)

Today's Spanish word is ocean, sea. Ocean/ Sea = El mar.
Annnnd another one down, and another one down. Another one bites the dust! 4400 down. 10600 to go!
Also I would just like to note, that I accidentally erased this entire post, and had to re-write it, so it is slightly shorter than my original one, as I would like to go to bed. :( Hate it when that happens.

PS Video to come tomorrow!!