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!