{birthday!}

i'm officially a quarter of a century old.

25.  meh.  i can officially rent a car for cheaper!  but that also means my insurance doesn't really care i'm a student anymore... bye good student discount!

and they also lie that your insurance goes down when you turn 25.  must only be for boys.

oh.  and i'm officially myelenated (for all you non-speechy/medical type... that means the myelin sheath around the axons in your brain that help your nervous system function are fully developed which means no more excuses for poor decision making... and that my axons are firing at top speed... woo hoo!)

my birthday was actually one of the best.

i started the volunteer process with Central Kentucky Riding for Hope last weekend, and my birthday was the final training day.  basically, i got to go to the horse park, have a refresher course on grooming, tacking, leading and riding for about 3 hours.  i have loved horses since i was a small child, so spending the first half of my day with horses wasn't a bad way to spend a birthday!

the boy had planned the rest of my night, so i was a little excited to come home, change into cute clothes, and head off on whatever adventure he had planned.  turned out we got to go see the body exhibit at rupp!!!!  it was sooooo neat.  it wasn't gross at all that the bodies we were looking at were real, but actually, more exciting!  i love figuring out how the body works, and why it works the way it does, and how if one thing is out of place, it can spell big problems.  it makes me realize how cool God is that he designed us just the way he did.  it was a really fun date, followed up with dinner at indy's chicken.  oh my gosh.  so good, and so greasy.  definitely can't be eating that too often, but it was my birthday :)

birthday cupcakes! please note the amount of icing

birthday cupcake after all the icing is gone... and with a little bit of ian's :)

we finished the night with a movie and cupcakes.

like i said, a fabulous birthday!  and thank you to all my friends and family that wished me a great day :)  it really was!

{prayers}

my life has been crazy and full of thoughts, prayers and talking with people about the present and potential future.

i've started my placement in the schools, and honestly, i love it.  i like the environment, i love my supervisor, and the kids are just funny.  it's a great school with kids who work hard and supportive parents.  it's been fun so far, and i hope it continues.

i've applied for graduation, i've applied for comps and my asha exam.  i'm starting to apply for jobs.  i don't know where my life may go come may, and if i'm going to be honest, that scares me (in both good and bad ways).

my mommy has surgery tomorrow.  i know they caught the breast cancer early and the prognosis is super good, but it's still a big surgery.  prayers tomorrow would be very much appreciated.  i'm ready for my mom to be a breast cancer survivor.  for a long, long time.

lots on my mind, lots on my plate.

{you actually drink that?}

ever heard of a green smoothie?

well, it's green.  and has veggies in it.  and is actually really good.

it also is super healthy, so to keep in combination with my running, i decided i should probably eat a little healthier too.

the base is some vanilla yogurt.  can't go wrong with some calcium, right?

then 2 cups of spinach- fiber, iron, lowers blood pressure, immunity, vitamin k (which is apparently good for my brain...)
some fresh ginger- prevents cancer, migraine relief, cold and flu prevention (bring it, elementary kids!), digestion
mango- digestion, lowers blood pressure, iron, prevents heart disease
banana- reduces depression (who knew?), bone and kidney health, prevents high blood pressure, reducing my risk for stroke (which has been increased due to grad school)
some honey- natural energy, immunity boost, some antioxidants
mint- improves digestion, natural diuretic
a splash of lemon juice- vitamin c, and reduces high blood pressure.

i put it in ice cube trays in the freezer, then when i want a smoothie, i take a few out, mix it with some coconut water (energy, prevent dehydration, reduces high blood pressure), and i'm good to go!

you can't even taste the spinach, and i think it's kind of a pretty color! (i made another one with blackberries... the color was more the shade of baby poop... not quite as pretty).

look at me being so healthy.

{adventures rebecoming a runner}

once upon a time, a very long, long time ago, i was a fairly decent runner.

yes, this hangs in my hs hallway... do i sound like uncle rico yet (napoleon dynamite...) 

anyway, running is NOT like riding a bike.  it's actually the opposite.  you stop for just a few weeks and you've lost everything.  needless to say, 2005 was more than a few weeks ago, and ever since hs, i really stopped running consistently.  i originally blamed it on ankle surgery (from running too much... that's sad.), but ultimately, school, work, life happened.

well the thing about cross country runners is we're those weird people that actually like running.  over the past few weeks, i've found myself missing running.  like i said, if you weren't a cross country runner, that sounds absolutely crazy.  who misses running?  guilty.

the new year makes a perfect time to make some resolutions, and add on the fantastic weather we're having (it's 50 degrees right now people...), i decided now is a great time to run.

look how fun!  it tracks all your runs/times/goals

my favorite nike+ sensor decided to die just as i was making this resolution which is a bummer, but between the nike+ running calendar (i love it... i tells me what i need to run even if i look like a slacker because the sensor won't pick anything up so it looks like i haven't run), and i have some great running music, so come december, i'm going to be so ready for my half marathon (yes... december... as in a year away... judge me...)

yesterdays run was absolutely terrible and i've never felt so out of shape in my life, but today felt good. i felt like a runner again.  3 miles, which considering i haven't run at all since summer, i feel pretty good about!  the calendar does say 4 on monday... may be a different story...

{my mama}

it's been a while since i've blogged... christmas break happened, and i got to go home to my parents new lake house for a week and a half!  the longest i've gotten to be home in a long time and it was great :)

i love my family.  they're great.  my parents are the best parents a girl could ask for and my siblings are straight up hilarious.  it's always fun to go home and just be.  we drank coffee with almond joy creamer (my new obsession) until the afternoon hours, watched movies, made and ate far too many cookies, and just got to enjoy being home.

christmas was also a good time to go home because just before christmas, mom got diagnosed with breast cancer.  both of my parents are great about going to the doctor yearly, and mom will forever be an advocate for this because it is the reason they caught the cancer.  it's stage 0, so there's not even a tumor and she only needs a lumpectomy and radiation, so it's very treatable, but still.  she's my mommy and to hear 'cancer' isn't easy.

i love my mom though.  she's such an example of maintaining joy in difficult circumstances.  she has been so positive throughout this whole ordeal of testing and imaging and meeting with doctors and surgeons.  in the midst of unknown, she has trusted God.  and then my dad has been there the whole way to offer love and support.

i'm thankful for both of my parents and the example they have provided for me growing up, and continue to give me as i grow up into an adult.

pray for my mommy as she has her surgery (scheduled 1/13/12) and radiation afterwards.

love you, mama.