a trip to the past...

Who didn't have one of these...

Who paid that girl...

...to walk through the background?

video removed

oh sweetalicious

I gave up sweets for lent. It was more of a personal challenge to see if I could actually say "no" to all the donuts, chocolate, cookies and other delicious and delectable edibles that I encounter daily. I must admit, I have never been a huge connoisseur of sweets until more recently and it was not always easy to accomplish work while slices of sexy chocolate cake or plates of irresistible looking almond bars bore down on me enticing me to fail. To conquer this feat, I had to keep in mind the expression, "out of site, out of mind"...and that I did. I physically moved the chocolate cake slices to another person's desk where I could not see them, and I carefully propped a large book up to obstruct my view from the bars. I survived 2 birthday celebrations that included triple fudge chocolate cake and delicious looking ice cream cake and swore at my roommate for cooking her infamous cupcake concoctions. It was a rough 40 days.

I must admit though that it got easier, and I quite enjoyed my diet sans sugary baked goods, candy and sweet drinks (um...hot cocoa anyone?). It wasn't until this past Sunday morning at about 12:30 am when I realized it was in fact Easter. I was so overjoyed that I grabbed a handful of starburst jellybeans and popped the entire thing in my mouth. It was as though my saliva glands rejoiced at the taste of sugar and fake fruit flavoring that I started to drool a little bit out of my mouth. The past two days have been ridiculous as my stomach is mostly filled with an assortment of dark chocolate coconut treats, cupcakes, gummy bears and anything else I can get my hands on. I guess that is why we should not fully deprive ourselves of certain things b/c when we allow ourselves an inch, we take a mile. I'm toying with the idea of restrictions and limitations, but to be honest, I'm such an all or nothing kind of person - it makes it hard to find a doable medium. Say I choose only to partake in sweet endeavors on holidays and birthdays...what about when I'm camping and want a smore? Or what if my mom make's my most favorite Fruit Pizza and the day doesn't fall within the parameters I've setup? I'm taking this week to think about it and also indulging in all the naughy sweets I can get my hands on..

listen up...

...cos I gots lots to say.

Not really. This spring is ticking along and with that lies my deep desire for actual spring weather (is that the correct use of "lies"? I never get it right). There have been 4 major things on my plate as of late: work, school, training and my vacation. To begin with, work. Work has been keeping me busy as we amp up for spring workshops, spring break programming and summer camps. It's all very boring so I won't go into details at all. Then there is school, a constant presence during my "non-work" hours that keeps me awfully busy. I'm taking one course this semester but have signed up for two this summer. I might actually become non-existent as I balance two months of 6-day work weeks plus coursework. Not looking forward to it, but otherwise I will not receive financial aid. Bogus, right? Training for the Riverbank is fine. I am lucky to have a very motivated running partner who has been by my side since the beginning of the year. My foot, ankle, and knee have been bothering me though however I just bit the bullet and bought new shoes, which I hope will alleviate some of the intense pain I start feeling around mile 8 or 9...Once the race is over, I will be able to scale back on training thus freeing up more time for other things...ahem, studying. Finally, my vacation. I got to spend 10 lovely days stomping around the UK with dear friends from home, from Korea and best of all, my sweet Nathan. This long distance crap sucks, yup, anyone who has done it - no matter how far - knows it sucks. In some ways it is kind of funny b/c it is doable to carry on without your significant other around while keeping in contact through various ways forms of communication, however there is this constant dull feeling that something is missing or out of place. It creeps around and looms in the back of your mind and you don't fully realize it's existence until you reunite...and then say goodbye again. Anyway, being able to spend time together, if even for a short time, really made me appreciate everything about him and reinforced all of my feelings for him. Long story short, it was great to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in years as well as spend quality time with a guy I am quite fond of.

Sooooo, here are a few snapshots for you to feast your eyes on, note that most of these are on facebook so I apologize if you are sick of seeing them :)

"Big Red" as Jill so appropriately named my suitcase...yes, I over-packed.

First day together. I was extremely jetlag, but pushed through...

Liz (a fellow teacher from Korea) and I trying on silly hats

Animal Collective show

First view of the Edinburgh Castle. Breathtaking. This was basically the view from our hotel's entrance

View of Arther's Seat (from Edinburgh Castle) View of Edinburgh Castle (from Arther's Seat)

Freezing our bum's off after hiking up Arther's Seat and surviving the most horrendous wind and hail storm...

Hanging out with Sara & Jill

Piccadilly Circus with ole' Nate boy. He did not want to take this picture, but I made him...

Last day together. Sad.

Weekend Update

Oh what a weekend. It was Sara and Andrew's wedding weekend and with it blew in many people from across the Atlantic. Sara looked AMAZING, as did Andrew, and it was just a beautiful celebration:

This was not a great picture, but one of the only ones I have showing both of their faces

Nathan and I talked about how he would not be attending and that it would be better for him to save his pennies and travel elsewhere in Europe. I however, was very wrong and fooled and surprised...but in a good way.

It started off on Friday when I was frantically putting together a tri-fold display board for the GRCC Family Matters event the next day. My office is located near an entrance and as people enter, I can always feel the cold breeze. As the chill approached my co-worker and I, we looked up and I caught a flash of a green scarf and suddenly, I realized it was my NATHAN! I could not believe that he was there, in front of me, in the flesh. I honestly did not know whether or not to hug him, kiss him or hit him (I think I did all three as I was so surprised and felt rather shaky as it sunk in that he was actually here).

It turned out that almost everyone knew about it and I had absolutely no idea. Having him around for the weekend made the event that much better for me. Because of the nature of the weekend, it was a whirlwind. We went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday, I worked Saturday morning and then we went to the wedding. We met my family for Sunday dinner to celebrate my sister's sweet 16(!) and then left for Chicago to meet up with the groomsmen/ his new friends in order for them to fly out this afternoon. I still can't believe he was here and I'm absolutely exhausted from all the festivities. The countdown has now begun for my trip to visit him (28 days!!) and I am so excited.

I'm supposed to be studying...

...but I'm updating instead...
It feels good to be a student again. Despite the differences between my current studying environment (entirely online) and everything I've ever known before, the general feeling of being a student remains the same. Deadlines, time management, homework, readings, writing, thinking, procrastinating...the list could go on. I like it though, it keeps me on my toes and not lazy. I've also started revisiting coffee shops again. I mentioned this to Nathan, followed by, "I'm such a cliche", but in all honesty, I really forgot how much I love coffee shops and more importantly, studying in coffee shops! To fuse one's love of coffee with learning is heightened by the aromas of roasting beans, the distraction of other people's conversation, and what used to be, the accompaniment of a cigarette. Those days are long gone though, but I do find this setting to be calming.

I'm sitting in the newest coffee shop to downtown GR called Madcap. It's lovely and filled with natural light, almost too much, I had to turn my chair sideways b/c the sun was blinding me. Note: SUN in GRAND RAPIDS in JANUARY! My Lord, it is a miracle. I should face my chair into it and blind myself at this occurrence. My coffee was french pressed and delicious and I guess my only complaint would be that the table is a stitch tall for the chairs, but that my friends is minor (and could probably be chalked up to a height deficiency of my own).

Anyway, program planning and implementation calls. Yes, I am that awesome.

so many things to report (!)...

-- I've been accepted into the online MA in Youth Development at the University of Missouri-Columbia and will start classes very soon!

-- I am going to to London, England from 3/21-3/30 to see my babe.

-- I have begun a training program for the 25K in May

-- Unfortunately, I have been struck down by Satan with a nasty cold, which makes things difficult for training, but I will prevail.

-- We have two new shows opening at GRAM and one of the artists is actually coming!

-- Sara's wedding is in exactly 1 month. She was approved for her VISA so that is exciting news for her. As much as I hate saying goodbye to her, I am so super amped for the event and am happy for she and Andrew both.

Anyway, that is all, even though so many things are going on, I feel in control (except for this stupid stuffy nose, sore throat and overall grogginess)...