13.1

Ta dah! It is over. And I survived.

And it didn't even rain on me!! Well, that's a lie. It didn't rain while running. It did however rain while Hales and I were waiting on our trusted ride Mr. Benjamin, as well as while we completed another mini-marathon trying to locate where that trusted ride was parked. I was somewhat miserable at the time, but now that I am showered and dry and much more able to walk, it was all just part of the adventure.

I arrived with Haley and her mom in Nashville late Friday afternoon. Our first goal was to somehow maneuver through ridiculous downtown traffic. Our second goal was to find the Expo and collect our race day numbers and materials. While there, we also paused to participate in some activities...

...like envision the happier times of the following day...


...and pose with some Elvis look-alikes.

Despite the intimidating number of people and vendors spread out throughout the Convention Center, the Expo really got me excited for the race. After once again conquering some traffic issues, we met up with the Benjamin, and he and I were off to some to a friend's house where we stayed Friday night.

Ya know, I attempted to sleep, I really did. I was tired from my week, and we even got in bed at like 10:30 or some ridiculously early time like that. Unfortunately, after factoring in the also ridiculously early wake-up time and multiple crazy dreams my head conjured up involving the morning's activity, I'd say I averaged about 2 hours of shut-eye. Whew, thank goodness for adrenaline.

God blessed us with great weather. The clouds and threatening rain meant cooler temps, but by some twist of fate, not one drop fell on me or Haley the entire run. While I was prepared to venture 13.1 miles in the rain, looking back, I just don't know if it would have happened, and I'm pretty sure I kept my smile much longer than I would have had it been pouring.

I unfortunately have no documentation from the actual race part. Ben was stationed at mile 11, camera in hand, but we somehow missed him, so you're just going to have to take my word for it. I really had a great time. I ran the whole thing and only had to stop once for a bathroom break. I was so proud of Haley, and of myself. I know it was the good Lord who got us across the finish line though! And with no injuries :) Hurray!

I'm already looking forward to the next one. It was just such an encouraging and fun atmosphere. My favorite part of the course was a loop through Belmont's campus and residential area. Everyone was stationed in their front yards with breakfast, coffee, even champagne, and whether they knew a runner or not, everyone had made signs and cheered on strangers for hours. What wonderful Southern hospitality, it was really inspiring and helped me along for sure!

Yesterday I could barely walk, but I've already just about got my legs back again I believe. Now I can run with less pressure, thank goodness. First I've gotta get rid of this awful cold I've acquired, though. I blame the rain...

I also wanna give a shout-out to my sweet sister who was confirmed this morning at church. It was a great opportunity to spend some time with my family after such an exhausting day. She too deserves much congrats and love!


Last week of classes, here we come! Happy weeks! :)

Don't Forget to Breathe...

That seems to be the general reminder of my life these days...

Yes, I've been busy. Way too busy for my liking. But, things are starting to get checked off...I mean lookie here, I'm even blogging! (Although I'm pretty sure the only reason I have time to write is because I'm currently skipping class...oops!) Like I said though, things are looking up, so the lack of class at the moment is actually just an indicator that I'm pretty much done (with one course at least).

Anyway, here's a brief run-down of the last week or so:

Friday: formal (pics to follow)

Saturday: long run (my last one! documentation of anxiety in anticipation of upcoming race also to follow)

Also Saturday: begin writing 10-page paper and babysit

Sunday: Dream Connections flag football tourney for Chi O (not as bad as I was expecting)

Monday: unfortunate doctor's appointment including finger prick that almost led to disaster

Tuesday: longest day ever

Wednesday: TURN IN 10-PAGE PAPER!! HOORAY! and immediately turn attention to writing speech for Monday and oh yes, the 15-pager I also must achieve at some point

And today: take test, skip class, and breathe (sort of...)

Whew! Makes me tired just recounting it all. Note: I am not complaining. Hah, Tuesday night's Bible study was totally about why I should stop complaining about life. Shoot, I'm really good at that unfortunately. Anyways, just wanted to clarify-what you just read was not me complaining (yeah right...), just me explaining why I've been absent for awhile. Hmm, sure, that sounds good...

Anyways, now as promised...
Formal pics, yay!! The Benjamin and I had a really good time at Downtown Grill and on the Riverboat Friday evening. (And please forgive my Alph-Alpha hair in the first pic. It was super windy but I really love the sunsphere in the background...woohoo for K-town!)

Having formal on a moving vessel=it only lasts as long as the cruise=formal is rather short!!=sleepy Emily is happy :)

Except for that in this case, Quarry Trail had the epic fail because the power was out throughout the entire complex when we arrived home nice and early...meaning the lack of AC coupled with the really mature screams of excited college students outside my window led to an eventual 4 a.m. bedtime. Yeah that kind of sucked.

I was awake the next morning in time to squeeze in one last long run with Hales though! We made it about 9 miles, so it was a nice confidence boost heading into race day this Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a bit hesitant. Mainly because I'm probably going to have to wake up around 4 in the morning and the 70% chance of rain doesn't sound too appealing. I'm excited though. The Benjamin is accompanying us so he can be the designated picture-taker/banana-holder/emergency ipod-keeper on the sidelines. Those are all very important jobs.

Ok, enough procrastination. Time to work, work, work. And then go to work. And then come home to breathe again.

Whew, yes. Just breathe.

As of Late...

What a wonderful weekend I've had thus far...and it could not have come sooner. I had quite the crazy week, with a group presentation, big test, and proposal all due this past Wednesday. And let's not forget it was the Wednesday after Easter, meaning last weekend I did not give much attention to school. But hey, it was Easter, I was technically on vacation, it was like 80 beautiful degrees all weekend, and it's over now, so no regrets!

The absolutely gorgeous weather of spring has returned, and I am in love. Don't get me wrong, I love temps in the 80s-they mean quality time poolside-but it was as if we skipped spring's crystal blue skies and perfectly perfect 70-degree afternoons...and I needed that time before summer dropped in full swing. Well Knoxville, meet spring, I think you'll get along just great. :)

Anyway, last night I went out with the roomies to Soccer Taco and to see the new movie Date Night. Let's just say they turned into two of my new favorite things. It was a little chilly once the sun started sinking, so we opted to sit inside at the restaurant, but I can't wait to return on warm summer nights to sit on the outside patio of Soccer Taco and enjoy one of their scrumptious margaritas...mmm mm. And I have to encourage you all to see this movie. Absolutely hilarious...in my opinion at least. I don't think I've laughed that much in quite a while. Now Steve and Tina are two of my faves, but I think pretty much everyone will enjoy it.

This morning I finally slept past 9:00. See, I love the sunshine, but it shines right into my eyes every morning and generally gets me out of bed at like 8:45, which in my opinion nowhere near qualifies as "sleeping in," so after a hectic and tough week, it was nice to get in a great night of shut-eye. I spent some time on my bed watching Freaky Friday on tv while getting some homework done this morning, then the Benjamin and I went out to Chick-fil-a for an outside lunch in the sunshine. Next it was off to the mall for some perusing/formal dress shopping, and finally we made it to Lakeshore for a gorgeous spring walk. Ahh, perfection.

Tonight Ben and I ate in and finished Season 2 of 24. Intense. That's all I can say. Intense and annoying because the finale was a total cliffhanger, which means a trip to McKay's for Season 3 is on the immediate to-do list. Oh TV on DVD, how addicting you seem to be...

Tomorrow I'm headed to the pool with mom, where I will attempt to not get sunburned like last weekend. Oops! Unfortunately the afternoon's reading materials are a stack of psychology journal articles, but oh well, there are like 3 weeks of classes left, so hey, I'll survive.

In other news, I declined my Disney offer this evening. It was really hard to click that button, but I just didn't feel confident enough in my decision to commit at this point, and well, I had to give an answer tonight. I never really felt a complete peace either way, but as my wonderful Bible study leader once told me: if a deadline comes and goes and you don't do anything about it, the date was meant to pass without a big decision being made. I'm sticking with that for now and excited to see what God has in store for me in Knoxville come the fall.

I leave you with a C.S. Lewis quote I saw tonight. It's the preparatory reading for church tomorrow morning at Cedar Springs and I just loved it, so I wanted to share:

"God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo. Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity would have been, more glorious than unfallen race now is (if at this moment the night sky conceals any such). The greater the sin, the greater the mercy: the deeper the death, the brighter the re-birth. And this super-added glory will, with true vicariousness, exalt all creatures, and those who have never fallen will thus bless Adam’s fall."

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope it's as pretty where you are as it's predicted to be here!