Scared out of my skivvies..

I just came across this picture while trying to find a Tri-suit for IronGirl in 12 DAYS and thought it was super fun!

Does that not make you want to hop on and ride? ha! I'll be doing that at 6pm tonight!

And speaking of IronGirl. I NEED. TO. TRAIN. Wow. I can't believe I only have ONE weekend left! I'm starting to get a little nervoussssss!

<3k*

Bitching & Rafting.

I was thinking today about just how many pessimistic people there are in this world. Today as we all woke up to learn that Osama Bin Laden has finally been given justice, all the people in the City of New York are practically dancing in the streets with joy-- while so many other people are running their mouths about how "it's not really him, blah blah blah"--- I just want to run around screaming

"GET OVER YOURSELF, DEBBIE DOWNER! & LET THE REST OF US ENJOY THIS DAY FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH!!!"

uugh. for real. Some people just want to ruin everything for everyone-- & today those people are totally pissing me off.

Okay, enough of that-- NEXTTT:

I went white water rafting for the first time this past weekend! & in all honesty, I thought I was going to die more than once but after the fact-- it was a LOT of fun! 

11 of us went camping, rafting, ziplining & drinking all weekend. We sang campground-karaoke, we cooked campfire pies. We ate. and ate. and ate. and ate. and then drank some. WHEW. I think I gained 7lbs in just the last 48 hours. But it was a BLAST!!

Photo evidence below:



one of the few pictures where my face didnt register sheer terror. haha




shortest to tallest. classic. I would be far left. haha




our group after the adventure!



This trip was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!

<3k*

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Panama Citaayyy;; Random Day trip

Yesterday, a couple friends and I decided to make a little journey down to Panama City Beach, Florida. It's only about 3 and a half hours away (3 or less if I drive!) and it's the GULF. So here are some pictures from my phone to tell the story:



This would be me.. sitting in the back seat of a BARBIE Car!!



my view for most of the day...



Panama City Beach, the view from the back seat of the car.



the pier. across the street from Pier Park shopping center.

me & my beautiful friend Kristina, this was her first time seeing white sand & the Gulf!



we saw this on a van outside of Sharky's. How cute is this name for a Salon? LOVE IT.



&& Then I came home and found this little ball of fur hiding in my duffle bag..

sorry for the horrible lighting, cell phone was almost dead.

Sorry for the crappy quality of these pictures--  they're all from my phone.

I hope everyone has a great week! I know I will, it's a short one for meee!

<3k*

Coca Cola Classic

Welcome to Coke Country! literally.

I grew up in West Virginia where my whole family drinks "pop", Pepsi, to be exact. I went to college and picked up the saying "soda" instead. Okay, so now I've moved to  Georgia and EVERYTHING is referred to as COKE & this weekend I learned why:

• I live in Columbus, Georgia -- where the inventor of Coca Cola, John Pemberton, was from & where he began inventing this new "cola".
• I live 90 miles away from Atlanta, Georgia -- where the Coke Head Quarters are located.

I went to the Coca Cola Experience on my birthday on Saturday (happy birthday to meee) and had an absolute blast! I learned about the history of it; about how it's bottled and made; and also got to tast 70 different kinds if it from around the world! (I don't suggest the "Beverly from London, it tastes like a cleaning solvent).

This was such a neat experience-- I highly suggest it for anyone who's in the Atlanta area & has a morning or an afternoon to kill!

Here are some photos from my little trip:

outside the World of Coke

me with a bottle comemorating Fashion Week 2006

a statue of the inventor, John Pemberton

I had the best birthday ever, thanks to a certain someoneee. Literally, I think we did everything Atlanta has to offer in a span of 1.5 days. :) -- i'll recap the itinerary soon!

<3k*

Atlanta Adventures

So I'm sitting in a hotel in Atlanta watching Tosh.O reruns & thought I'd write a post :)

I came up here today because I have to be at a SIFE competition at 8 in the morning & didn't want to drive through rush hour traffic. && I don't have to get up as early, since I'm already here!

...support it.

Anywho, I checked into my hotel and was happy when they told me I'd be on the 33rd floor. I was absolutely amazed when I looked out my window and saw this:

Wow. I am just in love with this view. Imagine how gorgeous it would be if my room were on the next side of the building (to the left) and I could watch the sunset/rise over the rest of the city-scape. God sure did create an amazing world didn't he? & so many talented people who can create such an infrastructure like this one.

I really think Atlanta is a beautiful city. I've been to quite a few large cities now, and I can safely say that Atlanta really is one of the prettiest. I think I would rank Pittsburgh, PA & Jacksonville, FL at a close second/third... I must have a thing for cities with lots of bridges. :)

okay, bedtime for this girl!

<3k*  

Apples & Oranges

I am about the least tech-savvy person alive. I am horrible with electronics in general. Not sure why but I always seem to mess them up, drop them, break them, delete everything off of them. Phones, Cameras, Ipods, Laptops-- it doesn't matter. I'll eff it up, no problem.

not my actual laptop, but a pretty version of the same one :)

I got a sweeeet new HP Verve Special Edition laptop for my 21st birthday from my amazing parents & not even 2 weeks after I got it it started messing up, freezing-- shutting down, etc. I've had that laptop for 3 years and by now I am FED UP!! I just paid off my surround sound from my Best Buy card so I decided to hop down to the local Best Buy and make a large purchase!

I am now the proud owner of a new MACBOOK PRO! wooooo hoooo! I am having so much fun learning the Mac system right now. & I'm excited to see what all I can produce for work on this thing.

so cute.

So if anyone has any special tips, I'd love to have them because I know almost NOTHING about this new contraption :)


&& i'm gonna include some oranges to this post, so at least the title makes sense. ha ha

i love the things you can find on the internet! :)

Ya'll have a great weekend!

<3k*

&& the Lord said,,

Let there be Light!

Sunlight makes me happy.

It does so much more than provide the ability to "see". It is good for your skin (moderately :) ). It gives you essential vitamins that you can't get anywhere else. & It generally lightens anyone's demeanor. They say people who live in sunny climates are happier than those who live in rainy or cloudy ones.

Today is a beautiful clear, sunny day in Georgia. It's already 80 degrees and I cannot WAIT to take my lunch break and just BE in it.

Here are a few of the things holding me over until 1pm when I get to step outside :)  ++

i just want to run through this..

it's already arrived in Georgia!

so this one is a sunset, but i still like it!

<3 <3 the detail of this door and window!

peaceful.

i want a picture of myself doing this..

haha

okay, i kinda went overboard on the sunshine pictures. But I just LOVE them!!

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

<3k*

On a lighter note...

One time I fell off my bike while training for Iron Girl... & this is what happened.

Set the Scene:

It's 6am on a Monday morning... Warm, about 70 degrees... had just ran a mile to warm up... Boyfriend was getting ready for work and I had some time so I thought I would take a light loop on my bike...

Enter: wooden bridge, still slightly wet with dew.

guess who wasn't wearing a helmet..

yeah that would be a sprained shoulder courtesy of my sweeet flip over the handle bars

and then i had to go to work-- 2days later after the painkillers

my cheek and ear were bloody and covered in scabs!

my baby sayin "feel better soon Momma!"

Note to self: wear a helmet & be cautious of wet, wooden bridges. -- oh & Buy an Aflac Accident Policy!!



that's all.

New Orleans Service Trip

Holla Holla!!

I got home last night from a fantastic 4 days in New Orleans! & let me tell you i had ZERO desire to come to work today-- which might be why I slept in until 8am, rolled into work at 9am, took a long lunch (for new fingernails and gel pens haha) & now I'm blogging. I just can't get back into it!!

All in all this year's trip to NOLA was a success! My group of friends has been going down there since as early as 6 months after Katrina hit the area. & As a group, we've been going for the last 3 years. Every year we go we're still shocked by the things we see and the progress that's not been made in some parts of the city.

photo: realworldhouses.com

I'd say the biggest shock for me this year was the realization of how different parts of the city can be. We went to see the Real World New Orleans house since it was somewhat close to the Hostel we were staying in and I came back surprised to see that there are parts of NO that look like they were never touched by disaster and then there are parts of NO, like the Treme Charter School [where we volunteered] that are still battling Katrina like it was yesterday. It really makes me sad. But at the same time it reminds me why we continue to go to New Orleans every year-- because the JOB ISN'T DONE. These people and that city still needs OUR HELP until things are put back into their places. It's finished for some parts of the city, but in others it's still too early to stop working. There is unbelieveable disarray in huge sections of NO that the government and private and public and so many other entities are giving up on.

But this post really isn't intended to be political or persuasive or anything like that. This is just how it is. I guess my servant heart is speaking to me today :)


Okay Okay-- enough of that mushy, heartbraking, serious stuff!! I haven't uploaded my camera pictures yet but here are some fun DROID pics I snapped this weekend!

 The Joint
This is an AMAZING little BBQ restaurant that my group has now visited twice. They have the BEST smoked macaroni and cheese!!

This is right down the street from The Joint, saw this sign last year and it's just as hilarious in 2011!

This is a mural on the wall in the elementary school we worked in. There were 8 children killed in that school during the last school year.

We spent Sunday wandering around the French Quarter! I got new glasses last week and I'm still trying to get used to the look of them.

& YOU KNOW we had to go waste some money at Harrah's right? haha.

Apart from all the seriousness, we really did have fun! We tutored children. We served snacks. We built a garden. We learned. We saw. We remembered. We praised. We laughed. We ATE and ATE and ATE. We drank. We danced. We sang. We drank some more and then we danced some more. Ohhh & HEY WE FLASHMOBBED BOURBON STREET TOO!! haha. [video will come soon!]

New Orleans 2011 = SUCCESS!

I hope ya'll enjoyed this one, I certainly did! :)

Happy Tuesday!

<3k*

NOLA

I am leaving for New Orleans.



RIGHT NOW!!

See ya later, taters!!

[with photos, of course! :)]

<3k*