Excuse me waiter, why do I have so many forks?

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of attending a luncheon with people who are way more important than I am. ( A first, I know). This luncheon was held at a very nice restaurant in the Chesapeake area. Needless to say I had never been to this restaurant before because I do not have a loving, generous boyfriend to pay for me. (Currently accepting applications!). So when I arrived at the restaurant I was nervous/excited/overwhelmed/freaking out on the inside. But I smiled and introduced myself to everyone and pretended like I was cool as a cucumber. Let me just say this before I go any further, when I think of a luncheon, I think of appetizers, or small sandwiches, or chicken fingers. You get the point. Well, when I sat down at the table for my luncheon yesterday, I was shocked to find a menu already typed up, with 3 courses picked out. My first thought upon reading the menu was, well maybe I don't want a small caesar salad, NY strip with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans, and a slice of cheesecake. But who am I kidding? I'll eat pretty much anything that is put in front of me. As the luncheon went on, my thought process continued on as follows, oh god please don't let me spill anything, I guess picking up a crouton with my fingers is inappropriate in this setting, why does it sound like I'm chewing so loud, why is everyone eating so slow, why are there so many forks, why does the waitress replace my fork every time she takes my plate, I don't know how to cut steak without looking like a savage beast, man this cheesecake is amazing, wow is the luncheon already over?
So let's go back to the highlight of the meal, the steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. I kid you not when I say that I did not cut my own steak until I left for college. And then I just never ordered steak so that I didn't have to learn. As a child my mom cut my steak because she didn't want me to hurt myself with a knife. Well, I guess I just kept asking her to cut it even when I was old enough to handle a knife. So, needless to say I did panic a little when the waitress put the steak in front of me. Maybe I should have turned to the very important person next to me and asked him to cut it since my mommy was at work. SIKE! So, I looked around for a few minutes and watched everyone else cut their steak like normal human beings. I tried my best to imitate them and managed to do a pretty good job. So, minus the slight panic attack, my first 3 course luncheon was a great success. All I have to say is, when I'm a successful and important career woman, my luncheons will consist of finger foods and ice cream, lots of ice cream.

Today was a great day

Today is Thursday. Also known as the day before the weekend starts, and the night of the season premiere for Greys! Today was a great day. And come to think of it, most of my days lately have been great days. I enjoy waking up every morning and going to do something that I really like. It makes the time fly by and I feel like I am making a difference. I've only been doing my internships for a few weeks but I have already met so many wonderful people, been to some pretty cool events, and made some friends along the way. I can only hope that I will continue to enjoy what I'm doing for a long time and one day make a career out of it. Even if I have to remind myself everyday, I will never take for granted the wonderful opportunities that I have in front of me.

On another note, I have been thinking quiet a bit about this whole "keeping in touch with people" thing. Let me just say that for starters, it really sucks. For a society that is so obsessed with staying "connected" we really have a bad habit of letting ourselves get out of touch with friends and family. I know that I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. We call people when we need something, when its convenient, when we know it won't result in a 30 minute conversation. And while all of that is fine and true, its kind of sad to say. My family and friends are what matters the most to me. And I know that I don't appreciate them as much as I should. I know I don't call them enough, or tell them how much they mean to me enough. So this is for anyone out there who thinks about calling someone and then says, "Oh, I'll do it tomorrow." Do it today. Because let's face it, tomorrow is not guaranteed. And if someone matters enough to you, a 5 minute phone call to tell them that shouldn't be too much to ask.

Run Forest, Run!

Back in February a few of you lucky readers got to witness first hand, the long and painful road to recovery after I completely destroyed my left leg. After surgery, a hard cast, a walking boot, and 2 months of physical therapy, I am happy to say that I am feeling absolutely wonderful again! Actually, I feel better now than I did before I broke my leg. Now, this is not to say that there weren't days back in February and March where I wanted to stop in the crosswalk at school and let oncoming traffic finish me off. Believe me, I have never had so much time to sit and think as I did those couple of months when I barely left my room. So what's the point? The point is, one day I woke up and decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. I stopped complaining (for the most part) about how terrible things were and started thinking about how much worse things could be. I thought to myself, at least I have a leg, at least I have the ability to walk again, at least I have parents who can afford for me to take every available step to recover. I remember how upset I was on graduation day that my ankle was still SO swollen. I had to wear my brace when I walked across the stage to get my diploma. Then, I had to go home and put on tennis shoes just so I could make it to the graduation party. I was a mean person! I was bitter and unhappy and let everyone around me know it. And not once did I stop and think, well at least I am able to graduate!

But that was then and this is now. When I came home after graduation I went to see the doctor so that he could follow up on the status of my ankle. He told me that I couldn't run for another two months. Upon hearing this, I freaked out! I was tired of sitting around doing nothing and waiting for time to pass. I hadn't exercised in months and it showed, believe me. I had enjoyed too many late night trips to
Coldstone courtesy of my super patient boyfriend at the time and best friend. So, despite what the doctor said I started running. I said, screw it, now is just as good a time as any to see what this ankle is made of (mainly metal plates and screws, in case you were wondering). And I ran, and ran, and ran, and ran some more. And I'm still running, and it still hurts, and its still swollen, and yes, there are days when I still complain, but I know that I'm lucky and blessed to have the ability to run, and run fast and I will never take it for granted. Which leads me to a story. Not surprised are you?

Yesterday, for the first time, I gave in to my mom's request for us to go running together. I have been saying "no" to her FOREVER, and I finally said what the heck. Running with her made me realize how anal I am when I run. I have to have my shoes tied just right, a certain kind of socks, my ipod has to be adjusted properly on my arm, and I have to listen to a certain song before I start my run. Weird, I know. So needless to say the run with my mom was less than perfect. Turns out my pace is much faster than her and I don't exactly run in a straight line. I've noticed that when I run I look like I'm having a seizure/trying to out run a swarm of bees. I run in a zigzag pattern, on really good songs I sing out loud, sometimes I even raise my hands in the air and dance to the songs. To anyone driving by on the semi-busy road that I run on, it probably looks like I'm not all there mentally. But you know, I just really don't care. Whatever it takes to get me through those four miles. And believe me, sometimes it seems like I'm going to pass out mid run, but I always manage to make it back. It almost feels like I have to prove to myself that I still have it, that I'm still motivated and driven to make myself better. All I can say is, it feels good to be back.

What I'm listening to

Last night on America's Got Talent Leona Lewis sang "Happy". I LOVE Leona Lewis but I had never heard this song before. So I looked up the lyrics and they completely fit my life right now! If you know me, you know that I love songs that explain my life better than I can explain it myself. So, if you get a chance, download the song and listen to it. It is definitely one of those "belt it out in the car" type songs. Sorry if you catch me on the interstate holding up traffic and singing at the top of my lungs.


"Happy" Leona Lewis

someone once told me
that you have to choose
what you win or lose
you cant have everything
dont you take chances
you might feel the pain
dont you love in vain
cause love wont set you free
i could stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
so unhappy but safe as could be

so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about other pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy, yea
just wanna be happy, yea

holding on tightly
just cant let it go
just tryna play my roll
slowly diasappear, oooh
well all these tears
they feel like theyre the same
just different faces, different names
get me outta here
well i can stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
pass me by


so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about other pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy
oooh

so any turns that i cant see
ill count a stranger on this road
but don’t say victim
dont say anythng


so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about all the pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy

This one's for you

It's been almost a week since I last posted and I'm feeling guilty as usual. Knowing there are people out there who read my posts, and wait patiently for me to update is constantly on my mind and I feel pressure to make each new post better than the last. So this is for you, the dedicated readers, friends, family members, who believe in me and for some reason, keep reading this.

This past week has been good, eventful and overwhelming at times, but good. I started my internship on Tuesday and I must say that I absolutely love it! It's kinda funny because I didn't expect myself to like it as much as I do. I loved my last job at the YMCA, and I figured nothing could top it. But the internship is growing on me more and more every day. I mean, I went to school for 4 years to study politics and how the government works, and now I actually have a job where I get to use those things that I learned. It makes me feel smart, important, like I'm making a difference. When people call and I get to help them figure something out I feel a great sense of accomplishment and success. I want to know more, learn more, read more, so that I always have the answers to peoples' questions. I like the internship because it pushes me to gain more knowledge. It pushes me to keep up to date on the issues and form an opinion. The challenge is, holding my tongue when my opinion is different from someone I am talking to. But that is all part of the game. Hearing both sides and learning from one another. I almost feel like I am back at school because I have literally learned something new every day that I have been at my internship.

On Thursday I traveled to Richmond to attend a funeral for someone in my family. This is the second funeral that I have gone to this year, and honestly it is 2 too many. No one likes funerals. They remind us that death is real and there is nothing that we can do to stop it. It is a scary feeling, knowing that our time here is not infinite and we don't have any say in it. But the one good thing that comes from funerals is the reminder that we get to choose what we do with our time here on this Earth. We get to choose whether or not we wake up in a good mood or a bad one. And for me personally, I know that I've had alot more good days than bad days lately. Life is not defined by the situations that we face. It is defined by our response to those situations. Its sad that is takes having someone that we love die to get us motivated to live a life that is worthwhile. So for any one reading this, I encourage you to wake up tomorrow and decide that you are going to have a good day. Decide that you are going to help someone on the metro. Decide that you are going to say hello to a stranger on the elevator at work. Whatever you decide, just make sure you are living a life that means something. Because there are too many people who never got the chance.

Weekend Facts and Observations

Labor Day weekend has come and gone but it was a memorable one to say the least. Learned some funny lessons this weekend, nothing too major, but I'm in the mood to share.

1.) I am quiet possibly the worst football tailgater EVER. Seriously, I do not enjoy tailgating like other people do! Even when I was in college, I rarely got up early enough to drink a few before the game. Weird, right? Night time games were the rare exception but that's because I could start tailgating around 5pm or so. The issue of tailgating was brought to light this weekend when my dad and I went to the first ever ODU football game. I have to admit the game was pretty exciting. We got there around 2:30...the game started at 6. We did have an awesome parking spot though. So, we get there, park, set up our food and drinks and pull out some chairs. For those of you who know me, you know that I am a whiner. I'm pretty sure that my whining lasted almost the entire time. It was hot, there was no shade, dad forgot the cornhole, we had to walk like 23546363 miles to go find his "buddies" at other tailgates, and yea I whining the whole time. I really don't know what it is, I just don't get into tailgating. However, I did make a list of things that dad could bring next week to the tailgate to enhance my experience. The list included, a portable AC unit, a flat screen tv, and chick-fil-a platters. Wishful thinking right? Regardless of all my feelings about tailgating, I have to state that for the record, ODU football fails miserably in comparison to VT football....tailgate and all. Miss my hokies!

2)Working out is dangerous...for me at least. Today I took a step class at the gym that I've been going to in Suffolk. I have taken step before, but never at this gym. I have literally taken step class over 100 times, but this class today made me look like an idiot! The instructor, bless his heart, was probably 65, had the darkest tan I've ever seen, and was JACKED! Before this class I thought I was in decent shape...but let me tell you, this man put me to shame! I was tripping over the bench, stepping in one direction while the whole class stepped in another, and to make things worse, he kept pointing out every time I stepped with my left instead of right. I was never good at distinguishing between my right and left foot...get over it buddy. But here's the kicker; as bad as I did in the class, I was the sweatiest person there! My t-shirt was literally soaked all down the front. So I'm looking in the mirror in class and these other ladies aren't even glistening. Meanwhile, I look like I just took a shower with my clothes on. Sexy, I know. But seriously, there was one time during class that I missed the bench and rolled my ankle...I thought I was a goner. No more step for me for a while.

3) Shopping for "work clothes" is not as fun as it sounds. Yesterday my mom and I went to the mall to get me some new clothes for my internship. I literally have no dress clothes. The extent of my wardrobe in college was VT t-shirts and jeans. So, we started off at Macy's in the dress clothes section. To start with, my mom and I have some what different taste in clothes. But I humor her and try on what she gives me. Macy's was NOT a success. Literally every pair of pants that I tried on was too short. Next we ventured to Express. Deep down I knew that I would find clothes at Express to begin with, but I really wasn't ready to drop 60 dollars on a pair of dress pants. But when you're 5'9 and need "tall" pants, Express is your best bet. So, 3 pairs of pants, 1 shirt, 1 dress, and 5 tops later, I checked out....with MY MONEY. I know, I'm still in shock just thinking about it. I could just see the amusement on my mom's face as she watched me pay the hefty bill. And the whole time I'm just thinking, this sucks because I'll be sitting at a desk all day answering phones and no one will see me in my cute new work clothes. Okay, I'll stop the whining here. And regardless of all my whining, the weekend was awesome and I am truly a lucky girl. Today was the first day of the internship, by the way. It was really exciting! I'll have a blog about that later....stay tuned!

Life is Short

Lately it seems as though I am constantly being reminded about how short life is. When I was younger, I couldn't wait to grow up, be done with school, get married and start a family. Now that I'm older, I'd give anything to go back to middle school and do it all over again. Only this time I would cherish it more. Instead of wishing for time to fly by, I would savor every second and never take one minute for granted. My grandpa told me today on the phone, "The older you get the faster time goes by." I've heard this saying a million times but it really hit home today. I cannot believe my four years of college are over. I cannot believe I'm going shopping for business clothes tomorrow to wear to work! Every day seems to go by faster than the one before. So for now, I'm soaking up every minute. Because you never know when it might be your last.

With that said...tell some one you love them, miss them, care about them, need them in your life, appreciate them, want to take them to Mickey D's to get a happy meal. Whatever it is you need to say, SAY IT NOW. Unspoken words will never be heard. Like John Mayer said, "Say what you need to say."

RIP Mary Jane- Thanks for all the beanie babies, American Girl clothes, bath and body works stuff, jewelry...and of course all the memories.




"Did you ever wonder what it would be like if you weren’t you anymore? If you were suddenly gone how would your world react? Whatever you imagined was wrong. There’s nothing romantic about death. Grief is like the ocean: it’s deep and dark and bigger than all of us. And pain is like a thief in the night. Quiet. Persistent. Unfair. Diminished by time and faith and love."
-One Tree Hill

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

September is here and I am super excited for everything that is going on this month! I'm already loving this awesome weather we are having lately. September is going to be MY MONTH. I can feel it in the air. Big things are gonna happen people, watch out. With that said, I was thinking tonight about how you can never say, "thank you" too many times. And I have so many things to be thankful for, I thought I would list them out incase I ever forget. And also, thank YOU in advance for continuing to read my blogs! I am thankful for all of my dedicated readers!!

I am thankful for (in no particular order):

my health.
my true friends.
having a mom that I can talk to about anything.
my parents letting me live at home for free.
air conditioning on hot days.
my 2 puppy dogs.
free speech...hence me writing this blog.
my great relationship with my sister.
all of the job opportunities I have been presented with.
macaroni and cheese.
music.
running water.
being able to run.
pretty flowers...preferably from a secret admirer.
fresh air.
honest people.
uncensored, raw emotions.
love stories...real and make believe...but real ones are always better.
cold drinks.
ice to go with cold drinks.
laughter.
beautiful beaches.
ice cream.
forgiveness.
eternal life.
non smoking restaurants.
karaoke.
comfortable beds.
reality tv...hey, its entertaining.
people who fight for our country.
people who help lead our country.
having my college education paid for.
skype, texting, email, AIM..only to keep in touch with friends.
Virginia Tech Football.
mexican food.
sun roofs.
fuzzy blankets.
having a nice car to drive.
the roof over my head.
meeting people who have changed my life
being given the opportunity to change the lives of children.
sun tans.
outdoor concerts.
leather seats.
having a family who accepts me for who I am.
sweatpants.

What are YOU thankful for?