A Typical May Day

It has become official: I am a runner. Well, maybe not a runner, but a jogger. But let's get past the specifics. This evening, I ran what I thought was around 2 miles. Turns out, it was actually 2.27 miles nonstop. That is a great accomplishment for me. In the past, I always wondered how to find out the actual distance I ran. Eryn stumbled upon a website called mapmyrun.com that does exactly what it is called, it maps out the distance a person runs.

An hour later, I am now more tired than I can imagine. But you know what? I have gone on a 2 mile run for the past three days straight and I hope to make it a daily thing. I feel so exhilarated after I finish a run. The euphoria is amazing.

The most exciting thing I accomplished today before the run was a trip to wal-mart. Now, you may not understand what this means, so I will describe a typical wal-mart run with Eryn and me. We create a list before we leave, but around 60% of the time, the list will be left at home. This list is organized in no way other than in the order that the item comes to either of our minds.

Now, we follow this list pretty closely. We usually go from the first item to the last no matter where it is located in the store. When we get to an item, let's say laundry detergent, we must decide whether we want to try something new or go with what we had before. Many times, the option to try something new will outweigh the other option. This is when any guest shopper that came along has a test of patience. The process to decide what to try new is a long process of elimination.

Needless to say, a normal half-hour wal-mart trip does not exist in my life. All shopping trips turn into multiple hour ordeals. As I look upon these experiences, I realize the process is very unnecessary. My indecisiveness mixed with a love of new things is a terrible combination. My future husband will be a very, very patient man.

Future husband, I am sorry in advance.

Family Fun Time

Setting the table. Preparing a home-cooked meal. Praying before we indulge. Eating and talking over a delicious meal.

All of the characteristics of a family dinner. This is the type of dinner I wish I had experienced in my childhood. But sadly, I only had evenings like this when I ate at a friend's house. The feeling of a family atmosphere. It reminds me of a Nick at Nite commercial that used to play describing the importance of a family mealtime. It gave a statistic like 80% of families that eat together, stay together. I can see where the idea comes from now.

Lisa and Ryan have been wonderful hosts. They have treated Eryn and me like family members. I couldn't have asked for a better place to live. They are amazing people and I am truly a blessed girl.

Lisa and Ryan have a four-year-old puggle named Roxy. Lately, she has developed a barking problem, so Ryan recently bought her a shock collar. The collar has a box that sets on her vocal chords and emits an electric shock if her vocal chords vibrate. Since Ryan bought the collar, he has been curious how intense the shock is on the dog, but has never actually tried it.

This brings me to the highlight of my evening: Adam and the shock collar. He held the collar to his vocal chords and proceeded to make barking and grumbling noises. Nothing happened. We were all convinced the collar did not work, though I have seen it work on Roxy in the past. Determined, Adam barked with an increasingly higher pitch until he hit the sweet spot.

Immediately after he made the perfect bark, his eyes widened, face became stiff, and his body went limp, causing him to land on the floor. Knowing he was not seriously hurt, all spectators were laughing until they cried. Adam stayed on the ground with the collar for a good minute before he gained composure to stand up. It was more of the initial shock of the shock that scared him than actual pain from the collar.

Needless to say, Ryan quickly took the collar from Adam and fastened it back around Roxy's neck. Shock collar-1, Adam-0. Better luck next time Adam. Though I have a pretty good feeling there will not be a next time.

From Iowa to Missouri

I have traveled more in the last week than my entire freshman year of college combined. I rode back home (300 miles) last Saturday, then came back to Des Moines on Monday (300 more miles.) I then went to a concert in Kansas City on Wednesday night (roughly 200 miles) and back to Des Moines (200 more miles.) On Thursday, I drove back home from Des Moines again (300 miles) and just came back today from home (another 300 miles.) If you have been keeping track, that's 1600 miles in 8 days. Oh my goodness.

Needless to say, I am pretty much sick of driving right now and luckily I will not be traveling long distances anytime soon. To make matters worse, the AC in my car stopped working before my 5-hour trip to Des Moines today. Good thing it was only 81 degrees outside. Eryn and I had to make a stop every hour because we wanted to get out of the oven on wheels. Not to mention, we were downing so much liquid, the bathroom was calling our names every 60 minutes or so.

I still love road trips and traveling. That is probably why I can travel so much in such a short period of time and not go crazy. Well, that may be debatable. The heat exhaustion and delusions are setting in, so crazy may not be the best description.

Though I regretted this thought until a couple of hours ago, I realize I have made the right choice by staying in Des Moines over the summer. This is where I belong. I don't see myself living in Missouri anymore from here on out, but I think that is a good thing.

Sure, I will miss the adorable country accents, and the guys thinking cowboy hats with plaid shirts can be considered "dressed up." Or the fact that I know Springfield like the back of my hand and Andy's Frozen Custard is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. I believe there are bigger and better things awaiting me up here. I say bring it on Iowa.

Chicken McNuggets and Soaking Wet Moccasins

Ahhh yesterday...what a day! I tried Panchero's for lunch, which is similar to Chipotle, if you like that sort of thing. I thought it was amazing, especially the guacamole. Yum...I can taste it now. Maybe i'll go today....that's not bad, is it?

Anyway, later in the day, Eryn and I drove to Kansas City for the Too Fast For Love Tour. Though we had planned on bringing Luke, he got caught up in Minnesota recording his band's EP. At least it was a legitimate excuse to miss the tour. Hopefully the recording went well.

We parked in a nearby McDonald's parking lot, because we just didn't want to pay for parking. Plus, we both wanted chicken nugget mighty kids meals. Let me tell you, you definitely feel like a mighty kid after consuming the 6 piece meal. Unfortunately, the toys, which were Shrek themed, were subpar. I got a talking three little pigs and Eryn got a talking Gingerbread man (I forgot his name.) Needless to say, they ended up in the trash with the empty happy meal boxes.

Parking here sounded like a great idea until it started raining during our dinner. Yuck. So we walked a couple of blocks in the rain and were soaked by the time we reached the Uptown Theater. Luckily, once the music started, I had forgotten all about being wet. Funny how music will do that.

The lineup was I Fight Dragons, Travie McCoy, 3oh!3, and Cobra Starship. I Fight Dragons was...interesting. They played video games while on stage, and used the gaming sound effects in their songs. Travie McCoy is the lead singer of Gym Class Heroes. He did a rap/screamo/hip hop set. It was not something I would listen to by choice, but he is a great performer.

It seemed like everyone was there for 3oh!3. They were loud and constantly cussing, but many seemed to have a good time. I honestly enjoyed the music, just not so much the lyrics. The lead singers complemented each other very well, which created a great show. I won't be their next biggest fan or anything like that, but I applaud how well they moved the crowd.

Now, Cobra Starship was amazing. They opened with The City is At War and closed with Guilty Pleasure, though they played an encore song of Good Girls Go Bad. My favorite was either Living in the Sky with Diamonds or Hot Mess. Actually, the whole show was just amazing. I am glad to say I have finally seen my favorite band in concert. I have waited three years to see them and they exceeded my expectations. The sound was also stunning; definitely the best I have ever heard. I still can't hear well today. Ahh, I love the feeling.

The whole three-hour trip each way was worth every minute. I already can't wait until the Iowa State Fair for Boys Like Girls and We the Kings. :)

39 Things I Have Learned in College

1. Iowa has more guys named Nate per capita than any other state.
2. 5 minutes late is considered on time.
3. You find yourself saying “I’ve never felt this tired before” at the end of every week.
4. I used to be the one who would laugh at people that run outside, and now have become one of them. But I can completely accept that.
5. If you combine one person who can’t remember specifics and another who can’t remember general details, it doesn’t make up for a good memory.
6. Cheese pizza can be justified as healthy.
7. Earplugs are great on Thirsty Thursdays.
8. Halo is even more pointless than I thought before going to college.
9. The cities in Iowa are all mispronounced. Someone should rename them.
10. Canadian accents are adorable.
11. It’s better to be different than all the same.
12. Iowans think Missourians marry their cousins. That’s not true; that definitely still only happens in Arkansas.
13. Spring break is wonderful because you have an entire week off from conducting a handful of interviews, spending countless hours putting together a news story, and then get it back to see a grade that makes you feel worthless.
14. Kids that have the little monkey backpack leashes apparently show up only when you are talking about them.
15. Laundry doesn’t do itself.
16. If you surround yourself with the right guys, you will be impressed with how many gentlemen there are in the world.
17. God takes care of you. The less you control, the more He can step in and do His job.
18. Britney Spears and The Spice Girls are not as innocent as I used to think.
19. Naps can be dangerous if they are not properly executed.
20. Finding a place to live is harder to do than it sounds.
21. Never forget to move your car off Forest Avenue on the Sunday night after coming back from Thanksgiving Break. It has the possibility of getting impounded.
22. You have never experienced a blizzard until you walk outside in -40 degree weather with 30 mile-per-hour winds and two feet of snow on the ground that is still falling.
23. You learn more from not getting the position than you would if you were selected. It’s a humbling experience.
24. Police think it’s funny when you apologize to them for speeding. They also still give you the ticket.
25. A college student will go out of their way to obtain anything with the word “free” in front of it.
26. Running at 8:30 on a Friday night is not the wisest choice if you are not coordinated. Serious injuries can result from the combination of dim lighting and clumsiness.
27. Eating while doing homework results in sprinkles, crumbs, and other food bits lodged in a laptop’s keyboard.
28. Spider solitaire is way more fun than doing homework. At the time, it also feels way more productive.
29. The ultimate key to happiness is surrounding yourself with people who are just as dorky as you are.
30. Not liking red meat is almost considered a sin.
31. You can’t please everyone all the time.
32. Everyone is far from perfect, so never strive for perfection, because it will never be reached.
33. Worshiping God is much better with friends by your side.
34. There are genuinely good people in this world.
35. Everyone has animal-like characteristics.
36. The weather in Iowa is cold.
37. No matter how much you deny it, moving away from home will cause you to miss your parents.
38. Once you find what your true passion is, run with it.
39. Working hard all semester pays off come time for finals. All those Saturday nights doing schoolwork become suddenly worth it.