Ten on Tuesday

Random Thoughts

1. I have been in the worst mood for the past few days. And I don't know why either....

2. There was a black cat wandering around work yesterday. I saw him cross the street and thought I would never see him again.

3. This morning, a colleague came in and asked if I saw the black cat against the curb near my car. I said no. Well, the cat was up against the curb in a big mud puddle, barely moving his head and paws. I called Animal Control and they came to pick him up. I checked on him right after Animal Control called to tell me they were on their way and he was struggling to breathe but he as alive. Unfortunately by the time Animal Control arrived, he had died :(

4. The Carolina Hurricanes have their first home game tomorrow night!! Ashley and I are going and I can't wait! Hopefully, it will help me get out of this mood I am in.

5. Since the weather has been cooler in NC, I have been running on a regular basis again!

6. My company sponsored a 5K on Saturday and Ashley and I participated. I am happy to say that I ran my best time ever!!! I finished in exactly 30 minutes with a 9:40 pace and overall, 8th in my age division!! Now I am motivated top break that 30 minute mark!!

7. I have no plans to run a marathon ever again!

8. I might consider a half though sometime in the future.

9. I have been done at Duke for a month, but I still get sporadic emails from people who need my help on something.

10. I LOVE my new job and I know I made the right decision leaving Duke!! :)

Ten on Tuesday

OK, so it has been awhile, a long while! But I have been super busy and thought today would be the day to start blogging again. My Ten on Tuesday will be devoted to ten updates since my last blog!

1. I left Duke!! As most of you know, I was a Research Assistant there. In June, I was told that I was going to be promoted to Clinical Research Coordinator I. I was really excited about this position and knew that I was now 'safe' for a little while at this job. In the meantime, 2 coordinators left and the other research assistant was promoted to Software Engineer. So here I was coordinating 3 projects with no research assistant and a so called Project manager that was no help at all. And to top it all off, I still was officially promoted to a CRC!! My promotion went through on Sept. 1, after 2 months of waiting patiently for it to be approved. Which I am still confused on why it wasn't approved before they offered me the position, but anyway that's another story.

2. So when my old supervisor from Duke told me about a position at her new job, I was all for it. I went in for a 4 hour interview which was more like just making sure I would be a good fit. Four days later, I had my offer and within 20 minutes of the offer, handed in my resignation.

3. I officially started at SciMetrika on 10/1/10 and I couldn't be happier!! Its a small public health consulting firm who works primarily with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). I am a research Associate, which is exactly what I was doing at Duke when I left. Except that I am working in Public Health and Health Education, which is what I went to school for and have a deep passion for.

4. Ash and I just celebrated our first year of dating!! Its hard to believe it has only been a year but it has been a great year!! I am super blessed to have him in my life!

5. I met Cam Ward a couple weeks ago. For those who aren't familiar with hockey, he is the goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes. They do a monthly radio show at a restaurant near me and they give 30 people the opportunity to get autographs/pictures taken with a Hurricane Hockey player. It just happened to be Cam the week Ashley and I went.

6. Falls is here! This is my favorite time of year. Sunny, semi warm days and cool nights. I love being able to have my windows open, the smell of fresh air and with fall arriving, it means Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks!!!

7. This is the first weekend in awhile that we have no plans and I am ecstatic!! Sometimes, its nice not to do anything :)

8. Hockey season has officially started!! The canes do no have their first home game until Oct. 27th due to the State Fair starting this week. Ash and I will be there on opening night and we can't wait!!!

9. State Fair starts this Thursday! Ash and I are going on the 18th! I can't wait for tator tots, fried mac and cheese and candied apples!!!

10. I am going to try my best and blog weekly but we will see how that goes :)

Getting to Know me Sunday

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....? No idea....I usually don't spend much $$ on myself.

2. Have you ever played a team sport? I ran track in high school! I loved it and met 2 great people who I still keep in contact with!

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be? A lady bug since they have been know to bring good luck

4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned? My shoulders, then my bra strap rubs on it and it hurts. But I am the one who wears 70 SPF and does whatever she can to avoid getting sun burn.

5. Are you happy? Yes, I am. I have awesome family and friends, a boyfriend who has been a blessing in disguise and finally a job I like that is what I went to school for!

6. People are always abbreviating..everything. I need to take a class at work just to learn all the acronyms they use in the research world.

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere? I do love where I live. Its hard to believe that I only have lived in NC for 6 years, it feels like I have lived here forever! The only thing that would make it better would be if my parents moved here!

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full? none, but sometimes if I feel I have eaten too much, I try to work out harder and longer the next day.

Parents Visit and 30th birthday!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy but I have loved every minute of it. My parents have been here for 3 weeks! They came for the MS Walk back on April 24th. Even though my sister and niece were stuck in Germany, we had a great weekend. They were missed but definitely there in spirit. My parents were able to get to know Ashley and they love him (I don't know anyone who doesn't love him)! The 4 of us went out to dinner a few times and my parents even came to church with us on 2 Sundays! I loved having my parents only 20 minutes away and they came for dinner one night and stop in surprised me one night! They did look at houses while they were here but didn't find one. Hopefully, they will be moving here very soon! I enjoyed having them so close and I really miss them now that they are gone :(

So, I turned 30 yesterday and it was one of the best birthdays I have had (with the exception of last year when I received my Master's degree on my b-day)!!!! The day started with church with Ashley and his mom. Then his mom took me out for lunch and then we went back to her house. She got me a hanging welcome sign that I can change whenever I want. She told me that she will make me a strawberry cake for next weekend! Then we went back to Ashley's for me to open my gifts. First he had me open his trunk and in there, he had a cat planter that I can put outside and that was only the beginning of the presents! He also got me a flag holder with a zebra print flag with an embroidered 'S' on it, cat pictures holders, a zebra print serving tray to eat my dinner on, a bunny candy jar and an animal print Guess bag!!! I am blessed to have Ashley in my life :)

Then we went to my sister's and hung out with the family until dinner at Daniel's on Main, an Italian restaurant in Fuquay. Dinner was great and my parents had gotten me a Carvel ice cream cake for dessert! I had an awesome 30th birthday thanks to my family and Ashley! 30 is being good to me so far!!!

The welcome sign from Ashley's mom!


My new flag!


My kitty planter!


My new bag! Ashley has awesome taste!


Ashley and I!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. My sister and oldest niece are stuck in Germany :( They went on a 10 day field trip for school and they are now stuck there because of the volcano cloud. Good news is they have reopened the airports and they should be home in 2-3 days.

2. My parents are coming tomorrow and will be here until mid May. We have the MS Walk this weekend, my sister's triathlon next weekend and then my 30th birthday the weekend after that!!

3. I can't believe that I am going to be 30 in 19 days....WOW!! I am looking forward to moving into another decade :)

4. I have gotten Ashley into running! We try to go running together at least 2x a week. Its fun running with him and I love that we have something else in common and like to do together :)

5. I am no longer am employee of my sister's store, Padoodles. With my job at Duke, I no longer have the mornings to run errands like I did when I was a nanny and honestly, I was burned out. It will be nice to have every Saturday and Sunday off!!

6. I love getting to work by 7:30. No one is there and I enjoy the peace and quiet until people get there. Plus I get to leave by 4:30! Its so nice being home by 5, I get so much more done at home :)

7. I have lost 7.5 pounds since starting at Duke 2 months ago and all my work pants are big on me. Its hard finding something to wear everyday. I will definitely be taking my pants to the tailor once I lose 3 more pounds.

8. My goal is to lost by last 3 pounds by my birthday. That's in 19 days, I should be able to do it!

9. My mom is taking me shopping for my birthday on May 7th....CAN'T WAIT!!!!

10. I hope my parents like it here A LOT so they will look for a place to live and move here :)

HAPPY TUESDAY!!

The ABC's of Sara and other stuff

So it has been awhile but honestly, I don't feel like being on the computer after I have been on one ALL day at work. But since its Saturday so I figured I would do some catchin up on my blog. I got the ABC idea from a blog I read regularly but don't actually know the person (she is the friend of a friend though). Here it goes...

A. Area Code: 919-Raleigh, NC

B. Bed Size: full-I don't need much space

C. Chore you hate: Vacuuming but I hate a dirty carpet so I do it.

D. Dog’s Name: I don't have a dog myself but my boyfriend has a lab named Staalzy-he is named after Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes. He is the sweetest dog :)

E. Essential “start of the day” Item: coffee, never liked or needed coffee much until I started working at Duke and am at work by 7:30 am. Its the first thing I do when I get to work-make the coffee.

F. Favorite Color: Red

G. Gold or Silver: mostly silver, some gold

H. Height: 5’1"

I. Instruments you play: used to play the clarinet

J. Job: Research Assistant-sounds fun and exciting but mostly its not

K. Kids: none

L. Living Arrangements: live in a townhouse with my roommate, Jill and my 2 kitties

M. Mom’s name: Carla

N. Nickname: Sar, Sara J, and Sour Jeanie

O. Overnight Hospital Stay: Nope

P. Pet Peeve: People who drive slow in the passing lane! MOVE OVER!

Q. Quote from Movie: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get." Forrest Gump

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Yes...1! I have a big sis:)

T. Time you wake up: 6-6:30. I slept in today though...until 7:30 :(

U. Underwear: boy shorts

V. Veggie’s you dislike: peas, lima beans and beets

W. Ways/reasons you are late: I take too long of a shower or I can't decide what to wear.

X. Xrays you’ve had: abdominal and knee

Y. Yummy food you make: My homemade mac and cheese :)

Z. Zoo animals you like: Polar bears, tigers and lions :)

So not much has been going on. My parents will be here on the 22nd and are staying until mid May! We have the MS Walk on the 24th, my sis and brother in law are doing a Triathlon on May 2nd and then its my big 30th birthday on the 9th!!!! So the next few weeks will be busy and fun :) I have started running again even though it took me at least 3 weeks for my legs to feel normal again after the marathon. My bf, Ashley, has even started running with me and I think we are going to run a half marathon together in November, we'll see :)

5 hours=26.2!

Wow, it still hasn't 'hit' me that I actually ran a marathon! But my body knows I did! It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever set out to do. Working full time and going to grad school was a piece of cake compared to this! Not only was it time consuming but super rough on my body! Kudos to those who do it all the time but my body couldn't handle it! Overall, it was a good experience but never one I want to experience again. Standing at the start line was exciting but also nerve racking too! I couldn't wrap it around in my mind that I was actually getting ready to run 26.2 miles! And yes I teared up a little before that gun went off! I honestly felt awesome until about mile 14 and then I went downhill from there. My feet were starting to ache and my legs were definitely getting tired. But I knew I had to go on. By the time I got to mile 16 and saw my dad, mom and Ashley waiting for me, I knew that I could do this. They kept me going the entire time. Every time Ashley saw me he got right next to me and told I could do this and he was proud of me. That was motivation enough to keep going. Once I got to mile 20, I started feeling better and kept thinking only 6.2 to go-which seems like nothing after you have run 20! Then I got to mile 23 and it was uphill and windy-not a good combination for tired legs! I was so happy to see my friends Meda and Susan at mile 24-they were cheering me on and I knew I was almost done. Ashley was waiting for me at mile 24.5 and he was sweet to run the last 1.5 with me. He is the one who kept me going the last few miles, if it wasn't for him, the last mile would have been MUCH harder! Little did I know that when he saw me struggling at mile 16-he told my parents that he could see I was struggling and he said he was going to meet me at mile 25 to run with me to get me through this, isn't he the best? I sure think so!! I have never been so relieved to see the finish line and then the adrenaline kicked in. We got to the last .2 and Ashley left me and I crossed the finish line with my arms high! I have never been so excited to be done with something :)

I crossed the finish line and instantly the pain and stiffness started. I just wanted to sit down but I knew it was better for me to keep moving. Ashley brought me home and I took an ice bath which helped immensely and then I slept for 3 hours! When I woke up, my feet were so swollen! Ashley took such good care of me too! He massaged my legs for me and even picked me up dinner and socks to help with the swelling! Monday was a whole different story-I have never been so sore and exhausted in my life. I slept a total of 14 hours after the marathon and when I woke up on Monday morning, I felt as though I hadn't slept at all! I went for a walk on Monday afternoon and it took me over an hour to walk 3 miles! It was so painful and stairs and walking downhill was nearly impossible! My feet were so swollen that I had to wear flip flops to work all week! I was able to move much better on Tuesday and the swelling finally went down yesterday!! I can finally wear normal shows again! I still can't run though, I attempted to yesterday and my legs just wouldn't do it, hopefully next week!

Crossing the finish line :)

me with my medal!
Trish and I