Atlanta Half Marathon

Scott and I raced in Atlanta's Thanksgiving Half Marathon on Thursday. We have been training for a couple of months for the big race. It was Scott's longest race ever (only 2nd road race ever!) and my 2nd half marathon. After visiting the expo on Wednesday and getting some great deals on dri-fit clothes, we had a big pasta dinner. Then on Thanksgiving Day we were out of the house before the sunrise to head to the start line. Luckily, it wasn't too chilly (high 30's or so)....but we still raced in long sleeved shirts and pants. Two of Scott's roommates and their dog, Vegas, (in the picture) came out to cheer us on. A few miles into the race we saw Lisa, the mother of the little girls I babysit for, so we all ran together for awhile. We ran about 7:30 minute miles for the first 6 miles, then Scott continued cruising and I slowed a bit during the killer hills in the middle of the race. Scott's time was 1 hr. 37 min. and mine was 1 hr. 42 min. (a P.R. from my San Antonio half). We were quite sore and tired afterwards, but had a great time. I was excited to see my babysitting family at the finish line along with my roomie and classmate, Julie. After a good stretch and shower, Scott and I headed to his parents' house in an Atlanta suburb for a Thanksgiving feast.

Funny little kid perspective:
Lisa told her daughters, "The first half of the race was really tough because Lori and her friend Scott were pushing me" Shocked looks on Lauren and Jillian's faces..."What? Lori pushed you during the race? That doesn't sound like something she'd do."

Haha...children take things so literally sometimes :) 

Engagement Party & PT Fun

I love my classmates...they are such fun people. Last weekend some friends hosted an engagement party for our classmate, Nehama. A lot of girls from our class came to help them celebrate. During the same weekend, two other ladies participated in a dance performance (Becca and Megan) and a bunch of us went to cheer them on. I think we're a pretty active class! Here I am with Meg, Rachel, Becca, and Megan at the engagement party. 

Christmas Extravaganza!

Kate and I are planning an awesome Holiday party. I suggested that we try to copy the C-cubed party (Christmas Cookies and Champagne) that Lotus, Helen, and I hosted in TX. Kate liked the idea, but added a new twist.....all guests must wear the ugliest Christmas sweater they can find. We're even going to have special prizes! (I'm hoping to have Lauren and Jillian...my babysitting cuties...help me make some prizes). I think the party is going to be a huge hit; so far we've invited all our classmates plus our small, but growing, group of non-PT friends in Atlanta. We already know that 27 people are coming and are still awaiting responses from 41 friends! This could be a big one! We purchased a coffee table yesterday in preparation and are working on some wall decor since our living room walls are still bare, except for a big white board we use for studying. If y'all are looking for something exciting to do on December 1st....Post Summit Apartments in Altanta, GA are beckoning you! :)

A Special Phone Call

I still have a "Valley" phone number, so I occasionally receive calls from unrecognizable "956" numbers (my area code). I enjoy answering these calls because they are typically wrong numbers and I get to speak Spanish and explain...."No, yo no soy su nieta Maria" (No I'm not your granddaughter Maria). So, last night I answered and heard "Buenas tardes" (another wrong number, I thought). But, no....it was Natalia's mom! Natalia (one of my favorite students!) had just received my card in the mail with my cell phone number and called to catch up. It was so cute....we spoke in Spanish (even though I taught her in English) for about 15 minutes. She told me about 2nd grade, her teacher, the books she's reading, her old classmates who continue to misbehave, other students who have migrated and aren't at Taylor Elementary anymore, and she shared her excitement about her new baby brother who will be born within the next 2 weeks! It was so great to talk to a former student, a reminder that, yes, I was a teacher....wow crazy!

I had originally included my phone number in response to her question, "En que horario podemos hablar por telefono?" (literally: in what schedule can we talk on the phone). How cute...one of my students wants to talk to me....her former first grade teacher! I can't wait to see her (and her family) when I visit in March! :) Also....Natalia was the focus of my story during my most recent Teach for America recruiting trip....little does she know that college students all the way in Oregon have heard about her :)

Corn Maize

Finally, this Sunday I got to play and didn't have to study!!! Scott helped me celebrate with an Ethiopian food lunch (with his roommate, Brian...it was the second time the three of us ate there....a Burger King converted to an Ethiopian restaurant) and a trip to a corn maize in North Georgia. We found out about the maize from my friend Jackie, but had yet to check it out. Scott and I enjoyed being outdoors in the country as we wandered around the corn maize. To see more pictures from our adventures, click here. 

Atlanta Thrashers (Hockey Game)

We had a girls night out...Jennifer, Amber, Mindy, and I. Again, Mindy's husband got us tickets....this time 15 rows back on the center line. We enjoyed watching a professional hockey game so close-up. There were 3 goals and 3 fights, but unfortunately the Thrashers lost to the NY Rangers. There was a sold-out crowd of 18,000 people at the game. Mindy, of course, was fully outfitted in her Thrashers gear because her husband is an associate manager of the apparel shops in the stadium. Fun times! 

Lunch Time

Here are Lauren and Jillian, acting up for the camera. Yes, Lauren has blueberries on her tongue! I enjoy spending my study breaks with them!

My Babysitting Girls

These are the two cute girls, Jillian (4) and Lauren (6) that I babysit 2-3 times a month. We have fun coloring, playing dress up, dancing, making chalk drawings, making swimming pools for their Polly Pockets, and reading children's books. I really enjoy spending time with these two sweeties. They make me drawings, so I now have a "Lauren binder" and a "Jillian binder" for my school work, decorated with their respective masterpieces. Lisa, their mom, is also running the Atlanta half marathon on Thanksgiving, she's hoping to run some of it with Scott and me. Mark, their dad, is really into biking so we always talk about our latest rides. 

Yum!

Reduce-priced Halloween candy and Moose tracks ice cream....we couldn't have been happier! 

Atlanta Hawks Basketball Game

Kate and I went on a roommate date (no boys allowed!) to the Hawks game at Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta. We got free tickets thanks to our friend Mindy's husband who works at the stadium. After the game we went for a chilly stroll through Centennial Olympic Park (1996 Olympics!) and stopped at Kroger-Kruger (as we call it) for our favorite late night snack....see above! 

Sad Pumpkins

Our poor pumpkins, they were wonderful creations that, unfortunately, did not make it to Halloween! :( My witch is on the left and Kate's ghost is on the right. 

Fall Break in IL and KY

Occasionally we do get breaks from grad school craziness. Over fall break at the end of September, I flew to IL where Greg is attending school in Champaign/Urbana. We went to KY to the Cave Run Storytelling Festival (the big even of his town). It was fun to see his family again(aunts, uncles, and cousins included) and hear some incredible stories (lots of laughs). I ate lots of yummy food at his parent's house, including addicting moose-tracks ice cream (great for breakfast!). Then in IL, I saw his house (Greg' s a homeowner now) and his school and met some of his friends. We even rode bikes to school one day; Greg wanted me to bike commute with him since that's his typical routine. Now, keep in mind, a week before I'd taken a nasty fall on my bike and had an incredibly scraped up knee. Then, while running on some trails at Cave Run Lake in KY I twisted my ankle once again. So, I was not in the best shape! Still, I rode his men's XL frame mountain bike....a hilarious sight! I had to tilt the bike sideways to clear the top tube and once I was mounted, I was completely stretched forward in order to reach the handle bars. We would have some pictures of this event, but my mounts and dismounts were very dangerous! One such mount was in the middle of University of Illinois' campus, with many spectators...it looked like I had just graduated from training wheels as Greg coached me and ran along side to make sure I wasn't going to fall.....very funny! This is a picture of the two of us in his car during our adventures, a very familiar place after our 10,000-mile road trip between our two years of teaching in the valley. 

The Infamous Helen, Georgia

The town's claim-to-fame, the annual Octoberfest. Glad we could take part in the fun. See all of our pictures here (including a few fun ones of our pre-camping pumpkin carving session). 

Fall Comes to Georgia

Yes, fall finally made it to Georgia and I couldn't have been happier. After returning from my whirlwind trip to Oregon, my roommate reminded me that I we were heading out on a camping trip in the North Georgia mountains that weekend. Helen, GA (the same town we visited for tubing the Chattahoochee....see old post) was having it's annual Octoberfest, and we definitely could not miss out on the festivities. So, four of us drove a couple hours north of the city to the "mountains" (not by OR standards). I, of course, loved the fall foliage (that's such a funny word). Highlights of the trip include: my $4 country-style omlet, smores made over my backpacking camping stove because we couldn't start the fire, getting picked up by a 65-year old biker, and staying snug and dry in my tent during a torrential rainstorm (my roommate Kate was not so fortunate, we didn't stretch out the rainfly on her side...oops!). 

My Padres

My parents had to share me on my most recent trip to Oregon. But, we still had a great time! 

My Bro

Daniel and I...being silly as always! 

Teach for America Recruiting Trip to Oregon!

That's right...I got to return to Oregon on an all-expenses paid trip to recruit for Teach for America. I received a phone call from Willamette's recruitment director and two weeks later I was on a plane headed to Portland. The flight was the most awful I've experienced...after weather delays in Atlanta and Vegas, I finally arrived in Oregon at 3:30am, aside from a brief nap under the benches near the slot machines in the Vegas airport, I didn't get to sleep until 7:30am Atlanta time....needless to say, I was exhausted! But, as always, I had a fabulous time in Oregon! I stayed with my parents in Portland with some family friends I hadn't seen in over 8 years. I saw my brother for the first time in over 9 months. My college roommate Jessie (who just moved back to the US after two years in Japan), came to visit from WA. We stayed with our running buddy Kari. Then, I got to see my Aunt Charlene and cousin Tracy....very nice to catch up! In Salem, I met up with a few college friends. And....got to see Jessica, my neighbor and close friend from Roseburg (it'd been more than a year since I stayed with her in San Diego). Then, at Willamette, I stayed with two teammates who had been Freshmen during my Senior year. I caught up with professors and other Willamette folks. I had a quick lunch one day with Stacy my lil' lil' sis from the XC team. We've been buddies ever since she stayed with me on a recruiting trip her senior year of HS, now she's employed by Willamette! And...I met with 27(!!!!) outstanding college seniors and talked to them about Teach for America (oh yeah...the whole purpose of my visit). To round out my trip, I caught a red eye flight back to Atlanta (complete with a layover in Denver), arrived at 5:30am, and took the train and bus to my 8am class (not a very awake day for me!). It was a jam-packed trip, but lots of fun! Click here to see all my pictures. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I could not stop talking about (and photographing) the fall colors in Oregon. This trip was in mid-October, before the leaves were really pretty here in Atlanta...so I was freaking out....first time in 2 years I got to experience fall!

Adventures with Jackie

Jackie and I continue to hang out and have a great time. She and I met in Texas through Greg because they were good friends at Davidson College in North Carolina. I was excited to learn (3 days before leaving TX) that Jackie was moving to Atlanta for graduate school. She's pursuing her Master's of English Education degree at Georgia State. So, since moving here, Jackie and I have had many fun adventures. Hiking in the rain at Kennesaw Historic Battlefield with Momo (her dog), consuming amazingly yummy food at the Flying Biscuit cafe (an ATL specialty), tracking down her car after it was towed from a lot while we were eating at the above-mentioned cafe, meeting "Santa Claus" in a sketchy car impounding place as a result of the towing incident (an older guy with a huge white beard told us about going to Corpus Christi each December to be Santa), eating Mexican food at Taco Cabana (an Austin favorite....Jackie most recently lived in Austin and I just love speaking Spanish!), getting fresh Krispy Kreme donuts with Maelle (another Davidson friend who Greg and I stayed with in Venice Beach, CA), eating free Krispy Kreme donuts (yes, another time!), and catching up after many weeks of studying while sharing falafel and sushi (yes, these food items were both on the menu at "Falafel King!" Jackie also lived in Japan!). As you can see, the majority of our adventures have a food component, not mandatory, but an added bonus...yum! Hopefully our next adventure will include Momo and I can include some pictures with her.