Dear 21,

You were a good year. We made lots of memories, tried new things, met new people, lost touch with some friends, cried, laughed, grew, changed, explored, and ran (a lot). A few of my favorites with you include...

-welcoming you with a night of Salsa dancing, the traditional "Latin birthday dance", and a late night McDonald's run
-going to Hawaii to visit my favorite brother
-teaching high school Spanish and middle school ESL in a public school
-graduating
-running my first (and second) half-marathon
-running my first marathon
-hosting Destino East-Coast Conference in Raleigh
-watching Destino grow and new leaders emerge
-playing bucket-ball, IM softball, and IM volleyball (thanks Amanda Bergeron!)
-watching friends from high school get married and have babies
-raising money for Mexico
-proudly watching my dad complete his first triathlon
-Salsa dancing
-starting Graduate School
-having a surprise graduation party (thanks mom and dad)
-working my second year at Stoneridge Tavern
-buying my first road bike

You flew by, yet went so slowly. I was definitely sad to leave you, but so far, 22 is not too bad!

Graduate School in Boone

Since July 12th I have been in Boone, NC for a three week INTENSIVE graduate school institute. The way it works is I come here for three weeks, work really really hard, and leave with 6 credits (2 classes) of graduate school hours. Classes are definitely intense. The work in and of itself is not too hard...just A LOT of it. I have one class from 9am-12:30, lunch with
the program, then my second class from 1:30- 5pm every day. Then I
have to go eat dinner in the dinning hall and then I spend the rest of
the evening reading thousands (ok, that is an exaggeration) of pages,
writing papers, and working on projects. It is just non-stop.
However, I do like the classes. My morning class is a Hispanic
Culture Studies class that is fascinating. It is taught by this sassy
lady (who is a professor at App State) from Columbia, South America. We are
looking at the history of the Americas and then evaluating how that
effects their current actions and customs and beliefs. It is fun to
discover why it is some of my friends do some of the things they do.
My afternoon class is a methods class. This means were are learning
theory and methods behind teaching second languages. This particular
class focuses on teaching reading and writing in second language
classrooms. Teaching is what I love, so I enjoy the class...just not
the homework. Also, I prefer learning more about the practical things
that I can actually use in a classroom more so than the theory behind
them....but we have to study/research both. So there you go. My brief summary.

This is my room! (sorry mom, I didn't straighten for the picture)

This is the upstairs part of our suit where the 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms are.

This is the downstairs where there is a full kitchen and living area.

My living situation here is pretty sweet for dorm life (yes, I am living in the dorms again...I thought these days were over!). I actually have a dorm room to myself. I'm in a
suit which means there are 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 full kitchen/living area and
four people. So, I'm not lacking for space, it is more just the
atmosphere that was takin' me back to the good 'ole days of college (well, last
year).

But if you really miss me, don't worry, I will be home on the weekends!

Since She's Been Gone.....

....many unusual things have been occurring.

The couch has blankets and pillows askew...

the animals don't get as much attention, nor has there shedded fur been vacuumed up...

the drive way is getting repaved...

the kitchen table is covered in stuff...HER pet-peeve

the dishes are not done...

clothes are on the floor...

and I went to the Tourist Baseball game with Eliza and Susanna but had to pay for my ticket because the FREE tickets we have at the house I could not find....only SHE knows where things are!

PS: Mom, come home soon!

Fun Times Sharing!

This week I shared about being a missionary in Mexico City during the "missions" focus on Wednesday at Trinity Church's Arts and Sports Camp (aka: VBS). I had fun dressing in my pseudo-Mexican attire and entering the sanctuary to Cumbia, a very traditional form of Mexican music.




Picture compliments of Alex Bruns,

Swim, Bike, Run!!!....Biltmore Lake Triaton

Yesterday marked my one year anniversary with racing. Exactly a year ago I competed in my very first race (well, not including the Krispy Kreme Challenge, but this is a whole different kind of race). Since the Biltmore Lake Triathlon of June 2009 I have completed a 10 mile road race, a 9 mile road race, two half-marathons, a full marathon, and two sprint triathlons. Whew, what a year! These races are things I never would of thought possible, but it just shows me if I'm willing to work hard enough I can achieve anything.

Well it was most appropriate to celebrate my second showing at the Biltmore Lake Triathlon by racing with my dad (his FIRST triathlon). He trained since October 2009 for this race and he BEASTED it!!!! I was so proud of him for his diligence and motivation. So, here is to his upcoming year of races and marathons (right, dad?) and round-two for me!








The Biltmore Lake Triathlon consists of a 750 meter swim, a 17.5 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run.

My dad's times were 19 min 40 sec swim, 1 hour 12 min bike, and 36 min 50 sec run; for a total time (including transition stations) of 2 hours 13 min 28 sec.

I did a 16 min swim, a 1 hour 8 min bike, and a 27 min 11 sec run; for a total time (including transition stations) of 1 hour 54 min 25 sec. I also won 3rd place in my age group!

My dad's good friend Dave and my good friend Rico also competed with us! And BIG thanks to my mom for coming out and cheering all morning and taking a thousand pictures!

Mexico Support Update

Well, my goal is to leave in two months to Mexico City! Financially speaking......

One Time Goal: $7,000
HAS BEEN MET!!!

Monthly Goal: $2,600
Still need about $1,800/month

I'm excited to see how God provides!

Mom's Recital, First Mountain Bike Race, Sunset Stampede!

Mom's annual piano recital was of course a success (all 60+ students she weekly teaches). And I assumed my annual job of serving cake!










Thanks to Rico's influence I entered into my first Mountain bike Race...and boy was that shocking! There was a course near Bent Creek Forest that was a loop about 1.5 miles long. The course had narrow bridges over creeks, jumps, stumps, roots, hills...you name it! The race lasted for about 55 minutes and whoever had completed the most laps by the end wins. There were about 30 guys in the race and 3 girls. I got second place out of the women and won a really cool handmade trophy that was made out of bike parts in the shape of a "2". I also left with about 10 solid bruises because I fell about 20 times (no joke).


















I competed in my very first Sunset Stampede race the weekend after the bike race. This race is a 10 mile race up Sunset Ave. near the Grove Park Inn and they use to do the race at sunset in the evenings. The race is 5 miles UP hill to the top of Town Mountain and then 5 miles back down (soooooo much more fun :)). My running inspiration Bill Smith (a runner from my church who has been so very supportive of all my running endeavors from the beginning, and a Boston Marathon Qualifier!) also ran the Stampede with me. I ended up getting Second Place in the Women's 20-30 age group. ...My award made that LONG up hill not seem so bad!