Sunday, August 19, 2012

Scoute Route Scavenger Race

On Friday night, David, Amanda, and I headed downtown to collect our race packets from Fitzgerald's Irish Pub. Good thing packet pickup was at a pub because after the day we had, Amanda and I were in serious need of a good drink and filling food. We managed to get our packets, but we're lousy alcoholics and the food was much like cafeteria food. Needless to say, we probably won't be eating there again. All the let-down-ness was quickly forgotten, however, after the excitement for the following day's scavenger hunt.


Last week, I mentioned that I bought tickets. David and I were one team, cleverly renamed "Wild Things". Hooray for finally having a legitimate use for buying matching shirts.


I know you can barely see it, but my hair was a FRO of teased and tangled hair; spray dyed a tealish blue. David's was just dyed. Men have it so easy! I was able to spray David's hair in under five minutes. Thankfully, he also agreed to help me with mine. I would tease it, and he would dye it. Layer. By. Freaking. Layer. I was already dreading the clean up. But when we got to the judges, we got the full 3 points for creativity and costume effort. Amanda and our other friend from work, Jamie, were also a coed team; vying for the first place, "cruise-to-Belize" prize. They both happened to wear grey shirts, and renamed their team on the spot to "50 Shades of Grey". They got one point for spontaneous creativity. Hey, it was something!


We got our map with the addresses of the challenges and tried to figure out the best way of covering all of the 10 challenges efficiently. The only thing we didn't know prior to race day was what each challenge consisted of, or how many points we could make at each, or how long the line would be.

The only modes of transportation we could use were the light rail and the city bus. We got day passes, knowing there was no way we could run around the entire downtown in three hours. Talk about huge. It'd be like having a race that covered the entire city of Tallahassee. There was just no way to run it all. And (!) I had completely forgotten my inhaler. I was one stressed out mess, however smiley I was trying to be for David. First team back to the finish line with 100 points in under 3 hours wins!

The scavenger hunt was less scavenger and more Amazing Race. At every checkpoint, there was a challenge you had to complete that you received  points for based on your performance. The only one we did terrible at was the bowling challenge. After running for 45 minutes already, we had to run up to this bowling alley and we each had a chance to throw a ball down the lane for points. One ball, one throw, per teammate. If the first person threw under 10, the second would have to knock down the remaining pins. If the first person threw a strike, the second person could have their own chance at 10 new pins. Shakey and sweaty, we both rolled gutter balls. So 15 minutes wasted at this checkpoint for a grand total of 0 points. But all we could do was move onto the next one. What I did enjoy, though, was how at every checkpoint that required team work to complete the challenge, we did great on. We got a lot of "best so far" or "excellent"s. The challenges that were one person, then the other, we didn't do so hot at.

But! We made it through 8 of the 10 challenges with a half an hour left, knowing relatively nothing of the city or places we were in. With the finally two challenges being too far from the finish line to make it before the course closed, we headed back to the finish line with 73 points. Not bad for a 0 pointer and skipping two challenges.

At the end of the day, we had managed to run a large portion of the race and finished in the top 20. I used Google Maps to figure out how far we ended up traveling (with the closest matching route we took) and it totaled up to 8 miles!

Can I just say--I am one lucky girl. I would say "in the world", but I feel like this feeling rings true for every woman who finds their "other". From start to finish, and everywhere in between, David was strong for us and worked with me. He helped with the costumes at 6am, helped strategize throughout the day, held my hand for the entire race (we must have looked so silly holding hands while running!), washed all of the dye out of my hair, and then helped me wash and dry Leo before we fell asleep on the couch. I can definitely say that it was one of the best bonding experiences I've ever shared with him, and one of the most exciting days we've had (second only to our spontaneous trip to Harry Potter world).

I don't know if Jamie and Amanda has as good of a time, but I'm glad we all got to participate. After this experience, David and I are definitely going to do it again next year. I hear people train and strategize all year for this race. I suppose a cruise could be worth it. Day 1 after race day, though....it doesn't feel worth it. I'm in pain, I tell ya! 



Much better than the half gallon plastic tank we had him in. No more hard plastic palm tree. Now he has a heating rock, and some Roman memorabilia. Oh, and a filter. So no more changing his water daily. $300 later, Rocky (aka Franklin) is a happy turtle. We aim to please.

Only a few more weeks until Lauren and Tyler get here. I'm anxious to finally get some quality girl time in. Shopping. Movies. Gossip (you know, about our men). It's all very thrilling.

Thanks for keeping up, guys!
Next week probably won't be as exciting, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. 
xoxo

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The perfect view.

I'd like to say "I hate Thursdays", but let's get real. Homework Thursday is more like Homework Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Check it out: I'm actually just in the midst of procrastination (like a pro, if I do say so myself).

I'm going to try not to jinx myself by also saying that I think everything is finally slowing down. David is not working ridiculous hours, so we get to drive home without me having to wait on him or him having to wait on me (well, not for too long anyway). I'm getting off from work at a decent hour, getting my homework done, getting dinner ready, and yesterday, I even had time for a run. (Count it. Number two since I've been here.)

My run last night wasn't too bad. Minimal cramping. It's all a matter of staying properly hydrated and stretching more. But I did it. In this heat. With all the other crap going on. Without David. I need to stay on track. We've definitely fallen out of our pretty solid health routine. Patience, right?

Essie 'Devil's Advocate' and 'Set in Stones'

I know it's not Friday, but here's my Nail Files post anyway. I did the glitter on this number in the car on the way to work this morning...AFTER David spilled my entire bowl of cereal all over the center console in the car. Needless to say, I had another bowl as soon as I got home from work to satisfy that unshakable Fruity Pebbles desire. I had planned on leftovers (I hate them), but David decided to go to his sisters, so I'm all by my lonesome, and therefore, don't have to pretend I enjoy them.

On a sad note, I was really looking forward to my mom's visit this weekend. She had some sort of procedure done to alleviate the pressure she's been having for her hip, and can't make the 10 hour drive without anticipating excruciating pain. I guess I can understand. I'm just bummed. It's hard getting in some fellowship time when you live forever away from your church friends, and our neighborhood is full of older adults and families, rather than with people our age. It's great in most circumstances, but not when we're trying to make some friends. Luckily, my new bestie, Amanda, and I get to see eachother every. single. day. at work...so no lack for fun times there. This is how cool we are:


If you can't quite make it out, that would be a taxidermy armadillo that she's pretending to birth from her hoolie. This woman is nothing but class, I tell ya! (But for real, I love her.)

Southern lifestyle is definitely taking a toll on me. I think I said "y'all" for the first time in my life the other day. I smiled when it came out, thinking I must sound ridiculous. But it was alright. No one even noticed.

If you hadn't recognized the obvious difference in my picture taking, I broke down and got an iPhone. Notice how the nail picture is nice and clear and the picture of Amanda looks like I took it with a 1990's camera? Yay iPhone. Really though, I've been having problems with Boost service, and I end up getting a new phone every year. So I figured I might as well make the investment and get on board with AT&T. If you haven't added my new number, please do! It's on my facebook wall, for the friends who are too lazy to get on and check out my awesome picture timeline and haven't seen it.

Speaking of awesome, I think I promised pictures of our new furniture. Here's what we got!





Forgive my messy table. It is homework-procrastination time, after all. It's really coming together over here!

I need to get working on this homework. Stupid Ethics! Who needs you?! Obviously, it's not a good idea to have sex with the mentally unstable clients you're working with. I mean really.Why am I spending three hours working on this nonsense? *Shakes head* I just don't understand school. I spend so much time learning...well...hearing...a lot of common sense. Oh well. I'm only paying $50,000 to learn things I already know. No biggie.

Before I go, I'd like to mention that about a week ago, David woke up and told me about this crazy scavenger hunt dream he had. Today, the daily Groupon is a city-wide scavenger hunt in Charlotte. I bought 'em. One set for David and I, and another set for Amanda and friend. If we get to work as a team, I figured it'd be best to have some people who know plenty about the area, but I have a feeling we're just going to end up competing against them, get lost, get frustrated (David with me) and eventually give up. We'll see though. First prize is a cruise for two!

Happy Homework Thursday, dears. 
And Git er done.
xoxo