Nat's Run Followed by Good Beer in Nashville

As Chris and I were trying to find a good place to watch Natalie finish/run by to take some good picts Chris received a text from her. It was something like "Sick but finishing". We were worried.

A. that means she was not having a good run and there was not going to be a pr.
B. it could mean she would be in a bad mood when she finished.
C. we did not know if she was with Charlie and we didn't want her to be alone, not feeling well in the middle of a full marathon.
(not in that order)

As we waited for her to run in this gave me a chance to ask Chris these questions for about 15 minutes: "is that her"? "is that Charlie"? "is that her"? "is that him"? (tall guy in red shirt) HAA..ahaaa!!! Poor Chris.......when he meets Jason they will have a lot to talk about. ;)
Much to our surprise when Natalie finished she looked great! And she was in a good mood! Yeah!!! We were all happy! She stretched, we took some funny picts (again, Chris and Nats blog) then went home.

Let the beer start flowing.....................
We went home, got dressed and walked over to a local hang out of Chris and Jay's. 3 Crow Bar. There were lots of runners and Preston + wife met us. We hung out with them for a while and when they left the three of us proceeded to the bar. We got to meet some of Chris's friends and they were super nice. Chris proceeded to drink 100 beers while I had 5 or so and Nat had 6? Who knows - What I mostly remember is that Chris drank his weight in beer. Am I exaggerating? Maybe a little but it was hilarious to watch his face when he read the receipt. We also walked over to an art store where Jay purchased a beautiful painting for Chris. While we were walking to the art store (which is across the street from the bar) Natalie and I noticed a huge sign with a big hot dog and it said something about a wiener. We thought that was hilarious so we took pictures with it.

I think it was dark when we left 3 Crow. We went back to Chris and Jay's house to get ready for dinner. While we were at the house I decided that we needed some Vodka.............I made a horrible drink that Natalie and I actually drank. It consisted of warm juice and a large splash of Vodka......mmmmm......so tasty......I can't remember who thought we should do the airplane but I am almost 100% positive it was me. So Nat and I took turns being the airplane. We are pretty much a mess at this point - meaning we didn't care how we looked. After a lot of horrible dancing, talking and taking pictures and saving them to Jay's cell phone we went to dinner where things calmed down a lot. Food is always a good idea. And good food is even better. When we got home I think it took me all of 1.2 seconds to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow.

I had so much fun on Saturday even with the embarrassing video which is really not that embarrassing but I was d.r.u.n.k. So. Much. Fun!

Sunday we got up and I felt fine! We decided to go for a run - really it went like this: Natalie and Chris were going to go for a run so I tagged along and I did a run/walk while they ran 4 miles. Nat ran it in 30 minutes and I think Chris ran it in 33 minutes. They are both fast. It was so pretty outside and it was nice to be enjoying the weather before the nasty rain came in. After our run we ate lunch at the restaurant then Chris drove us to look at the naked statue that we ran past during the race and never noticed. Then we were on our way back to Atlanta.

I just want to thank Chris and Jay again for your hospitality. I can't wait to see you at Christmas!! Nat, thank you for inviting me on this trip - I hope we can do it again next year with Pookie and if Allison starts running 1/2's her too.

LOVE YOU BITCHES! XOXOXO
Stick

Race Day

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, what is that? It's Natalie's alarm. It's 4:20 already? Nope. It's 4:10! Natalie was afraid her alarm would not go off so she set two. She got up and I turned my alarm off that was set for 4:20 as well in case Natalie's did not go off. Then I went back to sleep.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP.................!!!! What is that noise? Is that the house alarm? Did Natalie set the house alarm off? Oh no, the louder alarm is going to sound off at any minute......BEEP! BEEP......! Wait, it's still the same noise. What is going on? Stumble out of bed, run into the wall, open door and ask "Natalie! What is that Noise?! Is that the coffee machine? Can you make it stop? What is that"? Nat says - "I think it's the alarm in our room. Chris set that alarm in case mine did not go work".

O.M.G. I Pick up alarm and give it to Natalie while making the statement "I hate this house". I go back to bed for another 10 minutes then realize I need to get up. It's now 4:30.

Once I was up I was exhausted and not super chipper. I was still nervous about my race. I have never run a race by myself and I was not sure who I was going to turn to if I hit a wall. To Nat's credit, through all of my worrying she made me laugh the entire time and that was nice.

7:00 am the race starts. I am corral 19 so I don't start for another 45 minutes. I heard the gun go off and immediately hoped that nat, preston and charlie have a great run. I am not sure what time I started but I was ready. My only goal for this run was to beat 2:20:00 which was my last 1/2 time for ING Atl. I started out quicker than I normally do and found myself running with the 2:15 pace group. I was comforted by this because I knew I could keep up with them for a little bit and they seemed to keep me going. It was faster than I have been running for a long time but it felt good. I did not see a sign for mile 1 but noticed mile 3 because there were mats. Then I did not see a sign until mile 6 and I had to use the bathroom at this point but didn't want to lose the pace group. So I kept telling myself I would stop at the next set of port-a-potties. Well, we didn't get to the next set until mile 8 and I had to go. I jumped off and said my good buys to the 2:15ers. I was totally sad but told myself that I had run a really good 8 miles.

Thankfully there was not a long line and I was able to pee pretty quickly. I jumped back into the sea of runners and started again. This time I was running faster than I was before but I was in search of those 2:15ers!!! Where is that pace sign - I wasn't gone that long. I know I can find them. Where are they? Well, I never found them again and I walked through my water stops because I kept pushing myself to catch up with them. Next thing I know, I am splitting off from the Marathoners at mile Marker 11. Oh my gosh, it's mile 11 - this is fantastic. I am definitely feeling the run now and have to keep listening to the same song over and over because it is pushing me through every hill and keeping my mind positive. (I am blocked from you tube at work other wise I would post the video)

Now I am just intent on finishing. I keep pushing and my legs are getting tired. I must have listened to Matchbox 20 about 100 times. Mile marker 12.......I am getting closer! Mile marker 13 and I can see the left turn for the .1! There are a lot of people cheering and I push a little more - the finish is right around the corner. I was surprised though - I almost always have a sprint left in me but this time I did not look for it. I was still sad I could not find the 2:15 pace group and I was sure I failed myself so what was the point in sprinting? There was no way I did better than my last race. So, I kept running minus the sprint and finished. I was very happy to be done and very happy Natalie convinced me to run with my cell phone. I was able to call Chris so we could meet up. Chris had been tracking us on his IPhone - he said I was pretty consistent. You kept a 10 or so minute mile the entire time". I asked what my time was (convinced it was worse) and he said "You ran a 2:13:--; that's great". I did???? I was sooo excited! I shaved 7 minutes off of my last 1/2!

I told Chris I kept looking for the 2:15 pace group and never found them - he said it was because I passed them! All of my worries went away and I was instantly relaxed.

Nat's run to be continued................

The ladies of Nashville Continued.....

Friday night we went to Chris and Jays restaurant German Town Cafe. We were also meeting Charlie, one of Nat's blogger/marathon friends. Charlie is from Virginia and he is super nice! He has a great sense of humor as well. He kept up with the three crazies all during dinner.

So, I just read Charlie's blog and he totally called me FISHSTICK(S)! I laughed out loud!!! haa.haaa!!! Charlie's awesome.

This was my favorite part on Friday - before we sat down for dinner Charlie, Natalie, Chris and I were at the bar enjoying a beverage and chatting. Out of no where this guy (Preston) comes up to Natalie and says "excuse me, but are you Natalie"? Chris and I look at each other with a little fear and sheer amazement. Fear because, Natalie has a following? This is going to go straight to her head. Amazement because, Natalie has a following? This is GREAT! Turns out Preston runs marathons and reads Nat's blog. He hung out with us for about 20 minutes then went back to his table. He's a very nice guy.

Dinner was FABULOUS!!! I highly recommend you go to German Town Cafe if you are in Nashville. The chef is incredible.

After dinner we went home, got ready and went to bed. Well, Chris and Jay were sleeping but not so much me or Nat or her entire family. Except Pookie. I am sure Pookie was sound asleep.
Carmella, Natalie's daughter, ended up throwing up that night at Meme's house. Meme is Nat's sister in law. Carmella was staying with Meme and Pat (meme's husband) while Beau was at Lala's (nats mom) house. Natalie got a call from someone and she sounded worried so I jumped up and said if you need to go home we can. Nat said no, its fine - there is nothing I can do. Carmella got sick but she is sleeping now. For the next however long it lasted Natalie kept receiving phone calls and she would tell them not to call her as she had a race the next morning and Carmella was sleeping. Then she would make a phone call to whoever and at the end of every phone call she would say "don't call me back, I have a race to run in the morning. Call Ryan" Then Ryan called and Natalie said "don't call me I have to get up in 3 hours". Then Nat called Ryan back and said "don't call me I have to get up soon" - then she proceeded to talk to Ryan while entering the room, then leaving the room, then entering, then leaving and again saying "don't call me I have to get up soon". click.

I felt bad for her because I knew she wanted to make sure Carmella was okay but she was also 4 hours away and Carmella was sleeping. I think Carmella sleeping gave her some comfort. At least I hoped it did. But it was hilarious listening to her tell everyone not to call her back.

Race Day to be continued.................

The ladies of Nashville

Friday the 25th Nat and I set out for Nashville. I picked her up around 11:00 and I still needed coffee and gas. I was not having a great morning to begin with and I was nervous about my run and meeting Chris, who Nat has known since High School but has not seen in 15 years so I really didn't know much about him. Chris and his partner were nice enough to let us stay with them all weekend and I was a little nervous about this too. What if they thought I was annoying? Too this or too that? I would be stuck all weekend having to pretend. And you always want to be on your best behavior and not offend people when you first meet them, especially if they are letting you stay in their home. I am not a mean person but I don't have much of a filter either. Thankfully all of my worries turned out to be just that - Chris and Jay are hilarious and most gracious.

Anyway, Nat and I went to the gas station so I could fill up - she was telling me where to go from her house to the gas station because I couldn't get my barrings. As we were leaving the gas stating she continued to explain to me where to drive and I snapped at her but not because I was mad at her. I was completely on edge about the weekend so I would like to say I am sorry for snapping at you Nat.

Once I got my coffee that I didn't order..............stupid story......we got onto 75N and it turned out to be a really good drive. Nat talked most of the way but I was looking forward to that as I didn't have anything new to talk about. We got lost once we got into TN but only for a minute. The highway was totally confusing but we kept going in a circle and ended up finding downtown Nashville! We parked - which was a horrible experience - we kept circling and it was very confusing and packed with the extra 30,000 + people downtown. Anyway, we found a parking spot and it happened at a perfect time. Nat and I were quite hungry and getting grumpy.


We walked over to the building where we were supposed to pick up our packets and it was pretty crowded. Once we got our numbers I was going to look for a shirt because I thought I forgot to pack one but then I got even hungrier and my blood sugar was dropping and Nat said she was getting hungrier as well so we walked around looking for food instead. The first isle we found clumps of peanut butter something and those were pretty tasty. The second isle had something else with peanut butter but it was not that good. The third aisle had the best tasting pickles in the world. I could have eaten the whole jar which was really a tub. I didn't care - I was starving and they were delicious.


Nat sent Chris a text to tell him we were done and he was already on his way. As we were waiting outside I kept asking Nat if she thought "that was him". "Do you think that's him"? "Is that him"? "What about that guy"? "Is that him"? She had no idea so we proceed to wait outside. Nat took a picture of this man and his little dog that was dressed in pink......hhhmmm....yeah, his dog was dressed in a pink outfit. We thought it was hilarious so I leaned back while she secretly took a picture of it. After this we walked inside the expo to see if Chris was in there and with in 2 minutes he found us.


We walked through down town Nashville and went to some restaurant. It was good - I had a salmon Cesar salad and scarfed it down! After lunch we walked to my car and then went to Chris's house. His house is beautiful. I hope Nat got some picts.
All picts are on Nat and Chris's blogs. They too have hilarious re-caps of the weekend. This version is to be continued......

Team Hoyt

So, I was talking to my co-worker this morning and he was telling me about his cousin who was going to compete in the Iowa Triathlon this summer. We were discussing how quickly his cousin wanted to finish and then ended up talking about this man who carried his son through triathlons but my co-worker could not remember his name. We googled for a minute and then found Team Hoyt. This is such an amazing story.

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon - a combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming.

I highly suggest you check out the website. It is very inspiring.

I will post about the Best Nashville Trip ever a little later.

Five Oldies but Goodies in Athens!

Here are the pictures of Athens Friday night.





This is at the beginning of the night and our first bar. The four-some:
Allison (sis) Paul (boyfriend) Sarah (best friend) Scott (Sarah's husband)




Here is Allison, Me & Paul at dinner

Here is a good shot of Allison and I








Here is Sarah, Scott and Me at the second bar.








Look at the love birds....... Still second bar








Here is the Grooms brother Lee (left) and their brother in law. We kept them out all night! They were good sports - especially to continue to hang out with us as you will see....






Here is a group of us at Boars Head - the bar where we met the Groom and his crew.







Here is Sarah and I - not sure what bar but its at 1:45 in the morning so it really doesn't matter...We both look so alert.......

This is Allison and Paul - I think they are either yelling (yahooo!) or laughing......and I am pretty sure I was next.......










I like to be the best at the Yahoooo's! Do you see brother in law looking at me like I am a crazy? HA!!

This is Paul riding in the back of Scott's truck the next morning. It was raining (more like spitting). Paul decided to start to unbutton his shirt...........

And here Paul is riding around in the back of the truck with his shirt flapping in the wind. Unfortunately we don't have a picture with him holding his head and his arms back. It was hilarious!

Thanks again for the good memories.

Charcoal...........

I went to art class again last night and LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! We started drawing with charcoal. A 2B Crayon to be exact. I finally understood what the instructor meant by positive light and negative light - well, I grasped what he was saying with regard to shadow. Only 4 people showed last night so it was pretty cool. It was a much more relaxed class. It also helped to know that other students were kind of in the same situation as I am with some of the drawing techniques so I felt much more at ease.

I love charcoal because it's messy and you don't have to be so exact like when using the pencil. I left with black fingers and I need to cut my nails (which I am not super happy about) but it will be easier to hold the charcoal. I also learned that there are two kinds of grades. H & B : H deals with sharpness and B deals with heaviness of the lead. Do I have this backwards? Oh well, this is what I remember. Now I am supposed to purchase some sort of Fastener spray so my charcoal drawings don't smudge all over the place. I am also going to get one of those erasers that are mushy. You know, you can twist them, break them apart and keep using them until they are dirty.

So, it was a good night with being art. I would also like to say Thank you to Lala for her advise. It was very helpful.

Love ya! Stick.

Exercise

Okay, now I have heard or read about STREAKING three times this week. I just told Jason we need to start streaking. If you are not familiar with streaking its 30 minutes of exercise each day and it can be running, lifting weights, walking, ab work out........any type of exercise every day for 30 minutes. I figure if you have someone to do it with you then you can stay motivated. And now that I have put it out there for the world to read, I think this will motivate me as well. Then again I also like to commit to things without thinking them through and once I am in it I think.....oh crap. So, we will see what happens but I am going to try!

You can also see Pam and Nat's blogs to learn more.

Hoochies!

I joined the Chattahoochee Road Runners Club in Marietta a few months ago. The club supports all people from shorter distance walkers/runners to long distance runners. Its a fun group with a lot of very nice people. The third Monday of every month there is a meeting at the Mellow Mushroom off of Windy Hill. Last night we got to listen to and meet Ultramarathoner Scott Ludwig. Scott has run and finished 136 marathons, 686 races and run over 110,000 miles. Better yet, he has also completed the Western States 100 Miler (trail running) and the 135 mile Badwater Ultramarathon from Death Valley to Mount Whitney. (which is only held in July) If you have a chance definitely check out the Badwater web site. This race is amazing. After listening to Scott speak about Badwater it made you want to go out and run 100 miles! Also, If you are interested he founded the Darkside Running Club dedicated to ultramarathon runners.

The farthest I have fun so far is 13.1 miles. I am going to run my 5th 1/2 this weekend:
1. Big Sur 1/2 in Monetery Bay (oct. 2005)
2. Atlanta Thanksgiving 1/2 (nov. 2005)
3. ING Atlanta 1/2 (mar. 2007)
4. ING Atlanta 1/2 (mar. 2008)
5. will be the Nashville 1/2 (apr. 2008)

I have never had the urge to run more than a 1/2 marathon until last night. I am still pretty keen on not running a full marathon but I would like to see if I can run 15 miles. So, my goal for this summer is to complete 15 miles and I guess I will see how I feel after that.

Weekend Warrior

So, my sister Allison and her boyfriend Paul came into town this weekend. They flew in Thursday night and my parents drove down to our house for dinner. We ate, drank some wine and everyone talked over each other. It was a fun time. Friday morning I got to work late because my sister and I decided we needed to drink some coffee and chat. Jason was already at work and Paul was still sleeping. That afternoon Paul and Allison took me to lunch at Atl Bread Co. We were laughing about how Allison and Paul were not going to be sober at all in Athens. Allison said "oh, we are not going to drink that much because we have the wedding Saturday afternoon and Sarah has to get up Sat morning so she can get back to ATL". Paul and I died laughing and said no way are Allison and Sarah going to hang out and stay sober.......We were right.

I should say they were not alone. Friday night I had planned on going to a movie with my friend Leigh while Jason and his man friends were going to the Braves Game. This is Leigh mid dance move at our house one night. She loves to get down.....










After lunch Allison said she would like me to go to Athens with them and Paul said I should go too. I went back and forth with my decision, called Jason to see what he thought then finally decided on joining Allison, Paul, Sarah and her husband Scott for a crazy night in Athens. I was stupid enough to think I would also be getting up early Sat morning to make it back to Alpharetta in time to hang out with my other friend Carren. Carren said I was not going to make
but I was like, oh I will. don't worry about it.









I should be smarter than this by now but I'm not. So I drive up to Athens Friday night to meet the crew for dinner and we dine at Harry Bissets - it was good with exception to Allisons Ashtray filled black-eyed peas. Those were the most disgusting things ever. I won't go into why but they were. There was not a lot of drinking at dinner so everyone was still pretty calm. We went to some bar that I cannot remember the name of but I remember partying in it a long time ago. I order a Guinness and a water. Very adult of me, I know. As I am about 1/2 way through my Guinness I see this row of cups on the bar. I count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hmmmm, there are 5 of us. This can't be right, it's our first bar. I ask Scott (Sarah's husband), "What are those"? "Who is going to drink those"? With a huge grin on his face he says "Jagger bombs and we are".........Crap.

We continue with our night going to one more bar before we meet up with the Groom to be, Eric. My family lived next door to Eric and his from the time I was 2 until we all went to college. The age range of kids for both family's are middle 40's down to 29 so there are a lot of good memories. When we got to Boars Head (I think that was the name of the bar) everyone was there - Groom, all grooms men and their dates, father of the bride and all men in the family on the grooms side. There was a bridesmaid there who was escorted out by the father of the bride - she just had a little too much fun; we have all been there. And I will say it was reported that she looked amazing the next day. Rock on sister!


The rest of the night is kind of a blur - there was a lot of laughing, a lot of yelling (as in yahoooo!) and lots of candid shots! I fell a time or two but it was because of this hidden step right in front of the bathroom. It was not my fault. Unless you knew it was there it came out of no where! Anyway, it was a great night and Saturday when I woke up I remembered why I don't hang out with Sarah, Allison, Paul and Scott when Allison is home.........they are crazy! But I do want to thank them for everything and all of the fun! Paul and Scott are hilarious. I can't wait to post the picts of the night and the morning after. I should also thank Jason for taking my phone call at 2:45 in the morning. Oh yeah, and the ones at 2:46, 2:47 and 2:48.....what can I say, I love my husband.

Thanks again for a fun weekend! Love you and miss you!

Good or Really Good

I went to my second drawing class last night. I am officially discouraged but I will keep trying hard and see it through. I know I am not the worst artist in the world but I am not where I think I should be. For me this is not good. (The whole Libra/Balance thing comes into play here) While I am also not the most competitive person in the world, I secretly want to be really good at everything I try. Therefore I sort of compete in Everything. On the flip side I am not a sore loser! I can easily move on and laugh at myself. I think its how most people work. Example: I want to feel good about my body so I run but at the same time I don't want to kill myself over it so I will settle for accepting or trying to accept what I look like. But, when I feel my attempts have a sub-average outcome I completely fall apart inside. I feel like I have failed myself.

I also know that I need to keep trying and things take time. I have no issues with the try, try & try again method. Since I was a kid I have tried, tried and tried again with reading, math, science, social studies.....shall I go on? I guess life is a try, try & try again deal so I am 150% positive I am not alone. I understand I will not be the best at everything and I don't expect to be but I want to be good. Really good.

Jason says I am too hard on myself but I feel that if you are okay with just being okay then you are not trying hard enough. Right? This rule does not apply to everything but almost everything. Who knows. My brain hurts now and I am sure yours does too. I torture myself like this on a regular basis. I know I am not alone either - I have read other blogs............

Sorry, I will get back to art class. I bet you thought this would never happen......Anyway, as I entered art class last night I was very happy with myself because I found time to practice Tuesday night. I practiced drawing a glass water picture and a wooden pedestal. I practiced seeing how the light hit the objects and I tried to relax and just draw. So my confidence is up. We start class and our instructor is talking about Perspective. He mentioned some paintings and 1 point perspective. We start drawing and I find myself getting antsy because my brain can't quite slow down. I really don't even think my brain can wrap itself around that concept but whatever. The instructor walks around the room and looks at what people are doing - he then asks "did anyone practice"? Almost everyone says yes or nods. He holds up one guys practice page.................while it is no glass picture, it is a pair of running shoes with legs crossed and it looked pretty difficult to draw. What's worse is you can tell exactly what it is! Oh this guy is good and yes, I am very excited for him.

Next the instructor walks over to this lady and he holds up her rendition of an African musical instrument with great line drawing, shadow, light, etc. She is really good too! Then for some reason I feel the need to look around the room (this is like if you were on a bridge that is 500,000 feet off of the ground and someone says "don't look down" but you do anyway). Same outcome. Discouragement sets in instantly. This is where I am with drawing. I know it will take some time and I am still enjoying it but now I am enjoying it because its a challenge - relaxing has gone out the window.

Sally (Lala) may be on to something - clay. I will try clay in the fall. I am not going to give up on art. I will keep trying different things. If I can climb rocks in Vedauwoo, I can be art.

Just so people don't get the wrong idea about my feelings on my self-worth I know I am good at my job and I know there is always room to improve but that makes me happy because I know I will continue to learn new skills and my brain will continue to think. I am good at running and I could be better if I really wanted to - it comes naturally to me. I am good at taking care of people and I have a big heart. I know I am a good person.

Emory Continuning Education

I started my art class last night and everyone in my class learned a few things about me...........Here is the play by play (will post picts later)
I left work and because it is spring break in my area traffic was a lot lighter than usual so I was at the campus an hour early. I decided to go to Starbucks and call Jason. Jason made Tuna Casserole while I was in class.........delicious! Anyway, I went to class and there was only 1 other person there so we were chatting and it turns out he is very artistic and wanted to take this class for fun. He works with computers and this class is a way he can get away from all of that. Then another gentleman entered - he is an attorney who is going to retire and is also taking this class for fun. I can't wait to start - the instructor enters in and out of the room several times. He seems pretty nice but he has not said anything yet.
Some time goes by and other students trickle in - only 1/2 of the class attends this week and two people are late because of traffic or they got lost. The instructor asked everyone to introduce themselves, explain what we do for a living and if we have any art background. Only two people had art experience so I thought to myself this is not so intimidating.

The instructor starts instructing and places a few objects on the table - a mug and a small tea pot or something like that. We are to follow the LINES of one of the objects very slowly with our eyes. Then do it again. We are now supposed to follow the lines and draw what we see (our pencils moving at the same speed of our eyes). This does not seem hard but it is. I can't seem to slow down enough to get it right. What am I doing wrong? Slow down I keep telling myself and finally I get to a speed (which is still not slow enough) but it works for the time being.

The instructor goes around looking at each persons drawing - although you really can't call it a drawing at this point but I digress. We are each doing well. I am very happy with this because this means I am doing it correctly. This is very important because I want to do everything CORRECTLY. I am a task oriented person and a very organized one at that. We move onto lighting. He places a larger more detailed teapot on the table - We are supposed to continue drawing these objects and follow the lines but this time we are supposed to outline where the light hits the object. "Don't draw too small" the instructor says. He said people tend to feel self-conscience when they are doing something new and in the instance of art they start to draw small in case they make a mistake or is looks wrong. He said you need to relax, just follow the lines and use your entire page.

As we are drawing these objects I feel myself get more and more uptight and stressed out - I look around and other people are getting so much more out of these little objects than I am. Does this mean I am so closed off to things and can't get my mind to think outside of the box? Do I only see the surface? Surely I can be an out of the box thinker, I can accept things that are not traditional. OR CAN'T I? UH! I am filled with panic that I am not as open minded as I thought I was and just as I start to lose sight that this is an art class and supposed to be fun, the instructor comes around and says to me (in front of everyone) "YOU NEED TO RELAX! You are showing everyone through your lines you don't know what you are doing". He might as well have been yelling this through a megaphone as far as I was concerned. He was not being mean at all but it was completely humiliating. Then he through out "you are never going to get it right. there is no such thing as getting it right in art so you need to relax or get through what ever other issues you have." Laugh, Laugh......

I am mortified and want to hide under the table but I laugh with him to show I am a good sport and EVERYONE can tell how uncomfortable I am. I never knew art could be so stressful. Very quickly, I took what he said and do my best to apply it to what I am doing at that moment. So, I start a fresh page, start drawing the table scene again and this time keep in mind to "Be Relaxed" Don't worry about messing it up. And what happens? The instructor walks by and says "that is much better"! and goes on to say some other things but I forget that part because all I needed at that point was something positive. I am excited to go back and I am excited to keep trying until I feel I have given it everything I have. I like the instructor very much and I have to keep in mind this is a completely new world I dove into but it will be a lot of fun. And apparently emotional but that's cool. I feel everyone should try something completely foreign from their own comfort zone.

Nashville

So, at the end of the month I am going to run the Nashville 1/2 marathon http://www.cmmarathon.com/home.html with some friends. I am driving to Nashville with Nat and we are going to meet my friend Stacey. Sarah is not going because Wes's Twilight bike race is the same night. GOOD LUCK WES!! Below is my rendition of Wes. What a good looking biker. You know, the more I think about it those art classes won't be challenging at all.......

All of the hotels near the start seemed to be booked so we are (thankfully) staying with Nat's friend who she has known for years. I say thankfully because this race was not the cheapest but it includes a concert, medal, t-shirt and a beer?

I am hoping to run at 2:20 or less (secretly less but we will see) - the course doesn't look too hilly. At least not any hillier than downtown ATL. Wish me luck!

After my art class tonight I will post what I learned. Crosshatching anyone?

Pollen..........

O.M.G. I have never been affected by Pollen before but after I ran yesterday it about took me out. First Jason got hit with it the other day and while he was suffering I felt bad for him but I was also thinking oh how lucky am I; Pollen doesn't bother me......

That is not the case any more. The pollen about took me out last night and this morning. Damn the sucky yellow snow. Spring in GA is beautiful and I love flowers but now I am re-thinking those pretty peace makers and appreciating the rain more and more.


I found a couple of tips on line to keep your house as pollen free as you can get it (courtesy of UGA horticulture program).


1. turning on a humidifier will help make the particulates fall out of the air and give you cleaner air inside your home
2. air filters on heating and cooling systems can help - make sure you air filters are clean


It also said by the end of April the worst of the pollen should be over because Trees won't be shedding any more. Oak, Pine & Birch are the culprits for now. Good luck breathing people!






Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with the pollen? Are there good drugs to take?

ART

I signed up for a Beginning Drawing class at Emory Continuing Ed and it starts next week! Its every Wednesday for two months so it does conflict with my running on Wed nights but that's okay I will just switch running to Tuesday or Thursday nights. The description for this class states:

Take a methodical approach to traditional drawing techniques under personal guidance of this experienced instructor as your work becomes a direct channel for your own self-expression. So, I am going to learn how to self-express! I feel I already know how to self-express but now not only will I be able to self-express through talking but I will be able to draw it too! Haaa..ahaa!! Jason is so lucky to have a wife that is such a diverse self-expresser......

Instructor: Guy Robinson; Supply List: a medium-sized pad of newsprint paper, a few sheets of grey paper and black paper, an ebony pencil, both black and white 2-B conte crayons.

After completing this course I should be able to do the following:

• Experience the basic techniques and methods necessary to confidently continue with more advanced classes
• Develop your work on your own and have, in general, a greater ability to observe and analyze visually - Jason feels I should be able to draw the cats; we discussed drawing *Littleboy with an eye patch.
• Have a great deal of fun pursuing your artistic skills

This is what will be covered in the class:

• Line drawing
• Light and shadow
• Cross hatching - I learned I will be shadowing with this technique
• A brief introduction to drawing human form
• Perspective - This should be interesting since my perspective on everything is usually very odd..........This is where my mom would insert "Jennifer, you are just creative"
• Composition

*Littleboy - he is our large main coon kitty.........."oh littleboy" He's so sweet but afraid of everything. Wouldn't he be so handsome with an eye patch?! "Aaaaarr matey, purrr, kitty, purrrr"