It's one of the blessings of good friends, you can afford to be stupid with them.

The title of this post is a slightly modified quote from one of my favorite authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I substituted good friends for old friends; partly because I personally never want to be referred to as old, regardless of the reason, and partly because some of my best friends I have known for only a short time.

It has been quite a while since I've written anything. There are many reasons, but primarily because I've been far to busy living my life lately to take time to write about it. While there are many things that I would like to share, I am going to begin by dedicating this post to some of the amazing friends I am fortunate enough to have in my life. There is absolutely no way that I could include all of the people that impact my life each day, but I want to provide a sampling of those who are very near and dear to me.

I would be remiss if I did not first mention my very best friend in this world, the one who not only affords me the opportunity to act absolutely ridiculous but also encourages and even participates in my silliness most of the time.

In addition to my wonderful husband, if I am going to dedicate a post to my friends I must mention my cohort in creating the unique brand of chaos that defines me today. My amazing sister...The reason this blog began was to not only to document my experiences for the seven months we anticipated Eric living abroad, but also to occupy my time. However, the incredible people surrounding me ascertained that I very rarely had an enormous amount of time on my hands and inasmuch, the blog was updated much less frequently than I intended. Nine months later, Eric is still abroad, I am still running (a half marathon in April), and my friends continue to be my unwavering foundation.

My best friend from high school, Astyn, is the one person that I know who has never been shocked by anything that I have told her. Her faith in me and lack of judgement has been one of the greatest reassurances in my life for a very long time. Her unique approach to life, her talent, and her energy make her one of the most beautiful people I know. We often go for months without seeing one another, but it never really matters...we always pick up exactly where we left off. She will kill me for posting this photo, but it always makes me smile. We often have a few glasses of wine and end up looking at old photos until the very early hours of the morning. Her fiance, Brandon, and Eric are always very good sports about our randomness.
Nancy is quite possibly the calmest, most rational person I know. Even when she is completely freaking out about something, she says in an extremely calm and quiet voice, "Heather, I'm really concerned." She is also one of the few people I know that can immediately sense if something is just not right...I think she sometimes realizes things about me before I even realize them. She is extremely intelligent, caring, and frequently serves as my personal Emily Post. Those mentioned above have been key players in my life for a long time. From this point forward, I am going to focus on a few individuals who have more recently become a big part of my life.

First, there is Jeanne. She is one of the most unique individuals in my life. She can elicit more extreme reactions from me than most anyone I know. This is possibly because everything she does is done with passion. For a long time she had bumper stickers that read "I don't just hug trees, I kiss them too" and "I'm a democrat and I own a gun." We don't always agree, but I am certain that having her in my life has made me a better person. This year, I had the opportunity to spend Jeanne's birthday with her at a beach bonfire...it was phenomenal. I only wish that I were able to see her more frequently.
Since this post is very quickly becoming extremely long. I am going to wrap this up with a group of girlfriends that have come to mean so much to me in the last couple of years. It is interesting because, although several of us were friends when I lived in DC, I feel like our relationships have grown so much in the last year. They are the group that makes me feel like being girly and silly is the most fabulous thing in the world. I have flown to DC specifically to watch Sex and the City as well as Mama Mia with them, coordinated outfits for an evening out so that the pictures would be the best possible, and danced and sung at the top of my lungs in the middle of the bar with them. They understand that bad hair can be an emergency and that guys can simultaneously be the best and worst thing in our life. Good food and gorgeous cocktails are never lost on them and recognize that it is completely understandable to take 400 pictures in one evening. Only one word can really define Kristi, Littany, Libby, and Julia...fabulous.

Creating this post reaffirmed something that I have always know...I am so blessed. To have such an eclectic, beautiful, amazing group of friends is something that one can dream of, but fortunately for me, it is my reality. I am going to strive to be more thankful each and every day for the people that touch my life and I challenge anyone who may read this to do the same.

On the Road Again...

In more than one way I'm on the road again.

I have gotten back into a regular running schedule recently and am feeling really great about it. It seems that everything is easier to deal with when you have miles of pavement ahead of you and no distractions.

I also have been/will be out of town more than usual. Eric and I had a fabulous vacation while he was home. Last week I spent the end of the week in Knoxville for work. In the next couple of months I have 3 DC trips planned and a number of Birmingham trips. I am also hoping to get at least one beach trip in!!

I also have my 10 year high school reunion in two weeks!! I am excited about seeing everyone, but I am also a little nervous about going without Eric. I always imagined him going with me and seeing what everyone that I grew up around is like. Its disappointing that he will miss it, but hopefully it will still be a good time.

I am hoping that all of my road time, both on foot and otherwise, will help the time pass a lot faster. Eric will be home the day before my 29th birthday. I hope we are able to plan at least one trip to see each other before he comes home.

Catching Up

I hate that I have not been better about keeping up with the blog. Every time I think about it I think "I don't have the pictures I want to post" or "I don't have time to write everything" and then I get even further behind.

There has been a lot going on. July flew by...I spent the 4th with mom and dad by the pool at their house, the following weekend mom, dad, Hillary and Heath helped me get my yard back to a presentable state, and the following Friday Eric came home for his R&R.

It was fabulous having Eric home! We went to Sonoma and San Francisco the first week he was home. We stayed at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa while we were in Sonoma...it was an exceptional experience! We visited several vineyards, among my favorites were Benziger and BR Cohn. Benziger practices biodynamic farming and is a fantastically beautiful property; it was almost as fun learning about their sustainable practices as it was drinking the wine!

San Francisco was unbelievable (and unseasonably) cold. We bought jackets and sweatshirts just to try to stay warm. We stayed in the Westin St. Francis. We were just off of Union Square in the middle of incredible shopping and sites. We spent a lot of time just taking and catching up from the last 3 months.

On the plane on the way home I started feeling bad and unfortunately I spent the last week Eric was home really sick.

Eric is back in Amman now and I'm about 90% well. I started training again today and am looking forward to getting back into a routine.

Running...My Model

Tonight I am spending some time with the hydrothermal model I am building for some research I'm doing at Vandy. It is actually very interesting work, I just need time to spend on it. I am one who never really minds being busy, but this week took it to an extreme. I actually spent almost 70 hours at the office!!

The past few weeks have been fun. Two weeks ago, I ran Ellie's Run for Africa. It was a fantastic experience! I have also been spending a lot of time at Juro Stables learning how to ride with the most fantastic horse, Wendy. My instructor, Brandon, is very patient and I think a little amused by me. He also turns out to be a talented musician (click his name)!

I am trying to keep up my training schedule. I am going a little slower than I expected and have only completed three weeks on the schedule. It is not so much that I am not running regularly, rather, I am not running the pace and distance I would like. I am now up to a daily five mile minimum. That is pushing it a bit for me, especially in this heat. I may hold here for a couple of weeks before adding any more distance.

Ok, back to running...my model, that is.

A Change of Scenery...

...is something I definitely did not get today!!

One or two times a week I run at the track, this is my ABSOLUTE least favorite workout. I feel a little like a hamster on a wheel...or something equally as frustrating. I ran 4.5 miles this morning and the scenery never changed; it was a good workout, though.

I focus a lot on my time and how I feel when I run at the track because there really is not much else to do. I always try to pick some really good tunes, but this morning I had not put too much thought into it. That is why, at the beginning of mile 3, I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard the opening bars to Journey's Don't Stop Believing. The image of my very good friend, Matt, and I singing (or screaming) that very song at the top of our lungs at numerous Christmas parties immediately put a smile on my face.

I think it also increased my pace!!!

Immediately after that, Katy Perry made me wish I had woken up in Vegas...

Anyone up for a trip?

So, I am up way past my usual bedtime and I am sure I will struggle with getting up in the morning. I have a million more things to write...the possibility of a DC trip in the near future, more about my budding garden, and of course the horseback riding lesson I scheduled for this Saturday!

Setting the Stage for a Great Day

Today was my first serious run in a couple of weeks. It was not that difficult, an easy 3 miles; it gave me some time to think. I have spent the last month reacting to my surroundings and have spent very little time taking anything in. I am not complaining....I have had a fantastic month. I just think that sometimes you need to take some time to understand why you enjoy what you enjoy. This morning I thought a lot about why I enjoy my morning runs...

• There are two sweet faces waiting for me downstairs every morning...I'm sure it is mostly because they are hungry, but I like to think its because they think I'm fabulous.

• My neighborhood is so pleasant. When I walk out the front door at 5am, there is always someone else out walking their dog or jogging.


• I get to set the soundtrack of my day during my early morning runs. Many times the music I listen to while running determines my mood for the day...it energizes me or helps me relax or even puts me in the mood for having some fun.


• Upon returning home, I get to do one of my favorite tasks of the morning, tending to my plants. This year, I think I'm going to be a very successful gardener. I've already got 4 types of lettuce and spinach and I will soon have tomatoes and peppers.

• Most importantly, mornings are always better with a fresh pot of coffee.

I am so happy that I made the effort to run this morning. It was completely worth it!!! I am actually looking forward to waking up at 4:45 tomorrow morning to do it all again.

Back on Track

I have finally recovered from not feeling so well recently. I have had a lot going on and probably did not recover as quickly as I would have if I had not been so busy.

Here's a quick recap of my May Madness!

May 9 my sister, Hillary, graduated from Auburn with an Architecture degree. It was a really good time.

Three weekends ago I was in a wedding for one of my oldest friends, Laura.

It was a great time and she was a beautiful bride.

The following weekend, I was in Pigeon Forge with Jeanne and some of her buddies. My camera battery died and I didn't take my charger, so I don't have any pictures. We stayed in a beautiful cabin and had tons of fun!!

This weekend was one of the best I have spent in Nashville. Astyn and Kathrin were in town for a visit and we had a fabulous time. Saturday afternoon we went horseback riding.

My horse really liked to run. We ran everywhere, on the trails, in the open fields...everywhere. I really enjoyed it! At one point, our guide actually told me that I had to slow down! I think he was completely entertained by our group.

We also went to a couple of the honky tonks; we wanted to make it to more, but Tootsies was so much fun that we couldn't tear ourselves away. It was quite possibly the perfect Nashville night.

The last couple of weeks I have only done a few short runs because I didn't feel very well. Tomorrow morning it is back to the training schedule. I am already a little sore from the horseback riding and the insane amount of dancing we did Saturday night, so I can only imagine what tomorrow is going to feel like. I am looking forward to it, though. I have missed the way it feels to start the day with a long run.