eat. pray. love.

A few months ago I was watching Oprah and she did a piece on the the new movie Eat Pray Love based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. What truly caught my attention was that Julia Roberts was the main character and I have been a big fan of hers since Pretty Woman. I can still watch that movie and enjoy it today as if I haven't seen it over 100 times. Anyhow...I decided that I would read the book before the movie came out so I downloaded it to my kindle and it was added to the collection of books that I would read this summer.

Tonight I spontaneously went to the movies (by myself) to see just how closely movie fell in line with the book. I absolutely loved the book and the movie (as it always cuts out half of what is in the book) did an excellent job of highlighting the important parts of the book. Many people would disagree because it was a bit shallow however, cramming a 400 plus page book into a movie will have that effect. The book/movie follows the journey of a woman on a quest of self-discovery. It is broken into three sections - three countries to which she travels in search of pleasure in eating (Italy), praying (India), and finding balance in her life which ultimately lead to love (Bali, Indonesia).

The last two years of my life have been some trying, yet rewarding times and there are some lessons from the book/movie that I feel I can solely relate with. Therefore I thought I'd share some interesting points from this piece.

1. Every city has a word.
She discussed how different cities in Italy had different words, and I began to wonder just what was my word. I often feel I am a person of many different talents, but a word that fully describes me has yet to present itself. At this point in my life...on my quest of self discovery, I've realized that maybe I am a woman still in search of my word. In a recent conversation with an older married woman, I came to realize that in a sense I am going through an identity crisis - moving from a single toward marriage, but not wanting to lose my singularity within the relationship. I'm independent by nature yet that has become one of my biggest flaws. Trying to find the balance of being married but still being a singular and not losing myself will be a true test of my character.

2. Dulce far niente - the sweetness of doing nothing
This is a concept I have found absolute joy within since college. My whole life I have been on the go - always working, partying, socializing, competing, etc. I never slept - always moving as if I would miss something if I wasn't always around. Now, my friends would label me as an old woman. I like to sit at home and watch tv or read. I need not be out on the town, or in the limelight. I am quite content with the peaceful and calm lifestyle - a major change from only two years ago.

3. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation. Always be prepared for endless roads of transformation.
Sometimes I feel I have lived well past my 24 years of life. So many more times, older people tell me even in my maturity and experiences, I have so much living to do. I concede with both. I have been through the storm, and I know there are many more to come. But with each storm, I am stronger, wiser...changed because of it all. Change often scares me, but with time I have learned that you have to adapt and roll with the punches. Taking it all one day at a time smooths the transition through the transformations within myself.

4. If you want to get to the castle, you have to swim the moat.
Nothing in life worth having will be easy. I'm learning that every single day. As many times as I have wanted to simply avoid something in hopes that it would take care of itself, I have realized that if you don't deal with it now...it will MAKE you deal with it later.

5. Sometimes losing your balance for love, is part of living a balanced life.
Everything does not have to always be in perfect order. I'm the type of person to plan out my life. Love has interrupted every plan I have ever had. But it's a welcome interruption and it is worth more than any career I could every have. A year ago I would have said, if I had to choose love or work I'd choose work. I'm career driven, and I had plans. Now...I choose love. I'm lucky to experience such a thing and I believe that God works everything out as he sees fit and one day, every dream and every goal I have will be fulfilled. Call me an optimist if you will, but the balance in my life will prove to be so beautiful...in time.

Tidbits...

I AM … abundantly and exceedingly blessed.
I WANT… a damier canvas louis vuitton. Who cares if it's from 2 seasons ago.
I HAVE … big dreams...and I will succeed.
I KEEP … a junk food drawer in my nightstand...don't judge me!
I WISH I COULD … indulge in sleep for more than 3 hours at a time. I guess I'll be good and ready when I'm on a baby's schedule lol
I HATE … when people insult my intelligence. Please don't sleep on the pretty face.
I FEAR … rejection...always have :-(
I HEAR … the obnoxious fan from my macbook.
I DON’T THINK … God put me on this earth to settle. He put me here to change the world...and I will...one person at a time.
I REGRET … no regrets. EVER. Everything is always a lesson.
I LOVE … him.period.the end.
I AM NOT … the best at keeping in touch with people. I have good intentions though.
I DANCE … like a stripper. Sorry mom lol.
I SING … loud...in the car...with the windows up of course. But only by myself...and don't care when people stare or laugh.
I NEVER … watch scary movies. As a kid they were my favorite. Now they are just stupid.
I RARELY … eat fast food...well for the last 2.5 years anyway. That is the quickest way for me to turn into tubby sue.
I CRY WHEN I WATCH … movies...any kind. Seems like everything moves me these days.
I AM NOT ALWAYS … punctual. I mean I don't run on CP time, but I def move at my own pace.
I HATE THAT … there is never anything on tv at night.
I NEED … some bad pink peep toes for my wedding.
I SHOULD … get on my recruiting grind...def have been putting it on hold all week.

17 things every woman should do before she gets married

So I thought it was fitting to write on this topic (that I stole from another blog) seeing as how I will be married in less than a year.

1. Live by herself for at least a year.
Been there...done that...in the frozen tundra. But I gained a sense of independence and now I'm ready for the next roommate, the hubby.

2. Live with someone else for at least a year.
All of college...4/5 girls...one house...loved it (well most of the time anyway lol)

3. Recover from a broken heart.
Sigh...more than a time a two. But it has only made me a stronger person, so for that I will forever be grateful.

4. Take a road-trip with a group of girlfriends.
Got a ticket. 3 girls in one bed. Shopping. <3 my girls ALWAYS!

5. Relish sleeping in a queen-sized bed by herself.
Never known life other than a queen...only moving up from here :-)

6. Get her finances in order.
Working on it...day by day

7. Learn to love her body.
Definitely used to be that shy little girl with big, baggy, boy clothes. NOW...you can't tell me nothing. I know I'm hot...lol

8. Find reliable birth control.
Yeah ummm...not tryna be baby mama before wifey.

9. Pay off as much credit card debt and student loans as possible
Again...working on it. Damn retail therapy lol

10. Spend way too much on something frivolous.
Nothing big yet...but I want a Louie V bag and some Christian Louboutins'...one day a price tag won't even matter

11. Exorcise all past relationship demons.
Left the past in the past. One man has my heart and he has it forever.

12. Travel somewhere exotic.
Paris, Canada, South Africa, Bahamas...and wanting to experience plenty more

13. Establish a strong circle of friends.
I keep my friends close...could care less about enemies. More than just friends...sisters!

14. Forgive her parents for not being perfect.
I will always love them for making me me...but there is so much about me that I feel is jacked up because of them. So I forgive them...I just have to fix me :-/

15. Experience some really bad first dates.
I'm pretty easy to please...all I ask is don't be late and let's not be a jackass. So for the most part even a bad date won't be so bad in my eyes if there is food involved. Heck...at least I got fed!

16. Find hobbies that fulfill her.
Reality tv whore. avid reader. cross country driver. Texter.

Indulged. In love. Fulfilled.

17. Celebrate her 25th birthday
Couldn't have planned it better myself. I will be 25 years, 2 months, 22 days on my wedding day...I guess it's safe to say that babies are next lol


I love my life...Wouldn't change a single thing. It has made me who I am and now it's time to get ready for the next step :-D

2009 down, 2010 on deck, track season and a wedding in the hole

2009 may have just been the hardest year of my life...but it definitely ended with a bang. After surviving the frozen tundra for a semester, I made my biggest life decision yet and switched jobs and grad schools to come back to Texas. The move was nothing short of tumultuous but I managed to make it through the fall semester with the best supportive cast of family, friends, and a wonderful fiance'! YES you read correctly...I am newly engaged and couldn't be happier. The picture is not deceiving you...my ring is really that "blingy" lol and I love it to pieces. He did an awesome job picking it out. We still have a lot to figure out as far as the date and job situations, but I know that God will work it out as he sees fit.

Track season is my next endeavor and it is literally right around the corner. Once it starts...it wont stop until June and I'm hoping to squeeze in some QT with the boo somewhere in between the next 6 months. So many people question how we survive with the distance, but it takes two people to truly want it to work and that's how we've made it through the last 18 months. Theoretically we have about 18 more to go but neither of us knows how the wind will blow us between now and then.

Back to track! I'm excited about the season and I look for my kids to start out with a bang. They have put in the work in the fall AND actually maintained over Christmas break. Their diligence and hard work will pay off and when it does it will be BIG! On another note...I got my first commitment from a recruit and I'm super excited about it. Now all I need is 2 guys and I'll be good to go for next fall.

And this wedding business...I finally bought my first bridal magazine although right now I'm totally okay with letting someone else plan it. I kind of have an idea of what I want and what I want it to look like, so now I just need someone to make it happen AND a whole lot of money to get the process started. Any takers??

ummm...can someone please change the weather

I used to think I had this pact with God and the weather because the entire time I spent at Rice we rarely had rain days. It rains in Houston quite frequently, but Monday through Friday between the hours of 3 and 6pm it NEVER rained...and this made practices for a bunch of black girls who were worried about their hair quite manageable. I can count the number of track meets that I ran in the rain (or sprinkles) on one hand, so the biggest foe I ever had to deal with living in the south was the humidity. Even when I moved up north, I prayed that it wouldn't snow until I left for Christmas break. I left December 12, and the first 12inch snow storm came December 13...now if that ain't the work of God I don't know what is. So needless to say I thought that me and God had this weather thing all figured out...

That is until I got to Nacogdoches. Since I've been here we've had weeks of rain in a row. I will always be dry (hence the rain boots, umbrella, rain pants, rain coat, and extra pair of socks in my office) but I often feel for my athletes because they are always drenched after practice. We finally got some nice weather days...and I'm talking 75 degrees and bright and sunny and practice was AWESOME. Then I wake up this morning and it is freaking 35 degrees outside...now I hate the rain, but when it's 70 and raining I can deal. 35...uh uh! I swear I often wonder how I made through the harsh winter.

So I've been doing some thinking today. I am now putting out a public service announcement to God to lets get back on the same page and get the weather back in order. I live in the south for goodness sake...we really should never get below the 50 degree barrier.

Defining moments...

So today in church we entered the 2nd part of a series entitled defining moments. I thought this would be a perfect topic to blog about so I figured I'd share some "defining moments" in my life.

**the moment I knew I wanted to coach
- All my life I wanted to be a doctor (and maybe someday I still will fulfill that dream lol), but once I got through my first year of college I started questioning if that was something I really wanted to do. I love helping people but being a doctor lacks the social interaction that I so highly crave and being a nurse just doesn't cut it, because I just want to be my own boss. So anyhow, I spent a year not knowing exactly how I would spend the rest of my life. The summer after my sophomore year a friend of mine asked me if I would help her coach a summer AAU basketball team back home. I said yes although I had a full time job in Houston and this would mean commuting once or twice a week back home (3hrs round trip) AND giving up my weekends, but my dad was having some medical complications so this was a good reason to visit more that normally. Well little did I know, I would fall in love with this "summer volunteer job." After our first tournament, I just knew that this is what I wanted to do full time. I felt so fulfilled that I could share my passion with others and see them succeed all at the same time. I started coaching basketball, but I have this long standing love affair with track. While basketball has my heart, track is something that I've done since I was 6 and was the one thing that gave me a chance at college athletics and brought many life lessons and successes along the way. So in a way I still get to help people (just not how I always dreamed in a medical setting), and although the paycheck is not even close to the same, the joy is more that I could have ever imagined.

**the moment I turned to my faith for true guidance
- I guess this could also be stated in me turning my life over to God, but I've been a Christian my whole life so I guess saying re-committed my life to Christ may be the correct statement. Last year was by far one of the hardest in my life. I have always had a super supportive family and friends that would kill for me, but somehow I still manage to feel alone from time to time. Well last year I hit an all time low. Some may say that I was just homesick, but I feel as though I am a strong individual and can stand on my own two feet most always. For the longest I just felt extremely depressed and it had a horrible effect on my relationship and my school work, and it seemed the only think that kept me going was coaching (which was only 2-3hrs out of my day). After a conversation with my mom, a light came on that I would not be able to make it through the hard times by myself. I turned to God, and began going back to church and praying more than ever. This summer he put an opportunity in front of me that has since changed my life dramatically. In doing so, while I am much happier, I also am faced with a bigger dilemma in my relationship. However, I am stronger in my faith than I have ever been so I know that he will make a way. I know that it may not be ideal or may not come exactly when I want it to, but his plan for my life is great, and that is something that I will never doubt. I grew up hearing to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. 23 years later I am living proof.

**the moment I knew he was my forever
- I cannot pin point the day. I fell in love early in the relationship but even then, I think I still did not know that he was THE one. Now 1 year, 8 months, and 15 days since we first met I am without a shadow of a doubt, absolutely 100% positive, that HE IS THE ONE. With him I have this constant feeling of amazing-ness...this overwhelming joy...this love that I cannot explain. I smile just thinking about it...and my heart smiles even brighter!

There are many moments that standout in my life, but those are a few that truly define who I am. These are moments that will live forever in my heart.

recruiting weekend!

So I am once again experiencing a first, although this is my SECOND year of coaching. I had my first official visit for an athlete I am personally recruiting come to town this weekend. Having just come off the flu, it was a bit more taxing and tiresome that I could have even imagined. I feel as though I will be recovering for at least a week. In 48hours, I walked, talked, and hopefully schmoozed my way to a possible signee in the near future. She was far more pleasant in person that she comes off on the phone and her parents were definitely ones that I would want to become a part of our program. They are supportive and are true track fans! In addition to her, I had an unofficial recruit come in who was a male athlete and I'm not sure if he spoke 20 words while he was here. I'm not quite sure how to take that, but his dad swears up and down that he really does like me, so I guess I'll just roll with that answer for now.

My most favorite part of the weekend was the food. If one this is true around here, it is we eat plenty...and we eat well. I'm pretty sure I put on a cool 2-3lbs, so I guess I need to get back to business in the workout department. My hiatus from physical activity because of the flu is officially over, so I need to get the breathing back in order and the legs to burning. I just refuse to not be able to do what I put my athletes through everyday...Can't let them have that one up on me just yet.

All in all it was a great weekend. I know this is the first of many, and the beginning of much success in the recruiting area of my career!