Thanks, Matt

Lately, I have been joking with Matt and telling him that he's rubbed off on me since we've been together. Here are just a few reasons why:

1. One of Matt's favorite foods is pizza. I sometimes believe he could live off of pizza. He once told me that he didn't use to eat it that much. I don't believe it. I, myself, used to not eat pizza that much.
-Now, I actually crave pizza. And not the pizza in D-Hall. REAL pizza.
Thanks, Matt.

2. I used to not eat at Roma's that much. I love going and everything, especially on Friday nights after Varina football games, with the usual people all there as well.
-Now, I can't wait to get home and go to Roma's. And most of the time when I'm home, I end up there at least once. That almost always happens.
Thanks, Matt.

3. Any time we were going to the movies, Matt and I would stop by Dollar Tree. Yes, we're those horrible people that won't pay $3+ for candy at the theater. It was always easy to know what Matt would get 98% of the time: Something Reese's. Or if we would stop at a gas station and get a snack and drink: Pepsi and some form of Reese's. I used to not like peanut butter and chocolate together. Just too rich for me.
-Now, Reese's Pieces are one of my new favorite candies.
Thanks, Matt.
*He still hasn't fully converted me to Pepsi. While I will drink it, I prefer Coke. :)

4. If you've read my previous posts, or know Matt and me at all, you know he ran track for 12 seasons in high school. He was a Legacy Runner, and yes, I like to brag about him =) I never understood how someone could like running so much. It just didn't appeal to me, at all, to participate in. I did end up enjoy going to his meets and watching him run, once I understood what was going on...haha.
-Now, most times I go to the gym, I run 1-2 miles on a regular basis.
Thanks, Matt.


Speaking of running, just recently, I built up that running at the gym and I got up to running 3 miles straight, getting ready for the 10K, which was this past Saturday.
The Tuesday before the 10K was my last day at the gym, believe it or not. I was running on the treadmill and could barely run a mile. I just felt awful and exhausted. I had no motivation and I felt like I physically could not move another muscle in my body. So I straight up just left the gym. I skipped my normal routine of weight machines and ab workout. I just left. First time that's ever happened.

Saturday morning-Day of the 10K.
I woke up at 6:00am not sure whether to be groaning because of how early I was having to wake up or to be excited about participating in the 10K. I leaned more towards excited. That is, until I stepped outside and realized how cold it was! Thankfully, Abby had some extra underarmor that she let me wear under my shirt...best loan ever!

So there we were, standing with our wave group, ready to be sent off. That is, until both Mom and Abby went back a few waves to walk with some friends. I was a little nervous about having to start the race by myself, but it went okay.

Before the 10K, I had made a Running Playlist on my iPOD that I ran to while training in the gym.
My first goal was to finish before Don't Stop Believin' came on, because that song ended at 1.1 hours.
My second goal was to run at least the first mile and the last mile. I would allow myself to walk at any time in the miles in between.

Well, basically, here's just a quick outline of how the 10K went:

During mile 1: not sure that I would be able to finish. It was too cold and I wanted to just lay down and warm up!
See the Mile 1 sign: Ok, that wasn't too bad. I'm just going to run the first two miles since I'm good to go.
See the Mile 2 sign: Well dang, I'm still not feeling too bad. Let's run to Mile 3 so that I can say I ran half of the race without stopping.
See the Mile 3 sign: Well, let's just go a little bit farther..just to get around the u-turn to go back the other way for the second half of the race. On the way to that u-turn, I noticed a water stop right after the turn. I then decide I'm going to run to that water stop, get a quick drink, and walk a bit.
See that water stop: Ehh...let's just grab some water. Maybe that will keep me going until I absolutely can't run any farther.
See the Mile 4 sign: Did I really just run 4 miles without stopping? No way. Ok, well, I'm going to run to Mile 5, since that's where Varina Key Club is handing out water. I'll get some there, then walk a bit.
See the Mile 5 water stop: I think I just want some Powerade. I came this far, let's see just how much farther I can go.
See the Mile 6 sign: Holy freakin crap. REALLY? I just ran SIX miles? How in the WORLD did that happen?? Ok, well, this isn't the end. I have .2 miles left.
...
...
Ok.....where is that finish line?? This is the longest .2 miles EVER!!
See the Finish Line: It's there! It's Right, There! Question is, how do I get there? My legs feel like jelly and I will fall over any minute now.
Crossing the Finish Line: I know I have the biggest smile on my face because I just ran 6.2 miles without stopping, and the most I'd ever run before without stopping was 3 miles.

Never in a million years did I dream that I'd run the entire 10K. That was a HUGE accomplishment for me, if not, the Biggest. I knew I had trained for it, but I knew I didn't train the full distance, so I was expecting to have to walk.
I completed the 10K in 1 hour and 2 minutes. I was THAT close to breaking an hour!! (goal for next year!) Also, it only took me 6 more minutes than my dad to finish it, which is way cool!

I don't know how I had all of the motivation to keep on running. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I would be able to tell everyone, "YES! I RAN the 10k!!!" or Maybe it was because I knew I would be warm again once I got back in the car! or Maybe it had to do with the text I woke up to that morning saying, "Good luck on your race. I hope you do great, cause I know you will do great."
Thanks, Matt

Law Family Reunion

I’ve always loved going to our family reunions—that’s nothing new. It was when I found out that I almost wasn’t going to be able to go this year that I really realized how much I love it.

You see, my grandma, my dad’s mom, is the youngest of 13. THIRTEEN! And when all of them have kids, who have kids, who have kids (I think that accounts for everyone? Correct me if I’m wrong), the numbers add up quickly! This year is the 74th annual reunion. Crazy, huh? Mom, Dad, Abby and I have never missed a reunion, so when I found out that I couldn’t go this year, I was BUMMED OUT. Luckily, I had my dates wrong and I will definitely be there this year!

*I thought I was going to have to miss because, since I will be an RA next year, I have to come back to school about a week and a half before classes start for training. Can’t tell you how glad I was when Mom told me I had the dates wrong!!*

I just love family, that’s all there is to it. And I love BIG families. It’s just fun. There are so many people to talk to, hang out with and catch up with. And even though some people consider Facebook to be a bad thing (and when I got the virus from it, I did too), Facebook has given us all the opportunity to keep in touch and share photos, even when we’re not together for that one weekend every year.

On the Saturday of the reunion, this is otherwise known as: “The Stew.” Basically, a dinner consisting of yummy Brunswick stew and hamburgers/hotdogs and other foods. The Saturday dinner is for the 13 children of my grandma’s generation and their children, grandchildren, & great-grandchildren. On the Sunday, around lunch time, everyone from Saturday gathers again, along with cousins and extended family of the 13 children.

There are just so many things that I love about the reunion, it’s hard to name them all. But I will share a few that come to mind right now.

• Staying at the Hampton Inn (as usual), and knowing that a lot of the people in the hotel are a part of the Law Family. And going along with that, knowing that, as I’m sitting downstairs eating the complimentary breakfast, I hear the elevator ‘ding’ and just KNOW that whoever steps out of the elevator will 9 times out of 10 be someone from out family.
  
• The usual Wal-Mart school supply run. I don’t know why, but every year, Mom, Abby, and I, along with my Aunt Kandi, Gabrielle and Alison, go to Wal-Mart—which is right behind the hotel—to get our school supplies for the coming school year. I don’t really know why or how this got started. It’s just a tradition that has somehow continued on for so long! Haha.
  
• Seeing all the new additions to the family! Whether it’s new girlfriends/boyfriends, husbands/wives or even tiny little babies, our family is constantly growing! And I’m not complaining one bit.
  
• Taking Generation and Family pictures—It’s so crazy to see how many people are in ONE generation of the Law Family.
  
• Food! What’s better than family talking and laughing together over a great meal? Oh right, nothing!
  
• Sitting by the hotel pool on Saturday night, with just family hanging out. Then, the cousins walking over to Sonic to get dessert—after taking orders from the rest of the family.

These are just a few things that I love about going to the Law Family Reunion, and there are so many more. I can’t list them all—that would take entirely too long! But I hope you see why I love big families, and why I especially love MY family J

So, to any members of the Law Family who may be reading this: Can’t wait to see you all in August!!!!



This is a picture of my generation back in 2006. I'm near the right..in a purple shirt and white skirt, peaking around my cousin Alison!

*The rest of the photos are from 2009*
This is my grandma's generation.

Here is my dad's generation...

Here is my generation....can you find me? Hint: I'm by my sister..who is easy to spot because she's way tanner than me and in bright yellow :-P
And here is the Pendleton family. Just to let you know, we're MUCH bigger. As there were other commitments, not all of us could be there.
Check back in August for pictures from this year's reunion!!

Baseball

Well, I haven't taken many pics lately...And yes, I'm wondering how as well! I've just been so dang busy with school these past few weeks. It's been stressful...very stressful.

Last Tuesday (see, I'm way behind on posting these; it's been basically a week now!) I went to the Ferrum-Hampden Sydney baseball game. Matt's brother plays on the Ferrum team, and since Hampden Sydney is right down the road from Longwood, I thought it'd be fun to go! This is probably awful to say, but I enjoy sporting events more if I actually know someone playing.lol. I wasn't sure who to cheer for more: Ferrum? or Hampden Sydney? Hampden Sydney is our brother school; I know someone on the Ferrum team. I was stuck in the middle. However, I will say that I was wearing a Ferrum shirt.....and that's all I'm saying!

It was also perfect weather for the game!
This first picture was taken by my friend, Stephen, who also loves taking pictures. I was showing him the monkey tattoo that I had just gotten from my Fruit Roll Up. I really don't know where the monkey is though. It was for sure a monkey on the Fruit Roll Up, though.

The rest of these pics are a few that I took. We had bad seats: right behind home plate. Which, was good for a few pictures. But, those dang poles got in my way!! I did have fun (and get very frustrated) with the fencing. It allowed for some cool pictures, but the focusing drove me absolutely nuts. What do you think?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I found my crafty project to do over break. It took so much more time cutting that I would have liked, but I like how it came out :)
I got the idea of this St. Patrick's Day banner from banners that I had seen on Aunt Diane's blog. I was going to post a link to the specific post but couldn't find it! Sorry!
Anyway, here are some pics of the banner hanging on the stair rail at home. Let me know what you think!

Who knew math could be so cool?

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888


Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Mind Boggling...

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they Are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%... How about ACHIEVING 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help Answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then: H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And: K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But: A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E 1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D 12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will Get you there.

My apologies....

I've been a bad blogger lately.....


But it seems like every time I get on my computer, here comes another virus.....


So I've been staying off a lot, especially now that it's Spring Break.....




I've run tons of scans on my computer in the past few weeks.

Tonight, it finally finds a Trojan........I never thought I'd be happy for a scan to find that, but I'm hoping it will make my life much easier to get it OFF!

Awesome giveaway!

Check out this awesome giveaway contest that I found out from my Aunt Diane's blog!

http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/home/2010/2/28/epiphanie-give-away.html?lastPage=true&postSubmitted=true

The prizes for winning are awesome!

Go check it out now!

a bunch of random :)

So, I don't exactly have one specific thing to blog about today, so I just thought I'd write a few things that have been going on:

• The other day, my Aunt Kandi emailed me saying that a coworker of hers had 2 daughters getting married this July and is looking for a photographer. Another coworker said to the first, "Have you seen the pictures of Gabby in Kandi's office? Her neice took them." Ok, main point of the story, Aunt Kandi emailed me saying that her coworker is interested in hiring me...FOR BOTH. Needless to say, I was ecstatic, but moreso, honored, that someone would want to hire ME. However, I'm also verrrrrrrry nervous and almost afraid to even commit. If those pictures don't turn out well or are ruined, then it's all my fault and those are moments you can never get back.
  So, if anyone has any advice or suggestions as I'm deciding to commit or not, they would be MUCH appreciated :)
  
• I find out tomorrow afternoon if I got a position as an RA for next year. I will also find out my placement at the same time. I'm super duper nervous, and I really hope I get it!! I would have my own room next year! However, if I do get the position, I will have to come back to school early in August, and for the first time EVER, I will be at school on my birthday. haha.
  
• I'm so over this cold weather. I don't want snow tonight, Unless it's so much that classes get canceled tomorrow. If it's not going to be that much, I hope it doesn't come at all! I want warm weather!!
  
• Speaking of warm weather, Mom just told me that on Sunday the high is 60! YES! Even better, I'll be on Spring Break =) Now that is exciting! I don't really have any plans over Spring Break because both Abby and Matt are in school. blah :( But Abby and I are thinking of Cici's on Monday??? I'm also in the mood to do some crafts or something over break. I've been Googling (yes, these days, Google has been formed into a verb) for some but haven't quite found ones that I want to do. Any ideas?

That's all for now :)