Field of Flags

After work on Saturday a few of us ran to Kennesaw Mountain to check out the memorial for September 11th. It was part of a week-long tribute that began with a parade, ceremony and field of flags memorial. Each flag placed on the base of the battle field represents a life lost during 9.11. It was overwhelming to see the enormous field I run by every day painted patriotic.  I thought we should have mixed in a few peace signs and symbols of tolerance considering our nationalism is often misunderstood and wrongfully presented to the world.  

We took some pictures and talked about that day 10 years ago. I was a freshman in college, still sound asleep before class and remember waking up to screaming in the halls and my roommate running in from the shower to turn on the TV where most of us remained for hours.

Throughout the weekend I thought about the orphaned children, the widowed, the friends and the family. It created a knot in my stomach and that nauseous feeling. 


I kept hoping and praying our country would be peaceful this 9/11. I thought about my friends in high risk target areas, pilots, travelers, and people in the service. 

I empathized with all those who might be wrongfully judged, harassed or looked upon with suspicion and fear this weekend due to their ethnicity or color of their skin. 

I also thought about the evil, the brainwashed, the desperate and the weak...how did you get there and how can our world prevent such evil from exploding ever again?

Kennesaw Mountain GA

Being Alone

As a Peace Corps Volunteer and someone who picked up and moved across the country (where I knew NO one) for grad school...I have learned to appreciate and be comfortable with  alone time. I believe it is an essential step toward inner happiness and healthy relationships.

Check out this poem about being alone and hear her perspective. I have never gone to a movie alone or out dancing but sometimes when I am alone at home- I turn up the music and dance as if I were surrounded by  friends!

A few places I love...

Cuba, Georgia, Mexico, Minnesota, Peru, Wisconsin and so many more I just couldn't find pictures of...

Images from: http://www.etsy.com/shop/poppyandpinecone?ref=pr_shop_more

Exhausted...

This pretty much summarizes how I feel....

Minnesota Visit

School officially started back up and I haven't had a moment to blog about my trip back to Minnesota. I knew it would be my last visit until Christmas so I tried to fit in a little of everything.


The first night Dan and I went to a baby shower for his friend Keith. It was a perfect night for a BBQ- the kind all Minnesotans dream of in the winter and savor in the summer. If you have ever been to a baby shower with men, then you can probably relate to the humor of the night as well. When it was time for cupcakes someone asked if we were supposed to sing and after the cake, we all shared in toasting with a cake-flavored vodka shot (not the pregnant mom!). It wasn't the typical "guess what baby food this is" kinda shower and I loved it! We had a great time and it was fun to catch up with Dan's friends.


I also managed to get in multiple downtown and SLP runs in with my running group as well as the post-run coffee and "healthy" cookie recovery. We did some house hunting and later some finance homework to balance out the fun. 

smarty prance

Donut burger at the park

Smarty Prance made us a few bucks at Canterbury Park but we spent it all on food (Ice cream in the summer is irresistible). We met up with some friends at the track followed by dinner and the comedy club later. It was a perfect combination of my favorite things (well not the betting part but the outdoor summer activities).

Noah helping with homework

Kate and baby James visiting

Warming up

The best part of the weekend however was seeing family. Dan's sister and kids were in town so we stopped in to visit them and the rest of the Gustafsons. We had a great dinner with my mom while discussing the deficit and  politics. We also spent a whole day on the lake at my dads playing volleyball, swimming and relaxing with my family and best friend Kate. Dan was content because my brothers volleyball skills have improved so we can get some real volleys in. My dad was in heaven because my friend Kate brought her 5 month old baby and I was content just to be surrounded by people I love!

Downtown stroll before the comedy show

View at the lake

Now its back to school and WOW is it going to be a busy few months. I am totally overwhelmed with having 4 classes, a fellowship and a part time job! One day at a time I guess. My blogging is my way to make sure I am still using the right side of my brain to balance out all of the finance and accounting work. I also decided to learn how to embroider! Probably not an ideal time to start a new hobby but I needed something relaxing to do. I only wish I could cross-stitch during accounting to keep me awake for the 3 hour lectures.

My new hobby

Ok, back to work!

I think I can unless I can't!

I started homework today at 11:30 am after running some school supply errands. I worked on Finance up until 5:45 pm when I took a break for a LA Fitness workout. I ran a bit with Lauren after and then came home, made some instant dinner and have been working until now! I only took a few breaks to walk to the freezer for multiple fruit Popsicles (Mango is the best!), checkout for a second on the Internet and stand up to stretch.

I honestly believe I am at high risk for becoming a complete nerd if I keep this up. I had to turn down dinner plans tonight and tomorrow will come home after work to Accounting. I think this MBA is trying hard to remove all of my social skills and replace them with lame left brain thinking!

I want to use my MBA to do non-profit or social business management work but I am pretty sure management requires more people skills than number crunching tools.


Ok...only four more months. I think I can!

The Ripple Effect from the DailyOM

I really liked today's Daily OM (I get them emailed to me everyday) and thought it was worth re-posting. Often  I feel like my impact on the world is insignificant but this lesson"The Ripple Effect" helped me reevaluate what it means to contribute. It also was a good reminder that a negative attitude can work against our wishes to create change and therefore, it is also important to dilute our negative energy and replace it with positive thoughts. Read below for a better synopsis and heres to creating positive waves today!!

August 10, 2011 A Virtuous Cycle   The Ripple Effect The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine, and the choices you make affect the whole. In a world of over six billion people, it’s easy to believe that the only way to initiate profound transformation is to take extreme action. Each of us, however, carries within us the capacity to change the world in small ways for better or worse. Everything we do and think affects the people in our lives, and their reactions in turn affect others. As the effect of a seemingly insignificant word passes from person to person, its impact grows and can become a source of great joy, inspiration, anxiety, or pain. Your thoughts and actions are like stones dropped into still waters, causing ripples to spread and expand as they move outward. The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine, and the choices you make can have far-reaching consequences. You can use the ripple effect to make a positive difference and spread waves of kindness that will wash over the world. Should the opportunity arise, the recipient of a good deed will likely feel compelled to do a good deed for someone else. Someone feeling the effects of negative energy will be more likely to pass on that negative energy. One act of charity, one thoughtful deed, or even one positive thought can pass from individual to individual, snowballing until it becomes a group movement or the ray of hope that saves someone’s life. Every transformation, just like every ripple, has a point of origin. You must believe in your ability to be that point of origin if you want to use the ripples you create to spread goodness. Consider the effect of your thoughts and actions, and try to act graciously as much as possible. A smile directed at a stranger, a compliment given to a friend, an attitude of laughter, or a thoughtful gesture can send ripples that spread among your loved ones and associates, out into your community, and finally throughout the world. You have the power to touch the lives of everyone you come into contact with and everyone those people come into contact with. The momentum of your influence will grow as your ripples moves onward and outward. One of those ripples could become a tidal wave of love and kindness.