A poem

Found this poem (although looks more like a song) and I liked it.

They say patience is a virtue
They must've never had to wait for you.
Is it still called patience when you are waiting
for something that's never gonna come?
I give up; I'm totally done.

You tell me to wait
That it's going to be okay
But you never give me a reason
to believe what you say.

Release me, Let me go
Stop making promises you aren't going to keep
I'll find my way, I'll be okay
I'll find someone who means what they say.

How much time have I lost
hanging on your empty words?
Opportunities lost.
It's all a blur.

It's time to let go; find the strength to leave
Broken trust, fading memories
Looking forward to tomorrow, the past behind
Taking control, it's my time.

Release me, Let me go
Stop making promises you aren't going to keep
I'll find my way, I'll be okay
I'll find someone who means what they say.

My hope isn't lost; just one step each day
I'm not totally broken
I just can't stay

Release me, Let me go
Stop making promises you aren't going to keep
I'll find my way, I'll be okay
I'll find someone who means what they say.

-author unknown-

Firsts....

Life is filled with lots and lots of "firsts" - many of them are when we are young but some happen in our adult years, too.

• First walked - 10 months old (I think... may have been 9 months)
• First sibling - John Truax August 25, 1983
• First day of Kindergarten - Summer of 1986
• First Best Friend - Grace
• First boy I remember having a crush on - Chris Mooney
• First *big* move - to Minnesota
• First time experiencing the death of a loved one - Grandma Jones
• First time taking my driver's license test - failed
• First time moving away from home - to Bozeman, Montana
• First niece: Taylor
• First car: Dodge Shadow
• First job (besides Bloomers and babysitting) - Mc Donald's
• First kiss - well, you get the gist

Today I experienced a new "first" and it is not a fun "first" -

I found my first gray hair.

Now, I know what you are thinking: "Oh honey, I have a head full of gray hair and if I didn't dye it I'd be a blue-hair." I get it... other people have it worse off than I do. But think back to your first gray hair... it's not a fun moment in life and it certainly doesn't make you any wiser.

So, while many other people are "worse off" in the gray hair department, it's the first time I've experienced the gray hair thing and I'm not gonna lie, it's depressing- it represents the fact that no matter how hard I try and how much I am in denial, I am not going to stay young forever.

So ready or not, here comes old age.

(at least my boobs aren't down to my knees yet)

An idea: 1 part serious and 1 part just for fun

So if I were to write a book, what should I write it on or about? I think it would be awesome to write one and I have someone thinking of ideas for me already, but just thought I'd throw it out there on my blog and see where it landed... afterall, aren't blogs the place for randomness?!

Hockey Jerseys

I had a team hockey practice today and I was able to pick up my new hockey jerseys and socks. The jerseys are really good quality (as they should be since I paid enough for them!!)- And as you can see from the picture below, we even get our names on them! My team is the Diablos (in case it's hard to read)! Yay! I am excited!

Shamrocks - Nookie Supreme Challenge

John and Charlie and their friends Dan and Ben came down to the cities for a concert on Saturday. They crashed at my house and so I got to spend a little time with them. We went to the Mall of America, hunted down shoplifters and of course, went to Shamrocks!

Shamrocks, a little pub in St. Paul, is one of the best burger places in the world (if you don't believe me, come and visit and I will take you there). They have a burger challenge at Shamrocks that John and his friend Dan thought they could take on and win.

The challenge: eat two Nookie Supreme Burgers (each burger has two, 1/4 lb patties of beef with cheese and a bun between the patties) and the fries for both and you win a free t-shirt! I decided to capture the challenge on photo.

The group of guys when we first got there (the "before" picture)

L-R: Ben, Charlie, Dan, John

Dan is ready to take bite #1;

John looks a little nervous (isn't he cute?).

But nevertheless, John digs in!

And he doesn't slow down!

Quick sip of pop towards the end of the challenge.

John's LAST fry! And Dan is about done too!


They did it!!!

Shamrocks was out of t-shirts so they got business cards to take to

their sister restaurant (the Nook) to get their shirts.

Yay!!!!

Torchlight 5k - Downtown Minneapolis

On July 22, some coworkers and I ran the "Torchlight 5k" race in Downtown Minneapolis. It was a lot of fun, and like the first 5k I did, I finished in 35 minutes. Although this time, I think it was actually faster than 35 minutes and here is why:

There were thousands of people running this race through the streets of Minneapolis. I was somewhere in this extremely huge group of people and when the race began, it was a good minute or two before I even crossed the starting line. (You can imagine my disappointment when I realized that my first few blocks of running didn't count towards the 5 kilometers I was planning on running)! So either a) I ran more than 5 kilometers in 35 minutes, or b) we subtract the time it took me to cross the official starting line and I ran the 5k in less than 35 minutes.

Really, though, for me it's not about the time. I don't aim for running long distances. I prefer running intervals and have found a few effective running routines that provide the interval training I need to keep me healthy and conditioned for hockey. And I hear intervals are better for you anyway (although everyone has a theory on that). The cool part about this race was just being with so many people and hanging out with friends.

Speaking of my friends, here are a few pics of the friends I came with:

(L to R) John, me and Angelene (my roommate)

(L to R) John, Kris (who got me into Broomball! yay!!), me, and Angelene

did you know?

Some things you may have known about me and some things you may not have known about me....

1. What Color Is Your Toothbrush? pink and white

2. Name One Person That Made You Smile Today: too many to name just one!

3. What Were You Doing At 8 Am This Morning? working

4. What Were You Doing 45 Minutes Ago? eating Subway! yummy!!!

5. What Is Your Favorite Candy?M&M's (mini or plain are my fav's but I don't discriminate)

6. Have You Ever Been To A Strip Club? never have. never will

7. What's the last thing you said out loud? "that's a good idea"

8. What Is The Best Ice Cream Flavor? Definitely chocolate fudge from Baskin Robbins!

9. What Was The Last Thing You Had To Drink? Dr. Pepper

10. What Is The Longest You Have Gone Without Sleeping? Oh I don't know. Probably around 24 or so. I don't do well with no sleep

11. Have You Ever Made a Promise You'd Die to Keep? um die... that is heavy. I have no idea.

13. The Last Sporting Event You Watched? hockey!!!

14. What Is Your Favorite Flavor Of Popcorn? regular popcorn with lots of butter and some salt

15. Who Is The Last Person You Sent an email to? My cousin Rebecca in Singapore

16. Ever go camping? oh yeah. Love it!

17. Do You Take Vitamins Daily? yep! Woman's one-a-day and citracal

18. Do You Go To Church Every Sunday? uhhhh... pass.

21. Do You Drink Your Soda With A Straw? if it's a cup with a lid, or at a restaurant yep. Otherwise nope.

22. What Did Your Last Text Message say? "hey I forgot to say, thanks for the subway"

24. Where Is Your Dad? probably sleeping at home!

25. Look To Your Left, What Do you see? My old hockey breezers

26. What Color Is Your Watch? don't wear one... have a cell phone if I want to stay "in the know" regarding time.

28. What did you do yesterday? went to work and target, baked cookies, made taco soup, ironed my pants, texted, showered, went to bed

29. Do You Go In At A Fast Food Place Or Just Hit The Drive Thru? I like to avoid most fast food, but if I go, I guess it's usually inside b/c I only ever go if I am with someone.

30. What Is Your Favorite Number? 7 is my favorite number

31. Who's The Last Person You Talked To On The Phone? Lisa

32. Any Plans Today? well the day is almost over... went to work, on a walk and went to a hockey skills session.

34. Biggest Annoyance In Your Life Right Now? I can't say what my biggest annoyance is on my blog, so my second biggest annoyance is not enough cash flow.

35. Last Song Listened To? Oh I have no idea- it was hours ago...

36. Can You Say The Alphabet Backwards? nope, at least not without messing up a few times. But if you want it said forward, I'm your girl. Oh that reminds me, I was singing to hannah the other day (poor girl) and when I finished each song, she'd do the sign language sign for "more" hehe SO cute!

38. Favorite Pair of Shoes You Wear All The Time? Any kind of flip flops. Oh unless ice skates count?

39. Are You Jealous Of Anyone? I'm jealous that my parents and brothers have 24/7 access to my nieces....

40. Is Anyone Jealous Of you? haha, yep but this goes with my #1 annoyance that I can't speak about on my blog. Some of you will know what this is and others won't - sorry

41. Do You Love Anyone? any"one"? I love so many people!

43. What Do You Usually Do During The Day? "I help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams."

44. Do You Hate Anyone That You Know Right Now? Hate is a strong word... there are people I strongly dislike though.

45. Do You Use The Word 'hello' daily? Um, hello???!!! Yep, I do.

46. Meaning of life? good question!

47. Do You Like Cats? yep. but I can't eat a whole one (recycled joke, I know)

48. Have You Ever Been To Six Flags? yeah. Six Flags Magic Mountain

49. How Did You Get Your Worst Scar? when I was born, I had this cord sticking out of my belly and they cut most of it off. Then when I was a few weeks old the remaining part fell off and now I have this gnarly hole in my stomach. (I've used that before, too... it's not original)

50. Last big talk? Today with my roommate about work and other stuff.

51. Last Cd Played? Daughtery in my car on my way home from GR.

52. Last Bubble Bath? whoa... it's been so long I have no idea!!

54. Last Meal? Subway... chicken ranch sub. SO yummy!

55. Have You Ever Dated Someone Twice? yep. actually 3 times.

57. Have You Ever Fallen In Love? I think once....

58. Have You Ever Lost Someone? yes. But I found her.

59. Have You Ever Slept Until 1pm? oh yeah... and I love it!!

60. Have You Met A Famous Person? nope

61. List Four People You Can Tell Pretty Much Anything To? Lisa, Rebecca, Angelene, Rachel...

62. List Three Favorite Colors/shades: Pink, Green, Blue

63. Laughed Until You Cried? yep. Love it!

64. Went Behind Your Parents Back? probably. I can't remember anything blatant though

65. Who Posted This Before You? Heather

66. Opinion on Abortion? no bueno

67. Lowering The Drinking Age? nope.

69. Who Are The Best Huggers That You Know? whoa this is heavy. Honestly, to ME, the best huggers are those who aren't serial huggers, know when I need one or want one and just do it. hehe

70. Do You Believe In Love At First Sight? hmmm... I suppose yeah.

71. Is There Something You Want To Tell Someone? yeah, let's see. I want you all to know that my birthday is tomorrow - Friday August 7th. hehe

72. Something that makes you go "hmmmm?" fake people. Why pretend to be happy all the time when you know you aren't? nothing more annoying than overly fake-happiness.

73. Would You Kiss Someone you just met? nope- oh unless it's Cal Clutterbuck

74. How Many Kids Do You Want To Have? 4 (hopefully twins in there somewhere)

75. Do You Want To Change Your Name? my first name-no; my last name-maybe someday.

76. Last Time You Saw Your Father? On Saturday.

77. What Time Did You Wake Up Today? too early as always. 630 am.

78. How Old Are You? funny you should ask. I am 27 for another 1 hour and 16 minutes

79. What Were You Doing At Midnight Last Night? sleeping! yay!

80. What Is Your Favorite Thing In Your Room? hockey equipment. Oh toss between that and my teddy bear. Teddy bear. Final answer. Hockey equipment is replaceable. Teddy bear isn't.

81. Where is your bffae? Sleeping soundly hehe

82. What can you not live without besides food and water? chapstick!

Does "shower cap" = "grandma??"

The other day I was telling my roommate Angelene about my wonderful new purchase from Avon. I got some eye shadows, a little makeup bag and a showercap. She suddenly looked up and without hesitation said, "You grandma!"

Okay, here is why I wear a shower cap. I shower every day but I don't wash my hair everyday. My shower is small and I am short so if I don't use a shower cap, my hair would get drenched!In order to keep my hair dry on the non-washing days, I wear a shower cap. Until I got my new, Avon shower cap (which was a steal at $1.99 btw), I used a disposable one from the Westin that I had taken (they are complimentary). But now, I have a very pretty shower cap!

(see - not too bad - oh and the colors are brighter in person)

What I want to know is, for those of you who also shower daily but don't wash your hair every time you shower, how do you keep your hair dry if you don't use a shower cap?

Dare to Dream?

Think of a dream you have.

It could be anything from joining an underwater basket weaving class to going to the moon.

Now imagine that your dream totally depends on someone else.

You've done your part (signed up for that class... bought your space suit)... but now, you have to wait (someone has to teach that class or someone has to offer trips to the moon). And it looks like you will be waiting a while.

What do you do? Do you hold out hope knowing you most likely will never get to scratch that dream off your "list of things to do before you die?" Do you settle for a less lofty dream (like an above-water basket weaving class or going to a science museum); not as satisfying as your original dream, but something close enough? Or do you just give up on your dream altogether?

Do you have any examples?

Hockey Pics

A while ago some of you asked to see some pics of hockey... well, a few weeks ago my friend Rachel was visiting from CA and came to a game where Charlie and I were both playing so she took some pics... I am pretty identifiable as I wear pink skate laces.

Note that while in the first pic where I am suited up I am wearing a black jersey, I was on the "white" team so I switched jerseys before the game began. Charlie and I ended up on the same team so we had a lot of fun!

Being goofy before the game. Waiting for locker room assignment.

Charlie and I before the game began.

Shot from the blue line.

Charlie (in front) and me (pink laces) skating up the ice.

Yeah, I'm the one running into the boards...

my knees weren't touching the ice haha

Charlie (second from R) and I (second from L) chatting on bench.

The guy on the far right is my friend Douglas...

we almost always play on the same nights.

I must be headed for the puck here or something.

Probably just took a shot... and probably missed haha.

I know I got one goal this night.

Reaching for the puck...

Waiting for play to resume...

Back checking...

End of game... we had tons of fun. I always enjoy when Charlie comes to play

with me. I hope Greg and John can come down sometime, too!

So there you have it... pics of hockey. Maybe more will show up this winter =)

I am way excited to play on an official team this winter... the diablos! I will be wearing #87.

I think I already had a blog about that though....