Help me race against cancer on Sunday!

Hi all of you guys!! Below is what I sent out to others to help me with my fundraising for The American Cancer Society. on Sunday as I run my second half- marathon! Please let me know if you want to help out!
 

Hi Family and Friends!

First, I want to thank each and every one of you for being such a strong support system while I have been taking on this first career journey in my life. The fact that God has blessed me to have such caring and loving people back at home helps me get through the daily struggles of being so far away from all of you. Words can't describe how thankful and fortunate I am to be in the position I am today and to get the opportunities that come my way on a daily basis. In addition to having such a strong support system at home, God has also blessed me with people in my life that have made me more at ease about being away and have showed more love and compassion than I would of ever imagined.

Second, I wanted to explain the reasoning behind this group email. As you all know, I ran the St. Jude Half Marathon last year. It was by far one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The fact that I got to be a part of giving back to the children of St. Jude was such an incredible feeling. Over the past few weeks I have been in a life slump..questioning my decision to move up here to pursue my career, if this move would actually further me into my future path, if my hard work was really worth it, etc. I got caught in the daily routine of doing the same thing each day and simply lost all motivation to keep me the positive and optimistic person I try to be. I have been praying for something to spark my motivation again.. I prayed for answers or signs to help me get back on my feet. It was just last week on my way to work that I had a feeling come over me to make a difference, to be grateful for what I have and to appreciate my health and everything that I have been blessed with. I had been debating on and off all year if I wanted to do another half-marathon since I was not going to be home to do the St. Jude one again. I wanted to find a race that gave back to a charity that meant something to me. I looked over the local race schedule in New Hampshire.. all of the races were in the next 3 months so I thought for sure that they would all be full.. I told myself that if there was one opened that it was a sign and calling that I needed to do it. This is when I came across the Smutty Nose half marathon that will be taking place this Sunday morning on September 30th. The race is right along the Northeast Seacoast with beautiful scenery and the course is not that difficult... not to mention local brewed beer, lobstah rolls and clam chowdah that are going to be served after the torturous 13.1 miles.. talk about the ultimate New England half- marathon. As I looked further into it, I wanted to see what charity it benefitted..this is what sets this race apart from others. The Smutty Nose race gives you the option to fundraise for a charity of your choice. It is based off of others donating money for a set amount prior to the race or a certain amount of money for however many miles you run (13.1)

After much thought, I found a charity that would mean the most to the most people. Over the past 22 years of my life, many people in my family and many of my friends have all been affected by the horrible disease of cancer. We have all been affected in some way by this disease that comes in many forms and can take the lives of our loved ones. I chose a charity that helps save lives by “Helping people stay well, get well, find cures, & fight back.”

I have chosen to use the generous donations that I receive to go towards the American Cancer Society. This charity gives back to all different types of cancer research and is dedicated to helping people who face cancer and supports research, patient services, early detection, treatment and education on the illness. This is my way of honoring all of the loved ones in my life who have either lost their lives to this horrible disease or have won the battle against it. This is my way to give back and I hope that you all will be right behind me as I run these 13.1 miles against cancer in honor of those lives lost, in celebration of those who have won the fight and in hope to raise awareness and money to help find a cure.

Please feel free to forward this message on to anyone else.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

** If you would please send donations to me in NH and I will send them all in at once. I am going to wait until a week after the race (on Sunday) to turn everything in.. info is:

Checks made out to:

The American Cancer Society

Mail checks to:

Kristin Long

42 Garrison Avenue

Apt. 214

Durham, NH 03824

Thank you all for loving and supporting me.

Miss you and with all my love,

xoxoxo - Kristin

Kristin finally blogs after a month.

So as I sit in my living room on a lovely first day of Fall in the land of nude hamsters I decided it is about time to give you people what you want and have been waiting for.. that being one of my tremendously popular trending blogs..with that being said I am going to go ahead and state that the last blog I posted got a whopping 16 views..people.. beggars can't be choosing.. if I was using this blog site as a published extra cash hot spot I would be broke.. even more than I already am. Now there is no pressure to make this blog good, funny or life changing anymore due to the fact that no one reads it. I am not offended by this fact at all.. I am totally fine with it and love that my blog views have steadily gone down the longer and longer I have been in the land of hamsters. My dreams are now crushed to make my one year adventure up here into a movie and maybe one day being a legend in the blog spot world...oh well to move on from that topic I would like to make a side note about New England college football...if you were to look at the scoreboard you would think that it would be the score of a first half of a basketball game... I say this only due to the fact that I am watching the UNH game on my NEW 40 inched TV (shout out to my besties Aunt Laurie and Mom that will be included in more detail later in this post) and now I can officially tell you that UNH just lost to Old Dominican//somewhere in Virginia 64-61..enough said we are high scoring ballers up here.. random facts of New England sports. Well since I have blogged a lot has happened and changed and some things haven't happened and haven’t changed. I think that I will document these events in a list form cause 1. it is easier for me 2. I can torture you all more with my horrible grammar and rambling of sentences

Things that have happened:

-My besties came to town- Mom and Aunt Laurie, no worries there visit will be recapped below

-I have upgraded to a new TV by 10 inches

-I had a surprise redecorated apartment the first day mom and aunt Laurie were here..I am a fan.. opens up the room and is more sophisticated looking.. not to mention my  bigger couch is at a better angle to the TV so it is more comfy and easier to pass out every night as I watch my trashy reality TV shows

-I have registered for a half marathon.. this week.it is next Sunday.. had an epiphany and Jesus pretty much told me it was time to re-debut at the race tracks.. I am pumped.. already have my race day outfit and bandana picked out.. not to mention it is in Hampton Beach along the coast pretty much the whole way.. lobstah rolls, clam chowda and beer are served after.. talk about the ultimate New England half-marathon. I am only here for a short time, why not have bragging rights on running a half on the Northeast seacoast. boom. plus what would Hope Solo so if she were in my shoes? DO IT.

- I have discovered that my back door of my apt building locks behind you.. have gotten locked out over 3 times in 2 weeks and have been that girl you see walking around the whole building screaming for someone to let her in

- Me and Brooke aka my Cheeks are official pen pals and I love every second of it. throughout this process I have learned that the name you put on the card doesn’t matter and mailmen only look at the address when they mail it.. oh so you all know that my new return address name is Kristin Cheeks Long and the letter is to Cheeks Schasteen..I feel like a 5th grader checking my mailbox everyday for surprise cards from my cheeksy pen pal :)

-I am completely and totally in love with Netflix. period. I have developed bed sores from sitting on my couch last week and catching up on all 8 seasons on Grey's Anatomy.. where you at McDreamy?

- Candy Corn M&M's are legendary.. trust me on this one.. pop 2 of those in with combo of a salted pretzel = carnival in your mouth

- Now before I say this no one in the South land get offended. I am not =trying to make this blog political hot spot hour either, but... Romney is not a very intelligent man and I think that these Yankees may have converted me to the other side.. I am not talking Obama. I am talking just verbally saying Romney is not smart.. I guess he can add me to the 47% he doesn't care about care. I am not voting because honestly America.. your vote doesn’t count.. the government is one big conspiracy and we are just living in it. instead of P Diddy's commercial Vote or Die.. I am gonna go with this new slogan..Don't Vote you don't matter. call me crazy but those are my thoughts on this darn donkey vs. elephant thing the government is wasting billions on.. however, \I will be watching the results.. my fav thing every four years besides the Olympics is watching that USA map and those states change to blue or red.. that makes me wonder.. why don't any of the states turn white.. like why isn’t it in the map key.. another sign of this government being a conspiracy. 

- I have a name tag on my door at work.. made out of computer paper and it reads "Kristin Awesome Long" nuff said. 

- I have lost all my contacts in my phone due to the new iPhone update and I am too embarrassed and ashamed to be that girl who puts as her status lost all my number message me your digits with a dumb sad face or something so I have embraced this horrible happening as a blessing and a "fresh start" if people want to talk to me they can sling me t's first..plus if I don’t have their number saved I get to make them feel like a loser for 2.5 and say.. um who is this? you know that moment where you feel extremely hurt the other person you are texting doesn’t have your number. yep gonna do it on the reg. or this whole embracing this situation can turn into a  reality check of me having no friends.

- Continuing on from that bullet point.. the new iphone update.. I hate you personally for losing all my contacts... but love your new features.. but ultimately will forever hate you every time I get a loser slap in the face when I see my number of contacts only being at 23 for the time being..

-It is the first day of fall- leaves are changing I am already planning a list of fall activities within the nude Hampshire area.. those including haunted hayrides, house, corn mazes theme parks and even a trip to Salem, Ma to check out the wicked wicked witches of Salem and maybe learn how to make a potion or two..

- I like to run with snakes apparently my huge arm pythons attract them.. I encountered two on my 10 miler run this past Thursday.. I have never ran a faster time run in my life.. didn’t know I had mad hops either to jump over the critters..

- I grew my own pumpkin today.. out of a dollar grow your own pumpkin kit.. I have high hopes for it.. I think I may be disappointed however if it does grow.. I can have Halloween in January? I don't think I will be popping out a jack lantern in 4 weeks.. bummer. Dreamers gonna dream

-Alex and I now are regulars at a bar in Portsmouth as I got 4 drinks comped last night.boom. we  are taking over.

-The weather is now getting a little cooler..making it jean season.. making me realize that I am getting fed well up here.. yep. you guessed it.. I ripped a pair this morning.. tearing the zipper tread and popping buttons like it is my job.. I tried everything to get those jeans on.. squatting.. laying on my bed flat and pulling up. .even a few bunny hops.. got them on and then was rejected by my zipper as it told me it had enough at the tread was detached.. Mr. button was mad too as he was barely hanging on there by a thread. 

- New words: taste = right on point no - y needed it is just taste, sty= style.. I have wicked sporty mad sick style, barrels= trash cans.. how dare anyone call them anything else.. keeping it classy in New England... 

- speaking of words I catch myself saying awesome all the time.. like I am a 7 year old who just got a new video game.. awesome this awesome that. I am ashamed.. I need to broaden my vocab

- I know what I will be being for Halloween.. with Alex's assistance of course.. I am going to be nude like in a nude tight suit and he is going to be a hamster.. put it together and what do ya got? nude hamster.. be amazed and another night we are going as hope solo and Abby wambach.. him as Abby of course.. apparently Halloween up here is bigger than Christmas... crazy Yankees :) 

- People are surprising nicer day by day..or I am just accepting the normal rudeness up here more and more

- I find every excuse to say the word cheeks or cheeking.. What are you doing? just cheekin.. What are you up to? just cheekin around.. I even find myself replacing song lyrics with the word cheek .. just cheek it cheek it.. cheeeekinnnn just a cheekinnnnn...cheek me maybe? as long as you cheek me.. it is contagious..

- on the weekends Durham is home to children of the corn.. no joke if you drive down the road they come out of nowhere and are either falling over, jumping in front of your car or voming on the side of the road. it is quite the entertainment, but honestly scary.. can you imagine when Halloween comes around? ha it will be the ultimate reenactment of children of the corn. pumped.

- I have experienced UNH Football in Durham. It is so different from SEC game day..but is awesome to see all the hard work we do as a team comes together on game day

Things that haven't changed

-Work is still busy.. barely have time to eat or pee during the day no joke

- I beat my record of how many emails in one day.. reached 105 this past week

- I still am in the process of read my role model's book aka HOPE SOLO that the lovely Tori sent to me on the day it was released

- I still run my AC in 40 degree weather due to the fact that 1. I don’t pay for it and 2. to drown out the screaming drunk kids outside my window

- I still have natty bug problems at my apt.. about time to bug bomb this ish again

- My muscles are still raging and I am still really really good looking (joke had to get a muscle joke in here somewhere)

- I still have a grand total of 3 friends

- Alex and I still honor matching t shirt Sunday religiously (last week was Red Sox Sunday and this past week was Running Sucks t-shirt Sunday) 

Now it is time to recap my reunion time with my besties.. Aunt Laurie and Mom.. it was exactly what all of needed I think to be together.. for me to take some time off work.. relax and actually spend time with the best mom and aunt anyone could ask for words can’t describe how at peace I am when I am with these two ladies.. they are my rocks while I am so far away, make me feel so confident in the person I am and are two of the strongest people I know.. I don't think words or actions could show or describe how much they mean to me and how much I love them and miss them every day I am so far away... their trip was too short and wish it lasted longer but it was busy and jammed packed with events, but it was so worth it and I had an absolute blast showing them around my now stomping ground of nude hamsters.

The list of the bestie trip:

- They toured the lovely athletic facilities of UNH that are so locked up that we got to walk on the hockey ice and at rink level..and I showed them around campus a little and the huge town of Durham which took 2.5 seconds to go around the town round-about

- Went out for margs and the margs def won the competition between mom and aunt Laurie.. then stopped by the page for a drink where they got owned by fruit loop martinis.. Aunt Laurie was a champ and made it to the hotel where she decided to pass out with her clothes on on top of the sheets which lead to lee calling me and asking me to help and all of this resulted in two happy campers for the 9 AM train trip to Boston the next morning :)

- WE did a Boston tour.. trolley and all stopped at the original Cheers Fenway Park etc you know all the tourists hot spots did some people watching for a few in the high class mall .. talked ish about everyone walking by and playing your team..the usual.. we even had dinner on the Boston Harbor until the Boston clouds decided to take a huge dump on us.. buckets and buckets of water fell from the sky, the ladies turned diva and I saved the day by looking up C&J bus times and getting us to South Station all in 20 minutes to then wait an hour for the next bus..  I swear I would rule on Amazing Race

- We checked out the most photographed lighthouse in New England.. that being Nubble Lighthouse in Maine and that was breathtaking. Had a lobster roll right on the edge of the coast and even had a photo shoot of the waves owning us and lee lee took a tumble down some rocks as I made her get closer to the water my b.. she is a tough cookie so it’s all good :)

- introduced them to the Holy Grail, an old Catholic Church that is now a bar where we threw back some beersss well me and Aunt Laurie did as she enjoyed her local imported Shipyard Pumpkin Ale with a brown sugar rim as we listened to live music

- It rained everyday they were here. shock. #NHProblems.. my mother brings the rain with her every time..it never fails

- No one got food poisoning and lee lee even attempted clams again and the coast was clear thank God

- They were my personal shoppers the two days I was at work as they decided to rearrange my furniture one afternoon, clean all of rooms and even did my laundry before they left.. I didn’t hate it one bit.. come back now please?

- got my new TV :) and discovered the Christmas Tree Shoppe and it was life changing.. imagine a bed bath and beyond in combo with a Garden Ridge and Hobby Lobby on steroids.. there is no room for disappointment .. I got so many goodies there including my new lunch tote box and even a dog clock that barks on the hour every hour.. ohh yeahhh

- Went to Red Hook brewery where we miserably endured the worse tour known to mankind..

-Showed them the beach site of New Hampshire and convinced Aunt Laurie to move up -here.. as we look at million dollar homes right on the edge of the sea, beautiful harbors, bridges and even took in some sun as we sat on the edge of the sand looking into the ocean.. it was so gorgeous and I wish we could have paused the clock and stayed there. 

- Did some shopping at the outlets in Kittery Maine where I got some new flannels, coats and a VEST! Did a fashion show for everyone involved no worries

- We discovered the 10,000 lb candy store and spent over 20 dollars there.. why wouldn’t we? ha

-cheeked about every 5 seconds we could 

- just hung out and spent time with each other was my favorite part by far.. actually having people up here that I love and care about so much experiencing the way things are up here was enough for me. I loved every minute of it and wished they would have stayed longer.. like I said when Brooke came to town. .their truly is no greater feeling than being with your best friend and that is the same way I feel with Aunt Laurie and Mom. I miss them so much everyday and am so happy and blessed that I got to spend time with them up here and they came to visit. It was amazing to have a week where I felt like my home was brought to me up here.. I had people to actually hang out with and go to dinner with, laugh at and just be me around. It was taste... get my terminology now?

Well that about sums up this blog.. oh yeah breaking news I am blessed enough that UNH doesn't have that much of a home schedule in Dec so I am booking flights this weekend to be coming home from Dec.10-Jan.3 ah get excited M town..I'm coming home..coming home.. tell M-Town I'm coming home.. ahh I can't wait to spend time with much missed family and friends. God is good. Enough said.

Brooke comes to New England!!! We are too granola for granola!

Nothing is like the feeling you have when you are with your absolute best friend and other half.. you find laughter in every situation and just for the time you spend with each other you feel at home.. no matter where you actually are. Everything seems at ease and you can pick up where the friendship was left off since the last time you saw each other. When I am with Brooke Kelsey Schasteen I am 100% me and no matter what.. I look at every situation with a positive outlook. her optimistic and caring attitude is contagious. To say the least.. Brooke coming up here was exactly what I needed.. to take some time out of hectic work, emails and deadlines and just be myself. To write every detail description to her visit up here would take ages to write..I will try to my best to highlight the best parts..

Brooke arrived in New England last Saturday as she flew into Logan Airport in Boston... the first time I have been to Logan Airport and was too scared to drive in Boston traffic for the first time.. this resulted in Alex accompanying me on the journey to get B. We did our best in welcoming her to New England by wearing obnoxious and trashy New Hampshire t-shirts from Wal-Mart. Alex's consisited of some sweet moose in the forest, mine had CAMP NEW HAMPSHIRE in all block letters and of course it wouldn't be welcoming if we didn't include B in the Wal-Mart t-shirt attire. She got a nice beach scene with lounge chairs on it.. needless to say these shirts are life changing and will forever be mine Alex's and Brooke's BFF shirts! If mine and Alex's trashy t-shirts weren't enough, I continued to put forth the embarassing effort for Brooke by making a paper sign to hold up as she got out of the gate.. keep in mind I write like a 4 year old and the sign was legit yellow notebook paper.. it was the thought that counts.. as I stood there next to a Chinese man who had a sign with Chinese symbols on it as he waited for his arrival I knew that this embarrassment act was going to be up to par.. too bad mister Chinese man left before B got to me.. When Brooke finally came out of the gate she was the total opposite of embarrassed and embraced it by tackling me and modeling her WAl-Mart shirt.. while Al took our picccccc shoockkkk Next we were again continuing the search that Al and I started two weeks ago at finding the piano bar.. Howl at the Moon.. which we finally did after being lead by B who ominously thought she knew her way around Boston as she walked her normal 15 MPH speed walk through the streets .. we got to the bar to find that it was one in and one out so we bounced on to find food because Al was being a diva and needed to eat.. we found this nice spot with an outdoor patio that was right on the harbor.. not bad for 3 people who didn't know where anything was.. after food we had to make the epic stop of showing B Cheers and then we went to a classy bar where Brooke found her new drink of choice.. to finish the night we made it to the famous Hideout bar that me n Al found on our last trip where B and I became BFF with the security guards and bartenders.. got to stand on the bar for a bit and find a home for our dollar bill that Brooke and Alex stapled on the ceiling while I took their picture.. awesome how roles change. Since Brooke had a 6:40AM train ride to NYC the next morning.. we were fortunate enough to have a place to stay at Alex's sisters apt right outside of Boston.. We maybe got 3 hours of sleep until it was time to get up at take B to South Station.. where she left us until Wednesday to go visit BFF Molly in NJ/NYC! Thanks B for teasing me n Al with your presence for one night then leaving again :(.. I was glad B got to see the night life of Boston and some parts of the city!

Work went by fast and before I knew it was Wednesday. aka Kristin Eve aka Brooke's second arrival to Boston! Of course I had my partner in crime Alex come again straight after work on Wednesday to get B! It was Colby and I's first driving session to Boston and of course we needed Al's guidance.. even if he never knows where anything is 99.9% of the time! After experiencing Boston traffic personally and figuring out the difference between the South station bus and train station.. we awaited B's arrival to find her with her new Bff Gabby that she had met on the train.. shock B never meets a stranger.. after talking the nice parking lot man out of making us pay 5 dollars more than we needed to.. we were on our way to Polcari's Italian Restaurant where we experienced true Boston Pizza and Al got away with 3 free bottles of their famous Italian oil ha ended the night by jamming back to old school music and before we knew it! it was midnight.. aka the reunion of my birth!

I had the best birthday this year.. it consisted of doing something on my granola list..zip lining.. plus I got to do this with my best friend... which made it 10 times better.. I am blessed beyond all means with the greatest and loving parents who took on the fees of this granola adventure.. I think it is safe to say that I have overcome my fear of heights after this adventure. I also experienced my first off road ride up the mountain in a 1930 six wheel drive ex-military tank/vehicle! I loved every minute of zip lining.. the views of the White Mountains were breath taking and the adrenaline rush made it even better. After zip lining I decided to introduce B to the beach life in NH... now let's reflect on this real quick.. how awesome it is that you can go to the mountains and then the beach in on day in the same state? Boom. NH is that awesome. We got to the beach right before the storm of 3 days began.. I think b will stick to the Fl beaches.. whiter sand and warmer water ha. oh well can't convert everyone.. :) I enjoyed taking a bday snooze in the sun as I listened to a women complain about her marriage to someone that def wasn't her husband and the sound of two teenagers playing ping pong in the air right next to me n B..clearly they wanted to get our attention.. they got mine.unfortuantely.. we left the beach to come back and get ready for my bday dinner in Portsmouth. As we got back to the apt.. I was greeted with packages from family and cards in the mailbox.. Words cannot describe how blessed I am to have the family that I have.. they are the most loving and caring people in this world.. I have the strongest support system that is the only way I am so positive about being all the way up here and away from them. I got wonderful chocolate covered strawberries and cake pops from aunt Laurie, the best care packages from Mom Dad and Aunt Elaine, the sweetest and best card/drawing from my Grandfather and cards with loving birthday incentives inside from Uncle Lon Tron and my great aunts! Not to mention on Wednesday I was surprised by flowers from Mom and Dad :)  It truly felt like I had my family with me even if I was 23 hours away on my birthday! We ended the night by going out to eat and then Al and B surprised me by taking me a karaoke bar!! Where me Al B and a rather large African American sang Don't Stop Believing.. in between Brooke getting hit on throughout the night. All in all my bday was the best one I have had in a while.. if not the best. I had my best friend here.. was in the mountains and at the beach in the same day.. was truly the granola NH bday! 

To continue Brooke's granola vaca we decided to go for a best friend hike on Friday.. it was so gorgeous. Like Brooke had said... it is amazing how creative God is and how his creation is there for everyone to experience. Kinda sucks though how come people don’t have the determination to go seek it and enjoy his natural creation. The hike took about 3 hours.. in between me occasionally falling.. and being scared of jumping 2 feet down to the next rock.. I am just too granola for hiking... We made it to the summit where we  found a precious Chinese family to take our BFF mountain pic and right after the snap shot happened it began to thunder and lightning and oh yeah it poured down rain. are you surprised? cause we weren't... it added more life to the hike though and danger as well.. B had to pretty much guide me the whole way down the mountain.. did I just say that out loud.. what I meant to say was that I was guiding her.. This hike was one of those times in life where you really got to relax and take in what all God provides us with.. great friendships, the beauty of untouched nature and the gift of even rain. I guess you could call that hike itself someone of a blessing in a way.... it let me take time away from my hectic and stressful life to breathe for a minute and just enjoy my surroundings and embrace the situation that I am in and why I am in it. That night was a chill night as I put my master chef skills to the test by cooking the only dish I know how to cook.. chicken steamed veggies (in a bag of course) salad (already prepared in a bag) and rice.. which usually is Uncle Ben's :90 second rice, but I decided to go all out and make rice on the stove.. that I don't think every was fully cooked. Yep. watch out Paula Dean. This was the night that I drug Brooke into my wonderful world of reality TV by making her watch a few episodes of  the Bachelor Pad.. however the life changing moment of the night was when I introduced her to the show, Mrs. Eastwood and company..aka the best show on this planet. It literally is exactly like the Karadsians only Clint Eastwood's family.. however he is never in it.. it is just his wife who is not even half his age, his step daughter and their child.. throw in her managing a boy band, having the most amazing Asian maid named Lisa and her brother and you have the show. This is also where my new term that is only used between me n Brooke, "cheeks" come from. Cheeking is simply a way to show you love someone one.. it is better than a hug.. cooler than a high five and more classy than a handshake.. it is basically pinching/putting your cheek next to someone and just "cheekin" them like a baby.. aka the best way to show that you love someone ever.. however only me Brooke and Lee Lee are allowed to do this.. anyone can be cheeked but the original cheekers may not get cheeked.. it is just I the rules. If I had to guess that explanation was probably the best part of this blog.

Saturday consisted of going to the outlets where I let my personal shopper do some shopping for me, ate McDonalds mcnuggets for the third day straight to accompany our $1 drinks, purchasing a "I Moose Be Dreaming" night gown from Maine a trip to subway and ending the afternoon with a nice kayak trip in the ocean and harbor of Portsmouth with bff AL! Later that night we were suppose to go see B's fav movie ever as a play in the Harbor park/theater area but of course..it got rained out. So B had to settle for purchasing Willy Wonka at Best Buy while I convinced Al and B that we needed to go out. and we did. and we had a blast. We found our bestie bar at this place called the Page where we dominated some grand slam nachos and of course ran up aL's bar tab to about $89..no worries I helped him out :) we ventured the night life of Portsmouth where Brooke was making more friends in that night than I have made in over three months and ended the night by me passing out as soon as I walked in the door and Brooke and Al chatting for a few while I was honk zzzzzing in bed bed. It was another great day/night to the BFF visit. 

Sunday consisted of my being depressed. Brooke left our apt in Durham to go back to Memphrica where she would then take her talents to Knoxville for her child life internship (sorry had to bestie brag just then) Me Al and B "The Three Stooges" went to Red Hook Brewery for lunch where we almost forgot about time and B was late to her flight.. only to get there in plenty of time to then not have a seat on her plane..however she told me not to worry about it and that she would figure it out at the gate.. which then lead to her not having a seat on her original flight.. which lead to me having a freak out session on the side of the highway which lead to the freak out not being needed due to the fact that she got on her plane.. and made it safely to ATL and then to MEM. yep .. that sums up Sunday..

I spent the next few days playing catch up at work and moping around my apt in bestie depression ha. Me and Al ended the week by going to the Page and missing B the whole time we were there.. doing another one of our classic Friday nights of spending too much time being Bradley Copper and Kate Hudson at the bar and passing out at the movies... I really do wonder if the movie the Campaign was funny? I ended this weekend with venturing to Maine with the Maniac Grenier Family Vaca to somewhere 4 hours away North.. I was 160 miles from Canada folks.. no worries though cause I got to hang out with 5 boys ranging from 13-15 all weekend.. lets jus say that I have gotten my ear flicked, punched in the arm and enough blonde jokes for a good 3 months.. ha but honestly I had a great time venturing to the woods of Maine where I had my first camping experience freezing in 40 degree weather in shorts and a sweatshirt... hiking part of the Appalachian Trail and indulging my granolaness into the mighty white water rapids where I managed to not fall out of the raft but still get a swollen foot as karma came back to get me. Who knew that laughing at someone stepping on a rock would come back to haunt you 2. seconds later as you then get rocked by a hug rock sticking out of the water.. yeah. that was me. But all in all I enjoyed my lovely time with Ashley and her family..it is nice to have a granola family away from home.. since Lee lee and Big Chuck are such the granola type and all :) 

I was greeted from being gone in the woods all weekend by my new life book that Tori got me 6 months ago.. Hope Solo's book that is.. I can't put it down.. two words to describe this book. life changing. Honestly, over the past 22 years I have never been more excited to read in my life.. parents.. if all else fails in getting your kids to read.. put this book in front of them... not only will they get a whole new use of new fun and probably inappropriate words.. they will also get some pretty sweet pics of Hope Solo. I Mean who wouldn't want to read about the best athlete in the world. no questions asked. I forgot to mention in this blog that I also received prob top 2 best bday resents of my life over my bday celebration.. and of course number one was my presents from B and her being here.. but that other top present.. being a Hope Solo fathead that ALLLL got me :) yep.. no worries she is going up this week.. we have to prepare for her and find the perfect spot.. more than likely in my room.. not in a creepy way or anything.. someone needs to protect me with their raging muscles at night.. mine have to get some rest at some point... yeah.. I am getting to the point where I am almost at the line crosser here so I will stop.. hope this blog was worth waiting for. Don't forget to turn on Chelsea Lately tonight.. I hear there is some guest star named Hope Solo on it tonight.. I'm just saying..

Kristin goes home and encounters the adventure of Maine

Yep... so I did the math and it has been 16 days since my last blog and I know each and every one of you (aka the 10 views) that my site got for my last blog are more than thrilled that I am finally posting.. mostly my mother. Since my last blog I have been home (which was much needed) for a few days, experienced airports and interesting airplane trips and have even encountered the wonderful yet surprising state of Maine.

I will start off by talking about my adventure back to the land of that soul-thriving (pick up context clues), BBQ loving, hot as you know what home of mine.. Memphis.. well more so the town of Germans... Germantown..yep I just did that.. dunno if it is legal to do so but I just renamed my hometown for the past 19 years the land of Germans.. hope it starts trending... I start this adventure back home by trying to get to the Manchester airport.. I don't know if you know this about me from my past blogs or what, but I am not that good at directions.. especially when I am trying to tell someone else how to get somewhere I have been twice to after a Chewbacca or two..as my AD (airport driver) Ashley attempts to take me to the Manchester airport we get lost.. shock.. and at one point I read a sign that said take a left to Canada and thought that was the right way and I thought that that was what the sign read.. def read something along the lines of Candid. yep. .don't read directions and drink folks.. bad combo..(also.. bad combo to hang up new decorations on your apartment walls after a pre-calm your nerves before the flight drink... you will have crooked posters, flags and painting...another side note.. I know how an American Revolution flag hung up proudly like the New Englander I am in my room, a granola poster that has some inspirational quote on it (I am really inspired by it if you can't tell) a brisk autumn forest pic and the last and final addition to my wall.. Mamma Moose.. a picture of Maxwell the Moose's mom is hanging proudly right next to him..can't let him forget where he came from) as I finally made it to the Manchester airport I managed to spill the rest of my drink all down my new and white UNH Hockey shirt, had to wait in the longest check-in line to find out after I waited that since I checked in online I could of skipped everyone, listen to an annoying man on his phone talk about his dreams of becoming a sushi chef, get asked 2 times if I played hockey at UNH (didn’t hate it ..maybe went along with it) and rushed to my gate to find it had been delayed only 10 minutes..not bad...those 10 minutes turned into an hour. my layover in ATL was only 40 min. solid. As I franticly waited around n the Manchester airport I managed to go be that girl in the bathroom who has a stain in her shirt trying to get it out as they lift their shirt to dry under the hand dryer blower thingy.. yep that was me.. I gave the passing ladies a head nod and they gave me that look..yep..been there before.. after I got my stain out I then did something I never thought I would do and made me realize that I love my job.. I started to prospect in the Manchester Airport.. and I don't know if you readers know what that is or if you are on my mother's brain wave as she thought I was legitimately. getting the Manchester Airport as one of my clients.. ha funny ma..it is going around and looking at all the signage in the airport..writing down all the contact info and then going back and trying to get them as a client. yep, that was me.. on my phone writing down all the info I could and bumping into folks along the way...

As our flight finally took off in NH I started oh.. a 2hour and 24 min freak out session began  in the air as I frantically checked my Delta app on my phone to see if I was going to make my connection.. On this flight I had the whole row to myself.. and to one that might seem like a good thing.. but to a person who is coming off from her cocktails that eased the nerves, realizes that she has 10 min to make a connection in ATL and hates flying.. it was the worst scenario I could be in. I then became that person on the airplane that makes you nervous because they are constantly looking around in the plane, ease dropping on your convo and awkwardly smiling at you when you catch them looking at you. yep, that was me. I did however focus in on some intense convos.. I learned the life story of the two ladies kids behind me.. some bodies son's girlfriend is hiking the Appalachian Trail by herself (hero) and another ladies kid is going to be a doctor (potential husband) and then I also got to learn a whole new language as the guy diagonal to me was doing work on his lap top in like Arabic.. ha which increased my nerve scale by 20? About 20 min before landing.. I was claimed by the fact that my flight in ATL was delayed and would be on the same terminal as where we arrived. score.. it was for an hour which blew but at least I was going to make it.. everyone else was freaking out on the plane about their connections as well so I made it a new hobby of mine to look up their flights on my phone and not tell them about any updates.. yep. .I am heartless. I made it to ATL waited an hour and got on my flight to the home land!

The flight from ATL to MEM is a joke. really it feels like you go up the air for 2.5 seconds and then it’s over.. I liked it ha and the fact that I became BFF with the lady next to me.. who used to do sponsorship sales for the Navy. Boom. she was awesome and nice.. flight attendants (no offense Aunt Elaine) were rude and shafted me my bag of peanuts.. literally stopped the row ahead of me.. jerks.. I made it to the MEM airport and managed to go the wrong direction and couldn’t find Mom or Dad for like 10 minutes and kind of felt like they forgot about me.. all that talk about missing me then not showing up at baggage claim? how was I supposed to know you wanted me to walk in the main lobby! We embraced each other like I just came home from a mission trip or something.. Mission Granola that is.. which is still a complete fail ha.. and went to my fav local eatery spot.. Hueys..where I slammed some nachos and pita wrap all in like 30 min at 11 at night.. stopped by the famous Gibson’s donuts and then was welcomed home to my amazing best friend who decorated my room for me :) after I was a complete jerk to her after a day of traveling of course.. Tucker peed when he saw me and Charlie gave me the good head nod and what's up like I haven't even left. shock.

The next day was the big move out of Starkville which consisted of a 5AM workout.. leaving house by 9.. which turned into almost 10..Charlie sleeping the whole way and me listening to sports radio with dad half of the time..not to mention the lovely detour that UHAUL made us go onto Gordo, Alabama... that's right I said Alabama..last time I checked Starkville was in Miss.. I know this.. we ended up going to Gordo which was as Charles Long would say 45 min out of the way.. nope it was an hour... going to poe dunk mechanic shop to get our gigantic UHAUL for my 6 pieces of furniture and watching dad drive the thing like a beast into Stark.. then the moving part came.. and I had left alot more stuff than I thought.. meaning food in the fridge.. milk cheese you know the essentials that had been there for the past 2 months untouched.. yummy and all the things left in drawers... you don’t realize how much crap you pack in drawers and how long it takes to go through them all.. by the first 30 min all of us were soaked in sweat with the heat index being prob a 100 or so.. I am now spoiled with NH weather.. going from 70 to 98 in one day is overwhelming.. yep I am now a diva when it comes to the hot weather at home. Moving and cleaning was going smoothly until the faithful, besties showed up.. Allie and Lauren and then all my help was shot to hell ... We pretty much sat on each item that wasn't being moved..cushion surfing at one point while Dad and Charlie moved it all (by the way I have the best Dad and brother in this world... I don't know how I would have gotten it done without them) ..if it were up to me.. Me Allie and Lauren would all still be in APT F5 talking crap about everyone... ha  Dad and Charlie left in the glamorous UHAUL of a small cruise ship and Brooke got to town right when everything was complete.. how convenient.. joke.. she got to see our nursing home friend Karen.. totally jealous and I am so glad that she got to see her one more time and  wish I could of as well.. Allie went to Memphis.. shock bailing like usual :) to enjoy her wedding festivities and me Lauren and Brooke went for one more night out n Stark Vegas.. tame us now.. roaming with wolverines and we were on the prowl... it was a good night.. from what I remember.. me and Lauren did the usual pregaming while we waited on Brooke and I did the usual to everyone at the bar oh you want a drink? let me buy you one.. yep bought 10 shots that night for the bar..on dad's credit card ( now you know mom) and enjoyed seeing everyone.. apparently I was in a friendly mood as Brooke told me I was like a dog all night.. fetching people I knew.. didn't want to talk so I would bring them to her run off and repeat it all night.. at least I kept her entertained! I got to see sweet P (just gave you a shout out w/a pet name) watch out and somehow didn’t make it to taco bell.. supposedly as soon as we got back to Lauren's I face planted passed out on the couch and she took her shot at aiming in the toilet.. passed out and then it was my turn around 4AM to shoot for the commode.. ha I did that for about 2 hours in between my moaning that Brooke said sounded like a dying cow and passing out and snoring on and off I went to sleep,.. only to wake up to an excruciating migraine and ready for Mugshots at 730AM. solid. WE had a BFF lunch and then me n B headed out.. missing Lauren the second I left her.. my little UNH Law student ( I wish) watch out you criminals/social problem people or whoever walks into the court room my bestie is going to owning you on the stand... I think that is what it is called as she starts her journey in law school that she is going to do FABULOUS in :)!

After getting back home, it was then time for the ritual of family dominos.. which consists of an excuse for all of us family to get together and play dominos..rarely are other games allowed or even consider.. it is a great getaway from loving family time to battle of who can make the most smartalic comments to one another.. I sadly lost my rein as Domino Champion and decided to take my talents and winning ability to Taboo.. where me and Aunt Laurie are number one..two is not a winner..and three nobody remembers. it was a tough battle for the post of us to take the throne of Taboo superstars as we struggled over words like dip and the common mix up of chip and dale.. it doesn’t matter now.. we are the champions and everyone else who participated in that game on that night can..quite frankly.. suck it. in the kind and most loving way possible.. Sunday I got to enjoy Hope at church with the whole family..yeah that’s right Charlie came after his almost near death experience of canoeing on Spring River.. he got sucked in by the current that left him with horrible bruises and cuts all up and down his arms..I am so happy that he is okay though.. I couldn’t imagine going through that and literally climbing out of the water for your life..or maybe it is in my near future in my next kayaking experience... after church mom dad and I got to go visit Granddaddy and Grandmamma which would have to be my favorite visiting spot on my trip home. I love just being with them... My grandfather is the strongest man I know.. with his kind and loving heart and his sense of humor.. I hope to someday meet a guy that is half the man he and my dad are.. Grandmamma is a joy to be around..even in her stubborn ways.. she would do anything for anyone.. and plus hanging out with her gives me and excuse to go to the dollar store where Mom spends money on things I don’t really need for me :) I wish I would have had more time to spend with my grandparents and I can’t wait to see them  next time I get to go home! 

Monday was a day full of checking out Aunt Laurie's new crib..which is so perfect! I am so happy for her and her new place.. and the fact that no matter what my little cousins Maddie or MJ say.. I do have a room there over them. boom little ones.. I may be forever away,..but I still am claiming my room :) the rest of the day consisted of splurging at Target with the crew aka me Mom Aunt Laurie and Brooke Brooke.. when we are all out on the prowl the world seems so right :) even if it consists of convincing Aunt Laurie to buy me more sporty clothes and Lee Lee and me yelling at each other in the aisles and Brooke being my personal stylist..We hit up the new store Lee Lee had been raving on "Bargain World" which turned out to be far from a bargain.. leave it to lee lee.. you live and learn.. we managed to all walk out empty handed.. we finished the shopping session off at Pluto’s closet where I scored on some sweet new work clothes that I am still not 100% fit me right cause Brooke didn’t give me the final approval.. I guess I will take my chances! I loved that day at home.. I am so happy just to be with them all..makes me feel like time stood still and that I am not 23 hours away from each one of them sadly.. 

Tuesday was a day full of goodbyes and tears.. I didn't want to come back to the land of hamsters at all.. but I knew that work was waiting on me as I got 25 emails the time I was out of the office.. I cried saying bye to Mom and Dad and even Tucker.. not to mention my boo who session saying bye to Brooke (just for 10 days though cause she will be here SATURDAY AND  I CANT WAIT!!!)  I didn't have any  exciting airplane buddies on the way back and my flights were actually both on time which was weird! 

I got back into the land of hamsters at like 11 at night and greeted with arms wide open to the nice, not humid air as I walked out of the airport.. last week consisted of me catching up and realizing how fast the day goes when you barely take time to breathe due to the work overload.. I was ready for the weekend by Friday..and oh the Friday night experience I got.. the wonderful adventures of Maine that was ahead of me.. I will finish this blog by telling you about this I think I will call it Maniac Maine Experience...

Just some side note info before I start this story..the state line to Maine from where I live is maybe 10 minutes away..it is hard to miss it.. I loved every minute of this adventure no joke and I can't wait to see what Maine has in store for me next time.. okay.. so..I was so kindly invited by Ashley to come out to her little brother, Andrew's birthday celebration last week... I was excited to go to meet this kid that she says is so cool and to see her "Lincoln Log" home.. nervous to see what I was going to encounter.. but excited. I started this journey off by getting lost.. surprising I know..it all due to the fact that my GPS did not register Ashley’s street as being a real street so I had to rely on my wonderful, gets you lost all the time GPS on my phone..that started saying my destination was 12 minutes away which slowly went up to 30 minutes away.. at this point I broke down all sense of my pride and admitted to Ashley I was lost.. I found myself in car town USA.. where I had car dealerships on both sides of me, a key and lock shop and a windshield shop all within the same 2 street lights on a road.. that said I was heading North.. but clearly in the wrong direction.. I finally pulled over and gave my Maggie aka the Magellan GPS that the lovely Aunt Laurie gave me to relook up the address and to my surprise..guess what... I typed in the wrong town to search for the street for.. me make a mistake like that no way? well good news was that Ashley's street was real and that this wasn't a mad setup for some Maine maniacs to accidentally get me lost in the land of maines and have me disappear forever.. aka this wasn't a Law and Order Criminal Minds real life episode and I was going to hopefully make it to her house in one piece.. here is another side note... Maine isn't what we Southern folk imagine it to be.. to describe the Maine I was in the easiest way would be to take a drive from Memphis to Starkville.. after you hit Tupelo.. look around you as you drive towards West Point and you got it.. now take the people you see in West Point (big trucks, camo and loud pipes) and you have the people I saw as I drove through these Maine towns...not to mention the curvy country roads that exist where you feel like you are in a valley one minute and the next you are driving up an abnormally large hill.. yep that is Maine.. as I pass my destination like 3 times I finally find myself pulling my car back in reverse and turning down this gravel road where to my surprise I find a whole family out on the front lawn/porch area staring at me..like I am a complete idiot.. well they have it about right.. I managed to park in the wrong place next to the life-size Lincoln Log house that I want to someday live in cause I love it so much and am greeted by a howling dog that finds it a hobby to stand right in front of my car and bark at me.. talk about a good ole fashion entrance.. as I sit down and realize that I am at a legit bday celebration with mom dad and the grandparents who by the way have the most adorable accent of Northern Yankee and some southern dialogue that I could listen to for hours.. I begin to feel more and more at home and in my own element.. not to mention I was awarded for my journey with a wonderful dinner that consisted of green beans freshly picked from the garden and a big serving of applesauce :) I then come to find out that the grandparents are quite fond of the King of Rock n Roll and instantly I start shooting the talk easier.. in the midst of all my conversations I learn the following things about the people I am with and my surroundings:

There is a pond around back the Lincoln Log home

Andrew has ducks in that pond.. they are named I forgot though.. I know horrible guest

Andrew also has chickens that have feathers that resemble afros

Ashley is some Motocross National star and has a trophy room

Ashley has a trophy that is taller than me

Ashley never told me that whenever I was with her I was in the presence of a dirt bike legend.

Andrew's favorite bday present was his waders? like the things with suspenders you but on and walk through ponds in.. they were awesome and I made him model

Andrew also got a new bb pellet gun for his bday

Andrew has his own fort in the woods past the pond..it is life changing I am talking like lights, TV, stereo and  bed bunks with a sweet fire pit

I am a hockey star and can dangle folks left and right in the drive way

I am also a around the world bball star as I shot nothing but net all night as I wore my Toms like a champ

I have a new 14 year old bf named Jimmy.. Andrew's friend. he is pretty hot and we are super in love.

I now have officially made a smore by a camp fire

If you wear steel boots that cost in the range of 175-275 dollars.. you can set them on fire and it won’t hurt you until the fire hits the steel part.. yes this happened and yes I documented it 

Four wheelers in dirt bike language are called something along the lines of training wheels

I am a natural at shooting a gun..

Last but not least which requires more details is.. I know what "Wood scar" means now..

As I showed off my hockey skills in the driveway I noticed that Andrew had disappeared with his friend and had not driven his dad's truck over to this car that is like no other.. I had noticed this car earlier but didn't take much consideration into it.. I knew that Ashley said that she use to drive a crappy car..that this car was.. with more stickers on the front than one could imagine.. cracked windshield and I think there may have been a few spray paint marks here and there.. but little did I know that it was turned into the death ride of my life.. as I see jumper cables being pulled out of the truck, detached by the grandfather while still sparking and hooked up to the "Wood scar" I put two and two together.. this kid was about to drive this car in the woods. hints the name.. I am a dumb blonde. that apparently has a bad accent and looks 17 according to these kids but that is besides the point.. I then start analyzing the situation and wonder if I will be getting in this vehicle to take on the tasty trails of the woods.. after 5 seconds of contemplating.. I hopped in the Wood scar.. and as soon as I sat down and got my butt soaked in water and leaves.. I realized this was a bad idea.. what was I thinking in a car with a 13 year old driving me around.. oh well I learned to embrace the situation as he went 0-40 in about 2 seconds.. almost flipped multiple times and managed to scrap the car next or get the closest to every tree he could.. which resulted in me almost getting knocked out as these branches came inside the rolled own broken window.. all of the speed bumps and occasional almost tipping over was thrilling and all.. but my fav moment would have to be a tie between pulling the emergency brake and doing donuts, trying to literally knock the car door ajar by pulling back and forth to knock the door off or prob the last tie which would be when the Wood scar finally ran out of gas..yep that would have to be the winner.. I thanked the big man upstairs for that move as I got out of the car and towards the Lincoln Log house.. the rest of the night was a slower pace of smores and camp fire and the fort with the occasional Jimmy setting his boot on fire. yep all in my entire Maine trip was quite the experience.. would probably go under the category of granola, life changing and dangerous all at once. Side not to all of this though.. is that I can't wait to go again no joke.. that family is amazing. .so is the Lincoln Log house and 150 acres of woods. I hope to see this being my new granola hang spot.. if my Southern accent and charm is welcomed back of course..

Well I think I have written a mini novel by now and summed my past week or so up enough for you all...don't forget that my bday is next week and I accept presents with open arms and don't forget to watch my obsession Hope Solo win gold.. not like I have already tweeted at her 4 times since the Olympics.. our relationship will be tested next week to see if she tweets me happy bday again.. we can only hope.. get it.. boom.