Isn’t this absolutely gorgeous?  One of our sales guys sent this to us last week, just because he appreciates what we do and loves us.  It doesn’t get a lot better than knowing that the job we do is really appreciated.  He’s also one of the sweetest sales guys that we have.  That totally made our day on Thursday!  Also, Edible Arrangements uses kale as their filler, so I got a crap-ton of kale to take home (mostly because I was the only one who really knows what it is).  And, for those of you wondering what anchors the sticks, it’s a head of iceberg lettuce.  Joey and I both had a laugh over that.

Last weekend, we went hiking at Crowder’s Mountain.  After a four-mile hike, we were both in a lot of pain; they gravel the entire hiking trail (how stupid is that??), making said trail extremely unpleasant for those in Vibrams.  The huge rock parts where we had to navigate through were great for the Vibrams, but the majority of the trail was gravelled and left us nearly in tears by the time we got back to the car:(.

Here’s a blue-tailed skink that came out to see us while we were hiking.  He was really cute and very brave not to run away with as close as I got for that picture!  We saw several of them on the trail.

I haven’t been posting very much for a while; I go through seasons like that.  I used to feel really guilty for it, but I don’t have that many readers, and it seems that the ones I do have are dedicated enough to keep checking in.  I love you guys.  School started the week we got back from Gatlinburg, and I’ve been trying to get back in the groove.  It’s difficult, especially when I didn’t take a summer class this time, so I really didn’t do anything over the summer.  I’ve also got to get my thesis started this semester so that I can graduate in May.  I can’t believe that I’m already in my last two semesters of the program.  Now, I’m seriously considering the possibility of PhD studies.  I really don’t want this school thing to end…although I don’t really know how I’d do it since I don’t think I could keep working.

I love fall.  It’s still in the ninties here, but just knowing that fall is right around the corner is cause for joy.  I’m so sick of the hot weather, and, while I don’t really like it getting dark early, I do love the crisp, cold air of winter and the sweaters that go along with it.

Running has met a setback.  I’m really not in good enough health to progress as quickly as I’d have liked, and that has been difficult.  I want progress right now, as most people do.  But I’ve got to lose some weight before I can handle the impact on my joints.  That’s pretty disappointing.  I’ve never dealt with this before in my life, and I hate it.  But, that means, I need to do something about it, and I am working on that.

The switch to East Campus has been particularly difficult for me, and I didn’t think it would be.  I have been so homesick for familiarity, for a place where I know most of the people and they know me, and it’s been difficult to try to get settled in with a bunch of “strangers” (should read:  potential friends).

That’s all for now:)