Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, I have less than 48 hours before I leave for Europe. I'll be arriving in Berlin on Friday, going to Matthias' wedding in a town outside of Berlin on Saturday, then staying in Berlin for a few days. I will then head to the Czech Republic to visit Prague for a few days, and then back to Munich. I'll be in Europe for almost 2 weeks! Crazy how quickly this trip approached!

Matthias and I after a ride!

My life.. has been absolute insanity for the last several months. Let's see.. what have I done:

1) I did the Seneca7 relay around Seneca Lake with the best team anyone could ever ask for (Inside Voices). We had a great day and it was definitely the most fun race I've ever done. I probably should have written a race report but I forgot, and the race was too awesome for words anyways. You'll have to be satisfied with a few photos.

being silly in the team car - Don's Tahoe

after the race - Inside Voices!

2) I bought a house. Yup. Ms. "Terrified-of-Commitment" bought a house! It's a small 2 bedroom ranch in E. Irondequoit. I LOVE it! It's totally my style (small, unique, and as of right now - a complete blank slate to be changed to fit my personality). I close on June 21st, which is 8 days after I get back from my trip. Yikes! I was so tired of renting a tiny apartment where I had no storage or space, and after talking it over with my parents, decided to go for it! I enlisted the help of my realtor friend Eddy, and together, in a mere 7 days (I KNOW) we found and put an offer in on this house!! I am in love and sooooooooo excited, and so proud of myself for taking what I consider to be a pretty big step in my life! It's kind of crazy too.. I feel like I never do anything the "normal" way. The housing market in Rochester is pretty hot right now - at least in the neighborhood in which I was looking. A beautiful house will go on the market, and within one day, there will be multiple offers and an ongoing bidding war. Alternatively, my house sat on the market for 2 months before I found it and put in the one and only offer. Eddy had added this house last minute after another one that we had an appointment to see went off the market.. I had looked at it on the real estate website multiple times.. clicked past it due to the photos. I'm not sure if it was out there for that long because it's small (980 sq. feet) or because it doesn't have a ton of curb appeal (although I think it's uniquely adorable), or because the listing photos were awful (seriously - AWFUL) but the minute I walked in the door, I loved it. And that was it! Shockingly, I don't have any photos of it besides one of the roof.. I have been nervous about this whole process and haven't wanted to jinx it by taking photos and plastering them everywhere since I don't even own it yet!

3) I finished Calc II at MCC. With an A. BAM! It was hard - I am not going to deny that. I spent Monday and Wednesday evenings in class every week. Often I then had to pull an overnight shift AFTER spending 2 hours in class. I spent every Tuesday night doing homework, and many, many Friday and Saturday nights as well. I am not going to lie.. it was challenging to get everything done and a lot of the time I felt like I was falling behind on my homework. I definitely fell off the radar in terms of my social life. It was bad and it's something I need to work on as I continue with the balance of work, education, exercise, and social life. The last 2 took a HUGE hit this semester. But I am glad that I got through the class, did well, and turns out - my brain does still work!! I did really, really well in the class and I am glad that I did. Next time, I might be able to get through a class without such a giant effort (basically - I was incredibly over-prepared for every exam and had a 106% going into the final exam.. so probably didn't need to work QUITE so hard).

NERD.

4) I have ridden Cherry every single weekend that I have been in Rochester (except when there were horse shows going on at the barn or when I was sick). This has been really good for me (mentally) and for Cherry as well, and I have LOVED it. She is such a blessing in my life.

who wouldn't love that face?!

5) A few weeks ago I saw Les Mis at the Auditorium Theatre. I got invited by my friend Rachel who was coming to Rochester with her band kids (she teaches band at a high school near where I went to high school) for their band trip and they had an extra ticket! Of course I snatched that opportunity up and it was freakin' amazing. Rachel also did IMLP last year with her husband Mike (who was my high school XC coach). They are both phenomenal runners and if you want to read her truly captivating blog post about her experience at the 2013 Boston Marathon, click here.

6) Signed up for the Wineglass Marathon! Woo! (Because who wouldn't be motivated to run towards a glass of wine?)

7) Bought an iPad mini! I have been eyeing an iPad for a while because they are neat-o but could never justify the cost of such an unnecessary gadget. However, since planning this two week solo expedition to Europe, I determined that the iPad was the perfect tool for traveling and staying connected with friends/family, uploading photos to facebook, navigating, etc. I love the smaller size of the mini and I have been using it constantly since I bought it a few weeks ago.


It feels good to have direction. I am not racing anything specifically this year other than Wineglass (and that is so I can wait until after this class/house/Europe nonsense is over with so I can focus on some actual training) but I am ok with that. I am excited about the house, excited to go back to school, REALLY excited to go to Europe (also terrified to be going alone!).

I will see everyone when I get back from Europe! Apparently Berlin is really rolling out the welcome wagon for me.. they are erecting buildings in my honor even (HAH)!

there is a shopping center in Berlin named after me! or perhaps I am named after it..?