{Thursday Thoughts} Don't Judge Me But..

Hello Friends!

We judge others/situations every day.  It's actually a crucial part of life!

While we don't want to be rude in our judgements, they can help us to stay safe, choose our close friends and to exercise our free will to think about people and situations the way we choose.

For example...on my roadtrip up to Minnesota last week, I encountered a janitor at a rest stop.  He was cleaning the women's restroom and to my judgement, he smiled a little creepily and was acting a little weird.  I did my business and went back to my car where I decided to lock my doors.  It was daylight, but there weren't many people around and I'm a small female so my judgment or instincts or whatever told me to play it safe.

While I was getting my Pandora set up (thank you God for Pandora on a 6-8 hour trip!!) and responding to text messages before I headed out, I saw that janitor again.  He was doing something with the garbage can right in front of my car.  He saw me looking at him and gave a smile and wave.  Something seemed off, but I did my best to tell myself that he's just a friendly old man.  Don't judge him.  Then he walked up to my car, started rapping on my window, told me to roll it down and asked me where I got my toes done.  (what the what?)

I quickly judged the situation to be unsafe, said "No!" and backed out as quickly as I could.  I really wonder what would have happened had I tried to be polite and roll down my window. 

Sometimes judging others is necessary. 
But sometimes you just need to have all of the facts and then decide how to think about a situation.

Why am I bringing this up? 

{WIAW #63} Mall of America + NEWS!

Hello Friends!

Wow where did the last week go?  I seriously feel like I JUST wrote up a WIAW (or What. I. Ate. Wednesday.) post (and painstakingly watched as the bar crept along showing the status of the photo uploads...dang hotel internet!).

Since these photos from the amazing Mall of America did not want to upload for me on Monday, I decided to share them today!

{Breakfast} (No our day did not start at the mall...this was just close to our hotel)
Brueger's Bagels' Western Egg Sandwich with no cheese and no sauce.

Note to self: no cheese or sauce on this type of sandwich means no binding agent for the multiple veggies.  This was super messy, but I was happy to get some vegetables into me so early in the day!

{MIMM #18} Banana Split Chobani Brownies + Raspberry Chobani Frosting

Hello Friends!

I hope all of you Mothers had an amazing Mother's Day!  I was only able to text my mom this lame picture...but I will be seeing her soon and hopefully she likes the surprise I'm sending to her work! :)

I am still hanging out in the twin cities with Dave and we actually went out and explored over the weekend.  Saturday I got a tour around the apartments Dave has his eye on if his company ever gives him the official word about the job.

Speaking of which, apparently the paperwork for the position is just being held up by HR (he does NOT officially have the job)....which if that is really the case, Dave lost out on an apartment that would have been available the 20th of this month and now there aren't any available until June 6th.  I would love to personally kick someone in the shins for the way they have been jerking Dave (and me) around.  It's kind of nuts because the guy he's supposed to be taking over for retired Friday...

Anyhow in order for us to feel a little better about life, we are basically planning for just in case.  If he does get the job, I plan on going through my summer classes in Nebraska and then joining him up here.  I have been putting off looking into it seriously, such as looking at school programs or work because I already did that when everyone told him he was getting the job in KC, but I plan on looking into that today.  Just in case.

SHN Favorites 5-10-13

 Happy Friday Friends!

I failed to mention this in my half-marathon race recap post yesterday, but I made it to the great state of Minnesota!  I road-tripped it all the way up from Nebraska! 

I got to stop and hang out with my blend Calee in Ames on the way up where she treated me to some coffee-pressed coffee that I drank on the remaining three hour trip up to the twin cities.  I'm so glad I got to break up the 6 hour road-trip AND that I got some caffeine since my poor timing landed me at Dave's hotel around midnight.  I need to remember that I take more bathroom breaks than the average person. (Poor Dave...he has to get up at 5am and I woke him up.)

Dave and I also got to hang out with Lee and her boy last night at the Lyndale Taphouse in uptown (like I really know what "uptown means" haha).  I really REALLY hope Dave gets the job here because if you can believe it, Lee is even sweeter in person than on her blog and it would be awesome if we could hang out more often!

Currently I am holed up in the hotel battling some allergy symptoms (that I will later try to fix with exercise...does that work?  Endorphins or something?), and I thought I'd share some of my favorites from the past few weeks!

13.1 Tips for Your First Half-Marathon

Hello Friends!

  
I've been really struggling with how to recap this run.  I felt a mixture of pride, surprise and gratefulness upon crossing the finishing line.

I was astonished at how well I did for my first race and really don't think I even deserve to have done as well as I did with the lack of training I completed.  It was super emotional and tough, but still fun and exciting at the same time.  It was also the third half marathon I signed up for, but only the first one I actually ran.

So with all of these feelings running around inside me, I thought I'd lean on the bullet point post I used for my first 10K race.

{WIAW #62} Instagrammed

Hello Friends!

So did I tell ya about my new phone?  (Oh yeah, I attempted to do a post from my phone...that went alright lol)

It's an Android htc and my first touchscreen which is driving me bonkers (this old fashioned gal misses her Blackberry keyboard!), BUT since I switched to Android...I have FINALLY joined Instagram!!  Follow me! -->

So, if you aren't following me (or aren't following me with stalkerish tendencies that would have allowed you to see every single picture), here are some pictures that have graced the scene of the insta-picture.

Does that last sentence even make sense?  Sorry, I am a little pre-occupied with getting ready for a big trip!  I'm headed up to the twin cities today to visit Dave.  (No, he has not gotten the job, he's still hangin' at the Holiday Inn...but he will hopefully know this week!) 

The apartments in the background are where Dave hopes to live.

On the way to see the BF I get to hang out with my blend Calee in Ames, Iowa! 

And once I'm in the twin city area, we might even hang out with another bloggy friend Lee!

Seriously, I love how many people I've met through blogging and social media.  You can meet people from all over, which is quite convenient in this case.  The thing about making these types of friends is that you usually meet over a hobby/passion you have in common, whereas it seems like a lot of other friends you meet through a location you have in common...like going to the same school or working at the same restaurant.  (Anyone get that?)

Blend 2012 :)