I run to add life to my days

I love the above quote. I do run to add days to my life too, but I love the sentiment of the way this quote is worded. Running really has added SO much to my life. And I love when other people start running too and see how much it can do for them. When I feel happy, it makes me more happy. And when I feel angry or sad, it is one of the only things that will ALWAYS improve my mood. All I have to do is think back to crossing the finish line of the marathon, and I swear I get a little jolt of endorphins.

And not saying it's easy to get out the door even now, but I'm never sorry I went for a run.

So what are you waiting for??? Go run! You can do absolutely anything you set your mind to.

The day I met the one, the only, Ian Somerhalder

This Sunday I went to the Vampire Diaries convention here in Chicago. I bought my tickets over a year ago for the convention and the chance to have a picture taken with Ian Somerhalder, the love of my life, my obsession and passion since his first appearance on LOST. My love has only grown with time as he has played my favorite character on my favorite TV show for four years now. I had been planning on going alone until I found someone on twitter asking if anyone else was going alone. We exchanged info and ended up spending Sunday at the convention together.

Vicky, (one of my new favorite people ever, thank you twitter), picked me up Sunday and we drove out to Rosemont, which is a suburb northwest of me. This was my first ever convention not for something boring or academic so I was pretty excited. I got my Ian photo ticket and then talked with Vicky and some friends she met the day before before getting in line for my photo. I waited in line next to some other really nice people who showed me their pictures from the day before (Next year I'm going both days!!!). When we got inside the room with Ian finally, my first words to the girl in front of me were, "OhmyGod, he is a real person!" When my turn came to take a picture with him, I like seriously had no idea what to do or say or think. All I could stammer out was "Hi," and "Thank you." He greeted me with, "What up woman?" He also asked me how it was going, but like I said, I seriously was not processing the fact that Ian Somerhalder was wrapping his arms around me. All my brain could do was smile. He is just as amazing looking in person as he is on tv. It was an amazingly crazy too fast experience. Like, I keep staring at the picture and cannot believe it really happened. I need more time with him next time so I can process things and actually be able to speak.

I went back upstairs to the main expo area, and we got to see Arielle Kebbel (Lexi) and Charlie Bewley (vampire hunter and Demetri from Breaking Dawn). They were pretty hilarious and put on a good show for us and answered some questions. Then we got to watch Torrey Devitto (Dr. Fell, also Melissa on Pretty Little Liars and Paul Wesley's wife) answer questions. She was super sweet.  Finally it was time for Ian and Paul's panel. They were really funny (Paul has a dry sense of humor, Ian's is more upfront). They even answered my question! I had written down the question, "If you could live in any era in history, what would it be?" They had me stand up and Ian joked around saying, "Thanks for traveling so far to see us," (because I had put on there I was from Chicago so I would know when they were reading my question, and "She's tired from running all the way here." They answered the question by Ian saying the 1920s and Paul agreeing, but also saying he thought the 60s and 70s would've been cool.

After, it was just kinda over, but we didn't really want to accept it. We contemplated airport stalking but ended up just waiting to pick up our photos. We then hung out with two really sweet girls from California at McDonald's talking about TVD. Finally, other people who understand the awesomeness that is The Vampire Diaries.

Totally awesome experience! Cannot wait for next year!

Sweet Home Chicago

I've been living here for 1.5 years now. I can't believe how time flies. I was just offered 2 intern positions--one at Niles West in Skokie, IL (just north of where I live) and one in Grand Junction, CO. Talk about a tough decision. On the one hand, all I've talked about for over a year is getting my internship out in Colorado. On the other hand, when I first started talking about that I didn't know how much I was going to love it here. I hadn't found my places yet. Or met some of the great people I now know. After my interview at Niles though, my gut feeling told me that that was the position I should accept. It seems like an amazing opportunity and challenging in a way I need. I have to continue to push myself to be the best I can be. It's easier sometimes to go the route of doing less or pushing yourself less because it's comfortable. But I didn't go into this so that I could just do paperwork and do what comes easily (i.e. report writing). I got into this so I could help kids and teenagers have better lives. And that means pushing myself further outside of my own comfort zone. So this is going to be tough, and it wasn't the original plan, but I feel that it is the right decision.