Fall from October to Thankful in November

Today is Saturday, a crisp bright day in November. Alongside the wonderful colors of the leaves, the mornings and nights are becoming what feels like Fall... cold! The great outdoors are giving me goose-bumps already, but I guess it's true we are half-way through November. It's surely time for scarves, hats, boots and leggings...oh at hot brown drank (hot cocoa that is). This past week has been recently chilly, and snow is on the radar. I went to cheer my teammates on at the XC Regional Meet in Bellingham, WA and let me just say...I was not prepared for SNOW. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I was wearing converse and my toes froze. I think they still are a bit angry at me.

Anyways, the purpose of this blog entry was to remind myself of what it means to live and to love. Day in and day out I do not fully appreciate what life has to offer, particularly those who are my family and friends. Writing this is somewhat of a coping method.

My grandfather, Papa, passed away on Sunday October 10th, 2010. He had been sick for many years with a plethora of complications, from congestive heart failure to diabetes...and not to mention love sickness; my lovely Grandma Darlene passed away over ten years ago from breast cancer and an enlarged heart. Do we all put too much stress on ourselves, and each other, so much that our own heart muscle objects? Sadly, yes.

I went out for a Sunday long run, enjoying my day and loving the sunshine. Yet it is an interesting thing, for on my way home I thought about death and how people would react to my death or how I would react to others death. I brushed it off, asking myself why I was even thinking about that. Well when I got home, I looked at my phone and realized I had a dozen missed calls. Somewhat unusual, I called my Mom back right away, and my younger sister answered the phone crying telling me Papa died. Tears came to my eyes immediately, I hung up and ran upstairs. I couldn't believe it. My Papa I talked to a few weeks ago, telling him how much my roommate and I love his jam and that I made his special banana blueberry pies. My Papa who would try to go to every swim and track meet with Roger to cheer me on. My Papa who celebrated family more than anyone I know, and understood the truth in people. My Papa whose cologne I can still smell, for it always lingered after our hugs. My Papa who I loved so much. I called Roger next, and when he answered the tone and urgency of his voice made me cry even harder. All he said was "Kayla", and I already knew what he was going to say... I could barely get a word out. "I'm sorry". Roger loved Papa like Papa loved Roger, and it was so special. He was so special. Papa always had the wisdom and I truly looked up to him.

After Papa's death, it took me a while to refocus on school. I didn't realize how hard it would be to cope. I figured that I was fine, and it was not really bothering me. Yet I noticed it was difficult to focus on easy tasks and my running wasn't up to par. Sometimes things take time, and that is okay.

Three weeks later, it was Halloween. One of my great friends from childhood and I were celebrating together. We made breakfast and dressed accordingly, and just as we were ready to head out, she got a phone call. Her Mom was in critical condition and she had to leave. Her Aunts picked her up to drive to the hospital. I grew up knowing her Mom and love her so much. Our freshman year of college we all went to the U-village and went shopping, we had a great time, but I didn't realize that would be the last time I would see her. My friend had the opportunity to see her Mom one last time when she visited the hospital. I didn't realize, nor do I think anyone else did, that she would pass away so soon. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia and passed away the next day.

It is difficult to understand, and you have to be accepting in all meaning. Your heart aches in a way much different than any feeling you've ever felt. And now even though there is a person physically missing in your life, you have to remember to keep them in your heart forever. I've also learned that you grieve with other people, and you are not alone. There are people who reach out to you when you are the weak one, even if you try not to be. We have to be thankful for those people, for everyone in your life because each one is meaningful and beautiful.

Thanksgiving holiday is approaching in a few days, and my goal is to express gratitude to those I love and am thankful for in the best way; spending time with the love of my life, his family, my family, and our friends will fill my heart with joy and give me hope...as well as fill my hunger with amazing food.


To lives well lived,
Kayla

p.s. The photo above was taken last year with two
of the greatest guys (Roger, Papa, Me: Thanksgiving 2009)

Sprained Phalanges with 4K Left to Go

Hey there world,
Today is Sunday, a day when we all would love to be lazy and relax, but truly know it's a day for finishing up school work that is due for the coming week. I am here in Pikes Place Market, getting ready for a long day of school work. Don't get me wrong, I am not dreading it, but rather excited for it. Odd I know, but this quarter will be one full of enlightenment and fun topics to discuss.

In my last blog I mentioned our team had a race this weekend. We left Friday morning for Salem, and simply had a great time of fellowship and racing. A majority of the women raced well, minus one in particular...me. It was a 5k, and towards the beginning of the race a girl in an orange uniform came up from behind our pack, elbows swinging, at completely cut me off and tripped me. It was all too quick to process, but all I knew was my hands were really hurting and I was thrown off course. I realize you're supposed to let things go and keep your head in the race, but sometimes you get lost. I knew my fingers were either sprained or broken, but I was able to keep racing for I hadn't injured anything major (like a knee or ankle, thankfully). I was pissed. At the girl who rudely pushed me out, but also at myself because I didn't race well. I've let it go though, for there are more opportunities for me to do my best, especially later on when I am rested from workouts. The finish was on the track, roughly 300meters. Remembering back to my sprinting days, I passed at least five people. This finish gave me hope and made me smile and forget the race. After the race, I noticed my right quadriceps were aching with an intense pain when I applied pressure. I figure my right leg was the main helper in getting my body back up after my fall.

Today I am typing slow and with my left hand and only one finger from my right hand. It's tough stuff, but it could be worse. I am thankful it was only my hand. Yet I haven't gone on my long run yet, because I'm not sure if it would be better to rest or not. Oh and if you're wondering about the cool photo at the top, our team perfected that photo at our team retreat when we were at the campfire. Sweet. It was cool to see our team so excited about simple things, especially excited and having fun was our legendary coach and runner Doris Heritage.

Welp, time to get down to business with reading and schoolwork. Tully's will keep me occupied with a ginger peach tea and free wifi.

With a "slice of humble pie"

Kayla

First Week of Classes and Other Funtivities

Wow, senior year has come so quickly!!! (Well basically, I have two quarters of student teaching next fall and winter and then I'll be able to graduate then). So far, I have had three of four classes for the quarter.

I'm taking Applied Exercise Science, Topics in Secondary Education, Christian Scriptures, and then my senior capstone research class (which lasts all year). I am quite excited about Applied Ex. Sci. because we have a new professor this year!! The previous instructor simply lacked major aspects in his teaching and relationship to the students. Our new professor is from Ireland, is an ultra-marathoner with his wife, and is super excited about teaching our class and bettering the program. The entire class was super pumped, and wished that he was our professor for our entire college career, rather than only our last year.

Anyways, cross country has been going well too. My 6k time is already a minute faster than my best time last year! We're racing this weekend in Salem, OR. at the Willamette Invite, which will be very competitive and exciting!!

Roger and I had our 5 year anniversary last week, the 17th, and we had a blast!! I was able to score four tickets to the Mariners game (we were going to see if his Dad and brother could come, but it ended up being just the two of us). At the game, we were sitting right near home base and the dugout!! It was so much fun, and it was also Roger's first pro game! We also went to the movies, we saw Easy A. The movie ended up being a lot better than we thought, and we laughed a ton. :) I made him a scrapbook for his gifty, and I have to say it was pretty cool!!

Also, the chickens are doing well. We've been letting them hang out in the back yard, and they are loving the dirt baths. Fun little chicks.

Time to read and then yoga with the team!

Kayla

Chickens??!

Why yes indeed...we have chickens. My roommate Katja and our friend Phillip got this crazy idea about a week ago. They had some extra time last week and started building a coop, I mean a chicken castle, even before we knew for sure we were getting chickens. We are living in a new town home in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, with a lovely yard and perfect back area for chickens. We sent a delightful email to our landlord, stating that we wanted to enhance our environmental consciousness and advocacy for green living...and what more could we want than chickens of course!? We waited a few days, playing phone tag, until we finally had the opportunity to speak with him. He was worried about the smell in general, but since he had 17 chickens and we only have three, we feel we can keep it clean and smell to a limit! He also asked about the neighbors, but we assured him that we just asked and they were dying for us to get zee chickens! And finally he sId the words we were waiting for, "Yes! But I reserve the right to say that we're going to have fried chicken tonight." haha, well lets hope that doesn't happen!

So the next day we put the newly designed and constructed chicken castle into the back patio, and it fits snuggly like it was meant to be! One day later we are buying chickens from a man on craigslist who lived in the middle of nowhere...Orting, Washington that is of course. :) As we were almost there, we turned off into a one lane road, which eventually became unpaved, and all we see is this massive logging truck coming our way! Boy was that a laugh! When we arrived to the farm, there were horses, cows, and chickens galore! We were invited into the chicken run, which by the way had some feces that did NOT belong to chickens, and picked out our favorite chickens. We decided on: black ostroloupe, rhode island red, and a cuckoo maran. They are beautiful, and I hope they love their new home!

Anyways, we have one older chicken who is already laying. We were unsure whether she would lay today because of the move, but viola! After i came home from work i found a lovely light brown egg waiting for me! It wasn't in the laying box, but rather it was sort of in the middle of the coop. Hopefully they will learn to lay in the box, that way the eggs to not get damaged. The egg today had a small puncture at the top, nothing major, i just think one of the chickens may have stepped on it. Either way, it is still exciting to get our first egg! We will post pictures soon!

Cuckoo,
Kayla
Katja
And Phil too

Last Day of School First Day of Summer

Today I celebrated becoming a senior with fellow friend Nicole. We rode my moped to Tutta Bella's for happy hour...which was amazing as ever, and putted around town for a bit. We found this cool store called Clover House, which had super cute gifties and fun kitchen and bathroom items. It was nice to get out and just relax after a hard year's work.

That's all I have right now. Lack of sleep from one night is dragging on, and the bed is calling my name.

With relief,

Kayla

Hormonal Seattle Weather and End of Year

Lately, the sun is wanting to come out and shine fully, but when it does the rain decides to take over. It's been wild weather here lately, with some winds too. I hope it's not going to last for much longer; it's almost June!! I'm ready for the summertime!!

So I've landed a job at Ivar's Acres of Clams on the Seattle Waterfront on the pier. I begin work tomorrow at 3pm! I'll be starting out as a hostess, which I don't mind because I love greeting people. I am praying that it all goes smoothly. I'm a little nervous about my schedule, and so I'm hoping that I can figure it out tomorrow. My wish for once classes are finished is that I will be able to work as much as I can with a few small breaks throughout the summer.

School, well school is not as exciting as getting a job unfortunately. I have two weeks left of classes and then finals to finish. It's not that my classes are difficult, it's just that I'm not a fan of them. It just seems like I've been doing busy work this entire time. I just registered for my classes for this fall, and it's looking very good. I'll be taking a first time 12 credits for my "senior" year!! It's also nice because I'll have more time for focusing on XC and work hopefully. At least I get to look forward to next year being my last year of classes!!

Well, I have nothing more for now.

In wildness,
Kayla

Prep's for GNAC Championship

It is Monday, but not just any Monday. This is the Monday before our final track competition of the year for most of us, (those who are competing at Nationals will continue on). My nerves are kicking in, and I'm excited to see the outcome of the race. I compete on Friday at 4:45, we are the first event. Steeplechase is most often the first event, which is quite nice considering I have the rest of the day to cheer on my teammates, and EAT!

I look back at my very first race in steeple in March and compare it the race this past weekend, I'm not even the same runner, even Doris Heritage agrees. It's very fulfilling for me to take compliments from such a great runner and coach. My favorite comment on Saturday was when she said that I "have such a strong backside", it was pretty funny but she was serious. My body is adjusting to this new running and my workouts are finally paying off in my races; I've become a stronger runner and begun to start understanding the race and how to push it. I started with a 13:15 and now I am at 12:01 for the 3k steeple, knowing that I can race under 12minutes this coming Friday at champs. I am currently ranked 8th, and there are some women close in my range I can and will take!

In the meantime, I will be preparing with my teammates and coaching for an awesome weekend. We finally get to race outdoor champs (last year it was canceled because of swine flu!). We leave on Thursday and begin racing on Friday at Monmouth, OR at Western Oregon University.

With excitement,
Kayla