I Stopped Breathing...

This week has been busy, exciting!  I have been training for this Zombie 5k and Obstacle course for 9 weeks, and this was the weekend of participation.  I was totally jazzed for it,

Up early to run from zombies!

After the run

I was up, bright and early, to participate in the Zombie Run in Temecula!  I had been preparing by running on a trail in Rio Linda, however, this run was more uphill than anything.  I learned very quickly that I would be unable to run the entire thing - but I did sprint at all areas containing zombies, and successfully made it through all obstacles.  There were 12 obstacles set up, including hills, mud, electric wires, crawling, jumping, climbing, and zombies.  When my first flag was pulled,  I had just gotten out of a huge group of zombies, and ran right into another one.  I was lucky enough to dodge all other zombies, especially before entering a maze, where there were 5 zombies chasing me! At the last quarter mile, when one zombie, who grabbed onto my shorts, took my second flag.  The final obstacle was to crawl under and electric fence.  I got a wee shock on my shoulder blade, and came out strong!  I ran through the gate marked "alive."  And let out a huge sigh of relief!  Clothes covered in mud, we ran into the lake to rinse off, then donated out shoes, found out our time (1 hr 22 mins), and headed back to San Diego.  This was such a great experience, and worth every single moment!

Now, it is time to train for the "Run to Feed the Hungry" 10k!  No rest!  I am really starting to love running.  These events make all the training worth it.  iLoves <3

The next goal I completed was to go to Venice Beach.  It was the nicest beach I have even been to. I would love to live that close to the ocean...It was amazing.  The water felt perfect and the sand was soft and clean!    The waves were not too intense.  It made me think on my surfing goal.  I can't wait to get there!

While in Southern California, we stayed with my sister, Tara.  She is definitely someone who I look up to, and it was great being able to spend some time with her. This time, it was wedgie free!  We went to La Jolla, which is one of my favorite places to go!  We saw lots of seals, including one little guy who kept making a sexy pose.  Haha.

I really enjoyed all of the time with my family, and can't wait for our next wee trip. 

So far, I have completed 47 out of 99 goals on my list.  I have 2 more to add until it is complete!

By request, I have also added to hike Half Dome at Yosemite (Nick), and take a belly dancing class (Ashley).  Thank you for your suggestions.  I am happy to add them!  I also decided to add on going swing dancing, just because it looks fun!

Finally, because it is Monday:  LIFETIME MOVIE MONDAY!

Title:  Making Mr. Right

My guess:  This movie has to be the classic girls betting against one another to make the nerd kid popular.  Of course the girl falls in love with him, the friend spoils the relationship by telling of the bet.  Drama happens.  They both love each other and end up together.  OR Lifetime can get super crazy, and once the boy finds out he was just a bet, he goes on a psycho rampage.  

Real story:   "Uptight female magazine editor, Hallie Galloway, is the very definition of a successful woman. Ambitious, sharp, and focused, Hallie is close to the promotion that she s worked so hard to achieve. Everything is coming together for her professionally, but she s about to get a curve ball she didn't expect.

In a modern-day reversal of My Fair Lady, Hallie makes a bet with her best friend that she can transform a scruffy con man into her magazine's 'Bachelor of the Year.' A shave and a haircut later, he's revealed as a handsomely charming rogue. Hallie teaches him manners and etiquette, while he teaches her to live in the moment. As sparks fly, love sets out to conquers the class divide."

I was pretty close.

In other news:  "MC Hammer once challenged Michael Jackson to a dance-off."
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-jennilea

Fearless Skydiving

Updates:

Last Monday, I announced that I would be avoiding Facebook for 1 week.  I successfully avoided it, and this has been one of the best weeks of my life.  I realized how dependent I am on my phone and social networking, so being away from it was very freeing.  I also noticed the dependency that others have on social media.  It takes away from face to face conversation, and regular contact with friends.  I made more of an effort to communicate with people I care about.  It was pretty great.  The plan is to keep this going.  Only Facebook in small increments.

Next on the list it to play a card game at a casino.  I played Black Jack on 10.10/11.12 at Thunder Valley Casino and ended up leaving with $20 more than what I started with.  So awesome.  I also learned a few little tricks, so hopefully I can get even better.  The dealers are really nice.

Finally,  the biggest event of the week:  Skydiving!  I went skydiving at the Parachute Center with my amazing friends, Katie, Nick, Nic, and Nand,  My instructor was Dan, from New Zealand.  He dove for his first time in 1999 and has been doing it ever sense.  He has only been in California for a short period of time, and moved here because the Skydiving opportunities were better.  He was awesome.  I highly recommend him!
In the days leading up to skydiving, I found that I was not nervous.  I figured that the nerves would start to settle in the day of, but it never happened.  Throughout the entire thing, I found myself excited rather than freaked out.  The airplane ride up was relaxing, and falling from 14,000 feet was amazing!  My first thought as we exited the plane was "woah, I am seriously falling from the sky right now!"  It was exciting and unlike anything I had ever experienced.  After 1 minute, the parachute opened, and it was instant silence.  Peaceful.  I realized something in this moment:  Fearless.  Not once did I think in fear or doubt that I would be okay.  This is the goal of the my entire Day Zero Project.  Have I overcome my fear of heights?  Needless to say, I cannot wait until my next trip down! Dan let me steer a little bit, with was fun, and we did some twists and turns.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for:  The video of my skydiving adventure!

45 Goals on the list have been completed!  719 days left!

This week, I will be running my first 3 mile run in prep for the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k and Obstacle Course, which is this Saturday.  I can't wait!

In other news, "Karoke means 'empty orchestra' in Japanese."  In the words of Ted Mosby, the architect  "It's that hauntingly beautiful?"
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-jennilea

Lifetime Guitar. Puzzling Zip-Line 5K...

On 10.7.12, I completed my goal to go zip lining.  It was a mini one, but I still did it.  I was definitely scared at first - even at only 25 feet.  However, when it came to the point of jumping, there was no hesitation.  I just went for it!  I had a blast and definitely want to do some other zip line courses that are higher up.  My research shows that it should not be too expensive.  I would like to get a group together for these fun times.

Random thought in writing this:  I saw an airplane on the way to work this morning and couldn't wait to fly again. <3  This is the first time I have longed to fly away since I was a kid. My willingness to complete these goals and conquer my fear of heights has really grown! Fearless.
Words cannot describe my excitement!

A few other goals currently in progress:

Learn to play guitar:  
I have been learning to play guitar at my church, First Baptist Church of Elverta, through Rawge Jones.  Rawge gave me a guitar that he both fixed and converted to left-handed so that I could play easier.  Please check out Reborn Guitars to see the amazing things this ministry is doing!  You can also check it out on Facebook!
In the photo to the right, Yessica and I are having a little guitar practice after-party.  Currently, we are learning to play "As the Deer."  I am proud to say that I can now sing this song while playing!  Progress. :]]

Complete a 1000 piece puzzle:
I am working on this lovely Sleeping Beauty Puzzle.  This thing has really been through it.  My cats have decided that they enjoy sliding across my dining room table, then they play with the pieces that fall off.  The worst damage they have done left only 75% of the princess and the rest completely demolished.  Steven and I actually had to hunt for pieces in order to put it all back together.  This included flipping couches and pulling out the refrigerator and stove.  Hardcore, I know.  Hopefully we have found all of the pieces.  This is how far I am at the moment.  Little by little, it is coming together.

Run a 5k:
I have been talking about the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k Obstacle Course for the last few posts.  We are finally less than 2 weeks until this 5k and I am stoked!  Yesterday, I did my first 2.75 mile run, and it felt great!  35 minutes was the total time, which is not quite where I want to be, but pshhhh,  I ran 2.75 miles!  I never thought I would be doing something like this.

The San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on June 2, 2013, is my ultimate goal in running.  In order to keep myself motivated, I need to keep finding runs that I can participate in.  This brought me to the 19th annual Run to Feed the Hungry, this year, on Thanksgiving.  This is a 10k run, which means that I will have 5 weeks to increase my distance from 3 to 6 miles.  No big deal.  I got this.

After the 10k, I will be looking for a half marathon run, so if you know of any, let me know!

Day Zero Project goal update:  49 goals to do, 4 goals in progress, and 42 goals achieved. 727 days left!

Avoid Facebook For 1 Week:
Starting today, I will be avoiding all forms of social media.  See you next Monday.

Let's move into...

Lifetime Move Monday!!!

Lifetime Movie: "Stranger with My Face"

My guess:  A girl was originally born a twin.  The other twin was kidnapped shortly after birth, by someone who had it out for the entire family.  The parents never told their daughter that she was a twin or of the issues with the other party in order to keep her life as normal as possible. The other twin was raised to be a replacement.  The plan is to kill her twin and take over her life, as she then plots to kill her parents.

Comment with your guesses.

The answer:

Afer the shocking and untimely death of her husband, Shelley Stratton (Catherine Hicks) moves her daughter Alexis (Emily Hurst) and her adopted daughter, Laurie (Alexz Johnson), to their remote summer house in hopes of giving her family a fresh start. As Laurie begins to settle in and put her life back together, she gets the eerie feeling that she is constantly being watched. Laurie's uneasiness grows when people start claiming to see her in places that she has never been. The family's delicate state begins to unravel when Laurie unearths the dark past, discovering a twin sister that she never knew she had. Laurie is forced to delve deeper into her twin's secrets, for as it turns out her twin has been locked up for years! Laurie must now understand their strange connection in order to prevent her sister from taking over her life and harming her loved ones.

Lifetime, you have done it again!

"In other news, a duck's quack doesn't echo."
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-jennilea

A Lot to Say and Lifetime Movie Monday

It is amazing what all has happened in the last week!  Here we go.

Last week, I fell behind on my running.  This week, I picked up on running and hit 2.5 miles.  I have been extremely discouraged though, as I am about 5 minutes behind on the time I would like to have.  It has been a real struggle to keep on going with how far behind I feel.  Then I realize how far I have come.  7 weeks ago, it would have been impossible to run this much at this speed.  My ultimate goal is 3 miles in 30 minutes. I am currently at 2.5 miles in 31 minutes, and have 2 weeks to speed that up!  I am confident I can get there.

Zombie run is just 3 weeks away!

Also, I have come to realize that the things I eat really dictate how I feel during my run.  For dinner tonight, I had pizza.  I have never felt more disgusted after a run.  I can feel the pizza in my stomach.  My runs seem more successful when I fill myself with fruit, veggies, and chicken. I also need to drink more water throughout the day. 

Next, school.  I have been contemplating a lot lately.  Is Sac State still my next move?  Should I attend a Christian College?  An online school?  Change my major?  What is it I really want?
I am almost done at American River College, and will be graduating with degrees in Liberal Arts and Commercial Music.  My next step was to go to Sac State and work towards a Bachelor degree in Music Business.  A career in music business is no easy to reach - if even possible while living in Sacramento.

The most excited I have been about a possible job is when I heard there was an opening at Air1 as a promotions manager (it is no longer available).  I spoke with Chelsea, the lead promotions manager, and asked what her major was:  Communications.  It hit me about two days ago, maybe a Communications degree would be best for me.  There is definitely a lot more that I can do, in this area, with a degree in Communications.  So, there we have it,  At Sac State, I will be a Communications major with an emphasis on Public Relations.  I am very excited, and hopefully, one day, I will be able to get on board with Air1.

Finally, social media.  I notice I am spending way too much time on Facebook.  As a result, this week, I will be accomplishing one of the goals on my list:  "Avoid Facebook for 1 week."  Not just Facebook though, I will be avoiding all forms of social media.  So, if you need to get in touch - text me or give me a call. :]

Now, it's time for...
Lifetime Movie Challenge Monday!

A friend and I began a game we like to call the Lifetime Movie Challenge.  Most people know that all Lifetime movies have outrageous plots that involve drugs, sex, murder, adultery, a douche bag guy, pregnant teen, etc.  While discussing this, we decided to look up some movie names.  After hearing the names, we decided to guess what the movies might be about.  I will now demonstrate this genius!

Lifetime Movie:  "Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear"

My guess:  A couple finally has a baby.  A jealous friend, who is unable to have children, decides she wants the child for herself.  As a result, she breaks in, locks up the couple, and takes the baby.  The entire thing - heard over the baby monitor...the couple tracks the woman down.  She somehow ends up dead.  Baby is returned.  Happy ending.

What do you think the story is about?  

Answer:  "A neglectful mother overhears her husband on the telephone at their workplace talking with their babysitter. She discovers they are having an affair and are going to have a baby. She concocts an evil plan to win back her husband and remove the girl and baby. Two men are hired to kill the girl and hold the son hostage in order for her to play the hero and reclaim her husband. The plan hits a snag when the criminals enter the wrong apartment."


In other news, "Ancient Egyptians would mourn the death of cats by shaving off their eyebrows."
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-jennilea