Unexpected Encouragement!

I was walking out of Mozart's Coffee shop today after sending a thousand e-mails and forcing my brain on to the next thing I have to do and planning the rest of my day, when a 4 year old walks out of the restroom, looks at me and says, "Me and my dad just shared an ice cream!!!" He was ecstatic! I asked him what kind. "Chocolate!" (of course) Before I can say "YUM," he starts to tell me about his big plan to go to the Nature Center and how he hasn't been in a "long long time" so he doesn't really remember the bat cave! And that is his first stop, the bat cave!! This precious conversation lasted all the way from the front door of Mozart's, across the front deck, up the stairs and to the edge of the parking lot. As we began to part ways, I tell him that his day sounds so fun and that I hope he remembers the bat cave this time, and he says "Yeehh!!" And instead of "BYE!" he turns and yells "GOOD LUCK!"

Just the encouragement I needed for my first big project at work! It also put a huge smile on my face!

Tour de France Phenomena

Its that time of the year. Tour de France... Unfortunately that catchy slogan, "Tour de Lance" will not be shouted, as our hometown hero hold down 3rd place after 8 stages and Spain has a steady lead. All of that said, the Tour brings out the professional biker in all of us. Roadside cyclist are not an uncommon sight on the shoulders of our hill country highways. On weekends, city dwellers flock by the hundreds to the beautiful back roads. But during these weeks of nail biting trials and seconds between first and second place as our favorites press on over the Pyreneese Mtns to win that yellow jersey, those weekend warriors are hitting the roads more frequently than Saturday and Sunday mornings. Instead I passed a team in training just this morning... its Tuesday. Its almost as if they are trying to make up for those dreadful minutes trapping their choice Austinite in 3rd. The only difference in their hard work and his, its 105* here and about 80* there.

A 180

I'm in Texas. And its hard right now but I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I decided not to move to LA and go to grad school here. It has been something I have wanted to do for a long time now and the best way to do that is to stay in Austin. Now I have to figure out how to pay for it and thats a life time of stress filled conversations. I am open to all ideas and suggestions!

I'm super excited about having a summer in Austin. I have wanted to be here for so long but school and work kept me away. Now, I'm here. I'm about to leave for Port Aransas to spend some much needed time with my brother and my precious grandparents, Peggy and Cactus. Chase and I are going camping with friends this weekend and the Frio River sounds so sweet!

A Bittersweet Symphony

I'm sitting at TOMS HQ and it is so good to be back! Reunited with friends and stationary, at least for a while. So now we are processing our travels. And a process it is... I've really been everywhere. After this tour, I will drive 4 hours to meet someone for lunch and then turn around and go home. I mean, after driving 24 hours straight 8 hours of driving in one day is nothing.

How am I feeling about going home? Truthfully, it's a little bittersweet. I'm super excited to fly home with Katie and see my mom and dad and Pec. Stoked about hanging out with Charity and Angela, eating some Salt Lick and going dancing! I'm ready for my body to go into hypothermic shock as soon as I jump into Barton Springs. The cliffs of Lake Travis are calling my name. But at the same time, I'm leaving LA. 3rd Street Promenade all day, Venice Beach for sunset, Malibu on the weekends, wineries in Napa and the most amazing fresh strawberries on the side of the road, 65* at night and beautiful during the day! So yes, I am sad to leave California.

People ask why I love LA so much... "there is traffic?!?!" "everyone is so superficial"... yadda yadda YADDA! I just tell them: number 1, I am either going to sit in traffic in Downtown Austin, or sit in traffic on the PCH next to the beach. number 2, there are superficial people everywhere. and number 3, LA is this huge city on the beach that is totally chill and laid back. Everything I love is with in 2 hours of me. I can be at Butterfly Beach in 1.5 hrs, hiking in the mountains of Topanga is 30 mins or working out at muscle beach in 15. Perfection!

the past few weeks...

Let's talk about the past few weeks! I don't even know where to begin, so I guess I will begin at the beginning. Have you heard about The Rescue? Did you hear that Oprah rescued Chicago 6 days after it had begun? Well, if you haven't I will tell you about it. The Rescue was a peaceful demonstration to raise awareness for the war in Northern Uganda and Joseph Knoy's abducted child soldiers. We were to meet at one location and "abduct" ourselves. We then marched to another public location, in my case we marched to the Arch in St. Louis, and set up camp and waited until a federal politician or A-lister came to our rescue. (side note: Spending the night under the stars in downtown St. Louis worked out perfectly as we had no where to stay that night...) This was done by them coming to the site and giving a statement of support. There were 100 cities around the world involved and 6 days later, 500 people were in Chicago. Their dedication paid off when Oprah rescued them and segmented a spot for the Invisible Children film makers to make their case. Do you know how huge that is?? Just think about how many people watch Oprah. I mean the amount of power the woman has is ridiculous and she told all of her viewers to look up InvisibleChildren.com and watch the documentary. Harpo wins in my book!

After The Rescue, we started making our way back to the West coast. Drove half way to Albuquerque where Justin had to catch a flight back to Nashville for a wedding and Carolyn and I drove the last 14 hours just the two of us! We didn't get tired until the last 4 hours of the trip. I would say that's pretty good! The best part about being back in Cali - STAYING WITH THE HAMMERS!!! Yes you heard me we got to spend an entire weekend with Mike Hammer's parents! We also go to meet his grandma and she is precious!
(The van parked in front of one of many roadside attractions we encountered along the way...)

We are now back in San Francisco staying with the Maxey's! Great family! They introduced us to some amazing Indian food... it might be my new favorite cuisine!

Today is Cinco de Mayo... we will see what San Fran has in store for us tonight!!!

Home Sweet South

We ended up having a few days to kill and we were only 17 hours away from Nashville, TN, so we thought it would be a great idea to head East for a nice home cooked meal and a comfy bed at Justin's house.

It felt so good to be back in Dixie Land! The smell of wild onions filled the air and the sun shinned! Sweet tea was available everywhere we went and a side of gravy is always an option!

Meeting Justin's parents was amazing! Joni Cook made sure we were comfortable and well fed. Every morning there were cinnamon rolls and coffee! Everyday was brownies or rice krispy treats! We had our own rooms and bathrooms! SPACE!! This is something we are not used to and it was amazing!

Justin was able to get his "man" time! This regenerated his soul and he is back to liking our girly company again!

Now we are hanging out in Columbia, MO at the coolest coffee, bar, music venue!

update!

I've ignored my dear blog lately and I have chosen now, 10:57pm the evening before Easter Sunday, to give a quick update.

We are currently in Denver, CO with the lovely Coop! Those of you who do not know Coop, you are missing out and I will brief you on her greatness! Coop, NW vagabond season 1, letting Carolyn and I sleep in her very comfy bed, and took us to the greatest crep place in Denver. She introduced us to an amazing game that has to do with eating a napkin as fast as possible... very funny to do in a public space. I will give you more on Denver in a few days, since we have just arrived there is not much to report.

My parents came to see me in Colorado Springs! YAYA fro parents!!! They brought Chaco and that was so good for my heart! I hate to see them go and can't wait to see them on May 25 at 2:30pm at Austin, Bergstrom International Ariport.

I have begun my job search. Thats enough about that.

Anyway I just wanted to say hi! More on my life later!

A San Francisco Treat!

Where to begin! We are on day three in the SF and let me tell ya, this city is not for the weak legged. Up hills and down hills walking on the side of a hill. You just can't get around them. Now driving up and down these hills in our 15 passenger VagaVan is minorly terrifying ... Carolyn has been doing a great job!

But this city... WOW is all I gotta say. Its beautiful. One of Justin's friends said this is more of a place to live. I can see why. A visitor spends the first day walking about and the next four days in a salt bath trying to relax their muscles! I'm not gunna lie, my calves are pretty tired at the moment.

So far we have discovered some amazing green tea ice cream in China Town. Walked from China Town up hills so steep they built stairs (how cars are expected to chug up these I will never know), to Coit Tower. Great View! Good history lesson! (i bought a postcard) After a rest at the top we trekked back down the daunting hills to Pier 39. Holy sea lions! They had taken over an entire boat dock! After that was Fisherman's Wharf! Cool sign but if there was really something to see I missed it.

Lets talk about the Golden Gate Bridge! We had some insider information on where to go to get the best view. BVC was right.. Fort Point is the way to go! It was kind of over cast but we could see the entire bridge and Alcatraz felt with in reach!

We have just been having a grand 'ole time being annoying tourists!

O yeh we screened the TOMS documentary today at Sonoma State!

Running in the Rain

I know this looks like I posted twice in one day but I wrote the other one yesterday and just didn't get it posted until today!
BUT I just wanted to say that I love running in the rain! Cold steady rain! It was the best and i really needed it! I was getting to that point when my patience is short and i just need to run out my tension!

So rain + running+ Seattle= AMAZING!

Greeting from (not so) Sunny Seattle

O how I miss all of you! I hear its a steamy 88* back home in Texas and my fellow Vagabonds in the North East are rockin' a chilling 14*.

Here in Seattle we have had the full range of weather. We first arrived with a constant mist but it was fine because we had some work to do so we found a great coffee shop at Pike Place called Local Color and posted up for a few hours.



Our first full day here was also the day of our first event at Univ of Washington and it rained. And when I say it rained, I mean big drops of rain. Not so conducive to selling TOMS.

Woke up the next morning to a blanket of white snow!



Day 3... SUN!!! and a comfortable 45*.. but be careful of the shade, the temp drops about 10 degrees.

Which brings us up to today... slight over cast and comfortably cold. Meaning I'm wearing leggings, 2 t-shirts, a hoodie, a scarf, gloves, beanie and rain boots. But it's not raining.. my new Zebra Stripped Rain boots are just real cute and real warm.

Keys!!

Funnie story... I do my best not to get caught up in drama at my condo in LA but this was just to good not to write about.

I spent the majority of the weekend hanging out with an old friend but when I got back everyone was in a fussy over a set of keys being missing. Sunday evening rolls around and Kelli finds that the Ice maker has dispensed not only ice but a set of frosted keys into her glass. All of the sudden the State of the Union is at stake because everyone believes someone decided it was a great joke to hide the keys and make everyone stress! Now it is more important to find out who did it then the fact that the keys are now found! YAYA!

All the while I can't help but thinking about that time I thought I lost my keys when in fact they decided to spend the weekend in my sink garbage disposal. I couldn't drive all weekend because I was convinced someone took my keys. Oh, almost forgot, I live by myself. But I was convinced Chaco had eaten them. Losing your keys is just one of those hilarious things that happen in life... can we laugh about this please!! 10 bucks says someone came home late went to get some ice cream out of the freezer and put the keys in the ice cream's place and Kelli got a little surprise!!

Moral of this story, if you can't fidn yrou keys look in two places: the freezer and the sink disposal!

25 Fabulous Things about ME

Since I am in a down time, this will be my second post of the day! So here are some things you might not know about me!

1) My most favorite color is PINK. Carolyn has pointed out that every accessory that could possibly be pink, is. What can I say i just gravitate towards the color.

2) Chaco is my dog and I love him so much. I sometimes think a dog's love is a more true mirror of Jesus' love for his children.

3) I love History! European, American, African, Latin American, world. Old stuff really gets me going. Just to think about how long a parchment from Egypt has been around and who it was meant for gets me really excited! I mean Cleopatra could have touched, or written a note and now I get to read it and touch it, with white gloves on, but still! I love the connection to the past

4) I think the beach in the winter is amazingly peaceful

5) The sunshine brings things to life including my spirit

6) I work for TOMS Shoes as a Vagabond. For every pair you purchase TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. This has opened my eyes to wanting to encourage every company to adopt this model in one form another.

7) Grande Chai Latte with soy milk - no water from Starbucks

8) If I could have chosen what era to live in I would say the Roaring '20s. And I would have been a flapper in a Vegas Show!

9) I want to love people the way my brother does, intentionally.

10) There is a small apartment building on Venice Beach, CA that is mint green and has an emergency stair case going up the front. From its window you can see all of Venice Beach and its glory. I want to live in this building!

11) Sundays are for church and taking naps.

12) I feel like everyone should do something that scares them. I moved to California and that scares the hell out of me. And guess what... so far so great!

13) Surprises are awsome!

14) Presents. I'm a huge fan!! I particularly like the one that are homemade. I also like the ones that sparkle... I'm just sayin'.

15) I wish Matt would read my blog. I think he would like it.

16) I coined the term "The Bag Lady." Backpacks, tote bags, Mark Jacobs purses, recylable grocery bags, hiking bags, shoulder slings, clutches.. When I was a little girl I used to get all of my bags and fill them with everything I own and carry them around the house.

17) My mom is my best friend!

18) Having cold feet is the most miserable feeling in the world

19) I'm a sucker for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill duos. (its my guilty pleasure)

20) I have a single dred-lock. Katie did it for me... I wish I had the guts to do my whole head but I just can't part ways with my curling iron.

21) waking up early is over rated...

22) To me the sound of rain is like a lullabye to a baby.

23) I secretly wanna be famous but I don't like being the center of attention.

24) When I was in college I would walk around campus with my ear buds in to avoid talking to people... I would walk around with them in even when I ipod was dead

25) I crack myself up. Really.. I think I'm hilarious

Rainy days!

I always feel like rainy days are meant for a PJ day and a good book. For this reason I always feel a little less productive during the work day. Like today, it is raining outside and the temperature is cooler than the usual southern california mid 70*. I am listening to Feist, and wishing I was in front of a fire. Rainy days make me want to be home. Unfortunatly for me, home is 2,000 miles away and that makes me a little sad :(

On a brighter note Matt will be here with me in 8 days!!!

FRIDAY!!!!!!

This is us outside TOMS head quarters! This first week has been stellar! We finally have our own office space so we are doin' work! Everyone, except Justin (not pictured), was cleared to drive the VagaVans so we had a pretty fun time truckin' around LA yesterday afternoon. Drove down Santa Monica Blvd past Fox Studios... if I had x-ray vision I would have seen Jack Bower!! At least thats what I told myself and everyone in my van agreed!

I'm pretty stoked about tonight.. We are going to a launch party for this campaign called Falling Whistles. The mission is to inform people about child soldiers. Peyton, a new friend that works at TOMS is DJing and the theme is Stashes or Sashes.. translation I will be drawing a stash across my top lip!!! I'm pretty excited about it! Photos to follow!

Half way into the first week

My brother has probably taught me the best response to something to don't agree with or on something I have no control over... "WHELP!" And let me tell ya.. I have said "Whelp"more in the past 7 days than I ever have. For example someone says, "I'm tired of sitting on the floor." my response.. "Whelp!" "I want this.." my response... "Whelp!" "I think that (insert passionate opinion here) " my response... "Whelp!" "I'm tired." my response.. "Whelp!"

I have found "whelp"to be best non confrontational/ neutral word to answer all questions.

On a more TOMS Shoe note... we are supposed to think of our "shoe names." These names are a pun on words. or example, Mikey is " Shoemanitarian " there is also "solejourner." And I could not for the life of me think of a shoe name... so I finally decided... ShoeLou. My mama and pape always calls me LouLou so it just made sense.!

Santa Monica

After a very emotional night with Matt and a sad goodbye with mom and Matt.. I'm here in sunny southern California! Good first full day.. woke up had breakfast and got oriented with the program rules and what not.

The Vagabond Condo is much MUCH nicer than I expected. (I'll post photos later) There are 14 people living in a three bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath condo with the study made into a bedroom. It's great!

Lets see what else... I worked out... Showered... now I dunno. I'm excited to be here! Tired.

O! I did learn that if 14 people try to get on a wireless network at one time... it doesn't work!

And we're probably going to the beach tonight and I get to see katie tomorrow! And THAT my friend makes my heart smile!