Long Time, No Blog

LAUREN: First off, my apologies to everyone for being a bad blogger. Things have been a bit crazy in my life, but are now starting to settle down. For this, I am grateful.

Let me bring everyone up to speed. How much riding have I done since I last blogged? I rode once for an hour. Am I terrified of what lies ahead on October 14? You bet! But, it will be fun and it will be a challenge for me indeed.

Here's the scoop on my other life stuff.

New Job - It's great. I am on a tremendous learning curve, but it's fun. The people are great, the technology is interesting and I am enjoying it. Here's a sneak peek of what lies ahead for me for 2007 regarding tradeshows for National Instruments. I survived my first NIWeek too!

Working Out - My new job has a gym on campus, so I have been doing yoga classes twice a week. I love it and it is a great perk to the new job. I have been sprinkling in some light cardio sessions too, which is muy bueno.

Health - Since I left LAF, I have been dealing with hypothyroidism. Luckily, it can be managed by taking a pill everyday and I have seen a MAJOR improvement in my quality of life since I have been on the meds. The down side is that I have been on "restricted exercise" since my body is adjusting to the drugs, which doesn't bode well for someone who is supposed to be training for a 70-mile ride.

Getting Older - I just celebrated another birthday a few weeks ago and I am feeling the effects of aging. I have a gray hair (sadly, it's not the first) but I am a bit intrigued by it. This one is near the front of my head and I am tracking its growth. Sad...I know.

A Visit from the Milligans - Karen (one of my BFFs) and Greg came from London for a visit. I miss her dearly and was so happy that we were able to spend time together while she was in the States. Our night on the town included a visit to Trudy's near campus (just like when we were in college) and drinks at Union Park and Molotov.

Milford's Back - One of the smartest people I know finally returned home after a summer of making the world a better place. MM and BP hosted a fabulous brunch and I was the last person to leave the fiesta. Luckily, they didn't mind it and I was grateful that I was able to spend time catching up with both of them.

Jen and Lauren's Day of Fun - Due to busy schedules and my phone being broken for what seemed like an eternity, Jen and I haven't been able to hang out or catch up on life. Hence, we scheduled a day-long fun fest that included an office design class at Pottery Barn, our first (and lengthy!) visit to Le Garage Sale, a quick run-through of the City-Wide Garage Sale and a lovely lunch at Zocalo. Fun times!

Longhorn Football - My favorite time of the year is about to begin - it's time for COLLEGE FOOTBALL! I went to Mack Brown's Football Clinic for Women on Thursday with my pal, Melanie, and we had a blast. Not only did we walk away with a bag full of goodies, we also got an autograph from Mack and a photo opp. Bring on Arkansas State. Hook'em!

The LIVESTRONG Challenge in Philadelphia is this weekend. Good luck to all of the participants! To the Challenge girls at the LAF, I hope all goes well this weekend.

That's all for now.