So, I'm making a pact to all of my readers and especially to myself right now that I'm going to be a better blogger! :D Because of this horrible fault in myself, I apologize that this entry is going to be insanely long. Actually, I'll explain why I need to better harness the blogger in me... it's because I always seem to lose my train of thought. Seriously, having a conversation with me is like flipping through TV channels; I'm so ADD! Anytime I'm away from my computer, I begin to think of an amazing blog title or some delightfully amusing anecdote, but for some reason when I sit down to type up my entry, all of my cute, witty, and entertaining thoughts escape me. Anyway... I'm going to be better! lol

Let's travel back in time to the last time I wrote an entry, my safety ride, back in December! I'm about to provide you with a crash course of my life since December! I had my last final on Dec. 14. I left for Egypt on Dec. 16! Hah! I cannot even begin to explain how much of a setback on my training this was. Needless to say, I had a BLAST! My family and I hadn't visited Egypt in ten years, so I had family members I had never even seen before! How weird is it to have spoken to cousins on the phone without having a face to connect the voice to?!? To some, this is beyond comprehensible, but to me, it's all I've ever known. Every vacation, every holiday, every weekend I've had since I was 8-ish, has been spent with my immediate family or friends. I won't bore you with my lovely 20 day vacation, but simply mention that I had a winter break unlike any other! I visited pyramids and their sarcophagus, the sphinx, 14 historical churches and monasteries, and the Egyptian museum where I saw mummies! I went swimming and snorkeling in the Red Sea in beautiful, sunny 70 degree weather and spent New Year's Eve partying with Italians, Germans, and French people! Ahh, such a good time! Oh, and I ran twice!!! Hahahaha! I hope my fitness directors don't read this!

Fast-forward to Jan. 3 when I flew back to the US for band practice! As a member of the Longhorn Band at UT, I had the privilege of being flown out to Pasadena, CA for the National Championship game. I'm so bad; I didn't work out in CA, but... I had a lovely week back at home in which I ran a couple more times! Whoo hoo!

Fast-forward to Jan. 19 when school started. Texas 4000 did not wait for me to slowly saunter back into my work-out routine. The first week of school had a required mileage we had to meet. My school schedule is spread out, so my ride availability is limited. However, I make do with what time I have! :D We also started our mandatory Saturday rides! Yay!! I'm more looking forward to these rides because it'll be most similar to my summer: biking with my T4K family, stopping for tacos whenever we feel like it, chatting it up on the flats, speeding down on the downhills, and inching up on the uphills!!! Ahh, every time I think about this lovely scenario, I can't help but smile at how perfect and ideal it sounds!!! :D

I also forgot to mention that I had signed up to run the Austin Half-marathon on Valentine's Day!! Don't laugh, but before this past summer, I had never run more than 2 miles, and I was training for 13.1 miles! CRAZY!!! There are a couple more people on the team running too: Andrew T., Angela, Basia, Kate P., and Kathryn F.! Props to us! lol Training was such a blast! I rewarded myself with new Asics. They are gorgeous, white and cerulean blue, and run like a dream! :) My other shoes were too sandy from running in the desert in Egypt! ;)

T4K began to take up more of my time! :) I have to keep up with my finances, my weekly and monthly mileage requirements, and take care of my Travel Committee deadlines! Let me just say that being on the Travel Committee is just SOOO much fun for me! I absolutely LOVE dealing with hosts and organizing where we're going to stay!

I do remember one little anecdote I wanted to share! I led an 8 am ride one Tuesday morning, and Ana C. and I were the only riders! This ride was definitely an adventure! Hah! I had already fallen down before I even met up with Ana! I was unsure of a car's motives, and they were in front of me. I slowed down so much that I simply fell over from lack of momentum! Hahahaha! Anyway, Ana and I got lost. We tried to cut out a 5 mile loop from our directions and ended up taking a couple of wrong turns. I don't even know how to explain our way back, but it was 10:57 am when we had actually biked onto campus. I had a class at 11 am. I immediately biked over to the building, proceeded inside and up the escalators with my bike, in my bike gear, without school supplies, sweaty! LOL I walked in late, of course, had about 50 students looking my way, continued to prop my bike along the wall, and casually sat down next to a random, red-haired student where I was forced to ask him for a piece of paper and a pencil! Hahahaha! I just couldn't miss the class because it was a test review! That's right... admire my dedication! LOL

Well, I want to end this ridiculously LOOOOONG entry with my opinion of my teammates. I honestly have no idea where to start. This is an exceptional group of people. I'm blessed and honored and privileged (and any other good-feeling word you can insert here) to know EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM!!! I feel like I can't even describe in words how amazing this family is!!! It's crazy to try to picture my life now without some of these people because they've already made such a HUGE impact on my life. I think it would be a good idea for me to end some of my entries with something positive about a teammate or two. I'm going to write about a few today to make up for the lack of entries I've been writing, so in no order whatsoever, I present:

Kathryn Flowers, who has an insanely overactive drive and determination that I can only hope to match one day!! Actually, if I had just 1/10 of Kathryn's drive, I daresay I could find a cure for cancer myself! Kathryn is 20, is graduating early, has an insanely accomplished resume, and is one of the most thoughtful (in her own way) people I know! I feel like I am one of the few on the team that truly knows Kathryn. There are not many people that can instill fear in you, can joke around with you, and can still maintain your respect, but Kathryn is one of those people to me! I have never told her this, but I look up to Kathryn immensely. The way she views the world and her surroundings is just so invigorating to me; she just recently wrote a blog about me, and she made me cry! She has become one of my better friends, and I'm super ecstatic that she's my Travel Chair and on my route!! :D I love this girl!!!

Angela L., one of the sweetest people I will ever meet! Angela just loves people; she is somebody that simply cares just to care! She makes me smile every time I see her, and I can't help but want to pick her up and spin her around! She is fluent in ASL and comes from a very interesting culture and background. Angela's also one of those people that you can tell has a big heart. She never hesitates to give me a ride, if ever I need one, and is always there if ever I need to talk! I love her!! :D She was one of the people that inspired me to do the half-marathon!

Krisztina, perhaps one of the best hug-givers ever! Krisztina is Hungarian, can TOTALLY speak the language, is a TOTAL hoss, and I love her! :D She's also another person that will never hesitate to give me a ride if I need one. We have now shared a couple of dates together, and I can easily say that her attitude towards all cycling levels has been extremely helpful!! She is one of our more experienced cyclists on the team but gives advice and wisdom freely to those who need it! Krisztina is someone who takes initiative in life, and I know she's going to be successful with whatever she decides to do!

Erica Plummer. So, I don't know why I always find myself crying at EVERY Texas 4000 meeting. I feel like for a very emotionally-involved organization, I may be the most emotional person in it! Erica gave her "Why I'm Here" presentation not too long ago, where I proceeded to cry a lot during it. Prior to this, I had NOOO idea she'd had cancer. Erica is one of the last people that I had met on the team, and lately, we've been finding ourselves spending more time together on Saturday rides and joking around more at meetings! Erica is truly inspirational. She also happens to be one of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL people I will ever meet in my life... and by the way, she can definitely pull off wearing a bike jersey! I, however, cannot! lol Erica is beautiful inside as well as out. It simply takes a few words of a conversation with her before it's apparent that she has a huge heart and cares deeply about her friends and family.

Karen Wood. I remember when I first met her...! Hah! That was funny! She was also one of the last people I had met on the team, and ironically enough, has become one of my closest friends on the team! We can easily confide in each other, and I know I can always ask her for advice! Karen is one of those people that will randomly text me to tell me to have a great day. :)

Alec Herzog, who is just so darn adorable! I just love him! Alec is one of the most easy-going guys I know. He had FIVE finals one semester and is still alive to talk about it! No matter how much he goes through, I feel like his dedication for Texas 4000 always comes through. I could name many occasions where he would wake up for non-mandatory rides after not sleeping much... wow; dedication! lol Alec is sometimes assigned as sweeper for my Saturday morning group. His attitude towards the cyclists that fall towards the back of the pack is uplifting and sincerely helpful, and I would know! :)

Andrew Trang, who's personality and sense of humor just radiates with everything he says and does. Andrew and I study together sometimes, probably a bad idea, because we don't get much done! Andrew is smart, although I feel like no matter what, he's going to do great things simply because he just has such a great personality! Without Texas 4000, I don't know if he and I would've ever crossed paths, yet for the short time that we've known each other, I've opened up to him quite a bit. :D Andrew is just so easy to talk to, easy to joke around with, and easy to become one of your best friends!

Jordan Deathe, the oldest little boy I know! I absolutely LOOOVE Jordan! :D Every single time I see him, I just HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO give him the biggest hug ever! Jordan's an experienced rider and could probably out-bike my best day with his worst day, twice. Needless to say, he's also one of the best about not leaving anybody behind. He is one of those people that can simply speak their mind freely with such a young-at-heart spirit, and I love that quality about him! Jordan has also battled cancer, and I feel like this experience for him has only made him stronger, more wise, yet younger. I could sit and listen to Jordan talk for hours because I feel like his opinion is unique and valuable! :D

Sarah Fernandez, my baby! Sarah is on the 2011 team. She is a freshman and also plays the saxophone in the Longhorn Band. We sit directly NEXT to each other in Concert Band this semester, which is a MAJOR problem because we never stop talking! LOL I want to say that I took this little one in as my own! I love Sarah very much and just want her to succeed in everything she does! I'm not too worried because she also has that unique drive and dedication that pushes her past her limits. Sarah is younger than me but has such a varied way of looking at things that I find myself often coming to her for advice! I'm ECSTATIC that Sarah and I can share Texas 4000 but a little bummed that we are doing it separate years! She was also one of the people that inspired me to do the Half-Marathon.

Thank you to everyone that supports Texas 4000 and our cause! Thank you for helping us make this a reality! Goodnight, everyone! :D