Well, gee, Governor, I'm a vampire.

WOW. I officially suck at blogging. It's been WAY too long since I updated...sorry!!

I had an interesting experience today that I thought I needed to write about. I have to give a bit of background information first.

Late this summer my friend Alison gushed to me about how she was in love with the Twilight Saga books by Stephenie Meyer. She insisted that I read them but I was hesitant for a few reasons:
1. I'm 25 years old. Not 15.
2. I hardly have time to read my Facebook wall posts (ha, you know it). Where was I going to find the time to read these 500+ page books (four books, to be exact) about vampires?
3. I'm 25 years old.
4. I had a few books on my "If I ever have time to read for fun these are the books I'd like to attempt to read" List that I wanted to read first...books I already spent money on.

As reluctant as I was, I told her I'd read them if she would loan the books to me because I didn't want to invest the money in four books that I thought I'd hate -- plus I'd heard it was impossible to stake claim to them at the library. She agreed that she would bring them to me next time she came to town.

Well, she didn't. She didn't forget to bring them... she couldn't bring them because each time she came to town the books were being read by a friend or family member...specifically, her mom and a friend she knew from UND Law School. The fact that her mom and a fellow married 20-something was reading these books made me more open to reading them myself.

A month or two passed with the occasional Twilight reference/rave but I still had not read any of the books. Eventually, a coworker-- who is in her twenties and has a baby-- finished reading the books and convinced me to read them. I took the first one, "Twilight," on a trip to Chicago one weekend. I couldn't find enough time to read. My husband and I were visiting family and I just wanted to ignore my in-laws all weekend and curl up and read. I even brought the book to a party/concert and read at the intermission to the dismay of others around me. I think I was getting glares because they were all jealous that they didn't have the brilliant idea to bring Twilight with them. Ha!

Thankfully, I had time on the plane to read and I quickly gobbled up the rest of the book and started the second as soon as I got my grubby hands on it-- I packed it with on the trip because I figured I'd finish the first. Good thinking!

I am currently about half-way through the third book. Commuting an hour to town and back each day makes reading trickier than I'd like... but it also means I get to "savor" each book a little longer. Yummy.

And this is where the "issues" come in. I've become obsessed with Twilight. And by obsessed, I mean I have started narrating my day like Bella does in print. I tried to convince my husband to do his hair like Edward's. I've seriously considered the possibility of real-life vampires and where I might find them. I've pushed the limits of my Toyota Camry on the highway and pretended that I had my own radar detector in my head (if you haven't read the books you probably won't get this). I actually had a conversation in the car one day with Edward. Seriously. We talked about Bella.

And now today, my mind has reached a new level of Twilight obsession. For those of you who don't know, I do PR for the NDDOT Fargo District and today we had a ribbon cutting ceremony for a project in West Fargo. The governor came for it and everything. When he arrived I greeted him and introduced myself. This is how the exchange happened:

Me: Hi, Governor. How was your trip?

Gov: Hi! It was good, thanks. Wow, your hands are so cold.

At this point any normal person would say something like, "Oh, I forgot my gloves." Or, "It's a little chilly out." Or just laugh it off. But not me.

My FIRST THOUGHT as a possible (and probable?) response to him was, "Well, that's because I'm a vampire." I quickly realized that that wasn't something I could say to the governor of North Dakota and expect to keep my job, so I just stuttered a lot and tried to think of something else to say:

Me: Oh, uh... Um... Er.... well...

NDDOT Guy: This is the gal that was just calling to see if your plane had landed.

Whew! Saved by a sane person! Thank God my internal filter was working this afternoon, or it may have been a completely different story!

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Going to be like Taylor Swift!

Okay, so if you've visited my other Web site (thinjen.webs.com) you know that once I reach a goal I'm going to dye my hair blonde.

And I reached that goal (sort of)! So tonight I'm going to get my hairs did all purty-like and be a little blondie. I haven't been blonde since my wedding and I'm excited to go back.

I'll be sure to post pics once it's done.

On another note, I'm back from Maine and had a grand ol' time! The ocean was amazing, the beach was relaxing, the food was filling and everything else was amazing. I really want to go back and explore more of the state/region sometime.

No pics to post at the moment, but I'll get some up soon. Okay, back to work. Lunch is over.

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Airports Annoy Me!

I have to make this quick because my flight boards in one minute (at 5:32 a.m., to be exact). People in airports always annoy the bejeezus out of me! While I was getting in line at the beginning on security, the lady in front of me was being escorted there by two males and saying goodbye to them. They were just standing there and not moving while the rest of the line was moving up. They just kept talking and hugging and I'm thinking, "Maybe you should let me go first so you can hug it out. Good Lord." But alas, no one ever thinks about those things except me. Maybe I'm too uptight about this kind of nonsense. Once she finally did move up in line she kept turning around and saying, "I love you guys" in a voice that no one should be forced to hear at 5:15 in the morning. Yikes. Oh, and did I mention she didn't have her ID out to get checked through security? C'mon people!! This is not a new rule! GEEZ!

Okay, they're calling me so I have to go, but I should also mention that there was a crazy guy in a wheelchair (he's already on the plane now) who was lecturing some strangers about church or something. I like church, but I don't like when other people lecture strangers about it. Oka, gotta go. To MAINE!

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A new Web site

Wow, it's been close to a month since my last post and for that I apologize.

I started a new Web site that allows me to do more things than this one does (calendar, blog, photo albums, guest book, etc). I'll still be using this one occasionally (c'mon, we all know I'm bad at updating this thing) to write about life in general, while I'll use the new one to chronicle my attempt at losing 15 pounds. You can see the new site at thinjen.webs.com

In other news, I think I discovered the cause of my rash. I think I'm allergic to tomatoes. Which sucks because I just planted two tomato plants this spring and they're starting to get little baby tomatoes already!! OH WELL. Could be worse, that's for sure.

Next week I'm going to Maine to visit my friend Anna. I've never been to Maine before and I am SUPER excited! I promise I'll post some pics when I get back!

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Love and Running (not a love of running)

I have a lot on my mind tonight... but it's that state of mind where there's a lot going on but you can't get it out into words. I feel anxious but I don't know why. I want to change but I don't know how. I want to do something but I don't know what that something is.

I just finished watching "He's Just Not That Into You" and I really liked it. Jerry watched most of it with me and I have to admit there were a number of times that I wanted to turn to him and say, "Is that how you feel/felt about me?" or "Is that true about guys?" but I resisted, which I am sure he's very happy about. I have to agree with the idea in the movie that it's just so odd that we tell our kids that if someone is mean to them it means that person has a crush on them (sorry for that horribly constructed sentence). I think this idea we tell our kids sets us/them up for failure. And what's the whole thing about who calls whom. If you like someone, why don't you just call and get that whole awkward part over with?

I'm really not one to talk about dating. I had one boyfriend in high school and early in college. I thought we were going to get married. I thought I was in love with him and that he was "the one." I told myself I was so lucky to find the love of my life so early on with no hassle. Ha! After we broke up I decided I was never going to get married --ever! I thought he was it for me and clearly (in my mind at that time) if it wasn't him it wasn't going to be anyone. Isn't it amazing how we talk ourselves into these things? I wasn't miserable in that relationship but, to be honest, half the time I was in the same room as the guy I was embarrassed or annoyed by him. And I thought that was love! Actually, I decided it was "love" Christmas of our senior year in high school. One day when I was at his house I got this overwhelming feeling of wanting to decorate him Christmas tree when we were adults. So, like any rational person would do, I concluded it was true love. Weird, huh?

Fast forward about 3.5 years from that time, and I met Jerry. What was great about dating Jerry is that we decided very early on that we were only going to be 100% honest with each other. No games, no lies or fibs, just honesty--even if it meant being a little harsh at times. And we never had the "When is he going to call me back?" issues like in the movie. After our first date we were inseparable. It wasn't until I started dating Jerry that I realized the "love" I had for my high school boyfriend wasn't love at all... it was just "like." It was teenager feelings. I was in love with the idea of being in love, so I made myself believe I was in love. Jerry was the one who really showed me how to love and be loved.

Okay, this is starting to sound a little sappy and weird... so I'll stop. On another note, I ran another 5K yesterday! I ran the YMCA Chase Race with my friend Laura and I improved on my time from the Fargo Marathon 5K by over 1:30! I was surprised to see I improved because the race felt horrible as I was doing it. I felt so bad and kept saying to Laura, "Go ahead if you want, I'm sorry if I'm slowing you down." But she insisted the pace was good. I'm a slow runner and I can't run very well. On a treadmill I can go for (what seem to me) long periods of time, but running outside in the elements makes me want to cry. I can hardly run for a minute before I feel like a need a walking break. Yuck! And speaking of the elements, we had some serious ones last night. The race was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and it started raining around 4 p.m. By 6:30 we had a serious thunderstorm tearing through downtown Fargo. By 7 p.m. the rain had let up a bit and we started 15 minutes late. We ran the whole way in the rain but it felt good and kept us cool.

I think my next race will be the Scheel's 5K in July (I think?!). My goal is to be able to run a 5K without walking. Once I've reached that goal I'll work on my pace. My legs are just too dang short to be able to run very fast and have a good stride. So, we'll see how that goes. I've also decided to lose about 15 pounds and I've set some goals to help myself achieve that. One I lose 5 I'm going to get a spray-on tan (no skin cancer for me!), when I lose 10 I'm going to look into getting eyelash extensions, and when I lose the whole 15 I'm going to get a boob job (JUST KIDDING!). I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do at 15 pounds because I'm afraid you'll judge me. Okay, I want to get Botox between my eyes. I squint so much in the summer that I have a perma-wrinkle there and tan lines in the wrinkle creases! Botox is being used more now for the prevention of wrinkles on young people (like me!) and I figure I could give it a shot (haha, get it? Shot!). It only lasts a handful of weeks so if I don't like it, it will go back to normal in time.

Okay, off to bed. Good night everyone!

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22-Hour Vacation!

I know, I know... it's been a long time since my last update. I'm a horrible person. But, really, are you surprised?

In the last (almost) month since I posted lots of stuff has happened. Notably, Jerry and I went to Florida-- for 22 hours. Our dear friends Lezlee Johnson and Sean Bertie got married in Marco Island on May 16 so we decided to go down there and surprise them (we were invited, don't worry-- but we RSVP'd no because we didn't really realize we could make the trip work until about a week beforehand). We had an amazing time and feel blessed to have been a part of their special day. We send all the best the Sean and Lezlee.

The reception was a couple weeks later in Fargo-- also a blast!! Jerry couldn't make it but I went and represented (WORD) and danced on stage (don't worry-- it was okay the band encouraged it). All I have to say is that the next day was painful. Yuck.

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The Mysterious Rash Returns... and I ran a 5K!!!

Yep... it's back. To make a long story short:
-Took a steroid prescription while in Vegas
-Rash came back after I finished that prescription
-Went to dermatologist at end of March. He says I'm probably allergic to ibuprofen and other non-steroidal drugs
-I stop taking Advil and rash seems to diminish
-Start taking Tylenol, rash comes back
-Fill a prescription given to me by dermatologist. Prescription makes rash WORSE!
-Go back to derm. for biopsy, wait one week for results.
-I have urticarial vasculitis. Not sure what that means.
-Doc orders blood and urine tests.

Now I'm waiting to hear back on those tests. I think they're testing for Lupus, among other things, as urticarial vasculitis can be associated with Lupus and other rheumatoidal conditions.

In other news... I ran the Fargo Marathon 5K!!! And I'm so proud of myself! My mom is a marathon runner and I've grown up cheering on runners at various marathons across the state and volunteering at local races that my mom has helped direct. Something I'd never done was actually participate in a race. As a freshman in college, I set a goal to run a marathon before I graduated... and clearly that didn't happen.

About 2.5 weeks before the Fargo Marathon I found myself on the Web site and decided just to sign up for it (the 5K, not the full, OMG!). I trained as much as I could and set a goal of 45 minutes to complete it (although my secret goal was 40 minutes). I figured this would allow me to walk in case I thought I was going to die. With the help of my mom who ran with me and kept me motivated, I finished in 37:26... and totally beat my goal! Woo hoo!

Running it made me feel so good that I decided to run at least one 5K each month this summer. The next one I'm planning to run is the YMCA Chase Race 5K in June. Wish me luck and come run with me if you want!!

On a final note, today is really my last official day as an instructor at NDSU. My students have all turned in their portfolios and now I just need to read and grade them. And then my time at NDSU (for now, at least) is over. Speaking about that grading thing... time to do that.

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