San Diego Mud Run

On Sunday, Erin Lang (my co-worker) and I participated in the San Diego Mud Run. As we were heading out to Rancho San Diego (somewhere out in east county), we were discussing how nervous we were and had no idea what to expect! To our surprise - it was a blast! We ran a 5k - running through mud puddles, crawling on our hands and knees through huge pipes through mud, jumping over hurdles, being sprayed by hoses - it was awesome! We finished under 40 minutes - sticking side by side the entire time. Can't wait for the next mud run!

Before.....

After....

Be-lated Halloween Pics

Halloween outfit #1 - this was at the Active Halloween party - me with Serena Williams :)

Halloween night in OB

Just a little quote....

One of my girlfriends (Carrie James - thank you!) sent me this quote today - it really inspired me and I wanted to share it with everyone (or all 3 people that read my blog) - enjoy :)

"What we have is based upon moment-to-moment choices of what we do. In each of those moments, we choose. We either take a risk, and move toward what we want, or we play it safe and choose comfort. Most of the people, most of the time, choose comfort. In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not." ~Anonymous

Country Fest in Santee, CA

This weekend, my roommate Annie, Emily ChanNo, and Tina headed out east to the Lakeside area / Santee for Country Fest 2009 - $5 tickets (I've attached a link to Santee just in case you felt like visiting this area). It was quite an experience. We had packed up the car with wine, cheese, hummas and yummy pumpkin bread to tailgate of course before the concert. When we arrived, all 4 of us had to find a restroom - which we chose to sneak into the Lakeside Burger King right off the highway. This experience totally set the moment. As we were standing in line, 2 girls came in and announced - "this is how we do it in Santee, us Santee white trash!" They proceeded to pee with the door open. Perfect way to start out the evening. After that lovely experience, we headed back to the car and started our search for a place to park and enjoy our appies and cocktails. Found the perfect spot, down an alley, across from an apartment complex, kiddie corner to a hotel and bar (that we later found out was a "soda bar"). We tailgated by our lonesomes - even though we were the only people around - we still had a blast. After finishing 2 bottles of wine, we headed off to the Lakeside Rodeo - where we tried on cowboy hats, mingled with the locals (found a highschool trackstar and took a pic wearing his lettermans jacket - thanks Tanner), and enjoyed 1 of the 3 concerts that were offered that night, Lady Antebellum. Can't wait for Country Fest 2010 :)

If I knew then what I know now.....

Today my part time Recruiting Coordinator came into my office with career frustrations. Poor thing :( She's only 24 and this is her first "office job" out of college. She's only part-time with Active and had to get a 2nd job to survive in San Diego -- working at a casino -- graveyard shift! Listening to her talk about "what is the right fit" and "I don't know if I want this or that" made me think about my first career hunt out of college. I graduated with the big idea that I wanted to work at Nordstroms as a Buyer! I thought that was my calling. I took a job at Abercrombie as an Assistant Store Manager (to gain experience, right?) but quickly discovered I love my weekends, working all night floor shifts was the absolute worst, and having to hire people based purely on looks was not my thing. AF lasted 1 year - got out of that one right before the holiday season :). Perfect timing! After leaving the retail world, I had so many ideas of what I wanted to be - an office manager, an event coordinator, Admin Assistant, Costco Call Center - interviewed for anything and everything! Who would have thought an interview with a company called Chameleon Technologies was where my career would start. I couldn't even pronounce (or spell) the company correctly. I've been a recruiter for 6 years now - and love it! My hope for Jenny, my fabulous Coordinator, would be that she find her calling - whether its here at Active.com or else where.

Lazy Sunday

Fall has hit San Diego! Even though it's not like back home, there is still a crispness in the air and the leaves are changing. I went to Church at 8am today - The Rock (we will talk about this later) - and had decided that it was going to be a lazy day (even though I drove through a crowd participating in the Mission Bay Triathlon). I cannot tell you the last time i actually laid around the house, watching TV and not feeling guilty. Today was the day :). After a morning/early afternoon of laying around, we took the dogs for a walk down to the beach. Let me tell you - sitting on a bench looking over the Pacific and watching the kite surfers and crashing waves made me remember why I love living in San Diego. The rest of the day consisted of sitting outside, reading a book and having a glass of wine. What a perfect Sunday :) I need more days like this.....

Loving my bootcamp!

A couple months ago as I walking Jake in the early morning (6am) at Kate Sessions, a group of women came running by me - so of course I shouted out, "Are you gals apart of a running club??" They yelled back, "No - we are apart of a bootcamp - come join us!" So, I did :) I've been working out with a group of women - all shapes, sizes and age groups - since August - Jennie's Rock Your Body bootcamp. 5 days a week, 6am - super early, but so worth it! Today at spin class, I jumped on the scale and I've lost 6 pounds! I know most of you are saying "you don't need to" but I feel better and can see the results! Had to post my good news of the day!

Lab Rescue

One Friday night a few months back - I was drinking a bottle of wine with Matt on the couch and decided to sign up to be a volunteer for the San Diego Lab Rescue. Of course I totally forgot that I even did this the next day - my reminder was an email from the rescue group asking to set up a home check. So long story short - I'm now on my 4th foster dog - Dena - a 7 year old lab mix, who is just the sweetest little thing - Matt calls her Princess - so cute :) She's been with us for 6 days - the longest one to stay at hotel 1716. Jake, Annie's yellow lab, is still not sure about this one. She snapped at him the other day because he tried to eat her food - totally deserved it. He can't even look her in the eye - such a little baby. We have a lab rescue event on Saturday - hopefully we will find the perfect family for the sweet girl. Cross your fingers :)

September travels

Matt and I recently traveled to Connecticut (my first time to the Northeast). It was so much fun seeing where my wonderful man comes from! We toured Connecticut, had an amazing lunch with his parents and sister, went for morning walks in "the center", hiked and canoed - such a beautiful state. We also attended the amazing wedding of Steve and Christine! The chardonnay was flowing like water and the tunes were perfect for dancing all night! We ended up at a bar after the reception, where I found a new friend (lets call her San Francisco's girlfriend) and we sang all night with a karaoke machine.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's 59th birthday! My gift to him this year was a Cougar Football win - thank you so much, coach and players, for pulling through for your #1 fan! (If you don't know me, we (the Johnston fam) are huge cougar football fans. House is crimson and gray, there are WSU logos all over the house and actually on the house itself - Love the Cougs!)
Happy Birthday Dad, love YOUR #1 fan - I love you tons! See you in a few weeks!

Welcome, Mike!

I joined the Lab Rescue group of San Diego, and am fostering Mike for the weekend. He's a 2 year old lab mix -who is super sweet (even though he marked his territory on my couch) - other then that, he's been a gem! We shall see how I feel on Sunday....
Mike, Jake, Matt, Annie and I are enjoying a lovely evening at home, snacking on trader joe's appies and yummy red wine from Yakima - Jake and Mike are passed out on the floor (way too much chaos this evening). Devil Wears Prada is on - such a perfect evening! Love it!

Clean it up

Ok - once again - I have my "I'm going to workout everyday" hat on. I hope it sticks. I have been SLACKING this winter and spring. Last year, it was all about "maintaining". This year - I really have to step it up. This morning, I rolled out of bed and hit the pavement - the weather did NOT help my motivation. Completely cloudy and on the chilly side. Halfway through the day, I went to a lunch time yoga session at Sorrento Valley Yoga. Thank goodness I have my friend Dina to encourage me along the way - she's good at telling me to "clean it up" and then she jiggles her arm to make it look like old saggy arm (you know - like grandma has - sorry Grandma). Thanks, Dizzle - you are the best :)

Perfect pic

How perfect is this - looks like an engagement pic for dogs!

Sick day :(

Its the perfect day to stay home from work, snuggle up in bed, with laptop ready for emergency emails - and to create a blog :)
My favorite part of the day is visiting my favorite blogs (which are a collection of my best friends, old friends, and randoms I've met along the way) - so why not create my own! We shall see how consistent I can be - please don't be surprised if you see one blog entry today and the next a month from now...that's kind of how I "roll". Best of luck to me!