11:11, Make a Wish

Happy Sunday! This post is coming a little later than usual, but that's because I got to spend a most wonderful weekend in Austin, and I'm just now sitting down to complete my usual Survey Sunday. And before we get started on that, I'll share a few of my favorite Austin moments. On Friday, I drove straight to my freshman and sophomore year dorm - Scottish Rite Dormitory. It has a couple nicknames, but I'll save them for another post. I got to visit with Emily and Jessica and my favorite maintenance guys - Joseph and Robert - while remembering with fondness all of the tours I gave and the phone calls I answered. And the pranks I pulled, but again, that's a post for another time.

It was so good to see them, and to hear that life is good at the SRD. Some of my sweetest college memories were made at this palace, and I met some of my very best friends while living here. I'm putting my future daughters' names on this list the minute they are born.

Naturally Mack and I had to make a visit to campus - we were on a hunt for his namesake, the one and only Mack Brown, but we had no luck. But I think Mack enjoyed it all the same.

My Longhorn pup

We walked Town Lake, ate at some of my favorite Austin hot spots, walked up and down South Congress, and slept like rocks before starting all over again the next day. We enjoyed an early morning walk, got our veggies in with smoothies from JuiceLand, made a visit to Anthropologie (heads up, teachers - there's a 15% discount on your entire purchase for the next two months with a valid teacher ID!), and ate lunch at the most charming sandwich shop tucked away in the back of a Hyde Park neighborhood with two of my former YoungLife girls. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that they are going to be SENIORS in high school, as I met them when they were just 8th graders. How time flies, but I'm so proud of the young ladies they have become, and I can't wait to see all of the incredible things they accomplish in the coming years. Shout out to social media for making that possible! After a few more stops at my favorite Austin spots, it was time to hit the road again. A short, but really sweet, visit to my home away from home.

Avenue B Grocery

And now, it's time for our regularly scheduled Survey Sunday. Though this one is a little bit different. You give 11 random facts about yourself - this was much easier said than done - and then you answer 11 random questions. I love learning things about other people, so I never feel too self-centered when I share these surveys about myself. Happy reading!

1. I ate my first hamburger at the age of 10. Seriously. My mom was freaked about mad cow disease, and took every precaution necessary to prevent me from getting it. She would even go so far as to tell other parents that “I don’t eat hamburgers” whenever I spent the night out. Now, I’m a hamburger fanatic. Gotta make up for lost time!

2. I’m not a big fan of concerts. I love music, but I really don’t enjoy attending concerts. I think it’s a combination of the crowds, the length of the concert (they always go on far too long, in my opinion), and I don’t typically know enough of an artist’s songs to make attending a concert worth it. I love things like ACL and the rodeo, where shows last about 45 minutes – my concert sweet spot.

Rodeo 2015

Rodeo 2014

3. I have never had a cup of coffee. Seriously. I worry that even one cup of coffee would LITERALLY have me bouncing off the walls, as I’m already enthusiastic enough in the mornings without it.

4. For as much as I love health and fitness, I’m pretty pitiful when it comes to stretching. In fact, I can’t even touch my toes. This is why I should do yoga.

5. I loathe talking on the phone. I would so much rather text than talk on the phone. I’m sure this can be chalked up to my introverted tendencies, but I think it also has to do with the fact that talking on the phone tends to be such a complicated process. Press this number followed by this number followed by this string of 10 numbers, or I’m forced to wait for 20 minutes before talking to an actual person.

Jeff - on my right - is really good about regular phone calls to catch up

6. Though I am genuinely super eager to give help to other people when asked, I’m really bad at asking for help. I hate the thought of possibly inconveniencing anyone, which is why I will try and do everything on my own before asking for help. Typically, if I ask for help, I’m super desperate. I’m working on this.

7. I can’t parallel park to save my life – shout out to Driver’s Ed in a Box – but I’m pretty dynamite when it comes to backing into parking spots. And I was good at this even before I had a back-up camera.

8. When I was younger, I really wanted to be an astronaut. I was obsessed with all things stars and space. I was super excited about my Astronomy class in college, and it ended up being one of my least favorite classes throughout my entire college career. Go figure. That being said, I’m still interested in all things space.

9. One of the first things I notice about people is what arm they wear their watch on. Because I’m left-handed, I’m quick to notice any fellow lefties.

10. I love a good pun.

11. In fourth grade I was eliminated from the finals of the school spelling bee on the word “museum.” I happen to pronounce it “mu-zam”, and I spelled it as though it has an “a” in it. I’m actually a really good speller, though this word still haunts me.

And for the 11 questions -

1. Coffee or tea?

As you guys read above, I have never actually had a cup of coffee. And I’m not a huge fan of tea, either, despite my best efforts to become a tea drinker. I have found one flavor of tea that I really love – Cheers to You Cranberry Celebration – and I restock my supply at the Nutcracker Market every year.

2. What is your favorite meal of the day?

I LOVE breakfast. One hundred percent my favorite meal of the day. From yogurt to pancakes to frittatas to waffles to chocolate zucchini muffins and so much more, you just can’t beat it. And there is truly nothing that can bring me down on First Friday.

3. What is your favorite place that you’ve traveled to and why?

SHOOT. What a tough question! I’ve traveled to some pretty incredible places. San Francisco holds some of my very favorite memories – a long weekend with my mom + a half marathon, a long weekend with four of my very best friends – and it’s just an incredibly beautiful city. I lived in Barcelona for almost two months, so that city will always hold a very special place in my heart. I fell in love with London on a short weekend trip from Barcelona, and my Argentina trip this summer was an absolute dream. I can find something great to say about every place I’ve traveled, but I’ll quit before your eyes glaze over.

Recoleta Cemetery

4. Which blogger(s) do you most admire?

Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers was the blog that inspired mine. I so admire her outlook on life, and the way she balances a healthy lifestyle with her family, friends, and her energetic dog. Just reading her blog taught me that calorie counting really isn’t necessary – it’s more about how you feel. That exercise should be something you enjoy doing, and that it doesn’t look the same for every person. And that it’s okay to indulge every once in a while, and these are all principles that I seek to apply to my own healthy living journey.

5. When did you start blogging and why?

I started blogging at the very beginning of my sophomore year of college – so September 2011. I had an obsession with reading healthy living blogs, and because I also strive to live a healthy, balanced life, I decided to combine my love of fitness with my love of writing (and my love of frozen yogurt). Thus, fitnessandfroyo was born!

6. What is the last book you read?

I recently finished When Breath Becomes Air, and I absolutely loved it. I had to go back and reread many parts of it, simply because I didn’t know a lot of the medical terms, but it was a really great read. I’m currently reading Stephen King’s The Shining, and I’m loving it. What that says about me, I don’t know, but it has officially sucked me in.

7. If you could meet anyone (past or present) who would it be and why?

I’m going to copy the person who filled this out before me and go with an Olympian. Past, present, future – you name it. I’m absolutely obsessed with the Olympics. I would love to sit down with Michael Phelps, Kerri Walsh, Shawn Johnson, any track and field athlete – but I would love to sit down with any of them and talk about their dedication to their sport. These athletes have given so much, and many of them are only recognized for it once every four years, and I would love to pick their brains.

8. Are you a morning or night person?

I am without a doubt a morning person. I wake up ready to attack the day, almost every day, and I’ve never been one of those people who says, “Don’t talk to me until at least 10am.” When I’m up, I’m up, and I’ve found that my brain is sharpest, and I’m far more productive in the mornings. Plus, I’m typically in bed by 10pm – something my friends have teased me about for years!

9. For April Fools’ Day, have you ever pulled a prank and what was your best one?

I can’t remember a specific April Fools’ Day prank, but I have pulled quite a few pranks in my day – Sarah Diamond being my best fellow prankster. We have quite the story about leaving fruit outside one of our dormmates’ doors while in Barcelona, though no one else seems to think it’s quite as funny as we do. I’m going to start early when it comes to April Fools’ Day this year – something that will get my coworkers, but that won’t get me fired.

10. What was your latest blog post about and where do you get inspiration?

My latest blog post was another episode of Things I’m Loving Friday, and this one focused on advice articles, if you will. Actually, many of them focused on the teaching profession, which is obviously something I hold very near and dear to my heart. My inspiration comes from my own life – the things I do, the articles I read, the places I see – and has transformed from something focused solely on fitness and healthy eating into a blog that follows my daily (or weekly … or monthly) life.

The greatest thing about teaching

11. What is the number one thing on your bucket list?

Okay, this changes quite often, as I have quite the bucket list. Much of it is centered on traveling, and experiencing things in these places that I maybe can’t experience in Texas. For example, canyoning in Switzerland. However, after a recent conversation with a running expert has left me thinking about really getting serious about qualifying to run the Boston Marathon within these next couple of years. The Boston Marathon is probably the equivalent of my Olympics – definitely in reach, but something that I’ll have to work extremely hard to achieve. 

And with that, I'm off to shower and call it a night!

This

I try not to get too cheesy with this blog, but it's really in my nature, and I am warning you right now that this post might be a little bit on the sentimental side. With today being my very last day in Austin, and my last ever shift at SRD (though who knows, maybe I'll continue the trend and work here next summer, too), I'm allowed to get a little bit cheesy.

As I look back at my time in Austin, I can't help but think of Darius Rucker's song, "This." It is one of my very favorite songs, and I think it speaks nicely to how I even ended up in Austin. Might I suggest listening to it as you read? It will up the sentimentality. Seriously, I had it on repeat as I was writing this.

I'm not sure that I have ever shared this on the blog before, but The University of Texas was not my dream school. It wasn't even really on my radar until my senior year of high school. For most of my high school career, the only school I would talk to you about was The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia (duh). I became obsessed with the idea of moving far away and leaving everything familiar to me (I was very prideful of this), and attending this beautiful school in the northeast that had actual seasons and a prestigious reputation. UVA was my "dream school," and this was school I just had to attend. Well, April 1st, 2010 (actually March 26, if we're being specific) came, and by this time, I just wanted a yes or no answer. Many of my friends knew where they would be going, and I was tired of saying that I didn't know where I would be going yet. I had contemplated just saying "yes" to UT, solely so that I would have a definitive answer to the "Where are you going next year?" question, but my mom convinced me to hang on for just a few more weeks until I heard back from UVA.

To cut to the chase, I checked my status online, and I saw that I had been waitlisted. So while I was very obviously disappointed (what more did I have to do in order to be admitted?), it took me about 2.5 seconds to get in the car so that I could drive over to Uptown Park to stock up on some UT gear. Obviously I was upset (and out of my mind for voluntarily driving on I-610 in rush hour traffic), but something my best friend told me still sticks with me today: "Kelli, if you really want to go to UVA, you can make it happen, but it seems to me that God is pointing you in a different direction." And what a direction I took. It's so crazy to me that these past four years of my life could have looked so incredibly different had I tried to get off that waitlist and attend school across the country.

So, the first step I took was choosing to move just two and a half hours down the road to the live music capital of the world - Austin, Texas - so that I could work towards earning my degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

Spoiler alert: I did it!

Which led me to live at Scottish Rite Dormitory, also known as SRD, the dirty SRDy, or the virgin vault, and that was arguably one of the best decisions I ever could have made. I met some of my best friends here, I had the opportunity to be a Resident Assistant with some truly incredible girls, and heck, I still can't seem to get away from the place! It made the transition from high school to college so much easier, and you better believe I will be coming back for the reunions.

I had the opportunity to study abroad and spend seven weeks in Barcelona, Spain with one of my best friends. It is easily one of my most favorite cities, and we had the time of our lives over there. We were also able to explore Madrid, London, and Paris, and I know that I will not be able to stay away from them for long.

I have always been into exercise and staying fit, and since coming to college, I have completed five half marathons, and I am currently signed up complete my sixth in January. Who knows how that might have changed, had I not had lived in a city so dedicated to staying fit? Town Lake is just a place that can't be beat.

I was involved with YoungLife in high school, but, to be completely honest, I never even considered staying active with it in college. I am so thankful that I found myself surrounded by such incredible people those first few weeks of college, because that led me to get involved in a YoungLife small group that met weekly, which led me to go through YoungLife leader training, which led me to be placed on a YoungLife team full of some of the best people you will ever meet.

Not only that, but I had the chance to hang out with a pretty awesome group of girls. I was supposed to be the one leading and teaching them, but I learned more from them than they may ever know.

I got to live in the cutest house with some of the greatest humans on this planet. There simply aren't enough words to describe the love, laughter, and crazy antics that went on in our little house and on Wild Wild West 35th. I will cherish these memories forever - especially the ones that involved "What Are The Odds" - and though we are all running off in very different directions, I look forward to the laughs that are sure to come when we all reunite.

Suite 1 forever

Going back to the YoungLife part of my college experience, I can't help but be thankful that it led me to Dylan. I remember thinking he was cute the very night he was placed on my team. Unfortunately for me, I was dressed as a hipster zombie, so while it would be a cute story to say that he thought I was cute from the moment he saw me, I wasn't really doing myself any favors. Above all, though, I absolutely loved getting to know him over the course of that year, and he grew to be one of my closest friends on the team. One sweet letter and one five-hour beach day later, and we've been discovering new restaurants together ever since. He makes me want to be a better person, my stomach hurts from laughing so much when we're together, and I just genuinely enjoy being around him (even when I'm reading and he's playing Sudoku). And though I know it will be hard to do the whole "long-distance" thing (which is really only two and a half hours so can that really be considered long distance?), I am excited to see how our relationship will grow this next year. And he gives me even more of an excuse to return to this great city.

And finally, because I have yet to mention the very reason that I came to this university, to do the whole school thing, I was able to complete the very best secondary teacher preparation program in the country. It was not without many thoughts of changing my major, many tears of frustration and stress, but also not without many sweet reminders as to why it is that I wanted to do this in the first place.

So, what I'm trying to say is, every seemingly wrong step or bad turn that I took, led me to have the most incredible college experience. I can't even express how grateful I am for the experiences I have had, the people I have met, and this city that I have gotten to know so well these past four years. As sad as it makes me to close the door on this chapter of my life,  I could not be more excited to head back to Houston to start a new one that has me teaching English and coaching volleyball at Bellaire High School. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and it is still so crazy to me how it all seemed to fall into place. It's been a great four years, and it's crazy to think that one little thing could have changed all of this.

Sidenote: I may or may not have teared up a little bit while writing this. Austin, you will truly be missed (though your lack of plastic bags and horrendous Mopac traffic will most definitely not be).

A sweet farewell from SRD