Hey, Soul Sista

Hey everyone! I'm in Rome, GA right now and figured it'd be a good time to post an entry while I have some free time. I'm listening to Train's new CD while I post this, hence the post title. The CD is one of the best ones I've ever heard - you should check it out if you don't have it already.

Life has been absolutely crazy. I love my job and am traveling a ton in the Northeast Georgia and South Carolina areas. I've been to Augusta, Hiawassee, Greenville... and the list goes on. It's been really fun developing friendships with the other recruiters and getting to see so many places. Travel season will be done for the year before Thanksgiving comes, but until then, it will be even more hectic than it has been the past few months. Fun times, fun times.

School is going really well - I'm 4 classes (including the one I'm enrolled in right now) away from my MBA, so I'm pumped. I'm currently in a finance class and am loving it, surprisingly. It's actually making me consider getting a finance certification to add on to my MBA. We'll see, though. I'm over the whole school thing for now - I think 19 straight years of school is enough for now.

As for my family, they've been pretty busy, too. After 38.5 years, my dad retired from Gwinnett County Fleet Management in September. I think he's enjoying it, but he's ready to get busy doing something else. My mom is doing really well - she's still a substitute teacher at the high school and occassionally at the middle school. Grandmama is doing good, too - she absolutely loves to play with the pup. It's funny because she'll call out our house and say, "I'm coming to see my granddog." haha :) Speaking of Della, she's a mess... in a good way! She's got 14 tricks now, including the Bunny Hop, Skateboarding, and a few other way awesome ones. She's so smart that it amazes me. This is her "whatcha doing" face as she peeked around the corner in the hallway:

My Little and I went to the Sugarland concert and had a blast! They are some of the best performers I've ever seen (they're second to Bon Jovi in my book), and it was cool to know every single word to every single song they sang. I also got to go to the UGA v. LSU game in October with *Anna and her family. I'm pretty sure that was the most intense football game I've ever been to in my life. UGA was so close to winning... so close. Even though they lost (and Joe Cox played horribly), I had a ton of fun hanging out with her and her family, as always.

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At the end of last month, I ran in Race for the Cure in Macon, GA. My dad and I traveled there the morning of the race, and I managed to beat my goal - I wanted to *safely* finish the race and beat my record 5K time of 34 minutes and 5 seconds. Well, I finished without hurting myself in 32 minutes and 39 seconds. I was SO excited! It was awesome to achieve my goal, as well as run for all the special people in my life who have fought cancer at some point in time.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway race was awesome this year. It was the first time they ran the cars "under the lights," and there was some really great, intense racing throughout the entire race. It was very exciting, and there wasn't a single open seat in the place. That hasn't happened since something like 1991, so yaay for AMS management finally making some changes to sell-out the race. I met Kurt Busch and AJ Almendinger, and they were really nice guys. Then, last week, I got to meet Jack Roush at an event at Town and Country Ford, and he signed a ton of stuff for me. I got three of my diecast cars, a couple of posters, and my Mustang's passenger side visor autographed by him. He was so nice and seemed to really enjoy interacting with everyone who came to the session. Kevin got me a really awesome pink Roush hat that Jack signed for me, so it's pretty much one of my favorite hats now. He also took my mom and me for a test drive in a black convertible Roush Stage 1, so I've got the fever for a Roush. It'll happen... it might just take a while.

Well, that's about it for now. School and work are my focus at this point. I work out when I can and specifically try to keep running so I can beat my new 5K best time. I want to run the Peachtree Road Race next year, so that's my new goal. I'm hoping to get back to playing my guitar and piano sometime soon, too. First things come first, though.

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

It's almost my birthday already?!?!?!

I noticed that the last time I posted was in July, so I figured I was due for an update...

Since then, I've been to the Aerosmith and ZZ Top concert; saw the Braves play three times (once with an All-American Rejects concert afterwards); traveled to Denver, CO (family vacation), Guntersville, AL (Patrick's wedding shower), Chattanooga, TN (Patrick's bachelor party), and Tampa, FL (SACAC conference); went white water rafting in Copperhill, TN; and was the Best Woman/Person at Patrick and Amber's wedding. It's been a crazy summer with absolutely no down time - I think I was home maybe three weekends from May until the beginning of August.

Now, to go into a little more detail about the Denver trip... My dad had to go to a seminar for work, so all three of us went to Colorado to explore. While my dad was in class, my mom and I went to a bunch of places, namely Pike's Peak, the Budweiser and Coors breweries, and some other fun places. When my dad finished the seminar, we traveled to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We also went to Deadwood to see the old cowboy town. It was way cool! All of my pictures are on Facebook, so you can definitely check them out on there.

On a professional note, I'll be changing my position with Brenau in September. My new position will be called the Women's College Admissions Specialist, so I'll be recruiting for that portion of my alma mater. I'm super excited about it and all of its challenges! :)

So, how's that for an abridged version of my life? It's super short, but I don't think I forgot to mention anything... If I did, there's always another post in sight.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll talk to you later!

Tribute to an Amazing Woman

I want to take this time to write a tribute to Lisa Kotula, a woman who forever touched my heart.

I first met Mrs. Kotula when I was an Office Aid at my high school. She was this feisty, witty, and full-of-life woman who was one of our receptionists. We quickly became friends, always talking about preferred types of spanish coffee and even covering the different styles of kickboxing (she even let me borrow her gloves for about a month). I learned that year, though, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It definitely didn't get her down - she always had a smile on her face and pink ribbon items all over her desk. She even was excited about her wig that showed her spunky side. Although it was tough, she got through it. I vividly remember, though, the one and only instance when I truly saw the affect the chemo had on her. I believe it was the day before her last chemo treatment, and she basically stated that she wasn't going to take it. It was a very emotional time, and a lot of us in the office had tears in our eyes, begging her to take the treatment because it could be the one that got the last bit of cancer out of her system. To make a long story short, she ended up gathering up her last bit of internal strength and took that treatment. That moment forever made an impression on my heart because I saw what all she had to go through in order to treat the cancer, and I honestly gained a lot of respect for her that day, as well as all individuals being treated for cancer. I respected her a tremendous amount before then, but that just pushed the admiration meter over the top. Her dedication and determination is something I will always remember and respect.

I admired her strength so much that I asked her to speak at my sorority's Think Pink Party in 2005. I was the Fundraising Chair at the time and thought she would be a perfect addition to the event because of her story and cheerful personality. She was nervous before the party and even said, "I know I'm okay with everything if I can get through my entire story without crying my eyes out." Well, she did it. No other eye in the room was dry, though. Everyone truly enjoyed hearing her story, and she said she was glad she got to share it with everyone because it helped her cope with everything that had gone on in the past few years.

As all of us were, I was deeply saddened to hear about Mrs. Kotula passing away late last week. Although I hadn't seen her in a couple of years, I still admire her just the same. Her courage, perserverance, kindness, and passion for living will always be something that stands out when she comes across my mind. Because she made such a positive impression on my life, I want to run for her in this October's Race for the Cure in Macon, GA. I usually run for a few special individuals who have survived breast cancer, but this will be the first time for an equally special individual who is on the other end of the spectrum. So, come October 24th, I will be running with determination and a square pink card on my back that says, "I Race in Memory of Lisa Kotula."

*Picture taken moments before Zeta Tau Alpha's 2005 Think Pink Party. We'll love ya always.*

Awesome Racing Weekend

Minus the rain, this past weekend was pretty awesome. Jon, Nathan, and I randomly decided last week to go to the Nascar race in Charlotte at Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend. I bought some car paint and made the Tahoe look all race-ified. I'll post a picture of it on Facebook at some point. Anyway, though, we drove up there Sunday morning and arrived around 11ish, which gave us plenty of time to walk around the vendors, driver transporters, and merchandise tents. It was Jon's first race ever, and Nathan had never been to Charlotte, so we rode around the track on the tram to check it out. We also managed to get on Speed Channel's RaceDay Preview show, so we were excited about that! It was funny, though, because Nathan was like, "Guys, look to your right..." There stood a Dale Sr. impersonator! It was hilarious... and Jon and I got our picture taken with him. After we got our picture made, it seemed like the entire crowd swarmed around him. Hilarious. Here's that picture, though:

As you can see in the picture, I've now become a Tony Stewart fan. My always-and-forever-love in the racing world is Ricky Rudd, so I first became a full-fledged Kasey Kahne fan when Ricky retired. I've followed Kasey since he drove the 98 car in the then-called Busch Series for Robert Yates Racing, so I've been a fan of his for a long time. Don't get me wrong - I still like Kasey and collect his diecast cars, but there's a difference in Tony that I now understand and admire. On one hand, I like him because of Tami's words-of-wisdom: "Always choose a driver you know you wouldn't be able to take in a fight." lol. On the other hand, he's a racer's racer, and I learned the truth behind that statement in his book. I never knew the hardships he went through to get where he is today, yet he is still one of the most giving people in the sport. That's amazing. His book just made me respect him a lot more and see his passion in a different light, so I decided that he'd be my driver from now on. So... Go Tony. :)

It started raining on us when we were at the driver transporters, and kept on doing that on and off throughout the day... and into the night. Unfortunately, the race was postponed until the next day at noon. That put us in a difficult situation because we were planning on driving back that night after the race was over. Luckilly, though, we ended up finding somewhere to stay and were able to come back to see the second race attempt the next day.

Around noon, the drivers fired up their engines to begin the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600. They ran for a little while, and then the red flag came out for rain. This happened a few times, so it was frustrating for everyone: the drivers, the crew members, the fans... everyone. When they were racing, though, it was cool to listen to Tony. He is absolutely hilarious on the scanner. As an example, Tony was racing some cars on a restart and went four-wide. He came on the scanner after he made it through and was like, "He, he, he, he, he..." It was so funny because he was cracking up at himself! He came on a few seconds later and said, "I think that was the dumbest thing I've ever done." lol. Then, he and David Reutimann were racing for a position, and David started racing pretty sloppily. Once Tony passed him, he was like, "That little ******, he needs to know this isn't the ******* Nationwide series. Someone needs to tell him that." It probably doesn't seem funny written out, but his tone was hilarious. Come to find out, though, he went over to talk to David during a rain delay. Apparently, one of his crew members started running his mouth, and it turned into a bigger situation than it needed to be. You can check it out on YouTube, though. Just search for "Billy Bad Butt," the nickname Tony gave the crew member, and it will show up.

The coolest thing during the race, though, happened at 3:00 pm. All professional sporting events paused throughout the nation to remember all of our veterans and current people serving in the military. Nascar called a mandatory caution around 2:55 pm, and eventually stopped the entire field around the start-finish line. All of the crew members were lined up on pit road, too. The entire track had 30 seconds of silence, and it was surely a powerful feeling being there during that time, knowing that everyone in the entire country was observing this time for our soldiers. I looked at the Sprint Screen in the middle of the infield and saw one of the drivers holding up an American flag at the camera, and it made me realize even more that they're just as proud of our soldiers and our country as us "regular" people are. When the 30 seconds were up, some people started chanting, "USA, USA, USA..." It didn't really catch on for the entire track, but it was cool to feel everyone's thankfulness for our soldiers and pride for our country. Tony came on the radio and said, "That could be one of the coolest things I've ever seen." His crew chief, Darian Grubb, said, "Yeah, I'm still trying to shake off the goosebumps... Now we know why you wanted that flag so bad." I realized then that the driver on the screen was actually Tony. How cool - my new favorite driver expressing his love for our country by having a flag in his car. Just plain awesome. :) If you want to see the video of the memorial, click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dlWJZ-7AMQ.

After a two-hour rain delay, the race was called. There was too much rain in the area, so David Reutimann ended up winning because of a pit strategy that put them in the front of the field. Kasey had ran in the top 3 the entire day and finished 7th because of the pit strategies of the other drivers; Tony ran around 10th and finished 19th. I guess that's just how racing goes - you never know what's going to happen. I've decided, though, that if I can pull it off, I want to go back to Charlotte this fall for their second race of the season. It's not a long drive from my house, and the racing is absolutely awesome. Until then, though, I'll be looking forward to Atlanta's Labor Day race weekend. :)

Wa-hoo Weekend, Hurry Up and Get Here

Wow, two posts in a week... that's a record!

Most of you know that I'm obsessed with the TV show, 24. Did any of you see the ending of the last episode for Season 7? Gah, the anticipation is killer! I don't know what I'm going to do Monday nights, so it's definitely going to be a long summer and fall in TV land. I guess I'll just have to buy the DVD sets so I can have my 24 fill. I heard that Season 8 is going to be 24's last season, so there's no telling what is going to happen. Kiefer Sutherland was quoted as saying that Season 8 is going to be more realistic than the other seasons, so I'm sure it will be awesome. Every time I watch that show, I feel like I want to work for the FBI or the CIA. Maybe that will happen one day. I mean, the auto industry is horrible, so it doesn't look like my car dealership is going to happen anytime in the near future.

This weekend is the NASCAR race in Charlotte. Jon, Nathan, and I are going to head out early Sunday morning and then come back after the race that night. Charlotte is always a fun place with a lot of tents to purchase merchandise and awesome racing, so I can't wait. Sunday definitely can't come fast enough.

I'm off on Monday, so yaay for that, too. Yaay for three-and-a-half day weekends. I wish we had more of them.

"Picking potatoes from a garden is like finding Easter eggs..."

Hey friends!

It's been a while since I updated my blog, so I figured it was time to do so.

Since the last entry, a lot has happened. I've gone to quite a few concerts lately, and I actually got the chance to go to the Soundcheck 9 event at Wild Bill's for the Kasey Kahne Foundation. Kasey, Elliot Sadler, and Darryl Waltrip did a Q&A session before Dierks Bentley performed. It was an awesome concert - we were about two people back from the stage in the front section - and it was really cool to see the drivers enjoying the concert. Not that I put them up on a pedestal, but it made me realize that they're just people, too.

The weekend after that concert was the Atlanta Motor Speedway race, and it was seriously the best AMS race I've ever been to. Lots of action, lots of racing, lots of cautions... I loved it!

I also started my first on-ground MBA class and managed to make an A in it. The class was focused on Project Management, so it gave me an insight to the surface details on that topic. I'm now in my next online course, but I'll be starting another on-ground class in 4 weeks. I didn't realize that my classes this summer were going to overlap by 4 weeks, but oh well. It's all good.

Oh yeah - I almost broke my finger playing air hockey with Patrick at the ESPN Zone. Looking back, it was actually pretty funny; however, when it happened, I almost passed out. The ESPN Zone people told me I needed to go to the hospital to get it checked out, so I stayed there until like 2:30 am. It was crazy... and then that next day (or maybe I should say "later that day") we went to Six Flags. We got there late, so we didn't really get to ride much. Luckilly for us, though, we have season passes.

I entered the Mustang into a car show/poker run that benefitted the Gwinnett County Police Department, and I actually won the "Worst Poker Hand." Yeah, it's not something to really be proud of, but I won a wings party for 10 people and me, so I don't mind. We all enjoyed eating $164.00 worth of wings. It was great. Speaking of cars, though, I traded my 2008 Jeep in on a new Equinox Sport. The new car, which I named "Jet," is so much better than the Jeep. It's sportier and has dual exhaust, so I'm pumped. :) You can see a ton of pictures of it on my CarDomain website (www.cardomain.com/id/stanggal), but here's a picture of it for now:

Work has been good. Busy, but good. I'm helping out with the student development of Brenau's new Fairburn campus, so I'm going to be making quite a few trips down that way in the next couple of months. There have also been a lot of educational/job fairs lately, so that's definitely keeping me busy. I'd much rather be busy than bored, so I'm definitely cool with it.

Della is doing really well... she's losing her puppy teeth, so her "big girl" teeth are coming in. I've never seen teeth come in so fast! It seems like the minute she loses one, the new one starts to show. It's crazy. We took her to the Pet-a-palooza this past weekend, and she seemed slightly overwhelmed with all of the noise from the other dogs there. She'd never really seen too many other dogs before, so she was taking it all in. She's getting big, though. She's already up to around 8.5 lbs, so she shouldn't grow too much more after this. Her hair is getting really long, but we're waiting to get her a "puppy cut" until she's around 6 months old.

So, if you're wondering about the title of this post... I'm actually in the process of growing a garden at my grandmother's house. It's going to have a lot of crops in it if it actually grows. We planted corn, carrots, bell peppers, jalapenos, asparagus, watermelon, and a few other things. I hope it grows because I'm pumped about it!

Well, I've got to do some of my work for my online class. Hope everyone is doing well, and I'm sure I'll talk to you soon!

"There's a little bit of fruitcake left in every one of us..."

Hello everyone!

So, right now, life is good. 2009 is definitely off to a much better start.

I got a new puppy, and she is the highlight of coming home every day. Her name is Della (Scarlet Adella, actually), and she's a Havanese puppy. We got her in Guyton, GA from Teressa Brown a few weeks ago, and she's already growing like a weed. Here is a current picture of us:



If you want to see all of her pictures, though, you can go to this photo album: Facebook Photo Album - "Della!!!"

I recently went to ZTA State Day in Macon with all of the Gainesville/Brenau ZTA ladies. It was so much fun and definitely provided a much-needed break from everything. I loved getting another opportunity to hang out with some of my favorite people, and our renedvous after the event was awesome, too! Outlet mall shopping and Truett's Grill... what an awesome combination. :)

Speaking of ZTA... I created a website for the Gainesville Alumnae Chapter. Check it out and let me know what you think: ZTA Gainesville Alumnae Chapter

Also, this week is Spring Break for all Brenau students, so we get Thursday and Friday off from work, too. I'm so pumped... mainly because this weekend includes the Atlanta Motor Speedway races! It's going to be so much fun - the racing, the sounds, the food, the people, and everything else that surrounds the racing world. As always, I'll be cheering for Kasey Kahne, but I also like Carl Edwards and David Ragan, so hopefully at least one of them will have a good finish.

Well, I'm off to get ready to head to AMS! Yaay for racing... :) Pics are surely to come soon.

Burnt Out

First of all, happy new year! :)

Secondly, I decided to drop my classes for the first session of this semester because I need a break. I didn't really have any time to myself during the Christmas break, but I'm enjoying the free time I have right now. My next class is going to begin in March, but I'm thinking about changing that one, too. I've found out that I'm not a huge fan of online classes - too much work! - so I may just take on-ground classes from now on. We'll see what happens.

In the mean time, I'm having fun hanging out with my friends, going to concerts, playing music, and just relaxing!