Muchas Gracias

Yeah, this photo says it all. While this is a picture of Elbow at my first marathon, braving the cold, cold morning in her black puffy jacket and her Curb Crew tee-shirt, she stood proud at the corner of LaSalle and Division, waiting for me to come plodding up the street.

I put this one first because, in light of yesterday's celebration meal, I wanted to take some time to recognize the people in my life that have helped me through the last few years. If you've ever been to grad school, you know that living in poverty for seven years under the pressure of comps, dissertations, and licensing, working three jobs with overnights and never making ends meet, watching yor friends get "real" jobs and go on vacations, while your only vacation consists of sleeping in an extra hour on a Monday because the restuarnt you waitness in is closed on that day, realy REALY sucks.

Devin, Ellen, Larry, my mom, Nolan, Patrick, Nathaniel, my friends Adrienne, Sue, and Suzanne. I know there are more, but these have been the key players. The ones who organize girls weekends with free manicures and pedicures "just because," who periodically buy you new running gear because you are the scrappiest person on the lakefront or Sheridan Road, who let you sit in their basements and write disserations and then moan about horrible chairpersons, who let you practice your defense, and take you to dinner when you pass, who pace with you up and down their hallway as you agonize over test results, who feed you Red Vines for every right practice test answer, and who let you call them when you are worried or overwhelemd or pissed or all of the above.

***The ones who never interupt you or hold you accountable when you are so comsumed by your own life that you can barely see outside yourself and even bother to ask or listen to how everyone else's day was.***

All these people let me be selfish for so long, and nothing has gone without notice. Beleive me, and I appreciate every last second of my life with these people.


This is on my grduation day, with Devin and LArry, and Patrick took the picture. That ngiht they took me out for seafood (love it!) and they had the place make special menus with my name and grduation date on the top. It was super cool. My mom was at the ceramony too, but we didn't have a chance to take a picture.

Speaking of mom, now lets talk food. Last night was gorge, starting with the most deelish crab cakes EVER. Then onto dinner,which was herb-crusted salmon (for me) and lasagna for everyone else, Thai peanut noddles with snap peas, orange almond salad with citrus dressing, and for dessert - wait for it - pastry puffs filled with pumpkin mousse and bread pudding with a sweet sauce. The words don't do it justice, but believe me when I say it was out. of. this. world.

I thought I would end with this lovely pic of my little brother and his adorable girlfriend (soon fiance?) Jenny. She's all Southern. They are cheering me and my sister's on at our first full triathlon last year (sprint distance Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin) All the significant others bet on whose girl would win. Devin did. But it represent how much support I have for all I do in my life, from everyone. Hugs and lots of sloppy kisses!