Elon

A Ludacris weekend.

| cheriarmour

So, over the weekend, I celebrated Elon University’s homecoming.

First and foremost, if any of my readers have kids that are thinking about schools right now, Elon is fantastic if you’re looking for a small liberal arts school where you’ll form amazing relationships with your professors?  Elon is the spot.  I went to a big state for graduate school, and the experiences were night and day for a student like I am.

Anyhoo, so the time has flown, and I’m celebrating 5 years since I graduated from Elon University.  And each year, homecoming has blossomed – from an intimate celebration in the parking lot on the north side of campus to a full-blown tailgating experience where all of the student organizations are represented.

So on Friday, I arrived on campus juuuust in time to pick up my packet and tickets for the events I was registered for.  I had a little time to burn, so I explored a little bit, and found some food.  Side note: there is a Biscuitville on Elon’s campus, and I thank the good Lord above that that wasn’t a thing when I went to school there, because there is a distinct possibility that I would have gained like 60 pounds when I was in school there.  Woof.

I went to the step show, which is really more about seeing who is at homecoming, and socialized a little bit before hitting a bar that allowed smoking at one point when we were in school.  Things have changed – thank you North Carolina!

Saturday, we hit the tailgate, and enjoyed some insane food at the Elon Black Alumi Network (EBAN) tailgate, before making our way over to the Twisted Measure tent where my barefoot singing buds were chilling so hard, that we realized 30 minutes after the game started that we hadn’t made the game.

And Saturday night, we hit the Ludacris concert which actually was the literal bomb.  He was SO good, and I was ridiculously impressed with his intelligence, and his performance.  I was totally hoping to meet him, so my heart was just a teensy bit broken when I saw his Escalade pull off.  Maybe next time, Chris Bridges?

Wanna see a few grainy pics I was able to take before the mosh pit swallowed me up?

IMG_1436IMG_1437 IMG_1434

A few quick facts about Elon Homecoming 2014?

  • I lost my Fitbit on Friday night!  I was dancing at the step show, and it slipped off my wrist.  I’m pretty sure someone picked it up and just saw a silicone bracelet and they were like “Omg ew TRASH!” and threw it away.  I’m obsessed with it, so I ran out to Target when it opened the next morning, and replaced it.  I’m in the process of contacting their customer service department now to see if I can get a small rebate or something – I get that it’s not 100% their fault, but evidently this sort of thing happens with this product – there are a few desperate forum posts to support that.
  • Luda is awesome.  The concert was so so good.  Minus the fact that I had to get a little buck on this chick that was shoving in the front.
  • I got to hear our wedding song performed again by Twisted Measure.  They killed it. I cried a little.
  • I ate Cookout. Delightful.  I will also be running like a million miles a week to work this off.  Woof.

How was your weekend?  

You just graduated. Now what?

| cheriarmour

5 years ago, I graduated from Elon University.

The Timehop app has been rudely reminding me of this – and it’s not rude because it wasn’t a good memory or anything – but rude because of the way I looked in all the pictures.

Allow me to elaborate.

photo 1No….just. Absolutely not.

I need to understand a few things about this photo.  Why am I sweating like a whore in church?  Why hadn’t Vanessa Williams yet introduced me to the wonders of the Proactiv Solutions?  Why hadn’t someone encouraged me to eat a few more salads instead of going to Cookout while drunk?  All questions we may never know the answer to.

photo 3Well folks who graduated this past weekend at Elon, or who graduated anywhere really, I want to first congratulate you on such a huge accomplishment.  All joking aside, college is a really insane and stressful time – not only are you expected to be academically successful, you’re suddenly navigating love, roommates, employment, internships, cover letters, freaking learning how to put a professional email together, all while also going through that awkward process that is the ages of 18-22. It’s a lot.  So seriously, props to you guys.

You graduated, so now what?

graduation

  1. Your parents are going to be in really really really good moods and really proud of you.  They’re going to send an email out to the entire family announcing your graduation.  Cherish that because they’re totally gonna not care in a couple of years what you’re doing. My parents have not always been sure what state I was in, I’m gonna put it to you that way.
  2. Your relatives will hand you wads of money to start your new life with.  Do NOT buy you and your friends shots with it because you will be feeling extra foolish mid-summer when you’re still kinda looking for a job.  Take all of that cash, and put it away, just in case your end up on your butt a few months after graduation.  Trust me.
  3. Make sure you keep in touch with those professors that really stuck out to you.  I have cultivated relationships with two professors in particular who really made my education at Elon special. I’ve made two incredibly smart friends, and as a bonus, I feel as though, at least for those recommendation letters for graduate school, I had some strong folks to choose from.  Make sure you thank them, and keep them close to you – they are always an incredible resource to have.
  4. It’s so tempting to relax by the pool for a month.  Hey, you deserve it, right?  But if you’re not going to travel or take a gap year, and you haven’t yet found a job, it’s really time to start looking.  Even if you’ve got plans to head over to graduate school in the fall, there is nothing wrong with keeping yourself busy and making a little bit of cash until you move onto your next venture.  Even if it’s a typical summer job, like at a camp, I would do it.
  5. Postpartum may set in.  This is completely normal.  4 huge years of your life were building up to this.  And now, it’s just done.  You might be weepy and sad, and really find yourself yearning for any excuse to hang out with your old crew, which is fine.  This is a really, really good time to start working on yourself, especially now that there’s a good chance you might have more free time than you did before.  This definitely happened to me – I was hurting after I graduated for a number of reasons.  It took me too long, but I got into crafting, writing, and eventually began teaching Zumba, running, hiking, lifting, and creating an identify for myself outside of Elon University.
  6. It’s time to create your own identity. You’re now a real grownup.  You no longer have step practice or a cappella practice.  You don’t have to write papers.  Friends are not built into your every day – you have to actually work to begin and maintain friendships, as well as romantic relationships. There is no dining hall, no RA, and generally no free pizza on random nights.  When you graduate is when it really begins.  Who are you going to be?

Okay, that’s my commencement speech for all of you beauties that have graduated over the last few weeks, or are planning to do so.

**One last thing**

Discouraging things may happen over the next few months. You might not get an interview right away.  Your college boyfriend, the one who you thought you might marry?  It might not work out.  The girls you could not be separated from may move to Texas and leave you behind.  You feel like you have no friends.  You’re in a new city.  Whatever.  Keep your head up because it gets better.  Discouraging things can’t happen forever.  Things will look up for you.  So keep it up with the persistence, and make sure you keep your ears open to learn from those who have done it before you.

Ok! Done!

 

You know you went to Elon if….

| cheriarmour

Elon’s been in the news a good bit.  Remember  the camels out on the yard?  Anyone?  Yep, that was us.

I will never stop talking about what a fantastic school Elon University was/continues to be.  If you’re reading and you’re thinking of attending or sending your kids, do NOT pass go, just do it.  I’m literally not even kidding.  DO ITTTT.  And now, here is my incredible list!

elon-is-incredible-campus

  • You can’t think of a single ugly person you went to school with.  Even that girl that shows up to your 8am in dirty sweatpants who smells like cigarettes and alcohol?  Have you seen her all cleaned up?  She looks amazing.
  • You know what SURF day is. 
  • Winter Term.  You go to class all day for a month, then go to the bar at night and practice your dance moves for spring break with the help of most of the football team.
  • Instead of being a responsible, global citizen, you spent a SURF Day or a reading day eve out until 4am.  Then you went to a presentation really early. 
  • You had a job on-campus.  In fact, you had like 3.  
  • Overcommitted was your middle name.  You went from meeting to meeting, then to a training and then to dinner with friends.
  • Speaking of dinner, despite the fact that you and all of your friends were disgustingly attractive, you gained like 40 pounds from eating constantly.  Food you ate was not limited to Cookout, Chic-Fil-A sandwiches, and sketchy food from Red Bowl place that’s on special.
  • You’ve been in the line at Cookout at 3am and seen like 40 friends there. 
  • You side-eye High Point University.  It may look like a resort, but we are a botanical garden, dammit!
  • You once (or twice) skipped class to lay out on the “boobs” in a bikini and yet…
  • Somehow, your grades are amazing…
  • Even though the weekend starts on Wednesday night.
  • Ain’t no party like a PiKapp party cause a PiKapp party don’t stop!  Now someone pass the Busch Light!
  • Nike shorts + Big nasty t-shirt + boat shoe = your new uniform.  This will only change on days that you have a presentation.
  • Global citizen?  Thaaat’s me!  Seriously, you studied abroad and found your new outlook on life like three times while you were here.

  • And finally.  You, like everyone else entered college as kind of an asswipe.  Until some amazing professor bitch-slapped you into reality with your first 79 on a paper.  You’re now a successfully working adult because of it.

Thanks, Elon ❤ !!!

Also, just cause I’m nosy, where’d you go to school?

-I went to Elon, my sister went to Duke, and my other sister went to Auburn.  My brother is gearing up for his first year at NC State which means he will be over at our house doing laundry for the next 4 years.

What I did this weekend!

| cheriarmour

I am a naughty naughty blogger.

Instead of being the good blogger I know I can be, I did not preschedule out posts like I should have for this weekend, so that’s why things were a little quiet around here over the weekend.  I’m sorry!  But I’ll refresh you on all the cool stuff I did this weekend.

Saturday:  I taught my Zumba class like normal, and then, I went down to a friend’s to pick up a new toy!  I don’t have photos just yet, but my new (to me!) toy is a little commuter bike that I am going to start using – I think I’m gonna try to ride to work once or twice a week for a little extra exercise and to save a little bit on gas.  Any of you guys commute this way to work?

Then, I headed down to Elon (I know, you guys are getting sick of me talking about how great Elon is,) and I headed to the 15-year anniversary party for my a cappella group, Twisted Measure.  The concert was so so great, and they released another CD, available now on iTunes.

My frands!

DSC_0490

DSC_0491

DSC_0493

These kids throw a killer, killer party, and the evening consisted of yard games, barbecue, Jack Daniels jello shots, and Fireball (which I had to kindly decline).

Somehow, but the grace of god (and a package of this electrolyte stuff), I managed to get up, get a run in with a friends from the group (I LOVE DOING THAT!) and even managed to take the little bike out for a test ride!

Okay, that was mine,

How was your weekend? 

Weekend recap.

| cheriarmour

I hope you had a really really good weekend.  I would say that not only was my weekend good, but it was really really productive, and it’s high time that I’ve been productive on a weekend.  Unfortunately, that means that it kinda feels like I didn’t stop working all weekend, but at least I got shiz done, right?

So Friday night, I’m pretty sure I told you guys that since I went to body pump early, that I went to bed pretty much when I got done with work.  That was that.

Saturday, I headed down to Elon, about an hour away, to teach at Elonthon, a 24-hour Dance Marathon that benefits the Duke Children’s Hospital.  To say it was nuts (in the best way possible) would be the understatement of the century.

DSC_0214Since I get sort of nervous before I teach any class, walking into this group of spirited college students made me a little nervous.  But I hopped on stage, and as soon as I started my first song, I felt he nerves sort of disappear, and launched into 30 minutes of a class, that I hope pumped everyone else for the last 4ish hours of the marathon. As always, Elon kids continue to do amazing things, and I’m impressed by their spirit.

I managed to continue my little personal tradition, and go for a short little run around Elon’s campus, and as I was doing that, I couldn’t help but wonder if I looked old, and if folks could tell that my old ass didn’t belong there.

I’d planned to stop by the wedding venue since it was right down the street but as usual, I overbooked myself, and I didn’t have time to stop anywhere because I stopped by a few art stores to grab more buttons for a project that was to come later on this week.

And, to wrap up Saturday I headed to Raleigh Beerfest to drink, and to hang out with my hubby and his friends.  I drank enough until my old self was ready to go home and go to sleep.  God bless you folks out here in these streets who was able (proper southern grammar) to keep the party going after Beerfest, my hubby included, but that was not me.

10171077_10100299026849773_1888318097_nBeerfest!

And then on Sunday, once I woke up, I scrubbed the apartment (thanks to the foster Beagle, I had to scrub a few really ripe spots in the carpet), and then set out to getting down to wedding stuff.  Do you guys mind if I give you a little sneak peek into Wedding Wednesday?

10151197_10100299276958553_1782262188_nI spent a few hours creating a practice bouquet that will act as a template for my girls.  It took a while, but I’ve given myself enough time to make a unique bouquet for each and every one of my girls, and one to throw, so that they will have something to keep as a token from their time spent with me.  What do you think?

Okay loves, how was your weekend?

 

Today.

| cheriarmour

Last night was great.  For the first time in weeks, and weeks, and weeks, because I woke up early and went to body pump, I really had nothing to do after I got off of work, especially seeing as how I worked on a good chunk of wedding projects on Thursday night.

So immediately after work, I laid down with the foster baby (beagle) and took a nap.

Then, me and Austin hung out and watched this creepy creepy Netflix documentary on Jeffery Dahmer, which is pretty funny (not ha ha funny, but “omg this is crazy funny), because I read Jeffery Dahmer’s article on Wikipedia the other day.  Don’t ask why, I love Wikipedia articles, they’re really a fun pastime.  Not Jefferey Dahmer’s per se, but sometimes the articles I read are fun.

So today, I get to do something really fun.

Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 8.39.22 PMEvery year, Elon hosts a dance marathon called Elonthon that benefits the Duke Children’s Hospital, and every year for the past few years, I have gotten a chance to teach a short Zumba class to sleep deprived students at Elon, and every year, it’s been really fun.  I’m honored to be able to do it again this year, and hope to snap a few pics of the sweaty, beautiful faces of my Elon folks.

What are you doing on this beautiful Saturday? 

 

If this were Elon…

| cheriarmour

I came to Elon Univeristy, about an hour from Raleigh, in the Fall of 2005, when my father read an article about this up-and-coming school in North Carolina that I just had to apply to.

I was the first of my parents’ four to apply/go to college, so not really knowing any better, I applied to 10 schools.

  • UNC
  • UNC Asheville
  • NC State
  • Brown University
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Ithaca College
  • Cornell University
  • Brown College

And finally, at the last minute, I applied to Elon University.  Long story short, on the way back from a beautiful visit to Pitt, my dad pulled us over and stopped us at Elon, at which point, we decided I would go to this beautiful place that was sunny, where the swans were walking around and where it wasn’t snowing (At that point, in April, it was snowing in Pittsburgh as we left).

So I went, and it literally changed my life.  You would not be getting this absolutely phenomenal blog if I hadn’t gone there, I can guarantee you that ;). So it’s gorgeous out, and it got me thinking about Elon (plus it’s Elon’s 125th anniversary so Happy Birthday, beautiful school!)

If this were Elon…

1922505_10100286546475543_691922780_n

  • I would be sunbathing, similarly to the way I’m doing above, except I’d be in a bikini. 
  • I’d  be pretending to sunbathe, but I’d really be watching these cute boys play volleyball.  I was always too scared to talk to them.
  • I would have napped at least once by now, because of the fact that I stayed up til 2 am doing homework the night before instead of using my time efficiently.
  • I would have run into our handsome President, Dr. Leo Lambert on the sidewalk, and gotten really flustered, too much to do anything but utter an unintelligible greeting. 
  • I would have Twisted Measure practice that evening, that usually would consist of us doing actually singing for an hour and a half or so, with half an hour of us pulling pranks on each other or singing things in the wrong key on purpose to peels of laughter.
  • After practice, I’d go get a grilled cheese from Varsity with these greasy chip things, and chase it with a coffee from Acorn, our local sandwich shop.  At this point, I was just starting my coffee addiction, but I’d adopted the awful practice of drinking coffee at night, and a 5-hour energy mixed with a Sunkist in the morning a lot of times.  Quite obviously, I took my health quite seriously.
  • I would have hit Belk Library to “study”, which really means socialize with boys and kinda work on stuff.  When I got sick of that, or when I felt like walking home by myself would be too creepy, I’d leave, watch Nancy Grace, and come home.

What was the culture at your school like?  

Oh, and Long Live Elon!

 

PC Time Machine

| cheriarmour

Thank you God for Austin Samples, because my girl over at Olive to Run posed this question on her Facebook page.

What is the WORST injury you’ve ever had? [running related or not]

As i described my worst injury to her, I began on a quest to find the photo that would explain the injury.

  1. First, I called my mom, who allowed me to break into her email to see if I’d sent her the photo from my Elon email, since I’d been at Elon when the injury had been incurred.
  2. Then I logged into her email.  No dice.
  3. I emailed my Dad at work.  Except Papa Cheri would not be at work til like 9am.  Okay.
  4. I tried to log into my Elon email, knowing fully well that they’d shut us out of our email like 60 days after we’d graduated.
  5. And finally, I tore through my house, looking for an old PC that I hadn’t booted up since maybe 2010.  The thanks to Austin comes in where I realized I had no cords and no mouse to use the thing.  I got all of those things, and finally booted it.

photo 1

Time machine much?

photo 2

AIM was still on the desktop.  And Marilyn was asleep in the background.

But the main event, the only reason that I booted the PC in the first place?

Knee Injury

The worst injury I ever got.  

::clears throat::

I played rugby for a short time my freshman year.  During this particular game, where my boyfriend at the time was watching from the sidelines in horror, a girl tackled me from pretty high up.  Now take a close look at my right knee without getting nauseated.  So when she did this, I heard a loud crack, and went down.  I remember the coach asking me what was wrong, and I couldn’t tell her, all I could tell her was that I was in horrible pain radiating from my right knee.  It swelled up immediately, and what ended up happening was something called a tibial tuberosity, meaning that a bone that sat at the bottom of my knee had been pulled up and off by my ACL, accounting for that crack I heard.  I spent the next, like 8 weeks in an ACL brace and on crutches, and to this day, that knee gets sore from time to time.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASee!

Okay, enough of me walking down memory lane.

What is the worst injury, running or not running related that you’ve ever gotten?

Greensboro Marathon – DONE

| cheriarmour

I have never been so glad to be done with a race in my entire life.

Following the conclusion of the race, I kept running, and ran directly into the medical tent, where I calmly informed the EMT that I needed fluids.

Here’s how it went down. 

Saturday morning, I woke up around 5 with a stomachache.  SHOOT!  So I ran down to the car, grabbed some Tums and a Prilosec, and waited for them to kick in.  They kinda seemed to, and by the time we’d made our way to a very chilly start line, I decided that I felt okay.  And off we went.

It was cold, but not unbearably so.  I’d dressed perfectly. A thin, long-sleeved Brooks top, a Brooks Nightlife Vest, stuffed to the gills with goodies, gloves, and 3/4ths tights.  On the feet were the Glycerin 11 (an excellent choice of a shoe), and some Smartwool socks.  When it felt like my hands were going to fall off, I palmed my boobs under the vest, and as silly as it seems, the warmth made the ride really comfortable.

I stuck to the plan.  About 6.5 miles in, I started with my first bit of nutrition, and the nagging tummy ache that had been bothering me started to flare up.  I tried everything to push it away.  I breathed the cool, fresh fall air.  I house shopped.  I focused on music.  But it wouldn’t leave.  By the time another 6 had passed, and it was time for more nutrition, I couldn’t do it.  I nibbled at another piece of Clif Shot Bloks, and the stomachache started up, worse than before.

15 Miles.

The stomachache was too real.  Katy Perry came on with ‘Roar’.  And I dissolved into tears.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever shared this, but I get hyper-emotional during races.  It’s an introspective period of time, and the thought of the message of the song, the stomach pain, and the fact that I was over halfway in the race got to me.  Get it together, Cheri.  Someone is going to see you crying and think something is really wrong. 

18.1 Miles.

I literally pulled over in a field, and the stomachache was just too much.  I barfed in a field.  Everything I’d eaten, all the water, and all the nutrition was gone.  A cop looked on, sorrowfully.  But I couldn’t give it up, I was only like 8 miles from the finish!

So I knew that I’d lost all my nutrition and all my water.  And the thought of eating was producing more vomit.  So I kept up with my water, and trudged through the last bit of the marathon.

I did it. 

It was abysmally slow.  I was a little sunburned.  But I did it, run-walking that last 8 miles or so.  Once I finished, I med-tented, explained to them what had happened, and let them check my levels.  I was fine, understandably a little dehydrated, and not feeling like eating ever again.

I finished.  I’m a two-time marathoner!! And upon an appointment with a gastro, I am totally ready for the next running adventure.

Marathon Couple