Holiday Happenings

I've been really busy the past couple of weeks and am back in the ATL after a fun few weeks. The weekend of the 19th I went up to Chattanooga to meet some Indiana folks for some bike ridin'. To be honest I have not been on the bike much since my 70.3 and my butt got KICKED by Bri & Melissa on some gigantic hills. No joke.. there were 2 different 4+ mile climbs. I was going so slow I almost fell over. They did a 100 mile ride on Saturday and I joined them on Sunday for an "easy" 60.... right.

What time is check out?

So happy it worked out to see you!

I flew home Tuesday evening and Jaimie picked me up in Dayton and we were on our way to Findlay! Timing worked out and Maureen had a flight in from Charlotte and was able to ride back with us. It was a treat to catch up with her! It was 76 when I left Atlanta and it was cold and rainy when I arrived in Ohio.

I worked Wednesday in Findlay. My cousin Eric drove in from Nebraska and stayed with us Tuesday evening and most of the day Wednesday. I got to have a delicious lunch at Main Street Deli (one of my favs) with Michelle and Adam Lauth and Krista (also some of my favs!).

Wednesday night Krista, Kelly and I had Sushi takeout form Tokyo and got ready for a night out at Nino's. We had birthday cake and ice cream at the Havens house to celebrate the BIG 25 for K. Havens.

Aren't we perrrrty????

Made it out to Nino's- a relatively quiet year. We did see an old friend or two though...

I actually do have clothes on.

It was a fun night out... but an EARLY morning with the first annual WRC (Women's Resource Center) Turkey Trot.

After some smack talking by Danny Baker, I prepared for a fast race. Who didn't show? Danny. Nate made it out and beasted the 5k with a time of 23.35, my time was a 23.55 (Personal best) and Jaimie came in at 24.49. Considering the lack of sleep, dehyrdation, and turkey hats, I'd say we all did pretty darn good!

A BUNCH OF TURKEYS!!

The WRC had a great first run with 360 participants! Thanks to everyone who came out. Nate and I were both 2nd in our age group, and Jaimie was 3rd. WAY TO GO!

We then headed back to Cleveland for 2 Thanksgiving meals! Grandma T was at 1:30 and Grandma H at 5:30. Both meals were scrumptious and it was great to catch up with the family. It is also fun having little ones around again. FOOOOOD COMA!

It was an early night for me to say the least! We headed back to Findlay on Friday. Jaimie and I went for a 7 mile run early evening and we went to see the Toledo Symphony Orchestra perform at St. Mikes. It got me in the holiday mood. I am going to see Tran-Siberian Orchestra this Friday and am excited for that as well!

Saturday was another BIG day in the BIG HOUSE! I got to go to Michigan vs. OSU... and YES... after 7 years of losing to OSU we have bragging rights for an entire year. I don't care that OSU was a 6-6 team. Michigan has had a great season and I hope they get a BCS bid. GO BLUE! Had a fun time tailgating with my cousins, and Danny, Nate, Jay, and Riley all stopped by as well.

TAILGATE!

VICTORY SHOTS!

Riley looks UGLY in his OSU gear.

Brad and Brian Hewitt sportin' some sweet hair.

I'm thinking of permanently doing my hair like this... don't you think it's a good look?

Isn't this beautiful??

The Big House

Small cousin Eric.

Chomper got a bit nervous after 2 touchdowns were called back!

It was a great trip home. I have a lot to be Thankful for and enjoyed every minute at home with friends and family.

Now I'm back to the grind. Team In Training (click and donate to me!) Swim Practice tonight and my mom is flying in tomorrow to paint my place. YAAAAY! :)

Team In Training- Kickin' Off the Season

Well I signed up for my next adventure. I am officially part of the GA Chapter Team In Training(TNT). TNT is a group of people who come together to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by participating in endurance sports. I signed up for the Spring Team 2012 and will be competing in the 70.3 Half Ironman in Knoxville in May and additionally will be training to compete my first Marathon, the Publix which will be here in Atlanta in March.

A little bit more about TNT and the Leukemia Society. The money raised goes toward finding a cure for blood cancers through research programs.

Leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma are cancers that affect the blood-forming and infection-fighting organs – mainly the bone marrow and lymph nodes. They are related because they involve the uncontrolled growth of cells with similar functions and organs

Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under age 20.

More than 747,000 Americans currently have one of the blood cancers.

Since the beginning of the program, TNT has raised over 1.2 Billion dollars across its chapters around the country. 76% of each dollar donated goes directly to research. The other 24% goes to costs incurred for marketing, race fees etc.

I have a fundraising goal of $2500 that I will have to meet over the next few months. You'd think the endurance and physical training would be what I'm most nervous about but it is actually the fundraising. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't often ask for help. Today and over the coming months I'm asking for your support through prayer and monetarily if you are able. Even $10 from friends can really go a long way.

I have set aggressive goals for myself and extremely excited.

A few reasons I joined TNT:

I LOVE to compete. I trained for the 70.3 in Augusta in September by myself while Jaimie was training up in Ohio. I am excited to be training with other passionate and driven people.

Sadly I have not met a ton of people in Atlanta since moving here last December. A lot of this is because I work full time and in my free time I have dedicated it to workouts and traveling. This is an EXCELLENT opportunity for me to meet people with common interests.

Lastly, I can use my talents and efforts for a cause that is bigger than both you and me. So many of us have love ones and friends who have or are currently affected by cancer . I hope and pray that the research funded by events like this or Susan Koomen will eventually lead to a cure.

Each team and individual has a "honored hero" that they are racing for. Our team honored hero is a young man, twenty five years old who was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in September and is currently in the hospital seeking treatment. Please let me know if you have your own honored hero.

If you are able to donate even a few dollars to this wonderful cause, it would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to have my first $1000 raised by the end of the year.

The link to my page is below. All donations are tax deductible.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/knoxtri12/KristiHewitt#My-Fundraising-Page

Pictured below is our first practice yesterday morning. It was a beautiful fall day! Check out the awesome colors and leaves we still have down here in GA. With all the teams (Tri and Marathon) we had probably 200+ people in attendance yesterday which is really cool! We have practice every Saturday morning at 8am... (a little sacrifice). We went on what was supposed to be a 5K run (turned into 4 miles for me because I missed my turn)

I also bought myself a few goodies to be training in fashion and help me stay organized.

I will be trying to update my blog more regularly and letting you all know my progress. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Kristi

Lost coat, earring, card and dignity?

So here is where I will start. The end of the night. This picture pretty much sums it all up, however I will rewind and take you through my weekend.

5 gorgeous girls went out for a night of fun, lots of laughs, and lots of random men ON THE PROWL.
Kristi's coworkers meet up at Long Horns... I mean Long Worths. It was great to see Jessa, John, Ellen.

Laura: "I don't want to take anything away from my boobs so I wish I could breast feed out my ass." Michelle aka the paparazzi take some interesting pictures and angles throughout the evening.

Jaimie's girlfriends meet up with us at the bar Kara & Jackie.

Laura's friend Jake from UD visits. Kristi learns the next day he was not part of the Bachelor Party group we hung out with.

Michelle finds random friends to take pictures with.

Kristi and Jaimie wait in line for women's restroom and four girls come out and say "It wasn't us that threw up in there." Kristi and Jaimie cut in line for the mens line and are greeted by this guy on our way out. "Sorry... happpens!"

Michelle: "Don't take this the wrong way, but you could be a member of the Weasley family."Guy to Kelly "What the heck? Your friend thinks I am a weasel."

What a weekend! In all seriousness though, I was very fortunate to have my divsion meeting for work in Cinci this week and be able to stay for the long weekend at Jaimie's place in Hyde Park. (She has done such a wonderful job decorating and her place is adorable.) Mom and Dad came in Friday night and took us to dinner at Brios. It was delicious! It was a short visit but I am glad they took the time to come see me.

I was also lucky to have some very special visitors come down from Columbus. KHavens, Laura, and Michelle made the trek late Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed some guacamole and home-made ice cream and then headed over to Teak (a Sushi restaurant in Mt. Adams) for a wonderful dinner and drinks.

After Teak, we headed over to Long Worths for some more drinks, dancing, and to meet some new friends. We had a great evening despite losing one pearl earring, Laura's coat, and Michelle leaving her debit card. I am so greatful for these wonderful people in my life. It was a treat that they made an effort to come see me in Cinci . Now that I am in ATL it will be harder and harder to get together.

I love these girls + Jaimie so much. Thanks for an unforgettable (well mostly unforgettable haha) weekend. I will end with, "Call me Kristi, I don't even know my name."

Laura- "Kristi, that makes no sense!"

Randomness

No time for an update but some random thoughts for the day:

The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.

Diet Coke was only invented in 1982. I wonder what my dad drank for the first 24 years of his life?

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people. Approximately 40 million. That's a lot of pouches!!

Saw a clip while a woman is texting and walking and falls into a fountain on the news today... this would TOTALLY be a me move. Youtube- Woman falls in fountain. So funny.

Have a great day :) More randomness to follow

Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality

So I decided after enjoying reading several friends' blogs that I'd start one of my own, and today I am going to dedicate my first blog to CHEESE. Yes, cheese.

Did you know that according to history, a traveling Arabic merchant had bought some milk to take along on his journey. The pouch in which he placed the milk was lined by that of the stomach of a sheep. As he traveled, the heat from the sun activated the enzyme, rennin, found in the stomach lining. This made the milk turn into its liquid to a solid curd or cheese components. And THUS... cheese was revealed. The exact time of the appearance of cheese is unknown, however cheese has its earliest record dating back to the ancient Sumerians circa de 3500BC.

The United States is the top produce of cheese in the world with Wisconsin and California leading the states in production. Although we're the largest producer, France has the highest consumption in the world. The French may think they eat a lot of cheese, but they have not been to the casa de Kristi. Pictured above is what I found in my cheese drawer this morning. Just a little shout out to my seester and Kraft. Your cheese is good but overpriced. I try to stay loyal to Kraft because Jaimie works there and actually one of her categories is Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Jaimie got me a Phili cook book for Christmas and I've recently enjoyed some delicious recipes. A hit this weekend was my Asparagus and Cream Cheese Tart! I've made it a goal in 2011 to cook delicious food more often!

I don't know about you, but I found there are certain cheeses that whenever they are listed on a menu I get sucked into trying it, probably number one being GOAT CHEESE. Oh how I love thee. You are so tasty!

Anyways, I hope that you love cheese just as much as I do and you pull out your recipe book tonight and indulge!