Whew. Yesterday was intense. But it ended up being fine. My talk went well, lots of great feedback from my science/life mentor Jean (coincidental name, eh?). It was a fun challenge to present on the fly, but I really enjoyed that I was speaking to a group of people who knew all the background and I could really dig into some data. Sat around and talked science afterward with my boss and Jean, then back to lab, quick bike ride home, grab the Mr. P and drive over to get our first fish CSA pick up.

A) Pilot LOVES riding in the car. He'll get lots of practice with that today, but it is awesome, he gets all snuggled down into his seat and looks out the window, it is too cute.

B) Fish CSA's are terrific. We got 2 pounds of seafood (flounder and shrimp) that were caught yesterday, and then the girl who was running it (who is also in Trent's public health program) gave us some extra soft shell crabs! I've never cooked them before, but am looking forward to it.

Quick drive home to drop of Mr. P and the fish before booking it back to campus to go to a talk. The professor I came here for (and then realized I would not work well with at all) teaches a first year undergraduate seminar about public health, and invited a speaker from Partners in Health to give a lecture. Trent and some of his classmates came along and it was a very interesting, and very sobering, lecture. They are doing amazing work down in Haiti though, despite all the hardships.

We headed back home discussing global politics to grab Mr. P again. We headed over to Amanda and Stephen's for a lovely dinner. Stephen roasted a chicken and made a big pot of pasta to help me carbo load. Pilot and Jersey played like crazy and it was fun to be with our dear friends. They find out today about the gender of this little one, and are SO excited. I am wagering girl, Trent called boy... so one of us will be right! I can't wait to meet this little person!

Finally home and exhausted. Finally got to watch this weeks' Glee and pack for the race. My leg is feeling better, although a little touchy still. I am going to take it minute by minute. I feel like I have done a really good job preparing for this race and would be bummed if it was for nothing, but I do understand that three months of suffering while I heal is not worth three hours of running on Sunday. So we'll see... and I signed up for the Tobacco Trail Marathon in March so if I do drop out, I will have that to look forward to!!

Anyways.. we are leaving this afternoon and I am looking forward to a weekend spent with friends in a great house on the beach. I really really hope I can run (I LOVE RUNNING) but will be responsible about that decision.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It is a blindingly perfect Fall day here today... the leaves are changing on campus, but it is still warm and crisp. Wearing my JCrew navy corduroy blazer and feeling all sorts of academic. Nerd alert. Oh well.

Here are some pictures from our anniversary trip up to Asheville!

Our hot tub in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Awesome.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Our cabin in Hot Springs. So cute... I want one.

Gorgeous fall colors on a hike

On one of our hikes we found this trickle of a waterfall to play in. I'll have to post the video of Trent getting soaked... he was brave, it was freezing!

"Look at these colors!" An example of me every 10 minutes on our hikes.