An overnight in Thibodeaux!

After a short week of long days, I packed a bag late Thursday afternoon & headed an hour and a half West to visit Sarah in rural Louisiana. It's so gorgeous out in the bayou... And so flat. Lots of fields of sugarcane.

Thibodeaux is a pretty tiny town, but we had a fun little overnight, including a great  Mexican dinner. We got into a long discussion with the owner about their burrito challenge; to succeed, one has to consume a 5"x10" burrito in less than 30 minute. the record is 12 minutes. Needless to say, we did not partake.

We got up early on Friday and headed into downtown Thibs. This photo somehow vaguely reminds me of a southern Whidbey. I think it's the red building against the big blue sky.

Had to have bloody marys & donuts for breakfast.

We spent most of the rest of Friday at the public pool, reading and people-watching. (That's my book group book.)

Great day, sooo hot.

What better way to end a summer day than with fries & milkshakes.

Great summer day, I have the best souvenir: tan knees!

Highlights of the past week: A karaoke & sushi going-away party for a coworker & friend.

My favorite new co-worker, even though she's pretty lazy. 

I spent some time last weekend at Morning Call at City Park. You can see from the light that it was really early-- 6:30 AM, to be exact. I took some friends to do the Zombie 5K (it's a race where people dressed up as zombies try to "kill you" during the race).

I feel like I've had a lot of people give me rides to races & cheer me on. It felt great to give a little of that back.

Spent some quality time at the Tulane library, doing practicum work. Particularly liked this section.

Still trying to get in some hot & sticky runs! I'm pretty happy when they're over.

i got to live out a longtime dream last week: paddleboarding! i met up with a few work friends on Friday morning at Bayou St. John for a quick paddleboarding lesson and then we were off! we paddled  through the neighborhood for about an hour and a half. i didn't see any alligators, but i did see some big swimming turtles.

i absolutely loved this, and can't wait to do it again. someday, i hope i can live on the Bayou and do this regularly.

it's so rare to get the opportunity to be on / near water here, and it's so precious. once again, Lululemon is making good things happen!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this city? Always something new to see. I've been riding my bike a lot & exploring new streets.

I went to a great workout class tonight at my favorite yoga studio-- a heated hip-hop dance class. A bunch of girls from work & I did it together. It was different, definitely out of my comfort zone, and totally great.

i've been hanging out all over town to work on my practicum. It's a good way to see some new cafes & find some new spots to get some quiet work done.

Turns out all I had to do to become a real blonde was move to LA!

Summer is heating up! It's now too hot for outdoor yoga, but biking & running continues. We'll see how long it lasts!

Things are getting really lush & jungle-like in our yard. Here's the view from my porch.

It's so strange here at night. The sun sets so late & even when it does, the sky stays bright blue. Here's the view from our front porch stoop. Sarah came into town the weekend, we sat outside & shared a couple of beers. It was a nice cool night, around 88 degrees (...). We couldn't let it go to waste.

Been spending lots of time with this girl lately. She's so tiny! (iPhone 5 is there for scale.)

Ready for the start of another busy week!

Sunday was the Zydeco Festival & Creole Tomato Festival in the French Quarter. Sarah was in town, so we put on our best festival gear & headed down to check them out. The revenues from Jazz Fest are used to put on free music festivals all year, including Zydeco Fest.

I hope you can see the giant accordion & washboard. These guys were great.

The Creole Tomato Festival was happening just down the block at the French Market. It was a stormy day, which kept the crowd small.

One thing that differentiates Creole & Cajun food is tomatoes. Creoles were originally French & city dwelling, and Creole cuisine uses tomatoes a lot-- Cajun cuisine doesn't.

I can't even handle how much I LOVE fried green tomatoes. I had to get some.

Another successful festival day!

Crescent City Connection Bridge Run!

Yesterday, I got my shift at work covered at the very last minute so I was able to do the Bridge Run, which is the highest elevation run in Louisiana. You run over the Crescent City Connection, which is the bridge that connects the Eastbank & Westbank. It's 300 feet above sea level at the apex of the bridge.

This is the face of a completely unprepared girl about to embark on a 90-degree run. I hadn't so much as walked up a hill since January. But I got to take my SoleMates t-shirt out for a spin, which was extra exciting.

I rode my bike down to the River & loaded up on a school bus near the convention center to ride to the race start, which was on the Eastbank.

Here's the racecourse. It was a mile flat, a mile uphill, half mile flat, a mile downhill, and a half mile flat. There's really no way to train for it here, so a few thousand runners & I were in the same boat.

You could choose your race bib: Westbank, Eastbank or neutral. Even though I'm a solidly Eastbank girl, I picked neutral. Felt right.

All lined up at the race start. It was 6 PM & about 90 degrees. everyone was already sweating profusely.

Running up the Bridge! This was at about  6:25 pm so the sun was low in the sky. Great light! Also: my ears popped at the top of the bridge. Crazy.

Race end was below the bridge-- lots of food, live music & sweaty people. Hard to believe that I'd just run over that bridge!

Celebrating with a hard-earned snowball (my first ever). So much better than a snowcone-- fluffy shaved ice, evenly distributed & delicious syrup. Tasted like a pink lemonade cloud.

Also earned this sweet tshirt! Great day. Happy to say that I've now run three races since I've been in NOLA!

Our new roommate, Hope, moved in this week & she brought her cat named Kitten. Kitten looks like a tiny version of Albus (Sarah's cat). This photo accurately captures her personality...

This is one of my very favorite houses in my neighborhood. it's hard to see in this photo, but it's got an amazing-looking roof deck up top... and it's pink!

i've committed to training for SeaWheeze (a half-marathon in Vancouver in mid-August). i'm not running the race-- or going to Vancouver-- but i wanted a training regimen for the summer. i picked this one because it's not just running, it's cross-training too. that means lots of yoga and spinning, which i really enjoy! earlier this week i did yoga in the evening, during a really wild, very hot thunder & lightning storm.

i'm starting to get into a rhythm with my practicum, work and personal life. it feels so good!

Girls on the Run!

At long last, a Girls on the Run post! We ran our 5K in City Park on Mother's Day. it was such a special day, and I was feeling so blue about being here and not being home... this event really brightened me up. I can't think of a better way to have spent Mother's Day here in Louisiana.

the girls of the International School representing! check out those cute pink socks & headbands.

Sarah ran too! it was her first race ever. she was jazzed (though this photo doesn't quite capture it)

Sarah, Meadow & I ran the 5k together. here we are with our medals post-race.

lots of cute moms, dads & siblings cheering us along the way! i was able to cross the finish line twice, with two of the girls i coached. such a joy.

such cuties.

the girls wrote thank-you cards, which totally melted me. i maybe shed a tear or two on the drive home. i mean, "thank you for being their for use?" "you are a grate choche and voluntiering, i love you Miss Madalin"? how can you ever beat that?

i'm only human.

for my fundraising efforts, i was gifted this SoleMates tech t-shirt to wear in races. i love it! so proud to be involved with this amazing organization & supporting what it stands for.

another banner week!

the most exciting things?

- i kicked off my practicum! i'm really ready to sink my teeth into the program and the process, and THRILLED by the very real possibility that my work will have a real effect on the health of the children of this city. that's all i've ever wanted. i'm feeling so excited and energized! i'll share more about it once my practicum gets fully underway.
- i became an official resident of the State of Louisiana! (the process is slightly more complicated than buying an "LA" t-shirt). that means that i have a new driver's license, license plates, the whole deal. i'm also officially registered to cast my very blue vote in this very red state. there's only one DMV in Orleans Parish, and i'm pretty sure it must have its own reality show in development-- i certainly met some characters, including a woman who said a prayer (to St. Christopher, of all people) that the process would go smoothly for me. literally praying inside of a government building, because Louisiana y'all.
- outdoor yoga, sunrise yoga, running & oyster fest. squeezing out every drop of this "mild" summer weather!