“The Happiest 5k on the Planet”

Today I was lucky enough to participate in The Color Run!  As far as I know, the originally American event is making its first tour of Australia and Perth got a piece of the action this morning.  I was lucky to have signed up early, because the event ended up completely sold out! I started the morning early by heading to my friend Thuy’s where a small group of us took photos and pumped ourselves up for the fun morning ahead.

Me and Thuy getting ready

Thuy and Michelle prepping

Michelle, me and Thuy before the Color Run

We caught the bus and headed down to Langley park in the CBD with thousands of others.  It was great to see people running around in crazy outfits and identical Color Run gear.

I’m all ready to go!

Teri, Thuy and I “before”

Treble Clefs!

In the end there was a group of about 10 of us sticking together as best we could.  Thuy, our other mates and I skipped, danced, jumped, jogged, walked and occasionally ran our way through the 5k course.  At every k, enthusiastic volunteers shook bottles of colorful powder at us.  After the first k (the color blue), we quickly realized we’d need to run right up to the Color Run crew as we went to ensure maximum color coverage.

My loves :D

All in all it was a fantastic morning.  We had a blast and it went by way too quickly.  At the end of the race we were given a bag of color powder each to be thrown in a group colorfest at the stage at the end of Langley Park.  They counted down until we all threw our dust in the sky together.  Thousands of us gathered and it was a beautiful five seconds of color flying up into the sky, before cascading down upon us in a cloud of deep red, green and pink.  The vibrant haze it created was breathtaking both figuratively and literally.  (It’s quite hard to see or breathe when standing in a giant fog of color dust.)

Michelle and Thuy (fairies!)

Thuy and I waiting for the bus

After catching the bus back to Thuy’s, I hustled home to show Matt how much fun I’d had.  He took this lovely picture for me before I commenced a very long scrub session in the shower.  There are still traces of the dust between my toes and on my neck and elbows.  I kinda like it there…

The Color Run Effect

Check out The Color Run to see when it storms into a town near you!  (Mpls peeps, it’s coming this summer, don’t miss it!!)

Reblog: I’m Starting to Wear Lipstick

Okay so this isn’t EXACTLY a reblog, but it’s inspired by a post from a friend of mine, so I need to give credit where it’s due.  Plus it’s a great entry, so other people should read it!

My dear friend and college roommate wrote this over a year ago, but I stumbled across it the other day: I’m Starting to Wear Lipstick.  It was really bizarre to me to be reading this because I myself had been tempted lately to start playing more with makeup.  Matt loves when I look natural, and for the most part I prefer it as well, but sometimes when I go to parties I like to mix it up with a bit of lippy and some eye shadow.

Kat was the first person to show me that makeup can be fun.  I’m not even embarrassed to admit we used to plunk down in front of her full-length mirror and just raid our makeup kits and experiment.

Yesterday I put on lipstick before heading out to work.  It was a subtle color and though it was noticeable I was wearing it, I didn’t think it was much of a change.  I also put on eyeliner.  Normally I just throw on a bit of mascara and I’m out the door.  Everyone commented.  All my coworkers asked where I was going after work; all the customers the same.  Matt says I just have a face where even a little makeup is really noticeable.  Funny experiment really, but I’m not sure I’d repeat it for work.

I started thinking a lot about Kat over the weekend because I’ve started catching up on Pretty Little Liars again.  It’s a very girly, very dramatic mystery show, and I can’t get enough!  The girls on the show are all dressed to the nines including full makeup, loud jewelry and heels everyday.

Now I’m not even sure Kat watches PLL, but she and her sisters resemble the character of Aria (Lucy Hale) a scary amount (third one from the left).  I always think of her immediately when Lucy comes on screen.  Whenever I watch this show, it makes me want to throw on a pair of heels and just ENJOY being female.  I realize this is totally unrealistic, but I can’t help it!

I got my temporary residency a little over a week ago and it’s completely thrilling.  When we get back from America I’ll start applying for a grown-up job.  When I think about our upcoming trip, I can’t help but squeal with excitement knowing I can soon stock up on smart feminine clothing for my new professional life.  I think I have problems…

Fun and Falling Apart

I think my body has finally had enough of my ridiculous over-scheduling.  I woke up yesterday with a very sore/pinched right shoulder and mid back, and as the day progressed the pain intensified and crept up my neck.  I booked an emergency session with the chiropractor as the pain started making me dizzy.

Doctor wants me back in right away this afternoon to try to loosen these locked muscles.  Last night I was so miserable; every movement tweaked it.  Poor Matt had to endure my frantic “don’t touch me!” attitude.  Self-protection is a strong emotion.

I’ve called in sick as there’s no way I can work a buffet in my current state, so I’m bored out of my mind in bed, adding apps to my new android phone and catching up on emails.  I never EVER call in sick, so this is quite foreign to me.  I felt absolutely awful having to make that call.

I’ve also been out of sports since last week with a bit of knee soreness.  My soccer coach asked me not to play over the weekend because I didn’t feel 100%.  Looks like my back and neck have put me out for another week, not to mention my knee still needs time.  I certainly don’t sound like a healthy 25-year old.  My busy lifestyle’s catching up with me in both mind and body.

One saving grace has been a few recent nights off from work.  Matt and I are struggling to match up our schedules at this point (which is completely my fault), and it’s really nice to have free nights to hang out together and to catch up with friends.  On Friday our good friend, Maria, had a costume birthday party.  I went as Rizzo.

Matt and Ian went as Ninja Turtles, which was quite exciting.  I loved that show as a kid.  My childhood pal Lizzie and I used to shove licorice down the sewer lids to feed the guys.  Pizza wouldn’t fit down there, so we didn’t have many options.  I remember we feared that perhaps Shredder would come along and steal the treats.  It was a risk we were willing to take.

Matt and I also recently had a long past due double date with our friends, Danny and Thuy.  It felt so nice to have an evening with them.  We went for Italian and just got a bunch of dishes to share.  It worked out to be really cheap, which is always a bonus.

Other than that, my a cappella group is really shaping out nicely.  Everyone’s willing to work hard and have fun, and we’re learning quickly.  We’re singing at a wedding in November.  I anticipate a practice concert for our friends sometime in the next few weeks.  We need to get used to performing for crowds.  Hopefully I’ll have another exciting news announcement in a few days. STAY TUNED!