#48. Complete 5 works of art

I realized I had not posted any pics of the 5 "works of art" I've done! These are some of the things I've painted:

Coastal Carolina / Clemson mascot for my cousin, Christian

USC Halloween pumpkin for my parents

Gamecock painting sold at TNT auction: $50

Wine glass- Alice in Wonderland caterpillar, for Erin

Gamecock painting to replace the one I sold

Amazing Race knowledge bombshell

I know I begin every post this way but DANG...so much has happened since my last post 2 months ago!

• I finished my first level sign language class and loved it. I picked up the language pretty quickly but won't get to continue classes until January. Hopefully I don't lose any of it between now and then.
• Stephen accepted a job with Research Planning, Inc. and is currently in Louisiana on his second business trip!
• My best friend had a baby and I am now a Godmother!
• Sober for October wasn't a complete bust. I didn't drink for 28 days, and my goal was a month. ...and 28 days is a February month, so I'll take it!
• I had my practicum/internship meeting with the faculty yesterday and it was a success! Success happens to those who "be the pig" (see previous post).  I was approved to move on to practicum, so from January-roughly July, I'll be working some with Deaf Services and the rest with Insights, a program for young adults with severe and persistent mental illness! YAYYY
• I still have not washed my car once since I started my 999 days. Sad.

And since Stephen is gone for the next two weeks, I thought I might catch up on one of my favorite shows: THE AMAZING RACE! I love it, I haven't missed a season, and they're currently on season 19. Big fan. Big fan. 

So this season, I have fallen in love with a team (Andy & Tommy).

They are professional snowboarders (and basically are awesome with all boards..surf, long, wake, skate)- one was in the 02 Olympics, the other in 06. They've won 5 of 7 legs so far, and they always make it look so easy! Like oh, let me just climb this mountain, build this toy, restructure this coral reef and run across WATER...no big deal. They look like the nicest people and seems like of all the teams, they are enjoying themselves the most! They are competitive, but not in a deceitful way, they never argue with each other, they know how to work as a team- no matter how big or small a task is they allocate quickly and split up the duty without complaint, they appreciate each town they are in and embrace the culture with such optimism. They are Christians and they actually ACT like Christians!! They're considerate of others (giving the last place team the answers to a really difficult puzzle), and when they did win that leg- not without the help of the 2nd place team- they felt bad taking the first place prize and wanted to give it to the team who helped them! HELLO- I've never seen a team act so humble in the 19 seasons I've been watching this show. 

I definitely think they'll make it to the top 3 and they have what it takes to come out on top. And I've got a theory as to why.

1. They're physically capable because they're snowboarders.  
2. They're mentally capable because they're hippies.

Think about the qualities one might need to be one of the best snowboarders in the world: Drive, commitment- snowboarding, mountain climbing, wakeboarding, basically any x-treme sport, requires an extremely high level of commitment; you could really hurt yourself, you could DIE if you give up at halfway. Obviously bravery- it takes alot of mental stability (or maybe instability) to stand at the peak with nothing but fresh powder in sight! You've gotta be level headed and know exactly what "mind over matter" means.  You must have a good sense of body-awareness (flipping through the air, you should probably know where your head is in relation to the ground) which comes in handy in doing anything requiring athleticism. You have to be extremely agile and have perfect control of your body movements. If you watch snowboarders or flyers in cheerleading, they look like their legs don't weigh anything...because they think UP.  They're light on their feet and all of their muscles are controlled by the core. Bam! All those combined and you have yourself the perfect athlete.

Now think about the qualities that make a hippie a hippie: ELE. Everybody love everybody. These guys are always "stoked!" They're stoked about everything, and they're humble! Good positive attitude will get you through just about anything.

So yes, I'll step off my soap box now while you go to Hulu and watch these guys in action.