Bring it on... life!

Ladies and Gentlemen, life is coming together in the world of Danielle Josephine Stack. Cue applause. Since my last post, I have had some major changes in my life. You might say... "Toto, I don't think we're in Ames anymore." Hold onto the edge of your seats because the big news is about to become public. (Well, blog public. I've already been pretty up to date on the social media scene.)

So, last time you heard from me I was pondering my next move in a little coffee shop in Ames, Iowa. I am currently sitting in the Hennepin Public Library in downtown Minneapolis, just a few tables away from an elderly man with toilet paper shoved up his nose. I hope he "nose" it's still up there and hasn't forgotten about it. Spoiler #1, I am living in Minneapolis, Minnesota now. Currently on my parents couch, but that is beside the point. For all of those who don't know, this wasn't me moving home either. I am from a town 75 minutes southwest of the Twin Cities, but my parents both work in the Minneapolis Public School district and are renting an apartment up here until further notice.

Why did I move to Minneapolis you ask? Great question! I decided to become part of Team USA Minnesota after a recent attendance to "RunPro" Camp put on by the wonderful founder of Team USAMN, Pat Goodwin. A few of us went out to Washington D.C. and attended a two day conference consisting of everything you could ever need to know about taking your running career to the next level. Overwhelming to say the least, but without this camp I would have never become as interested as I did in Team USAMN. After this conference, I was sold! I applied and before I knew it, I had been offered a spot on their team. I was thrilled! If any post collegiate runners ever have the opportunity to attend RunPro camp, I highly recommend it. Even if it is overwhelming, I learned so much in that two days.

Ok, so I am in Minneapolis on Team USAMN. In case you skimmed past the first few paragraphs. I know my dad will read every single word of this because he thinks skimming is overrated and you might miss something important, I agree. Like I said, I'm living on my parents couch, in their one bedroom apartment close to downtown Minneapolis. But, this will only be for a few more days as I have signed a lease and will be moving into my very own apartment. First time living by myself... if you don't hear from me after a year, I didn't survive. No, I'll be fine! I'm actually quite excited for this entirely new living situation. If I get lonely, I will just have to pop into my parents apartment because they are literally two blocks away. Yes, I will be neighbors with my parents.

Another exciting thing I cannot wait to share is my new sponsorship with Oiselle! They are a Seattle based company that has decided to take me on as one of their athletes. Their enthusiasm about running, female distance running in particular, cannot be matched! I cannot wait to represent this company, and I hear our new kits (which is English for jersey) are coming soon! Yay!

Oiselle, Team USAMN, Minneapolis, apartment are the major changes in my life. Aside from that, I am loving my new teammates, Flapjack Fridays at Mill City Running, exploring the copious amount of trails the Twin Cities has to offer, and doing my best to not get run over by the city busses on my bike through downtown. Exciting things to say the least! I'm also looking for a part time job to make sure I can feed myself and afford to pay rent, so stay tuned for updates. Otherwise, my dad said I will have to sit out on the curb with the homeless begging for spinach and cottage cheese. I'd prefer not to have to do that if at all possible.

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and thanks for your support. I have no idea where I would be without the support of all my friends, family, and now new team and sponsor! You guys are the best! (Special s/o to my parents for keeping me from sleeping in the sculpture garden.) And yes, the man with the toilet paper plug is still plugging away... in case you were wondering.

Until next time, keep spreading your wings and flying high!

Water Themed? Unintentional I Swear!

Well, I am back on the blogging bandwagon. Probably because I have nothing better to fill my time with. For the copious amount of readers who read my blog, I apologize that I had to start a "part two." I know what you're thinking... what happened to "am was" number one? Let's just say the blond in me forgot the password and after numerous attempts and hours spent trying to recover my password, I decided to give up and create a new one. Think of it as me being resourceful for making a part two, rather than me just being silly and forgetful. So, I thank you all in advance for bearing with me and putting it into your brains that you will now have to check "am was (part two)" for posts... hopefully much more frequent. 

So what am I doing with my life? Who the hell knows! I've been doing some soul searching and I would say my soul is still in "recalculating" mode. Things workout, things don't workout... it's all part of life. Until further notice, I just inform people that I will be homeless as of the end of July. No, I kid. Well sort of. I am getting kicked out of the lovely blue house on Campus Avenue that has served as my home base for the past four years. Through many Christmas parties, "pet" chipmunks, roommates new and old, hot summers and cold winters, I have enjoyed my time there. But, it is time to move out. No longer considered working towards my degree (yay, I graduated), I have to start growing up. Only a little bit though. If I have to move home for a bit, I have to move home. This is still to be determined. 

As my stream of consciousness continues, I really have no one purpose for this post. I would say this post kind of emanates my life currently. Somewhat all over the place, and not Dani like at all. Usually, I like to have plans, goals, purposes for rolling out of bed each day. No, I am not laying around eating bonbons (I still have yet to determine what a bonbon actually is), watching cheesy love films on the daily, but I really am not doing anything in particular right now. I've taken some trips, spent time with friends and family, begun depleting my bank account (also unlike me, but Mumford tickets were decently priced!), and now I'm blogging. How random! Oh yeah, and I started doing yoga... I'm obsessed. Hot yoga in particular. Sure, I get a slice of humble pie every time women and men twice my age whip themselves into head stands, but it's fun to challenge my body in a completely different way. And see improvements. I can finally touch my toes! Yes! I would guess that for the next month, my life will still be like a message in a bottle floating aimlessly in the sea, but eventually, that bottle (for those of you who didn't catch the metaphor, that's me) will find dry land and someone to share it's message with. 

What does this all mean? Many may think, "Dani, have you jumped off the deep end?" No, no I have not, I'm still swimming in the pool with numerous other recent college grads wondering... what now? I have options, and I am looking into options. I've done my fair share of networking and continue to keep all my options opened. Which, I am reminded every day to keep doing thanks to my oh so reassuring mother. Let me just say, thank goodness for her! Without my family, I might be in the deep end doing the "distressed swimmer" for all you lifeguards out there. Not a pretty picture. Lucky for me though, I'm still ok. Sure there are days when I cry and have minor panic attacks, but that's normal, right? It'll all work out in the end. It's just not the end yet. It's only the beginning. I'll get there. I've got to "just keep swimming," as Dori would put it. Ok, enough of the water references. I know, you get it. 

My apologies for the sporadic tendencies of this post, but sometimes I just need to write (or type) things out. Do I feel a little better? Yeah, a little. If anything, I am excited to finally be back on the blogging bandwagon and looking forward to remembering my password so I can continue this at a much more frequent rate. Until next time, I promise to keep afloat. I'm done, I promise.