Journey of a Thousand Miles

Finale, Conclusion, The End...

2009-06-24T16:50:00.013-05:00

So I apologize for the lack of posts this last month. I just couldn't bring myself to write anything because it was always going to be "the last time we _________...." It was simply too depressing. I've been told that I have to post one last time - so here I am writing from my family's kitchen table back in Illinois.

Our last month in North Carolina involved some pretty exciting times, but most notably:

My sister's wedding at our family's pond. (My brother and his fiancee are on the right side of the picture).

The purchase of our new (yet-to-be-finished) house in Washington, IL.

The graduation roast (where Dr. Thornton is hilariously making fun of Chris' country ways and social skills that everyone thinks will translate into the political world someday).

The graduation ceremony

The parents' rooftop farewell post-packing (from two-bedroom apartment to trailer in less than 3 hours!)

My final (and very sad) goodbye to our building

And... a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville on our way home (via my sister's new home in Corbin, KY.)

Our Nights in Rodanthe (and Other Outer Banks Locations)

2009-05-26T12:30:00.018-05:00

Whether or not you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks' novels (hence the post title), you've surely heard of the Outer Banks, probably most fabled for the "wild ponies" that roam there. Luckily, we were informed well in advance that the horses were now in fenced pastures (thanks, Kate - that saved Chris a great deal of disappointment), but it was still cool to learn that genetically these horses are different from horses seen in everyday America (something about an extra sixth lumbar vertebrae).

Chris and I decided to spend a week camping along this "mile wide and a hundred miles long" set of barrier islands on North Carolina's eastern shore. By the grace of God, we had reserved a cabin at the first place we were staying (thinking it would be late when we arrived Sunday night and wouldn't want to set up a tent.) Little did we know that it was going to be pouring buckets and gusting 40 mph!

The weather conditions required a slight change of plans for the start of our week, but it actually worked out really well. We spent the first day gathering info/formulating a plan, touring the "Graveside of the Atlantic" museum (lots of lighthouse/shipwreck displays), and driving the truck on the beach.

Chris thought it was unnecessary to follow the posted signs and explicit written instructions in every Outer Banks guidebook to lower the air pressure in your tires to 20psi - and when we got stuck, boy, was I not a happy camper! We ate our picnic lunch while he squirmed in his seat trying to figure out what we were going to do....luckily, the solution was as simple as PUTTING THE TRUCK IN FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE!

We had our first (and only) dinner out at the Breakwater Restaurant - seafood bisque, steamed seafood appetizer plate, seafood stew, and seafood al greco. Mmmmm!

On Tuesday, we took the 40-minute ferry ride over to Ocracoke Island (where the infamous ponies live). Touring the whole village on bike, we saw the lighthouse, hiked a nature trail, bought a book on the legends of the Outer Banks, stopped off for some peel-n-eat shrimp at a happy hour, and only had one heart-sinking moment when we realized Chris had lost his wallet! Fortunately, it had fallen out while we were sipping our drinks on the porch at the coffeehouse and some kind person had turned it in - BIG THANKS to that anonymous soul! (Still a little cold and rainy - hence the hood - and even though you can't tell from this picture - the green, full-body rain suit I'm wearing!)

The next day we traveled up Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the famous swirled-patterned lighthouse. The most remarkable thing about this beaconing building is that it was picked up off the ground and moved nearly 3000 feet over 23 days because it had become too close to the actual shoreline. During our adventure to climb to the top of this lighthouse, we had a humbling example of "bad luck." The balcony at the top was closed due to high winds when initially went to purchase our tickets, but they said that it was made on an hour-by-hour basis and could change anytime. We toured through the museum, watched the video on the move, ate our lunch and then went to check back. Still closed. We bought our tickets climbed to the top and peeked our head out the door (but couldn't actually walk out and around the top.) As we were walking back from the old sight, what do you know? There were people circling the top deck! It was opened! If only we had gone to the old site first...

Later that afternoon, we arrived at our tent-camping site and set up shop - at the BEST site they had (because it was the only one with its own firepit!) Seriously, that was our view from our front door! Beautiful!

Stopped by the third (and final) lighthouse of the tour, Bodie Island Lighthouse, and got to hear some great stories from one of the volunteers - who happened to LIVE there in the 1920's because his dad was the lighthouse keeper! (Yes, he was 94!)

Our day in Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills with the history of flight was absolutely fantastic! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

That evening was topped off with a sunset from Jockey's Ridge State Park, which contains the largest sand dune in North America and the only hang gliding school in the country as well. It's really NOTHING but sand! Pre-sunset = ate a mango; Post-sunset = Chris jumped off the edge of the dune with a blanket over his shoulders (at some strangers' encouragement to "Fly, Batman!" - but in all honesty, he really was planning on jumping/somersaulting/flailing/etc. before they even said anything.)

We spent two days just chilling at the beach and riding our bikes around Rodanthe. Got some great ice cream; Scoped out the beach house used in the post-titled Richard Gere/Diane Lane movie; Practiced my BodyFlow class (yoga/Pilates/tai chi) on the beach (and naturally got some really weird looks).

Our last day was spent checking out one of "history's biggest mysteries" - the Lost Colonists at Roanoke Island. VERY interesting - especially because I get to teach about that part of America's past in Social Studies. There's a great interactive, hands-on park and the longest-running outdoor drama (since 1937), which unfortunately didn't start performances until after Memorial Day.

And - just for crazy fun - a squirrel who we saw running around with a sippy cup in his mouth!

Here we are at the end of our trip... a little sunburned, and a little tired, but very pleased with the week.

One more ironic story: Before we embarked on our five-hour drive home, I had commented that I could use a Diet Dr. Pepper. On our way home, we got stuck in this huge traffic back-up due to a bridge accident. Chris suggested to the kids who were standing by their homes that they should set up a lemonade stand....After checking with a couple neighbors and only coming up with sugar, what do you know, they came walking back with a 2-liter of Diet Dr. Pepper! God is awesome!

Anyway - that's the story. That's the trip. Two more trips very soon ... one back to Illinois for a wedding (and hopefully to find a house) and then back to Illinois for good. See you soon!

Spring Festivals and Friends

2009-05-11T16:36:00.005-05:00

While we unfortunately don't have any great photos to share, this weekend was spent partaking in some fantastic Winston-Salem festivals and hanging out with friends. Friday night started with the Celtic Festival and Highland Games held at Bethabara Park. Chris was completely bummed that they didn't start the competitive athletic events until Saturday morning. I know he was tempted to try throwing one of the huge cabers (telephone-pole-looking items) that were on the field for the next morning. It was a perfect evening to sit on a blanket at the park with a group of friends and listen to the Celtic band. However, when the "Irish dancers" (who were more like little old ladies square dancing) came on, we decided to find the Irish mood with some fish and chips (and Guiness for some) at good old Finnegan's Wake.

Then, Saturday afternoon was the Salute! North Carolina Wine Festival. Thirty-two wineries from the state set up tents up and down the streets of downtown for an afternoon of absolute fun! I have some new favorites for sure - including this amazing Dark Shadow that tastes like chocolate and Sandy Cross, this great organic muscadine wine. Good thing Illinois doesn't have a ban against shipping alcohol across their state lines!

We missed the post-party fun because we had been invited to the North Davidson High School athletic banquet (the high school that Chris covered in the fall for football). He became quite close with one of the families after sewing up their son's face in the locker room one night, so it was heart-warming to find a framed photo of the player including a needle addressed to "Dr. Stitch" waiting for us at our table. While it was a rather long five-hour affair (as it was for ALL of the sports), it was worth the wait to find out that this particular player won MVP of both basketball and football, and was named the school's Athlete of the Year. And, as another interesting side note, their girls' softball team is ranked in the USA Today's Top 25 teams!

We finished the night off with a quick stop at the wedding reception on the roof for some friends who live here, and then enjoyed a much-needed good night's sleep.

On Sunday, Chris and Suzi played tennis while I lounged on the side of the court planning our trip to the Outer Banks next week. And, then we spent the rest of the afternoon at the W-S Dash's, (the minor league baseball team here) doubleheader. (Their mascot is "Bolt, the Bleacher Creature"...there's not much you can do with a dash - ....) Disappointingly their new, multi-million dollar stadium, which was supposed to be ready for the opening pitch of this season, is being stalled by the ugly divorce dealings of one of the co-owners apparently. Still fun, just back at their old stadium (which they had already sold to Wake Forest - I bet it's not fun paying rent back for something you used to own...)

Anyway - pray for good weather as we are camping all along the Outer Banks this next week! If it keeps raining like this, it may make for some interesting sleeping arrangements I'm afraid!

Sports Medicine Conference in Tampa Bay

2009-05-01T08:10:00.016-05:00

I accompanied Chris to his sports medicine conference in Tampa Bay last week. Most of my days were spent lounging by the pool at our hotel (but if I'm really honest, I spent entirely too much time online looking at homes to buy in Illinois.) In addition to the academic learning that took place, we got to network with a lot of great people and have some fun as well.

Chris and Suzi's team dominated the fellow's quiz bowl, which was entertaining to watch as a spectator; we went to the aquarium one night for a reception (and saw the coolest leafed sea dragons, ever!); we went to Clearwater Beach - and had one of the worst sunscreen application performances ever - oops!; we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in Florida that had a Spanish/Cuban influence, complete with flamenco dancers; and ran a 5K with a running club sponsored by the Four Green Fields Irish pub (which Suzi said was the most authentic pub she's ever been to in the U.S. - which says a lot!)

A very entertaining, yet relaxing (at least for me) week!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-16T13:03:00.007-05:00

How appropriate that my college roommate was here for Easter weekend (since she came with me to Piper City almost every year for the holiday as well!) I was so excited that Jenn and her friend, Anna, were able to swing through Winston-Salem on their road trip from New York to Charleston! They got to see several of the downtown bars as we celebrated a friend from our building's birthday - and I even broke out my dancing shoes for the occasion!

I did make Jenn work a little on Saturday though because I was in charge of picking up all of the flowers for the "awakening of the cross" on Easter Sunday. Thankfully Jenn's sister worked as a florist for awhile and we were able to call her when we weren't sure what to do with all of them when they didn't fit in the refrigerators at church! In case you're ever in the same predicament, food (especially fresh fruit and veggies) will kill flowers so a bucket of water and a cool, dark room will suffice if you run out of empty refrigerators. As Stephanie assured us they would, the flowers still looked fine the next day (and I didn't lose my job.)

My coworker took some pictures - most were of the different stages of the cross being filled with flower, but there was (ironically only) one posed photo of a family (who happens to be friends of theirs). Does the guy look familiar to anyone? One Tree Hill fans? He's the actor who plays the semi-pro basketball coach that Nathan plays for now on the show! And he goes to my church! How crazy is that?

After Jenn and Anna left, Chris and I rode our bikes out to the baseball stadium and watched a great game in practically perfect weather. Then after a quick shower, we went up to Suzi's place for a "traditional Irish" meal of "bangers and mash" - which is (at least in this case) a bratwurst on top of mashed potatoes covered in peas and grape tomatoes.

A little different from Easters of the past - I was totally bummed by the lack of competitive family egg and basket hunting... (I had planned on hiding the endangered species chocolate bars I bought for everyone, but Jenn was sleeping on the couch in the living room, so it didn't work out...) but as usual - a great day nonetheless.

By the way, now that I've entered the facebook world, I've noticed I've been neglecting my blog. So much social networking to do, so little time. (Chris' new theory is that facebook is the root cause for the demise of our economy - it's complete with statistical analyses of time/productivity/etc.) Anyway, we have less than two months left here (if you take out weeks of vacation where we're gone...)! So sad!

Marathon Success

2009-03-29T17:41:00.016-05:00

Five years ago I ran the Green Bay Marathon in a (somewhat) disappointing 4 hours and 41 minutes. I mean, it was exciting to run around the inside of Lambeau Field, and I was pleased that I crossed the finish line, where I was then greeted by cheese, bratwursts, and beer (all seemingly disgusting at that point), but I definitely "hit the wall" around mile 21 and had to walk awhile. That total time divided out over 26.2 miles makes for a 10 min-44sec per mile pace. I've always had that little urge to try just one more time because I thought I could do better - and this year provided me with the perfect opportunity to have the time to train to do just that.

Back in September, I found this quaint marathon online with great reviews in Abingdon, VA. (And by quaint, I mean trail course in backwoods Appalachia that caps at the first 100 people registered.) It is advertised as a "low-frills" event - no timing chips, no medals, not even a T-shirt (but you do get a handy paperweight instead) - all for the "low-frills" price of $10!!!!!! That's right, it's not missing a zero, the cost for the marathon was $10! For those of you not familiar with marathon prices, that is unheard of! Most cost $75-100!

Not only that, but they also have a pretty sweet deal with the Days Inn so that "packet pickup" is when you check in, and you get a 4:00 check out the next day. Granted, the hotel is ...well... let's just say less than "low-frills" (aka old and run-down), but I guess it sleeps and you get a hot post-race shower in the privacy of your own room. They even think to put you in a first floor room so you don't have to climb the stairs afterwards. (However - our room had two twin beds and first floor rooms honestly freak me out a little - easy access for perpetrators and what not...paranoid, I know!) So anyway, I did manage the stairs - albeit ungracefully!

Abingdon is a cute, historic town with attractions such as the Barter Theater and the Martha Washington Inn. We had a fantastic pre-race meal at Withers Hardware Restaurant the night before. It had a great atmosphere (as it really was once a hardward store), and a great menu - so I was utterly sad when the host said we were the only people with reservations for that evening. (I guess it's just the bad economy...)

The marathon is run on the Virginia Creeper Trail, an old railroad bed that winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RACE ever! If you're afraid of heights or bridges though, this is not the best option as you run over 9 different wooden trestles (that are nowhere near the ground) as you cross valleys and rivers throughout the countryside. (Check out these pics!)

The trail runs alongside pastures of horses and cows and between these great moss-covered rock formations...It's unreal! And you don't have to take my word for it, you can read the reviews from past runners as well if you're interested in more.

It's been raining here so much this week that I contemplated wearing my old shoes with the fear that I would have to throw away whatever I wore after the race was over. (Fortunately, that was not the case!) The weather was definitely less than ideal: temperatures in the 40's and wind speeds in the 16-20 mph range. Luckily, several portions of the trail were protected by those aforementioned rock formations, mountains, and trees, so it wasn't horrible the entire way.

Running in the mountains, you would have thought that perhaps elevation changes would be a factor as well, but honestly, I found them to not be an issue at all. My training runs here in Winston-Salem involved several 3-4% grade changes and one major 6% grade hill that was killer. (Data which was garnered from one of my favorite websites ever: http://www.mapmyrun.com/. It's an absolute must if you are a runner, biker, or hiker). I would have been happy with anything faster than 4 hours and 20 minutes (a 10-min pace), but my high goal was as close to 4 hours flat as I could get.

I started out fast (which for me is ~8-minutes/mile) - I know that's anti-runner advice; they always say to start out slow. But my logic is that I'd rather get a cushion of time faster than my goal so that I have some room to work with because no matter what, I'm going to get slower eventually (and my tiny bladder means I have to stop at least once to pee). I was at 1 hr 52 min at the halfway point, but I knew the infamous "wall" would hit me at some point in the next half. Miles 17-21 I ran close to 10 minutes per mile, and I was definitely getting loopy (or grouchy if you ask Chris) but I didn't ever feel the moment where I couldn't go on.

The course is laid out so that you cross over the start/finish line four times before you finish on the fifth time through (down and back, left and back, right and back, left and back, and then a really short right and back for the finish). That frustrates some people; but some people (including me) like it because you can really think about the run in sections). This also makes it handy for spectators to see you at different points on the course. Chris was able to see me at the line all of those times plus was able to drive to one of the turnarounds as well. At mile 18, he decided to join me for miles 18-25. I was thankful for his company and pace to urge me on, but I was in no mood for conversation and (bluntly) told him so (hence the grouchy comment by me).

Thankfully miles 22-25 were part of the slight downhill portion, so pyschologically, I felt more confident in my ability to pick the pace back up. The very last 1.2 miles involved a really windy section, which made it tough to breathe (especially because one of the cabins on the side of the trail had a fire going). But I had a pretty respectable kick at the end and finished at 3 hours 55 minutes 43 seconds (My cameraman was a second slow...). Which calculates to a 8 min/59.89 sec pace (I say no need to round to the nearest whole number in this case!) YEA! YEA! YEA! Sure, this is a really small race, but it's still fun to be able to say that I finished 2nd in my age group, 6th out of all of the women, and 28th overall!

Post-race is not pretty sometimes... but those shiny, aluminum foil blankets are the best! (My new favorite warmer-upper - I'm thinking about keeping it... )

I've always said that I wanted to try - "just one more time" - to see if I could I could do better than that Green Bay time. And honestly, I am very happy to never run another full marathon again. (And I say that with great certainty a mere eight hours post-race...) I guess there's a chance that might change someday, but I really do think I'll be quite happy to run every half marathon in the country instead - Rock-n-Roll Half in Virginia Beach September 6 anyone?

Busy Week!

2009-03-21T17:26:00.011-05:00

It's been a busy, busy week!

Monday - Chris' faculty/grad student IM basketball team won the championship game. Glory, glory, IM champions again (and perhaps for the very last time...)

Tuesday - Celtic Cafe was of course jam-packed for St. Patrick's Day, so we altered plans and ended up at Foothills for the big day. Never celebrated Paddy's Day with a REAL, owns-a-house-in-Dublin, Irish(wo)man before (and might not ever again...who knows!)

Wednesday - Nothing too exciting, but we did (finally) finish our taxes! Filing in two states, realizing you weren't smart enough to bring your 2007 paperwork with you when you moved, being forced into having to identify yourself as "self-employed" because you moonlighted in an ER who chose to send you a 1099-MISC instead of a W-2, and then owing A LOT because the two measly little part-time jobs I work haven't been withholding enough money... Let's just say I'm glad that's over for another 365 days!

Thursday - Another item to cross off the list: Attending an NCAA tournament game. We went to Greensboro to watch the Texas/Minnesota and Duke/Binghamton games. Not tremendously exciting games, but fun nonetheless!

Friday - Had to watch the painfully excrutiating Wake loss --- oi!

Saturday - Chris: track meet, tennis match, soccer game; Dawn: Oyster Roast and Wine Festival with the girls from work (church) at RayLen Vineyards. Hmmm.... I think I definitely had the better day!

Tonight we're going to the Harlem Globetrotters game - very exciting (although slightly bummed because I'm missing Leann Rimes' Lifetime movie debut! But they'll be replaying it Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and... ) I think I'll catch it eventually...

Anyway - hope you're all having exciting times as well! It's spring! YEAH!

Healthy Living - (Expo and Beer)

2009-03-11T18:55:00.007-05:00

Who wouldn't want to walk through a life-size colon, huh? If you were at the Healthy Living Expo here at the convention center (which is a block away), you could have had your big chance! With hundreds of booths, activities, and seminar talks happening, it was definitely the place to be. I love getting all of the free screenings done; Chris, of course, struggles with the sensationalism of it all. Chiropractors that can show you your spine on a computer screen and convince you they can cure any ailment; Cure-all vitamin companies who promise your best life ever if you only take their product; (and the fact that every other booth was sponsored by the competing hospital here in town didn't endear him to much of it either).

The real reason why I wanted to go though was the keynote speaker: Ali Vincent, the first (and so far only) female to win NBC's Biggest Loser. The show frustrates me with all of the drama and silly games, but the workouts, the weight changes, and the life transformations move me to tears almost every time I watch it! I remember so clearly watching that season finale and watching her win as she lost 112 pounds (some 47% of her total body weight) by the final weigh-in. How amazing is that!

As I was waiting to get a seat after the previous speaker finished up, I realized she was standing right next to me talking to the guys at the sound table. I asked if she would mind if I took her picture, and her (very energetic) response was, "Only if you're going to be in it with me!" Ummm...ok....At this point, Chris had left because he was working the Special Olympics games that day, so she suggested I just do one of those shoot-it-yourself pictures. It was like we were best friends. Thankfully someone offered to take it for us - (but as you can tell from the picture, I was a little out of sorts.)

Her message is completely inspiring - and realistic - and funny. Instead of trying to summarize here, you can check out an interview that captures some of what she said that day. She also has great blog where she's been posting some video - which is where I learned that she climbed Camelback Mountain the same day I climbed Dreamy Draw! No Way - (They're right by each other)!

Another one of the speakers was Brad Hoover of the Carolina Panthers, which obviously meant a lot more to native Panthers fans - such as this one. Whoa! To see that at a football game is one thing; to see that at a health expo where people are jammed in between row after row of exhibit booths is another. It totally cracked me up!

So after a day of learning about healthy living - including healthy colons of course! - Chris was ready to give his liver something to do. Every February, Foothills releases their award-winning Imperial Stout called Sexual Chocolate (scroll down the page if you follow this link). I am not a fan of dark beers, but this one is like something you've never had. With ingredients like chocolate, espresso, and molasses, it is DARK, and the alcohol content is 9.75% (so they aren't even allowed to sell it in a pint sized glass.) I think this might be the only beer they actually bottle the whole year - and people line up for hours before the official release just to purchase the limit of 4. Check out this beer expert's blog on his experience: Review

Healthy living is definitely the way to go! It was great being surrounded by something I'm passionate about (fitness, not colons necessarily), meeting Ali Vincent, and even having a little of a chocolate-y, coffee-y beer. Yep - it's confirmed: Life is good!

CIAA Tournament

2009-03-03T18:00:00.014-06:00

We spent last Thursday through Sunday in Charlotte for the CIAA "Rock the Rim" men's and women's basketball tournament, a conference which is made up of Division II HBCU schools (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) along the East coast. It was so entertaining - (and tiresome)! We didn't leave the arena until after midnight almost every night!

My thought the entire weekend was: "Basketball is always basketball. Cheerleading is NOT always cheerleading." These girls stomped and danced in ways that were unbelievable. Molly - I'd like to see the Morton cheerleaders performing with this kind of energy next year :)

The cheerleading competition on Saturday morning was quite entertaining as well. Each squad had a themed performance with props set to various pieces of music. Themes included Tarzan, car mechanics, space, and the political/President Obama tribute.

The bands were amazing and had their own amount of organized dancing in the stands during their performances as well. They definitely had a battle of the bands going on all weekend long.

One of the traditions of the tournament is Mr. CIAA, this elderly gentleman who changes into an extraordinary outfit complete with matching hat, coat, shoes, and umbrella every half hour. I didn't get pictures of him every time, but these were some of the ones that I managed to capture.

There was also a Ms. CIAA pageant - one girl selected from each school competed in interviews, essays, and online voting apparently.

And, there were lots of entertainment acts at both the games and the Ford Fan Experience at the nearby Convention Center. My favorite was definitely the trampoline dunkers (although I did grow weary of them the sixth time I saw their routine...). Among others, some of the musical acts included: Yolanda Adams, some former American Idol contestant (sorry AI fans, I don't remember her name...) Robin Thicke, and ---- Nelly! We were totally bummed that he didn't perform at 3:00 like they announced he would (we're guessing due to plane delays), so I only got the picture from the jumbotron since we had to get back to the arena for the championship games.

Chris was excited that he got to see Oak Hill Academy (the #2 ranked HIGH SCHOOL team in the country) play Charlotte Christian on Saturday morning as well. Their team is unreal. Apparently all sorts of basketball greats go to this private institution to get recognized for college opportunities.

The most unfortunate part of the weekend was that the hotel they put us in was a good 20 minutes away. So, instead of getting to stay in the downtown, convenient hotels, we had to be in another town (We decided this was probably because the refs and the medical staff were put up in the same place and maybe it was safer if they were all in an impartial setting). And so, this was really all we saw of the city of Charlotte. But Uptown is definitely a cool area... I think we'll be heading back for a weekend out sometime before we leave.

Fun in the Arizona Sun

2009-02-24T17:17:00.018-06:00

So we took one week out of our "one year in Winston-Salem" to visit our cousins in Arizona. I have to tell you it's really handy when people on opposite sides of the family choose to live in the same city! Chris' cousin, Ryan, got married on Saturday and I got to see my cousin, Rachel's baby for the first time!

Our travels are never simple flights from one city to the next. Even before leaving North Carolina, our plane had a hole in one of its tires. Of course, the Piedmont Triad Airport doesn't have a maintenance division, so a mechanic had to bring a spare tire from Charlotte. As Chris pointed out (complete with pit crew sound effects), the guy ought to be able to change the tire in 20 seconds flat if he was a true Charlotte resident (They're ALL race car fans, right?) Thanks to the 3.5 hour delay, we missed our connection and got to spend the night in Houston - arriving after midnight and having to be back up by 5:30 to catch our plane to Phoenix.
Anyway, we stayed in this two-story casita with Mike and Jane at this fantastic Hilton resort that had multiple pools, a lazy river, a water slide, etc. etc. I loved being able to eat/nap/read on the lounge chairs found on the patio outside our second floor. Ahhh beautiful Arizona sunshine! We also hiked Dreamy Draw with an expert flora and fauna guide (none other than the Mike Miles), and got in some great workouts as well: running along the canal, using the Tocasierra fitness center, and attending a yoga class - (Mental note: be sure to ask what type of yoga it is before you go strolling into a class full of upper-middle aged women. Kundalini yoga is much different than the typical Hatha yoga - let's just say there was lots of chanting and crazy breathing with your fingers on your nostrils...)
The wedding was beautiful - the bride and groom are so happy. I was watching for Ryan's reaction and right when the doors opened, he said to the pastor with such genuine warmth, "Man, she's so gorgeous." It was interesting because there were cousins of Chris' there that he had never met.

And one whom he's known but who has grown up radically compared to the day at our wedding when she, as a charming 8-year-old said something to the effect of, "This is my first party - it can't be over yet!" [Hi, Haley!] Dancing, eating, smiling for cameras, and balloons ... yep, definitely a wedding - (and a little bit of Wii and Guitar Hero too.)

Intermixed with the pre-wedding barbecue, the pre-rehearsal luncheon, and the post-wedding celebration back at the house, we got to see my cousin Rachel three different times. I can't tell you how exciting that was! She and I were best friends growing up (as we are only six months apart), and it seems like a long time since we've seen each other.

We went out to lunch on Thursday at My Florist (not to be confused with a recommendation from "her florist" as we thought at first). Then, Friday night, she, Kory, and baby Owen came over and Kory made THE BEST homemade guacamole ever! It was so much fun hanging out with them and just catching up - albeit slightly bittersweet as I realized what fun the four of us could have if we lived near each other.

We decided that we liked Houston so much that first night, that we volunteered to get bumped from our return flight (in exchange for two ticket vouchers). All I can say is that I need to find a travel size contact solution that comes in a 3 oz. bottle! (My four-ouncer had to get checked which resulted in me being a four-eyes for two days too long.)

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

2009-02-17T19:46:00.008-06:00

So for Christmas, the only thing on my wish list was money to contribute to my "Frostbite Horseback Riding" fund. As I've mentioned before, I volunteer at Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center where students with special needs are involved in horseback riding programs as therapy. During the winter while the classes are not in session, they offer an 8-week adult class called Frostbite. Riverwood has an amazing setup with a brand new barn, an indoor and an outdoor arena, five indoor stalls, and three pastures.

Myself and six other women meet every Tuesday for two hours learning all sorts of things about horsemanship. One woman brings her own horse and is learning how to work with him, while the rest of us are either volunteers or parents of students at Riverwood. The first week we spent a lot of time in the indoor classroom learning the basics, and the second week was all ground work (which actually is pretty cool - Did you know that you can make a horse run circles around you without you touching it or even being on a rope?!). But the anxious, novice rider in me is shouting, "When do we get to get ON the horse!?" It's sort of like those first few days of basketball practice when you didn't even get to touch a ball... just lots of defensive shuffles, wall jumps, and suicides if I remember correctly.

Anyway, we have progressed to the stage of actually riding our horses. I use the pronoun "our" like there is some sort of possession involved, but it's really just the horses we use during classes that the instructors matched us up with for the series. Since this is a therapy riding program, most of the horses are on their last legs. The slower, older and more docile they are, the better for the safety of the kids and volunteers. There's Buddy, who's like 33, Flash, who's 23, and then there's my horse: Pet (I try not to hold it against her that she has the lamest name of the bunch). Her age: 5! Yep - that's not a typo - they gave me the spry, young mare who just arrived to the farm this fall. I'm not sure of the story behind why they ended up getting such a young horse, but they did - AND to top it all off, she's the only mare in the herd as well. Can anyone say Bossy Bessie? (I know, Bessie is usually a cow reference, but it sounds good - and definitely applies! She has made more than her share of enemies in the group trying to show them all who's boss.)

Over the last couple of weeks, we've conquered figure 8's around barrels, and we're close to get the trot perfected. (By "we", I mean she and I. The others have taken this class multiple times over the years and can trot on command pretty easily. Granted, they're not professionals, but they are definitely more experienced than Sharon and I, the two novice riders.) Pet doesn't really think I'm serious when I give her the trot signals, so we usually only go for about five steps and then she's back to a quick walk - but we definitely made progress today in that regard, so we'll see how next week turns out.

Of course, there could be some other issues resurface next week considering how today's class concluded. They decided to take us on our first trail ride. As soon as we started out, I asked about Pet getting too close to the horse in front of us. She said that was something she (Pet) needed to work on... but didn't really give me any specifics other than NOT to pull back on my reins the whole time to try to get her to slow down. So we went on. I tried to stop her occasionally to add some space; I stayed towards the left side of the trail while Ibby, who was in front of us was toward the right; I veered really wide when we went around curves. I really was conscious of getting more space between us because I knew Pet has some issues.

Just before we were approaching the final uphill portion of the trail, the two instructors complimented Pet for not getting upset when Gator, the horse behind us, got too close and apparently tried to bite us in the rear. I obviously didn't see the incident occur - but I was definitely surprised by the lack of response knowing Pet's personality. A few seconds later, she picked up the pace a bit, which considering the long hill we were headed up, I wasn't too concerned about. I tried to slow her down a bit and communicated to the person in front of us that Pet was ready to get going. Their advice was again NOT to pull back on the reins since she needed her head motion to help get us up the hill. Of course...

But then I notice that her head was pulling back to the side as we were going up, not just swinging straight in line with her neck. I realized neither of the instructors were up front near us any more, and then I saw Ibby's ears flatten, which if you want to know anything about horses, that might just be the most important thing. Flat Ears = Angry Horse.

As soon as we got to the top of that hill, it opened out into the yard where the arena is and Pet let out this ear-splitting primal scream and went crazy. If things don't work out for me teaching, they tell me I could probably make it in the rodeo. I know it wasn't 8 seconds or anything, but I most certainly had a furious, bucking creature under me. All I could think was, "Stay calm!" and "Squeeze your abs so you don't fall off this horse!" Oh - and did I mention that this is English horseback riding which means our saddles don't have anything to hang onto in front? I survived the first round, and then she went right back into the fit complete with another scream. I seriously don't really remember what was happening but apparently she was kicking Ibby, as evidenced from the three visible cuts he had on his hindquarters. (All I knew was that I didn't want to fall off and get hurt - I'm almost through the toughest part of a marathon training program. If I'd put in all of this time and effort and then couldn't run the race next month, I would be so disappointed!)

The instructors finally got up close enough to grab the reins from the ground and direct all of the horses in separate directions. They both told me it wasn't my fault - that was just Pet trying to prove she was the princess. And - everyone in the class told me it was absolutely amazing that I didn't come off the horse the way she was kicking.

So, there you have it - my horseback riding class is certainly not dull. I was definitely a little shaken by the experience, but I was proud of myself for riding her back to the arena. I'm pretty sure next Tuesday I'll be able to get myself "back in the saddle again" - but I'll be perfectly happy to work on trotting in the round pen all by myself. Wish me luck!

Yow...Snow!

2009-02-04T07:04:00.009-06:00

Just so you're all not feeling sorry for us that we never get any "real" snow here, we had a gorgeous, huge-flake snowfall yesterday afternoon/evening. I had begun to feel bad for kids who lived here thinking they might never see snow, but this was reassuring. The fluffy flakes stuck on the trees, bushes, and buildings creating a beautiful snowscape.

The most unfortunate part of the snowfall was that it affected attendance at the Pack the Place Women's basketball game at Wake Forest (because obviously no one knows how to drive if there are white particles floating from the sky).

As many of you probably know, (or at least any of you who watch SportsCenter), NC State's Coach Kay Yow died of breast cancer last month. She had an amazing career which included 700+ wins, 4 Conference Titles, and the opportunity to coach the 1988 Olympic gold medal team in Seoul.

In honor of her, Wake has been wearing these totally cute pink tie-dyed warm-up shirts (with the breast cancer ribbon purposefully upside-down so that it looks like a Y for Yow).

Even though the snow kept some of the spectators at home, the women pleased those who were there with a win against Georgia Tech. And the kids that were there were doubly pleased since they didn't have to go to school today either!

Happy Year of the Ox

2009-01-26T19:43:00.009-06:00

Happy Chinese New Year! Here's to celebrating something new! Our building held a Chinese New Year party in our lobby - which didn't really consist of anything too authentic as far as I could tell. Some Chinese take-out and a few ceiling decorations, but festive (and tasty) nonetheless. (And an unidentified brown drink in a punch bowl that I was not brave enough to try...)

Mostly it was just a good time to hang out with friends in the building and catch up.

The Year of the Ox is supposed to be a sign of prosperity (heaven knows we need that change), and is characterized by such traits as dependable, honest, practical, and industrious. I'll need to do a little more research into the history of it all, but I'm for any celebration where I can eat sesame chicken and crab rangoon!

(Pseudo-)Snow Day!

2009-01-20T08:20:00.004-06:00

After last week's frigid temperatures in central Illinois, I feel almost guilty posting this - but it's so unbelievable that I have to share! It's a Snow Day in Winston-Salem today. It is 24 degrees (above zero - not below) and it snowed early this morning. All schools are canceled; our church is closed; the ticker on the tv is non-stop with closings or delays. And here are a few pictures from outside our door.

In all fairness, apparently there is more snow in the out-lying areas and perhaps the roads are slick - so since people don't know how to drive in conditions like these, the city basically shuts down. I had been told all about this, but I just couldn't believe it until it actually happened!

And, of all the days for this to happen, today is the best! I was supposed to go to my horseback riding class today, and then work at church, but since neither of those will be taking place, I get to watch all-day coverage of the presidential inauguration! HOW EXCITING!

Hope you are all able to enjoy this moment in American history - whether it's a day full of snow or, for me, a pseudo-snow day.

Two Friends and One Huge Win

2009-01-14T19:22:00.014-06:00

So I'm a little late in posting this, and the rush of the win has died down, but Sunday night was perhaps the biggest basketball game I'll ever go to! Wake Forest (13-0) took on the University of North Carolina (12-1) here at the Joel Coliseum. Obviously the two schools are huge rivals being only a few hours apart. The arena was sold out to see the current #3 team in the nation (UNC) take on the #4 team!

Our friends from Peoria, Patrick and Kara Renick came out for the weekend (amidst some crazy travel dilemmas) and were able to join us for the fun! Patrick and Chris are like two peas in a pod. From the moment we met these guys at the UICOMP Residency second-look weekend, we knew we'd be fast friends. We're all Cardinals fans; We're all Hawkeyes fans; We're all black belts in tae kwon do (ok - I lied - that's just Patrick and Kara).

Just like at the football games, the deacon mascot rides the Harley out onto the court for the pregame introductions. As you can imagine, the place was electric!

With a tied score at halftime and a close game down to the end, we couldn't have asked for a better game. Obviously we were ecstatic that Wake pulled out the win 92-89. The fans swarmed the court post-game - it was madness and mayhem!

(Oh, and props to the scoreboard person who thought to put the date on the scoreboard after the game. 1:11 = January 11. If they were really good, they would run the shot clock down from 35 to 09. But anyway...)

We also made our way down to the court after the game - but for slightly different reasons. We had been talking all weekend about how we liked those really short athletes: Darren Sproles (5'6"), Jacquizz Rodgers (5'7"), etc. And, what do you know - none other than Wake Forest grad Mugsy Bogues (who is a mere 5'3") was at the game! We could have just asked him to pose for a picture (because he was gladly doing that for anyone who asked) - but we were having more fun just trying to snap the nonchalant pose.

OK - I've got to wrap this up quickly. The Wake Forest, now ranked #2 (or #3 depending on which poll you use) vs. Boston College game is about to start. And, interestingly enough, BC upset UNC back when they were #1 last week, so let's see if Wake can pull off another win. Go Deacs!

The Miles' Family Visit

2009-01-06T19:00:00.008-06:00

Week 2 of holiday family travelers - just as fun and festive as the first!

Yet again absolutely beautiful weather. We hiked Hanging Rock Mountain one afternoon, and besides the balmy 60 degrees with blue skies and great family bonding time, I recall two things in particular: 1)the family with 8 children we met who had a license plate cover that says, "Before you ask - Yes, they're all mine." and 2)the 57 dogs we met along the way as well. I felt like we were the only people without a leash! (which, frustrated Kate immensely as she is one of the biggest dog lovers I know --- and --- wait for it --- here comes the shameless plug: and the soon-to-be published author of Adventures with Ari: A Puppy, a Leash, and Our Year in the Great Outdoors. Look for it at Barnes & Noble, amazon, etc. in April!)

A trip to Wake's campus was required (since we had two professors in tow), in addition to a men's basketball game. No one can claim they lack spirit! Demon deacons face painted on your cheek pretty much says it all. (I was already in my seat when the painting began....darn. :)

I'd venture to guess that New Year's Eve was one of the most unique nights of our lives. As the ball dropped in Times Square, we began a road race scarcely lit by the Festival of Lights display here in Tanglewood Park. (Can I tell you that no matter how many millions of little lights there are, they certainly don't illuminate a raceway all that well...) Believe it or not, Chris, Kate, and I all got second place in our age groups! And it's not that we were the only crazies out there - there were over 650 participants. It was hilarious when we drove back through the display the next night and could barely remember any of the displays from the 3.5 mile journey. Mike and Jane definitely got the better end of the deal when it came to walking the 1.5 and being able to enjoy the lights and the fireworks.

Not only was it New Year's Eve, but it was also Mike's 60th birthday - hence the T-Rex party hats. Mike and Kate even made the entire race with their hats still on! Another Miles tradition is the annual family picture holding a picture of last year's picture, which shows us holding the previous year's picture, which shows.... you get the picture - right?

And then, there was New Year's Day. One of the residents of our apartment decided to organize a Polar Bear Plunge in our pool on the rooftop. We thought about just doing it when we got back from the race, but then realized we were exhausted. So come Thursday afternoon, we met Paul in the cabana room (prepared with his vodka shooters) - and on the count of three, we jumped into the pool........................ which the maintenance man had kindly (but unbeknownst to me) cranked up to 80-some degrees per Paul's request! It was awesome - and I know, I know, I know technically can't be considered a Polar Bear Plunge, but I'm crossing it off the list anyway! Either way, how funny is it to start the New Year out seeing Chris walk down the street in a towel!? (We went to the steam room at the Rush to equalize our body temps).

And finally, the Miles holidays are never complete without a raucous round of homemade monkey bread creations. I was a little concerned about a) my lack of packing the angel food cake pan (I was pretty certain we could make it one year without one) and then b) my guilt for breaking said family tradition. And just like that, as we were walking down the frozen food aisle at Harris Teeter, a little monkey on the side of a red and yellow box called my name. There it was: frozen, premade monkey bread! Who knows what it was actually made of...but I had no trouble scarfing it down - even though it was nowhere near as good as homemade.

Overall though, I would say it was definitely a holiday season that will never be forgotten! Family, fun, and lots of laughs. What more can one ask for?

My Parents' Christmas Visit

2008-12-27T20:57:00.019-06:00

Thanks to the horrible ice and snow that central Illinois received last week, my parents' travel plans were altered slightly, but they finally made it safely to Winston-Salem on Tuesday evening. Our days together were so fun and full that I have to focus on just the highlights.

Christmas Eve Lovefeast at Home Moravian Church in Old Salem: A Moravian (denomination of the Christian religion, founders of Winston-Salem back in the early 1700's) tradition that involves a candlelight Christmas Eve church service that includes a sweet roll and a cup of coffee - and this is DURING the service. Can't say I've ever found a napkin tucked inside my bulletin before! And, they're really thinking ahead on how to make sure no one falls asleep during the service - a cup of coffee! (in a mug nonetheless...)

Christmas Day: Santa CAN find Christmas trees that are only 18 inches tall after all... We were going to pretend that this first picture was "our" tree, but who are we kidding, really?! (That's the tree in our lobby).

We got some great gifts! Chris will be doing pull-ups every spare second he gets just for fun, and I will be taking an 8-week horseback riding class offered at Riverwood.

Then, we spent the most glorious Christmas afternoon walking around Historic Bethabara Park reading about the original settlers, checking out some REALLY OLD buildings (from the 1700's), and hiking the nature trails out to the lagoon.

Any other spare moments of the day we spent playing games (cards and a new dice game called "Shut the Box" thanks to my Grammy's new hubby) and watching movies.

We made a pretty fantastic dinner (if I may say so myself) - all-natural ham, organic sweet potatoes, broccoli, cranberry/pear sauce, homemade rolls - and even got a (LOT) of soup for leftovers out of the deal.

On Friday night, my parents got to experience their first professional hockey game with the Twin City Cyclones taking on the #1 ranked team in the league. It was quite possibly one of the most exciting games of hockey I've ever been to - with a score of 4-3 in the first period! We actually won 5-6 in overtime (although I was kind of hoping for a shoot-out to finish off the game)! My mom was on the edge of her seat much of the game and my dad definitely enjoyed himself as well! It was so much fun!

Then, Saturday... we went to Mt. Airy, NC, which was the home of Andy Griffith (and was the real-life inspiration for Mayberry). We started off the day with a tour in the old squad car, seeing the home he grew up in, where he went to school etc.

We went to Snappy's diner, which is mentioned by name in the show and ate their "famous" pork chop sandwich. (I will probably never eat a breaded and fried piece of pork chop with coleslaw, chili, mustard, and tomato ALL on a bun again, but just had to do it for the sake of it all...)

After that, we got a bagful of mix and matched sweets at Opie's Candy Store and then went to the theater that houses a live, on-air bluegrass jam on the third Saturday of every month.

Continuing on, we went to the Andy Griffith memorabilia museum and saw tons of scripts, costumes, records, etc. from every production he was involved in (Matlock, Diagnosis Murder, Brad Paisley's video for Waitin' on a Woman, and much, much more). While we were there, the owner of most of the items, who is one of Andy Griffith's best friends (and has been since elementary school) happened to come in and we got all sorts of personalized stories from the man himself. It was amazing!

Unfortunately, neither Chris nor my dad needed a hair cut, but we did see Frank, who cut Andy's hair for years and is also one of his closest friends as well. He has over 20,000 pictures on his wall of people who have gotten their hair cut by him (including Oprah and other famous individuals).

Another interesting piece of Mt. Airy history/economy is the world's largest open granite quarry there. They say that the granite is so glittery that astronauts from outer space have been able to identify the location simply by its luminocity.

Our afternoon continued with my parents' introduction to a wine tasting and winery tour. Old North State Winery is housed in the original mercantile store from the 1890's and makes some great wines - including some sweet muscadine varietals. (Muscadines are these golf-ball sized grape like items that are native to NC and the southeastern US.)

Finally, we had to finish our day in Mt. Airy with a trip to the Mayberry Soda Shop for some old-fashioned ice cream cones and sundaes at the counter. Yum! Yum!

I know this is a long post, with lots of pictures, but as I said - so much fun! It's crazy to think my parents were here helping us move in exactly six months ago - and that we will be packing up to leave again in exactly six more months! It was definitely a little different to spend Christmas away from our extended families, but we couldn't have been happier that both of our families were able to come visit us for the holidays! (My parents left today, Sunday, and Kate, Greg, Mike, and Jane arrive tomorrow - just enough time to do laundry, clean house, and restock!)

Christmastime in Winston

2008-12-27T19:37:00.014-06:00

December was full of holiday events and festivities all around town. Chris and I went to Twin City Santa, which multiple people called "Christmas Prom for Adults." With the donation of a couple of items for the Toys for Tots campaign, we had appetizers, drinks, and great music for dancing at the Millenium Center.

The city's holiday parade lasted close to two hours on one of the chillier nights of the month. Luckily, the route goes right by our building, so I could have hung my head out the window if I wanted to (I pushed through and lasted the entire time). Besides the obvious marching bands and dancing troupes with their wreaths and glow-in-the-dark candy canes, there were also some other interesting parade participants:

Tae kwon do teenagers breaking boards five feet in the air

Kids on pogoballs and (runaway) unicycles (Seriously, I thought I was going to get taken out by one of them that finally got stopped sixteen inches from my feet!)

Firemen scaling a wall

The nativity float - complete with the rear view of these ... well... donkeys.

The Demon Deacon mascot

Santa, of course

And - the Foothills brewery truck - without a lick of Christmas decorations or even any holiday tunes playing from the radio! Just the truck - totally cracked me up!

After the parade, the city-wide tree lighting ceremony took place down at Corpening Plaza. I popped back into my apartment to defrost and then followed the crowd to the tree. They had a whole line-up of musical and dancing acts performing on the stage, including a selection from the performance of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity that I wished I would have been able to go to at some point...

I was really trying to hang on for the lighting so I could have a nice before and after photo, but after an hour of awaiting the lighting, I could no longer feel my fingers or toes, so I went home. (And had Chris make a stop after the Christmas Eve service to get the picture of the lit tree.)

So even though there was not snow on the ground, it was still cold (on some days - in the sixties on others, though, which was perfectly fine by me) - so yes, it did still feel like Christmas. Especially when my parents arrived - the best gift of the year! Details of their visit in the next post. Hope everyone else had as wonderful of a December as we did! Merry Christmas!

Trinity Part 2: Girls on the Run

2008-12-17T20:16:00.005-06:00

Wow! So I am just now getting around to the second part of the post I decided to call "the trinity." I guess a lot has happened since October...

First Pres was part one. Besides working there part time, I have gotten involved with the church we sponsor, El Buen Pastor. Not only did we spend Thanksgiving there, but that is also where I tutor twice a week and where I had been coaching Girls on the Run. I sadly have to use the past tense because our culminating race was two weeks ago! The program spends 12 weeks training girls to run a 5k in addition to fostering positive self-esteem, body image, and health/nutrition issues with 3rd-5th graders.

Forsyth County has several sites training girls, but our program was slightly unique. Due to the economic background of this location's population base, we were a subsidized site (meaning the program was free for our girls, instead of the regular fee). After realizing that the girls were going to continue showing up in clogs, flip-flops, and other undesirable footwear, New Balance also comped each girl (and each coach!) a new pair of running shoes! We didn't have a track; we didn't all speak the same language; we missed several days because Election Day, Veterans' Day and other fall break days landed on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

But on December 6, our 11 girls, each teamed up with their very own adult running buddy, completed their first 5k (3.1 miles)! It was an amazing moment for all involved! The fact that they all showed up to the church at 7:15 am was the first hurdle. (OK - we had to call two of them, and they were 15 minutes late, but we all made it to the start line in time!) Sure, none of them had remembered to eat breakfast, so lucky for them I happen to have a stocked purse almost at all times. Four granola bars (two of them weren't mine, btw), a package of peanut butter crackers, and some dried cereal and raisins later, they at least had some sort of sustenance in their stomachs.

We had purchased hats, gloves, socks, fleece tops, and pants for the girls to wear - and just for fun, Coach Jenny bought reindeer antlers for the festive "Mistletoe Run." If nothing else, we were definitely the best dressed team!

Selena, my running buddy, finished in 34 minutes 37 seconds - which is an 11:09 pace. Not bad for a 9-year-old's first attempt. (And not that I had much to do with it, but she was the first girl on our team to finish! yea!) I had so much fun giving her tips, encouragment, and motivation along the way. Although, I did have to eat my words when the ultimate backfire occurred. Right as we were finishing up that last .1 mile, I said something about how her mom was going to be on the side, cheering her on through that finish line, and to think about how proud her mom was going to be, and on and on and on. We cross the line - where's mom? Nowhere to be found! Some 15 minutes later she comes strolling up to the group, (surprised we were finished), after having gone to get a cup of coffee at a nearby restuarant! Grrrrr! That was frustrating!

But at least she, like many of the other moms, was interested enough to come out on that chilly morning. It was actually really cute - I think we drove six of the moms with us so that they could come to the race too. Some of them had even taken off work so that they could be there! Luckily we had rented the church van...

It was such a great morning! Our last two girls finished in 54 minutes (we were hoping for under an hour), and you could just see the look of success on their faces - absolutely unforgettable! While running itself may not be for everyone, the sense of accomplishment you feel after finishing something you thought was an impossible challenge is unmistakeable. If nothing else, all I can say (in a chanty, cheery rhythm) is "Girls on the Run is so much fun!"

Illinois Visitors

2008-12-17T19:46:00.006-06:00

Last week, some friends of ours from our church back home (Washington Christian) came out for a visit/medical procedure. Our first introduction to Mike and Jess involved an ant-covered plate of soggy cookies (don't worry: it's been all uphill since then!) They were part of the Care Team ministry who welcome first-time visitors to the church. As part of their efforts to get to know newcomers, standard practice had been to take the visitors a plate of homebaked goodness sometime that first week. Unbeknownst to them, we left for Maine early that week for Kate and Greg's wedding and returned some two weeks later. Needless to say, the ants had had one heck of a treat but the rain had not done them any favors. [Side note: the Care Team now delivers a dry soup mix in a sealed Mason jar instead.]

Anyway, Mike needed to have an outpatient procedure done to see if he was allergic to anesthesia and ironically, Wake Forest was one of like three places in the country that does this special test. They flew in on Wednesday, and we had a great time hanging out, catching up, and playing games until his procedure on Friday. And even after that, he was a real trooper and by Saturday we were back at it touring Wake's campus and Old Salem, going out to dinner, and meeting up with some friends at Foothills. I believe the Buzzword record is probably held by Chris and Mike who pulled out three perfect 10's in a row! And, it was on a Saturday morning nonetheless when Jess and I could hardly manage scores of four at a time because our brains were still foggy. (By the way, this is Buzzword the board game, not the Knox College "buzz" game of Harley Knosher fame for those Prairie Fire alums reading this).

I was excited that I finally made it to Fourth Street Filling Station, a restaurant I've been wanting to go to ever since this summer when they had Shrimp Boil and Beach Music Night (that I sadly could never make it to). Jess and I went with the three appetizer dinner - so we hardly had table any table space - but yum, was it ever delicious! From bacon wrapped scallops to shrimp and grits, to this layered eggplant/spinach/cheese dish, to fried calamari... It was all quite tasty!

Chris' office had their Christmas party on Friday, so apparently he felt the need to maintain the spirit with the crew Saturday night by donning the lovely elf hat. While I've yet to see the pictures, Suzi had worn this hat - complete with an entire elf costume! - as part of the entertainment portion of the Friday afternoon work party. She had organized a bar crawl for Saturday night involving the 12 bars of Christmas (I think there might have been lyrics and everything), but I'm pretty sure they only made it to three... (We called it a night after one).

Anyway, a great visit. A successful surgery. A sad couple of friends who had to return to single digit weather and snow on the ground.

Let's Race!

2008-12-07T17:27:00.017-06:00

And I actually mean both "start-your-engines" and "lace-up-your-running-shoes" kind of racing, sort of at the same time. We spent the day at Victory Junction Gang Camp volunteering as medical staff for a half marathon and 5-mile race today. Rest assured, my role obviously did not require any medical knowledge - I was simply the lookout: "Oooh... she's looking kind of wobbly..." or "I think this one's going to puke soon..." or "Watch him...he's closing his eyes as he's walking around..." And, as far as we know, everyone made it home safe and sound!

The proceeds of the race benefited the camp which sponsors weeklong summer experiences for children with special needs of all kinds in addition to family weekends throughout the rest of the year - which is very similar to Timber Pointe Outdoor Center, the Easter Seals Camp outside of Bloomington where Chris and I worked during college. What is NOT similar is the - oh - MILLIONS of dollars that Petty Enterprises among others have put into it. Yes, that's as in Richard Petty and Kyle Petty of NASCAR fame...as in "The King"....as in the "First Family of Racing"...

The camp was sort of the dream of Adam Petty, Kyle's son (Richard's grandson) who tragically died practicing at a New Jersey Speedway in 2000. Thanks to a partnership with Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall camps, his dream became a reality, and something of a therapeutic inspiration for his family. (If you are interested in reading more about the camp, Forsyth Family magazine featured the Pettys in a recent addition (pages 15-17)).

When you think of "camp," you probably think about rustic, outdoor settings, fishing, nature trails, maybe even poison ivy. But the concept of camp at this place is on a whole different level. In fact, it's in a whole different galaxy! The pictures will probably speak for themselves, but you've got the bowling alley, the movie theater, the sports arena, the barn for all of the onsite animals, the swimming pool, the arts & crafts complex complete with pottery wheels, kilns, and easels.... (And, yes, the giant race car is actually a building).

Everything is race car themed, so you've got the "Body Shop" (which is where you go if you get sick), the "Fab Shop" (which is a hair salon), and the "Pit Stop" (which is the snack bar) in case the "Fuel Stop" (regular cafeteria) is closed.

The pool has a huge motorcycle coming out of the middle of it and has a lazy river snaking around it as well. The lake's Bass Pro Building is the "Catch, Kiss, and Release" area. I could go on and on.... It's absolutely amazing!

Maybe even cooler than the buildings are the Pettys themselves. As soon as we walked in the building at the race start, this guy came up to us and started talking to the doctor we were with. Little did I know, I was literally rubbing elbows with Kyle Petty. As the day went on, it didn't really seem like that big of a deal. They signed autographs and took pictures with everyone who wanted one - and the coolest part of all - either Kyle or Richard were at the finish line and personally congratulated each and every runner.

Kyle is wearing the pink stocking hat (oh - NC lingo moment for you: winter hats here are called "toboggans." Boy was I confused when I thought they were talking about putting sleds on their heads!) As he said, "My ears are cold. They don't know what color this hat is!"

Pattie (Kyle's wife) gave us hugs as we left ... it's like we became a part of the family. They are such an amazing group of people!

They started off the day with a church service an hour before the race start and Kyle prayed at the start line. Pattie runs the camp, so it's not like they just fork over some money and sit back. The family is obviously very hands-on in their mission to give kids with cancer, spina bifida, autism, Down's syndrome, sickle cell, etc. etc. at least one week of fun!

The other famous person of the day: John Bingham aka The Penguin. If any of you read Runner's World magazine, you will be familiar with his last page entries culminating with "Waddle On, Friends!" He has written a fantastic book called "The Courage to Start" which is all about his transformation from a couch potato into an avid runner.

He facilitated the whole race and was just as friendly (and funny) as the Pettys. When two of the final runners approached the finish line after nearly four hours and started jogging (instead of the walking), he announced, "Oh...don't be silly. No need to pick it up now!" (Which sounds kind of rude when simply written, but spoken aloud it wasn't nearly as offensive...)

It was touching to see three middle-aged women who clearly hadn't been very active in some time cross the line wearing their homemade "Proud to be a Penguin" T-shirts. John happily signed their shirts as well as chatted with any other runner who was interested. (This one in particular was such a RACE fan, I couldn't resist taking her picture!)

Much of the race day profits are actually going to be used to open a Victory Junction Gang Camp in the Midwest! How exciting! (I think the proposed location is somewhere near Kansas City). If anyone ever wants a life-changing volunteer opportunity in an unbelievably fun atmosphere - this just might be your ticket. On your marks, get set, go!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T15:39:00.007-06:00

Keeping in the spirit of doing new things this year, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by running a Turkey Trot 5K and then volunteering at El Buen Pastor/Latino Community Services.
A friend of ours (the trainer for the women’s soccer team) wanted to run this 5K, but didn’t want to do it by herself. We ran the course with her last weekend so she could get a feel for it, but we didn’t really want to fork over $50 for race day. We compromised with the agreement that we would run most of it with her – just skipping the official start and finish. While she didn’t quite meet her goal to finish in under 28 minutes, she did set a personal best, which is awesome!

After the race, we went to El Buen Pastor (where I tutor and coach Girls on the Run). Our church, First Presbyterian, has been involved with this sister church for several years, but just recently began hosting a Thanksgiving celebration to introduce the Hispanic families it serves to this American holiday.

The day began with a short program in the sanctuary with some parts done in Spanish and some in English. A group of kids (including several of my GOTR girls) sang “Dad Gracias” (“Give Thanks”), and a group of fully costumed adults did some readings as William Bradford, a Native American girl, and then Abraham Lincoln (with his initial proclamation of Thanksgiving). As the families moved from the sanctuary to the food line, the children came in the classroom where I was in charge of the hat-making craft where they made either a feathered headband or a Pilgrim hat (or in some ultra-creative instances the two-in-one version: Pilgrim hats with feathers.) I’m not a big fan of promoting the stereotypical fairy tale (often inaccurate) version of the First Thanksgiving, but that’s what I was asked to do, so that’s what we did. (If you’re curious about my stance on that subject, please read the chapter on Thanksgiving in the book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James Loewen. It’s a fascinating book – especially as a teacher of American History.)

Chris helped clear dishes and then sat with a couple of the kids while they ate (because their parents hadn’t come with them). It was precious to hear that the things they were thankful for included family, friends, teachers, and Jesus.

They had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry salad all catered in, while they had asked us to bring pies or “congealed salads.” I assumed that meant anything made with Jell-O, but I wasn’t sure, so I made a pie just to be on the safe side. I had already purchased a bag of pecans (oh yeah, another pronunciation change: PE-can (short a), not pe-CAHN), but on Wednesday, a coworker brought in a bunch of those fresh nuts right off the tree in her backyard. How cool!

Anyway, the youth group made 25 pumpkin pies all on their own, so needless to say, there was an ENTIRE ROOM full of pies (which meant leftovers – yum!)

After the meal, Mary (the woman in charge of LCS) wanted them to play football – the American version with a brown, oblong ball. But, football to them means soccer, so they were greatly disappointed. Chris and another guy had to try to teach them the rules on the go because they really didn’t know how to play. Kids were throwing the ball multiple times on one play, running before anyone said hike, etc. etc. At least it was a perfectly beautiful day – sunny and 60-some degrees.

It was kind of cute to watch them try, but they really love soccer. And it’s no wonder when they start playing at such a young age. I don’t think this little guy is barely two! But, man, is he talented with a soccer ball!

So it wasn’t exactly home-cooking and naps on the couch afterwards, but it was definitely a fantastic experience. I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving with some 200 people (and probably never will again); nor have I had to think so hard about how to translate thoughts and words into Spanish over Thanksgiving dinner either. Hopefully they picked up the message of being thankful more than the storied version of the Pilgrims and the Indians, which I’m sure they probably did. Every family there was so gracious and kind. To know how thankful they are in light of knowing some of their families’ situations is amazing. It truly gives us a new perspective on being grateful for the overabundance in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hollywood, Here I Come!

2008-11-17T06:15:00.013-06:00

Of all the things that I envisioned doing during this year in Winston-Salem, being in a movie honestly never crossed my mind. However, I can now cross that off my list!

For the past month or so, the city has been home to film crews and movie stars who are making The 5th Quarter. Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Aidan Quinn (Third Watch, Legends of the Fall, Benny & Joon - and a fellow Illinoisian, by the way), and Ryan Merriman (Final Destination 3, The Ring 2, perhaps more of an upcoming young guy) are the three stars of the show.

The 5th Quarter tells the story of Jon Abbate, a Demon Deacon football player whose brother died in a reckless high speed car accident, and the way that tragedy inspired the team to a phenomenal season, including the ACC championship and Orange Bowl in 2006.

Last Monday, they closed down the Mellow Mushroom (the pizza joint beneath our apartment) to film some scenes in there. They also used our church as the staging/catering area, so people were all over the place. And, the actors also have short-term memberships at the Rush, so I feel more connected to the movie than I really should.

During the football game a couple weeks ago, they filmed some scenes. I cracked up when the people next to me brought binoculars with them - and were shrieking about seeing Andie MacDowell and Aidan Quinn on the other side of the stadium. (They were like ten feet from Chris on the sidelines - apparently, Andie MacDowell is looking really good at 50!)

After the game, they invited anyone who wanted to stay to film some crowd scenes. I was there for a short bit, but I'm sure I probably wasn't really in the captured video. However, I went back this weekend for some more screen time, and if I'm not in the movie, I will be totally surprised. I was in the fourth row, and a scattering of people throughout the crowd, in addition to the entire first three rows were instructed to leave as if it were the end of the game. So by the end of the scene, there's no one in front of me - watch for me folding up my blanket with great dramatic flair! The scene involved a post-game interview with Coach Grobe, so I'm pretty confident that part won't be cut, but we'll see...I was also in the second row in another scene, right behind a very cute three-year old, so if they keep that scene in the film, I should be pretty visible as well.

It was crazy cold out as we were sitting in the shaded side of the stadium (probably 45 degrees), but it was one of the most interesting things I've done. I was so surprised how many people had come from afar as fledgling actors. There were people who had tried out for some of the paid extra positions and didn't get it who still wanted to be able to put this on their resume; There were people who had been taking acting classes and wanted the experience to try out their skills; There were people who were desperate, star-stalkers (no, not me) who have tried to be in every production that's been filmed in a hundred-mile radius; and, sadly, there were kids whose parents are trying to make them the next big thing, complete with acting coaches and portfolios of head shots in tow.

Me, on the other hand, just showed up with my ultra-warm stadium blanket (thanks to a fantastic Christmas present from Gma and Gpa T. some years back), my black and gold headband/earwarmer and gloves (thanks to my birthday present this year from Chris), and my black and gold plastic pom-pom (thanks to Jane, who saved it for us from the Clemson game when they were here in October!)

I wish I would have taken a picture of these other extras because it's probably not what you expect. There were MOST types - although very FEW of what I would consider ACTRESS/MODEL types....if you know what I mean. I'm trying to put this thought in the nicest way possible - but it was obvious to me why many of these people couldn't get gigs. Many of the people there were middle aged women who were not what society would consider attractive. But, darn it, they were trying, and I'll give them credit for that!

Luckily, I thought to bring a book, as we sat around for a good portion of the night. They fed us (although the joke was how many combinations of condiments could you put on a hot dog so that you felt like you were eating something new...) and they had raffle prizes to keep us entertained. One of the women sitting at my table (who fit into the aforementioned category) had been taking acting classes with the hopes to become a commercial actor. (Apparently the Piedmont region is a hotbed for that type of work.) As God can only orchestrate, she won a walk-on speaking role in the casting directors next film - Hallelujah! I was so excited for her. I was also excited that I won $25 cash - a much more appropriate gift for me as I'm not sure what I would have done with the prizes involving future acting...

My brother-in-law, Greg, also got to be an extra in the movie, Empire Falls, when it filmed in Maine. But his involved a WAY cooler cast - Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, AND - Aidan Quinn. How ironic! Greg's gig was also WAY cooler because he got selected (and I think paid) for the role. I, on the other hand, just showed up because I had nothing better to do.

Anyway, being an extra in a movie is great fun if you ever get the chance. My previous acting experience consists of my senior year's high school play, but, at my small school, that's not impressive in the least bit. (I can't even tell you what the name of it was...) I think they pick the play based on how many characters there are (to equal the small number of people interested in participating), and it's never anything well-known. People tell me that I have an expressive face - handy for pantomiming, which is all we did as extras. But, unless some casting director comes back to track me down, I'm pretty sure this will be all the acting I'll really ever do.

(**I apologize for the lack of spacing and paragraphs - I have no idea what is wrong with this site right now, but I can't get it to leave the spaces in... )

Grandfather Mountain

2008-11-09T11:39:00.016-06:00

Last Sunday afternoon, Chris and I traversed the Blue Ridge Parkway with the end destination of Grandfather Mountain in mind. I'm not really sure how it got its name, but the brochure does say that it is 730 million years old. Though I don't know where that puts it in terms of relative mountain ages...

On our way, Chris and I had a picnic lunch at one of the overlooks and arrived at "the most rugged mountain in eastern America" by mid-afternoon.

At a height of 5,946 feet above sea level, it's famous for its "mile-high" suspension (aka swinging) bridge. I'll admit it freaked me out a little bit more than I thought it would. There was no stopping for pictures in the middle of this one for me - especially after reading the sign and knowing that there was no one even counting!

They had a fantastic visitors' center with exhibits on all of the flowers, birds, reptiles, mushrooms, etc. etc. that lived within the mountain's 3,300 acres. (I just wanted to include the picture because of the cool lighting effects). Apparently this is one of the 531 official Biosphere Reserves in the world, and there are at least 73 rare and endangered species that call this area home.

Just down the pathway from the center were the controlled animal habitats. It seems weird to enjoy "nature" in a zoo like setting, but at this point, there's not much more they can do (because state law requires any animal born in captivity to stay there). Anyway, we got to see river otters, bears, bald eagles, deer, and cougars in their semi-natural habitats.

We did some hiking, Chris climbed Split Rock and Sphinx Rock, and as we were leaving the park, we were treated to some real, up close and personal moments with free-roaming deer on the side of the road.

While it was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful place to be, this trip reconfirmed my innate desires to be a flat-lander. Just driving down from the bridge to the park entrance, there were 7 hairpin turns (and that's not counting any normal curves or turns). It was insane! I felt nauseous until we found the best pizza joint in Boone, NC called Capone's. Oh my! Great Chicago-style pizza! (Boone is where Appalachian State is - and just so you know this is another word we've been pronouncing wrong our whole lives. The third syllable is a short a and the last has a hard ch (as in chair not Chicago). While I like the hiking and the beautiful views maybe once or twice a year, it's definitely not somewhere I could ever actually live. I can't help it - I like being able to look across fields and see everything for miles in any direction.

Don't Forget to Vote!

2008-11-03T15:22:00.004-06:00

I think we've all heard that there are three things you're NOT supposed to talk about in social conversations ... religion, politics and ?????????? (Chris and I recently had this conversation with some people and some say the third is sex and others say the third is money - feel free to weigh in on this if you know the answer!) Anyway, at the risk of broaching a taboo subject, a quick nod to the realm of politics...

I have never been a hard-core Republican nor Democrat. I'm sure if they looked at my voting record, I think I've probably voted in the primaries of both parties (in different years, of course). Politics was never something that was really discussed in my family when I was growing up. I think my parents were probably afraid my big mouth would announce who they were voting for in the school board election or something - (and in my small town, that could cause an ugly scene!) Plus, I don't like conflict, so I usually can see both pros and cons of different perspectives, so I never really have this firm, decisive opinion about who to vote for. Until now...

I won't go into political-persuasive mode here - please feel free to vote for whomever you feel is the better candidate - but for once in my life, I actually feel strongly about one of the candidates! And that is so exciting for me! For that reason, (and because of the simple accessibility of the opportunity), I volunteered some time in our local Obama Headquarters. (The office is two blocks from our apartment.) It seemed like one of those things that I should take advantage of since the time and the opportunity was right here!

I made phone calls from the "sporadic voter" list (meaning they hadn't voted in all three of the last major elections). Most of the time I just left messages that encouraged them to vote for Obama and informed them about the early voting procedures in North Carolina. I'm not sure what the policy is in Illinois, but North Carolinians could vote anytime between October 16 and Nov 1 at any of the given 16 locations. You didn't even have to be registered to vote - you could register and vote all at the same time!

I also put together lots of yard signs - those little metal stakes are greasy, I'll tell you! And, today, I organized Election Day snacks for the polls. Over 3,500 granola bars had to be taken out of their boxes, counted into big groups of 250, and then sorted into different locations. These will be used to encourage people to remain at the polls even if they get hungry and it's taking hours for them to get through the lines. (Don't worry, there won't be any "Vote for Obama and I'll get you chocolate chunk" bargaining going on. And, they'll even be given to McCain supporters if they become weary as well!).

In any case, I'm excited to have been a part of such an historic presidential election - especially in such a key place. As I'm sure most of you are aware, North Carolina is one of the major toss-up states. They haven't voted for a Democratic president in 30 years, but we're hoping it happens tomorrow. Barack was actually here in Charlotte today, demonstrating how crucial this state's electoral votes really could be! It really is exciting!

As I said, I don't want to get into any political debates with Republicans...(remember, I don't like conflict). I just want people to go vote! Tomorrow is a monumental day! Please don't forget to take advantage of that amazing American right!

The Big 3-0

2008-10-27T19:05:00.003-05:00

Chris turned the big 3-0 last Thursday, and boy was he dreading it. For some reason he thinks that he's an old man now... But, in an effort to prove himself wrong, he's been doing things like singing "Mmm Bop" by the Hanson Brothers while jumping into walls (to bring back the memories of freshman year of college apparently) and dancing on coffee tables (in public places) among other things that people in their 30's typically don't (and shouldn't) do.

For the grand celebration, we went to Las Estrellas for dinner, which was recently voted the best Mexican restaurant in WS. I'm still pretty partial to our dear old Sol Azteca in Washington, but it had a phenomenal menu of seafood items. I had fajitas with shrimp, scallops, fish, and veggies, while Chris went with the pollo ranchero (which turned out to be completely different than any other pollo ranchero he's ever ordered).

After dinner, we met a bunch of people at 6th and Vine for their weekly "Retro Night." A lot of Chris' coworkers came out for the occasion, in addition to some other people who make up some small world connections. We randomly saw this med student from Peoria who is doing an away rotation here last weekend, so we invited him to come. One of Chris' friends from his years as a med student is doing a plastic surgery residency here at Wake, so he came and he brought one of his coworkers. That friend used to date one of the girls Chris works with - and she used to live in our exact apartment until right before we moved in! I'll save you guys the Inspiration graphic organizer of it all, but believe me, it's intertwined!

Anyway, we had a fantastic evening! Chris works with some really great people - especially Suzi, who orchestrated the whole 6th and Vine meet-up. She decorated his office with 30's and caution tape; They got him a cake and sang to him; He even came home with a blinking 30 button and a really big lollipop that says, "30 sucks." Hopefully he'll realize that 30 isn't so bad after all and he won't have to keep trying to relive his teens. (And, he has full permission to remind me of this blase attitude if I start fretting TWO YEARS from now... :)

Running the Sahara

2008-10-22T19:20:00.014-05:00

(**I apologize - two posts in one day! And, sorry to drop this in the middle of a three-part post. This is not the expected Part Two of the Trinity...I had intended to just write this one up and post it at the end of the month, but then I realized there was something a little more timely involved, as you will see below.)

I do like running, but I am certainly not considering running across the Sahara desert. Although three people have - and they even made a movie about it! Chris and I can say we've now been to the "world premiere" of a movie - and Matt Damon was one of the producers! (He was not, unfortunately, at the premiere however...darn the luck!)

Back in September, we met up with some people (one was actually a friend of Dr. Wynn's - a Peoria medical world connection) to see the premiere of Running the Sahara, which was shown at the Carolina Theater of Greensboro. One of the three men who took on this insane adventure was Charlie Engle, a Triad area native. (By the way, the Triad consists of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point).

Three men spent 111 days running over 4,300 miles across a desert that spanned 6 countries in Africa. Can you even imagine? The movie itself is entertaining and awe-inspiring to say the least, but I think it was even cooler knowing that one of the main characters was sitting in the audience with us! I'm pretty sure it's theater release was the end of October, so keep your eyes open for it. (It's definitely not going to be a blockbuster hit, but it is an interesting view).

The other great part was all of the extra footage regarding the H2O Africa project, which is the charitable counterpart of this process involved in digging wells so the people of Africa can have clean water. You see a little bit of this in the movie, but I'm not sure if all of the PowerPoint slides and things we got to see will be in the theaters or not. It truly is moving!

As if running across the Sahara wasn't enough, Charlie recently began a new challenge: Running Across America - from CA to NY in 45 days. Unfortunately, Charlie suffered an injury early on in this endeavor and is having to finish the trip via bike, but his running partner, Marshall Ullrich is carrying on the task. They're actually making this into a movie as well and people can sign up to run sections with them as they come through the area. I just missed the timing of it all for all of you living in Illinois! He just came through on Route 24 (see map) this week, and is currently in Indiana! Bummer! Maybe you got to see the caravan though!

Anyway, may Charlie be an inspiration for all of us to set a goal - no matter how high - and push ourselves to achieve it no matter what!

The Trinity - Part 1

2008-10-22T13:42:00.007-05:00

As my little four-year olds are learning about the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit this evening in Mustard Seed Club, I thought I would share a little bit more about three fully intertwined happenings in my life that this awesome Trinity orchestrated for me this year. I work at First Pres, which supports El Buen, which is where I tutor two fifth graders and where I coach Girls on the Run. (Did you follow all of that?) Tonight is a special Wednesday night production at church because it is Latino Night. The members of El Buen are our invited guests for the evening and there is a special presentation on immigration issues following what I anticipate will be an amazing Mexican-themed dinner. It will be so much fun to see my tutoring kids and the Girls on the Run girls in such a different setting.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to hear the presentation with the adults because I will be off in the regular kids' programming. Mustard Seed Club really has been pretty good so far. The classrooms are so bright and colorful - how can that not be fun?! I've only had to lead music once as there's only so much impersonating a monkey I can handle... (Explanation: two of the songs just happen to involve acting like a monkey with lyrics such as:

"Who is the King of the Jungle? (hoo hoo - scratch your armpits)

Who is the King of the Sea? (bubble, bubble, bubble)

Who is the King of the Universe? And Who's the King of me?

I tell you J-E-S-U-S. Yes! He is the King of me.

He is the King of the Universe and He's the King of me.")

It really is a cute song and has a catchy tune...

Anyway, just to tell you a little more about First Pres. There are three different buildings that stretch from right next door to our apartment all the way to the end of the block. Building A (the original) houses the sanctuary, fellowship hall, Sunday School classrooms, and most important to me, the Children’s ministry department (and therefore, my office – which I share with the other assistant, Melinda, who comfortingly reminds me of my “second mom” from back home, Jeri. There’s something about the way they talk…they just SOUND a lot alike!) Building B is the “cool” building where the junior high and high school ministries are located, in addition to all of the offices of the pastors and other very important people. Building C is simply the Worship Center where the 11:00 contemporary service is held – basically it’s an auditorium with state of the art sound/visuals for the stage. It’s very much more “rock concert” than most people expect from “church.” There’s a plastic cage around the drum set, which in itself must mean something impressive, right?

To fulfill my 12 hours/week commitment, I work in the office from 8-3 on Tuesdays preparing for my Wed and Sun classes, creating newsletters, updating the website, etc. Then Wednesday nights involve a whole church meal time followed by the Mustard Seed Club where 3 and 4-year-olds sing (e.g. aforementioned songs) as one combined group before breaking up into 3 smaller classes for lessons, activities, and snacks. And, finally Sunday mornings just involve making sure all of the teachers show up for the 4th/5th grade Grapple classes. The boys and girls have separate classes and they “grapple” with tough questions like:

Why are my friends mean sometimes?
What if Jesus is a liar?
Why can't I go to PG-13 movies?
Is God a party pooper?

Tell me THAT'S not totally different than any Sunday School class you've ever envisioned!

This church has really pulled together some high-ranking names in these last few weeks as well. Dr. John Trent, award-winning author of The Blessing , and creator of the Lion, Otter, Beaver, Golden Retriever personality groups (WCC LifeGroup - we miss you!), put on a three-hour parenting conference last Saturday. Yes, in the spirit of PREPARING to be a parent someday, I went.

And, this Sunday, Laura Story, famous for her (now overplayed) song on the radio, "Mighty to Save," (and also songwriter of Chris Tomlin's "Indescribable") is going to be our guest worship leader! How awesome is that?!

I am truly blessed! Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 (El Buen Tutoring and Girls on the Run).

Mike and Jane's Visit

2008-10-12T17:49:00.013-05:00

Mike and Jane got in on Wednesday night, and we packed a lot into the next three days while they were here. (And, speaking for myself, packed on a few pounds as well).

On Thursday, they explored the city and the campus while Chris and I were at work. The three of us went to Caffe Prada for some afternoon gelato (flavor: "Light in the Piazza" a mix of Italian custard, biscotti, and chocolate chunks created by the owner especially for the debut of the same titled Broadway musical that is at the Stevens Center this weekend. Interesting note: the play is about a mother/daughter from Winston-Salem!)

We then met up at the sports medicine tailgate for the Wake Forest vs. Clemson football game. North Carolina barbecue is something special. I'll have to remember to get a picture sometime. The sauce is a very liquidy vinegar based solution - but it is oh so good! Wake won 12-7 and Chris made his ESPN debut as one of the Clemson players late hit our QB right on the sideline where Chris was standing.

Friday involved Mike, Jane, and I exploring the Reynolda Village and Gardens while Chris worked. The late 19th century 1,000+acre estate of tobacco-giant R.J. Reynolds has been turned into a collection of shops, businesses, and restaurants. We ate at the Village Tavern – salads with spinach, bleu cheese, cranberries, green apples, and pecans, crab cakes, and roasted chicken vegetable soup. We also went into a jewelry store where a clerk had to unlock the door via a remote control as we entered the store. As Jane said, “It’s not your typical Zales.” The most expensive piece the clerk pulled out for us to look at “just for fun” was a necklace with 9 carats worth of diamonds that was $17,000.

The gardens there are breathtaking! (Thanks to Mike for some of these great pics!) It was so fun just imagining what it must have been like to live there. The giant leaves, the fairy dust-like bush, and the okra plant were definitely some of my favorites. I just couldn’t get over how tall the okra plant grows! (Maybe that’s because I have a long lost love with okra – apparently I LOVED it as a child, but I choked on it once and my parents never served it to me again.)

Finally, the garden shop at Reynolda is the home to a very, very sad little cat. (And they make sure the firefighters know it as well.) Millie, the one-eared cat that has taken up residence there (and is apparently quite the celebrity) has cancer – again. The story really is quite amazing. Kate, we definitely thought of you with your special needs cats. Do you have room for one more?

Friday night, Mike went with Chris to the high school football game he had to cover while Jane and I watched a movie.

Saturday morning we went to enjoy the nature out at Salem Lake and then to Mary’s Of Course for brunch – YUM YUM YUM! Our order included omelets with ingredients such as spinach, vegetarian sausage, red bell pepper, Canadian bacon, and mushrooms, as well as tofu burritos and a gourmet grilled cheese.

We then set off for a Yadkin Valley vineyard and winery tour involving three very different stops. RagApple Lassie was basically in a big metal shed, but we got to see a lot of the behind the scenes processes of how the operation works. Everything was cow-themed and their website was even written in first-person by the cow herself (again, Kate, we couldn’t help but think of you and your bloggers!) Black Wolf was the most intimate. 10 of us sat around this long wooden table with a candelabra upstairs in the small, private wine store as the owner of the place went through ten or so of their wines. While there, we learned that the Shelton Vineyards (kind of the granddaddy of them all it seems) was having a big festival complete with free tastings, tours, and more). This one was HUGE in comparison to the others! The most interesting thing we learned here was that they plant rose bushes at the start of each of the rows of grapes to act like the canary in the mine. Because roses are more delicate and susceptible to diseases, the farmers can try to find a remedy if they notice a problem with the roses before the grapes are completely destroyed.

After the vineyards, we drove up to the top of Pilot Mountain (If any of you are Andy Griffith Show fans, it's near Mt. Airy (which is his Mayberry) and it's called Mount Pilot in the show). It has a very distinctive knob on the top of it, which we can see on a clear day from our rooftop at the Nissen Building. Saturday night, we finished up with one of our favorite restaurants – 6th and Vine, where we had such fare as Crab and Ricotta Ravioli, Sea Scallops over Saffron Rice Cakes, Ahi Tuna, and a Farfalle Pasta/Olive dish.

Yes, we ate (and drank) a lot – but it was definitely worth it! What’s better than sharing good food with great family?

Our First Visitors

2008-10-06T05:38:00.004-05:00

How exciting – we hosted our first Illinois visitors this weekend! Our friends from the medical world in Peoria, Arthur and Paula, were in North Carolina this weekend. He interviewed for the minimally invasive surgery fellowship in Charlotte on Friday (and was intending to interview at Wake Forest on Monday, but scheduling issues caused a change in that plan).

It was fun showing them the town, going out to dinner, and walking around campus Saturday morning. There really isn’t a connection between us or what we did that day with this picture of the Chapel on campus, but it’s a pretty cool building. The only shred of connection is that Arthur used to be a pastor before entering the medical field, which I think is pretty remarkable as well.

Paula’s Saturday plans initially involved running a half-marathon trail race here, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), that didn’t work out either. She had asked me if I wanted to do it as well, but I knew there was no way I would be prepared for that distance. Plus, when I read the website’s description, I knew it wasn’t for me: “Running this race is a true adventure that requires more concentration than road running. The terrain is rocky and rooty and can be treacherous. Fallen leaves conceal rocks, roots, sticks, and holes.”

This apprehension from the mere race description was further solidified Saturday afternoon after Arthur and Paula left. Chris and I decided to spend the glorious day (a beautiful, sunny 75 degrees) riding our bikes out to Salem Lake and then running the loop around it. We have ridden our bikes on the loop several times, but this was the first time we were going to actually run out there. About 10 minutes in to the run, I stumble on the outcropping of a dark rock. I took a one-legged lunge forward to try to catch myself (to no avail!), and then finished it off with a full-body, two arms outstretched, sliding-into-second type of skid on the sandy/rocky terrain. Right as I hit the rock, I let out a giant gasp (as I do in most startling situations), so Chris was pleased that he at least got to see the whole thing in action. His estimated measurement of my skid marks was 15 feet!

I laid there for a second, hands stinging but otherwise seemingly unhurt, and thought, “I’m gonna be tough here. I’m good. Chris is going to be so impressed that I’m going to just get right up and start running again…” And then I saw the blood trickling down my fingers… Obviously my hand wasn’t gashed open or anything, but there was definitely a lot of blood coming from my hand (Chris will even attest to that) – especially when you consider how tiny the wound actually was. (I can’t even see it today – it was the tiniest pinprick of a hole). I didn’t have a clean swatch of cloth to wipe it on (as my entire torso was covered in the grimy, red sand), so I sat there trying to stop the bleeding with the inside of my sock.

Chris kept telling me to stand up – there was a bug that was going to crawl up my leg. Seriously? A bug? I don’t care! I’m BLEEDING! Between bugs and bleeding, I’ll take bugs any day! After a few more seconds of insisting, I finally stood up. And that’s when my ears got really hot and things started to go dark. I sat down quickly enough so I didn’t actually pass out (I’ve learned to recognize those signs and know that the closer you are to the ground, the better off you are – less distance to fall and all…) And that’s when I started to cry a few tears – dang it! I just wanted to be tough.

We did carry on and finish up our planned route, but for the rest of the run, I had to endure Chris telling me to watch out for every rock we ran by. I suppose I deserved that. But then he also had to ask me if I thought I had MS (as I did trip over an uneven sidewalk a few weeks ago as well) – but I figure it’s not like I’m falling on a flat surface without some sort of catalyst. And then he commented on my vasovagal reaction to the bleeding and asked me how I was ever going to make it through childbirth…Yes, I know…thank you very much. Yet another reason I’m apprehensive about it.

We are having more visitors this week – two who probably hope I get over the childbirth thing soon so that they can have some grandchildren someday… Mike and Jane are coming in for the Clemson game on Thursday night. (It’s the ESPN game of the week – we’ll be sitting behind the Clemson bench about 30 rows up and Chris will be on Wake’s sideline of course, if you want to try to catch a view of us…)

I promise I’ll try not to wipe out or pass out or anything else crazy like that while you’re here!

Montreat Church Retreat

2008-09-29T16:52:00.008-05:00

When you hear the word "retreat," what comes to mind? Rejuvination? Inspiration? Relaxation? Perhaps - unless you are going to the retreat as the assistant in charge of all of the elementary-aged children!

Two weeks ago, my boss at First Presbyterian asked if I would be willing to go to the all-church retreat in the mountains with her. With 75 K-5th graders attending the retreat this year, she needed an extra person-in-charge to help with crowd control. So, on Friday afternoon, we packed up and drove two hours west to Black Mountain near Montreat, NC.

Montreat Conference Center is an ideal mountain retreat setting, with a beautiful lake right outside the old stone Assembly Inn. I went for a run Saturday afternoon to enjoy the scenery even more (but only lasted 30 minutes due to the whole mountain issue - I'm happy to be a flat-lander, no doubt!)

There were four different adult worship/keynote speaker sessions that focused on hearing God's calling throughout the weekend. During each of those times, Jami and I (along with the assistance of six random girls from the local college) were in charge of everyone's kids. We did three lessons from their upcoming Children's Church curriculum that focuses on the life of David. There were skits, crafts, small group games, and great songs. "Davey, Davey" (to the tune of Louie, Louie) was probably my favorite: Ah, Ooh, Ah, Ooh, I want a heart that beats for you!

The building that we were in was great for entertaining elementary aged kids. There were ping pong, pool, and foosball tables on the loft-like second floor, and small tables and couches on the first floor for snack times. Miraculously, no one got hurt during the structured chaos that involved a lot of free-for-all running around. I did have to use my "teacher voice" a few times throughout the weekend, but at least the kids here are quite well-mannered when they get in trouble.

"Do you really think that you should be trying to climb out the window right now?" (Safety note: it opened right on to the ground level')

"No, ma'am."

"I didn't think so. Let's try to make some better decisions here this weekend."

Saturday morning I took 49 of them "creek hopping," which was definitely the highlight of the weekend for most of the kids! Amazingly, that was when they were the best behaved by far. They were enthralled by all of the living creatures and completely engrossed in building "bridges" with piles of rocks from the bottom of the creek - even cooperatively working together without any arguments whatsoever! It was a beautiful thing! I, personally, had a rock-star moment when I lifted this ginormous rock out of the water and onto the bank for a group of boys' "stone sculpture workshop." It was great!

I was also reintroduced to the concept of Southern girls going by two names. You might think Bobbie Sue or Barbara Ann or whatever, but this is a whole different generation. Some names of the girls included:

Anne Hayden
Sarah Gray
Meta Kate (pronounced "meet-a")
Sara Holland

The parents loved all of the "free time" from their kids - especially since the amount of sugar consumed was probably record-setting (thanks to the "hospitality table" in the lobby that was continuously stocked with cookies, chocolates, chips, and every other junk food imaginable) ....Oi!
As an adult, I'm sure that the weekend was refreshing. As an adult taking care of 75 children...not so much. It was quite possibly one of the most exhausting weekends I've ever had, but it really was great to see those kids loving God and know that I had an impact on their lives.

Apple Festival

2008-09-22T09:24:00.010-05:00

Two posts to catch up on this weekend...

Perfect weather on Saturday for the annual Apple Festival at Historic Bethabara Park (which I just learned is pronounced be-THAB-ara; not beth-a-BAR-a like I've been saying this whole time...)

For some reason, I'm a sucker for these colonial historical reenactments. I think it's because it evokes this calming, nurturing feeling of a simpler time in a simpler place - and I am fully aware that this warm fuzzy emotion would quickly be swallowed by the realities of life in that day and age - but there's just something about it...

This location holds the oldest house in Forsyth County which was built in 1792 (I think...) and the oldest German colonial church with living quarters still standing as well - including the original floors and everything!

We checked out the potter, the weaver, and the yarn-maker (who probably has another name, but that's all I can come up with right now...) That was by far the most interesting though. It was really amazing watching this handful of wool get turned into string. If it broke, you could just spread out the end, hold it in the pile of wool in your hand, and it would just pick up again like it was nothing. The woman who was doing it told us to keep our eyes open because the wheels were selling at yard sales like hot cakes. She kept encouraging me that I could do it myself - and the idea was tempting for a second - but as I'm not exactly the Martha Stewart type, I realized just about the only thing I could do with a hunk of yarn would be to make a lot of (or a really big) Cats-in-the-Cradle string games. Which would be cool...but maybe not quite worth the effort.

There were all sorts of colonial games to play. Who wouldn't be entertained by hoop-and-a-stick, or walking on tin cans with ropes like mini-stilts? There was some sort of bowling like game that seemed interesting, but I never quite caught on to the rules. And there were horse drawn wagon rides, music, and dancing ... and of course, APPLES!

How many kinds of apples can you name? I think I'm up to about 10 now. Some new ones we tried: Mutsu, Spartan, and Staymen. I also had to finally try one of those apple dumlings - homemade, baked fresh on the spot. MMMMmmmmm! Yum! There were also cider slushies, apple streudels, fried apple pies (OH! - side note: I passed on the FRIED BOLOGNA being sold at Rock the Block Friday! Seriously? How do you serve that?) We bought $5 worth of apples, which will probably last us for at least a month. I'm planning on making a chicken/spiced apple concoction this evening, and some cranberry applesauce eventually, but if you have any great recipes/uses for apples, feel free to send them along! I'm usually up for trying anything once - except for fried bologna...

Rock the Block

2008-09-22T09:00:00.007-05:00

6 hours + 5 stages of live music + 40,000 of our closest friends = Rock the Block 2008. Just to give you an idea of the streets, I took a couple pictures of the crowds - and honestly, this was early on in the evening (so a few more strollers, but less people than later).

It just so happens that the block that was getting rocked was right outside our building. I couldn't help but laugh at the photo opportunity capturing the funnel cake trailer right outside our door. (And laughing about another infamous "funnel-cake trailer" (the one that almost moved us to NC) that the Miles family no longer owns - right Jane?)

From 6 until midnight on Friday, downtown was insane! Each of the stages had a genre focus, with three or four different acts playing throughout the evening. You had your choices of rock, r & b, americana, country/contemporary christian, and beach music - which is apparently a very Southern thing (and it's more than the "put a lime in your coconut" song). Luckily, I got out of having to learn how to "shag" to the music, which is a particular kind of dance to go with the tunes.

I was bummed Chris had to miss out on Old Stone Revue - big fan of their song, "Home." I met up with a bunch of the residents and their friends, and Chris finally got to join us about 9:30 or so. We hung out at the beach stage for awhile, but honestly, I needed a break from the crowds (plus drinks and snacks were cheaper in our room), so about 20 or so of us went up to our apartment.

There was another stage right outside our window, so we weren't missing out on music. After the group went for pizza, we had fun dancing in our living room and shouting out encouragements to the band from our window (well, Chris did that part, of course).

Overall, it was quite the extravaganza - in addition to the music, there was a Crafter's Row, a mechanical bull, a BMX show, and more... Have we mentioned how much we love this city?

Triathlon for Two

2008-09-14T18:35:00.006-05:00

Chris and I competed in the Angels Triathlon today at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC (just outside of W-S). It was an official sprint distance, so we swam 300m, biked 20k (12.4 miles) and ran 5k (3.1 miles). Our start times were 8:33 and 9:07 - and Chris had to be back on Wake's campus at 11am! Nothing like a little extra motivation to get movin! (We made it there at 11:05 - just in time to tell a soccer player she couldn't play in the game because she might have a fractured rib...she was not pleased).

The race was started a few years back by some families who had lost children to untimely deaths. The idea is to write an angel's name on your arm and compete with the spirit of that angel throughout the race. Chris wrote GP4, in honor of his four grandparents who have passed away; I had them write Heidi, in honor of Heidi White, our music teacher who died just after childbirth (an obvious catalyst of my issue with pregnancy).

I felt the swim went slightly better (still not great though). I hit the feet of the person in front of me like four different times (which in pool triathlons means you should pass them at the wall) but that happened with like a quarter length to go, so I had to do this awkward breaststroke/head-above-water freestyle waiting up - and then by the time we got to the end, I didn't have the energy or the flow to actually pass the person... Anyway, I didn't swallow so much water that I thought I was going to puke this time - a huge improvement in my book!

We decided that road bikes are a necessity if we are going to continue this sport. We have these fatty hybrid mountain bikes, and boy does it show as these road cyclists with their clipped in shoes go flying by you with apparent effortlessness. That would be a major expense, so someday....someday...

The run was a lot hillier than the Ramblin Rose course, and my quads totally cramped up with about a mile to go. I actually had to walk a few paces and try to get rid of the grapefruit sized knots just above both of my knees. (But I still finished in under 26 minutes, so apparently I made good use of the downhill portions...)

Our times are as follows (again not that y'all really care, just for the sake of data keeping for the future):
Dawn
Swim - 7:39, T1 - 2:01, Bike - 42:47, T2 - 1:15, Run 25:45 --- Overall time: 1 hour, 19 minutes, and 25 seconds. It appears that I repeated my performance as 5th in my age group, but I moved up to #40 overall in the women's division. Woo hoo!

Chris
Swim - 6:40, T1 - 2:00, Bike - 43:18, T2 - 1:08, Run 23:46 --- Overall time: 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 50 seconds.

Triathlons really are great fun! For those of you who say you get bored with working out, this definitely mixes it up for you - and provides quite the challenge! We can't wait to scope out the Illinois options for summer 2009!

Bookmarks Festival

2008-09-13T18:50:00.008-05:00

A sad day as we awoke this morning and I realized that this was the first post-race pumpkin pancake breakfast at the good ole Morton Pumpkin Festival I have missed in five years. We honored the tradition of making our own pumpkin pancakes, but it just wasn't quite the same with some of that Rocke sausage (and not having run 6.2 miles first). But alas, we found the strength to carry on with our day...

I went to Bookmarks, this phenomenal outdoor book festival in Historic Bethabara Park here in Winston-Salem. From 9:30 in the morning until 4:30 or so in the afternoon, there were nearly 50 presentations by authors/illustrators and other important literary figures on 9 different stages. Some of the tents focused on mystery, humor, nonfiction, cooking, heroes & icons, teen/young adult, and childrens.

I started the morning in the "Food for Thought" tent with Tanya Steel and Tracy Seaman talking about their book Real Food for Healthy Kids. Tanya is the editor of epicurious and Tracy is the test kitchen coordinator for Rachel Ray's magazine. I was most intrigued with the televisions showing the overhead view of their cooking demonstrations.

Then, I went to the main stage to see Rue McClanahan, aka Blanche, from the Golden Girls. She is moving slowly (just had knee surgery apparently), but she is hilarious. She read excerpts from her book My First Five Husbands. It was interesting to learn that she originally (and begrudgingly) read at the casting call for the character of Rose - but knew that she was perfect for Blanche. The directors saw that as well, made the switch, and the rest is history.

After that, I saw Nikki Giovanni -famous Black poet, professor at Virginia Tech, recently branching into children't lit. The book she read from was Lincoln and Douglass - and no, that's not a typo...it is Douglass with two s's because it is about the friendship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass (Black abolitionist, publisher of The North Star newspaper). She was hilarious - mostly because she was not accustomed to presentations geared toward children, making adult references and even using a cuss word once.

I also saw Doreen Croning and Betsy Lewin, the author/illustrator team who has done Click, Clack, Moo, Duck for President, Diary of a Worm, and many other hilarious picture books. Their new one, Thump, Quack, Moo is great for fall and involves the creation of a corn maze.

While they were entertaining the younger ones by creating a new story with the crowd, I snuck over to hear Chris Crutcher in the teen tent. Many of his books are banned from school libraries because of the mature material, but he is a great storyteller. His years of working as a therapist definitely come out in his characters, and he often times has a sports themed backdrop for his stories to connect with many reluctant readers. He was a perfect featured author because Winston Salem is doing The Big Read (similar to Peoria Reads) with Fahrenheit 451 and featuring movies of famously banned books throughout the month.

[Oh, and Kate, I totally thought of you, but the session overlapped with Nikki Giovanni's, so I couldn't go --- Janet Lembke (I don't know if that name is familiar or not) presented her book, Because the Cat Purrs: How We Relate to Other Species and Why It Matters. I wanted to drop in her tent and say, "My sister-in-law wrote this great book about a year with her dog...it'll be published in the spring...and she's got this great blog where all of these people talk in the persona of their pet..." But I didn't...]

I listened to some great live acoustic/folk music while deciding whether I should stick (literally) it out and stay for the last three presentations I had circled on my schedule, but decided that three hours of 93 degree heat was probably good enough for the day.

I met up with Chris at Wake, where he was saving athletes' lives left and right, covering the field hockey, volleyball, and rugby matches of the day. After driving out to Tanglewood to pick up our race packets for the triathlon tomorrow, he had to go immediately back to campus to put stitches in somebody. And, he'll have to be back at Wake for some event (I forget which sport) at 11 am tomorrow morning. (It's a little crazier than usual because Suzi is covering the Irish Women's National Soccer team on their tour here in the US. They play at Soldier Field sometime this week in case any one is interested.) Our start times are 8:33 and 9:07 so we'll really have to push it to swim 300 m, bike 20k, and run 5k, get everything loaded back up in the truck, and be back to campus by 11. Nothing like a little extra motivation to push us along I guess. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow...

Home Opener Excitement!

2008-09-07T13:34:00.037-05:00

This Saturday was the home opener for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons against Ole Miss. I was supposed to work on the Habitat house, but Hurricane Hanna prevented that from happening. (We got some rain overnight Friday and early Saturday morning, but honestly, it was nothing like what we were expecting. We did buy rain gear in preparation, but by Saturday mid-day, it was sunny and 85).

Since I had originally thought that I was going to be arriving at the stadium right at game time after Habitat, I hadn't made any plans with anyone else regarding tailgaiting. Chris suggested I just take some food and drink, sit by my car, and read a book or something, but I told him that seemed weird. However, when he called me at 1:30 and told me it was getting crazy there, I thought maybe I should go just to be sure I got a parking spot. So... as difficult as this is to admit - and as pricelessly pathetic as it really is ... I solo pseudo-tailgated. My version of this involves an apple, a string cheese, a bag of almonds, and a couple of strawberry Smirnoff Ices - and lots of wandering around the parking lots so it looked like I was just on my way to meet some people somewhere else.

While meandering through the lots, I tried to take pictures to give Chris and y'all an idea of the craziness outside the stadium pre-game. Let me just say, the longer I walked, the funnier things seemed and the bolder I got with the picture-taking. At first I was just trying to nonchalantly snap a few pics as I walked by, but by the end, I was just walking right up to the tables to get some good shots.

I'm sure I got a few funny looks - which could also have had something to do with the fact that I was wearing a red and white striped tank top and blue jean shorts. I had had a dressing dilemma - it was entirely too hot to wear anything black (which is all I had in ways of Wake wear), and the only piece of yellow I own happened to be in the dirty clothes. So - I figured I'd be a rebel and just dress like one (Ole Miss' colors are red, white, and blue). I am holding firm to my refusal to follow the apparent Southern style and wear a dress and heels to the game - yes, at least 50% of the women there were wearing dresses...at a football game! I just don't get it. I dress for comfort - not fashion!

I did get to use my outfit choice to my advantage at one point during the game though - I caught a shirt when the Deacon mascot began shooting them out of the T-shirt gun! I've never caught one before! The guys around me were giving this grumpy, older, tobacco-spitting man who was sitting right in front of me a hard time because it was right above him. I tried to convince them to give me a break - I obviously needed some Wake Forest gear... Unless I can find somewhere to trade it in, I won't be wearing the XL. But I figured Chris would love it - at least the slogan. Last year's slogan was "Paint It Black" and this year it's, naturally, "Back in Black" - which just so happened to be the same slogan his senior year at Metamora. Go birds...

The Winston-Salem air show was also going on this weekend, so one of the special guests at the game were the Geico dot-matrix fly team who can spell anything you want in the sky apparently. And I have to admit that seeing Go Deacons like that was pretty cool...

The other special guest - the selected honoree who gets to "open the gate" at the beginning of the game - was 2008 Olympian (and Wake Forest basketball standout) Chris Paul. It was pretty awesome as he held up the gold medal for all to see.

And finally, to the game - holy cow! E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G! I won't even try to recap it all - I'll save that for the experts: ESPN. But in a nutshell, Wake marched down the field with 1:01 to go and kicked a field goal with 8 seconds remaining to win the game. It was unbelievable! And, there was lots of refereeing drama that didn't make the ESPN highlights that added to the atmosphere as well! Nothing like starting the season off with a bang!

So Much for a Year Off...

2008-09-05T13:38:00.010-05:00

Y'all were right - every one of you who said I wouldn't be able to "just do nothing" for an entire year were absolutely, 100% right! I had my two months or so of extreme cleaning and organization, perfectly planned meals, and every-other-day visits to the library...and then, the opportunities just started rolling in.

It is extremely difficult to even know where to begin this explanation because so much of my life right now is an overlapping web. And since I can't let my teacher technology tools go to waste, (prepare yourself - yes, I am a dork...) I created a graphic organizer on Inspiration to help my cause. (Plus, there are no photos for this post - and I know how much y'all like pictures).

I guess we could begin with the Brunch and Beginnings event I went to at First Presbyterian Church a few Saturdays back. Its purpose was to inform the women of the church about all of the different programs and opportunities they had coming up in the fall. Having a great desire to get plugged into something at the church, I thought this would be a perfect start to see my options. From the moment I walked in, people were extremely friendly and introducing me to others that they learned I had something in common with (in our brief introduction/2-minute autobiography type of conversations we were having). I ended up sitting with this girl, Carla, who teaches running classes at the Y and whose husband is an orthopedic resident here. How's that for similarities?

During the conversation at our table, I explained how I was a 5th grade teacher but currently taking the year off, just doing some volunteer/part-time stuff. Enter Jami: the children's ministry associate who explained that she was looking to hire someone for 12 hours a week to do the 4/5th grade Sunday School and Wed night preschool program along with some technology-related public relations stuff. And the Sunday School class is totally 21st century, using the website http://www.mygrapple.com/ Seriously??? God cracks me up sometimes - could the position be any more perfect for me? (OK - the preschool part doesn't seem entirely perfect for me, but when you consider that whole Dawn-needs-to-get-over-being-scared-of-being-pregnant thing I've got going on, I'm thinking that maybe cute little three year olds will help do the trick.)

I should mention now that prior to this, I had already signed up through the church to volunteer at El Buen Pastor, a Latino Community nonprofit that provides after school tutoring for elementary school kids. The plan was to go on Mondays and Thursdays. Also at this brunch though, I learned that there was another girl from 1st Pres doing the Ramblin Rose training group sponsored by Fleet Feet, but by the end of the day, I couldn't remember her name. After the triathlon, which as I mentioned in an earlier post benefited the Forsyth County Girls on the Run program, Emily sent out an email giving us the contact info for the people in charge of the program here (one of which was Jenny from our training group).

In a series of exchanged emails with her:

I told her that I loved, loved, loved the concept of the program, but that I didn't think I would have time to be involved this fall because I was tutoring after school - maybe I could be a running buddy or a coach in the spring.

I learned she was the one who the pastor had told me about that was in the training program that went to 1st Pres.

She told me that she was coaching a new group at El Buen on Tues./Thrs. from 5-6! WHAT?? Seriously???

I checked with El Buen about switching my tutoring days from M/Th to Tu/Th (and they said that was better because they have a lot of tutors on Mondays anyway for some reason)...

And now, I can do both tutoring and Girls on the Run! Talk about God orchestrating something amazing! GOTR is 10-week program where we talk about physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health all while helping the girls train for a 5K race, which will be the Mistletoe 5K here in WS on Dec. 6. (If you're interested, Molly Barker, the founder of GOTR has also written a book called Girls on Track that explains the program adapted for a mother (or other adult)/daughter experience. Even if you don't have an 8-12 year old daughter, the first part is still a great read about "getting out of the Girl Box" - the place where many girls go shortly after 5/6th grade when they lose their sense of self and try to be what they think the world expects them to be.)

But there's more... Also in the Ramblin' Rose training group was Kathylyn. I met Kathylyn early on - a mother of two boys, one of whom has Down's syndrome. I had explained that I was a teacher by trade but was taking the year off, so she began inquiring about my experience with special needs kids because she was looking for a tutor for her son. That conversation then turned to her profession as a hippotherapist. A what kind of therapist you ask? A hippotherapist (and it doesn't have anything to do with a hippopotamus). She is a physical therapist who provides therapy to children with severe special needs while riding horses. (She doesn't; the kids do). Her place of employment, Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center, was always looking for volunteers if I was interested....and, while I am not tutoring her son, I am now volunteering on Fridays from 9-12 at the horse stables. Before class, we groom the horses and saddle them up. During the session, we lead the horses around the arena/along the trail while the kids give commands or we walk along side the student for physical support. My little guy today needed two side walkers and even had two wrap around cushions (basically Boppies for you newer mothers). He was nonverbal with severe cerebral palsy, but the smile that lit up his face as he rode the horse was unmistakable! It would have melted any heart!

Total side note: I would say that I am a pretty low maintenance kind of person, in general. I don't like to spend a whole lot of time dealing with hair, makeup, and things of this nature. But today was our first day of class with kids, so I put on a little bit of makeup and topped it off with a quick coat of lip gloss, what with wanting to make a good impression and all. Can I just tell you that horses shed tremendously about this time of year and brushing them makes all sorts of little hairs, dead skin cells, and straw particles from the stall fly about around your face? And, as you can imagine, they tend to gravitate towards sticky substances...such as lip gloss. About 30 seconds into my brushing escapade today, I realized my error and quickly had to wipe any remaining gloss onto the inside of my shirt. You would think that growing up on a farm, I would have known better, but in rethinking that connection, I realized there were a couple of differences when it comes to my experience with pigs:

1. We didn't dry brush them - they got washed (with Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner if I recall...)
2. They didn't have straw in their pens - they had shredded paper. (It was handy that one of our closest family friends works at the bank in town, so we had plenty of shredded documents to use as the lining for the pens - See, reusing, even back then!) There's nothing quite like pitching pig poo with shreds of bank statements....Ahhh, the memories.

OK - shredded paper - brings me back to the present now. My second paying job: Data Processor at The Rush Fitness Complex - Downtown Winston-Salem. Lately, I've been getting my daily tasks there finished early (because right now, we are in a temporary facility until the real club opens on September 26th so it's not all that busy) so I spend the rest of the time SHREDDING PAPERS! The facility is literally, right across the street from our building. I interviewed with the Operations Manager who was hiring for front desk, juice bar, and Kid Kare positions, but when she offered me a job, she told me about this Data Processor role. It sounded like what I did in the Admission Office at Knox - take names from applications and enter data into a computer. Perfect! Once I started, I realized it was a whole lot more than that. I do the commission sheets, cash register reports, and not only do I input the new member data, but I have to set up their monthly accounts. Basically everything I do deals with someone's money - which makes me slightly nervous. But it's a fun working environment - plus Chris and I have a really nice place to work out for free.

I mentioned in the previous post how Aaron, who works at The Rush is also one of the women's volleyball coaches, and we just hired a new girl who works for the Wake Athletic Department - so I see her all of the time too! Crazy little connections keep sneaking up...

Do you see how confusing this all is??? (I know the graphic organizer isn't very clear, but it was the best I could do for a website page). I can't even tell you how many times I've thanked God for the seamless ways this has all fallen together. It completely blows my mind! But I guess that's what happens when you believe He can do all things!

First Sporting Extravaganza Weekend

2008-08-31T15:31:00.009-05:00

So we're officially and fully immersed into the reason why we're here - Wake Forest Sports! This weekend, we witnessed the women's volleyball tournament, women's soccer, and (for the first time for either of us) women's field hockey. And, I can't fail to mention that the football team also had their season opener on Thursday night at Baylor in Texas, bringing home a 41-13 win!

The round robin volleyball tournament was comprised of Wake, Norfolk State, Davidson (one of the Cinderella story teams from the NCAA tournament last year), and Winthrop - which is where a family friend of ours played and is currently an assistant coach! It was fun getting to see Tara, the daughter of Sandy and Randy Toepke, the Metamora Redbirds' athletic director, and hang out with her a little bit between games. (She's the one with the long blond ponytail.)

Another small world moment occurred when I walked into the volleyball game and saw that one of my coworkers from The Rush Fitness Complex is one of Wake's assistant coaches as well. (Yes, I have a job! Well, I actually have two of them...plus three weekly volunteer commitments, but I'll save all of that for another post). Aaron is one of the personal trainers there, but is slowly working his way back into the swing of things coming off of his own ACL knee injury. (He's the tall guy).

Sunday afternoon involved the women's soccer game, where technically, Chris and I were both just spectators...until a girl needed stitches. I almost always make it a rule to carry a book in my purse for instances just like this, but for some reason, I took it out last night. My mistake - I watched what felt like three hours of approaching Hurricane Gustav coverage on the TV in the training room - but it really was probably only 45 minutes. Those pocket-sized Barnes & Noble classics are really going to come in handy this year!

After the suturing was all complete, we then went out to "the pitch," the playing field where field hockey is played (just trying to use some newly learned lingo). This was also a weekend tournament featuring Wake, University of North Carolina, Michigan, and none other than I-O-W-A! On Saturday, Chris excitedly walked through the tailgating crowd of Hawkeyes and flashed them his Iowa T-shirt he was wearing under his Wake Forest polo. "Even though Wake provides the paycheck, Iowa is still closest to my heart..." and "You can take the Hawkeye out of Iowa; but you can't take the Iowa out of a Hawkeye." (Insert rolling of Dawn's eyes here....puhhhleease!) That did get us invited back to the post-game tailgating, but unfortunately we couldn't go because Chris had to cover the games - darn. A little Demon Deacon on his chest, but a big Hawkeye by his side (At least he got to use his banner - one of the many items I suggested were completely unnecessary to bring to NC).

Wake beat Iowa on Saturday coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2. And then, Iowa repeated the situation but from the other side when playing UNC on Sunday - and in a much more dramatic fashion. UNC is the defending national champion (with an undefeated record last year), and currently ranked #1 in the country. Chris and I didn't get out to the game until the 2nd half (because of the suturing incident) and Iowa was down 2-0. With 7 minutes to go, Iowa finally scored, and then they scored TWICE in the last three minutes. It was so exciting! Yeah, Hawks! And we didn't even have ANY IDEA what the rules were!

The refs (who wear hot pink shirts and black skirts) blow their whistles and make little hand signs that seem similar to soccer and/or football, but yet it's not quite the same...The girls (who also wear skirts, by the way, but no sort of protective gear) run around all hunched over - their backs have to get sore - and hit this white ball with their sticks. (I realized I've lost the opportunity to use some other lingo here because I'm pretty sure there is probably another name for the equipment besides "white ball" and "sticks"...but you get the drift). The ball appears to be similar to a whiffle ball, but is surprisingly much heavier than one. As evidenced by the girl who got hit in the jaw with it and had to go to the emergency room. My favorite part is when they all huddle inside the goal and then charge out when the ball comes into play. The one part I did pick up on is that you have to be inside the arc in order to score - so if you hit from midfield and it goes in the goal, it doesn't count. In basketball, you get MORE points for being outside the arc; in field hockey, you get zero. Hmmm... that just doesn't make sense to me.

The other thing that I at first didn't understand from this weekend was the caution tape across the bleachers at the volleyball tournament. I can now say with certainty it meant: CAUTION! Sitting on this surface for seven hours or more will certainly give you an aching bleacher-butt! Holy cow - I'm going to have suck up the pride and buy one of those little cushions to sit on or something if I'm going to survive the rest of this year! May I please take this moment to apologize to my parents and other family members who endured many, many hours of sitting on bleachers to watch me play sports - I now feel your pain!

1 Hour 13 Seconds

2008-08-24T18:50:00.025-05:00

According to preliminary results - scratch that, I just checked and the official results are in... My first "super sprint" triathlon, the Ramblin Rose (which involved 400 women from ages 9 to 64) took me exactly 1 hour and 13 seconds to complete. My goal was to finish in one hour, so I guess being 13 seconds off isn't too bad. Not that too many of you will really care about the numbered details, but for my own memory and as a record for the future, here is the breakdown:

250 yd swim - 7:17 (275th place - not good!)

Transition #1 - 1:47

9 mile bike ride - 32:32 (77th place - better)

Transition #2 - 0:32

2 mile run - 18:07 (29th place - respectable)

For an overall 51st place!!! (and 5th in my age group!!!) which I am totally excited about!!! (in case you didn't pick up on the extra exclamation points).

So now for a little more of the narrative. The transition area opened for setup at 6:00am. The race director suggested people arrive between 6 and 6:30 to get set up. Since Chris decided it would be too crazy to have a vehicle trapped in the YWCA parking lot, we just rode our bikes in the dark. I can't say I was tickled with the idea of riding my bike home an additional mile and a half all UPHILL after the race was over later in the day, but it actually worked out fine.

We left the house a little after 6:00, and while Chris loves this picture because it makes it look like I was the ONLY one there, I wasn't! (I can't help it that I grew up in a family that likes to be places ON TIME... which is something I'm learning is considered impolite here in the South.)

After staking claim on my little piece of land with my towel, I got my transition area all set up. Bike hanging off the tripod with bike helmet hanging off the handlebars. Sunglasses and race belt with race number inside helmet. Running/biking shoes (same thing for me - different for some people though) on the towel with one sock in each shoe. Little plastic box with flip-close lid (also known as one of those Oil of Olay facial cleansing cloth containers - I love to reuse!) for my swim cap, goggles, and nose plugs. (That part I didn't learn at tri 101 clinic - thought of that all on my own... :) I didn't want those things to get all nasty if they got on the asphalt while I was gone.

After feeling everything was in its proper place, I went and got body marked. I'm not sure why your race number has to be in so many darn places, but they write it on both thighs and both upper arms - in permanent marker! (which actually makes a pretty cool right of passage insignia that I'm not trying too hard to scrub off). At this point, I also put on my super-cool Ramblin Rose tattoo - the only tattoo I'll ever have I'm sure...

They also write your age on the back of your right calf - which again I don't quite understand the reason behind it, but it certainly does come in handy if you're competitive and you are passing people during the bike and the run. (Top three people in each age group usually win awards - ages are typically broken down in a 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; etc. pattern). And, if you're really self-conscious about your age, a warning: they round up. It's however old you are on Dec. 31 of that year... (Here we are getting our last minute pep rally cheers from Emily, our group cheerleader. I'm in the long sleeves - of course - always cold...)

So the swim begins - even numbers make a line on one side; odds on the other, and two people start every ten seconds. I was number 169 (based on our estimated swim times when we registered), so my start time wasn't until 8:33. As you can tell, I'm not too amused at this point and just want the swim to be over with.

I fairly successfully swam a lap and a half (which was really about all I had ever been able to do well during practice), but then I choked on a bunch of water which caused this horrid burping/coughing issue that persisted throughout the rest of the 7 lengths (hey, you get ALL the details in this blog! Sorry if that disgusts you :). Everything that I had practiced so hard for the last six weeks went right out the window and I was in panic/survival mode for the rest of the way. I backstroked probably 3 of the lengths and paused at the ends probably 3 times as well. It was not at all how I wanted it to go, but I finally made it.

After climbing out of the pool, you have to run out of the YWCA into the parking lot (yes, barefeet) and find your bike. Granted, they are numbered and you were the one who put your bike on these tripods, but as you can imagine when you're coming out of the building a little discombobulated already, it's sometimes tricky remembering EXACTLY where your bike is! Luckily, I was at the starting point of the middle rack (so I wasn't all the way on the end, but I was the first one of my section of tripod) - and our row was right at a crosswalk, so there were huge white stripes right where I needed to turn - very handy! I found my bike, put on my race belt (which has your bib number snapped to it so you don't have to put pins through anything and you don't have to try to throw on a shirt over a wet body), bike helmet, sunglasses, socks, and shoes, and I was off. You have to run your bike (no riding) through the transition area until you get to the mounting line and then you can hop on and go.

I had ridden the course three times during training, so I felt pretty familiar with the route. The person right in front of me however, missed the first turn, slammed on her brakes (which created an impressive screech) and had to turn around and come back. Just as I was approaching "the big (dangerous) hill" I saw a couple turn left in front of me and then I heard what could have been a gunshot! I think her tire just popped, but it was enough to startle/distract me and I didn't get my gears shifted all the way down to my smallest ring - which totally meant I was never going to make it up the dreaded hill (so described because you have to make a sharp right turn over a little cement bridge that crosses a creek as you attempt to climb up this uneven, narrow sidewalk that has a chain link fence on one side and forest on the other.) I think I might have used a swear word as I hopped off my bike and ran it up the hill, knowing there was nothing else I could do. (Which in the end, wasn't that big of deal because I actually caught somebody who was riding up it). The rest of the ride seems pretty uneventful looking back on it. I was pretty disappointed with the swim so that gave me a little extra motivation to move it on the bike.

The first half of the run was not as good as I've done it in the past - I could tell I was not moving very swiftly at all. I was miffed because the first part of the course getting from the transition area to the road was not well marked at all. The volunteer told me to stay to the left - so I went to the left side of the blue and white flags - which as you can imagine led me right into those bushes! (I guess I didn't think three was enough - I wanted to add the fourth sport of hurdles to my competition apparently!) The course was out and back with the first mile being all uphill (towards our apartment), and then naturally, the return miles being all downhill - rejoice! Again, not completely satisfied with the communication of the layout of the course: As I was approaching the last little bit before I turned to head for the finish line, I did one of those awkward you-go-that-way/I'll-go-that-way kind of dances with another runner who was just heading out. The whole stay to the left thing really gets me - I'm pretty sure the guy who set this all up lives in America, but maybe he's forgotten that we drive on the RIGHT side of the road here!)

Everything is timed by this fancy little chip you have velcroed to your ankle, so everytime you run over one of those handy orange mats, it records your time. If you notice, the sunglasses are now on top of my head. I usually don't run in them; I typically wear a hat. But after having a swim cap and a helmet on all morning and the temperature increasing as time went by, I felt it was going to be too hot for the hat that I had, so I decided to go with the head band and sunglasses for the run instead. Sometimes when my head gets that hot during a run, I like to pour a cup of water on it to cool down some. That works perfectly well when you have on a hat; not so well when you are wearing sunglasses. The lenses got all smeary - and notice I'm wearing what I wore in the pool, so it's not like I've got a dry patch of anything to wipe them on... so I had to run the rest of the way with them propped on my head. (Not exactly effective - but oh well - now I know...)

One more minor detail to remember for future races... If you look carefully at the picture of me leaving for my run (two pics up), you will notice something sticking out of the leg band of my shorts. Mid-bike ride, I ingested a little pack of Gu (that's really what it's called) - 100 calories of pure energy as a little pick me up for the rest of the race. Mmmm...I went with the Triple Berry flavor in honor of the triathlon. Not wanting to litter and following the tip of Emily, our queen leader, I put the wrapper in the leg band of my shorts when I was done to throw away later. Well, later finally came when I was done and Chris and I were sitting on a concrete parking lot block. I couldn't believe how sticky the magic marker was making the back of my hamstring! (For the record, when we took that group picture before the event began, I had the shadow marking of 28 on the back of my leg from squatting so low.) As I felt more and more, it finally dawned on my that the stickiness had absolutely nothing to do with marker - and everything to do with the pack of Gu that I forgot to take out of my leg band! This may be more information than you're interested in knowing, but apparently I littered on the run route because that little wrapper was nowhere to be found in my shorts!

(Littering, by the way, was very much the anti-image of this event. The Ramblin' Rose tris were all advertised as "Race without a Trace" and attempted to be carbon-neutral events. Packet pickup involved a (very cool) canvas messenger bag instead of a plastic throwaway bag and zero little slips of paper. All advertisements and coupons that often find their way into packet pick-up bags were delivered digitally to your email. Instead of paper cups or plastic bottles of water at the finish line, everyone was given a reusable plastic bike bottle and there were Primo water spigots (like Hinkley & Schmidt machines - except Primo's plastic is made from plants, not crude oil!) You could even buy $3 carbon offsets (but since we rode our bikes, I figured I did my part...)

And so I'm done - I've done it - I can officially call myself a triathlete. And I couldn't have done it (and nor would you have these fantastic photographs) without my dear husband! He was a trooper! (Did I mention that there were 400 women at this event? And did I mention that we then had a post-race party for the training group at our apartment building (rooftop/cabana room) from 3-7 later on in the day? And that he went down to the lobby to let them all in when they got there? And that he went and picked up the three batches of frozen gourmet custard (Red Raspberry, Oreo Mint, and Mocha Chip. Triple Mmmmm!) that Wolfie's donated for our party? I'm going to have to start calling him a saint!) I gave up at least two nights a week with him to train with the girls (sometimes three), so I really do appreciate all of his support these past six weeks. It got him fired up enough to want to do a triathlon as well. And, this was the kind of event that I definitely knew right away I would want to do again - (unlike when he suggested running another marathon as I was stretched out in the back seat thinking I was quite possibly never going to run again two hours after finishing my marathon four years ago.) At this point, I figured I put in all of this baseline groundwork - so why not do one more? Three weeks from now, Chris and I will both be competing in a sprint triathlon, which is just slightly longer - 300 yard swim, 12 mile bike ride, 3.1 mile run.

I promise the post won't be as long (and we obviously won't have many good pics), but we'll let you know how it goes! Our biggest concern is figuring out where we can swim (as inexpensively as possible) since my free membership at the Y is up. But then my cynical side says - does it really matter for you? You practiced an awful lot and it got you on the 7-minute side of nowhere... Maybe I could just go back to practicing in the bathtub.

My Make-A-Wish Fulfilled

2008-08-22T08:51:00.018-05:00

I’m sure everyone has heard of the Make-A-Wish foundation that gives kids with life-threatening illnesses a chance to have a dream come true. The wishes often seem to involve taking exotic trips or meeting famous people. While I am certainly not a child (nor am I aware of any life-threatening medical condition), I had a Make-A-Wish moment last night.

Chris and I went to this amazing outdoor amphitheater in Charlotte for the Kenny Chesney / Leann Rimes Poets and Pirates Tour – but really we went just for the Leann Rimes part of it all. OK – I went for the Leann Rimes part and Chris was really just along for the ride. (Our friend Jake, who’s working on making it big in Nashville himself, would cringe if he knew we actually stuck around for the Kenny Chesney part…He and Chris definitely enjoy the classic country more than the mainstream/rock that Chesney produces, but Chris still sang along and had a great time!)

My obsession with Leann Rimes began just six months ago when I was reading my sister’s Fitness magazine. I was completely blown away by her focus on fitness. She runs, does yoga, goes to the gym, eats well, etc. etc. etc. And – she can bench press her own weight (120 lbs.)! I’m so impressed!

I can honestly say that growing up, I was really not a fan of hers. While it was impressive that she was only 13 when she had her first hit single, the song itself, “Blue” kind of annoyed me. Then, I couldn’t believe that she would have the gall to release “How Do I Live” at the same time that Trisha Yearwood did it for the movie Con Air. I have now learned that she actually recorded it first, and at the last minute, the movie producers decided they wanted an older singer who was more recognizable to perform it. Her release of that, incidentally, still holds the record for longest running song on the Billboard Top 100 at 69 weeks – and apparently helped her to win the Billboard’s 1997 Best Vocalist Award (which was a question we missed at Trivia Night a couple weeks ago – I’m sure I would be ousted from the fan club if they knew that!)

Yes – I even joined the fan club. Members have access to behind the scenes photos/videos, her personal blog (which includes video of her talking, so I know she is actually involved in the process at some level), and the possibility of meeting Leann at a concert – which, I got to do!!!!

For each concert venue, they post a Meet and Greet date/time when fan club members can log in to in order to try to get a spot to meet her for that concert (maximum of 20 per show). I was online refreshing the screen for a good ten minutes before the posted time – I actually saw the icon change over, so I’m pretty sure I might have been the first one to log in for the Charlotte venue. Chris can attest to the fact that I was slightly high-strung yesterday in making sure we arrived in plenty of time. On the way, he had to stop by the high school where he’s covering football games on Friday nights to meet the athletic director/coaches/etc. so I definitely had 20 minutes of practiced patience in the car!

After we found our seats, which were five rows behind the VIP boxes, I went over to the side entrance for backstage and waited ever so anxiously for the big moment! The fan club members got to go last (there were also some radio station winners and others, but she only signed things for us).

While it was expectedly short, it was still one of the coolest moments ever! I’ve met a famous singer/author/movie star (Coyote Ugly, anyone? She did all of the vocals for the lead plus made a cameo at the end – but that was still before her revolutionary fitness phase).

The concert itself was awesome! She sang for over an hour and had a good mix of old and new songs. Her voice is just so obviously amazing, but her ability to dance, run, and jump around on stage in huge heels is my next point of awe – I can hardly walk in them let alone move around the way she does.
And, oh yeah, Kenny Chesney was insane! He’s been Entertainer of the Year repeatedly for good reason. It was craziness! The backdrop video screens are completely unbelievable! The whole concert is basically the biggest karaoke you’ve ever seen! The most hilarious part of the night was when Kenny pulled this (maybe 9-year-old) boy, dressed in shorts but no shirt, cowboy boots and cowboy hat up onto stage. The kid danced like mad for a solid three minutes at least – including a spin-on-your-back break dance move that Kenny subsequently tried to imitate. It was so spontaneously funny!

The night was phenomenal! It was pretty much a dream come true. Initially, I hesitated to compare this to a Make-A-Wish situation because I don’t want to disrespect the organization in any way by associating myself with the idea of it all. But then I was reminded of a conversation I had with my friend, Amber, about our adventures here in NC. I commented to her that we were just trying to do as much as we could while we were here since we knew it was going to be for just a short time. As I said that to her that day, I then realized – shouldn’t that be how all of us are living our lives everyday no matter where we are? We are all on Earth for just a short time – we should always make the most of it! Take advantage of any opportunities that come along to live life in new and unexpected ways. As our aforementioned friend, Jake, likes to say: “Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’!” I kind of like this getting busy with life thing!

Hanging Rock State Park

2008-08-16T11:17:00.007-05:00

Aaaahhh (pleasant sigh)... Sundays are scheduled to be "rest days" in my triathlon training program. So, I was heistant when Chris suggested we go to Hanging Rock State Park last Sunday, but it's not like I'm an Olympian - who needs rest? (Apparently I do since my workouts on the following Monday and Tuesday were practically worthless after hiking for three hours to an elevation of some 2,000 feet.) But it was absolutely worth it! The views were spectacular, and it was just so beautiful being out in nature.

After climbing to the top of Hanging Rock - which incidentally, I can say I wouldn't have been quite so eager to do had I seen that week's news involving the collapse of the famous stone archway in Utah - we ate our picnic lunch and then went in search of the several waterfalls. The water was refreshingly cold and we spent a good hour or so lounging in the wading pool.

(Just to clarify: The picture of me makes it appear that I am sliding down the rock wall, but I am certainly not that adventurous. I could only handle sitting there long enough for Chris to take a picture. The realistic version of a waterfall (aka frigid water beating on your back) is not as glamourous as it seems.... )

Overall, another great day taking in the beauty of North Carolina! This tired body would have classified the trail slightly higher than its current "moderate difficulty" rating, but as I said, it was definitely worth the work (and the soreness) - oh and the humor of the pharmacy TRAILER at the foot of the park. This was definitely country-style NC! Too bad nothing is open on Sundays here, so I couldn't even stop in and get some meds for my aches and pains.

Chris' Job

2008-08-12T06:55:00.004-05:00

For those of you who have been wondering about how Chris’ job is going – HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT! He is getting to see injuries he’s never seen before, and take care of athletes that are at such a higher level than he’s ever been around. Comments from him about the height or the strength or the speed of these athletes are commonplace. It’s practically unbelievable. I guess they’re not quite Olympic-caliber athletes, but it seems pretty close.

There is one athlete in particular that I will be keeping my eye out for – (although Chris is not all that impressed by it). Cheyenne Woods. Freshman golfer…. Wait for it…. Yes – Tiger Woods’ niece is coming to Wake Forest! I’m just hoping he’ll come to visit.

Last week, football practice officially started, and you would think that Chris had won the lottery or something. I’m sure you all know how much he loves football. He came home near giddy every night. Chris couldn’t believe that Coach Grobe actually came over and talked to him! Sure, he must be a pretty good coach if he won the Coach of the Year award two years ago, but he’s certainly not the President of the United States or anything… (Although he does make more money than one! His salary is just under a million dollars a year! That’s public knowledge found online, by the way. I’m not divulging any Wake Forest confidential secrets or anything.) As the coach of the team that Chris is taking care of, I would expect him to acknowledge his appreciation at least once. But Chris was on cloud nine that night.

On Saturday night, they held their first scrimmage, so here is a picture of Chris at one of his “offices” for the year – BB&T Field/Groves Stadium, which seats 31,500 fans. It just underwent a $1.5 million dollar refurbishing, which included the addition of the Bridger Fieldhouse and the Deacon Tower – a seven-story press box with luxury suites, as well as next generation FieldTurf and a brick façade refacing involving 89,000 specially made bricks.

My absolute favorite part of the game was watching the second through seventh string quarterbacks perfect their synchronized signal calling on the sidelines. I couldn’t tell if they were trying to do the Macarena or the YMCA, but it was hilarious! There were definitely some great shoulder shimmies, hip wiggles, and even a pirouette or two. (OK – maybe not pirouette exactly, but definitely some hopping action.)

Here’s a picture of Chris caught in action - “working.” The poor guy in the upper left is about ready to die and there’s Chris playing catch with two little kids. (To be fair, he wanted to make sure that I pointed out that this was AFTER the scrimmage was over, and that he did ultimately attend to that athlete after the trainer was done.) Everyone will be happy to note that Wake Forest won! Haha! From my professional opinion, I’d say their defense is pretty good. Offense…we’ll have to see.

Conveniently, Suzi (the other fellow - the one on the right) isn’t a big fan of football so they split up the schedule accordingly and she took a lot of soccer games. After the scrimmage though, we met up with her and her friend, Sheena, who is also from Ireland. I thought it seemed sort of cliché, but they wanted to go to Finnigan’s Wake, one of the Irish pubs in town. It was very interesting getting their perspective on the Americanized version of Irish. For example, this pub has a Sunday roast beef dinner, complete with veggies, potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding – which is completely English, not Irish. And, as Chris pointed out – Potatoes? Seriously? Have they never heard of the potato famine in Ireland?

So far, their schedules have been pretty tame. This weekend, however, really gets them going. They both have to cover the Twin City Soccer Tournament from 8am-8pm on Saturday and 8am-5pm on Sunday. They each have a high school football team that they will be covering which starts up the following week and the rest of the fall sports at Wake will be getting underway as well. I think Chris said he has 33 events to cover in the next two and a half months, not counting training rooms or clinics, of course.

Oh well, that’s why we’re here! It’s a good thing he loves it as much as he does!

1...2...3...

2008-08-08T20:51:00.014-05:00

Yes, indeed, I have decided to take on the challenge of a triathlon – (a competitive athletic event involving a swim, a bike ride, and a run). For those of you who know me well, you may have the same reaction as Chris: “You do realize you have to swim, right?” OK, so I don’t know how to swim, minor detail… I had swimming lessons, once – for two days when I was like seven, which I’m pretty sure involved not a whole lot more than hanging onto a kickboard and splashing my legs as wildly as I could. This vital, coming-of-age instruction was abruptly cut short and possibly scared me from learning how to swim for the rest of my childhood.

But a bit of background first: The nearest public pool to my home is in the small town of Chatsworth, IL, about seven miles west of my house. C.A.P.S. (which I honestly don’t know exactly what it stands for… Chatsworth Area Pool (for) Swimming? is as good as I can come up with…) was the only pool I’d ever known. Living that sheltered, I-only-know-of-what’s-inside-my-own-bubble kind of life, I didn’t realize how amazing this pool really is. It’s huge. It’s ginormous. It’s every other synonym (using real or made up words you can think of) for large. It’s actually the biggest pool in the United States containing 1,300,000 gallons of water (yes, that’s ONE MILLION) – well, it was the record holder until just a few years ago when another one was built to hold 5 gallons more so that they could boast instead. (By the way, this pertinent data was gathered via one quick phone call to the dear old establishment this evening, since there is, of course, no info about it online.) Per capita, though, I bet it still takes the cake – Chatsworth has a population of approximately 1200 residents. That’s more than 1,000 gallons of water per person! It took Chris’ reaction upon first drive by back when we were dating for me to realize that this was something impressive.

Anyway, back to the suspenseful end of my swimming lesson days. Since the pool was “so far away,” the school district apparently decided to offer transportation using the school buses in the summer. There was a morning session for the younger kids (which I was in), and a second session later on for the older kids. Two days into the intended week long event, the bus carrying the second group to the pool crashed. My cousin was on the bus, so I watched the noon news intently, relieved to find out that no one was injured. This did, however, cease the free, school-provided transportation, and thereby ended my swimming lesson days. So it’s not so much that the swimming lessons themselves were horrendously scary – I just have a traumatic memory associated with the idea of learning how to swim – and I guess, therefore, never learned in a formal setting.

Some of the people I would have called my best friends growing up had pools – Brandi, Shannon, Dawn Lee (have to use her last name because of the same name issue. She was Dawn Lee, and I was Dawn T. – That was cool when I was nine.) So any other form of swimming education took place from my peers in nothing more than a 4 foot deep, 16 foot round backyard pool. I learned I wasn’t supposed to open my eyes underwater or else they get really red; I learned how to do a pretty killer handstand in a pool; but beyond that, I didn’t really learn a whole lot about proper swimming technique.

Which (finally, I know) brings me to my recent venture into learning how to swim and my official triathlon training! Soon after arriving here, I saw a couple of advertisements for the Ramblin’ Rose Women’s Only Super Sprint Triathlon. My very first passing thoughts of it were fleeting, since I know I’m a terrible swimmer. But I kept seeing these advertisements in different places, and then I had that God-is-speaking-to-you-LISTEN! moment. The first Sunday we went to church, there was an announcement in the bulletin about a pre-race triathlon meeting. (I found out that that group in particular was participating in an entirely different triathlon, but it still prompted me to look into it more.) I got online and researched the Ramblin’ Rose. I found out it involves a 250 yard swim (in a pool, thank goodness, I couldn’t even tackle an open water course right now), a 9 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. Run – piece of cake. Bike – fine barring any technical difficulties. Swim – haven’t even been in a measured pool to have a clue as to how far that is…

Upon further research, I learned that one of the running/fitness apparel stores in town, Fleet Feet, was hosting a Beginner Triathlon Clinic for 6 weeks and the first meeting was that night! My heart started racing. Was I really going to make the decision to commit to doing a triathlon in the ten minutes I’d spent looking at the info online? That’s a little too spontaneous for me!

When Chris got home, I told him of my idea. He had the aforementioned reaction, and then tried to graciously backpedal and be supportive when he realized I was serious. And just like that, I was signed up for a six week training program with five structured workouts per week plus group clinics on Tuesday and Thursday nights. There’s nothing quite like 45 women from their mid-twenties to their early sixties riding their bikes through town, taking over the Hanes Park track, and swimming laps at the YWCA pool. It’s been fun getting to know these women, and interesting to see the different connections and opportunities that unfold from this gathering. (Perhaps more on this in a later post). Our training group has been in the newspaper, on the local NBC news station, and Genell (our oldest, but probably spunkiest member) was even featured in the magazine Forsyth Woman.

Our coach, Emily, has been fantastic! She and her husband, Keith, own the Fleet Feet store, and are both triathletes. Keith (in the white shirt) has done 7 full Ironmans (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), including competing in the World Championship in Hawaii once. Emily has done one full herself, plus several of the other distances (halves, Olympic distances, and several sprints). They’ve been awesome at encouraging us during the workouts as well as getting us prepared for all of the logistics of the race.

Last night, they had an after-hours party at their store for us, so that we could see the latest triathlon apparel via a fashion show. Emily (in the blue shirt) also got her favorite massage therapist to come in and do brief assessment massages for us to work out any of the kinks.

There were appetizers, chocolates, and wine – and lots of women trying on lots of skin-tight, swimsuit-like material, which I might add, is a workout in itself! The “tri-gear” has some chamois material to help you dry faster after coming out of the pool. By wearing this kind of outfit, you don’t have to worry about changing clothes somehow or (as bad of) chaffing if you tried running in wet cotton. Since participating in a triathlon is not exactly the cheapest entertainment around, I actually purchased my race day outfit last Friday during TAX-FREE weekend! (What a great idea, North Carolina!)

The race is on Sunday, August 24th, so I only have a couple more weeks to figure this swimming thing out. I can now swim 50 meters in about 45 seconds, but then I have to stop and gasp for air! (But that is an improvement since I could barely make it one length of the pool (25 m) three weeks ago). It makes no sense – I can run forever (well, not literally of course…) but swimming sucks the life right out of me! It’s horrible! But, it’s also good – I’m looking at this experience as a huge challenge, a fear to face and overcome, a growing opportunity.

While swimming is a skill I never learned as a child, I’m coming to appreciate the activity in ways I never imagined I would. It will definitely remain my weakest sport of the three, (and I’m pretty sure it will always involve the dorkiest looking pictures as evidenced from the three selections above! Plus, that one could have looked infinitely more amusing, but I wouldn’t let Chris take the picture with my NOSE PLUGS on!) Anyway, I’m trying to convince my head that swimming is the most relaxing activity in the world. It’s like jogging at a super slow pace. It’s like floating on a moving cloud. It’s so easy my grandma could do it (no offense, grandma)… If only my brain would believe it and my body would follow suit! Wish me luck – Aug 24th – I’m sure I’ll let you know how it goes!

First Friday Gallery Hop

2008-08-01T20:34:00.008-05:00

So on the First Friday of every month, the art galleries and associated eclectic shops in the downtown arts district (6th and Trade Streets) are open from 7-10 pm. Again, the city closes down the streets and there are live performaces of all sorts - from African drummers to belly dancers to a harmonica and blues duo. Many of the stores have free wine and snacks including the predictable cheese and crackers, but also things like black bean and corn salsa, sun-dried tomato and olive relish, various flavored fresh baked scones, etc. Roasted red pepper jelly over cream cheese with crackers was probably my favorite sample of the evening.

My favorite part of the night was when a woman asked me if I worked in the store we were in - it was the Bubbling Well Tea and Tonic Bar / Golden Flower Tai Chi Center. I can't figure out for the life of me what in the world made her think that I would work there. I don't even know what a tea and tonic bar really is, and all I know about Tai Chi is that it involves slow thought-related movements and breathing . I was merely reading an article in a magazine near one of the tall tables off to the side, and she thought I worked there?! Unbelievable - and hilarious to me!

In terms of stores, there is everything from a fine tableware and stationery store, to the traditional paintings on a wall art gallery, to an earthy all items handmade in Winston-Salem (and the smell of patchouli is so strong it knocks you over as soon as you open the door) kind of shop. (Side note: In case you can't tell, I dislike patchouli immensely. My first encounter with it was my freshman year of college when a let's just say, "more than mellow" senior fell into me in passing. Seriously, in that split second, she transferred the scent to me and I couldn't get rid of it for the rest of the day despite multiple showers.)

And, if you've been reading previous posts, the mermaid in the window made a repeat appearance tonight - this time with her bubble-blowing friend - so I had to break down and take a picture of it as well. I'm still not 100% sure what she's promoting, but I think the store sells beach-themed art perhaps.

I told Chris that we have to go back next month because I definitely didn't get to take in all of the stores like I would have wanted to. Plus, there's a vendor who sells fresh apple dumplings that I feel inclined to try. (Next time I'll know not to eat as much for dinner so I have room for more of the samples!)

NC Nascar

2008-07-28T16:21:00.004-05:00

For you race fans reading this blog, we took in our first NASCAR race at Bowman Gray Stadium here in Winston-Salem on Saturday night. For your trivia knowledge, Bowman Gray is NASCAR’s first and longest-running weekly track where Richard Petty won his 100th race. The Allisons, the Myerses, and the Earnhardts have all raced here (of course, I only know the last name in that list, but apparently the others are impressive as well, since it made the program highlights.)

It was ladies night - $1 admission - wooo hooo! I was pretty sure Chris was going to get kicked out of the place when he pulled out his baggie of ear plugs. (I appreciate my hearing and ear health just as much as the next guy, so I just used my fingers as nonchalantly as I could.)

Growing up, I had some connections to the races, albeit on a smaller scale - and a dirt track, so I was pleased with how clean I was at the end of the night! My uncle (and now cousin as well) drive a street stock car; A distant cousin (grandma's sister's grandson) was pretty phenom in our area back in the day; and some high school friends worked in the pits for some drivers as well. Saturday night though was more big league than those experiences of course.

The highlight of the night was definitely the chain race at the conclusion. I mean, who wouldn't be excited when two cars are chained together and racing around the track in a no-holds-barred frenzy. And to make it even more interesting: The back car doesn't have an engine - and the front car doesn't have any brakes! If the pair disengages, you are disqualified). I knew we were in for a treat when the two 8-year-old girls who had been playing hand-clapping games all night stood up and started hopping on the bleachers in excitement when they introduced the event. It was hilarious, to say the least. We even had a hold-your-breath finish as the leaders got caught up in a forced crash in the final turn as we waited on the edge of our seats (figuratively, of course, since we were standing and maybe even hopping a little in excitement as well) to see who could maneuver out of the tangle first.

We were definitely able to experience a different side of North Carolina culture – let’s just say it wasn’t a diverse jazz concert downtown. We even got a little bit of political inculcation during one of the winner’s speeches as it concluded with a resounding, “And vote Republican!”

All in all, a pretty fun experience - I’d say we each got our money’s worth!

A Big Test, a Bit of Nature, and a Little History Along the Way

2008-07-27T11:58:00.019-05:00

Early Friday morning, Chris and I drove to Greensboro (about 30 miles to the east), so that he could take his Family Medicine boards (a regularly scheduled 9-hour test that officially makes him a board-certified Family Medicine practitioner). While he went about his test-taking fun, I went for a jog. Not knowing the area, I decided to just run up and down the driveways and parking lots of the building complex where he was testing. I'm not sure what other businesses were in any of those buildings, but apparently no one came to work before 9:30. There was virtually no traffic and the parking lots were nearly empty the entire time. It was also nice that it was a cloudy morning and the area was lined with lots of trees, so the temperature was very comfortable. When I was done, I found a lovely niche (under a stairwell actually) to do some stretching before heading off to the nearby mall.

As many of you know, I'm not a huge shopper, so I took a book and read in the lovely amphitheater, which was complete with a calming waterfall. I had a practically perfect morning, sipping on my carmel latte, seemingly unaware of the shopping mall surroundings thanks to the sound of falling water - until four juveniles decided to use the amphitheater as a leap frog course. Luckily, the game didn't last all that long before the adult responsible for them showed up and informed them that it was time to go (darn). She did, however, have to spend the next five minutes yelling at the youngest one from up above before he followed the rest. He had dropped the penny he had wanted to throw in the waterfall and was determined to find it. Unfortunately he never got to make his wish - but if he would have, I think he should have wished that the punishment he was about to receive from his mother would be bearable.

I did have one mission while I was at the mall: to pilfer two plastic forks from the food court. (Stealing seems like such a harsh word.) We had packed a picnic lunch for a mid-test break that included huge salads, but I forgot the forks! As I made the sweeping circle before any of the restaurants were even opened, I became utterly concerned that I was going to be eating lettuce with my fingers. Arby's...Sbarro...Sakura Express...nothing. Sonic...gasp - a gray four-slot plastic tray.... filled with salt, pepper, and sugar packets upon closer review :( Aaaaha- Flaming Wok... little plastic baggies filled with sets of utensils and napkins piled high on plastic trays - with two little Chinese guys standing guard over them from behind the counter. And then, the last stop on the circle...Moe's Southwest Grill...silver canisters with plastic utensils right out in front! The worker was busy scraping the grills (with his back to me), so I nonchalantly grabbed two forks and kept right on walking. Mission accomplished - finally! I thought about tossing a quarter on the counter to cover the cost, but the thought of having to explain the whole situation was too embarrassing. Don’t worry though – before our year is up, we’ll definitely eat at the non-shopping mall version of the Moe’s Southwest Grill here in WS and make sure the company gets their compensation.

Chris actually finished the test around 12:30 so the picnic turned into a celebratory conclusion instead of a mid-test break. (The nine-hour allowance must be pretty gracious – but then again, who would ever think Chris would be able to sit in front of a computer for that long anyway?) We ate our salads (with our contraband forks) at a picnic table in that same building complex where the testing center was. Except for the few stray cats, it was a surprisingly pleasant place to enjoy a picnic.

With the rest of the afternoon in front of us, we decided to check out the Greensboro Arboretum. The park was filled with all sorts of identified trees, shrubs, bushes, and flowers. The butterfly garden was beautiful with the fountain in the center, and the coniferous section had some of the most amazing trees in it. Unfortunately the roses on the huge trellis-like structure were not in bloom, but it was still quite beautiful!

After taking in some nature, we decided to take in some of Greensboro’s history as well. It is the home of the short-story writer O. Henry, so there are some great statues in a park downtown. I read a modified version of his “Gift of the Magi” every year with my fifth-graders, so it was really great getting to learn more about him as an author (like the fact that he spent three years in jail for fraud!). One of the stories on the giant book in the park even mentions Illinois! Of all the stories they could have picked, and of all the words that could be on that statue…

We went to the three-story Historical Museum and saw many more displays related to him, including his aunt’s schoolhouse where he went, and his uncle’s pharmacy shop where he worked as a teenager. (Hence the pictures of our interpretations of partaking in our respective professions in a different time period).

The museum also included a room devoted to Dolley Madison, another area native, and a section relating to the 1960 Greensboro Sit-In at Woolworth’s that sparked the Sit-In movement around the country during the Civil Right Movement.

Chris’ favorite part was the entire wing devoted to Confederate firearms, which all came from the collection of one individual collector apparently!

One last stop on our historical tour included the Guilford County National Military Park, which is the location of one of the largest Revolutionary War battles that took place in the South. While Nathanael Green and the Patriots lost the battle to Cornwallis (even though they outnumbered the Brits by nearly double), it did lead up to Cornwallis’ surrender just 7 months later. The park, which interestingly enough, was the first national park established at a Revolutionary War site, includes 220 acres with an amazing path around the loop of markers, explanations, and statues (so I’m sure we’ll be heading back with our bikes someday.)

As you can see, what we thought was going to be a long day of nothing but test-taking, turned out to be quite the trip! From history to nature to a mission at the mall, the day left us utterly exhausted…

But – not too tired to head down to the jazz concert at Corpening Plaza that happens every other Friday night! With it being just a few blocks away, we can actually hear it from our apartment, but we decided to check out the event in person. It’s yet another way the city of Winston-Salem (whose nickname is the “City of the Arts”) is really promoting downtown. Great music, great setting, and ohhh –we had our first tasting of Cheerwine, which is really just cherry soda, but is apparently a very Carolinian item.

And - after that, we went to Foothills for a surprise birthday party for a guy who lives in our building. He was the one who actually invited us (so much for surprise)! I must say - it is very awkward showing up to a surprise party hoping that you don’t have to explain how you know about the party. It becomes exponentially more awkward when the other guests there are all employees of The Rush, the fitness complex where I had just interviewed for a job the day before! Considering the circumstances, I think the night went well – but I guess that will be reflected in whether or not I get a job! I’ll keep you posted!

As you can see - a very, very busy day! As I said, utterly exhausted! In fact, I'm exhausted from just writing this all! (Sorry it was so long! And maybe someday I will remember to bring the camera so we can stop taking pictures on Chris' phone!)

Habitat for Humanity - Women Build

2008-07-22T15:18:00.007-05:00

Being the farmer's daughter that I am, I'm pretty sure one of my first toys was a tool set. I say pretty sure, because I remember clearly dark blue plastic bolts (which I recall that I ruined by chewing on the ends of them). But I can't remember what the hammer looked like, so I could be making this introduction up completely...who knows. (I tell my fifth graders a little "creativity" usually doesn't hurt anything when you're writing. Your readers won't know if you're telling the exact truth - unless you tell them, of course).

Anyway, my father, the farmer, has a plethora of tools, including several hammers, arranged perfectly in drawers upon drawers of tool chests (which is probably where I get my organization OCD from :) I must admit with shame that growing up, I never really picked up any of those tools, unless it was to get them out of the way when I wanted to shoot baskets in the shop. I certainly never used them for any sort of industrial purpose - unlike my brother and sister, whom I admire for being such hands-on, helpful children. (Wait - I do remember one time: I built a birdhouse with my grandma once [yet another tool-toting hardworker I adore.] I think it was a bluebird box…or maybe a blue jay…it could have even been for an indigo bunting – I just remember it was for a bird that was blue. As you can tell, I wasn’t exactly the outdoor naturalist growing up either. And, there probably wasn’t a single bird that ever lived in that six-sided wooden creation due to some sort of mechanical default of my own, I’m sure!)

However, I got my second chance with a hammer on Saturday morning at my first-ever “wall build”. I saw an advertisement for a Habitat for Humanity-Forsyth County opportunity and decided to get involved with the upcoming Women Build. Not only is this house going to be built by (primarily) all women, but it’s also going to be a “green” home. I’m not exactly sure of all of the details that afford it that title; hopefully I will be able to expand on that idea later on. (I really wanted to use the word extrapolate right there instead of expand, but then I remembered I’m not writing a college essay; I’m writing to friends and family. I think it’s that 5th grade teacher of writing in me. Always encouraging better word choices and all…)

So, after basically zero introduction into the mechanics of what we were doing Saturday morning, we divided up into two groups and began building all of the interior and exterior walls of a house. I’m pretty sure the instructions from the leader in my group (interior walls) went something like this: “OK. If the wall has a door in it, you start there. Two nails on top. One on the bottom. If it doesn’t, you start at the corners. Three on top. Two on the bottom.” Right….I leaned over to another woman and whispered, “I think I’m going to need a little more direction than that.” And she simply nodded her head in confusion and admitted it was her first time too.

After watching some of the veteran volunteers, we figured it out, got into a rhythm, and cranked out all of the walls for a home in just under three hours! There really is something about a large group of women working with hammers and piles of lumber. Some are wailing away; others are more like tapping. Some are swearing under their breath; others are laughing when they swing and miss. When the product is completed and the loading phase begins, some are sweeping up the sawdust; others are carrying and lifting the walls onto the trailer. Some are bleeding (two of those misses ended up in lost fingernails); but, ALL are sweating.

In those moments when the hammer head strikes a nail and causes a spark to jump, you feel like a little jolt of that electricity shoots through you. To think that all of these women (including me who can’t even remember if she had a toy hammer or if she’s just making that up), are building a home – a safer place to live – for a family who may not have anywhere else to go, it’s uplifting, to say the least. To be able to serve others with your physical labor and sweat, is a beautiful and rewarding experience – and we haven’t even broken ground on the home site yet – we’ve only just begun (anybody breaking out into Karen Carpenter song right now?) If you’ve never had the opportunity to get involved with Habitat for Humanity International, I highly encourage you to check it out. Maybe there’s a hammer somewhere with your name on it too.

Happy Building!

*(Hammer image: http://www.pacifistaff.com/)

Parties, Parties, Parties

2008-07-20T11:52:00.012-05:00

The last two weekends have been filled with all sorts of great entertainment. Our building hosted its annual summertime luau on the rooftop last Saturday night (7/12), complete with tropical inspired food and fun. It was great getting to meet some of the other people who live in our building. As the pictures will attest, there is a wide a variety of people - from young, business professionals, to retired CEO's, to college students, to ... well ... an international finance / actuary who also happens to dabble in nuclear physics. This "genius" (which is how he described himself to us - without a hint of joking) informed us about all sorts of nuclear reactions, including one that involved a by-product of only helium. Chris was very disappointed when he didn't even crack a smile at Chris' joke about having high-pitched voices.

*(I couldn't post this one earlier because I was waiting on some pictures from the office staff.)

(Chris and I are slivers on the very left side of those first two pictures...)

This weekend, we were also treated to another rooftop pool party on Friday night - this one of a very different nature. The United Mind Conglomerate was sponsoring a SkyHigh Rooftop Party (called SkyHigh probably for more reasons than one)... The group's purpose is to support a revolution of underground hip hop and other artistic styles in WS. We definitely chalked that up to "experiencing new things", as we were some of the only people without tattoos or who weren't chain-smoking, and there was slight concern that the drinks were going to be laced with something.

My ear is not all that attuned to identifying lyrics in freestyle rapping, so my brain hurt just trying to figure out what they were saying. Apparently the party got shut down shortly after 10 anyway because enough people on the upper floors complained about the music being too loud. But the two hours we were there, were definitely quite the experience!

Then, last night, after an amazing afternoon bike ride out to Salem Lake followed by relaxing in the pool and meeting some more people from the building, we went to Downtown Thai for dinner. My first experience with Thai food at Taste of Thai in Peoria (which I don't even think is open anymore) was not all that great. However, I'm now hooked: Pad Rahd Nar - Stir fried large rice noodles with Chinese broccoli, eggs, mushroom, baby corn, and carrots with a special house brown sauce (I went with the chicken) – absolutely delicious!

Anyway, Winston-Salem is really promoting downtown right now, so we went to this great community street dance. Every Saturday night a different band plays on this trailer stage for “Summer on Trade.” The streets get closed down, people dance, kids get their faces painted, they sell drinks, popcorn, cotton candy, etc. Oh – and there are women (ok, one woman) impersonating a mermaid in a store-front window with some sort of interpretive dance actions. (It seemed weird to take a picture of this spectacle, but there were definitely plenty of people doing it.)

[Oh yeah – jumping back to the Hip Hop crew – I just about died when we saw three of the people from Friday night bopping down the street at Summer on Trade 24 hours later in the exact same clothes, hair, etc – clearly going strong from where they had left off the night before!]

After the band finished up, we sat at an outside table at one of our favorite places – 6th and Vine – and listened to the live music they had going on inside, while trying two new beers (Purple Haze and Magic Hat’s Circus Boy) and eating our favorite appetizer: Duck Quesadilla made with goat cheese. (Did I mention this year is all about new things?)

Anyway, we’re trying to enjoy all of these party-like opportunities now because once the sports seasons get underway, we probably won’t be doing a whole lot else. Come fall, our forms of entertainment will primarily involve athletic events – the only variety will be which sport.

(*P.S. This weekend's pictures were taken on Chris' phone, so we apologize for the lesser quality photos.)

Downtown Farmers' Market

2008-07-17T09:07:00.004-05:00

Growing up on a farm, with a monster garden out our back door definitely spoiled me when it comes to fruits and vegetables. As Chris likes to tell everyone, (and I suppose I'll admit), I'm a "corn snob." I can't help it that no corn on the cob tastes as good as what comes from the field at my house. (My family plants so much sweet corn that it gets its own section of field behind the shop as opposed to being in the actual garden). We did have a miniscule garden in Washington that produced lots of tomatoes and peppers (neither of which I have ever been able to convince myself to like - not for a lack of trying though...) and some zucchini and green beans. But, over the past years, I've begun acquiring a (forced) taste for canned or frozen vegetables (although oddly, I've always preferred canned peas over fresh - I know it's weird...).

But now (until September).... I have access to an amazing Farmers' Market that is two and a half blocks from here every Tuesday and Thursday! It's quite the show! Tons of fresh produce, (some organic, some not; some heirloom varieties, some not), fresh flower bouquets, free-range chickens (plucked, skinned, and on ice, of course...), eggs from those chickens, local honey, and more! One of the local bakeries sells some fresh-baked pastries and today they even had some live, jazzy synthesizer music.

On Tuesday, I went to the same spot I had gone on the previous Tuesday and picked up some sweet potatoes, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and peaches. (By the way - in reference to my first posting suggesting I would never have to cook: It's been completely the opposite! I've actually been using my cookbooks - planning menus and making dinners (with dessert even - healthy ones so Chris will eat them, of course)!

Interestingly, at that table was not the same lady from whom I had purchased my goods the week before, but I gathered they were from the same place (what with the matching shirts and all). I stopped by the table selling blackberries on my way out, and as I was paying I noticed this (very) old man on the opposite side of the aisle straightening his produce in this seemingly forlorn, nobody's-picking-me-for-the-kickball-team sort of way. I suddenly had this overwhelming, heart-crushing feeling because I felt so bad for this octogenarian who was just trying to sell some veggies from boxes scrawled with "Home-Grown" in the dearest old man handwriting. I'm not sure why I was so emotional about this, but it nearly ruined my whole day!

So, I've been anxiously awaiting this Thursday morning for the last 48 hours so that I could go back and buy something from the poor guy! Of course, we aren't out of what I purchased on Tuesday, but I decided I could buy a bunch of green beans and freeze them for the winter. (Yes, I know, freezing green beans is not as good as canning them like my mom and grandma, but I'm working with what I've got - boiling water and freezer bags.)

As soon as I got there, I felt better as he was already helping one person, and another one stepped up before I got around to his side. As I was selecting my green beans, we started chatting – His name is George. He doesn’t have a “farm”; just a 5-acre garden at his house. He’s been gardening for over 60 years, but just decided in the last few years to start bringing some produce up to the market, which he loves to do because he gets to meet some great people. (Which I immediately interpreted as his wife died and this gives him something to do with his time and with the amount of food that is entirely too much for one man to consume! Why must I be so pathetically cynical?!)

George is the friendliest little man, albeit conversations are often punctuated by a questioning look and a pointing to his ear due to his elderly, hard-of-hearing issues. For those who love corn on the cob (wherever it comes from), I’ll pass along his tip of the day: Simply shuck it, silk it, and put it in a freezer bag. Suck out all the air from the bag with a straw (or if you’re hard-core and have a vacuum sealer, that works too), and freeze. He swears he’s got corn on the cob from two years ago that will still taste great whenever he wants it.

I just might have to break down and purchase some corn on the cob from him next week. We’ll definitely have to see if it will pass the “corn snob’s” test before we decide about freezing a bunch of it – but if anyone’s going to be able to convince me, it’s going to be my new friend George.

(Side note: I use the word friend, but I’m not sure we’re to the point in a friendship where I could ask him to take his picture yet without being socially awkward. So, no picture of George – for now…just imagine a little old frail man with a big smile. And speaking of his smile – I imagine he must have dentures (because my grandpa has false teeth, and so every grandpa must too, right?), which must present one heck of a problem trying to eat corn on the cob… We’ll definitely have to become better friends before I'm comfortable asking him that question!)

Trivial Fun

2008-07-14T20:00:00.004-05:00

Every Thursday night, Foothills Brewing Company (which is two blocks farther down our street), hosts trivia night. So, like the big nerds we are (who also occasionally like a cold beer), Chris and I plan to be there often. Last Thursday, we met up with Suzi (the other sports medicine fellow (who happens to be from Ireland)) for the inaugural test.

Here's the setup:

5 rounds of 10 questions each with increasing point values as the rounds continue (10 points per question in the final round)

No more than 4 people per team.

Prizes for the top 3 teams

The place was absolutely packed! I'm guessing there were at least fifty teams. There is not a fee or a cover charge for the night - obviously the increased business on Thursdays more than pays for it all. (People are happy to consume the beer that comes from that machine right there ----> They have at least 7 brews on tap, including one or two that are rotating seasonal brews).

The first round lulled us into a false sense of comfort as we got 9 out of 10 questions right, but it all went downhill from there. If I had to guess what the grading curve was, I'd say we probably got a C....C+ at best.

A few questions we did get right:

What state was John Travolta born in? (New Jersey - thanks to Suzi for that one).

What is the only English number when spelled as a word has all of its letters in alphabetical order? (I'll let you think about that one...)

A few we didn't:

Who was the first Roman emperor? (We actually HAD the right answer initially (Augustus) and then changed it... stupid, post-decision dissonance!)

Whose autobiography is entitled "Learning to Fly?" (Chris was certain it was Michael Jordan's - and I thought it seemed plausible enough... but the real answer = Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice of the Spice Girls) Definitely isn't on my reading list...

Of course there is no phone-a-friend, or use-your-treo, or anything like that, but maybe you could each send us some mental telepathy vibes with all of your useless, trivial knowledge on Thursday nights around 9pm. We definitely could use the help!

Grocery Shopping

2008-07-11T14:06:00.004-05:00

Ok - so it's something everybody does. And for Chris and I, it used to be something we did usually on Sundays after church at the local Kroger.

Now, though - it's an entirely different can of worms. And cans are part of the issue. We don't exactly have a pantry, and while we have a good amount of cupboard space, only one of them is devoted to food. So, we're trying to adjust to buying what we think we're going to eat in the next week or two as opposed to stocking up for the next big blizzard (which, as you can guess, is not going to happen anytime soon. The weather is actually very comparable to Illinois so far - upper 80's, some days lower 90's).

Anyway, regardless of cupboard space, the bigger issue is transportation of goods from car to home. We have a parking card for the public parking deck that is across the street and about a half a block north. There is also hourly street parking, and a three-spot 30-minute unloading only zone right in front of the building. However, as I learned, none of those spots are ever open - especially at lunch break during the work day, which is exactly when I was coming home from grocery shopping for the first time last week.

Since this was the first time I had really shopped for food since we arrived, there was a lot of restocking of essentials that needed to happpen (read: too many bags for this one girl to carry). Posed with a dilemma, I figured my best bet was to just park in the deck and go get a cart. The Nissen Building graciously supplies us with a little closet that contains three (apparently stolen, although I assume not...) shopping carts from the local grocery store, Harris Teeter. Can I say I felt more than slightly embarrassed as I was wheeling an empty cart (very noisily, I might add) around downtown during a very busy lunchhour? Believe me, if there was video footage of me getting to the car, you would die laughing! (Hey, I needed a running start to get around a couple loops of parking deck - those ramps are steep!)

Anyway, I did finally make it back safely, but I did resolve to buy only what I can carry in one trip. (Or, I could make two trips I suppose, but you know how crazy Chris is about things spoiling and that means some things would have to sit in the car for extra long...)

Needless to say, on my very next grocery adventure, I obviously didn't know my limits of exactly how much I could carry. (Or it could be that I bought a few extra things simply because I was enthralled by my first grocery expedition in a Whole Foods store! - which by the way, was all the rage right before we left Peoria - Has the rumor been broken? Is a Whole Foods moving into the old Cohen's at Sheridan Village or not?) I did succeed in making it in one trip - although it involved a purse over one shoulder, a flexible cooler over the other shoulder, one Chico (reusable) bag in the crook of each elbow, and a teeming paper bag in front carried with both hands. (Another hilarious sight for you to imagine - sorry there's no picture for that!)

And so - that's grocery shopping in downtown Winston-Salem for me. Who knew something as simple and habitual as grocery shopping could be so darn entertaining!

Road Trip Part 2

2008-07-08T14:43:00.007-05:00

Oh there’s more… so on Saturday morning, we went back to the State Park for a guided Carnivorous Plant Hike. Who knew that Venus flytraps are native only to an area that encompasses a 75 mile radius from Wilmington, NC? I must say, those little suckers are a lot smaller than you expect them to be! (As the guide said, “It’s definitely no Little Shop of Horrors”). In addition to the Venus flytrap, we also got to see bladderworts, sundews, and pitcher plants. (If you zoom in on the page, I drew four white circles around the Venus flytrap mouths in this picture. {For those who don't know how to zoom, click on the "Page" button in the upper right corner and you should see the zoom options}).

After the guided trek, we decided to venture out on our own to Sugarloaf, a monstrous sand dune with great history and geological significance. Let me be the first to tell you that hiking in North Carolina is definitely not like any hiking or forest like experience you’ve ever had in the Midwest. A few things to note:

1. The only things that climb these trees are lizards – no fluffy-tailed squirrels in sight.

2. The trails themselves are sand, not dirt. Have you ever tried hiking three miles in sand? It’s more difficult than you might imagine – especially when most of it ends up inside your shoes!

3. The pinecones in this place are huge! I kept wishing they were pineapples instead of pinecones…

4. Slightly dorky to note, (but interesting for a person who teaches a unit on plants), the deciduous trees in the forest either have a waxy coat of the leaves, or the leaves grow perpendicular to the ground in order to decrease the amount of surface area facing the sun. It might be hard to see, but the turkey oak fans its leaves out like this so that the sun doesn’t dry up all of its stored water.

On Sunday morning, we got up at five to go watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. We were planning on riding our bikes over the bridge to Carolina Beach, but then we realized it was thundering - which turned out quite well for me since I had been having horrific nightmares about riding my bike over a copperhead on a dark road, thanks to an interesting lady who felt it necessary to tell us about all of the snakes she had seen in our campsite. (I say interesting because she also told us about this stray cat that she somehow trapped earlier in the week because it had the neck of a broken pickle jar caught around its neck. Apparently she saved the feline's life - but she definitely was the catalyst for my nightmares!)

Anyway, the most unfortunate part of the story, as you might have guessed by now, is that due to the passing storm, and hence great cloud cover, there was no sunrise to be seen. Sadly, then, this is my best "sunrise" picture.

However, we did find the silver lining of the (many) clouds. Since we had the truck instead of our bikes, we decided to travel farther south to Fort Fisher, which we learned was the last Confederate stronghold in the South. While there, we were able to check out many of the outdoor displays that contained battleship pieces retrieved from the nearby waters. Most impressive were the anchors - they were absolutely monstrous!

We finished up our time at Carolina Beach with breakfast at Kate's Pancake House. Scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms for me; the "Big Breakfast" (pancakes, waffles, French toast, two poached eggs, and turkey sausage) for Chris. Satiated and armed with the energy to take down the tent, we gathered our things and returned to Winston-Salem (this time in less than four hours), very pleased with our first NC road trip experience.

Fourth of July Road Trip

2008-07-07T20:28:00.003-05:00

Since the freshman Wake Forest athletes are moving in this weekend and Chris will be working pretty much non-stop until the end of the spring sports seasons, we decided to take a road trip to the beach for the Fourth of July weekend. Chris was finished by noon on Thursday, so we packed up our camping gear and drove to Wilmington, NC, which is about four hours southeast of here. Our initial plan was to stay at the Carolina Beach State Park.

However, they do not take reservations for their 83 campsites; it is only on a first-come/first-serve basis. Due to a couple of traffic jams resulting from some car accidents on the way, we did not get the park until 7:30 – and needless to say, there were no campsites available. Or should I say there were no green tags identifying available campsites. There were over 15 sites not used because (we assume) some people were paying for sites to save them for friends who were coming later in the weekend.

We ended up at Carolina Beach Family Kampground (any place that spells things wrong for no apparent reason is suspect to me anyway…), but it ended up working out fine. Other than tent locations being less than 10 feet away from your neighbor and having to sleep directly behind the garbage dump, it actually worked out pretty well. (White rectangle = campwide dumpster).

The biggest advantage was that we were able to build a small campfire for cooking purposes only at this site; whereas the state park was prohibiting the use of ANY fires not in a covered grill due to the drought-related fire hazard. I was skeptical that our miniature twig and stone cook-stove would actually cook anything, but we survived the weekend without any illnesses.

We went to the beach on both Friday and Saturday (and unfortunately have the sunburns to prove it – despite using nearly an entire bottle of sunscreen!). The waves were as large as we have ever seen them, and we had hours of fun wave-jumping, body-surfing, and just overall hanging out at the beach.

We saw the Carolina Beach fireworks from a distance on the third, and then drove into Wilmington for what is billed as the largest firework show in North Carolina on the Fourth. We had been using our bikes to toodle all around the state park, so we decided to use them to beat the crowds for the fireworks as well. (And therefore, we were wearing our bike helmets for an appropriate and necessary use - as opposed to extreme packing...)

In true Mike Miles fashion, we parked at a stop sign where we needed to make one right turn to get us back on the main road back to camp. Then, we rode our bikes down to a park on the riverfront where we had prime blanket space for watching amazing fireworks blast from an old battleship, the USS North Carolina. It was amazing – phenomenal fireworks and zero wait time due to traffic at the end! A practically perfect Fourth of July!
(To be continued...)

The Skies of Winston-Salem

2008-07-07T20:09:00.006-05:00

What is that up there in the sky? (Nothing more than a plane, but we all seemed inclined to need to look at it…Which, speaking of planes, I’d like to take this moment to remind y’all (sorry - that’s about all I can do with my typing language to show I’m now southern…) that the airport you will probably want to fly into when you come to visit is called PTI (Piedmont Triad International) located in Greensboro. hint, hint.) Anyway… We found out there are a lot of interesting things to see from up above.

Our favorite of the skyscrapers along the horizon would definitely have to be the Winston Tower building – in honor of our brother-in-law, Greg Winston. (Aren’t photography tricks fun? I remember learning about those back in my 4-H days…)

I’m sure the novelty will wear off eventually, but for us country folk, the view of the city from our windows is quite entertaining. People’s parallel parking endeavors, city workers (or lawbreakers serving their time?) picking up trash on Saturday nights, and of course, the emergency vehicles storming off to calls complete with ear-splitting sirens!

While hanging out the windows the first two nights, we were also treated to some pretty remarkable rainbows. On the second night, we were able to see complete double rainbows in the most vivid colors ever! It looked like the main rainbow dropped right into Old Salem, the historic part of town where we had spent the day exploring with our parents. Although it did rain on the third night as well, we were slightly disappointed that rainbow-watching was not an every night occurrence like it seemed it might be.

The Move

2008-07-02T14:11:00.008-05:00

As a person who can be described as Type A, you can imagine how crazy the packing process made me. (Yes – those are Chris’ dresser drawers, as is, shoved in the back of his truck.)

At least my husband knows how to lessen the stress with a little humor. He calls this “Extreme Packing – packing so extreme, you have to wear a helmet!”

Eventually, we got all of our things into either my car, Chris’ truck, Mike’s truck, or the shiny trailer. Add to that my parents’ car (which we met up with in Champaign) and yes, we drove FOUR automobiles almost a thousand miles for the trip. Gas prices won’t stop us! (My apologies to the Earth’s environment...) We do have AMAZING parents, and we wouldn’t have survived the move without them all!

After getting all of the boxes and miscellaneous stuff into the 7th floor apartment (thank goodness for the invention of the wheel - shopping carts and wheelbarrows were lifesavers!), we decided to order in some pizza, which is very easy to do since our apartment building is connected to a Mellow Mushroom pizza joint. Incidentally, we had Quizno’s for lunch (which is also connected), and Jane was able to get coffee every morning from the Bruegger’s Bagels and Coffeeshop which is the third (and final) restaurant in the building as well. At this rate, I'll never have to cook!