Pictures from the City

As promised, here are the pictures from our epic NYC adventure! Photo credits belongs to MS, JL, and KB.

 

 

Times Square!

So Gorgeous - it made our long, hot walk enjoyable!

We were struggling to take a selfie on the High Line!

The city at night from the Hudson

Lady Liberty

Bikes in Central Park - before JL says I tried to kill her!

On the steps of the Met!

I don't know what we were talking about, but we were serious about it! (Dinner at Bryant Park Grille)

We entertained the people around us trying to get this selfie!

We just got our tickets!

Waiting on the show to start!

Welcome to New York

Last weekend, I had a work meeting in NYC, and since I had never been to the city before, I decided to go up early with a coworker/friend to explore the city!

We had a 6 am flight for the trip up to NY. When we booked our flights about two months in advance of the trip, 6 am sounded great! That meant an 8 am arrival and all day in the city!  Well, after the week we had leading up to the trip, we both greeted each other at the airport Thursday morning with a "what were we thinking!"  And of course, as with any time I have to fly for work, there was an issue with our flight.

After the entire plane boarded and was settled, the pilot came over the intercom to let us know there was a hydraulic leak on our plane, so we weren't going anywhere! After everyone piled off the plane, they came back out and said it was a bad leak and they were flying a part out to Greenville and it should arrive at 10:30.  Considering JL and I wanted to be already exploring NYC at that time, we decided to go ahead and get on another flight. We ended up leaving Greenville at 8:30, had a layover in Atlanta, and then landed in NY around 2.  (We found out while we were in Atlanta that our original flight got the plane part sooner than expected and left at 10:30 and arrived at 12:30. We found this out because our bags took that flight!)

Because of our late arrival, we were able to go ahead and check into our hotel on Park Avenue. After a quick refresh, JL and I met back downstairs for what we have now dubbed our Speedy Gonzalez tour of New York!

We left the hotel and walked the two blocks over to Grand Central Station - it was beautiful! Then, we headed over to Times Square. We saw some very interesting sites and the crowd was insane. This reaffirms my desire to never be in Times Square for New Years Eve. While we were there, we of course headed over to Broadway to see what shows where playing and to check ticket prices. From there, we then walked about 30 blocks over to a restaurant in Chelsea (the Cookshop - I highly recommend it!) to go meet a friend who lives in the city. Of those 30 blocks, about half were spent walking the High Line, which is an old railroad track that the city converted to a walking path/garden. That made the walk much more enjoyable!

After a delightful dinner with our friend MS, he surprised us by taking us over to Chelsea Piers for a night time sail to the Statue of Liberty! We could not have asked for better weather and the statue at night was breathtaking! Our sail was from 9 - 11 pm, and since being up at 3 am to catch our flight, JL and I were exhausted!

On Friday, we slept in a little bit and then met downstairs for breakfast. Another one of our coworkers had flown in late Thursday night, so she met us and we did some prep-work for our meeting on Saturday. Then, we headed our separate ways for the afternoon. JL and I headed over to Central Park and rented bikes to explore the park. We essentially rode the entire perimeter, stopping at various sites through the park, such as the Bird Lady Statue, and the castle! Then, we started walking back towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art (we biked past it on Museum mile), looking for a cab to take us the rest of the way. We finally found an empty one, but had to hop a caution/construction barrier to get to it in the street. The cabbie was very impressed with out hopping skills.

As we had a reception that night, we only had about an hour at the Met, so we walked in, grabbed a map, and planned our route down to the minute! They had three exhibits we wanted to see and we got to see all of them. One of the exhibits was Van Gogh: Irises and Roses. It was the first time that all four of those paintings had been united since his death. That exhibit ended the Sunday after we left, so we were very fortunate to see them! We also saw a special collection of paintings by John Sargent, and the final exhibit was China: Through the Looking Glass. That exhibit was very large and very unexpected. JL and I were not expecting what we saw, but were equally in awe. As there were many Asian tourists in that exhibit, I thought how interesting it must be to travel to a different country to see an exhibit on the history of your homeland and culture.  When we left the museum, JL and I were getting hungry (it was 3 o'clock and we still hadn't eaten lunch, even after our long bike ride) so we grabbed a hotdog off the street, or as the locals call it, "a Dirty Waterbird." It was delicious!

After heading back to the hotel and cleaning up, we then went to our reception for work. By now, the rest of our staff had arrived and our trainers were here too! It was a great time spent catching up. Then, the staff went to dinner at Pera, a Mediterranean restaurant. That was my first experience eating Mediterranean and it was delicious!

On Saturday, we had our meeting (see, I did go to NY for more than just tourist sites) all day long, from 7:30 - 5. It was a fascinating experience, as I don't get to participate in this aspect of the company very often.  After wrapping up for the day, the staff headed over to dinner at Bryant Park Grille. The great thing about our hotel location was that we were in walking distance of everything! (Which after all those good, big meals I needed to walk!) After dinner, around 11 pm, JL and I headed over to the Empire State Building. Again, the night air was perfect and the views amazing!

MS hold told us about "rush tickets" for Broadway, where you can go to the Box office at 10 am the day of the show and get discounted tickets. So Sunday morning, we got up, checked out of the hotel, and walked over to Broadway to see if any were available for Lion King. The box office was closed until 12 (or so the sign said), so JL and I instead went to see the Freedom Tower and World Trade Center memorials. It was such a humbling experience to be there, to think about what happened that day and reading the names of all who died. It was absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking all at once.

From there we decided to head back to Times Square/Broadway to check out the Box office again. When we got there, people were lined up inside to purchase tickets. JL and I had a price in mind that we were willing to pay, but when we got there, it was a bit more than what we wanted, but both agreed we would pay more to see Lion King on Broadway!  When we got to the ticket counter, the guy first showed us tickets up in the balcony. When we mentioned that we wouldn't mind sitting apart, he then found some discounted single tickets one row/seat apart in the Orchestra Level!!!!! We were so excited- literally the ticket guy chuckled at our reactions. And oh man, those seats were amazing- as everyone kept saying, there is no bad seat on Broadway!

We had about an hour before doors opened, so in keeping with our food of NY tour, we decided we needed some authentic NY pizza. We turned to our trusty advisor, Google, to search the best NYC pizza in Times Square and it took us over to John's pizzeria. We both agreed that it was great! We split a Margherita pizza and then headed back to the Minskoff Theatre to watch Lion King!

Oh man. I've seen musicals before, but never Lion King and never on Broadway. It. Was. Magical. Its been a long time since I've even seen the movie, so seeing it again in Musical form and seeing it as an adult with all the imagery of redemption - just beautiful. They had even updated the show to reflect modern times - instead of Zazu singing "It's a Small World" to annoy Scar, he instead sang "Let it Go." I think every parent in the theatre could relate to Scar's reaction of any song but that song!

After the show, JL and I headed back to Bryant Park to meet one of our coworkers for a drink before we had to head to the airport. While we were at the Lion King, we had started getting notices that our 8 pm flight home was delayed. First it was 30 minutes, then an hour, and at one point it didn't have us leaving NY until 10. I had previously warned everyone of my work travel flight woes, so everyone blamed me for our delays!  I had an early morning meeting with clients in NJ on Monday morning, so I kept saying that if our flight got delayed any later, I was going to rebook to a Monday night flight and take my meeting in NJ in person!  Luckily, our delay decreased and we finally left NY around 9 and got home a little after 11.

My first trip to NYC may have been a whirlwind trip, but you can't say I didn't make the most of it! I had made a list of everything I wanted to see/do before I left and even with a shortened day on Thursday, I still got it all done! Now, I can't wait for my next trip!

(Since I rambled so long, (but really, who can blame me since we did so much?) pictures will follow in a separate post!)

Streaking.

Don't worry I haven't been running around naked, just running!

Sometime in the month of June, I became very frustrated with myself. I used to love running, still called myself a runner, yet I couldn't tell you the last time I had gone for a run. I had gotten an email that registration for the Disney Princess Glass Slipper Challenge was opening up on July 14. (The Glass Slipper Challenge is the 10k on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday.) Some friends and I had all run the Princess Half Marathon before and had decided that we were going to do the Glass Slipper Challenge in 2016. After my last half in April that wasn't great, I realized that I needed to run, especially to be able to complete the Challenge.

Therefore, I challenged myself to run everyday in July. For thirty-one days straight, I ran outside in the heat in a hilly park near my house.  I ran in the rain, at 9 o'clock at night after getting back late from a day trip, and even left work a bit early some days so I could get my daily run in when I had evening commitments. I ran between 1 and 3 miles each day, bringing my total mileage for the month to 62 miles!  It was so rewarding to write that number down on my calendar on July 31!

 If you don't know, I live in South Carolina, where it tends to be a bit hot in July (there were a few days when I went out to run and the temperature gauge was in the 100's).  This played into why I was sticking to low mileage, as well as due to the fact that I hadn't run in so long! My goal was to build my endurance back up- which I did! In the beginning, I was mostly running 1-1.5 miles each day and that was miserable. I was hot, out of shape, and ending on a steep incline, all things that made for a poor re-introduction to running. By mid-month, I told myself I couldn't run less than a mile and a half, and I never felt that I needed to run that little again! Even on my "rough" days, I was able to meet my mileage goal.  I mostly ran 2-2.5 miles each day, and for the last 7 days, I ran 3 miles.  The last 5 days, I tracked my pace and time to see how it was going - I could see how I was getting faster, which was so encouraging! Don't let me fool you though, I'm still as slow as a turtle in peanut butter, but now faster than a snail in molasses. Progress, right?

It was hard, but fun as catalogued by my Twitter feed in July:

"Tonight's run-tertainment was a man playing a bagpipe in the park. Felt like a Scottish lass running up the grassy hills" - July 6

"A bad run is better than no run, right? At least the bagpipe man was back again"            - July 7

"Omg. I need to wait this late to run everyday. It felt AMAZING out there. #summernights"  - July 16

"My speed training: waiting to run before a storm and then sprinting when the lightning starts popping & i'm a mile away from the car. #yikes" - July 18

 "This bad boy was in my shoe. No wonder my feet felt weird! Today's lesson - check your shoe soles before you run!" - July 23  

By the end of the month, not only did I look forward to my run each day, but I craved it. It was a time to de-stress from my day, whether that was spent getting lost in the run and enjoying the day, or spending the entire time in prayer.


July may be over, but the streak is not! I still have a long way to go before I'm ready for the Glass Slipper Challenge in February, but I'm looking forward to every mile of it!

Into the Woods

This past Memorial Day weekend, I ventured into the woods with my dad. It was supposed to be a weekend camping/hiking trip, but just ended up being a hiking trip. 

Dad didn't arrive until after 5 on Friday night, and it was going to take us an hour and a half to get to Burrells Ford to go set up the tent. We weren't even sure if there would be any spots, so we decided to try the local/closer areas first. We went to Paris Mountain first, saw there wasn't any camping spots left, then decided to head over to another park. As we were driving away, we started discussing our options. We didn't have a reservation anywhere, most places I had checked were full, and by the time we got to Burrells Ford, it would be close to 7 and we still weren't sure if they had any open camp spots. So, we decided we wouldn't camp and would just go back to Paris Mountain to go hiking instead since neither of us had ever been to Paris Mountain. As a Greenville resident, I felt it was past time I went there!

Dad and I returned to Paris Mountain State Park and hiked the Mountain Creek Trail and part of the Sulphur Springs Trail. According to my GPS watch, we ended up hiking a total of 4.5 miles. Even though we ended up not camping, we still ate our planned camping dinner of hot dogs!

On Saturday we had a late start to the day and headed over to Jones Gap. We got there right about 10:15 am and there was a line of about 4 or 5 cars in front of us. The park ranger came up to our car and said it was a "one car in, one car out" rule as the parking lot was full already due to the holiday weekend. He said it would only be a 30-45 minute wait, so we thought why not.  Neither Dad nor I had ever done Jones Gap before and we wanted to try it out. While waiting, we looked over the map and planned our day. We waited and waited, while 2 cars in front of us gave up and left. After 30 minutes, a car came out and the car in front of us got to go in. We waited some more and still no cars. Then, a car came out, but it was only a tease as it was a camper and not a hiker. At the 45 minute mark, Dad left to go to the restroom and we decided that once he came out we were going to leave.  After he returned and we talked to the ranger for awhile, we had been there almost 1 hour and 15 minutes and still no sign of another car leaving. We asked the ranger about other options near here where parking wouldn't be a issue, and he recommended Trail #23 of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area - The Mountain Bridge Passage Trail. It was off a side road about 5 minutes away from where we were. As the ranger explained how to get there, one more car came out but was a camper again, so that sealed the deal for us. On to our next location! 

The Mountain Bridge Passage Trail is considered to be one of the "very strenuous" trails as it is a one-way 4 mile trail that heads up Campbell Mountain. It is a newer trail to the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area and is actually part of the Ashmore Heritage Preserve/Wildlife management area run by the SC DNR. Once we made it to the top, we then headed back down to do the loop around Wattacoo Pond. The full pond loop was 1.46 miles, but we couldn't quite figure it out and went back out the way we came so only did about 1 mile. And just like any trip into the woods with my dad, I learned something - how to identify Yellow Poplar trees by their leaves and flowers. We also spotted a gorgeous Scarlet Tanager (bird) and a Mountain Pitcher plant. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear picture of the bird, but it was absolutely gorgeous. In all, we did about 9 miles on Saturday.

We learned our lesson on Saturday, so were up early and arrived at Jones Gap by 8:30 on Sunday morning. We were the second people in the parking lot and feeling good. We were a bit sore from yesterday, so we decided to take it fairly easy on Sunday before Dad left to go home. We hiked into Jones Gap and then up to Rainbow Falls. We stopped for a snack and photos at Rainbow Falls and then headed back down to the Jones Gap trail. Back at the trail, we decided we would head up to Jones Gap Falls and then call it a day.  We were the only ones at Jones Gap Falls, so we took some more pictures and then ate lunch.

All in all, it was a great weekend to be in the woods!

Some falls along the Mountain Wilderness Passage Trail

The Mountain Pitcher Plant

The Yellow Poplar Leaf

 

Selfie at Rainbow Falls

Jones Gap Falls

Dad was fascinated by this tree along the Jones Gap Trail.

 

My Call to Serve

On the first Sunday night in May, at the last "official" Forge of the year, I told my 10th grade girls that I would not be their leader next year. It was a very bittersweet night for me as I have grown to love these girls and my co-leaders tremendously and will miss having them in my life on a regular basis.

It was not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it was a year-long decision making process. I had started a new job the May prior to coming to lead Forge and I had already been serving in the Special Needs ministry at that time as a shadow and assistant coach. I started traveling for my job quite a bit and had an evolving role in the special needs ministry, which lead to a lot going on in my life.

Being a Forge leader is so much more than just showing up on Sunday nights. Its being in constant prayer for the kids, connecting with them, spending time with them in one-on-one or small group settings outside of our regular meetings and being there whenever they need you. With being gone several Sundays for work travel and then a lot of the times I was there, I was so exhausted that I wasn't there mentally, it was hard to be the Forge leader I wanted to be and the girls needed me to be.

As a single-not married-no kids individual, I have built a mentality around/for myself that because I don't have those commitments, I should take up any call to serve. "What's my reason to say no? Nothing."  is a question I asked myself far too often.  It's hard for me to say no because I want to be able to do it all for others, but at the same time I do it at a cost to myself without even realizing it.

From the end of the earth I will cry to you. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I - Psalm 61:2

For the last year I prayed about what to do. I talked to my community group, the Forge women's leader, the special needs ministry leader and others trying to seek out knowledge and to let them know I was struggling. I was tired, stressed, and over-committed. It took awhile for me to realize that rest is just as essential as serving when it comes to my relationship with Christ.

During this entire time, I was wrestling with the thoughts of "Do I just need to step away from one ministry? Or, do I need to take a break completely from serving?"  I didn't want to step away completely from serving, but I knew I needed more rest in my life in order for me to continue to grow in Christ. Through many weeks of prayer and direct conversations, it became evident to me what I needed to do.  I've always had a passion for the Special Needs ministry (it is part of the reason I ended up at my church- read about it here) and through prayer and discussion, I was shown not only what my gifts are, but how well they are suited and used in that ministry.  With Forge, I wasn't able to fully commit and give the girls all they needed as a leader. I could be there on Sunday nights and speak truth to them, but they needed more than that from me. With those revelations, the decision to step away from Forge was how I felt called. And when I acknowledged that call, I felt the weigh being lifted off of me.

I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears - Psalm 34:4

This last year, while difficult, was a good year for me. I spent a lot of time in self-reflection and really seeking out the Lord. I learned its ok to have to step back, and that was something I wanted to make sure to impart on my girls as well that Sunday night when I told them goodbye. I also told them that I would still love them, be praying for them and checking in on them. (I think they're all a bit terrified that I will show up when one of them is out on a date and have some questions for their fellas).

Even though telling them goodbye was done with a heavy heart, I left that night with a lighter heart knowing I was seeking rest and still following God's call to serve.

Rainy Runs and Red Wax

Last Friday I hopped on a plane and flew to Louisville, KY so I could run in the Derby mini-Marathon on Saturday, April 25 with KQ. 

I got in over an hour later than expected due to a flight delay, but we finally made it over to the Convention Center to pick up our race packets. Leading up to the weekend, I was definitely on weather watch as my weather app was calling for rain and storms on Saturday. Right after I landed, I received an email from the race directors talking about how they were in contact with the National Weather Service, and some tips for running in the rain such as hats, body glide, and non-cotton socks.  It seemed everyone took that email to heart because as we were walking through the vendor sections of the expo almost everything was gone! Luckily KQ and I are diehard Balega sock wearers and they are non-cotton so at least we were set on that aspect!

The (DRY) pre-race shot.
Note all the layers!

After grabbing a dinner full of carbs, we called it a night early and headed to bed.  Saturday morning dawned cold and gloomy, but not rainy (yet).  After a lengthy debate about what to wear (rain gear, long-sleeve, short-sleeve, shorts, capris), we finally headed down to the race course. The rain held off until the starting gun. It started out as a steady sprinkle, then a mist, and then finally starting to come down hard while I was running through Churchill downs (around mile 8).  It was a cold, heavy rain and at one point I was running with my hands hooded over my eyes so that I could see. After the race, KQ and I realized we had never really run a race in the rain before, or at least not rain like this. One cool thing that happened was when I was running in Churchill Downs and heading under the track, a horse and rider rode over where I was running! That was really fun to see as I was going along! Between the rain and still being tired from the last weekend, I wasn't as mentally and physically prepared as I would have liked to have been for the race. In my mind, I thought I was running a full 20 minutes behind (yikes!) what I expected to run. Turns out I was only 1 second behind, compared to last year's time. All things considered, I'll take it!

Cold and wet post-race metal shots! I could not
figure out how to work the heat wrap thing!

After the race we went and got our traditional celebratory Chick-fil-a, then went home to shower and get warm! We had plans to go to Churchill Downs that night, but we ended up napping and then it hailed, so that didn't happen.  Instead we ordered Chinese and watched Prefontaine, the movie about the runner Steve Prefontaine. 

We woke up on Sunday morning to a gorgeous Kentucky day. It really was picture perfect- KQ and I kept saying we wish the weather was like that on Saturday!  First we headed to church and then made another stop on the Bourbon Trail - the Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky. 

We had an awesome tour guide and it was a very educational and interactive tour! I got to stick my finger in a giant vat of yeast/fermenting alcohol (as if the texture wasn't gross enough, the taste wasn't great either) and then we had a fun taste test at the end!

The far left glass was the "knock you out" white and
the far right was a special blend only available at the distillery!

KQ making her 'concentrating scientist' face as she
dipped her bourbon in the signature red wax!

Maker's Mark is known for it's signature red wax over the top of the bottle, and you can dip it at the store at the end of the tour! KQ got a bottle and was able to dip the wax on her own bottle! 

Proudly displaying her handiwork!

Just a glimpse of the gorgeous day we had
in the rolling hills of Kentucky!

I left Sunday night around 7:30 and didn't get home until Midnight, but it totally was worth it! That was such a fun-filled weekend and I'm glad its becoming an annual thing!

Evening of HOPE 2015

Two weekends ago on Sunday, April 19, I was able to be a part of the Project Hope Foundation's Evening of HOPE! 

The Project Hope Foundation is near and dear to my heart as I used to work there, and I am still involved with the special needs community it serves. What Hope does for the autism community is astounding, and I am humbled to serve alongside the team for the Evening of HOPE.

I served as this year's Hotel Chair, which means I oversaw everything at the hotel where the event was held- this includes setup logistics and coordinating between the auction, decor,  and dinner committees. We were at a new location (The Hyatt Regency in Downtown Greenville) and expecting our largest attendance to date! We knew going into the night that it would be special, but we just didn't know how special. 

The theme for the night was Super Heroes, and the night was super indeed! I could say more, but I think the video below says it all!

Mark your calendars and you too can be a part of this amazing night next year on 

April 16, 2016!

For more information about the Project Hope Foundation check out its website - www.projecthopesc.org 

Reeds, Rivers, Runs, and Rocks!

  Last weekend my family came up to Greenville for a short visit. The original plan was for my parents to drop off Jacob and go off for the weekend for their 30th anniversary, but due to some last minute changes, they ended up staying with us and all leaving on Saturday night. So, instead we got some good family time in.

On Friday night, we went downtown to pick-up our race packets and then ate dinner at Antonino Bertolo's. Mom, Jacob, and I split a pizza and dad got the ravioli. It was quite delicious! None of us had been there before so it was a good experience for all!

Then, on Saturday, Jacob and I ran the Reedy River 10k in downtown Greenville. It was a blast and it felt good to be (slowly) running that type of distance again! Jacob, the sweet brother that he is, ran slow with me the entire time. And since we were going sooo slow, he had to entertain himself while running. This involved a lot of talking, doing basketball drills when we ran past cones, and jumping over poles. It was 6.2 miles of entertainment to say the least! After the run, we went and had brunch at Waffle House. It's starting to become our Saturday morning tradition when the whole family is together in Greenville.

After a quick clothing change, we headed up to Pretty Place, the chapel at YMCA's Camp Greenville. That was a first-time experience for all of us as well. It truly lives up to its name! Jacob had quite a bit of fun, since he pretended to kick dad off the mountain. He then tweeted a picture of attempting to kick dad, saying 20 retweets and he'd do it. Lucky for dad, he only got 12 retweets. (Although, dad did enjoy confronting all the youth at church on Sunday about trying to get rid of him!)

On the way back home, we decided to catch one more scenic view and stopped by Bald Rock for a bit. Jacob mentioned hearing some water, and mom found the cute little stream.

We packed a lot into one Saturday, but it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside and enjoy time together as a family!

Pre-race hug to keep warm

Almost to the finish line

  

 

Pretty Place

 

Mom and Dad - 30 years together!

The pretend kick that started it all...

Dad getting his revenge

Bald Rock

Jacob's stream

  

Galentine's Day

Yesterday I got to participate in my first Galentine's Day with my friend MM!

What is Galentine's Day you ask? I'll just let my friend Leslie Knope explain:

So MM and I went to dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown Greenville and then went to a Greenville Road Warriors Hockey game! I had never been to Tupelo Honey before and was super excited about trying it out. Unfortunately, it was the night before Valentine's day so the restaurant was a bit crazy, but we were able to eat in the back by the bar. Still good, though!

The biscuits were so good we ate them too fast to get a picture, so instead I got a picture of the honey!

Afterwards, we went to the hockey game! It was 'Stick it to Cancer' night so it was even better because everything supported a great cause! They even passed out glowsticks to be activated during a special moment although the whole arena chuckled because most of them had already done it!

ROWDY!

We are so excited about the hockey game! (We even got photobombed by "Crazy Uncle Perry" as he called himself)

We love hockey and Galentines Day!