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!

That's a Nice Boulder

Last Saturday my friend AM and I went bouldering at an Indoor Climbing Gym called the Mountain Goat (its got a really cool mission - you should check it out here, after you finish reading this post of course!). Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is done when you don't use ropes or harnesses.

I haven't been climbing in forever so I was super excited to go!  A and I had been trying to go for a while now so I was pumped we were finally able to make it happen. 

Luckily, A has a roommate who is a frequent climber so she had climbing shoes and chalk that we were able to borrow.  After a few practice climbs, we pretty much stuck to one wall with multiple routes on it. I was finally able to conquer the route I had been working on, but of course A had gone to the bathroom and didn't see it! There was one witness to my feat, but he wasn't nearly as excited as I was about it.

After about an hour and a half of climbing, A and I decided to call it a day. We may have left with tingly fingers and bruises on our legs (ok, just me), but we definitely had fun! Can't wait to go back again!

Mary had a little BAM!

This past weekend, our church held the youth Dodgeball Tournament to raise funds for youth summer mission trips.

My co- leader and I played with four of the girls in our small group. Two of the girls had played last year, while the rest of us were all new this year. But we weren't going to let a mostly new team keep us from winning! DC and I knew we could win - we even had strategies to win:

Post-Tourname smiles!

• Strategy #1: Only attempt to catch the ball if you are absolutely sure you can catch it.

• Strategy #2:  If possible, take out their strongest player first

• Strategy #3: Pray for DC and KB to be kind and have good, humble attitudes (DC and KB are a bit competitive - we really wanted to win)

• Strategy #4: Three people will run for the balls at the whistle and bat their assigned balls back to the rest of the team

• Strategy #5: Throw at the opposing team's feet. Its harder to catch that way.

• Strategy #6: One person just needs to be a body - stay in and only dodge balls because if time runs out, the team with the most people still on the court wins (We lost that way once. Never again!)

We walked away from the night 2 - 2, but still had a blast. Besides, we know (in our hearts) that we won for best team name, which was "Mary had a Little BAM!"

Pregame Smiles- right before we went and scoped out the competition!

Serious (Dodge) Ballers

  

 Our Awesome Shirts!

Hand- Drawn by MS and her mom

The Detour

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to IKEA in Charlotte on my way to Louisville. Now, many of you road-wise people may be going, "Wait a minute. Charlotte isn't on the way to Louisville!" Yep. It's not. I know that now. So let me paint the picture of how this came to be....

I had been wanting to go to IKEA for a while now, just hadn't had any reasons other than that to go to Atlanta or Charlotte (the closest locations). My departure time for Louisville had changed several times throughout the week and then Thursday night I got the great idea to just leave at my original time (early), hit up an IKEA, and still arrive at the agreed upon time.  Brilliant, right?

So Friday morning dawns bright and cold and I text my friend and ask if there's an IKEA in Louisville. She said no, but you pass one in Charlotte. Now, let me stop here and explain why I took her word right away.  My friend's parents live in this area and she came here at least 1-2 times a month during football season the last two years, so I assumed she knew this drive pretty well. I mean why would I question her, right?

So, I finish loading Roxie (my car), plug IKEA in Charlotte into my GPS and hit the road. So as I'm driving by myself, I had a list of people to call, one being my grandmother - Mema, as she had had surgery a few days before. Now growing up, I had taken many roadtrips with Mema and Papa, including several to Louisville while my uncle was in seminary there. Mema still knows the way, very well actually.  So as I mention that I'm on my way to Charlotte, she says several times "I don't think that's on the way to Louisville." Now me, being bullheaded, said "Yeah it is. It's just a different way to go"...getting quieter every time I said it as the doubt was now starting to sink in, that maybe, just maybe Charlotte is not on the way to Louisville. 

So I finally get to IKEA, get in and out in 30 minutes (Amazing, right? Especially considering it was my first time ever going to IKEA), and then hop back into the car. I contemplate swinging by Nordstrom to make a return, but see its about 30 minutes away so nix that idea. Then I plug my friend's address into my GPS and realize my trip to Louisville, which should have taken 6 hours and 15 minutes, is now going to take me 7 hours and 20 minutes, on top of the hour and a half I had already driven to Charlotte. At this point I just heave a heavy sigh and then chuckle at myself. In my friend's defense, I texted her early in the morning while she was multitasking.  In my defense, I should've checked the map first.  Oh well, I was happy I finally went to IKEA and got everything I was looking for! And, I got to travel across the entire state of NC, which was pretty to look at while I drove on through!

And what was I looking for on this grand adventure to IKEA? I'm glad you asked!

One of the things I was looking for was a rod to hold tins that would hold plants. (see picture below - that makes it a bit easier to understand!) My old roommate had one that we hung coffee mugs on, but since I don't drink coffee that wasn't very appealing to me. Lately, I've been using a lot of herbs and thought it would be cool to get one of those hanging things to hold herbs, so ta da! Right now, I have basil and mint in my tins!

I also got a hand towel holder because the way my bathroom is setup, there is a wall between the sink and the hand towels in my bathroom. I'd been wanting to get a holder for this wall for quite some time, so was excited for this too!

Ikea may have been out of the way, but I'm glad I went, because every good road trip needs a good story!