Walk for Diabetes

I posted earlier about the upcoming Walk for Diabetes that my family was participating in with my nephew who has Type 1 but I hadn't posted pictures from the actual walk. It was really fun and I want to thank all my friends who donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It was a beautiful day for walking in Jacobson Park. A lot of people brought their dogs and I always think it's interesting to see how Deuce interacts with them. Since my entire family was there I was more into walking and talking at the same time. Chan, however, was on a mission. As soon as the walk began he was in high gear and stayed there for the entire walk. He was way out ahead of our group. I walked with him for a while but finally gave up and dropped back with my sisters. He did finish at the front of the pack. Only Carson finished ahead of him and that's because Carson ran the 5k, crossed the finish line, and then came back to walk it with those of us who hadn't finished yet. Here are some pics from the day.

Running for Beginners

So, I've decided to make another attempt to get in shape. Everyone has inspired me with their 5k's, 10k's, and marathons so I've decided to try running. I'm not saying I'm going to be great at it or if it's something I'll even enjoy at all but I'll give it a try. I've printed off a training course that will help me build up my stamina to run a 5k in 8 weeks. It goes pretty slow which is what I need. My father-in-law said that I should make a bet with him for $500 that I will meet my goal that way I will stay motivated. Seriously, this is how bad I am at staying in a fitness routine. I've joined my local gym, had a Curves membership, bought an exercise bike, numerous workout videos, kickboxing, another gym membership. All this stretched out over time but still, how ridiculous is it that I always find a reason not to keep pushing on.

My friend, Lyndsey, even told me that when people run on a schedule for a long time their body begins to crave running. Will I ever get to this point? Probably not. I think this feeling is reserved for the cross country athletes I see running around EKU's campus.

My motivation so far is the new pair of tennis shoes I just ordered because of course you have to have brand new shoes to run in, right? That's what I think anyway. Not to say I didn't need them. The rubber sole has become detached from my current tennis shoes. The last time I was at the gym I could feel it flapping on the bottom of my shoe (definitely annoying). We'll see how it goes. Chan has already determined that I will decide the weather has gotten too cold when my shoes come in. I may just have to prove him wrong.... Wish me luck!

Walk for Diabetes - September 20th

Saturday, September 20th my family is participating in the Walk for Diabetes at Jacobson Park in Lexington. This will be our 2nd year and it's a great event. My nephew, Carson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the spring of '07. I didn't know much about diabetes before then. If your not familiar with type 1, it's also known as juvenile diabetes and occurs suddenly in children. Carson was 10 yrs old when he was diagnosed. It's been really hard for all of us to learn how to care for him. He can pretty much do everything on his own. He's checks his blood sugar and gives his own insulin injections througout the day. It's heartbreaking to watch him manage this day in and day out. His childhood is no longer carefree and everything has to be carefully considered (how much exercise he has in a day, food that must be weighed and measured, insulin units calculated, correction factors determined, etc.) My sister could probably tell you the carb count for any food you might ever eat.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is making tremendous progress in developing better solutions for managing this disease. If you would like to make a donation to support our team "Carson's Crew" please click on the link to the right. We really appreciate your support!!!

The ABCs Meme:
A- Attached or Single? Attached
B- Best Friend: my hubby, my sisters, and a few old friends that have been around for a long, long time
C- Cake or Pie: Pie
D- Drink of Choice: anything not diet
E- Essential Items: good book, phone, and chapstick
F- Favorite Color: I've really branched out lately and I'm starting to add a little more color here and there. I've always liked blue and green though.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummi bears if I have to choose but I really like Sour Patch Kids
H- Hometown: Irvine
I- Indulgence: ice cream (my all time favorite) and my daily recording of the young and the restless. I never thought I would watch a soap but it's really good and now I watch my daily episode in the evening after work..... so relaxing...
J- January or February: February, definitely. It has Valentine's Day and Groundhog's Day. The only thing January has is a lot of Christmas clean up.
K- Kids: Love them! Huge imaginations and limitless energy. Very entertaining.
L- Life, for me, is better now than ever. Chan and I have been very blessed and am at a point in my life where I really feel content.
M- Marriage Date: 4:30:05
N- Number of Siblings: 2 sisters that I love more than anything. I have a connection with them like no one else. We can say one word and all bust out laughing. Sometimes I feel like we can read each other's minds.
O- Oranges or Apples? Both. Oranges are really good but apples are less work and they don't sting if you have a cut on your finger. So, I guess I'll choose apples.
P- Phobia/Fears: HEIGHTS! Terrified of heights to the point that I freeze and can't move.
Q- Favorite Quote: "Judge not lest ye be judged."-Matthew 7:1
R- Reasons to smile: Chan, friends, my sisters, my parents, nephews, my dog, my job....It probably would have been easier to anwer the question reasons not to smile. I'm feeling pretty good these days.
S- Season: Summer - besides my birthday in June, everyone comes out of their houses in summer and hangs out together for bbq's, lake trips, and outdoor fun.
T- Tag Ten: Tisha, Christy, Julie (if she had a blog page). Angie's already done this and I don't think anyone else reads my blog so that's it.
U- Unknown fact about me: I try to avoid stepping on cracks in sidewalks when I walk and if I'm really bored I count things that are around me. Really weird so I usually don't tell anyone.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I'm a meat-eater. Oppressor of animals???? Who made this questionnaire???
W- Worst Habit: not sticking to my chore list. I'm not the best house keeper.
X- X-rays or Ultrasounds? No opinion
Y- Your Favorite Foods: pasta, salad, seafood, salmon patties, corn on the cob, lemons, tomatoes, and cucumbers
Z- Zodiac: Cancer

Hiking is actually fun.....

Don't get me wrong I love being outdoors and love to explore and take in the scenery but I'm not one of the hard core "hikers" that live in Berea, Ky (and there are a lot of them). This week my co worker Sarah from our New Orleans office has been staying in Berea for training. She lives in downtown New Orleans and was excited to be in a small town but also a little bored. I found out that she's interested in hiking, kayaking, etc. So, I was talked into joining her and another guy from work for a hike up on the Pinacles. It turned out to be pretty fun and we just took our time and had an enjoyable walk. The view was nice and the weather was perfect. I think I'll probably go back again. Although I hadn't packed my granola and trail mix like the others I still managed to get by in our short 2 hour walk. Here are some pics on the East Pinacle.

Visiting friends......

It's been a long time since I've posted but it's summer and the days go by too fast. Saturday I met Julie and her mom in Richmond. She'll be around a lot more these days thanks to wedding planning. It may get hectic for her but I'm glad I'll get to see her more often. We had lunch and shopped for a while waiting for Heather Rader's little girl to wake up from her nap. I had a great time visiting little Beckley and can't wait to watch her grow up. She's going to be a heartbreaker and Heather's such a natural at everything. It's amazing how parents adapt so quickly. Even John was filling Julie in on the food introduction steps. He had it down pat as well. Both Heather and John seemed so content with their little family of three and I couldn't be happier for them.

Swingtown.....Two Thumbs Down

I didn't plan on watching this tv show but I was up and it came on the station I was watching. I wasn't paying that much attention but I like shows that are about the 70's. Now it's over and I'm sitting her thinking I could have gone forever without seeing this show. It's one of those things that leaves you feeling disgusted. For those of you who haven't seen this show advertised, it's about a few families living in the suburbs during the 70's. A family moves into a new neighborhood and the couple ends up being "swingers" with the couple across the street. This couple has children and seems to be happily married aside from the fact that they start sleeping with their neighbor's spouses. It just doesn't give you the warm-fuzzies when the episode ends.

The "old" neighbors of this couple disapproved of the behavior they saw and their characters were portrayed as prudish and cold.

What happened to tv shows with happy endings or shows that ended with a good moral to the story??? This show ended with the "happy" couple looking more in love than ever and a little excited about their recent frolic with their new friends. Really???

I've never been one to rant and rave that television is causing the downfall of human decency but this show really doesn't send a good message. The message I got from this show was that drugs are something that everyone does, infidelity will strengthen the bond with your spouse, and if your not into all of this then your quite the fuddy-dud. This show came on at 10pm on CBS and I'm positive that I'd be outraged if either of my nephews ever saw an episode. There was cocaine, marijuana, pills, the implication of quite a few menage a trois', and even more unethical actions that should be reserved for HBO ,Skinemax,..... or at least basic cable channels.

If anyone missed this episode do yourself a favor and miss it from now on. For now, I think I'll stick to watching The Office re-runs. Now that's a funny show.

Memorial Day Reunion

Every year my family has a reunion on Memorial Day. The reunion is held on the farm where my whole family lives. For those of you who haven't been to my parent's house, my grandparents, parents, and two uncles all live on the same farm with one driveway off the main road that stems off into individual driveways. It was great growing up so close to everyone, especially when we all gathered at my mamaw's for dinner every Sunday or any other day. She's always prepared to cook for 20 even if it's just her and my papaw. LOL.

Anyway, we had the reunion this past weekend and the weather was great. There were about 150 people there this year which is quite a bit less than past years. We guessed that gas prices kept some of the out of state guests from making the trip.

I've added some pictures from the reunion. No matter how it starts, it always ends with people playing around in the jeeps and getting muddy. It was a fun weekend.

Clematis...one of my favorite flowers

Despair.com

Okay, this is my 2nd blog in the hour but this website cracks me up. Since I just wrote about Leadership Madison County below I'll tell you that at our last meeting our speaker had some slides that I thought were funny. I noticed despair.com was printed in the corner so I jotted it down so I could look at it when I got home and it's full of these funny non motivational pictures and sayings.

They resemble the motiviational pictures you will see on almost every desk in America except they are "de-motivators". I'll post some of my favorites but you should check out the website.

My husband thinks I'm a moron... I'll bust out with laughter and he'll just look at me and say, "This isn't funny, Alissa". But for those of you who do have the same sense of humor I do you may like these....

http://despair.com/viewall.html

Leadership Madison County

If you haven't heard of Leadership Madison County, it is a class given by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. The class consists of 17-19 people from with different career backgrounds in Madison Co. The class meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month for 9 months. Each month has a topic (Education, Human Services, Agriculture, Local Government, Health, etc.) and we visit different sites in Madison Co. that relate to the topic. It's a great way to learn about your community and find ways to get involved. I'm not originally from Madison County so I learned a tremendous amount but even the people that grew up here admitted that there were a lot of things going on that they never knew about. Anyone reading this should try to get involved with their local Chamber of Commerce if they plan on settling down there. I learned so much about what's going on and what plans are in the works for the future. We had our "graduation" luncheon on Friday afternoon and a cookout later at one of my classmate's house. I feel a little sad that I won't be seeing my new friends each month but I think we'll all try to get together in the future. My friend Lyndsey and I plan on having lunch each week. We actually work just down the street from each other. Here are some pics I took at the beginning of our class.

Everyone should get involved in their community. I met a lot of great people and plan on getting even more involved. We should all be concerned with what's going on in the place we call home.

I've been tagged

Tagged by Angie
maybe i should...... stop stressing over my job.
i love the smell of...... laundry, basements, and soap
people would say that i over analyze things.
i don’t understand...... why some people don't like to read.
when i wake up in the morning....... I like to watch the news but I don't always have time.
i lost my willpower.... everytime I tried to do Weight Watchers.
life is.... WONDERFUL. I am very blessed.
my past has...... caused me to wonder "what was I thinking??" but it lead me to where I am now and I'm grateful for that.
i get annoyed when..... I'm watching tv and Chan listens to races on the internet while sitting right beside me on the couch.
I love to.... ride on Chan's motorcycle with him, go to the lake, hang out with family and friends, play with my dog, be around children, read, this list could go on and on.
dogs... are truly loyal animals and great company.
cats ..... are funny, playful, and quirky and great company
tomorrow I have an interview for a job at work (Aaaaaahhh!) .
i have low tolerance for..... parents that don't take care of their children and cruelty to animals
i’m totally terrified of..... HEIGHTS
i wonder why...... I'm not very good at growing flowers, I try really hard.
never in my life did i..... think I would live in Berea, I thought I would live internationally for a while and then settle down some where in the states.
high school ..... was a great time, I formed a lot of good friendships.
when i’m nervous I... get major butterflies and I can't sit still.
one time I ... belched out loud while trying to say my line in a play in front of my church!
take my advice: don't let yourself feel guilty on days when you do nothing, enjoy it....that's to my OCD girls
making my bed is an important part of feeling "ready" for the day.
i'm almost always thinking about Chan or my family.
i’m addicted to reading peoples blogs, watching my shows on tv
i want someone to tell me that they hired me a maid!

Post Derby Day Ride

On Sunday we decided to take a ride into Mt. Vernon, down the Hal Rogers Parkway, into Jackson Co, and back to Berea. It was a great day for riding, a little chilly but with a coat on it was nice. Chan had to leave for Atlanta Sunday night and there's not a better end to the weekend than to take a relaxing ride with friends. I really enjoy riding with our friends and we always have a good time. Especially when we stop for breaks and chat. Chan's dad has recently bought a motorcycle so it's nice for him and Chan to have a mutual hobby and get in some QT. Riding down all the back roads through small towns reminds me of how beautiful Kentucky is. Hopefully there will be a lot more rides to come this year.

Jayme & Dakota Steve, Andy, & Amanda

leaving Steve's house

A day in Irvine....

Chan and I headed to my parents pulling our Yamaha Rhino for a fun day of trail riding and hanging out with my family. My dad, uncle, and some other guys from the area have a hobby of building old Suzuki Samarai's into rock crawlers and big four wheelers. They usually get together once or twice through the week and will occasionally take weekend trips together to rough it and try to out do one another in their modified jeeps.
My family has a lot of wooded land that hasn't been touched except for the small trails these guys have made while riding. So, Chan and I took off on the rhino and had been gone about 5 minutes when we could hear this roaring behind us. Yep, it was Dad and my sister. He had to show us up. He literally acts like a 16 yr old boy. While he was trying to catch up with us by going off trail he managed to climb his jeep halfway up a tree and bent his axle. Ha! Ha! That's what he gets for showing off. Don't worry, no big deal. They tear these up or break something at least once a month. I'm sure they will have a lot of fun standing around and working on it.

After the ride I took my nephews out in a field to get a little practice driving. That was interesting..... My oldest nephew listened intently while I explained to him how he should drive. Don't take corners too fast, if you hit a hole while going fast you'll be airborn, etc.... He took mental notes and drove like a pro. A little cautious but pretty good. My youngest nephew listened while I talked but was anxious to get moving. And move he did.... He floored it and I thought I was going to fly off the thing. He was a maniac. I had to stop him and give him a refresher course in safe driving. Wow, what an experience. Thank goodness he has a long time before he'll be out on the road....
It was a great weekend and I always love going home and hanging out with my family. Chan and I live in a subdivision now so I really miss my home in Irvine. I was thinking about all the fun Tisha and I had on the farm growing up. Tisha, if I can find that picture of you driving the tractor, I'm posting it so watch out. We need to take Kevo there one day so he can take a wild ride with Dad.

Visiting the Middle East

For those of you who don't know I recently traveled to Jordan for work. I was very excited when I was asked to attend the training. Of course, it was for finance so I knew it wasn't going to be extremely exciting but when I found out where it was I was definitely up for it. I'm guessing that opportunities to see this part of the world will be few and far between :) There were three people from the U.S. that attended and everyone else was from Save the Children offices all over the world. It was my first opportunity to meet my international co workers. The picture above was taken on the side of the road in Jordan. There were a lot of camels.... I was traveling with a co-worker that could speak Arabic so that helped out a lot. Otherwise I think I would have been lost. I woke up at 5am my first morning there by the call to prayer. I had no idea what it was at first but it didn't take long to learn and it rang out over the city 5 times a day. Even though I was working I did get to squeeze in some sightseeing. I had to get over the major jetlag and tough it out. The second day I was fighting to keep myself awake so I could get on schedule. The food was different than anything I'd eaten before but once I figured out what I liked and what I should stay away from, it was great. I had 2 days open to tour and the first day I went into downtown Amman. It was fun to shop around the market and I picked up some souvenirs for pretty reasonable prices (thanks to my co-worker who was bargaining for me). Then we went to the Roman Ampitheater (it's over 2000 years old). It was so cool to sit there and look around. You could see so far from the top.




The training wasn't bad at all and I actually had fun getting to meet everyone and learn how things work in their offices. There were people from the U.S., Guatamala, Mozambique, Lebanon, Pakistan, Mali, Gaza, Ethiopia, Turkey, Armenia, Indonesia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Bangladesh in my class. Luckily everyone could speak English. I think I was the only person there that wasn't at least bilingual. There was a conversation about what languages everyone could speak. I decided I need to change that and take up a foreign language. Haven't decided which one yet. Here are some of the people I met.







My last day in Jordan was my favorite. 15 of us loaded up in cars driven by our friends from the Jordan office of Save the Children and went to The Dead Sea. It was so beautiful. The temperature was perfect. There was this weird haze that made everything seem like you were looking through those weird sunglasses with the yellow lenses (some diehards wear them when they're fishing). I may have just lost everyone there but I know what I mean. Anyway, it was great. There were people bobbing around in the sea. If you didn't already know, you float in the Dead Sea without any effort besides picking your feet up because of the high salt content. I didn't float around because I didn't have my bathing suit but I did wade out in the water. It set me on fire. Evidently your not supposed to shave for a day or so before you get in the water. The salt will irritate your skin if you've just shaved or have any cuts. Ouch!



We stayed there for most of the night sitting at a little restaurant over the sea. We did enjoy a little "hubbly bubbly" that you can order off the menu (fruit flavored). It smelled sort of like pipe tobacco except with a fruity twist. You could actually order this at almost every restaurant and the locals usually sat at their table and smoked on this for a while after their meals. Don't worry, this was just flavored tobacco, none of that funny business going on.



We did get stopped at every security check point along the way to and from the Dead Sea. That was interesting. Armed men wave you over to the side of the road and look through your vehicle, inspect passports, and then look in the trunk. It was a little unnerving. They also did bomb checks on every vehicle that came in to our hotel. You couldn't get by without being checked because there were spikes across the entrances that would blow your tires. I did feel pretty safe once I was in the hotel though. They advised us not to go out at night unless we were in a large group. So, there were some nights that everyone stayed in and I felt a little stir crazy at those times. All in all, I had a great experience and met some really nice people. I was very happy to get back home and see Chan though.


I absolutely love my job and feel so blessed to have such great experiences since I've worked there.


No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang