I FINALLY got to put a canoe in the river! I've wanted to do this for as long as I've lived in Columbia, and not really sure why it took me this long to do it. A friend of mine is a river guide for Adventure Carolina, one of the places that sells/rents kayaks and canoes and does guided tours of the Broad, Saluda, and Congaree river. We went up Broad river in a spot that's relatively calm compared to Saluda, and we paddled out to where it meets up with the Congaree. It was a short way, so hopefully I can go again soon and stay out there a little longer. Glad summer is finally here!
Also, my number of semesters in grad school is about to increase exponentially because I just got an interview for med school! It's the rehabilitation counseling program, and the two classes I took this past semester are actually a part of this program not social work, so they will be able to count towards this degree. Not sure if I'm still going to pursue my drug and addictions certificate, I more than likely will, as it's only 12 more hours. The semester is technically over, but I still have work I'm doing for one of my classes....welcome to grad school!
May 10, 2010
April 24, 2010
#23. Try 20 new wines
Last night, Stephen and I went to Riverbanks Wine Tasting in the Garden and it was alot of fun! There were 27 stations each with 2-5 wines to sample and a few small tables of finger foods. I am not much of a wine fan (as you can see, my average rating was a "1") but I did find a white wine that I really loved, the Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc. There was a table of Japanese wine and sake, and I've never had a cold sake before but I really liked the Gekkeikan Zipang Sparking Sake! There was also one table of RJ Rockers beer. The one I tried was a peach beer and I loved it, so I'm hoping Flying Saucer has this and I can count it towards my 50 new beers. I still haven't found a red wine that I really love, but the more I try, the more I'm sure I will start to appreciate them.
April 19, 2010
Melissa's Adventures to Wonderland
#94. Get a new piercing
I drove to Asheville, NC and got my rook pierced!!!!! I love it so much. It only hurt for a minute or two! My friend Chris got his tragus pierced. We didn't drive all the way to NC just to get pierced though, I would have done that in Columbia, but I have been wanting to go back to Asheville since my sorority retreat there a few years ago. We wanted to visit some of the shops in the downtown area, namely, WONDERLAND! (which is the coolest shop in town-especially if you're as obsessed with Alice in wonderland as I am)
Asheville is such a great town. The view driving into town is amazing, the people are down to earth, there are tons of local artists and musicians playing in squares, it's a very clean city, there's a lot of personality to that place. Chris actually was mistaken for a local and a group of tourists asked him for directions...and he actually gave them correct directions! haha that was pretty funny, I know he felt at home in that town! I would really love to live there for at LEAST a short while some day. It's only 2 hours away from Columbia, which I was surprised by, I definitely thought it was about 3 hours. Knowing that, I will absolutely be making a trip again sometime during the summer to do some hiking.
I drove to Asheville, NC and got my rook pierced!!!!! I love it so much. It only hurt for a minute or two! My friend Chris got his tragus pierced. We didn't drive all the way to NC just to get pierced though, I would have done that in Columbia, but I have been wanting to go back to Asheville since my sorority retreat there a few years ago. We wanted to visit some of the shops in the downtown area, namely, WONDERLAND! (which is the coolest shop in town-especially if you're as obsessed with Alice in wonderland as I am)
Asheville is such a great town. The view driving into town is amazing, the people are down to earth, there are tons of local artists and musicians playing in squares, it's a very clean city, there's a lot of personality to that place. Chris actually was mistaken for a local and a group of tourists asked him for directions...and he actually gave them correct directions! haha that was pretty funny, I know he felt at home in that town! I would really love to live there for at LEAST a short while some day. It's only 2 hours away from Columbia, which I was surprised by, I definitely thought it was about 3 hours. Knowing that, I will absolutely be making a trip again sometime during the summer to do some hiking.
April 17, 2010
Relay for Life
#72. Participate in Relay for Life and walk for Edna Grace
#9. Volunteer 24 community service hours with ESA (3/24)
USC held their annual Relay for Life and it was great seeing the sisters again! Especially Molly, Britney, and JSharp ;) I walked in honor of my former band director, Edna Grace. She is an amazingly strong woman who has battled breast cancer for as long as I've known her. She went into remission while I was in high school but the doctors found more cancerous cells fall of 2008. She went through chemo again and last April I lit a luminary and dedicated my fundraising for her. I gave her the breast cancer awareness shirt "I fight like a girl" and it is now one of her favorite shirts!
She is one of the most courageous women I know and she doesn't let anything stop her or get her down. In the same year she was going through chemo, she lost her brother, after she had just lost both of her parents in 2007. This time last year was such a tough time for her. So today, I promised myself I would keep her in my thoughts and prayers as I walked around the track at Relay. And I thanked God that we still have our "Ms. Grace."
#9. Volunteer 24 community service hours with ESA (3/24)
USC held their annual Relay for Life and it was great seeing the sisters again! Especially Molly, Britney, and JSharp ;) I walked in honor of my former band director, Edna Grace. She is an amazingly strong woman who has battled breast cancer for as long as I've known her. She went into remission while I was in high school but the doctors found more cancerous cells fall of 2008. She went through chemo again and last April I lit a luminary and dedicated my fundraising for her. I gave her the breast cancer awareness shirt "I fight like a girl" and it is now one of her favorite shirts!
She is one of the most courageous women I know and she doesn't let anything stop her or get her down. In the same year she was going through chemo, she lost her brother, after she had just lost both of her parents in 2007. This time last year was such a tough time for her. So today, I promised myself I would keep her in my thoughts and prayers as I walked around the track at Relay. And I thanked God that we still have our "Ms. Grace."
March 28, 2010
Great weekend in Charleston
#95. Participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run
To first give you a little background information on my training schedule, I haven't ran a mile in over 4 years, and before that it has been another 4 years. And I have never ran more than 2 miles at one time before. At least not until the day before the race! I've been suffering from an upper respiratory infection and allergies for the past month almost, and it's prevented me from running more than around the block before feeling like I was going to pass out. Lung capacity was zero, so I had no confidence in my ability to run even a mile! So the day before the race, I decided I'd try to run a half mile. I reached a half mile and realized I could keep going. I surprised myself by running almost 2 miles, something I definitely didn't think I was capable of given my status 3 weeks ago!
Now let me tell you about the Bridge Run. It's a 10K, or roughly 6.2 miles. The bridge itself is about 2 miles long and begins 2 miles into the race. The record holder ran it in under half an hour. A "good" time is under 1 hour.
I finished in just over an hour and a half!! I don't think that's too shabby :) I had the support of my family and Stephen, who walked next to me the whole race when he could have easily finished a half hour sooner.
Knowing now, that I am capable of running 2 miles without having to stop, I'll definitely start training for next year's Bridge Run, and create a new goal to run it in under 75 minutes!
#70. Purchase a nice jewelry hanger for my earrings
The Flowertown Festival is an annual event held in Summerville the same weekend as the Bridge Run. Erin and Aaron came with Stephen and I and we were there luckily before the rain caused everything to shut down early! I did get to go after the Bridge Run though to get a little art inspiration, but instead walked away with a really neat earring hanger and an ALICE IN WONDERLAND purse!! I also found the best crabcakes this side of the Mississippi and if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, those crabcakes would be it :)
On a more frustrating note, I always thought Lent was 40 days- from Ash Wednesday til Palm Sunday, but the Lent season is actually until Easter which is the Sunday after Palm Sunday. Sundays don't "count" in the 40 days, which would push it back one more week. Which means I have another WEEK i have to go without fast food!!! Can I do it??
To first give you a little background information on my training schedule, I haven't ran a mile in over 4 years, and before that it has been another 4 years. And I have never ran more than 2 miles at one time before. At least not until the day before the race! I've been suffering from an upper respiratory infection and allergies for the past month almost, and it's prevented me from running more than around the block before feeling like I was going to pass out. Lung capacity was zero, so I had no confidence in my ability to run even a mile! So the day before the race, I decided I'd try to run a half mile. I reached a half mile and realized I could keep going. I surprised myself by running almost 2 miles, something I definitely didn't think I was capable of given my status 3 weeks ago!
Now let me tell you about the Bridge Run. It's a 10K, or roughly 6.2 miles. The bridge itself is about 2 miles long and begins 2 miles into the race. The record holder ran it in under half an hour. A "good" time is under 1 hour.
I finished in just over an hour and a half!! I don't think that's too shabby :) I had the support of my family and Stephen, who walked next to me the whole race when he could have easily finished a half hour sooner.
Knowing now, that I am capable of running 2 miles without having to stop, I'll definitely start training for next year's Bridge Run, and create a new goal to run it in under 75 minutes!
#70. Purchase a nice jewelry hanger for my earrings
The Flowertown Festival is an annual event held in Summerville the same weekend as the Bridge Run. Erin and Aaron came with Stephen and I and we were there luckily before the rain caused everything to shut down early! I did get to go after the Bridge Run though to get a little art inspiration, but instead walked away with a really neat earring hanger and an ALICE IN WONDERLAND purse!! I also found the best crabcakes this side of the Mississippi and if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, those crabcakes would be it :)
On a more frustrating note, I always thought Lent was 40 days- from Ash Wednesday til Palm Sunday, but the Lent season is actually until Easter which is the Sunday after Palm Sunday. Sundays don't "count" in the 40 days, which would push it back one more week. Which means I have another WEEK i have to go without fast food!!! Can I do it??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)