My oh my!
It has been a long time since I have posted. I know I know, blogging really does not take up that much time. However, being the perfectionist that I am, I do not like to blog unless I've said everything that I want to say and have had the chance to edit it. I'm not doing that this time, so bear with me.
In the last blog post, I mentioned that I was working on a project but didn't say what it was.
Over Christmas break, I was on the South Carolina Department of Agriculture's website and I found a link to a site called "Eat Smart, Move More SC" (which I will refer to as "esmm"). The name intrigued me so I looked further into it. As I scrolled up and down, I noticed that the website had a number of alarming statistics about the poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and obesity in the state of South Carolina. I went on to read about the resources and tools that the organization provides counties within South Carolina. So far, nine counties in SC have established chapters. I looked for Oconee, the county that I grew up in, and did not see anything. If Oconee County doesn't have a chapter, then why not start one? The need and resources are there.
I got in touch with the Executive director of esmm who told me a little bit more about the organization and put me in touch with the Region 1 County Health Educator. I met with her and we came up with a game plan to get this thing started. Next, I started networking and figuring out who all to get involved. The third person I talked to was not interested, but gave me some great contacts. I called the first number that he gave me and got a positive response about starting a chapter of esmm. Bingo. He is the school superintendent for district 1(Oconee County). This morning, I met with the executive director of a previous health organization, the school superintendent, and the county health educator. Together, we came up with a game plan and a focus area. As it turns out, we are going to try to launch a farm-to-school program in Oconee.
Three people on board, a mission, and a plan. YES!
Wanna check out the organization? http://eatsmartmovemoresc.org/
We also have a FaceBook event page at http://www.facebook.com/events/215839741834356/
God is so good. Every day, he encourages me through the people that I talk to and his word. Right now I am reading in Isaiah and learning more about the character of God. Even though the Israelites sinned over and over, he constantly gave grace and mercy to them. At the same time, his holiness and justice cannot tolerate sin. No if's, and's, or but's about it. The sacrifice of his son was the ultimate nonprofit, public act of love that we can possibly imagine.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
The Last Month of 2011
A lot of thoughts run through my head on my daily bike rides of 1-4 hours. Oftentimes, my mind runs over the things that I haven't gotten around to doing in a while. The most common being, of course, blogging. So this time, I have decided to write a blog post before my ride. Right now, I am sitting in spandex cycling attire on my fluffy pink bedspread. My purple room is flooded with light and the wind outside is making white-caps on the lake. It is beautiful sight but does not promise a pleasant bike ride. I hate riding in the wind.
The past month has been filled with family time, friend time, cycling, school, and traveling. My exam week this year was the best I've ever had. I had two exams on Monday and left for the beach on Tuesday with my family. There was a small part of me that felt sorry for my fellow students holed-up in cooper library. I tried my best to enjoy the sun at the beach for them.
One of the highlights of this Christmas break has been the Upstate Winter Bike League. For those of you who are not familiar with the UWBL, it is a group of appr. 100-150 cyclist who gather in downtown Greenville to suffer together during the cold winter months of December and January. The group divides into two groups to accommodate different abilities and fitness levels. Before the first UWBL, I was nervous. I knew that I wanted a challenge and had been told that I could probably keep up with the faster group (the A group). As we rolled out of the parking lot on our 70 mile ride, I cautiously positioned myself in the group in order to get as much draft as possible. As I glanced around, I could tell that many of the cyclists surrounding me were just as competitive as I am. Sure enough, towards the end of the ride, several of the cyclists took off with a speed that was difficult to match. I leaped up in my seat and tried my best to stay with them. My surroundings became completely irrelevant as I struggled to maintain a speed that I had not equaled in months. The challenge, the competition, and the sheer exhilaration of riding fast was invigorating, exhausting, and addicting. Needless to say, each UWBL has been challenging and fun as the distance and intensity gradually increases.
Three days before Christmas, Jesse had the pleasure of getting all four wisdom teeth yanked out of his mouth. Fortunately, his faithful girlfriend was there to drive him to and from the dentist, sign a few papers, and take care of him until his mom could pick him up and take him home for Christmas. He was a great sport and emerged from surgery with a goofy lop-sided smile and an appetite for a chocolate milkshake. The next morning, I drove down to Atlanta with my dad to pick my sister and brother-in-law up from the airport. My dad and I had some good conversations during our trip down to Atlanta. I am always amazed by his wisdom and knowledge about the world around him. After our trip to the airport, we had a huge lunch with Jesse, his mom (hi Minnie!), and his lovely sister Bonnie who is coming to CLEMSON next year! My brother-in-law, John Miller, claimed to be of the "northern" Miller clan, while Jesse claimed to be of the "southern" Miller clan. Regardless, there were a lot of Millers around.
Christmas day was... interesting. I woke up at 5am with a horrible stomach ache. It didn't take long for me to figure out that it was a stomach virus. As of this year, I have been sick 4 out my 20 Christmas's (20%). Statistically, this should not be possible! It's not like I get sick very often either. In fact, I can only think of a few times that I have had the stomach virus during a time other than Christmas.
My sisters brought my presents down to my room with about 20,000 shielding sprays of lysol before and after entering my room. I opened my presents via Facetime on my phone and slept for most of the day. In some ways, being sick wasn't all that bad. It forced me to slow down and be thankful for what God has given me. I can be such a selfish pig sometimes. Fortunately, I have a God who loves me and constantly reminds me of the fact that I have been saved by His grace, and His grace alone. Hallelujah!
After Christmas, I got to see Jesse and his dad before they headed off for a 4 day excursion on the Appalachian trail. I stayed here and worked on my plans for this summer. You see, I am leaving for Australia during August and have committed to racing almost every weekend during the summer. On top of that, I will be taking an online class. This will leave me enough time for a part-time job/internship. I want to do something that I am passionate about and walk away with more than a paycheck. So far, I have an idea that has the potential to be AWESOME. Right now, I am in the information-gathering process and will reveal the "project" in my next post if it is a real possibility.
Until then.
The past month has been filled with family time, friend time, cycling, school, and traveling. My exam week this year was the best I've ever had. I had two exams on Monday and left for the beach on Tuesday with my family. There was a small part of me that felt sorry for my fellow students holed-up in cooper library. I tried my best to enjoy the sun at the beach for them.
One of the highlights of this Christmas break has been the Upstate Winter Bike League. For those of you who are not familiar with the UWBL, it is a group of appr. 100-150 cyclist who gather in downtown Greenville to suffer together during the cold winter months of December and January. The group divides into two groups to accommodate different abilities and fitness levels. Before the first UWBL, I was nervous. I knew that I wanted a challenge and had been told that I could probably keep up with the faster group (the A group). As we rolled out of the parking lot on our 70 mile ride, I cautiously positioned myself in the group in order to get as much draft as possible. As I glanced around, I could tell that many of the cyclists surrounding me were just as competitive as I am. Sure enough, towards the end of the ride, several of the cyclists took off with a speed that was difficult to match. I leaped up in my seat and tried my best to stay with them. My surroundings became completely irrelevant as I struggled to maintain a speed that I had not equaled in months. The challenge, the competition, and the sheer exhilaration of riding fast was invigorating, exhausting, and addicting. Needless to say, each UWBL has been challenging and fun as the distance and intensity gradually increases.
Three days before Christmas, Jesse had the pleasure of getting all four wisdom teeth yanked out of his mouth. Fortunately, his faithful girlfriend was there to drive him to and from the dentist, sign a few papers, and take care of him until his mom could pick him up and take him home for Christmas. He was a great sport and emerged from surgery with a goofy lop-sided smile and an appetite for a chocolate milkshake. The next morning, I drove down to Atlanta with my dad to pick my sister and brother-in-law up from the airport. My dad and I had some good conversations during our trip down to Atlanta. I am always amazed by his wisdom and knowledge about the world around him. After our trip to the airport, we had a huge lunch with Jesse, his mom (hi Minnie!), and his lovely sister Bonnie who is coming to CLEMSON next year! My brother-in-law, John Miller, claimed to be of the "northern" Miller clan, while Jesse claimed to be of the "southern" Miller clan. Regardless, there were a lot of Millers around.
Christmas day was... interesting. I woke up at 5am with a horrible stomach ache. It didn't take long for me to figure out that it was a stomach virus. As of this year, I have been sick 4 out my 20 Christmas's (20%). Statistically, this should not be possible! It's not like I get sick very often either. In fact, I can only think of a few times that I have had the stomach virus during a time other than Christmas.
My sisters brought my presents down to my room with about 20,000 shielding sprays of lysol before and after entering my room. I opened my presents via Facetime on my phone and slept for most of the day. In some ways, being sick wasn't all that bad. It forced me to slow down and be thankful for what God has given me. I can be such a selfish pig sometimes. Fortunately, I have a God who loves me and constantly reminds me of the fact that I have been saved by His grace, and His grace alone. Hallelujah!
After Christmas, I got to see Jesse and his dad before they headed off for a 4 day excursion on the Appalachian trail. I stayed here and worked on my plans for this summer. You see, I am leaving for Australia during August and have committed to racing almost every weekend during the summer. On top of that, I will be taking an online class. This will leave me enough time for a part-time job/internship. I want to do something that I am passionate about and walk away with more than a paycheck. So far, I have an idea that has the potential to be AWESOME. Right now, I am in the information-gathering process and will reveal the "project" in my next post if it is a real possibility.
Until then.
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