Ghosts of Halloween's Past

And finally, I present my first ever Pinterest project.

 2015's costume:

Did you dress up for Halloween? See any interesting ideas?

Ack-sen-you-ate the Positive

Here are the rules: there are no rules.
Okay maybe there are a couple of rules - set your timer for 5ish minutes and get to writing. Don't forget to link up with Jaime when you are done. I can't wait to read what you decide to share!

Now its my turn - buckle up and let's get started!!!

Does it count as SOC if I keep deleting my text? I mostly want to whine about being tired. Seems like that's all I get done these days. Then I hate that I want to whine about it, because otherwise this marathon training cycle is going great! I'm actually losing a bit of weight, the miles are easy, and I haven't missed any major runs.

BUT

Each night I struggle to stay awake to the 9 o'clock hour.

I hate that this is my post though. So many other awesome things going on that I could talk about instead of sleep deprivation. I'm like that annoying mother who dreams of having a baby, talks about how awesome babies are, then complains about a 2am diaper change.

If this is what I wanted, why am I complaining?

So, instead, I'll focus on "all these awesome other things" - like the girls weekend that is my marathon. We're starting to plan who's car we are driving and what-not. We've had our hotel booked for months.

Non-running related, I'm excited that my favorite band - Skillet - is going to be in Knoxville next Friday at the Winter Jam concert.  Also a week from today, my darling and I will celebrate the 100th monthiversary of that Friday the 13th when we first met. Not to mention the 14th - Valentine's day, and the 16th - Presidents day (to be celebrated with a hike).

Oh, and as you are reading this, I'll either completing my 16th half marathon or celebrating with a nice, long afternoon nap.

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Trail Report - Lead Cove to Rocky Top/Thunderhead

As copied/pasted from my original blog, the first (and only) time we successfully completed this trail:

Yes, the Rocky Top that the song was named after.  If you don't know which song I'm taking about your local University has obviously never played the University of Tennessee in any sort of sporting event.  Its the  most annoying song in the world song the band plays after every touch down at Vols games. 

No, I'm  not singing it.  I'll have it in my head all day.  If you wanna know about a moonshine still or a girl that's half bear the other half cat then you'll just have to google it.  Google is your friend.

Since then, my hiking buddies and I have unsuccessfully attempted to find our way back to Rocky Top on two different occasions (but I can only find the blog report for one). We decided to take another trail to start our journey off this time.

I stuffed my Flat Stanley into my backpack before we headed onto the trail. Unlike the Anthony's Creek path, this one got steep in the first 2 miles. Once we turned right onto the Bote Mountain Trail, the terrain flattened out and began our comfortable, gradual assent.

With each trail sign, we stopped to read the directions (saved on our fearless leader's phone as a picture), and calculate at what mile marker we should be anticipating another transition.

On the accent, we skipped Spence Field and headed straight for Rocky Top. While it was my no means an easy trek, my memories of a practically impassible trail weren't quite accurate. Its amazing what a difference a bit of iron in the bloodstream can do! 

The weather and visibility made it a perfect day for this hike. With temperatures starting at 30* and rising through the morning our snack perch was lovely. How can you beat PB&J sandwiches, good company, and stellar views?

Last time we completed this hike, my hiking buddies went on to Thunderhead while I rested. They told me it wasn't anything remarkable, but while we were there I wanted to go ahead and at least say I saw it.

They were right. It was so unimpressive I didn't even bother to snap a picture.

We decided to do our hot lunch at the Spence Field shelter. Since my companions have decided to get into backpacking, they had a flash-something-or-other cup which boils water. Maybe its a flash boil. Anywho. We made Ramen noodles and hot chocolate then just hung out around the shelter enjoying the day.

We all felt strong this hike, and were able to keep a great pace. This gave us plenty of time before having to head down and off the trail.

This hike was perfect in all ways - rate of difficulty, average pace, weather, and visibility. I only wish Jay would have been able to join us for the fun.

New Years Streaming

Getting started is the hardest part. So let's just skip the length intro and I'll start my timer, mkay?

My mother's favorite department store is a steeply discounted south-eastern chain located on the drive up to my sister's house. A significant portion of her shopping was done on the way to (or from) my niece and nephew's soccer games.

The week of Thanksgiving, I carpooled with my parents to see the kiddos' Grandparents day celebration. On the way home we stopped in to browse the deals-of-the-day.

In the juniors section, I found a rack of cute ladies style tees with NFL logos. My mom tried to distract my attention, but I found an Arizona Cardinals logo. She shot me the Its Christmas, don't ask questions look, then carted me off to a different part of the store.

Imagine my surprise come the 25th when my sister opened a New Orleans Saints tee, my niece a New England Patriots shirt, but I had nada in the way of sports paraphernalia. When I asked my mother about it, she seemed confused. Apparently she only thought she had bought me a shirt.

Thankfully Jay and I were able to stop into the store during our New Year's excursion and they still had the shirt available. He expressed his confidence that the shirt would be in stock over a month later. His reasoning? Who the BEEP in Tennessee wants an Arizona shirt?

His darling love, of course. But the answer as to why will have to save for another day. My time here is up. Who are you rooting for in the NFL playoffs this year?

Twas a week before Christmas

What a better time to pause and give thanks? Hopefully I'll be caught up on my sharing by the new year. I have super awesome news to share, but I'm leaving that for SOC Saturday. No, I'm not preggers, moving, or getting a promotion. Its nothing to do with me, directly at least. But it truly thrills my soul.

And now, the list:

4744) Daddy's perfectly cooked burgers

4753) Extra day with the in-laws

4760) Christmas in a candle

4772) Green Bay Packers on TV

4789) Library full of options

4792) 2 parents

4793) a bike

4794) a non-leaky roof

4804) Bible study Christmas party

4819) Beautiful Star song at church

4822) Family who cares enough to visit

4839) Throwback Thursday - happy memories

4845) New running kicks

4851) FREE books!

4864) Comfy new outfit

4873) Run plans with friends

I've at least caught up to last week. For what have you been thankful for this Christmas season?

Heroes & Perspective

In my childhood, I idolized my sister. I wanted to do everything she did, be everywhere she was. So when we were in middle school (maybe she was high school age?) and she read a book on Hank Aaron, I, too, chose a baseball book to read. Of course I didn't want to be a copy cat, so I picked a different author, different ball player.

My Luke & I, the (auto)biography of Mr & Mrs. Henry Louis Gehrig was my first selection. After that, I read every book about the Iron Horse I could get my hands on. My love for the New York Yankees started that day, as I stood between the stacks of my local library.

Seeing the Yanks play in the same stadium where Gehrig played so many of his 2,130 consecutive games was near the top of my bucket list. In the final season before it was torn down, my love and I traveled north for a game.

Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's legendary speech.

...yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth...look at these grand men. which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day...when you have a mother-in-law who takes sides with you and squabbles with her own daughter, that's something...when you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education...I might have been given a bad break, but I've awful lot to live for. Thank you.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a monster, which slowly robs its victims of their motor skills. How could Gehrig stand before the crowd and say he was lucky? He'd already lost the the ability to do his job, his sport. He eventually lost his mobility. Less than 2 years after declaring himself "the luckiest man" he lost his life to the effects of ALS.

Perspective changes everything. 

 

On this Independence Day - it seems fitting to celebrate a son of immigrant parents who rose above his meager beginnings, set records which would take decades to be broken, and humbly inspired a nation for generations to come.

Mouse Creek Falls - Trail Report

For Memorial Day, Jay had an epic hike planned out for us. Instead, we opted to sleep in a bit, then head into the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for an epic Jeep ride + pretty (and short and easy) hike.

The above picture is of the main road. Some of this can be cut off by traveling the interstate into North Carolina, which we did on the way home, but either way roads of this nature must be traveled.

Topless of course. (This picture was taken from the passenger side of the Jeep, looking up.) I'm relatively new to the Jeepin world, so I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. But more on that later.

Midnight Hole is a swimming hole that we were not prepared to enjoy. If I'm honest, I'm kinda glad. It was crowded with skinny, hipster college age kids smoking and drinking PBR. Call me old, but that's just not my scene.

Just a half mile up the trail sits the falls, beautiful and serene. Both the distance and elevation gain made this an easy hike, much easier than the ones we tackle on the Tennessee side. Jay regretted not bringing his fancy camera, which is usually too much effort to lug around.

 I think we did okay just using our cell phone cameras. Not to mention, when Jay gets out the big camera and tripod he can spend ages sitting in one place.

The entire trail was beautiful, and I snagged a few photos on the hike down.

While we were out and about, a short rain came. I didn't feel like much, but tell that to the Jeep sitting in the parking lot with the top down. Remember how I said I was unprepared?

Um, yeah. Apparently the Jeep seat was filthy, so when the seat (and then my butt) got wet it resembled more mud than rainfall. I rode all the way to Cataloochee with wet britches. Without a garbage bag to sit on, changing into my clean pants would just end with the same result.

 Getting lost on the way wasn't entire a waste of time. The dirt paths roads were gorgeous.The only other people we encountered were 2 dudes on dirt bikes. Yeah. That kinda road.

Shocking I'm sure (or not if anyone truly knows me), I was starting to get annoyed with Jay and the situation. My butt was soaked, I was cold, and I knew we were spending more time getting there then we would actually spend once we got there.

BUT THEN we got there, I looked to my right, and it was immediately worth it all.

The elks were re-introduced into the area by the Park Service several years ago. That's the tag in his ear. The pictures don't truly represent how massive these guys are. In my head, they are the same size as deer. In reality, they are much larger. They make me feel small, even when viewing them from my redneck's jacked up Jeep.

After a bit of riding around, a few pictures, and quite a few more elk, it was time to head home. Jay wanted to take the open Jeep on interstate, so I knew I'd need to wrap up to stay warm.

That post-race space blanket really came in handy folded up in my backpack!! Next time I know to bring garbage bags and don't forget the jacket!!

Rainbow Falls Trail Report + Gatlinburg Shennanigans

With the day off work, I convince Jay to go on yet another hike with me this past Friday (Good Friday). Some friends of ours were in town for their honeymoon, and had mentioned meeting up for dinner. Instead, Jay invited them along on the hike with us.

awww - how cute!

We originally planned to tackle Ramsay Cascades, but upon arriving at the trail head we learned it was closed. The family we met walking back to their car said that a bridge crossing was out. We quickly regrouped and headed into Gatlinburg and toward another falls.

The last time I hiked the Rainbow Falls trail, I was headed toward Mount LeConte on a snowy day. I didn't remember much about the trail, or the falls, so this would be an adventure.

The happy couple aren't use to hiking, so we took the trail at an easy pace - stopping for water and snack breaks on the way up.  Jay had been up late the night before troubleshooting technical problems he was having with wireless Internet, so he had his grumpy pants on to start the day. Its hard to stay grumpy when you are surrounded by beautiful scenery and friends.

The above picture wasn't the falls, but just a pretty place to take a break. The day was cool and overcast. We were blessed with just about perfect weather, save for the handful of sprinkles which hit us at the top.

My favorite part of this trail is the constant scenery. When not passing smaller falls, there are plenty of spots with the creek to enjoy. Then, of course, when we arrived at *the* falls, we find a perfect perch to enjoy our lunch.

The people are hard to notice in the top picture, they are the tiny blue dots for a bit of perspective of the size of the falls. A bit of a drizzle hit us on the way down, but nothing significant. We had a casual, easy pace and stopped for photo ops.

The sprinkles of rain went away as quickly as it came, giving us the opportunity to walk around downtown Gatlinburg. The city is quickly becoming the {legal} moonshine capital, and we hit up 3 different distilleries for free samples.

Then we ended the evening at a favorite local restaurant of ours. I've never been disappointed ordering the El Presidente porter house at Alamo Steakhouse. If all of that fun weren't enough, Jason sprung for balloon animals for us ladies. The balloon artist said it was to raise money for Jesus missions or something of the sort - the ultimate Win/win/win!