Uganda

I have always lived in a sheltered world and for most of my life I was oblivious to many of the challenges people around the globe face on a daily basis. In 2005 I watched the Invisible Children Documentary for the first time. After watching the documentary, my outlook on life changed. I felt a strong urge to do something anything that would raise awareness to what was happening in Uganda. Last April (2012) my good friend Dana asked if I would be interested in going to Uganda with the Palmetto Medical Initiative an organization that provides sustainable medical care for the citizens of Uganda. It took me all of two seconds to reply YES!!!! The next day, I started the application process and two months later I recieved a notice that I would be going on the August trip. I was thrilled. The two week trip cost $3,500 plus the cost of shots. I hosted two yard sales, collected donations, and Mr. Johnny (the most amazing father in law) hosted a spaghetti dinner which raised $2,700. Three weeks before I was scheduled to leave an Ebola outbreak occured in Uganda and the trip was postponed. I was completely devastated.

Fast Forward: December 2012Dana and I traveled 20 hours to get to Masindi, Uganda and every minute of that trip was worth it. I consider myself to be so lucky to have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in this experience. The people that I met will stay in my heart forever and it is because of them that I now appreciate the little things in life. Having a home with indoor plumbing, electricity, medical care, and education are luxuries that in the past I have taken for granted. This experience has taught me that what I consider the norm are actually luxuries in various parts of the world. I have chosen to share my experience with everyone through the photos because I think the images of my experience tell a better story than what I could write.

Tia Olema

Tia Olema visted from Cuba and Spent three months with the family. I had the opportunity to test out my photography skills during this "photo shoot"\

Bahama Mama

Tanner and I went to the Bahamas over the summer with Mom and Manny!

Two years in pictures

I finished the Palmetto Half in two hours and ten minutes. Exactly ten minute miles all the way through!!!

Determination

This morning I woke up bound and determined to complete a five mile run without stopping. At the start of my run I got a little winded and thought I might not make it however, after the first mile and a half I got my rhythm down and my breathing regulated. I ran a complete five miles this morning only pausing twice to fix the radio on my phone because it shut off. I am extremely proud of this accomplishment especially because my training has not been as consistent as it should have been. I planned my run yesterday by scheduling a time to go and mapping out the course I was going to follow on logyourrun.com(you can view the route I followed below). When I planned my run I did not consider how up and down the roads that I would be taking were and by the time I reached the end of Hillsboro Rd (the name says it all) my legs were on fire but I kept on trucking along my five mile path. I finished the run in fifty minutes. I am fully aware that it is not a record breaking time but I am proud of the fact that I was able to maintain a constant speed and complete five ten minute miles. My goal is to get down to 8 minute miles before the marathon. Fingers Crossed!

Today's Stats:

Date: 08/17/2011 6:23 PM
Type: Run (Training run)
Distance: 3.06 miles
Time: 0 hr 32 min 00 secs
Average pace: 10:27 min/miles
Route: Three Mile Route
Calories: 284.5

Anniversary

On May 23, 2011 Tanner and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. We spent the day at the Cypress Gardens in Charleston, SC. Tanner planned our day and I have to admit it was absolutly perfect. We started our day by going into the Butterfly House, this was my favorite part, there were so many different kinds of butterflies it was beautiful. We then walked the trails around the garden and took time to visit the various gardens and look for different types of animals like, alligators!! AHHHH We concluded our visit with a canoe ride through the river. The canoe ride was incredible the view and scene around us honestly took my breath away.