Most of you probably do not know this but I have been homeschooled for the past 5 years, so that I could focus on my gymnastics, and I have done pretty well in my studies, 3.8 gpa. I decided that going back to school for my senior year would be good for me, get used to being in a classroom again, reports, more of a mandated schedule for assignments and enjoy the social scene. Well I met with the counselor back in May and they let me know the studies I would have to complete to meet the requirements to be a senior. The problem is that they would not take all of my homeschool credits, so I would be required to a) take classes during this summer, which I did and still carry an incredible load for my senior year. That, with the hours in the gym and work, would have my senior year with more work then I have had to do throughout school, NOT what I was looking for in going back to regular school. This does not mean I do not want to work hard or that I am looking for an easy ride, I just don’t want to have all hours of all days completely marked for work and practice and that is what it will turn into, I would miss out on the fun that your Senior year should be. So what to do? Well I gave it a lot of thought and then realized I needed input from my family for this one, so I went to my brother Adam, who is a lawyer in NY, my parents, my brother Todd who lives down here (the one that was hit by the car) and we all sat down and discussed the options and what I wanted. The end results….
That I will tell you about tomorrow…until then happy days, fun times and great memories
This is part of a new web report. I run local 5Ks and 10Ks (with an occasional half marathon). You can follow me on race day on Twitter @JulieWolfe. I’ll post my race reviews on 11aliveblogs.com. E-mail me with any ideas jwolfe@wxia.gannett.com.
The Southeast Brain Tumor Foundation’s Race for Research is a cause that hits close to home for our 11Alive family. So, when Meteorologist Chis Holcomb and Anchor Ted Hall sent out an e-mail asking the 11Alive crew to participate in Saturday’s 5K, it was an obvious choice for my next race.
Atlantic Station has quickly become a go-to place for new in-town races (or older races looking for a new location). Just remember to bring money for parking. I forgot my wallet, so I ran straight from the finish line to my car. I drove it out of the parking deck, and then made a U-turn right back in. That way, I got the 2-hour free parking twice.
COURSE: 5K (3.1 miles) around Atlantic Station. Because the start line is on low ground, the first mile is mostly uphill. From there, it is a series of short hills. Very little of this course is flat, so it’s a little harder than I anticipated. I ended up chasing Fred Kalil for the first two miles. His red shirt was easy to spot and continued to mock me until I finally passed him in the final mile. There was also a 2K for walkers and strollers. Most 5K’s do draw a lot of walkers, but it takes a while to finish 3.1 miles at a stroll, so I thought the 2K was a great idea. There is a tough spot where the 5K runners jog across the 2K walker route, and it gets a little dicey. The walkers were good sports, though, and tried to stay out of the way and cheered the runners as they cut through.
FOOD: When in doubt, stick with the basics. The bagels were fresh; the bananas were not brown; and the PowerAde and water were cold. There was plenty to go around, so two thumbs up.
T-SHIRT: bright blue cotton T-shirt with a SBTF logo and lots of sponsors on the back. As a runner, I always prefer technical running T’s, but I know these are too pricey for most small races. I generally donate all my running T-shirts to the local homeless shelter or turn them into cleaning rags. This one is nice enough, I might wear it. . . just not running.
CROWD: while waiting in line at the porta potties, the man next to me said he ran in the SBTF race 5 years ago with just a few hundred people. I would estimate Saturday’s crowd at well over 1,000. We had a great showing of 11Alive folks, so that was a lot of fun (I’m taking the picture, so I’m not in it).
UP NEXT: Still looking for some August road races. Any ideas? E-mail me at jwolfe@wxia.gannett.com.
Well not that all of you know but my brother was hit by a car about 5 weeks ago, it was rough for a while, his surgery was postponed, then he had complication during surgery (lost a lot of blood and had to have transfusions). Well he finally went home, started feeling better and looking forward to rehab and counting down the next 7 weeks. Well yesterday my sister-in-law, yes his wife, went riding (her bicycle, they both race) to relax and get out some stress and well, some jerk left his dog out loose (a dog known for biting and chasing people) and the dog ran after Cheryl and attacked her while riding. 911 was called, the blood was everywhere, the punctures (from several bites) were so deep they had to xray her to be sure no teeth were embedded in the leg. She now has the full radius of the dogs mouth clearly framed on her thigh. But here is the best part, the guy swears the dog is not his, even though he has a chain in the yard for him and a shelter and the dog ran right to him and he took it in the house after the incident…nice that is showing us kids how to act responsible. He was cited for dog at large and having a dog without vacinations, yes he has no shots…so it is a wait and see if the dog gets sick. He is in quarentine for 10 days and then his fate will be decided. The sad part is it really isn’t the dogs fault, it is those that choose to train them this way and then not retain them in the proper manner on top of it. So now we have 2 of them unable to get around and their 3 month old son, being so great through it all…so my other news will wait until next time as I take all this in, which all happened while I was away on my summer gym retreat. We did have a blast and I will post a pic or 2 to share with you…have a great day and I hope you come back to join us for the season….best to everyone.
Today is my son Jhenya’s 3rd birthday, but the first one he has ever actually known about or celebrated. Jhenya was born Russia, in the Chita Region of Siberia and like hundreds of thousands of Russian children, was given up for adoption at birth. He was a preemie and spent several days on a ventilator. The only home he ever knew was his orphanage, Baby House #2, in a remote village outside the city.
My husband Derrick and I decided to adopt a toddler from Russia because I had covered several stories about Eastern European orphans and I have a lot of Russian heritage in my ancestry. We didn’t plan on travelling to Chita but when our adoption agency matched us with Jhenya we immediately began making plans for the 12 hour flight to Moscow followed by a 7 hour flight to Chita.
Our first trip to Russia was in March. I will never forget the moment I first met Jhenya! Derrick and I were brought to a playroom and before we had time to unpack gifts or get the lenscap off the camera, a caregiver led him in. We had received pictures of him, but they didn’t do him justice! I couldn’t believe how adorable he was, even though he was practically petrified with fear. We spent three days visiting him and could hardly wait to return in May to finalize the adoption.
We brought Jhenya home May 23rd. The first two weeks were exhausting because EVERYTHING was new to Jhenya, from the stove to the electrical outlets to the steak knives and the dog’s food bowls. (Yes, he tasted the dog food, along with crayons, markers and makeup) He and his 41/2 year old brother Nicholas didn’t hit it off immediately either. Still, he had the most wonderful personality and sense of humor and in two months he has blossomed like a little flower.
He is learning English words and has begun to use little phrases, like “Jhenya Dinner” or “Mommy Work” After a very limited diet of mostly porridge in Russia, he has gotten used to American food and LOVES pizza, watermelon and yogurt especially. He will eat any vegetable he can dip in ranch dressing!
In Russia, he had mostly sponge baths and was terrified of our bath tub at first. Now, his favorite activities are going swimming and bike riding. He has already moved from a tricycle to a little bike with training wheels!
He is happy and healthy and excited about his birthday! I wasn’t sure he would understand what a birthday was, but since he’s been to two birthday parties with his Big Brother Nicholas, he totally gets it.
Happy Birthday to my brave, beautiful boy Jhenya!!
School starts in about 2 weeks, I don’t know about you but summer has just gone by so fast for me. Between work, training, work (yes I meant to say work twice) and life, I feel like May was only yesterday. Well I am ending my crazy summer on a fun note, we are headed to TN, all 30 of us plus our coaches for our option team retreat. I can’t wait, it has been a fast yet long summer. With my brother’s accident things got a little crazy, he still has a long road to go for recovery but each day is a little better, gym has been tough as I missed several days of practice for work, my brother and illness, not good for working on new skills, but after the retreat it is back to getting more serious and no down time (except Sunday that is, or maybe not I still have to work). Well I will post pics and let you know about the fun we had in TN. Then I will let you know about a huge decission I made that effects every aspect of my life and the direction I am headed…until then stay well, be happy and enjoy each minute of each day…very profound don’t you think….later gator…
Face book giveaways appear to be the new trend in marketing. The Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant chain is giving customers a coupon for a free lasagna lunch if they become of fan of the restaurant on Facebook. The lasagna coupon is good on one day only: July 29th.
A long list of National Parks are offering free admission July 18th and 19th, including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area on Roberts Drive. The Park normally charges $3.00 per person.
Participating Borders Book Stores are having Sponge Bob Parties on Saturday July 18th at 2 pm.
Also for the kids, there’s a Toots Live party at the Mall of Georgia in Buford from 3pm to 8pm. Toots Live is an interactive website for children featuring singing elephants. The party will feature costumed characters, inflatables and activities.
There is also a free Decorator’s Show House in Cobb County. Greenhaven is billed as metro Atlanta’s first environmentally friendly decorator’s show house and is now open for tours.
And those who are willing to give something back to their community can get a free or deeply discounted night at one of any participating Sage hotels including the Doubletree Atlanta. All you have to do is volunteer 8 hours for a non profit that is a registered 501 C3 and have written proof from the organization. Availability is limited and some hotels are giving 50 percent off.
The promotion is called Give a Day, Get a Night.
With summer coming to a close, just a few weeks until school starts, I look back to see what has gone by. I breathe, I look and I am amazed at how fast time goes by. I feel like summer had just begun and now I am looking at the start of school, the beginning of the gymnastics competitive season (compulsory only) and the realization of time limits that are approaching. My floor routine, my beam routine, my new skills on bars and vault….it has been a whirlwind of a summer, mixed with some personal heartaches and the bumps in life that occur throughout time. I hope you all had a great summer and wish you all luck in the up coming school year. I look forward to sharing my journey through my first year back in a classroom, my quest for a college scholarship, my emotions and excitement of competition and the overall craziness of life. Until next time, have a great end of summer, enjoy the freedom of each day, and create great memories throughout each moment of life.
Sorry I have been away so long, between working 2 jobs, my brother’s accident and gym practice it has been a little crazy. My brother is doing
better, he had a bit of a setback, his staples got infected and they had to cut open his incision to drain the infection. The he had a hematoma
in his leg. He has his ups and downs with his emotions so we all work real hard to keep his spirits up. Gym has been going really well, working
on cutting my floor music with my mom, which I hope to get finialized this weekend. Been playing Chuckee at work lately, which is kind of fun.
Getting ready to register for public school, this will be the 1st time in a classroom in over 5 years, exited and a little nervous at the same time.
I also had some exciting news, I got a car, yeah, no more sharing with mom, which wasn’t so bad at least I had a car most of the time. But now
I have my own, and a very empty bank account to show for it. Well I will be back more often now that things are smoothing out at practice is
more intense. Have a question, just ask away and I will be sure to respond…have a great day and a great week.
I love the Peachtree Road Race. It’s the only 10K where you can get doused by holy water, win a T-shirt, eat a donut, do the disco, wave an American flag… and still finish in just over an hour. For 55,000 runners, it is a 4th of July tradition.
As I was sitting in my 5’s group, waiting for my chance to run, I glanced up and saw that huge American flag at the start line. The sun was shining and I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow runners, my fellow Americans. I got a little teary eyed. This is why I love the Peachtree.
It’s not about the finish time, it’s about the experience. If you keep that in mind, you will learn to love this 10K like I do. Kudos to the Atlanta Track Club for pulling off another amazing race.
COURSE: 6.2 Miles from Lenox Mall to Piedmont Park. Even though the hill at mile 3 has gained a reputation as “heartbreak hill” and “cardiac hill”, it only goes up 150 feet in elevation. I don’t think this tough reputation is earned. The combined mostly-uphill run through mile 5 is what gets you. But then it’s downhill to the finish line! AND everyone was thrilled to be back at Piedmont Park this year after the drought re-arranged the 2008 race.
FOOD: The food was better than I remembered from previous runs (maybe with Publix as a sponsor? Not sure if that was new this year). I especially appreciated the ice cream sandwiches and the volunteer that yelled with a smile, “Have a cup of nice warm water!” since the gallons of drinking water had been sitting in the sun all morning.
T-SHIRT: Good design. Glad to see it was white and not some crazy lime green or peach.
CROWD: Awesome crowd. Seven different bands along the route were a blast. I always love giving high-five’s to the kids lining the sidewalk. I think the crowd is THE defining factor that makes this race so much fun!
UP NEXT: The Southeast Brain Tumor Foundation’s Race For Research Saturday July 25th 7:30 AM Atlantic Station. Follow me on Twitter @JulieWolfe.
This is part of a new web report I’m starting. I’ll run local 5K’s and 10K’s (with an occasional half marathon). You can follow me on race day on Twitter @JulieWolfe. I’ll post my race review on 11aliveblogs.com. Know of a local race you want me to run? E-mail me at jwolfe@11alive.com.
