Melissa, Oh?

Keys to a fun day with a friend:
It starts with new shorts and a smile, even at 7 a.m.

Hydration is always key to a day of fun, especially when it comes in a pink cup.

It helps to live in a state with beautiful places,

and to have friends who love adventure.

It can be a tough climb to [...]

Some of my summer favorites, thus far:
Neutrogena Ultimate Sport sunscreen: My friend Brian suggested I get this when I complained on Facebook that the Coppertone I was using was really heavy and greasy. He was right – I love this new stuff. It’s so light and sheer I almost forget I’m wearing it. But no sunburn! 
Apple iPad: Okay, [...]

So, Kevin is the awesomest brother in the world because he suggested a “fake triathlon” at our grandmother’s house (she lives on Lake Wylie.) This would help to ease my mind regarding any coordination issues that could with 3 sports in one event. Plus, it’d be a great excuse to try out my new tri suit! [...]

Okay, so I won’t tell you today about how I dropped my pants this past weekend – still waiting for Scott to send the pictures to accompany that story …
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In the interim I’ll talk about being a running gear geek. If you’re not a runner, I apologize in advance but if you are a runner or [...]

Chris B. asked me last week to write a gear list regarding what I took, should have taken, and shouldn’t have taken on my recent trip to Mount Mitchell for winter camping. So, without further adieu, here it is:
Head to toe
Here’s what I wore on my trip:
Balaclava – I fought against one of these. I [...]

Quotes from the trip:
Me: We saw some tracks that looked like a cat. Would that be a bear? A mountain lion?
Andrew: No, that’d be a cat.
Chris: I’m gonna get one of those at some point (spoken every time someone showed him a piece of gear. Any gear.)
Chadd: I hate rabbits (spoken every time the smoke got in [...]

Destination: Mount Mitchell
Elevation: 6,684 feet to summit
Total miles I hiked: 10.5
Number of hikers in our group: 8 9 (apparently I can’t count)
Number of female hikers in our group: 1
Degrees (low) that we saw on our thermometer: 4
Feet of snow on the ground: About 2
Number of animals seen: 2
Number of animal tracks seen: a lot (I [...]

… about my hiking trip this weekend. I was going to photograph all my new gear and tell you all about it.
However, I packed my gear in my pack last night and hell if I’m going to pull it back out now!
So, I’ll show it to you when I get back.
It’s time again for the [...]

So, I’m a little late on the the whole “look back/look ahead” post that comes at the end of the year, but I was too busy celebrating the holidays to take the time to sit down and think about it! So, better late than never, right?
Last year I wrote about some thoughts on 2008, and [...]

A week from now I will be picking up my race packet and settling into my hotel room for the evening before getting up before the crack of dawn to run 26.2 miles.
And believe it or not, I’m not nervous at all.
That’s not to say that won’t change. But as of right now, I feel [...]