NYC Nike Half Marathon

Yep, I was at it AGAIN. Most of you know of my passion for running...besides loving the feeling I get after a good run~ no matter the distance~ it's my therapy. Today was the NYC Half-Marathon. I usually run w/ Binu, but he had a Volleyball Tournament in Baltimore yesterday. I definitely missed his drive...we're good at motivating each other just by running together. Today I ran w/ my friends, IPOD, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and some various other artists : ) This race is now 2 years-old and VERY popular. One has to get chosen from a lottery to run in it. It was one of my most difficult half marathons, physically. Mentally, I was on point! For some reason, my stomach acted up, which has NEVER before happened to me during a race...combine that with a blister the size of a half dollar on the back of my right food, and it turned out to be not my best race. However, given those uncomfortable circumstances, I ran well. The course was tough~one 6 mile loop through Central Park, down 7th Ave. to 42nd Street, then down the West Side Highway to Battery Park. I did my best along the 7th Ave. to 42nd Street stretch. My miles were consistently 10 minute miles, which yes, are much slower than usual for me. It's okay~it was a LONG race. As I went down 42nd street, a fellow runner told me I passed him numerous times along the way...another gentleman told me I passed him 11 times (I had to stop every now and again for water~I didn't know it was 11 times, though!) and right at the finish line, a man thanked me for the good pace. That left me w/ a good feeling about my run after the crazy things I had gone through. I have to be thankful, though, that I didn't hurt any body parts, pull anything or pass out! ha! By mile 11 certain things did become a bit uncomfortable, such as my knees and lower back, but that just meant I had to adjust my pace, which wasn't a problem. I am glad to have run this particular race again.. the first year I ran it was the year Anthony passed...that still tugs at my heart a whole lot... For the rest of the night, I'm going to sit w/ my legs up...and think about which part of the race I enjoyed the most...besides crossing the finish line. : )

Camp Sagamore's Mascot!

There's NEVER a dull moment @ camp! Today, while my supply guy was throwing out the garbage, he RAN into the office clearly nerve wracked by the raccoon he came across in the dumpster! Ahhh! Well, the little raccoon sat under the dumpster and did NOT move.... My counselors were QUITE interested and left their groups which caused me to stress even more! You all know it doesn't take too much to stress me out~~ sometimes....
Well, after everyone left the back of the camp grounds, he FINALLY poked his little face out and ran across the field back to WHEREVER he came from...whew.... Thankfully the kids weren't around @ the time...or else I would've been much more nervous than I was... I'm not going to lie, though...He did have the cutest little face.

Al's Congratulatory BBQ

My very dear friend, Al, got a new job! He's going to be a Headmaster in Greenwich, CT for this upcoming school year. This promotion is so wonderful for him and his family! He is a hard worker, and I'm confident he'll be amazing in this new school!
I met Al @ my current school 7 years ago. There, we began and maintained an amazing friendship. Al is an individual like no other I know! We've partied together, had heart-to-heart conversations, prayed together... anything that is important in a friendship we've done at some point in time... I'm blessed to have him, and his wife Anna, in my life.
His friend, Sean threw him a surprise Congratulations BBQ. Al, who is very hard to surprise, was SUPER surprised! Well done, Sean! The crew was made up mostly of Al's close friends from h.s., his family, and some 83 friends~Cathy, Teddy, and me =)
Al, we all wish you the best in this job, and with everything in life. God Bless You! Much love always!

Binu & Renny's Engagement Party

Last weekend was very busy! Two parties in one day! Imagine that! I attended and engagement party for my friend, Binu and his fiancee, Renny. This particular engagement party was new to me because I've never attended an Indian Engagement party before. I loved it! It was part comedy (due to the Emcee's antics!), part spiritual, and very family oriented. Everyone looked lovely in their beautiful sari, Renny, in particular, plus the food (that I tried, haha) was yummy, and the rest smelled great! Sorry, B, that I left early and missed the Brooklyn dancing, but thanks so much for inviting me and for being an amazing friend! =)

Marisel aka Marissa (only to me)

This is one of my two sisters, Marisel... I have to get a pic of little Nat..she's 12.
Marisel turns 28 this month~~she's so not loving 'aging' but she's done such a great job in her first 27 years... I love and am proud of her. We don't see each other as often as I'd like, simply because we're both sooo busy. Right now, she's working her tail off~4 days in school~studying Early Childhood Education~ and the other 3 working...7 days being a GREAT mommy to Justyn, aka JU.
Maad, love and miss ya! You too, Nat xoxo

Mr. Golden Sun...

We were GLAD that Mr. Golden Sun came out to shine on us today! Yesterday was SO gloomy that camp definitely wasn't the same...being indoors all day is NOT fun for 5 year-olds. What a beautiful day we had, though! Everyone was out and about, lots of laughs, and one little girl called my boss OLD! haha. Well, she sang "Happy birthday to you, you're a hundred and two" to which he replied, "I'm only a hundred and ONE!" Anyone who knows Jim knows how much he loves kids~especially this age. He truly is a wonderful man & takes this job as seriouly as he does his teaching job. Jim has been working @ the Scarsdale Rec for 32 years. Every year I remind him that he's working camp one year longer than I've been alive! ha! That always gets me a look~lol. All in all, it was a good day~the kids are growing right before my eyes, criers are now BIG SMILERS, those who didn't want to come to camp, now can hardly wait for the next day to begin...
Next month, I'll look back on the experience and be very proud.

Camp Sagamore 2008

This blue is close enough to the color of this year's staff shirts. In years past, it's always been GREY. Yuck! At first, I didn't love this year's color, but I've gotten used to it.
We're at the Heathcote Elementary School in Scarsdale, and this was actually the first site I worked at (11 years ago). This is also the school that I worked at with Kimberly!! Yay! Heathcote may wind up being a monumental site for me...I wonder why... ; ) It's actually the perfect place for camp bc instead of walls, the rooms have windows. They are perfect for viewing the field and blacktop (as well as incoming parents). haha. We didn't have nearly the amount of crying or naughty children as yesterday, so I was able to get around for a few pics! HOWEVER, I am not great at getting them on here, as you may have seen in my last post. For now, enjoy these blogs....

Camp Central

Greetings from Camp Sagamore! We are EXTREMELY exhausted working with the 147 4-5 year olds. For the most part, my staff has been great, but by the end of each day, they are beat! I don't blame them~at least we know we're working hard, right? I haven't taken pictures of the kids, and I'm n0t sure if I'm allowed to post them. However, they are ADORABLE, as most 4-5 year-olds are! The sound of these little voices walking past my office brings a big smile to my face. When they fly by screaming, that's a different story. haha...that's when I fly right out after them! "Walk, don't run..." They usually stop, look up at me w/ big eyes, and grab a 'buddy'... We're big on BUDDIES. To be honest, I'm counting the days til the end~my mom can attest to this, as we just discussed it last night. While camp has been very good to me, I think year 12 may be my last...Jody will make sure of that! haha. The pics I'm attaching are from last year, however, the people haven't changed =) As I take more this summer, I'll attach them, as well. 4 more full weeks to go...

The Yankees WIN

The game was FABULOUS! This was my first time @ Yankee Stadium this year. It's also the last year for the original stadium (for those of you who don't know that). My friend got AMAZING tickets from his old boss. We sat in Box seats on the first base line. The view was GREAT! I don't think I've ever been so close to the field. Tampa Bay was 7 games undefeated until last night! The Yankees hit many home runs, base hits and a few RBIs! The crowd was VERY enthusiastic, the weather was perfect and the evening seemed like a VACATION after my hectic day at camp. The train ride home was, of course, typical New York...crowded, loud, and smelly, haha.

All in all, it was the perfect end to my day.

Beginning Blog

Okay, I'm trying this 'blog thing.' I got the idea from my good friend, Kimberly, in South Carolina. I always check her blog for updates on her family! I decided this would be a good idea for me, as well, since I love catching up with and updating my family and friends!

Today is my first blog! I'm working, once again, at the Scarsdale Rec! Sagamore still lives! For the 12th year, I'm working here, this being my 7th year as assistant director. The camp is made up of 150 children, all entering kindergarten! What an adorably energetic group! Today, it's terribly muggy out, and my campers are running through the sprinklers to keep cool!

While I'm definitely exhausted, I'm looking forward to the Yankee game this evening! Hopefully, there'll be some pics to post later! In the meantime, I look forward to hearing some feedback from whomever looks at this blog!