Goodbye, beach!

Calgon, take me away.

First of all, how is it already May 3rd? Good grief. I’m happy warmer weather has rolled around, but can’t believe the year is already almost halfway over!

My beach trip was great, though it was mostly business. On top of the conference, I was swamped with email on my off-time. The joys of having a challenging job…. I’m not complaining — I love it! However, it would have been much more fun to have 3 days of free time at the ocean! Maybe I’ll take a long weekend this month.

As you see above, I started the trip (on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon) with some sushi and soul searching in the sand. I also had this amazing meal of scallops at a little joint down the street with my insurance carrier…. it was fantastic.

Yes, that’s asparagus wrapped risotto. Great presentation, and it tasted delish.

I love doing business at these conferences, but also having the opportunities to drink wine and take selfies with my otherwise always-professional connections. Example A:

Business + bottle of wine = successful conference

After I got back to Greenville yesterday (and because I am insane), I picked up the puppies and drove to Travelers Rest (my lil’ home town) for the 6th annual Swamp Rabbit 5k. It was a really fun run, though the hills really sucked. Unfortunately, I struck up a friendly conversation with a fellow from Asheville who’s run this race every year since its inception, and he informed me of the hills 10 minutes before the race….. I would have been better not knowing. Alas, I finished in 39 minutes….which is pretty sad for someone who just finished a 10k in 1:17….but I was exhausted, and haven’t done much in the last few weeks with running. The thing about running is, you get out of it what you put into it. If you don’t run for 2 weeks and show up to a start line of a race, you can’t expect 10 minute miles now, can you?

I sent this to a friend to be funny….but you can see the sheer exhaustion on my face. 🙂

Anyway, after all the beach/conference/driving shenanigans, I also spent another full day in downtown Greenville today. I volunteered with my company with a local organization, Hands on Greenville (HOG).

I’ve been involved with HOG for years, and love, love, love the people who are on the board and make awesome things happen in the community. I got a little too much sun on my face on accident (dammit!), but otherwise had a fantastic day with some great friends and coworkers. Plus, there was free local beer at the after party….who can argue with that?

Wonderful surprise bonus of the day: seeing my two favorite kiddos and sharing a walk/popcorn through downtown. Love them!

I’m finally home on my couch, in a maxi dress in the beautiful air conditioning…. ahhhhhh. Feels great to relax.

Another action-packed day tomorrow! I think it’s time for a nap.

Happy Saturday!