Run the Vineyard 5k

This past Saturday my Mom and I ran in a race at Chateau Elan. It was called Run the Vineyard 5k and it was super fun. It was a gorgeous morning and the view was just amazing. I finished the race in 33:04 and came 8/16 in my age group. I am not very proud of this but I should not be surprised, as I went out the night before the race for my brother's 30th birthday and only had a couple hours of sleep. Oops! ;) I am proud of myself for still running it though and I am very glad that I did.

I was really excited to do this race because I have been running a lot lately and it was nice to make it back out to Chateau Elan. The last time I was there, Jason and I had our engagement pictures taken so it is a location that is dear to my heart. Thanks, Mom, for joining me. I had a blast! Can't wait to do it again! 

xx

Weight Loss Update and the American Diet

Remember when I told you that I wanted to lose 10 lbs. before our trip to Egypt? Well, I didn't quite make it  before our trip (it was probably unrealistic anyway since I only gave myself 17 days to do it!) but I am happy to announce that I finally accomplished my goal!! It took a little over 5 weeks but I didn't give up. How did I do it, you ask? I started to run A LOT more, I cut down on junk food, and I started to eat a little less but more times throughout the day.

I have come to the realization that it is okay to not finish my meal if I am already full. As children, we are programmed to finish our meals before we can be excused from the table. As teenagers, we come to grips with how much those meals cost (since we paid for them with our own money when out with friends) and finished our meal to "get our money's worth." As adults, we need to go back to the basics and stop eating when we are full- even if there is still food left on your plate. If you don't want to be wasteful, take the rest home with you. Sometimes leftovers can be even better than the meal was to begin with.

After travelling all over the world, I must say that it is hard for me to look at a typical American portion of food without being disgusted. Yesterday is a prime example. My Mom, brother and I went to eat in the food court at the mall. We settled on an Asian place, where we ordered chicken, rice and veggies. Thank goodness my Mom and I were sharing because the whole take-out box was overflowing with food (which was meant for one person). It was disgusting to see that either 1. a single person was to eat all of that food or 2. how much food would have been wasted. The two of us still didn't finish it all. Gross! All I saw were the faces of the starving children I have seen in Asia...

Just mentioning this makes me think about how wasteful we are in other areas too, not just those pertaining to food. I admire many of my European friends who recycle everything, bike instead of drive to work (even if they have a car), and are conscious with how much energy and power they use. Imagine what the world would be like if we all did this? (okay I'm sure I sound like a crazy person to some of you!!)

Travelling really has changed my perspective on life and I believe I have become a better person for it. A skinnier and less wasteful person. ;)

xx

Desert Safari in Egypt

While we were in Egypt, Jason and I went on a desert safari to a Bedouin village via four wheelers. It was a total blast!

We were picked up at our hotel and brought to the safari place where we were given our scarves and four wheelers. We had to wear scarves because it was windy and the sand went everywhere. The scarf made sure that the sand didn't go in our mouth and nose. We jumped on our four wheelers and took about a 30 minute ride to the village. It was super bumpy but so much fun!!

We arrived at the little village and it was just amazing to see that people live that way. They live out in the desert and live a seminomadic life. There is a tribe leader, who below is pictured in the white. They rely on themselves and the land to survive. When they are sick, they don't go into the city for a doctor or a hospital but they take natural herb remedies to help with the healing. To make money, they sell items in their village to the tourists or they will sell camels to the locals. We learned alot about the culture that day. For instance, if one of the village people breaks the law, two men take them out to the middle of the desert and leave him there. If he finds another village, that village will take him in as a slave knowing that he was banished from his last village, and if he finds his way back he is allowed to stay. Most never make it back though. Sounds harsh, doesn't it?

We walked around the village quite a bit, looking at their mosque, camel wool factory and houses. We also went to a little animal house where there were all sorts of snakes and desert creatures. At nearly every cage we came to, the guy took out the creature. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out, especially with the snakes. The guy thought it would be hilarious to put some lizards and stuff on my head. Don't worry, the picture is below and my face is priceless, so enjoy.

My favorite thing we did in the village though was when we went on a camel ride. We had a great time. I must admit though, it was a bit uncomfortable since it was a wooden saddle. I am very glad it was just a short ride because boy do those things hurt your hiney! One of the camels really like Jason and as he was getting off his camel, the one next to him tried to bite him. It was pretty funny.

All in all, it was a wonderful day of fun and learning more about the Egyptian culture. Here are pictures of our day. Enjoy!! xx

Egyptian Pyramids in Cairo

One of our favorite days in Egypt is when we had our day trip in Cairo. We booked a private tour that took us from our hotel (Kempinski Soma Bay) to Cairo, which is 6 hours each way! Now, I'm sure you think we are crazy but that is just how much we wanted to see the pyramids.

On Sunday, July 29, we were picked up from our hotel at 2am. Our hotel was great and even had breakfast boxes waiting for us in the lobby to take with us. We got into our van and off to Cairo we went. Luckily, we had the whole back of a van with three rows just for the two of us so we both layed down on a bench and slept. I slept nearly the whole way, lucky me! Upon waking, we were in crazy busy Cairo. It felt like Christmas- I was so excited! P.S. Did you know that 22 million people live in Cairo? The traffic was insane! So, Atlantans, you have nothing to complain about after seeing it! 

Once we arrived, we went to the Egyptian Museum, also know as the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. We had our own tour guide that was amazing. Seriously, the guys knew so much and even answered all of our questions and then some- surely he got an A+ in History. Anyway, we saw King Tut's tomb and so many other wonderful Egyptian artifacts. If you know me, you know that I'm not really interested in museums and history (I like to think that I have selective history knowledge because the subject just has to interest me) but this was was super cool (and I paid attention almost the whole time!). I just wish we were allowed to take pictures.

After the museum, we were off to the pyramids at Giza and to the Sphinx. What a beautiful sight! From far away the pyramids didn't look that large but as soon as we walked right up to the Great Pyramid of Khufu, I am pretty sure I just stared in amazement for several moments before I could even say a word. No wonder why they are one of the seven wonders of the world! It was listed as one by Anitpater of Sidon and is the oldest and only one in existence today. Crazy!

There are three pyramids at Giza, the Great pyramid being the most famous but also the most difficult (and expensive) to get tickets to go into. The Great pyramid was built as a tomb for the Pharoah Khufu. It took 20 years to build and was the tallest man-made structure for thousands of years. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that they didn't use any machines to build it. The other two pyramids were for the Queen and his daughter. We got tickets to go inside the Queen's pyramid. It was so neat to be able to go inside a pyramid that I had read about in history books (history is much more exciting when you actually get to see it all in person!). I'm really glad we chose the Queen's pyramid to see rather than the Great pyramid because it was so hot inside and I couldn't imagine having to be inside with a whole bunch of other people. I bet I lost about 5lbs that day.

After the pyramids, we walked down to see the Great Sphinx of Giza, aka the Sphinx. It was so much bigger than I had anticipated (they really need to make pictures of all of this bigger in books ;) ). This was very interesting to me because the basic facts about it, such as when it was built and by who is still debated. This has resulted in the "The Riddle of the Sphinx". Very interesting!

After our departure from the pyramids and the Sphinx, we had a great Egyptian lunch at Caviar, where we had a wonderful view of the pyramids. It was super delish and the chocolate icecream was nothing short of amazing.

Our last stop on our trip was to a bazaar and to a papyrus factory. The bazaar had a lot of cool items but the papyrus factory was the best. There they taught us how the ancient Egyptian scrolls were made and the history of the papyrus plant. We even bought ourselves a beautiful piece of artwork for our house. I can't wait to hang it up!

All in all, our 12 hour round trip journey to Cairo was definitely worth it. I am so glad we were able to see such an amazing part of history. It truly is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. I only wish I will have the chance to go back someday. xx