Adventure 27 - Hustle Up the Hancock February 27, 2011

It began as an idea spraked by a conversation with a drug rep who had just completed the 2010 Hustle.  So after looking up the details, I signed up to get additional information and shared the idea with a few friends who are always up for a challenging adventure.

In November, sign up started for the 4000 Full Climb and Half Climb Spots for 2011 Race and the spots closed in 1 hour and 15 minutes on November 1.  So when the lines closed, Ben Hobbs and I were the two that had been able to get a spot for the full climb.      
With good intentions of training well, I decided instead to travel the month of December and then was sick for most of January.  Thus crash training began in February.

The weekend was delighful in Chicago.  I was able to spend some time with Karen and Michael and the boys.  Dinner with Karen, Michael and Ben at Elwood's was amazing and the BBQ chicken was delicious!  In addition, I was able to see the 25th annivaersary of Les Miserables, the musical. 



Pre-Hustle Photo with Ben

 Sunday dawned with the Hustle.  I was given a 12:15 wave time and Ben had the 1:30 time slot.  I arrived early as requested.  Ben joined me to wait in line around 11:30 for my start.  It was awesome to have someone there to encourage and cheer me on at the start!


Thankfully a woman behind me had experience and gave me some good advice - take you time, don't look at the numbers on the floors and just keep your feet moving and don't stop.  You will have sore legs and your lungs will hurt but keep going. 
So began the 94 floor climb to the top.  Round and round and round I went, not prepared to become dizzy as I went up the stairs nor was I prepared for my ears to pop and to have some influence of a little altitude, as the stairmaster definately does not prepare you for ascending 94 floors.  I did think about the germs that would be on the railings and the need to wash my hands at the top!  My legs got tired and I was shocked by the lung pain and the coughing that awaited me the rest of the afternoon (and continued for a few days).  By floor 70, I was exhausted and it took sheer will power to keep going and I was thrilled to get to the top even though I was completed out of breath!  After some time on the cool observation deck and wandering around to catch my breath, I went to wait for Ben since his start time was an hour behind me, which really just gave me a head start!
Ben did great and he too was a bit winded at the top.  Ben is gifted with natural athletic ability and terrific endurance especially in longer races and other stamina related activities.  He also thought the event was a challenge, which made me feel good because he is in such good shape.  His time was impressive with a finish in 16:18, placing him 293 overall - yes for the entire field of Hustlers!  Amazing!



Post Hustle photo

 My unofficial time was 23:31 and I was thrilled as my goal was to finish under 30 minutes.  I had been told by my primary care MD, that the loss of lung diffusion with my chemo, bleomycin in particular, would always limit my physical ability and that I have most likely gotten back the function that I can already.  (I went from a lung diffusion of 115% pre-treatment to 85% after 5 months of treatment and my oncologist then removed the drug for the last month so that I would be able to do some physical activities that I enjoy and also so did not end up on a ventilator after my final treatments for a while!)


Post Hustle 2011

  In other words, I will never be really good at many endurance things again and will peak long before I would like.  But I will continue to train with the understanding of realistic expectations.  My official time was 23:28. My overall placement was 1728 out of roughly 2900.  I finished 668 of 1435 women and 182 of 395 in my age group.  I was really pretty surprised and encouraged.  

The line to take the elevator was long and we were a part of a group that got to take the service elevators down to the main level.  The elevators went from floor 94 to 44 and then we had to exit to get on another elevator to get to the main level.  So we got to see parts of the Hancock reserved for service personnel, which was much more fun!

Adventure 8 - Try Snowshoeing

We had quite a snowfall this year.   We received 13-15 inches on Tuesday February 2, 2011 in the Peoria area.  This much snow however does allow for lots of fun snow activities!

Kristin got out her snowshoes and I was able to try them out in my backyard.  I was a little concerned that I would start out this adventure by face planting in the snow but was pleasantly surprised by how easy the snowshoes were to navigate.  It definately made snow travel much simplier!

Extra Credit item - Skate on a frozen body of water January 30, 2011

Ice fishing and ice skating went together today!  Kristin and I headed to her parent's house in Morton for an afternoon of winter fun.  Kristin's dad drilled holes in the pond for fishing while Kristin and I took turns shoveling a circular path on the pond for us to skate!

The fish were not biting.  Kristin and her dad each caught a fish.  I however, caught a fish but in the process of bringing it up through the hole, hit it on the side of the ice and it got it's freedom!  Oh, well.  It was still exciting. 
After and hour of being really cold.  Kristin and I went to warm up by the fire before trying again. 

After another 45 minutes of fishless time, we decided that we were done fishing and got out our skates.  I put on my ice skates while Kristin laced up her roller blades!  We set off along the bumpy path on the pond just laughing and having a good time as we watched each other stumble along.
Kristin's dad prepared the 2 fish and then defrosted some fish from the freezer for a fish fry for dinner!  Yummy!

We had to shovel our own skating rink for this event.  Kristin and I shoveled an oval shaped rink that was the width of 2 shovels.  It was a lot of work as the snow covered a layer of ice.  The rink was definately not smooth and we needed a zamboni to come to our rescue!



Kristin on rollerblades









                                                       

Adventure #16 - Serve those in need in the community at least once a quarter. January 27, 2011

It is easy to become wrapped up in our own lives and to miss out on serving those in need in our communities.  Sometimes it is easier to give money rather than time to help those in need.  However, spending time in service opens the eyes to those needs in our community and to respond to meet these basic needs thus granting the privilege of also providing for the spiritual need for Jesus.

I first heard about the Midwest Food Bank from a dietitan who serves on the Peoria board.  Marjorie was the dietitian that I worked for at the Cooperative Extension Service the summer between my graduation from Bradley in May of 1993 and the start of my internship at Barnes in St Louis in August of 1993.  When I returned to Peoria in 2004, Marjorie and I were now a part of the Central Illinois Dietetic Association together.  During 2010, I first heard about Tender Mercies program at the Midwest Food Bank.  Volunteers allow the Midwest Food Bank to use their resouces to meet the needs of those in the community with very little overhead cost. 

I received an e-mail that the Career Impact Thursday night Bible study planned to go and serve by making Tender Mercies packets.  So even though I did not attend this Bible Study, I e-mailed to see if there was still room for me to join them.  This was a special privilege to join with my brothers and sister to serve while meeting the needs of those who would one day receive this food packet. 

Tender Mercies is a mixture of TVP, beans, rice and a high nutrient flavoring that is able to feed a family of four.  All that is needed is water and a heat source to prepare this meal. 

So our team spent time putting together these packets.  What was impressive to me was that most of the volunteers were men.  It was great fun watching them enjoy one another's company as they filled the bags, tried to increase efficiency (can we say engineers), laughed and modeled new and fashionable hairnets!  I was blest just to be with them and watch them at work.  During the shift, our team put together 800 packets of food which would feed 3200 people.

On February 14, 2011 for Valentine's Day, the dietitians hosted a bake sale at Methodist to benefit Midwest Food Bank and the Tender Mercies program.  We raised $615 for Tender Mercies.

Adventure #11 - Eat a new ethnic food each month - January

Turkey provided the opportunity to try new dishes.  Some of the items were not new because I had tried them at Shannon's Turkish teas.  The food was so much better than the food in Europe.  It was less salty and had less fat.  There were lots of vegetables and local fruits available at all meals.  Yes - even vegetables at breakfast.  I loved the tomato and cucumber salads that I could eat for breakfast and missed them when I returned home!
Part of the unique dining experience at this 5 star hotel was the additional meal time guests - the 2 cats!  The cats would rub up against your legs and just look at you and Meow!  Occasionally the cats would hiss and spat at one another.  It was a little disconcerting to also see the birds sitting on the fresh bread that was put out for all meals.  Definately a new dining experience!

Adventure #36 - Winter Swim in a Body of Water January 1, 2011

Happy New Year from turkey!  So instead of participating in the Peoria area polar bear club by jumping into the frozen Illinois River.  I rang in the New Year by jumping into the Aegean Sea in the winter.  The outside temperature was around 40 degrees so the air was chilly.  Not what you would think for being along the sea.  The water was not frozen but it too was chilly. 

Pastor Lyall, Kevin, Dorothy and I were joined by 6 of the MKs and one parent to take this morning swim.  We all jumped together!  What fun!  We were definately awake after this swim!

 

Adventure #16 - Missions Trip December 25, 2010-January 3, 2011

Adventure 16 - Missions Trip
This open door took me to Turkey.  The trip was to support a mission organization's conference for European missionaries and their families.  Our purpose was to provide the children and youth programming for the families by loving on them, teaching and providing cultural experiences with the goal of growing their walk with the Lord.

If you have been reading my other posts, you will then know that my trip really began in Geneva in early December.  Really I consider it God's confirmation that I was to be a part of this team and trip for God's glory.  Only God could orchestrate the meeting of a missionary with a team member from the States while in Geneva as he was teaching at the school where my friend attends for the week.  God really is that big and in these moments God himself is clearly seen.  Malia and I laughed that she was getting to be a part of my trip as she was able to hear Mark teach about Ephesus before I even stepped foot in Turkey or heard the teaching myself.    Also God enabled me to get home so that I could depart with the team rather than departing after a few unplanned days extra in England. 

God calls all believers to be involved in missions - either to go or to support those who go to tell all over the world.  At this point in my life, God's call for me is to find ways to support those who he is sending to the field.  This was such an opportunity to serve. 

My brother, a Christian school teacher in Nashville, always reminds me that just because kids are in a Christian school does not mean that they are believers and that they are still in need of the life changing ministry that comes from the application and living out of the gospel in our daily lives.  As our team taught through Ephesians, we too had the opportunity to speak the truth from God's Word found in this book to these MKs and to assist them as in their walk with the Lord.  God's word too also was at work in my own heart as I spend time studying Ephesians 3 for my time teaching.  God is still using this chapter to challenge my own daily thinking and application in my life.

Adventure 22 - Prague December 12-16, 2010

Prague - the adventure started with the flight and the need to use my limited medical training for the man with the seizure.  Prague also represented the blessing of spending time with Janna and the unexpected blessing of seeing Mark.  The time spent listening to two missionaries share about their service to the Lord in Czech was encouraging and to actually see where Janna is serving was a blessing.

The city itself was amazing!  I had been told this by many people but was not prepared for the city's rich heritgae, culture and beauty.  It is a must see gem for a European travel adventure.  I was able to see the Charles Bridge, The Prague Castle, Old Town Square and it's various buildings and churches, The Jewish Quarter (which was amazing).  I would have loved to have more time to see buildings, hear concerts and tour museums. 

Pictures are worth a thousand words!



Old Town Square and Christmas Markets



              

St. Nicholas Church in Old Town Square

                                                                                                                                                             

 
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Mozart played here and introduced Don Giovanni



Adventure 11 - Eat a new ethnic food every month December 9, 2010 and December 15, 2010

December 9, 2010 Malia and I set out after her classes finshed and took a train to Morges to investigate a Christmas market.  The Switerland tourism site recommended this Christmas market and it was a short train ride from Geneva.  Lesson learned - Never assume based on a title. "Christmas market" to both Malia and myself meant that there would be booths selling Christmas items.  Not so!  It was a glorified craft show and flee market and there were very few traditional Swiss items.

However there was traditional Swiss food being served.  Malia was not sure what some of the food items were either so she talked to a couple about the sausage and cabbage dish that they were eating.  She told the couple that I was looking to try some traditional foods so the woman cut off a bite of her sausage and added some cabbage and gave it to me to try.  It was pretty good.  So Malia and I each ordered one.  We, really Malia, talked with the couple in French.  Then the gentleman brought over 2 wine glasses and they shared their wine with us. In reality for me, it was a very gracious and generous form of hospitality given by this couple to welcome us to Switzerland.   (Now the not so fun part was that sausages are often so high in fat that they disagree with my gut and I was in the bathroom within the hour!)

December 15, 2010 Prague

In prague, I had the opportunity to eat many different traditional foods which was very fun.  Two of the restaurants spoke English so this was helpful.  One of the restaurants was in Rick Steve's book on Prague and was recommended by one of Janna's co-teachers.  In addition, I was able to eat lunch with Mark and I had fun watching him enjoy his favorite Czech dish from one of his favorite Czech restaurants in Old Town Square.  The last evening provided the most fun with food!  For my last evening in Prague, Janna and I went to the local tavern for some traditional Czech food.  Our waitress did not speak english and no english menu was available, lending itself to a very fun food adventure!  So I decided to just pick an item off the menu and try it.  I tried to use common sense to figure out some of the words and my limited Russian vocabulary for food items from my job in St Louis.  So I ordered an item using my best Czech pronounciation possible and actually got a thumbs up from the waitress.  What arrived, you may wonder?  It was a surprise to me too.  I ended up with red peppers filled with a melted salty cheese of some kind.  The peppers were good and I eventually just scraped off the cheese.  It was fun however just to order.

Adventure item #21 - Downhill Ski in Europe December 11, 2010

I thought that this would be easy, afterall I was in Europe and there had been a big storm 2 weeks before I arrived.  However, I did not count on a warmup.  Malia and I looked for ski resorts close to Geneva only to discover that none of them had snow and were not open.  So we searched further and found one that was a 2 hour train ride away.  So on December 11, 2010 we got on the train and headed to Verbier to ski.  Malia had decided to study while I skied so this adventure would be solo.
Lesson learned from this adventure - never assume.  I made the assumption that the color coding and system of trail marking was universal - Big mistake!  So I arrived at the top of the mountain and and after reviewing the map discovered that only a few trails had names.  Furthermore, I discovered a very interesting way of marking the runs, which were not labeled or marked.  The system uses a series of poles, sticks really.  The sticks are painted with two colors but the color at the bottom represented the run difficulty.  The amount of color on the stick told you rather the run difficulty was to the left or the right.  It was so confusing!  So after striking out on a easy run to warm up and spending the next 45 minutes crossing several mountains, I stopped someone to ask where I was on the map only to be told - I am not sure but I think that we are here.  Because the runs were not well marked and there were no names on the mountain and only a few runs had names - it was hard to use the map.  So I made the determination to try out several runs and then stick with the ones that I was confortable doing.  The day was beautiful and the skies were amazing.  Plus I had a good time just talking with people.  Adventure completed!

My European Adventure - My missionary encouragement tour December 6, 2010-December 18, 2010

So I embarked on an adventure - a European adventure really.  I called it my missionary visitation encouragement tour as I was headed to Geneva to spend time with Malia and experience life with her as she studies at the Bible Institue of Geneva as she discerns God's call as a missionary to France and then headed to Prague to see Janna as she serves with the Christian School of Prague.  My unexpected visit came in Prague also as I was able to see a childhood friend, Mark Krupa, who also serves in the Czech Republic with Josiah Venture.   This was one of many God sightings as I had sent him a message that I was going to be in Prague from 12/12-12/16.  I received a message back while in Geneva that he comes to Prague once a year and would be in town from 1215-12/17 so I was able to see him on Wednesday and he was able to share his story with Janna and talk about his language and cultural assimiliation in Czech. 



Janna and I at a Christmas Concert in St. Nicholas Church in Old Town Square in Prague



Time with Mark at Starbucks in Prague



The Christmas Market in Morges with Malia















What an adventure!  I left work on Monday December 6 and headed to Chicago for a 10pm departure from OHare, all the while having a very uncomfortable feeling about the flight.  After arriving at Karen's and checking the flight schedule, we headed off to Ohare as my flight was on time.  When we arrived however we discovered that my flight had been cancelled with no reason offered.  American Airlines was unable to get me to London any other way to meet my connection to Geneva so I had to reschedule both flights and lost a day.  So on 12/7 I departed to London and arrived in Geneva on 12/8, a day late.  Malia picked me up at the airport and we headed to the school.  This was the next in a series of God moments.  Two of the professors were American and one was in to teach a week long class.  So I was able to visit with them in English.  So at dinner as I spoke with Tom, he asked about my church in Peoria and this led to a coversation about theology and John Piper.  He let me know that the other professor would be interesting for me to talk with and that he was with particular missions organization.  This perked up my ears and I asked "Is he going to be at a conference in Turkey in a few weeks?"  "My church is going to Turkey to provide the children and youth programming for a group serving with this missions organization from all over Europe."  At this Tom said "Let's go find out."  After speaking with Mark in French, Mark turned to me and said "You are part of Pastor Lyall's team from Bethany!"  This began the coversation and I was able to meet one of the families that we would be serving in Turkey while in Geneva.  A God sighting both as a confirmation that I was to go to Turkey and an encouragement to the other students as Mark explained to them in French what had just occurred.  Malia however was back at the table telling Tom that in the scheme of life, we see God provide these meetings sometimes but in Holly's life these meetings happen all the time.  I asked her if she had rolled her eyes for Linda, who had been our third roommate and had experienced this with me many times in the past! 
Flights continued to provide interesting stories and much excitement as after the first delay I figured that it would be smooth sailing.  Think again!  As I relaxed on my flight from Geneva to Prague, the man across the aisle began to throw up.  The young man with him waved me off when I offered my white bag as an extra.  In a few minutes however, the man began to have a seizure.  The flight attendants asked for a nurse of physician for a medical emergency and no one responded.  Silence.  And I realized that I was most likely the only medical person on the flight and was a dietitian with both healthcare professional CPR and first aid training.  So I told them that I had basic first aid and was trained in CPR.  After sending up a quick prayer, began to help the young man help his dad by talking him through how to keep his dad's airway open since he had passed out in his seat.  This went on for 45 minutes and I continued to pray and watch his breathing and look for signs of cardiac arrest all the while praying that CPR would not be needed but ready and willing to do what I could to keep this stranger alive.  The man began to respond as we approached Prague and an emergency response team boarded the plane.  I disembarked thankful that God had provided wisdom and strength and that the man was enroute to a hospital but I was still very shaken.

Plane Adventures continue....


Our transportation to Heathrow - a charter bus



I arrived back in Geneva on December 16 after a very uneventful flight and Malia and I spent the evening together and prepared to depart on the 17th for home.  We knew that it was going to be interesting when we awoke to 3-4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and then arrived at the Geneva airport to discover that the first 3 hours of flights had been cancelled and the airport was in chaos.  Our flight was still listed as departing on time but the British Airways ticket counter was very disorganized and Malia and I were shuffled from being in line to out of line and in other lines all while getting very frustrated.  When we finally got our tickets and headed to the gate, we knew that we were departing an hour late but that we still had plenty of time to catch our next flight out of London.  So after our plane was deiced, we headed to London but this time I was uneasy again.  As we approached London the first officer came on and told us that there was a lot of traffic on the ground at Heathrow and that we would need to circle the city for another 45 minutes - now this was going to be interesting as our time to make our connection would be really close.  In a few minutes however the landing gear was down and the first officer got back on and told us that we would be landing on time and to review the safety card information in the seat pocket in front of us.  Now that was an odd request and made me realize that something was wrong.  After a few minutes as we prepared to land, the plane instead shot back into the sky and then I knew something was really wrong.  There was silence from the cockpit for about 20-25 minutes and then we heard from the first officer.  They had experienced the loss of their instrument panel as they descended into Heathrow and were being diverted to another city in England where it was clear so that they could do a manual landing.  As we prepared to land a second time, Malia and I joined hands and each began to pray.  In my mind asking the question "Jesus do I see you today?" and yet I was completely at peace despite having no idea what the outcome would be.  When we landed about 60 km north of London the pilot got on and told us that they had experienced and electrical failure in the cockpit and that this was the reason that they lost the use of the instrument panel and the autopilot.  They needed to completely turn off the plane for safety and that they would keep us informed.  So after another 2 hours on the plane, we were towed towards the terminal and then disembarked to go throgh customs and collect our luggage.  British Airways hired charter buses to take us to Heathrow.  When we arrived now after 7 pm we enetered expecting to have new flights and to be on our way home when we entered absolute chaos in the British Airways terminal due to cancelled flights all over Europe related to weather and thousands of people were in line.  We found an information desk and no one realized that our flight had not landed in London.  We finally found a group of people from our flight who had managed to get a British Airways employee to believe the story about the flight failure and he realized that the ball had been dropped related to rescheduling all of our flights.  So we were all placed in a line together and we waited to get new itineries.  3 hours later however, the airline employees left at the end of their shift with none of our flight having been served.  Through a series of circumstances we found an employee who was willing to answer my questions about the partnership with American Airlines and what information AA employees could see about what had happened to our flight.  She told me that on the BA side they could see that our flight did not land in Heathrow but in Luton. So Malia and I decided to try calling AA in the states to see if they could help us.  After trying to use my international calling card without success, Malia and I found a corner and prayed and then opened her laptop and tried skype and got through to someone at AA who could help us.  After being told that the first flight we could get on was Sunday, I mentioned that I would miss my family Christmas and had no more vacation time left at work.  Soon a seat on the Saturday am flight opened and after a discussion with Malia about who would take this flight, the reservation person was told to give it to me and she would Malia on stand-by.  So with great thankfulness Malia and I went to join our flightmates to spend the night on the floor of Heathrow.  The morning dawned and Malia and I headed to the American Airlines terminal and another challenge presented itself.  My flight had been rebooked but Malia's had not been.  So we spoke with AA ticket agents about the BA flight failure the day before and they were able to get Malia a seat on the Saturday 4:30 pm flight.  So we had breakfast and then went to the my departure gate where we parted ways.  Then as we went to board the plane, the skies opened and snow began to fall.  By the time that we boarded and the plane was deiced, there were several inches of snow on the ground and I could barely see the runway and I thought that this was going to be very interesting.  We taxied down the runway and took off and had clear skies all the way to Chicago.  When we were about an hour from Chicago, the flight attendant told the women in front of me that they should be thankful for their Christmas miracle as our flight was the last one out before London Heathrow closed the airport and it would remain closed for 4-5 days.  Malia was stuck and my heart broke.  God had a purpose for each one of us and her sacrifice enabled me to get home for Christmas and to prepare for my trip to Turkey. 

The interesting note about my adventure getting home was that when I did not arrive in Chicago, American Airlines told Karen to contact British Airways about my connecting flight.  She looked it up online to discover that the listed information stated - flight status - contact British Airways.  So she called and was told that "yes she was on the flight and that I was alive and that everyone was ok."  When Karen asked where I was she was told "We do not know."

November 27, 2010 - Extra Credit Idea 23 - Go to a Concert in a Cave

Today I am 40 and I have the privilege of spending it in Nashville with my family, making this the perfect day.  40 years have passed so quickly and so will the next 40, if the Lord wills!  Today is extra special because 4 years ago the testing process that finally led to my Hodgkins lymphoma started on 11/28/2006 and in a few short weeks, I would wonder if I would live to be 37 let alone celebrate 40.  So life itself is a precious gift.

So Mark's special gift was to take me to a concert in a cave.  We drove to Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee to attend the monthly Bluegrass Underground concert.  The featured group was Blue Highway with Rockin Acoustic Circus.  So after hiking into a cave about a half mile we heard an amazing concert in a place with incredible acoustics!  This event only occurs once a month and so the program included a concert Thanksgiving weekend - my birthday! What a fun gift and great idea.  Mark is always clever and knows that I love music and trying things that are different and this was the perfect idea.  A great family Underground Music Adventure.

We went to dinner at the Silly Goose in Nashville.  It was just a wonderful day to be with family and to celebrate together and for this I was thankful. Most of the food items are made with couscous and each dish is unique and yet very healthy.



Blue Highway



  

Rockin Acousic Circus



Mark and Erin check out the map and information