Honesty vs Tact

Do you think it is possible to be completely honest when writing- whether that be in a blog, in a letter, in an email? Where does tact kick in and honesty go out the window?

Do we present different parts of ourselves to different people in different situations? Is that okay, or is that being fake?

Carolina Babette- A new niece is born!

I am so excited to share this next blog. I have a new niece, Carolina Babette Sturdivant. My cousin Elizabeth gave birth to this gorgeous girl on July 23rd. I am so sad that I cannot see her as a new new born, but I am looking forward to always being a part of her life. The good news is that she and her family live in Panama City where most of my family lives, so I will get to see her every time I go home! I am so glad that she was warmly welcomed into the world by many family members close by!

I like to think that she was sort of named after me, but in reality her name was inspired by the designer Carolina Herrera. :)

How precious is this face? I am sure that she will only add to the amazing joy that her wonderful sister Isabella has brought to our family.

Going to the Next Height

Looking down a steep hill high in the air gets my mind every time. I never really get sick. I just freeze up, and my mind tells my muscles to tighten and slow down. I know that the only way to conquer your fears is to face them. Kent does a great job of helping me do this.

On Sunday, I was once again reminded of my fear and my need to overcome it. Kent and I decided to go for a long adventurous run to the Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks sits upon the highest hills in San Francisco, and you can see the entire city as if you were a bird flying overhead. It is still amazing to me that all of these giant hills exist in the middle of the city!

We started off running from my apartment in SOMA, about a 6 mile jaunt to the peak. Factoring in the elevation changes, it was what one might call a challenging run. It started off pretty level, but anyone who knows the city of San Frncisco knows that doesn't last long. This city is sure to help those gluteous maximus muscles. ;) As we passed the Castro neighborhood, the real hills began. It was just gorgeous that day, so I had barely noticed that we had been running for miles. I was just taking in the view and enjoying conversation with Kent. However, I started feeling pretty winded as we started climbing the last big hill ... that ran through a neighborhood just below the peaks. We climbed about 300 stairs up once there was no more road to run. I was exhausted by the time we reached the actual peak. My legs started shaking, and I was feeling weak, but I kept pushing forward. As we headed up the peak, fear triggered my brain to say, "Stop, you can't do this. You aren't on level ground." This brings up the question: Does fear trigger the brain, or does the brain trigger fear?" I guess it has to start in the brain, right?

Why are some people prone to fear certain things, and others are not? I guess the important thing is to keep facing fears to prove that we can overcome! We can do what we thought we were incapable of. It won't be easy, but that is what makes is rewarding!

I kept going up the first peak. The pictures will show my 'slight' hesitation. Kent held my hand on the way down to reassure me that he wouldn't let me fall. Thankfully, he is so patient and helps me when I hit a wall. I was shaky when we got back down to the bottom of the first peak, but he reminded me and I reminded myself that I had been 10 times higher in the air when we skied in Tahoe- 10,000 feet in the air! In order to prove to myself that I could do it, we went to the top of the 2nd peak. I didn't feel like staying long but enjoyed the view nonetheless!
It was a wonderful run with beautiful views, and I am so happy that I could share it with such a wonderful person.

Caroline Quote of the Day for 20 July, 2009

"The thing about hard workouts, is that sometimes they make you tired" Indeed.

Good food, Good company, Good times

Saturday, Kent and I were lucky enough to have dinner with his Aunt Kristen and Uncle Bill from Atlanta and cousin Sally who is taking a summer advanced learning course at UC-Santa Cruz. We met them near their hotel over near Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf. We had dinner at this amazing French-Vietnamese restaurant, Ava Mandara. We all ordered the halibut, and no one was disappointed. I tried once again to master my chop sticks, but it didn't quite work out. I ended up opting for the fork instead. Dinner was filled with good conversation and good laughs and amazing cuisine. It was a special treat to see some familiar faces from Georgia! After dinner, we headed over to the pier to look out over the San Francisco Bay. It was really warm during the day (75+), so I figured I didn't need a heavy jacket, but I was regretting it once the wind starting picking up over the water. Word to the wise: Always bring a jacket and scarf in SF!

We then headed back to the mainland for some classic Irish coffees. They quickly warmed us up.

We had a blast and look forward to their next visit!

Friday night at Ocean Beach

A note from Caroline:

Kent and I have decided to experiment with a little blog, and we hope you can share in some of our adventures.  I just recently moved to San Francisco over the 4th of July weekend to be closer to Kent, and I am so happy to finally be here.  I love Georgia and miss Atlanta, but I am so grateful to be here in California now.  This past weekend was absolutely wonderful, and I thought I'd share some of it as part of the first posting on our new blog!

On Friday night, we headed out to Ocean Beach with Jacqueline and Albert to have a little bond fire and roast some marshmallows.  Yes, it is California, and yes it is summertime, and yes, I am wearing snow gear on the beach!  It was so cold.  This San Francisco city weather is a far cry from the Atlanta heat in July.  Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."  I never understood what he meant until now. :)  We made the long trek (a few miles) over to Ocean Beach so excited to start our fire, only to be stopped by the cops telling us that all of the legal fire pits were taken.  We made the best of it and had a great time anyway.  Some of you may know that I have always loved the beach at night!!  Here are a few pics from the evening.