Catchin' Up

OK....I acknowledge that a good bit of time has passed since I made my last post, but tons has happened. I'll get straight to it!

The time rolled around for me to renew my Thai visa, so I got to pick a place to go to take care of that. So...where do I wanna go? I chose Cambodia! I can't imagine what other time I'd get to go, so I was up for the adventure! It's no fun to do trips like that alone, so Court came with me. We flew into Phnom Penh and it was one crazy city! As you can see, it was busting at the seams with excitement!

Court and I both agreed that we experienced some culture shock. I'd say maybe it was more of culture jolt. Like, the out-of-controlness, so many people, loudness, honking bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the smell, was all enough to give us a good jolt! A few minutes later, we took a deep breath (of their serious pollution!) and then navigated the streets in tuk-tuks like pros! We were really hungry when we first got to our hotel, and lo and behold, if there wasn't a familiar face on the side of the hotel lobby wall! It was THE COLONEL! Kentucky Fried Chicken was connected to the lobby of our hotel! So, in a moment of desperation, we went and ate a KFC "snack plate"--2 chicken legs, mashed taters, and slaw. We were surprised to find that they wanted US Dollars! Everything on the menu was in USD. We came to find out, nobody wanted Cambodian Riel, they wanted US Dollars!

Anyways...once we got rollin', the first order of business was to take care of my visa. Check! That was done. Then, we rode a local bus for about 7 hours to Siem Reap to see the famous Angkor Wat! This was the weirdest ride ever! On the way there, we HIT A COW in the middle of the road. I wouldn't have believed it, but I saw the cow go flying to the side of the bus with my own eyes. The young, embarassed, and uncertain driver wasn't sure what to do but argue with the passengers on the front row about it. He finally pulled over. About 10 men get off the bus and they all walk to the front of the vehicle. They all cross their arms, stand in silence, and look at the "leftovers" on the front of the bus, shake their heads, and got back on the bus. Then, the driver went on like nothing ever happened. He was more cautious for the rest of the trip! For that I was grateful!

We finally reached Siem Reap and go see Angkor Wat(Google it!)! It was amazing! Very old and historical and dusty and well....important! I'm glad I had the opportunity to go see it! Siem Reap was a chill town with coffee shops, a market, and great places to eat and hang out! Shout outs to The Ivy for dinner (best Khmer curry!), Dragon Soup for another dinner (We were ready for pizza!), and the Blue Pumpkin ice cream shop! We had a great time!

Check out the photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrshelton/CambodiaCraziness

The Cruisin' Convoy

On the way to take Moo to the vet, we come to a major intersection near our house and all the traffic is stopped. There were about 4 cops making every vehicle stop and they were telling peeps on motor bikes to get off and stand. I couldn't believe everyone stopping and standing. Our best guess was that somebody from the Royal Family was gonna be breezing through any minute. Well, we were hoping it would be any minute. It was more like almost 15 minutes and all those motor bike riders waited patiently.

After we got to the vet and back to work, we asked our friends if something special was going on today? We explained how we sat an intersection forever waiting on a bunch of cars to blow right through our intersection at killer speeds. They were excited to inform us that one of the Princesses was in town. It didn't really seem to be anything way outta the ordinary for the peeps around here to get off motor bikes and stand in the middle of the road in honor of the princess. But, for me...well, this was a first!

Party on Wayne, Party on Garth

Birthday festivities continued on Saturday. Pam invited Court and I over to her house for a delish lunch of grilled chicken, som tam (papaya salad), and sticky rice. This is a typical Thai meal when at a waterfall or picnic. And this just happens to be one of my all time fave meals! So, me, Pam, Court, and Stephanie chowed down before going to Bua Tong waterfall.

It's located about 30 minutes outside of town. On the way there, we passed a truck this was loaded down with a pile of pigs. No, I'm serious. It was a pile of pigs!

So, after about an hour, we made it to the falls. It was absolutely gorgeous! We had great weather! Since Pam had been there before, she was our tour guide. She did great! Here's what makes Bua Tong so special...the waterfalls are really steep. And when Pam said "Ok, just climb up!" I couldn't figure out in my brain how this was gonna work? How in the world was I gonna walk up this without slipping and bustin' my booty!? Well, after I stepped on the rocks, I understood. It was grippy and scratchy just like a those scrubby-pumice stone things that I use as part of my footcare regimen. Anyways...it was NOT slick at all! It really plays tricks on your brain though! It was awesome!

After all that fun at the falls, we went back to Pam's house for cake, ice cream, and chips. It was a great day!

Click here to check out photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrshelton/BuaTongWaterfall

28 years ago...

Today is my birthday. It's been awesome. A lot of peeps have made a real effort to make today special. My day started with the phone ringing bright and early! I got to talk to some of my peeps and then I checked email and had tons of well wishes and then I had a load of shout outs on facebook. I went in to work for a while today and got to go to Miguel's (Mexican) for lunch. Then...this evening for dinner, Court and I went to Carrefour ( our local Wal-Mart type place) and ate at the food court! Ya know, if I was in Richmond, I would've wanted to go to Thai Diner, so, since I'm here in THAILAND, I wanted to have thai food here! We ate bowls of kwiteaw as well as gyoza. It was oh so tastey! Aroy maak!! Then, we came home and I opened some gifts! Among some of the cool things I got were...a magnet of Elvis, "Home to Big Stone Gap" by Adriana Trigiani, word searches, a bottle of Cheerwine, camo party plates, napkins, etc, and a cool picture frame. Thanks everybody!!! You were so thoughtful and sweet! Thank y'all so much for making today a special day for me!

This Saturday, my friend Pam, is taking Court and I up to her fave waterfalls for the day. We're planning on having a typical "waterfall lunch" of chicken, som tam, and sticky rice! This is one of my fave thai meals!!!! Check back and I'll post photos of that merriment as well.

I got a call from Momma and Daddy and heard the annual story "well, on this day many years ago, I had 3 hours of tightening contractions, my water broke, I didn't take any pain meds, and you fell right out." Now, didn't you just tilt your head to the side, bat your eyelashes, and sigh!? Even though this year, I was celebrating in a different country, far away from all my peeps, eating different food, etc., y'all still made me feel loved. I'm glad that's something that didn't change!

Check out photos from my birfday! http://picasaweb.google.com/wrshelton/MyBirfday2008

Moo's Winter Coat

The weather has gotten down to some chilly temps in the mornings (yes, I'd say the 60's are chilly temps!). Chihuahuas are infamous for their shaking when they get cold or excited. Moo was quaking from the cold this morning. So, it was time to get out her leopard print winter coat! Go ahead, roll your eyes, and laugh! Bless her heart. She's a good sport!

Check out these photos! http://picasaweb.google.com/wrshelton/LeopardPrintMoo

Happy 2008!

New Year's Eve was laid back and Jan. 1 was even more chill. Ice cream at Bud's sure was a great way to start the year!

Half Marathon Hey Hey!

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I did it! Yesterday morning, I woke up around 2:58am and got ready to run my first half marathon! All went well! There were a good number of peeps there running. I met some really cool runners and had a great time! I started too fast and then settled into a good pace by my 3rd mile (a half marathon is about 13.1 miles). I was amazed at how the Lord sustained me the entire way. I blasted my iPod the entire time! Toby Mac, Israel and the New Breed, a John Piper sermon, Hillsong Live, and some other random jams really kept my energy going! There were a few times when I couldn't imagine running much longer, but then, I'd tell myself to keep going!

Overall, it was a great physical and mental challenge. I'm so glad I did it! When I was coming down the home stretch, I could see Court and her grandparents (Mom Mom and Pop Pop) cheering me on and that was awesome! I also saw some other friends there and was so grateful for their support and encouragement!

After I crossed the line, we walked over where they were giving out bananas and watermelon and water and we chilled there for a bit. My friend, Pam, was gonna be coming through soon at the completion of the full marathon! So, we were waiting around to cheer her on! In the meantime, they began the awards ceremony. It was about time for Pam to cross the finish so we started heading back across the street. BUT, I saw that they were doing awards for my age group. We stopped to see who all won trophies. Well, after they called third place, they went on to call fourth place. And what do we hear? Miss Wendy Shelton, USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We all started laughing because we nearly walked off. Mom Mom said here Wendy give me your stuff. Court said I've got the camera, GO! So...I walked up on the stage and accepted my 4th place trophy!!! It was quite a day!!!

Then, we went across the street and waited to cheer for Pam and she made it! In fact, she made it 30 minutes quicker than she had projected! I'm so proud of her! Way to go Pam!!! Great job!

Special thanks to everyone who called and left voicemails as well as all the emails! You really made a difference! Thank you! And thanks to Mom Mom and Pop Pop for getting up early on your vacation to cheer me on! And a super thanks to my buddy, Court for waking up at 3am to take me to the race and snap photos of all of it! You're the bomb!

Click on the slideshow to see all of the photos from the day!!!