Picture #13: Disney and Universal!!

In 2 weeks I will be on my way to Florida! I am counting down the days because I am going to Disney's Magic Kingdom and Universal's Island of Adventure! I am so excited to see the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter within Universal! I haven't been to any of the Disney parks since I was very little and I don't remember them at all, so I am looking forward to making new and lasting memories! I am going with Patrick, my sister Meg, and Patrick's sister Mary Paige. We are all very close and I think we are going to have a great time despite the long drive there. I have done my research and I can't wait for the roller coasters and site-seeing! My roommate, Meredith, went over Spring Break and she said it was amazing! We are all big Harry Potter fans so we are dying to see how Universal has created a world of Harry Potter from the books. Magic Kingdom will also be fun with the princess castle, Peter Pan ride, and even a Swiss Family Robinson treehouse! I used to be scared of roller coasters but I have come to enjoy them now and I am ready to go!

Picture #12: Staying Fit For The Summer!

Overall, I would say I am a reasonably fit person. I try to exercise pretty regularly and I eat healthy enough.  But, with summer almost here I am stepping up my game for the shorts and bathing suit weather! During my workouts I am trying to do more weights along with the cardio and I am going to try to limit how much added sugar is in my diet as well. This summer at camp I am going to have to make more of an effort since we won't have a gym right around the corner like Fike. But, I have already talked to my friends and we have made a commitment to each other to workout together.  One of my friends has dumbbells that she is bringing and then the camp has a lot of hills that we can run together in the morning to keep in shape. One of the camp workers is also a yoga teacher so we can do yoga at least once a week too. It will also be harder this summer to stay fit because the camp doesn't offer the healthiest options. I will have to be careful about what I am eating so it doesn't cancel out all of the exercise I do. I hope I will be able to run for longer distances after this summer because I want to try to run a 10K next year! Wish me luck as I try to tone and stay in shape! 

Picture #11: Summer Plans - Camp Spearhead

This summer I will be working at Camp Spearhead! Camp Spearhead is a camp for people with special disabilities and it is for anyone 8 or older. We have some men and women who are as old as 60, and others are 8 or 9. The disabilities also vary from Autism to Down Syndrome, etc., with some being higher functioning than others. It is an overnight camp from Monday through Friday. I will be a camp counselor and I will be in a cabin with about 4 other girl counselors and 10-12 campers every week. I volunteered for a week last summer and I absolutely loved it! Even though it will be very hard work, it will also be very rewarding. I cannot wait to help give the campers an amazing camp experience that they can't get at a lot of other places because of their disabilities. An added bonus is that the counselors I will be working with are awesome! We will get to help the campers participate in a lot of fun activities including a climbing tower and a rope swing. The camp also recently changed locations last summer, so the facilities are new and very nice. I am so excited for this summer adventure to begin!

Picture #10: Zac Brown Band

The above picture is of the Zac Brown Band. Zac Brown Band plays country music and it is coming to Clemson next Friday for a concert! As part of Patrick's birthday present I got us tickets to go and luckily Clemson was selling them with a student discount. I am so excited because Zac Brown Band is one of our favorites! The lead singer is of course, Zac, and he is sitting in the front with the guitar.  This band has a unique sound and uses lots of different instruments including the violin, mandolin, and fiddle, to name a few. Some of the most well-known songs include "Chicken Fried," "Toes," "Highway 20 Ride," "Free," and a new one is "Colder Weather." The new one is on the newest c.d., "You Get What You Give." I don't know very many other songs on this c.d. but I am going to be listening to him as much as possible before next week to prepare for the concert! The concert is outside on the upper intramural fields, so I hope there will be nice weather -- I am ready to break the sandals and shorts out again and put away my rain jacket for a while! 

Picture #9: Spring Break!

This year for Spring Break I got to travel a little bit. The first weekend was my boyfriend's birthday so I went to Presbyterian College to visit him. On Sunday I left for the beach! One of my roommates owns a house on Edisto Island so some of my friends and I went to stay at her house for a couple of days.  That Monday we decided to go to Charleston to shop because the weather was a little overcast.  Tuesday's weather was perfect for laying out on the beach. The water was too cold to go swimming but it was hot enough to tan and we went for a walk on the beach.  Wednesday we hung out on the dock behind the house before heading back home.  I have been spending time with my family here in Greenville for the past couple of days. Tomorrow I am going to Patrick's spring football game and I really hope it doesn't rain! I have to head back to Clemson on Sunday evening and start studying for my Music 210 test on Monday! So far it has been a great Spring Break and I am not ready for it to end, but I know that summer is almost here!!

Picture #8: Clemson Sports!

I love watching college football! I especially love cheering on my tigers, even though we didn't have the best season this last fall. I am not the kind of girl who knows little about football and just sits in the stands. While growing up, I watched many football games with my dad and my brother so I know what's going on during the game and I think it is very entertaining. Also, since my boyfriend plays football I get to go watch him and support him too. It doesn't hurt that I love tailgating before/after the game because of the great food and fellowship! Fall would not be complete without watching Clemson football every Saturday! My love and knowledge of sports is not limited to football. I also love watching and playing basketball and soccer. I don't usually follow a specific team (except Clemson of course), and I will just watch whatever game is on at the time.  I love how spirited Clemson is and how Clemson is one of the hardest teams to play at its home field/court because of its great supporting fans! Clemson plays in its second game of the NCAA Tournament for March Madness tomorrow and I am hopeful that we will upset West Virginia and move on in our bracket!  

Picture #7: Spencer!!

This week I am going to talk about my best friend, Spencer.  The first picture is of me and her at zoo camp when we were in kindergarten.  We have been best friends since we can remember. Our parents were friends before we were born and we have grown up playing with each other all the time.  We have always lived down the street from each other and gone to the same school since elementary school.  Last year Spencer took a year off to do an internship in Memphis.  That was hard to be away from her for that long but I ended up being able to go visit her and she came home to visit too.  Since then, we have been reunited and she is at Clemson with me now!  The second picture is of us at a Clemson football game this past year.  Our families are still close and we both have a younger sibling and an older sibling who are friends with each other as well.  We are both strong Christians and she has been a great encourager and accountability partner for me.  We are also both in the Clemson Cultural Partner Program together and we have dinner with our partners together about every other week.  She will always be my best friend and I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in the next couple of years while we are at Clemson together.  

Picture #6: Patrick

This week is a picture of me and my boyfriend, Patrick.  We have been dating for almost 6 years.  He is a sophomore at Presbyterian College.  We met in middle school and went to the 8th grade dance together.  After that, he asked me to be his girlfriend and we have been together ever since! We went to different high schools and we are at different colleges now, but we have made it through the long distance challenges so far.  It was especially interesting when Presbyterian played Clemson in football this year.  I tried to wear both blue and orange and even though I knew Clemson would win, I was pulling for Patrick to do well too.  This summer we will be working together at Camp Spearhead, an overnight camp for people with disabilities.  Patrick is an amazing guy and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Pictures #4 and #5: My Roomies!

The pictures for this week are of my close-knit Clemson family.  The top picture is of my roommates and me.  Their names are Meredith, Tate, and Haydn.  This picture was taken the night we celebrated Meredith's birthday and surprised her with pumpkin carving and a surprise party.  The best surprise of all was the gift we gave her that night, our fish named Fudge, who is shown in the bottom picture.  Fudge is a beta fish and he is the newest member of our roommate family! He is currently still alive and we all love him very much.  My roommates and I are very close despite the fact that we didn't all know each other before this year.  Tate and Haydn are cousins and they lived together last year.  They needed 2 more roommates this year and I went to high school with Tate.  I told her my friend Meredith and I would take the spots, even though I didn't know Haydn, and Meredith didn't know either of them.  We all get along very well and have decided to live together until we all graduate!  We really are like a family and I am so thankful that these girls are in my life!  Even though we are all different, we fit together like a puzzle and we would do anything for each other.

Pictures #2 and #3: My Family

In this post I am going to share a little bit about my family.  I have an older brother and a younger sister (second picture).  My older brother's name is Ben and he is a junior at Clemson University majoring in Turf/Grass Management.  My younger sister's name is Meg and she is a freshman in high school.  I am close with my parents (first picture) and they are both Clemson graduates, so we are one big Clemson family!  We have two dogs, a golden retriever puppy named Charlie, and a toy poodle named Cuddles.  We live in Greenville, SC.  We all like to travel and spend time outdoors.  My brother, sister, and I have all played (or are currently playing) sports in high school so we all are pretty active.  My mom is a really good cook and I have been trying some of her recipes now that I am in an apartment and off a meal plan.    Even though my sister is 5 years younger then me, I have had to accept that she is already taller and looks older than me.  Despite this, she is one of my best friends and we get along really well.  I love getting together with my whole family on the holidays when I go home from school.              

Picture #1 Kiawah Island

My name is Jill McNair.  This blog is all about my life.  The title is A Picture A Week.  In this blog I will be posting a new picture every week, discussing how it relates to my life, and why I chose it.  By including the pictures with my blog, I hope it will help you as the reader get to know me a little better.  

The first picture I chose is of me walking on the beach at Kiawah Island this past summer.  The beach is one of my favorite places in the world and my family goes to Kiawah every year.  I love riding my bike around and looking for dolphins in the marsh at high tide.  I also love to go fishing and crabbing there.  I remember when I was little we would always have a contest for who could find the first shark tooth.  The winner would get an extra scoop of ice cream that night for dessert!  Also, while we are at Kiawah, my family has a tradition of driving into Charleston for dinner one night at Garibaldi, a really good Italian restaurant.  Garibaldi has the best garlic bread and stuffed flounder.  This past summer we were at Kiawah over the fourth of July and Kiawah put on an amazing fireworks show on the beach.  I have so many great memories of going to the beach every summer and I hope to keep making more with my family this coming summer!