SO.... who do you think YOU are?"

Well, I guess that question has been asked of me a FEW times in my life, and usually, I have to answer with a smile... "well, that depends". You see, I kind of "morph" a bit, depending on the context and situation. Firstly, I am a believer, I am a mom, a wife, business person, filmmaker, artist, budding runner and most consistently.... a dreamer. None actually "claim" hold over me, but they all fight for first place in line. My first priority, however, is to my God and then my family.

I am the "big picture" belle of the group, love me or leave me, I have enough "quirks" to fill a dump truck, but love life and my friends even more!

I have just hit the "prime" of my life, turning 41 this February. It has brought about a lot of change in my thought processes that are probably a little bit different than the "younger" belles in our group. I find myself constantly asking myself, now..... " how is this going to effect my family, my friends.... the world". Now, I know that may sound a little "cheesey" and for those of you who know me well, a little un"blingy".... but I have come to a place, where I realize life is short..... VERY short, and what I leave behind, is ALL of me there will be when I am gone. What I leave my children with (dreams, beliefs, moral compasses) that is the only way to leave my thumbprint, if you will on the generations to come. I look at the world (USA) as it is now, and frequently have to apologize for what we will be leaving my kids to deal with.

I have a HUGE heart for Africa. I have a friend who is part of a ministry to street kids in Uganda, hopefully I will be able to take my oldest kid, Blake jr. next summer over there so he can see how "the rest of the world" lives, and have his heart pricked enough to do more for the helpless than I ever could.

I LOVE U2, and every lyric that has ever been scribbled down by the hand of Bono. ( I saw them twice last year - Barcelona, Raleigh.

I am a STAUNCH Constitutionalist in the most Jeffersonian use of the word. I believe in the idea of freedom for ALL people as a God given right. I believe in free enterprise and capitalism, I HATE SOCIALISM on any level. I believe in working HARD for what you have, and even HARDER to get what you don't. I don't believe in "handouts", but "hand-ups". I am a bootstrap girl who came from a family that had not much, according to American standards, and have worked hard everyday of my adult life to give my children more.... BUT also, to teach them the value of work and the dollar. Nothing good comes free.

I teach my children to ALWAYS stop, face the flag and put their hands over their hearts, EVERY TIME the National Anthem is played.... NO EXCEPTIONS. We frequently talk about what people have given up, even today, for that flag, and it WILL be respected. ( I tear up, even now, just writing these words :))

I love my friends. Not much more to say about that, but if you are one, you know I love you and would do ANYTHING to defend you..... I have offered to kick many a bottoms for my friends, whether they were right or wrong, I will always be on your side.

I love to travel. I hope when I am 90 I will still be out climbing up the Rock of Gilbraltar, or seeing a bullfight (I am sure they will by hijacked by the politically correct by then though), or attending a rally for members of a country that are not yet free (shout out to my Iranian friends in Athens). I hope I will always live life to the fullest.... as Bono (my only "idol" here on earth) says in the song KITE, "I'm not afraid to die.....I'm not afraid to live.....And when I'm flat on my back...I hope to feel like I did".

My kids are my life. I have 4. Blake, 12, Drew-Davis, 10, Stuart, 8, and Benson, 4. We are SUPER busy and have a hectic life, but I would not change a minute of it.... NOT ONE MINUTE. Two of my boys have AD/HD pretty intensely, and that is not easy....so if you have a kid who is "different" believe me, I can relate. BUT, I have found, these are the kids that God gave us for a REASON.... and it's not my job to question that, but to embrace it and cultivate it, the best I can.

My husband, Blake, is my stability. I knew when I shook his hand, he was the one..... He told me he loved me on day 2 and asked me to marry him on day 3..... 15 years later, I love him more than the first time I saw him, singing on stage in some smokey bar in Norfolk, VA. He lets me run, as far and fast as I can.... or until the money runs out!! :)) He is my soul-mate.

It has taken me a long time to realize that I am the LEAST perfect person in the world.... it is truly a wonder how the people around me love me and put up with me. I act before I think, I say what I should censor, and I spend more than I make..... but somehow, facing your imperfections help you to accept who you are, and work on being better, not believing you have it all figured out, and helps you to accept there is a plan.... you won't know what it is, till you are past it, but it IS a plan, and you just have to keep walking thru it.

Meet Elyse

Hello! I am excited to tell everyone a little about myself!

Name: Elyse Giles

Personal: I am the youngest, but married the longest to Doug Giles for 17 roller coaster years! We have 3 wonderful children, Megan 16, Douglas 14 and Madelyn 11. I know this is information about me, but my family is a large part of who I am and I am so grateful to have a supporting, loving husband and children.

Quote: "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves." I will explain why I love this quote later on.

I am not a Georgia native, but moved here to Athens at the worst possible time in a teenagers life, 16!!! I have now lived here 21 years (if you do the math you guys will know how old I am!) A short 4 years later I was happily married and on the way to starting our beautiful family!

My piece of the pie in this Belle group, is FITNESS!! When my husband was in chiropractic school we could not afford a gym membership. I was 50 pounds overweight after having 3 children in less than 5 years. When our youngest was one, I was on our bed and realized that I had just eaten an entire pan of magic bars and I knew I needed to change. I had been active before and I am a happy, love to talk to people, energetic and thought "Hey, I could be a fitness instructor." Get paid to workout! And that was the start of my love for exercise. I am seen almost always in my workout garb. Black. So I hope you recognize me in the Belle pictures. It is going on 11 years, and I have taught almost everything there is fitness wise to teach. I am living another dream right now and that is The YMCA's Wellness and Fitness Director. Another huge bonus to me teaching is I LOVE to cook, bake and eat! My favorite shows are Top Chef, The Next Food Network Star and Biggest Loser. Need I say more??

My connection to the rest of the Belles is of course Shannon! I am her friend and trainer. Leslie and Angela mentioned Las Vegas in their bio's. That was the starting race of this magical group. We have done 2 AWESOME trips! When I was in college, and before I was married I really thought I was going to be an International Business Woman! I had 4 years of French and just knew I would be traveling to France to do big deals! Well, that wasn't the plan then. But, dreams really do come true. You might not know when they will happen, but I guarantee if you set a goal, focus and are constantly positive you will be amazed at the opportunities that will come to you. That is why I love my quote "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves." Make your destiny and fulfill it BIG!