Halfway Point

I am now at my halfway point in my training. I never thought I would be able to make my fundraising goal by this point and I am thrilled that I actually haven't had to worry about that at all! The training has been great. There have been some tough times but I've always managed to make it through. This week I have been struggling with some motivation issues and haven't done my walks but I have decided today that I'm through with that excuse. I will get up in the morning and get started again. In the grand scheme of things, missing one week out of 24 isn't that bad.

Last weekend, we traveled to Diamondhead, MS and I was so proud of myself for getting up at 6am on Saturday morning and walking 10 miles. I had no idea where I was going but I really enjoyed it. The unknown scenery was a great distraction and it didn't seem like I had been walking for 3 hours.

I have been going to yoga on a regular basis and I'm surprised how much I like it. My yoga pants are thrilled to be living up to their name! I like the fact that in yoga there are several different ways to do certain positions. I am definitely always in the beginner position but it doesn't bother me. I just like the stretch. I have been very surprised with how much it helps with my headaches too.

Recently, I found out that a girl I went to college with was diagnosed with breast cancer and I have added her to my list of people to walk for. No matter how much I have learned about this disease, I was shocked that someone that young could be diagnosed. It really can happen to any of us!

Looking forward to getting up in the morning and getting started again! I got an email from Komen saying that I can check-in now and print my credentials. I can't believe it is getting that close!

The Need To Clean

I am going through a summer cleaning phase at the moment. I want to get rid of everything! I am one of those people that in order to really clean something,  I have to make a bigger mess. At this point, the cleaning phase is only mental. I haven't actually physically started doing anything. I'm just so exhausted! No excuse, right? Actually, I'm afraid I will get started and then I will have to leave it for some reason and I will never come back to it. I want to make sure I have PLENTY of time.

My kids have WAY too much stuff. I don't even know where to begin getting rid of stuff. Mindy manages to find the smallest areas to hide stuff in and she isn't organized at all when it comes to putting stuff back where she got it. There are game pieces, puzzle pieces, nail polish bottles and don't even get me started on the ponytail holders! These things are everywhere! Mason actually does a better job at keeping things organized except in one small area which makes things a little easier. I am actually thinking of rearranging his room. My husband will be thrilled!

My dream would be for someone to just show up at my house and go through each room and get it organized and deep cleaned. I would want that person to throw things out and then I would never know what we got rid of. Basically I need a deep cleaning lady or man. I would hope I would only need this person once or twice to get me started and then I could keep up with it on my own. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the average rates for a professional organizer: $55-$85 per hour. Maybe this is a career path I should look at!!

I'm no hoarder by any means but we could really use some help with the process. I think I use up all of my organizational skills at work. I am absolutely OCD about my desk and if any one removes something from my desk or just puts something where it doesn't go, I will notice. I'm not like that at home. None of us are actually.

I know this has nothing to do with my fund-raising or my training but I needed to just kind of "talk" it out. On another note, the training is fantastic. On Saturday, Edie and I did 8 miles. It was going fine and then after about 1.5 miles it started raining. Not a hard, pelting rain but just a steady rain. It stopped raining as we were getting closer to our cars. We were soaking wet but proud of our early morning accomplishment.

Moving At a Snail's Pace

I am trying to hard to keep my eye's open at work and it isn't working out so well for me. After a couple of weeks of no rain, it is finally looking like it might rain. Even if it doesn't the dreary atmosphere has me so tired and moving at a snail's pace. My walk yesterday was pretty slow and it wasn't even cloudy yet. But you have your fast days and you have your slow days.

Last week was sort of a rest week since we didn't walk over 5 miles all week. But this week they are bumping us up to 8 and I think next week is 10! This week is my ninth week of training! I am trying very hard to stick to my schedule and I'm not doing too bad at all! For the month of June, I completed 62 miles. The mileage will only get higher and higher! When I was running and training for my other races, I never had blisters or bruised up toes (until the race was actually over). Walking has given me blisters and I swear my middle toenail is going to fall off any day now since it is such a dark shade of purple.

My walks have been extremely hot. I am sweating bullets by the time we are done. But I definitely feel like I have gotten a good workout. The yoga is helping as well, especially with my migraines. I didn't realize how much it helped until I skipped a few times and my headaches started coming back.

Things have finally calmed down a little at home now that swimming lessons are over. The kids are enjoying the air conditioning and an occasional trip to the pool. I have noticed that whenever I have a conversation with Mindy, it centers around a television show or a commercial that she saw. So we have decided to start limiting her T.V. time. What do you limit your kids to?