Amazed!

My Fund-raising

 Thermometer

In my last post, I wrote about how I don't like asking for money. I really am
 terrified of doing it. So when my friend, Marti, asked me to do this walk with her, I was very hesitant. She said we should have no problem raising the money, it would be the 60 miles that would be hard. I said I was worried about raising money and that the 60 miles would be the easy part (delusional, I know). Anyway, I decided last Saturday, that I would go ahead and send my letter out to about 60 of my closest friends and family. I had to make myself just hurry up and throw the letters in the mail before I changed my mind. I REALLY do not like to ask for money, but this is such a great cause!

I have been amazed! As of right now, I have raised $1,405. I am at 61% of my goal. I can't believe it! Thank you to all that have donated. If you haven't there is still time! I would love to be done with my fund-raising by May 30. Training starts May 7 and I would like to train without worrying about whether I will even get to participate!

My friend, Taffy, asked if I wanted to take a beginner's yoga class with her. I really have never liked yoga that much but I decided it wouldn't hurt to try it. I have actually been very surprised how much I do like it this time around. I don't know if I enjoy it for the workout or if I enjoy the time for myself or both but I am having a good time. I'm amazed by what I can do and what I can't do. More importantly the cartoon below is finally not true anymore!

Thanks again for all the donations coming in! Until next time, Namaste!

Are You Serious?

Asking for money is one of my least favorite things to do! I am not good at it and it makes me uncomfortable. However, since I am doing this walk, I feel like I am asking for a good reason!
Did you know?

• About 1.6 million new cases of invasive breast cancer occurred among women around the world in 2010.
• Globally, 1 out of every 18 women is at risk of developing breast cancer during her lifetime.
• Every 74 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone dies from breast cancer.
• The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being female and growing older.

The last one is what really caught me off guard and it should catch everyone! The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being female and growing older? Are you serious? I am female and I am growing older! It can happen to any of us. Another one that got to me was: One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes in the U.S. So, by the time I finish this blog post, at least 5 women will have been diagnosed. One of those women could be me or even you! That is why I will walk.

One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the 3-Day benefit Susan G. Komen and fund innovative global breast cancer research and local community programs supporting education, screening and treatment. Komen is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.

Don't you want to join the fight against breast cancer?  Click here for my personal page.

YIKES!

I signed up for the 3-Day Walk in Atlanta for Susan G. Komen!! This has been on my bucket list for a long time and I finally decided to do it.

I am super excited and I can't wait to start my 24-week training schedule. There are several people that I will be walking for but most of all I will be walking in honor of my mom, Kathi Davis. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. This was supposed to be one of the happiest times in my life. I had just gotten married in October 2003 and we found out that I was pregnant in January of 2004. Then my mom got the diagnosis. Naturally we were all upset but my mom is super stubborn! She decided she was going to win the fight against breast cancer and she did! She has now been a survivor for almost 8 years!

Mindy & my mom at a Komen 5K

Since her diagnosis, my family has tried to do the Susan G. Komen 5K in Birmingham every year. Sometimes, all of us make it and sometimes I'm the only one that makes it and a couple of times we have had to miss it but our thoughts were always there. I have always been a big supporter for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I am thrilled that I am taking this huge step and doing this.

In order to do the walk, I must raise $2,300! I have to admit that in the beginning, I was a little worried about this but not anymore. So far, I have received $1,005 dollars! If you are interested in donating please visit my donation page. The walk will end up being about 60 miles. There will be stops along the way to refuel and rest and then the best part (I think) is camping out at night in a pink tent! I can't wait to share this entire journey with you!

Last week was our Thanksgiving Break. I had awesome intentions of going to the gym everyday before I got started on my house cleaning and Christmas decorating. I made it on Monday and everything was fine. It felt good to be back at the gym. Then on Tuesday, we walked in like we do every other time. There was a new teacher in the kids room. Mason spotted her and walked right out of the door. He wanted nothing to do with playing or staying. So we had to turn around and go back home. Mindy was crying, I was crying but Mason sat in the back seat just sucking his thumb like he couldn't figure out what was wrong with us. So needless, to say we haven't been back. I am actually thinking about backing out of my contract because I feel like I am paying for nothing and paying a lot for nothing. When I went to Planet Fitness, it wasn't a big deal because it was $10 a month. They are coming back in February so I am super excited about that and I want to go back there anyway. Decisions, decisions.

The house is almost finished for Christmas!! We have our Tacky Christmas Party coming up next weekend so everything has to be in its place for that. We started our "Advent Calendar" last night reading the first book. My kids think it is so much fun to get to open a present every night. We read it in front of the Christmas tree for ambiance. :-)

Yay and Nay

Yay: I am done and I enjoyed every minute of it (mostly). The race was fantastic! We had to be in our corral by about 6:30 even though the race didn't start until 7:30am. Man was it cold! I had started that morning in a long sleeve race shirt with a short sleeve over it and capri running pants. Luckily, I had brought some yoga pants to change into later because I went ahead and put them on because I was freezing! I also had a running jacket so I added that to my wardrobe. This was also the first time I had worn a running headband. Its purpose is to keep the sweat out of your eyes but it also helped to keep my ears warm!

My awesome husband was on hand at mile 8 to offer support and a little water (it was also a good stretching point). By then I had shed my jacket. Somebody is going to have a nice race jacket! I had a little bit of trouble for a few miles during my walking times but then I finally figured out about mile 10 or 11 that running felt better! The race was a complete success and I felt better than I usually have after the races I have done before. After we rode the shuttle back to the car, we ate lunch at a Texas Roadhouse. We were so hungry and really didn't care what we ate so we ate at the first thing we saw. We went back to the hotel and I showered and rested for about 30 minutes and then Danny and I went back out to do some sightseeing. We ate the most delicious pizza from a very questionable place (those are always the best places). One of my favorite things was eating at The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). It was much better than I thought it was going to be.

me and Danny at Forsyth Park (the race ended here)

Okay now for the "Nay" part ...

Nay:Before I left for the race, I felt like I was getting a sinus infection and my heel was hurting again. I went to see my doctor. He gave me meds for the sinus infection. He said it would be better to wait until I got back to get the shot in my heel again. After the shot, he recommends going easy on my feet for at least 48 hours. He said there is no way that I was going to be able to do that. The only thing really hurting after the race was my heel. On Wednesday, I finally called to make an appointment for my shot. I went yesterday and he was doing the ultrasound and told me he couldn't give me the shot. He said it looked like I had torn the fascia in my foot and that was what the pain was coming from. WHAT??!!?? He sent me for an MRI and we are now waiting for the results. Worst case scenario: surgery. Moderate case scenario: some sort of procedure where they take the blood from my arm, spin it down until healing agents are left and then inject it into my foot. Weird! Best case scenario: it is nothing at all and with a little rest the pain will go away. I hate waiting on things like this!! Will keep you posted on what they say!

Twas the Night Before Race Day....

Twas the night before race day and as tired as I am from sightseeing today, I can't sleep!! I hope to pass out soon. We are having such a great time but we are eating way too much. Looking forward to conquering this race tomorrow. The weather is cold and windy so I have had to add a layer to my clothes. Will do an update tomorrow on how it went!!

i'm sorry but this shirt was too funny and
danny is such a good sport!

we are ready!!!







Five Chins, Halloween and Anxiety

Couldn't come up with a good title for today's blog so I decided just to list the things I was going to blog about. On Friday, Danny and I did the Freaky Friday 8K in Tuscaloosa. This was definitely a race I would do again. The race was at night so it was a little difficult for landmark runners like me. I focus on a landmark up ahead and run to that and then take a break until another landmark and run, and so on and so on. It was hard to see my landmarks. If you registered for this race in time you got a free head lamp. I was super bummed because I didn't see one in my stash. Then yesterday when I was cleaning up, I opened up my race bag and there it was...a head lamp. Oh well. I want to give a quick shout out to my husband who did the race with me. He was planning on doing the race to see how well he would do. My running buddies couldn't make it down at the last minute so he stayed with me the whole time. He is definitely a faster runner than I am but it was dark and I was especially grateful. Five chins....

that is how many chins I have in this picture. This was the only picture that we took at the Freaky Friday. It is of me, Danny and my five chins. It was a bad angle because normally I have only two.


We had a great Halloween and I am so glad it is over because I was honestly getting tired of celebrating it! We started Monday, October 24th with Sorority Row trick or treating at UA. Then we had Trunk or Treat at the church. Then we had a Halloween party at our friend's house. We had plenty of candy and we were exhausted!! So exhausted in fact that we didn't even go trick or treating last night. We had a nice Halloween dinner of Taco Casa. YUM! The kids didn't even complain that we didn't go. The Halloween party that we go to every year was a blast. Danny went as a bank robber and I was a money bag. The costume was a big hit at the party. Unfortunately, now we have a house full of candy and I have a stomach that wants to eat it ALL!! I am going to try to be strong and keep it out of my system because I have got to eat better, especially this week since my race is Saturday.

Anxiety!! I am very excited about this race! I am also very anxious. I know I will finish but I would like to PR on this race. I actually never worry about my time and I think I have mentioned that in this blog before but for some reason I would really like to have my best race ever. The weather is supposed to be beautiful that day. I will have my husband cheering me on. And I already have bath salts to ease my muscles when it is all over. I am more anxious about the trip there than I am about the race. My running buddies are going and we are all riding together. Today one of them called and said that we may not be able to use her car so that sent me into a tailspin. But she has since called back and said that it should be okay. However, about 13 years ago, I went to Savannah with my best friend and when we got there the car broke down. I am hoping that was a one time thing!! Hopefully I will get to post again before we leave!