a post just to post

I've found that there is a strange pop up coming up when people visit my blog. It's actually for a blog that I read. Not really sure what is going on, but I'm going to see if adding a new post will make a difference.

Hmmmm ... it's Wednesday, what's going on in your world?

Today means a Halloween parade at preschool, work, crockpot lasagna on the menu for dinner (even though it's 70 degrees outside), Sesame Street songs, and I'm sure other adventures around the house.

Pumpkins and witches, oh my.

Yesterday, we attended our church Fall Festival, complete with "Trunk or Treat." I didn't know if the girls would "get it" or not, since this was truly their 1st trick-or-treating experience. They quickly learned that all of the people would give you candy to put in your little buckets. Even though they really didn't eat much candy, they still liked that idea.They also loved our neighboring car who let them take nearly every piece of candy out of their bowl and put it into their buckets. I was just happy it was MnM's. Just kidding, sort of. Mini Butterfingers would have been better.

Oh, and yes ... no witch costume for Maddy. No way, no how, wasn't going to leave the house without screaming and tearing at the costume kind of meltdown, so we decided a happy uncostumed kid was better than a miserable, costumed kid.

Maddy did oblige me by wearing the witch hat when we got home. Do you like her ink?

Libby did end up with one lollipop that she thoroughly enjoyed, plus a new frog tat.

Cute and practical

These boots from Nine West are hitting many of my loves ... they are wedges, and the fact that they are "practical" since you are getting 2 boots in 1. You can upzip and remove the top if you want to wear them under jeans, or want to go with the shorter boot look. I haven't decided how I feel about ankle boot trend. I still feel like if I wore them in the 7th grade, then I shouldn't be wearing them now. Actually, I don't think I owned any ankle boots back then, but I think the cool girls did and I think we called them granny boots.

One of my friends pointed these out to me in a Southern Living and I've been looking for them ever since and found them on Zappo's.

Brown or black, brown or black ...

Makes me happy

True love

Libby loves Fig Newtons. I mean really, really, really loves Fig Newtons.

We keep them in a glass canister on the kitchen counter and several times a day, she will typically run over to the counter, point, and say either "cookie", or "I want one."

Today, I had an appointment to get a haircut after preschool. Bad timing on my part, but my sitter had arrived and Libby asked for a Fig Newton. She let them have one and then told them that when they were finished, it was time for a nap. Libby was adamant that she wanted another cookie, but the sitter held firm (like I wanted her to) and told them that they could have another one when they woke up from their nap.

Somehow Libby ended up with a package of fig newtons (the small, 2 in a pack ones) and took it upstairs with her. When they woke up this afternoon, she was still clutching that little pack of Fig Newtons in her hot, little hand. I'm actually surprised she napped at all, knowing that she was that close to getting another cookie. I'm also surprised that she didn't figure out how to open up that package and have a little snack in bed.

4 down, 1 to go

So, I did it. Signed up on Friday, ran a half on Saturday. I typically am not that much of a non-planner, but I've been thinking about this race a lot, but I just didn't know how I would feel after the Komen walk, so I didn't want to commit ... mentally or financially, until I knew that I was "ready."

Ok, so I probably really wasn't "ready" by a lot of people's standards, but I came back from the walk without blisters, any major pain, and I knew that my legs could take the miles. I did a mid week, longish run and felt OK, so I decided to go for it.

Race day was great. Sunny and cool ... a perfect day for running. I met a neighborhood friend around mile 2 and we ran together until mile 5. She has great form and was keeping right below a 10 minute mile. I knew I couldn't stay with her forever, but I felt good for those miles.

We split off right around mile 5, and I was still feeling good. I shedded my long sleeve shirt at the turn around, and remember thinking to myself, "ok, I can really do this."

Keep in mind, this race is on the greenway that we run all the time, so I guess it's good and bad. You definitely know what to expect ahead of you, but it's also familiar.

Around mile 10, I started having some cramps in my left calf. Ugh. I slowed up, walked a bit, stopped to stretch, did a little talking to myself and kept going.

By mile 12, you are back in the park where eventually you'll finish and I also knew that I was getting ready to tackle the hill that I will always remember as one of our hill repeat hills. I ran up it, but stopped again to stretch at the top. After that, Missy Elliott came on the iPod, I perked up and remember thinking "Susan, you walked 60! miles last weekend. You can run 1-2 more."

Did anyone mention that running is 90% mental and 10% physical?

So, Missy and I ran in the last 1-2 miles and I pushed repeat on her song so I could make it to the finish line. Which is on top of another hill, I might add.

I saw my friend who I ran with cheering me on, so that was good to see a familiar face, along with a few others. Let me give my PSA for race spectators. Please cheer for people, even if you don't know them. You have no idea how much this lifts their spirits ... especially when they are finishing a race that ends at the top of a hill.

So, I finished. #4. Not a PR, but still respectable for me. 2:18:37, I think was the chip time.

A little sore yesterday, but nothing too bad. Yes, I had a few people tell me I was crazy and a few that said amazing. Don't think I'm either one of those, but it was good to finish #4, because now completing #5 doesn't seem that bad.

Silly goals. Silly goal-setter.

So, I'm up ...

Having coffee, dressed in my running clothes, and trying to fool myself into thinking this is just a Saturday morning training run.

The problem is that I have a timing chip on my shoe, and a bib number pinned to my shirt.

So, I did it and signed up for the Cannonball Half.

Here goes nothing ... hopefully I can give a good report in a few hours!

Pondering

I've had my running clothes laid out for the past 2 mornings, but when my alarm went off shortly before 5am each day, I quickly turned it off and rolled over. I am finally dressed in running clothes and plan to hit the gym after I do preschool drop off.

Amazingly, I did not return from the 3-Day walk with any blisters, or really any soreness. I had some weird top of my foot pain, and a few twinges when I would go up steps, but nothing that made me feel like I had just walked 60 miles. Who knows ... maybe I did stretch more than I thought, or maybe all the running from this summer helped keep me in shape. Or maybe it was the copious amounts of Biofreeze and Tiger Balm that I used.

Anyway, there is a little, local half marathon this weekend that has been on my "calendar." The thing is, I haven't done any running in over 2 weeks, I haven't registered for it, and I haven't arranged childcare.

My plan is to see how I feel on my run today, and go from there. If I'm feeling bold, I will go ahead and register and find a babysitter, and just try to get out there on Saturday and do it. Hubby's running 21 miles on Saturday, so that's why he won't be available.

Am I crazy? Ok, maybe I don't want you to answer that.

More 3-Day Walk D.C.

My sweet friend and teammate, Rene put together this moving slideshow that recapped our walk beautifully. Hope you enjoy.

Also, here is a link to Leonard Pitts' article. He walked in the DC walk in memory of his Mom and we stalked him, found him on Saturday, and got to chat with him about his experience. He wrote a great recap. Maybe if I learned to write like him, someone would be paying me for this blog.

The Walk

So, I think that most of you know I recently walked the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure and all I can say is WOW. It was truly an incredible experience.

A group of my teammates and I drove to DC on Thursday. We arrived in time to enjoy some great pizza and a walk to Georgetown for a cupcake. We split one that night, and bought others to enjoy the next morning for our pre-walk breakfast.

Mmmm, cupcakes.

After a somewhat restless night for everyone, we got up early to catch our 5am shuttle that took us to the opening ceremony location. As soon as we checked in, I knew it would be emotional. The signs on people's backs in honor or memory, the opening ceremony itself, the survivors circling a flag of remembrance. I truly felt lucky that I had the ability to walk 60 miles. Throughout the next 3 days, I would often think that this was way easier than chemo. Or losing a breast. Or losing a loved one.

Our team at the opening ceremony.
(The guy with the pink beard behind us is actually not a part of our group!)

One of my favorite signs.

Then we walked. And walked. And walked some more. On Friday, we did 20.5 miles throughout D.C., even stopping for a moment as the Prime Minister of Jordan passed by us and his Secret Service made us stop. We headed into Georgetown, and made it to Maryland. All along the way, they have pit stops where you can grab a snack, refill your water bottle, stretch, use the porta-pottie, etc. The event logistics are amazing to me, and must take a dedicated staff and incredible volunteers. After we had walked on Friday, we were bussed to our campsite for the weekend ... a huge farm in Maryland.

Part of our row of tents, complete with appropriate decorations.

There we could pick up our luggage, set up our tent, enjoy a hot shower via mobile shower tractor trailer units, and eat dinner. One important note ... plastic utensils make steak very hard to eat, but I enjoyed every bite. The campsite has a 9pm lights out policy, but I think everyone is so tired by the point, it is an easy rule to enforce.

Saturday, our schedule was 24 miles and this time we actually started the walk to camp and no buses were involved. This day we stayed in Maryland and had great support from cheering sections, and also just people set up in parking lots. I almost cried at every large cheering station as the people are thanking you for walking for their Mom, Wife, Sister, etc.

This was one of our favorite cheerleaders and he was out on the course all weekend, cheering on his wife. She is a survivor and had done many Komen walks and was walking in 3 walks this year! Plus, he had chocolate and a cool wig.

On Saturday night, Nancy Brinker (Susan G. Komen's sister) who started the foundation in honor of her sister spoke and it was such an inspiration to hear her story. Again, lights out at 9pm and I found that chicken was easier to cut with plastic.

We were up at 5am on Sunday so we could take down our tents, put our bags in a truck, eat breakfast and hit the road. We were bussed to another area of Maryland and we walked to DC. The Dupont Circle cheering section was great and we got to see some of the sights ... complete with a walk past the White House.

Day 3, still smiling, and ready to go!

Our team nearing the end of Day 3, in front of the White House.

As we finished the walk, we were cheered on by crew members, volunteers, onlookers, other walkers ... you name it. There was music, cheering, clapping. It was incredible and emotional. Our team linked arms and came in together. We started together and that's the way we wanted to finish. Each and every one of us walked every single step and our feet showed it. Lots of blisters, but you literally could feel the strength of all of us combined.

We stayed in a holding area until all of the walkers were in, then we all lined up together to walk to the National Monument. This was exciting to have the entire 2,000+ people together since we had been spread out most of the weekend. The survivors followed us, wearing special pink tee shirts.

The closing ceremony was just as emotional as the opening, with good speakers, music, and of course the survivors raising a flag. One of our team members who is a survivor was asked to be on stage! Even though we couldn't see her from our point, we were thrilled that she got to have that special experience.

The one shoe salute for all of the survivors as they walked into the closing ceremony.

At lunch on Day 3, our team captain asked if someone offered to donate the amount that we had raised if we would walk again the next day, and I can definitely say that I would. I really felt like I had made a difference, and it was incredible to witness it. Individually, I raised over $2,800; our team raised nearly $27,000; and the D.C. walk raised $5.3 million. Incredible.

With our team captain and my tent roomie!

A huge thank you to my family and friends for their love and support throughout this amazing journey.

I'll be walking

and walking, and walking some more.

It's almost time to leave for the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk for the cure and I'm still amazed that it's here.

I was scared that I couldn't meet my fundraising goal, but I did.

I was scared that I wouldn't have time to train, but I did.

I've been amazed at the generosity of friends, family, and friends who I've never met, but have gotten to know through blogging who have supported me. Whether through financial donations, or through emails and talks, I know that I will be carrying the love of many people with me and that is why I know I can walk 60 miles.

Our team has raised a collective $26,000 for breast cancer research and community programs and I am inspired by each and every member.

I'm way behind on blogging, but promise to do a big post with photos and a recap when it's all over.

I will tell you know that my PINK LL Bean duffle is almost packed and I've probably never packed more pink clothes for one weekend in my whole entire life. See you next week!

Hey, is this thing on?

Yes, I'm really here ... just not here.

Life is good. I went to Portland, OR last week for a Junior League conference. Portland was great. We were able to squeeze in an epicurean walking tour of the city. If you go to Portland, please try the Pearl Bakery's fresh croissants and Hot Lip's pizza. Both were wonderful, in my book. The tour didn't take us there, but we did try VooDoo Doughnut. It's definitely a hole in the wall, but not my favorite doughnut ever. It probably is worth a visit to check out their off color menu options.

Also while I was there, I took two very scary public speaking workshops. I know they are good for me, but I don't know if they were good for my blood pressure.

So, I'm back from the trip and trying my hardest to get back on EST.

Lately, my life has been consumed with:

• Junior League meetings
• Work, and going through a merger
• More Junior League work
• Getting ready to walk 60! miles next weekend
• Pulling out pumpkins, witches, and ghosts ... oh my!
• Fun and adventures with two 2 year olds. The latest, a meltdown on the playground today because the swing that Libby wanted wasn't available. She had the choice to pick a new swing or go home, and when she practically threw herself on the ground, we decided to go home. I think I have officially become "that Mom" at preschool.
• Slightly obsessing over a pair of Dansko boots.
• A dead battery in my camera. I've heard it's cheaper to replace the camera, so I may be shopping tomorrow.
• A desperate need to buy shoes for my children.

That is all ... I'm around and checking your blogs, just ignoring my own. I promise I'll be back.

Disturbing

On so many levels.This is a picture of a shoebox with 6 sets of "princess" shoes that someone gave Maddy and Libby when their daughter outgrew it, but with 4 of Maddy and Libby's babies shoved into it. The princess shoes are disturbing enough, but the babies kind of creep me out ... especially when their are groupings of them and I look over and they are all staring at me. I find them in sporadic places around the house ... placed into plastic pitchers, sitting in the stroller, thrown down the steps, sitting in the high chair, shoved in shoes boxes, etc. You get the idea.

I always loved my dolls growing up, especially Xavier Roberts adoption dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, but the amount of dolls that M&L have been given this year is getting a little out of hand. It almost reminds me from the scene in Sex and the City when Stanford is dating the guy with the crazy doll collection and they have to take them all off the bed and carefully place them around the room before getting down to business.

Just hoping that 10 dolls don't turn into 100.

Oh, and yes, all of our dolls are twins. Keepin' it real.

Brain Dump

I had a college professor who would assign free-writing assignments every week. You were to open your notebook and just write whatever was on your mind. It was a great way to just start writing or get over writer's block. From all the gibberish, there were usually a couple of good topics to develop.

Some days, I feel like I need to do this, but I usually can't even wrap my head around what I want to say.

This week would be a little like this ...

• A collective 18 miles (ran 6, walked 12) = longest distance I've ever done in one day.
• Extra 5 pounds from all the crap I think I can eat when I move my body 18 miles in one day.
• Dialing for dollars.
• Overdue highlights.
• Overdue pedicure.
• Need to pack
• I was "that" Mom carrying two screaming toddlers down the sidewalk at school. I really hate being that Mom. I will admit that I probably showed my ass by raising my voice, but it makes me crazy when I have no control over 2 little girls who are running into a parking lot. Not cool.
• Dog hair.
• Need clothes, but don't want to shop.
• Self control
• Looking forward to movie night with the girls.
• Mom's radiation is over. Big hurray! Now, one more monthly medication/treatment until April to worry about.
• My Meme's house sold yesterday. This is where my Mom grew up and where some of my first memories are from. Sad that I wasn't there to say goodbye.
• Who knew that when your BlackBerry goes crazy, the Verizon guy will just tell you to take out the battery and reinsert.
• Invisalign.
• Money Trees.
• I have to walk 60 miles in 3 weeks!
• Pumpkins
• Recipes, and Weight Watchers
• Big girls forming cognitive thoughts ~ Libby, while pointing to her leg. "Boo-boo." Me: "Yes, you do have a boo-boo." Libby: "I fall down."
• Down pillows, down comforter, and a fan. Night, night.

Mad Men

Are you watching?

I am and I will admit that it is all over the place this season, but when Henry rammed his car into Don's boxes that had been left in the garage, I thought about what an unclassy thing it was to do, but how good it must have felt.

But, Don still had the last laugh as he put the unopened boxes straight into the dumpster.

I fell asleep before the last 5 minutes were finished, so I need to go back and find out if Don's 2nd date ended as surprising as his 1st.

Where were you?

I know for most Americans, including myself, 9-11 is still such a negative number. I think I will always remember where I was, what I did, and how I felt on that day. I can only liken it to the Space Shuttle disaster that happened when I was young, or how my parents must have felt when JFK was shot.

I was the Marketing Director for a shopping center and was sitting at my desk checking email. Since we actually worked in the mall, we had Muzak piped into our offices, but I always turned on my radio so I could listen to music, news, or CD's.

The DJ's came back on and started reporting this horrible news that didn't even sound real. A plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers?! What? I ran into our conference room where we had a TV and told our Secretary to come in. We told everyone in our office to come watch what was happening, and while we were watching the news, everything just started unfolding around us. 2 more planes, and a slew of footage that is still haunting to me.

I called my then boyfriend at the time and asked if he had checked on a friend who lived in DC, and luckily everything was fine. His friend worked near the Pentagon, and ex boyfriend had just moved from DC, so it was more than a little surreal.

Malls are notorious for never closing because they don't want to lose the sales, but we quickly heard from our home office that they would be closing all of their shopping centers across the country.

I just remember driving home thinking that something else was going to happen and wondering what would be next. I had serious doubts that any of us on US soil would wake up the next day and I don't think I've ever felt fear like that before.

Thank you to the men and women who fight to protect our country every day, and to the men and women who lost their lives that day, we will never forget.

Preschool!

There are some days that I still can't believe that I am the mother of two 2-year-olds. Seriously, someone tell me how this happened.

Ok, ok, I know how it happened, but someone please tell me where the time has gone.

Maddy and Libby started their 2 year old preschool class on Tuesday. I really love their teachers ... no nonsense, laid back, loving, fun, and kind. Since they are on the ease in schedule, on a couple of days, we've been able to go to the playground for an hour after school and play until it's time for lunch.

There is so much more structure than their last class and I really think it's good for them. Libby was already showing me where they line up to go outside and promptly hopped on the circle. Today, she was bringer of snack and got to stand on the star, so I'm sure she was thrilled over that.

I thought they grew up and learned so much last year, so I can only imagine what this year will hold.
Sigh. My babies are growing up.

Half #3 by the numbers

Hours it took to drive to Virginia Beach ... almost 5.


Hours it took before we actually got on the road to leave ... almost 4.


Trips to the Doctor before we got on the road ... 1.


Trips to Rite-Aid once we made it to Virginia Beach ... 2.


Trips to the half marathon Expo ... 2.


Number of running t-shirts purchased ... 2.


Meals that consisted of carbs ... too many to count!


Race Day wake up time ... 4:15am.


Pots of coffee on race day for our group ... only 1.


Number of runners who were ready to get out of our cars and yell at the nice policeman who almost wouldn't let us out of the neighborhood to drive to the start because our road was supposed to be closed for traffic at 4:30 am ... 15!


Number of policeman who decided he didn't want to deal with 15 women ... 1.


Porta pottie trips pre-race ... 2.


Number of Elvis' seen at the race ... 3.


Number of pace bands worn for the race ... 2.


Number of times on the pace bands that I actually hit ... 0.


Number of miles that I felt good ... 4. (Miles 1-4)


Number of miles that I had leg cramps ... 4. (Miles 9-13)


Finishing time of the day ... 2:21.


Number of minutes faster than last year ... 6.


Number of minutes slower than my typical training runs this summer ... 6.


Number of ice cream cones eaten post race ... 1. (Best hot day, post run treat ever!)


Number of naps taken over the weekend ... 3. (Two short ones by the pool, one decent one inside with the fan.)


So, all in all, it was an OK race. I did beat last year's time, but the leg cramps? Who knows!? All I know is when the 2:15 pacing group passed me and I could only stay with them for a few minutes, I knew I was in trouble. I think it mentally defeated me and I slowed down. I tried to speed up towards the end, but just didn't feel like I had it in me and I couldn't seem to get rid of the cramps ... I ate, I drank, I stopped and stretched on a curb, but nothing helped until I stopped running.

I also think that any of the Rock & Roll races are well done. This is my 3rd that I've participated in and you can always count on a good course with lots of support, a big expo with lots of great vendors, bands and entertainment, and good after race supplies (Va. Beach has icy towels, popsicles, water, and Cytomax at the finish, along with bananas, a food bag, and of course your medal.

About half of our group had PR's and the other half wasn't overly excited about our times, but we did it and that's the important thing.

Now to really figure what races will be numbers 4 and 5 this year!

Run, run, fun

We leave tomorrow for our big race. It's really hard to believe that we've been training for 16 weeks ... 334 training miles that included a 13 miler and 15 miler, plus a lot of miles in between, with the majority of those miles starting at 5:30 am. Lots of those miles included some great conversations, some good songs on the iPod, a few blisters, one not so fun run with a surprise porta pottie visit (Thank, God.), some brutal hills, some familiar trails, a love of running that has grown, and even a few sub 10 minute miles.

The heat and humidity has been brutal all summer, so hopefully it will pay off when we're running at the beach. We've been keeping an eye on Hurricane Earl, decided to delay our departure by a day, and hopefully we will arrive to sunny skies and nice ocean breezes.

Here's to my 3rd half marathon of 2010 and not worrying about #4 and #5 for at least a couple of days!

Cubbies, stars, and weather bears ... oh my!

Maddy and Libby are starting in the 2 year old preschool class next week and last night was the parent orientation.

Wow, what a big difference from their last room. We have cubbies, colors and shapes of the month, leaders of the day (with a star to stand on and the weather bear to dress!), Dixie cups to drink out of, a potty!, and no high chairs to be found.

I've heard great things about their teachers, and they seemed great. Full of energy, but also with a laid back attitude - probably perfect for 2's. I can't wait to see how much Maddy and Libby will learn and grow this year. We were sad to see that their last class was separated with many of the kids going to the Older Toddlers because they hadn't yet turned 2. We do have 2 little girls that they knew last year, and a set of boy/girl twins that will also be in the class.

Today, is the orientation for the children, so I'm hopeful that they will be as excited as I am!