Horsey

A few weeks ago we got a steer brought to our house. It's blind and my stepdad didn't want it out in the fields with the rest of the cows. So we brought it home and its across the road in my Grandparents barn lot. Nathan was excited to get a cow we had a heifer last summer and he missed it when it was gone.

So I told him he could name the cow and well he wanted to name it Horsey.... I asked him several times over several days and the name remained the same. So I guess we have a cow named Horsey. At his age I had a stuffed pound puppy I named Arfy because that's what dogs sounded like. I figured he would name it cow or moo but I like his name.

Horsey is still skittish around us and it makes Nathan a bit nervous to go in the pen (can't say as I blame him)

But Nathan loves to go feed him and carry the bucket of feed.

Once the weather gets a bit nicer and warmer I'll let Nathan and Blake help with the feeding of an evening but right now its to cold and nasty out.

Nathan thinks he's big stuff getting to carry and pour the feed and telling Horsey to come up and eat. Now we will see how this goes when Horsey is in our freezer this fall.....

The Race entry that scares me!!!!

The race that scares me!!!!!!!! I have said earlier in the year I would love to do a Tough Mudder or a Warrior Dash. Well I had seen some advertisements about a Fugitive Run and noticed it was held local (the other two races are at least a 2 hour drive from home). I looked at the site and what was said about it and pondered the idea of "maybe" registering.

 

The week leading up to the Freezin for a Reason 5k I noticed one of the prizes that would be drawn was an entry to the Fugitive Run. I commented on the post that it looked like a fun race. Never gave it a second thought.

 

When I arrived at the race Saturday I got my packet and as I was standing there trying to get my race bib pinned on my costume, Laurie came up to me and handed me something that was folded up. I opened it and it was the coupon for the Fugitive race!! I was speechless. For one I never "win" anything and two never thought I would be the recipient of the coupon she said it was their way to thank me for helping out and for posting and re posting about the race on my facebook page. To say I was excited was an understatement!

 

Of course I wasn't around any others that were in to doing races so no one but my friends husband found my excitement in it. He had thought about doing the race since he is a cop.

 

Yesterday I sent the email to the address that was listed on the coupon and waited. Well got the reply and directions on how to enter and use the coupon. Never in my life have I had to fill out a death waiver for anything. Lets just say it was SCARY!!

The reply to my email registration:

You are registered!

We'll see May 25th!

Happy training, D'ettra 

I asked a couple friends of mine if they would like to do the race and they are thinking about it. I think it would be awesome to have a girl team to compete in the race. If not I will do it on my own (fingers crossed I can get a couple brave souls talked in to it).

 

Yesterday I started to worry about the training aspect of it. The race is May 25 so I have some time to get ready just not real sure what to do. But I will figure it out because I have something to prove. Back when I mentioned doing an obstacle course race my husband told me I'd never be able to do it.. Sorry that's the wrong thing to say to this girl!

Freezin plunge...

I had posted earlier last week about a challenge I had became a part of. If they got 200 people to register for the race by the start of the race three of us would take the Freezin Plunge in a dump tank of cold water.


Well the morning of the race they were at 190+ and I knew we would be plunging so I packed extra clothes with me and a towel.

Didn't even know this one was taken. It was not long after the race I was giving my key to Donnie and my phone so he could take pictures. Probably the only picture of the back of my costume.

Here is Bryan announcing that himself, his wife and I would be doing the plunge. It all happened pretty quick I had planned on taking my shoes off and well he just ran and jumped in. So we followed.

I can say its not easy or graceful getting in and out of these tanks. They are waist deep on me and then add the costume I am sure it was quite the sight.

Here is the three of us in here and then another guy did a summer sault over the edge and joined us. I kept waiting for someone to push me under but I got lucky I stayed dry chest up.

The water was cold but while we were out on our 5k someone took the bobcat and put huge ice chunks in the water to make it colder... I did find out who that was and they aren't on my nice list. The water was plenty cold without having to add ice bergs..

By the time we got out two others had jumped in as well. It was fun and drew a good crowd. I am very glad I sucked up the courage and plunged. Glad my costume survived it to see another day as well!

I got out of the water and grabbed a blanket headed to the car to change. After I changed I went back over to the pavilion for a bit and headed to the gas station to get a cappuchino to warm me up. My hair was still fixed pink and had the tiara in and the gas station attendant gave me a very weird look!

This race will be an annual event and I am excited for the next one. I think the plunge may be staying around but may move to an open body of water. I am sure I will plunge again next year. Just hope next year its either warmer out or my costume is a bit warmer. I woke up Monday morning with horrible chest congestion :(

Freezin for a Reason 5k

Part 2!

The race registration started at 5:30. I got there around 5 got my packet and number. They were less than 10 people away from us taking the plunge for reaching 200 particpants by the time the race started we had 255!!!!
I walked around mingling trying to stay warm unti the start of the race. For it being the first year for this race it went amazaingly well and very organized. They started maybe 2 or 3 mintues later than projected.

I had decided to walk this race when some of my friends said they were doing it but couldn't run it. So my costume was a bit fluffier and to long to run in which was ok since i was walking with friends. Well day of race two of them backed out due to another conflict in scheduling. Then the friend that I got ready with quit not even a tenth of a mile in to the race.
I tried to run and did for a bit to pass some people then walked my own pace. I was upset that I got left alone for the race mad that I had a costume I couldn't really run in. But I quickly got over that and went on. I passed several people and then saw a lady walking alone, I came up next to her and started chatting. She was walking my average speed so I stayed with her the rest of the time. The group she was with was much taller and faster than her (she was about my height 5foot) I think she enjoyed the company as well. Since it was a race in the dark and people were pretty spread out.

I never asked her what her name was but when we rounded one corner some people from the Ambulance base that knew me was blocking traffic started cheering for me and yelling my name. We got around the corner and she goes um I hope you have the same first name as me because I didn't know any of those people! So weird to run in to someone with the same first name!

While walking they had signs posted in different areas and this one we stopped to take a picture of. Loved it!!!!

I knew most of the people blocking the streets which was nice to hear encouraging words and cheering me on.. Had people randomly taking pictures of my costume some I even stopped so they could get a good picture.

We got close to the end and there were two fire fighters up ahead of us and one was walking full gear and air tank and the other was only partly in gear. I told her that we could pass them she didn't think so but inch by inch we got closer and then we passed them. I picked up the pace quite a bit not sure if she would keep up but she did. After we got way ahead of them I told her to be proud we just passed to young fire fighters :) We turned the corner in to the park and I really wanted to run the rest of the way to see who I could pass but I stayed with her partly figured I would trip over my cold numb feet or get tangled in costume and face plant concrete.

I finished with a time of 56 min and it was a few minutes faster than my 5k in December. Not to bad for being in full costume tiara and all and being right at 32 degrees or less. I was happy with my time and happy I pulled off wearing a costume and not being shy about people wanting pictures.

Not long after crossing finish line. I was still cold and knew what was coming next......... Everyone was like go get in the fire truck and warm up. I knew it would be dumb for me to get warm then back out in the cold. So I just kept the jacket on and kept walking around.

I took these two pictures day after race

My bib with the number 1.. Not sure why it excited me so much but it did!

The front of the shirts in the race package.

Up next is the finale for the race night..... Lets just say it was also way out of my comfort zone super cold but yet fun and very well worth it!

Freezin for a Reason pre race....

This race recap will be broke up in to at least 3 posts other wise I would be writing a book and no one would make it to the end....

Saturday morning started off way to early for me we had a first responder call at 5:30 am and it was close to my house so I went. I then had to rush from there home to get dressed (yes I went to a fire call in my jammies) to meet my dad at 6:30 at my Grandma's so we could move her to a different house. Helped with that until 1ish and then drove to St. James to Ron and Amanda's house so we could get ready for the race. She was going as 80's theme which was funny since she was born in the late 80's but between her husband and I we helped her pull the look off.

We started by getting our hair ready in the middle of that we walked over to the race start to see if they needed help setting up. They had plenty of help so we headed back to finish getting ready. I think in all it took us over 2 hours to get ready to go!

This was the back of my hair and I loved it! Wish I could get it to curl like that daily and very glad Amanda helped me with it.

Here I was costume all on and ready to go up to the park.

Amanda and I ready to go her costume was much warmer than mine and she still said she froze.

We got in my car and well..... as you can see my skirt was poofy and made it hard to drive soooo glad that we only had to drive a few blocks that way. We pull in to the park and the first guy that told us which way to go was like so are you here for the race.. UM no we just drive around like this for fun. The guy that actually parked us said we were the first two to show up in costumes.

Amanda already had decided she was to cold and went and found a jacket. I was determined to stay in costume but yes I was cold. This was about 30-40 minutes prior to the start of the race. You can see Amanda's husband in the back ground he ran in full uniform and a blue police themed tutu.

Right before the race. Look I am number 1!!! I signed up the day the registration opened and I apparently was the first one I was happy. I was hoping for a number less than 50.

Not sure if you can tell in that picture but I am shivering like crazy... Not long after this picture I scored a jacket from one of the Fire Fighters and wore it the rest of the evening.

I am a VERY shy person so for me to dress up like this and walk around in crowds of people some of whom I knew and most I didn't was a huge leap out of my comfort zone. I would be walking around and random people I didn't know would want to take a picture of me. Got lots of nice compliments on the costume and everyone asked me if I was cold. I was ready to start replying nope why would I be....

Weekly Chase

Once again its Monday and time for Weekly Chase. I have a race report to do and it will be split up in to at least 3 posts.



Weekly Chase

Last weeks goals were:


1- Challenge goal continue to spend some quality time with the kids each evening. Success

2-Drink 80oz of water daily All but maybe one day

3- Get at least 2 workouts in before race Saturday night. Shoveled the 4 inches of sleet we got Thursday night at home, then the sidewalk in front of our office on Friday, Saturday morning shoveled more out of the bed of a truck moved lots of cinder blocks then moved my Grandma to a different house. Then the race :)

4-Stay caught up on chores around the house have a busy weekend and don't want to stress about it needing to be done. 95% accomplished

5-Stay away from fast food and bring my lunch each day. The two times I ate out I ate sensibly one was chicken sandwich from McDonalds and the other was subway on Friday.

This weeks goals:

1-Challenge Goal- Continue to have family time and not let my mood from work affect my evening at home.

2-Get in at least 3 workouts this week combo of cardio and strength training

3-Challenge Goal-Be in a better mood and be a better wife this week.

4- Drink at least 80 oz of water daily.

5-Make eating healthy a priority at least 90% of the week.

6-Sign up for a race that scares me (there will be a post on this soon)

Almost time to Freeze for a Reason...

24 hours from now I will be getting ready for my first 5k (well done as a real race not virtual) of the year. This one will not be ran or walked fast it will be for fun and time to spend with friends.

I have to get my costume all together and packed as well as some warm clothes for after the freezin plunge... They have 187 people registered now which means they got a few more to register today. So if they hit 200 by the race start 3 of us will be plunging costume and all in to the water.

This morning they thought the race may get canceled due to the weather we got yesterday but I made tons of text calls and facebook messages trying to help find people with bobcats or tractors willing to help clear the course. I have been talking with the administrator of the races facebook page off and on for a few weeks and more recently since I joined in on the last challenge. I have never met her but yet we have talked a bunch I donated the last of my tuele to her yesterday so she could finish a tutu without making her hubby go to walmart.

It will be fun to actually get to meet her tomorrow! I hope to be able to take TONS of pictures of getting ready, costume, race start during race and after. I am sure there will be several taken of our plunge if it happens. I am excited yet still nervous about wearing a costume in front of tons of people and a bit nervous about the plunge in the water but ready to do it!!

I may be crazy.........

 

So I may be crazy but this morning as I had checked Facebook I saw the below picture with the caption. I messaged the page to ask if they minded glitter getting in the water they said no. Well I decided to do this. Heck I will be froze already from a 5k in a costume at night in the cold may as well take a plunge for a good reason. I've decided that this race and this event will be a good time to push myself out of my comfort zone and do things I would never try because I am "afraid" of what people will say or think. I am sure I will have moments on Saturday that I want to not wear the costume or jump in this water but I know I need to.

 

 

Saturday afternoon my friend and I are going to fix each other's hair then go up and help set up for the race before finishing getting our costumes on. I am glad to be able to help set up for this event and contribute more than just my doing the race. I know there will be several spectators there to see what my costume is as I have kept it pretty much under wraps and a secret. My fire department is bringing a truck up to have at the start finish area to support the event and community as well as have a front row seat to see my craziness. 

 

 

 

 

Freezin for a Reason 5K Walk/Run

 

Challenge time!!!! We are so close to 200 participants we can smell it!! If we can hit the 200 mark within the next 24 hours I will be taking a very cold "plunge" in a pool of water. Member of the Rolla Rural Fire Department will set up a tank full of water and I will see exactly how cold that water is while wearing my colorful pink tutu!!! Will others take the "plunge" with me?? Come on folks, we can do this!!! Let's hit the 200 mark!!

 

• 

  Freezin for a Reason 5K Walk/Run Shelley Allen and Laurie Lambeth Have accepted the challenge anyone else ??????

Long weekend

Since yesterday was President's day our office was closed so I got a 3 day weekend... Well maybe two days since I worked at work for 8 hours on Saturday.

Blake was off school Friday and Monday so he requested to go farm. Which was fine however he is now sick with sinus crud from being outside all those days and having all the dust from griding food and moving hay. But he said he had a good time and that he helped papa get caught up on all the chores.

Nathan wasn't a happy camper that his bubba was gone for days and days and begged and threw fits wanting to go to papas too. He want for a while on Saturday while I was working and then for an hour or so yesterday. But Nathan got to help papa and his daddy move a cow over to my grandparents house. Its a blind calf well its not a small calf it is around 300 pounds. I asked Nathan what he wanted to name it and he said Horsey.... I was like are you sure yep that's what its name is. I guess since he can't have a real horse he will just name the cow Horsey. Just wonder what he will think later in the year when we butcher it and eat him....


I worked most of the day at work on Saturday trying to get caught up. I did take a break and go to the AT&T Store and got a new iPhone I wasn't brave enough for the iPhone 5 so I got the 4 that was only $0.99. And they didn't have an all pink case so I had to settle for a hot pink and blue one. The guy that helped me who was probably not much out of college was just shocked that I liked pink so much. I didn't really have that much pink on my old phone case was pink. I had pink shirt on and my nikes that are pink and grey with pink laces. However he was just like oh I have never met anyone who loved pink that much..... I know of two others that like pink as much as me maybe even 3. But I am happy with my phone its so nice to go a whole day or more without having to charge it! Also nice the camera is way better and has a flash. That will come in handy this Saturday night for my 5k.

When I was done with work I headed to Kathy's and we made the skirt part of my costume. I won't reveal a picture here since the skirt just looks plain weird without the top and the accessories. But I can say we had glitter ALL over her house and heck even in my house since it was all over me when I got home. Needless to say the skirt is in a bag in my trunk until day of race.

Yesterday I got to have a lunch date with a awesome friend. We had planned a whole day for our date but last minute she had to work so we decided on lunch. She felt bad because we had to eat lunch at her work (the hospital) but I was happy to get to see her and have lunch together. She ordered us an awesome pizza from a local place. I hadn't ate pizza from there since her wedding shower. Even though we ate in the break room of the ER it was still a good time.

Weekly Chase

Yes I am a day behind on doing the Weekly Chase but I was off work yesterday since it was President's day and well I still haven't figured out how to blog on my phone....



Last weeks goals:

1- Get at least 3 workouts and start getting more cross training in somewhere somehow. Ya well didn't really happen I got a 5k done on the treadmill and that was it :(

2-Challenge Goal- Make something special for dinner on Valentines Day for hubby and the kids. I made Blake blue heart shaped pancakes and sausage for breakfast (his request) dinner well Nathan ate when we got home and I ate alone later.

3-Challenge Goal-Tell another friend or family member how much they mean to me and how special they are. Done

4-Continue to drink at least 80oz of water. Fail... Did good about 4 of the 7 days

5-Make the time to work on my costume. Oh yes skirt part of my costume is done and well it will have to stay in the bag until time of race. We had glitter all over my friends house from making it. Still waiting on arm sleeves to arrive. I have a shirt that will work and still need something to wear under my costume to keep my legs warm.



Goals for this week:
 
1- Challenge goal continue to spend some quality time with the kids each evening.

2-Drink 80oz of water daily

3- Get at least 2 workouts in before race Saturday night.

4-Stay caught up on chores around the house have a busy weekend and don't want to stress about it needing to be done.

5-Stay away from fast food and bring my lunch each day.

A spring challenge

In reading thru some of my favorite blogs I had read about the spring bootie buster challenge and thought about it and ended up signing up for it today. I am excited to see how it works and how well I will do with it. I like challenges of having to earn points or do extra things to earn more points etc. So maybe it will be what I need to keep me going.

Looks like there are several cool prizes to win and its not totally geared towards runners only which I like.

The challenge starts March 2nd which isn't that far away!

I have also been eying some other races wanting to sign up for some more that are fairly local (within an hour drive from home). Hope to get my husband talked in to doing a 5k with me next month. Its a long shot but I want him to do one race to see how awesome it is crossing that finish line. I am also debating on doing another half marathon. Saw a couple women only races in a few cities in my state....

A nice surprise

Yesterday ended up being a very hard day one I am still processing today well wasn't much better. But this afternoon I got an unexpected visit from a very dear friend which made me cry and she surprised me with a small gift and card that made me cry even more.

I wasn't expecting a visit from her at my work and defiantly not a card and gift. To me just texting her yesterday and today was more than enough to keep me going.

Here was the gift its a magnet and its sitting right next to my phone on my desk at work. And was defiantly something I needed to read today.

And here is the card that was with the magnet. The card is also sitting on my desk where I can see it all the time.

I gave her the birthday gift that I had got her earlier in the week and I had got a card that had lots of writing on it she read part and I think she got emotional which was not my intent on picking the card. But it was a card that was perfect and just what I wanted to say.

We are going to make the bottom part of my costume this weekend and I am beyond excited. We rarely get to do things together and  this will be something cool and fun to do. I won't have the boys with me so I think it will be the "break" I need to refresh my mind.

I ordered these today after seeing a blog about them on Road Runner Girl I looked at the site and immediately ordered them to go with my costume. Now I just need a shirt accessories and something to go under the bottom part of my costume.

I am excited for the race next Saturday but soooooo nervous as I am not a costume wearing person and well its way way out of my comfort zone. I was nervous wearing my sparkle skirt for the half marathon but I didn't know anyone so I was "ok" with it. This race I will know tons of people....

Weekly Chase No. 7

Time for another weekly chase these weeks seem to fly by!!!!!!





1-Get two to three workouts in this week either at home or during my lunch break. I need to get more consistent since I have three 5'ks this month all starting after the 23. Success got 3 workouts done! Two on my lunch break and one at home on the treadmill. No massive miles to brag about but its a start!

2-Challenge Goal---- I will chose a friend or family member and send them a message or tell them how much they mean to me and how appreciative I am of having them in my life. Done sent a text to a friend who is more like family and told her how much she meant to me to my surprise she sent me a very meaningful message back telling me how glad she was to have me in her life! Her birthday is today so I got her a sappy card and a neat gift.

3-Challenge Goal--- Make time to spend with my husband even if it means watching some tv show I really would rather sleep thru. Yep stayed up and watched a few of his favorite shows with him instead of snoozing thru them. We didn't have the kids Saturday night or Sunday so we ate dinner at home and relaxed Saturday night and got up and went out to eat breakfast on Sunday morning.

4-Drink 80 ounces of water daily. Yep every day except yesterday I think I got 50 but most days were 80 at work and then another 20-40 at home.

5-Continue to stay away from fast food unless its Subway. I don't think I had fast food any last week. I had hospital food (yuck) on Thursday and Chinese Friday with a friend but no McDonalds.

6-Think of a costume to wear to my Freezin for a Reason 5k. Yep costume thought of and part of the supplies bought to make the bottom part. Still need to figure out the shirt.....


Goals for this week.......

1- Get at least 3 workouts and start getting more cross training in somewhere somehow.

2-Challenge Goal- Make something special for dinner on Valentines Day for hubby and the kids.

3-Challenge Goal-Tell another friend or family member how much they mean to me and how special they are.

4-Continue to drink at least 80oz of water.

5-Make the time to work on my costume.

Ahh its Friday!

This has been one long week Monday seems like it was forever ago.... Not just 4 days ago.

I am glad I got some workouts in early in the week because as the week has went on I have become more exhausted and sick. I knew the sick part was coming could feel it Saturday but tried to ignore it and well now I can't. I could easily curl up and just sleep (if I could stop coughing long enough) for hours.

I did figure out a costume idea for my 5k this month now to just find all the things and make it..... Luckily a friend has offered to help me pull it together. It will have lots of pink and sparkle :)

Yesterday was another day I would like to just forget about. My mom calls me all freaked out having major panic attack at 7:15 telling me that something was wrong with my stepdad. She said he woke her up and wanted her to call 911 because something wasn't right. I know him well enough to know if he thinks he needs an ambulance its bad. Well I couldn't get her to calm down enough to tell me what happened or how he was acting. A few minutes later she called and asked if I could meet the ambulance at the hospital as she was waiting for a ride. Thankfully a good friend was working that day and was bringing a patient in about the same time he arrived and she came out and told me he was alive. There's way more that I won't share but they told my mom he was dying thought it was heart attack and/or stroke. So I told Kathy I just wanted to know he was still breathing when he arrived so I could tell my mom.
She got there and finally calmed down enough she got to go back and see him. I had to tell the front desk lady he was my dad so that I could get and give information and be able to go back to see him. After a long day in the ER and then moved to a regular room I came back to work. They found out it was some sort of cranial or optical nerve that went crazy causing the double vision and headache and it would clear up. He had SUPER high blood pressure when they got him there and they said that was a factor as well. So he is headed home today so thankful he is ok and that even though it was serious it wasn't requiring surgery or anything extensive.

The one good part out of the day yesterday was my mom's friend came to sit with us. Vicki has known my mom for over 30 years and they were best friends when I was growing up. Most every memory is one of my mom, Vicki and I. She always told everyone she was my other mother and it was pretty true. The 3 of us went down to the cafeteria to eat a late lunch and she commented that it had been a long time since the 3 of us were together to eat. It was nice getting to spend time with her.

This week was hard emotionally at times and I am very thankful and grateful for some wonderful friends I have in my life some who are more like family than just a friend. I am stubborn and like to try to do things on my own and not talk to others or ask for help but I am realizing that its ok. Having people around me who "get" how I process and deal with stuff makes a huge difference they know when to push buttons and when to step back or just give a hug. I am very glad to have them in my life.

5 by the 5th February

I had signed up to do a race series called 5 by 5th Virtual Run and you have to get a 5k or 5 miles in by the 5th of every month thru June.

This month I decided that since the first week of February is hard for me that I would do the 5k and each mile would be for each friend we lost the first of February in 98.

I didn't have an exceptional time 52:00 but I got it done and that was what mattered and it made me feel somewhat better after.

The miles on the treadmill were uneventful my original goal was to do 1.5 outside Monday and then 1.6 outside Tuesday on my lunch hour and well yesterday didn't happen for outside. So I did two on the treadmill at home and the 1.5 on Monday. Planned on getting 3 on the treadmill but just didn't have it in me after a long rough day.

I have started seeing changes in how much easier it is for me to do the miles and how much quicker I am getting. Also love that my speed is increasing and not wanting to die at speeds I thought I could only dream about. Still have a long ways to go not sure if I will ever be one of those run a mile in 7 minute people but I am working on it.

Hard to write.

Friday I went and did something I hadn't been able to do in 15 years. The first week of February is always a very hard week for me and many friends in our small community. 15 years seems so long ago but yet the first week of February it seems like it was only yesterday.

15 years ago our small community was shaken by an unnecessary act of violence 3 friends of ours were taken from us all to soon. I tried to "avoid" talking about it for several years and yet it ate at me until I had to figure out how to deal with it. My mom dealt with it in her own way and it left me on my own. I remember being sad and not knowing how to process what had happened so I buried it deep inside and remained "strong" and trying to move on.

I won't go in to much detail of how our friends were killed but you can google triple murders in Vichy and find several articles. I realized last week I had never read the obituaries not sure why but I think I thought if I avoided reading it that it would be easier. Now 15 years later you can't just look at the funeral home website and read it. Thankfully  an awesome friend Connie said we could go thru her memory box and I could read them sometime. I still can't go in to the funeral home where the service was and not vividly see what I saw the day before and day of the funeral.

I never went to visit the cemetery where they are buried I have drove past it a couple times but never stopped. However on Friday a good amazing friend offered to go with me to the cemetery on my lunch hour as Friday was the date they were actually killed even though the date of death says February 5 (the day they were found). I was nervous about going and tried to talk myself out of it but she kept telling me it was something I needed to do in order to try and figure it all out. She hadn't been since the day of the burial either and I hadn't realized until then that she was affected by it as much as the rest of the community. Her son was the same age as Kyle and played together often and she was a single mom just like Susan. It was hard for both of us but we went and stood there and looked at the beautiful tombstone and I finally let go and cried. She talked to me a lot things I wished I had heard 15 years ago. It was hard but also freeing at the same time to finally get past one thing that I hadn't been able to do.

It's not something I will ever "get over" and the vivid memories and pictures etched in to my mind will never leave but I am glad I am finally trying to figure out how to make it easier and not just avoid it. There were some good memories as the night before it happened I played pool with Kyle while my mom visited with Susan. I let him win several games but made it look like he really won it was a fun evening. However the following days were the hardest and worst of my life. I don't ever wish any of that on anyone.

Weekly Chase #6!!!

How is it already February!!! Where in the heck did January go????? On to Weekly Chase Number 6!

My goals from last week were:

1-Make some time for me even if its just locking myself in the bathroom and taking a hot bath. I've been getting way to stressed and I don't like it. Yes total epic fail on this one! I did get in one short mile run on the treadmill with no interruptions but that was pretty much it.

2-Make it a priority to eat enough and eat the right foods daily and not skip meals. Actually did this one and hit my calorie goal or close to it most days last week.

3-Aim for 80+ ounces of water daily Yep did this! Saturday was close on if I got the 80 but I got over 100 most days so it evened out I think.

4-Get two workouts done on my lunch hour this week Ha um no I did get a one mile run at home on the treadmill and then did a cardio kickbox dvd with my husband. So I still got two workouts in just not on my lunch break.

5-Keep up with the laundry being gone for 5 days with my grandpa got me way way behind. I am almost caught up and need to stay that way. Major fail... All laundry is washed and half put away...


This week since its February one of the challenge goals is to make one goal about loving or being kind to someone.

1-Get two to three workouts in this week either at home or during my lunch break. I need to get more consistent since I have three 5'ks this month all starting after the 23.

2-Challenge Goal---- I will chose a friend or family member and send them a message or tell them how much they mean to me and how appreciative I am of having them in my life.

3-Challenge Goal--- Make time to spend with my husband even if it means watching some tv show I really would rather sleep thru.

4-Drink 80 ounces of water daily.

5-Continue to stay away from fast food unless its Subway.

6-Think of a costume to wear to my Freezin for a Reason 5k.