The LOGO Revealed

I have to thank my sister-in-law for this wonderful logo! She did such a wonderful job, I am so glad that I asked for her help. I will definitely be getting a few shirts made up, who wants one??

I really need to get on this t-shirt making business. I do have a race in less than 2 weeks! First one, January 2nd!! I need to get registered for a few more before the New Year, I don't want to miss out just because I'm slow!

Cleanest Window in the House

We've started to try potty training and I know my 2 year old can use her little toilet when she wants to, but recently she has decided that her windowsill works much better for her messiest business. I was down stairs finishing up some Christmas cookies and sent the Politician to help PT out of her room. Well, he came down to tell me that she was messy and needed me. And that she did. She had made it to the steps covered in poo and was carrying a piece to show me. When I told her to go in to the bathroom and get in the tub she told me to hold on while she threw her poo back in her room. How nice. After getting her in the tub, I went to access the poo situation in her room. Not only was her windowsill covered in poo, it look like she tried to finger paint, EVERYWHERE. The entire window had her creative input as did the footboard of her bed. I'm not sure when she actually pooped, but it did not wipe up easily. Eww. 

So, fourty-five minutes, lots of paper towels, and many many sprays of cleaning solution later her window, floor, and footboard were clean. She got a lovely shower, which she did not enjoy, and was sent back into her room. 

I don't know what it is with my kids and putting their poo on their windows, but the Politician did something similar when he was going through potty training. He tried to shove a handful of poo out the window between the window frame and the AC window unit. 

I wonder what the Enforcer will have for me in a few years... maybe since he's cloth diapered, he'll teach himself and clean it all up! Well, I can dream.

Spreading the Word

I was about to sign up for the Pittsburgh Half and they had a blurb on their page about talking with the charity you wanted to run for to see if they have specific runner registration. I think this was mostly for the charities that work with the Pittsburgh Marathon, but thought it was a good idea and contacted the Colon Cancer Alliance to tell them about my personal challenge for next year. (I just realized I haven't posted the email I sent out, I'll do that!) I am so glad that I emailed them! I was already planning on running the DC Undy5000 in September that they organize, but I am really excited to get to work with them a bit more. They all seem really helpful and excited about my personal challenge. We're going to get me set up on the fundraising portion their website and they are letting me use one of their logos on my racing shirt. It's all coming together and I love it.

I didn't know much about colon cancer until I started reading the CCA's website. I'll admit, I didn't ask a lot of questions about it either. All I knew was my grandpa was in and out of the hospital. Did you know that colorectal cancer is in the top 5 of most commonly diagnosed cancer? I had no idea. Skin, lung, breast and prostate cancers are the others in the top 5. Now those we hear about. Some of them quite a bit.

Another fact for you: 7 out of 10 people with colon cancer don't have any symptoms. I would imagine that leads to this statistic:
"Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn't have to be. If everybody aged 50 or older has regular screening test, as many as 80% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented." - CCA Website

Go Get Screened!! For more information check out: www.ccalliance.org

The Potty Princess

We have been spending the past week potty training! I know, exciting right. We haven't gone anywhere but the gym and we have had fewer and fewer accidents everyday. I think PT was ready for this. She has really enjoyed the praise each time she uses the potty. She likes to use the little potty we have for her in her bed room the best. She'll run up the stairs, use the potty, then come back down to get me and take me back up "to see." Usually the Politician comes too, and we clap and cheer as loud as we can! She LOVES IT!

After naptime yesterday, I found PT in one of her princess dresses sitting on her potty reading a princess story. I should have taken a picture because it was one of those moments that she was being so adorable you could cry. At 2 years old, she wants to look her best even when doing her business, haha. The of course we had to clap and cheer.

I can't wait until we are out somewhere using a public restroom, clapping and cheering because PT used the potty. I'm hoping someone in another stall claps too. That would make my day.

30 by 30

As part of my personal challenge, I have made up a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn thirty in March 2013. Any you want to do with me?

1. Run a race @ a winery
2. Volunteer @ for a marathon
3. Run an obstacle course
4. Finish a half marathon
5. Finish a triathalon
6. Write a children’s book
7. Enter a writing contest
8. Work on a Habitat House
9. Play my Clarinet again
10. Take a boxing class
11. Go to a concert 
12. Learn Sign Language
13. Grow Etsy site
14. “wallpaper” a wall with fabric
15. Take an Asian cooking class
16. Sleep outside under the stars
17. Volunteer for at least 50 hours
18. Finish at least 12 new craft products
19. Race in a 10K
20. Read at least 12 non-children books (|)
21. Join a running club
22. Have an adult dinner party
23. Complete Family Tree
24. Eat Gluten-free for a week
25. Watch top 10 movies on AFI lists and review
26. Write and send an article to a magazine/ezine
27. Drive a convertible
28. Audition for a play/musical
29. Run a race @ a beach
30. Hanglide again @ Kitty Hawk!

What are your goals for your next big milestone??

Travel Baby Rides Once More

The past few mornings I keep waking up thinking that my "injury" has gotten healed. Only to quickly discover that it has not. Well, after 2 days out of the gym I was really ready to get back in there. I noticed how much I really enjoy that time that I can zone out a bit and only focus on me. The kids love it too. My middle child, we'll call her Pretty Tomboy (PT,) always wants to take a baby with her. Last time we were there, she accidently left her "travel baby." This doll is smaller than her others and would be easier to replace if we really lost it, hence the travel title. The Politician, my oldest, starts asking one of the workers as soon as we open the child-watch door if they have seen PT's travel baby. I was surprised at how much the Politician knows about travel baby. Luckily, travel baby had just been left in a cubby in the child-watch area. PT found her without much pomp and circumstance. This surprised me too as usually EVERYTHING is a big deal. Not coming in with a baby was a BIG deal. The tears turned on like a faucet and turned off just as quickly after I reminded her that travel baby was probably still at the gym. "Oh, sure. That's good." was PT's response. I wish I could record how she says "sure." Toddler going on teenager most definitely. 

Back to me zoning out and focusing at the gym. Since running is out right now, I decided to try the bike. Luckily, I have another pair of gym shoes because my barefoot ones are sure to make my toe worse right now. I went just over 6 miles in half an hour on the bike. I really thought I was going to be able to go faster than that. I had now idea how long a mile seems on a bike. Definitely going to need to speed that up before my first triathlon. That was the first time in a LONG time that I have ridden any bike, so I'm not to worried about it. But I would like to get faster over all. That is part of the point of training though! 

Have you heard about the problems with the Rock n Roll Las Vegas?? It's crazy. Apparently, loads of people were terribly sick and now they are asking people who were sick during or after the race to fill a survey on their website to try and figure out what happened. Note to self: bring my own hydration system.  There has been a lot about the problems with the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K in DC that I have on my list for next year too. Poorly organized and dangerous among the complaints. I might need to look for another race in December. There is one in Boston that sounds interesting!

Two Firsts!

I have taken off from running the past few days because I have suffered my first workout injury! Yup. And as my husband noted, these things usually aren't glamorous. I have no idea how I did it, but I think I bruise/sprained a toe. I told you it wasn't glamorous. No great story about how it was raining and I slipped, but thanks to my barefoot shoes I only hurt my toe instead of my ankle or knee. Nope, nothing like that. Just a treadmill run gone wrong. We were talking about it last night and it might be in how I push off my foot when running. I guess I need to focus on how my feet hit the ground when I get back to it. (That is something I never thought I would say!) I'm pretty excited to have my first injury though, SO glad it's very minor too. But I feel like I am really entering into a section of society I never thought I would be a part of. The Runners. I may still be on the outskirts, but I feel like I've entered through that gate that seemed so far away not so long ago. And locked tight too. There's no magic key needed to open the lock, just some discipline and dedication to one's self. (Ok I just read back through that and it sounds super cheesy, but it's true so I'll leave it, haha)

The other first isn't glamorous either. Now we have been thinking for awhile now that we have moles digging up our yard and last night I had proof! Charlie, one of our cats, likes to bring in small, fuzzy, baby animals from the back yard. He brings them in through the dog door, to show us I'm sure, but half the time he hasn't quite killed them. Such was the case last night. I heard a scratching underneath the kids table and then out scurried a baby mole! I have never seen a mole up close before. WHOA! They are funny looking for sure. This little guy was super soft, just the way a fuzzy baby should be. I tried to get him back outside, but he flung himself from my hands back to the floor and I am pretty sure he suffered some damage from that. After finding a box and getting him in, I took him out back to our "wood pile" where hopefully his mama found him. Unfortunately, it's more likely that one of the neighborhood cats found him first.

Here's a photo of the furball:

Check out those front paws! Flat, palms out, and some long claws!

Here's to hoping Charlie doesn't bring home anymore "friends."

Back at it!

11-15-11 <--- I wrote this out awhile back and I'm finally posting it, haha.

Ok, so I’ve decided that this year is going to be all about doing the things I keep saying I am going to do. One of those things is to start writing more, so here it goes! We'll see how good my posting goes too.

I have been telling everyone I know that I want to do at least one competitive race every month in 2012. Now I really need to do it! I’ve been looking up hundreds of races within driving distance and I have plenty to choose from. I think I’ve decided from January through June. My concern right now is the half marathon I have in the slot for May in Pittsburgh. I can’t decide if I like running that much to go 13.1 miles. I like the 5K distance a lot, but that is slowly becoming easier to do too. I’m hoping that the idea of running 13.1 miles is unappealing at the moment because I am not in the right shape to run it. Yet. I have given myself the deadline of the beginning of January to decide if I am going to run it. Then I’ll sign up!

A friend told me that signing up is the biggest hurdle. Once you do that, your money is spent and you are more motivated to get moving. Giving myself small deadlines and goals helps me too. Since I just started my first goal was to run for 10 minutes without stopping. I was amazed at how fast the first 4-6 minutes went by, then came the 7^th one and I was ready to stop. But, then an upbeat fun song came through my headphones, Devil’s Dance Floor by Flogging Molly (FAVORITE!!) and I was ready to dance my way through, haha. I’m sure I look ridiculous on the treadmill, bobbing my head and occasionally swinging my arms wildly, but I achieved, and surpassed, my goal and that makes it worth it. I ended up running 15 minutes at a pace just over 4 miles an hour. My next goal is to quicken the pace a little and run for 20 minutes straight. Here’s to tomorrow and hoping I have the discipline to stick to it!