Back dating last night's run...

Not a bad first day of empty-nest... I ran -

Today's miles: 3.2
Total so far: 108.9
Still to go for goal: 391.1

And then I did some reading and went to bed at an almost early time. Even did a little writing. And I got to talk to Kel for a couple of minutes. All in all a good night!

More of my girls...

Well, I had a nice nap this afternoon after getting Kel sent off to Colorado (and sleeping all of about 90-minutes last night). She landed safely on the other side and should be settling in there okay by now. Sounds like she had a couple hours of sleep on the plane. I thought I'd post a few more of the photos from the park last night as long as I've got family peeking in to check on them...  


This one was quite an ordeal, but I won't go into all the details... Much laughter ensued. 


This one has Kel's best friend Annie...  


They've played on nearly all of the toys in the park by this point. Hey Hutch - see all of the green space back there? That's where the pirate ship and the tree/house or house on stilts use to be... Maybe you knew that, though. Did you take the boys there during your tour of the old town that day? 


And finally, here we all are at the end of our busy time at the park (or just before Gramps ran out of battery time on his camera)... Still to come - the girls climbing through the triangle rings you can see behind Kel in this last photo (if I post 'em). That's what set off this photo-taking frenzy... And no, Grandma and I did NOT climb through them. We COULD have, of course... we just didn't want to show the girls up with our speed and dexterity. *cough cough*  


Okay. Time for me to go exercise. Gotta get logging some siginficant miles. I told VJ I'd join her in a workout yesterday and that turned into play time (as evidenced above and below). Now that I've napped I think I can make up for that.

Farewell Kel!

We had a little going away party for Kel last night. We started out at the folks' house where Kel and her girl cousins and her best friend went swimming in my folks' swimming pool, then they hung out and did a lot of giggling. Serious giggling. After that they had a great meal of spaghetti, raviolli, salad and toasted garlic bread (sound like a familiar celebratory meal around our place, Hutch?)... More serious giggling ensued. SERIOUS giggling, right Jen?

From there, the girls wanted to head to the park for some play time. I'm not sure the parents of little children who were at the park were very excited to see all of us pile out of the cars when we arrived, loud and boistrous as we were, but those girls wanted to play and they had energy and giggles to burn. After we'd been there for a while, one of them said, "Where is the video camera when you need it?" as another of them climbed through a tricky obstacle (by this time my facial muscles were seriously in pain from all of the smiles and laughter). And then they all started calling out, "Grandma, go home and get the camera, please??? You need to get a picture of this!" So Grandma did the next best thing. She had me get my cell phone from the car and call Grandpa at home and have HIM bring the camera up and take pictures of all his granddaughters (and friend) mugging it for the camera.

Here they are trying to get the merry-go-round to go fast enough... (as always, click on a picture to embiggen)

 


And here is me coming to help speed things up because everytime they jumped on after trying to get it going fast enough, it dropped all speed...

 


And the unfortunate result of that help... bye Erin!

 


She's OKAY!

 


From the merry-go-round it was off to demonstrate their coordination through the obstacle they'd created for themselves... I'll show the great pictures from that another time, perhaps. And then they were ready for group shots on other toys throughout the park. It was family photo night, basically. It's been a long time. They were so much fun and the pictures all turned out really cute.

It was a fun send-off for Kel. She really appreciated it, so thanks girls!

 

Roll Call

for dying appliances/utilities in Keri's house (as seen at Busy Mom's this morning):

1. Dishwasher? Check
2. Hot Tub? Check
3. Overflow Freezer? Check
4. Spotlights (not bulbs) Above Fireplace? Check
5. Recessed Lights Above Window Seat? Check

Oh yeah. Sometimes I wonder who we had for an electrician when this house was built. I think rather than a certified electrician with a real brain, it was Skippy, the Contractor's 14-year-old nephew who needed a summer job.

She's Leavin', on a Jet Plane!

Ack! In less than 24 hours, my baby will be off on another trip! This time for a whole month!

It's going to be awfully quiet around here without her. I'm going to read more books. Do a lot more writing (because I've certainly let that little practice of mine fall by the wayside), and work on getting some of the out-of-control plants out of the gardens. What would you do if you suddenly had a month off from being a parent?

500 Mile Award

My very artistic mom-in-law sent me this adorable award to coincide with the Relay last weekend. It's what I'm holding in my current profile picture... I wore my Inspirations T-shirt for the photo when I noticed that there weren't any shots of me from the Relay that showed it very well. It is covered front and back (and sides) with the names of all of the people you sent me and that Keith and I met along the way on his cancer journey.  


She also sent along a ribbon to place around my neck - and only the type of ribbon fit for a Diva - check out that fur! :) And you can't see the glitter, but believe me, it's there. My Diva sister's can appreciate this, I'm sure. Diva Katie, all that's missing is one of Sunaliza's scepters and a crown, don't you think? And a cape, of course...  

Shopping disaster!

Who are they making clothing for these days??? Supermodels and 14-year-olds only???

Keli found an adorable sundress - reversable. She looks totally sweet in it. Photo will be posted when she gets into it again and I can slow her down long enough to capture one.

I found? A blouse. Sleeveless. Hopefully my mother would have told me if I had um, what did Marn call them in a recent post of hers? oh yes... Kimono arm... Mom saw me in the sleeveless blouse and hopefully she would have told me if I had a serious or even not so serious case of kimono arm and not let me buy it. It is bright pink and quite pretty.

I also tried on a black dress with white polka dots, meant for the sixteen year old crowd, I believe. I tried on a really hot black suit. It was great. I meant for it to go with the pink blouse. And it was great from the top down to about the knees. That's where it started to fall apart on me. Because it was meant for a supermodel. Even in my 5-inch pumps, which I owned at one time (no more, however - I could NEVER walk in them today), and actually wore to work when I was a computer systems analyst (yep, I had a real job at one time), and walked around in them for 8-hour days... Even in those tallest of tall shoes, these slacks would have been in a puddle around the floor because those shoes would have taken me up to all of a 5' 9" stature... Not over the 6' that the slacks would have required. And by the time you got to the bottom of each leg? The opening on them would have fit an elephant's foot! They weren't bell-bottoms, but they were WIDE! What's up with that? Who are they making these clothes for?

I loved that suit. It looked so cute! Well. Until you got down toward the floor. Then it looked just plain silly.

Oh. And then there was the other little black dress. I had a little black dress back in my real job days. I loved it. It was so cute. So when I saw this hanging on the rack I thought, "Little black dress!" and I ran over and grabbed it. That's when I realized that it felt a little like a parachute. A stretchy parachute. And it was kinda shiny. And it was lined in bright red that showed all around the edges of the arm holes and neck opening. But I took it back anyway. Because it still sort of reminded me of that little black dress. A little bit. Kind of. It was the first thing I tried on. I zipped it up the back. It made me feel a little sexy in a way because I haven't had anything fitted on in a long time. Years probably. Shh. Don't tell my daughter I said sexy. She'll roll her eyes. Again. But it was shiny and stretchy and weird. Not in a good way. More in a dominatrixy kinda way maybe... Anyway. Took that off. Not an option.

So I had high hopes for the suit. Oh well. I bought the blouse. Mom invited me over to her place. She said if I liked the suit she had something I might want to try on. So I did. She had a black suit! And it was really cute! With black slacks that were normal! And she's got these strappy little sandals with colorful beads on them including bright pink... I'm gonna wear that tomorrow. I have a shower to attend. At a Tea House place. Never been there, but it should be fun. Now that I've finally recovered from the shopping experience.

Unfortunately, she suggested that I just come over to her place early to dress. That way, after the shower, I can just return there and change back into my clothes and won't have to get her clothes back to her later. Isn't that convenient? How does she expect me to steal her adorable suit and strappy sandals when she makes things so difficult? I think she had my number all along...

Quiet Saturday in Blogland...

including here...

but I'll be back. I'm shopping!

For Marv...

Today's run was for the father of an old high school friend, D. I guess I should just say SCHOOL friend, though. He and I have been friends since at least second grade. I remember when he drew my name in the Christmas gift exchange that year and I received a Raggedy Anne pin from him. We were in the same class until at least fifth grade and then off and on again until graduation. I haven't seen him now for a good 15 years I guess, since our 5 year class reunion. His dad passed away after last year's Relay. I got to see most of his family at that Relay and had hoped to see them there again this year, but I think most of them are out of town now.

Today's miles: 4.5
Total so far: 105.7
Still to go for goal: 394.3

It sure doesn't feel like summer. I enjoy the lack of bugs. But I don't like feeling like I need to "bundle up" when I go outside and having to keep the windows and doors shut most of the time because the house is just too cold when I open it up.

New blog friend...

I added a new blog to my list of reads today because I learned about her from Busy Mom. VJ just learned that her mom has cancer. If you are reading here, you are friend or family and you know that this is an important topic. Go over and leave her a message of encouragement if you can, please.

News...

Had a call from the Relay for Life Chairperson last night. She was calling to let all of the team captains know that the Honorary Chairperson who had just spoken at our event on Friday night had passed away. From the newspaper...

Just days after leading the survivors lap at the local Relay For Life, Hudsonite Eric Pechacek, 32, died from his cancer Wednesday night.

Pechacek was diagnosed with leukemia last November and underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy and an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant. He decided late last week to stop treatments for the illness.

He came from the hospital Friday night, however, and spoke to the Relay For Life crowd at Hudson's Relay For Life at Newton Field. With his wife Chyanne at his side, he told the crowd of survivors, caregivers and Relay team members that he did not want to focus on the negative things that had happened to him.

He spoke to the crowd with emotion about the love of his wife, children and family members and then was one of the leaders in the survivors lap to open the event.

"I've learned something more important from all of this - I am stronger than I ever thought I could be because of the people around me," said Pechacek. He spoke with emotion about his wife's devotion and the love he had for their two children, Peyton and Hayden. He also thanked the members of his family who have been at his side through his ordeal and to the many friends and strangers who have reached out to help his family.

"You all know what I'm talking about ... All of you are here for the same reason. It's about loving someone and supporting them. God has blessed me with my family and friends and all of you. I wanted to be here to tell you that."

Pechacek was back in the hospital Saturday.

Relay Photo Essay (since Dad sent some nice photos)

Click on any photo to embiggen!


Our campsite was set up that afternoon with care. We had a great spot, right on the track but on the outer edge where we were allowed to have a campfire and staked-down tent (important the way the wind was blowing) and how cold it got that night - don't let Caitlin's little t-shirt deceive you, the wind was chilly!  


First there was the Survivor's Lap, in which my two honey's walked hand-in-hand... 


Next we had the team parade and marched along with our team banner and remembering those we've lost to cancer and honoring those who have won the battle both on the flags you see here and all over my shirt (I'm behind the team banner, though)... Don't we have a great looking team??? 


Next came team photos, a lot of walking, visiting with friends and family, and eventually after it got dark, the luminaria ceremony. This is an example of what some of the luminarias looked like... 


And then it got cold. Really cold.  


Did I say cold??? 


And we got tired. Really tired. Extraordinarily tired. Exhausted even... 


Oh.so.tired. 


But eventually, the sun came up! And so did the temperature... And somebody was out on that track walking all night long from every team. There were at least two or three from our team walking all night. And the cold and the exhaustion? They were so worth it. This is a great event. This is a great cause. And we'll do it until it isn't needed anymore. And I sure hope that day is soon. Because nobody wants anyone else to suffer or to die from cancer.  

Mowing the Phone...

I decided to mow the lawn today. Dad had called yesterday morning, but Kel and I had a very late night the night before and I didn't have any allergy meds and was really feeling it so I begged off and we agreed that Friday would be the day since Thursday is a day of golf for him. Well, today was pretty nice - chilly and low on bugs, plus I had replenished the claritin-D yesterday during my Target run - so I decided to get out there and spare Dad the gory dust and bumpy ride if I could.

I stuck my phone in the cup holder so I could call Kel at the house in case of emergency and off I rode, confident that the blades would start.  




It was brilliant really. Dad had disconnected one of the safety features that was really causing us some grief (if you got out of the seat the blades shut down, sometimes losing us the ability to ever get them started again, well for that mowing session anyway), so I knew that I had that one licked...

Early into the mow, I got stuck. Really stuck... in a low section of the yard. I called Kel and told her to get warm clothes on and come down and steer the tractor while I hooked up the car and pulled the thing out. Just a couple of weeks ago, that wouldn't have been possible without shutting off the blades unless she could have slipped into the seat with me still in it and we could have tricked it into believing I'd never left...

Long story short, I managed to finish the WHOLE FIELD and along the driveway and EVERYWHERE without the blades shutting down, even though I bet I got stuck 7 times and had to disengage the transmission and push myself out of being stuck or hook the tractor up to the car three of those times. After a couple of hours, I was finished.

I got out the push mower and did the hand stuff. I went in the house and got out the stuff for pancakes. Then Kel told me she wanted to go to a friend's house. So I went out to get the phone to send with her.

That's when I realized it was gone. :( AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!

I spent the next hour wandering the fields, around the pines (especially around the pines figuring a pine branch had grabbed the phone and snapped it out of the cup holder), and along the edge of the long grass looking for the phone. We tried calling it. The first couple of times it picked up right away. I got a little upset by this because I knew the phone was on. Did I run it over causing it to be smashed into a billion pieces? In the meantime, Kel left with her friend. I came back inside and decided to look on top of the mower deck with the flashlight. Nothing but a lot of grass. That was a stupid idea. I looked in the car. Not there, of course. I tried calling it from the phone in the garage. I HEARD IT RINGING! AT THE MOWER! IT WAS ON THE MOWER DECK! I took off the protective cover over the gears for the blades and as you can see, there it was... 







And this is what the back of it looks like after having the wheel spin around on it for who knows how long. I've needed to replace this phone for a couple of years. The screen fades out completely on it on a regular basis so I can't see what I'm dialing or who is calling. I have to hit it to get it to come back and sometimes what comes back is gobbledy gook. But I don't mind really.

I think it is official. My daughter will probably never again be seen with my phone. :) 

Oh - the best part??? Even with the beating it took - It seems to be still working fine. Won't have to replace it yet! Heh...

And now it's time for those pancakes... I'm starving.

More Relay Stuff...

Well, today I figured out how to get Kel to Colorado without too much worry about the dog sitting and price of gasoline, etc. She's flying out. I somehow found a really inexpensive flight - roundtrip and only a week away.

Today we headed to the DMV and she got her permit. While there they said I could renew my license since it was within a year of expiration for me. I've had mine forever and it was an awful picture. I was glad to be rid of it. The new one doesn't seem a whole lot better. It's kind of stern looking in a smiley way... go figure.

And I finally got to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! It was definitely different than the other two. And I liked the first two better. I admit it. I miss the old Dumbledore. But I like me some Snapes. There isn't enough of him in any of them. :)

Hutch is looking for more Relay photos. I have one I'd like to post. But I can't upon punishment of pain and suffering. And I didn't take very many. So while we wait until my Dad e-mails me some, we'll have to settle for the other few that I did take.


This is the survivors from across the field all spread out around the track taking their lap... 


Here come the survivors rounding the final curve on their kick-off lap of the Relay! This year we had the largest group of survivors with us we've ever had! It was beautiful...  

We had visitors - Jerry and his daughter and grandkids stopped by. His wife Delores is on my list of Honorees... They came for the luminaria ceremony. I graduated with his daughter and it was really nice to see her and her kids.

Another really good friend of mine, Carolyn, came by with her husband and daughter. They were there from opening ceremony through the luminaria ceremony. John made a luminaria for his dad; they participated in the silent auction and took home a fishing pole; they stuffed some money in our dude's purse and visited with some friends; they had some dinner at the concession stand; they visited with us and offered to walk with us next year... all in all, I think they had a good time.

Our teammate Lauren's mom, Dawn, who was treated for breast cancer and only recently completed her treatments in fact, came by and walked in the survivor's lap. She stuck around for a couple of hours.

Hutch's sister came by after the luminaria ceremony. I had just taken off to let the dog out and feed him his very late dinner and to get myself some warmer clothes for the night time hours. I hurried as quickly as I could because I hate to miss any of the Relay, but I still managed to miss her visit. I got back to the school and headed to the campsite and said to Keith, "You know what? Donna didn't come tonight." And everybody on the team who happened to be sitting around the campfire just then said in chorus, "You just missed her!" I could have cried. I was torked that I'd had to leave. Next year, I'm getting a puppy sitter. I had to leave for part of it last year because of him, too. Or else I'm going to put him in his crate and take him to my folks' house so that he's a lot closer than that drive all the way to my house... *grumble grumble*

We had a lot of fun in the morning watching the Road to Recovery car races that the little kids take part in. They decorate cardboard boxes like cars and get inside them and run around the track in them. And they are just little kids who can barely make it around the track. We stood there screaming and whistling and clapping for them. We were about the only few people doing that. Nobody else really noticed them. We had to yell at some walkers to get out of their way because they were coming up to them and the walkers were blocking the whole track. Some of the kids were so little that when they heard us they thought they were finished. We had to yell to keep going so they'd know they had a ways to go still. One poor little boy (Big Dan) kept tripping over his untied shoe laces and his mom just kept picking him up and telling him to keep going.

The weather was so great. The sunset was incredible, but the sunrise, after being up all night... WOW.

Well, I guess that's enough for this post. My daughter is late getting home. I'm going to sign off and get out of the office and get my teeth brushed. Think I'll read for a bit. It sure is going to be a quiet month when she is gone...

The photo is really grainy, but this is Kel and Keith when they got back from walking the Survivor's lap together. I usually walk it with him, but this year I sent Keli along instead because they timed a special Caregivers ceremony to take place during the Survivor's lap.  

For Uncle Roy...

Today's run was for my Uncle Roy. He had a difficult battle lost late last year.

I had to run it alone as I couldn't convince Kel to join me. She was too tired after being up all night on Friday and then until 2 on Saturday after a grad party, then all night for another grad party (the same one actually) on Sunday. Grad parties are a lot different than they were when I was in high school! This party was three days long and was a gamer party - for the kids to bring along their game cubes, computers, tv's, etc. and hang out playing all fof their cool games for as long as they wanted.

Today's miles: 5.5
Total so far: 101.2
Still to go for goal: 398.8

Looks like it's time to add another duck!

My run was pretty uneventful. I tried to keep the pace at about the same speed it goes when Keli paces me. I think I was pretty successful. I figured I'd better get out there and do it even without her because I'll need to throughout the month of July.

Any takers to fill in for her that month? I'm going to miss her! Who will fill in as my running buddy? Well, I have some thank you's to write out...

Coming back to life...

Slowly getting back into the groove of things.

Talked to my massage therapist this morning to verify the massage I have set up for later this week. Got some errands run yesterday. Caught up with some bloggers and read the stuff I had missed over the past several days. Got the tent dried out and just need to get it rolled up and put away which will be done after I finish this entry, along with some other stuff put away. Looking up the hours of the DMV while I'm online so Kel can go get her permit this week. Figuring out arrangements for the dog so I can deliver Kel to Colorado sometime soon. As soon as the rain returns to our area I'll do some house cleaning. Until then I can't be bothered. Tonight I'll get back to laundry.

What's up with the electrical in our practically new house? Both our dishwasher and our hot tub trip their breakers. This makes no sense to me. And now, we've completely shut down the hot tub electrical stuff outside at the tub itself and the breaker still can't be turned back on. Ideas? Guess we need to get someone in here to have a look. I think our electrician wasn't the greatest or something.

Going out for a run in just a bit.

It's another gorgeous day.

Go contribute to Kim's Relay for Life team! She has the instructions on her post today. She was on of the supporters who helped me become one of the top donors at my Relay for Life! It's her first year out there with her own team. Go help her make it a success!

Closing Ceremony Surprise...

Thank You!

Because of your generous donations, I was honored to be called out onto the field during the closing ceremony to be photographed as one of the top five individual fund-raisers Saturday morning.

I couldn't have done it without the help of my cheerleaders and the pledges and donations from all of you. I say it again... people are so generous!

A Little Bit of Relay Stuff...

There will be much more to come.

We had perfectly beautiful weather. Friday was a little chilly and windy for setting up, but when the sun came out, it felt good. The breeze kept the mosquitoes at bay again this year, and we didn't need any bug repellent. That was nice. We were happy to have a campsite where a campfire was allowed because the temperature got down to 40 degrees farenheit around 4:30 am just before dawn, so the fire felt really great during the night and we were all saying that we couldn't believe it was mid-June. But better that than really hot.

Walking/running/dancing around the track was terrific. Many miles were accumulated and laughter and merriment was had by all. Our "Dude Looks Like a Lady" was fantastic and we owe him/her a huge debt of gratitude for stepping up to the plate at the last minute when our other Dude had plans that couldn't be changed interfere with his commitment. Ours was the ONLY Dude who actually fit the Disco theme of the Relay. He should have taken first prize for THAT alone! You were AWESOME Dude. And your seamstress was the BOMB.

Some of the things that had been announced to be happening, never happened. I don't know why. Things just fall apart and don't come together I guess. For example, karaoke and disco late-night were supposed to happen at the dj's tent. That was a no-go. The morning stretch infield was another no-go this year. The medals that were supposed to be handed out to teams collecting a certain dollar amount didn't happen. Our team ROCKED accumulating a total of over $5000 in only our second year as a team! Way to go Brain Trusters!

Relay miles: 18
Total so far: 95.7
Still to go for goal: 404.3

Okay. Have to take the kiddo on some errands. Back later. Hoping to get some miles under my belt for the day now that I've recovered my sleep, etc.

Another thing - our local Relay has now collected over a Million dollars for the American Cancer Society in its five years running. I'm proud to be a part of that. And just because it is over for this year? Doesn't mean you can't still contribute. Because I'm now working on Relay 2005!

Yep. You heard me. I'm working on fund raising ideas and a whole new campaign to get things in motion for the next one. My neices were already hitting me with themes for next year, too. I hope I have comments and e-mails filling my box from them soon because they have a whole list of theme ideas they want me submitting to the committee for the next one. So they're all psyched for next year already, too. Wanna contribute? You know where the button is. Feel free!

Getting down to the wire! 1:20 am. Can't sleep. Wide awake. Thinking of a zillion things about the Relay which kicks off in about 14 hours. Thought I'd get out of bed and make some notes to try and help myself get some sleep. Yeah. Maybe that'll work.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped me shatter my $300 goal. I took in $2,215 for the American Cancer Society with my little 500 mile run to nowhere! And of course, if anyone still wants to contribute, ACS will accept donations anytime, so feel free. Now I'm working on figuring out how to top that for the next Relay, so if anyone has any ideas and is good at fundraising, send me an e-mail or comment... People are awesome and generous.

And remember that Kim is raising funds for the Canadian Relay now, too! Go support her efforts! She has a link on her blog to help you do just that... Once I get back from my relay, I'm going to do the same!

G'night!

Tuesday...

This week is flying, but not quite as quickly as I thought it was. All day yesterday was Wednesday for me. And by the end of the day I was really getting stressed because I was not getting finished with as many things as I wanted to be. But this morning I discovered that today was only Wednesday, so I wasn't as far behind as I thought I had been and I'm a little less stressed.

Spent yesterday mowing and grumbling about the tractor. Dad was out and helped get got the tractor blades moving again and remowed much of what I had done because one of the blades doesn't seem to be cutting it (mower humor). Even got Kel out there using the push mower and the trimmer. I bet she'll be groaning when she rolls out of bed in a bit. The yard is now ready to survive another week or more if we don't get a bunch more rain. It looks good, too.

Afterwards, I had some banking to do. {Side note: Can you hear the drumroll? I'm almost to the point of being ready to announce what you've all been able to help me raise. I'm really excited because it has been great. People are so generous! I'm just waiting until the last minute - a late post on Friday before I head out to the kick off because you never know about late donations and such.}

I dropped Kel off at the folks' so she could go swimming and headed off to the bank and Target. After the shopping, I went back to the folks, did some Relay calculations, and got back to work on the luminarias. They are coming along brilliantly. I'll be posting pictures next week probably. I think I'll finish putting them together today and take the photos but I won't have time to put them up until next week when I wrap things up with the stories about the Relay.

I have a feeling the people filling them with sand and putting them out on the track won't love me very much for all the work I've put into them... They probably prefer a simple bag with a name written on them that they don't have to worry about so they can fill it quickly and put it out. I've added to the complexity. But I'll also offer to fill and put them out myself, as well as help them fill and put out others if they want that night. I'm sure they can use the help. We have several kids associated with the team that could help, too, if they want it. I should put out an e-mail to the committee and find out.

After that, I went up to the pool to join Kel and swam a few laps. It's been years since I did this. And my body can tell. I even did a few flip turns. My body hasn't attempted those for a while either. Huh. Just realized I didn't try the butterfly stroke. What a shame. Take THAT Miss Jorgenson. Nobody can make me... Sorry. Ninth grade swim team flashback...

Didn't get a run in. Resting after two days of street pavement pounding. Back to luminaria creation. Then I've gotta get the house cleaned up. And these clouds that are covering our skies? They may create some rain. But it's going to be the only rain of the week. We're going to have beautiful weather for the Relay. And very few mosquitos. It may be Minnesota's state bird, but we're in God's country here... this is Wisconsin.

Memorial Shirt...

I still have plenty of room on my Relay t-shirt for the names of friends and loved ones that you might want remembered and/or honored for having battled or fallen to cancer and it won't cost you a dime. I'm still taking donations to the American Cancer Society for the Relay, of course, but I'm wearing the "memorial shirt" because I want to honor those who have had to deal with the disease. So please feel free to send more names if you wish. I've added all those on my Inspiration list at the right and still have plenty room for more.

For Uncle Bill...

Kel ran with me again today. I love running with her. She and I have a perfectly matched pace and we laugh at the same stuff and can chat about things or just breathe in sync (*gasp*) or whatever. July is going to suck when she goes off to Colorado and I have to run alone again. I'll have to get lots of miles in before then so when I start slacking after she's gone (as I probably will) it won't be so detrimental. She is almost my height now and her legs are maybe even a little longer. I'm not sure she'd agree that our pace is perfectly matched, but I think we rock running together. And the weather this evening was awesome, too.

Today's miles: 3.5
Total so far: 77.7
Still to go for goal: 422.3

So you're probably wondering why we didn't go further with all the elements in our favor? I didn't have enough water prior to our run and was paying for it. So we made it a short one.

And we ran today for my Uncle Bill. He was our favorite Santa and always quick with a joke and a smile. He was taken from us far too soon and I think we've all admitted to missing him a lot. He brought a certain sparkle to family gatherings which haven't been the same without him. He knew how to get a smile from the shyest of his nieces (me) and could make even the most dour elders lighten up when they would catch sight of the mischievous twinkle in his eye, knowing that he was up to something and that it was probably going to bring gales of laughter and hurt nobody's feelings. Thank you for laughter and smiles and love, Uncle Bill.

For Keith...

Kel and I ran today for Keith. Three years ago today he went into surgery with a 50/50 chance of coming out of it. I think my biggest fear that day (does that sound horrible? - I knew he'd make it through - the death thing wasn't an option you see) was that he would come out of it alive but with no memory of who we were (a distinct possibility). Thank goodness we had to face neither of those conclusions and he is doing so well considering all of the possibilities.

Life has changed a lot since that rainy June day in 2001, but I'm grateful to have you here with us, Keith! I know that you face a lot of challenges and I'm sorry for that, but I'm grateful for all that you do for Keli and I. You are a wonderful husband and father!!!

Today's miles: 5.5
Total so far: 74.2
Still to go for goal: 425.8

Heading to the folks' this evening for our last team meeting before the Relay next weekend. Mom's even serving dinner!

For Delores...

I ran today (veeeeeeeery slowly) for our dear friend Delores. She passed away just before last year's relay and we miss her. A lot. I graduated from high school with her daughter. Her husband and son were up for dinner at the brat stand last weekend. It's a family of good people.

Today's miles: 4.0
Total so far: 68.7
Still to go for goal: 431.3

Great news!!! Becky's pathology report is in and there was no cancer found in the tumor removed from her thyroid! I'm Snoopy dancing here for Marge and Becky! Thanks to everyone who had them on their prayer lists!

Off to bed now. Hope the weather is warm and sunny tomorrow, though I don't think it is supposed to be. Kel is at a waterpark for this couple of days. Cold and rainy. Gloomy. Great timing. Early June can be so unpredictable. And we just had record breaking heat a few days ago...

For Faith...

Today I ran for Kim's mother-in-law, Faith. Kim's family has decided to put their own Relay team together for the Canadian version of the Relay for Life in memory of her MIL.

By the way, Kim is accepting donations for her team, also. (Kimby, you need to get a link on your blog to that site you posted a while back...)

Today's miles: 5.11
Total so far: 64.7
Still to go for goal: 435.3

It rained and was miserably cold out today. Just in time for the kids from the foreign languages classes to head to the Valley Fair theme park for the day. Kel came home soaked to the skin and freezing, but she'd had fun. Tomorrow she's supposed to head Wisconsin Dells way for more waterpark fun. Again - cold and rain predictions. She'll be plenty sick by the weekend is my prediction.

Dad came out and spent several hours working on the d@#&ed tractor with me today. Thanks, Dad! It should be all ready for use next time we get weather that allows for cutting.

Time to relax a while with the kiddo. Have a good night.

What Movie is Keri Watching?

What movie is Keri watching? Sorry for the dark and grainy quality. Hope you can still sort of figure it out. It was such a gloomy day outside that it made for a really gloomy day inside and bad picture taking qualities! 

Happy Birthday, Keith... Love from Keri and Keli 

Summertime... and the living is... easy?

Breezy for sure. And warm. Last day of school around here. A silly one, though. This is one of those forced make-up days because they took too many snow days. But it makes for a ridiculous day at school because it will be a worthless day in the eyes of education. I got outside for my run today. And as Bob Seeger would say, I was running against the wind.

Today's miles: 4.0
Total so far: 59.59
Still to go for goal: 440.41

What a great weekend we had for the hot dog stand. We were so fortunate! With all of the lousy weekend weather we have had for the past many months, we really have to be thankful for the three days we were blessed with to sell those brats and dogs. And the people really responded. We ordered more food for the following day each evening, and each day we were still running out and having to go on shopping trips multiple times to buy more food. It was great. Better than our garage sales of last year? Definitely. Less work to begin with and more profit overall, I believe.

Will we do it again next year? Still thinking about that one. But I really don't know what else we would do for our team money makers unless we get someone on the team who is a great fundraiser with other fantastic ideas. Personally, I've tapped all of my friends and family with this running idea this year, and I'm not sure of the response I'd get doing it again next year, short of doing the run backwards or walking on my hands or something crazy, so I'm already trying to get creative and think ahead - what can I sell or do that will be different or that can reach out to the public and strangers?

This is such an important cause to me, and to many others I know.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. I wish I'd handed out my cards with the blog address on them. I didn't think about that. Thanks to Hutch for coming by and bringing the boys and her sister. I haven't seen her for so many years. She gave me two fabulous things - first an incredible donation for which I cannot say thank you enough, and second, a really great compliment... she said I still look the same. She and Hutch are the ones who haven't changed a bit. Seriously. I blew your cover though, Hutch. Now my brother knows that Hutch=you. When my dad got back I said, "Dad, you missed Hutch!" And the bro then asked who Hutch was. I had no idea he didn't know. Dad was really bummed he'd missed you. So now you have to come to the Relay. :)

I also saw an old neighbor that I hadn't seen in many years. That was fun. She also said I looked exactly the same. I now take this to be a nice thing to say to someone when you have nothing else to say because you haven't seen them for so many years that you don't know them any more. *sigh* But it is still a nice thing to hear.

And I spoke with several survivors and a few people who were related to someone currently going through treatment. One was the uncle of an eight-year-old boy with an inoperable brain tumor. One was the husband of a woman who'd found out a couple months prior that she had breast cancer. One was a woman who lost her husband a few years back to a brain tumor (glioblastoma). It was a powerful weekend, driving home the fact that we've gotta keep it up. They cannot do too much research in this field... they've gotta find a cure.

Happy Birthday, David!

Happy Birthday David! Hope you have a terrific day! Love to you from all of us! 

Busy week!

Working on luminaries, rushing Kel around for things tonight, and getting stressed about the big hot dog stand tomorrow (think happy weather thoughts for Wisconsin ALL weekend!)...

Today's miles: 3.0
Total so far: 55.59
Still to go for goal: 444.41

Man, time is flying by. The Relay is practically upon us.

If you have donated to my efforts and have not received my final thank you message in the past week or so, please contact me. Everyone that I have a record of having donated has received a recent note of thanks.

Bear with me in this busy time and my really low output of posts, oh faithful reader.

And finally, congratulations to blogger friend Robert who just learned that he is going to be a papa!

Spring babies...

There was one beautiful moment of grace over the past busy weekend (among many that I'm just not remembering, I'm sure)... Keith and I were sitting in the sunroom discussing one of three things most likely, when all of a sudden, three adorable fawns (fawn? what is the plural?) came gamboling over each other out of the forest and right into our yard and onto the patio about 8 feet from where were sitting, just beyond the wall of windows. Beyond them, nearly hidden in the woods, mom watched them. They were so tiny and sweet! Of course, I didn't have my camera in the room with me and had either of us tried to go get it, they'd have been gone like a shot. Plus, Spawn of Satan was in the room with us and we knew that any discussion or exclamaitions of their beauty would send him off lunging and barking at the window like a madman.

Unfortunately, by the time I did get to my camera, they were as predicted, dashing off... hehehe... I outta be a professional photographer, don'tcha think?


Come back! I wanna show 'em how cute you are! 

Is it really Wednesday already?

Man. I can't believe how this cold/virus/allergy thing is kicking me in the butt. The weekend was a hectic mess. My ex was in town and so my daughter was gone all weekend spending the time visiting with him, his wife and their little baby, her little sister that she is so in love with and proud of. Which meant if I wanted to see Kel at all and keep a watch on how she was doing emotionally, I needed to be keeping in touch by phone and staying in touch with all the ex-in-laws to make sure they got her where she needed to be all weekend. She had the high school graduation to play for with the wind ensemble and the Memorial Day Parade to march in.

There were wild storms passing through with sirens going off and basements to seek shelter in.

There were handmade purses from my mother-in-law to sell with all proceeds going to the Relay (have we got some awesome people working on our team or what???). I've sold seven of the ten made!

There was an impromptu dinner at the folks' house with part of the extended family where we did a little discussing of the Relay and hot dog stand stuff, and celebrating of the fact that we have a "Dude Looks Like a Lady" for the contest (w00t!).

I guess by the time all of that was over and the ex had left town and Kel had decompressed (I almost said decomposed - eek! - it wasn't that bad, trust me) and I had sent her off to school on Tuesday morning, I was wiped. I spent all day yesterday in bed. Seriously. All.day.

I'm sleeping in the basement. Have been for about five nights. To get away from the rest of the occupants in the house and give them peace and quiet for their sleep. I cough a lot. My daughter has so much sympathy. She tells me to shut up please stop that everytime I cough now.

I think I feel a little better today. I might even go walk on Lurch tonight. Not run, though. That really would kick off a coughing fit to beat the band. I've been doing quiet activities today like working on the luminaria designs for the Relay.

Guess I'll grab something to eat now and see how I feel about walking after that.

The hot dog stand is coming quick! I wanted to kick butt in June with the miles, not be kicked instead!