Chapter 1 is Complete

This morning my team and I finished our final official training walk before the Komen 3 Day in just 5 short days! It was "just 8 miles" so we got to the IHOP before the Sunday morning crowd got there, and we had our server take our picture. This group of women (and a bunch more that couldn't make it to breakfast for multiple reasons) have made training for the 3 Day very memorable. I can only imagine what next weekend will be like!

When I decided to sign up to walk this event I had a couple of concerns. The first being would I be able to find a team to train with and be a part of? The second (and even more daunting) would I be able to raise $2300? At the "Get Started Meeting" I was told if I found a team to train with I would be prepared both physically and financially. So I went home and found "Angels for the Cure" and started training and participating in fundraisers. I was gung-ho and ready to work my tail off to meet my goals of raising $2300 and walking 60 miles in 3 Days. The coach at the get started meeting was right!

I am ready! The training is complete. The fundraising is complete (as soon as I get some matching funds deposited in my account) and all I need to do is the finishing touches of my tutu and pack up!

I owe it all to my friends who have listened to me talk non-stop about the Komen 3 Day for the Cure for the past 5 months and my team mates and new friends who have helped me fundraise and pushed me to keep walking during the hottest, longest summer Dallas has ever had.

I am so blessed to have found them! 5 days till I embark on the weekend of a lifetime! I am so ready!

If you are in the Dallas area and can come out to a cheering station I would love to say hi for a few minutes! I will be wearing Angel wings, a halo and a tutu with all my donor's names on it! If you want to "walk" with me just donate here and I will add your name to my tutu!

Shrinkvivor - Going From Pink to Exile

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to weigh in with the Sisterhood. I got sent to Exile Island last week which didn't surprise me terribly since I had a gain again.

Now that I'm on Exile Island I lost a bit more than a pound...go figure, right?

I did well on the exercise minutes this week with 657, most of which was over the weekend with the Komen 3 Day training. This past weekend we had our last long training weekend walking 19.5 miles on Sunday and almost 11.5 on Saturday. I also did the Run the 'Hood 5K with That Other Kid on Saturday so it was a busy weekend. Saturday afternoon our team also got to go around and mark some of the route we will be walking during the 3 Day, but it would have been difficult to quanitify the time for that so I didn't count it as "exercise" minutes although we were walking A LOT! We are just 9 days out from the 3 Day Walk!! Wow! I can hardly believe it is almost here! I'm starting to get really excited and a bit nervous, as well, about what happens after the 3 Day. How will I handle going from walking miles and miles on the weekends to all of a sudden NOT walking alot on the weekends?? Suggestions are appreciated...

Our mini-challenge for the week was to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. NO PROBLEM! I usually drink a minimum of 100 ounces a day and on the weekends I usually get around 130 ounces!

This week we are sticking with exercise minutes so I will have to push myself to get some extra workouts in since this is our taper weekend before the walk and we are only going 10 and 8 miles this weekend - only about 2.5 to 3 hours a piece!

We are also supposed to stay away from the halloween candy! Wow! That is kind of mean, right? But, it shouldn't be too hard for me since That Other Kid is allergic to most of the candy I don't buy it for him and what he gets from the Fall Festivals we usually give to friends....as long as I just do that right away I should be good.

Hope you guys are having good success with your goals and are getting healthier, cuz that is the ultimate goal, right?

Walkin the Hood 5k!

First off I just want to say a huge Thank You to Christy and Melissa (and all the other 'hood peeps) for organizing such a fun event that That Other Kid and I could participate in on a busy weekend for me! It was difficult to squeeze it in. Between a 10 mile Komen training walk, grocery shopping, a 3 Day event and laundry it was a challenge but it was fun and a great way for me and the kiddo to spend time together!

Y'all said you wanted pictures so here you go! In no particular order (cuz I'm being lazy!) and I just finished walking 19.5 miles!

We started out about 11 am since I had to do my training walk and run to the grocery store and make sure we were all fed before heading out. My hubby and That Other Kid were teasing me saying this was just a "walk in the park" since it was such a short distance and it literally was, cuz we went to the park to do our 5K!!

Of course the skeleton Bondi Band made him even more excited! Why do boys like skeletons so much?

>

We started our walk at the park, then took us by the pond where we saw ducks, wild plums, acorns and lots of rocks! (see why it took us over an hr to walk the 5k?) and he was "so tired too"!

Our official time (per MapMyRun) was 1:12:16 to walk the 3.1 miles! What a great feeling of accomplishment for him! And it was a great way to spend an hour doing something with him outdoors!

Shrinkvivor - Week 4

It's Wednesdays and over at Shrinking Jeans we do a weigh in on Wednesdays. Can we just skip Wednesday this week? No, well then this is what it is....

Can I just say I pissed I am to see this number on the scale this morning! Really there are no excuses except the normal ones. I ate like crap, ate way more than I should have and didn't put in enough exercise minutes. Adding up my time last night I realized that I got NO exercise minutes in 3 of the 7 days. Totally unacceptable for me! I KNOW that for me to lose weight I MUST be consistent and put in an hour of exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY with an occasional day of "rest". Apparently this week I thought I deserved 3 days of rest. Thus, the gain AGAIN on the scale!

I could say I had a sinus infection so it's understandable to expect a gain on the scale since the antibiotics ALWAYS cause a gain in me but in all honesty I just put in the effort to lose weight. Apparently I don't want to look good when we go to San Diego in December. Apparently I expect "My Marine" to get his act together but I can continue sitting around being an fat slob obese mom.

This week is once again exercise minutes which will work out for me. We have the Virtual 5K this weekend that That Other Kid and I are doing, on top of the training for the Komen 3 Day. This is our last long mileage weekend then we have a weekend of tapering before the event. This past week I only had 546 minutes which for me is really light. I know I should be proud of this but I'm not happy about it because I expect A LOT MORE of myself than that!

This week's mini-challenge is water! This one I have in the bag. I drink a lot of water a day - at least 100 ounces (yes, I spend alot of time in the bathroom!). Last week's mini-challenge was to eat "my greens". I have to admit I did good 3 of the days but the rest of the week? NOT SO MUCH! Eating veggies are sooo hard for me but I have been improving and that is the goal, right?

Ok...so my plan for the week - TRACK my food! This works for me, WHEN I DO IT! It's just a matter of doing it. I also need to focus on the low glycemic index plan. I lost weight on this....I just need to FOLLOW IT!! I also need to move my body more intensely and more often!

So...here's to another week...I'm hoping that ALL of the Pink Tribe remains intact this week but if not we will stick together even from exile island. We are united all seeking the same goal...healthier, more fit women!

Winner!!

Here's my version of random.com....and the winner is: Thea

Thanks for helping me raise money for a wonderful cause that is changing life for women every day!

60 miles in 3 Days!!

Red Friday....

In honor of RED FRIDAY, I decided to post this poem that was posted on the Marine Family facebook page that I am a part of. This group has kept me sane over the past 4 weeks!

Yes, "My Marine" has been gone nearly 4 weeks! That means in just 9 weeks he will be graduating from boot camp and will hold the honor of being a United States Marine! I'm still looking for flights to San Diego for us to get out there as cheaply as possible so if you know of any way to get from Dallas to San Diego the middle of December cheaply please let me know! I've only received 1 REAL letter and it was just like heaven on earth! Can't wait to hear from him again although I know he's a bit busy!



Yesterday a Boy, Today a Marine, Always my son

There is a young man,taking part in God's plan.
... To go off and rain in the sun and sand.
He goes to an Island where is taught by a DI
Commanded by stern voices to make fearful choices.

Following through to the end.
To never to stray or to bend.
To fight the good fight
and run the race to win
The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor
Is the prize at the end.
Honor, Courage and Commitment
Are what is taught.
To stand for these and to hold them true.
He does this for me and for you
To be yelled and screamed at and to not quit.
Push ups and quarter decked they say will make him fit.
To run miles at a time in eighteen inch sand.
Training and learnig to defend with his hands.
An oath he took willingly to serve and defend,
He will follow through with his brothers down to the end.
He puts a Sir or Mam at the end of each yes or no,
Makes you wonder, "Where did the boy go?"

His recruiter says he is doing well.
His letters are our communicationfrom his boot camp hell.
Some thing he goes through he cannot and will not tell,
His letters we look for daily in the mail,
Recieving one makes the waiting all swell.

The day he left was a heart strain,
Will be totally forgotten when my son becomes a Marine
The Few and the Proud, is what he choose to become,
Not an easy task for many,impossible for some.

Prayers and scriptures are what he reads through,
Fighting illness and homesickness, he knows God is there too.
He is doing the things he has to do,
To become a Marine, one of the choosen Few

Semper Fi is the motto, always faithful and true,
This will be obvious when he stands in his Dress Blues.
Oo-Rah will be the battle cry,
Shouted loud and clear.
Becoming his dream
Overcoming his fears.
My son will be a Marine.
What a wonderful sound.





And don't forget to check out my Target giftcard give away. All proceeds go directly to the Komen 3 Day for the Cure that I am walking in just 3 weeks! WOW!! 3 weeks to go!..I will close it off tomorrow evening and pick a winner Sunday afternoon with the help of That Other Kid!

Shrinkvivor and Other Random Stuff!

Ok...before we get down to the ugliness business of Shrinkvivor can I just say I have the BEST ONLINE FRIENDS IN THE WORLD!! I received donation after donation after donation yesterday for the Komen 3 Day Walk and every one of these donations came from women that I have NEVER met in real life (with the exception of Christy cuz I got to meet her this past spring!) I am so grateful for the community of women (and men) that I have met online! Y'all have enriched my life greatly!!


On with the business of the day! This is Wednesday which means it is weigh in day! I didn't really know what to expect. I walked over 30 miles during the weekend and ate a lot of food to keep me going! Not all of which was good for me, obviously by the number on the scale. Sorry the picture is sideways! I don't know how to fix it! :(( since I am technically challenged!

Anyways, as you can see this is right back where I started from one the beginning day of the challenge! Back to 200.8 is not where I wanted to be but it is what it is!
Nothing I can do about it now. Just gotta work harder this coming week and make the number go back down.

I did log a respectible number of minutes of exercise -- 755 minutes -- so I'm hoping it is enough to give us immunity!! We lost Roo last week and that made me very sad but it doesn't mean she's not PINK still! We still love her and as far as we are concerned she is still on our tribe!

We were supposed to make sure we got at least 7 hours of sleep a night last week for our mini-challenge. I did good except over the weekend when I only got about 4 or 5 hours a night! It's hard for a night owl to get enough sleep when she has to get up at 4 am to walk for training!

this week's mini-challenge is EAT YOUR GREENS! Honestly this is one of my most difficult areas! I'm not a veggie eater. Salad is about the only veggies I eat and I have a hard time eating them on a regular basis but I am trying! I did buy salad yesterday at the store and we had a salad last night so I will just need to make sure I fix one every night!

Before I say goodbye I want to remind you that I have a $75 Target giftcard giveaway going on. Check it out over here. I will have That Other Kid help me choose a winner Sunday afternoon since I will be out walking Sunday morning.

Oh I almost forgot! Go give Bari some love this weekend as she is running her first MARATHON! Go give Thea some love, too! Cuz she is running her FIRST HALF-MARATHON!! These women are all kinds of inspirational to me and they definitely deserve some lovin'! They are both gonna rock their races and I can't wait to hear how awesome they do on them!

Feeling Overwhelmed Confessions

Right now is the first time I've even sat down at my computer long enough to even THINK about writing a post since last week for the Shrinkvivor post! I've been busier than a "one armed paper hanger" and I'm ready for some down time!

But....I'm not really going to get it for another few weeks. I will just take care of business as soon as possible and move on!

I WALKED 20.5 miles on Saturday! Oh my goodness how good I felt for accomplishing such a wonderful goal! That is 1/3 of what I will be walking in a matter of 3 1/2 weeks. I felt so good...our training walk that day was 18 miles but our wonderful training leader wanted to allow us to walk those extra 2 miles "to show we can"!! I can't tell you how good it felt!

I know that there are marathoners out there that are RUNNING OVER 20 miles but for me this was such a wonderful accomplishment!

Then on Sunday we were supposed to walk 15 miles! I bailed at just over 9 miles! My allergies were making me sick! I was dizzy, weak, and exhausted! I felt worse walking those 9 miles than I did walking the 20, so I went home, and got in bed for 2 hours and SLEPT! I felt a bit better - not great but better. Since then I have been having some serious allergy issues so I am going to go to the doctor to get some antibiotics to prevent a sinus infection. I know most people love fall and I do love the cooler weather BUT my allergies and I are NOT loving fall!

I had a bake sale to raise money for the Komen 3 Day
on Friday night (and spent 6 hours Thursday baking for it!) and raised $150 in just a few hours! I was very happy!

I'm also giving away a $75 Target giftcard on Saturday to one of my donators! All you have to do is donate at least $5 and leave me a comment on this post! Sometime Sunday That Other Kid and I will choose a winner for the giftcard! So far the odds are pretty good -- Brooke, Roo, and Alison are the only ones who have donated.

All proceeds go directly to help find a cure for breast cancer! Donate here before Saturday night and I will enter you into the drawing!!

Yesterday I went to hang out with my friend Glenna, whom I am doing all this walking, baking, and fundraising for! It was the first time in what seemed like forever that we have done anything by ourselves! It was soooooo nice! We walked the mall, went to see a movie (7 Days in Utopia - a great clean movie, btw) and walked the mall some more and ate dinner at Chilis! We talked till we barely had voices! It was a great way to spend the day/evening!

But...I missed SisterChat and that made me sad:(

Today I have been cleaning and trying to get a handle on the disorganized clutter and mess that has been taking over my house! How do y'all tackle the clutter? Do you have a "cleaning schedule"? Do you do a little every day or all day cleaning? Inquiring minds NEED to know! I'm tired of the house being a mess! Storage is limited and space is even more limited so I need to figure it out!

My eating has been so-so this week, exercise has been good considering I walked over 29 miles this past weekend! lol Hopefully, I will have another good loss tomorrow.

What do you have to confess this week?

Shrinkvivor Week 1

<

Today is check in day at Shrinking Jeans and honestly I was afraid to step on the scales this morning BUT I was pleasantly surprised with this number!

Last week for the start of Shrinkvivor I was at 200.8 so I lost 2.6 lbs this week! Just think what I could have done had I not eaten 1 dozen cookies in 2 days!!

For the mini challenge we were supposed to avoid fast food. I did

Ok on it but I blew it on Thursday even before I knew what we were supposed to do. I also bought Chickfila Monday but I got a grilled chicken salad, so I don't think that is bad.

I have been participating in a fitness challenge at the karate studio that That Other Kid takes class at. This is the 4th and final week if it and we got weighed and measured. I lost a total of 10 inches in 1 month! I'm so happy that I am actually seeing progress!









For our physical challenge I did 727 minutes, and that's taking Thursday completely off from exercise. My body needed the break! This week's challenge is exercise minutes again! No sweat! I am walking 20 miles on Saturday and at least 15 on Sunday! I will also be getting some more minutes in during the rest of the week, just cuz!

As most of you know I am walking the 3 Day for the Cure
and I am supposed to raise $2300 so I am doing a great give away for a Target giftcard! Go check it out ...
here

Hope you all had a great week!

TARG-AY Giftcard GiveAway and Breast Cancer Awareness!

I'm happy to announce a Target Giftcard GiveAway! This giftcard is $75 of FREE MONEY for Target or Target.com! Everybody loves free money and everybody LOVES Target, right??

Ok...so here's the deal! I am raising money and walking the 3 Day for the Cure 1 month from today! I have pledged to raise $2300 for breast cancer research. If you have been around much you know that this cause has ALWAYS been pretty special to me, but this year it became a little MORE special to me with my best friend being diagnosed with breast cancer the week before Christmas last year. This year I have watched her go through the cancer treatments, the surgery and all the junk that goes along with cancer. It has been a rough year for her and her family. She is doing amazingly well and is probably healthier than she has been in years now!

Anyway, I am about at the 1/2 way point in my fundraising! Considering I have only been working on this since the middle of July I think I'm doing pretty well BUT....in order for me to walk on November 4th, 5th and 6th for 60 miles --- (that's 20 miles a day, yo!) I need to raise the rest of the money quickly! Enter Target...

I have this $75 giftcard that I want to give away to one of my supporters!

So if you go to here and donate at least $5 (everyone can afford $5 right??) I will put you in the drawing for the $75 giftcard! $5 is just one trip to a fast food place. Or just 1 trip to Starbucks! Have you gone to Starbucks or gotten fast food lately? If yes, then I'm sure you can handle donating to this wonderful cause that is helping millions of women (and even men) daily in the fight against breast cancer!

Once you donate leave me a comment and tell me (I will know cuz I get emails telling me when someone donates!) but I want to have all the names in a list so I can have That Other Kid help me choose a person to give the giftcard to!

You can also get other entries in this giveaway by telling others about it either on twitter or facebook or your blog! If someone donates through your recommendation to donate both of you will be in the drawing!

So if you donate and then you tell your peeps about it and they donate (and let me know about your connection) you can get multiple entries...easy peasy, right??

So....go forth and donate a minimum of $5 (which is just like nothing really) and tell your peeps and you could win $75 of free TARGET money!! What could be cooler than that??? A cure for breast cancer! But we can only do so much, right??

I will close this giveaway out on October 15th in case you have to wait for another paycheck! Ain't I nice?? And if you enter, make sure I can find you, k??

Confession

It's Shrinking Jeans Confession time. I have a few things to get off my chest, so sit back and help me get my act in gear, k?

I have been training for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure. We have 4 more weeks of training and a lot of prep work to get through during this month of October. My weekends have been crazy busy already with the training but they are about to get EVEN more crazy! If you are looking for me on the weekends I highly recommend you try on Friday or Monday!! This coming weekend is our "dress rehearsal" - where we wear our halos, angel wings and tutus (if I manage to get it made in time!) and walk 18 (or 20 miles) on Saturday and then turn around and walk 15 (or more) miles on Sunday! I'm actually kind of excited to walk this weekend -- I know my feet can handle it now that I have the correct shoes and I'm using Hike Goo to keep the blisters at bay. Right now the weather forecast is calling for a 30% chance of rain. I may be shot but I'm praying it doesn't rain till AFTER we are done with our training walks. I'm not looking forward to the possibility of walking in the rain for that many miles!

I got my first REAL letter from My Marine yesterday in the mail! I cried while I read it walking back from the mailbox and then I cried again as I was reading it in the apartment. He seems to be doing well, but was in "sick bay" for a cough. Apparently so was 1/3 of his platoon! He has his first knowledge test on Thursday or Friday (I can't figure out which day it really is) so I'm praying that he does well on that. He was saying that he has basically NO time to do anything. He got his rifle but had not got to use it yet! He was learning how to clean it and memorize the serial number on the gun!

Ok...onto some confessions that will no doubt affect me on the weigh in tomorrow morning for Shrinkvivor.

I ATE an ENTIRE BOX of COOKIES (12 of them) with 230 calories a piece in a matter of 2 days! I paid for it dearly by being sick to my stomach and having a serious sugar headache all evening. I also felt like someone had beat me with the ugly stick! I felt fat, ugly and disgusting all evening! I didn't really have an excuse for why I ate them all -- except I just wanted to. STUPID!!! I spent a lot of time in the bathroom last night, too! Hopefully I flushed all that CRAP (literally and figuratively) out of my system.

I have been really putting a lot of hours of exercise in this week so I'm hoping that it will help me lose the weight that those stupid cookies caused me to gain...

We were supposed to stay away from the fast food this week for our mini-challenge. I blew it before I even knew what I was supposed to do. I ate fast food Thursday afternoon but in all honesty I didn't make bad food choices with what I ate, but STILL....I can't say I stayed away from fast food this week! I also bought a Chickfila Grilled Chicken salad last night that I didn't end up eating...so that will be my lunch. I don't really consider that "fast food" since it has 180 calories and is actually better for me than most of the food I have at home right now!

Menu planning has totally been a BUST for me. I know I need to do it, but I haven't.
There are a lot of great recipes floating around through the Sisterhood but I just haven't taken the time to sit down and figure out a menu. I think the thing holding me back is that I am SOOOOO busy right now that I don't feel like I have the time to sit down and write it out and then go to the grocery store to buy the stuff necessary to fix the food. I pretty much know what I'm gonna fix this week but I haven't written it down!

This is the last week that I'm going to be gone during the week for my fitness classes so I'm hoping that I will have a little more time at home to do what needs to be done as far as menu planning and grocery shopping!

I bought a couple of shirts and a dry-fit jacket for my 3 Day Walk training since the EARLY mornings are actually a bit cool! I got both items on clearance at TARGET!! Gotta love Target for clearance! Speaking of Target....check back in a bit. I've got a great give away planned for a $75 Target giftcard!! Think FREE MONEY to use at TARGET or TARGET.COM!!

Ok...that's it for my confessions-- what about you?? Do you have confessions to make? I promise you will feel better if you spill the beans!