Well I guess it's about time I did a new post! I have been working hard on my fundraising for LLS and met and passed my goal of $3,400. I think I have $4,200, and I mostly have to thank my patient Mr Jim Sitko for his fundraising idea of waxing snowboards and skis at Mt. Holly last month. He is a Lymphoma survivor just within the last 18 months, so he had a personal interest in fundraising for the cause. At the fundraiser one of his friends told me he would only donate for a kiss. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. So I kissed him.... kind of crazy, but he was a nice old guy. He donated $20 that day, and then later, I looked on my web page and he had donated an additional $100. I guess, he liked my kiss... ha, ha. I really have enjoyed being involved in this challenge. I ran 20 miles last Saturday, I only have one more long run, 23 miles, before the marathon. I think the marathon will be fun and inspirational with all the activities involved with Team in Training. I will post again after the marathon. I hope I can finish in 4:45. My best time has been 4:57. Top runners finish in like 2:15, amazing!!!

New Kitchen Countertops

I know I haven't posted anything in a month, not too much to post, cause the only people that read my blog are my daughters and Rachel, and Amber and Michelle already saw the counters in person, so this is for Andi so she can see my pretty counters. And of course Rachel, who is my sweet sister who makes such an effort to stay close. I really appreciate and value her friendship and love. Of course I feel the same about my daughters. My cabinets are kind of old, but the counters look nice and motivated me to clean my cabinets really well. They hadn't been cleaned like that in years. It felt good to organize and throw out crap too. It's funny how we hold on to things in our cupboards that we never use. The top picture is the little "dry sink" I bought off of Craigs list for $50. It is cute and gives me some more storage. Well, that is my exciting post for the day!!!

7 Quirks

Okay, I'll try to think of 7.
1. My bangs have to be perfect. I will spend the majority of time styling my hair on my bangs, and then recheck them before I leave the house, if my bangs are good, its a good day. :)

2. The toothpaste container has to be on a certain spot on the sink, Dave will move it or leave it haphazardly on the counter, I always put it on the little groove on the sink, it just seems like it fits there.

3. The afghans have to be folded a certain way on the back of the loveseat.

4. I must put lotion on my hands after I wash them.

5. I hate it if my socks don't match my shirt.

6. I love white shirts, It seems if I'm having a hard time deciding on what to wear, If I just put on a white shirt I feel much better.

7. I hate to be too warm, I would much rather be a little cool, then warm. I hate the feeling of warm hands and feet, I do like to cuddle up in a blanket, if Im cold, but only until I get warm, then the cover comes off. I usually leave one foot out of the covers at night, with only a sheet and light blanket. Dave has on pj's, sheet, blanket and comforter. Funny how opposites attract!!

Race from HELL!!

Well... I had signed up for this 1/2 marthon trail run, it was this morning. I drove out to Oakland Township with Treva and LeeAnne. We were ready for this run, even though we knew it would be different from our road races we have always d0ne before. Well, they are both faster runners than me so I lost them in the first mile, but I had them in my sights for awhile. Everything was going fine until mile 4, when the run went off into the Bald Mountain Recreation area. The last mile marker I saw was mile 5, I was feeling good, and doing about 10.5 minute miles. I kept running up hills, down narow trails, twisting my ankle twice on roots. Pretty soon there was no-one in front of me and no-one behind me. I began to question if I was on the right trail, I hadn't seen a mile marker in awhile, I just thought they hadn't marked the miles since we were on these crazy trails. Pretty soon, up ahead I see a man walking toward me. He had a race number on and he asks me, Is this the right trail? I had been wondering the same thing!!! We soon realized we had somehow missed the marker, and were totally LOST!! We began back tracking and after about 40 minutes, we found our way back to the right trail. That was so upsetting!!

I was feeling bad cause I knew LeeAnee and Treva would be waiting for me, and worrying if I was injured, or lost. After running for awhile again and then realizing this run that should of taken me 2.5 hours, I was now already at 3 hours, with 5 miles to go, I took the ride on the paramedics truck back to the finish line. I was so dissapointed, and tired. I got back to the finish and Treva and LeeAnne were happy to see me walk off the paramedic truck. I guess LeeAnne had gotten lost too, with about 12 other runners, they found their way back sooner though. She atleast ran across the finish line. I guess it could of been worse, I'm really thankful I met up with that man, Bill, and that he was sweet and stayed right with me. I think if I would of been alone, I would of cried, and probably, still be back in the woods right now. Awful race!!!

Blogging--A waste of time?

Well, I got up at 8:30 this morning planning to go out to run... right after I checked my email... oh, and then I had to check...the blogs. Now it is 9:35 and I haven't read any new posts, since last night, but I scanned through some of my favorite pictures and comments from the blogs. I have to agree with Rachel about how much I love this way of staying close, and sharing our thoughts and lives with each other. Thanks to Amber for starting it all in our little group. It starts my day happy and sentimental as I see my family on the screen, and feel all that love in my heart. I love all the comments too because of the support they offer, and feelings shared. So is it a waste of time, I don't think so.

So Sorry!!!

Well, the other day I came home from work and Dave stopped me before I cound pull into the garage. He said "I have to show you something". I got out of the car and walked into the garage and there Squished on the floor was a ......TOAD!!! Dave said: " Eva and Nathan are not going to be Happy with you!" So sorry to Mr. Toad, and especially to Eva and Nathan, for me running him over with my car :(

Our trip to Orlando

Well we just returned from our trip to Orlando for Dave's LCLAA convention. It was nice to stay at a beautiful resort, and relax in the sun and at the pool. I just wish I could of shared it with my daughters and grandchildren too. Here are some of the highlights of our trip.

This is Dave being silly at Universal Studio in the Jurassic Park area. It was very crowded there and we waited in line for an hour to ride the "Hulk" roller coaster. It wasn't that great, Cedar point is much better!!

This was at the closing ceremony for LCLAA, we had a delicious dinner, and it was fun to dress up a little bit.

I told you the trip was pretty relaxing!!

I love this picture at "Disney World of Art" store. It is of Sleeping Beauty... just gorgeous!!

These were our beds, they were soooo comfortable, with 6 little pillows on each bed!! I think I need more pillows on my own bed at home now.
This was the view from our 9th floor room. This pool was so fun, designed with kids in mind. It was only 3 foot deep, and there was also spray fountains all around it for the kids to play in. At night they would put out a big movie screen on the beach and show a Disney movie. They showed Tarzan, Peter Pan and Meet the Robinsons. Dave and I could see and hear the movie from our balcony. Another cool thing was in the front of the hotel we could watch the fireworks from Disneyland at 10pm every night. That was fun, but I still think the best fireworks I've seen lately have been at the Tigers baseball game. They do a great show!!
This was some of the amazingly delicious and fancy desserts we had.
This is Dave with "Marilyn Monroe" at Universal and me with......
Sleeping Beauty at Downtown Disney. All in all it was a decent trip, but its always good to get back home. Bailey was so happy to see us, even though Grandma and Grandpa spoil him when we are away. If I ever go back to Disney, I hope it is with my sweet grandchildren so I can truly enjoy the magic of it all, experiencing it through their eyes.