I Did It!

Before
After
Today, after months and months of debate I finally did it. I cut 9.5 inches off my hair to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. I only needed 8 inches to donate to their program, but I still am not sure if I like how short my hair is, 9 inches is A LOT. But it is just hair and it will grow back, and I know that I have helped someone else have the chance to have hair and that means and says a lot, or at least it should. So here are the before and after pictures. Please pay no attention to my very wide shoulders and back!

"Welcome???"

Apparently we have a sign on our house that says, "Welcome" to ants...we must send out some secret sent that allows them to follow us. I am not sure what it is, but ugh it annoys and disgusts me for sure. Don't get me wrong it is now were near as bad as last summer in that dreaded apartment, just in our kitchen and a rough ant on the wall going up the stairs to the second floor...I know right, how the heck does an ant make it across the kitchen, living room and up the stairs? I am not sure, but they do. But, in all honesty the girls did turn on this welcome sign. Tom and I have been trying for days to figure out how they are getting in the house and what they could possibly be after, I sweep after every meal and snack that is eaten inside, so 3-5 times a day and we vacuum about everyday as well. So today after dinner there seemed to be more than normal so I got out the vacuum and started going to town on everything. I then looked under the stove...ohhhhhh YUCK. There was an old rice cake, not sure how old, but it was back under the stove and it was covered! It was so gross. So I had to pull out the drawer, vacuum really well, even got out the flashlight to see better and then mopped. After the girls went to bed I set up some ant traps also, I am hoping this will help eradicate the problem and we can go on living ant free. Ahhhhhh, gotta love nature and all the wonderful things it brings with it. Hope none of you are having this problem, but if you are and you have kids, just look under your stove!

Before and After

Before
This past weekend we decided, even though it was nice out, to paint our office. I have been going insane because everything in our house is white. I mean don't get me wrong, i enjoy all the brand new paint and cleanliness, but it is contractor's white that if you touch or walk by it leaves a mark. So we added a little color, just one room at a time, but I love it!
So here are some before and after!

After

Support the Fight

Today, I was going to post before and after pictures of our office that we painted, but as I was doing my blog lap I found something much more important to write about. It is that time of year again for Relay for life and it is such a great cause to support. While I have never met her, Ali, is such a brave person and I admire her for her positive outlooks and strength. Her family has formed a Relay for life team called Ali's Allies which needs your support. You can go to this page to support Ali and her battle as well as to support others. Hopefully one day cancer in all its evil forms will be eradicated, but it can't be done without your help!

Calling all readers

Last night one of my friends and I went and saw "Made of Honor" it was a very good "chick" flick, and it had Patrick Dempsey in it...need I really say more! Anyway, before we went to the movie we were walking around Target and ended up in the book section talking about all the books we liked to read when we realized we both wished we were part of a book club. We then decided to start our own! So if you like to read and want to join us let me know, we will probably get together once a month or every 6 weeks or so for fun, food and laughter!

There are people made to run, then there is me

The Mini is over, my months of training have come to an end and I honestly do not know what to think. I am a little disappointed with myself. I was about 8 minutes off of my goal time...after you take off the 5 minutes I wasted using the restroom. (This was a first for me and I was very angry that I had to stop) A note for the future and to any other runners out there. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I could have eaten to upset my stomach and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary until I looked in the pantry yesterday afternoon and noticed the reduced fat Oreos. At this point it hit me...I had eaten a few more than I should have the day before while making a dessert that required them. I then hobbled out to the garage and told Tom I had figured it out and that the Oreos had ruined the race for me. A lesson learned I reckon...and it WILL NOT happen in the future. Do I see more races in my future...I think so. I am pretty sore today, my knees and my toe nails are all bruised, I guess my shoes weren't big enough even though they are a full size larger than I normally wear...I guess I still need to go up. So I think in a week or two when I am healed I will really start thinking about more longer distance races.
So that is my story and now for my thanks. Thank you to my girls for putting up with my training. They went on many a run in the jogging stroller, most 3-4 miles and didn't fuss to much or they played in their pen while I ran on the treadmill. Thank you to Sheri who pushed me more than I would have pushed myself and for doubling back after you finished yesterday and for finishing AGAIN with me. That really says a lot about your character, you as a person, friend and a competitor. I am so glad you have been my running partner and I am glad you say you will still run with me! So Thank you! Finally, thank you to Tom, who helped me watch the girls so I could run on the weekends and at night and for always supporting me. I love you and couldn't have done it or much else without your support.
I will be posting a few more posts about running gear and some things I really found helpful, so if you care look for those later this week! Finally, I hope the rest of you who did the mini had a great race as well and that you enjoyed yourself and are not too sore today! Congrats!