GIVEAWAY! UPrinting Business Cards

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I AM a runner

Just a few short weeks ago, I was still not convinced that I was a "runner". I ran, but I couldn't be classified as a true runner. I ran my 11 mile training run along side marathoners running the Cox marathon and I saw the ones in the lead. They ran with no water bottles, no music and they all bounced like gazelles down the bike bath. I am not graceful, I need my hydration and I definitely need motivation in the form of "I'm sexy and I know it" blaring through my headphones, but damn it, I am a runner....and so is Liz.

We ran the Blackstone Valley half marathon on the 20th! We trained for 12 weeks and we got through that 13.1 miles. Does that make us runners? Heck yes it does. Well, that and the fact that we are crazy enough to sign up for another half marathon in September!

Inspired by a fellow blogger Elaine, I asked people to pick a mile. I wanted to have even more inspiration to get through that run. I wrote down every one's name and I carried the paper in my race pack. I took it out every 4 miles to remind myself who i was running for next. It really helped come mile 11 when I thought I was too tired to keep up my pace!

We were tired, Liz had hurt her knee, but we had medals around our necks!

You can't see our shirts but they say,

We came. We ran. We conquered. 13.1

We ARE runners!

The end of an era

This pretty much sums it up. My son has finally given up his nap...one month before his 5th birthday. I realize that I am lucky. Some kids decide to ditch the daytime sleep way earlier than he did, but I will still mourn the loss of my 2 hours of solitude on weekends. I guess I could just give in and let him watch TV the entire time his sister sleeps, but then I'd feel bad. Now I need to figure out my new strategy for getting things done on the weekend without feeling like I am ignoring him.

Memorial Day Giveaway! $100 Amazon gift card or PayPal Cash!!!

$100 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal CASH 24-Hour FLASH Giveaway!!!

 

A few AWESOME Bloggers have teamed up to give you this wonderful $100 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal CASH! We believe in quick, small, and easy giveaways! Our giveaways only have a FEW entries to fill out! WHAT FUN! Good luck on this giveaway! See you back on Wednesday for another great FLASH giveaway!

Here are our WONDERFUL participating sites for this 24-Hour FLASH Giveaway!! Check out these awesome sites when you have time!  And wishing YOU and YOURS a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Mama Luvs Books

Emptynester Reviews

Couponing4You

Sweepstakes Mama

Building Carpenters 

Sarah's Blog of Fun 

Linda's Angels

Africa's Blog

Penny Pincher Jenny

Powered By Mom 

Mom Does Reviews 

Miki's Hope

US Deals and Coupons

My Wrinkle in Time 

Mom To Bed By 8

Baby Gators Den

Give Oh Giveaway 

Divas With A Purpose

Snip Shop Save

Tory's This And That

Enchanted Savings

May Days

We have been running around like mad lately. May has been busy and, thankfully, it is starting to get warm. I realized that I have taken lots of pictures this month, but I never have the time to edit them. I guess I need to be less worried about that and just get some memories up on the 'ole blog before I turn around and have high-schoolers on my hands. So what has been filling our days besides work and cleaning my house?

• Running through the sprinklers. I really wish we had them in the backyard, but I'm ok with being that family who sets lawn chairs up in the driveway and lets the kids run around in the front yard.

• Climbing trees. Every chance this kid gets he is up in the tree in the back yard. Sometimes he can even get himself down. Do you know how hard it is to get a 53 pound kid out of a tree? Mama's back is tired.

•  Playing in the garden beds. Aka, go turn the soil for me so I don't have to do it before we plant our veggies! I have a feeling I will be sorry I ever let them play in there. Let's just hope she doesn't attempt to scoop any of our seedlings out of "her garden".

•  Falling out of the garden bed. She will hate me for this shot one day, but I had to do it. ;)

•  Eating watermelon sherbet. Our local ice cream stand has the best sherbet. Lucky for me it is only 100 calories because I like it a lot. A LOT.

•  Watching the bushes and trees bloom. I need to plant more colorful flowers in the backyard this year too. Next weekend...or so I keep telling myself at the end of each Sunday. 

•  Getting injured and giving me this dramatic face. I am in for some looks in the teenage years.

•  Fun at the circus. Or not. I hadn't been since I was a kid and lemme tell you, the Peta people outside with the elephant signs kinda squashed the mood for me. Note to self, find a circus without animals to attend.

•  Bouncy house cage matches with friends. Batman meets Power Ranger. What can be more fun and energy zapping than that?? 

• Running half marathons.... I will save this for a post tomorrow. It needs more than a bullet point!

Running down a dream

I am sitting here on a Saturday night reading blogs. It is Cinco de Mayo. This afternoon I had a good laugh with my husband about how, in younger years, we would have been drunk by now.  Oh the days before kids and real responsibility. Now, instead of imbibing margaritas I am drinking water in preparation for my long run tomorrow. By long, I mean l-o-n-g (for me anyway). Tomorrow will be the first time I will run 11 miles. Last week was 9.5 miles and the sense of accomplishment I felt after I finished was amazing. It was quickly followed by another feeling....aching. My 33 year old body wishes that my 20-something body had taken up running years ago. Well, I didn't then but I am proud to say that I have now.

Two weeks from tomorrow I will run 13.1 miles. Yikes! The thought of me running a half marathon is mind-blowing to me. I talked about it a while ago,when I first started training. Ten weeks have gone by and I am sticking with it. That in and of itself is an accomplishment for me. I tend to peter out when it comes to sticking with exercise. The only other time I kept up a routine successfully was when I got in shape for my wedding. I wore a strapless dress. Damn, I need my wedding back back.

I know running isn't the answer to getting myself to where I want to be, but it is a big part of the goal. Sticking to it. Forming a habit. A healthy one. Now if only I could wire my jaw shut or find a way to say no to the treats, I'd be set!

First Day: May 2012

If the first day of this month was an indcator of how the rest of May will go, wake me up on the first day of June.

Join us at Nicole's for the first day project!