Day 133: Friday, July 9, 2013- Am in complete running withdrawl : (

Day 133: Logged 24 miles on days 124-128, Miles to go: 171. On day 5 of resting my right hip. Was the same one that took me out of running for almost two years, so am trying to be cautious and not push too hard, too fast. Am going to try a small run tomorrow morning to see how it feels. If no pain, am ready to ramp back up to finish these last “few” miles. Am in running withdrawl and am anxious to get back out there!

In the meantime, though, here are some fun pics from my crazy, beautiful life…

  THUR night SMILE calendar shoot followed by our AUG wedding group meeting in Henderson at Worsham Hall (love this place!)

  FRI night SMILE calendar photoshoot along the river

  Junior League of Evansville Provisional fun with one of my besties Debbie followed by haircuts for sis and I at Impulse in Newburgh

 So excited to find my paper making screens while cleaning out the garage after my walk with Debbie Sunday a.m.

 Followed that up with pool fun with the kiddos

  Monday got to play group ticket distribution queen at Holiday World for our annual SMILE Trip

 Helped Nat design her business Facebook cover image and launch the page

 Finally finished the Buddy Walk brochure. Have sent off to the printer, and am now finally through the proofing and editing stage

 Announced Sapphire blue as this year’s Buddy Walk shirt official color

 Successful dance recital, and what Mommy wouldn’t be proud of this kiddo feedback?!?!

(click on image to expand)

Day 123: July 30, 2013- Rain, rain, go away!

Day 123: 6 miles logged, 195.25 miles to go… 4 mile after work run in the rain followed by a 2 mile walk after dinner with Bobby.

Am enjoying our week without the kiddos (although it looks like they are doing just fine without me),

  

but do miss them tremendously. Glad they are having a fun time up at my mom and Steve’s, but can’t wait to see them on FRI! Hard at work on Buddy Walk stuff. Can’t wait to share more details on our SAT, OCT 5th Walk and newly added 5K event!!!

On a different note, this was our little visitor at the State Farm office from this morning. He stunned himself a bit running into our front window, but thankfully he flew off a few minutes later.

Day 122: July 29, 2013- Indescribable saddness

Day 122: 10 miles logged, 201.25 miles to go… 8 mile mid afternoon run. Busy day at the office, so the boss let me go early to run the deposit. Pushed through the 8 miles when I got home, but totally wishing I had drug my butt out of bed in the a.m. to have made it 4 that morning, 4 in the afternoon! Anyway a day of tremendous highs and a heartbreaking low. Up at 4am typing because couldn’t sleep after losing a friend : ( I can feel the migraine setting in as a result (crying will do it every time), so am working on the Buddy Walk brochure to take my mind off of things.

http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2013/07/28/suicide-suspected-in-death-of-man-found-off-pine-lake-avenue/ : ( I was the manager of the boys tennis team for three years, and Andy gave me a ride home regularly after practice and games. He was also the person who led me to Fellowship of Christian Athletes (of which I eventually became president). He was a kind soul, and I regret not having the opportunity to tell him how much he meant to me. His death, a suicide, weighs heavily on my heart, and I pray for his family as they seek comfort and solace at this time.

Day 121: July 28, 2013- I love to write!!!

Day 121: 10 miles logged, 211.25 miles to go… 2 mile morning run, 6 mile morning walk with Cate, and then an additional 2 miles logged in the late afternoon//early evening before Bob got home from his trip. Treated myself to a Wendy’s frosty for the hard work, and was happy at how many words I got typed on my manuscript. Pleasant end to an all too short weekend! 12,000+ words over the course of SAT and SUN. Slowly but surely inching towards my 85,000 word goal- Woot! Woot! ‪ WC to date = 72,023

Day 120: July 27, 2013- What I wouldn’t do for frozen yogurt… YUM!

Day 120: 14 miles logged, 221.25 miles to go… 10 mile morning run in the pouring rain

and a more pleasant evening 4 mile run to top off my miles for the day. I have to share, though, my thoughts on the carrot. I live and die by the carrot when it comes to my running and other goals. What is the carrot? It is the thing that motivates you when you are pushing through tough goals. Carrots can be large gifts to yourself for hitting something major, or you can grant yourself smaller carrots as you inch towards a larger overall goal. For me, I pushed through all agonizingly wet 10 miles this morning visualizing a large bowl of fat free frozen yogurt (flavor didn’t matter just as long as it was fat free) topped with black berries, that and some warm scrambled eggs and an apple for breakfast if I could finish all 10 miles of the run. Did I want to quit because I was soaked as well as bored because I couldn’t get into a zone? Hell yes, but every mile that I pushed myself was one mile closer to being done and one mile closer to that treat. So the next time you need to push yourself to do something challenging, think about how you can reward yourself when you accomplish your goal. Hard work is its own reward, but sometimes treating yourself to something a little extra special along the way helps you to hit your goal faster, and it makes the effort that much more worth it!

So… end result?!?! This lovely peach frozen yogurt topped with the blackberries I wanted. Super yummy and worth every mile!

Also, just wanted to share what great encouragement I got from everyone today! Thank you all for your kind words and support!!!

Day 119: July 26, 2013- Getting closer to 800!!!

Day 119: 11 miles logged, 235.25 miles to go… Amazing 5 mile morning run, and wonderful 6 mile evening run in the rain. Some of the most moderate weather all summer is yielding great motivation to get out after it. Excited to be inching closer to 200!!! Quiet day at the office, but was able to get a lot of stuff done. Lotta house cleaning tonight, but when it’s all said and done, I can’t wait to start writing this evening!!! Hope everyone has had a lovely week!

Day 118: July 25, 2013- Event planning and runway photographing

Day 118: 2 miles logged, 246.25 miles to go… So I got a measly little 2 miles in before I had to hit the ATM before my BNI meeting. Not thrilled with it, but at least I got out there. The rest of the day was extremely productive with office work, Buddy Walk planning, Little Lambs fashion show photographing as well as a SMILE calendar shoot. All in all, it was a great day!

Day 111: July 18, 2013- Loving the upcycling!

Day 111: 4.02 miles logged, 278.25 miles to go… Four mile morning run. That seems to be the norm this week. Am hoping after I wrap up all of this week’s art projects that I can carve some time out in the evenings starting next week to up the milage with both a.m. and p.m. runs! Great day, though, pre-emptively addressed a potential migraine that started to come on from the storm that passed through and successsfully kept that at bay. Spent the day a the office, and then worked on upcycle projects by myself and eventually with Mia to end my night- pics to follow! Super happy with the results!

 

Day 110: July 16, 2013- Keepin’ on, keepin’ on

Day 110: 4.06 miles logged, 286.27 miles to go… Four mile morning run. Hot week, but glad to be sticking with the early runs. Going to try and build up to 6 mile runs, but will be contingent on how my schedule plays out the next few weeks. More to come!!!

Day 109: July 15, 2013- Playing catch-up for y’all…

Day 109: 37.11 miles logged (MON, JULY 1 through yesterday…yeah, I’m a little behind posting- sorry!), 290.33 miles to go… OK, now that Trucks & Heroes is done, I am back in the saddle with my running- have gotten up at 5:45am yesterday and today to put myself back in the habit of early morning runs. Looking forward to keeping it up to wrap up these last couple of hundred miles!

Here are some of the highlights since I last posted… Trucks & Heroes was super successful, I am trying to better balance my home life, work, and personal endeavors (a.k.a. had to put the blog posting and writing to the back burner for a little bit to make a gesture), I have had some of the most hellacious migraines ever over the past two weeks, and it is now time to put both my Buddy Walk and fall bridal show caps on to move forward with both of those projects… oh, and I got the green light to teach my art class at Hobby Lobby! Super excited!

     Some recent art projects in progress

 Finally dry enough for Debbie’s kitchen wall : )

   A lot of drift wood collection lately for all of my fun projects (thanks Cate and Kat!)

    Razorback fun

 Road tripping with the kids to the old house (Pi Beta Phi at DePauw University)

 Shot my first Indian American event- had so much fun, but was up till 2am : )

    Did the press rounds for Trucks & Heroes including tv interviews, radio interviews, and donut stops, and we even got the Shining Light article in the Courier. I was so excited SAT morning, I cried!

   SMILE Family Fun week antics

 Rocking out Trucks & Heroes on SAT

 Can’t wait for my classes to start!

 And just had to share the pic of this “little” guy who took out Mia’s tomato plant. Love this pic!