Garage Sale Mania!

Well, we did it! Lots of donations, love, and time were put into the ultimate garage sale this past weekend at my house! I can't thank everyone enough for coming out to help, donating their time, donating their things, and doing it all so selflessly!

It was a crazy morning and we were swamped with tons of people!

The work crew (don't be fooled...the little chihuahua riding on the man's shoulder didn't do anything to help...lazy bum)

I'm not sure what was so funny but I love this picture...

Cas is the best...she came all the way in from San Antonio to help out! What a trooper--I sooo owe her big time! She even helped count all the cash...we get to send over $600 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!!!

It was only suiting to celebrate by doing our usual ritual...cooking! This time it was the famous bruschetta from the movie "Julie and Julia." A little bread in some olive oil....

And voila! Just like the movie...
DELICIOUS!

Say It Isn't So!!!

Here's the deal: THE SPRINKLES CUPCAKE AFTER PARTY IS OFF! Boo hoo! It was my strong hope that after completing this 13.1 mile mayhem, anyone and everyone who wanted to celebrate would gather round the table at Sprinkles Cupcakes which was supposed to have been open by now in the galleria area.

I just received the news that construction has been delayed 9 months which means no Sprinkles Cupcake store will exist in Houston by January. Oh, say it isn't so! All night long, dreams fill my head of me, having just completed a half-marathon, lounging back to enjoy a nice tall glass of ice cold skim milk and a Sprinkles peanut butter chocolate cupcake (yes, that really exists...see picture above).

Is this an omen that I have romanticized this notion a little too far? I think reality is telling me this could be a good thing because I'm going to be teaching myself to re-walk after the half-marathon anyway, and that won't leave much time for eating cupcakes. Oh well, here's some little slices of heaven for us all to salivate over (aren't they so chic?!):

Klutz-o-rific

Just got done with a 3-miler and it was awesome! It has been the first run in a while where I really felt good and strong. I ran the first two miles, powerwalked a couple of laps and then finished the 3 with a jog so I felt pretty good. Even though I have a long way to go, whenever I get frustrated, I just think back to when I never thought I'd be able to even run a mile at one time!

Today I think I only tripped two times versus my usual four or five. Seriously folks, I have got to be the klutziest person on the face of the earth and that's probably not a good thing when you're trying to run 13.1 miles. But I am what I am, and so I have to accept that I will continue to run into walls, doorways, furniture, etc. I will continue to trip when walking and running, so let's remain optimistic and just hope I don't face plant into the ground.

In other workout news, I've lost 24 pounds total now (which some days I feel like it and some days I don't) and this brings me to over halfway to my goal of 40 lbs. total....come on, fat, melt away already! I would love to be at my goal weight when I run in January, but not just because I want to look good in spandex. I think it would help my running so much more if I was carrying around less junk in the trunk.

So that's the word around here. I've got my first 5-mile workout coming up soon...please pray for me!

Oh, and here's the picture of the week. Isn't Landon getting SO big? He looks like a little boy in this picture! Which, he IS a little boy, so that makes perfect sense...but what happened to that little baby?? He's such a cutie, don't you think?! What's more precious: the little hand waving, the "duck duck moose" onesie, or the sippie cup in the background?

Under the Knife

Hello blogworld! I'm back!

It's only been a week, I know, but I hope to blog more often than I have the last month or so. Life gets crazy and this training schedule of mine keeps me busy every minute of the day it seems.

I had a minor setback last week that only allowed me to workout once! Last Sunday, I did a 4.1 mile workout and felt pretty good. Tuesday I had to go in for a minor medical procedure (don't panic blog fans, it was no biggie and everything turned out fine) but I was left with about 15 stitches in two different places...and that is SO not conducive for working out! So, I took it easy Tuesday through Sunday and let myself heal. Sunday afternoon I headed to the gym thinking I had lost everything I had trained for and felt doomed to start over. But I had a great 2 mile "intro back into running" workout and it totally put my mind at ease that my body didn't forget what it's taken 6 months to learn!

Today around lunchtime I went in to have my stitches removed and everything went great. I was so pumped about going to jog after work and so excited that my body was back to normal and healed and able to run. I changed my clothes and just as the positive thoughts flowed through my mind, I went to pick up my gym back and pop! I heard the pop ring through my head internally and then felt the weird feeling. The feeling of a wound being open that was not supposed to be open. And boy was it open.

So, here I am, at home blogging about the whole thing instead of being at the gym working out like I need to be. A coworker told me there was no way I could go do a workout...the risk of sweating and getting all that bacteria in an open wound was the worst thing I could do. All that's left to do is wait to call the doc in the morning. Thankfully there's no blood involved, so I guess I've healed to a certain point.

Ew, this is getting gross. In happier running4landon news, I'm just now starting to get the word out about my site. I have emails and letters yet to send, candy and pens yet to give out, advertising yet to do and it's all going to keep me busy for a while. But, the most fun thing I'd have to say are the CAR DECALS which I couldn't wait to get on the vehicles! I've never had a personalized decal before:

Look, a big one for the big car...

...and a little one for the little car!

Yes, I get way too excited about things like this, but it's the little things that are exciting and fun!
More to come soon!

Holdin' Steady

I'm not in denial anymore...I've reached a plateau. I lost 22 lbs as of a couple of weeks ago and not one ounce since then. Still holding steady on the weight but I will have to try some workouts to shock my body back into a weight loss cycle (boy that sure does sound like I know what I'm doing, huh?).

This morning I was up at 6:00 am for a 4.2 miler. I only did 4.1 cause I was d-o-n-e when I got that far. Miles one and two went really well. I jogged them both in good time and felt pretty good. The sun started to rise and the air was still and humid so I power walked miles 3 and 4. I kid you not, I can practically power walk just as fast as I can jog. My indoor gym didn't open until noon today and I knew I had to get this done before that...so I braved the outdoors and almost melted into a pile of fatty goo on the sidewalk.

Saturday I got to see one of my favorite people in the world...my friend from college, Michelle. She makes me laugh and she makes me laugh hard. She and her wonderful husband donated a ton of cool stuff for my garage sale (August 29th people...mark your calendars!) so I'm giving them a shout-out. And thanks for the healthy lunch, too (Michelle can really rock it out in the kitchen).

Speaking of food, if you are on a diet, don't go see the movie Julie & Julia. They cook a lot of delicious food in the movie and they use a ton of butter which made me salivate through the whole thing.

Update from the CF Foundation

Today, I received the following email from the CF Foundation. It sounds so promising and I ask for your prayers that it can be the drug to cure the thousands of people living with CF!

"Dear Friend,

We’ve reached an exciting milestone in the search for a cure.
One of our most promising potential therapies, VX-770, is moving forward in clinical trials. This compound has the potential to be one of the first drugs ever to treat the basic genetic defect in cystic fibrosis.

VX-770 (developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals) is already being tested in adults. This week, for the first time, Vertex initiated a clinical trial in patients aged 6 to 11. Once the studies are complete, the FDA will determine if VX-770 is safe, effective and acceptable for approval. To find out more about VX-770, read the full story. You can also read a very exciting article in today's Xconomy, quoting CF researcher Bonnie Ramsey and highlighting the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation."

Emotional Wreck

I admit it...I am an emotional wreck. On one hand, workouts are great, I'm doing more and more with each run I do and couldn't be happier about that. The Bergernator has been in Argentina on vacation and I've surprisingly done well without someone forcing me to workout until the verge of passing out--now I just do it on my own!

The diet is going....eh.....just okay. I did just get home from a trip to Baskin Robbins, but a girl has to have a Baskin Robbins (kids scoop mind you!) at some points during a summer heat wave! It was chocolate and it was bliss, and if I really ever needed ice cream, today was the day.

I don't know if I can talk about this but I'll try. Here goes. Here's the reason I'm an emotional mess:

I got rid of my car.
I got rid of a hooptie...but she was my hooptie. She was a 12-year old 4Runner with 180,000 miles, superglue holding on certain parts, duct tape holding together other parts. The antenna snapped off long ago in a car wash, the clock wouldn't work if the A/C was on, and the interior was covered in Golden Retriever fur and snot (I always thought the snot looked like love notes my dog had written to me on the window, but whatever).

And now she's gone. I didn't plan on getting rid of her...the Cash 4 Clunkers deal loomed over our heads and there was a beautiful Highlander calling our names on the lot. I was swept up in lust and passion and next thing I know, we're signing and shaking hands and taking this picture:
But then reality set in and someone told me I had to clean out my car and say goodbye.
What?! Say goodbye? Like for good???
"Yes," replied our sales guy. "We're going to drill a hole through the engine and then another through the transmission and then it's going to be demolished in a junkyard."

They were going to kill her.

It was then that I started to bawl. Scott and the sales guy were looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. As I went through the nooks and crannies of my beautiful baby, memories flooded back. This car had been with me through so much of my life and she felt like a friend that I knew I'd never see again. I felt like such a traitor! I apologized, kissed the steering wheel and thanked her for always carrying me safely, even when I may not have been the world's best driver.
Scott, being the wonderful guy he is, took me to our favorite Mexican food joint to cheer me up and I cried there. Then I called my mom and she probably thought something was terribly wrong when she heard me blubbering on the other end of the line. I cried to her. I cried in the shower the next morning. And I'm crying now as I write this. Don't get me wrong, I feel so lucky and grateful to have a beautiful (and safe!) new car to hold all the new memories in my life (and boy does it smell good inside!). It's still hard to say goodbye though.

So that explains the Baskin Robbins. I'm sorry I broke down but you can understand, right?

I Heart the Rec

Okay, so I don't do this Texas heat so well. The other night it took all I had to do a run outside. It was 8:00 pm, still 100 degrees, humid, and still. Ick. Within the first 15 seconds of jogging, I started sweating profusely.

Which is why I am now a proud owner of a guest pass to the Rec Center on campus! Let me just tell you...it's the best of both worlds! There's an indoor track (I prefer that over treadmills any day...treadmills get boring) AND it's air conditioned! How can you beat that?! I have been to my fair share of Houston Marathons (strictly as a spectator) and every year it is colder than all get out. So, don't think of my A/C requirement as lazy or anything...I'm just trying to train in the most similar conditions to those of race day. Ha!

Today was 4 miles and I did it!!! Again, lots of power walking but it took me right at an hour which was my goal. This body has never, and I mean never, seen 4 miles in one workout so I've reached a new threshold. I totally felt like I was going to collapse when it was over but that's to be expected. My bum is super sore already so I can't wait to see how it's going to feel tomorrow.

In other exciting news, I've designed the official Running4Landon t-shirts and they are being printed this week!! So if you've already signed up for one (or made a donation of $100 to get it free!), I should have them in hand by the end of next week. Woo hoo!

Speaking of the cutie-pie himself, isn't this picture adorable?
Geez, I could use his energy on race day!!
www.running4landon.com