Fundraising

I'm making Bottle cap necklaces and key chains for my fundraiser. I'm selling them for $5 each. I have a ton of designs and they come with either a chain, or ribbon necklace or key ring. If you are interested in buying one from me to support my fundraising for Team in Training the proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please let me know what design you want. I will be posting more designs as I take pictures of them.

Cricuting for a Cure

I'm using my Cricut as a fundraiser.... I'm screen printing Names on our Training shirts as one of my fundraiser. I love that I can use my craftiness to help my fundraising and that people love it enough to bring me their shirts. Look how cute my Name turned out

So much fun!

It's not everyday you run in a Tutu right??? I won the spirit award for our 3rd training and I got the suspenders... The tutu was mine. It was Super Hero week and I was going to be TNT girl. But then I got the spirit award and the Tutu so I became Spirit-Woman!!! This was a 4 mile run and it was a really great one for me! I've come such a long way in 5 short weeks!

I'm asking you to help

Please support my journey to my first half marathon, I have a long way to go fundraising to get there. Please pass my blog along and share my story with anyone you know. I have a link on the right side of my blog that you can make donations to my fundraising account. I have just a little over a month to finish raising $1300 and every little bit helps. I am making bottle cap necklaces and keychains and selling them for $5.00, I have a bunch of designs made already but I can customize them as well. I will post pictures later. This endeavor is important to me but I can't do it alone. I don't have many followers so if you can help get my story out to help me reach more people that would be awesome. Every little bit helps! And honestly the Moral support helps to keep me going too. I have more pictures and updates to post later. But for now I thank you for your support from the bottom of my sole (my running shoe sole)

My Mission Moment

A mission moment is when an honored team mate or someone that got an Honoree gives their story or their honoree's story about their experience with Leukemia or Lymphoma. I am very honored to be the 1st Mission Moment for our Team. Considering 8 weeks ago most people in my life never even knew I had a "Story" This is My story I shared the morning of our second training... it's especially special because my Sister was there and my great friend and running partner joined that morning. Both have such a significant part of my life and my journey.... This is so new to me because in my family “We don’t talk about it” so to stand here and tell you about my disease is new. In August of 1989 I was doing a dance competition and I had a bad lower stomach pains. I couldn’t stand it hurt so badly. I did our dance like nothing was wrong and came backstage doubled over. The pain got worse and I had to go to the doctor where I had an emergency appendectomy because they were worried it was going to rupture, only to find my appendix was ok but I had several tumors in my lymph nodes. They asked my parents if they could use a new implant medication and then would have to be monitored with blood work. That was my treatment. I was never treated by my family as a sick kid. We never talked about what was going on. Just the doctor apologizing for how big my scar is and then giving me the list of Don’ts my diagnosis was Non Hodgkins Lymphoma Unspecific type. The only thing I do remember about me getting sick is having to go get blood done A LOT!!! And for a girl who hates needles that’s torture. Even though I was never treated as a sick kid I learned that Cancer is about NO’s and DON’Ts Don’t get too tired, too stressed, if you can’t do it stop doing it. Don’t push your body too hard. I ended up having to be homeschooled my sophomore year because it was too hard on my body. I was sick all the time and tired all the time. I couldn’t dance or twirl baton competitively anymore because I didn’t have the stamina and would be wiped out for days after a hard practice. I didn’t get to go to prom or graduate with my friends because of this. We still didn’t talk about it much..occasionally it would come up and it was a very candid I had cancer and that was the end of the story. It was about 4 years after my diagnosis that I started feeling great! I had an amazing year. I could dance again and hang out with my friends and run around crazy. I was so free! It was an amazing year! In 1995 I was 18 and I found a lump in my right armpit and I remember thinking NO!!! And then thinking it’s been 6 years…it’s not back because I’ve made it past 5 years. I didn’t tell anyone. I just kept watching it and praying it would go away and secretly hoping it wasn’t back and being scared to death it was. My best friend had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and we were watching him fight for every extra day over the 3-6 months he was given. I wasn’t about to make this about me. But HE made it about me. He told me one day, you’re sick again. And I told him shut up you don’t know what you’re talking about. And he said How long have you known about it? And all I could do is say it’s not back… I’m ok it’ll be ok. He said you are sick and you know it. What does your doctor say about it? He told me that he was going to tell my mom that I was sick if I didn’t make the doctor’s appointment and tell my mom. I got it checked and they said they thought it was just an infection so they put me on antibiotics then when they didn’t work they gave me a stronger one and after a month on antibiotics and no change they scheduled my surgery. My friend was in his final days when I told him that it was back and I was having surgery. And he said to me I’ll be right with you! He passed away Feb.2 and my surgery was Feb 13th and honestly I didn’t care about anything going on. They did the same treatment that I had the first time and again we didn’t talk about it. But I owe him my life. I would have stayed in denial and ignored it. And it would have gotten worse! So when I joined Team 7 weeks ago and Jennifer mentioned that I was a survivor it knocked the wind out of me and all I could say is my sister has a big mouth. She asked me if I considered running as an Honored team mate and my answer was immediately NO. I don’t deserve it. I didn’t have to survive anything. I was lucky I had surgery and I was fine. I never had to survive anything. She said you are going to be so surprised how many people just like you, you’re going to meet with TNT. It took several weeks for me to decide to be an honored teammate. It’s taken a lot of Talking about it. To my mom, to my friend to my husband. I’ve reflected upon the last 23 years and I have realized why joining this year was so important to me. It was almost obsessive, I’ve never had the desire to run, or do an endurance event. I’ve been the proud big sister and have supported Stephi and I was good with that. But this year it was so different. I NEEDED to do this…it was in my soul. And these last 7 weeks of reflection has made me realize it’s my Sweet 16. I’ve been cancer free for 16 years! And even though I was lucky and I didn’t have to survive… I’ve been held hostage to this disease. Every time I’d stay sick longer than I should have I’d worry. If one of my lymph nodes flairs up I freak out. When I found another lump in my armpit almost 2 years ago I was scared and went to the doctor right away. No matter how lucky I was, I’ve been hostage to this disease my whole life. So this is my year to celebrate my milestone, time to heal,to face my past and run to my future! GO TEAM!

My First Training 5/26

My First training was May 26th. I had been released back to work and to full activity from the doctor. My leg was given a clean bill of health. I had hurt it a month earlier I was running to catch a student and I fell and Bruised my Tibia bone and Patellar tendon forcing me to be on crutches and stopped my new running routine and training for my first 5K instantly. But when I got returned back to normal activity and was able to make it to my first training with Team I was like a kid at christmas the night before night and had trouble getting to bed because of the excitement and nerves. I was a little worried about my knee and leg not cooperating. And nervous because I haven't ran since my injury on April 24th. AND the biggest worry...I've NEVER ran outdoors before. Until 1st training I've only done my running on the treadmill. So I got up that morning morning and ate my breakfast and my sister (TNT alumni and Captain) calls me at 6:30am and gives me the the eat your normal breakfast that you would eat before you go running. And the "Don't forget" run down lol. She picked me up at 7am and we head off to our training location. It's COLD and WINDY!!! We had a little running clinic from the coach and then we did our first Benchmark run a 2 mile out and back. So off we go and my knee and leg feel great! But if you don't know this already, there is a HUGE HUGE HUGE difference between running out doors on pavement vs a treadmill! And since this is my first cardio anything in a month I'm winded fast but I'm not thinking about that! ONLY Positive thinking today. The Good things... I'm interval RUNNING again!!! I'm not having any pain!!! I'm RUNNING AGAIN!!!! I get to the 1 mile turn around and I've just ran a 13.59 min mile...I know that doesn't sound like a hug accomplishment...but did I mention that April 24th I injured my self lol. I was on crutches for 2 weeks and my C25K training STOPPED! I have not been able to do anything for a month. So a 14 min mile to me is HUGE!!! My run back was more walk than run but I made sure I was listening to my body and not over doing it on my knee. I finished my 2 mile with a time of 28.45!!!! I'm stoked because even when I was doing C25K I was doing 1.6 miles in 30 mins!!! OMG I'm so loving Team in Training! They are the most amazing group of people. I didn't feel like the "new girl" and everyone was so supportive and amazing! I'm so proud of myself and happy that I decided to do this. I can't wait to see what my times look like after I get back into the swing of running again! GO TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a Lucky Mommas

Sorry the picture's not the greatest! I just wanted post about how proud my boys made me last week. Saturday's training was defeating to me so this lit my heart on fire. My boy's got 3 huge bags of lemons given to them at Cub Scouts and they called me on Thursday on my way to work to tell me they wanted to do a lemonade stand and donate all the money they made to my for my fundraising. OK what a sweet gesture. They brought me to tears while driving lol. Sunday morning we cut and squeezed about 5 dozen lemons. The boys and I actually hand squeezed lemons with wooden spoons because we don't have a juicer thing. We ended up making 6 gallons of Fresh squeezed lemonade and almost sold all of it. Our local fire department is just a few blocks up the street stopped by in the HUGE ladder truck on the way back from a fire. They were heading to the firehouse and came to get some lemonade. I don't know who was more excited me or the boys lol. Anyway they were outside all day working their stand and at the end of the day they had earned $108.62 Not bad for a 9,7 and 5 year old! I'm so very proud of the fact they wanted to support me. They have decided that we need to find someone with a lemon tree so they can do a few more for me. I'm seriously the luckiest momma! It's such an honor to send a Donation check to the LLS in my boy's name!!!