I last blogged about my marathon experience in Memphis. I am STILL to this day reflecting on that experience and what went right and wrong, what I could have done better to have a more successful marathon. Quite frankly, I probably wasn't well enough hydrated and didn't eat well enough in the days ahead of the marathon. Readers of my blog know of my struggles with fueling during runs - I had tried starlight peppermints during training and they seemed to be sufficient.
However, with the heat and humidity in Memphis I was sweating more and I think my body needed some electrolytes. Late in the race when I was walking I started taking Gatorade because I figured I had nothing to lose! It turned my stomach, but I did eventually feel better. I stopped sweating at about mile 20. When the going got tough I chickened out. I failed to put the children I was running for at the forefront of my mind - I couldn't look past my own pain and I think thats what I am still most upset about. Someday I will go back to Memphis and run the marathon again as redemption. I may not run it faster, but I want to run with more purpose - after all, that's what the St Jude Marathon is all about!
Now that I have tied that up - let me summarize whats been going on in my life since:
1. I have gained weight. I am NOT happy about it. I put on quite a bit of weight after the marathon and I haven't been able to get it back off. I lost motivation somewhere along the way and have been eating like crap for months. Hoping this entry can signify a "new day" and motivate me to make the right choices.
2. In January, my husband got notice that his office was closing at the end of May. It seemed like the only options were to relocate to California (no thanks!) or find a new job - we were really worried until someone mentioned that he should get an offer to "telecommute." That took some stress off, but we still had to wait for the official offer and then of course there was the debate after we got it of whether it was the right decision for my husband career wise. In the long run, we decided to stick it out here in Ft Wayne with the telecommute option. He will work part of his time from home and part time at a co-working office downtown.
3. We booked out hotel for a trip to Disney in January of 2014 - we will be staying in a 2 bedroom villa in Kidani at Animal Kingdom Lodge for just over a week. We were super excited and we are struggling to keep this a secret from the kids but we decided unless we want to go crazy with the "is it time to go to Disney yet" we need to wait! Right now the plan is to tell them at Christmas - we bought each of them a disney themed suitcase. Inside we will wrap some other Disney goodies as well as a paper chain countdown for them. It should be great fun - can't wait to see how they react. They do know we are saving for a trip to Disney so it wont be a complete shock, but hopefully they will still be surprise.
4. Girl scout cookie sales - Natalie busted her butt this cookie season (and so did I). We worked a ton of booths and she sold I think over 900 boxes! I was the cookie cupboard Mom so it kept me pretty busy for about two weeks.
5. After a few quite months we got the bad news that my daughter needed major dental work - to the tune of $2000 out of pocket! Luckily, I decided to shop around and found a highly recommended pediatric dentist that would do the work for less than $750 out of pocket! *phew* Crisis averted! All dental work is done and she was a trooper!
6. Just after we found out about the dentist, my daughter's dog started acting very sick. He was throwing up a clear bubbly substance, had a distended tummy, wouldn't eat and got very listless but restless at the same time. Of course, this happened late at night so we resolved to just keep an eye on him and take him to the vet in the morning. Then he threw up blood and was acting like he was basically on his death bed and I knew I couldn't wait - a search of google had me concerned he might have bloat. $300 later we had ruled out bloat, re-hydrated a VERY dehydrated dog (at only 7 lbs he doesn't have much room for error), and given him anti-nausea meds but were no closer to an answer. He started throwing up not 8 hours later so we were at my regular vet as soon as they opened. They did several blood tests to rule out the obvious causes, then an x-ray, followed by a barium series x-ray. The barium series was "abnormal" so he was taken in for exploratory surgery. I am so thankful they were proactive because they found what looked like a small peach pit in his intestines. It was stuck and his intestines were so thin that they could have ruptured at any point. So, $900 more to my regular vet, but at least we have a healthy happy dog to show for it. I joked with my husband that he better live for quite a few years to pay off the debt!
7. Before the dentist and dog issues Disney announced the Dopey Challenge (48.6 miles in 4 days - 5k, 10k, half, marathon). I started out swearing at Disney for ruining my families plans to run the 5k together. As time went on I thought more and more about it and decided I was going to somehow make it work. So, I took the plunge and signed up for Dopey and signed my hubby and kids up for the 5k. Thank you Disney for taking way too much of my money. I don't plan to really run the events. I will do a "run/walk" combo and just try to FINISH!
8. My little girl turned SIX! Isn't she beautiful? I had fun taking her pictures, although there are lots of squinty eyes - she seems to be very sensitive to the sun!
9. Art themed birthday party for 16 kiddos in my house - success! The kids had cake/ice cream, popcorn, and rainbow goldfish. All while painting a plaster animal, a 8x10 canvas, and making fruit loop necklaces. They were sent home with a goody bag containing a collage kit, rice krispie paint brush, melted down muffin tin crayon, pencil, and a paint chip notepad!
Sorry for the novel and update about things that are probably boring to you all, but wanted to get my last few months out on paper. I will try to keep this blog a bit more updated going forward - if you dont hear from me in a week - email me and call me out! :)
