8.31.2010

Kinder, Gentler Winter?

2011-FA-US-Winter-MapThe Farmers Almanac released their 2010/2011 Winter predictions on Sunday and the news isn’t good in the eyes of this blogger.  Most people are focusing on the fact that they are saying this winter will be “kinder, gentler” than the 2009/2010 season.  If you look at their map [their graphic, not mine] it looks like the western half of the US should have it pretty good this year but those of us located in the east? Not so much. And then if you pay special close attention to the great lakes region you see the words “Cold & Very Snowy.”  AHHHHH!  I must get out of here!

The last 3 years we in the SW Michigan area have had winters in the top 10 snowiest on record category and you are telling me we are in store for yet another horrible, snowy winter?!  I hate snow.  It can be pretty to look at through the window, but the second you have to leave your house and live your life it becomes the most hateful thing on Earth all over again.

Let’s just hope their prediction is wrong this year.  Very, very wrong!

30 Day Challenge – Day 3

Status: still sick, verdict is still out on strep/not strep [culture pending]… all I know is I feel like poo
Today’s topic: Favorite TV Show

Oh my… there are so many shows to choose from and believe me, I became quite the expert on TV when I was going through treatments!  I am a reality show junkie – if there is a marathon on of pretty much any cable reality show [ie: anything on Bravo!, A&E, MTV] its a total train wreck for me – I.can’t.stop.watching.  And then I'm a huge nerd and watch things like Monsters Inside Me, Mystery Diagnosis, I Survived!, Locked Up Abroad… I guess you could call it semi-reality TV?  They all involve real stories but are told retrospectively with dramatizations.  I guess in the “regular” series I would have to say: GLEE, House MD, & Fringe top my list. 

BUT if there is anything I've learned through weeks of not being able to do much EXCEPT watch TV for long periods of time its that no show beats getting out and interacting with other people.  I would much rather be sitting in front of a coffee shop sipping a latte with a friend than sitting at home so sick you can barely move and forced to watch a box for hours on end.

Besides, there are always reruns!

8.30.2010

30 Day Challenge – Day 2

I’m fading fast with an alleged case of strep throat so I’ll make this fast…

Today’s Topic: Your Favorite Movie

Ok I could be a big jerk and say the same thing as I did yesterday…  BUT I do have a few favorites and one top favorite that I can watch over and over and over again depending on my mood.  I never get sick of these movies.  While they aren’t award winners, they are my favorites and I love curling up on a cloudy, blustery, fall day [or perhaps just when I'm sick?] with some hot chocolate, a throw blanket and one of the following:

The Disney Faves:
findingmermaidlionsleeping

The Historical Girl Movie Faves:
gonelittlepride_and_prejudice1sense

The Random Faves:
bringlegallymensatc

And my ultimate favorite movie:  fools

I don’t really have an explanation WHY this one is my ultimate favorite movie… maybe I'm just a sucker for a love story with a happy ending?  If you haven’t seen it and like a good love story yourself, I definitely recommend checking it out!

8.29.2010

30 Day Blog Challenge

journal The challenge: blog once a day for 30 days. 
The topic: ranging from favorite song to biggest dream, a new topic for every day.

Sounds simple right?  Well I guess it helps that you actually have a preset topic to blog about on a daily basis… but can I find the time to get on here every day for the next 30 days and actually do it?  Well that remains to be seen.  I accept the challenge.


Day 1 – topic: Your Favorite Song
Ok, so I find this topic a bit lame – my favorite song – really?  Since I have to write about it I guess I have to confess I don’t really have one.  I love music of most types.  From Broadway to Top 40 I like most of what I hear.  Some of my top go to musicals/artists are:

rentselahgaga wicked   celineana lauraphantomkelly
I like most things I can sing along with… I guess that would really be the only requirement I have for a great song – something I can really belt out while driving along in my car.  Sometimes I listen because I need a pick me up, sometimes I listen because I want something more mellow.  All in all, I can’t pick just one favorite so I pick all music in general. [minus rap – I just don’t like it and let’s face it I can’t sing along!]

8.26.2010

2010 Michigan 3 Day for the Cure Opening Ceremony

Ok i was going to cool it with the 3 Day posts for a while but I just couldn’t help it… I found a YouTube video of Opening Ceremonies!  This is my Grandpa’s favorite part of the 3 Day and the video features a close up of my Aunt Pat who carried the Birthdays flag!  I love Jenne’s speech from opening too – the video is 10 minutes but says so much.

8.24.2010

Fall Mission

I was in DSW a month or so ago looking for wedding shoes and what do I find??  A pair of amazing chocolate knee high boots on the clearance racks in just my size!  Original price was $110 but these were on super top secret clearance price of just… wait for it… $15!!  OMG are you serious?! How could I NOT buy them?? Of course I have always wanted a pair of super high, super sexy, super amazing boots… I am just waaaaay too cheap to imagine spending $100 on something that seems slightly frivolous yet so fantastic.  With a price of $15 and temps reaching the high 90’s – I lost my head a bit.

Now, fast forward to back to school season and cooler temps… I soooo want to break these puppies out!  But here’s my dilemma…

What do I freaking wear with them?!

I am not a girl who wears many skirts [mostly because work requires closed toe, closed heel and nylons at all times – UGH] but I feel these deserve a spectacular skirt or dress of some sort.  And yes, while it may seem boring, I'm looking for an outfit appropriate for work.  Let’s face it, the dating life is pretty much nonexistent at the moment so a work outfit is the best way to guarantee wearability.  Ideally the outfit could be dressed up or down to fit work or a date… ok yes, let’s be optimistic on that one… I'm looking for the ultimate convertible outfit to wear with these specific amazing boots.

Any and all ideas are welcome and will be considered – so give it your best shot!

8.23.2010

Dear Immune System...

I know I've put you through a lot this year... 2 surgeries, chemo/radiation, the cold/flu and H1N1 season... I've tried to be good to you by taking a multivitamin daily, increasing my veggies & fruits, increasing exercise, and getting my flu shots.  Because of our successful run through all of the above mentioned trials and my extremely good behavior for the last 6 months or so, I thought we had come to an understanding of sorts...
Apparently a weekend with 3,000+ people, using porta potties & antibac, and little to no sleep was just too much for you?  I agree that I probably deserved the little bout of the GI flu when I got home (or was it salmonella?) but did you have to hit me just 2 days later with the worst head cold/sinus infection in history?

I will admit my defeat for now and retreat to a Nyquil laced coma state.. but just know, this battle is not over.

Love,
Me

8.19.2010

Michigan 2010 3 Day Facts

One.  Everyone deserves a lifetime.

Two.  It is blasted HOT in Michigan during the 2nd week of August. :oP

Three.  Stay alert, stay alive… Mayme!

Four. Boobies were meant for feeling.

Five.  The 3 Day mile equals about 2 real ones.

Six.  In Michigan - 1,920 walkers and 435 crew members raised over $5.4 Million even in this tough economy!

Seven.  I am never, ever, ever allowed to walk behind people ever again!

8.15.2010

2010 3 Day – Day 3!

It was Day 3 and we were SO excited to start our last 17 miles of our 60 mile journey!  We knew we would leave Livonia and end in Dearborn… everything else was a mystery to discover along the way!  We woke up early again – about 5am – packed our duffels and took down our tents.  It was a little sad to say goodbye to tent city but we were eager to get home to flush toilets, AC and fluffy beds!
day3

The humidity had come down but the forecast called for sunny skies and temps in the 90s’s!  Another hot one!  We started the last leg of our journey walking straight into the sun… not exactly one of my favorite moments for sure!  Our first cheering station was only 5 miles in and our family wasn’t moving fast enough to catch us so they found us at Pit 2… the Boob Bees & home to our med crew!  At Pit 2 Heather & I also found the flags we were searching for all weekend…

blisters will be goneDSCN1422my friend  DSCN1421We then headed out in search of future pit stops and the all important lunch stop!  It was getting soooo very hot out and the bandages and moleskin from the morning just weren’t sticking anymore.  We just needed to find the cool down bus and fast!  We finally caught up with one at Pit 3!
DSCN1423Where we were treated to not only shade and air conditioning but… Dirty Dancing on the tv’s!
DSCN1427DSCN1429
Next stop was the Las Vegas themed lunch stop where we took some time to lay down in the shade and enjoy the DSCN1430breeze a bit.  Of course we stopped by the porta potties on the way out… the 2.5 miles before and after lunch were really rough… lots of sunshine, little shade, and just really HOT but people came out and made impromptu cheering stations and brought bags of ice to keep us going through the heat.  If you know the area at all, we were walking through Hines Park for a long while which has great pathways but very little tree coverage over the paths.  We then headed into some more neighborhoods…
boobalicious meant for feeling  At Pit Stop 4 we caught up with Ashley, Ethan and Noah and the rest of our walkers: Murt, Penny and Sandy.  We decided we wanted to end our journey the same way we started it: walking together.  So we headed out for our last 2.5 miles together.  As we got closer to the closing site, we saw many familiar faces cheering for us for the last time… the Kid Crew, Marine Man, the Dancing Lady… and right before we crossed the road we saw a young mother with the shirt “Yeah, they're fake… the real ones tried to kill me!” and the tears started to well up again. We had finally made it… these were the last steps of our 60 mile journey…
made it 4 made itDSCN1435 
And then it was time for our closing ceremonies.  The crew walked in first to line the way for the walkers… then we walked in arm in arm to celebrate with our 3 Day family…
DSCN1433DSCN1438 
Once we were all in the ceremony area, in walked the survivors who had shared our journey and we raised our shoes in tribute…
DSCN1454 DSCN1462DSCN1458   DSCN1460The ceremony concluded with Candy Coburn singing her song Pink Warrior with the survivors dancing on the stage.
DSCN1489We found our family and slowly parted ways… I was starting to feel dizzy because I had been out of fluids for the last

1.5hrs and there was none to be found at closing.  My mom grabbed my arm and was helping me hobble to the car and get my flip flops on.   As we were walking back to the car to go home, I couldn’t help but think…

Where will I be walking next year?

8.14.2010

2010 3 Day – Day 2

It was oh so hot on Day 1… 86F and 73% humidity.  Day 2’s prediction was for 88F and 75% humidity with a chance of thunderstorms. Ouch!  Humidity & moisture is very bad on the blister front and our feet were already getting tender from Day 1’s mileage… but we pressed on anyway.  After all, we had the Plymouth cheering station to look forward to!

After waking up every 3 hours to pee [a sign of great hydration!] we woke to alarms in the pink tents around us at about 4am and decided to start getting ready for the day.  The route opened at 6:45am so we had some time to get dressed, grab breakfast, stretch and be on our way!  DSCN1408On the agenda was a cheer station about 6 miles in where we met up with my dad & Heather’s family!
cheer day 2We were then off to Pit Stop 2 – home of the Boob Bees and our medical team members!  Pit 2 had cheerleaders on this day and Pat & mom got them to cheer our names as we walked in!
 cheerleaders2
Unfortunately, the heat and humidity was starting to take its toll on our poor tootsies so we headed to the medical tent to get fixed up by our favorite med crew.
blistering blistering 2 boob bees
We walked on to lunch and then it was off to the town of Plymouth and the most awe inspiring cheer station ever!
We had a LOT of cheerleaders in this town: Grandpa, Jim Sr, Eli, Erin, Jess, Dad, Jayme, Lily, Riley, Ashley, Chelsea, Noah, Ethan, Lindsay & Clay!  Thanks everyone for coming out to support us!
DSCN1410
DSCN1409    IMG_2332DSCN1411IMG_2331IMG_2347 IMG_2333There were over 1,000 people in Plymouth to cheer the 3 Day walkers on!  We laughed & cried our way through town.
At this point we were 12.3 miles into the day, 33.5 miles into our 3 Day journey – over halfway done! WOOOOO!  The rest of the day’s mileage alternated between trying to keep cool and trying to keep on top of the new hot spots forming inside our shoes.  Both were impossible tasks.  In our last stretch into camp we once again saw the yard with these signs…
DSCN1416 DSCN1415DSCN1414 DSCN1413
I got a little choked up both times we saw these signs because no matter how much your feet were hurting, how hot you were, how tired you were… it put it all back into focus and made you get back out there the next day!  We made it into camp – 43 miles down and still smiling!
DSCN1418Back in camp we took a little more time to cool down before showering.  Heather & I were limping around because of our blisters so our med crew team members checked them out for us at dinner! [gross everywhere but the 3 Day, believe me] I had blisters covering both heels, and between my big toe and onto the ball of one foot.. the one on the ball of the foot looked like a smiley face that was mocking me! We were enjoying the sights and sounds of the 3 Day city when Pat saw a guy’s shirt she just had to take a picture of…
heathersblisters mesmiley 
here for the boobs
During announcements we learned that the mayor of Plymouth had been walking with us that weekend.  When he got up, we were cheering for his amazing town and his amazing spirit as a 4x 3 Day walker.  The he told us that as he walked out of camp that morning to start day 2, he got the phone call informing him that his aunt had just lost her fight to breast cancer.   There wasn’t a dry eye in the tent as he asked for prayers for the family… it was raining outside… and then we saw this…
DSCN1420As the sun set over camp and the dance party began… yes I said DANCE party… we went to bed with a renewed sense that we cannot give up this fight…