Honestly

Honestly, I think about updating this blog often, but you know, things like time and energy get in the way. Here's the latest on the training front: Better late than never!

I am 20 days away from my Triathlon. I am nervous but excited (pun intended). Nervous could easily be replace with terrified if we are being honest. I still feel confident that I will be one of the top women out of the water, my swimming is as good as it is going to get. I am freaking out a little bit that I don't have a road bike, and of course (this hasn't changed) I am still a bad runner.

As far as my body goes I have relented to the fact that it will never be what it was. I have managed to put on 20 pounds since January while dropping my body fat % during that time. I guess all those days in the gym are paying off huh? The extra weight has not hindered my swimming, in fact I think the muscle mass has made me significantly faster in the water. My arms and legs have progressed as well as I could have hoped. My 'problem area' remain my stomach. I have seen improvements, definitely, but the realization that a 6 pack, or even a 4 pack will not show has become a fact. And don't get me started on my chest..... It is such a double edged sword for me. My pec muscles and shoulders look great; probably from all the swimming. The flip side of that is the 'deflated little baggies' and someone once said......

Training is becoming harder and harder as school is out and life has gotten summer busy. Vacations, baseball, work, play...... I don't want to miss anything, but I think that is just my wiring. Lifting has gotten quicker, bike rides are being combined with swimming, runs are a little shorter. I don't want to slack, but I also want to enjoy my summer. Blah blah blah.....

There's the scoop. Stay tuned as the race gets closer!

Still plugging away!

It has been a while, but I have been busy. Seriously. The little guy has a big birthday in a few days and I have spent a lot of time planning nothing. I did however buy him a fish. It died 4 hours later from being pet too much. Honestly.

I biked to the pool, swam, then biked home. I am pretty tired right now. I haven't lifted since Thursday of last week, I am going to try to lift tomorrow but I don't know, time seems to be evaporating so quickly these days. I blink and it is bed time!

This week brings B's birthday on Thursday and then we leave Friday for a long weekend in Saugatuck with our friends. Maybe I will brave the waters of Lake Michigan for an ice cold swim in preparation for the race?? Brrrr.......

One month and 3 days until the TRI.

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Fun and Mental is Fundamental

Ok, wow. So, let me give you you quick little s'up date. I am really loving lifting again. I mean loving it. I am in a great routine, I feel amazing, and am lifting more than I have since college. My protein intake is high so I am building decent muscles, and that feels wonderful. I am enjoying it so much that even if I only have a half hour to spare I go down to the FC real quick to lift. My goal is to wear a whitey tighty v-neck T-shirt and have my bicep definition noticeable, and my pec definition a little noticeable. Yeah, I am working on it.

I swam tonight in my tri shorts and under armour. About half way through I took off my UA long sleever and couldn't believe how much faster I was in the water with out it. Great drag! My shorts were perfect, the seal held tight and the pad never got water logged. I am pretty exhausted today, but Mondays are like that. I lift, run, and swim, and it is a Monday after all.

I am beat, and have been trying to get to bed early as of late. My plate is pretty full and I am terrified of getting sick due to lack of sleep. Good night!

Inside all of us is HOPE.

It must be this weather

I am feeling overwhelmingly lazy. LA-ZEEEEY. I have a million excuses to go along with my laziness too; It is too cold to run. I am lacking sleep. I have to get the house in order. Well, okay, the last one is so true it's not even funny. Re-doing the family room has been one problem after the other, from the paint to the furniture. But I digress.....

I need to lift and swim tonight but at 1:15 I know I am not doing both. My goal is to do one or the other, I hope I can motivate myself to do one thing today! The main thing on my to do list is nap, and I am not even joking. I have a ton of work to do, a ton of housework to do, and I want to nap. It must be the weather!!

One thing I have been thinking a lot about is shoes. I have enjoyed running in my vibram fivefingers, but they take a few minutes to put on. Will I want to use that time during the Tri to put shoes on? Should I just bike and run in my Nike's? I don't know.... I just don't know. With the fivefingers if you don't thread your toes just right they can be a little painful, so you need to take your time and get your toes in perfectly. I ordered some running shoes today, they are call dual lights, they are very light weight, and have the creases for extra bending. I am going to give them a try and see if I like them. Anything to save 5 minutes, right??

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Shakes, Football, Ice Cream and Micro Brews. Not in that order.

As with everything (everything I do anyways) I have ebbs and flows. Moments I am extremely proud of and moments I would rather forget ever happened. The bottom line is that I am working my butt off. It hurts, and I love it, then I hate it, I often feel as though I am starving, then I over indulge, then I go out and have too many micro brews, then I work out too hard. I mean really as we all know balance has never been my strong suit. But I know that, and I am working at it. *Surprise* I am not perfect. One of the things I have been consistent with is drinking my protein shakes. I have invented some wonderful recipes, and actually have grown to love them. Seriously, I do. The best part right now is that I am using fresh farm milk. What do I mean by fresh farm milk? Non-pasteurized, right out of the cow's boobie milk is what I mean. Why is that so great? WELL.... because there is a bit of fat in it, when I use my magic bullet knock off to make my shakes and blend it for a long time, it turns into almost like a whipped cream. Seriously. Imagine this; Chocolate protein powder, SP complete powder, a few ice cubes, a banana, and a scoop of natural peanut butter. Add 1/4 pint of Farmer John's milk, and viola! It is like ice cream? Like iced whipped cream? I don't have the words for it, but it is SO yummy. So that, that is what I am indulging in these days.

2 weeks before the big race I think I am going to do the Michigan Women's Football Camp, it sounds like fun, good exercise, and a little healthy competition! My first thought is, CRAP, I hope I don't hurt. My second thought was CRAP that's the same day as Michigan PRIDE! Football beats PRIDE (considering I am going to MotorCity Pride the weekend before). So, that's that. I think I need to raise some $$ in donations along with my entry fee. The money all goes to the Cancer Center, so think about donating some money to the event: The 2010 Women's Football Academy will support initiatives within the Patient and Family Support Services Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Swimming and lifting and biking tomorrow. I hope to swim with drag again tomorrow, either tomorrow or Wednesday, probably not both days though. I need to have my body fat % taken again soon, my weight is down a little, so I am interested to see where my % is at. But I try not to get too wrapped up in all that, even though it interests me.

That's that. I am still plugging away. Working harder at this than I ever thought I have the guts to do.

Inside all of us is HOPE. (Inside of me is a protein shake that was like ice cream!)

Ouch!

Where to start, where to start? Let me begin this story with swimming Wednesday evening at the community pool. It was a night like many other nights, well, actually, like all other nights. I am, remember a creature of habit. I decided to swim with some drag Wednesday night and wore some Under Armour. It was a great idea because it definitely made swimming more difficult. I see the same people when I swim, give or take a few here or there, but Wednesday night brought 2 new girls to the pool. At most 15 years old and there to goof around not so much swim. I like to swim in the same lane every night, I find comfort in that and see no reason to move lanes. Does that sound crazy? It's not actually. Everyone I swim with swims in the same exact lane every night. It is just how it is, and I love it. But these young girls start monkeying around in my lane with their masks and flippers on. I crash into them once, and they crash into me once before I stop and glare at the lifeguard with smoke coming out of my ears, waiting for her to do something. Just as I am about the flip out one of the guys I swim with says, real cool and casual, "Before you get upset, just think of it as practice for your Tri. You are going to be dodging people left and right, getting kicked and pushed under. This is nothing!" Dang, he was right on the money, wasn't he? Then I just felt silly and selfish for freaking out. Swimming is supposed to be my fun exercise and almost let it stress me out! And God forbid I would just move to a different lane, right?

So, I pulled my self together and ended up rocking almost 2 miles with drag. Not a bad night. My body definitely felt the extra pull of the drag, my shoulders more so than anything.

I spent my Friday night at the Fitness Connection lifting and stretching and stretching, and STRETCHING! And lifting some more. I bought milk from John the Farmer to combine with my protein mix in hope his milk will give me a little boost. I need a little boost. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, I hurt tonight. It is 8:00 and I am heading to bed so I can refresh and hit the soccer fields bright and early. I love spring soccer, but I love spring soccer even more when it is nice out. 8-2 you can find me on the fields, B plays at 10:15, P plays at 12:15. Stop by.

Inside all of us is HOPE.

This is me, following through.....

Second day in a row of blogging!! What is consuming my thoughts right now is the new ant farm. I am pretty uneasy about it to be honest, and it is completely distracting me from getting anything done. As soon as I sit down to write or work or anything I hear "Oh no, the ants are loose...." I made the rule that the ant farm HAS to stay outside. I just can't handle it, my anxiety is through the roof, and I am ant paranoid.

I took my bike in for a tune up and the guy called today; she is ready to be picked up!! Yeay!! The downside of this story is when I dropped her off his reaction was, "You're going to ride THIS in a TRI??" She is a hybrid, but still heavy for a road race. I am choosing not to spend hundreds, maybe a thousand dollars on a road bike, so yeah, I am riding her in a tri. He fixed her up for me, so hopefully she is a little faster and smoother.

I went for a little run after work today and felt pretty darn good. No aches or pains today, impressive! I will hit the pool after soccer practice tonight, I still love the pool, love love love the pool. I am focusing more on stretching before, during, and after I swim. It has made all the difference.

Happy Hump Day, Happy Cinco De Mayo, Happy everything!

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Haaaaave you missed me??

Seriously, I am sorry. My dad called the other day and reminded me that I have this blog, and maybe, just maybe I might want to update it. Then this morning Rach reminded me that I haven't posted anything..... Gotcha Gotcha. Then my friend Ethan shared a blog, so I did the ever famous blog stalking and was inspired to blog. There you have it, it's me. I'm back. Let me fill you in....

Okay, I left you over a month ago. In that month I have had some highs and lows, but mostly highs. The lows I faced began with my hip. It is always my hip isn't it? I am in recovery, and I phrase it like that because in all honesty I am months away from being fully recovered. Between the Chiropractor, The Body Sculpture, and the friendly advice from the P.A. Ryan that I swim with I do believe I am moving forward. Most importantly I have had to take it easy. By that I mean I have laid off the running, and that my 'bleaders' (blogers+readers) is a huge problem. For me, because as all know I am a bad runner. What I managed to do was EFX, Bike, and Swim. I started running again just recently and am a little behind where I should be. Okay, a lot behind where I should be. My saving grace is that my swimming is beyond where I hoped it would be. My biking? Eh, of average. I have 6 ish weeks, and need to continue to move forward but not over do it.

The other major low I was hit with has been a shoulder injury. Brent (my body sculpture) fixed me up pretty well, so I only missed one night of swimming from that. I believe it is one of my 4 rotator cuffs, and probably needs to be rested to fully heal! . But onward I press.

The highs? The biggest high is not how far I can push myself though maybe it should be??? but rather the current changes I have seen in my physique. I have not lost any weight, but rather gained close to 8 pounds. How is that a high? Well, my body fat % has dropped quite a bit. I am shaving off fat and building muscles. Ahhh, yeah, this is what I have been desiring. Best part? I can see the definition, and it feels good. I though about taking some photos to show you guys, but changed my mind. Not yet. You will see more of my body than your eyes can handle on June 27th at the Tri. I promise you that. Or just ask, I am not modest. Most of you can attest to that already.

So, things are good. Moving forward and that is better than stagnant, or backwards, so I will take it.

And of course, Thank You. What do I mean by that? I mean I couldn't do it with you. Who is that directed at? Everyone. This journey has improved so many aspects of my life. And everyone has been part of it. You all have pushed me, encouraged me, called me out on my bullshit, loved me, hated me, hugged me, and bought me presents. Thank You.

More to come, I will try to be better about blogging. I will put up some pictures. My crazy fivefinger shoes, maybe even my calves..... Nothing makes me smile or blush like someone complimenting me on them.

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Finally, a running partner.

I found a running partner, after months of searching. Yesterday we ran a mile together, and today we ran almost two. Here's today's story.....

This story takes place in the trails along Globe Mill Pond behind the community center. They are very very beautiful if you have never been there. The trail is 1 miles out, and then one mile back, the entire time along the water.

Bren: "Okay, when I clap my hands that means run, and you need to run until I clap them again. That means stop."

Me..... running.....

Bren: "Did you hear my hands? Did you hear them clap? Do you have your listening ears on?"

Me..... running.....

Bren walking with a walking stick: "Now, you run when I wave my stick"

Me......running.......

Truth of the matter is, I think my new running partner, yeah, my 4 year old running partner just out ran me. And yelled at me the entire time.

And that is how the story went. But at least I have someone to run with. And he is cute. And charming. And my boy.

Happy Spring!

I am lovin this beautiful weather, that I promise you! I have been doing a bit of biking since the warm front came through, and it has reminded me how much I enjoy riding a bike. I am also promoting for my work Nation Ride you Bike to Work Day and the combination of the two has gotten me motivated to bike more. I remember the summer we tried to drive as little as possible. Does anyone remember this? Chris was home from work all summer with a shoulder injury so we decided to track our gas usage and bike to as many places as possible. Every Saturday we biked downtown to market, we biked the bikes to and from school, we biked to the grocery store even. It was pretty amazing, and this was back in the day when Bren was in bike trailer so we were hauling him around. Granted it was nice to have the trailer because you could put your groceries right in the trunk of it, but it was heavy!

I want to try something similar this spring. It isn't feasible to bike Bren to school because it is in a different town, and there is a time frame to consider there, but perhaps we need to go back to biking instead of driving on all the little trips. I'm game. I just need to drop my bike off for a spring tune up and I am ready to roll.

*Ride your bike to work day is Friday May 21, 2010 by the way!

I swam 2600 meters Monday night and it was killer, but in a good way. I need to lift real quick tonight after soccer and I should be set on lifting for the week. I am not going to swim tonight because we have soccer for B and volleyball for P, and that is enough for me. The pool is closed all next week so I am going to try to get to the Christian Family Center to swim a few night, any takers on joining me? It might actually be fun.

I am headed out to run in a few minutes, the day is too pretty to not to, right?

The Acres 5K is coming up..... The question is, will I be ready to NOT embarrass myself??

Ouch!

Yes, ouch. I am hurting. Hurt-in-g. I think, perhaps, just maybe, I over did it last night. The story of my life, right? Wow. I struggled to even put on a shirt today my shoulders hurt so bad. Don't worry, I managed to dress myself before going to work, thank you.

I met Trina and Joan at the gym to work out. I needed someone to push me, hold me accountable, bribe me, anything really. I hadn't lifted in 12 days. I did both arms and legs. Thankfully my legs feel great. On the flip side of that, my arms, mostly just my shoulders, are killing me. It was, I am certain, a combination of lifting and the busting my butt swimming.

I tried to keep pace with Mr. Carlson again, and he is so fast. Instead of counting how many meters I was swimming I just counted how many ahead of me he was. He always swims 1500 meters and leave at 8:45. I am usually far enough behind that I can finished my 1500 by 8:55. With out him I would need an abacus set up at the each end. For the life of me I can not count how many laps I do. My mind races and darts around from topic to topic, losing track of all things other than my breathing. And trying to remember to kick. I can't believe how often I forget to kick. That is probably why my shoulders hurt so bad, they do most of the pulling.

I, of course, swam with Teresa and Ashley. What would I ever do with out them? My breaks are so boring when I swim alone.

Today I went for a quick little run through the 'hood with the little man ahead of me on his bike. Encouraging me Screaming at me to hurry up. It was a good run, I am glad I did it, but it was not fast. Not at all fast. I have so much work ahead of me....

Apologies all around...

When I started this blog I apologized, knowing full well that I was a bad blogger. I am sorry for not updating since my vacation. But seriously folks, I just got back 5 days ago, and had to spend my weekend with my friends. I did nothing that resembled exercise until yesterday.

My motivation for all this training has dwindled, but I am working on getting it back. Yesterday I biked even though it was a little chilly. I forgot how much I like to bike, and THAT I believe has motivated me.

The UNDY 500 is in less than a month and aside from being a bad runner and not having the stamina to run a 5k at this point, I DON'T HAVE ANY COOL UNDERPANTS TO RUN IN. My focus should be on the training, but you know it is not.

My plan this week is to rock the gym every day except for Tuesday. Tuesday I am going to get a little body sculpting done (I hope), and detox from the most amazing vacation ever, and in all honestly, the most amazing weekend in a long time. Detoxing.

Tonight? Lifting and pool. I can't wait to lift again. I haven't lifted in 2 weeks, and the thought of lifting has me motivated to the point where I want to sneak down to the Fitness Connection RIGHT NOW!! I could lift in my khaki's right? Tempting, but no. After the big Math Club show at the High School the rest of my night will be lifting and swimming.

Here is my vacation movie. I can't help it, I like to make movies, and had such a good time.

I'm trying to put together a workout plan for Spring Break at the Christian Family Centre, anyone interested in putting the kids in day care and working out?

A quickie

Hey folks! Greeting from the Virgin Islands! I see many of you are checking this daily, so I apologize for the lack of posting while on vacay, but ya know, I'm on vacation!

I have a bunch of pictures that I make into a movie, probably while chilling in the airport on my way home. But none the less, expect some pictures late next week. If you are dying for some pics, you can go here and see some.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/featherweatherk/sets/72157623607126626/

I have found a wonderful work out while here on Charlotte Amalie. Aside from the insane amount of hill walking we do that is. (seriouslt INSANE amount of walking daily mostly on steep inclines while toting my 4 year old!) I have been swimming in the ocean with a 60 pound 4 year old on my back. Seriously. He hold onto my bathing suit straps llike they are reigns, wears his water wings and bosses me around. I pretty much can only do the breast stroke in this condition, but that is a wonderful shoulder workout! The bouyency in the salt water makes having a kid on your back a lot easier that fresh water, a lot! We have been eating and a drinking a lot of fruit. Fresh fruit! Yum! Papayas grown rampandly here and taste wonderful blended with local bananas and local rum. You can get this mixture all over. With out the rum for a kid, of course!

I have done a little running, a little swimming, and a lot fo walking. And honestly a lot fo relaxing, but again, that's what vacations are for!

I will catch you up soon, I promise!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

I am reffing my last games of the season tonight! A little sad about that I think..... I have loved this basketball season, and really enjoyed reffing. Funny huh? I used to ref 10-15 games on any given Saturday during college and now reffing 2 games a night is 'a work out'. Funny? Maybe scary is a better word for that.

I am getting on a plane in 16 hours with my 4 year old and traveling to the Virgin Islands for 9 days of relaxing. I plan on running and swimming as much as I can, but my main goal is relaxing. It is, after all, a vacation!

I will check in (I'm sure more than once!) but I want to leave you with what I am listening to these days....

Said and Done - Nervous But Ex...

I hope you enjoy it. Ex's and Oh's to all those we are leaving behind. I will see you next Thursday. Our plane gets in very very early in the morning, and the ribbon cutting at Parks and Rec is at 9:30. Perhaps I will see you there?? Make it a plan! There will be snacks and coffee so why not, right? So, 9:30 at Parks on Thursday the 18th. Love.

Instead of hitting the gym....

I made this. My beautiful little girl turns 8 this weekend. Each year I make the kids a birthday video of pictures from the year, going through all of them helps me realize how blessed we truely are.

Happy Birthday Peyton! No gym for me tonight or tomorrow, spending time with my girl! Well, girls... I am so lucky to have you here with me this weekend enjoying her birthday together as a family.

Realize your goal is to figure out your role within the context of the whole.

I Like Giants - Kimya Dawson

I like this song for many reasons, but I have been singing it a lot lately, especially this part, "So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything"

My arms are sore. How sore? Sore sore. My shoulders mostly. I raced Mr. Carlson at the pool last night and it was killer. Before I tell the story of the race, I guess I should explain who Mr. CArlson is.... His daughter played basketball at the high school for me years and years, and even years ago. I saw him at the gym a while back and while chit chatting he mentioned that he swims in the mornings. I told him I swam at night, he didn't know people were swimming at night, so since then he has been swimming Mondays and Wednesdays. But unlike me, he swims hard for one mile then leaves. I swim, stop, talk, swim, stop, adjust my goggles, etc. etc. Last night We stopped around the same time, me to catch my breath, him because he was done with his mile. We talked for a few minutes and then I challenged him to a race. He is tall and strong, and a really good swimmer. But you know me, I am uber competitive.... Let's Race! He laughed but agreed. Seriously folks, we swam so fast! I have never swam that fast my whole life. I swam like a was being chased by the mythical pool shark. When we finished in what he calls a victory for me, but I think was a tie, we both were so amazed at how fast we just swam. Even my friend Teresa couldn't believe how fast we zoomed. We then decided to race one more time and that was an easy victory for him, but again, we swam SO fast.

It was nice to re-charge my competitive spirit. The fuel of competition, my favorite fuel!

It all brings me back to this small town. I love it here. I love it for many reasons, but I love that my 8 years here have brought some of the most fantastic people into my life. I love that I am getting to know the people I work out with, the people at the pool, and the people in this community. I love that my work enables me to build relationships within the community, it is a wonderful feeling.

*Deep breath* I am lucky. I am so lucky. I have the most amazing family and the best friends a girl could ask for.

That being said, Rachel; I think it is time we started, to kind of sort of run. I was thinking we run the shorts walk the longs of the 'hood and see how that goes. When I get home from vacay. In the evenings now that my evening programs are all over. I could do it on my own, but I don't want to. I think we should do it together. It will be more fun that way. Plus we can spend more time together like that.

Steps in the right direction.....

Last night I reffed 2 games then suck it up and went to the gym after. Yup. I pushed myself, I know that the only way I am going to see the results I want is if I do this. I HAVE to. Yeah, I was tired. And yeah, it was not fun, but I did it. I think if I can just push through right now it will be fun again, I will make it fun again. I will.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote that she is better with less on her plate. Maybe I am too. Right now my plate feels so full, a scramble to make it. A sick boy, planning for a vacation, packing for said vacation, household duties, work, trying not to get pink eye through it all.... I am going to relax on my vacation and hit the gym hard when I get back. I am rewarding myself with this vacation so to speak. Right now my focus needs to be on getting everything together, spending some time with my family, and figuring out how I can leave for 10 days and not leave everything in chaos. I am better with less on my plate.

I did, however, ref tonight and then swim for an hour. I feel pretty good! Tired, but good. Steps. But I am exhausted, so good night. Keep taking steps.

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Breakdown

Breakdown - Jack Johnson

I had my first big breakdown. What do I mean by big? And what do I mean by break? Working out is hard work. Training is hard work. This is hard work, and I am tired, and I am not seeing the results I want, and blah blah blah. For so long working out was fun and I loved it. Now I feel like it is just work. My sister put it into perspective for me when she said, "Working out sucks, that why people don't do it." Good point Sister, good point.
I am frustrated. I thought I would be further along than I am. I am frustrated and tired. I need some motivation. I did, however, swim last night. After hours of mind games with myself. "I can't go, I'm too tired" "I have too much work to do to swim" "My arms hurt" And so on and so on and so on. But, I swam and I swam hard for 50 minutes. I need to get excited about this again. I want to get excited about this again. I NEED to get excited about this again.
I am not going to the gym today, and I should , but I can't. I got a call from preschool and they think he has pink eye. Yuck. We have a 1:30 Dr. appt. At least this is now and not while on vacation.
I am reffing 2 basketball games tonight, it is a higher level so I should get a little exercise in. Reffing this age group I tend to sweat and get into int he flow of the game. So, I have that going for me. Now? Now I am in my sweat pants in bed with a boy with possible pink eye. Grrr.

Another Weekend? Afraid so....

We weekend of better choices began with good intentions. It always does, right? Rach and I went to Evans Street for a lovely dinner. The good choices lasted until then. Dinner was, as always, delicious. The drinks, especially the "Mary Anne" were, as always, delicious. The Mary Ann is a mango infused martini. It was as delightful as it sounds. And then some. And then some more.

Today is Sunday. I have not been to the Fitness Connection since Wednesday, oh no wait, Tuesday? Yeah. I have a million reason why, but do they really matter? The bottom line is that I have not been to work out in days. Tomorrow evening I will be there. I don't have any programs running, and even if you called me and begged me to go out with you, I still feel a little 'mango-ed' out from Friday night.

My food intake was fairly responsible this weekend. Better than the last two, that's for sure. So, the weekend wasn't a total loss training wise. And in all honesty, training schmraing, when it comes to Evans Street my favorite. Ya know?

Tomorrow is also SWIMMING! My goal for the week is to take it slow. I have a million things to do, one of them being baking 30 cupcakes for a pretty girl's 8th birthday! Slow and steady will win this race.

Inside all of us is HOPE. I would rather be full of HOPE than jelly beans.