Beginning of Week #14

Well, I was able to get the treadmill and get it unloaded into the house, but that is as far as it went.........all day Saturday, I shopped for something to wear at my new job......I cannot wear jeans everyday over there, so I thought I could just find a few simple, comfortable dresses that are not dressy to wear until after my 60 mile walk, so that I would not have a bunch of pants that were too big........that is I am hoping to loose a few pounds with the rest of the training I have to do.......BUT, that did not happen.......I have other pants that are not jeans to wear, so I only bought 2 pair and that will do until after the walk.......I am very anxious to start on Wednesday, although I will probably not meet anyone I am working with until Thursday.......Wednesday is all paperwork and security stuff with the HR Dept.......

Exercising: Today is Zumba at the YMCA, so I will attend that and then after I get back to the house, I want to see if I can walk about 3 miles.....My plan for the week is to walk 3 miles after I return home after going to the YMCA and then I will push for 6 miles on Thursday and Friday. Goal for Saturday and Sunday is to get back on track and do 10 miles each day.....Weekly total will be 41 miles, I am only required to do 24 miles this week, so if I stay on track, I will be great......

Mom: She is still doing well at this point. She has started back on the chemo tablets and is only taking 1/2 of what she was taking when she started out. I hope she can continue to do well.....Please continue to keep her and my Dad in your prayers......

Gotta get back into the groove

Well, sorry it has been so long since I have posted......It is now the middle of week #15. I have been busy with tons of things these past few weeks....We went out of town for the 4th of July, visited with Kent's Aunts, Uncles and cousins on our way to Columbus, GA where we stayed and enjoyed some dirt track racing on the 4th in Phenix City, AL......It was a great get away and a great visit with family. Before I left for the weekend getaway, I turned in my resignation here @ Bon Secour Fisheries.....I fell it best for me with the situation in the gulf to find a new employment at a place that I feel will offer me a firm ground to stand on.......I truly hope that I am wrong and they are not effected in the coming years by the oil in the gulf.....there are lots of folks here that I care for and this is a family business that has been here for generations and it is heartbreaking for something to happen to their business. I will be going to Columbia Southern University, but I do hope to keep in close touch with the wonderful friends I have found @ Bon Secour Fisheries.....I have been keeping up with my cross training, but my walking has almost been nonexistent.......I hope to solve that this weekend.....I plan on getting the treadmill from my mom on Thursday pm and will get back on track Saturday.....Great news on my Mom last Wednesday....Her scan showed 1/3 decrease in the tumor in her lung and the small nogels are also shrinking.....She began the chemo again on Saturday (7/10) and will only be taking 1/2 the dose, so we are hoping she will be able to get through the entire 12 weeks this time without the liver enzyme levels going too high........Please continue to pray for her strength....

An end to week #18

Gosh, it sounds too close when I say, Ending week #18........and when you say October 22nd, it seems so far away........funny how words play on each other....Well, Thursday I got 5 miles in and on Saturday am I was able to squeeze in 9 miles, but Sunday was a bust........Saturday after I walked we loaded up, (me, Kent, Ricky & Ty) to head to Maplesville for my grandmother's 90th birthday party.....we had a great ride up there, got to talk alot with the boys and really visit with them......The party was great, like a family reunion.....I got to see alot of my cousins, aunts and uncles and my grandmother had a great time.....the visit was great....wish we could do that more often....the ride back was also good....My nephew rode back with me and Ricky ended up riding with my sister.....we stopped in Atmore to have the buffet @ Wind Creek Casino.....was kinda of a disappointment, but buffets usually are......so if you are thinking of trying it, think twice, cost of $14.95 and I am sure you can get a seafood buffet someplace for the same price with better food.......All in all, I walked 14 miles last week and plan on getting more done this week.....I am still $900 away from my required amount needed to participate, so if you know of anybody who can donate please pass my information along, I need all the help I can get!

Not a good ending to week #19

Well, visited the Dr. on Friday and have a sinus/upper respiratory infection......Yes, I just had a respiratory infection 3 weeks ago......Not sure if sitting on the beach visiting with 2 girl friends had anything to do with it....we never really smelled oil, but it has been strong around my work lately....Dr. said she has had several folks in with the same thing that has come on rather quickly, so maybe these meds will help soon......No walking Friday or Saturday......Still felt snotty....lol...on Saturday, got new tires put on, spent some time with my visiting high school buddy again on the river and then to Kent's parents to cook the fish him, his brother and father caught Friday.....great family time with them.....Sunday, spent time with my Dad @ church, cleaned out my car, not fun at all, but really needed to be done......then off to deliver Father's day gift and spend some more time with our fathers........Great weekend for family, just not for walking......will try to squeeze the miles in this week and get back on track!!!!!

Rough night

Last night, don't know what I got into yesterday, but I had severe allergies....I was up half the night taking benadryl, using nose spray, drinking water, taking advil sinus and eating cough drops....this morning, I don't feel any better, in fact it is kind of worse....at lunch today, I was only running on one nostril.....LOL!...so I won't be getting in miles in today....I am going to go by the clinic after work and try to get some meds.....I may not get any miles in this Saturday either, so next week will be tough......Sunday is Father's Day, so unless I can start walking @ 4:30am, I will have to make those up next week too......Wish for the best at the DR. and everyone have a wonderful weekend........Happy Father's Day to those father's out there!

Wednesday......Spin Class

I was able to convince another girl in my office to join me and Claire in the spin class we take.........The bikes had be rearranged in the room, so we could not sit together, so I moved to the back with her so we could sit together.....we had a really good class.....a challenging one, but it was good......and what do you know, Susan enjoyed spinning too.....so, I think we will all be spinning together on Wednesday's....next week we can move the bikes back to the way they were and we can all sit together......

Tuesday's Class......Skipped!

Well, what can I say other than I enjoy the company of old friends over exercise!.....my friend from high school, who lives in Key West, is in town for a visit with her family and we decided to get together and catch up with each other since we have not really had a chance since we graduated over 20 years ago....We packed our coolers, chairs and I grabbed some pizza's and we headed to our beach to enjoy it before she left and before the oil has ruined it.........The beach was great.......the breeze was cool, without a smell of oil, the sand was white and the waves were clear blue with the true white caps like it should be.......but the best thing about it was....NO TOURIST...I say it is best, although our local businesses would love to have tourist, it was nice to be alone on the beach this time of the year......I brought another really great friend from school who lives here in town with me, which was a surprise to Carla and we all ate, drank and visited with each other for over 3 hours.....We talked about the regrets we had about things we did in school and about ones we lost in school and our families......I didn't realize how much I missed the interaction with the two of them until we chatted.....It is great to reconnect after so many years....I think we will continue to stay in touch better after she returns to Key West in a week or so......It is hard for all of us to imagine how badly the oil will impact us......Key West is already feeling the effects as my friends business (her 16 year dream) is down 50%.....I can only image the fear she has for her and her family right now.......please keep her in you thoughts and prayers as her journey has already begun and the oil is still far from her......Also, Please keep my mom in your prayers.....the chemo has been halted for now.....we are hoping she gets some strength back in the interim and can begin to eat again......