3-Day

For those of you who are new to reading my blog: My Mom died on February 8, 2006 from metastatic breast cancer. That night I decided to participate in The Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. I wanted to do something bold and challenge myself as well as raise money to find a cure for breast cancer. I had no idea what I was about to experience. It turned out to be very therapeutic for me.

This is a LONG post. Mostly this is for me to remember the experience. Thank you so much to those who donated, I couldn't have done it without you! I was able to raise over $4000 for breast cancer research!

Day1:
Opening Ceremonies were held at Marymoor Park in Redmond. We had to be there at 5:45, yikes! I loaded my gear onto the gear truck and met our team, "Thanks for the Mammaries". There were many awesome team names like: Warming Hut Hotties, Save the Ta-Ta's, Heart and Soul, Walkers for Knockers, Breast Friends, and Beyond the Breast. Think of a euphemism for boob and there was a team with a name. Here is a team photo:
Opening Ceremonies were very emotional. The head of the 3 Day Walk talked about the reasons why people chose to do the walk. "There is a man here who is walking with his 2nd wife. There is a daughter here walking for her mom who didn't survive her fight." I don't remember much of what she said after that because I was looking for tissues. Then they let us go 2-3 at a time so that it was a staggered start and so that there woudn't be a mass stampede of 3000 people. Here is what I looked like during the walk:
We walked through Redmond up to Kirkland and wound up at Juanita Beach Park for lunch. Along the way there are pit stops every 2-3 miles with porta-potties, water, gatorade, snacks, and medical. Every pit stop has a theme; one was un-BEE-lievable, another western complete with photo op. Lunch was themed and so were the sweep vehicles. Sweep vehicles picked up people along the route who couldn't walk for various reasons. After lunch we made a big loop through Kenmore and parts of Bothell. Some friends from church cheered us on at the 2nd cheering station in Kirkland. We then made it to Big Finn Hill park where we camped for the night. It was a mobile city! They had medical tents, mobile kitchen, dining tent, shower trucks, porta potties, and sinks. They provided 2-person tents for us to set up. It was tent city!

At night they even had entertainment. The first night was karaoke and the 2nd nite was a disco band. One gal made it through days 1 and 2 unscathed then twisted her ankle at disco night! What a bummer! I tried to take part in festivities but I was such a zombie having woken up both days at 5 am or so. Not to mention walking 20 miles each day.

Day 2: This day we made a loop from Kirkland up to Woodinville over into Bothell and through Kenmore, up Simonds Hill, which was killer. It wasn't that steep, just long; 1.5 miles up hill at the end of the day. And it was 85 degrees. And I had a huge blister on my toe. And I had tendonitis in my left big toe. But, as signs often pointed out along the way; "Blisters hurt less than chemo." Wow, that kept me going!


Here are some of my walking buddies on Day 2 in Woodinville (from left ) Sunny, Jenn, April, Michelle, Denise, her son Bryce and us. We're at a cheering station at our favorite spot, Starbucks!
We are now coming up on lunch and Micah was standing on the side cheering all the walkers on. Then he ran up to me and gave me a big hug. The best!!

We camped the same place on day 2. At camp that night I had a chance to sign the remembrance tent; we could sign a tent like the ones we camped in. There was also a book where you could write why you were walking. Again, very emotional. There was a picture of a 3 Day walker from 2005 who had died this year.

Day 3:
We woke early to break down camp. I think my now I was just numb from the lack of sleep. We left camp and headed west to Shoreline and then south into Seattle. It was a beautiful walk with gorgeous houses and views of Lake Washington.





Closing Ceremonies: all the walkers walk in together, with the walkers who have survived breast cancer walk in last. All of us saluted the survivors by holding up one of our shoes.

This was a great experience. I enjoyed challenging myself and seeing what I was capable of doing. I found out I'm capable of alot! Having a goal really helped me focus on working out and walking. The best thing that came out of the experience was all the friendships that I formed--something I was not expecting. People who have been touched by breast cancer in their life and could relate to what I am going through in grief. People who haven't been touched by breast cancer but just wanted to make a difference. Great, quality people--friendships that I wouldn't have made otherwise.
View of Lake Washington from Sand Point neighborhood in Seattle. (near the U)

And, last but not least, this one's for Tim: www.gotripoffs.com

I'm BAAACK!

I'm back from the 3-Day walk, and it was an amazing experience. Once I've downloaded all the pictures I will post them and give more details of the weekend. Thanks to everyone out there, I was able to raise over $4000 for breast cancer research! Thank you!! Oh, and yes I made it every single inch of the walk! 60 miles!

Here are some pictures of Cowboy Micah:

Unexpected Visitor!

We had a semi-unexpected vistor last week. We were thrilled to see Wendy and take her to lunch. It was great to see her and talk with her about her job.





Micah and Joel in their "boat".

Joel does this new thing where he tries to smile for the camera. I think it looks kind of like a horse trying to smile, but its cute, none the less!

Deception Pass

We went camping last weekend at Deception Pass with our church group. We had a great time and the weather was wonderful. We even got to go hiking. Micah walked the whole way, I was so proud of him. It was about 1 1/2-2 miles, but it was straight up hill for half of it. We had a big group camping site which is nice because we were the only ones there and there is nobody else around. You also don't have to worry about cars and the kids. Great place the kids to roam and explore.

Joel didn't sleep well for a variety of reasons and Aaron ended up driving him around again. Sigh. We'll make a camper out of him yet! Hopefully next year will be easier camping with him. It was hard because he is crawling and does not like to be held for too long. Finally I just gave in and let him get filthy dirty crawling around in the dirt. Just had to be careful about rocks and bark in mouth!

The above picture is of Deception Pass, which is really a bridge. The first explorers thought the area was a mountain pass between two hills on a peninsula. Turned out it is an island not a peninsula.

Joel's Room

I finally finished Joel's room. Just in time for his 1st birthday. Yippee!
Here are some pictures:





A friend of mine painted the surf scene on the wall. I used the same bedding that I had for Micah, but my aunt made a new crib sheets and a valance.






























My mom and I made the chair pad cover.

















My friend also painted the "honu" on the wall. She copied the turtles from the valance. Need I say she is very talented? See the surfboard on the shelf? that's actually a clock! (Fred Meyer strikes again.) If you look to the left, Jodi you can see the cork board!










OOPS! Well I said the room was done, but as you can see there is a big blank spot. Fortunately I have an idea for the spot.

I actually DO have something to tell you

Karen was right. I actually do have big news, but I only found out today. Are you a prophet or something?

But, as she did say, I am sworn to secrecy. I will be able to tell you in a few weeks or days. Speculate if you wish but I will neither confirm or deny said guesses.

Now, on to Karen. She has held some elaborate hoaxes in her day. Ask her about how her children were conceived. Or is is that TMI?

Tim on KROQ

For those of you who know Tim: he will be on KROQ tomorrow morning at 7am. If you don't live in SCal you can stream it at their website.

He's decided he is not taking his shoes off anymore for airport screeners because of this article.

Here is Tim's reasoning:

No More. Today news came out that sending shoes through an airport x-ray machine tells the security officials virtually NOTHING. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08-14-xrays-airports_x.htm?csp=34 It serves ZERO purpose other than to give people the impression that all precautions are being made (even if they are meaningless). I’ve had enough of this inconvenience. Now that TSA confirms that it’s all a silly game I’ve decided I’m not playing anymore.

I will no longer voluntarily take my shoes off to walk through airport screening. If the good men and women with the TSA want to make me step aside so they can wave a wand over me, they are more than welcome to, but I’m leaving my shoes on. If in that process they want to force me to take my shoes off and are willing to carry my smelly tennies around and send them through the x-ray machine themselves, they are again more than welcome to. But I’m not doing it for them. I’ve been personally screened before. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t take all that much time and you’re not in trouble.

“That’s just stupid”, you may be thinking. Why put up with 5 minutes of hassle when all you have to do is take 30 seconds to take your shoes off? Two reasons:

1) Principle. If they think I’m such a threat because I happen to be wearing shoes (heaven forbid), then I’m calling their bluff and demanding they do something REAL to make sure I’m not dangerous.

2) Strategy. If even 10% of the people on each of my flights take the same stand, they will not be able to fund the man-power it will take to screen us all. Eventually they’ll give up on making us take off our shoes because they already know it does NOTHING. I know it’s a stretch but I’m willing to bet that even a government agency, in the long run, is not willing to blow their entire budget for something they know is meaningless. Eventually the airlines will not appreciate the back up at the airports either and will apply their own high dollar pressure on the TSA to help us along.

For sure, I don’t want to take it out on the gate workers at the airport, I understand they are doing their job. I’ll be polite and cooperative and won’t argue with them. If they request me to take my shoes off, I will in turn politely suggest that they personally screen me. I hope you’ll think about joining me. This idea isn’t at all original to me, other people are saying the same thing. At the very least, pass on the word.

Theoretically, I agree. Practically will I do this? No. He's not travelling with 2 small children. A stroller. A diaper bag. A computer . Food and drink for small children. I'm already going to have to endure close scrutiny because I will have *gasp* liquid benedryl and epi-pens. Anything I can do to get by faster in the short run is good for me. The security check is harrowing enough without putting myself through the pat-down.

I've been outed

Well, I guess Karen outed me. Thanks alot.

eight-zero-zero

You may remember that we bought an alarm clock to help us keep Micah in bed until 7:00, or as he puts it; seven-zero-zero. Last night he asked if he could get up at eight-zero-zero instead. Ummm... sure! This morning he got up at 6:15 to go to the bathroom, then I put him back to bed and told him he had to stay in bed until 7:00. Micah said, "No! Its, eight-zero-zero". Sure enough, he got up at 8:00.

I guess I'm glad he hasn't quite figured out the order of numbers.

Heaven Help Me!

I thought it was innocent enough.

Yesterday I wore a skirt. When Micah saw me in it he said "wow.. Mommy you look pretty!" He's done that before when I have worn dresses or skirts. So sweet.

Today after swim lessons we were in the locker room changing. He was watching some older girls (age 5-6) get their hair done. He looks and me and says slowly, " Momma, they are pretty," with a tone of astonishment and wonder.

He's 3 1/2 ! He's still my baby. All I could think of was what it would be like at 16!

I didn't think we'd be out of the girls locker room and into the family bathroom quite so soon.

Thanks!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was very meaningful to me this year as I was not looking forward to my birthday without my mom.

In the morning, Micah and Aaron decorated the downstairs with Happy Birthday streamers. Micah also picked out yellow roses for me. Aaron said Micah was insistent on buying flowers for Mommy.

Micah picked out a cute photo collage/frame for me. Its hard to explain, but it will look great when I get the pictures in it. Aaron bought me a radio/cd player that mounts under the kitchen cabinet. Yay! I told him I wanted one several months ago and he remembered!

One of the best parts was going to McDonalds for dinner. No dishes! No cooking! {Aaron had already taken me out to a very nice dinner on Saturday night without kids--in his defense}

Disgusting

Did I keep you in suspense enough? =)

Here it is:
This morning I cleaned the kids toilet with one of those disposable toilet brushes. I usually throw away the cleaning part instead of flushing it so that it won't clog the toilet. For some reason that I can' t remember I left it on the plastic handle part and set it in the trash can. I think I was going to clean the other toilet, but at the moment I had to go dry off Micah from the shower in our bathroom. {you may see where this is going}

Joel was crawling around upstairs, playing in his room, or so I thought. After I dried off Micah, he goes running in to see Joel. Micah starts shrieking, "LOOK AT JOEL, MOMMA, LOOK AT WHAT HE IS EATING, GET HIM, GET HIM!!" I run in the bathroom to see him chomping on, you guess it, the toilet brush. EWWWWWWWW!!!!

I washed his mouth out with a washcloth with toothpaste on it. I thought about soap briefly but realized that would hurt him more.

Happy Birthday to me.

Disgusting

I have a really disgusting story to tell you, but I don't think I have the stomach for it yet. But I feel as though I must tell you.

Check back later

Would you like $20 with your Amoxicillin?

I have a new obsession.

Obtaining free gift cards from pharmacies.

A few weekends ago I was flipping through the Target ad and I found a coupon for a $10 gift card when you filled a new or transferred prescription. I did need to buy a birthday gift and I had been wanting to get some more epi-pens for Micah. (we have wonderful RX insurance) Made a phone call and off I went to get prescription and free birthday gift.

This got me thinking so I went home and flipped through more ads and I found more coupons! I found one for Rite Aid...tranferred Micah's antibiotics presciption and bingo! Free diapers! I had a sinus infection last week...what did I think about while in the doctor's office? Free groceries from QFC. (Never mind the excruciating pain and bloody snot)

In total I have received $60 in gift cards just for filling prescriptions. . . something I would have done anyway. I have a coupon sitting in my purse for another $30 giftcard. One of the kids is bound to get an ear infection soon, right?

Note: I have not abused my insurance and re-filled medications I have not needed. End Disclaimer.

Brothers

I have spared you the kid stories as of late, so I feel that I am due. I'm so excited because since Joel has learned to crawl, the boys are actually playing together! They were down in the rec room this afternoon and I heard Joel squealing and giggling. I asked Micah want he was doing and he said "I'm playing with Joel, my brother" (as if there's another Joel lurking around the corner, who is not his brother). Apparently they were shopping and Joel was helping him (Micah's words) by putting pretend food in the shopping cart!

Yesterday they were playing in the living room and were under the piano. I heard Micah say "okay Joel, now we get in here. All aboard! Now we're on the train. "

It warms my little Mommy heart! =)

Here's to hoping it lasts!

Laundry Woes

Okay, I'm up for new ideas on the laundry front. The way I see it people fall into 3 camps:

1. One load a day, no matter what.

2. One day a week, do all laundry.

3. Wait till the laundry is overflowing; or until clothes are all gone.

Presently I'm in the 3rd camp. I've tried #1, and #2, but I just have not been able to make it a habit. The problem with one load a day with me is that then every day I'm doing laundry. I guess I'd rather be in "laundry mode" and get it all done at once.

One organized thing I have going for me: we have a laundry sorter where we sort laundry as we put it in the hamper. Micah, not so much. I just want Micah to put his laundry in the hamper in the first place. We'll work on the sorting later.

If you have good laundry ideas that work for you, please comment!

A Grief Observed

I just finished A Grief Observed by CS Lewis. It is his journal that he wrote after his wife died from cancer. His insights and word pictures are powerfull. Here is one passage that I found to be helpful:

Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process. . . Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape. As I've already noted, not every bend does. Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left behind miles ago. That is when you wonder whether the valley isn't a circular trench. But it isn't. There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat.

I can't say exactly why this is helpful, but it is. I guess its because it validates what I've been feeling...just when I think I'm over one part or feeling it comes back.

On Second Thought

Aaron pointed out one other thing we miss from Southern California.
Driving fast.
Or at least driving at reasonable speeds, according to us. Every posted speed limit around here is about 10 under what it should be. The roads outside the neighborhoods here are 25! The bigger roads are a whopping 35! On the freeways, the state patrol actually pull people over for speeding here. We learned that the hard way about 3 weeks after we moved. I don't think I've ever seen someone pulled over for speeding on the freeway in S. Cal unless they were doing, say 100. We were just used to driving there, where you just drive as fast as you can with traffic. The normal speed is about 70, who knows what the posted speed is.

I long for the wide, open roads in Irvine like Culver, Barranca or Jamboree where the speed limit is 50 or 55. Thirty-five on W Lake Sammamish drive is just NOT cutting it.

Northwest

This July makes two years since we moved to the Northwest. I thought I might reflect on that:

Things that I like:
1. Fred Meyer: Starbucks, 1 hour free childcare, grocery shopping. Need I say more? Its the place where you can get a loaf of bread, tomatoes, motor oil and some cute new shoes all with one stop.

2. The Lakes: Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish. The latter is a 2 minute drive from our doorstep. The first summer I was here we went to the beach more times than we did the entire time I lived in Tustin. No crowds, warm water, short drive, small beach, lifeguard and bathrooms close by.

3. The Mountains: 45 min from our doorstep to the ski lift (without rentals). In the summer, there's hiking!

4. The Trails: Right outside our neighborhood is a trail that connects to a series of greenbelts across the city. Its wonderfull!

5. Housing Prices: Twice the house for less money than our bungalow in Tustin sold for.

6. Seattle: 20 min over the bridge and into the city with minimal hassles. (Unless there is a baseball game) Aquarium, zoo, pike place, seattle center, shopping!

7. The Job: Aaron is sooo happy here. Its a great place to work and they have phenomenal benefits.

8. Family: 45 min down to see family. What a blessing it was to be close when my mom was so sick.

9. Trees: We sit outside to eat dinner and look around: we feel like we're in the mountains in a cabin.

10. The weather: very temperate. I like variations in the weather, but it doesn't get too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. The summer is usually 70-80s and the winter is 30s-40s. If it does snow, its maybe an inch or two then it is gone the next day. No snow shoveling. Its just enough variation for me. And I like rain. When it does rain it usually doesn't rain the whole day. Did you know NYC annual rainfall is higher than Seattle?


What I miss from Southern California:


1. Awesome friends

2. Rutabagorz

3. In N Out

4. Jalapenos

5. Double coupons at Vons

6. Being able to walk to Whole Foods, the post office and library.

7. The character of our 1920s house.





So you see it mostly comes down to friends and restaraunts. I don't really even miss Disneyland.

Allergy Testing

I finally went in to see the allergist last week. That makes 3 out of 4 people from our family that have seen Dr. Lasley this year. I have had some strange reactions including pears and all hair conditioner. She tested me for environmental allergies and foods using a skin test. They prick your arm with a drop of the allergen. If it produces a welt then you're allergic. Surprise! My whole left arm swelled up from the prick tests-- and she watered down the dust and cat. I am still allergic to dust, cats, weeds, grass and mold. I am mildly allergic to dogs. However, maple trees is a new one.

I also had her test me for pears, oranges, and shellfish. She also tested me for all seafood except fish (oysters, crab, shrimp, lobster, etc). I had a reaction to the lobster! A big welt. I have probably had lobster about 3 times, and each time probably only 2 bites at most. Just never have developed a taste for it. Soooo... since lobster was such a big surprise, and pear did nothing she sent me off to get a blood test.

I came away with perscriptions for zyrtec, singulair, eye drops, inhaler, nasal spray and epi-pens. Whew!

From the literature they gave me:
Ideally, it is best for highly dust mite allergic individuals to avoid vacuuming or dusting duties.

Uh, can I get a persciption for THAT?