St. Jude Marathon Weekend

As you know, I trained some long, hard months for the St. Jude Marathon. However, I never posted an update on how the race went. That was partly because I was lazy and partly because I wanted to wait until my MRTC article on the race was printed so I could share that one...

Okay, whatever... you got me. That second reason also means I was lazy, since I didn't want to ultimately write the same thing twice.  Ha!

Anyway, as I've done before, I wrote an article for the Memphis Runner's Track Club Roadrunner Journal as a follow up to the St. Jude Marathon. I even got a shout-out by the editor of the magazine, which I was jazzed about...

From the Editor
Thanks for the kind words, Brent!

I wouldn't say this article (or anything I've ever written) was "eloquent," but hey - I'll take it!! :-)

Anyway, here's the article. The text is typed out below. Hope you enjoy!

Pg 1

Pg 2

"They say having a child changes everything. At least it did for me. Prior to having children, I was not a runner. I could not stand the thought of moving my body faster than a leisurely walk, for any reason, let alone enjoyment. I laugh now thinking back. After my first child came along four and a half years ago, I caught the running bug. And then I quickly caught the racing bug. Since 2009, my calendar has been filled with numerous 5Ks, 10Ks, and Half Marathons. 

Over the past few years, more than just my love (or lack there-of) of running has changed. My body has changed. My time management has changed. My own abilities have changed. And the Friday before the St. Jude marathon was supposed to run, my belief in running and runners changed.

Early this year, I was sidelined from the sport for a while after I gave birth to my second child. When I was 38 weeks pregnant, I was ready to hit the pavement and get back in shape. So what did I do? What any self-respecting, crazy runner would do, of course. I registered as a Hero for my very first full 26.2 miles - the St. Jude Marathon.

I am not sure if it was the itch to get back into my Mizunos or if it was just the hormones pounding their way through me, but I figured I was finally mentally ready to make the change from short distances to long ones and was psyched to run my first full.

When given the go-ahead by my doctor, I slowly got back to training. The first mile hurt, as did each there-after hurt. The six months of postpartum training was a struggle. But I did it. By the first week of December, my body was finally ready to run 26.2 miles. I was also mentally ready, more so than I have ever been for a long run. 

In fact, I was so ready, I almost started writing this article on the Thursday BEFORE the St. Jude Marathon. Why? Because I knew what to expect. I knew I was ready. For once in my life, I just knew… I knew it was going to be cold. I knew it was going to hurt. And I knew I would be both exhausted and elated at the end. 

But that's not what happened. The article did not get written how I “just knew” it would. Mother Nature had a different plan for all the 20,000-ish of us runners that day. 

I was sitting at the dinner table on the eve of the race when my husband's phone buzzed. It was a text coming through with what I thought would merely be another weather update. 

He looked at me and said simply, "It's cancelled." 

I stared at him in shock. I clearly remember thinking he was trying to be funny. Because, of course, that joke would not be funny to me at that moment. The look on his face told me he definitely was not kidding.

For whatever reason - despite knowing it was a possibility and knowing the weather was extremely bad - I did not expect the entire event to be cancelled. Ignorant? Probably. But my one-track, I-Have-To-Race-St.-Jude-No-Matter-What mind thought otherwise. After all, how do you cancel an event of that size and magnitude? I figured those willing to risk the ailments (like myself) would run and those who were not willing, would not. I just could not believe I was not going to get the opportunity to race St. Jude Marathon - the race I was so ready for and “just knew” was going to be a check mark off the bucket list by the following afternoon.

As waves of disappointment washed over me (admittedly, this included some tears), I looked over the table at my happy and healthy new baby, now seven months old, perched in her high chair. Then I looked at my other healthy and rambunctious four year old little girl, who was chomping down on her dinner. 

The disappointment slowed faded. I am not quite sure what feelings replaced the disappointment, but whatever it was calmed me and allowed for me to see clearly. 

My family and I were sitting around our dining room table and NOT in a room at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

This was my opportunity - and that of every other 2013 St Jude participant - to decide if this race was going to be about me or about something more than me. As a parent, the word “grateful” does not come close to how blessed I feel for my children's good health. If I was, God forbid, ever in an opposite situation, where my family was sitting in a cafeteria at St. Jude, instead of at our own table at home, I would hope those helping to fundraise for this race would remember MY children when disappointment washed over them. I would hope they would remember the reason the race is even in existence and remember those kids who make their home away from home down on Danny Thomas Boulevard. 

As I scrolled different social media sites later that evening, I saw all the reactions to the race cancellation from my fellow runners. While I still had extreme feelings of disappointment it was cancelled, my heart swelled at the positive status updates and encouragement our running community had for one another, and mostly for the children of St. Jude. 

That is what is so great about Memphis. Not only is Memphis home to one of the most amazing children’s institutions in the world, but its community goes above and beyond to support such a great cause through events and fundraisers like St. Jude Marathon Weekend. And at the helm of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend are our city’s runners. For that, we should all be proud. And for my own selfish sake, I hope a child or two at St. Jude is proud of us also."

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone the Happiest Christmas of all! 

I am so blessed to be spending this holiday at home with my little family and mother.

I pray you and yours are blessed today with 

family, fellowship, and, 

of course, 

lots of food!

Merry Christmas! 

From, The Funstons

My Celebrity Entourage

I saw Jennifer over at Crazy Shenanigans post her own celebrity entourage, so I decided to jump in, as well, with my own.


1. Beth Moore. She loves God, the written word, and making fun of herself. We were meant to be BFFs.

2. Jessica Simpson. Why?? Because we'd jam to some teeny bop music and then go shopping, all the while making my own intelligence grow more and more apparent to everyone. 

4. Carrie Underwood. Because she's perfect. We would totally workout together and then Bryant would let me invite her over for dinner since she's beautiful also vegan.

5. When Jennifer Lawrence fell UP the stairs at the Oscars and admitted the F word immediately flew through her mind, I knew we could be friends.

(Watch this video and you'll see why I love her so. #Hysterical).

Gifts That Give!

So I'm all about charity and giving back when and where I can. So below are a few of my favorite gift items and/or brands that I think would make fabulous gifts to anyone on your list this Christmas that you haven't purchased for yet.... (AHEM! Hint, Hint to anyone who wants to go Christmas shopping for ME too!) 

ONEHOPE Wine

This wine is FAB.U.LOUS.

That's all.

Oh, and every bottle you purchase gives back to a different cause. No big deal, just saving the world… one lush at a time.

FashionABLE

As you know from my previous post, I've been obsessing over FashionABLE scarves recently. Each one is hand made in Ethiopia and helps create sustainable business for women, so they don't have to depend on charity.

How awesome is this leather clutch? And I wear the below scarf all the time.

Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company

Coffee Addicts: Beware!!

This coffee is addicting. I first heard of them when I attended the Justice Conference last February and their booth was stationed right across from me for 3 days straight. Oh yeah, and they gave away FREE coffee.

The free coffee is what lured me in initially. But then I found out the company was started to help reunite Rwandan communities after the mass genocide that happened back in 1994. Since then, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company has expanded to reach communities in other countries such as Haiti and Thailand.

Super cool and super good.

Drink Coffee.
Do good.

Be Free Revolution

You've heard me talk about BFR before, so I won't chat your ear off… (err… type your eyes off?? I'm not sure the best metaphor there… oh well.). 

Anyway, they have awesome handmade jewelry and accessories for anyone on your list - male and female alike. BFR empowers African men and women with trades for sustainability and couple that trade with feeding, education and counseling programs in nearby schools and orphanages.

What's YOUR favorite Give-Back brand??

2013 Goal #1 Complete

So my biggest goal of 2013 was to finish the first full draft on my book by December 1st.

Most writers can knock out a full book in two or three months. I started writing it this time last year, but decided to give myself ample time to complete the first full draft because I knew Meda was on her way and I wasn't sure how things would shake out with a newborn and McKenna to chase around.

It's not quite where I want it to be yet, but never-the-less, the first draft was COMPLETE by December 1st, and was been sent to my developmental editor for another round of edits. Hopefully, she can help me bring this story to where it needs to be so I can start pitching it to agents and publishers this coming year.

Wish me luck!

OMG. This is so accurate.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

So we arrived home from Chattanooga on Friday night, and immediately we pulled down the Christmas decorations from the attic after putting Meda to bed.

McKenna was adorable and was immediately ready for Christmas to arrive. Only in the past few years have we started decorating for Christmas. I guess that's what happens when you grow up? I don't know. But each year, I accumulate a few more Christmas decor items, so each year, we get a little more festive around here.

Decorating in full swing, complete with Mariah Carey on Pandora.

Thinking of making my own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree with this little guy.

We put McKenna in charge of placing the ornaments.
We may need to work on her spacing techniques.

A sweet moment I caught with Bryant and MK.

Mantle

My Nambe nativity set I received as a gift last year and the
Polar Express bell Santa gave MK on the train a few years ago.

If you've never been to my house, you should know I have an obsession with printables.

Our Thanksgiving Holiday

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the Chattanooga area with my in-laws, at my SIL and her husband's home. Between the six adults, four kids, and ten zillion animals, it was an energetic and entertaining week. When the weather was good, a trip to Ruby Falls happened (in which MK was extremely excited to announce to everyone that she "went inside the earth!") and when it was bad, a trip to the Children's Museum happened (Bryant and I skipped out on this and took my SIL, Storm, to the brewery instead to celebrate her birthday. Beer and mimosas, anyone??). In between those things, a lot of time was spent visiting, laughing and telling stories.

With almost all the adults being full-blown vegans, you might think Thanksgiving dinner was lacking, however, I want to inform you, it was NOT. The only non-traditional thing about dinner was the absence of a turkey. There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, Sheppard's Pie, cranberries, broccoli soup, sweet potatoes, as well as a multitude of different dessert pies. And yes - everyone went into a food coma after. #zzzzz

I was able to keep up with my marathon training while there too. Though, it turns out I had to use the Dreadmill quite a bit due to the weather, but I begrudgingly knocked it out. (Word to the Wise: two hours running in the same spot is not really as fun as it may sound. Though I did get to catch up on worthless television. Did you all know Kim K and Kanye almost didn't give their child a last name when she was born?? #WhoDoesThat)

Anyway, here are some photos of the week stolen borrowed from my MIL's Facebook. ;-) I am VERY thankful we were able to spend the week out there with family. I love my in-laws as if they were blood relatives and we always spend our time together laughing and having a good time. :-)

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday!

Happy Birthday to my amazing sister, Storm!

McKenna and Knox collecting fire wood

The Pete

Cousins
McKenna, Meda (The Pete), Knox, & Holland 

Best buddies!
McKenna and Holland

This was where I parked myself for 5 hours worth of 'Gone with the Wind' viewing.

Men doing what men do, I guess....
Please excuse my husband's extreme love of plaid.

Pop and Meda

As of Late...

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted here because things have been C-R-A-Z-Y at my house between the baby, the new pup, running, school, family in town, traveling, etc.. So here is a run down of the going-ons as of late!

~Cheerleading competition season is in full swing, and I have spent the past few weekends traveling around the region judging. It's been fun seeing old co-workers & staff as well as watching some very talented teams perform. I am currently sitting in a hotel room writing this on the eve of the Tennessee High School State Cheerleading Championship. Actually, wait... did I say I've been judging? No, no... in leu of stories I've heard of razy cheer-mama antics, I retract the statement that I may have contributed to anyone's brokenhearted daughter that didn't win regionals. And I will definitely NOT have any say in tomorrow's competition. No, definitely not... 

*wipes sweaty brow and refuses eye contact*

~I am currently reading Jodi Piccoult's "The Storyteller." Even though I am only halfway through the book, I am LOVING it. There were a couple scenes that I could barely breathe through. Like when the Nazi soldier lined up the Jewish mama and her toddler to be shot. The mama started singing to her daughter, tucking her in "to sleep" between bodies of those already shot. HEARTBREAKING, people. Heart. Breaking. My mind is blown every time I think that this stuff really happened. I'm not sure I'll make it through this novel. 

~On a less morbid, but still slightly irritating note - marathon training is officially in the downward swing. I am sooooooo ready for this to be over with. I am nervous, anxious, excited, and terrified. This whole "training" deal is NO JOKE. It's really like having a part-time job. You spend hours (and hours and hours) per week running. Except with this "job," there is no paycheck. Unless, of course, you are this guy. In which case, you may get a paycheck AND some pretty sweet Asics. 

For some there may be benefits (smaller waistline, healthier lifestyle, cute new running shoes), but for me... Well, I just can't seem to get past the lack of a paycheck thing with the amount of hours I'm putting in. If I don't die out there (which, let's be real - there's a very good chance of that happening), I will be ecstatic. I'm sick of working for free. 

But on a serious note, I finally raised all my funds in order to run this race, and am humbled that people would donate to such an amazing organization in my name! I truly hope the small part ($$) myself and my fellow donors contributed helps at least ONE child at St. Jude. :-)

~ So, as you know, we bought a Doberman puppy a few weeks ago. With that being said, I know you may think I'm heartless and cruel, but I'm not here to debate ear cropping with you. Sorry, I just want to update you on the fact of whether we did it or not. After doing tons of research, we opted to follow the breed's standard and go ahead with the surgery for our dog. (Emphasis on "our dog." You don't have to crop your Doberman's ears if you don't want. And I won't judge you for it either. Now, see? We can still all be friends!) Anyway, we picked a top vet in Memphis for her and had it done yesterday. Scarlett did amazing in the surgery and came out of it great! We have a few weeks left of keeping her ears in the rack, so we'll be keeping her calm and quiet for a while. 

~Thanksgiving week! Holy Mother of a Pilgrim... Is it REALLY Thanksgiving already??? I'm in denial, y'all. We're spending the holiday with almost all of my in-laws. Between kids and animals it promises to be a fun filled & crazy week. Hopefully, the weather will hold so I can send MK outside with her cousins to burn off some energy. And hopefully Meda decides it's a good week to catch up on naps (with her mama while big sister is outside playing, of course). Here's to good weather and tired (but happy!) kids!!

Meet Scarlett

Disclaimer: I am HIGHLY aware that I am a blazing idiot with a 6 month old and a house full of three dogs. However...

We added another member to our family this week.

Meet Scarlett.

Scarlett is our new 8 week old Doberman Pinscher puppy.

And she's awesome. I'm completely in love with her.

So back story: My mom had a dobe when I was a infant (I'm talking like 2 months old… so I don't remember her), and she has always claimed she was the best dog she's ever had. Everyone else who has had a Doberman has told me the same thing. (We have some high expectations for Scarlett now.)

So enter my desire to own a doberman.  (And to rescue a ex-racing greyhound, but that one is being curbed for a while!) 

When I came home from working all day on Saturday, Bryant nonchalantly dropped a bomb, "I think I found a doberman for you."

OMG. I about peed myself, y'all.

And then I got my hopes up.

And then those hopes were swept out from under me.

I'm talking, 'There Will Be A Loss Of Cabin Pressure And An Oxygen Mask Will Fall' dashing of the hopes. Turns out the guy who Bryant found the puppy from was Shady, with a capitol 'S.'

When we asked him to send pictures of the pup's parents, he texted Doberman images he had googled. The pictures he sent were from the first google image results page, and he claimed they were his puppy's parents. They were images I immediately recognized from googling doberman pictures myself. Images that link to blogs about someone's dead dog from 8 years ago. And the picture of the mom he sent? Well, it was a picture of a MALE PUPPY. It was CLEARLY a male dog. So yeah, this guy was definitely trying to pull one over on us and wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed while doing so.

So anyway, insert feelings of utter disappointment on my part. So what did I do?

Anything someone with my hyper-obsessive personality would do, of course….

I googled and researched doberman breeders, available puppies and upcoming litters for the next 48 hours straight. Literally. 48 hours.

Nothing was done in my house for two days. Laundry piled up. Dishes sat unwashed in the sink. Toilets remained un-flushed.
(This experience made me realize exactly how much I do around this house. Don't worry, toilets are backed to being flushed around here now.)

But in that 2 day period, I did find out some great & useful doberman information. So there's that.

Did you know there are HARDLY ANY reputable breeders of Dobes in TN, AR, & MS??? The ones that ARE good, are located too far away for a quick pick-up. (Not good for my Immediate Gratification type of personality.)

Anyway, just when my tiny little bubble of hope of getting a doberman was on the verge of popping I found hidden in a little corner of the internet an ad for AKC registered puppies IN MEMPHIS. And they had available exactly what I wanted - RED FEMALES. 

And then the heavens opened up and angels sang the Hallelujah Chorus.

So I was told that if I wanted the pick of the litter, Monday night was the night to go check them out because other people were coming later in the week to pick out some females.

My sense of urgency kicked in and I was able to coerce Bryant agreed to go have a look.

FOR THE RECORD: I left the final decision on getting this puppy completely up to Bryant. Being well aware of my emotional purchasing history, I knew he would be the level-headed one when it came time to say yes or no to this puppy.

(And do you like how we added a puppy to our family the same week I posted #7 on this other blog post. God is straight up laughing at me right now…)

Well, clearly Bryant's head wasn't too level, because Scarlett came home with us that night! ;-) I guess he's thinking once she's a little older, we can cancel our ADT service.

So, here she is. And like I mentioned above - she's awesome.

20 Things By 30

20 years old 

So I hit thirty earlier this year and I decided to list twenty things I wish I had been able to tell myself when I was twenty. I've been meaning to post this, but have been lazy busy. 

(As you'll see, apparently, I had a lot of stuff to "get over." Ha!)

1) Open a mutual fund or IRA or something and put money in it every month. Don't ask questions. Just do it.

2) If your school is fully funded like it will be your entire college career - don't be stupid and open a student loan. Even if you're told you should. There's no need for it and you will literally be paying for it for a long time.

3) Not everyone keeps promises. Even those you think will.

4) Start running long distances. You'll appreciate it later when you marry an endurance junkie who likes to workout for hours on end. The catch-up time won't be as crappy.

5) Don't blow money on designer purses. It's stupid. One, maaaybe two, will suffice if you MUST have one. You'll appreciate that money more elsewhere. (By the way - you're still learning this at thirty years of age.)

6) Journal more. You'll want to read through those memories later because, let's be real... you have the worst memory known to man. Write everything down.

7) Do you really need that 3rd animal you saw at the pound? Sure, puppies and kittens are cute. But they live forever... For. Eh. Ver.

8) Good call on getting good grades. Keep that one up. (Except that one Anthropology 101 grade... might want to rethink not studying for the midterm...)

9) Study the bible more. And then some more. And then some more.

10) Whenever someone says "Just one more drink," it NEVERS means JUST ONE more. Never. Ever. Just walk away.

11) Take advantage of your time. You have more of it now than you will for MANY more years. Go on a vacation. Who cares if you're poor? In 6 years, you won't be able to go on another one without dragging kids along with you or begging grandparents to come babysit.

12) Do NOT let people undermine you or steal what is rightfully yours - even ideas. It doesn't matter if they are your parents, your friends, your boss, or even your kids.

13) Prayer doesn't include just asking for what you want. Ask God what HE wants. In the end, it'll be what YOU want, you just don't know it yet. :-)

14) Don't pressure your boyfriend into buying you a ring. He'll do it eventually. He doesn't need your help, trust me.... and trust him. ;-) (errr... Sorry, Bryant!)

15) Do NOT go into a tanning salon anymore. Ugh... you're paying for it by thirty already. And wear sunscreen on your face, for crying out loud.

16) Don't be bitter about things said or done to you and around you. You need to get over that too.

17) Don't wait until you are 27 years old to purchase your first pair of nude pumps. Sheesh... you've already needed them for years by now.

18) Start good eating habits now. When you're vegetarian/vegan in 10 years, it'll be easier to give up those O.C.P.s. (Oatmeal Creme Pies.)

19) Pay attention in your Technology & Communication class. As much as you want to deny your inner-nerd, she's there. She always has been. And besides, HTML coding will pay your mortgage within the next eight years. EMBRACE THE CSS!!!



20) Put all your faith and hope in God. In Christ alone, your hope is found.

30 years old

The NOT-SO Happiest 5K on the Planet

2012 Color Run
So happy!

If you remember, last year, McKenna and I did The Color Run for the first time. She did so well, and at only 3 years old ran almost the whole way. (Well, "ran" is all relative. It was more like a slight jog. But still... she took her Color Run seriously and did really well.)

We had the best time, so we signed up for the 2013 one as well. After all, it's the Happiest 5K on the Planet, right?

Wrong.

All was going well...

Color was thrown...

Color turned into angels...

All was fine and dandy...

Until McKenna realized she was required to run or walk herself in between color stations and figured it best I carry her.

When did my child who ran an entire 5K at 3 years old, become a lazy bum??

Not cool.

And then, of course, we ran out of color to throw at the end, which cause a colossal meltdown.

My attempt to catch a sweet picture with my daughter.
This was right after I told her to suck it up & stop crying b/c I was
trying to take a picture.

It didn't work.

Needless to say, we will NOT be joining The Color Run in 2014.