Help me reach my fundraising goal!

This August, I will be participating in a very special event called the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. I appreciate your support as I take an amazing journey in the fight to end breast cancer! I will walk 60 miles for those that have lost their life, for survivors, for my daughters, for my mom, for my friends and for myself. A donation of any amount will help me reach my personal goal of $2,500. THANK YOU!

Would you please consider making a donation? Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train. You can give online, just click on the web address below:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/MichiganEvent2010?px=5132064&pg=personal&fr_id=1467&et=YSgvy9P8RGJGGK1ezq08Xw..&s_tafId=237694

One person is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes in the United States. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.Thank you in advance for your generosity!

~~Kristin

P.S. Ask your employer if they will double your donation through a matching gift program!

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Ahhhhh. Winter is behind us, even if we get another snowfall, knowing it is April and warmth is ahead makes it much more tolerable. What is it about spring that provides us with such energy? Perhaps the sun? Perhaps knowing that small clothing is around the corner? Perhaps the thought of cold beer on a warm deck, the lilacs, the smell of fresh cut grass, the warmth of the sun on our face? Spring has a way of waking us up from the lull of winter. I feel motivated, I feel happy, I feel excited. I have again begun to run. I HATE THE TREADMILL. Winter makes running hard for me. The dark days, the boring treadmill, the baggy clothing, who needs to run? Now? I can't get enough. My legs ache, but in a good way, in a way that is aching for more. I want to push myself and set goals and see results.

My husband has begun to run. He has been loyal all winter with the treadmill and has a great routine of a run/walk down. Today we ran outside together. It was brief because of the rain and our 4 year old who was on a bike. But we did it. I LOVED the feeling of running beside my husband. I can not describe the feeling, something we can do together, be be better, to be stronger, to be healthier, something to do together. I look forward to many more as we encourage each other along.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.

If you want your dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge.

One thing you can give and still keep....is your word.

You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself.

If you lack the courage to start, you have already finished.

One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless ' You' do.

Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!

It is never too late to become what you might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back. Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away. Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.. Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late. I don't want to let that happen so I'm going to tie you to my heart so I never lose you.

I am either crazy or motivated!

Last Thanksgiving while in WI visiting with my sister-in-law and family, my brother-in-law and I made a pact to do the Green Bay Cellcom 5k. My brother-in-law had been a runner for years, yet never entered a race and I was a non-runner. We followed through and finished the 5k in May and had a BLAST. This brings me to this thanksgiving while out to dinner on Saturday night my brother-in-law and I decided that we would do the half marathon at the Green Bay Cellcom. Was it the drinks? Was it the nostalgic feeling we had discussing our previous race? Was it that enough time had passed to forget the ugliness of training? Or was it that we really did catch the running bug and were ready for the next challenge? Regardless of what it was, it happened, and we agreed with a smile that we would do it knowing that we certainly wouldn't win, but we would finish. Hell yes we would finish the race.

Training starts tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. on my dusty lonely treadmill. Wish me luck, good god I need it!

Happy Fall!

Fun family fall project. Press leaves in a catalog for a few days, or if you are like me and live in 2009 and don't have a catalog in your home (ummm hello online shopping) iron the leaves flat between 2 paper bags. Seal with clear contact paper (one sheet on each side) cut out in desired shapes (they make fun placemats too). Easy as that! They last for many years as well, just store them flat!

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........I hate my treadmill........just thought you should know........that's all for now........

I am a slacker, and I paid for it today

Good god life has been busy and I let my running go on the back burner (I haven't ran in so long I am embarassed to admit just how long it has been). I started my first job as a nurse about a month ago and I have been working 40 hours a week training. Summer with 3 kids means softball games at 5:30 pm, summer cook-outs, beer, sun, and family time. I have a 5.7 mile race in October to prepare for and yesterday I decided ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH and I needed to get my ass back in gear. So this morning I headed out on my usual course. IT SUCKED. It was as if I had never ran before. My lungs, my legs, and my mind were all a mess. My legs felt like rubber bands that were pulled tight. My head was telling me to dive out in on coming traffic as an easy way out of the run, and my lungs were telling me if I didn't stop I would pass out, oh and I seriously thought at any minute I would puke. Yep I had that much fun. I did 2.6 miles and really it was a walk and not a run. It was LAME. But out of all of my misery I learned one thing. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR GETTING OFF TRACK. YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF. I know I can do it, I have done it before, and I will again. I am pissed at myself for getting off track, but I will focus that energy on getting myself where I want to be.