Race for the Cure

This race has always been one I enjoyed doing, but it's been nearer and dearer to my heart since my sweet friend, Maxine, was diagnosed with br.east cancer 3+ years ago at too young of an age!


Luckily, my sign says in Celebration of... Not in Honor of...! Yes, my tough as nails, funny as can be, beautiful friend will be 3 years cancer free soon! Can I get an amen?!?

That is partially made possible by people like my other friend, Julie, who is now the areas only fellowship trained bre.ast cancer surgeon. She and her partner sponsored the kids "fun run" at the Susan G. Komen race yesterday!


Obviously I want no one to need their services, but if you have a br.east issue or concern, you should definitely see them at B.reast Care Specialists of Shreveport. (Periods within a word keep them from coming up in an inappropriate search--just FYI, I recently learned that!)

So proud of Julie!!


And so happy to be out running again with her and my sister...


And to be accompanied by the Real Dr. Mook!

I remember

10 years ago today I was in grad school in Dallas. I'd been there less than a month and didn't love it. I was on my way to work and when I got there I heard the news. All I wanted was to go home and be with the ones I loved.

I remember feeling a serious sense of evil, like the air was just full of it. I was worried about people I knew who were in NYC, who flew planes, who had military families this would directly impact.

The worst attack on American soil. It was dark, ominous, gut-wrenching, and we should never forget! We should never forget why our men and women are fighting and dying.

Reflecting today brings pride at how our country came together, at the people who jumped to the aid of others, the firemen and policemen and women who ran to the aid of these tragic sites, some who lost their lives for it. Others lives were forever changed by the sights, the smells, the denseness of the air. It makes me grateful for those who serve our country still, friends, friends' husbands, the families I worked with whose children miss their parents for months on end while we remain safe in our beds. The soldiers who come home battled and scarred, and the ones who never come home. These are all true heroes and I'm grateful for their sacrifice.

I remember, I will never forget September 11, 2001!!!

God bless America & may peace reign worldwide!


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Can I get a What What?!!?

Happy news here in Texas-land.  As many of you have read, our move here was much against my will, and I'm still not a Texan, will never be, and will always dream of moving home.  However, it's about to get way cooler up in this place!  Why, you ask?  Well, see these two faces (not the little one)...

They are about to be here PERMANENTLY!!  That's right folks!  My sister and Brother (in-law, my sister didn't marry our brother, we don't even have one) are moving to the big town of Tyler!  They're going to be bunked up here at the Troxclair hizzy for a few months too!

Hallelujah and praise be to God, as I've been praying for this since we parted ways two years ago (she went somewhere much cooler!).  I'm so grateful that I will have my sister here with me and that we can start up some routines that we've been missing #1, TV show watching together--yes, we have a list of shows we enjoy watching together because our husbands just don't get it.  #2  RUNNING, we're about to hit the half/marathon trails together again (though it will be too soon for the Tyler half this year--catch us next year--maybe?!?!).  #3 Cooking, my sister is the bomb digity in the kitchen, and I'm not too shabby, but at least this way we'll be running together to walk the evil deliciousness off!  #4 Concerts, sis and I LOVE music, not always the same stuff, but our tastes coincide more and more and we love to go to concerts, so we'll be doing this madness together--stat!!  This list could continue to grow, but I'll leave it at that.

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!!!  Come Sept 30th the reuniting of the sisters begins...

Why Blogging?

This is a three part answer for me.

First, I started blogging at the suggestion of my sweet friends, Nan, Andrea, and Shandrea. I started because I love to write. In high school I journaled obsessively and it was cathartic. One of my favorite classes ever was creative writing during my senior year. So in the pain of losing two babies, I started blogging, getting out those hurts that had been brewing for a while at that point. It provided a sort of therapy that cannot be replicated even in actual therapy. Sometimes you just need to say things with no response.

Secondly, I continued blogging because people "got it"! It was the most comforting feeling in my time of crisis to know that there were actually multiple people who could relate, had felt the same feelings, and wanted to support and encourage me! The degree of this support was something I never could have imagined, and has kept me going more than once!

The final reason I blog is for others. I didn't realize how much my story could help other people. My husband asked me one day in frustration "why do you do that? Why do you put all your life out there for strangers?". It didn't take me long to respond, as I got an email that afternoon from a reader telling me how much she appreciated what I wrote. Yesterday I got a package in the mail from a friend thanking me for sharing my story as it encouraged her to keep going.

So blogging=winning for me!!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Laugh

Laughing is my favorite exercise, it doesn't require sweat, or gear, or moving really.  Does that still make it exercise?  I personally think so as, when you start to cry from laughter you MUST be burning calories, so since I'm a professional--laugh away!!

Here's the link to a hilarious blogpost by a truly hilarious blogger.  You can thank me after you quit crying laughing.  This one is especially funny to me as I LOVE monkeys and have always wanted a pet monkey--my husband continues to refuse (I'm thinking one may show up here one day--just saying!!).

http://thebloggess.com/2011/07/would-you-like-to-buy-a-monkey/

Happy Monday everyone--it's always better with laughter!! :)

Ultimate Sacrifice

I have enjoyed telling people for years that I know two Navy Seals.  They are bad asses and everyone knows it.  They endure training that most of us could never comprehend and they carry out missions that are so serious, so awesome, and so dangerous that they are TOP secret.  The two SEALs that I know were two of the funniest people you could ever meet, and genuinely personable, friendly and kind to everyone they met.  They were both completely separate people with great characteristics, but both the kind of guys that everyone loved and wanted to be around.  I could tell story after story of times they made me laugh until my face hurt, and I'm not even one of their close friends.

When you think of the pride of having one of your own serve our country in such a magnanimous way, you purposefully ignore the danger involved with what they do.  You choose to see them in your mind carrying out those missions, whooping and hollering together in celebration afterwards, then keeping it all shady around everyone else.  You picture victory all the time, missions accomplished, bad guys killed, and rigorous training for the next hard core mission that they tackle.  You picture them tossing a few back on their few breaks between missions and just overall being awesome.

But that refusal to consider how serious, how dangerous, and how real their missions are is really for our own self preservation.  It's easier to not acknowledge those things because those things won't actually happen to people you know or care about.

The realization of this war came crashing down on Saturday when both Navy SEALs that I know were killed when their helicopter was shot down out of the sky.  All of the lives lost were someone special to people all around this great country.  All of these men died doing something that they believe in, something they felt was worth dying for, something that allows me to sit in my recliner, snuggle my baby, watch foodnetwork, and blog at free will.  My friends died for my freedom, for all of us to live the privileged lives that we do on a daily basis.  They are gone and they aren't coming back.  They are HEROs.  They are the reason we celebrate Memorial Day and they are to be heralded as some of the bravest, most admirable men I ever knew.

These two were sensational people on a personal level, but professionally they were beyond what I can put into words.  It hurts my heart that they are gone, but it hurts me more for their families who I know are grieving in a way that I cannot comprehend.  Please pray for their families and friends who will feel the emptiness of their space forever.  Pray for all of our servicemen.  Whether you support this war or not, they are fighting to protect you and me and those we love every single day.  They leave their families for months, sometimes years at a time, they miss birthdays, births, holidays, and milestones all the time, for that we should all be grateful regardless of our political views.

Rob and Jonas, we will all miss you forever, and are so very grateful for your selfless service.  God bless you and keep you until we all meet again!