deeperrin.com

Race For The Cure

Published by dee on August 9, 2010

Sunday morning I crawled out of bed at 5:45 a.m. I was both excited and nervous knowing that in two hours I would be running my first 5K run at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I was pretty sure I could force myself to run the entire 3.1 miles on my treadmill in my 70 degree basement, but I didn’t train outdoors and I was worried about the heat and humidity combination. However, I took a peek at my pledge page just before I went to bed Saturday night and this is what I saw:

I have some incredible friends and family members. You guys not only doubled, but tripled my fund raising goal! I thought I would be lucky to hit $160, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see the balance rise to nearly $500! I wasn’t about to let you guys down.

My mom and my niece Caitlin got up early to cheer me on (and give me a ride) and I was glad to have them there. My nerves started getting the best of me just shortly before the race started. I decided to hit the port-a-potty line and by the time I got out had only about five minutes until start time.

When I got to the starting line, quite a few people had already started walking, but I waited for the official start to take off. The first thing I realized was that I should have trained for hills. Funny how it seems a whole lot more hilly when you’re on your feet than when you’re in a car!

I got a pretty good start, but tired out a lot faster than I thought I would. I blame it on the combination of the hills and the sun beating down on me. I had to stop and walk much sooner than I wanted to, but I knew if I didn’t I’d never make it the whole way. I ended up walking most of the uphills and running as much as I could on the downhills and flat areas.

I was getting pretty worn out by the time I got near the end, but I was determined to finish it out running. As I turned the last corner I took a short walk break, then ran toward the finish line. I finished at 45 minutes, 56 seconds, which was much better than I was expecting.

Overall it was a great experience and one I definitely plan to do again. Next year I’m going to raise the bar and increase my fund raising goal. I may even try to run the timed race next year. I’m going to start training next week. I see a lot of hills in my future!

To all of you who donated, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It really means a lot that you would donate to a cause that is so important to me, and more importantly, that you believe in me.

1 Comment

The Princess Shoes

Published by dee on August 6, 2010

At first I fought the wearing of The Princess Shoes. She wanted to wear them all the time, everywhere we went. She would cry when I forced them off of her made her wear her flip flops or crocs. She wanted her Princess Shoes, or sandals, as she sometimes calls them. It was a struggle every day when I got her dressed. She was very demanding and it got to be too difficult to fight, so eventually I gave up and let her wear them to day care – as long as I could slip a pair of regular shoes in her backpack for outside play. What harm was there really? She got to feel pretty and it got us through the morning routine without a fight.

One morning, as I sat on the edge of her bed to gently wake her up and get my morning hugs, she looked down at my feet. “Mommy, you wearing your sandals!” she exclaimed. “I wear my sandals!” she said, as she scampered off to find another pair of mismatched Princess Shoes (because when you have 5 different colored pairs you just have to mix them up).

It finally dawned on me that she was equating her Princess Shoes to my own strappy wedge sandals that I love to wear. I may not be a girly-girl, but when I wear those sandals, it does change the way I feel. I carry myself differently, hold my head a little higher. And when I pair them with a skirt, I may even feel a little bit pretty. Yes, shoes can be magical, can’t they?

The Princess Shoes are pretty much a staple of her wardrobe these days. She almost always insists on pairing them with a skirt, because you just can’t wear pants or shorts with Princess Shoes. I’ve gotten used to the clip-clop-clip-clop sound that they make on the hard floor. She walks amazingly well in the little heeled shoes that are nearly double the length of her feet.

Someday those little feet will outgrow the Princess Shoes and move on to strappy sandals and prom dresses, or maybe some Chucks and blue jeans, and I’ll only have faint memories of the clip-clop-clip-clop running through my house. As much as I love watching her grow up, I wish I could just bottle it all and save it for a rainy day. This age is just so fun and unpredictable.

One thing I know for sure though, every girl needs a pair of Princess Shoes.

1 Comment

Racing For the Cure

Published by dee on August 5, 2010

On Sunday, August 8th, I am running in Kansas City’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Those of you who know me well know that I am not a runner. Not at all. In fact, if you told my high school volleyball coach that I was about to run a 5K, I’m sure she would burst out laughing. I nearly died every time we had to run during practices and I really haven’t made an effort to try again until this year.

I set out in January of 2010 with one goal – to run the Komen Race for the Cure. I’ve wanted to participate for years but have never committed to it for one reason or another. I always thought I would be walking it, but for some reason I decided I wanted to run it. I started training in the Spring, giving myself plenty of time (so I thought) to be ready for a 5K by August. I had a few setbacks along the way, but I’ve run more miles this year than I ever have in my life.

So why am I doing all this? The Susan G. Komen Foundation is something I believe in. I don’t know a single person in my life who hasn’t been touched by breast cancer. Whether it be your own mother, grandmother, wife, aunt, cousin, niece, daughter, co-worker, friend, or friend-of-a-friend, everyone has had someone in their life that has dealt with this disease. The best way to combat it at this point is early detection. There are amazing people out there that are working toward a cure every day, but until we find it we must rely on early detection. Funds raised from Race for the Cure are used to provide education, screening and treatment services for women in the Kansas City area.

By running in Race for the Cure, I feel like I’m doing my part to help provide these important services. There aremany women in my life that have survived breast cancer, thanks to the treatments that are now available. Wouldn’t it be great to know that there was a cure out there? I would love to see it happen in my lifetime and we get closer and closer every day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that our daughters and granddaughters would not have to live with the threat of this disease?

As of today, I am 62% of the way to my fund raising goal of $160. I really want to meet that goal, and even surpass it if possible. Nothing will motivate me more to run than knowing that I am making a difference. Will you help me make a difference? Can you donate $5, $10, $20? Even a little bit will help me get closer to my goal.

If you’d like to donate online, please click the following link and fill in all of your information: Donate to Race For The Cure

If you would like to donate, but would prefer to write a check or pay in cash, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I’ll get the proper information to you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and for any donations you may send. I couldn’t do this without the support of my friends and family. I’m so lucky to have all of you in my life.

1 Comment

Little Ray of Sunshine

Published by dee on July 28, 2010

(I played around with sun flare last night. I didn’t quite get what I wanted, but I’m almost there!)

I read a post by Miss Zoot this morning about a random act of kindness – a woman offered her an umbrella when she was walking through the rain with her two kids. In the same post, she spoke of another act that she had been on the receiving end of that wasn’t so kind. Both of these elicited strong feelings and it got me thinking about the kind of person I am.

Would I sacrifice my own umbrella to give it to a woman carrying two kids in the rain? I’m not sure. Am I generally a kind person? Yes, I think I am. Do I have those moments when I’m too busy and rushed and glare at the woman who slows me down in the aisle at Target? Um, yeah, sadly I do.

As I said, I’m generally a kind person. I want to see the good in everybody. There are people out there in the world who don’t have an ounce of kindness in them and think only about themselves. There are people who do nothing but complain about those around them, looking for the negative in everything. I even try to find the good in those people. Maybe they just had a bad morning. Maybe they spilled coffee on their last pair of clean clothes. Maybe their kid woke them up twelve times the night before. Who knows?

No matter what negative thing a person has done or said, I want to defend them, come up with some reason that made them the way they are. When they complain about something someone else has done, I want to defend the person that the negativity is being spewed at. I guess I’m just a “look on the bright side” kind of person. I assume there is always a reason for that person to be bitter, that it isn’t just some kind of huge character flaw that leaves them that way.

There are times when I become that negative person. I know I can be selfish and sometimes only think of myself and my own agenda, but when I realize I’m doing it I feel horrible. I want to be that little ray of sunshine that always leaves people with a positive feeling. I want to leave behind a trail of happiness and warmth with every encounter I have with another person, and I want my children to strive for the same thing.

Sometimes I think my shyness/social phobia really prohibits me from doing the good deeds I would like to do. Even when I want to step out of my comfort zone and help someone else, I can’t always make myself do it. See, I would want to be the woman who offered her umbrella to a mom and two kids getting soaked in the rain, but I’m not sure I could actually do it. It would require talking to a person I don’t know, unsolicited, which for some reason strikes me with a crazy, irrational fear.

Is being a generally kind person and wanting to take that risk enough if I can’t/don’t follow through? I’m not sure that it is. What do you think? Would you offer your umbrella?

Comments closed

Eating Organic

Published by dee on July 26, 2010

I’m not sure when it started exactly. It has been in the back of my mind for years, but only recently it seems that it is being thrown at me from every direction. I’ve read magazine articles, blogs, stared at recipes, and always am left wondering, “How do they do it?” I’ve tried to diet and failed miserably, over and over again. Shortly after Zach was born, Hubby and I both did Weight Watchers and lost the pounds eating low-fat or no-fat, sugar free, chemical filled crap. Then, after depriving ourselves for so long, we started eating regular food again and put those pounds right back on. Not exactly the goal we had in mind.

So these things have been rattling around in my head for a while. Some posts by Cagey got me thinking about food dyes and their effects on behavior. I even ordered some books (which I have yet to find the time to read) to read up on this topic. Then there was the whole Food Revelation thing that convinced me my kids will be taking their lunches to school instead of buying the over-priced, processed school lunches. Then Andreanna started writing about her Primal lifestyle and posted some amazing progress photos. And then one night when I found myself home alone I watched Food, Inc. on Netflix. The next morning, I opened up my inbox to find a Groupon opportunity for a discounted box of fruits/veggies from Fresh Connect, a local delivery service for organic and locally grown produce, meat, and dairy.

The wheels started turning.

I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to eat healthier foods. I’ve wanted to switch to locally grown produce. I’ve wanted to cut the junk out of my diet and eat real foods. But there’s always been something holding me back – time, money, convenience. Those are the big ones. We’re a busy family, with two parents who work outside of the home full-time. Our normal grocery shopping consists of a huge trip about once a month to stock up the freezer and a few quick runs for milk, bread, and other perishables in between. I’ve never been able to carve out the time to go to a local farmer’s market, mainly because it would require me getting up way too early on a Saturday morning to go. We spend a lot of money on food, and the thought of spending even more to buy organic at the grocery store makes me want to cling to my debit card. And then there’s the convenience factor. We want quick meals. We don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. Plus, we have very impatient kids who want food on the table the minute we walk in the door after a long day at day care.

There’s always an excuse.

You know what though? I’m tired of the excuses. I finally decided that I’m going to throw all the excuses out and just do it. I brought it up to Hubby and told him about Fresh Connect and how I’d like to start getting some of our produce and maybe meat from them. I expected him to say I was being ridiculous, but he didn’t. He balked a little at the prices, but eventually agreed that it was a good idea to try it out. I purchased the Groupon for our first box of fruit/veggies. During my next trip to the grocery store, I picked up locally farmed, hormone-free, milk for my daughter (she’s the only milk drinker of the family).

We received our first Fresh Connect box Friday night full of delicious fruits and veggies – plenty to last us at least a week or two. There were a lot of items that I just don’t ever buy at the store. I’m looking forward to getting creative in the kitchen and finding ways to use them. My kids were impressed when they saw the carrots with the green part still attached. Evie devoured the grapes within minutes of us opening the box. We started planning meals for the week based on fresh vegetables, not the boxes residing in our freezer. We picked up a few more items that we would need at the grocery store to round out our menu, some of it organic, some of it not.

I’m not at all ready for a Primal diet and I know there will still be a lot of non-organic items in our kitchen, but I like the fact that we’re starting to make a change. My children seem to think they cannot survive without bologna and cheese sandwiches, but at least I can start pairing it with carrots and celery or an apple instead of chips.

The cost may still be a bit prohibitive for us, especially through the winter months, but I’m really hoping we can make this work. Since I started running in preparation for the Race for the Cure I’ve put a lot more thought into what I’m putting into my body. I’m drinking a lot more water. I’m snacking on nuts, veggies, and cheese instead of chocolate. I’m bringing my lunch to work instead of going through the McDonald’s drive-thru. This is the next logical step and I finally feel like I’m ready for the challenge.

*photo by val’s photos on flickr

6 Comments