Labor of Love

"You're Crazy" is something I hear pretty often. Usually followed up by "you're so busy".
I do my best (and usually fail)not to let those statements hurt me or annoy me. My life is my life and no one else really needs to be concerned with my schedule.
I will admit that I sometimes take on a little more than I can handle. I've learned over the years how to juggle my schedule.  I think I am getting pretty good at it!
I am currently working on a fundraiser project that has earned a lot of "you're crazy" comments. I developed "Cookies For A Cure" a number of years ago. It's not an actual business. No business cards or business bank account. It is simply a title to mass cookie making and selling to raise money for something I care about.
I believe in God. I believe He gives each of us talents and we are given a choice on how to use them. Do I believe God has given me the talent of baking? It may sound ridiculous but I truly believe He did. It is a skill I have learned over time and I believe He has placed the desire in my heart to use it for a bigger purpose.
My current "Cookies For A Cure" project is definitely a labor of love. Although 80+ dozen cookies seem overwhelming to others, I find it exciting and humbling. I am thankful I am able to help a deserving family. I spend hours and hours baking, making royal icing, coloring royal icing, thinning the icing, filling the cookies with the icing and waiting for them to dry before I add the details. I absolutely love every moment of that. But the dishes... I don't love the dishes. I simply deal with them as quickly as possible.
Do you have a project that can you consider a labor of love? Surely I cannot be the only "crazy" one out there...

Rock N Roll San Diego 2013

Today's race marked one year since I ran my first half marathon. I cannot believe it has already been a year! The days leading up to the race have been full of reflection.

We started the morning off with some laughs. When a hummer limo pulled up in front of the hotel just after 5am, Kari says "oh our ride is here". Funny enough... that was our "shuttle" to the start line.

This morning I found myself even more emotional that I was on the day of my first half. It has come full circle and I simply couldn't be more thankful.

Just before the national anthem there was a moment of silence for Boston. Sitting here now, I have tears in my eyes thinking back to April 15th. Terrorists tried to strike fear in our hearts. They tried to take the innocence of our sport away. They didn't. Today 28,000 runners united and ran. Nothing was going to stop us. I proudly wore my "Run 4 Boston" ribbon, "Beat Cancer" ribbon and "Boston Strong" head band.

There was a quiet reassurance before the race today. A large law enforcement presence. Look outs on rooftops and all sorts of dogs and handlers walking around. I was so thankful for that presence today.

About 5 weeks ago I was plagued with shin splints so I backed off on my training. My friend Chris gave me a great recovery plan and pep talk. I am so blessed by the people God has put in my life. My legs felt strong and ready for today. My mind? Not so much.

If anyone tells you running is 100% physical, they are very wrong. You see, there's this little voice in your head that doesn't want to shut up. It wants to tell you how tired your body is after 3 miles, how the twinge you once had in your foot it going to come back, how you "only" ran 9 miles to get ready for this race and that wasn't enough. Around the 3 mile mark, those were the things going through my head. So I did what I normally do... rebuke that inner voice. I tell myself to snap out of it and to keep pushing. I pray and thank God for giving me His strength to run this race. I remember that this is something that I love and I was ready for. That inner voice lost today, as usual.

I checked my watch periodically and knew I was a bit slower than I had wanted to be but I was ok with that. There were a few more hills than I had anticipated. I normally walk hills. Not today. I powered up those hills. I wasn't going to let that little voice back in. I walked way less than I have in the past. I can't run and drink water at the same time so I try to pair the two so I am not taking extra breaks.

My favorite memories from today (in no particular order)

1) A marine running in full gear. Back pack, helmet and all. I made a point to tap him on his shoulder and tell him thank you. I actually saw a lot of runners do that. One lady might have misjudged her shoulder "tap" because it almost looked like she shoved his shoulder. I know she didn't. She was just running fast.

2) A US Navy fire fighter running in full bunker gear (the big heavy turnouts they wear on structure fires), helmet and BA (breathing apparatus they were on structure fires). I also tapped him on the shoulder, high fived him and said thank you.

3) Around mile 9.5-10 I was struggling a little. The race benefits the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. I turned the corned and it was lines with purple banners and white signs. Signs saysing "thank you" or who we are running for etc. One purple sign stood out to me. "Remember why you're running". It was at that moment that I thought about Kayla and all she has been through. At that moment I dug deep and remembered this was yet another celebration run because she continues to be cancer free. I also thought about a fire captain that works for CAL FIRE and my cousin Joshua that have both been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphona. It was for them that I ran. It is for them (and me) that I will continue to run.

4) I love seeing people on their porches, coffee cup in hand, cheering for all of the runners. They don't have to. They could sit inside with the TV turned up and be angry that their street is occupied for half of a day. There were people on every.single.street. Amazing.

5) I am a runner. I am still shocked by this. I am even more shocked that the farther I ran, the better and stronger I felt. I wonder if I all of that will every fully sink in!

6) Seeing Jimmy, Jessica, Justen, Alissa, Ali, Preston, Asher and Ansel screaming and cheering my name as I ran toward the finish line.

7) Running a major race with Michelle. She asked me if I wanted to do a 5K with her and Preston back in 2011. I have loved being on this running journey with her. We have different goals, training styles, paces etc but she "gets" me when it comes to running,among other things. 

8) Ali was here!
9) Free Jamba Juice at the fnish line. It was the bestest smoothie I've ever had!
10) Finishing my 4th Half Marathon in 1 year.
11) Being there to witness Veronica's first half marathon and Kari's second full marathon

12) Petting the black lab puppy after I picked up my gear :)

13) The enormous amount of support from my family and friends. You are all priceless

14) Riding to the start line in a hummer limo

15) Inspiring my brother Jimmy to start running. Who knew a baby sister could do such a thing?

I ran this race 12 minutes, 35 seconds faster than I did last year. My time was 2:32:34.

It was not my fastest half marathon (2:28:50 in Feb) but I am ok with it. I thought I would be disappointed but I'm really not. The course in Feb was completely flat. This one... was not. I think being only 3 min 44 sec slower than my fastest time while running hills is pretty darn good. I am proud of myself. It will just keep getting better from here!

Lauren's Ride Fundraiser

Most everyone knows that i have been talking about Lauren's ride since it began in early September. Sometimes things just grab ahold of your heart and take root. When I heard about what John Byrne was doing, I was impressed and touched. I was all in.

Having two older brothers, I understand how close the bond can be between a brother and sister. Especially older brothers and younger sisters.

I've followed John's journey since the first day.Every day they post a blog or update, I am amazed at how doors are opening and how many good people are stepping up to be part of it.

The Oakland Raiders have been a huge support for the ride and much to my dismay, the Chargers haven't returned any of our phone calls or emails. The original idea came from Dottie, the front office administrative assistant at Monte Vista Headquarters. On September 25th, she mentioned getting a bunch of Charger's fans together and taking a huge picture. I immediately loved the idea. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible for me to do something simple. I suggested we turn it into a fundraiser but we knew cookies and cupcakes probably wouldn't raise much. So my mind started racing. I told Dottie we could keep it simple. burgers, chips, water. Easy. My text to her was : "That's a great idea!! Wonder if we'd have time to put together a little fundraiser. Like sell burgers or something. That's probably too complicated though". Then it was on like donkey kong! Well that lead to cupcakes then face painting. Then someone offered to dress up as Smokey Bear (side note for those that didn't know.. the "the" is no longer in his name). Then someone offered a sound system so we would have music. The water was donated by the fire station on the compound. The Union chapter donated $250 to help with the cost of food. Everything fell into place. We had about 2 weeks to get it all together. 12 days to be exact. Because we were having it at a CAL FIRE facility, there had to be quite a few Chiefs involved and many approvals made. On October 1 we got the final approval we needed and we were off.

Today I went to Costco to pick up the burgers etc. While in line I was able to share with a couple people about Lauren's Ride. One of them made a donation right there.

Rain had been coming down most of the morning and all day yesterday. I was praying the rain would stop. I also kept having this feeling that no one was going to show up. Right there in the Costco parking lot, I prayed. I asked God to bless this fundraiser. I asked that things would continue to fall into place like they had been over the previous 2 weeks.

Tonight was more than I could have ever hoped for. The music was great, everyone was pitching in to help, the kids were having a blast playing with Smokey Bear, the kids got to ride in the fire engine, two engines from San Miguel Fire came over. When San Miguel Truck 15 pulled in, I looked at Ali and started crying. All I could say was "wow". The rain had stopped a couple hours before the BBQ started and people just kept coming. We even got a phone call from John and Tony! I had no idea they were going to call. Dottie knew and thought she had told me but I never got the memo. That was definitely the highlight of my evening. You can hear the deep gratitude they have for everything people have done. I have greatly enjoyed following John on his journey across the country.

Once we counted the money we realized how much we had raised. $1100!! My hope was for $500. We bought enough food for 100 people and we wanted to sell all of it. We definitely thought that was a realistic goal. When this first started I had the number $1000 in my head. I didn't think we would get to that but I really wanted to. My hands were shaking while I was counting the money. That total isn't the final amount just yet. i have a few returns I need to do and that money will go into the donation as well.

Thanks to all who supported this ride, fundraiser and my crazy ideas! And most of all thank you to God. He opened every door for this and blessed it. My cup runneth over.


Some of the people that came out to support the fundraiser and Lauren's Ride.



More Blankets

Front of the Brochure

I tell you what, "Blankets For Brianna" has completely captured my heart. I love making blankets for the organization. I am constantly thinking about other colors and designs I can do.

Crocheting blankets definitely takes some time. Depending on the pattern/size it can take weeks. I've made a few fleece tie blankets but they have always been with two pieces of fabric. I noticed some of the ladies were mentioning tie blankets with only one piece of fabric. I googled the "how to" and realized it is incredibly easy and quick!

1) Measure the fleece to the size you want
2) cut a 2in x 2in square out of each corner
3) Cut 2in strips along each side of the fabric. It shouldn't go past the bottom of each cut out corner
4) Cut a small slit in the bottom of each strip you just cut. It should line up with the bottom of the cut out corner and the end of the strip.
5) Take each strip, put it through the slit and pull it through.

I hope that makes sense! It really is very very easy. I bought 3 pieces of fleece.

I got  1.5 yards of each pattern. I thought I could make 6 blankets total out of the 3 pieces. When I started measuring I realized I could make 12 blankets total!

I finished another crocheted blanket as well.

When I dropped off my blankets to my friend, Becki, I had made a total of 17 blankets. 12 fleece and 5 crocheted. It does drive me batty bug me just a little that it was 17, not 18. I like even numbers. I know, I have issues. Good thing you love me anyway!

OH and I got a few brochures for "Blankets For Brianna" in the mail the other day! I love them. Let me know if you'd like one so you can spread the word about this amazing organization.

Boot Drive 2012

Each April members of the fire service in San Diego County line the streets to raise money for the San Diego Burn Institute.

The annual "Give Burns the Boot" drive has always been a huge success. This year I joined my brother, Brian, and his fire fighters in Jamul. It was the same intersection we were at last year. Unfortunately the school at the corner was on Spring Break so the traffic was a lot lighter this year. last year we raised about $3200 at our intersection alone. This year was about $2000. Still pretty awesome! All together, CAL FIRE raised about $25,000 for the Burn Institute. I'm not sure how much the other fire agencies in the county raised.

All of the money goes towards sending burn survivors to "Camp Beyond the Scars". It was a great morning. The guys were especially excited for the coffee and blueberry muffins I brought them.

Cookies for a Cure: Update

This is a little late in coming, oh well.

I thought I made a lot of cookies last year. I was wrong. This year I made a lot of cookies. I am still in shock over how the orders just poured in. The first weekend I worked on cookies, I thought I was maybe starting to lose my mind by doing these cookies. By the following weekend I was sure I had lost my mind for doing this.

If you remember, I was making and selling cookies to raise money for Autism, Breast Cancer and Leukemia/Lymphoma

For Autism $60 was raised
For Leukemia/Lymphoma $25 was raised

I knew the Breast Cancer awareness cookies would be the big fundraiser. It always is. The grand total raised this year was:
$700!!!!!!! That is just amazing! A few people donated but did not order cookies with their donations. This year I made 62 dozen cookies.

SIXTY-TWO dozen cookies. I did the math for you... that is 744 cookies! All hand decorated and personalized. It was a lot of work but when I think about my friend Tanya's best friend that just passed away last month from breast cancer, Nancy who is like a second mom to me, my good friend Cory's mom, Katie's Aunt, my former Captain Chris, those that have found lumps that have turned out to be nothing and those who are waiting to hear what those lumps are... it is all worth it.
Here are some pictures of the cookie madness. Want to know whats even crazier? Not a single one of these pictures is a duplicate. There's one picture from each batch of cookies I made.



Look closely and you will notice cookies are stacked by 6 on the tables