Have You Seen My Marbles?

I think I may have lost them! I have been toying with the idea of running another 5K race. It was a goal I set for myself this year and I've done two!

My friend, Crystal, let me know about a 15K race coming up at the end of March. A 15K is 9.3 miles for all of you non-runners. It is hosted by Ghiradelli Chocolate and the after party has chocolate fondue etc. How could you go wrong?

A couple of my runner friends told me that if I can run a 15K, I might as well go big and run a half marathon. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAhA !

ME?!

13.1 miles. Dear God help me.

I have been given a 16 week training plan to follow. Thankfully I have about 6 months until the 15K and 8 months until the Half Marathon.

So here's my race schedule for the next 9 months or so:

Wed December 28th, Bumble Bee 5K (a Holiday Bowl Event)
Sat March 3, Finish Chelsea's Run 5K
Sat March 25, The Hot Chocolate 15K
Sun June 3, Rock N Roll half Marathon

Yep... I've lost my marbles. Please, someone, help me find them.

A New Name, A New Look

Well the votes have been tallied and the winner has been decided.

New Blog Title: " Faith, Love and Frosting"
Winner: My sweet friend, Krys De Scribner

I really loved this title when she suggested it. So much so that I almost called off the whole voting thing. Then there were a few other suggestions like "Sweetest Days" that I also really liked. There's no way I could have decided for myself. So Thank You, dear readers, for your votes and many suggestions. I had a lot of fun with this.

I have been editing and changing and tweaking the new design for the blog. What you're looking at it what I have come up with so far. What do you think?  I am not 100% sold on it so next time you visit, it may look different. We shall see.

10 Years Ago...



9.11.01 Never Forget.



Ten years ago I was a Resident Assistant and  Sophomore at Vanguard University. I was up early getting ready for class. It was a normal morning. Until the knock on my dorm room door. Pounding is more like it. Pounding and yelling. A lot of yelling. "Shannon we are under attack! The United States is under attack". The girls from my floor gathered around a tiny television set and watched the footage. Shortly after my mom called to check on me. We only talked for a few minutes and I remember regretting that later in the day. Everything was so uncertain and I had only spent maybe 5 minutes on the phone with my mom.

I proceeded to class where everyone sat in silence. Tears flowing , eyes big with fear and uncertainty. Our professor could barely speak. We joined in prayer as a class then proceeded to Chapel where the entire school gathered and prayed. And prayed. And prayed some more.

Ten years later the emotions are just as raw. The memories just as alive.

This morning I stood in my shower and cried. Grieving, like it just happened today, for the thousands of lives lost. Civilians, Fire Fighters, Port Authority, Police Officers, and Military. Not only on that day but since.

What was meant to cause chaos, fear and uncertainty drew a Nation together. We've stood strong, fought back and overcome.

I will never forget 9.11.01. I will remember every day for the rest of my life. To those that gave their lives that day and who continue to fight for our freedom and serve our cities/states/country... Thank You.

Project Pay It Forward

I am starting something today. I loaded a starbucks card and I am going to mail it to a friend. Along with the card will be a note with instructions. This is what it will say:

"Dear Friend,

   You came into mymind today and I thought how nice it would be to sit down, have a cup of coffee and catch up on life. Although we live far apart, you are never far from my mind. I have chosen you to be part of "Project Pay It Forward". Here's how it works:

1) Take this Starbucks card and buy yourself (or someone else) a cup of coffee, on me
2) Add $5 (more if you want) to the card
3) Write your name, city and state on the back of this letter, in one of the slots
4) Mail the card and letter to a friend that lives in a different city than you

The idea is to bless as many people as possible and reach all the way across the United States with one card.. In the end, the card and letter will return to the person that started it. "

This may or may not work but I thought it might be fun to try. When the card gets back to me, I will post all of the cities and states that the card traveled to.

Michelle's Baby Shower

Some lovely ladies and I had the distinct honor of throwing our friend, Michelle, a baby shower. Michelle is pregnant with her second little boy and we are all so so excited. Michelle is probably one of the funniest people I know. Every time we get together, her stories leave me in stitches. She is also one of the sweetest people I know. If anything is going on in your life, she is the first one to step up and help with food, prayers, encouragement, support etc. She's also the one that encouraged me to run my first 5K race. She was my running buddy and encouraged me the whole way through the race. We are hoping to do the same race together in March, depending how she is feeling after the baby is born.

It was a small affrair with close friends and family but I love how everything turned out. I had been dying to make these tissue pom poms and the moment I finished the first one, I was 100 % sold on them. I love them. They are pretty and so easy to make. I wish I has gotten a better picture of them.

I've been on the sugar cookie kick (clearly) so of course I made cookies as the party favors

We had a dessert table instead of just a cake.

I tried to capture as many details as possible. We made it boy themed but put girlie touches like flowers and candles to make sure Michelle knew the day was about her. I hope you enjoy all of the little details like I did.

Cookies for a Cure

Last year I started baking my little heart out in efforts to raise money for Breast Cancer awareness. They were sent as far away as Redding , California. 22 dozen cookies were made and about $130 was raised.

This year I am participating in a few different walks. Organizations that touch my heart. Organizations that support some people I love in some of their life's trials.

This year I will be making cookies for :

Autism Speaks

A Puzzle Piece (sorry no picture)  They will be either red, blue or yellow and say "speak now" or personalized w/ a name.

Or Austism Ribbon Cookies:

(This is not a picture of the cookies I made, I forgot to take some. but they are similar)

 Breast Cancer:

Pink Ribbons that say "Love" "Strength" "Hope" or personalized w/ a name. :

Bra "Save the Tatas" Cookies similar to this:

Leukemia Lymphoma Society "Light the Night" Walk.

Cookies are Purple Ribbons

Balloons on a stick(sorry no picture) that are White "In Memory" or Purple "In Honor of" personalized cookies.

Cost: $10/Dozen

To Order:

1)Make your donation online using one of the links about (names of organizations are hyperlinked for your convenience)

2) Notify me via email (jcskiddo@hotmail.com), comment on this blog or call/text me. I need how many dozen you want and if personalized, what you want them to say.

3) Let me know when you want them so I can arrange a time to meet you.

Let's Vote!

OK Folks, the choices for my new blog title are up! You can find the poll on the top left of this blog page. Can you see it? I will leave the poll up for one week and the one with the most votes will win. The person that came up with the winning name will recieve a homemade gift from me.

I'd like to say Thank You to all of you that posted ideas. I chose my top 4 favorites. I liked all of the suggestions but I want something that represents all aspects of my life, not just my ridiculous addiction to baking.

I am excited to start re-vamping my little corned of the world wide web. Let the voting commence!!!

Thrift Storing

I can't say I have ventured into many thrift stores in my life. I think there were a couple scattered trips during High School to look for Halloween Costumes or something of the like but beyond that they have been out of sight, out of mind.

I have a dear friend that find the best deals on clothes for her kiddos and super duper inexpensive stuff to satisfy her craving for crafts and creating. Every time she blogs about a good deal, it gives me tingles. Don't Judge me. You see, coupons and sales and % off and double coupons and clearance and free things make me happy. I'm getting all worked up over it this very minute!

OK... breathe...

So yesterday I met up with Jessica and 4 of my favorite little ones for some delicious Alaskan Mochas and soaking up some Vitamin D at the park. Between gulps and slurps of amazing frozen coffee, we got caught up on life and talked about crafts etc. She makes the most adorable fabric flowers! She was planning a trip to the Thrift Store after our park adventure and invited me to tag along.

I had no intention of purchasing anything but I knew I still needed to get a couple items for a baby shower this coming weekend. Lucky for me I found the things I needed at the Thrift Store. A basket($0.59) to hold party favors and a tea cup and saucer set ($1.99) that will be used as a serving platter. Apparently Wednesdays are 50% off days so I spent a whopping $1.43 on my items. I'm pretty excited about it. Maybe too much.

The Name Game and a Giveaway

Ok soo here's what I want... a new name for my blog. I am working on a full blog makeover. It will take time though.

 What I am hoping for:
1) Legit name options. Things that represent me, my faith, my job, my hobbies ... things along those lines.
2) LOTS of options

After the ideas are given, I will post a poll on my blog for you, the faithful few, to vote on. I know this doesn't sound super exciting (yet) but the person that comes up with the winning name, will also win a prize: A homemade gift, from me to you. A Big ole THANKS! How does that sound?

So make sure you put your name and email address when you add the comment with your name idea.
*** Please make comments on blogger only, not facebook. It is too hard to go back on facebook and see who left comments.*****

A Little Bit of Change

You may or may not have noticed that I changed the look of my blog. It is still a work in progress. Truth be told, I don't really know what I am doing. I can peruse the basic layouts that blogger offers and click " add to blog" no problem. The thing is, I don't really love any of the backgrounds offered. Oh well. I will keep looking.

Something I've wanted to do for a while is change the name of my blog from "Adventures in Shannon". I want something that expresses who I am. Not just the baker in me or the dispatcher or my faith but something that encompasses all that I am.

Sadly, I am drawing a blank. So I come to you, my faithful few, to help me rename my blog. Leave a comment with your suggestions. After a little bit of time, I will choose my top 5 choices and have all of you vote on it.

And if anyone out there knows how I can venture from the very limited selection of blogger templates/backgrounds, please please puhhleeease let me know!