This summer has been a roller-coaster ride with the ups and downs that life tends to send you on.

Turned 40 a few weeks ago. Don’t feel any different than I did in my 30′s. Actually still feel like I’m a 25 year old, and I guess that is a good thing, most of the time. It’s getting scary though, my daughters and I like the same music… Sean Kingston, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa (don’t like her much, but like a lot of her music) and shhh, don’t tell anyone but I’m liking Miley Cyrus and Miranda Cosgrove’s new stuff. It find it hard to believe that my oldest is going into 7th grade and my baby will be 3 in a few days. That’s really the only time I start to feel “old”, or when I hear that some of my HS classmates are GRANDPARENTS already. That is truly terrifying.

Just found out today that one of my aunt’s was diagnosed with uterine cancer and is currently undergoing surgery. Her prognosis is good, will still need chemo after the surgery. But she is in good spirits and that is half the battle I think.

One of my 3-Day Walks of Life teammates and training walk leader is battling Leukemia. She is doing good now. Out of the hospital and just got back from an Alaskan cruise. She did some amazing things like riding in a helicopter and hiking on a glacier and is already back to leading training walks! She is an amazing person and I admire her strength and determination.

My oldest and dearest friend Kathy (we met in jr. high) recently got married.

Colm and I will be celebrating out 14th Wedding Anniversary in just a few days! It’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years already!

Another good friend who I’ve known since high school, told me that her husband is on his way back to Afghanistan for his 3rd tour and will be gone for a year! I don’t know how she does it. I go insane when Colm works 18 hour days, I don’t think I could last a whole year without him. (Be sure to send your prayers to Chad and his unit so they make it home safe and sound, and FAST)! It reminds me how lucky I am.

Summer is nearly over (less than four weeks until school starts, not that I’m counting…) and I haven’t done half the things I wanted to do or needed to do. Really must get my list written down and start crossing things off…

Anyhow, my walking is going okay, I get out at least once a week with Marianna, my Walks of Life teammate and try to do some other stuff too.

We have been enjoying the pool this summer, well at least in July we did. It was REALLY hot!! Haven’t been in it this week or turned on the pump for that matter and now it’s turning green. Better make a trip to the pool store and get some chemicals to make it pretty again…

What I really need to do is  start getting serious about training. I should be up to about 10 miles a day 3 days a week by now, only doing 4-8 miles a week. Hubby suggested I get up early and walk when everyone is asleep, but since I don’t usually get to bed until after 1 or 2 getting up at 6 is very hard to do. But I’m going to try to hire a sitter once or twice a week so that I can go out more regularly and on longer walks.

Anyhow back to work. Promise I’ll try to be better about blogging. Chao!

I walk for my future granddaughters so that they may wear pink ribbons in their hair, and not on their shirts.

The Future Will Follow In Our Footsteps

0 to 60 in 3 Days

Too inspired to be tired.

Let your feet follow your heart.

Kindness Rocks.

I’ve taken a few mid-day walks with my 2YO but I’ve been so busy with work and everything else we haven’t been out much. The one day last week we went for a walk, it was just too hot so we ended up only making one lap around our walking “trail” in the neighborhood.

We opened the pool last week and the girls have been enjoying it very much.

Here is their first cannonball of the season…

Jeez if we hadn’t stopped to buy water at Target we would have been right there when it went down!! We just walked on, obvious to what had happened then a few days later I read about it in the paper. Scary!  http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/trumbulltimes/news/localnews/56398-bridgeport-cops-nab-suspect-in-alleged-armed-robbery-from-mall-jewelry-store.html

We did get a good walk in that night, about 5 miles.  Sooo can’t wait until it’s just a little lighter out later in the day and then we can start walking outside again!

It’s been lovely having this nice, high 60s weather. I’ve been spending a lot of time outside because, being March in Connecticut, you never know how long it’s going to last. Once I take my 2 YO outside I can’t get her back in without a major fight so I managed to schedule my work in the morning hours the past two days. Gabby and I had picnic lunches in the backyard and took nice walks before all the other kids got home from school. We had lots of fun checking out the little green buds poking out of the ground and the white and purple crocuses lining the flowerbeds. Gabby enjoyed looking at all of the fun things in other people’s yards, too. She desperately wanted to jump on the neighbor’s trampoline but mean mommy wouldn’t let her. I was able to distract her by pointing out the squirrels climbing a tree down the street.

We walked just under 2 miles both days. It was a nice warm up to prepare for the 3-Day. Each week I will be working up to more mileage and soon I’ll start training walks. I’m hoping to do one in New York City. Our DC team leader coordinates training walks in NYC/Stamford/Westchester on the weekends when the weather is nice and I’d really like to join everyone in the fun. They have some great routes they take and then they stop at a restaurant someplace in the middle. Anyhow I’m really looking forward to the nice weather and the training walks!

Next week we’ll go back to walking for a couple of hours. We usually average 6 miles each walk. With the weather getting nicer and the sun out longer soon we will be able to move our walks from the mall to outside.

There are lots of great walking trails around and I’m looking forward to discovering them. I’m really excited to check out the Housatonic Rail-Trail. It looks like a really beautiful trail. I’ll just have to find a sitter as it’s 7 miles round-trip and that is a bit too long for all of the kids.

We’ve been walking in the malls at Trumbull and Stamford but are looking forward to the nice weather hopefully coming soon so that we can start to train outdoors.

Unfortunately, on Super Bowl Sunday I managed to sprain my ankle and hyper-extend the anterior talofibular ligament (and no, no alcohol was involved!), so I’ve been ordered not to walk for more than 20 minutes at a time and to use an air cast for the next few weeks.

I already miss my training and can’t wait to get back out there.

Although I wasn’t able to complete the entire 60 miles because of a pinched nerve in my foot, I walked nearly 21 miles on Friday, 10 miles on Saturday and the full 18 miles on Sunday. The last two miles I kept the mantra “Margaret, Jackie, Lilly” (my husband’s late mother, sister and aunt, all died/suffered from breast cancer) going through my head with each step to keep me going.

During closing ceremonies, the walkers who are breast cancer survivors walk onto the platform. And even though everyone is sore and exhausted and really rather not bend down to untie their laces, everyone takes off a sweaty shoe, holding it over their head as a toast. Doing this shows the survivors that the group walked these 60 miles for them. And they walked so that some day there will be a world without breast cancer.

During closing ceremonies, the walkers who are breast cancer survivors walk onto the platform. And even though everyone is sore and exhausted and really rather not bend down to untie their laces, everyone takes off a sweaty shoe, holding it over their head as a toast. Doing this shows the survivors that the group walked these 60 miles for them. And they walked so that some day there will be a world without breast cancer.

But when we entered Closing Ceremonies I forgot all about the blisters on my toes, my unbelievably sore feet and felt powerful feelings of relief, sadness and elation; relief that the hard part was over, sadness that the walk had come to the end and elation that I accomplished something most people wouldn’t even attempt to do. “You are walking 60 miles in 3 days?!? You’re crazy!”

And yes, I’m doing it again! In spite of the fact this year I know what I’m getting myself into. I signed up for the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure held in San Diego, November 19-21. And I am excited that I will be walking with three of my DC teammates. (We are team “walks of life” if anyone else out there would like to join us.)

This event isn’t easy, but I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t believe 100% that it was worth every muscle ache and injury (tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, pinched nerve, oodles of blisters), weary nights in a little pink tent (too hot, high “are we going to wake up in Oz?” winds, pouring rain and way too cold—all over a two-night span!) and other interesting experiences that would be considered TMI to share here!

Okay now to the hard part. I need your help. I am planning on surpassing the $3,300 that you donated so generously last time around to help end breast cancer. My goal is to raise $5,000!

I know the economy is tough and extra money is scarce so another way you can help is to donate frequent flyer miles or hotel points to help me with my trip to San Diego. If this is something you are interested in please email me.

Again, thanks for your support of my “2nd Annual” Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure adventure. I intend to do this every year until we find a cure for this terrible disease. Let’s hope it’s soon, I don’t know how long my feet will let me keep this up!