New Hair Cut, Our Boys, And A Bug

So, this will be a really random blog...as I just wanted to share some pictures with ya!

As I blogged earlier this week, I got my hair cut... Not a lot of change, just shorter. This is usually as short as I will ever go - I have too big of a forehead and ears to go shorter! Notice the change in my hair color - it's lighter... I haven't done anything to it - just the summer getting to my hair! :) My hubbie had to take like twenty pictures (not joking) before I found one I liked...Notice I'm sportin' a Hogs shirt as always. :)

Here are some recent pictures of "our boys"...Rocky, Bear, and Duke! I was able to get these pictures while they were trying their best to get in the house - muddy paws and all!

And last.. as I was pulling weeds out of the flowerbed... we found this bug.. Christopher called it a "leaf bug." I know it kind of looks like a praying mantis - but it's really not. I couldn't get a great picture due to the glare from the sun...but it really does look like a green leaf. Sad thing is, later as I was spraying some weed spray...I think I accidently killed its baby .. I really, really didn't mean to and as soon as I saw him, I stopped spraying, but sadly it was too late. I teared up the rest of the night. We did move him from the area that was sprayed - in hopes that he would survive... but the baby didn't.

Long Saturday Run

I have a post that I'm working on that tells alot about me and what I'm experiencing right now...but that will have to wait, as I'm not yet comfortable enough to post it...Don't worry, it's not bad. Promise.

Today was week one's long run. We all met at 8am (I kinda wish it had been earlier) and prepared to run our 4 mile run. They told us the route we were running and we all just kind of looked around confused. I don't think anyone there had a good understanding of where we were going - including the leaders. So, we started out and I (and my sister) was running great. The temperature was perfect - all around great running weather. I felt great! My hip wasn't hurting me as it had been and I had 3 new songs on my shuffle. Now, there are three different groups running out there...the beginners (the group I'm in), the intermediate, and the advanced. From what I understood, we were all running different routes and we were the last group to get started this morning. So when I came upon mile 2 and saw runners coming from a different direction and running our same route, I was a little confused, but just shrugged it off. My sister was about 1/4 mile in front of me...there were plenty of beginning runners in front of me and about 4 or 5 way behind me. Well, I come to this hill and as I top it - I see NOBODY. In the distance, I can see two intermediate runners going a route that I didn't think or know for sure the beginners were suppose to take...I look back to see if somehow I can ask the leader and people behind me which way to go...and they're way too far behind me. So, I follow the two runners that I can see...Long story short - I ran half a mile too much.

When I made it to the finishing area, I asked my sister where she had ran and how long she had been waiting for me. She had only been waiting for about 5 maybe 10 minutes and she said that she ran the same route that I did...I asked one of the leaders if we were suppose to go the direction that I did...um, that's a big fat no... that's why I ran the extra 1/2 mile. I felt great the whole way through, just a little frazzled that it was so unorganized...But all in all, it was a great run.. and it only took me an hour to run 4.5 miles - not a sprinter by any means..but that means that I can definitely finish the half marathon in the 4 hours allotted time - which I had been worried about. :)

Just Some Info

So, I got a little update on the puppy (I'm obsessed, I know). The puppy's name is Roscoe and he has a blue collar. The girls had recently lost their last dog due to sickness, so Roscoe came at the perfect time and he even resembles their last dog! I'm glad he's doing well.

Today is day 2 of my 1/2 marathon training! Last night we did 2 miles...not so bad, but it was 102 outside! Add to that humidity - it wasn't pleasant! I'm not sure what the temp is outside right now, but I can guarantee that it's around the same temperature as it was last night. Tonight we're doing 3 miles...not too bad - I've ran alot of 5k's, but the thing is, I wont be able to run the entire thing - it's just too hot and I slacked too much last month. So, tonight will suck in that aspect. I don't really wanna remove myself from this recliner, cook dinner, then change and go, but I guess I should... But tomorrow is our rest day - thank goodness!!

Update On The Puppy

Okay, so it wasn't but a few hours ago that I blogged about the puppy. But, my dad just came and got him and told me a lil about the new family! This family has two girls, ages 11 and 12ish, and they live on a "farm." Which probably means, that they live on a big area of land with some kind of wildlife. My dad said that the puppy will have the two little girls to play with and that he can run all he wants on the "farm." That makes my heart soar! You can only imagine how happy this makes me! I just thought I'd give a lil update! And yes, I did cry when I gave him to my dad, but we all knew that was going to happen.

A Stressful Few Days

Well, I just got some good news. My dad found the puppy a good home. He didn't tell me anything besides that it's going to his boss and that his boss didn't need me to buy him any puppy food. So, that must mean he has other dogs, right? This whole thing stresses me out, in case you couldn't tell. I'm a big animal lover. I hate to see animals not being loved on or cared for. It stressed me out to know that nobody wanted this cute little dog and that he was either very lost or abandoned. I had knocked on doors throughout the neighborhood and didn't get any takers...And we're the only subdivision in that area. Go about a mile and you have the freeway... So I really don't think he was lost. I think someone dropped him off. He was very clean, but hadn't been fed real well. So I'm not sure what to think. I just know that I'm super glad that my dad found a good home for him. I'm really hoping he doesn't train him to be a hunting dog, but then again, he is a beagle. Maybe he WANTS to be a hunting dog. :) Anyways, you have no idea what this has done to me emotionally. I kept asking myself and God why He sent this dog to me. I knew the answer was because He knew that I'd find him a good home and that I wouldn't just leave him there after finding him. I couldn't turn him away. God knew that I couldn't take care of him and give him the home he needs, but knew that somehow I'd get him there. Atleast, I hope that's why God sent him to me. The little thing warmed right up to me. He followed me around from the start and licked my face every chance he got. I'm sure gonna miss him, but I know that he's not my dog. He's someone else's. Someone that can give him what he needs. I know that my dad wouldn't ever let me down. He wouldn't give him to someone that he didn't trust. So, I feel a ton better knowing that he'll be okay now. He wont have to go to a shelter - which I'm not so sure I could've actually done anyways.

Just one thing though... I'm really not looking forward to saying good-bye to the little fellow this afternoon ... in about an hour and a half.

Puppy Needs A Home

I found a Beagle puppy yesterday and can't locate the owners. He's about 10 weeks old and cute as a button - very loving and very playful! He looks like he hasn't been fed all that great... but he just needs a nice home and he'll be fine. Above are a few pictures I took of him - they're not that great because he moves and jumps around too much! We can't keep him - although we would love to. We already have 3 dogs - one which can be aggressive towards other dogs. If we can't find him a home very soon, he will be going to the F C Animal Shelter - and I seriously don't want that! So please help me out!

Why I Care

So, as promised, my story as to why I care so much about raising money for the Susan G Komen Foundation.... Around Christmas about 8ish years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. At that time, I hadn't ever actually known anyone who had had breast cancer or really anything about it. Also, at that time, I didn't have a really close relationship with my grandmother - because she was my step-grandmother (silly, I know). Anyhow, that diagnosis was a big hit for our family. We'd never really had anything like that happen before to us (that I was aware of). Now, my grandma is a tough bird. At the time, she was still working for the Post Office and had made a name for herself in our county. You see, she was the first female postal worker in our county that had taken a huge walking route. Her route was a total of 17ish miles. She had to walk that every single day - just so that we'd all get our mail. Now, when she first said something to her boss, he had told her that he didn't doubt that she'd quit just like everyone else... Well, that ticked my grandmother off. She was not going to quit! Maybe all those men had quit, but SHE was not going to quit that route! So, she stayed with it and a few years back she retired from the post office. Now, she didn't walk that route the whole entire time, someone finally gave her a nice postal car thing a few years ago... But 95% of the time she had that route, she had walked it...in the Arkansas hot and humid summers, the unpredictable rain, sleet, and sometimes snow. Like I said, she's a tough bird.

Well, when this hit, I saw my grandma as someone that could possibly be brought down. But, she showed us differently (as always) and showed us that she would survive this thing. When she started losing her hair, she had my grandfather shave the rest of it off and when we went out in public she wore a wig so that she didn't embarrass us - but we soon told her that she didn't embarrass us at all - we were PROUD of her. She soon began tossing the wigs...and began wearing bandannas to protect her hairless head. She went through a lot of chemo, a lot of medicine, a mastectomy, and a lot of pain - but she got past the cancer and beat it!

After that, she began to soften around the edges and we became closer. She became my grandma - more than just a title but a feeling. We all became a closer family and we knew that no matter what came into our lives, we'd beat it and we'd have the strength of our family with us through the way.

Two years ago, my grandma asked me to walk in The Race For The Cure with her. I was not a fan of getting up early and going out into the cold, but I immediately said yes. That was the best day that I had had with her in a while - a very, very emotional day. I saw my grandma cry for the first time. I saw her rejoice in the fact that she had beat this thing called cancer. And I saw her show sympathy for others who were going through the same thing. She formed a bond with those ladies - a bond that will never be broken.

Last year, my whole family walked in that race. We all walked together (okay, so I ran at the end). Then we went out to eat - just us ladies in our breast cancer shirts and pants...out to Red Lobster. We could tell that grandma wasn't exactly herself. There wasn't anything wrong with her mood but you could tell that health wise - she just wasn't up to par. That next week, she was diagnosed with breast cancer again - this time in her other breast. She had only one breast left after her previous round with cancer and now it was infected as well. We were all in shock. We thought we had beat this and it wasn't coming back. I say we because it is definitely something you go through as a family. She lost her hair again, had grandpa shave the rest of it, did the chemo, took the pills, and then had the last breast removed. She beat the cancer again. But, after the cancer, she didn't feel right still. She had something wrong with her body - she had another surgery (not related to the cancer) and just healed from it. A surgery that removed parts of her intestines among other things... She was in the hospital for over a week. She couldn't even eat or drink. Like I said, she's a tough bird.