The itch.

I've got it. It's the runners bug. Last night I completed my longest run and it felt great. I would have never dreamed the I would say running 8 miles would feel good. It did, good. I am beyond proud of myself. I don't think about anything while running and to me, that is awesome!! I feel like a few more short runs and a couple more long runs, I will be good to go come race day. Life is beautiful!

13.1 miles in 6 weeks

So the challenge has been set before me. I am taking this bull by the horns and doing it. I, last week decided that I needed a challenge. That challenge came in the form of running 13.1 miles. I have a plan, motivation and support. I am pretty sure these are the only things you need to susceed. I'm in.

Committing to something this big is huge for me. Though I do love a challenge, I have never been a runner. Not at all. I have actually been a smoker for the past 15 years. Yes, smoker. yuck. I quit Oct 2009, but before then, I smoked many cigerettes daily. I have dislocated my knee caps multiple times and have been overweight for the past 15 years.

This run challenges my head as well as my body. I love the feeling when I am done, not so much while I am pulling my caboose around. I started my 'training' a little late in the game, but I have logged 19.5 miles this week and am looking at running 8 miles this Sunday. July 4th! Can't wait.

Oh. Did I mention that this will be my first race ever? Oh my, I have serious butterflies.

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Do Over? yes, please.

I will take a big fat do over for today. I wasted... I mean WASTED today and I am totally pissed about it. Oh, I still have the cough.

So it all started Saturday night when I made some delicious tempeh stirfry. I took my first bite and bam, wrong pipe. I coughed and coughed with out any luck. I swear I felt something go down, the wrong tube that it. As the evening went on I was still coughing a bit and was telling Ernie that I know that there is a piece of food stuck in my lung. yeah, no shit, stuck in my lung. I could have sworn that it was there, top left side. Oh well, I thought, we will just watch it, it wasn't that bothersome. So Sunday happened and I was okay. Coughing a bit and still feeling like there was something there but nothing to visit the doctor about.

Fast forward to this morning. My kids were all dreamy, sweet, sleepy, lovie, little angels but my cough was back with a vengeance. I was having a hard time catching my breath and letting air out all the way. I dropped the kids at Traci's and headed into work. Had a talk with my greatest boss ever, the doctor, who suggested I take a trip to the urgent care. Shit in lungs = nothing to be messed with. Sweet.

Got to UC about 11, sat in waiting room for an hour, got roomed, had a fever, sat in patient room for an hour. Did I mention that I was angry, and coughing? The doctor finally came in and we discussed the reason for my visit. Aspiration, shortness of breath, coughing, fever and she freaked out. Told me not to cough. Don't cough...right. She walked out to the 4 ma/rn's standing around and gave them the one-two. She let them know that this was important, I should not have ever been sitting in the waiting room, a doctor should have seen me right away and blah blah blah. She sent me over for a stat (not so stat) chest xray. The xray was clear but she was still uncomfortable because organic matter does not show up on xray? again, awesome. So she told me that she called the hospital ER and they were waiting for me. Really? ER? Jeezus, I do not have time for the ER. Oh well. I was beyond freaked out by this point.

Erine dropped Henry off at Tracis and away we went into the GERM INFESTED ED. Oh my it was beyond busy. All I wanted to do was turn around and run out of there as soon as I could. I love all the shit that happens in the waiting room. I was trying so hard to watch t.v. but the people are so much more interesting. Waited a good hour to be taken back there.

We go to the room, same room that they told me that I had a 50% chance of keeping "Ruby's" pregnancy because her sac was tearing from my uterine wall... anyways, guess what was next? More waiting. Finally someone came in, a nurse, to ask me why I was there. I responded that I had just been in urgent care and they wanted me to come because they were afraid of aspirated pneumonia. She looked me in the face and said, "So you are here for a cough, a cough right?" Oh my, at that point I wanted to come undone.. DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD BE HERE FOR A FUCKING COUGH? IN THIS GERM INFESTED, DISGUSTING, PEOPLE ACTUALLY HERE FOR EMERGENCIES, FOR A COUGH? NOPE, SORRY.

With the red flags thrown up at Urgent care, the emergency room was seeing me for a cough. 6 hours waisted for someone to tell me that if at any point I CANT breath to come back, or if I get a high fever of over 103 to come back and they will see me. Thanks for the paperwork telling me how to take care of my "cough" and the bill for 2g's.

I totally feel okay with that, really, I do. Please, oh please can I just have my day back? Or at least a round of antibiotics to kill the tofu growing in my lung.

Rollin' Thirty.

I am now three days into being thirty and it is gooood. My surprise birthday day was fan-tab. Ernie had a whole day of surprises up his sleeve and pulled them all off without a hitch. Woke up to my darling children, had a relaxing morning and got them ready for the day. Ernie got me in the car about 10am and took me to Rejuvenation Spa for an hour massage and an hour pedicure. Fancy Shmancy. Him and Henry picked me up about one and we rolled over to Sellwood for some delish Thai lunch special. mmmm. Headed for home and was instructed to pack for an overnight. Spent some time smooching up the littles. As we were leaving Ruby said "Mom, Are you going to spend the night at the beach?" I replied, "I don't know sweetie, It is all a surprise" She said, "Oh then just call me when you get there and find out." So away we went.

We got to the coast about 6. Went shopping for something nice to wear and went to the condo. Got ourselves all fancied up and went out to dinner at Salishan. We ended up skipping the fancy restaurant and going up to the bar area for happy hour beer and pool. It was so nice to be able to spend some face time with Ernie, kick back have some beers and...laugh.

About 9 we darted over to the casino for some blackjack. Have I ever told you how much I love blackjack? I do. waisting money is one of my best qualities. We sat and played for a couple hours going up and down until we both ended up empty handed. woops. I gently let Ern know that I was not done yet and sent him to the ATM (diva). While I was waiting on his arrival the gentleman beside me gave me a $5 chip. I played it. Won 20 times in a row and walked away with $160. Ernie won back all of his money too. Ended up to be a great time. OHHH. Ernie had stopped drinking about 10, I on the other hand, did not. I was high fiven', whoop whoopn' , straight up assin' out.. but having a great time. We got back, went to bed and woke up feeling VERY 30!

Live is great. Let's enjoy it.

30...really???....30.

Tonight I am going to bed 29, tomorrow I will wake up and be 30. I used to sit around and think how "old" thirty seemed to be. old.
These days I am sportin' 3 kids, rollin' in a mini, wearing mama jeans, clippin' coupons and I guess just fitting in with the crowd. weird.
I have many goals for my 30's. Just wait.

Recovery

My dear friend has made an amazing recovery. She is a rock... solid. She has overcome all odds through the power of bond and love. I am excited to hear all about her stories of dying and coming back multiple times. I just wanted to give a quick update on my friend for all of you who might know her and or who have been wondering about her. She is unstoppable.

What a DAY!

Today was one to be remembered. I witnessed, first hand how miracles happen, the power of an unbreakable bond between Mother and Child. Truly amazing!

My friend Krissy had the world scariest thing happen to her yesterday. Something none of us will ever experience, hopefully. Her heart stopped. Straight up, stopped. peripardom cardiomyapothy = scariest shit ever.

Here is the story;
She dropped her 7 week old, darling daughter, Lily off with her sister-in-law so she could go to the gym for an hour. Got to the gym, had a heart attack, heart stopped, she collapsed. Luckily there were 2 EMT's working out and jumped in to help. She was brought back by defibrillator, twice and taken to Tuality ED (closest to the gym). She was stabilized (sorta) and put on cooling treatment for 24 hours. Chrissy and I got there soon after we got a call from her fiance to find her in horrible state. She was on life support, covered by a super cool blanket, her body temp was a 91F and she looked terrible. My heart broke when I walked into that room and saw her laying there. She is a mother, a wonderful mother and she needed to be with her daughter. I asked if Lily had been in to see her yet and Krissy's mom said that the nurse last night would not let her come in to the ICU. Lily was at her sister-in-laws place being well taken care of under these horrible circumstances. We spent the day at the hospital switching off who was able to be in the room with her. Sometime in the mid afternoon the neurologist came in and did some tests on her to check from responsiveness.. yelling in her face, rubbing her eyeballs with a q-tip, rubbing her hands and reflexes with her feet... and nothing. He gave the family news that nobody wants to here, he feared the worst, major brain damage.

Krissy's mom (Phyllis) came out heartwreanched. She was watching her daughter dying and being told there was not much hope. My body ached for her. Helpless.

About 10 minutes later Luke, Krissys brother, her sister-in-law and Lily show up. Phyllis lets them know what the Neurologist had just said and they headed back to see her right away, leaving Lily in the waiting room with us. As Crystal was squeezing Krissy's hand, she squeezed back. Crystal ran out to the waiting room, told us what had happened, grabbed Lily and headed right back to the room. Lily was in the room she let out a little noise/cry and Krissy's eyes opened and her body moved like she was trying to get up for her girl. Her heart was beating 45-60 beats per min and the second that Lily was in the room it started beating faster and more regular at 90. She will be okay. The doctors and nurses we all amazed at her progress from the time she smelled her baby.

Her heart is broken, literally. The true bond with Lily will never be. Amazing and truly inspiring.

Just think, if she would have stayed home that morning this would have been a much different story... a much sadder one.