Another year wiser?

Well, I am more of smart ass.

I celebrated the big 3-4 today and am about ready to slip into a food coma. Before I do, though, I had to share some pics.

My hubby surprised me at work on Friday with flowers.

I told him that giving me flowers twice in one week (he had given me flowers at the end of the 3 Day Walk as well), that I was going to start expecting them every week. hee,hee!

We started the day be going to Krispy Kreme and getting birthday doughnuts (they give you 6 doughnuts for free on your birthday!)

Look, free doughnuts!

Mmmmm....

Better hurry, only 4 left!

After indulging in sugary goodness, I decorated my birthday cake.

My hubby helped by drawing a skeleton.

In case you're wondering, having a birthday right before Halloween meant that the birthday cakes I had growing up always had some sort of a Halloween theme instead of the typical clown/princess/balloon theme that most kids had. I grumbled about this growing up, but wouldn't you know that as an adult I love it!

We ended the day by having dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Steak in butter is yum, yum, yummy! It doesn't compare to House of Prime Rib (no restaurant can), but I sure managed to eat myself silly.

Ok, I'm gonna go lay on the couch and watch my new Family Guy DVD. Hmmmm... I think I need a slice of cake, too.

Day 3 (aka Just. A. Little. Farther. To. Go.): A Retrospective

After a pretty deep sleep (well, as deep as you can get in a sea of tents in the middle of a community college campus), we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. Yes, that's a lie. Maybe Eva woke up feeling this way, but I was ready to go home and take a real shower and then a nap. Instead, we got up and prepared to tackle our last day of walking. We decided that we should document this hurdle in a picture:

I discovered that morning that my heat rash was so painful that it hurt to walk. Thankfully, this discomfort passed after walking a couple of miles. But it was slow going at first and we didn't arrive at the first pit stop until it was closing.

Now, I had been told by previous 3 Day Walkers that adrenalin is what carries you through the third day. I have to admit that I was pretty pumped up that day. I was also extremely emotional and could break into tears at any moment. But what I think happens by the third day, at least for first time walkers, is that you've learned a lot of lessons from the previous two days, which makes for a much more enjoyable third. For example, I was eating pretty much anything they put in front of me at the various pit stops on the first day. Chips, peanuts, bagels, bananas, anything. I'd also eat at every single pit stop. I realized by the second day that this probably added to my dehydration and naseau woes that first night. On the second day I experimented at the various pit stops and finally figured out for the third day to just stick with bagels and banana with peanut butter. By the third day I also learned that if you're leaving a pit stop when it's closing, you're pretty much screwed for time the rest of the day.

What I'm trying to say in that really, really long-winded explanation is that when we got to the pit stop at closing, we knew to just take the bus to lunch and enjoy ourselves. I can't even begin to say how glad I am that we made this decision. It sucked to pass over an entire 4 miles, but I really wanted to be coherent at the closing ceremonies that evening and the only way I could do it was to avoid pushing myself too far. At lunch we ate a fairly decent turkey sandwich (especially compared to our previous two lunches), but my favorite food by far were the grapes. Eva managed to grab a bunch of them and they were juicy, cool, and oh-so-freakin'-delicious! I don't think I'll ever have a grape that tastes that good again in my lifetime, they were just that good. Anyway, after lunch we grabbed a seat in a baseball dugout and tended to our poor, achy feet. Here's Eva, still smiling away even while she's all bandaged up.

And I couldn't resist taking a picture of my lovely foot. (I apologize to anyone who might be eating while reading this!)

Even though I was still sore and tired after lunch, I was in a great mood as we continued on. I was even in a great mood as the route they had us on included hot, open desert with no shade.

Our next pit stop had a Halloween theme. On the previous two days I was generally so tired that I hadn't really stopped to look around, but the crew apparently had some fun setting this pit stop up. Here's Eva getting a free mammogram

and a faux dog letting us know where the p.p. were.

As we left the pit stop, we could see the a line of walkers coming upon it with the desert in the background. I tried to get a picture of it, because it was a great sight in person, but it's kinda hard to see in the photo, unfortunately.

So, the rest of the day had us walking through desert. More hot desert. Going uphill. Yep, uphill in the hot desert. The adrenalin everyone told me about helped, and we got a little giddy at some points of the day. We would start giggling over goofy things, like a bunch of women yelling "Hole" when we came across a big hole in the ground. Stuff that wouldn't normally seem funny, but seemed pretty hilarious when you're delirious with heat.

For me, my day took on a goofy twist around the last few miles. We had just left our last pit stop and had a little over 4 miles left to go. When we had gotten to the pit stop, I simply didn't have to pee. In fact, I hadn't had to do so in the last several miles. When you're walking in the heat and chugging water, this is a bad indicator. Very bad. And I was getting nervous. Well, after we had left our last pit stop I finally had to go pee. Not too bad, but I was really looking forward to the water stop we had coming up in a couple of miles. Then I found out that the water stop was just that. Water, but no porta potties. That's when my body decided it had to go BAD. Eva suggested a bush, but I declined. I started looking for a shopping center, because while we were in the desert, we were also in the middle of suburbia in the desert. But this is pretty much all we were seeing.

At long last we saw a shopping center and it looked like we were going to pass a sidewalk that led to it. Instead, the sidewalk was an underpass of sorts that went below the driveway going into the shopping center. I knew at this point that I simply couldn't wait any longer. I found a spot somewhat below the driveway that was sort of hidden and, um, well... you know. Eva was watching out for me on the other side, but I was in plain view of anyone who might come by from the other direction. Thankfully that didn't happen. Once I had finished my business, I found out there was someone else waiting to do exactly the same thing and there were lots of other folks doing the same thing amongst other bushes along the path.

By the time we got to the water stop, which was still a couple of miles from the end, I was getting really tired and hot, and I had to go pee... again. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to take a sweep van. As I told Eva when she asked what my instinct was telling me about this, I had decided to walk the last couple of miles on Friday and Saturday and came to regret the decision. I didn't think my instincts should be telling me what to do. So... I swept. When I met up with my hubby (who brought me 3 pink roses, one for each day) and mom at the closing ceremony location, I cried. I know there's no shame in being swept, but I had really wanted to walk those last couple of miles.

Anyway, the closing ceremonies were as emotional as the opening ceremonies and I, of course, cried.

I couldn't (still can't, really) quite believe it was over. Eva and I got a picture together and while we both look a little more tired than the before picture on Friday, I think we both still look pretty good!

Day 2 (aka OK, Maybe It Can Get Worse): A Retrospective

After getting up to pee 5 times during the middle of the night (which is a pain in the butt, by the way, when you're having to crawl out of a tent that has a half-filled air mattress and feels like the equivalent of quicksand), I woke up sufficiently rehydrated. My feet were pretty sore, but I didn't seem to have any major blisters and the heat rash on my legs was bearable.

Eva and I got up at 4:45am with the intention of leaving the camp and walking by 6:30am. By the time we ate breakfast, packed, unpacked, and repacked our gear bags and figured out how to break down our tent, we didn't leave until 7:30am. Oops. (To give you an idea of just how tired everyone in camp was, including both walkers and crew, I asked one of the crew members to help me open up my travel sized bottle of Aleve after struggling with it. Well, after he struggled with it for a bit, he finally read the cap which said "Push down, then turn." We weren't exactly the most coherent group that day.)

Other than leaving later than planned, and having the added annoyance that they had run out of our route schedules for the day, we were in pretty good moods. The route they had us start on in the morning took us through Kiwanis Park and some nice neighborhoods. While there were official cheering stations that we would pass throughout the day, a lot of people gathered in front of their houses to greet us as we passed by. There were lots of girl scouts and other kids that we saw that were giving out candy (the first time in my entire life when candy not only didn't sound very good, but kinda made me sick to my stomach). While I didn't want the candy, it was great having them cheer us on. There was one block where the kids had drawn messages to us on the sidewalk and street. I took this picture of a pink ribbon that they drew.

We walked through these neighborhoods for most of the morning until we had lunch at a park near Arizona State University's campus. When we reached the park, we had officially walked 30 miles - half the walk down!

While we had more time for lunch than we had the previous day, we discovered that we didn't have as much time as we had originally thought and ended up heading back out more quickly than I would have liked. On top of this, they gave us a pretty crappy lunch, so I hadn't eaten much. As we walked through ASU's campus, I could feel the heat and lack of lunch already starting to get to me. While Eva was doing ok with the heat, her knee was starting to bother her. So, by the time we had reached the edge of campus, we were ready for a sweep van to take us to the next pit stop. Since all of the various sweep vans were decorated in some way (one had a gambling theme, another had a 70's theme), I had to take a picture of our decorated (though somewhat lame) sweep van.

Now, before heading out from lunch, I had called my hubby to let him know what time I thought we'd make it to the cheering station that was by my parents' house. He, my parents, and my sister were going to come by and say hi. Well, we reached the pit stop at just about the same time I had originally thought we were going to reach the cheering station. This isn't because we walked slower than I had originally planned, but because my math was unbelievably wrong. Again, I wasn't completely coherent after walking 30 miles. Thankfully I got a hold of him before they headed out to the cheering station. I mean, just because I'm stupid enough to walk 60 miles in the heat, I didn't think they'd want to stand out in the sun for an hour or more waiting for me to show up.

In any case, we eventually made it to the cheering station to see my family. Since we had a good rest at the pit stop I was feeling pretty good, much to my family's surprise I think. I'm sure they had heard the horror stories of the night before from my hubby. As we moved on towards the next pit stop, Eva's knee started to bother her again and since we still had 5 miles to go for the day, she decided that she should play it safe and take one of the buses waiting at the pit stop directly to camp. Since I was still feeling fine, I decided to keep going. I even continued to feel fine for the next couple of miles and really enjoyed walking through the Scottsdale Civic Center. Having grown up in Scottsdale, the Civic Center isn't new to me. But it was such a refreshing change from the city streets we had been walking on that it kinda took on a whole new look. Thankfully I managed to remember to take a picture

and had another walker take my picture

because my day went downhill right after this moment. I got to the pit stop late and didn't have a chance to sit and rest. I only had a couple of miles to go, so I didn't think this would be a problem. Apparently I was really, really wrong (and I had also apparantly forgotten that Eva and I had made it to our previous pit stop late and while she was waiting for the bus I continued walking without any rest). It seemed like everything fell apart at once. My feet became painful, my back started spasming, the heat rash on my legs was burning... yeah, I was a mess.

Our camp that night was at Scottsdale Community College. I was practically crawling by the time we reached the college campus. And to make everything that much better, the organizers had set up the food tent right outside the entrance to camp, but placed the sleeping tents in a practice football field on the other side of campus. As I made my way through the entrance to camp, near tears and nauseous, the crew members were telling us that we should eat first and then head over to our sleeping tents in order to avoid walking more than necessary. Um, fellas, maybe you shoulda space planned this better. Huh?

My hubby helped me hobble over to my tent to meet up with Eva and her boyfriend. After crawling into my jammies, he went back over to the food tent to get me some food. By the time he got back, it was so dark in our campsite that he then had to go drag a table and chair under a light at one of the school's buildings. It was at this moment, as I sat there feeling miserable... picking at my cold and dry chicken... and desperately needing a shower... that the defensive line of the football team, who were in middle of playing a Homecoming Football Game (can you believe they had us camping there when they had a homecoming football game being played??!!), came tromping by. Ah, yes, the wondeful feeling of humiliation. Of course, it was only after the exhausted tears finally started coming down that the football players then came tromping back past me. Gotta have that cherry on top!

Thankfully, the worst part of my evening seemed to be over. I eventually took a shower and was able to crawl into the tent to get some sleep. Two days down, one to go!

Day 3 coming soon...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled retrospective

Ok, I know everyone's breathlessly waiting to hear about Day 2 and Day 3 of the walk, but I found this when I came home tonight:

With my curiosity greatly aroused I opened the package and discovered this:

Now I'm even more curious! I opened the "book of spells" up and found...




Ready?




Are you sure?



Ok, ok, enough teasing. I found

Warm Delights (yum!), a pumpkin pincushion (so cute!), and 4 skeins of laceweight 100% Merino Wool from Knitpicks (soooo soft!) along with a bed jacket pattern that was designed in tribute to the designer's mother who died of breast cancer. Very appropriate after the walk, eh?

In case you haven't figured it out yet, all of this was gifted to me by my very wonderful and sweet (mostly) Secret Pal. I cannot thank you enough Secret Pal!! I love all of it!!

Day 2 of the walk will resume shortly...

Day 1 (aka It Can't Get Much Worse Than This): A Retrospective

After my frantic packing, unpacking, and repacking of my gear bag a mere 9 hours before opening ceremonies I finally got to bed only to wake up every hour wondering if it was time to get up yet. Of course, when my alarm finally went off, I was exhausted. Thankfully the adrenalin was pumping in no time and after another frantic round of "did I pack everything I need" we took off for the opening ceremonies. When Eva and I met up, we were both pretty excited, so my hubby decided we should get a before and after picture. Here's before:

The opening ceremonies consisted of an annoying spokesperson, but it was still pretty emotional and it didn't take long before I was crying.

Anyway, after a good cry, we were off!

It was right after I passed through this spot that my hubby took the picture of me in which he saw me smiling for the last time that day. I was, however, smiling for quite a while that morning. When we first set off we were walking through intersections of rush hour traffic. As the safety crews helped get all 1700 of us through the intersection we had a lot of people honking and waving at us. I'm sure all of the commuters were happy to show their support in our goal and it sure helped inspire us as we set off on our first mile of walking. Only 59 more to go!

We wound our way through Papago Park. It's a bit hard to see in the pictures, but it was really impressive to see thousands of walkers winding through the paths in the park.

Eva and I were having a great time at this point, so I snapped a picture of her

and attempted a self-portrait of me.

See, we were still smiling for a while after seeing my hubby in the morning.

We eventually reached our first pit stop. The pit stops were where we could get food and water. It was also where we could find the lovely porta potties. We would eventually have a love-hate relationship with porta potties. However, at this point we discovered that the volunteer crew members had tried to make them decorative by assigning a theme to each of the stops and decorating the porta potties (known hereafter as p.p. (which made me realize that porta potties abbreviated is appropriately p.p.)). Anyhoo, the first pit stop theme was Hollywood and the p.p. were decorated to look like stars' dressing rooms. Here's the one I used

Trust me, I got a few strange looks when I first got out my camera to take a picture of a p.p. But it didn't take long before I saw others doing the same. Once I was inside, I discovered that the stars named on the outside have a connection to breast cancer and their picture was posted along with their diagnosis date. And if you thought I got strange looks taking a picture of the outside of the p.p., you can imagine the looks I would have gotten if they had known what I was doing while inside

In any case, this pit stop was the beginning of the end of the fun for me. Because the opening ceremonies started late, or ran long, or something, we were completely off schedule. As walkers we didn't realize that we were going to be the ones to be penalized. But as we got to future pit stops, we were being told that they were closing in a few minutes and we either had to get moving or take a bus to lunch. So rather than stopping and resting at these pit stops as should have, we kept moving at a fast pace. I did manage to snap one more picture before we got to lunch

But after this it was just walk, walk, walk, walk, walk... well, you get the picture. I was stubborn and refused to take a sweep van (which would take us to the next pit stop). This was a pretty stupid move, because I discovered later that I was starting to get dehydrated. By the time we walked into camp I wasn't feeling so hot. I did, however, manage to get a shot of the camp entrance as I approached it.

Eva and I were exhausted and got completely lucky to discover that some wonderful angel had already put up our tent in the camp. We never did get to find out who it was, but it was probably a good thing for my hubby's sake, because I would have given this person a big, wet kiss right on the lips! Speaking of my hubby, he was also an angel. He and Eva's boyfriend were great and helped set up our air mattresses and sleeping bags for us so that by the time we had taken our showers we could just crawl into the tent and go to sleep.

I'd tell you more, but selective amnesia has helped me forget the pain and a lot of details.

Day 2 Retrospective coming soon...

Day 3: Free at Last!

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCOUNT OF EVENTS OF THE FINAL DAY OF THE 3 DAYS, AS WITNESSED BY "HUBBY".


SHE DID IT!

Nancy and Eva made it to the finish line this evening at Rawhide in north Scottsdale. Both were smiling and proud of their accomplishments as well as happy to be done at last.

In honor of this great accomplishment, I present to you, Nancy's top ten list of the lessons learned during her days on the the walk.

10. Hat head CAN be a fashion statement.

9. Sometimes blisters are a good thing.

8. It's OK to cry infront of a 6ft, 300 pound linebacker.

7. It is possible to have too many banannas.

6. In contrast, a cold grape can be better than sex. (no, I'm not offended. That's OK.)

5. When away from home for 3 days, it's not a given that the husband will remember to give the cats water.

4. A sunglasses tanline is a badge of honor.

3. In a state of extreme delirium, even the most mundane can appear to be the funniest thing you've ever seen

2. After 3 days of walking, getting off the couch isn't as simple a task as it may seem.

And the number one lesson learned from the 2005 3-day Breast Cancer Awareness Walk...

(drum

roll

please...)

...60 miles is a LONG way...

.

.

.

oh, and...there's no place like home.

.

.

.

Love ya sweetie.

Day Two, of a 3 (million) step program

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCOUNT OF EVENTS OF THE SECOND OF THE 3 DAYS, AS WITNESSED BY "HUBBY".



90 degress, today, and sunny. 19.6 miles on the agenda, ...

AND THE GIRL KEPT A'ROLLIN'!

Yes, she made it again. It started early. 4:45 a.m. I believe there was mention of an interesting attempt to break down the tent, with both participants still asleep on their feet. I didn't have the opportunity to witness this event, but rest assured, had I been there, there would be pictures (and a few giggles, I'm sure).

With repacking done and a bad breakfast consumed, they hit the road (an hour late).

It was warm today, but they made pretty good time. Around 2 pm, Nan's folks, her sister and I went down the street to a "cheering station" to watch as Nancy and Eva came by.

It was a party environment of sorts in the neighborhood. Horns blowing, people clapping, and Girlscouts chanting, "We love walkers!" One guy dragged out his garden hose to fill up the Walk Crews portable misting machine they had arranged for over-heated walkers. A family of four was standing by the road handing out popsicles to walkers as they passed by the family's front yeard.

Nan looked good. Walking strong and smiling that smile of hers. A little red-nosed, but still.

And yes, this too would be the last I would see her smile on this day.

We made plans to meet up at the campsite designated for this evening via cell phone, when she was some 4 +/- miles from the camp. The site for this evening was the campus of Scottsdale Community College. We figured it would take her about an hour and a half to get there. An hour later, a tired voice on the phone informed me she was running a bit behind and it would be another hour. She was alone, as her walking mate had had to ride to the camp with a bum knee.

At the appropriate time, we headed out to the camp to meet up with Nancy. Once there, we watched as walkers were coming in, wearily plodding through the finish line to the applause and cheers of the crews, friends and familes. As we turned to head towards the big tents, my cell phone rang, and the voice on the other end said,"I'm coming up behind you."

There she was, limping badly and red as a beet. Her first words, "I'm trying REALLY hard, not to cry right now." She was drained, completely exhausted and unable to communicate much of anything except, "I gotta pee".

We got her to her tent (which was a mere 3/4 of a mile from the finish line. Nice going folks, good planning.) where she collapsed. After much convincing we got her to agree to eat something.

I found a table outside the tent compound, up against the wall of the school's gymnasium . She hobbled to the table as I brought her a chair. As she sat there, picking at her dry, tasteless dinner, doing her best to hold back the tears of sheer exhaustion, the entire defensive line of the Sottsdale Artichokes football team (yes, that's right, the teams name is the ARTICHOKES) came bouncing by in full gear. All 11 of the 300 pound, tatoo covered, 6 ft tall defensive players, proceeded by their even larger coach, glancing at this poor girl at a makshift table, crying into her dried out baked chicken and rice.

A few minutes later, they came bounding back out of the locker rooms for a second pass. A quick side glance at her, then a direct look at me. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or run.

Following the dinner theater, we shuffled together over to the shower trailers, where, as I waited outside for her, I was asked by a very nice lady if I had found a new pick-up spot. Right outside the ladies showers. I mean if you're gonna hit on a girl, she might as well be half naked and too tired to walk, right?

Needless to say, we got Nan into her tent, warm and tight. And I'm sure she was out before I reached my car.

In 2 days, she's managed to walk some 40 miles in near 90 degree sun bleached temperatures on concrete, through city streets. With one day left, and 20 miles to go, all I can say is,...

we're proud of you sweetie.

Day One: and so it begins...

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCOUNT OF EVENTS LEADING UP TO, AND INCLUDING, THE FIRST OF THE 3 DAYS, AS WITNESSED BY "HUBBY".

THE NAMES HAVE NOT BEEN CHANGED BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, SHE'S JUST NOT THAT INNOCENT.

It all began early in the week, when my royal...highness... came home with 2 borrowed sleeping bags. It was at this point that the stress would, of course, begin in earnest. After much debate and endless testing...


...A decision was finally reached. (Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's my companion, my Queen, my...carrot top.)

With this hurdle behind us, the packing began. Last minute, of course, but there was still a full nine hours before the walk. No problem. We would just need to get her mountain of supplies into her single duffle bag. Right. OK.

During this phase of the carefully planned, and obviously on-schedule preparations, a 35 pound maximum limit was announced,... as if it had just been decided. Declared by the gods and offered as a dare to all who would risk opposing their wishes. (she has a way about her, my love does.) After all essentials were zip-locked and Tetris-ed into said duffle bag, the weighing took place. Thirty six and one half pounds...close enough....

JUST THEN...

...cries of "I can't carry that!", as if I'd just strapped my car to her back. (Now, she can walk 60 miles in 3 days, but she can't carry a 35 lb. bag 100 feet to a waiting teamster at the edge of a parking lot. Not questioning the logic, mind you. Just reporting the facts. God forbid.) After an hour of encouragement, we were all set.

She had double checked the list, she was packed, and it was time for bed. The morning would come swiftly and the Queen needed her sleep.

At 4 a.m., after a refreshing 3 hours of sleep, she LEPT from her bed, (after a due course of proding, shoving and mumbled threats) eager to take on the world.

Without any further complications, we arrived safe and sound at Tempe Town Lake, in time, and ready to hit the trails. Along with 1,000+ of her closest friends.

During the opening ceremony, personal stories of tragedy, inspiration and survival were lowered upon the dreary, though eager participants, bringing more than a few of them to bleary-eyed tears, including, of course, the Queen herself. With inspiration feeding their souls, the troops took to the streets to music and applause.

This would be the last time I would see a smile on her face this day. (at mile marker .25)

Nancy made it, though. It was sunny and 87 degrees, nice by Arizona standards, but still tough in the constant sun. She did 21.6 miles in under 11 hours, including the few 10 minute breaks they were permitted along the way. (The result of a scheduling error committed by the organisers and suffered through by the participants, to the great annoyance of my fair lady). Dehydrated, nauseous and a little sun burnt, but she did it.

Just some 40-odd miles and 2 days left. And she'll make it. She always does.

This evening I drove over to the campsite to help her set-up her tent. I've got to say, it can be slightly disconcerting to see thousands of Pepto-Bismol clad women, all wearily limping in unison around a sporting complex-turned refugee camp. The potential for estrogenical implosion was massive, and the results would have been catastrophic, if not really, really pink.

Hundreds of blue dome-like tents lined every spare inch of the fields. Every so often high-pitched giggles and laughter would come screaming out of some anonymous tent, by the few energetic survivors of DAY ONE.

Nancy had hobbled to the shower, and we tucked her into her tent with her walk buddy Eva. Not sure they'll ever get out of that thing. With all their gear and air mattreses and such, it looked more like a storage shed than a sleeping quarter.

After kissing her goodnight and wishing them a good walk for tomorrow, I headed out of the complex to my car. On my way out, I caught site of the few remaining, still conscious walkers enjoying a rousing karaoke by a middle-aged woman drenched in pink, carefully hobbling her way across a stage as she belted out some Aretha Franklin tune. As I passed by, the immortal words of the ancient poets rang in my ears,

"bless the girls,...'cause they're all friggin' nuts."

The beginning

I had planned on writing a really sappy and sentimental entry about beginning a journey tomorrow as I start the 3 Day Walk. That over the course of walking 60 miles I'll endure temporary discomfort and pain, knowing that many of the women I'll be walking beside are breast cancer survivors whose discomfort and pain is ongoing.

But considering I've got less than 9 hours before I have to be at Tempe Town Lake in the morning and I've packed, unpacked, and repacked a thousand times... well, I've really gotta keep this short. The good news is that my hubby will be acting as a guest blogger here over the next three days. Of course, for those that know my hubby, this may not be considered good news. (ha,ha!)

And if I haven't said it before, I just want to thank everyone who has sponsored me in the Walk for their support. I couldn't do this without you!

See you on the flipside of 60 miles!

Nothing in particular to say

I have one week to go until the 3 Day Walk, so most of my time is spent doing training walks and figuring out what I need to pack.

In training for the walk, Eva and I have been going on 10 mile training walks over the last few weeks. Not just on Saturday, but Sunday as well. And to try and avoid the heat, we head out pretty early (oh so freakin' early). So early that the sprinklers along the golf course are generally doing their thing. This past Sunday, without warning, one of the sprinklers decided to join us on our walk. The next thing I know, my left side is drenched. Not the side facing the sun, of course. So one half of me is wet and cold and the other half is a tad on the warm side. Anyway, we tried our best after this incident to avoid any sprinklers that were intruding on our path. We did pretty well until we were heading back. As we were parallel with a sprinkler head, we heard the sh-sh-sh sound it makes as it starts up. We each paused for a moment. Then, without looking at each other, we both literally ran down the path away from the sprinkler. Which, of course, didn't come close to watering the path we had been walking on. I can't imagine what the two bicyclists who were several yards behind us must have thought when they saw the two of us running away from the sprinkler. Oh no! Look out! The sprinkler might get us!!

I also went to a pumpkin festival this past weekend. I brought a new toy with me (it's a Birthday/Anniversary present from my hubby!) and took pictures of the sheepies in the petting zoo. Unfortunately, I haven't actually downloaded them yet, so you'll have to hold your breath in anticipation. Of course, then I'll download them and discover that I hadn't read the instructions correctly and none of the pictures will have come out. In which case you'll just have to use your imagination and picture the sheepies in your mind. See, now you're really in anticipation!

I'd give you more exciting news about my life, but I'm sleepy. (Now, now, no need to thank me!)

I know that this will come up eventually with other knitbloggers who are participating in Secret Pal 6. But I'm gonna save everyone else the trouble by saying that my Secret Pal is the best!! Wanna know how I know this fact? Because my (mostly) Secret Pal not only sponsored me in the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk, but she brought me up to my $2100 minimum. Wahoo! See? There's no way that anyone else's SP can even come close to mine.

:-)

In the I'm-continually-cracking-myself-up category...

One of my tasks at work is to look through the newspapers for law-related articles. As I was looking through one of our local newspapers today, I came across this article. While I was reading it, an attorney came up and asked me if there were any interesting articles in the paper. So I said, of course, that I was reading about making mosquitoes pee to death. The poor guy didn't quite know what to make of this announcement. He asked me if I said PETA, and I said no... urination. I highly doubt this guy will begin any future conversations by asking about interesting articles in the paper.

I also cracked myself up tonight when I was telling my mom about a woman I passed on the street with her sightseeing dog. I meant seeing eye dog. But I love the idea of a sightseeing dog. "Over on your right you'll see a statue. And on your left you'll see a fire hydrant. Oooh! A fire hydrant!"

Oooooowwwww!

I walked this weekend. A lot. Not as many miles as I should have, but a lot for me. I did 13 miles yesterday and then 11 miles with Eva this morning. My blisters now have blisters. Ouch.

Since I'm going to be sleeping, eathing, and breathing, ummm, walking over the next few weeks, I may not be posting many exciting thoughts over the next, ummm, few weeks. (Did I say exciting? Maybe I should have said coherent.) Of course, this assumes that I normally post exciting thoughts. For my ego's sake, let's just say that I do. k?

Anyway, before I go continue the nap that I started at 1:30pm, I've gotta finally tell you about the "microwave incident." The first time we used our microwave after moving last month, I noticed an electrical burning smell. I looked at the plug in the wall and the cord where it comes out of the microwave, but I didn't see anything so we just kinda shrugged and forgot about it. The next time we used the microwave I noticed the same smell. I looked again and I still didn't see anything. We decided that we'd only use the microwave when we were in the kitchen, just in case. So a few days later we use the microwave again, and there's the same smell. As I'm taking the food out this time, I notice something in the back of the microwave. I look closer and discovered that it's a nightlight. What the hell? Apparently, my hubby had packed a bunch of items in microwave for the move and kinda forgot this little item. Oops! After being nuked three times, the plastic had melted and the metal prongs were a little singed. But, amazingly, we were still alive. I'm thinking that the next time I want to cook a nightlight, I'm going to stick with baking it in the oven.