mix & match links

I have a lot on my mind & heart, a lot of great posts read in the past couple of days & instead of not doing them justice, I am listing them w/ links, here, now.

• The first: THIS amazing selfless mama

• Next: we had a virtual 5k today @ the 'hood in honor of our sisters & Dr. Mo running half & full marathons this weekend.  I participated -there's me in the middle-allllllllll bundled up for our 8 degree run this morning.
• I am super excited to have found a fun site that focuses on simple scrapping! Time to return to my simple scrapping 'roots'. I love to look @ others' detailed pages that are full of elements but I can never get that style right.
• Edited to add: the new widget to the right! check it out! Gabe's Gifts, AMAZING project!!

ok so this is not everything I've been wanting to post about but its enough for tonight :)
  Have a great weekend!!

up up & away!!

OK so you've read my posts about joining a local running group & I so love it!! I liked running by myself w/my music but I LOVE running w/the girls!  While running several nights we talked & decided we needed a goal to accomplish from all of this running.  Along came the Fight for Air stair climb & the Live Healthy Iowa challenge.  Altho the challenge starts first, the stair climb requires fundraising so here is a little post to jump start that action.

FIRST: some facts;

I am asking for your support because…


*Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and is responsible for one in seven deaths.
*Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.
*Asthma is the number one chronic disease of children.
*COPD currently affects 10.2 million Americans.
*Air Pollution poisons the lungs of over 60% of Americans each day.

ewwwwwwwww! that makes me cough just thinking about it all!

SECOND; see those buildings up there^^? Those are the stairs we will be climbing! a little info: the first one EMC Insurance Offices, 17 floors, the second, Hubb Tower ~18 floors, the last, The Des Moines Marriott Downtown~28 floors. I will share more info on each building in a later post.

AND THIRD: This is my thermometer that is supposed to tell how well my fundraising is going :) I hope to figure out how to do a direct link @ the side of my page over there~~>> soon.

Enough business! I hope you have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!!!!

Simplify

I must report that this Simplified year is going well already!  I am letting go of unnecessary details, unnecessary stress, & unnecessary worries.  I am loving the Simplified way of thinking already!  I have reallly used it more than I thought in just 3 days.

 Scrapping-I am back to Simply getting them scrapped, not over doing the details, no putting thos unnecessary, unrelated items on the page just b/c they are pretty.

 Cooking-Simple foods. Getting further from the boxes & cans & using Simple foods to cook, bake & nurish the bodies I cook for.

 Clutter-OYE! I have been able to bless 3 other homes w/multiple items each from our home THIS WEEK! just things I had stored or on hand 'just in case' & never used them, so they are on to their next home.

 Dishes-Simply do it. Simply unload the dishwasher while waiting on something in the microwave or on the stove top, Simply reload the dishwasher when you take a dirty dish to the sink, Simply do it NOW.

 Laundry-This will take some time as I hope to par down my closet & drawers ALOT this year.  I am starting a stack for various artists to upcycle tshirts into various things, I thought I'd make a tshirt quilt but do we really need another blanket? I am getting rid of 3 this week that have been stored in totes for over a year... LOL I wear the same 5 top sets(I layer) to work in so why are there 10 in the drawer? Cross Ministries, I plan to make my first drop off  of the year, the morning of the 29th!

 Worries-I had a head start on this from my 'appreciate' year in 08 but I plan to continue & grow on this in '11.  I plan to make a point not to worry about things I cannot control, I can better use that energy to run, or clean or organize. Simply enjoy the here & now, or sit out a situation until it heals itself, as most do.  What will be will be.

 Running-Simply get out there & do it! Relax & Run. Enjoy the company, enjoy the energy, Simply live it. Quit worrying about what if the group falls apart, what if I let them down, what if there becomes drama.. not that I have worried, just fleeting thoughts.

 Cleaning-Simple homemade products are on my list to explore this year.

How are you coming along w/your OLW?

Power of 1

New challenge! New Year! New Goals!
cruise on over to the 'hood & check it out!

the first challenge is posted already -imagine that, they r THAT good!- so here are my goals for the new year!

• continue to grow our local running group of Eat, Pray, Run
• participate in the Fight for Air climb in March w/our group
• participate in the Healthy Iowa challenge w/our group
• work w/our group & organize & hold a successful, official 5k
• keep getting healthy-getting those veggies & dairy servings  & exercising daily
• make eating healthy a priority & natural response instead of something I have to focus on
• participate in 6 5Ks & maybe a 10k this year
• be able to run those whole 5Ks w/o walking breaks

OK, I think those 8 are a good start!
Thanks to our local running group, I am out there running almost every night! we are up to running 2 miles & walking 3 in intervals And plan to change that up after the first of the year, extending our running intervals & shortening our walks.