Ebates.com is Awesome

Why didn't I know about this earlier? I seriously have "earned" almost $50 and all I did was shop online at stores I normally shop from but go through the ebates web site. It tracks what you purchase and calculates the rebates that you earn. Follow this link and join Ebates. I will get a bonus for you joining and you will get a bonus gift card of your choice once you make your first purchase! Fun!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=haArV7bf%2FsCNU3fWiDiozg%3D%3D

Winner winner chicken dinner

The power ball lottery jackpot is high. Obscenely high. Close to 1/2 billion dollars which is something like 500,000,000 dollars. Crazy. I don't normally buy lottery tickets, but I had to. If I win, I will only be left with $250,000,000 after taxes, snort. That's all!?!!!

What would I do with all that money? Even though the chances of winning are astronomically low, it's still fun to dream. Dreams of being debt free, dreams of my family and friends being debt free. Dreams of buying some property and building a compound of homes for us and our friends to live. Complete with basement homes and a central rec area and a fabulous pool, outdoor kitchen, large grassy area and guest house for our extended families. (Why yes, i have been thinking about this quite a lot) Dreams of trips and traveling the world. An Amazing Race all our own. Educating our children through travel. Learning about different cultures and people, their history...how great would that be?

Donating my time and money. Who and where would I decide to give to? Needy families? School districts in need? Homeless animals? Children that need to be adopted? Frustrating. Not enough time or money even if I were rich.

Who will win? I think it's always interesting to see who the lucky winner will be. I have a plan to skip town until I find myself a great accountant/lawyer to help me out with the fine details. Would we need to disappear or could we just continue with life as if nothing out of the ordinary happened? WOULD we want to continue our lives?

So many things to think of if I were a winner winner chicken dinner.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby's Got a New Pair of Shoes

This time of the year is busy, very busy. School, work, projects, shopping, cooking, cleaning, guests... Wow! Luckily I had time today to shop for some new shoes for myself. My next 5k will be here before we know it and I hope my shoes will arrive even before that. I got another pair of Nikes. Nikes are my favorites because they fit my arch the best. The ones I decided on are black and purple running shoes. snort. (since I will be "running").

I got Cassi and my "unique registration confirmation code" by email yesterday. It is a cool scanny thingy that we can show on my phone or print out and bring. I guess they will scan it and give us our numbers and jackets.

Getting excited to see all the people and eat some chocolate. yum

"Will Run for Chocolate!"

Test Post

I know, I just posted, but I got an app for my phone and wanted to make sure that it works so that I can better update my blog "on the run" ;)

I also wanted to post a motivating picture for my next 5k.




And one more for good measure.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ok Ok. How I feel about it.

My friend Julann said that I forgot to write about the most important parts of my first 5k.

I was extremely worried that I would get "swept". Disney posts all over the place about how you must maintain a 15 minute mile. Yeah, I didn't know if I could do that even though I am able to walk. ha Well, I am happy to report that I did not get swept and I figured out that I finished the 5k in about 40 minutes. I didn't look at the time clock when I actually walked accross the start line to know my time once I crossed the finish line, but it was pretty close to 40 minutes. I walked and ran. There were times that I knew I would walk, like going up hills. There were times when we were forced to walk,  like the bottle neck through the castle. I followed my friend Hannah's advice and paced myself with a couple people around me. I would pass them and then they would pass me and then I would pass them. It was cool. I really enjoyed myself. I am very proud of myself. I am doing another 5k in a couple of weeks and best part is that they will give me chocolate at the end. Cool, huh?

I Did It! (long)

I haven't been keeping up with my blog. I'm sorry. I will try harder. I love to blog but have been so crazy busy since the 5k that I haven't even had the time to update on what happened.

I brought my daughter Cassi with me to watch the Disneyland 5k. I think she had fun. I rode over with my two nieces, Kendra and Kara, who ran the 1/2 the following they. They ROCK!

It was a nice relaxing ride, as I didn't need to do anything but sit in the back seat and buy gas.

Once we arrived to the hotel and got settled in, Julann and Sky joined us. We walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our bibs. I was very excited and was very happy to see my name printed on my bib. I got my pin and we went up to the expo to see all the cool running stuff that they have available. We all got hairbands and some free stuff to fill our bags. It was fun.

We then went and had dinner in downtown Disney. The weather was so beautiful that we were able to eat outside. Something we aren't able to enjoy very often in Arizona. As we were walking back to our hotel for the evening we watched the fireworks light up the night sky. I love Disneyland and am so happy that I chose this venue for my first 5k experience.

Once we got back to our hotel, we got everything pinned and prepped for the next morning (which came way to early). It was time for bed. I was excited and nervous and hoped that I drank enough water. Luckily I fell straight to sleep.

Once we were dressed and ready to go, my nerves really started to set in. What if I was so slow that they "swept" me? What if I were the last one to cross the finish line? What if I couldn't do it and wasn't able to cross the finish line? These were all thoughts running through my head. Julann kept me grounded and kept telling me it would be a breeze. She said it would be fine even if I needed to walk the entire race. She said "look at that old lady and that little kid...surely you can beat them". She built up my confidence. I love her. Kendra and Kara came to support us and watch over Cassi while we were running. That was awesome since I didn't register Cassi in time and the race was full before I could do it. (there is always next year)

We got in line like a giant group of heifers and waited for the starting gun. There were A LOT OF PEOPLE! The first group of racers were allowed to start. We were held back to give them time to spread out. Finally it was time for us to start!! I could see Mickey and Minnie urging us on at the Start line. THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE! We crossed the starting line....but we were still walking...THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE! Finally, the crowd loosened up a little and we were able to start jogging. I was a little frustrated by the walkers and trying to dodge my way around them. I tried to focus and be present in the moment. I was running my first 5k, this was supposed to be fun. I followed my friend Hannah's advice and paced myself with the people in front of me. There was a group of us that kept pace with each other. We took turns passing the crowd and falling behind. I know Disneyland like the back of my aging hand and knew the areas that I would need to walk, aka the hills. So I walked and jogged and walked and jogged and saw Julann and saw Cassi and Kendra and Kara. We ran through Disneyland and California Adventure. The end was near. I rounded the corner into Cars Land and could see the Finish Line. YES! The finish line. People were lined up and cheering us on. I jogged down the street and crossed the finish line. My time wasn't very fast but it wasn't bad. 43 minutes. THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE. I collected my "medal" which was not made of metal but was cute none-the-less. I got my snack pack and I watched as the other runners crossed the finish line.

I took pictures and had a huge smile on my face. We went out for a celebratory breakfast complete with Mimosas.

Do Viking Woman Run? I don't know if all Viking Women Run, but this one will keep trying.