Well, the walk is over!!! Yippeeeeee. I had a great time and met a few new friends and had one of the toughest times I've ever had. Even with all my training, I ended up dehydrated on Friday and needed two liters of IV fluid. I was able to sleep in my own tent that night and started off the next day ready to go. By lunch time I was hurting again. My left knee was giving me fits, so I had Jeff bring me my old knee brace and headed off for camp again. By the time I got there, my left calf was killing me, so I headed for the Physical Therapy tent. They said I had pulled my calf muscle and they taped me up really good. I iced it until I went to bed, slept good until about 3am and then tossed and turned until it was time to get up. I hobbled around until I got warmed up and by 7am when it was time to go, I felt great! I hit the road and made the best time I've ever made. I hit the finish line at 12:30, finishing 182nd out of about 3000. I ended up with only 3 blisters this year. One is about the size of a quarter on the outside of my left heel and both of my second toes have a blister under the toenail - great huh? I'm going to the podiatrist tomorrow to see if there is anything I need to do for them.

Now, please don't think I'm complaining, because I'm not. I love doing these walks and I think it is for a great cause. I am convinced that if they (we) find a cure for one type of cancer, the cure for all types will come soon after. So this is how I can do my part and I will continue to do it as long as my little legs will carry me, and then I will probably go and be on crew!

I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and a great Holiday season to come!

Well, as you can see, I am really having a hard time keeping up. I really enjoy reading and looking at everyone else's pictures, but I can't seem to keep up with my own. I am going to put up a reminder so that I can see it - hopefully that will do the trick. It will also help when I get my new computer! This old laptop is really giving me a hard time, so I don't like to be on it more than I have to.

All is well here, Jeff is busy at work trying to make this deal work. He just went to California yesterday trying to get investors. It is just a matter of time...

I walked to my friends house yesterday, about 9 miles, to help out at her farm. She has a dairy and they give tours to schools in the area and also have private parties and things. Yesterday there were about 250 kindergarten and first graders there. Two friends and I served ice cream to all of them. It is really fun. I am going back tomorrow to help again.

I made this quilt to take on the 3day walk with me. I am praying for cool weather, so I will need it in camp to help keep me warm. I really enjoy sewing, I need to do that more too! It is hard to tell, but that fabric along the bottom has the breast cancer pink ribbons on it. It is also the little squares too. I took a class at Joann's and it really helped get me in the mood to sew.

I have also been doing a little baking, another thing that I really love doing. I am experimenting with using less sugar and so far things have turned out pretty good. It is amazing how much sugar we eat everyday.

Well, other than keeping up with the grandkids, that is about all that is going on around here. We love it when they come over, and now that the weather is cooling down, it will be more fun to be outside and play.

Have a great day!

Well, as you can tell, I have not been keeping up with the program! Lots has happened over the summer, I spent two weeks in Utah enjoying the cooler weather, Jeff and I have traveled a bit and now we are just waiting for our next grandbaby to make her arrival! She should be here any day...



Charley is in his next phase of training. He does pretty good in class, but it is afterwards that gives us problems. He is afraid of traffic, so when we walk on the streets, he is constantly pulling forward and backward, and trips me every chance he gets! I keep hoping that with enough exposure to the noise he will get used to it, but that is not happening so far. We were supposed to go 5 miles this morning, but we only made it about 4 because I just couldn't take it any more.



I am training pretty hard for my 3day walk, which is coming up in the middle of November. I walked 36 miles last week and the mileage goes up each week until the big event! I pretty much have the routine down, so far there have been no problems to speak of except that my fundraising is down this year, hard to believe huh? By this time last year I was pretty well set, but this year I'm starting to sweat it. I don't like to beg, but if anyone out there would like to donate to my walk, I would REALLY appreciate it! You can go the my webpage at http://www.the3day.org/. On the right hand side of the page, click on the 'donate now' link. At the bottom of the page, type in my name and state and it will take you to a page where you can click on my name again. That takes you to my personal page. Just follow the steps there to donate. Feel free to pass this information on to your friends, you never know who will be interested in donating to this cause, and every bit counts! This is a great cause, a cure has to be found for this terrible disease and when it is, I'm sure the cure for other cancers will follow.

Thanks for listening to my rantings and ravings - have a great day!!!

I forgot to tag the next group of people, so here goes. I tag Carrie, Danielle, Linnlee, Donelle and Tanisha. Sorry, I don't have any more people that haven't already been tagged. Have fun!

Well, I guess I've been tagged - I'm not too sure what this is supposed to be, but here goes!

The Rules: 1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.2. Peoplethat are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.3. At the end of your post tag 8 people and include their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment on their blog to tell them they've been tagged, and to comment back and read your blog for the whole story.

#1 - I have the absolute BEST husband in the world! We have been married over 30 years and it just keeps getting better.

#2 - I also love shoes. I go barefoot alot, but there is nothing that feels better than a new pair of shoes.

#3 - I have mild OCD...I count stairs when I go up and down. I try not to, but I just can't stop.

#4 - I have recently, in the last couple of years, started reading again. I didn't read anything for about 20 years. I am really enjoying it too! I am trying to read at least 6 books a year, and am doing pretty good. So far this year, I've read 5 and have two more started.

#5 - I don't like to get my hair wet when I'm in the pool. I have to stay away from everyone and threaten them with their life to not splash me.

#6 - I just took up quilting. I've sewn since I was 9, but I have never made a quilt.

#7 - I collect cook books and recipes. I try a lot of different things and experiment with lots of things. (I don't count cook books in the books I read each year.)

#8 - I made a commitment to walk in the Breast Cancer 3day walks (60 miles) each year as long as I can. I did it for the first time last year and am training for this year. It is really a great thing to do if anyone is interested! I can always use a donation!

Well, since yesterday was Father's Day, I would like to tell you a little about the father of my children. I first met Jeff 33 years ago. We were set up on a blind (sort of) date by my brother-in-law. I was 16 and Jeff was 19, getting ready to go on his mission. He was the coolest guy I had ever met and I just couldn't believe that he might like me. The first time he came to my house to pick me up with my sister and brother-in-law, I was so nervous that I could hardly stand it. We went to the movie (White Line Fever) and then out for pizza. It was such a great date! I was smitten right then and there, I only hoped that he felt the same. And as it turned out, he did. Who knew that love at first sight was for real???

We were inseparable for the two months before he left on his mission. He had already turned in his papers, and when he found out he was going to Idaho, he was surprised because he thought that everyone there were already members. When he came to my house after getting his missionary haircut, I cried. It was really going to happen - he was going to leave. (I wouldn't have wanted it any other way) The day came, all too soon, that it was time to go. I was with his family and we went to the airport. He was hugging and kissing everyone goodbye, everyone but me. But he did kiss Jordan and had him kiss me and said, "That is as close as we are going to get to a kiss for two years!" I was pretty upset the rest of the day. My friends from school had planned to take me out the coming up weekend to help me get over his leaving. We went to the drive in and had pizza, but I don't remember what we saw. I had great friends!

I was walking into my kitchen one evening when the phone rang. I picked it up and a voice on the other end just started talking to me like we had never been separated. I had to ask who it was and he was not too happy about that. I was just so shocked that he called me! We talked for a long time, he told me how cold it was already, but he was doing great. (It was the end of September) We wrote each other every week, I wrote sometimes more than once. He has a great big box full of letters and things I sent him and I have a small stack, about 3 inches tall, of the mostly post cards he sent me. I'm not complaining though, I know he had others to write and work to be done. I never knew that two years could go so slow and so fast at the same time. While he was gone, I managed to finish high school and get a job in Fort Worth.

The time was fast approaching for him to come home and I was getting more nervous by the day. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything but worry that he might not like me as much as I liked him. I took the day off when he finally did get home, mostly to stay in my room and worry. His parents picked him up and they went for him to be released from his mission. He came to my house then. My mom was famous for having the doors locked and this time was no different. We had this glass storm door, so when he rang the doorbell and I went to the door, we could see each other, but I couldn't get the dumb door open!!! I don't remember if we hugged each other but I can remember that he was just as wonderful as when he left! We went to his sister's house for the evening because she had had twins while he was gone and he wanted to see them. As we were driving to her house, it was like that two years hadn't happened and it was just a few days since we had been together. We had a great time together. It took him four days to propose after he came home. We had been out for pizza (I think pizza plays a big part in our relationship!), and we were sitting in the car in front of his house and he asked me to marry him. I had to think about it for probably 1/2 second before I said yes. We were married three months later, on January 10, 1978.

These past 30 years have been so wonderful! Sometimes we both look at each other and say that we can't believe that it has been 30 years. We have done a lot of fun things, had a few rotten things happen, but overall, there is nothing we would change. We have four of the greatest kids, who have married four more great kids and we have the best grandkids on the planet. (Sorry if I offend anyone!) Jeff has worked from home for a long time now and when he goes out of town or has a client that he needs to work a lot with, we miss each other during the day! It really is great to be married to your best friend!!!

Anyway, I'm sorry if I seem to be bragging about him, but he really is my world and I love him immeasurably! Happy Father's Day Jeff!

Well, it's official! Charley has graduated from puppy basic training...doesn't he look ready to take on the world? He did pretty good in class, but he will move up to the next step in training after his little snip, snip later this month.

Jeff leaves tomorrow for Lake Powell with some of our kids. I'm glad they have so much fun there, but I'll be just as happy staying here and embarking on my first quilting project. I met a lady this spring who is a quilter and she has graciously volunteered to teach me the finer points of quilting. She even has a long arm quilter so that the project can be professionally finished. I have also bought myself a Cricut Expression and am learning how to use it and make things. So far there have only been little experiments, but I can feel some bigger projects coming.

I am looking forward to going to Utah in about a month. I always love spending time with Analee and her family.

I hope you have been trying the recipes I've posted. I think they are pretty good. I just made the sweet and sour chicken today to take to a friends house for our Tuesday lunch bunch. There are about 7 of us that get together and talk and laugh and spend time in the air conditioning having a great time. I was really missing having some good friends to do that with.

Well, I'm sure I've bored you enough for this time - see you next week!