The Most Painful/Memorable Experience of my Life AKA The 3-Day

I traveled to Chicago on a Wednesday night, so the Thursday before the 3-day I got to relax a little bit.  So what did I do?  I went into the city, met a friend for breakfast, did some shopping, met my sister and her husband for lunch, shopped some more, and then watched my sister's volleyball game.  Yep.  Didn't relax one bit.

But I did get some of these little beauties.

 

And took the baby's first picture at the bean.

Clearly, Friday morning came early, early, early for us.  We were up by 3:45 (yikes!) and arrived at Opening Ceremonies around 5:30 a.m.  We took some time to walk around and explore and take a few photos before the event started.

This was our favorite saying of the walk.

It fit well.

Let me just tell you, the crew was amazing.  They were so enthusiastic and supportive...always there to give you a push when you needed it.  Or, you know, candy.

My goal for the walk:  Stay healthy for baby R!  Success.

Jessi's goal = Enjoy!  Hm.  That one's debatable :)  Ha!

The Opening Ceremonies were unbelievable. I can't even begin to describe to you how emotional it was to hear more about what Susan G. Komen actually does and what they stand for.

And to see actual breast cancer survivors participating in this event, unreal.  What kind of person goes through chemo and then says, hey, you know what sounds fun?  Walking 60 miles.  Amazing, inspirational people.  That's who.

Day 1 started off with a bang.  We were fresh, optimistic, and the weather was really nice.  It was hot, for sure, but not too bad.  We enjoyed pit stops along the way with yummy food, water, and Gatorade.  And of course...those blue port-a-potties.  Who could forget those?

We finished the day at 15 miles and decided to call it quits.  Our feet were killing us.  And unfortunately I had developed a major blister on the ball of my right foot which was very painful.  So we headed back to camp, showered up, and ate dinner.  All before the last walker came in.

We even had time to set up camp.  Check out the sea of pink!

 

This was also the day we learned to never, ever trust a crew member who says, "You're almost there!"  You're never almost there.  Two miles is NOT almost there.  Not even close.

Day 2.  We were up early again, deciding to get out on the route as soon as possible to spend the least amount of time in the sun as possible.  I expertly taped up my blister and we were on our way.  Two miles into the walk, squirt!  Blister = popped!  Jenny = pain!

I got the medical team to fix me up at the pit stop and I was good to go.  So we soldiered on.  Plus, Little Caesar's stopped over and gave us free pizza.  I wouldn't have wanted to miss that!  It was practically the highlight of my walk!  And the police and firemen of Mt. Prospect dressed in PINK!  Yummy!

We made it 11 miles on Day 2 before we keeled over.  How we made it 15 the first day, I will never know.  Plus, my blister started growing another blister on top of itself?  Didn't know that was possible.

Day 3 was the day we had been looking forward to the most.  It was when we finally got to walk in downtown Chicago!  We were up bright and early again (4:45!) to pack up our tent and gear and hit the road.  Again, we were optimistic about being able to make it the full day!

We were stupid.

We made it to the lake and got to walk all along the beach.  Then, it started to rain.  We ate lunch in a drizzle and debated catching the bus to the end.  But we thought, NO!  We'll just start walking and if we can't make it...we'll take a sweep van to the next pit stop and be done. 

Again,  we were stupid.

This leg consisted of trails where there was no sweep access.  AND, it started pouring a monsoon type rain that was so windy and cold we had to laugh at how awful we felt. 

I have no idea how we made it to the pit stop, but we did.  And we were finished!  12.2 miles for Day 3 put us in at just under 40 miles for the walk.  We were ridiculously proud of ourselves.  I mean, 40 miles?  Insane.  There is definitely a part of me that is disappointed I didn't finish the entire 60 miles, but I'm pretty sure the two months prior to the walk that baby R forced me to lay on the couch instead of train did me in.  So in reality, I couldn't be happier.

We took the bus to Soldier Field and took the baby's first pictures there!

The finish line was inside the stadium so everyone got to cross it which was such an amazing feeling!  We were done!!!

Want to take a little gander at how many people walked this event?

Any ideas yet?

Give up?

1600 walkers.  Isn't that incredible!?!

And we raised over 4.2 million dollars!!

The Closing Ceremonies were just as fabulous as the Opening ones.  And we got to celebrate with the family and friends of all the participants.

The survivors were again acknowledged which was so touching.

Overall, participating in the 3-Day was an incredible, life changing experience for me.  It was so hard.  Much harder than I thought.  And my feet hurt more than I ever thought possible.  But it was amazing.

People poured out love for us all along the walk and thanked us for doing it.  At first, I thought, why the heck are they thanking me?  All I'm doing is walking.  But then I realized....I'm doing more than that.  I raised money.  And I'm out here with thousands of people raising awareness for a devastating disease.  And it's working!  So many people are saved each year because of this organization and their donations...and I got to be a small part of that.

So will I ever do it again?

Hm.  Not next year!

I think I'll give crewing a try!

But talk to me in maybe 5 years or so.  When the pain finally goes away :)

I'm Alive!

Hey y'all!

I accidentally stayed away a little longer than promised.  Apologies! 

So many of you have asked me about the 3-day and I am so grateful for your continued interest and support.  It was nothing short of amazing and I cannot wait to recap it for you. 

Highlights:

• lots of laughs
• some intense mosquito bites
• the worst pain my feet have ever felt
• blisters spawning more blisters
• an amazing peanut butter, jelly, and graham cracker concoction
• inspiration to last a lifetime

And to top off the trip, I got to visit with a long lost college friend on Thursday AND take the baby's first picture at the bean.  I mean, this child has already been to the bean AND Solider Field.  Talk about spoiled....

I'll try to prep all the pictures for a recap next week.  But up tomorrow....

I'm 17 weeks!  My third appointment is tomorrow....and then in only two short weeks we will find out if we're having a little girl or a little boy! 

Oh....and our house....it has a roof.  An actual roof people.  It's absolutely beautiful and so far the most gorgeous house on the block.  You know.  Out of the three that have been started.  And I'm not biased at all.

The Time Has Come

Well ladies.  It's finally here.

Remember a few months ago when I told you I was going to walk 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day in Chicago?

It's this weekend.

Somehow the 3-Day got lost in the shuffle of this pregnancy.  Between puking my guts out and napping on the couch, training to walk 20 miles a day for 3 days has definitely not topped my list of "things I want to do today." 

But, I'm gonna try!  My doctor's given me the okay so I'm going to go into this thing and do as much as I can.  But I'm also going to let little Baby R lead the way.  If baby is tired, I'll rest.  If baby is hungry, I'll eat.  And if baby feels like puking...hey I'll do that too.  But this time I'll do it all in front of over 1,000 people.  Because I committed to this event and I want to see it through to the finish. 

So I'm heading to Chicago tonight to stay with my sister.  Tomorrow will be spent prepping for the big day...and then Friday morning, bright and early (well, come to think of it, it won't even be bright yet...) we'll be off! 

Although I'm nervous because of the whole carrying a child thing, I am really excited to have the opportunity to participate in this event.  The whole experience has been incredibly eye opening thus far and I have been so moved by the generosity of my friends and family.  And to be in the presence of so many woman committed to ending such a devestating disease, well, I'm sure inspiring is not even close to summarizing how it's going to feel.

I'm using Monday as a travel day...so I'll be back on Tuesday with a full report!  Hope everyone has a lovely weekend....and send some good vibes my way if you think about it, okay?  Babes and I could really use them!

Chi Town Bloggy Meet Up!

Good morning friends!! I hope your Monday was just fabulous! I have been a busy, busy girl the last few days and I am just now getting a chance to catch my breath! Work has been insane. I am in need of a serious vacation! Like one of those week long vacations you spend with your hubby on the beach somewhere with no cell phone reception? Yeah. One of those.

Anyway...

Oh what a weekend I had! As you may remember, I hit the streets of Chicago with Shaina, Jenn, and Lisa on Saturday. Shaina and Lisa were darling enough to pick me up from the train station in the morning and then we headed out for brunch. I had some seriously delicious french toast. Followed by a cupcake. German Chocolate to be exact. Yep. It was that kind of weekend.

We stopped over at Lisa's apartment, picked up Jenn, and headed out for more cupcakes! I had White Velvet this time...which was basically vanilla with white chocolate shavings on top...in case you didn't know....which I did not...but it looked awesome so I went with it. We wandered around different sections of the city and did some shopping. But let's be honest. We were really just wasting time until we could eat again.

We had dinner at a place called Hot Chocolate. Don't worry. They served actual food. I didn't just have chocolate for dinner. We scarfed down the garlic monkey bread for an appetizer and then I split a lamb sausage wrap and mac and cheese with Jenn. It was my first experience with lamb and it was so good! The brussel sprouts, however, were not my favorite. Ha! But I washed them down with some sort of chocolate dessert so all was right with the world.

By the way, I totally janked all of these pictures from this post by Shaina. For some reason I didn't take any pictures? Yeah. Stupid. But I think my camera was self conscious of the beauty of Shaina's pink camera so it wanted to stay hidden.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAINA!!

This was us at nearly every meal. Why did we not just get separate checks? Lesson learned.

Jenn was generous enough to drive me back to my sister's house and I took the Megabus back home Sunday morning. It was a simply fabulous weekend with some lovely, lovely ladies that I wish everyday lived across the street from me.

Up next...Valentine's Day with my hubby!

BLF and Bloggy Road Trip!

Here it is! Another edition of BL Fridays!!

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After a slight mishap last week, I rebounded this week and lost 3 pounds! Yeah!! That brings my grand total to 5 pounds in 4 weeks! I'll take it!

The week went pretty smoothly after our Super Bowl bash on Sunday where I consumed my weight in cheese. I decided to cut back a little on my points to make up for my indulgence on Sunday and it looks like that helped. I also hit the gym, did a few rounds of Taebo at home, and even dusted off my Wii Fit last night! Has anyone gotten the Wii Fit Plus yet?? What do you think? Worth the upgrade?

Today I am heading to Chicago! BUT, I am not going there to visit my sister (although I will get to see her face today!!). I am going to visit some other lovely ladies! Can you guess who?

No.

Well then I'll tell you!

I am going to be spending Saturday with Shaina, Jenn, and Lisa!! Our to do list includes such things as brunching, shopping, cupcaking, and dinnering. So pretty much shopping and eating. I could not imagine a better weekend! Well, maybe if this girl would be there. Next time for sure!

And I will be home Sunday afternoon to spend Valentine's Day with my forever Valentine!

Hope everyone has just the very best Valentine's Day weekend!! Can't wait to hear about your plans!

Superdog!

Last weekend, Matt and I headed off to Chicago to visit my sister and her husband! We had just a fabulous time and I cannot wait to go back!

We arrived late Friday evening and didn't really do much but head to bed. That bus ride sure does take it out of you! As an aside, can I just talk a second about the passengers of the Megabus? We had a young man, maybe early college age, sitting across the aisle from us. Here is just a taste of what we got to enjoy during our 6 hour trip:

• our very own rendition of Fireflies
• witnessing the conducting of an orchestra (we heard later he was taking out the soprano part in his head and changing it around...apparently he's in the choir)
  
• overhearing all about calculus and physics homework (who does homework on a Friday night?? Sad boys who will never, ever have a girlfriend. That's who.)
• hearing every street we passed relayed over the phone to his friend when we got near the city

By the end of the trip, I was completely delirious and found all of this hilarious. And we heard Fireflies 4 times over the weekend which made it even better.

Saturday we got to spend some quality time with this little man!



He had his very own Milkbone that he carried around with him all the time. He wouldn't even let go of it when he was chasing the tennis ball! So cute!


But my favorite thing about Mook was when his ear did this:


Family portrait!



This is as close as Matt got to Mook. Although his allergies weren't acting up, he didn't want to risk it. The joke all weekend was that Mook loved Matt the most and they were the very best of friends! You can tell by Matt's face that he didn't agree.


We spent the day playing board games, eating yummy deep dish pizza, and watching the Colts win! We also went to dinner and got to enjoy this deliciousness for dessert!




Sunday was pretty much more of the same...board games, leftover pizza for lunch, more football, just a wonderful relaxing weekend with family. Couldn't have been better.

We left Monday morning to go back home and spent the evening recouping from the trip. Isn't it funny how sitting on your butt for hours can make you tired? Weird. But we're back...and back to work...and ready to plan our next visit :)

I shall leave you with a few more pictures of Mook. I know. I am clearly puppy obsessed and I MUST HAVE ONE NOW!

Chi-Town!

Today I'm leaving for CHICAGO!!

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Unfortunately not on a jet plane...on a bus. The Megabus. But I'm leaving nonetheless.

Matt and I are going to visit my sister and her husband and are FINALLY getting to see their new house! I am very, very excited!

Our weekend will include but not be limited to:
Lots and lots of board games
Yummy food
Perhaps some rocking out
And of course...Wii time

But most importantly...I get to meet this little guy!


They just got a puppy last weekend and I am thrilled to be the first one to get my hands on this little man!! Oh, he is just the cutest thing! He apparently loves giving kisses and is quite the ball of energy!

My allergy ridden husband is thrilled to say the least :)

Best part. My sister named him after my brother. Meet Mook! (I get a lot of questions about this when I mention Mook so maybe I should explain. My brother's given name is Michael but my dad only named him that so he could call him Mookie. It's after some baseball player I think? Hm. Not sure. But anyways...the name stuck and everyone...even his teachers in school called him Mook or Mookie. It's just our normal now and I forget that it's weird. And when I say weird, I clearly mean awesome.)

I'm looking forward to a fabulous weekend with family! I hope your weekend is super relaxing and I'll probably be back on Tuesday. Chicago vacation = Monday off work for Jenny! Sweet :)