There are toddler tornadoes, and then ...

... there are tropical storms that are game-changers for toddlers. Head over to Phase Three of Life for my guest post about our experience braving Tropical Storm Debby late last month. Meg is enjoying the tropical life while on vacation (Kristin says unjealously as she makes up words like "unjealously" and writes in the third person) and hopefully not encountering any storms aside from perhaps fruity drinks like hurricanes.

Random randomness 5.20.11

What the ...: I ran a 5K two weeks ago. It was a gorgeous morning to run, and the course started and ended at a beachy, water-front park on Anna Maria Island, which is uber cute. Despite the fact that I had only gotten four hours of sleep the night before, I was eager to run and push my time (largely because I needed to get home fast, shower and head off to a bridal shower I was cohosting, but I digress). There were probably 250 runners, and as the pack started to break up a bit, I realized something about a woman running in front of me: She was barefoot. I've never seen it, and I maybe could have understood if it happened on a beach course, but this was road. Asphalt. Florida pavement.

Bizarre.

The view before the race.

She ended up finishing the race, and I really can't imagine that was a comfortable (or healthy) way to run, but maybe she had a purpose or was trying to make a statement. There was another runner who was wearing a veil. I asked her why she was wearing the veil, thinking maybe she was getting married that day, which would be really cool. But apparently she was engaged and planning an August wedding. Her maid of honor was running with her and suggested they run a race the morning of the wedding, too ... Still kinda puzzled why the veil was a key part of this May race, but an interesting people-watching moment regardless.

I'm old AND lame: For my birthday last month, I got some money. And while I'd love to blow it on all sorts of fun stuff or stash all of it in our savings account, I thought carefully about how to designate each dollar. One of my chosen purchases? Electric toothbrushes for Tim and I. They've been on my Amazon wish list for months, and I finally decided that they'd be worth the investment (I mean, if you've got good teeth and gums, surely you're saving on dental care in the long run, right?). Lest you all think that I'm a hopeless cause, please know that I did order a new pair of sandals (they were desperately needed, as sandals are year-round attire in Florida) and buy some makeup. The rest, though, *did* go in to savings.

Because I'm old, I'm loving this: This primer rocks. I saw an ad in a magazine for it a few months ago, had a few coupons and bought it on sale, figuring I didn't have much to lose if I didn't like it. I big pink puffy heart it. It makes my face incredibly smooth, and it feels so soft and silky going on. Sometimes I'll just put my moisturizer, primer and a dust of powder on, and I'm ready to go, sans foundation. It lasts a long time, too - I'm just now starting my second little jar.

Texts you don't expect to receive from your husband while at work: "What are you feeding this child?! Another huge poop just happened."

Birthday bonanza: Happy birthday to my beloved sister Marti and dear friend Meghan! (You can read more about them in a birthday post from two years ago here.) Our friend Kelly is also celebrating her birthday today at work with Tim (with these yummy cookies - one of her favorites, muah hahahaha).

Pear-fectly unacceptable: I have developed quite a love/hate relationship with pears. I'm not a huge fan of the fruit myself, but Elle L-O-V-E-S them. My problem is that they stain cute baby clothes like nobody's business. I've had great success getting all other stains out of Elle's clothes since birth ... except the pears seem to have outsmarted me. (Cantaloupes are problematic as well.) Elle always seems to be wearing cute, white onesies when she eats pear, and the stains are a light brown. Not. Cool. The stains are hard for me to see *before* washing, so by the time the clothes are washed they've been pretty set, but I'm going to try to be a bit more proactive on the pesky buggers.

Best trainer ever: I was playing Zumba for Wii yesterday morning while Tim and Elle were in the other room. Tim brought Elle in and told me I was getting a standing ovation for my performance. I turned around and saw Elle Belle clapping enthusiastically. Quite the encouragement to continue my workout :)

Ch-ch-changes: Just a heads up, abundance of faithful readers: We're going to be changing our blog name, address and design in the next few weeks. I'll give more of a heads up before it's about to happen, because things will likely be kinda wonky for a few days as we make the switch, but typing in the old address should automatically redirect you to the same page, old links should work the same, etc. I *think* the only thing that changes is you might have to update the site if you read through Google Reader, but again, more info as the time approaches. I'm excited :)

Squeaky Sophie: As I mentioned in a previous post, Sophie was missing, so we ordered a replacement Sophie. (Amazon's price on Sophie is the lowest I've found, and free two-day shipping because of Amazon Mom? Thankyouverymuch.) Replacement Sophie's squeaker is in hyper drive. The old Sophie squeaked, but you had to definitely squeeze her to produce noise. If you look at Replacement Sophie the wrong way, she squeaks loudly. If you breathe in her vacinity, SQQQUUEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKKK. Elle finds this amusing. (And judging from the consistent, enthusiastic squeaks I heard from Elle and Tim playing while I was trying to sleep yesterday morning, Tim finds this amusing as well.)

Thoughts and prayers: A little baby girl is in the hospital and facing an uphill battle. The baby is the daughter of two people I work with, and while I don't know them personally, their story has hit me hard. The baby was born when the mom was 23 weeks and 6 days pregnant - viability is 24 weeks. She's teeny tiny and fighting hard but has already had several procedures and surgeries and is being closely monitored for various complications. Her parents are essentially living at the hospital, immersed in the beeps and hums of the monitors and machines keeping their daughter alive. Her mother has only been able to hold her twice - in the more than five weeks since she was born. Twice. If you have any extra thoughts and prayers to spare, please consider sending them to this family.

Happy birthday, times two!

Today is a special day - it's the birthday of a) my favorite Reds baseball player, Adam Rosales, and b) my matrons of honor!


I picked Meghan and Marti to be my matrons of honor only because they shared the same birthday and had similar initials - Martha Ellen and Meghan Elizabeth (although Meg has since dropped Elizabeth in lieu of her maiden name, although I must say I have strongly disagreed with that choice, but she's aware of that, did it anyway and it's a long story ...)

ANYWAY.

Seeing as how I'm the little sister, I've known Marti my whole life. I did pretty much everything she did - band, German Club, National Honor Society, Girl Scouts, etc. She'd just always been there, and I took her for granted. Until she went away to college. FOUR HOURS AWAY. This was HUGE. Sure, I had my own room (score!), but I'd lost my roommate, and that was jarring. I tried to be all cool in all of my freshman-in-high-school ways, but it was hard having her so far away. Suddenly (and even more so two years later when Mom was pregnant with Doug), I was the oldest. Marti always told me I got everything I had because of her - you know, if Mom and Dad told her she couldn't go to the movies with friends or something like that, fours years later they'd mellowed out and *I* was allowed to do all of those things.

After I went to college and started my world tour of newspaper jobs, Marti's home in Columbus was often a getaway. While in Lima, Columbus was closer than our parents' house. Flights from Tampa to Columbus were often cheaper and more convenient than other Ohio airports. Hours of relentless teasing have been lost because I am so far away now. Alas, I vow to make up for it someday.

When Tim and I got engaged and decided to get married in Ohio, Marti was PRICELESS in our planning. Every time someone asks me where we got married, I say, "We got married in Ohio, but my sister really helped with everything so it wasn't as bad as it sounds." And it wasn't. I don't know how she put up with me and my demands/requests/precious inquiries, but she did, and I'm glad I have a patient, loving and threatened kind sister who helped us out. While it would have been easy for us to grow apart as the geographic distance has increased, I think we've gotten closer, and I hope someday we'll live near each other again.

Happy 32nd birthday, Mart!

Even though I'm older than Meg, I have *not* known her her entire life. (This fact might be the saddest of Meghan's life. So sorry, Meg.) I met her at Kent State in the Stater office during training for our fall 2001 newspaper staff. Meg was taking over the Administration beat, which I had covered that summer. I handed her a pile of crap my notes and told her to let me know if she had any questions. After that, I don't remember the details - somehow she ended up being my very best friend, and those last two years of college were full of memories with Meghan. We used to get up insanely early and work out at the Rec Center. Exercise has never been as much fun - I think we'd be there for at least an hour, talking, sweating, wondering why we were awake, and not even realize we were working out. We'd walk home from classes together, make random runs for Chinese food and Dairy Queen and scheduled trips for gas station cappuccino. We're classy like that.

After Meg graduated, she went to Arizona for a fellowship - and hasn't come back. She met the love of her life out there and has provided me and countless others with a really cool place to vacation. No matter how physically far apart we've been, though, we've been in constant contact - e-mails, phone calls, visits. It hasn't mattered that we see each other once, maybe twice a year (last year, when we both got married, we saw each other a whopping THREE TIMES!). She's been there for me through good and bad, through moves, love, laughter and wedding planning.

Happy 27th birthday, Meg!

Love you both and wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys ... Meg and I could be your DD, Mart :-)

One month, people. That's ONE. MONTH.

My best friend Meghan's hike of the Grand Canyon is ONE MONTH from today. (Background can be found here.)

Meghan has been fundraising and hiking her butt off for the last four months. She's basically spent every waking minute that she's not at work or in class to prepare (both physically and financially) for this hike, which benefits a cause that has or will affect many of us. The money Meghan raises will go to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and from my experience with the Susan G. Komen walks, pledging $10, $25, $50 - while Meg hikes for 12 miles knowing she's not just doing this for herself, but for everyone who contributed to the cause - is huge.

Think of it this way - you pledge $20 for cancer research, and you can sit at home on May 9, watching baseball, reading the paper, taking the dog for a walk, etc., knowing you've done something good. You pledge $20 for cancer research, and Meghan will spend the entire day hiking in the Grand Canyon - in May, mind you, when it's HOT - and will know that she can't stop or give up because she can't let you down.

Even if all five (six, seven?) of our blog readers pledged $20, Meghan would raise at least $100. That's a good chunk of change for a good cause.

If you are in a position to donate to a great cause and support a great person, or if you know someone who might be interested in supporting cancer research, please visit this site.

Thank you all!

Don't forget!

My best friend Meghan's hike of the Grand Canyon is TWO MONTHS from today. (Background can be found here.)

If you are in a position to donate to a great cause, or if you know someone who might be interested in supporting cancer research, please visit this site.

Thank you all!

Support cancer research - and my best friend, too!

Hi all,

My best friend Meghan, a wonderful human being and talented journalist, is raising money for cancer research. Some of you have met her, many of you have heard of her.

Meghan is not just asking for money and sitting at home eating Cheetos - she's training for the next three months on some of the most difficult trails in Arizona (and in those three months, it will be getting hot on those Arizona trails, so we're not talking mild temps and cool breezes). Her words are below, but I wanted to share this with the limited Florida Wolfrum nation in the hope that you might support her or forward this along to someone else.

Meghan and her friend Kelly are chronicling their training efforts here.

Meghan's fundraising goal is $2,900 - not a small amount of money. But every $10, $25, $100 will add up and help her reach her goal.

Thank you all for reading this!
Kristin


Here is Meg:




Here is Meg's letter:

Dear family, friends and colleagues,

It is with great excitement that I tell you I am training to hike the Grand Canyon as a member of Team in Training (TNT) on May 9.

I have enjoyed hiking since moving to Arizona nearly 5 years ago, but I have never attempted a hike of this length or difficulty. I will be training each weekend with a group of hikers, as well as during the week on my own. To prepare for the Grand Canyon, I'll be hiking some of the most difficult trails in Arizona , including Camelback Mountain , Piestewa Peak , and Humphreys Peak in Flagstaff (the highest point in the state!).

The hike will be challenging, but I am doing it with TNT to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a non-profit health organization dedicated to finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society supports research, patient financial aid, education and community services. Everyone on my team is raising funds to help stop these diseases from taking more lives.

I have no doubt that you have been touched by cancer in some way. We all have. I strongly believe it is important to support research in all types of cancer. Once we find a cure for one cancer, cures for the rest won't be far behind.

I have committed to raise $2,900 to support the cause, and would love your support. Your donation will help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's mission of finding cures and saving lives. What's more, it's fully tax deductible. More than 75 percent of the $2,900 will go directly toward research and patient services. If I surpass my goal of $2,900, 100 percent of those donations will go to research and patient services.

There are two ways to donate:

1. Go to my personal TNT training page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/CanyonS109/mwalbert

2. Send me a check made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (e-mail megwalbert@yahoo.com for the address).

I also encourage you to pass this letter (or the URL above) to anyone else who might be interested in supporting this cause. Whatever amount you can give will help - every penny counts!

Thank you for your support!

Meghan