Our Family ANGEL WALK 5K!

The Angel Walk 5K was amazing!  I felt like the luckiest Mom ever to be with there with my family.  I was privileged to say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem with everyone there, including my daughter- yes, she knows almost every word!  You can see the little angel we walked for in his Daddy's arms in the picture above.  The school principal spoke too about his enthusiasm for life and watching basketball!

This is Chad explaining to Michael about how not every kid can run and play like he can.  Clearly, it was an eye opener, but a good thing to understand too.

There was a great family making balloon art for the kids for free!

 

We got in line with the stroller brigade!

And we were off, along with many other families from all walks of life...

 

Below is the one stop sign on our main street through town- no stoplights in Homedale!

 

 This cracked me up!  The dogs were drinking from the canal!

The child in front of us got his balloon sword untwisted somehow and began to cry.  Chad learned how to make balloon animals and toys though while doing a service project on his LDS Mission to Holland, so he stepped in and saved the day!

A tired baby...  He's walking so much! :) No, really he was SO well behaved for the almost two-hours he was in that thing!  And so was Sam. :)

We made it!  Look how happy my kids are.  LOL  No, but really, except for a minor fiasco where Michael had to use the bathroom and we had to knock on a (kind) stranger's door for a potty break, they were great the whole 3+ miles!

 

Me with my angels...

They put hearts on our hands at the halfway mark, and here we are showing ours off!  I don't think there's anything my family could have done to show more love and support for me that Mother's Day Weekend.  Love you and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!  -Eva  

 

My Downhill Slide... :( And Uphill Climb!

This week was hard.

It started with the hotdogs and chips they were giving out for free after the 5K.  I knew there would be food, and hotdogs, but I thought there would be some healthy options too.  I also thought one hotdog wouldn't hurt too much if there weren't other healthy options.

So I ate it.  And the chips.  My first mistakes.

Then I had to run errands and only had some granola bars in my purse- good ones, but still a packaged, convenience food that doesn't make my tummy very happy.  My stomach felt worse.

Then I got home to a house of stressed out, whining people.  The contrast from the high-spirited, inspiring event I had just left was drastic and depressing.  But there was a birthday party to get ready for, so it was rush, rush and more food, food, food.  It was easy to think, "I've already had some junk today and ran a lot, so I'm just going to let today be a day off."  A huge slice of cake, bite of cookie, scoop of ice cream and glass of punch later...I felt awful.

I used to be able to eat this and feel fine.  Yes, I was larger but I felt fine.  But my body cannot handle it now.  It had been weeks since I'd been uncomfortably full and now I had felt that way after several meals.  So you'd think I'd start the next day off great, right?

No, I woke up physically ill.  When I didn't eat I was nauseated and when I did eat I still was nauseated.

Monday, the same and another celebration to be part of.  I got my favorite fresh salsa and cucumbers to eat it with and was checking out when BAM!  I saw a sale!  Tortilla chips, Gluten Free, two bags for $3.  I grabbed a couple so other people could enjoy the salsa too.  Of course, I ended up eating most of the first bag.

Leslie Sansone (yes, from the cheezy DVDS where you can walk miles in your living room) says "One good decision leads to another."  I totally believe that!  You eat a good breakfast and you want to eat a good lunch.  You get a good workout and you want to fill yourself with healthy fuel.

But it's important for me to remember the converse of this too.  For me, One bad decision leads to another.  Do you think I wanted to exercise on the days I ate poorly and the days after when I felt sick?  No way.  The only thing that kept me kind of going was remembering that my Dad would want me to make the most of each day I have with my body and if he had the chance he would take the walk.

So my weigh in wasn't a gain...

But it wasn't much of a loss either.

Still, I took that small loss as a blessing and moved forward with it.  My family (kids and hubby and sometimes dogs) and I have taken walks four evenings this past week.  I took a morning walk wearing Sam on my back and pushing Michael in the stroller and saw goats!  Then we had to do the walk again so the whole family could see goats! 

 We've played at the park and stayed active and I'm grateful for that. 

But I am going to remember Jillian Michael's quote more:  Self-control is overrated.

On the show The Biggest Loser there's an episode where they're at a restaurant.  When she see's what someone on her team ordered she dumps an entire salt shaker on his plate so he can't eat it.  Well, I know now that if I have it around me I will take that one bite to "give it a try" or "just have a little and not be too healthy", and then I will take one bite more and then another and another.

Lab rats in experiments have proven it!  They will walk across hot metal plates to get to sweet and salty foods even when they aren't hungry, while the starving rats won't walk across those same hot plates for bland food.  The level of dedication to get that processed sweet or salty food was almost as high as the addicted rats trying to get to their cocaine (from The End Of Overeating.)  Our bodies are programed to want that flavor and the best way I've found to avoid it is to AVOID IT! :)

So here I am avoiding it...  That other bag of tortilla chips is going to be part of my work out as I jump rope on top of it and crush it to pieces. :)

More about the Angel Walk tomorrow!  Happy Friday!  If you're eating out try Subway or Blimpies like Chad and I did tonight  and "Eat Fresh"! LOL   Love, Eva

The 5K Report...Pictures of "The Force" Finding A Cure For Type 1 Diabetes

I am finally writing about my 5K run for Type 1 Diabetes!  It has taken so long to get to this place emotionally (and physically) where I felt like I could write.  I will explain why in another post.

Here are some things I learned...

Darth Vader supports finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes! It was nice to see "The Force" and the Dark Side come together for this event.  Although it was sad to hear a child call the Yoda, "Shrek."  Somebody get that kid an episode of Star Wars!


I LOVED ALL THE TEAMS!!!  Families of all ages and backgrounds were there, walking together and supporting this cause as a group.  There was a Smylie team...

I love this old man wearing a Smylie T-Shirt.

A bunch of young girls were there to support Team Kendra... 

And then a group in the camouflage was there for Ashlynn.

I could see her wearing a shirt that said "Find a Cure For ME!"  Here she is with her friends looking at the cars from the car show.  The kids with Type 1 Diabetes got to have their picture taken in their favorite one.

You can see this family with their faces painted, in support for a toddler with Diabetes.
Type 1 is a kind that you are born with and can present itself at any age, young or old, although it usually presents itself in children.  Having this disease is not related to how you eat or exercise.
These children's bodies do not produce insulin.  Insulin is the hormone that converts sugars, starches and other foods into energy for the body to use.  These kids may have to prick their fingers and check their blood's insulin levels up to 6 times a day.  

 Still, through all of this event there was such a positive feeling!!! 
The pink shirts below say Diabetics are Sweeter!  :)

Here I am with the Skunk of the Stinker Stores, a gas station chain here that helped sponsor the event and where I first learned about it.  And that's the Red Robin of Red Robin who also helped sponsor the event.
And then there's me, who also helped sponsor the event!  Well, kinda. :)

 

Also, apparently Darth Vader likes dogs, although this one didn't seem certain if it liked him.

 I loved the many posters I saw telling people's stories...

 

Even though these little boys were being "tough" they were wearing shirts with two little girls on them, two little girls who live every day with Type 1 Diabetes.

Once the opening ceremony started, the Boy Scouts led us in the Pledge of Allegiance (wow, it's been a while since I've said that!) and we of course were privileged to hear a great performance of
The National Anthem.

Moms and kids alike listened as they announced we had not only reached the goal of raising $140,00 at this event for Type 1 Diabetes research, but they estimated an actual total of $155,000.  That is incredible! Especially considering the economy we are in...

I am truly inspired and grateful to all the people who donated to help us reach these numbers and who encouraged me to be part of this race and fundraiser.

The sweet Dad below was there with his two girls and a red wagon to participate in the walk, one even with Down Syndrome.   I'm telling you, these people were so positive, happy and supportive of each other! I felt humbled and lucky to be there.

 Finally, it was time for the 5K to start!  We migrated from the stage to the start.  I love this teenage boy's shirt: "I'm with diabetic ->" LOL

 Ashylnn and some other children with Type 1 Diabetes cut the ribbon...

 The man with the white hair helping is the CEO of the program.

 

And we were off!  Team Smylie took the lead and then the line just kept going...

 and going...

 and going!  The line literally stretched for miles!

 At one point in my running I caught up with a boy.

He started talking to me, so I turned off my music and talked too.  After seeing his shirt I asked him if he was running for a friend or family member.  Who was "Austin?"

 "I am" he said.
I was caught off guard.  I guess I felt like the person the team was there for would be surrounded by his team.  On the contrary, he had forged ahead on his own.  He had sprinted the majority of the race and I had just caught up to him at the last mile.
We talked, him sharing with a smile and twinkle in his eye that they had raised $456 at a spaghetti feed at his school last week.  Then he found a friend from his team and they continued to run together.
I'm so glad I slowed down to talk with this sweet boy and get to know him a little.
As the finish line loomed closer, I got close enough to read the back of the Smylie shirts...

"Until There's A Cure We'll Keep Smyling."

At the finish, runners were given high-5's by the Star Wars cheering team and treated to lunch.

I was one of the first 30 people to finish, mostly because I ran it while the majority of the people were walking together.  I don't know how my time compared with my last 5K, but I DO know that I felt different.  I felt better.  I felt amazing because I was running for something I already cared about, learned more about, and had been blessed to see and meet some of the people it affected.  The race was not about how fast my time was, it was about giving my time to be there.
Even after I had lunch and started to drive home the powerful parade continued.  I took this picture from my car just before leaving...

I love this family, a picket sign and stroller in the lead, marching with love, in hopes for finding a cure.

There is so much good in this world.  Yes, there is a lot of bad too.  The news usually chooses to cover the bad because people have always been entertained by freak shows and calamities.  You've seen it, people slwoing down to see the damage of an accident as they drive by.
Well, I hope this post sheds light on a "force" for good in this world, a charity trying to find a cure for Type 1 Diabets.  That day I got to slow down my car and stop because a group of friends, families, and strangers were blocking traffic.  Their shirts said things like "Find a Cure For Kendra" and "I Walk For Ashlynn."  And I was happy to wait and watch hope march forward to the finish line.
Love, Eva