I have always been the almost girl. In HS I was in theater and speech, getting great roles in plays where I was never quite the star but almost. Cast as Glenda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, the "pretty one" in Prime of Ms Jean Brodie, and understudy to "Madge" in Picnic. I never considered myself to be beautiful by any means but apparently I had a look that the director liked. I was also the mascot. Acting a fool on the sidelines, embarrassing the cheerleaders, and not quite being "popular". Sure, I was known by EVERYONE. Finalist for most humorous, once again ALMOST, my good friends were the ones winning the awards.
Then I get to college. I still remember my mom telling me, "This is going to be your time!" Oh, how I hoped she was right. I joined a sorority, where I was great at recruiting, and always well known, but never elected to officer. Once again I mascotted, but never felt like I fit in with the cheerleaders. And once again, my closest friends were winning Homecoming Queen and Miss HBU. So close!!! I graduated, got married, and began my life as a "coach's wife."
Fast-forward to now. Wow! I feel like I have finally made it. When I began my job as an LBC with Juice in the City in January, never in a million years did I know where this would go. Now here I am, 6 months later, blessed beyond belief. People KNOW me! People talk about me, and it's not bad. I am one of the top producers in our company with sourcing and my market is growing my leaps and bounds. Twice this week, I was stopped by people in the parking lot at VBS who told me how much they LOVE JITC and the great deals we offer.
Finally, I made it. I have found my niche. It only took me 30 years, but I'm here. And I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
Speaking of JITC, check out our awesome deal I found today, for Fun Tiki in Missouri City. Have I mentioned how much I love my job???
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Why I run
If you would have asked me a year ago if I considered myself a "runner" I would have laughed in your face. Sure, I ran errands, ran to the mailbox, ran after my kids, but that was the extent of my running. I had never been a runner, not even when I was younger. I was always that kid in gym class that tied my shoes numerous times when having to run, and I think the furthest I had ever run in my life was maybe a mile in college. All that being said, it wasn't much, I didn't like to run. I didn't like to diet either, but that's a whole other post.
In January, a friend of mine, as well as some of my closest internet friends, challenged me to train for my first 5K. Never to turn down a challenge, and wanting to lose those last 40 post-baby pounds, I accepted and on January 3 started running. Fast-forward to today and I have successfully completed 3 5K's and started training for my very first half-marathon today (Ahhhhh!). During my run tonight I started thinking about why I run. What is it that makes me now enjoy something that I used to despise? Why do I look forward to my evening runs and miss it when I can't do it? Well, now you will know. I hope you will read this and be encouraged, and feel free to comment and add your own. :)
I run because:
- it is the only hour of the day where NO ONE touches me
- I get to pick the music
- The sense of accomplishment I feel when I cross the finish line at a race
- To teach my girls the value of being fit
- No matter how slow I run, the kids can't catch me
- I don't have to listen to anyone whining
- For the first time in my life, I can set a goal and accomplish it in real time.
Why do you run??
In January, a friend of mine, as well as some of my closest internet friends, challenged me to train for my first 5K. Never to turn down a challenge, and wanting to lose those last 40 post-baby pounds, I accepted and on January 3 started running. Fast-forward to today and I have successfully completed 3 5K's and started training for my very first half-marathon today (Ahhhhh!). During my run tonight I started thinking about why I run. What is it that makes me now enjoy something that I used to despise? Why do I look forward to my evening runs and miss it when I can't do it? Well, now you will know. I hope you will read this and be encouraged, and feel free to comment and add your own. :)
I run because:
- it is the only hour of the day where NO ONE touches me
- I get to pick the music
- The sense of accomplishment I feel when I cross the finish line at a race
- To teach my girls the value of being fit
- No matter how slow I run, the kids can't catch me
- I don't have to listen to anyone whining
- For the first time in my life, I can set a goal and accomplish it in real time.
Why do you run??
Monday, May 30, 2011
Family time away
It's been a busy few months, as I said in my last post, things have been a little crazy. Last week, the hubs got an AWESOME email. Sea World has launched a teacher appreciation. Until June 30, teachers can receive a free fun card. We quickly took advantage of this and booked a room for the weekend. How could I resist? With his free ticket, a great deal on tickets for the big one and myself, and a great $50 credit on expedia. I just couldn't pass it up.
Saturday morning bright and early we headed west in the JuiceMOBILE to San Antonio. Of course, as always, it was an adventure. When we got to the hotel, we realized we had gotten the last room they had available and the a/c was broken. Thankfully, it had black-out shades so it wasn't THAT bad. :)
Sunday morning we grabbed the free breakfast buffet in the lobby and headed to the park.
First stop, dolphins:
The little one wasn't so sure about this.
The new Bay of Play was definitely a favorite of the princesses:
The little one and I rode the carousel
While Daddy and the big one ride the Shamu coaster
The big one loved the water, but OMG look at all those people
If you plan on visiting Sea World SA anytime soon, I definitely recommend Rosita's Cafe for lunch. It was an all you can eat Pizza, pasta and salad buffet, drinks included. It was less than $30 for all of us to eat and we got PLENTY!!
The little one had a nap while Daddy and the big one sat in the splash zone for the Believe show
Rio Loco!! (in case you don't speak spanish that means Crazy River ;) )
One last time on the carousel before we head back to the hotel. I'm so excited I can't even stand it
Fine, I guess I'll smile
Overall it was a GREAT weekend, just the four of us. I think my favorite part of the weekend was the last night when the little one didn't want to go to sleep. She called for mama, she called for daddy and when neither one of us would come, she gave in and started yelling "Sissser! Sissser!" <3 Love!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
It's hard to be so mamalicious
I have been a terrible blogger. I admit it, I suck at it. There are weeks when I am GREAT, and I blog all the time, and then.....Nada, zip, zilch. I would love to say it is because I have been out saving the world a wad of cash one deal at a time, and this is somewhat true, but honestly, I have just been a crazy person.
Between, the 2 princesses, my Uh-MAZE-Ing job, the hubster, running, and playing dress up, I just haven't taken much time to blog. I promise all my faithful readers, all 7 of you, I will be making more of an effort soon. How you ask? Well, it's almost summer in the Mamalicious home and that means a few things, the best of all being, DADDY'S HOME!!! There are times, like around October, that I find being married to a football coach downright annoying, but come June, it all pays off.
But in the meantime, here are a few things that I have been up to in recent weeks.
I did run the Sprint for Life, with a PR of 31:29 WooHoo!!
I also won a contest that my awesome company Juice in the City put on, and they wrapped my car! Introducing the Juice Mobile!!
And finally, my greatest accomplishment of the week. I have lost enough weight that I can now fit back into my wedding gown:
Between, the 2 princesses, my Uh-MAZE-Ing job, the hubster, running, and playing dress up, I just haven't taken much time to blog. I promise all my faithful readers, all 7 of you, I will be making more of an effort soon. How you ask? Well, it's almost summer in the Mamalicious home and that means a few things, the best of all being, DADDY'S HOME!!! There are times, like around October, that I find being married to a football coach downright annoying, but come June, it all pays off.
But in the meantime, here are a few things that I have been up to in recent weeks.
I did run the Sprint for Life, with a PR of 31:29 WooHoo!!
And finally, my greatest accomplishment of the week. I have lost enough weight that I can now fit back into my wedding gown:
Sorry for the crappy quality. It was hard enough to get the hubs to take the pic with the cell phone. :)
Like I said, I promise I will start blogging more regularly again soon. I may even start sharing some recipes again.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sprint for Life
This week I'm running for EGGS. That's right, eggs, as in, Ovum. Since I finished the Scope 5K back in March, I have been chomping at the bit for this next race. I set a goal for myself to try to do one at least every other month, if not every month. Well, since I obviously didn't run one in April, I'm running one in May. I am super stoked about this week's race and know I will be crying through the whole thing.
Sprint4Life is the race put on by MD Anderson cancer center to raise money and awareness for Ovarian Cancer. This is a cause I am super passionate about. My sophomore year of college my BFF Shannon (who happened to be one of my roommates) was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. She fought HARD and beat it, after months of chemo. Here we are shaving her head:
Ovarian cancer is very treatable when caught early; the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed until too late.
Ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose
Raise Your AwarenessEarly recognition of symptoms is the best way to save women's lives. Early symptoms include:
If ovarian cancer is suspected, ask to see a gynecological oncologist.
What You Should Ask Your DoctorWhile everyone has these symptoms from time to time, it is important to know your own body and know when something is not right.
If you have these symptoms and they are not normal for you neither you nor your doctor knows why you are having them,
Then ask to have these important tests to help you rule out ovarian cancer.
Who Has the Greatest Risk?
Raise the Awareness of All the Women You Know
Sprint4Life is the race put on by MD Anderson cancer center to raise money and awareness for Ovarian Cancer. This is a cause I am super passionate about. My sophomore year of college my BFF Shannon (who happened to be one of my roommates) was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. She fought HARD and beat it, after months of chemo. Here we are shaving her head:
If you can't tell those are some FAKE smiles. This was probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life. A 19 year old girl should not have to go through chemo and a 20 yr old should not have to shave her best friend's head.
As I said before, she beat it with grace and beauty and was by my side when I said "I do" to the hubs.
There's the real smiles
Her sister Shawna, another college roommate, also is an Ovarian cancer survivor and their beautiful Grandmother unfortunately was lost to the disease in January. This weekend, I run for them. In honor of the two beautiful women, who beat this silent killer, and in memory of their beautiful grandmother. To make it even better, I am running with Shawna and their family.
If you are not in the Houston area and would like to join our team, "SAVE THE EGGS", you can always Sprint in Spirit. I am hoping for a great time this weekend, along with running for these women and those like them.
Everyone is always worrying about their boobs, and yes, the tatas are important. But let's think about our insides as well. I've included some info, read it and pass it along.
What every woman should know...
Ovarian cancer is a serious and under-recognized threat to women's health.
Ovarian cancer is a serious and under-recognized threat to women's health.
- Ovarian cancer kills more women than all the Gynecologic Oncology combined.
- Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.
- Ovarian cancer occurs in 1 in 57 women, up from 1 in 70 several years ago.
- Deaths from ovarian have risen. 2004 statistics released from the American Cancer Society show that ovarian cancer deaths have risen by close to 20% over 2003 statistics.
- More than 16,000 women will die this year alone and more than 25,500 will be diagnosed.
Ovarian cancer is very treatable when caught early; the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed until too late.
- When ovarian cancer is caught before it has spread outside the ovaries, 90+% will survive 5 years.
- Only 24% of ovarian cancer is caught early.
- When diagnosed after the disease has spread the chance of five-year survival drops to less than 25%.
Ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose
- There is no reliable screening test for the early detection of ovarian cancer. The Pap smear only checks for cervical cancer.
- Symptoms are often vague and easily confused with other diseases. However, new studies indicate that ovarian cancer has recognizable symptoms, even early stage disease. Knowing those symptoms can help save women's lives. See:
Raise Your AwarenessEarly recognition of symptoms is the best way to save women's lives. Early symptoms include:
- Bloating, a feeling of fullness, gas
- Frequent or urgent urination
- Nausea, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea
- Menstrual disorders, pain during intercourse
- Fatigue, backaches.
If ovarian cancer is suspected, ask to see a gynecological oncologist.
What You Should Ask Your DoctorWhile everyone has these symptoms from time to time, it is important to know your own body and know when something is not right.
If you have these symptoms and they are not normal for you neither you nor your doctor knows why you are having them,
Then ask to have these important tests to help you rule out ovarian cancer.
- Bimanual pelvic exam
- Ca125 blood test (If it comes back elevated, ask your doctor to repeat this test monthly for several months. If it comes back progressively more elevated each time, even if the values are low, this is an indication that the condition could very likely be serious.)
- Transvaginal ultrasound
Who Has the Greatest Risk?
- Have 2 or more relatives who have had ovarian cancer
- Have a family history of multiple cancers: ovarian, breast or colon cancer
- Were diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50
- Have a personal history of multiple exposures to fertility drugs
- Are of Ashkenazi Jewish decent
- Have had uninterrupted ovulation (never used birth control pills, or no pregnancies)
- Have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation
- Are over the age of 50
Raise the Awareness of All the Women You Know
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