Memories of my Dad, 19 Years Later November 28, 2011

Do you remember where you were 19 years ago today?

I do. And it is a day that I will never forget. It was November 28th, 1992 and it was just two days after Thanksgiving.  What started out as a normal Saturday eventually ended as a very life changing day. That day became the day that my Dad passed away. He died suddenly of a heart attack at 32 years of age.  I was 13, my brother was 10 and my Mom was 33.  And our lives and many others were forever changed.

As much as this day and this time of the year pains me, I make a conscious effort to not let that day overshadow all of the great memories I have of my Dad. Today I choose to celebrate my Dad and the time that I had with him. And to keep his memory alive, I am going to share some of my favorite memories and stories of him with you.

My Dad was a guys guy. He loved sports, cars, hunting, fishing, country music, and beer. And above all, he loved his family. I have had many family members mention that he was the glue that held everyone together.

My Dad was the oldest of his siblings and perhaps due to being the oldest he had a very protective nature about him. My Uncle Greg said that when he went hunting with my Dad, my Dad would always make sure that he was in a safe spot where my Dad could see him at all times. My Uncle Greg said that my Dad always made him feel safe when he was around. I know I certainly felt safe and secure when I was with my Dad.

Although my Dad was the protective one in the family, he was also highly competitive, especially when it came to sports. My Uncle Ray told me a story about a basketball game when he was in the 7th grade and my Dad was in the 8th grade. The 7th graders played their game first and my Uncle Ray scored 22 points. Not to be outdone, when my Dad played he scored 23 points! Let’s just say no one let my Uncle Ray live that down!

My Dad’s love of sports got him into trouble at times when he was younger. My Grandma did not want him to play football because she felt it was too dangerous. One day my Dad came home from school complaining of chest pains and was having difficulty breathing. After a trip to the emergency room determined that there was nothing physically wrong with my Dad, my Dad fessed up and told my Grandma that he was playing football behind her back and he was worried that she would find out. She eventually decided to let him play once she realized how important it was to him. I guess I get my persistence from my Dad!

Throughout his life my Dad had many “toys.” From cars to motorcycles to snowmobiles. But perhaps the one that he loved the most was his boat. We went out on the boat all of the time. Most of the time we spent on the boat was spent fishing. I remember being squeamish about touching the worms and the fish that I caught, so my Dad would always do that part for me. It was very calming being out on the water surrounded by the people I loved.

As you might imagine, my love of country music came from my Dad. I have fond memories of waking up in the morning to the sound of country music playing on the radio. My Dad was a huge Garth Brooks fan. He owned every tape that Garth made. I am thankful that just listening to a Garth song can automatically make me feel reconnected with my Dad. Music certainly has the power to take me back to a simpler time and for that I am grateful.

I am grateful for many things about my time with my Dad. But most importantly I am grateful I got to experience those 13 years with him. It would be easy for me to dwell on the experiences that I didn’t get to have with him. Afterall , most of my friends got to have their Dad walk them down the aisle on their wedding day and introduce their child to their Grandpa. But dwelling on what could have been will not bring my Dad back and living anything but a full life would not do my Dad’s memory any justice. So to honor my Dad, I choose to live. And not just live, but to experience a happy and full life. I am not perfect in my quest. But I do my best to remember that life is short and that we only get one chance to live it. I try to always be grateful for the time that I have with my loved ones and most importantly I try to tell those who are close to me how much I love them and how much I care about them. And for that, I think my Dad would be proud!

If you were lucky enough to know my Dad, I would love for you to share your favorite memory of him!

My favorite picture of my Dad and I!

Half Marathon Training: Week 12 November 27, 2011

Well, it’s finally here! My last week of training for the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon! I am super excited!

Unfortunately, I was not able to run my 10 miler last week as planned. My achy right knee turned into a very sore knee so I decided I would forgo the 10 miler with hopes of returning my knee to its normal state before race day. I have been resting it, icing it, taping it, and even foam rolling my leg to help relieve the pain. I am trying to stay optimistic that everything will work itself out in time for race day. I can tell you one thing for sure, I WILL cross that finish line one way or another! Whether I run across, walk across or crawl across. I know it sounds pretty extreme but I have invested a lot of time and money into this race and I am determined to complete it.

With that being said I am going to listen to my body and do what is best for me knee during this last week of training. 

Here is my plan for the week if my knee is feeling better.

Sunday: Rest Day.

Monday: Pilates DVD.

Tuesday: 4 Mile Run.

Wednesday: 3 Mile Run.

Thursday: 2 Mile Run.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: Rest Day & Garth Brooks Day!

Sunday: Race day!

On this last week of training I wanted to thank everyone for their support and words of encouragement! It has meant a lot to me! If you are interested in tracking my progress on race day, you  can sign-up here to do so. The tracking program does cost a couple bucks, so I certainly don’t expect anyone to sign up for it. But if you do you will receive periodic texts to your cell phone updating you on my progress in my first half marathon. And of course, I will do a recap of the race on my blog once I get settled back in Michigan!

Soldier Story Saturday: Surviving a Deployment November 26, 2011

Today’s Soldier Story Saturday is written by Lisha Fink. Lisha is the mother of 3 boys, the wife to a retired National Guardsman, a blogger and like most Moms wears many more hats than I can list here! (Click here to visit Lisha’s blog, The Lucky Mom.) In this post, Lisha gives us a glimpse into what it is like to endure the deployment of a family member. Her husband, LTC Robert Fink was in the Louisiana National Guard when  he was deployed  from October 2008-October 2009. He volunteered for the deployment with a unit from the Delaware National Guard, the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade (TTSB), who needed an officer with his skills. During the deployment their 3 sons, Kevin, Charles, and Brian, were 16, 13, and 8. For his contribution to the mission he was awarded The Bronze Star. (The Bronze Star is the fourth highest combat ward given by the US military.) Here is Lisha’s story.

The public sees the beginning and the end.

At the beginning, the TV cameras are scattered among teary families.  Husbands patting pregnant bellies and wives clinging to the necks of their mates.  Nervous mothers and fathers proudly holding posters of their sons and daughters in uniform.  Marching bands and dignitaries are there to send the unit off with a patriotic bang.  For the families, there is a conflicting swell of pride, fear, and apprehension.  For the soldier, there’s a clash of duty, responsibility and anxiety.  For all, there is sadness.

At the end, there’s a joyful reunion.  The reunion with my husband took place at an Army base in New Jersey, far from my home in south Louisiana.  Hundreds of anxious families were gathered, waiting for a bus that brought our loved ones home from Iraq via Bangor, Maine.  Again there were cameras filming the blissful reunions, and dignitaries making speeches for the world to see.

But the hardest part of a deployment – the part no one sees – is the part I call The Middle.

After the buzz of the send-off has died, and the stories of the departure ceremony no longer on the news, the reality of a deployment sets in for a military family.  Each person takes on new roles and responsibilities to fill the void left by the deployed solider.  It takes time to adjust to the new reality.  It takes a toll on all.

In a letter to another Army wife a few months after my husband’s deployment ended, I described The Middle:

“The first half of the deployment I had all of the strength I could muster.  I kept my chin up, my attitude positive, moving forward.  But after a certain point, I just got tired of being positive.  Tired of saying ‘Fine.’ when others asked how I was doing.  Tired of the fake smile and the pretense of energy.  All I wanted was restful sleep, with my soul mate next to me.  The middle was the hardest part.  The memory of ‘before’ was fading, and the ‘after’ was still too far away to get excited about.”

The Middle seemed to last forever.

For the rest of the world, time continued at a regular pace.  But as the wife of a deployed soldier, the tick of every second of every day resonated through my body like an aftershock.  And the more I counted the days, the slower they went.

For my husband, time in the ‘real world’ was standing still, like going on vacation and expecting everything to be where you left it when you come back.  He didn’t have a grasp on the changes we were all going through, many of which would turn out to be permanent.

On both sides of the world, my family was learning to cope with a new, albeit temporary, reality.

We took advantage of all the technology at our disposal to keep in touch.  Having Dad on the laptop screen via Skype on Christmas morning wasn’t at all the same as having him physically present, but we felt blessed to have it.  We clung to every piece of each other we could while the days slowly ticked by.  The “Daddy doll” the Army sent my boys followed us on vacation, had his own seat at holiday tables, and provided us with a surrogate to hug, talk to, and (for me) occasionally yell at.

LTC Fink's hero doll at Epcot

And eventually time did pass.  The days turned to weeks, the weeks to months.  The Middle soon ended, and the end finally approached.

And again there were cameras, and dignitaries, and tears.

If you are interested in contributing a story to the Soldier Story Saturday series, please contact me by email at bamoats@gmail.com If this story or any of the other stories featured in the series have moved you enough to donate to my Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser, please click here to do. Thank you.

Seven Random Things: Vegas Edition! November 25, 2011

I have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award again!

In the last week, I was actually given the award not once but twice! Mike from Just a Little Run was the first one to award it to me. Mike is a Father, a husband, a runner and a Marine! Mike  is also going to be a future guest blogger for my Soldier Story Saturday series. You should definitely take the time to check out his blog and connect with him! Click here to do so! The next person to tag me with the award was Jenny from The Running Thriver Jenny is a domestic abuse survivor, a runner, a painter, a gardener, a home improvement enthusiast, an occasional poet, and a thriver. She is definitely an inspiration to everyone. Head over to her blog and see for yourself, click here to do so!

A big thanks to both Mike & Jenny for tagging me in this award. I really appreciate it!

Receiving this award means that I have to share seven random things about myself with you. However, if you follow my blog, then you probably realize I have received an award like this a time or two before. See here and here. So because of that, I have decided to do a Vegas Edition of the award. You know, because I seem to have Vegas on my mind lately. So without further ado here are seven random things about me and Las Vegas!

1. My hubby and I got married in Vegas! And no we didn’t elope. It was a well planned destination wedding. We had a few of our closest family and friends with us and then we honeymooned in Vegas for a week!

My favorite photo collage of our wedding in Vegas!

2. This was the castle I got married in! Every girl should get married in a castle. It was a dream come true!

Excalibur Hotel & Casino

3. I may or may not have danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly on my wedding night. I will leaving you guessing about that one . . . 😉

4. This is the hotel that the hubby and I will be staying at when we go to Vegas next weekend! (If you didn’t already know, I work in a hotel so seeing other hotels makes me all excited!)

Encore Las Vegas

5. Not sure if I have already mentioned this . ..  but I will be seeing Garth Brooks while we are in Vegas! Oh, you already knew that??? Hmmmm . . . strange.

Image from wynnlasvegas.com

6. I am not a gambler. I might put a few bucks into a slot machine but that’s about it! I have way too many items on my running wish list that I would prefer to buy than waste my money in the casino.

7. While I am in Vegas, I am hoping to meet lots of people in person that I have only met through various social media outlets. I can’t wait!!!

Hope you enjoyed the Vegas edition of seven random things about me! Have you been to Vegas? Tell me about it your favorite thing to do while you are there. Never been to Vegas? Tell me why you want to or don’t want to go there!

Map of Voters November 23, 2011

• Create your own travel map or travel blog
• Search for vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

As promised from a previous blog entry, here is my Map Of Voters!!! A special thanks to TripAdvisor for having such an awesome tool on their website!

Although it is hard to make out, I had representation from 3 countries: The United States, Canada and The United Kingdom! And my voters came from over 31 cities! I am truly amazed by all the support I received! Thank you all again!!!

After looking at the map, I am kind of surprised I didn’t win. However, I am not going to let not winning the grant from Refuel with Chocolate Milk deter me from my goal of raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project!

If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, please click here. I may have a few raffles up my sleeve in the next couple of weeks to benefit my fundraiser! So make sure you keep an eye out for those! And don’t forget that you can order yummy cake pops from Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats and they will donate 10% of their proceeds to my fundraiser!

And lastly, but most importantly, make sure you check out each post of the Soldier Story Saturday series . We have had some great stories so far and there will be many more. You do not want to miss a single Soldier Story Saturday post!

Half Marathon Training: Week 11 November 21, 2011

I can’t believe that I am about to say this but, this is my last FULL week of training for the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon!!! WooHoo!!! Yeah, I am a little excited!!!

For the last month or so I have been experimenting with different kinds of fuel for my long runs.

These make runners feel like a kid in the candy store. 😉

Between the hubby and I, we have pretty much tried everything in the picture. My favorite is the Jelly Belly Sports Beans (not pictured) and the GU. I have decided that I will primarily be using GU during the RnRLV half marathon. The reason I went with GU is because I feel like it gives me more energy than the other options I tried and it is easier to consume while running. Oddly enough, despite chewing gum while running, the process of chewing and swallowing when running is just too complex for me. My favorite GU flavors so far are Chocolate (it tasted like brownie batter) and Vanilla Bean.

 

However, I recently ordered a new flavor of GU!

 

Peanut Butter lovers are rejoicing at the sight of this!

 

I can not wait to try it!!!Hopefully I will get them in time for my long run on Friday. If it tastes as good as I am expecting, several packets will be coming with me to Vegas!!!

 

So what do you use to fuel your long runs? Have you tried the new peanut butter GU? If so, please tell me how you liked it!!

 

 

 

He is my training plan for week 11!!!

 

Sunday: 5 Mile Run

 

Monday: Insanity DVD

 

Tuesday: 5 Mile Run & Strength Training

 

Wednesday: Rest Day!

 

Thursday: Pilates

 

Friday: 10 Mile run!!!

 

Saturday: Stretch & Strengthen

 

 

I am hitting another milestone this week. Tackling 10 miles, my longest run ever and my last long run before my first half marathon!!! I am pumped!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soldier Story Saturday: Renée’s Hero November 19, 2011

 

Today’s Soldier Story Saturday is written by 8-year-old Renée about her dad who is a Sergeant in the army. Renée is in the 3rd grade and is an aspiring fashion designer. She has a younger sister, an awesome mom and a plethora of family and friends that support her. Here is Renée’s story.

My Hero

My name is Renée, I am 8 years old and my dad is in the Army.

When I first found out that my dad will be leaving I was very sad, all I could think about was who would keep me safe if dad is away and how much I was going to miss him.

We did not see dad for 3 months as he attended Basic Training and I was looking forward to going to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for his graduation. I was very excited on the way there and all that was going through my mind was how I was going to run to him and give him the biggest hug ever. The graduation ceremony was phenomenal and I met lots of soldiers and officers that came and shook my dad’s hand because he was the best soldier in his class. Seeing all these soldiers together made me realize that it takes a lot of hard work to keep our country safe.

My dad was deployed to Iraq last year and that was the longest time that we did not get to see him. We were very worried about him and we prayed to God to protect him and bring him back home safe. We even prepared care packages and drew a lot of pictures to send to him.

My dad is a very good Sergeant and he has a lot of awards from the army. His soldiers respect him and love him.

Now I know that my dad can still keep me safe even if he is away, he is working with other soldiers to keep all of us safe and I am very thankful for all the sacrifices they make.

Even though my dad is back from deployment, I still pray every night to God to keep my daddy and all the other soldiers safe so that we can enjoy our FREEDOM.

I want to be just like my dad when I grow up that is why he is my HERO.

Renee's Hero

 

 

 

If you are interested in contributing a story to the Soldier Story Saturday series, please contact me by email at bamoats@gmail.com If this story or any of the other stories featured in the series have moved you enough to donate to my Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser, please click here to do. Thank you.

 

 

Puppies vs Babies: It’s time to pick a side! November 17, 2011

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

You may think I only have 1 child, but really I have 5! (6 if you count the hubby.) If you follow my blog you may be confused because the only child I really talk about is my 3 year old son, Brennen. However, I thought it was time that I came clean and tell you that I first became a mom in 2001. In 2001, the hubby and I welcomed our first fur-baby into the family, a black tuxedo cat we named Mittens. (I had you going there for a minute, didn’t I?) About a year later we adopted a 2nd cat that we name Jaspurr. Once we felt we had mastered the art of cat parenting, we took the plunge and adopted our first dog in 2005. We named him Kodi after Kodiak Alaska as he is part husky. One year later, we adopted yet another dog (yes, we are slightly crazy) who we named Juno after Juneau Alaska. If you haven’t already guessed, we really love animals! They are not just pets to us, they are truly our kids!

Once we had Brennen, (our first and only non fur-baby) we had to shift our focus from being pet parents to being parents in the more traditional sense. And let’s be honest, it wasn’t hard to do! I might be biased but Brennen was and is pretty darn cute! I am not trying to say my fur-babies are not cute. I mean who doesn’t love a cute little puppy? But if I had to pick a side I would definitely have to choose my son!

How about you? Where do you fall in the epic Puppies vs. Babies battle? Which one tugs at your cute-meter more? Is it the babies or the puppies? Regardless of which side you fall on, you should head over to Animal Planets Puppies vs. Babies online contest so your voice can be heard! Your votes will decide if a puppy or a baby will receive the $5,000 prize! That’s right, $5,000!

I would love to hear what side you will be voting for! Feel free to leave a comment below and then head over to the  Puppies vs. Babies online contest to cast your vote! Voting ends on November 23rd, so what are you waiting for?

 

 

Refuel with Chocolate Milk: Voting Results

I am sure that you are well aware that I was in the running to receive a grant from Refuel with Chocolate Milk. I only talked about it a few times in the last month. 😉

Well, the contest ended on Tuesday at 11:59am EST. When voting ended I was feeling a mixture of anticipation and nervousness about the results.I really wanted to win the sponsorship, not only for myself but also for the Wounded Warrior Project.  The top 5 individuals and the top 5 groups with the most votes were expected to receive a congratulatory email by the end of the day on Tuesday. I spent a lot of time near my phone on Tuesday, constantly checking it to see if a new email had been received. I even logged into my email on the computer thinking that perhaps the email somehow didn’t make it to my phone. Unfortunately, Tuesday night came and went and the only emails I received were from friends or from spammers. On Wednesday, I got the “sorry you didn’t win” email instead. I have to admit that I was rather sad about the results. I really REALLY wanted to win. I had planned to donate half of the grant to the Wounded Warrior Project and I knew that money would be put to great use for some very deserving soldiers. And let’s not forget that I am a competitive person and I wanted to win to appease that part of me.

After a little bit of sulking on Wednesday I realized that even though I had lost the contest, I really was still a winner. No, I am not trying to get all sappy and philosophical with you but a lot of great things happened to me during the month long voting period. Family & friends rallied votes for me. People posted the contest to their Facebook walls and on their Twitter feeds for me. I connected with a lot of people who I otherwise would have never had the opportunity to connect with. People that I have never met and probably never will meet voted for me! I am in awe of the sheer number of people who voted for me and helped me rally for votes. The outpouring of support I received has been tremendous!

So if you voted for me . . .

It meant the world to me!

Speaking of world, I thought it would be fun to find out where in the world all my votes came from! So if you voted for me, please comment on this post with your city, state and country (if you are outside of the U.S.) You can also send me your location through my Facebook page or my Twitter account. Or if you prefer you can send me your location to my email at bamoats@gmail.com I will collect all of the information and then next week I will post a map on my blog with “pins” to show where all of my votes came from!

Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats to Benefit WWP November 16, 2011

Once I announced that I was raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project in conjunction with racing in the Michigan / Ohio Tough Mudder in April of 2012, many of my friends stepped forward to offer assistance. One of the first ones to do so was James & Melissa Radke. You may remember Melissa as she was a guest blogger for a Saturday Sound Off post. She recently started a business with her husband called Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats. If you like sweets like I do, I am sure that I have piqued your interest! And if you like cake, you are really going to be interested because Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats makes delicious cake pops!

These are Cookies 'n Cream & Choco-holics Dream Cake pops! Yummy!

I am certain that you will not question how yummy those look, but perhaps you are wondering what cake pops have to do with my Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser. Well, James and Melissa have offered to donate 10% of their sales from now until the end of February 2012 to my fundraiser! Isn’t that awesome!!! (I also want to mention that James and Melissa are a military family as James is in the Navy. Thank you for your service James!)

So if you live near Portsmouth, VA and you want to satisfy your sweet tooth while helping out a great cause, Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats will help you do just that! They have a wide array of cake pop flavors from confetti to German chocolate. They can also make specialty cake pops to look like your favorite characters. Check out these Elmo cake pops!

So what are you waiting for? You know you want some cake pops of your very own! To make an inquiry or to place an order you can contact Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats on their blog here or on their Facebook page here. You can also contact them via email at tunkymonkey@gmail.com.

Thank you Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats for your support of the Wounded Warrior Project! It is so appreciated!

You can also make a donation directly to my fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, please click here to do so.