What a Friend Wednesday!

I am introducing a new way to thank my friends for being just down right awesome! Drum roll please… What a Friend Wednesday!  TADA! Each Wednesday, I am going to showcase one of my friends and basically brag about how cool they are. J Feel free to steal this idea and brag about one of your friends on "What a Friend Wednesday" because it is just down right fun!

Who is my first guest for What a Friend Wednesday?

Miss Cara Lawson!

Cara is truly a “one of a kind” Southern Belle, who was born just a little too north of the Mason Dixon line. Cara and I are both HUGE Forrest Gump fans, which led to our common love of the Alabama football team. Now granted, we are both Buckeyes through and through and our Buckeye Pride is nothing we are to quick to hide, but we both wish ‘Bama a great football season and aren’t afraid to call out a Roll Tide from time to time.

Cara and I first met in the Spring of 2002, but we didn’t really become friends until fall quarter of 2003. Since becoming classmates, we have been co-workers, roommates, football watchers, cheesy fry eaters, pay it forwarders, Golden Girls watchers, sewing machine breakers and all around best good friends. She is always up for a good competition such as a quick footrace or kicking contest. Unfortunately, she hasn’t yet learned that I am faster than her and can kick higher than her as well, but hey, she can’t turn down a challenge. We once tried to learn an entire quarters’ worth of chemistry in one night and managed to bring our poor soil science teacher, Dr. Brian Slater to complete and obvious frustration with our attempted lab work.

One of my favorite things about Cara is her sweet poetry skills. She can write a fancy poem on just about any topic. She once wrote a poem for Jimmy John’s subs and I think she was given the prize reward of a Jimmy John’s sandwich. She once wrote me a poem because I “Cleaned my room and she thought that deserved a poem”.  She also has great negotiating talents. When we were roommates, she would come into my always messy room and ask if I was “having a garage sale”, minutes later she would return to my room with some sort of treasure she would like to trade.

Something I admire about Cara is her professionalism. Many of you know the only thing I take truly seriously is Theology. With a few exceptions, such as what she and I like to call “Mustache Monday”, Cara is as professional as they come. Cara takes her career very seriously and is an excellent example to her friends and colleagues. Her work at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is top notch. Each year, along with her staff of interns, she successfully runs the Ag and Horticulture Building at the Ohio State Fair. This is no easy task by any means, however each year this project is done to it's greatest potential.

When trying to figure out just what to say about Cara, it was really hard to pick this story or that story. We have just had so many great times together. It was just to difficult to try to pick just a few! Cara and I have this amazing ability to laugh in almost any situation. She is a great gal and I am blessed beyond blessed to consider her my best friend from college. She and I are kindred spirits through and through and I look forward to even more shenanigans with her!

What happened to the Year of Awesome blog post!

I am more than humbled by the fact that more than one person has asked me what happened to my “Year of Awesome” blog and how my year is going! I have to admit that I totally dropped the ball when it comes to this blog, but I am making an effort to at least fill everyone in on how my year is going.

My goal for 2011 was to run 26 races. I am excited to tell you that so far, I have crossed the finish line 10 times in 2011. I thought I would just recap those races so far:

1)      First on the First. Read the blog post, it was a great time!

2)      Rogaine Adventure Race… again read the blog post! J

3)      Beauty and the Beast 5K at Walt Disney World.  This was a really fun race that went in and out of EPCOT at Walt Disney World. It was a fun race I was glad to do with my sister-in-law, Deny,  my nephew Jacob! Zac and Talie (Deny’s siblings) also completed their first 5ks too! Fun race, no doubt!

4)      Disney Princess Half Marathon! The most beautiful finishers medal I have ever earned! If you want to run a race at Disney, I would encourage it 100%, but do it with friends and enjoy yourself! Stop and take pictures with the characters, even if your running partner doesn’t want too…. It was also fun to have Laura Atchison, the goddess of running join us for that race as well!

5)      St. Patrick’s Day something or other. It was a 4 miler and Ashley and I were in the business of passing people. We probably didn’t pass near as many people as we think we did, but we sure did have fun trying.

6)      Xenia Marathon!  YEAP! I did my first full marathon. 26.2 miles. I am gonna be honest here, if you are running your first marathon and need more excitement than country roads and mile markers spray painted on the road, only do the half marathon at this bad boy. The marathon is rough on its own, but add in the feeling that you are lost in the country somewhere and if you died somewhere on the side of the road no one would find you, it makes it a lot tougher. I am excited to have completed this goal in my life, but I would have probably picked a different, more exciting marathon for my first one if I could do it over again.

7)      Cap City Half Marathon. I have to admit that this wouldn’t have hurt as bad if I would have put those running shoes on at least once for running purposes between my marathon and this race. It still worked out just fine and it’s a nice medal to add to the collection!

8)      Race for the Cure. My first run without Ashley for the year. This time, my amazing friend Kat and she rocked out her first 5K like a pro! Race for a Cure is always a super emotional day for me, so this was a race I was glad to be a part of. I even convinced Kat to run her first half marathon this fall with me!

9)      The Original Mud Run… BEST. RACE. THIS . YEAR. This thing was awesome. 6.2 miles of mud and guts. So great. It was nothing like I expected and it was super challenging. It wasn’t  a big race by any means, but it was by far my favorite race so far. I can’t remember a time I was so muddy and I am still recovering from my bumps, cuts and bruises!

10)   Warrior Dash.  This race wasn’t what I thought it would be, it wasn’t a challenge at all, but it did bring a great crowd. Even if you aren’t very athletic, grab some old clothes and as many friends as you can and sign up for the race happening in September. It’s more just for fun than anything else. If you want a real challenge, skip this race and do something else. ( I mean no disrespect for those of you who found this a challenge and complained about how sore you were on facebook the next day… yes Corey Markham, I am talking about you! Just kidding! ) In reality if Warrior Dash had been the weekend before The Original Mud Run, I probably would have liked it a lot more, but that’s how it goes, I guess.

So that is a recap of the 10 races this far! If I did the math right, I have put 81 miles on the books for the year.  I promise to keep everyone a little bit more up-to-date in the future!

Winter "Camping" and Adventure Racing.

As I sat and watched the weather forecast last Wednesday, while Logan County was on a level 3 snow emergency, I wasn’t really all that concerned with the weather on Wednesday, I was more concerned with what the weather was going to be on Friday, Friday night to be exact. Since December 31, when Ashley and I had lunch with our adventure racing buddies, Damon and Dusty Clement, we have been planning  for the Cabin Fever Rogaine Race, along with a winter “camp out” the night before. The time for the trip was upon us and all I could focus on during the weather forecast was that big fat 5 degrees that was plastered on the screen for Friday night’s low. 5 degrees… really?

Now here is the thing with me and “camping”. Most of my camping adventures have included a vehicle less than 25 feet from my sleeping bag, as well as some sort of indoor restroom no more than 200 yards away.  I have done some actual camping trips as well, don’t get me wrong, but I am just saying most of my camping trips have been the scenario described above. When I purchased my Jeep Liberty I actually put the seats down in the back to see if there was enough room for me to sleep there comfortably. I always saw putting up a tent to be silly when there is a perfectly nice, dry place only a few feet from my tent. This trip would be no different.  After making a rather nice sleeping headquarters, that included a papasan chair cushion and a many, many blankets and my 15 degree sleeping bag, I was ready to brave the cold temperatures.



Friday finally came and the weather forecast was looking much better. Thankfully there was now a 2 in front of that 5. 25 degrees sounded a lot better than 5 degrees, no doubt. I picked up Ashley and she added her many blankets and gear to the back of the Jeep. Our trip had officially started. We made our way to Chillicothe to meet up for dinner with Damon and Dusty. (Who have both decided to grow mountain man beards… which creeped me out at first.) After enjoying a nice dinner with friends we haven’t spent time with in a while, we were headed to the camp site. As we were driving, I noticed there was no snow. I mean none… The roads were clear and you could see grass. This wasn’t really going to be a winter camping trip after all. However, once we got to our campsite, there was snow, but not near as much as there had been in Bellefontaine.



Damon just waking up and trying to get his little stove going.
This isn't his best picture...



Now, even though Ashley and I would be sleeping in the Jeep, Damon and Dusty were going to be a lot more on the adventurous side. Dusty had set up his tent, his air mattress and blankets. He had a not so “roughing it” electric blanket that a friend had let him borrow. In order to keep it more of a secret, he used a white extension cord to plug it into the electric box at the campsite. So Ashley and I have the Jeep, Dusty has his tent and then there was Damon.  Damon won the “Adventurous Award” for the night. He had taken his poncho and trekking poles and made a simple shelter. He had his camping pad and sleeping bag and he was ready to go.





Under Blanket Mountain. We were ready to get a nice nights rest.



Ashley and I slept just fine in the back of the Jeep.  Well, Ashley is taller than I am, so she struggled a bit, but all 5’2” of me slept just fine. We woke up to rain and that is the last thing we wanted to see. Ashley and I just kinda hung out in the back of the Jeep when we wondered if Damon actually slept outside all night in the rain. We poked our heads outside and there he was… right there under his poncho. I couldn’t believe it. Once everyone got up and got going, we helped the boys strike camp and we checked into the race. With Adventure Races, check in is usually several hours before the race starts so teams have time to look at the map and make a plan. We got our maps and headed to breakfast.

Now, you would think that since we camped out the night before we would be ready for the race when it started. Oh no, not us. We got back from Breakfast late and missed the start of the race. With Adventure racing that’s not really a big deal. There were lots of other teams still getting their gear on and ready to go when we heard the blast of the starting horn.



Ashely and I waiting for the boys so we could start the race.



The mountain men are finally ready, I was just being a weirdo.



Before I go any further, I think I need to explain how adventure races work. It isn’t a race to see who can get from start to the finish the fastest. It’s a challenge to see how many “checkpoints” you can get to in a set amount of time. Races can vary in length, checkpoint requirements and methods of getting to the various checkpoints. The race Ashley and I did last fall was kayaking, orienteering, repelling and mountain biking. This race was just orienteering (hiking with a purpose with the use of a compass) with 25 check points to find in 6 hours. Depending on the race, sometimes the checkpoints are all worth the same amount of points and sometimes they are worth various amounts depending on difficulty. It is extremely difficult to “clear the course”, meaning to make it to all 25 checkpoints. Once you have found a checkpoint, there is a hole punch that is specific for that checkpoint. You punch your card on the corresponding number and continue on to the next checkpoint. Each team decides which checkpoints they are going to attempt to get, so everyone’s routes are really different. You might only see a few other teams the entire day of the race. A checkpoint is a small box that is hung from a tree. They are hunter orange and white, and the hole punch will be hanging from the checkpoint. These checkpoints aren’t easy to get to by any means.  It’s not like they are placed on the side of a trail you can easily get to. You can basically count on it being placed in the most inconvenient place and its going to take a lot of work to get to.  As I mentioned before, the race is timed, so you have a certain amount of time to get as many checkpoints as you can and return to the race start/finish before you are out of time. If you get back after the time limit, there is always a penalty for the number of minutes you are late. So, if it takes you an extra 30 minutes to the get 1 more checkpoint, you will basically have all your points taken away because you were so late. The whole day is a mind game that is just as mentally challenging as physically challenging.



I didn't feel good when this picture was taken. Can you spot the goofball behind me?



Finally finding our first check point of the day.



So, as I started to tell you before. We were running a bit late. (We slept less than 100 yards from the race start and we didn’t get there on time… come on) Once we were all bundled up and ready to spend the next 6 hours hiking around Tar Hallow State park, we were headed to our first checkpoint. I wasn’t feeling well at all and was dreading the race. I was trying to figure out how I could just go back to the Jeep, get under “blanket mountain” and just sleep while the other three continued the race. I felt like I was going to be sick the whole time. We kept looking at the map and trying to figure out the terrain, but no one seemed to agree on what was what. By no one, I mean Damon and Dusty, as Alice and I just kinda kept our mouths shut and let the boys figure things out. It took a little while, but eventually we slipped into the beautiful dance called teamwork. I was finally starting to feel better which obviously helped me out big time. Dusty found our first checkpoint and once that was found, everything started to mesh together. 

We continued on our day, finding about a checkpoint an hour. We trekked up steep hills, slide down ravines, crossed raging rivers by walking across fallen trees and spent a lot of time laughing about the ridiculous ways we had picked to accomplish our task.

When we had less than 2 hours left, we passed team after team coming from a certain checkpoint. One gentleman stopped and asked us if we were headed to checkpoint “53”. That actually wasn’t checkpoint we were planning on finding, but he made it seem so easy to get to we listened to his advice and headed down the “service road”.  Maybe to this guy, it was an easy find, but it was by far one of the most difficult checkpoints to find. We don’t tend to usually “split up” to find a checkpoint. Some races actually have rules on how far apart two racer can be. Sometimes it’s as little as 10ft. This race you had a little more freedom when it came to the distance you could be, so as we followed other’s footprints, whenever they split, so did we. Eventually I was walking around this area alone and it really messed with my mind. I was extremely tired and starting to get cold. I was worried about passing the checkpoint because I wasn’t looking close enough. Eventually all of our paths met back up at the same point. We were looking down into a reentrant and we could see other teams on the other side of the creek. More and more teams started showing up. This was by far the most people we had run into all day. A group of men showed up, probably about the same age as Ashley and I and asked us if we could see it. I told him it was down there somewhere, but we hadn’t found it yet. Out of nowhere this guy just threw himself down the hill, with one of his buddies following right behind him. I couldn’t believe how quickly that crazy kid had gotten to the bottom of the steep hill. Our team took its time getting to the bottom. We still hadn’t found the checkpoint and even discussed giving up on this one and trying to get what points we could from a different checkpoint. This wasn’t something any of us wanted to do, because we had spent almost an hour getting to this stupid checkpoint that we thought was going to be an easy 50 points. We kept looking and finally found it down the hill even further. Ashley and I waited where we were for Dusty and Damon to get punch the card. The trek back up that hill was brutal and we just wanted to be finished at this point. We went and got the checkpoint we had planned on getting prior to the “53 Detour”. It was time to call it a day and head back to the finish. Dusty figured out that we could get one more on the way back and I was totally up for it. Knowing we would be able to find 6 checkpoints in the six hours made me really happy, as that had been the goal in my mind all day. We got our sixth checkpoint and headed back to the finish.

I was glad to be done. When its cold like that, you have to find a good balance of clothing that will keep you warm, but you are also always moving, so your body can get warm really quickly. Since we had all types of weather yesterday, I was wet on the outside of my clothing because of the weather, but wet from sweating inside my clothing. It was fine when we were hiking, but once we were done for the day we all got cold really quickly. After my last adventure race I learned my lesson about always having a complete extra set of clothing to change into. We got out of our wet clothes and headed back to the shelter house to win some door prizes.  I knew they were giving away “Fit Socks” and I wanted a pair. Of course, because it’s me, I now have a very comfy pair of fit socks. You should probably buy some.

I like doing adventure races because they teach you a lot about yourself and about working with others. I was joking after completing my first adventure race last fall that the next guy I date, we will need to do an adventure race together so I can see how he is going to handle stressful situations. If he acts like a fool and a complete jerk, I will be able to see this relationship just isn’t going to work out. It’s probably best to just drive there in different cars so there aren’t any awkward conversations after I dump him in the parking lot. As Dusty put it, you can get six months worth of dating done in 6 hours.  As silly as that sounds, I can really see how this can be true. When doing a race that is that long, you can’t fake anything. Who you really are is going to come out during that time. Adventure races take all of those key phrases like, “leadership, teamwork, communication and attitude” that are completely over used and put them into a more realistic challenge than any “Challenge Course” I have ever participated in or lead. Yesterday, we needed to get to the other side of a creek that was a bit deeper than we would want to walk through. In my mind I could see this same scenario set up at almost any camp that has a challenge course, but now I was going to need to do it for real. There wasn’t a big pile of mulch and a facilitator standing there in case dropped a foot and a half. This time it is higher, with some very cold water moving below me. The four of us could see what needed to be accomplished, we discussed the various ways to make it happen, we put the plan into action and completed the task. This was a time for problem solvers, not problem identifiers. I know there are plenty of people that tend to be problem identifiers, but identifying the problem does nothing if you aren’t going to come up with a way to solve it. I know it sounds so corny, but it really does amaze me. I like to be put in situations that I can truly learn from. Ashley and I aren’t really good at reading maps and using a compass. It was humbling to admit that I need help when using those tools and I really don’t think Ashley and I could have completed our first race last fall without the help of Dusty and Damon. That is where we met each other. They were sitting at the same table we were before the start of the race. We ended up at a checkpoint at the same time and just started working together. It is interesting to see which areas each of us excel at and there were times when everyone had a chance to contribute to the group. As basically everyone knows, I enjoy giving my opinion on lots of things, but when it comes to these races, it puts me in a situation where I need to listen twice as much as I talk.

I am planning on doing a lot more adventure races this summer. If this seems like something you would like to try out, check out both of these websites:

 http://www.race-coar.com/  - Central Ohio Adventure Racing. Ashley and I are the “Racers Spotlight”



https://sites.google.com/site/nsfadventures/ - This is the company that put on this last race.




Alice was showing off her best moves here!

 



Damon at the first checkpoint.



Ashley and I enjoying the view.

The boys were planning our next checkpoint.
 I am getting "Into the Map" much like Joey on Friends.

Mountain Men

No matter how stressful it got, Dusty still found time to throw snowballs at whoever he could.

There is a checkpoint down there. Can you find it? No, its not those leaves, its much smaller.

Our racing team.

I was climbing over this fallen tree...

When I flipped right under it!

Ok, in real life, this crossing was way more dangerous than you can tell in the picture.

After we had changed into dry clothes. Alice refused to wear her camo for this picture.

After our race in October. That water is water, not sweat. I had to bob for an apple.
Also noticed the gym shorts? Those are Damon's. He let me wear them after I ripped my pants open.

Overall, it was a great weekend. We got 6 of 25 checkpoints. Only 1 group completely cleared the course and there were over 130 teams there. The key to these races is being able to set reasonable goals, know how to use the tools and resources given to you, and be able to laugh at yourself. Yesterday, Ashley was walking by and laughing she told me, “That was a stupid way to go”. She had just freed herself from a large amount of rosebushes and it was just so funny. I told Ashley it would be great to set a goal of clearing a course someday, and she just looked at me like I was crazy. I think we can do it, it might just take us awhile to figure it out.











 

Who Pooped?

Now anyone who has spent time with my family would know that my parents are two very different people.  My mom’s sense of humor is the polar opposite of my dad’s. While growing up my brother’s and I knew exactly what we could joke with my mom about and what my dad would have reprimanded us for. (Seriously, I remember once Matt was very gassy and he was told he needed to either use the restroom or go to his room. Those were the options my father gave him) so, when it comes to bodily functions, they were not to be talked about any further than a simple, “Excuse me”. My dad and I can joke about a lot of stuff, but that was off limits, no question.  (I know, those of you who know my brother this might come as a huge shock to you)

Fast forward to the Smith home now.  We have an almost 2 year old yellow lab that is technically a service dog for 4Paw for Ability. The deal is we could train her to be a service dog, but if we loved her she would stay at our home and become a breeding dog for more service dogs. It took about 2 seconds for our family to fall in love with her, so needless to say, she is sticking around.

The only problem with this dog, she doesn’t listen. At.All.   She has been through professional training and even spent an extended period of time at what we called “prison” being trained. Nothing has worked.

This dog, Miss T, loves to carry around treasures. Unfortunately, now that the ground is frozen her treasures have become none other than clumps of frozen poop. And we aren’t just talking about dog poop, cattle and horse poop are major finds for her. She picks it up and tries to bring it into the house. Never in my life would I think I have to check a dog for clumps of frozen poop before I let her in the door.

The other day, she snuck some in. My mom found Miss T, on their bed (on top of the beautiful comforter set I got her for Christmas last year), and she was playing with none other than frozen poop. Mom flipped out. Now, I wasn’t here at the time, so I don’t know exactly what was said, but  the dog got in so much trouble that now, whenever anyone says “Poop” around her, she tucks her tail and stops whatever she is doing.

Out of everything we have tried, saying the word, “pooped” gets this dog to calm down.  Are you kidding me! How is that for irony? In a house where passing gas wasn’t even discussed, the sentence “Who Pooped” must be said in order to control the dog. Now it gets said all the time around my house. My mom and I can’t stop laughing about it, and it’s become so funny that even my dad has cracked a smile while saying “Who Pooped” to her.

A word of warning if you ever stop by, don’t take it personally if we ask, “Who pooped?” We aren’t directing it towards you!

God Bless 'Murica!

Man, sometimes do you ever just laugh to yourself? I spend most of my day laughing at the stupid stuff that comes into my memory. I was walking with Cara (and maybe Cory) Lawson back from and OSU football game and we saw a sign hanging up outside a apartment on Lane Ave. and it just made me laugh and laugh. So, of course I am going to use it as a blog post title, right!

Have you ever thought through the path to how you got to a certain point? This morning I was thinking about how I met me friend, Mike. Well, I met Mike through Adopt a US Soldier, which I found one day while I was looking on the internet. I was looking on the internet that day because as I was reading “Angel from Hell” by Ryan Conklin.  He is the incredibly hunky prankster who was a cast member on MTV’s real world. Ryan is really the only reason I watched the Real World that season, because as I mentioned earlier, he is incredibly hunky.  I could go keep going about why I watched the first episode of the Real World Brooklyn, (which is because of an episode of “The Soup” that I watched with John Shaw, but I think at this point, it would just be better to stop J )

So back to the glue that holds this all together, Ryan. Ryan is also Iraq War Vet. Let’s call a spade a spade here and admit that in my eyes that only adds to his hotness. So, of course I would read the book he wrote about his first tour in Iraq. I really enjoyed his book. It’s the first Iraq memoir I have ever read, so I don’t really have much to compare it too. I can say this, he’s a guy who wrote about his day to day life for the first year he was in Iraq. He’s not polished and he’s not fancy, but I really enjoyed his book.  In his book, he talks about how one of the greatest gifts he got in Iraq was a guitar he received from a stranger. This got me to thinking, I could be stranger who sends people stuff. So, I started to look on the internet on how to go about that. I ran across many different sites that explained how you could write letters to soldiers, how you could send care packages to soldiers, even sites that are specifically for dating soldiers. But the site that got my attention the most was www.adoptaussoldier.org. Basically, you “adopt” a soldier for their entire deployment. They could be deployed anywhere, but most soldiers are in Iraq and Afghanistan. As I read all of the posted information I knew I wanted to be apart of this. So, I signed up. I waited patiently as I waited for my soldier’s information. I wondered a lot about who my soldier would be. Would I get a male or a female? Would they be married? I worried a little about being assigned a married man. Not that anything in appropriate would happen, but I would rather not be sending a married man that I don’t know care packages. If I was married and this was something my husband and I were doing together, I would feel differently, but whatever. I also didn’t want to “request” an unmarried man, because it is plastered all over the website that this isn’t a dating service. (Go to those other website for that J ) After a few days, I received an email about my soldier, Mike. It always wigs me out a bit to say, “My Soldier” but whatever, that is what people say.



Have you met Mike?



I wrote Mike an e-mail. Then I printed off the e-mail and put it in the mail along with some other little tid bits of info. Some soldiers will give a lot of information when they sign up, and some don’t. Thankfully, I had some information on Mike and could put things I thought he might be interested in. Thankfully, Mike is a sports fan, so that gave me plenty of things to talk about! One thing about Adopt a Soldier is you can’t expect letters in return. It’s nice, but they are a little busy and might not have time to get back with you. Christmas day I was so excited because I received my first e-mail from Mike! What a Christmas present!

Mike and I have exchanged e-mails back and forth for awhile now. I really enjoy reading his e-mails and learning more about what is happening overseas. I have never really had a “pen pal” per say, so this is defiantly something that I am all about right now. Mike in the Army Reserves and back in  Minnesota he is a police officer; He has a beautiful little baby named Shane. This is his second tour overseas and he is currently stationed in Afghanistan. I thank him greatly for his service both stateside and overseas.



Yeah, not gonna lie, I think this is cool!



I asked Alan Evans the other day (Amber Gilbert Evan’s hubby) if he got lots of letters from strangers back home. I asked if they were cool, or just kinda annoying? I wanted to know if me writing soldiers was really worth it, ya know… Alan actually told me something that I didn’t expect to hear. He said the letters really boosted overall moral and that they were really important. They were a constant reminder that people are appreciative of them. He talked about how family and friends are always going to say thank you and tell you how proud of you they are, but hearing it from strangers really makes a difference. I guess that just isn’t something I ever really thought about.

A lot of the websites I came across had the same basic message. These troops need our support. If you are for our actions overseas or against them, it doesn’t matter, there are still troops that need our support either way. I also think of troops that are deployed that don’t really have a lot of family or friends back home supporting them. Could you imagine being over seas for a year and not hearing from anyone? That just breaks me heart.

The more and more I looked into this, the more and more I learned about ways to support our troops. I even found an organization that helps soldiers preparing to deploy find temporary homes for their pets while they are gone. If you don’t really want to “adopt a Soldier” for the long haul, you just want to write a letter to “any soldier” from time to time, do some exploring and decided which organization fits you best and how you can help. There are so many organizations the help our awesome troops when they return home as well! (Expect a blog sometime this year about the Wounded Warriors Project and Warrior’s Wish Foundation, which both have taken my heart by storm)

Basically, there are things we could all be doing to show support to our troops. If you have friends who are serving, send them an email or even better, write them a letter today just to say hey. I am forming a really awesome friendship with a police officer from Minnesota, (If I am honest, I am getting more out of this than he is, but hey, that happens) which I never would have formed if it wasn’t for a trail of not so random things that connected us. Do something today!  Do some research and sign up too help! If you want more information on what groups I have researched, let me know, I will gladly share what I have learned.

To ALL of our troops, no matter where they are stationed, I thank you for service! I pray that you are very dangerous and that you do your jobs well. Know that people are praying for you and for your loved ones! To my friends who are currently serving (and those of you who are trying to figure out where the arny will take you next) I wish you well!  I also want to wish Dusty Clement the best as he is preparing to leave for the Army in March! Thank you all for all you do!

You Want Me to Run How Far?

In June of 2010 when I decided to run the Columbus Half Marathon I knew it would be a lot of hard work. I started training on my own and I am not gonna lie, it sucked. It was hot out last summer, really hot. Training in 90+ degree heat isn’t ideal. I was way overweight, completely out of shape and I had just paid money to go run 13.1 miles. I would go to the Y, try to run just a simple 3 miles and I would be out of breath and would have to walk. I hated it. After my first couple attempts at runs, I really knew how hard it was going to be for me to complete the 13.1 mile trek that awaited me.

Us after the race with our finisher's medal. The fishisher's medal
might secretly be the  only reasons I run races, the hardwear!
I wore my medal all day, which is something I do after every race!

But, I still did it. I worked hard, I made it a priority and I set my mind to accomplishing this task. Thankfully, the Lord blessed me with Ashley Stalling, who I have no doubt is the only reason I completed my half marathon without walking. A running buddy made all the difference. I was so proud of myself last October when I crossed the finish line. It was something I had worked hard for and I had finished my task better than I thought I would have been able too. I’m not a fast runner, it still took me 2 hours and 28 minutes to finish it, but I finished it. During that race I remember a girl wearing a T-shirt that said, “Dead last is better than did not finish which trumps did not start”. What a great way to look at it! After the race Ashley and I, along with another member of the Marathon for the Cure Team were interviewed about the race. We were interviewed by an Olympian, but no one bothered to tell us that! Have no fear, you will all be getting an email challenge to join the Marathon for the Cure Team later in the year :)

Since I started talking about “The Year of Awesome” I have had a lot of people say that would like to run a race…. Any thing from a 5K to a full marathon. Well, this is what I am challenging you all to do! May 7^th the Cap City Half Marathon will be happening in Columbus. There is also going to be a ¼ marathon as well as a 5K (3.1 miles) and you should do it! Decide today what distance you are going to do. If you have to walk, who cares, no one is judging! It’s the middle of January and that gives you plenty of time to accomplish this goal. I would love to see as many of my friends at the Cap City Half (or whatever distance you decide to do) as possible.

My dad gave me an article to read the other day about these two guys who are in their 90’s who run marathons. One of them walks with a walker, and he is still doing marathons. A read another article recently about a man who has cerebral palsy who pushes himself with one leg going backwards in a wheelchair and had completed over 16 marathons. Most of us have 2 good legs and are just too lazy to do it. My dad asked me the other day something along the lines of “Do you think you can do that?”, as we were talking about my desire to want to complete a 70.3 (Half Iron Man) and I said, “Well, I think there are lots of things I can do if I just train myself to do it”. His sneaky reply was basically, “Well, I can’t put a computer together,” I just replied, “If I tried hard enough and learned how to do it I could”. He just smiled that smile of encouragement I have been blessed with my entire life. I am honestly starting to believe when it comes to things like this, most people can do most things, as long as they work hard enough to do them.

So, will you join me? I will be glad to have people join me on runs or answer any questions people have. I’m not an expert, but I bet we could figure something out. There is a local running club at the Y that meets on Saturday mornings. Its free, you don’t even have to be a Y member. It has people who are all out trying to accomplish the same goals that you are! Decide today what you are going to do, then do it.  

http://www.capitalcityhalfmarathon.com/ - Check it out and get signed up! This is a reasonable race that is going to be flat. There are all sorts of distances you can run.You are way more likely to actually do it, if you are signed up and training for it. If you don't have a date picked out, it will never happen.

"The hardest part about running is putting on your running shoes and walking out your front door." - Mike Coder

Some people go to Hair Shows, I go to Grazing Conferences

On Monday, my dad and I took off on an awesome adventure to the south. Yes, the south being Louisville, Kentucky for the 2011 Grazing Conference, sponsored by DFA and Dairy Grazing Services. Yes, I went to a conference completely focused on grazing cattle. Something oddly enough, turns out to something I think is rather interesting. Boy, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to grazing cattle. A.Lot.

 This is seriously the face my dad
gave me as I explained my blog.

My dad and I have never actually gone on a multi-day trip, just the two of us. Once arriving in Louisville and checking into our hotel we decided to get some grub. Staying in downtown Louisville offered a large variety of eateries, but we picked the ever so popular “Hard Rock Café”. At dinner, I explained my blog to my dad, which is now refers to as my “blob”. I could see by the expression on his face he isn’t near as excited about my “blob” as some of you might be. 

The threat of the massive snowstorm turned out to be just as much as a flop in Kentucky as it was in Ohio. We were staying on the 14^th floor, so we did have a fun view of the city. The snow that did actually fall created a beautiful white blanket across the rooftops.

Since the conference didn’t officially start until noon, we decided to make the most of our morning and head to the Louisville Slugger Museum. I looked up the directions and it turned out it was only about 9 or so blocks from our hotel. Louisville has this really neat skywalk system called the Louis Link. Thankfully, as I was asking directions from the Starbucks baristas, they let us in on the nifty Louis Link. It made me feel like I was in hamster tubes going from building to building as we walked. It was a nice way to stay dry and slightly warmer. My dad only took a light spring jacket, which was the main source of several jokes along the way. I was dressed like I was going out snowshoeing, while my dad was dressed for picnic in the park. So, the Louie Link let us see a side of the city I wouldn’t have seen from my typical 5’2” view.

As we walked through the tubes of the Louis Link, my dad spotted the handle of the giant baseball bat the stands in front of the museum and factory. I had been to the Louisville Slugger Factory once in high school, but I don’t really remember much about it. Our tour consisted of a family of 4, plus dad and I. We walked through the factory, got our tiny little souvenir bats and took a few photos inside the museum. Since there weren’t a lot of people in there, my dad let me take a few more silly pictures than he typically would have let me take. Enjoy these fun filled photos. J

Dad and I by the big bat. Love his
spring jacket. It started to snow
a lot harder as we walked. 

Shoeless Joe Jackson's Bat. I first
learned of this man as a yongster watching
one of my favorite films "Field of Dreams".

I didn't know Louisville Slugger made gun stocks during WWII.
A new fun filled fact I  just learned. 

I was really excited to see this! I wish I could convince my buddies
Kat and Brecken that we could make
these as our High Ball costumes. 

"What are you looking at?"
Ok, I made dad take this one.

Once the conference started the fun really began. Let me tell you. In all seriousness, I really did learn a lot at the conference.  I am kinda a nerd and really enjoy learning about why something works or why something won’t work. I also enjoyed listening to other farmers talk about their operations. That is something I really enjoy about my job in general, farmers love telling people about their farms, and I love listening to their stories.

The real excitement came when it was time for door prizes. As I turned in our raffle cards, I made sure everyone knew that “The Smith’s are Winners”. This of course turned out to be true. My dad was one of the second names called and he won a Leatherman tool. Hey, you can never have too many of those. The next set of give-a-ways I was hoping I wouldn’t win. They were gift certificates for $200 worth of semen. Granted, to almost anyone else at the conference, that was quite a prize, but really, what am I going to do with that? I know my desire to start a beef herd could have started with that prize, but I didn’t want it. After a large variety of items I have no use for were given away, a $100 visa gift card was up for grabs. I watched as they pulled my crinkled up raffle card out of the pile and I knew it was mine! I was so excited. The only raffle prize I could really use and it was mine! Yes! My dad and I weren’t the only winners, Mike Van Winkle won the “Grand Prize” of a visit from a grazing consultant to come evaluate his farm and give him a few pointers. A day with a grazing consultant will add to Mike's "Year of Awesome.", no question. He said he was going to take the consultant to breakfast at Burger King.  Knowing Mike, I wouldn't put it past him. He was given a day with a grazing expert and he treats him to some greasy hash browns and a crossantwich. Have fun, Mike!  

Overall, the conference was a great time. I met some really interesting people and learned a lot while I was there. Sometimes I guess Awesome comes when you least expect it. J 

Dad and I with the conference sign. Dad did not want to take this picture. 

Dad, Mike and Dave. Yeah, Dad wanted to take this one. Mike was really excited about all of the free stuff he was given at the conference.