Relay for Life

On July 26-27, 2008, my mom, brother, future sister-in-law, and family friend will all be walking in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, in Milwaukie Oregon as part of the Curves for the Cure Too team. Relay for Life raises money to fight cancer and raise awareness of cancer. It honors cancer survivors and remembers those who have lost their lives to cancer.

I don't think there is one person whose life hasn't been touched by cancer. My family has experienced the emotional and physical challenges with two members of our family having fought the battle. My grandma lost her fight after a long, hard battle when I was only 7 years old. My brother never got the opportunity to know her. My mom will be honoring her with a Luminaria candle.

But cancer hit me the hardest when my brother Matt was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at the young age of 8. I was 17 yrs old when he was diagnosed and it completely shook my world (as it did everyone in my family). When asked what the worst day of my life was, there is no question in my mind...I remember it vividly like it was yesterday. Shortly after finding out that his tumor was malignant, my brother was admitted to the hospital for testing. His tumor was in his throat and, since they couldn't start chemo until they finished testing, the tumor continued to grow until it nearly blocked Matt's airway. I will never forget one day toward the end of his stay shortly before they would begin chemo, my mom had gone down for coffee and I sat in the room alone on a counter. I was watching that little tiny boy with his "ET finger" on (the pulse-oximeter). In his sleep he would gasp for air, then hold his breath and I would just wait to hear him breathe out. That is probably the most scared I've ever been in my life. I truly thought I would lose my brother.

Now, when people ask me the best day of my life, I can also remember that day like it was yesterday. About 6 months after his chemo started, my brother's treatments were done. He had gone through the post-treatment testing and we were waiting to hear the results. My brother stayed with the next door neighbor after school and I would always come home after school, then go get my brother. This particular day, I went home and checked the answering machine. I'll never forget the voice of the doctor as she told how Matt was better, no sign of cancer anywhere! So when I went to pick Matt up at the neighbor's house, I was able to tell Matt that he was all better. Well, Matt is now a healthy 26-year old and has been clear of cancer for 18 years! His recovery was largely because of the new medicines, protocols and diagnostic techniques resulting from cancer research. If we had faced his Lymphoma 10 years earlier, he would not be here with us today.

Finally, my future sister-in-law I'm sure will be walking in honor of her dad, who lost his fight in the recent years. We all have family, friends, co-workers or acquaintances who are dealing with or have dealt with cancer in one way or another. There is so much work left to be done. The Relay for Life is a great way to participate physically and/or financially. All money raised is used to support research locally for all types of cancer and important patient oriented programs.

I am asking that you consider supporting this worthwhile cause. Either in prayer, by participating in a local Relay for Life, or by sponsoring one of my family members who is participating in this event this weekend. The donation is tax-deductible and can easily be made by clicking on the link provided above. Your contribution, large or small, will be greatly appreciated and benefit this very worthy cause.

If you would like to sponsor one of my family members participating in the event this weekend, please click on the link above before August 10, 2008 the click on one of the following names on team Curves for the Cure Too page and it will direct you to the individual sites where you can make your donation:
Ann Nodurft
Matt Arneson
Esther Duggan
Jeanne Lang

Thank you for your support.

Weekly Weigh In

I'm a little bummed that I didn't lose anything more this week. I still have 9 lbs to go to meet my goal of 10 by June 15. My weekly update is about the same as last week (except no cookie binge this week), so I really need to work on those areas I'm struggling with, which are:

1. Exercise abs and arms 6 days a week: I only did this once this week. I WILL do better next week!!!
2. Resistence exercises at least 2 days a week: I have a program that has worked fabulously in the past, but I've been struggling to be motivated to exercise in the evenings (long work days and all!) I think if I could get into this habit, I will see the best results.
3. No more than one bite sized candy per day: I caved on this a bit this week...lots of chocolate cravings, so I think I had ~2-3 a day. Need...to...have...self...control!!!

I'm still doing great in the following areas:

1. Walk (briskly) at least 3 days/wk (total of at least 2-1/2 hrs/wk): Exceeded this goal this week, despite having a few rainy days, like today (yuck!).
2. Eat more fruits and vegies: I'm still eating LOTS more fruits and vegies. Ate salad for lunch all but one day this week but, I gotta say...I'm getting tired of salad. I need to get creative in how to get my raw vegies in without eating a salad. Any suggestions?

I'm hoping for some better results next week and am committed to meet more than just 2 of my weekly goals.

1 down, 9 to go

I've lost 1 lb since Friday, May 2nd. It's not much but it is one step closer to my goal to lose 10 lbs (or 1 dress size) by mid-June. So how did I do on the weekly goals? Here's the tally:

The good:

• Walked 4 days for total of 2 hrs, 40 minutes
• Ate LOTS more fruits and vegies, vegies being a huge feat for me. I ate salads for lunch M-F and kept it interesting by varying the kind of salad.
• Only ate a couple bite-sized candies through the entire week, but see the "ugly" below.

The bad:

• Only did abs and arms 2x this week (yikes)
• Didn't do any resistance exercises (double yikes)

The ugly:

• Even though I did well with the bite sized candies, I ate 3 homemade chocalate chip cookies today...bad, bad, bad!!!! I had no self-control, they just looked too good.

All in all, with the exception of the cookie-fest today, I have exercised more self-control, will power, and improved eating habits than in most of my life. If I can keep this up and improve on the resistance and toning exercises I think I'll be in line to meet my goal.

Hopping on the bandwagon

My close friends KittenMom and Dirkey have both been working on trimming up. With a short vacation to Florida coming up in June, I've decided to hop on the bandwagon. I'll be weighing in on Fridays, along with the others, with the goal to lose 10 pounds (from my weight on May 2) or 1 dress size by June 15th. That may seem like a small amount but the pounds don't just melt off me, even when I'm doing everything right. So, I'm going to be tracking myself against the following weekly goals:

1. Walk (briskly) at least 3 days a week for a total of at least 2-1/2 hours per week.
2. Exercise abs and arms 6 days a week.
3. Resistence exercises at least 2 days a week.
4. Eat more fruits and vegies.
5. No more than one bite sized candy per day.

If I follow the above diligently, hopefully I'll be successful in meeting my goal.