Walk n' Roll

Yesterday I participated in the first ALS of Nevada 5k run.  I ran in honor of my dad Eldon Hardy who passed away four years ago from the disease.  There were 70 runners that participated in the new event.  In prior years there has only been a memory walk for awareness, but this year a run was added as well.  It was attended by both runners and walkers.

The  pre-run instructions....YES, I was totally confused!

Its always fun to start a run...

I did well, however I know I could have done better.  I have really been having a hard time training for the marathon because I started working.  The job seriously wipes me out by the end of the day.  I can hardly keep my eyes open by the time I get home.  So I am hoping that this week will be better for me. 

Coming to the finish line at full sprint!

Even better to cross the finish line

Anyway, my mom and I were the only one's from our family who went this year.  Everyone else in the family was either sick or made other plans (which I was not very happy about!!!)  I am so happy that I was able to attend once again this year and actually feel like I really made some kind of difference for once.

This is us...

Every year there is also a balloon release to help those not to forget to continue to seek to find a cure for the disease.  For some reason this years balloon release seemed really cool to me...the balloons could be seen forever up in the sky.

Finally, there is a grove of trees that has been planted for every person that has died from ALS. This is always touching to go back and see the change of the tree every year. 

In memory of Eldon B. Hardy

Rainy Day Issues



This was in Washington...these boots got TONS of use...
I just may have to pull them out again if this keeps up!

I'm having some serious issues tonight,  it's so dumb too!  It has been raining today since this afternoon, which is okay....but its FREAKING cold!!!  I'm having flashbacks to the 4 HELLACIOUS months I lived in Washington.  I absolutely hate the rain with the cold!!!  The weather the entire time I lived there...minus 10 (count that 10) days was nothing but miserable cold and rain!  I did the best I could to make the best of the situation, but the damage was already done. 

Don't get me wrong I love the rain...but when its cold I can't handle it.  I came home from work got into my warm clothes and began having flashbacks to my horrible stay in Washington.  So now all I want to do is cuddle up in my bed and sleep because I don't want the horrible memories of the rain from Washington.  The rain there is so thin you can hardly see it.  To see that it is raining you have to look really hard and against something dark to see the rain. 

It rained so much there, I got use to being soaking wet on a regular basis. My car was never clean, I couldn't wear cute shoes because the water would ruin them.  I was always wearing warm clothes because it was never above 58 degrees the entire time I was there.  I was in heaven when we got back to Las Vegas because the warmth was so rejuvenating for me.  I came back to life so to say.  I never  complained once about the heat  being 115 outside because I was/am so thankful to be back in it!

So we will have to see how I manage the next couple of days, especially if it stays this cold. 

Oh Green...

Today's unexpected adventure....

Little Green Focus lost its transmission.  Adam tried to come home, but Little Green wasn't having it.  I got a call from Adam in a panic because he couldn't get the car to go. So mom and g'ma to the rescue.  Little green was stuck in the employee parking garage.  We called AAA, but ended up waiting for over 2 hours for them to come.  But once they came we still couldn't go to the car because we needed a security escort! 

Problem with that...no security were available because there was a problem at the resort that Metro was involved with, so nobody could do anything until they left.  (Whatever, it isn't like I/we are going to steal my own car).  So we had to sit and wait for another hour for our security escort!

Finally when our "escort" came, it took all but 5 minutes to hook the car up to the tow truck and leave.  Escort just looked at my identification to see if I was the legal owner.  Unbelievable!

But this isn't the first time Little Green has decided to have a break down a hotel parking garage.  A few years ago on Halloween, we sat in valet parking for 5 hours waiting for a tow truck! It didn't show up until about 2:30 in the morning! That was such a long night. That was quite the experience with little kids dressed in their Halloween costumes trying to have a fun night at the aquarium!  We saw more than we wanted to see, lots of nearly nude women going into the club walking past us as we sat waiting.  My poor girls at that age were not ready to see all the "sexy" doctors walking by.

So needless to say...Little Green has given us many adventures in the past 10 years.  We will most likely fix her and send get her back on the road for many more adventures. 

Heck, these adventures are what memories are made  of :)

(Oh...on a side note, if you ever need to hide your car from repossession....HIDE IT IN A HOTEL/CASINO EMPLOYEE PARKING GARAGE!!! NOBODY CAN OR WILL GET TO IT!!)

A New Adventure

Well today started a new adventure in my life.  I started a new job this morning.  I am now working in the death industry....YES, you read that right death industry!  I was asked if I wanted a job last week.  I said, "Well I don't know if its so much wanting a job, but needing a job."  So I chose to start a new job. 

I am looking forward to this new adventure.  I am trying to stay positive and upbeat about this new experience.  However, I am a little worried about keeping up with my schooling and marathon training, since both tend to take a lot of time as well.  The onl thing I hate is learning new procedures with a new company.  In the beginning I always feel very overwhelmed, but from what I have been told it will come much easier shortly because it is just repetition. 

My first experience with working with someone who had a family member die was when I answered the phone and a lady speaking a foreign language began yelling at me about the body being stolen from the hospital....OKAY?!  When I finally got to speak I told her I was new and didn't know what she was talking about, but I would do my best to find an answer for her.  I just needed some time to get some information before I could give her further details.  WOW!!! Really?  I was NOT expecting that.  I found out the information and she was a little happier person when the phone call ended.

So as you can see, this will totally be a new adventure for me.  So be prepared to hear a few posts here and there about a day in the life of working in the death industry...