Color Run 2014 and upcoming races

The Community Service floor at the College I work for has been planning their very own color run for a few months now.  Today was the official race day and other than the weather everything went really well for them.   What's awesome is that the funds went to local organization to help them fund their programs (Hickok Center for Brain Injury).  Most of my co-workers and I supported the event in a myriad of ways in part because our student worker was organizing the race. I supplied a raffle basket, secured some other funds through the campus Wellness Committee, helped with race organization input early on in the planning process, promoted the race and ran in the race. My other co-workers volunteered (or rather I coerced some of them) in being the official DJ and assist DJ for the race and our reception was an overall supporter and helper throughout the event.  Check out the YouTube video that was made of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DouHYHMssdA

The event was designed successfully down to the last detail. Many clubs and organizations on campus helped out. There were plenty of volunteers, an official large time clock, a race map, bibs, t-shirts and sunglasses for runners, tons of great after race food and drinks, rockin music and awesome raffle prizes. (I haven't found out if I won any raffles yet but I'm keeping my fingers X!) **Update- nope I wasn't a winner.

The only disappointing part was the weather. It was cold, grey, rainy (though it stopped just before the race) and extremely windy right during the parts of the run that had the hills. Uggggg.......  Despite all of that my time was really good. I came in the top 10 out of about 160 runners with a majority of them being college students. Hooray for me! **update- received an email on 4/17/14 with the time results- I placed 6th overall and came in 2nd place for overall female. Boy I was right behind the 1st place female runner by like 20 sec. or less!

So here are the upcoming races I'm signed up for:
1. Mess a Dress 10k April 12th

2. Rochester Flower City Half Marathon April 27th-**Yes, I just signed up.  After many many horrible runs (I think my body was rejecting the thought of running for that long) I was able to run 13.5 miles without killing myself the other day.  I'm still slightly apprehensive about the race but will continue to train over the next 5 weeks, hope for good weather which means no WIND and do a lot of praying that I'll survive and my body won't revolt on me during the race. Goal: Finish without walking. Bonus: Finish in 2 hours or under.

3. Lilac Festival 10k May 18th

*I had really wanted to run in the Corporate Challenge Race and have been helping my college to take part in and then just this past week I found out that the summer session one class I'm taking is on Tues. and Thurs. evenings right smack in the middle of the race which is on a Thurs. evening in May. Boy does that stink big time!!! I'd skip class but since it's only a 6-7 week class probably not the best idea. Damn!

Ballet, Valentines, the Dress, and art therapy news

Well...this week found me still on the struggle bus but just a little bit smoother of a ride.  The upswing started to happen Friday. I had new art therapy groups starting and so Friday found me having 3 art therapy based groups and everyone showed which was amazing!  Following a day of groups I went with the art therapy club president and vice president to support them through the final phase of becoming a club.  They had to go before the Senate (which was a very intimidating 25 students) and answer questions about the proposed club and it's purpose.  After a waiting period of 5 minutes the verdict came and we got it! We received approval and now there is officially an art therapy club at the college where I work and I'm the advisor. Woo...who...  Below are my other upswing adventures of the week/weekend.

1. I went back to Trampoline fitness with a friend who hadn't been before. We had a fun time laughing at ourselves and each other. I was actually surprised that I caught on even quicker this time and made a lot less mistakes.  My goal is to keep going back and we want to try the Pole class sometime.

2.  I saw in the Arts and Culture section of the D&C last weekend that the Rochester City Ballet was performing this weekend and since I work where the performance was going to be I got 1/2 off tickets. I put a call out to friends to see if anyone else wanted to embark on this new adventure with me and three of my friends came along.  I thought the performance was going to be a mix of ballet with contemporary dance which in my eyes I envisioned contemporary dance as "So You Think You Can Dance" dancing. Ahhhhh...not quite. It was pretty good until the collaboration with musician James Vandemark. I was okay with his cello performance but once he started making "sounds" and then hollering random words I got lost. In actuality I got freaked out.  I swear I thought I'd have nightmares from his sounds and voice.  They had a panel discussion after and my friends and I looked at each other, gave the nod, and unceremoniously jetted out of the theater. I guess we just are not that cultured of people.

Ballet: RCB Style

3.  Rochester Artists & Craft Persons is a new Meetup in my area that I came across a few weeks ago.  I opted out of the couple of meetups I was a part of as I never really went to anything and changed to do different meetup groups with this being one of the them.  This one was founded by the creator of the Rochester Makerspace and is a collaborative effort.  I signed up to go to a members house to make Valentine Cards. While I typically don't celebrate Valentine's Day as I consider it a Hallmark greeting card day I thought it would give me a chance to meet some people that enjoy crafting.  As a bonus I got to try out all of these nifty crafting tools that the women at the event had.  Wow they were serious card makers and had all of the gadgets to go with it.  This was a pretty wonderful way to spend a few hours on a cloudy cold Saturday.  The women I met were lovely and very willing to share their knowledge and supplies with everyone.  I've already planned to head back to Deborah's house for another meetup March 1st where we will be creating glass fusion pendants. Yes, she has a kiln at her house!!!

Here's my cards I created!

4.  This morning I woke up and started off my day by working on hemming and altering my dress for the Mess a Dress race.  I got it all hemmed up and taken in successfully. Well it's successful in that it stays up. Just don't look to closely at the sewing job.   I made a trip to Michaels and purchased some 1.5 inch multi-colored pink ribbon for 2 bucks (with a coupon) and used the ribbon to create straps for the dress. It's all done and looks pretty darn cute and wearable!

Okay- here's the dress without the ribbon straps. I took the photo before putting on the straps. Don't worry I'll post a before and after on race day.  I ended up having enough tule to do 3 layers underneath. How fun is that!

5.  My final news is that I had a break through run this afternoon.  I've been struggling lately with some health issues and one of the side effects has been a lack of wanting to be on the dreadmill.  I've only been running about 4x's a week though I have enjoyed the trampoline fitness and yoga 1x a week each.  Anyway, I told myself I would run 9 miles today if I want to keep the idea of possibly running the Rochester City Half Marathon in my mind for April.  However, I was really struggling between 3-6 miles and told myself I really am not enjoying running this much and felt that I didn't want to focus on training for the marathon any longer.  Then a miracle occurred. I got to my 6 and said I think I can do 7. Then once I hit 7 I thought "hey I do 9". Then when I was coming upon 9 I said to myself "I'm going to break the 9 mile slump and do 10". Once I hit 10 I said "You know what try to see if you can do 11." And you know what...I did!! So I started off a new running week by hitting a milestone of 11 miles straight in 94.34.  Perhaps I'll keep trying for the marathon. :)  If you need an inspiring blog about running check out this one; http://www.funfitgirl.com/. I really enjoy reading her creative post and you'll notice I've picked up some of her fun lingo.

6.  Oh, here are some updated pics of my Sketchbook project that I completed over this past week.

Crockpot Cooking, Races, Sweaty Bands, and Dresses

Okay, so last week was a really rough week for me all the way around. However, I've spent this weekend being somewhat productive, creating and rejuvenating and I'm ready to begin this week with a fresh start.  Below are some of things that did bring me enjoyment this weekend.

1. I registered for another race. This is called the Color Run 5k. I've been helping the Community Service floor students at the college create this race. Proceeds go to the Hickock Center for Brain Injury.  I'm slightly worried about how cold it will be since the race is March 22nd, but I'm going to hype myself up for it. It's going to be awesome!

Here are the upcoming races I'm registered for:
Feb. 6th- Puppy Love 10k (I still want to pick up a cheesy puppy shirt to run in.)
March 22nd- Color Run 5k
April 12th- Mess the Dress 5-6 miler. (It's also my nephew's birthday so it will be a great day!)

2.  The Sweaty Band company held a special MLK day grab bag sale. You could purchase sweaty bands for $4 each!!! I rarely stick to brand names but when I find a product that last and actually works I stick with it. This is one of those products. They are originally 15-20 dollars each. I ordered 2 during the sale since I just got 2 at regular price for Christmas.  It was pretty fun not knowing which ones you would get. I was pleased with both of mine. One is very colorful and will be perfect for the Color Run.

3.  I picked the dress for the Mess a Dress race.  The vote was in 4:1 for the pink dress. I'm totally feeling like Molly Ringwald in Pretty In Pink. I started altering the dress this weekend. I literally think I had to cut off about 2 feet of fabric and tulle. Some of the tulle I'm going to recycle and put another layer back on the dress. I've basically got it ready to hem and take in. I think I'm going to by some satin thick ribbon to create the straps of the dress. Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

4.  I actually read all of the books for my 3 February book clubs! This was a huge feat since two of the books were very long and intense books.  Below are the books and my ratings for them.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides ***.5
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt ****
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes *****  (This one made me cry or rather sob uncontrollably for the last 100 pages.)

5.  So anyone who knows me knows I'm not a good. Hence my Pinterest account which has mostly food pins because I would love wonderful food like I see on there but I don't want to have to cook it.  Well last night I got an idea and craving for a crockpot meal and it was still there this morning so I decided to give it a whirl.  OMG...it was sooooo good!
Recipe:
1 can of cream of chicken soup/1 can of water
1 chicken breast (reg. size) or I tend to have one that is cut in half
1/2 a cup of sour cream
Put in crockpot and leave all day on low.

I then have a rice maker which makes thy most amazing rice ever! I made a cup of rice in it and put the crockpot dish over rice. Yummy!!!!  Even better is that I have enough left over for a second meal tomorrow night.

6. I also worked on my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project. I must admit I'm getting increasingly frustrated with the thin paper and trying to do work on both sides. Everything seeps through so I have a page I finish and really like and then no matter what I do to try and protect it when I'm working on the opposite side something always seeps through. Even using pencil when you close the book will rub off on the opposite side. Oh well... I will not be defeated and will continue to create!

Splash monsters! Very fun and easy to create.

Recycled piece from a different project.

Poor picture. Water and varies pencils, and sequins.

Fabric, wool and embroidery piece.

I need your HELP! Which dress should I mess?

Okay below are pics of the two dresses I have to choose from. Both will have to be altered to fit me and make it so I can run in them. I'll be doing the altering so it will be a frankenstein experience for sure.  I'm looking for input on which dress I should use. Please comment with you choice and stay tuned for the winner.  At the moment I'm going for the pink (though straps will have to be added).