Our Biggest Walk Yet!

So, I never gave an update last week on our big walk! We did 22 miles last Saturday the 19th. We started at my house (my mom and I) and Marcia parked at Roosevelt Island again and started from there. We walked from my house to Mount Vernon, through Old Town Alexandria, past National Airport and finally arriving at the base of the Key Bridge again where it is the official end of the Mount Vernon trail. Margie (who is doing crew for the walk as part of our team) joined us at the Marina past Old Town and walked with us to Gravelly Point. I can now say I have walked every inch of that trail and several times too! I feel so amazingly accomplished that I have really taken this commitment seriously and I am amazed at what I have been able to do and put my body through.

Sunday we walked 10 miles and it was kinda hard but nice to be able to take a slower pace. We did our walk in the evening and experienced some rain but thankfully our feet didn't get wet so that made for a much more comfortable walk than having to slosh around in wet socks and shoes.

Of course my body isn't as fit as it needs to be yet, but I am on the path to making that a reality. After this walk I plan on putting a little more effort into pushing myself harder on cardio and strengthening my abs (those poor muscles, they aren't as taut as they used to be!). I can't believe that this weekend is the what I have been training for for the last 13 weeks! A little over 3 months! It is amazing and I know that I will be able to complete the walk and it will be amazing.

Our team has all made their fundraising goals and I have been touched by every one's generosity and support of these goals that I set for myself. I feel so committed to all of you who have donated and I do this walk in honor of all of you. If you still haven't donated, you still can on my Avon Walk page - there is no penalty for going over and I know there are still a few of you who said you would donate and haven't yet!

I pray that the weather this coming weekend won't be too hot, this past weekend we walked 8 miles on Saturday (they didn't want us to walk too many before the actual walk to give our bodies rest) and it was so hot and humid it was like walking through a haze. It was so rough to walk in that weather. Sunday we walked 4 miles and it really felt like a puny nothing walk. We have come a long way when at the beginning of all of this, 8 miles was a LONG way to walk. Now I don't even need an energy bar to do that walk. It is amazing what training will do!

If you want to come and cheer me on this weekend, there are several cheering stations (http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/DocServer/2008_-_DC_-_Cheering_Stations_Let_s_Walk_Supplement.pdf?docID=7722) that you can see me doing the BIG walk - I would love for you all to come out and yell for us - Go Team Harmony!

Best $150 I have spent in a while

So last Monday I had the amazing opportunity to take a cake class from Nicholas Lodge who is a British man with an amazing cake reputation. He runs a sugar arts school in Georgia and also travels all over giving classes. I was excited because this calss was to teach us how to make a French Purse Cake (this is his own design). This was also good because it gives is a basis of which to make other purse cakes. Also, since it was made on a styrofoam dummy, I have a nice display for my bakery.
Nicholas was an amazing teacher. He showed us step by step what to do and then let us do it on our own. He also had all the supplies and tools we needed so I didn't have to bring anything. I did bring my camera! Also, since it was an all day class (9 AM until 6 PM) we also had lunch included.

One of my favorite aspects of the class was when he would show us how to use certain tools. He would tell us the many different ways in which the same tool could be used. It was amazing how much easier things get when you know how to use toold properly. I also decided I couldn't live without some of the tools after taking the class so I did buy a few new toys including a pasta attachment for my kitchen aid (helps with fondant rolling).It was so fun to have Norman Davis (amazing cake guy who competes on Food Network a lot) taking the class with us and I got to know him a bit better and make a connection. He told me funny stories of cake dramas he has had (like having the cops called on him during a cake delivery) and was just a nice guy to chat with. He owns a cakery in Annandale called the Sweet Life. He was also the judge at the Chocolate Lover's Festival where we won our honors in February!So I came home with more knowledge, practical skill, and new gadgets with which to make more amazing cakes with! I can't wait to take another cake class someday! And really, the purse cake is so cute - who isn't going to want to order one??

Don't be mad, Mom

So Jasmine has been up to her funny antics again. She really is so funny and says the darnedest things. It amazes me how much she knows and is learning and picking up from others.

The other day, I was mad at her and yelled a bit in the morning. Can't remember what she did, maybe it was running in the house or throwing things on the floor - anyhow, I digress...after her nap that afternoon, she looked at me very sternly and said, "mommy, don't be mad at me because I am beautiful!" I was stunned. I was dying of laughter inside and I just looked at her and said, "Is that right? How beautiful are you?" She said, "A little bit beautiful." I then told her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Which she is.

Jasmine loves dressing up like a princess and she is into her crown and jewels. She also likes to crown others. I don't know where she learned the crowning language but she crowned me saying, "I now crown you Princess Mommy!" Even funnier, when she wants me to help her put her crown on she complains if I don't say the right words. She will say, "But Mommy, you have to Crown me!"

Jasmine is very jealous when I kiss and hug Lorne and always feels she needs to be in on the action. Lorne has explained to her that I am his wife. Jasmine will usually exclaim, "Mommy is my wife too!" She also tries to claim Daddy as her husband. We always explain to her that we have rings and were married in the temple and then she will look at Daddy and ask him to get her a ring too!

This week in Cake!

Here are two beauties from last weekend. We made a fun princess pillow (the tiara was plastic as the lttle girl wanted to be able to wear it. We also made a first communion cake. We were pleased with how they both turned out.

Tia Casey and Roman come for a visit!

I had to wait for the washing machine repair guy on Wednesday and was bummed that I had to miss my awesome body flow class. Casey called to find out how we were doing and talk about plans for Roman's first birthday party in July (look out folks, that boy is getting big!). When she found out that I was waiting around at home she offered to come over for a visit and keep me compnay and bring Roman to play with his prima Jasmine. Jasmine was super excited but I think she forgets Roman can't run around with her yet. We had fun playing with him and Jasmine insited on holding him (even though he is almost as big as she is!). She gave him hugs and kisses and was happy he was there. We had some lunch (I ordered the new pasta from Pizza Hut - very decent). It was really nice to spend some quality time with my nephew and sis in law.

Our 20 mile walk Pictures and weekly update

This week has been a very exhausting and exciting time in our training. I walked 42 miles this week and that brings my grand total up to 204 miles over the past 10 weeks. It is amazing to me that I have done this and I can't believe that I will be walking 39 miles in 2 days in just 3 short weeks. It has really made me feel better physically, emotionally and spiritually. Just to know I am doing something I have never done before and creating a habit that will hopefully last a lifetime.
Saturday and Sunday were huge walking days for us, we walked a total of 29 miles (20 on Saturday and 9 on Sunday) and it was an eye opener to how hard this is really going to be. Up until then it had been challenging but not as hard as it was on Saturday. The weather didn't help much. When we started walking at 7 AM it was hot and humid. So humid in fact that 2 hours into our walk it began to rain. This continued on and off for the full 8 hours we walked. Despite our wet feet, clothes and hair, it was really rewarding to know we could do it, even though we felt we crawled the last 3 miles to the car! We started at mile 0 in Mount Vernon and walked all the way to Roosevelt Island just before the Key Bridge to Georgetown. Marcia parked her car there and walked back towards us and we met about 6 miles out from the car. We saw some great sights and it you really appreciate your surroundings when you take the time to take it all in and this is nearly impossible to do in a car. After the walk we ate in Georgetown at this high end pizza place (good pizza - but really, anything would taste good after walking 8 hours!). We also had some yummy cupcakes for dessert.
Sunday was almost harder since my body hadn't fully recuperated from Saturday's walk. We again started at mile 0 in Mount Vernon and walked to Chicken Out in Old Town Alexandria (where my car was parked). It took us a little over 3.5 hours to walk the 9 miles and my body just hurt. Thank goodness for yoga on Monday! I also started noticing how many bridges we cross when we walk and I was amazed to note that we walked over 26 bridges on Sunday and over 40 bridges on Saturday. This week we will be walking 22 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday. Hope I make it! :)
Thanks to all who have donated and supported me in this cause, especially those who donated last week. I am now at 81% towards my goal of raising $1800. I am about $348 away from 100%!! Please Please, if you have told me you would donate and haven't yet, please do this soon as I am anxious to know I have made my goal and my training hasn't been in vain! I know I can do this and have been so grateful to all of you for your support and generosity. Every dollar that I raise makes me work and push harder to make sure my body is fit and ready to walk on May 3 and 4.

Princess Sleepover

Friday night April 4th we had a princess party sleepover. Kellen and Joe (Team Trauger) had a date to meet some friends for dinner and so they asked us to watch their girls and I suggested that they spend the night so that the parents didn't have to come and disturb them at a late hour and also give them a night to themselves.

We had a great time having Kirsten and Marin over. The first thing we did was play dress up and get the girls princessed out. We happen to own 3 princess dresses, 3 crowns and a slew of play jewelry. Too bad we need to add shoes to the dress up stuff! After getting gussied up and taking some cute pictures, the girls settled down to watch Snow White while I ordered pizza for dinner. The pizza arrived just as the movie was almost done but we stopped and ate some yummy food!

After dinner, it was time to build the princess tent in the basement and the girls and Lorne had a fun time helping build and then getting in and playing inside the tent. Around this time, I noticed Marin was fussy and ready to go to sleep. After putting Marin down, we decided to make some chocolate chip cookies. Jasmine and Kirsten made them together and I measured out the ingredients. As the cookies baked and cooled we sat at the kitchen table for story time and I read them The Cat in the Hat (one of my favs) and then Kirsten read us Fox in Socks (she reads amazingly well for a girl in Kindergarten!). After cookies and milk, it was time for bed so we got the girls ready and down. It was so fun to have them and even better that I didn't have to work on any orders so I could spend my time playing with them and enjoying their company.

It's too bad that in the middle of the night I ended up having to call Kelleen over to stay with the girls while Lorne took me to the emergency room. I was having pretty serious pain in my left side of my abdomen and they later found a cyst on my left ovary (nothing to worry about but they do cause pain). I felt bad that I cut Kelleen & Joe's night alone short but I hope to have the girls over again and have some more fun. How amazing to have the best neighbors ever!

Meeting Eleana Elaine Zarcone

We were very surprised when we received a call at 11:30 at night on March 28 from Kevin telling us that their new little daughter had arrived a few weeks earlier than anticipated! We were excited to hear all the details and so we skipped church on Sunday morning to go to the hospital and meet little Eleana Elaine Zarcone. She looked like a sweet little peanut weighing in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces. She has pretty dark hair and looks a lot like her daddy (in my opinion!). It was heaven to hold her and get to know her and be close to such a new little miracle. I know Jasmine is anxious to meet her new little partner in crime and we will try and make that happen soon! So welcome to the world little Eleana!