Two things

I've fallen a little behind in keeping up this blog -- at least to my expectations. But, you know, it's summer, and my days have been filled with all sorts of blissful things that might not make for the most interesting reading. We play at parks, we run through sprinklers, we spend mornings at the zoo and afternoons in the backyard. It's a lovely, ordinary life. (Because I need to stay sane and because it's what I do, I try to write something every single day, but I'm pretty sure anyone can understand why I might not be inclined to type up all the pages of my notebooks. It can be pretty noisy inside my muddled little head sometimes.)

I do have a couple of entries waiting in the wings, but for now, two things:

1. I am running my first 5k in two weeks. I've been running pretty regularly since Isaac was born, a couple of times a week anyway, and it's helping me keep the baby weight off -- also, it gives me a little time to myself, to get in my "zone" and think. Or just be. To exist purely in the motion, feeling healthy, feeling like I'm doing this one thing to take care of myself. I am not at all a fast runner; in fact, I was pretty much ALLERGIC to running for the first couple of decades of my life. But I can jog a pretty comfortable 3-5 miles, depending on where I'm at and what my mood happens to be like and what music I'm listening to. I've thought for awhile that I might like to attempt a 5k, something OFFICIAL. And then Kyanne sent me a link to the Alki Beach 5k Walk/Run benefiting the Northwest Hope and Healing Foundation and women battling breast cancer. This is particularly timely, since my friend Dori was recently diagnosed with breast cancer -- it just seemed like something I can do. So I'm running for breast cancer awareness and I'm running to raise funds for breast cancer patients here in the Northwest. (Did you know that Washington has the highest breast cancer rates in the nation? I didn't.) I'm running because I'm healthy and because I can.

I know there are so many causes worthy of people's time and money, and this is just one of them -- but Dori is the face on the statistic for me, and that makes it personal. If you're inspired to give even a little, I would deeply appreciate it.

(Click here for the link to my fundraising page.)

2. On the same note, 20% of all sales at Art Deco Dame from now through August 21 will go to Dori's rising medical costs. Even for those lucky enough to have decent insurance, this kind of medical expense can be pretty staggering, you guys.

(Click here for awesome, cancer-fighting vintage!)

In other news, our mostly-cool summer temperatures are skyrocketing up into the 90's for the next couple of days. We're going to spend tomorrow at the lake with Kyanne and her husband and rediscover what summer is supposed to be about: the smell of sunscreen on my children, swimming in the middle of a cool lake, and grilling food outside because cooking anything inside is just crazy.