Action Items for the NETWORK

Time to reach out to the NETWORK for some action.

First of all, one of our Romp n' Roll employees, "Miss Samantha" is expecting in October and she has been nominated to win a Dream Baby Shower. We REALLY want her to win!!! Sooooo go to RichmondMom.com and vote for Samantha Dickenson by June 20th. She received three nominations so we're not the only ones who love her.

Second, the Tupperware sale (our Home Based Biz of the Month) is active. Go to the link on our website and place your order by June 24th. 40% of sales will go to CJSTUF. We are really close to finding at least one date for a home party so stay tuned for that if you're local.

Finally, Roger mentioned the inauguration of the Double Marathon Challenge in his last post. We have updated the website so you can go there to read more about all the ways you can get involved. There is a pledge form for those who want to start fundraising (remember: it's U. Miami vs. Virginia Tech). As much as I would love the sight of my husband running in a funny costume there is NO WAY that he will be allowed to wear HOKIE COLORS. If you have any interest in running any of the races (either of the marathons or the 1/2 marathon or 8K on the day of the Richmond race), you can use that as an opportunity to join TEAM CJ as well.

It's been a very busy week and an even busier weekend. My "weekend" consisted of the time between about 6 PM and now when I caught up on old episodes of GLEE. Other than that, I've pretty much been working since we returned from Colorado. Gotta gear up for our Grand Opening Open House at Romp n' Roll this coming weekend. Tell everyone you know!

Roger started his job at King's Dominion today. We'll see what kind of excitement that brings our way.

Here's to another week...

Mood Swings and The Double Marathon Challenge

Roger here,

Our trip to Colorado was really wonderful and I can't tell you how great it was to see my beautiful niece, Cerisa, walking down the aisle all grownup and stuff. She's a married woman now. Congrats C-Weed! It was an honor to sing at your wedding.

There were some very bittersweet parts, though for obvious reasons. CJ should have been there.

Coming back to Virginia was actually kind of tough on me for some reason and I'm still not completely over it. I've had quite a few "moments" the past few days and it's been harder than usual to think about Charlotte and what she had to go through. Tuesday was the worst day I've had in a long while. It all started when I was looking for a template of the CJSTUF letterhead and came across the letter I wrote to Disney. It was all downhill from there. I was loosing it at the drop of a hat and really feeling a distinct lack of self control. I had to sit in my car in front of Romp n' Roll for a few minutes and let it all out of my system before going in (probably feeling a little sorry for myself, I must confess).

The strange thing is, the moment I walked into Romp n' Roll, I started feeling better. Rachel was teaching my Babies! class because I had to come in late and it was so nice to see everyone laughing and playing. All the positive energy really bolstered me.

Another thing that doesn't help is that it popped into my head how we used to gauge Charlotte's pain level. The scale of 1-10 and the happy-to-sad face graph really didn't work for her but she would respond pretty accurately when we asked her if her pain level was "a little" (thumb and forefinger apart), "a lot" (hands spread several inches apart), or "alotalot" (hands spread wide apart). I so hate the fact that we had to use that system. Any system at all for that matter.

I've had a few more ups and downs since then but nothing like Tuesday. I'm sure it's just my every six month meltdown that comes about once a month or so now. I'm sure getting back into running will help that.

Hey I think I smell a segue!

Some of you may have heard about my "Double Marathon Challenge" (or "Double Marathon Madness" as Rachel calls it) where I will be running the Chicago Marathon in October and then the Richmond Marathon in November all to raise funds for CJSTUF. Well, training begins on Saturday! How would YOU like to be involved?

We'll need TEAM CJ members for spirit groups along the routes of both marathons and if anyone else wants to run in any of the races (there's also the McDonalds 1/2 Marathon, HCAVA 8K, and a Kids Fun Run in Richmond), let us know. Anyone raising $1,000 or more will get registration fees reimbursed!

I'm tweeking the pledge form to include a few extra choices. (More on that later but think "VT vs UM!")

It's a three day a week program that worked very well for me a couple of Richmond Marathons ago. Anyone is invited to come running with me. I will be running every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning bright and early Starting at 7am. Short runs to start off adding mileage as time goes by.

If anyone isn't part of an official training team, feel free to come out and mosey a while with me. I might be going slow but at least I'll be going.

I would love for some Richmonders to come with us up to Chicago and/or Chicagoans to come down to Richmond for the respective races. It'll be a heck of a party in both cities!

Did I mention my goal is $10,000? I really have no fear that we won't reach it.

Here's a great idea that I'm shamelessly stealing: PLEDGEWARS! I think most of you know that Rachel and I are both graduates of the University of Miami and when I'm not bleeding orange and blue for the Denver Broncos or green and yellow for the Packers, I'm mixing them and bleeding orange and green for the "U." For some strange reason, I have run into a certain amount of resistance from people in this part of the country; especially from those turkeys in Blacksburg. Well, to be fair, I want to give all you Virginia Tech fans the chance to show me who's boss, I'm throwing down the gauntlet. If VT fans raise more money than UM fans then during the Richmond Marathon, I will wear either a turkey outfit or neck-to-toe, including socks and underwear, Virginia Tech garb (I shudder at the thought!). The hat will be a pink or purple Charlotte hat no matter which side wins.

C'mon Canes! You must save me from this fate. We will be keeping a running tally going and we'll have to see what colors I wear on November 13th! Stay tuned.

Here's a GREAT memory we have of Charlotte: When we would say, "We've got some Canes over here," we taught Charlotte to say "Whoosh! Whoosh!" If that's not inspiration for you, I don't know what is.

Last but not least, Coco's Chocolate Dream Chocolatiers, the company letting us use "Chocolate Makes Everything Better," has begun making butterfly chocolates! I don't think I ever told her about the butterfly connection. Please go to her website and thank them or just say hi from a CJ fan. If anyone wants to do a "Chocolate Stand" as a FUN-raiser, let me know and we'll get it set up.

Thanks for letting me rant. I'll keep searching.

All I want For My Birthday Is...

Can ya guess?

Oh well.

This has actually been a pretty good birthday. The snow yesterday certainly didn't hurt. It's also great that Rebecca (My "Punkin") Connelly came into town for a visit. She's one of Rachel's very bestest friends from U of Miami (mine too actually) and we haven't seen her in quite a while. She flies out today.

We were kind of snowed in and we've had to cancel/reschedule Birthday Bashes all weekend but what can you do? The 6" or so they predicted turned into 14"+! I got down to the store yesterday before it got too bad but by the time I got home, the snow was at the bumper in our unplowed cul de sac. I made it all the way to the edge of our yard and then got stuck. While I was digging a place to park the car against the curb, I left the lights on and the battery dies! Dopey me.

Nothing a quick jump couldn't fix. AAA was working hard all night I'm sure! Also, hats off to all the plowers who gave up their weekend to clear our roads and parking lots.

We had fun digging out today and it was great to see the neighborhood helping each other out. Dr. Dan came up the road with chocolate chip cookies for my B-day. Three of us dug out Granny Dot's driveway. The guy across the street brought his 4-wheel drive truck over and gave us a few tire tracks in the driveway as a starting point for getting Rachel's car out. Gotta love a small town. (Hopefully it wasn't restricted to just small towns.)

Rachel and I wrestled a bit in the snow. She lost but in a helpful way in that when I threw her into the snow, it was in a place where we needed to pack it down. She also made a stellar snow angel for CJ.

We also got Kolbey's car out. It does surprisingly good in the snow. I even tried my best to get it stuck but it wouldn't let me.

A while back, I posted the lyrics to a song transcribed/arranged by Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison. It's called "Radiance" and today I got a video/recording of the tune from them (and Julia's sister) for my birthday. Please get some tissues and think good thoughts about CJ: "Radiance"

Of course I thought about her all day. Mostly very good but I did have my moments. It's always worse at night. (Think I've said that before)

It was awful nice to get all the birthday wishes from everyone via Facebook, Email, phone, and even a few of those old fashioned things called birthday cards! I really appreciate it.

Finally, tonight Rachel and I went to see the movie "Up In The Air" starring her boyfriend, George Clooney. Excellent movie. Almost as quirky as "About Schmidt" but much funnier.

In the end I guess people want to know if I had a happy Birthday. The answer is "yes, mostly." This is my kind of weather and I felt very much in my element getting out there and puttering around in the snow. But it wasn't the same without Charlotte. I know it won't ever really be.

On the other hand, beyond the constant sadness running deep inside us, we're doing ok. Rachel and I cried on each other's shoulders when we watched the "Radiance" video. We had fun in the snow. We had fun at the movie.

We just keep going.