I'm almost positive I should be skinnier. Obviously, I'm not talking model thin. I'm mean I don't think I should have to keep buying new clothes, because the ones I bought a month ago don't fit. And I bought those, because the ones I bought a few months earlier didn't fit.

And I shouldn't use the term "skinny." I want to be healthier. A doctor once noticed my family medical history and said, "To be on the safe side, try losing about 20 pounds over the next two years." I used to joke that I switched doctors and never had that problem again.

Anyway, that was about 40 pounds ago.

For about two years, I went from sitting in front of a computer all day at work to home, where I sat in front of a computer for school. I was a full-time student and full-time worker, plus I did some volunteer work (in front of a computer). It's easy to see how the pounds packed on.

But I'm moving now. I take short breaks to walk away from my computer at work. I run when I get home. I took a break from school to rest. I counted calories to no avail.

At a meeting someone said, "And once you start running, the pounds will just shed off."

I couldn't help it. I said, "No! No, they don't! I've been running for months!"

Someone asked if maybe my clothes fitted looser. "No," I said. "No, they're not!"

And there I go, making another great first impression. It seems odd to say I'm running wrong. But sometimes I think that's exactly what I'm doing.

Awesome! I'm at 60% of my fundraising goal. Thanks to everyone who's supported me so far in this!

I got $100 as part of the Go-Getter Grant. It means I completed certain tasks, like attending the kickoff, mailing a certain number of letters, and attending team practice.

Last week, I didn't get to run as much as I should've due to my schedule. The good news is we've just been running two miles and I can run a 5K (3.1 miles), so it's nothing I can't handle.

That'll probably change in about a week.

During the kickoff, honored hero David Mendez spoke about getting treatment. He's an adult with a family of his own. He said he couldn't imagine children having to go through the process.

The past few days, I spent worrying and praying over a 6-year-old. It's a blur of monitoring a fever, a doctor's visit, different prescriptions, an emergency room visit and trying to match doctors' instructions with conflicting paperwork.

He'd been bravely putting up with it. Even when I explained about the need for an IV, he just nodded his head. But today, I saw him clutch his jaw in pain, and with tears in his eyes, he asked, "Why is this happening to me?"

I couldn't think of anything to say.

I know I'm fortunate in many ways. I'm able-bodied, so I can move around and help. We have a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in. There are nearby hospitals and pharmacies. We have a car to get to these places.

But, at that moment, none of that seemed to help. He was in pain and he felt like it wouldn't stop.

The good news is he's happily reading right now. He's on the mend and the bad reactions to his medication have stopped. Unfortunately, as you know, there's not a simple pill for everything. Yet.

Let's work on changing that. Please donate and help me raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I barely stood a few nights of worry and feelings of helplessness. I can't imagine what cancer patients and their families go through for weeks, months, and years.

It's been more than a week and there's lots to update. I'll try to keep it short. We wrapped up a team practice in Brownsville. We practiced running over a hill. Those are my shoes in the photo as we ended with some stretches.

Here's something particularly interesting that may prove I was meant to run after all. Chocolate milk is a drink encouraged after running. Chocolate milk! Why isn't this being marketing as selling point for running?

I learned this during a nutrition clinic last week. That'll be a whole other post. 

Those who know me well are aware of my picky and just plain bad eating habits. During lunch once, my coworkers were talking about how unhealthy their dinners were last night. I couldn't help but blurt out, "What are you talking about? 'Prepare' dinner?!? My dinner last night was half a brownie and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos."

I'll just add that to my Needs Improvement list.

Below is a photo from our first team practice at FootWorks. Next to that photo is a picture of the team at the second practice. 

We do a "Go Team" at every practice. I got a little lost, but I got there eventually. (I'm very paranoid about that. I used to map out the route I would take to classes on a map of my high school. My cousins got a laugh out of that. One person's abandonment issues is another's source of humor.)

We had a team breakfast last Saturday (June 29) at the Brownsville Sports Complex. After our lap, we had a Memorial Mile, which was marked by signs we had created.

Below is a photo of Lori with her sign, which was in memory of family members.

My poster was placed in the same spot. I went with a variation of a Henry Ford quote (because I never remember the wording he used) as motivation for the team.

"Obstacles are things you see when you take your eyes of the goal."