December 31, 2015 ~ As I sit here and reflect on 2015 I can't help but smile. It was a busy year filled with lots of love, some sadness, solid friendships- both new and old, traveling, volunteering, some running and lots of walking, giving back to our community, many laughs but most of all creating memories with those I love!
Brandon and I have celebrated 18 years of marriage this past September and it's hard to believe we have been together for 23 years! I love that man more and more with each passing year and couldn't imagine my life without him. We had the opportunity to travel this year visiting: Vegas (New Years), Florida (St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training), Vegas (NASCAR), Illinois (Met Ozzie Smith), Minnesota (Virtual Hero Tour with WWII Veteran), Texas (50th Annual ACM Awards), Kansas (NASCAR), Colorado/Utah (vacation with friends), Oregon/Alaska (4th of July), Arkansas/Oklahoma (quick vacation with mom and dad) North Dakota/South Dakota/Nebraska (quick vacation with mother-in-law), New Mexico (quick vacation with our mom's), Florida (Walt Disney World with family). (States in bold are states we haven't visited before) I also had the pleasure of being with some of our true American Heroes on 5 flights this year for Central Missouri Honor Flight.
Brandon and I got a chance to do some pretty awesome things this year as well:
1. We got to fly planes while visiting Vegas... not something you get to do every day!
2. Got a chance to meet Ozzie Smith while visiting a sports show in Illinois - Super nice guy!
3. Brandon got to experience a Virtual Hero Tour when we flew to Mankato, Minnesota to take a World War II veteran to see his memorial in Washington, DC (virtually).
4. Attended the 50th Annual ACM Awards in Dallas, Texas with friends (and momma) - Awesome!
5. Got to hang out with famous photographer, Jeff Schultz while visiting Alaska - Great guy!
6. Watch the sun set at 11:45 PM in Alaska - Really cool to see!
7. Complete a 6k on our anniversary at Busch Stadium - first race together!
8. Visited Mount Rushmore - something we both wanted to see!
9. Took a glass class and made our own paperweights while visiting New Mexico - Really cool experience!
10. Spent New Years Eve / New Years out of state! Vegas is crazy for New Years!
I had the pleasure of:
1. Helped coordinate a fundraiser (cookbooks) for Central Missouri Honor Flight at raising a little over $24,000.00 to help send our veterans on a trip of a lifetime! Special thanks to rock star sponsors that helped make this fundraiser possible and allowing 100% of the sales to go to CMHF!
2. Helped coordinate my diva cousin, Stephanie's wedding - Absolutely perfect in every way!
3. Helped coordinate (with an awesome co-coordinator, Jacki Swank) a fundraiser for Welcome Home, Inc. (homeless shelter for veterans here in Columbia, MO) and the #no1leftbehind campaign raising a little over $7,600.00 to directly impact homeless veterans in our community! Huge thank you to some awesome sponsors that allowed 100% of each registration to go directly to Welcome Home, Inc.
4. Helped coordinate (along with the Midway Walkie Talkies) a Fancy Dress 5k benefiting The Food Bank here in Columbia, MO and donating a little over 360 lbs of food!
5. Helped coordinate (along with the Midway Walkie Talkies and Jacki Swank) an Ugly Sweater 5k benefiting an active duty soldier currently serving overseas (Adopt-A-Soldier through Clear 99 FM) and sending 9 boxes of goodies to him! Thank you for your service Chance!
6. Traveling with some true American Heroes to see their memorials in Washington, DC with Central Missouri Honor Flight throughout 2015. Truly an honor to travel with these men and women.
7. I completed 64 races this year! (So much for 15 5k's in 2015)
At the beginning of the year I had set a goal of completing 15 5k's in 2015. A friend of mine, Jacki Swank introduced me to virtual races and I was hooked! I just completed my final 5k for 2015 just a few hours ago and I have to say that I am really proud that I pushed myself to do what I said I would do, complete the races I signed up to do and recruited others into joining me on this journey. While I might not have ran most of these races I can tell you that I never gave up. My mom and sister can't run (frankly I don't enjoy running either) so when we do a race that they are involved in we walk them. Some may argue that you can't really earn a medal for something so simple or without running and I beg to differ. The best part about virtual races are that you can do them anytime you want, where you want and at what pace you want. You pay the entry fee which benefits a charity (each race has a different charity) and you get a finisher medal and sometimes a t-shirt and/or race bib. I love the fact that my mom and sister were willing to do many of these races with me as well as others! (Plus it kept me motivated while supporting various charities) Below I have re-capped each of the 64 races I completed in 2015....
Michele’s 5k’s in 2015:
(Live Races)
(Live Races)
1.
Runnin’ Against MS 5k February 7, 2015 Time:
46.53
a. Columbia, MO
2.
Strip on the Strip 5k March 7, 2015
Time: 37:46
a. Las Vegas, NV
3.
39th Annual Shamrock Run 5k March 14, 2015
Time: 38:36
a. Lake Worth, FL
4.
St. Joe Run for the Gold 5k March 28, 2015
Time: 46:31
a. Salisbury, MO
5.
3rd Annual Dragon Dash 5k April 11, 2015
Time: 37:18
a. Columbia, MO
6.
The Color Vibe 5k April
11, 2015 Time:
40:20
a. Jeff City, MO
7.
Inaugural Fairy Tale 5k April 25, 2015
Time: 36:26
a. Columbia, MO
8.
Head for the Cure 5k April
26, 2015 Time: 32:57:9 (PR)
a. Columbia, MO
9.
Run to Breathe 5k May
3, 2015 Time:
40:45
a. Cairo, MO
10. Glow Run 5k May 9, 2015 Time: 29:44 (2.66
miles)
a. Columbia, MO
11. Mother’s Day “Run for her Life” 5k May 10, 2015 Time: 40:15
a. Moberly, MO
12. Go Girl Run 5K May 30, 2015 Time: 35:31
a. Columbia, MO
13. Diva Dash 5k August
8, 2015 Time: 36:47
a. Columbia, MO
14. KC Royals Charities 5K August 22, 2015 Time:
38:40:63
a. Kansas City, MO
15. St. Louis Cardinals Stan Musial 6K September 13, 2015 Time:
53:36
a. St. Louis, MO (Busch Stadium) 3.75 Miles with Brandon!
16. General Omar Bradley 5-Star 5k September 19, 2015 Time:
1:04:15
a. Moberly, MO
17. Roots-N-Blues
10k September
26, 2015 Time: 1:17:39.6
a. Columbia, MO
18. Fancy Dress 5k October
18, 2015 Time: 1:03:10
a. Columbia, MO (Midway Crossing)
19. #no1leftbehind 5k October 24, 2015 Time:
33:00
a. Columbia, MO
20. Fancy Formal 5k November 8, 2015 Time: 52:51
a. Boonville, MO
21. Ugly Sweater 5k November 22, 2015 Time: 56:21
a. Columbia, MO
Virtual Races:
1.
Shelter Insurance Fountain Lighting 5k April 30,
2015 Time: 54:15
a. Columbia, MO
2.
Run to Salute Gold Star Families 5k May 25, 2015
Time: 34:07
a. Columbia, MO
(Virtual Run)
3.
Tune Your Fitness 2015 5k May 25, 2015
Time: 35:58
a. Moberly, MO (Virtual Run)
4.
Aloha Run 5k June 8, 2015 Time: 57:14
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
5.
We Go Together Like Salt & Pepper 5k July 21, 2015 Time: 45:06
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
6.
Remember The Fallen 5k July 31, 2015 Time: 41:26
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
7.
Road Shark Run 5 Miles August 1, 2015 Time: 1:28:12
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
8.
Summer Sole Mate Fun Run 5k August 5, 2015 Time: 47:49
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
9.
Unplugged 13.1 Half Marathon August 11, 2015 Time: 2:58:16
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
10. Suck It Up Buttercup 5k August 13, 2015 Time:
51:39
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual
Run)
11. “I only look back to see how far I’ve come”
10K August 14, 2015 Time: 1:21:02
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
12. “Empowering Girls 5k” August 20, 2015 Time:
41:56
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
13. “2015 Phone Home 5k” (ET) August 26, 2015 Time:
47:23
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
14. “ Soul Sister 7 Mile Run” August 27, 2015 Time:
1:32:05
a. Columbia, MO
(Virtual Run)
15. “She Believed She Could So She Did” 5k August 31, 2015 Time:
a. Columbia, MO
(Virtual Run)
16. “Rocky
Mountain National Park 100th Anniversary 5k September 2, 2015 Time: 52:49
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
17. Frogman
Charities 9/11 5k September 10, 2015 Time:
44:12
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
18. Garden of Reflection 9/11 5k September 11, 2015 Time:
47:21
a. Kansas City, MO (Virtual Run)
19. We Shall Never Forget 9/11 5k September 11, 2015 Time:
46:58
a. Kansas City, MO (Virtual Run)
20. Pirate 5k September
20, 2015 Time: 53:29
a. Columbia, MO
(Virtual Run)
21. Different Is Beautiful Autism 5k September 25, 2015 Time:
39.29
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
22. Run Now Beer Later 10k September 27, 2015 Time:
1:35:03
a. Columbia, MO
(Virtual Run)
23. Childhood Cancer 5k September 29, 2015 Time:
48:39
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
24. DSDN Rockin’ It Run 5k September 30, 2015 Time:
52:14
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
25. Breast Cancer Awareness 5k October 4, 2015 Time:
49:58
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
26. Support Our Girls 5k October 22, 2015 Time:
50:14
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
27. “I Ain’t
Afraid” 10k October
31, 2015 Time: 1:37:09
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
28. Every Boob Counts 5k October 31, 2015 Time:
41:26
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
29. Ribbons of Hope 5k November 1, 2015 Time:
51:58
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
30. Honoring Those Who Serve 5k November 9, 2015 Time:
48:26
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
31. The Hero Run 5k November 10, 2015 Time: 44:04
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
32. Heroes Wear Capes 5k November 10, 2015 Time:
51:19
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
33. Veterans VR 5k November
10, 2015 Time: 46:04
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
34. Finding A Cure To Remember 5k November 15, 2015 Time:
1:13:15
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
35. Mustache Dache 5k November 29, 2015 Time:
31:19
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
36. A Christmas Story 5k December 5, 2015 Time:
56:02
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
37. Believe in Yourself 10 Miles December 11, 2015 Time:
All day
a. Walt Disney World – Magic Kingdom (Virtual Run)
38. Trim Your Tree 5k December 28, 2015 Time:
43:17
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
39. Santa Selfie 5k December 29, 2015 Time: 41:53
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
40. The Glass Slipper Run 5k December 30, 2015 Time:
44:22
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
41. Soaring 5k December
31, 2015 Time: 41:07
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
42. The Ugly Sweater 5k December 31, 2015 Time: 40:08
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
43. The Resolution Run 5k December 31, 2015 Time:
a. Columbia, MO (Virtual Run)
Do these medals really mean anything?
To me they mean motivation! I don't need an award to tell me "good job" but rather looking at these medals hanging next to my bed gets me to focus on what I have set my mind out to do which is become more active. As I am creeping up on my 40's the stuff I eat doesn't come off like it did in my 20's so I am trying to be a little healthier and the first step (for me) is being active. Along the way I have managed to motivate or inspire others to get active and while you don't need a medal to become active it's a nice way to know what you are working for or supporting a charity/cause that means a lot to you.
We are enjoying our time with our Bailey girl and buying as many squeakers as she wants/needs! (Many of you may know that she has cancer and it's moved into her lymph-nodes. We know our time with her is somewhat limited but she's been with us almost a year longer than they originally thought) She is spoiled and frankly we don't mind!
Brandon and I are both looking forward to 2016 and all that it has to offer. After all, we both turn 40 this year and we figure we will celebrate all year long! There are lots of things on our "bucket list" that we want to cross off this year and hopefully we can make room for some new items - because we don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon!
Happy New Year's Eve everyone!
