Missing Pants With Waistbands...

Okay, truthfully, I am missing pants.

We are t-minus six days till delivery and I can no longer deal with waistbands of any variety...regular OR maternity. And lets not even talk about shirts. Nothing is covering the belly at this point in time. I've slipped into the realm of maxi dresses, tunics and leggings.

Folks, I'm huge.

Yes, the water retention I'd staved off for so long has reared it's ugly head. Hello, cankles! I will say I'm thankful they waited until now to show up. I remember sitting in the tub at 7 months during my first pregnancy and screaming out to my poor husband, "Get in here!"

Poor guy came racing in to me pointing tearfully to my legs.

"I have elephant ankles," I sobbed.

And from that day on, it was all about the Crocs for me. That was all I could shove my poor swollen feet into...and was a GREAT look for work where I was required to dress office casual.

So this time, I'm trying to take it in stride. This too shall pass, hopefully at the hospital, in the form of pee or sweat...

I'll tell you what I'm not looking forward to - losing the baby weight. After my son, I didn't even really start losing the weight till a YEAR after he was born. And even then it was a struggle. Honestly, the factors that finally helped me drop the weight were: losing my job, caring for my dying mother in law, quitting breastfeeding after two years and training for a half marathon.

Two of those things I don't care to repeat. Stress as a diet is not a great option, trust.

So on to the ending breastfeeding - you might be like "Well, doesn't breastfeeding help you lose weight?"

In a word (or two) : eff no.

I am in the lucky .05% of women who hang onto pregnancy weight while breastfeeding. At least that's what my doc told me. Maybe he was just trying to soothe my borderline PPD.

Regardless, I will be breastfeeding this baby. I'm hoping against all hope that this time around, I can be one of those bitches who breezily says "I breastfed and the weight just evaporated."

I'm looking at you, Gisele.

Otherwise, running, here I come. Just call me Forrest Gump.

Ready. Set. GO!

Today, January 31, officially kicks off my training with Team Shrinking Jeans and Team in Training for the San Diego Rock & Roll Half Marathon.

OMGthisisreallyhappening!?

Am I scared? Uh, yeah. But not as much as I thought I'd be. Our coach, Coach Joe, is so awesome. In fact, the whole Team in Training support team is - um - AWESOME. We have guidance through everything: the training, the fund raising.

With that much backup, it's hard NOT to feel confident.

Today, I visited the site of my honored hero, Shelby.


I am running this race in her honor. She has an amazing story - diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia at four, three years of chemo and considered cured in 2007. Today, she is a beautiful, vibrant fourteen year old. Unfortunately, she does suffer from lingering effects of her treatment - but through it all, she maintains a positive outlook.

Perspective, people. If Shelby can beat ALL, and remain positive through her day to day struggles, I can train hard, finish the race and raise a ton of money for people like Shelby - for research, to aid in their treatment, to make THEIR lives better.

So.

You know it's coming. And I'm going to become more and more obnoxious as the fund raising deadline approaches.

Do you have a few bucks to spare? I know money is tight right now, but it's TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

You need more? Here are some reasons you should consider giving to LLS:

• An estimated 912,938 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma.
• Every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer.
  
• Every 10 minutes, someone dies.
• Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20.
• Lymphomas are the most common blood cancers and incidence increases with age.
• The survival rate for myeloma is only 37.1 percent.

What does the LLS do with the funds raised? Glad you asked - here's a snippet from the Team in Training website:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. We have invested more than $680 million in research since 1949 - over $69 million in 2009 - specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 4.9 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Wow. How humbling and inspiring to be part of this effort!

And. And and and....

I'm going to sweeten the deal. Every donation between today and the end of February (that's the 28th) will be entered into a drawing for either a $25 dollar gift card to Amazon, or an amazing coffee gift pack of my favorite Seattle coffees! Winner gets to choose!

How to donate?

Make a secure credit card donation here, on my Team In Training fund raising page.

Send me a check made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society - email me at heather@shrinkingjeans for snail mail info.

Lastly, if you own a business - The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans is offering amazing advertising opportunities - and all proceeds go directly to LLS. Please email me if you'd like a copy of our media kit.

Whew! Thanks for reading. That is all...for now.