Running for the Hills!

Friends, I need your help.

For the past two years, I have had the opportunity to run the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon. This year, I decided to run for a cause. My cause is the North Hills Community Outreach and I am determined to raise more than $300 for this organization.

My part of the equation is the hard part.

I will be joining a team of nearly 40 other runners with that same determination and goals. In a little more than a month, I will run 13.1 miles toward that goal as part of the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon. I will run the city of bridges with thousands of other runners but with a small team devoted to raising money for families in crisis, hardship and poverty.

I'm not just raising money. I'm raising hope for families in need.

In 2012-2013, North Hills Community Outreach served 1,386 families through food pantries and gardens. The organization provides 1,357 families with utility assistance. In addition, 388 families received free coats, 728 received Thanksgiving dinners and 1,547 children received Christmas gifts. The list goes on and on...emergency assistance; employment, education and financial assistance; and senior care giving among other services.

These services do not pay for themselves. The organization relies on the generosity of individuals, businesses, families, churches, government agencies, foundations, schools and civic groups.

I will raise a minimum of $300 from my friends and family to run and help North Hills Community Outreach increase these statistics and help more families.

And I only have five weeks left to reach my goal!

Asking my friends and family to donate money to my run is as challenging to me as finding the time to train and run 13.1 miles. But a struggling to feed your family or paying the heat bill is much more difficult, and for that reason I keep asking. 

So I am asking for your help!  If you have not yet made a donation and still want to, it's not too late. Every dollar helps. $20 will purchase a backpack or school supplies for a child to start the school year. $50 will pay the heat bill so children do not have to live in a freezing home. $75 will pay for a month's worth of gas so that a mother or father can get to work and support their family. 

You can make a quick, easy donation on my personal fundraising page at http://www.crowdrise.com/teamnhcopittsburgh2014/fundraiser/carrienurnberger. Click on "Donate to this fundraiser." I am determined to run and make a difference, and I can't do that without your financial support. 

Thank you in advance for donating to my run. Thank you for supporting my quest to help families fight the cycle of poverty and become self reliant.

~ CaRrIe ~

Can you watch my phone?

Three weeks ago, I served jury duty for the first time. I had been called many times before but never had to actually go downtown. My initial and jaded thoughts when I first found out that I had jury duty were along the lines of excitement because I was going to have a Carrie Bradshaw experience. I would read all day and maybe the man next to me would pull out odd fruits from his brief case. Ok, I will admit that was a little far fetched but I was excited to fulfill my civic duty. Yes, I'm a nerd.

Never again though! It was terrible! It wasn't worth the measly $7 that I ended up donating anyways. It wasn't worth a day off work and not having to go to meetings. It wasn't worth spending an entire day reading my book and magazines.

Lunch was definitely worth it though. Everyone knows what happens at jury duty, so I won't go into detail about that but I doubt many people are granted the opportunity to witness what I did while at lunch.

Keep in mind during this story that I was possibly in line to be chosen for trial dealing with drug possession.

Not wanting to stray far from the courthouse, I chose to have lunch at the local Subway. While in line, these two men were causing quite a commotion at the register about free cookies or something. Finally getting my food, I met up with these same men at the drink machine. There they were debating why one got a cookie and the other a drink. Seriously? I found a table on the other side of the restaurant next to two ladies who worked upstair and what looked like an off-duty cop.

Not even five minutes after sitting down, one of the men came over. Let's call him Puck (I'm watcing Glee...ha ha). So, Puck proceeds to ask the off-duty cop if he can plug his cell phone at that table for the guy to watch because he is expecting a very important phone call. Then walks away. Comes back says the same thing. At this point, the off-duty cop tells Puck he can have the table because he's done. Ok, so at this point you would think that Puck would just sit down, charge his phone and wait for that very important phone call. 

Wrong!! Well, no, Puck did actually call someone and we heard her say hello but that was it. Somewhere in the five-minute conversation he lost her but kept talking AND rolling a joint under the table. The ladies at the next table were losing it and I was too. Then Puck finally realizes there is no one on the other line. Hangs up. Looks at me and asks me to watch his phone. I tell him I might be leaving soon but Puck said he would be quick. He goes outside smokes his joint and then comes back in and continues to smoke it at the table where he promptly passes out, joint in hand. I couldn't take it anymore. 

Puck finally wakes up and tells that side of the restaurant how much he enjoyed meeting us and hopes we have a wonderful day. Puck waves goodbye and walks out the door.

And I proceeded back to jury duty probably smelling like Puck. Highlight of my jury duty!! 

I cut my planner out of my life...cold turkey.

It is hard to believe I'm actually saying this...I have parted ways with my planner. Yes friends, I am currently out of the house without my planner. I do have my work planner still. Yes, I use two planners. Getting rid of one is progress...

 

It  was necessary. Pages were falling out. Both covers were gone. Papers were everywhere. It was a mess and stressing me out instead of helping me organize my life. I could not find a planner I liked at Target, so I had to find other options.

 

What am I doing to manage my life without the planner? I bought a to-do list app and updated my Google calendar. The app is called Clear List and I can now color code my list and check off items as I complete them. Its fabulous! I keep daily to-do lists, so my app has lists into June already. I know, I'm crazy! I like my life to be organized. Sometimes it doesn't work tho, so hopefully this will now that it is literally in the palm of hand.

 

Giving up my planner is refreshing and I feel a little less stressed yet its weird too. I have never been without a planner since high school. Its my life. This is kind of like giving up smoking for me.

 

Well, I can now say that I've finally embraced the technology my phone has to offer. We will see how long I last...here goes nothing. 

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...Make Lemonade!

Well, we have definitely had a few lemons these past few days. It seems that just when everything is going well financially the bomb drops. Dennis and I had been doing so well saving and not over spending and then BAM! Slapped in the face with not one by two car repair bills back to back.

The G6 went in for the annual inspection on Saturday, which turned out to be anything but routine. Just to pass inspection, the G6 needs quite a bit of work done to it and is costing us a pretty penny. Plus in a month or so it will need a few hundred dollars worth of more repairs. Say what? Anyone want to G6 because I'm sure not feeling fly like one anymore!

Then, feeling grateful that it was a weekend and that we could manage with one car for the time being, Dennis and I went on our merry way. On my way home from church on Sunday in the new Elantra, I noticed that something was not right. When I got home, I got my answer. A flat tire! Can you believe it? Another one bites the dust within 24 hours. 

Now you might be saying to yourself...a flat tire...that's nothing. Well, it's not nothing when your brand new car does not come with a spare and roadside assistance says it can only go to the dealer. Well, goodbye new, safety net car. Now we are about to start the work week with no cars! What a debacle?! Well, thanks to Dennis' mom, we borrowed a car and managed to get though Monday until picking up the Elantra.

We were so optimistic that the Elantra would be covered under warranty. Why? We only purchased the car in January. The mileage was still very low and it had to be a defect for a brand new tire to just blow. Wrong! Why would anything go in our favor in terms of cars? No problem, here's the money. Thanks for nothing brand new tire.

So obviously it has been a trying few days. Thankfully we have the Elantra back and by the time we return from our trip (yes, in the midst of all this we are leaving for Indianapolis in the morning) the G6 will be ready. I replaced my weekend tears with weekday smiles. It could have been worse. We are both safe. It was just repairs not an accident and the cars will drive again.

Lessons to be learned from this little adventure...

Build that rainy day fund because this is exactly why you need it...for unforeseen expenses. I budgeted for the inspection but definitely not for all those other repairs.

Stay away from potholes. They are killers. Apparently that's why we have a flat tire according to the dealer although neither of us remembers hitting one in that car.

Don't sweat the small stuff. OK, it's not small in terms of finances but life goes on and cars are not as important as friends, family, home, life.

Smile. Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.

Go away winter, you're killing my training!

Every year I think I complain about winter in Pittsburgh and training in predominately poor weather for a marathon that comes only a few short weeks after the official start of spring. Well, my complaining about the previous two winters was nothing compared to this year. Between the ice, snow, wind chills and extremely low temperatures training has not gone well at all so far...

I keep reading that there are no excuses for running and training. Cold and weather should not be an excuse but I'm not meant for training in winter. Maybe I would be a true runner if I lived in Florida.

January went well with a combination of short runs inside and outside before the bottom dropped with the terrible weather in February. Unfortunately, the only running I did last month was on the stairs at the fire hall, which was actually a good workout and I hope in the long run will make me stronger.

Today, in the calm before the next storm I decided to take a longer five mile training run - my longest so far. Needless to say it didn't go well. I ran one of the steepest hills in Pittsburgh - my lungs were killing me, so I had to walk a lot of it. I ran down the other side - downhill kills my knees. Plus I was wearing my brand new shoes and running on an incredibly sore knee (the one I injured in the fall, which has been acting up again).

I got more than halfway through and my knee wouldn't go any further. Dennis had to come and rescue me. I thought I was going to cry right on the street in Lawrenceville because I had to stop and I was so upset with myself for not completing my training run.

Stopping was probably the best option before the knee got worse. After some Tylenol, I'm all ready to try again tomorrow. I'm only going to shoot for four and hope it goes much better than today. I was pretty discouraged earlier but I'm hoping I'm not the only one with training problems this year due to this crappy weather. It's after all not my first half marathon, so hopefully that will carry me through.

Waiting on some sunshine and temperate weather to really get this training off on a better start!