Ilium Crest

Ladies and gentleman,

I would like to introduce you to your Ilium Crest. What, you may ask, is your Ilium Crest? It is the very tip top of your hip bone, the bone which rises above your pelvis and is closest to your ribs.

Last fall when I was preparing for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World, I had a slight ache in my hip. Only this pain was directly over my hip joint. I didn't hurt. It was an ache and when I stretched that muscle, it felt great. I had such relief. 

In the back of my mind, I thought it was a little bit of IT Band Syndrome. So I decided to rest it and stop running for the winter. I focused on swimming and biking and it's felt great all winter. I even told my husband that my hip had stopped popping when I rotated my toe inward. 


Last week I started running again. Nice and easy, nothing crazy. I figured my cardio had been good all winter, but I wanted to graduate back into running because I've read numerous stories of people hitting it hard and getting injured. So last week I did some walk/runs with Camo-Man and felt pretty good. Saturday I did Body Pump and jumped on the treadmill for a couple of miles to flush out the lactic acid. I felt great!


Sunday I swam 600 yards. I taught Body Flow and then I wanted to run a 5k without stopping on the treadmill. I walked for 5 minutes to warm up and then set the treadmill to an incline of 1 and speed of 5.6. Nothing strenuous. After a mile, I moved up to 5.8 and after 2 miles, up to 6.0. A 10 minute mile pace. A pace I've run at easily in the past. 


At 2.7 miles, I felt a pinch at the top of my Ilium Crest. I thought it was strange, but it was a simple pinch. I kept pushing through it. At 2.8 miles, I felt the pain move around to the front of my hip bone. That freaked me out. I knew it was time to walk. I walked for a while until I hit 3 miles. I tried to run the final tenth of a mile and while I was able to finish it, it was definitely an uncomfortable feeling. Of course, the worst diagnoses started going through my mind. 


I visited my dear friend and doctor, Dr. Volkan Sumer, on Monday. A x-ray revealed nothing more than some arthritis in my hip (whooopee - got that to look forward to) but the arthritis is not causing the pain I am dealing with right now. 


So this morning I am scheduled for a MRI. I am pretty anxious to find out what is going on and what it means for my 2011 Race Schedule and my lofty goals. 

4 Tips to Run the Stress Off | Active.com

4 Tips to Run the Stress Off | Active.com

I ran across this article after returning from my run with Camo-Man tonight. We did a simple loop around town. The article seemed appropriate since I spent a good portion of the day in tears for way too many reasons. Run is complete and I feel much better!

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Program

Sunshine & Cocoa

PLEASE
Can we re-start 2011 over? So far, excuse me while I am EXTREMELY blunt, 2011 has sucked!


Not only did my small town lose two high school seniors, on Feb. 9th, we had to put our 14 year old chocolate lab down after she had a spinal stroke. Leber's Hot Cocoa was born on the 5th of December 1996 and went to doggie heaven on the 9th of February 2011. It was definitely a sad, sad day in our home. 

Camo Man, Hollywood & Princess
with Cocoa

Then on February 10th my hard drive crashed. Holy moly! Not just my personal hard drive...my work hard drive. And no I was not backing up. I was heading into the spring season, pool season, crazy season and I had just basically lost my "bible" from the last year. OH MY GOSH! I was going crazy. Could I have survived? Yes, but would I be re-creating every single thing from the last year? Heck yah and I had absolutely no interest in doing that. 

So I paid $450 to get my hard drive recovered (lesson learned). I am breathing a sigh of relief to have my data from the last year, but I've started using Carbonite to back up both of my work computers. 


We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Day 1 of Conference

Earlier in the week, I went through the conference program and found at least one workshop for each time slot for the conference. After talking to Steve, I decided to attend "Print that Pops" at 9 am and  "Disc Golf" at 2 pm.

My morning workshop was supposed to last two hours. After speaking for 25 minutes on topics which were much more applicable to large park districts with their own marketing departments, the presenter said he was done was speaking and asked if we had any questions.  Really? Now, I truly work for a small park district. My park district is about as small as they come, but if they are going to pay for me to attend conference I am going to get my money's worth.  I quickly glanced at the conference program to find another session starting at 9:30 am. Fortunately, the Q&A portion lasted for another hour and was actually much more interesting than the presentation itself. My afternoon session of "Disc Golf" was very interesting and informative and definitely something to think about for the future. 


Friday night is the night my friends go out with Angie's park district. SO I was on my own for the night. Following my disc golf session, I came back to the room debating what to do for the evening. Did I want to go to dinner alone? Could I catch a show? Instead I remained laying on my bed watching a movie. We had gone to 11 City Diner for lunch where I had a cheeseburger and some Junior's Cheesecake. So, I definitely didn't feel hungry. 


I still had a full stomach from consuming all of those calories in the last 24 hours. I finally decided about to go for a run down Michigan Avenue. I was a little concerned about stopping at every block due to the stop lights, but decided running outside was a much better option than running on the dreadmill. Of course, with all of my gadgets & gizmos, it took me about the usual 30 minutes to get properly dressed and ready for running outdoors.  Grrrrr.

At Water Tower Place

I walked out on Michigan Avenue and started off with a nice easy walk for about 2 blocks. Before the cold had a chance to creep in, it was time to take off on a relaxing jog. Luckily, I found the stop lights on Michigan Avenue were timed to my pace. So for the first 4 or 5 blocks, I didn't have to stop once! Unfortunately, that came to an end when I hit Monroe. I ran one block east and then turned north on Columbus. As I ran along on Columbus, I started to feel a little uneasy with my road choice. I was running on a much less populated street and couldn't wait to find my way back to Michigan Avenue. I finally found my way back with no incident - and only seeing one person not in a car - and he was on a bike! Brrrrr!  


I continued down Michigan Avenue feeling like I was on top of the world. It was like I was on a running tour, but also....I like doing the unusual. I kept thinking to myself: I like being weird. It's Friday night and instead of sauntering down Michigan Avenue doing some shopping, here I was running down Michigan Avenue not spending money and burning off some calories! Awesome!

Water Tower

Because I didn't have my Garmin watch, I had no idea how far I had run. When I reached Oak Street, I crossed Michigan Avenue and started heading back toward the Hilton. I stopped at Water Tower Place and took a couple of really nice photos - at least I think! I had to crack up when I had texts from Camo-Man and my WORRIER friend (who I swear was separated at birth from my husband) asking what I did for dinner that night. I responded saying that I hadn't eaten yet, but that I was out on a run on Michigan Avenue. Camo-Man immediately responded "BE SAFE". As soon as I got back to my hotel, I sent Camo-Man a text saying I was back at the hotel safe and sound. I forgot to text the WORRIER. 

Mediterranean Veggie Salad

I jumped in the shower as soon as I got back to my room to warm up and I ordered room service. I knew going out to dinner was going to mean 1,000 more calories so I opted for the Mediterranean Veggie Salad...and a glass of chardonnay. About 9 pm that night, The WORRIER sent me a text asking if I was back from my run. I responded with a resounding YES and she told me how I gave her heart palpitations worrying about me because I was crazy enough to go for a run on Michigan Avenue. I just didn't mention my brief detour on Columbus Avenue. I knew she'd worried enough tonight. 


While finishing my salad, Steve & Angie called to say they were done with dinner and asked if I wanted to come to Howling at the Moon, a very fun & entertaining piano bar....unfortunately, I was a little too comfortable in my sweat pants. Combined with my lack of sleep the night before and half a glass of chardonnay, No Thanks! I was perfectly content to let Chicago party without me. Instead I purchased a new book on my Nook and quickly fell asleep!

Parks & Rec Conference

After a long, exhausting week and an incredible outpouring of support from around Central Illinois, I was ready to spend the weekend in Chicago at the IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference. Part of me felt guilty for being able to push this week's pain and anguish from my mind even if only for a couple of days. I attended Mike's visitation Wednesday night and could not believe the number of people who attended....and couldn't believe that the Honan family was able to endure through such a long, stressful event. They are always in my prayers. 


We car pooled to the IAPD/IPRA conference on Thursday morning arriving in time to get checked into our rooms and walk through the exhibit hall. We talked to the Baggos vendor as well as a vendor who sells backyard ice rinks. We talked to several of the Les Mills and SCW Fitness representatives as well as many, many more. It was different walking through the exhibit hall this year since we weren't actively looking for something in particular. 


After walking through the exhibit hall, we went to Kitty O'Shea's for a couple of drinks. We met up with a few vendor reps and discussed life in a small town which really made me think. 

My thinking pose

Saffron Tagliorini

After a while we finally decided to head down to the concierge desk and ask for recommendations for dinner. We had read about a restaurant at the Navy Pier called Riva. Seafood - oh I love it! I ordered the Saffron Tagliorini, which had a shrimp, clam, mussels, andouille, sweet & hot peppers in a cajun cream. The dish was absolutely delicious and lived up to my dreams. For dessert, I ordered a White Chocolate Creme Brulee. 

Angie & I on Navy Pier with
the Chicago skyline behind us

Following dinner - due to way to many calories being consumed - we decided to walk around Navy Pier and check out Snow Days Chicago. Fifteen teams of master sculptors had to submit a pencil sketch of their sculpture in order to be selected for this year's event. The sculptures were still in their beginning phases, but you could see the forms starting to take shape especially when you viewed the pencil sketches which were displayed in front of each sculpture. My phone completely died at dinner. So I wasn't able to take any pictures. Instead, Steve took these pictures - and they turned out grainy!

Snow Days Chicago

Finally, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel for the night to prepare for a long day of seminars on Friday. I had a long list of classes I wanted to attend and needed to be awake & alert for the first real day of conference. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way since I had to wait for my cell phone to re-charge. I finally fell asleep after midnight only to wake up at 5 am. Why is it that you can never sleep the first night in a hotel? 

My Hometown

I live in a small town in Central Illinois. A town where you are known by which church you attend.  A town where you can’t do anything without your neighbor knowing about it.  A town that bonds together in good times and in bad.

Tremont United Methodist Church

Camo-Man and I moved here in 1996. We thought we’d live here for a couple of years and move back to the town where he grew up, but it's hard to move away from a small town full of people who care about you.

Over the years, I’ve had many moments of pride in this town. I've watched the people of our community come out to celebrate the start of summer at our annual Turkey Festival. The entire community volunteers to help make this festival a successful event - without a beer tent. 

Perdue's Bar & Grill

We support our local businesses. Why buy somewhere else if you can find a way to support your neighbor in their passion? Take for example, Perdue's Bar & Grill, a fantastic local restaurant owned & operated by residents of Tremont. Why drive out of town when you have a fantastic place to dine with your family and visit with friends all at the same time?


I've watched our community pull together to support families who are struggling with chronic illnesses. We've raised money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. We've lost kids to Neuroblastoma and Wilms Tumor. We've supported families who are fighting melanoma.


On Saturday, our community faced another tragedy. While traveling to a girls basketball tournament, one of our school buses was struck by another vehicle about 30 miles from our nice, small town. Relief ran rampant through the community as word spread about the accident and the fact that injuries were minimal. The worst injuries were a broken wrist for the bus driver, "Safety Stu", and some dental work for the team coach. Some of the players were transported to the hospital as a safety precaution, but overall our community felt blessed to have escaped with our youth safe.


The vehicle which struck the school bus did not fair as well. Fatalities were reported immediately and prayers were sent up throughout Central Illinois for the families who had just lost loved ones.


And then....
in a strange twist of cruel, sadistic irony...
we discovered the identities of those in the truck..
only to discover they were actually from our small, little town. 


The driver, Mike Honan, a senior at Tremont High School, was driving in the opposite direction of the bus when he presumably hit a slick spot on the highway, clipped the back of a semi-truck which forced him to cross the median crashing into the school bus. Mike and another THS senior, Celine Estes, were both killed upon impact. Two additional passengers were hospitalized in critical condition including Celine's older sister, Brianna Estes. 


A current of shock jolted through our community. Two seniors were now dead. A recent graduate in critical condition. Words cannot express the sadness and despair felt by everyone who knew these young people.


THIS is the tragedy which lives in the deepest recesses of our minds, the place we hope never to recognize. The thought of losing a child leaves you speechless and numb, or worse yet filled with the suffocating pain which never leaves your mind or body. 

Proud to be a Tremont Turk

I live in a town where you don't have to suffer through your pain alone. The outpouring of love and support for these families who have lost their children has been tremendous. Words will never ease their pain. Actions can never fix their broken hearts. All we can do is wrap them in love with the open arms of a community which remembers the potential these kids offered to their classmates, teachers, employers, friends and families. 


I ask that you all hug your children a little tighter today. Tell them how much they are loved and then say a prayer for the recovery of Brianna Estes, the youth of Tremont, IL as they deal with the loss of their friends, and especially for the families of Mike Honan and Celine Estes. 

MMM: Banana Brownie Waffles

With one sick Princess and a day of no school thanks to the memory of Martin Luther King, I actually had a little time to spend in the kitchen. Due to an excess of bananas which had over ripened with time, I heard the call of the Meal Makeover Moms from within the depths of the "No Whine with Dinner" cookbook where I found a recipe for Banana Brownie Waffles. Needless to say any recipe with a fruit or vegetable listed in it did not excite my two youngest daughters. 


"Bananas? I'll pass" said Sunshine. 

Hollywood trying to hide
from the camera

I garnered the assistance of my oldest daughter, Hollywood, in the creation of Banana Brownie Waffles. Just as inexperienced as her mother, Hollywood made a mess of the kitchen while following the recipe - just as her mother would. We mixed together the liquids. We made the flour dust fly. A good time for us both as we bonded in the kitchen. 


Because she didn't have any schedule to follow on Monday, Hollywood was a little lax about finding her way to the shower. So when I pulled out the camera she hid behind her the hood of her dance team sweatshirt. The picture looks quite creepy when you see Camo-Man's hand trying to pluck the hood off of her head, but he wasn't quick enough. Hollywood prevailed and kept her head covered. 


Is it a bad sign that when I pulled out the Belgian waffle maker Hollywood said she didn't even know we had one? We used to make Belgian waffles all of the time, but like most things in the kitchen it all started to feel quite overwhelming and the pure joy of light fluffy Belgian waffles came to an end. 

The finished product!

When Sunshine came home from her all day Lord of the Rings viewing event with her friends, I asked her if she was going to try the waffles. She promptly said no she didn't like bananas.


And then a little lie escaped my lips.


"Oh well, when I read the recipe closer, the bananas were meant to be sliced up on top of the waffles. So you don't even have to have them." I said with a sly warning look at Hollywood.


On Tuesday morning, Sunshine tried the waffles and LOVED THEM! Later she told me she could see the bananas in the waffles and knew I had lied to her. I guess we need to have Hollywood work on her banana mashing skills. Sadly, Hollywood doesn't get ready in time to have a light tasty waffle for breakfast. At the age of 15, she takes FOREVER to get ready for school and she usually eats scrambled eggs in the car on the way. With Princess still feeling ill, I didn't push the waffles on her, but I tried them and gave them a huge thumbs up. I am not a huge chocolate fan and thought I wouldn't like them, but the chocolate taste was not overwhelming and I really enjoyed them.