For Me

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More Pics from the Sticks

Before I start, I just wanted to thank a most fabu person, Liz Mulcahy, for making me feel totally normal.  That is shockingly hard to do.  She told me that when she signed up for her first triatholon, she also freaked out.  "I'm gonna drown.  I just paid money to drown!" she said was one of the first things that came to her mind.  I can't tell you how much better that made me feel.  Thank you, once more.

 If you put your face right up to the screen, you'll notice that little white dot in the middle of the sky.  That's the moon.  You might also notice that if you really do have your face on the screen, you're mooning everyone around you...talk about your two moons of Arrakis.  The first person to give me the source of bit of Nerdness gets a free De-Fluff Diva T-shirt.

 This is a cool looking plant growing in the field by the lot that houses cars being sold for scrap.  I don't know what it is, but it doesn't match anything around it.  It's almost like someone threw out a potted plant and it just grew where it landed.  Or maybe it's from an alien planet and was sent here to destroy our crops of okra and lima beams.  We might never know.

 I think this is some sort of weed.  It's pretty cool looking.  It's bloomed even more now.  I like it.

Now these jokers are just everywhere.  I keep hoping to see an actual toad on the toad stool, but no such luck as of yet.  This one just kinda looked like mushroom guy, Toad, on Mario.  Now I want to play video games.


So there you go.  I really thought I took another one, but I can't seem to find it.  Oh well.

Also, I was chatting with my co-founder of the De-Fluffing Divas, Shannon Bo Bannon, and we want to invite any fine yet fluffy hot mamma who has weight loss and/or over health goals and is willing to really work on meeting them to let us know and send us a picture.  We will be starting a page for DeFluffers in Training where we will feature you and your continued progress.  You have to progress to stay on the page though.  Yes, it's for women only which, yes, is a bit sexist, but so is just about everything in life.  If you're offended, I suggest a glass of Get-Over-It.

Speaking of addition, due to her being the inspiration for our venture to the Diva Half Marathon, we are so very pleased and proud to tell you that MaryAnne Pena is officially a De-Fluffing Diva. She can't make this Diva run with us, but hopefully she will be able to do so in 2014.  Yay!

Holy Crap..No Going Back Now...AAAAHHHH!!

After a morning of stalling, I just did it. I have registered for my very first race. I am freaking out a little bit.  I'm wondering if I've bitten off more than I can chew.  All of a sudden, I don't know if I can do this.

Breathe.  Cry.  Freak out.  Breathe.  And one more deep breathe for good measure.  Pause.

HECK FRICKIN' YES I'M GONNA DO THIS!!!!  I'm already doing more than I've done in years.  Come Hell or high water, I'm crossing that finish line no matter how long it takes, and I'll go buy my own damn tiara if I have to!

No fear, no worry, no excuses, no comparison between me and some skinny girl is going to get in my way.  Not this time.  This time I will not give up.  This time I will prove to myself and to myself only that no matter what, I can do what I put my mind and heart to accomplish.  I used to have no problems with this.  Then, I started putting everyone else first because that's just what moms do.  It just happens.  Putting myself first is hard because letting everyone else go first is so much easier.  It's just an excuse to not do what I need to do to achieve my goals.  Little goals are too easy for me to put off, I'm afraid.  If I don't go big, I just stay on the couch apparently.

Well, the freak out is over for the moment.  I'm running under the name Diva AwesomeSauce ... heck yes, I am....because I am Cotton Candy Awesome Sauce!  Ow!

Prince Charming is Waiting on ME's Training

So here is a quick update on my training; it's going nowhere. See, when I decided to start training, I remembered my left knee likes to slip out place so to speak. It was as if my knee was saying, "you're trying to do what? Oh, you are so cute!". Well take this, I'm getting a knee brace today! Training starts Monday come rain or shine! 

Watch out running world, here I come! Maybe I should say jogging and walking world, but you get the idea. 


I have been somewhat productive with my training music wise. I've research and compiled a "running playlist" (that I'm sure I'll add to). You know, songs that get me pumped, help set my pace,  help me when I need to dig deeper, and songs that I can just get lost in and forget any pain that I might be in. All I have left is to transfer it from my computer into my mp3 player- where ever it's at. 

I must say that I am happy to be doing this, even though it will be tough. I am doing this with one of my best friends, Jen! She is true blue and totally awesome to be around. I also get to meet some of her fabu family too! All in all I must say that this will be a great experience all around; meeting new people, doing something I've never done before, and getting a tiara! Oh yeah, and the health benefits and all that. :) I can't wait!!!! I feel like that little girl in the picture --->

Pics From the Walk to Prove I Did It

Totally stole this from Maryanne Pena, but she's in Lake Tahoe this week-end.  I'm pretty sure she can't hurt me from there.  Plus, I'm reasonably sure that she really doesn't care.  So the idea here is that I take a pic to prove that I went a-training.  Three walks a week = three pics.  Today you get two bonus ones because I didn't do this last Saturday.

Okay so this pic is tells you what town you actually in being as it's the middle of nowhere.  I live in Floridale.  This sign is exactly one mile from my house. There and back 2 miles...only 11 more to go.


I'm not saying we live off the beaten path or anything.  Check out the early morning down my street.  You can see the North American Tinsel in the bottom of the picture there.  Bonus from walk near woods:  when you run into a spider web, you have instant interval training trying to get it off while making sure there are no spiders on your body.  I'm getting the shivers again just thinking about it.


One can just see the poetry in the flower growing out of the pavement,
can't one?  The small blossom defeating the odds to create beauty where
there is just stone....or some crap like that.  I took a pic before something stepped on it.  I like it.


If not wrong...and I'm never wrong these are Forget-Me-Nots.  If I'm right and that's actually correct, the legend goes that a knight gave these to his lady fair before going off to battle and told her to "forget-me-not" while he was off fighting for king and country.  Personally, I think that's terribly romantic and I love these flowers because of it.  If I'm wrong and those aren't Forget-Me-Nots... well then...I feel cheated.  Then they are just little purple flowers that the girls like to pick for me which is so super sweet i just can't stand it!


I was so excited to see this really big butterfly that I chased it down just for you people, so I hope you enjoy the pretty bug.  I was thinking of you Sandi and Gwenda!

So there you go...proof I'm training.  It's still hard, and no, I don't like it.  I'm doing it anyway.  So there Fat Cells...take that.

And Now For My Twinkie!

I know.  I can't tell us apart either when we stand side by side.  This is my twin sister: Shannon Cochran.  Here are the answers to any twin questions that might be floating around in your brain right this very now. Yes, we were born on the same day so, yes, we are both the same age.  This also means we have the same birthday, and no, we are NOT bitter about having to share our birthday with each other or the thousands of other people born on that day.  We are fraternal twins which means, no, we don't look exactly alike so please stop analyzing our faces trying to find the similarities.  No, I cannot feel her pain unless she is in the same room as me listening to the same crazy questions about being twins.  I think that covers it.

Name: Shannon
Nicknames:  PickleHead; Don't-Start-None-Won't-Be-None; Mega Meanie Mommy
Favorites:  Yorkies; organization and cleanliness; the color black; watching Anne of Green Gables and The Little Mermaid over and over until my sister wants to jump off a bridge
Not-So-Favorites:  Emptying the dishwasher; messes; whining
Why I'm Doing This:  to say I can do a 1/2 marathon, to be in better shape; to support all my girls who want to do this too
Training:  1/2 marathon training schedule; Pilates bar workout; Ultimate Core Trainer workout

There are so many tales I could tell about my twin...wait...she could do the same...hold on.  This should be thought out me thinks.  At any rate, I'm glad to be doing this with one of the best people I know.  Hey look! I found a pic of another set of twins that are just as alike as me and PickeHead!  I hope it makes my point.  Well, it's my turn to be the Evil Twin.  Time to torture the captives...I mean make the kids clean up.

 (If you don't get this reference, treat yourself the the great cinema classic The Great Muppet Caper)