Bean Bags for Fun - Gift of Carl

New Updates for Darien

I will post the new updates for Darien, IL
April - Bean Bags for Fun - www.giftofcarl.org
May - Running the Soldier Field 10 miler
Char, Angie, & I will be doing the 10 miler on Memorial Day weekend
Pictures will be posted after the race.

Starting again -

I am going back to begin again this online bloggin site. There hasn't been time to continue with this format but now I am going to go through with updating. I wanted to update everyone on the Writing Festival next weekend as an event from the Gift of Carl Foundation. I will post some pictures here from the event but anyone can always go to the url: www.giftofcarl.org and see more information regarding the Foundation.

We accomplished our goal of running the Chicago Half Marathon 10/1/06. Char did amazing after all the training and injuries this past summer. It was a great to see this goal accomplished! I will post a picture after I have scanned into my computer!
The running group "Run To Eat!" has been extremely supportive in our efforts and we don't know what we would do without them!

Thanks Joe, George, Sandy, Patty, John and Alan!! You are the best!

When is the next run........ We need to survive another Fall/Winter/Spring of running! Not a problem.

Life continues

5/14/06 ~ Mother's Day
Char and I ran the reverse of the loop. We actually didn't think we'd make the 6 miles but managed to surprise ourselves. It's Mothers Day and the first for Char without Carl. It does not matter and so difficult to explain what this day means. I wanted to go see my own mom but felt the connection to be closer to home. Life - no bad days ~ no regrets! Seems so easy and yet very difficult.

5/15/06 Monday last book group meeting for the 2005-2006 year. Officers have been decided and summer reading lists need to be shared. Where did this year go?!

5/20/06 - 5/21/06 -
10 months. Again it is all about these dates. We plan so much around different events and yet these dates creep up on us and the sadness continues. It's almost a year and yet the pain is still so raw and close to all of us. When do we wake up and not think is this nightmare really happening. I am amazed at how well Char continues to go on - each and every day when who knows if any of us could do the same. I need her motivation to keep me going to know that these milestones are important and this is our goal! Char says we need to run further each weekend and than - - - it doesn't happen because of endurance, breathing and whether we have it in us "this morning"! But we do it and that is what truly matters - we get out there and run - escape from reality.

10 months - we put one foot in front of the other - go on in his honor. No bad days - no regrets!
Carl ~ we miss you more than ever!

Flying Pig - surviving Cincy

Is it really May ~~ the weather is more like March. We (Angie) did great running the Shamrock the weather cooperated and the rain didn't start until much later! We continue to train for our goal of the Chicago Half Marathon 10/1/06.

5/06 - Flying Pig - my first trip back to Cincy since days at Whittman Hart. Angie, Char and I left Saturday afternoon once the composite bins were all delivered. It was a glorious day for a 5 hour ride and Angie mentally prepared herself for the 5:00 am (4:00 Chicago time) wake up call Sunday morning. I drove and Char was my co-pilot. She did an awesome job! Once we arrived in Cincy - starving and passing the hotel 3x trying to find the entrance we came upon a girl/woman/individual with a wipe board and looking up! We decided to pull over as ask for directions to the Hotel! Char asked the question, Angie looked up from the backseat window, I tried to figure out what the heck was she writing on the wipe board. I thought she was an artist!
Well - once I looked at the writing and eyes followed the fence I realized it had barb wire on the top. Angie was getting suggestive looks from the windows and Char couldn't listen after I said twice - do you see the barb wired!!! It was the Cincy correctional center only 2 blocks from our Hotel - Welcome!

We managed to drive around the corner and low and behold - there was the hotel! Since we really had no idea where we were; called the running group for directions to the restaurant they were eating and drove up by them!

The weather for the race did not turn out at all like predicted - we froze but cheered on the runners. Drove home to Darien to one of the top 10 weather days of 2006! Angie was our co-pilot the way home so we avoided the 80/94 traffic!

Had a few hard belly laughing experiences! Well needed. Cheri showed up early Sunday to see her Mom off to the finish - but didn't get to see her until Mile #4. It all worked out well! Need to plan the next road trip!!!!

Shamrock Shuffle ~ 2006

3/31/06 - Had to get our last run in before the race Sunday. We ran the road and back some of us almost over heated! Very humid day but sunny and blues skies - couldn't ask for any better. Down to the Expo to pick up walkers and runners bags. For some of us this was our "first" expo! Maybe next year we volunteer to get the those "cool" GREEN shirts! This is the first of our running goals - we met the challenge to run in a race higher than a 5k. We're excited as the the weather looks to be much better than earlier in the week! Hoping for NO RAIN!

Today - the final 4. Molloy has invited the neighbors over to watch the games together and cook! Companis ~ "with bread" - Companion - "with friends" we will share bread, food, friendship and good basketball!!

The Neighbors

I started this blog as a way of communicating with family members and didn't post anything! Well I have been busy with family, work, traveling and more work!

This will be a journal about our neighbors. We moved here 12 years ago and the "neighbors" have become our 2nd family. We are so close ~ walking distance from each others houses - but we still pick up the phones to say we're coming over/stopping by. Email has become our life line and at times it was the only way we could communicate.

We have raised our kids with each other - school, sports, band events, birthday, religious, graduations, sickness and sad to say death. Death of grandparents, parents and kids.

So this is way I wanted to start this journal to talk about how many of us could not of survived without each other and I think it is important to continue on and finish the story. Some of us started with our first borns off to kindergarten together others came in between or just because we knew someone. We have traveled together as families, girls, couples and now our kids are starting to go off on their own! Incredible! On to the next stage of our lives and hopefully we will all continue on that path ~~~~~~~~~~~

Here we are!