Mom here

I'm so proud of all of you. Alicia, I know you can do it. I'll encourage you however I can. I don't want you to get irritated with me, though, so you let me know how I can best help. That's so nice of Chad to give you an incentive. I'm sad that he'll have to go oversees, but it is a good thing that it won't be for an entire year. You're smart to make the most of the time until then.

Sarah and Nora: I'm glad Tyler knows a lot about running shoes. It won't take long to get them in the mail, and this way you know they'll be terrific shoes. Nora: If your phone is a continuing problem, maybe you should get a replacement. It's great that it worked out the way it did this morning. I'm proud of you both. Laura: How did your first day go? I hope Justin doesn't mind that it won't be just the two of you now. It might actually work out better, because you'll be able to trade off watching the kids on your long run days. It will be more fun posting on here, too, with you all having the same goal.

I did the aerobic and weight training FIRM again this morning. It was harder with the actual FIRM steps, but that's O.K. I appreciate you letting me use them, Sarah. I weighed in this morning, and was down to 152 on the school scale..down 4 1/2 pounds from last week. That always happens when I first get back on my 3 day diet. I'll be happy if I lose 1 lb/week. I figured that would get me where I want to be by May.

It was so great to see everyone yesterday. I love you all, and am so proud of each of you. Mom