Where oh where have I been?

Almost 16 months since I last wrote a blog post. Has much changed? I would say some.

• I went back to school January 2011 to get an AA degree in Health Information Technology. I should graduate around June 2012.
• It's official - we are not having children & we're happy with that decision. Not because either of us experiences dysfunction - it was elective. We'd probably be good parents but neither of us are really interested in children.
• My brother-in-law Jeff was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) back in January 2011. He & my sister Amelia had previously planned their wedding for March 2011. Jeff went through some treatments to get his CML under control and their wedding was pushed back until late June. It was a great wedding. Then Labor Day weekend Jeff started to not feel well & went to the ER. Turns out his CML had turned Acute and progressed into Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). He & my sister have been at Mayo in Rochester repeatedly for the past 2 months for chemo treatments. So far, after 2 rounds of chemo, he's doing well & is deer hunting around Osage, MN this weekend. His Caringbridge site is HERE.
• We flew to Seattle. WA in March for my brother-in-law's wedding. It was a great place to visit; we really did NOT want to come back home but, alas, a soggy wet basement was waiting for us (stupid lots of snow + early warm spring thaw + plugged drain for the tile system = water in basement).
• Water in the basement meant wet carpet so we tore it out. We didn't know that the whole basement had been tiled and then carpeted over. We may or may not replace the carpet. We've discussed getting carpet remnants but that'll come all in due time.
• My uncle Steve (dad's brother) was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer in May/June. He's undergoing treatment for that. So far the cancer is not growing. His Caringbridge site is HERE.
• My cousin Stefanie (my uncle Steve's daughter which is bittersweet irony) was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer in July. She had just had her son in April or May and was only 24 years old. After a total mastectomy in August she started chemo in the beginning of October. So far she's had 2 rounds of chemo and is fighting cancer like a crazy bitch at a bar fight (aka she's kicking F'in ass). Her Caringbridge site is HERE.
• In June I decided I wanted to start running so I downloaded the C25K app on my iPhone and started the program. Ben decided that he wanted to start running, too, so we did it at the same time (but we didn't run together). The last time I ran a full mile was... never. I don't think I've ever had a mile run faster than 17 minutes and that was back in high school. Now that I'm half the size I felt it was time I started crossing goals off my bucket list. We registered for the Mankato 5k that took place on October 21, 2011. It was a tough regimen and I learned early out that you MUST have running shoes; they're worth the cost. My time was 00:30:12 & was 129th of 383 total runners. I was 63rd of 271 total females & was 18th of 61 in the female 20-29 age group.
• I'm running another 5k on Saturday November 12th at 9am in Mankato. It's the 6th Annual Minnesota State University Army ROTC Veteran’s Day 5K. My brother is a Navy Veteran & all proceeds go to the 1LT Michael Fasnacht Scholarship Fund at MSU. It's going to be F'in cold but a good time. My supervisor at work is going to 'race' me :)

I've been maintaining my weight loss so far. I tend to average around 135-138 pounds. I think I will always aim to get down to 125 lowest but it's okay if I don't. It's been almost 2.5 years since my weight loss surgery. I take all of my vitamins, I drink at least 72oz of water per day, and I track my food mostly to keep myself accountable for what goes in my mouth. My limit is around 1600 calories per day and I do okay hitting that or around that number.

I have homework to get to so that's about all I'm going to write now. Will I keep writing? I don't know; I don't have a whole lot to say most of the time.