10 Favorite TV Shows. Day 8 Blog Challenge.

Whew! This challenge is harder than I thought. I am a couple days behind because I had to work some long days this week. Opening a theatre or in this case Re-Opening a theatre takes a lot of work. I may have to double up a couple days to catch up. 

Today’s topic is 10 Favorite TV shows. So here goes:

1. Gilmore Girls
2. 7th Heaven
3. Party of Five
4. Andy Griffith 
5. Bewitched
6. Gilligans Island
7. Happy Days
8. Wonder Women (original with Linda Carter)
9. I Love Lucy
10. True Blood

Hmm, can you tell what shows I grew up on? This was fun to list these and relive a little about these shows and the memories that cam up. Like for instance Gilmore Girls. I used to watch this show with my daughter all the time. Those were very special moments that I sure miss. Happy Days, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy and Bewitched are all shows I watched with my Mom and Dad growing up. It’s amazing how times goes by so quickly! It’s important to cherish these moments when you can! 

Remember to Run for fun, Run for YOU and Run4Life! 

❤ Angi

10 Things On My Bucket List! Blog Challenge Day 7

I’ve written bucket list for quite a while. When I was younger I had a bucket list item to own a unicorns and another to own my own ranch. Best part was I even had a plan on how I was going to get these items. I had it all figured out! It was very simple. All I had to do was sell my older brothers. I was sure I could get enough money right! After all I had 5 of them. 

My list has evolved a bit since then. I’ve even marketed a few things off like have children, run a Half Marathon, run a Ragnar race and earn a coast to coast medal for running a race at Disneyland and Disney World in the same year. 

Here are 10 of my current bucket list items. 

1. Go on a Cruise
2. Visit a foreign country
3. Run a full Marathon
4. Do something for a good cause
5. Run the Reach The Beach Ragnar Race
6. Own my own home
7. Write a book
8. Skydive
9. Complete a half Ironman
10. Go horseback riding on the beach

That’s just 10. There are actually 25 things on my bucket list. 

What’s on your bucket list?? 

Remember to Run for fun, run for you and Run4Life!

❤ Angi

Hero! Blog Challenge Day 6

I could think of a few Heros in my life. However, there is one person that has and will always remain THE hero of my life. My DAD!!

My Dad was an amazing man. It’s hard to just say one thing that I love about my Dad. For those of you who new him, you truly understand what I mean.
My Dad always knew how to make you smile. He was fair and honest, and loved everyone, and was loved by everyone. He was tough when he needed to be, but, you always knew he loved you. He was strong, kind, and touched the lives of all those around him. 
 He had just the right amount of smarts mixed with a little bit of smart ass. LOL!! And man could he cook!!! He always knew how to make me feel better when I was sad, he made me believe that I could do anything I set my mind too, even keep up with my 5 older brothers.
He taught me values about family and friends and how to be a person to be proud of. He taught me that sometimes life can’t be figured out and you just have to roll with the punches. He was there for all of us 

I lost my Dad on December 2, 1988 when I was just 18 years old. I miss him more and more every year. You would think that with time it would get easier, but it doesn’t. It just seems like that space where only a fathers love can fill just grows larger and larger.

Your Favorite Quote! Blog Challenge Day 5 …

This may be a short post. It’s been a long exciting day and I am exhausted. Plus I have to get to bed so I can catch my plane back home tomorrow. I’ve been visiting my Daughter and Grandson. Today was his 1st birthday. It’s was such an amazing day. 

So onto my favorite quote! 

“Be the change you wish to see in this world” Ghandi

This one simple quote could really change the world. If everyone just thought and practices this simple quote, it would help to make things turn around for the good.  

Just imagine if we treated each other with respect and understanding. No more fighting. No more hurt feelings. 

So please as you go out into your day remember to “Be the Change You wish to see in this world”

Until next time time always Run for fun run for you and Run4life. 

❤ Angi 

Fun! Blog Challenge Day 4.

At first I had no clue what I was going to write about for the word FUN! I mean really a one word topic? Then today happened! Yup, today was FUN! I’m visiting my Daughter this weekend to celebrate my Grandsons first birthday. Today I got together with some of the most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for. Sometimes when you move away, you loose touch with your friends. Time goes by and it seems that the distance between you grows and next thing you know you are hardly talking or writing anymore. Heck even if you live in the same city this can happen. 

There are however, friends that God puts into your life that no matter how many miles are between you, now matter how long it has been since your last conversation you just snap right back into the friendship groove. Well I have those friends. 

First, there is my fellow Team Aries ladies Deb, Robyn, and Linda. Appropriately called because we are all Aries born not too far apart. Then there is Carolyn and Helen (I didn’t get to see Helen this time around 😭) these ladies are always there. And finally Jonathon, we seems to loose touch for a while but whenever I see him it’s like the miles where never there to begin with. 

Today we got together for a short but amazing afternoon of fun at Disney Spring (to me it will always be Downtown Disney). It was so much fun.  We had lunch, we walked around, we had a drink and listened to music and danced and laughed. Then had a yummy dinner with more fun and laughter. 

What made the day even better was sharing these friendships with my Daughter and Grandson. I enjoyed bonding with them and laughing and just having fun. It’s hard being so far away from them. I know they are in good hands here, that they are not alone. They have been blessed with a great extended family. Her Fiances family are amazing people who make sure they are all taking care of. It’s just hard not being able to share in all the aspects of their lives. I treasure these visits and I treasure every single second we get to spend together. 

So Fun!!! Yup! That was today! I thank God everyday for every minute I have on this earth and treasure every moment!! 

Make sure to treasure those moments!

As always, Run for fun, Run for YOU and Run4Life

❤ Angi 

20 Things About Me- Day 3 Blog Challenge

This one is literally just going to be a list of 20 things about me.

1. I believe and trust in God.
2. I have 3 children.
3. I have a beautiful Grandson.
4. I am a 2 time cancer survivor.
5. I am the Ambassador for Ainsley’s Angels in East Tennessee.
6. I am a co-leader for Knoxville Moms Run This Town.
7. Gilmore Girls is my favorite TV Show.
8. Braveheart is my favorite movie.
9. I am the youngest of seven kids.
10. Labrynth is my all time favorite movie.
11. I have completed 16 half marathons.
12. Kiss is my favorite band.
13. I LOVE Hello Kitty & Betty Boop.
14. My favorite color is Neon Green.
15. I am afraid of snakes and spiders.
16. I play guitar…not well, but I try.
17. I love to sing (even though I can’t carry a tune).
18. I grew up in New Hampshire.
19. My Middle name is Hope.
20. I’m NOT a morning person.

Wow! That was a little harder than I thought it would be. But there you have it. 20 things about me.

Animal Rescues Blog Challenge Day 2

When I first took on this challenge I was a little worried to be putting my blogging for the next 30 days into someones else’s hands. However Tom has come up with some really fun topics. Today’s topic is Animal Rescues. I’ve had many animal friends through the years and I’ve either adopted them from shelters, took them in as strays, inherited then from friends who needed to find them homes or found them stuck in a bush. Yes, I really did find one stuck in a bush. When I first moved to Central Florida from Panama City Florida I had a job with a telemarketing company. While on break on night I was outside talking to friends and I kept hearing this awful crying sounds. I followed the sound until I found that it was coming from a bush on the side of the building. There was a poor little newborn kitten with its paw stuck in a bush. Of course I took it home. We bottle fed it and raised it to a ripe out age.

Mr. Snoots

I could explain about every animal I have ever had, but I’ll save for the long post today and just put a few pictures in here of them. I do want to tell you about my sweet Vinnie and crazy Mr. Snoots. Mr. Snoots is my cat. We took him in when we lived in Florida. A friend of a friend needed to find a home for him. She had moved in with her new boyfriend who had a BIG dog and the dog terrorized the poor cat. Even since we have had him he has been super skiddish. We joke with people because they literally never see him. He has gotten a little better the longer we have had him. He does love to snuggle though. At night his favorite place to sleep is right at the top of my head. Man does he ever purr.

Vinnie the day we brought him home at just 6 weeks old.

In August 2014 we decided we wanted to get a dog to add to the family. We went to a place here  in Knoxville called Young Williams. I went in to find an adult German Shepard that I saw a picture of and fell in love with. When we got there we were saddened to find out that she had already been adopted. We decided to look around. I walked by one of the open pens and there was this super cute litter of Black Lab Mix puppies. They were all playing very happily in the corner. Right away one of them left the pack and came over and started jumping on the wall trying to get to me. I looked at his sad brown eyes and fell in love immediately. He was the one! As we were filling out the paperwork, we discovered that the mama dog was abandoned while she was pregnant and they were born in the shelter. Mama dies after giving birth. 😦 We finshed up the paperwork and took our new family member home.

Vinnie at 10 months old

Everyday with this sweet boy has been amazing. I wanted to know exactly what breed Vinnie was so we had him tested and discovered that he was Black Lab and Boxer mixed, and officially known as a Boxador. He is amazing. He has the best parts of both breeds. Vinnie is sweet, loyal, fun and super smart. House breaking him was a breeze. He hardly ever barks and he loves to play and cuddle. He is my sweet boy and I love him very much. He is now 2 years old and I just can’t imagine life without him.

 

Here are a few of the furry friends of the past.

Louie- Flame point Siamese

Mickey

CC ( Crazy Cat)

Sqitchy

Sasha

I’ve Been Challenged.

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged since December 2015. Where does the time go? Was I just too busy? Did time just get away from me? Did life get in the way? To be honest, I just didn’t do it. I was starting to feel like there was no longer a reason to blog. I started this to document my running journey. After all it’s called RUN4life with Angi. I’m injured and can’t run4life. So yup, I gave up on it and just moved on.

So why come back to it you ask? That’s a great question! Back in June I received an email from someone I have never met. Someone that apparently actually read my blog. For privacy I will call him Tom. Tom asked why I hadn’t blogged in 6 months? At first I was a little weirded out, but curious as to why it would even matter to this person. So I told Tom that I just didn’t have much to say. That I was injured and wasn’t running and well, again I just didn’t have much else going on in my life worth blogging about. Tom replied back and explained how he had also suffered from depression. Of course I’m not going into detail about what we talked about, just that Tom related to me and enjoyed reading my blogs. He explained how like myself he too had tried to commit suicide. That reading what I had wrote let him know that he was not alone in how he felt. He encouraged me to start writing again because even if I help just one person isn’t it worth it?

Over the months of June & August we communicated several times. I told him I just couldn’t think of anything to write about. Then it came. Something I just couldn’t resist. A CHALLENGE! I’ve never really been one to back down once I have been Challenged. Tom sent me a list of topics to write about over the next 30 Days. I promised I would Start on September 1st. So here I am. Tom, I except your Challenge and even if you are the only other person who reads this blog, it will be worth it!

Challenge Topic Day 1: Your Blogs Name

That’s a pretty good place to start thanks Tom! My blog is called Run 4 Life with Angi! The reason I call it that is because I first started blogging back in August of 2011 when I set out on an incredible journey. I Decided that I was going to walk a 1/2 Marathon. I thought it would be fun to write down my experiences and how it changes my life. After about 8 months of blogging on a closed site, I decided I wanted to share it with friends.I originally called it the Adventures of Angi to Angidroid. Hahaha! I know corny. As time went on I started writing about everything from training for races to fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to writing reviews of the races that I ran. It was fun! I’m not sure when exactly I changed the name to Run4Life with Angi, just that I named it that because I WAS running for life. I was running to raise money to save the lives of other, and I was running for MY life.

Then on January 11, 2014 I was in a pretty serious car accident. My daughter and I were on the way home from a training run when a 15 year old boy ran a red light and hit a car that then hit mine causing us to roll over. We were less than 2 weeks away from the Inaugural Town of Celebration Half Marathon. It was going to be a special race. It would be the first race that my daughter and I would do together! As life would have it we never ran that race. Things started to change at that point. I started spiraling back down into depression. I had originally been diagnosed with depression after my battle with cancer. The Dr. called it survivors remorse. Running had helped me to deal with that. Blogging became more of a therapy. However, without running there was nothing to blog about so I stopped in February 2014. Wow! I just now realized that was the first time I stopped and for pretty much the same reason. In May 2014 I left my home of 17 years in Florida and started a new venture in Knoxville TN. I ended a 10 year, on again, off again bad relationship and moved on. It was hard leaving all my friends and especially my beautiful daughter who had decided to stay behind. She was already living on her own and had started a good life for herself. I am proud of her for making that decision. I was lost though.

Then in October 2014, I was able to run again and I was chosen to be a part of the Biggest Winner program here in Knoxville. I started running, I started blogging and I started to heal again. This was my turning point of REALLY starting to find myself and my purpose in life. I knew that running made me feel whole and that blogging helped me to heal on the inside. Then just like it had done so many times before life got in the way. My youngest son went off to Army Basic Training. My daughter was about to have her first baby. My job was getting busier and I was just going through the usual day to day routines. Life wasn’t bad, just busy! I finished off the year with a great recap to round out the year, and I had great plans for 2016. Then NOTHING!

My knees started really acting up and the DR said NO running.   I was pretty upset. I had come so far with my running journey. I had accomplished goals I never thought were ever possible. I completed 16 half Marathon since Jan 2012, several 10k’s countless 5k’s and even my first Ragnar race. To come that far and once again hit the wall and have to stop was devastating again. But as life always seems to do, it changed. Something came along that changed my life once again. More about that later! For now I leave you with this. Life is always changing. it’s full of ups and downs. It’s never easy and it can really throw you for a loop. What matters is how you handle those ripples in the road. I’ve come along way and I will always battle my demon called depression, but I will not let it control me. So as I always say.

Remember to Run for Fun, Run For YOU, Run4Life!!!

❤ Angi

2015 Where Did You Go?

I can’t believe that it’s December 31st already and that there is less than 30 minutes left to 2015. I don’t know where the time went. Even worst I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last blog post. It seems that the time just slips through our hands. I have had plenty to blog about too, struggles, good times, trips, races and most importantly becoming a new Grandmother. Yup, you read that right. I am the proudest Nonna ever!!! My beautiful, amazing, baby girl gave birth to a baby of her own in September. The most amazing, rewarding and special moment of my entire year. Ok, let’s stop right here and go back to the beginning of the year. Here are my 2015 highlights.

January-March

The first 3 months of the year I spent a lot of time discovering who I am and learning that no matter what I am worth the effort. I started the year off right with a 5k and lots of friends.These were also the final months of my Journey with Missy Kane and the Covenant Health Biggest Winner Team! 

I won’t go into a lot of detail only because I was blogging a lot then and you can go back and read all about it. What I will say though is I was beyond blessed in the first 3 months of the year. I made life long friendships and learned that I can fail and still pick myself back up and start again. That it’s OK that I suffer depression, that depression doesn’t define me. It’s something I have NOT something I am. I ended this time with one of the most amazing races. The Knoxville Half Marathon. I set myself a new PR (Personal record) and I not only crossed the finish on the 50 yard line of Neyland Stadium, I crossed into a new way of life.

With the good though always seems to come pain. In January the world lost an amazing women. Peggy Sue was an amazing special women that touched the lives of so many. She will be missed greatly. All I can say is a beautiful Angel has returned home to heaven and I thank you Lord for sharing her with us even if just for a short while.

April -June

Somewhere in this time period life took another turn. I received a letter in the mail from my daughter. She didn’t know how to tell me so she wrote it in a letter. She was having a baby! Yup, it was a little bit of a shock and totally unexpected. Even though I am way to young to be a grandma, I was very excited right from the start. My baby girl was having a baby of her own. In her letter she wrote that she hoped to be even half the mom that I was. I can not tell you how that made me feel. That is the one compliment that I never thought I would hear, but man it made my heart full. I had no doubts in my mind that she would be the best mom ever.

I also finished a bucket list goal of completing the Disney Coast to Coast Challenge. I ran the Glass Slipper Challenge at Disney World in Florida in February then the Pixie Dust Challenge at Disneyland in California in May and earned LOTS of medals. One being my pink coast to coast medal.

On June 1st I had to say goodbye to my son, my baby boy as he headed off to Basic Training for the Army for 10 weeks. That would probably be right up there as one of the Toughest days of my life. Although I was beyond proud of him, it was hard to watch him leave to become a man.

Lets see what else, oh I helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity, earned a new PR at the Bridge Street half marathon in Alabama, finally earned my Half Fanatics status by completing 6 half Marathons in less than 6 months, I got to go to St Louis and see the Arch, My baby girl came to TN to visit me as a surprise for Mother’s Day.

Yet again with the good comes the bad. My older brother Don was hospitalized, shortly after that my mom was hospitalized, and then my other brother Bob had to have heart surgery. They say God doesn’t give you more than you can handle but sometimes I feel like either he thinks I’m really strong or he really like pushing my limits.

DM Visits TN

My boy becoming a man

DM Visits TN

Bridgestreet Half

Julies Poor car

Building Houses

St Louis

Tinkerbell Half

Coast to Coast is mine!

 

July-September

These were some tough months. I found it really hard to deal with my son being gone to basic training and not being able to talk to him. I would cry, out of the blue for no reason.  There were many ups and downs and tears and anxiety. The biggest feeling of all though was the feeling of Pride that I had for the amazing young man that he was becoming. Even though there were not many letters. My son is not a fan or writing. Lol. I have to say I definitely could sense the new level of maturity in the words that he did write and the fact that I can actually read them 😀. His letters helped a lot! I felt lost on days, yet I could not have been prouder of my boy becoming a soldier. To also help get through this tough time, I connected with fellow Army moms that had sons and daughter in the same platoon as Tyler. Together we helped each other survive those long months. We formed a bond that will never be broken. Army Moms Army Strong!!!

Yet again troubles came. I was plagued by car troubles over the summer. I spent upwards of $2000 to get it fixed and in the end it died completely and I had to get a new car. When it came time for my son to graduate from Basic Training, we found out that he had to have surgery to have his gallbladder removed, so I went to see him a little earlier than expected and stayed with him till he was released to come home.

I got to watch from afar as my daughter went through her 9 months of pregnancy. It was tough to not be able to be there with her. I wanted so badly to be there by her side and support her though it. I was extremely happy though that I got to go down and be with her at the end of August. It was important to me to be there for her when her new bundle of joy entered the world.

Then September came and so didn’t the newest joy in my life. September 5th, 2015 will forever be at the top of the list of the happiest moments of my life. I have never been so proud in my life as being blessed by the lord to be a new Grandma. Just 5 days before her birthday my beautiful daughter gave birth to her son Brayden Micheal Ferrante. After a long wait this beautiful 9lb 3oz 21 in bundle of joy had finally arrived. My life was forever changed again because now not only was I mom, but I became Nonna to this sweet Angel.

The very first moment with my new Joy

My Soldier

Vinnie missed his boy

Finally get to see my girl

Army Strong Army Moms

Feet of an Angel

Forever in my heart

October-December

In October I marked another item off my bucket list. I completed the TN Ragnar race. 200-ish miles from Chattanooga to Nashville. It was tough, but one of the most fun rewarding experiences. My team the Fantastic 12 did an amazing job and the memories and laughs will last a lifetime. I can’t wait to do another.

In November I returned to Florida to visit my sweet grand-baby and spend Thanksgiving with my daughter, her boyfriend and his amazing family. It was great to be able to spend time with them. It was also nice that my boys both came with me. The whole family was together and they got to meet their nephew for the first time. It’s hard being so far away and watching everything through a window. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on so much. Hopefully, I will get to go there again soon to see them. I also ran the Space Coast half marathon which is one of my all time favorite races. I’m in a 5 year race series and this was year 3 so 2 more to go. It was great to get to see so many of my running friends.

Now December. Not a lot happened this month, it really just flew by. Christmas came and went and now it’s time to ring in a New Year. It’s just 15 minutes away and I can’t believe all that has happened this year. It’s been full of ups and downs and some really special moments. I’m so excited to see what 2016 brings. I have some very exciting news for 2016 but I’ll post about that next year lol.

Happy New Year to all of you and may you all be blessed with an amazing New Year.

Run for fun, Run for YOU, Run4Life

Angi

Fantastic 12

Uncle Mike meets his nephew for the first time

 

Mean Girls at our age, REALLY?

Part of growing up is learning how to deal with our emotions and also how to deal with other people. We all know we faced those cliques, those “Mean girls”. Lord knows I was bullied and picked on enough in school. I faced those girls who thought they were better than everyone else and the town bully who had such a bad life at home that being mean and nasty to everyone else was all she new. It’s part of growing up.  It’s in these life lessons that we grow and learn things like “if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say anything at all”. Rumors, gossip, exclusion. Mean girls have a lot of weapons in their repertoire and all they aim to do is hurt.

Now mean girls tend to grow up and most leave their selfish, hurtful ways behind. Many women grow up to realize that life is too short for all the hurt, and like me live to pass along a smile or a compliment to others. However, with the growing trend of social media and the ability to hide behind a screen somewhere adult mean girls are growing more and more every day. I know you’re thinking adult women aren’t like that. I’m here to tell you THEY ARE! It’s a shame, but they really do exist.

Today I had a friend whom is one of the sweetest most motivational people I know, reach out because a group of “women” where attacking something she did. I won’t go into the details. But it was something that has no baring on these ladies or was a cause for anyone to show concern. Anyways, these ladies thought it would be cute to make snide comments on FB and to ridicule this poor lady behind her back in their closed group. Most of these people who were commenting and/or daring others to post things don’t even know the beautiful soul they were ganging up on. They were just following the leader. I mean really don’t they have better things to do.

If there is one thing in life I have learned, it is that life is too short to be mean and hateful towards people. We have to reach out with love and understanding. Feed each other positive not negative. A part of me wanted to just tear them down for what they are doing, but then I remember that stooping to their level is not the answer. So instead I would like to say to this “Posse” , thank you for your mean-spirited efforts today. Through your outcry of hatefulness, and child like behavior, I have been reminded of what I strive to stay away from. I am sorry for whatever it is in your life that has caused you to feel like you must reach out and attack someone else. I know that in your world you think you are justified in protecting your clique and it’s spandex symbol, but I hope that one day you will think to yourself about what it looks like from outside your perfect princess world. I will be praying for you and wish you only the best. I will lift you up and think positive thoughts for you. I’m sure that one day you will see the pain you caused someone and realize that as grown women we just shouldn’t do that to one another.  I pray that whatever pain you are feeling is lifted and you can see a positive world in your future. I wish you no harm, just peace. May you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, and may you be free from all suffering.

To those out there who are being bullied, or attached by other I say this…Fight fire with water. Continue to send out loving, caring thoughts to those who hurt you. Even if it doesn’t put out their fiery tongues, I can promise it will make you feel better. Lets make a promise to each other to treat our fellow-man kind with love and respect, and when we hurt someone whether it be intentional or by accident, please make an effort to reach out and say sorry.

I will step down from my soap box now and return you to your regular running and life blog. Till next time remember. Run for fun, run for you, run 4 Life!!!!

Angi

PS. I would like to apologize in advance to anyone that is in the group I referenced above that does not act like this. I know there are many great women in the group who would never down grade other women. I do not mean any ill intent against your entire group. I am only hoping that those involved would think twice before hurting someone next time.