Go, Kara, Go!!

My dear friend Kara is in the running (no pun intended) to be chosen as one of the 'Most Influential People in Running' by Runners World Magazine.

She is so very deserving of such an accolade. I've known her since 9th grade geometry class and she is truly an amazing human being. Caring, funny, passionate, beautiful, a dork like me, dedicated to her family and sport and driven to success. She has loved running since Junior High and is such an advocate for healthy living, women in sports and believing in yourself. 

Take a minute to give her a vote to let her know that the world supports her in all her wonderfulness....she is a shining star ⭐️!

VOTE NOW!!!

A Pile of Pics...

Kids:

A new teenage driver:

And I can't leave out my little buddy:

Happy Wednesday, friends:)

American Ninja Warrior!!!!!...well, almost.

I had such a busy summer with a bazillion wedding ceremonies to run in addition to teaching my toddlers everything there is to know about life. I am exhausted. 

Due to the aforementioned exhaustion, I had no time (you could also possibly read this as desire) to exercise my body in any capacity. As the summer came to a close, I knew things had to change...bahhhh, I needed to get moving. A few weeks previous to my fitness epiphany, I happened upon a 'Plank Challenge' on the internets and mentioned the idea to my pal D (I always find it best to take on things that are titled as a 'Challenge' with a buddy. It's more fun and makes you want to actually try). Funny enough, she had already been thinking of a similar challenge and our road to fitness was born. She sent me this chart and we decided to get started on September 1st:

And what could be more fun than crunches, leg raises and planks? Squats. She also added this:

Let's do it! The first few days were fine, dare I say easy even. Then I got to around day 11....plank for an entire minute?? How many leg raises exactly?? What's that you say about reps now?? I almost died. But I actually didn't! Good news. It helped a little that I was in the midst of viewing a ridiculously amazing season of American Ninja Warrior on the TV. I was feeling inspired to persevere and channel the inner athlete that I knew was still in there somewhere. Now, I can't promise that I will be 100% successful with the number of reps/seconds/etc that each of the remaining days demand, but I am going to try my best. With encouragement from my pal D, I hope to get a little stronger and feel a little better! Who knows, maybe by the end, this will be me:

Ok, maybe not. I don't expect to be a contestant on the next season of ANW by any means, but I do hope to keep my body moving and learn to have desire to exercise consistently....even in little ways. 

After all, 'old lady' basketball league play is right around the corner and I gotta be ready! 

More Mosie??

What's that, you say? You've been feeling sad because you haven't seen any pictures of Mosby on the blog lately? We'll, we can't have that:

Feel better? Me too! Happy Wednesday.

Crafty Corner: Giraffe-tastic!

Another 'dharmajane' stuffed animal friend has been born! I have ventured out into the world of stuffed animal making in the past and felt it was time to have another go. With my friends R & R having a baby this past week, it seemed like the perfect opportunity!

Up to this point I have made an elephant:

And an owl:

For some reason, the desire to craft a giraffe was burning strong in my heart. So that's what I did. Fabric, ribbon, thread:

A cardboard pattern drawn and cut out...I like to freestyle my stuffed animal plans- it keeps life fresh and exciting:

Pattern traced and cut- leaving a seam allowance all around:

Spots and feet cut and pinned in place:

And sewn:

Then came the puzzle of placing the ribbon tail and mane pieces. I totally botched this same skill when making the elephant so told myself to really think hard about how to lay it out. I pictured it in my head for a good 5 minutes and decided upon this and sewed it up:

WRONG! Ahhhh, I did it again. Rip out all seams and repeat. Tail pieces must go in between the fabric pieces and then sewn in place...not on the outside! Come on, self. Get in the game. Fixed:

I resewed it and then left a few inches on one side open so I could reverse the fabric right side in (the opening would be sewn up at the end after stuffing). I used a long wooden stick to help get the corners and such out where they belonged:

Time to stuff, close up the opening (just with a needle and thread), add some ears, eyes and a little embroidered name to the butt (Cabbage Patch Style...who's with me???):

Hoping this little buddy will bring many years of delight to Baby A!