One thing I found to keep me busy was an event being put on by the Nevada Humane Society. They have an annual rubber duck race here in Reno to raise money for the NHS and to adopt animals out called the Reno Duck Race. I got in contact with the NHS and let them know I was available to lend a hand. It was an all day event in downtown, so I showed up and was put to work at an Egg Count booth. It was in the kid area and they had a rabbit cage filled with plastic eggs. The kids had to guess how many were in there and depending how close they were to the actual number (888) the more points they got. They could then redeem these points for prizes once they went to all the booths. It was pretty entertaining - most of the kids were pretty young and hadn't learned to count yet so I got some guesses like 4 or eleven-teen. The cuter the kid was, the more points I gave them. ;)
I did a three hour shift at that booth then the actual duck race was getting closer. I was put on duck duty. I had to actually get into the river and make sure none of the rubber ducks got caught in the rocks or branches or got stranded on shore. It was fun and it was amazing to see so many little yellow ducks floating down the river. There were about 20,000 of them!
The finish line was a chain-link fence which was installed across the river so we could get all of the ducks out of the river. They ending up raising about $67,000 and adopted out 3 dogs and 5 cats! It was a great event and I am glad I was able to help out.
At the beginning of September, my mom came out to visit me and help me pack for a week. It's been a long time since we had some one-on-one mom/daughter time so it was a lot of fun! She did a lot to help me pack and keep my stress level down. She even joined me in the gym every morning! My mom was a great motivator, too, to get to the gym and then to the hill across the road at night. We made frequent trips to the animal shelter and Mom became very, very close to bringing one dog back to CT. He was an adorable Aussie that was injured and healing.
Since our visits though, he has been adopted into a forever home! Yay! We did a lot of relaxing and even spent two nights in a hotel! I got to sleep in a real bed. Woohoo! We rented a movie one night in the hotel, too.I wanted to show my Mom Lake Tahoe and all its beauty so we headed up there for a day on the beach. I brought her to Sand Harbor and we layed out and went swimming.
The water is very cold and my mom even got in three times!! 
It was a nice relaxing day on the water. That evening we met Tommy for dinner in Kings Beach, CA. 
As the sunset, we headed back over Mt. Rose back to Reno for the night just in time to catch a pretty colorful sunset over the lake. 
There is a brewery down the road a bit from my apartment called the Great Basin Brewery that I really enjoy so I decided we should eat there one night for dinner. This place recycles everything! They even recycle the used yeast and grains they use to brew their beer! It's a very 'green' restaurant with great food and delicious beer. We even got matching shirts (tye-dye of course!).
The week with my mom was awesome and I am so glad she came out to spend time with me and help me pack. She did a lot for me - helping packing, relieving my stress and keeping me laughing and smiling. Thanks Mom! Love you!
After she left, I kept packing and had to move out of my apartment. Still having a week left before my race, my previous supervisor, Amanda, is letting me stay at her house. I am so thankful because it's saving me money on a hotel or campground and keeping my stress level in check. :) I've been training a lot still too, even started the Insanity workout and running! Now, my race is tomorrow!! Ahhhh! I'm so nervous but yet so excited about it. It's going to be a challenge but a lot of fun.
Dave is flying in tonight and is going to watch and support me in my race tomorrow. Hopefully he'll catch some great pictures of me getting my butt kicked by this race. :) After the race, we're starting a road trip back to Madison, WI - where he lives and where I am moving. We're planning a stop in Vail, CO to see my friend Jackie, who went to school with my brother at Ithaca.
The next post you'll get will be after the Tough Mudder - hopefully I'll make it. Wish me luck!!!
