26.2 Treasury

There is an awesome new treasury on Etsy featuring items with a MARATHON theme! There is some great stuff, including headbands, necklaces, motivational prints, and scrapbooks. You can check it out HERE.

My Review of Scrapbook Central Series - Scrapbook Case in Clear - 6 Pieces

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

These cases are designed to accommodate scrapbooking needs and will hold up to 12" x 12" papers. Perfect for separating projects and making them portable. These cases are also acid-free.

Features:

• Holds 12" x 12" scrapbook paper
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Scrapbook Central Series - Scrapbook Case in Clear - 6 Pieces

I need more of these!

By Laura Elaine Designs from Massachusetts on 10/24/2010

 

5out of 5

Pros: Versatile, Lots Of Storage, Easy To Use, Durable

Best Uses: Bedroom, Office

Describe Yourself: Homeowner

I was looking for a way to help organize my scrapbooking area, and these cases are PERFECT! They fit 12" x 12" paper and supplies with ample room, and stack nicely for easy storage. I also LOVE that they are clear, so I can see what is in each container. If my scrapbooking supplies continue to grow, I will definitely be purchasing more of these great cases!

(legalese)

Runner Girl

Are you a Runner Girl? 12" x 12" Premade Scrapbook pages with room for your race photos, memorabilia, and even your Race Bib!

You can see the full listing for this $10 set of pages on my Etsy site HERE.

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!
Laura Elaine

A place for everything and everything in it's place

What once started out as my husband's "sports basement" has now turned into my scrap booking room. The walls are decorated with all sorts of Red Sox and Patriots memorabilia, along with shadow boxes from our best/favorite/most memorable races. The only furniture down there is our old futon from college, an old end table and our old TV which isn't even hooked up to cable. So I decided to take over the room full time and give it some good use. It's one of two rooms down in our finished basement, and I can gate off the doorway so little fingers can't get into any of my stuff. The only downfall to all of this is that I can just leave my mess, since the room isn't used for anything else.

Well, today I decided that it had to end. I recently was given the opportunity to review an item from CSN stores, so I chose some clear plastic scrap booking storage cases. Six of them came as a pack and they have been sitting in their box for about a month now. So, it was time to clean and (finally) do the review. Here you have the before pics (I do some work on the floor, and some on the card table):

The Mess, view #1

The Mess, view #2

After some MUCH NEEDED cleaning, organizing, purging, and "oh wow, I forgot I had that!", the room was clean and organized!

Clean room view #1




Clean room, view #2

The bins worked great and I was able to organize them by started projects, paper, stickers, finished projects, and accessories. Now let's see how long it will stay like this...... :)

Our sport is a matter of seconds

So if baseball is a matter of inches, then running is a matter of seconds. Hubby is running the NYC Marathon in a few weeks, so he tagged on 5 miles before running the Newport Half Marathon Sunday to get in his last long run, 18 miles.

When he got to mile 10 of the half marathon (really his mile 15), he realized that he was going to be really close to breaking 2:00 hrs for the half and started to pick it up. He booked it all the way to the finish, and when he crossed, the gun time was 2:01:58. Since he does not like wearing a watch while running (it's distracting or itchy or something, I don't know why???), he was constantly checking the website all day to see if the results were posted.

When the official results were posted, he saw this:

1:59:59

He broke 2:00!!!!! Wa-hooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! One second, and he now has bragging rights forever that he broke the 2-hour mark!

Virtual 10K Race Results

I think that virtual races are the coolest. You can run them when you want (basically). You can wear headphones, push a baby jogger, etc., and not break any rules. And most of the time, they are for a good cause or with a fun theme.

10.10.10 was a huge race day. There were so many races, since it was a cool date, a day in the fall, and Columbus Day weekend. I was looking forward to running one, but since my sister ran the Chicago Marathon, I was out there cheering her on instead!!!

So when I heard that Jamie at Running Diva Mom was hosting a virtual 10K in honor of 10.10.10, I knew I was in! And I didn't have to run it ON 10.10.10 if I wasn't able to. Perfect!

Since I am working more hours this week to make up for being out on Monday, the only chance I was going to have to get in the 10k (without pushing the stroller, rules or no rules!) was Friday after work, before I picked up the little guy. Then, I watched the news this morning. Apparently, there is a HUGE nor'easter heading this way, starting tonight and lasting all the way until Friday night. Which means my planned 10k would be in the rain and wind tomorrow. No thanks! :)

I called my neighbor this morning to see if she wanted the company of a 2-year-old this morning so I could bang out this run. She said yes, of course (love her!) and off I went.

It was a cool, clear, dry day, the PERFECT running weather. I headed out with my GoLite Hydroclutch and my Ipod tuned to my running mix. It was soooo nice out! It felt great to be out there - this was definitely the farthest I've run in a while. By the end of about 5 miles, my mind and my breathing were still doing great, but my knees and hips just felt heavy. I knew I could make it, but definitely slowed it down A LOT in the last mile or so.

My finish time was 1:07:20 for 6.24 miles, 10:47 pace. Not too bad considering the longest I've run lately is about 4 miles. These are my splits for the approximate mileage (I don't have a garmin, so I was guessing on mile 4...I think I was off a little, but oh well!):

Mile 1 - 10:18

Mile 2 - 10:19

Mile 3 - 10:58

Mile 4(ish) - 9:26

Mile 5(ish) - 11:07

Mile 6 - 12:55 (mostly all uphill back to the house!)

Mile .24 - 2:16

All in all, I am very proud of myself. And I got to do a 10.10.10 race. Sort of :)

Have a great one!

Laura Elaine

Running Chics WINNER

I recently had the opportunity to review a Running Chics long sleeve thermal which I LOVE!! You can read all about my review HERE.

There were 31 entries in the giveaway and random.org selected....#8, TMB @ RACING WITH BABES! Congrats T! Send me your email address and I'll get the info to you asap!

Have a great day everyone!

Laura Elaine

Don't forget about my RUNNING CHICS Giveaway!

Click HERE to enter my current RUNNING CHICS Giveaway!!! It ends Tuesday, October 12 at midnight EST. Good Luck!! :)

My sister is a Chicago Marathon Finisher!

Here are some pics from yesterday's Chicago Marathon! My sister finished in 5:27:16. I am soooooo proud of her!

She's the one in the maroon - her 2 friends ran with her (blue shirt and pink tank waving at camera). They all did an awesome job!

All smiles at just before the half-way point!

High-fives at mile 17...it was HOT but she was still plugging along!

FINISHERS!!!!!!

We got to see them SIX times during the course! It was a lot of walking, but we had an awesome time and it was totally worth it!

Hope everyone else had a great LOOOONG weekend and did great in their races!

PS - Don't forget about my Running Chics Review and GIVEAWAY going on HERE!

Chicago Marathon!

I am in Chicago for the weekend to watch my sister as she runs in her first marathon! I am so incredibly proud of her and can't wait to cheer her on! I flew out here this morning from Boston to surprise her!!!!!! Can't wait to see her face as I greet her at the gate :) It's going to be an awesome weekend with the marathon and all, but also....I'm solo for the weekend. It would have been just too much for all 3 of us to fly out here, so as much as I love my little guy, it will be a nice little get-away for Mommy :)

Good luck to everyone who has a race this weekend...can't wait to read all the race reports!
Laura Elaine

PS - Don't forget my current giveaway - Running Chics! Check it out HERE

Running Chics Giveaway!

Have you checked out Running Chics lately? Running Chics are 2 women, Andrea Reynolds and Kristen Moreland, who are runners and moms, and have created an awesome running apparel company. And they have added some awesome new stuff to their collection just in time for the cooler fall weather!

Andrea contacted me about doing a review and giveaway and of course I said YES! She sent me one of their new long sleeve thermals - the Bella Knit Thermal, longer length. I chose maroon with white writing in size medium. I am usually a small to medium in tops and this fit perfectly. I also really like the longer length - especially while wearing low-rise jeans and chasing a 2-year-old around - I was sure that I was not giving a show to anyone :) It's super soft and super comfy and I might just have to buy some more!

From running tanks to running skirts to hoodies, Running Chics has something for everyone! Head on over to their site and check it out.

And now for the part that everyone is waiting for....THE GIVEAWAY!! One lucky reader, chosen at random, will win a Bella Knit Thermal of their choice from Running Chics.

To participate in the giveaway, please leave a separate comment for each of the following (first one is MANDATORY):

1 - Head over to Running Chics, browse around, and let me know what you LOVE! (Leave a comment)

Extra Entries:

2 - Be a follower of Laura Elaine Designs (Leave a comment)

3 - "Like" Running Chics on Facebook HERE (Leave a comment)

4 - "Like" Laura Elaine Designs on Facebook HERE (Leave a comment)

5 - What fall race are you currently training for?

Giveaway ends Tuesday, October 12 at midnight, EST, and winner will be chosen Wednesday October 13. Good luck!

Laura Elaine

Fall Runner's Race Bib Scrapbook

My newest scrapbook creation for sale at my Etsy shop: Runner's Race Bib Scrapbook in fall colors - just in time for the fall marathons! You can check out the full listing HERE along with all of my other running-related scrapbook items.

If you would like a chance to WIN a scrapbook OR a $10 credit toward my Etsy shop, check out these two current giveaways that I am a part of:

FREE SCRAPBOOK from Laura Elaine Designs

$10 Credit toward anything at my Etsy Shop

Have a great day!

Laura Elaine