St. Patrick's Day 8K Race

**Race update...scroll down for today's card (no, I won't be offended if you just want to look at the card)**

The 2011 St. Patrick's Day 8K was today at Federal Plaza. Julie and I took the Metro downtown and got there about 30 minutes before the race start. There was a sea of green so we knew we were in the right place. Many people were wearing green costumes to commemorate the holiday: green tights, green hair, green antennae...we even saw a group of people putting on what looked like turtle shells made out of fabric. I wasn't sure if I'd see anyone that I knew at the race, but right when we got off the Metro, I saw two people from my spin class! Maybe I can ask them tomorrow how their race went. I thought the race went really well for me...let me elaborate.

• I was able to keep a consistent pace and finished as strong as I could (I envisioned Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser yelling in my ear "PICK UP YOUR FEET!"). I finished the race without walking at all and without blisters.
• It was nice to have my sister with me to cheer me on.
  
• I was also thankful for the nice sunny weather and for the race organizers who did a superb job getting things ready to go on time and making sure that the runners were where they needed to be at the right time. The mile markers also helped.
  

2011 time- 52:43 minutes (10:37 pace). Hooray, improvement!
(For reference...2008 time- 54:22 minutes).

Next up: Capitol Hill Classic 10K. Anyone want to join me?

**Today's card**

Ok, so for today's card, I hopped over to the Cards Magazine blog. The challenge this week is to make card that have at least 10 buttons. There's a lantern/banner/things-that-hang-from-string trend going on in the papercrafting world, so that's what first popped into my mind. I used a selection of buttons and mini glue dots to make today's card. It kinda reminds me of this card that I made back in July, but I think the buttons give it a different feel.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Rouge
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Stamps: Studio G (butterfly, sentiment), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (squiggly line)
Button: Favorite Findings in Pink, Ocean. Bucket White from Michaels
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Other: Studio G glitter glue