I hit four miles in my Detroit Free Press half-marathon training.

My journey to the Detroit Free Press half marathon on October 15, 2016.

This is a guest post from Tricia Hexter. I invited Tricia to share her amazing story after she reached out to me via my blog after reading a post she discovered on Twitter. Once I heard her story, I knew she had to share it with more people. Her story is inspiring, and her courage/generosity is admirable.

You know the saying – “Nothing in life stays the same”…or something along those lines. I learned that lesson all too well in the past year raising twins. Nothing, and I repeat nothing, stays constant long enough for you to get comfortable. Aside from how sweet and lovable they are (which I’m told may change one day when they hit two and three!).

Every nonprofit has to host fundraising events. But, not every nonprofit gets creative with their fundraising events to attract new people who will hopefully turn into volunteers and supporters in the future.

Habitat for Humanity Detroit is one of the smart organizations that figured out how to have a super fun and unique fundraising event – Red Carpet Bash Detroit. I’m proud to serve as a social media ambassador for this event for the second time in three years (I would have last year if I hadn’t just had the #littlebabies!).

2013 was the best and most challenging year of my entire 29 years on this earth. It was the best because I had after a very tough pregnancy and 5.5 week hospital stay, I had two perfectly healthy identical twin boys, Nolan James and Evan William (aka, the #littlebabies). Words can’t begin to describe how incredible it has been to watch these little dudes grow from less than five pounds at birth to 22 pound 10-month-olds with insanely vivid personalities…and they’re crazy smart (I know, every parent says that, but come see them and you’ll see why I say that!). If you care to read more about my birth story, go for it.

I used to focus on the “love” topic more years ago, but once I redesigned my blog and shifted the content strategy I bit, I started talking less about the topic.

So I was excited when I read this post on Spin Sucks about the 99 Things I Love in 10 Minutes challenge because it’s a great opportunity to bring that topic back.

I had the opportunity to visit the newest La-Z-Boy concept store in Sterling Heights, MI to check out the products and learn how the 85-year-old business has evolved to appeal to new customers. The team at La-Z-Boy realized there was a stigma associated with their company. People hear La-Z-Boy and they immediately think recliners (I did!). Many don’t associate the company and its products with contemporary design and fashionable home decor. La-Z-Boy has worked hard to add a huge selection of home accessories to its product offerings, but not enough people (particularly women) know that. So what has the company done? Got a little more creative to change the business and the demographics of its customers.

It’s hard enough to take care of yourself when you’re juggling a million things every day and being pulled in several directions. Do you eat healthy enough every day? Do you get enough exercise weekly? Do you drink enough water? Do you go to the doctor for annual physicals/checkups and to the dentist twice a year?

I bet you answered no to at least two of my questions. Now, throw in the addition of raising tiny humans. It’s flippin’ hard to make sure you’re doing everything possible to raise happy and healthy children, on top of making sure your own mental/physical well being and happiness doesn’t slip too far down the totem pole!