Fast forward...

Time flies when you're having fun?  Let's see:

• 2013 3-Day was great. I raised $2,783 and enjoyed an amazing experience with our (then) new team the BC Babes. We danced our way through 60 miles of beautiful weather. Check out the photos on Facebook
• 2014 was another great event -- I raised $2,473 and walked with the Babes, ending up as the top fundraising team in Michigan, with more than $100,000 in donations! More photos on Facebook.... 
• 2015 started as the usual 3-Day season -- Somehow, I raised $3,300 for the Michigan event and said it was my last walk. But then ... realizing I had $1,000 to put toward another walk, decided to walk in San Diego. Raised my $2,300 for that, and had an Ah-MAZING adventure - and there are some great photos for that one!

So ... I took 2016 off. Cheered at the Michigan event, but didn't walk.

Then started missing it.

So now, I'm registered for the 2017 San Diego 3-Day. Why San Diego? 

• The views are amazing. If I am going to toil through 60 miles, it might as well be beautiful!
• The stay will be inexpensive. Through the generosity of a few friends, I won't have much (if any) hotel expense. Flight is about it. 
• I loved the event. Last year, there were 2,600 walkers in San Diego, compared to around 500 in Michigan. That makes a HUGE different in the energy and the excitement, and makes 60 miles a lot easier.

I can't quite walk away from the event. I've got some issues still (I don't agree 100% with everything Komen does), but on balance, it's important to continue walking. To continue raising money. To continue ensuring women have the most advanced detection and treatment options. 

In the year I took "off," I had three friends get scary mammogram results (that I know of). I had two friend diagnosed and treated (that I know of). And every few days, I look at the office next to mine and miss Debbie, who died entirely too young. 

So there you have it. Thanks for hanging around for another whirl.  And thanks for donating -- I couldn't do this without you: http://www.the3day.org/goto/jcarbary 

It takes a village...

Well, maybe not a big village, but the 3-Day wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is without the support of our family and friends. We've called on you to make a donation (there's still time... Donate today to Stef or Kraig!), and now with just eight weeks until the Michigan 3-Day, it's time for us to ask a very personal favor.... 

Send mail! 

Yup. Sending mail will make us so deliriously happy on the 3-Day. 

It's simple and easy ... Just send a note in an envelope (no packages are accepted) addressed to a walker, and when we get to camp on Day 1, it'll be waiting for us at the "post office" on site. After a really long day, it's amazing how impactful that simple note can be.

Send your mail to:

     Susan G. Komen 3-Day Camp Mail

     Attn: <name of walker>

     P.O. Box 208

     South Lyon, MI. 48178

That's it. Mail postmarked by August 6 will be delivered in time for the walk.

More spectator information (cheering station info coming soon) can be found: 

http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=learn_other_spect_MI_information

And of course, I can't sign off without another plea: Please take a minute to make a donation to Stef or Kraig.... We are still short of our goal to raise $6,900 among the three of us.

Stef's site: http://www.the3day.org/goto/stefsmith

Kraig's site: http://www.the3day.org/goto/kraigsmith

Milestones and markers

Today, we hit the 100-day countdown. In just 100 days, we'll embark on another 3-Day adventure, walking 60 miles over three days to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research, prevention and treatment.

It's sort of the official start of "3-Day season," and for those of you barraged with donation requests and fundraising event invitations for the past few weeks, you're probably thinking that's already long underway. Think of that period as "spring training" ... so if you haven't donated yet, it's time.

It's time to visit the3day.org and make a donation. It's easy to do:

• Navigate and find a participant to donate to: Visiting the3day.org takes you to the main 3-Day page. You can select "Donate" from the pink bar at the top and search for your participant. Putting in the name, you'll find the individual fundraising page for your walker, where you can make an online donation in a secure environment.

OR

• Visit a walker's personal fundraising page. You can go directly to the fundraising page for the walker when you have his/her personal URL: Stefanie Smith, Kraig Smith or Jennifer Carbary.

Now the fun part: Flip a coin. If it's heads, make your donation to Stef.  If it's tails, make your donation to Kraig. (And there was no science in that determination, but I'd love to hear some rationale for "heads/tails!")

I'm only $52 from goal, and I'm confident I'll get there over the next 100 days.  Stef and Kraig will hit goal too, but you can help them get there sooner by making a donation now. Get get them to goal, so they can focus on training and preparing for the event.

Off and running ...

OK, not really running. But this week, we're officially off and walking! It's "Week 24" ... the official start of our 3-Day Training Season. (To my fellow grammar nerds, those first caps are intentional... this IS a proper noun, you know.)

For most of the world, 24 weeks means six months. Which is a really, really long time. But for me (and my fellow 24-weekers), this time will fly by. We start following the recommended training schedule provided by the Komen folks (12 miles this week), but it also means that it's really time to get things moving. For us, this includes:

Fundraising!  Our fundraising efforts have begun...

• I dropped my donation letters last week, to ask all of my friends and family for their personal support by way of a direct donation to my 3-Day account. (If you didn't get a letter, it's just because I don't have your address, lucky you. But you can still show your support by donating online, today!)
• Brackets for Boobies launch in the next two weeks... Our annual March Madness fundraiser is a great time -- a chance to have some fun during the NCAA tournament, a chance to win some money, and a great fundraiser for the 3-Day. (Last year's winner took home $350, and we raised $350 for the 3-Day at the same time!)
• We're bringing back Tickled Pink at GoComedy this spring. We had a blast last year -- the evening included an improv show at GoComedy in Ferndale, pizza, prizes and more. We bought the house again, so we have to sell 100 tickets... watch for details coming soon.
• We're planning for another Garage Sale at Stef and Kraig's house. We did it two years ago and found it to be a really good fundraiser. It's a ton of work, but well worth it. If you have anything around the house that you've been looking to get rid of, give us a holler -- we'll come pick it up! 

So, it's off and running ... or at least walking quickly.  Next step: Hoping for spring to get here so we can actually walk outside!

I should be working. (Or, "This sucks.")

Yes, I should be working right now. Instead, I'm writing a hastily pulled together post to vent. I think I jinxed myself last week when I posted about how I was so fortunate that no one in my immediate circle has been affected by breast cancer. Strike that. A dear co-worker (my "right hand" and an incredibly amazing woman) got a call this afternoon that she has breast cancer.

I can't even imagine. Being in my office, working away (and unlike me, she was really working I'm sure), when the phone rings. "Hi there... biopsy positive ... lumpectomy ... schedule things... we'll be in touch."

There are no words. No words for when you answer that call. No words for the co-workers who hear you sobbing in the office next door. No words for when you have to tell your husband and two pre-teen daughters that life is about to be turned upside down and inside out.

Actually, the only two words that come to mind are "this sucks." Classy, eh?

So all I can do is send positive vibes (contrary to the two-word sentiment above) and hope for the best. If you have a moment, spare a positive vibe for my friend Debbie. She needs them right now.

It's the most wonderful time of the year ....

I know... Christmas is over. But in my little pink bubble, it is one of the most wonderful times of the year... It's 3-Day Pre-Season. OK, there's no such thing. But really... With the downer of closing out Christmas and New Year's, with a half foot of now-grey/yucky snow on the ground, grey skies and sick germs all around, the start of 3-Day season is a welcome distraction.

It started right after Christmas on a rather somber note. Bridget Spence, a blogger and 3-Day advocate I have been following, wrote a post to essentially say goodbye and ask that we not forget her. She was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 21, six months after a clinician told her she was too young to worry about a lump. Throughout years of treatments and clinical trials, she has been a tireless advocate for breast cancer awareness, including speaking at a Komen leadership conference in 2012. (I strongly encourage you to watch her speech on YouTube. It's only 11 minutes and so worth it. If I ever need a reminder why I walk, this is it.)

By now, you're wondering why that's part of a good thing.

What happened after Bridget wrote her post to say goodbye? An amazing, tremendous, uplifting and inspirational thing happened. What happened is exactly what Bridget asked when she said, "Please, don't forget about me." Within days, thousands of people spoke up and said "We could never forget you." Today, there are more than 200 comments on her blog. Numerous posts on other sites. And most amazingly, nearly 1,000 people (that I know of) are participating in "A Pearl to Bridget," a grassroots effort to make sure Bridget knows how many people she has impacted. I won't go into all the details; you can read more about the project on Coral Levang's blog or on Facebook (not sure if the link will work). Needless to say, I've sent a pearl. Two actually. Just because.

So that launched the 3-Day Preseason for 2013. All that uplifting "pink family" stuff.  It continued this week seeing the new 3-Day commercials on TV (check out the great "join us" video ... and consider yourself invited!). Then an acquaintance from work signed up to walk. And I got an email from the Komen folks that because of my repeat walks, I'm part of the "Commitment Club" (really just means I get free towel service on event... yahoo!). And I'm working on my donation letters (yours is coming!). And I'm really, really looking forward to getting together with our new teammates for dinner and maybe even some winter walks (we joined a new team this year... yay for new friends!).

So it is one of the most wonderful times of the year. My world is turning a lighter shade of pink, which is a fresh relief after looking at dingy grey skies and dirty snow.

We did it!

The weather was beautiful. The company was awesome. The cheering was plentiful. The cause was great.

This year's 3-Day for the Cure was perfect.

Going in to this year's event, I wondered if it would feel like a let down after last year. I had a great first year experience, and wasn't sure if my expectations would be too high to be realistic.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This year's walk experience was so different than last year. If I had to give it a one-word description, I think I'd pick FUN.

Our walking company this year was just amazing. We started out with the four of us (Stef, Kraig, Greg, me) and after lunch, ran into Sandra and Kathryn, friends of ours from training walks with the BC Babes. We then found Cheryl (a solo walker who we trained with a few times). And throughout the weekend, we ran into Missy and Pam (walkers from another team).  (You can see photos of the event on Facebook, in my public photo album.)

Top row (left to right) - Greg, Sandra, Stef, Kraig, Pam
Bottom row (left to right) - Missy, Kathryn, Cheryl, Me

 That's probably a boring way of saying: We walked with some amazing people! We laughed a lot. We sang. We danced. We teased. Walking with this group of people at various points throughout the three days made the miles go by so much more easily. And when we were hurting, there was someone right next to you to push you through.

Walking 60 miles is really hard. (I started to write my litany of aches, pains and complaints, but erased it -- that's just not how the 3-Day should be remembered or thought of. Or as Sandra would say, "That's not how we roll.") But when you've got great company, great weather, great cheerleaders and a great cause, the "fun factor" trumps the challenges.

So thank you to each of you for making this experience so amazing... from my walking pals to our home-base cheerleaders (mom, you were amazing!), to our family (thanks Keith for handling all the home/kid duty) and those who sent camp mail or encouraging words on Facebook/Twitter posts. Thank you.

And now, let's resume regular programming. For a little while at least. We've already registered for 2013 (we'll be walking with the BC Babes, our training pals) and we're plotting out our strategy for fun. Are you ready?