So many surprises

So often, I watch the news and get caught up in the "society's going to hell" drama. Participating in the 3-Day experience brings me a new perspective, which I'm grateful to have. I've seen so much "good," in such a brief period of time:

• friends that I hadn't expected to donate, made a donation, either to support me, or because they have been touched in some way by breast cancer
• friends have shared stories that inspire me to be a better person, like the friend whose sister is fighting breast cancer every day 
• and friends have offered support in whatever way they can.

Case in point: We have a new logo!! Stef and I are walking as a team, which means, of course, we need to have a graphic identity. I know just enough Photoshop to be a menace to society, so I reached out to a friend who is a fabulous illustrator and graphic designer. 

Dave Harvey  took a sketchy written description of what we were looking for, and ..... (drumroll please)...... ta da!

Thanks Dave, for donating your time and talent to help us out! Adding the graphic to solicitation letters lends an air of credibility to our request. It's also exactly what we wanted, even though we didn't know what we wanted.

So, think about it ... what can you do to make a difference?  I'm walking 60 miles over 3 days. I'm raising $2,300 to help fund research, education and outreach programs to help prevent, treat or survive breast cancer. What can you do?

Mama's got a new pair of shoes

New Balance WR760, the "official shoe" of the 3-Day

It's true. Nothing beats a new pair of shoes. Even when those shoes are for the gym...

I bought my first pair of running shoes today... and thanks to the wonderful guy at Hanson's Running Shop, it was a perfect fit in many ways:

1) It's the "official shoe" for the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure, the New Balance WR760.  New Balance is a supporter/sponsor of the walk, and I was delighted to be able to support them with my purchase.

2) They fit perfectly.  I tried on quite a few shoes and was able to identify what worked and what didn't work. My shins have been bothering me in the gym lately, probably because of my 10+ year old shoes. Tonight, no problem.

3) They're pink! It doesn't get more fun than that.

It was a great feeling to lace up new shoes at the gym. It's the simple things, I guess!

Fundraising kicks off with a bang

The past week has been a whirlwind of excitement for fundraising ... the support in so many forms has been so inspiring, it has made a difference -- both in reaching my goal of raising $2,300, but also in my motivation to keep going. I know I can do this.

• Tastefully Simple -- the catalog party is going gangbusters! It closes on Tuesday (still time to place your order), and we're already at $475!  If I get up to $500, my hostess will make a $75 donation to the walk, and Tastefully Simple will give me $75 in merchandise that I can use for gift baskets for future fundraising events.
• Personal donations -- this week, I received $200 in personal donations. This was an awesome start, and I'm grateful to those four individuals for being so generous, so thoughtful, and so positively positive. You rock. 
• Fun fundraising ideas -- we're planning a spaghetti dinner and trivia night up north for mid-May, and were debating something to do "down here." We went to a euchre fundraiser last night for a friend's boy scout troop, and holy cow, we had fun! They raised a lot of money, it was a relatively easy event, and we had a blast meeting all kinds of new people.

So here's my question: Would you be interested in a late February-early March euchre fundraiser? At Stef's house? (oops, hope she knew that!)  ..... let me know if the comments. It's not a commitment at this point; it's just giving us an idea of we can pull this off!

Yummy fundraising opportunity

Fundraising comes in all shapes, especially when you have to raise $2,300!  Thanks to the incredible generosity of a work-friend-consultant, Stephanie Jurva, I'm hosting a Tastefully Simple catalog party -- you get fabulous food and she'll donate 15% of the proceeds to my 3-Day for the Cure fund. It's a win-win for everyone!

If you're new to Tastefully Simple, or not sure what to order, I recommend:

• Beer Bread mix -- Absolutely awesome. It's easy, it's delicious. The kids love it (the alcohol cooks off), and the crust is just to die for. 
• Parmesan Biscuits - I hear these are a perfect copy of the biscuits at Red Lobster ... don't know (can't stand Red Lobster), but these biscuits are delicious. Just cheesy enough and a great crust. 
• Any of the dips, but especially the "Trio"  -- "Onion Onion," "Garlic Garlic" and "Bacon Bacon." It does not get better than this. You get the dry mix from Tastefully Simple, and mix it with mayo and sour cream. It's easy to make it "light," and they're awesome with crackers and veggies.

I'm going to surf the site for a few days and see what new things there are to try -- it's great stuff, and very reasonably priced.

Ordering is easy: Just visit www.tastefullysimple.com. Shop. When you get to the checkout/shopping cart, select "Find Host/Event." Type in my name. Select my party. Voila. 15% of what you just bought is donated to the 3-Day, thank you very much!

I'm closing the party on Jan. 25 -- to take advantage of the generous +5% donation (you usually get 10% in product, but Stephanie has a great deal going on right now and upped it to 15% for the party closed by Jan. 25).  If you have any questions, just ask. If you want to invite me over for dinner and try some of your new favorite things, I'm there!!

AS AN UPDATE: Thank you for your generosity and support! As a result of the fundraiser, the consultant (Stephanie Jurva) made a $75 donation to the 3-Day for the Cure, and we received $75 in Tastefully Simple merchandise to put into raffle prize baskets! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Lunks and other gym etiquette

So now that I consider myself a "card-carrying member" of a gym (five visits in a row -- counts for something right?), I'm enjoying the process of observing human behavior in that setting. Some observations:

• Some guys are just too into themselves. I'm a member at Planet Fitness (18 & Ryan), which prides itself on its "no attitude" and "no lunks" approach. However, that doesn't stop some guys from behaving like idiots when faced with a weight bench. 
• Cleanliness is next to godliness. I'm amazed that despite signs that say "wipe down equipment when you're done," and tons of sanitizer bottles and paper towels around the place, some people will sweat their booties off on a piece of equipment and leave it. Yummy.
• Directions are optional. One of the highlights of the gym is the 30-minute circuit they have ... 10 pieces of equipment and 10 stair stepping stations covered in 30 minutes. There are signs posted (again, something about those signs) that give directions on how to use the system ... move in order (each station is numbered 1 through 20). More than once, someone has gone in reverse (which messes the whole system up when we're both in "line" for the same piece of equipment with time ticking) or just popped in and done what they want. Never mind every piece of equipment in that circuit zone is available somewhere else on the floor.

OK. I got it off my chest. Feels good. Thanks for listening.

32 weeks and counting...

Yes, the countdown is officially on.  With the start of a new year comes a new countdown -- 32 weeks until the Susan G Komen 3-Day for a Cure! To go along with the countdown is a renewed training period. Although the "official" 3-Day training starts Feb. 27 (24 weeks), Stef and I have started our own training, focusing on strength training and overall conditioning. So it's off to the gym again ... I signed up at Planet Fitness and we're working it....

In addition to the training, we have started our fundraising efforts. We both need to raise $2,300 for the walk -- that's $4,600 total for those keeping track -- and that's a lot of money. There are a ton of ways you can help make a little dent:

• Bottles for Boobies: I took back some cans/bottles before New Year's and put $50 in our fund. If you have some that you'd be willing to donate, let me know -- I'll come get them and make a donation in your honor! Every 10 cents adds up ... and hey, I figure if y'all drink just one beer a day.........
• Basketball for Boobies: We're hosting a fundraiser with the Detroit Pistons -- join us for the game on Wednesday, Jan 12 against the Memphis Grizzlies. Tickets are only $5 a piece (yes, they're in the nosebleeds), with 100% of the proceeds going to the 3-Day for a Cure. If you're interested, let me know and we'll hook you up!

And so it's on ....