Garage full of fun

Today was a (much-needed) day off, and it was actually quite productive ... after taking back the remnants from our bottle drive (another $180!) and getting in a 3-mile walk at the gym (over the treadmill, for the record), Stef and I dug our way through her garage and started sorting stuff for our 3-Day for the Cure Garage Sale next weekend.

Wow, there's a lot of stuff.

We sorted through books. Housewares. Craft items. Electronics. Games. Kids stuff. Decor. Furniture.

And that's just what was in her garage. My garage is still to come, and we've got stuff to pick up from friends and family who have offered to donate.

That's the fun part of all of this: A majority of the items we have to sell has been donated by friends and family. It's a lot of fun sorting through, to see what they've given us, and I'm really excited to open the doors on Friday morning.

Watch for photos to come ... Stef's working on the CraigsList posting, which will have photos of some of the items we have to sell. And of course, save the date and stop by to say hi (or buy some treasures!) ... we'll be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday!  (Oh yeah ... pray for good weather. Please?)

Paying it forward...

I think I've lived in a little cocoon for the past few years. At least as far as charitable giving is concerned.

Don't get me wrong ... Keith and I have made donations to various organizations over the years, on a random basis (mostly for personal or tax reasons). We have been blessed with the fortunate circumstance that no one very close to us has been touched personally by something tragic. But being personally involved in raising money for a non-profit organization (i.e., the Susan G Komen 3-day for the Cure) has really raised my awareness of just how much is going on in my personal community, to raise money and/or awareness for various organizations.

This past Friday, Stefanie, Kraig and I attended a Relay for Life bowling fundraiser for our camping pals Nancy & Gary Cece. It was a lot of fun, and they raised a lot of money for the Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Good friends of ours, Chad & Kyersten Helsel, are also involved in the Relay for Life. .. Kyer and their two daughters, Lyndsey & Allison, are participating in the Harrison Township Relay for Life.

My sister-in-law, Nicole Schoeny-Carbary, is doing the MS Walk; Jaime Stebbeds and her beautiful daughter Morgan are participating in the Komen Race for the Cure. At work, my friend and colleague Maureen Elliott is our "team captain" for the Heart Walk. And I'm sure I'm overlooking at least a half dozen friend I don't even know about ...

There are so many wonderful events and activities going on this time of year... and so many people are involved in raising money for great causes.

Please think about what you can do, and what is important to you. Whether it's finding a cure for breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, juvenile diabetes, or something else that is important to you -- consider what you can do to make a difference.

Because every dollar donated DOES make a difference. It makes a difference for the organization sponsoring an event. And more importantly, it makes a difference to the champions -- the people like Maureen, Nicole, Kyersten, Stefanie and I .... the people who are inspired by your support to continue beating the drum to raise money to advance medical research, education and awareness.

Regardless of which cause or "disease" is important to you, please give ... because it's important. It does make a difference.  Whether you donate to an organization, an event or a champion, your financial support is more than just a dollar on the thermometer of "how much has been raised"... It is how we, as an organized society, show each other that we "get it." We understand that there is more to life than just us. We support one another, and we have faith in one another. And together, we can do whatever we are able to do to make a difference.

Make a difference. Today. Make a donation to something important to you.

Hot Dogs! Get your hot dogs!

I don't think I'll eat another hot dog again. Though in reality, I probably spilled more draft beer than anything, and it's not like I'm going to avoid that.

As a fundraiser for the 3-Day for the Cure, Stef & I volunteered to work a concessions stand at Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon. The deal is that you get a portion of the proceeds from the sale of beer (8%) and food/beverage (10%). You bring along 10 to 12 people to work with you, and the walkers split the proceeds.

It was a blast. It was chaotic. It was insane. It was cold. It was messy. It was fun!

I am so grateful for the crew we had last night:

• Kay & Hubert (Keith's mom and dad)
• Kevin, Cindy, Jason and Jenny Carbary (Keith's brother, his wife and their two adult children)
• David (Kraig's brother)
• Darren (Kraig's best friend from high school)
• And of course, Keith and Kraig (Stef's husband)

The 12 of us spent five hours wrapping hot dogs, pouring drinks, smiling, laughing and having fun. (Well, it wasn't so much fun when the hot cocoa ran out and we had a line of folks waiting for it!)  And we're gearing up to do it again in June (June 11 @ 7:05 p.m. against Seattle), with a new crew.

We'll find out our final fundraising total in a few weeks, but preliminary numbers indicate we'll raise close to $500 for the walk. We spent time with people we love, had a fun afternoon at the ballpark, and raised a lot of money for a great cause.  Life is good.

The Madness ends happily ever after. Unless you're a bulldog.

The Butler Bulldogs may have let me down, but our friends and family were definitely the heroes in this year's March Madness!

First off, thank you to everyone who participated in "Brackets for Boobies" ! We had 59 people sign up, and with an extra entry from a friend, we had a total of 60 "players" in the pool.

I haven't had this much fun watching athletics in a long time... The entire March Madness experience was quite entertaining (and maddening at times), and provided great "water cooler" fodder for weeks. I wasn't really in the running (I think the highest I ever made it was around 10th place, and I finished in 28th), but having someone to root for each game was a blast.

And in true March Madness spirit, the winner of this year's festivities started out in last place. In fact, she posted her dismay at her early standings on Facebook:

Just a few short weeks later, and she's our grand prize winner, bringing in $300! And in true Kyersten fashion, she was a sweetheart and donated a portion of her proceeds back to the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure!

When all was said and done, we raised $400 for the 3-Day walk.

Thank you again for all of your support -- whether it's a donation you've made, an event you came to, an activity you participated in, or our blogs that you're reading, thank you for the support. We could not possibly do it without you.

OCD girl is frapping out

On the one hand, I love the 3-Day training program -- it gives walkers a very specific regimen to train for the fact that you'll be walking 20 miles a day for three days. At the same time, I hate the 3-Day training program. Because I'm a compulsive "check-it-off-my-list" type of person...

Case in point: This week, we enter in "Week 19." According to my "personal trainer" (the auto-emails from the Komen folks), the training guide calls for 19 miles of walking this week:

• Monday - day of rest
• Tuesday - 3 miles
• Wednesday - 15 minutes cross training
• Thursday -5 miles
• Friday - 30 minutes cross training
• Saturday - 6 miles
• Sunday - 5 miles

Sounds great. Until "Real Llife" settles in and I have to adapt the schedule accordingly. And that's what fraps me out. Trying to figure out how to get it all in, while recognizing that I need more than just 45 minutes of cross training in a week (remember the goal is to NOT pass on out on the sidewalk the first day). And oh yeah, I have a full-time job, two kids and a husband. 

And because I'm OCD girl* this causes me a great deal of stress: I need more than 45 minutes of cardio. I have to get in at least 2 days of strength training. I have a Tiger's game to work on Saturday and can't possibly do that and walk 6 miles. It's still 30 freakin' degrees (snow in the forecast for Wednesday, thank you Mother Nature), and walking 5 miles on the treadmill on Thursday sounds like torture. But if I don't commit to the training schedule, I'm not meeting my own expectations. Is this the beginning of the end? Is this the slippery slope? 

Argh. See where I'm coming from?

Deep breath.

OK. Not walking every single mile recommended in the 3-Day training guide does NOT mean that I'm a failure. It does NOT meant that I can't walk 60 miles in three days. It does NOT mean that I'm not doing what I can do to raise awareness about breast cancer.

So, what I'm committing to now: I will try my best, each and every week, to do the most that I can possibly do, to train for this walk. 

So this week, I will try my best to get in 19 miles by doing  the following:

• Monday - strength training (30), cardio (30), walk 1 mile (15) by going to the gym in the morning
• Tuesday - cardio  (15) and walk 3 miles (50 minutes) at the gym in the morning
• Wednesday - strength training (30) and cardio (30) in the morning, 3-mile walk in the evening
• Thursday - cardio (15) and walk 3 miles (50 minutes) at the gym in the morning
• Friday - strength training (30) and walk 3 miles (50 minutes) in the gym in the morning
• Saturday - day of rest
• Sunday - walk 6 miles 

That brings me close to my goal: 3 days of strength training, 90 minutes of cardio and 19 miles of walking. Throw in a day of fundraising (Saturday), and I'm calling it a win.

And if I don't get there, well, I tried. 

*Disclaimer: I truly intend no disrespect  for those dealing with a very serious illness, but I simply acknowledge that I tend to obsess on things in a weird way.