Kids are AWESOME

In this day and age, kids seem to get a reputation for being a bit more outspoken and rude than I ever remember being allowed to be. But in reality, there are a lot of amazingly generous children out there and I have two stories to share.

The first is my teammate's daughter, Storm. She came with her mom to the yard sale this weekend and spent every single second finding ways to help us. From putting up the canopy to lugging boxes. I was doing facepainting, so when she saw someone with children, she directed them to my table. She made free sno-cones to hand out to people on the last (and hottest) day. And when she got "bored" with that, she started pulling in customers!!! She made up some signs on posterboard and held them up so the cars passing by would know what this was a breast cancer fundraiser. Several people stopped to make a donation. All on her own, she raised $50 for her mom's goal. STORM IS AN AWESOME KID!!!!

The second story was about the neighbor's children. Late Sunday afternoon, they set up a little lemonade stand. We figured that they were hoping to grab some of our customers....a trickle down effect of sorts. We felt badly for them b/c it was very slow. We had actually started to pack up. After and hour, they packed up as well....

.....and then walked down the street to give us the $11 they had raised!!!

How amazing is that?!?!?!

Last year on the walk, we walked past an elementary school. Along the entire fenced in schoolyard were dozens of young children, wearing pink, and holding up signs to cheer us on.

KIDS ARE SUPER COOL!!!!

Pink Penguin Extravaganza!!!!

Hello all. Yet another TIRED Monday after a busy, busy, CRAZY BUSY weekend (and hellishly long week beforehand).

No walking this time.....instead the focus was on fundraising. My team captain, Samantha, held a yardsale at her place in North NJ. She invited the rest of us Pink Penguins along to try and raise money for our individual efforts....we called the event the PINK PENGUIN EXTRAVAGANZA.

I spent the ENTIRE WEEK baking like a madwoman. I made 6-7 cakes. I made 4-5 batches of brownies. I made several batches of cookies.

Keep in mind, this is on top of working: 13hrs (mon), 11 hrs (tues), 10 hrs (wed/thurs). And even though I told my boss I only wanted to work 4hrs on Fri, I ended up working 6.5 (on 4hrs of sleep since I was up until 1am icing cakes the night before). I didn't get to bed before midnight all week AND I had to wake up at 4:30 am on Saturday.

I made $130 and I was happy with that. Not all of that was from the baked goods. I also had some magnetic car ribbons and other items with the pink ribbon on it. I did free face painting for the kids and some parents donated $ for that.

Samantha actually had a write up in the paper of the event...she put it in a few days ahead of time. As a result, she received many donations of items to sell. And by many....I mean MANY MANY MANY MANY!!! And people dropped by with checks already made out to the cause. She made $850 in the first day alone!!! Insane!!! And she has 2 people lined up to come take the leftovers to yard sales at their houses and donate a portion of the proceeds back to us.

I need to take a page from her book when doing my fundraising events next year. It's been a bit more difficult to have a HUGE yardsale b/c I don't have my own place. I'm hoping that will change within the next 6 months (as I have plans to take advantage of the real estate market and buy a house).

It was a great weekend. Not only did I get to subtract money from the WHAT I NEED TO GET TO MY $2200 GOAL column, but I got to hang out with my 2 crazy teamates and friends. It was a lot of fun!!!

Between the money I raised this weekend and the money I still have to add to my account from the August bake sale @ work, I should be around $1450 raised. So if anyone should happen to see a $750 bill lying on the ground, keep me in mind!!!

My Feet Rule!!!

I have been very impressed with my feet lately. I was very mean to them last year. I did the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk (60 miles in 3 days). I slacked off on my training in the 6-8 weeks before the event, which made the 3 Day Walk even more tough than it needed to be.

But my feet still love me!!! They haven't punished me once. I made it through last year without any huge blisters or losing any toenails. Sure, they scolded me a bit for 48hrs after I did the 3 Day, but it was a loving "hey.....we took care of you, so you better take good care of us next year" kind of thing. A little reminder to remember those lessons I learned.

This year, they have been awesome! I didn't start training until July. And I didn't start off easy. Hell no....I went out and walked 25 miles my first week! And each weekend after, I kept increasing the miles. 15 miles one weekend.....22 the next. This past weekend I did 27 miles.

I'm so proud of my feet. I love them as much as they love me! After I do this crazy walk YET AGAIN, they are going to get a major spa treatment!!!

9 Weeks!!

It's been shamefully long since I've posted. Not that anyone reads it all that much anyway...but still.

I got a late start but now I'm training like a mad woman. For the past few months, I didn't do any walking at all. Then, one day I looked at the calendar and said HOLY CRAP!!!! And that weekend I did 16miles (8 on Sat and 8 on Sun). AND NO SIDE EFFECTS!

I've been increasing it bit by bit each weekend. Last weekend I did 15miles on Sat and 8 on Sun. I was very tired, but still felt great. Tomorrow I will be doing 17miles.

Being a Training Walk Leader has really helped keep me going. If I submit an official walk, I have to show up. Even if nobody signs up for it, I still show up JUST IN CASE! So far I only had one long walk where nobody came out to walk and I managed to do the entire distance on my own. YAY ME!!!

Fundraising is a bit scary. I need $2200. I've raised $1169. The fundraising letters I've sent out really haven't yielded much. With a little more than 2 months left, I do feel moments of panic. During those moments, I try my best to "give it up to God" and trust that He will find a way to make it happen.

I've also been doing Fundraising Fridays at work....bringing in baked good to sell. Most weeks I sell out. First 2 months I made $75 each time. July was only $60, but that was b/c I only did it for 2 Fridays. This month, I'm already up to $100!!!!

Next weekend, my team leader is having a yard sale at her house. So I am going to set up a face painting and bake sale table in the hopes of grabbing additional donations. Even if I don't make money on it, I'll get to hang out with Miss Sammy Penguin!!!

Well, I guess that's all. Look for more updates in the NEAR future!!!