FIRST GOAL - COMPLETED!

HOLY MACANOLY! We did it! We (because if it wasn't for you guys, this would have never happened) raised $2,300 in less than 3 months. Love you all!!


PS... you can still donate if you haven't already because the more donations, the merrier!

A HAT

A hat.

Such a simple thing normally but this one is special.

This hat is Gloria Myer’s and her daughter brought it to me today to wear during the walk.

I am honored to get to wear her hat.

87%! Time to get moving!

Up until now, this walk has been all about the donations and not so much about the training. I cannot believe I am already at 87%! I have $290.00 to raise to get to $2300 so that I can officially walk this. When I signed up for this walk, I never ever thought I would have the money raised at this point. Derek & I were talking about fundraising events & other options we could do this summer to get me to my goal and thanks to the generosity of everyone who has donated, the stress of fundraising is no more! I love all of you and appreciate your donations SO much! I always want to send out a special thanks to my friend and old neighbor, Kim, who asked her friends/family to donate for me (since she is unable to walk it with me) and they were just so generous and they don’t even know me! So now that the money is almost raised, I have no excuse to not be training. My intense training regimen is about to begin (If I don’t lose my baby weight after this, there is no hope for me!). Thank goodness there are training walks where I get to meet other people who are walking because I am starting to freak out about doing this by myself now. No cell phones are allowed on the walk (I might die!) and no headphones so I need to make some walking buddies ASAP!! I also will have to find a “roommate” for my tent since it sleeps two people. It would be nice to know the person beforehand rather than meeting them as we crawl into our tent to sleep… what if they snore? Oh my… what if I snore?!?

Pamm and her story...

Another friend of mine, Pamm, was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple weeks ago (see my previous post below). She asked that her story be shared in hopes that it might help save another life...
Pamm started noticing a pain in her breast around the end of January and just thought she was working out too hard and had possibly pulled a muscle. On February 7th, she discovered the lump and by February 15th, she was at the doctors office getting checked. She said the only reason she went to the doctor to have it looked out was because of Gloria and her battle with breast cancer (see "Why I'm Walking"). Pamm was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer. She will be having a double mastectomy on April 5th. I can't imagine what kind of decision that must be but Pamm is a fighter and she said she is going to do whatever it takes to save her life and with that attitude, I am sure she is going to win this battle! She has a lot to live for including an adorable grandson, Aiden, that is the same age as Addison.
This is just another reminder to make your annual visits to the doctor, if you are over 40 to get an mammogram and give yourself breast exams on a regular basis. You just never know what you might find.
The day Gloria Myers passed away, my first thought was that another angel got her wings. She was a wonderful person and we knew that God would use her as one of his angels to watch over us. Turns out we were right!

Another reminder of why I am doing this walk...

It’s not as if I need to be reminded of why I am doing this walk because Breast Cancer is everywhere. I hear about it in some way every day. I am proud to be walking the 60 miles and excited to do it. However, last night I came home to an email from a friend letting me know that she was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Really?! Someone else I know was diagnosed?! What in the heck is going on!? I had so many questions for her but I know she does to and right now it’s too soon for answers. A few minutes before I got her email I had started watching ‘Supernanny’ which was episode about a father of 3 little boys who lost his wife & their mother to breast cancer and his family was falling apart without her… bring on the tears. I can’t imagine what that woman went through knowing she was dying and having to leave her young children and I was so upset that I couldn’t stop crying. Just when I had pulled myself together, I got the email from my friend and though I know she is a very strong person, it still made me very upset thinking about her having to hear the words “Breast Cancer” come out of the doctors mouth. I am sending up prayers for her and asking you to do the same.

So this is why I’m walking. For my friends. For the ones I love. The more research they do, the more chances of finding a cure.

47%

Donation update: I have hit the 47% mark tonight... I am almost half way there! I cannot believe the emotions that pour out of me every time I see a donation was made. Asking for people to donate was without a doubt the hardest part of this and to see people responding positively has been fantastic.

I have officially started my training! My mentor (as I call her since she has done this many times before and knows the ropes!) told me to focus on getting into shape right now and not really worry about the long walks yet. I have started running again (which I forgot how much I love to do!) and plan on knocking out some 5k's in the next few months!! Woo Hoo!

THANKS!

I am 33% to my goal for donations! I can't believe it!! The generosity of the people I know is amazing, it just shows I am friends with wonderful people! I just want to send out my sincerest thanks to the people who have already donated. It's hard to put into words how grateful I am and how excited this has made me! I am ready for this walk now!! Well, okay... I could use a little more time training, I would probably die after the first 6 miles if I tried to walk it today. :-)

Why I'm walking...

I am walking 60 miles in November in honor of my coworker who passed away in December, Gloria Myers. Gloria and I worked together for 9+ years. She was an amazing woman and I am lucky to have known her. I walk this for her. She fought a couragous battle and giving up three days of my life and walking 20 miles each day is the least I can do. (This picture is of Gloria and her daughter Skye).

I would love it if you could make a donation! I have to raise $2,300 to walk this! Thanks!

My Husband

After registering and sleeping on my decision, I woke up this morning just as motivated! I thought maybe I'd chicken out over night but I am still ready to get working on this and raising my money!!

Tonight as I was cooking dinner, Derek came up to me and said "I'm really proud of you for doing this". I know that he supports me in everything that I do but hearing it out loud was fantastic. I love my husband!!

I REGISTERED!!!

I did it! I am still in shock :-) I went to a "Get Started Meeting" last night for the 3 Day Walk for the Cure and though I just went to get more information & to get my questions answered, I left a registered walker!! The meeting was great and they answered my questions & more. I have been wanting to do this ever since I saw the commercials on TV (heck the commercials make me cry!) a few years ago but never thought I could raise $2,300. Then Gloria passed away from her Breast Cancer on Christmas Day and it changed my way of thinking about this walk. Suddenly it wasn't something that I thought might be fun to do, suddenly it became something I had to do. I realized that yes, I can do this. I can raise $2,300. I can train for this even with 2 little kids tagging along everywhere I go. I need to do this and I am motivated!

So be warned... I will be knocking on your door for donations! :-)