Day 89

Today is Sunday (actually Palm Sunday). Had a nice morning at church followed by a celebration birthday lunch with some good friends. I had a really nice time. Ironic that they gave me a summer Vera Bradley purse. Here I am training for the 3Day event and I got a new purse. Getting a purse isn't odd, but the ironic part is that Vera Bradley (the designer) puts a lot of her profits into breast cancer research. Very admirable in my opinion. We're all doing what we can for the cause with the tools we have. Doesn't matter how big or how small ... it's about being productive and making a difference.

We had our first 3Day team meeting yesterday to review some stuff for our upcoming team fundraiser on April 24th. Mostly everyone seems to be enthusiastic and excited about the event. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good event with a good turnout. The team spirit is definately there!

Day 84

Today is Tuesday ... still a bit cool, but at least the sun is shining. Makes such a difference. I'm heading over to the mall after work with my daughter in tow do get 3-4 miles in. I promised her if she'd keep me company walking then I'd feed her dinner ... such a deal!

Today I hit a milestone. I've raised over $3,000 for the 3Day for the Cure. Truly unbelievable how much support I've received and how generous people have been. We'll be having our first team meeting this Saturday for our team's Silent Auction/Bake Sale in April. It will be the first time that everyone has met everyone. I figured it was about time. I'm looking forward to it. Mostly everyone's fundraising totals are starting to climb which is awesome. When I comes to fundraising ... I get pumped! I hope it's contagious. :0)

Day 80

TGIF ... Thank Goodness It's Friday and TGFF ... Thank Goodness For Friends. My graphic may seem weird, but does anyone remember the 'Happy Baby Dance' on the TV show 'Ally McBeal'? Made me smile everytime I saw it.

We've had such beautiful weather all this week, I just can't wait for it to stick around. I heard a nasty rumor that it was going to get a little icky this weekend into next week. Funny how a week ago it was 45 degrees and that was nice, but now we've been spoiled and consider it a setback. Go figure.

Last weekend's 3Day fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings was a success, at least as far as I'm concerned. The event raised more than $225, but not only that it was an opportunity for fellowship and increasing awareness. I had several people attend, many of whom who had never been to that restaurant before(so that was a perk of publicity for the restaurant). I had 2 teammates and their families attend. I had friends and family attend. And I had total strangers (to me) attend because word of the event had been passed on in one way or another. I also got to meet my daughter's 9th grade honors English teacher; funny how my daughter wasn't quite as thrilled as I was (but then everything is awkward when you're 14 ... lol). I was also honored to have 2 other 3Day walkers attend because they'd seen the information on the 3Day website. How awesome is that?

I hope to get some good walking in tomorrow. At least 6 miles. My schedule has been a little crazy the last 2 weeks, but I am a church administrator and it is the lenten season ... so I guess that kind of explains it.

Day 76

I'm loving the blue sky and sunshine outside my office window. While it was only 32 degrees out when I left the house this morning, I skipped the coat and wore a thick sweater instead. I'm optimistic for the rest of the day.

My 3Day fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings on Sunday seemed to go well. Thank you to everyone who came out to show their support. I did discover that doing a 50/50 raffle was difficult given the circumstances. I couldn't go to the customers at their tables to see if they wanted to purchase a 50/50 ticket. I was only allowed to have a sign at my table and they had to come to me. Knowing what I know now I think I would have been better off getting 3 prizes donated for a raffle instead. I would have had the visual of the prizes to draw attention to it. Lesson learned. I won't know the actuall $$ results of the day's activities until a little later in the week.

Now it's on to planning auction items for the team's event on April 24th. It's been a very tiring couple of weeks. Between work, additional functions at church and Emily's school, family obligations and a time change thrown in for good measure ... I'm feeling pretty tired. However I did enjoy the fact that last night the sun was still out when I got home from work. I was able to walk my 3 miles outside before dinner which was nice - however having an 8:00pm dinner wasn't a real good idea. I think that said, my schedule just needs a little bit of tweeking.

Day 72

This week has gone so much better for me than last week. My fundraising donations are still trickling as a result of emails and letters. Plus I have my Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser on Sunday. I'm anxious to see what kind of response I get. Once this one is done I'll need to focus on getting my donations for the team silent auction / bake sale next month.

My training feels like it's back on schedule this week as well which makes me feel good. I'll be honest though the next couple of weeks of training look a bit overwhleming to me. My long days of walking for now are on Fridays and Saturdays. But I still work til 4:00 on Fridays, then my daughter has music lessons til 6:00. getting 8-10 miles in on Fridays is going to be difficult. Starting in June I will have Fridays off during the summer months which will help a lot. Until June I may have to work with Saturdays & Sundays and improvise when I have to. I'll get the total mileage in somehow, it may just not be in 2 back-to-back days like I'd like. That part may have to wait til June.

Day 70

I can't believe that today is the 70th day of my journey and this blog. I am feeling better this week after being under the weather for most of last week. I walked 4.5 miles on Monday and 3.0 miles this morning before work. Yesterday (Tuesday) would have been one of my 'cross-training' days. I planned to go the gym after work, but postponed that until tomorrow. Instead I went with 3 other people I work with and we did a 2 hour 'team building' service project. We went to a local outreach center and bagged 200+ bags of food for them. We laughed that it got brighter in the room the more we packed. Could be because when we started we were working at a table that was surrounded by pallets of boxed food (over 8' high). The more we worked the lower the boxes went and more light came in around us. Kind of symbolic that our hearts got lighter at the same time. It was just another example of how it's so easy to forget that there are others out there who are struggling (often through no fault of their own). It's good to stop and think about other people and stop and take a good look at ourselves. We all need to stop and ask ourselves 'What can I do to help? What can I do to make a difference?'

I think that all related back to the 3Day experience for me. I'm a survivor. I'm fortunate. I'm blessed with wonderful friends. I'm in a position to create awareness and hopefully make a difference. Through my fundraising and training if even 'one' person gets a mammogram or is encouraged to ask their doctor questions, it will have all been worth it.

My pastor said something interesting in his sermon last Sunday (which coincidently was on 'service'). He said that while we often might wonder 'What can I possibly do to help someone else?' that God only gives us gifts and talents that will someday reach out and touch someone else. We may not always know the time or the place that it'll happen, but we should never give up. It may be the person we weren't even looking for that needs our help the most. Just something to think about.

Day 65

Blue sky and sunshine ... you gotta love it. This week had its highs and lows. On a high point I got 2 more donations. On a low point, I was feeling under the weather for a couple of days, so I'm behind on my walking this week. I realize the 3Day 24-week training schedule is just a guideline, but I always take everything so literally. As I was vegging 2 nights in a row in my pjs I was beating myself up (mentally) about getting behind. But my body just laid there and told my mind 'too bad'. It's not a good sign when you start talking to yourself, lol.

Today is a new day and the sun is out. A bit chilly still but hope to layer up and walk a few miles outdoors this afternoon. That should get me back in the swing of things. Think while I'm out walking I'll hand deliver a few flyers to the neighbors for next weekend's Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser.

Day 61

It's been a few days since I blogged. I'm really not sure where the time goes and especially in such a hurry. I've had a couple of days this week of feeling under the weather, but still got a 3-mile outdoor walk in yesterday. The sun was out and it wasn't too chilly. I thought the fresh air might do me some good. I'm pretty sure though that I wouldn't have won any races. But that's o.k.

My fundraising is right on target. I have been sending some emails with flyers out for my Buffalo Wild Wing event on March 14th. I haven't started on the auction too much. Figure I'll get one event out of the way before I start on the next. There's always so much to do. Someone told me once that fundraising and training for the 3Day is almost like having a 2nd job. I'm beginning to think it's a pretty good description. That and the fact that I am an Administrator at a church and right now we are in the midst of Lent makes for some pretty busy days.

I just need to stay focused ... one step and one obstacle at a time. It'll all get done, it always done.