Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part III

We're about halfway through my raffle to raise funds for The 3 Day and so we're up to Part III of my series featuring the amazingly generous folks who contributed their time & talent to the event. Because of these wonderful artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy!

I am a part of the amazing Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team. Not only a very talented group of people, but also very kind, generous and supportive. I've already featured a few members in the last few weeks (mermaiden, Gypsy Moon Art Studio, aquariann, Fairies Nest, Threads of Magique, and Meri), so today we'll check out the rest of the fantasy artists that contributed!

Plushroom Soup created this adorable little plushie called Wings of Hope Owlet. I think the name speaks for itself.

Tremendous supporter of my 3 Day fundraising, FaerieKat made these delicate earrings. She says, "In the Victorian language of flowers, Canterbury Bells signify gratitude, and gratitude is exactly what I had in mind when I created these dainty cup-and-saucer version earrings to support awareness for research and outreach efforts to cure breast cancer. "
Fairy Queen Crochet hand crocheted each rose colored flower on this choker and even attached the center one to an awareness ribbon. This piece reminds me to use my voice and spread the word. Yes, the 3 Day is about fundraising, but it's also about awareness.

Daydreamer Art has been a strong proponent of my fundraising and the cause. She was inspired by Oestre, now more commonly referred to as Ostara, the German Goddess of Oestre/Eoster- or also known as Easter when she created this piece.
88Links contributed this armband that rests on your upper arm like a metallic ribbon. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve.

Inspired by spring, Anika's Art hopes that like the blooming flowers, hearts will open for hope. I do, too.
Phenome Gnome shares that Feline Fairies are considered extremely good luck and they are excellent guardians of the fairy realm. Sounds like we can all use to have one around. Believe!

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!
It's super easy: check out the amazing goods, buys tickets (which really means donate to my fundraising for the 3 Day), and comment on my blog to let me know. That's it!

The Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection

About a month ago I had made a very special announcement about my fundraising for the 3 Day: the insanely talented mailler Rebeca Mojica of Blue Buddha Boutique agreed to provide me with literally thousands of pink jump rings. This was an amazing sponsorship for me because I've admired Rebeca and her work for a very long time so I'm thrilled to be able to work with her, but also because her generosity will allow me to donate ALL proceeds from the sale of items in the Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection to Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure!

This year, the 3 Day is using the song Pink Warrior by Candy Coburn as their theme song. The warrior woman in me was inspired to combine my passion to find a cure with my love of chain maille (the armor of warriors past). My goal with Athena's Armoury is to equip your inner warrior with chain maille to bring out your strength and confidence. Whether you are undergoing chemo, have won the battle, are supporting a loved one, know someone who has lost the fight, or are standing up to have your voice heard... you have the heart of a warrior.


I'm thrilled to share with you the beginnings of the collection. There will be a few pieces in the collection that will be remade after they sell, but there will also be many one of a kind items that once they sell they are gone. It's important to me to include these unique items as a reminder that every situation and every person dealing with breast cancer is unique and have their own battle to face. There are many more pieces coming in the future; including more jewelry and accessories, but also housewares like candle holders and dream catchers.


All items are available in both Athena's Armoury on Etsy as well as Artfire.


And if you haven't checked it out yet, don't miss my handmade raffle benefiting the 3 Day! All you have to do is check out all of the amazing goodies that have been donated, buy tickets (aka: make a donation), and then let me know about it. Easy peasy.

The 3 Day: Week Nine Progress Report

It's a long one: I've got a lot to share with you!

Training
I had my followup visit with the doctor and feel a little more reassured that plantar fasciitis really is what I have. I was questioning the diagnosis because my symptoms are so vastly different than what I've heard from so many other people. My problem is really in my arch and what he explained to me is that the plantar fascia ligment really is the only thing in the arch that could cause the pain that I experienced. Apparently, I'm not normal since everyone else's pain is in the heel. I guess it's all about the mechanics of how I'm built and how I walk. It seems that this is a condition that I may have had previously, but it just got aggravated & inflamed from overtraining (if 9-16 miles per week was overtraining, I wonder what's going to happen when I start doing 30-40 miles per week) and unsupportive shoes (thanks a lot New Balance).

For the time being, I'm still following the icing, splint, stretching, anti-inflammatory, resting routine... at least for another couple of weeks until my next visit with him. He prescribed a semi-custom orthotic to see how my feet respond to it before we go all out and order the custom orthotic. I really hope that the one I have now fits the bill! It cost handsomely and the custom one will cost even more. In addition, the one I have right now is just big enough that I really need to go buy some new shoes so that my feet aren't cramped. Apparently, if I have to get a custom orthotic I will have to get yet another new pair of shoes for it to fit into. Sigh... I hope after the inflammation goes away, I can wear some shoes other than sneakers...

The crazy thing about all of this is that my feet have felt worse this week than they did before I went to see him (and before they were taped up!). Ah, well... I can only imagine it's because they are being stretched so often. Here's to hoping that they start to feel a bit more normal soon.

Even though I can't go walking, I've decided that I can at least continue to stretch and strengthen with my yoga and pilates. I think that the yoga can only help at this point and I think that the pilates is going to be a huge benefit for strengthening my core for the event. I do hope that the inflammation calms down soon: training officially starts mid-May!

A woman that lives less than two miles away from me contacted me through the 3 Day's share list to see if we can do some training walks together since we live so close. She sounds like a nice lady & I'm looking forward to doing some walking with her, but I had to tell her that I'm holding off on any more training until I see the doctor again. Needless to say, she totally understood.


Fundraising
People are still offering to donate goods to my raffle! I'm so thankful for the generosity of the handmade community, but I've had to stick with the beginning of the raffle as my cut off date for item contributions. I have 23 amazing artists contributing $600 worth of products and am now working on selling tickets (aka getting donations). The handmade raffle has already raised $80 to find a cure & there's still three weeks left! I'm hoping to do a couple more markets or tables outside stores in that time, too, but more on the market later. It's just $5 for your chance to win one of these amazing goodies, so please check it out!

The lovely ladies at The Herb Society allowed me to set up my fundraising goodies at the meeting this week. It wasn't a huge success, but I walked away with $15 more towards the 3 Day than I had before the meeting. I also got to talk to one woman who has participated in the event and another who's considering doing it. It was also nice to be able to set up my goods in a fairly casual setting before doing the market on Friday.

The Tampa Downtown Market was a lot of work both getting ready for it and doing it, but it was also a lot of fun. I spent countless hours printing out breast cancer awareness literature, being crafty with banners and signs, figuring out my table set up, etc. So the time spent preparing for it isn't necessarily commensurate with what I raised but I have to say that I really enjoyed it!


I had quite a few sales of the Pink Ribbon Accessories that I got specifically for events like this. You can also get a little sneak peek of the Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection that I've been working on in this photo. I'm hoping to have the beginnings of the collection listed for sale online this week.


I also had two raffles going: one was the handmade raffle and I also had another to see Cats at the Straz Center in Tampa. The handmade raffle was quite popular with many people wanting to buy the items outright!


I have to give a big old thanks to the Tampa Downtown Market who actually donated the space for me to use for my fundraising tent! They were also nice enough to include a blurb about me and what I'm doing in their weekly newsletter. One woman came to my tent to support me after reading that blurb. Every little bit helps and it does not go unnoticed!

I also am SO grateful to Scott who is by far my #1 supporter. After working crazy hours for the past couple of weeks, he could have slept in Friday morning, but instead he was up with me at 6:00am loading the truck for the market. He helped me set up the tent, ran back and forth to get the truck, made sure that I had something to eat, covered the table so I could run to the bathroom, and was just my overall rock.


When all was said and done, my tent at the market raised $119 to go straight to my fundraising for the 3 Day for breast cancer research and breast health programs!

Including the cash that I raised at the Herb Society and the market this week, I've surpassed 75% of my goal!! I had hoped to get to the 75% milestone by the time training starts simply because I knew that with what's been going on with my feet I was going to have to stay focused. I'm just thrilled that I was able to meet that goal! That got me to thinking about where all of the money has come from. Turns out that the majority of the money that I've raised to date has been from letters, Facebook, and word of mouth. Here's an approximate breakdown of where my donations have come from so far:

$1,390 Letters, Facebook, word of mouth
$55 twitter
$120 raffles (handmade & show tickets)
$60 pink ribbon accessories
$10 silicone bracelets

My goals for the 3 Day this week will include attempting to get a couple more market dates & finally listing my Pink Warrior Collection!!!

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $1,754 or 76%
Remaining: $546
Countdown: 187 days until the event!

If you're enjoying keeping track of my progress, please consider supporting me in my effort to eradicate breast cancer. No amount is too little or too much. Thank you!!

Don't forget to check out my raffle benefitting the 3 Day!

Simple Joy Sunday

Finding the simple joys each week...

I got do a whole bunch of fun crafty stuff this week as I finished making preparations for my market event for my 3 Day fundraising. I had so much fun playing with paper, glitter glue, yarn, etc! Yeah, it was for a purpose, but it's so much fun being creative for creativity's sake.

As usual, the Herb Society meeting made me happy. I made a new friend and may be able to take a soap making class with her. I'm really excited about the class since I still have not mastered the art of soap making.

Again, this is 3 Day related & will be included in tomorrow's progress report in more detail, but I just wanted to say... I had so much fun fundraising at the Tampa Downtown Market on Friday! And then when I got home, I iced my feet, had a beer, and read some of my book. It was such a great day!!

I've been insanely busy for the last few weeks, so now that my mom's visit is over, I think (I HOPE!!!) things might be evening out with my feet (I just need the inflammation to go down so I can start training again), and my first big market event for the 3 Day is done, I'm feeling so much better. I slept a solid ten hours after the market and woke up feeling so much more refreshed than I have in a while.

I spent the day on Saturday lounging around the house, reading, repotting herbs, making myself a breast cancer awareness chain maille bracelet to wear out, doing pilates..... It was the relaxing, do nothing day that I've been craving. It was so nice to do all of those things and thoroughly enjoy them.

My herbs were in such dire need of attention. I had basil and dill that needed to be repotted and the new herbs that I got from the Herb Society meeting this week needed homes: I've added a nasturtium, some lettuce, Tulsi (or Holy Basil), and Perilla to my herb garden. Unfortunately, I also discovered mealybugs on my lemon balm -- I am none too happy about that. Regardless, it was so nice to spend some time with my greenlings.

Saturday night, Scott & I went to see a band play. It was so much fun actually getting dressed to go out on a Saturday night! That may sound kind of lame, but with our work schedules, we almost never get a chance to go out on a date nonetheless a date on the weekend. It was so much fun!

As always, check out more Simple Joy Sundays over at Cool Zebras. What were some of your joys this week?

Oh! And don't forget to check out my raffle: ALL proceeds to benefit breast cancer research! It's super easy: check out the amazing goods, buys tickets (which really means donate to my fundraising for the 3 Day), and comment on my blog to let me know. That's it!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part II

Welcome to Part II of the ongoing Friday Finds that feature the artists that have so generously donated their time and talent to my 3 Day raffle. Because of these amazing artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, (shameless plug here) the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy!

This week, I would like to feature some of the amazing maillesmiths that have contributed their work.

Kali Butterfly donated this amazing piece that uses scales (as in scale maille) and finished it off with an adorable pink ribbon clasp (nice touch!). Thanks to early detection, her mom beat breast cancer! Early detection saves lives, her mom is living proof.


Armored Hearts made these little dazzlers with Jeweler's Brass: they shine like gold! And of course, they are trimmed in breast cancer awareness pink.

Baron Byron told me that he enjoys donating his work for good causes and he was thrilled to help find a cure with this Japanese 12-2 earrings and bracelet set.

Nicole Hill donated this divine Half Persian bracelet that uses square jump rings. It's a great chunky piece for a guy. It was really important to me that there was something in the raffle that can be a good representation of the guys because many times people forget that men get breast cancer, too.

The forthcoming Coldfire Customs donated this bracelet and earrings set. The bracelet was created to be reminiscent of a pink ribbon (I love the versatility of chain maille!).

Meri is one of my fellow FAEteam members and she was kind enough to post my 3 Day widget on her blog for me when I first registered for the walk.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!

Herb Society Meeting: Growing from Seed

At last night's Herb Society Meeting, we discussed some resources for growing from seed. I must admit that I haven't had much success growing from seed, but it's still fairly new to me. I tried growing lavender from seed a few years ago and got nothing from it. This past fall, I tried Thai Basil (from some seeds from the Herb Society, in fact) and got some adorable little green sprouts that quickly died. Honestly, I think I may have over watered that one. One of these days, I have to give it a go again. I also have to eventually invest the time, energy, and money to try to plant something in our sandy soil.

I have not tried any of these, but here are a few seed suppliers that they recommended:
Horizon Herbs
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Kitazawa Seed Company

A highly recommended fertilizer (again, I haven't tried it but it sounds amazing):
Ocean Solution

I was also thinking that I need to pick up a field identification book and heard at the meeting last night that the Smithsonian Handbook of Herbs is a really great book for all of it's color photos.

For the workshop portion of the evening, we repotted some herbs that one of our members who has a farm was growing for the group. I repotted & brought home with me (two for $1 was a steal!) a nasturtium, some lettuce, Tulsi (or Holy Basil), and Perilla.

The nasturtium is a lovely edible flower. I'm not sure what it tastes like, but it's colorful and looks so pretty on salads.

I was warned that the growing season for lettuce in Florida is probably just about over, so I'm not sure if these will take but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

I'm very excited about the Tulsi and Perilla. Tulsi is a nerve tonic, helps lower fevers, is good for treating respiratory problems, reduces cholesterol, it's an adaptogen, and even helps treat insect bites.

Perilla is good for sinus & allergy problems, colds, congestion, asthama, bronchitis, it helps sweat out a cold, and is anti-bacterial. Plus, it's leaves are green and a really lovely purple.

Here's a little gem that I picked up last night: The plant leaf most attacked (by bugs or whatnot) has the most magic and medicine of the plant.

If you're in the Tampa Bay area, the Green Thumb Festival is going on this weekend in St. Pete. It sounds like an amazing event with every kind of flower imaginable, food vendors, gardening accessories, soil testing, and more. I hope my feet are feeling up to it because I would love to check it out!

The lovely ladies on the board at the Herb Society allowed me to set up my fundraising goodies last night, too. It wasn't a huge success, but I did leave with $15 more to fight breast cancer than I had before the meeting. Every little bit helps.

Don't forget to check out my raffle benefitting the 3 Day!

The 3 Day: Week Eight Progress Report

Training
Well, I finally got a chance to go see a podiatrist on Friday. Turns out that I have plantar fasciitis which is an inflammation of the ligament on the bottom of the foot that runs from the heel toward the toes. I'm wondering if maybe we caught it early or if my case isn't that bad because the symptoms don't sound as bad as they are in other people I've spoken to: I don't have knee or back pain, the first few steps in the morning don't hurt, I'm not constantly in excruciating pain. In fact, after a week of not being on my feet, they seemed to be feeling better. It wasn't until after the doctor's visit when they taped my feet up that I was in pain again. Go figure. Anyway, I've been religiously following orders of icing my feet, wearing the splint, and taking anti-inflammatories. Now, that the tape is off, I'll add some regular stretching to the routine. I go back for a follow up visit at the end of this week: he wants to check the progress and I'll find out then if my insurance will cover orthotics. I'm concerned that it won't: I really don't know if I'll be able to afford them alone, but I may not have a choice.

One friend swears by a daily yoga practice (including down dog) and I must say that I would favor this (I do yoga already, I just don't have a daily practice). There are anti-inflammatory herbs that I may take after the drug regimin the doctor has me on is finished. I'm following doctor's orders because I don't know a lot about this right now and I have to deal with it promptly, but the more I learn the more comfortable I feel dealing with it wholistically. Which, of course, I would prefer, but aside from the anti-inflammatory drugs it's all stuff I would do anyway.

This is something that I have to deal with as soon as possible because my training officially starts in one month. I must admit that I'm actually quite upset about the situation. And I just don't understand how it happened. I've always been active, so why did this happen all of a sudden? I was really letting it get to me over the weekend, but then I remembered that I still have my hair. Dealing with some foot discomfort (and I am dealing with it) seems a small price to pay in comparison to the reason why I'm doing it. I will not let this stop me and I will continue to work towards ending the fight against breast cancer.


Fundraising
My first official fundraising event for the 3 Day kicked off this past week! Some truly amazing artists and crafters donated $600 work of gorgeous handmade items to be raffled off to benefit my fundraising! There really is a little bit of everything including artwork, jewelry, plushies, sculpture, and wallhangings. And believe me when I tell you, the work truly is spectacular!! The raffle is being hosted right here on my blog, so please take a moment to check it out. And if you're local to the Tampa Bay area, you'll also have the chance to check out the goods in person...

Which leads me to my next bit of exciting news: The Tampa Downtown Market is going to let me set up a tent for my 3 Day fundraising! I'm going to have all of my pink ribbon accessories, my Pink Warrior Collection, the handmade raffle, a raffle for theatre tickets to two different shows, and of course breast cancer awareness literature. I'm also considering making some pink ribbon sugar cookies and having some pink lemonade. I've been very busy this week getting crafty: I made raffle ticket jars and a huge donation jar; I also made a banner that says "Fight Like a Girl" and has some pink boxing gloves. I made a trip to Staples and had a couple of signs made that look like this:


When I picked up the posters, the girl behind the counter handed me a note from another customer that saw the signs. Apparently, this woman walked in the 3 Day in the past but will be unable to do so this year. She wants to help out in some way, so she offered to either host a wine tasting event or to privde the wine for an event. You just never know when you're going to find someone that wants to help. Amazing, huh?

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $1,545 or 67%
Remaining: $755
Countdown: 194 days until the event!

If you're enjoying keeping track of my progress, please consider supporting me in my effort to eradicate breast cancer. No amount is too little or too much. Thank you!!

Don't forget to check out my raffle benefitting the 3 Day!

Simple Joy Sunday

Finding the simple joys each week...

aaaahhhhhhh... peace and quiet. Having house guests (no matter how easy going they may be) are a lot of work. I love having time to myself and that just hasn't happened for the last couple of weeks, so when it finally did this week.... oh, it was just wonderful. I had the house all to myself for a couple of hours to just veg out. It was such a beautiful thing.

I won the lotto! Actually, I just won a free ticket but it's better than nothing, right?

I really wanted to check out the art show down in St. Pete on Saturday, but my feet informed me otherwise (more on my feet with Monday's 3 Day Progress Report). So, instead I took out all kinds of crafty supplies (paper, glitter glue, yarn, stickers, ribbon) and started working on raffle & donation jars as well as some tent decorations for my market event this week for the 3 Day. Yeah, this is 3 Day related so it really should go in Monday's post, but I had such a fun time playing and being crafty I just had to include it here!

As always, check out more Simple Joy Sundays over at Cool Zebras. What were some of your joys this week?

Oh! And don't forget to check out my raffle: ALL proceeds to benefit breast cancer research!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part I

Yesterday's regularly scheduled Friday Finds blog post was completely forgotten about while I dealt with getting my feet checked out by a doctor. I'll tell you more about that situation with Monday's 3 Day update.

For the next few Friday Finds (albeit on Saturday this week), I'd like to feature the artists that have so generously donated their time and talent to my 3 Day raffle. Because of these amazing artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, (shameless plug here) the raffle where you can win some of their work!

The first artist that I'd like to feature is Gypsy Moon Art Studio. This gypsy lady has been a strong supporter of my efforts for the 3 Day from the beginning and was the first artist to offer a piece to contribute my fundraising.

An amazing artist and a true friend, mermaiden created a vintage ephemera piece that is not only beautiful, but also reminds us of the importance of monthly breast self exams.


aquariann (my recent giveaway winner!) shares that "Aware" is a breast cancer awareness fairy inspired by her mom, a survivor of 14 years and an incredibly strong woman.


Inner Muse Jewelry was the first Etsy seller to respond to my call for items in my Etsy forum thread. She used to work at a cancer treatment & research center, so she was glad to help increase the funding!


One of my FAE friends that saw my call for help on twitter, Fairies Nest donated these adorable lavender & flax seed filled baby dolls. Their cheerful faces and lovely scent will relax & brighten anyone's day!


I'm very excited that Threads of Magique donated one of their amazing wall hangings. It sings of the hope and faith in the hearts of everyone involved in the fight for the cure.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!

3 Day Raffle - ALL Proceeds to Benefit Susan G. Komen

I am thrilled to announce my first big fundraising event for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure: Athena's Armoury is hosting an online raffle! Thanks to the support and generosity of the handmade community who donated their talents, ALL proceeds will benefit my fundraising for the 3 Day!!

Some of the work you will see was custom made just for this raffle, there are items that are the signature piece of the artist, others are completely one of a kind, all items are handmade and fabulous. There really is a little bit of everything including artwork, jewelry, plushies, sculpture, and wallhangings. And believe me when I tell you, the work truly is spectacular!!

There is approximately $600 worth of amazing handmade items included. If just five people buy just a single ticket for every piece in the raffle, we will raise $600 in the fight against breast cancer!! That would be absolutely amazing. Will you help make a difference?

Okay, here's what you do:

~Read this page for information about the 3 Day and how the raffle works. This is important because it will explain to you how to purchase your raffle tickets. Please read it carefully and follow the instructions.
~Go explore the plethora of handmade goodies that you have the opportunity to win.

Thank you so much for your support & have fun!!!

The 3 Day: Week Seven Progress Report & Giveaway Winner

Training
Not much to report on the training front this week. I had my mom in town visiting which always disrupts my schedule, but to be honest my feet have still been feeling not right so the break was actually welcome. I did speak to one of the coaches over at the 3 Day about what's been going on with my feet and she recommended making an appointment with a podiatrist. She basically told me everything I already knew, but didn't want to deal with: achy, tired, sore feet would be normal; pain is not. I guess I need to make an appointment.


Fundraising
I am just tickled with how well my fundraising is going! This week, I've officially surpassed the halfway point!! That milestone is huge for me. My biggest concern when I registered was being able to raise the money and now that I'm more than halfway there and training hasn't even officially started yet, I'm feeling proud, happy, and confident that I'll get there! I may even go a little crazy and see if I can raise $3,000 instead of my original goal of $2,300...

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $1,420 or 62%
Remaining: $880
Countdown: 201 days until the event!

If you're enjoying keeping track of my progress, please consider supporting me in my effort to eradicate breast cancer. No amount is too little or too much. Thank you!!

************************************

And now, the giveaway. I'd like to thank all of you for entering: I had such a great turn out! I especially appreciate those you that donated to my 3 Day fund as well as blogged and tweeted not just about the giveaway but about the 3 Day. Yes, I've been wanting to host a giveaway for a while now and I had so much fun doing it (and finding out everyone's favorite pieces!), but the other purpose was to help raise breast cancer awareness.

The giveaway ended at 11:59pm EST last night. This morning, I counted up all of the entries and then went over to the Random.org website. I chose the Random Integer Generator and told it to select an individual number between 1 and 63 (the amount of entries). Here's the result:


Without further ado, I'd like to announce the first ever Athena's Armoury giveaway winner!! The number 9 selected by the Random Integer Generator matches.... Kristin, aka aquariann!!! Congratulations, Kristin!! I'll contact you directly to get your mailing address.

Thank you once again to everyone that participated! I had a lot of fun with this giveaway and hope to do another one, so keep following the blog!

Simple Joy Sunday

Finding the simple joys each week...

I went to the beach this twice week and thoroughly enjoyed bathing in the warmth of the sun. There was a lovely breeze, so it was actually quite comfortable sitting on the sand. The Gulf doesn't feel like it's warmed up much yet, but that didn't stop me from getting in if only just the one time.

I also really enjoyed wandering around Downtown Dunedin and Safety Harbor. Those areas have such character and there's always something going on.

As always, check out more Simple Joy Sundays over at Cool Zebras. What were some of your joys this week?

PS- Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Someone Loves My Blog!

Thank you so much!! Bite This! The Lonesome Road Studio Blog declared their love for my blog. I love you, too! It's a big old love fest!

Here are the rules:
*Post the award on your blog*
*Link the person who has given you the award*
*Pass the award to 15 other blogs you’ve discovered*
*Remember to contact the bloggers you’ve nominated*

Here are some of my favorites and, yes, I only included 10:

Aquariann Bath
Cara Geeks
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom
It's a Green Green Green Green World
Kristen Walks
Leanne... the walker
Mermaiden Creations in the Otherworld
Mrs Dragon's Den
the art & tree chatter of aquariann
The Essential Herbal

Give them some love and thanks again to Bite This!



PS- Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Friday Finds - Technology

I spent a good portion of the day on Thursday working on a project on my blog (yup, that would be my 3 Day raffle fundraiser) only to discover that either something got extremely messed up with the html or that my work computer's java simply isn't up to date. Here are some technology based Friday Finds...

Twitter Inspired Conversation Bubble Sticker -- FAIL by Twitter Your World

Computer Circuit Board Desk Clock by Geek Gear

Resistor Coral Necklace by Charlotte's Web

PS- Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

The 3 Day: Halfway There!! And a Giveaway...

As of yesterday, I reached a huge milestone in my fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure: I have officially surpassed the halfway mark of reaching my goal of $2,300!! I am just thrilled! I continue to be touched by the kindness, support, and generosity of my family, friends, co-workers, and total strangers.

Did you know that virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer has been touched by Susan G. Komen for the Cure? They've helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 27 years? They've provided more money for breast cancer research and community health programs than any entity besides the U.S. government? Komen for the Cure's goal is to "energize science to find the cures.” Komen's contributions to some real victories include:

• More early detection - nearly 75 percent of women over 40 years old now receive regular mammograms, the single most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early (in 1982, less than 30 percent received a clinical exam).
• More hope - the five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).
• More research - the federal government now devotes more than $900 million each year to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention (compared to $30 million in 1982).
• More survivors - America’s 2.5 million breast cancers survivors, the largest group of cancer survivors in the U.S., are a living testament to the power of society and science to save lives.

Thank you for your help in eradicating breast cancer. It couldn’t be done without you. If you'd like to help, just visit my 3 Day Personal Page.

Breast Cancer Fact: Breast cancer knows no boundaries—be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location.

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And because I'm just thrilled to bits with how well my fundraising is going, I'm going to do something that I've been meaning to do for a long time now. I'd like to host a little giveaway. The very first chain maille weave that I learned was the classic Euro 4-1 which is probably the most well known as it was once used for armor of the knights of yesteryear. For my very first blog giveaway, I'm going to be giving away a copy of the very first Euro 4-1 bracelet that I made. It is made entirely by hand: it started simply as wire that I coiled and cut to create the jump rings used to weave the metal into the Euro 4-1 pattern. It was made with bright aluminum jump rings and measures 8 1/2" (including a 1" extender chain).



THE DETAILS:
The giveaway starts Thursday April 8, 2010 and ends Sunday, April 11, 2010 @ 11:59pm EST. The winner will be announced on: Monday April 12, 2010.


HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Each entry must be written in a separate comment and include a way of contacting you (an active blog that you check the comments on, your e-mail, or your Etsy shop where you check the convo's).

* For the first entry/comment – Visit Athena's Armoury on Etsy or Artfire and pick your favorite item. Then comment here and include a link to that item.

Then for additional single entries:

* 1 extra entry/comment – Follow Athena's Armoury on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Then in a separate comment here, leave the link to your tweet. (Find the tweet URL by clicking on the tweet's timestamp.) Here is some text you can use for Twitter:

You have GOT to checkout the giveaway Athena's Armoury is having at http://AthenasArmoury.blogspot.com

* 1 extra entry/comment – Follow this blog. Then leave a separate comment here, letting me know.

For two additional entries:

* 2 extra entries/comment – Make a purchase from Athena's Armoury on Etsy or Artfire.
Then leave a separate comment here, with a link to the receipt/sold item.

* 2 extra entries/comment – Write a blog post about this giveaway and link to http://AthenasArmoury.blogspot.com
Then leave a separate comment here, with the direct link to your blog post.

For FOUR additional entries:

* 4 extra entries/comment - Make a donation of $10 or more to my fundraising efforts for the 3 Day.
Then leave a separate comment here, with the first name and city/state you used for your donation.


Remember, the giveaway starts Thursday April 8, 2010 and ends Sunday, April 11, 2010 @ 11:59pm EST.

Have fun and good luck everyone!!!

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FAQ’s:

I live outside of the USA. Can I enter the giveaway?
Yes! This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere. Spread the word!

How does this giveaway work?
On the day of the drawing, a random number generator will select one lucky winner.

How will I know if I won?
I will contact the winner (using the method you left in your comment) to request your mailing address. You will have one week to respond to the e-mail from me. If there is no response, another name will be picked.

How will everyone find out who won?
The winners will be announced on Monday, April 12, 2010 right here on the blog.

The 3 Day: Week Six Progress Report

Training
Well, last Monday I went back to New Balance and my buddy Ken wasn't there. The woman that wound up helping me said that they only have one other shoe that has more cushioning than the one I already had. It didn't work. I wound up returning what I had and going to Fit2Run. They had me in easily six different shoes. The only pair that felt like they might work, they didn't have in my size. I walked away with nothing, feeling very frustrated, and in pain. I never in a million years would have thought that finding proper fitting, comfortable shoes would be the hardest part of doing the 3 Day.

I decided to give my feet a bit of a break this past week in case I did do something to them and instead spent some time cross training. I focused on doing Pilates to build up my core and leg strength; and yoga to stretch and strengthen everything. One day, I did venture a very short walk that was less than a mile: my feet were hurting. Thing is, for all I know this is a normal part of my feet getting used to endurance training.

I was talking to my mom and she told me a story about when I was a kid being fit for shoes. Apparently, even then I was a hard walker or, as I like to say, I walked with a purpose then, too. I'm going to start walking again this week with a pair of sneakers that are in my closet that I find comfortable. I'm going to start small and only do a mile at a time. Maybe I did too much, too soon.

Scott had suggested checking out the new Sketchers Shape Ups. I hadn't thought it would be a good idea because I'm not looking to get a workout out of my training walks per se (they supposedly really work your core & lower body), but rather something supportive that will keep me walking for up to 20 miles per day. I was also concerned about feeling secure on them since they do add some height and I don't want to worry about rolling an ankle. But I was just talking with one of the guys at work who is seriously accident prone and is on his feet almost the whole day and he highly recommends them. I'm seriously starting to reconsider. Any feedback is much appreciated.


Fundraising
The amount of people that offered to donate items for my raffle blew me away! I thought that if I was lucky, I'd get maybe ten or a dozen... I have 25 individual (some items are in sets) and amazing pieces!! I'm going to work on getting everything organized this week and hope to have the raffle live by Monday, April 12, 2010. I will, of course, post here about it so make sure you come back and visit or subscribe to my blog so you don't miss it! And tell your friends about it, too. Thanks! I hope the turnout for tickets is as good as the item donations!!

In the midst of organizing my raffle, I also contacted a couple of farmer's markets about setting up a booth or table with all of my fundraising goodies. I haven't heard back from them yet, though.

My third fundraising project of the week was to get some pictures of the first few pieces from my Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection. I succeeded in getting the pictures, but unfortunately that's as far as I got. This week was really busy at work and also at home as I was getting the house ready for my mom's visit. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get this stuff listed yet, but felt a little better when I found out that I already have one of my co-workers interested in one of my Pink Warrior bracelets.

This week's extra special surprise donation came from a woman that I knew when I was still touring shows. She was my presenter in a few different cities, so we actually got a chance to get to know each other. I haven't spoken to this woman in about eight years and she was kind enough to make a donation to support me and to support the cause. Warm fuzzies.

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $1,120 or 49%
Remaining: $1,180
Countdown: 208 days until the event!

If you're enjoying keeping track of my progress, please consider supporting me in my effort to eradicate breast cancer. No amount is too little or too much. Thank you!!

Simple Joy Sunday

Finding the simple joys each week...

I was seriously having pain and even more frustration earlier this week. My feet were killing me and I was having issues finding a comfortable pair of sneakers for The 3 Day. My sweetie really stepped up. He treated us to a really yummy pizza, made me an Epsom salt foot bath, and was just all around a really supportive guy. It may not sound like much but that was a huge simple joy for me this week.

As always, check out more Simple Joy Sundays over at Cool Zebras. What were some of your joys this week?

Friday Finds - Eggs and Bunnies and Baskets, oh my!

Enjoy your celebrations of Ostara or Easter this weekend!

Ostara, German Goddess of Easter by Carri Travis

Blushing Heart Laced Egg by Anika's Art

A Clever Guise Evil Bunny Plushie by Plushroom Soup