A Special Pink Warrior Fundraiser

Race for the Cure in St. Pete is coming up in only three weeks and a friend and breast cancer survivor needs help meeting her goal.  I met Yetta through the Florida Herb Society and she helped support me last year when I was walking and fundraising for the 3 Day.  Money is super tight right now, but I still want to help support her...

From now until October 1st (the date of Race for the Cure), ALL proceeds from my Pink Warrior Collection will go toward Yetta's fundraising.  There are a couple pairs of earrings and a couple bracelets listed there now, but if these sell out before Yetta's Race, I will list more to go toward her fundraising.

To donate to Yetta directly and find out more about her, visit her donation page for Race for the Cure.  As always, thank you so much for your support of this cause!!

Magickal Mugwort for 3 Day Walkers

Did you know that Roman soldiers once put the herb Mugwort in their sandals to relieve aching feet on long journeys? Legend claims that the Romans planted Mugwort on roadsides, so that passing soldiers might pick it at will on long marches to soothe their sore feet. Some herbalists still recommend it in footbaths to invigorate tired feet.

Recommended Use for 3 Day Walkers: Place mugwort in your shoes to gain strength and to protect your feet from fatigue during your 60 mile walk. I'm just sayin'. =)

Thank you all for your support! I've officially surpassed my goal of raising $3,000 in my fundraising to fight breast cancer for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure! Next weekend, I'll be walking 60 miles to raise awareness with my fellow Pink Warriors.

Fight Breast Cancer & Save the Environment All at Once!

I am so close to reaching my goal of $3,000 for my 3 Day fundraising! With your minimum donation of $10, I'll send you all three of these great totes so that you can help raise awareness whenever you use them. Just go to my personal page at the 3 Day website to make your donation & let me know here so that I can be sure to send these off to you.

Hope you're having a great weekend! I am: I'm walking. =)

Raise Awareness While You Drive

This evening, I'd like to feature the classic Find the Cure Pink Ribbon Car Magnet! With your donation to my fundraising for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure, I'll send you this car magnet so that you can help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer every time you drive.


I'm 17 days away from walking 60 miles & less than $400 away from raising $3,000! All funds raised will go toward breast health programs, research grants, and education. Won't you help me make a difference? Just go to my personal donation page and I'll send you this magnet!

Here's mine in action:
Bikers Raising Awareness is the amazing group of women that I've walked countless training miles with and we'll be walking the big 60 miles together, too. The oval magnet says 60 in 3 since we're walking 60 miles in 3 days and was designed by the amazing Julie (aka @knittingbagel on twitter).

Help Me Raise $3,000 to Fight Breast Cancer!

Hello lovely readers! No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth but I feel like I've been walking all over it! Actually, I have been walking a lot which is why I haven't been around here much. When I'm not at work lately, I'm walking. Walking to find a cure, that is. Since I registered for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure, I've walked 442 miles, raised awareness at numerous public events, and garnered a whopping $2,588 to go to the fight against breast cancer!!

October is, of course, Breast Cancer Awareness month. The most important thing you can do this month is take care of yourself: eat right, get exercise, schedule a mammogram, remember to do your monthly self exam. The idea here is prevention.

I also only have 19 days left until the 3 Day! Crazy to think that in 19 days I'll be starting my 60 mile journey. There are quite a few personal reasons, but I don't think I'll be able to participate in this amazing walk again next year so I'd like to make my mark this time around. I want to raise $3,000!! There are a few ways you can help me do that:

-Let people know what I'm doing! Spread the word and send them to my donation page.

-Check out my Pink Warrior Collection. Thanks to Blue Buddha Boutique who very generously donated all jump rings, ALL proceeds from the purchase of each item goes straight to my fundraising. Plus, for the rest of the month, you will receive a FREE silicone awareness bracelet with each purchase.

-Every couple of days, I'll be posting a new Pink Ribbon goody. All you have to do is make a minimum donation of $5 and I'll mail you the featured item. Quantities are limited so make sure you grab 'em while you can!

-And, of course, you can make a straight donation. Or you can see if your company will do matching gifts. Or you can make a donation in a few installments. There are so many options!


Today's Pink Warrior goody is this fabulous Find the Cure Pink Lanyard.
If you're a 3 Day walker, it's perfect for carrying your credentials at the event. All you have to do is go to my donation page and make a minimum (yup, I'll take more!) donation of $5 and I'll mail it to you (make a comment here so I know to send it). I only have three left, so don't wait!!



And lastly, the 3 Day folks do something really cool for us walkers. They set up a post office at camp. Yup, not only am I walking 60 miles, but I'm also camping during those 3 days. In a hot pink tent. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you!! Card of encouragement, a letter of motivation... I'm not going to lie to you: walking 60 miles is exhausting and a little bit of support goes a long way! If you'd like to send me some love, it must be postmarked by October 19!! You can write to me here:

3-Day for the Cure
ATTN: Janine Vanderhoff
P.O. Box 41611
St. Petersburg, FL 33743

Thank you all so much for your support!!

The 3 Day: Weeks 18-26 Progress Report

So, I pretty much fell off the face of the internet for a while there. I have no excuse except that work again got the better of me for a while. I was also feeling very overwhelmed balancing everything going on in my life with all of the training that I'm doing for the 3 Day. I'm learning that I can't necessarily do everything when I want to do it or necessarily when it should be done and that I really need to pace myself and be patient. Easier said than done sometimes. Anyhoo, I'll try to give you an update for the past few weeks without turning this post into a novel.


Training
My feet have gotten so much better!! I graduated from physical therapy (celebrated with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery with Scott) but continue to do all of my foot stretching and strengthening exercises (especially before & after training walks!). They do get sore & stiff from time to time, but I suspect that's perfectly normal for the mileages I've been doing.

I finally found a pair of shoes that seem to fit comfortably. Thing is, after I finally felt like they were broken in is around the same time that I was up to walking around 10 miles. I was told that at around the 9-12 mile mark is when you'll start to notice your problem spots. Well, I started getting bad blisters around my heels. I didn't know if it was the shoes or the mileage for a while; ultimately, I think the problem may be the shoes. I'm going shoe shopping again this week in the hopes that I can find something. As you all know though, I'm terribly wary about getting fit for shoes since that's how I got hurt to begin with but I don't think I have a choice. I also don't have much time left to figure this out: 10 weeks will probably be just enough time to find another pair of shoes & then get two pairs broken in in time for the event.

I did fall in love with my toe socks, though! I was having problems with my toes rubbing and these socks by injinji have individual little toes, so they solved that problem!

I am truly not a morning person, but it's looking like I'm going to have to get over that. The longer weekend back to back walks are kind of lonely and boring to do all alone & since I graduated physical therapy, I started going out walking with a couple of different groups. They all start between 6-7am which has me waking up as early as 4:30am!! The one good thing about it is that we will finish up around noon time when the sun is getting extreme instead of having to walk through that. The bad thing is that I've been pretty much useless for the rest of the day. I'll get home, stretch & ice my feet, have some lunch, take a shower, then pass out for a couple of hours before waking up to have some dinner and then go back to bed. It's nuts.

That said, I met a really great group of women with BRA Patrol (aka: Bikers Raising Awareness) and joined the team at the Preview Expo! More about those fabulous ladies and the Preview Expo in a separate post....

There have been a few morning walks where the humidity has been insane and I've had a really hard time breathing. I don't think there's really anything I can do about it, except be aware of it. The first time it happened, though, I did freak out a little: really shallow breathing and chills despite sweating like crazy. I stopped in the shade for a little while & drank my Gatorade while I just concentrated on breathing. I managed to get through my last mile taking little breaks like that. Luckily, it hasn't been that bad again.

I got myself a waist pack! I really like the Mountainsmith packs that I've seen online, but couldn't find anyone locally that carries them so I could try one on. Plus, they were a little more than I wanted to spend so I wound up picking one up from Target. It's not perfect, but it seems to be working out just fine for me. It only a little 4L pack, but from what I understand, the 3 Day really is like a 60 mile buffet between all of the grab & go's, pit stops, and people on the side of the route so it doesn't sound like I need to burden myself with something too big. So far, so good.

I've seen a ton of wildlife on my training walks: armadillos, snakes, bunny rabbits, cats, turtles, some baby ducks, and countless dogs. =)

There was a time just a few months ago when I came home from walking only 1/2 a mile and crying because my feet hurt so much. Yesterday, I walked for four miles and considered it simply a fun walk. Those few months ago, I never thought I'd get this far. It simply felt impossible. I've gone as far as 16 miles already at a time. I don't think of this often because I feel like my feet are still giving me challenges (albeit new ones with blisters) but I am proud of how far I've come.


Fundraising
I've made a few new Pink Warrior pieces over the last few weeks (some inspired by the 3 Day's bubble logo design) and actually had the time to take some pictures of them; just haven't had the time to get them listed yet. I still have lots of supplies (so generously donated by Blue Buddha Boutique) so there will be more coming!

I did one more big fundraising event with the Safety Harbor 3rd Friday Music Series. It's a street fair where I set up my tent and put my Pink Ribbon goods and Pink Warrior chain maille out for donations. I also made Pink Ribbon sugar cookies. Lots of them: 77 bags, 3 cookies in a bag, plus about a dozen for me & Scott to munch on... around 240 some odd cookies made! And I could barely give them away! It was crazy. Nobody wanted cookies! What was really amazing to me that night, though, were the little girls that donated. They didn't want to buy anything, just to donate. They were the absolute best. So heartwarming to see them give so freely to the cause. Those donations really meant something to me. In the end, I raised $181 that night!

All I had left to raise after the street fair was $35 to meet my minimum goal of $2,300. I figured, I'd bring some of the Pink Ribbon sugar cookies I made to work for donations. I met my minimum that day by $.35!

I received a motivational donation of $25 bringing me up to $2,326!!

Mileage to date on training walks: 254
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,326 or over 100%
Remaining: $0
Countdown: 68 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!!

Hey Pink Warriors! Come get some armor (really chain maille jewelry).
All proceeds to benefit my fundraising for The 3 Day!

The 3 Day: Weeks Sixteen & Seventeen Progress Report

A couple of fun things...
~The other night at work, the guy that's in charge of our retail department walked into my office and said "There's only one left and it needs to go to a good home" and proceeded to hand me a Pink Ribbon Sisterhood luggage tag. It's so cute and so sweet of him to think of giving it to me. It will undoubtedly be on my duffel bag for the event.

~The 3 Day is offering a gift card giveaway for both me and you when you register for the walk. We'll each receive a $35 gift card to use on 3 Day gear at Shop3Day.com™. So, if you've been thinking about signing up, here's how to take advantage of the special offer:
1. Register online at The3Day.org, over the phone at 800-996-3DAY, or at a Get Started Meeting.
2. Enter the discount code BRINGAFRIEND in the online registration form.
3. When the registration form asks for the ID# of the friend who referred you, enter this Participant ID: 4897011


Training
For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to go for a five mile training walk in the middle of the day in Florida summer heat. It wasn't the best plan, but I got through it. I saw a snake on that walk and I stood in someone's sprinkler for a minute. =)

I did another five mile walk, but did it in the evening this time. That made a world of difference! I was feeling pretty tired when I started out, but my energy seemed to pick up as I continued on.

Yesterday, I did my first six mile walk and miracle of miracles, had very little foot pain or discomfort while I was out!!! The bunions that I never knew I had (found out about them for the first time when I went to the podiatrist) were hurting but I'm not sure there's anything I can do about that. I'm also concerned if I'm making them worse. After 4 miles, I stopped by the house to have a little snack (ice cold oranges are amazing!! and some chips for the salt), refill my liquids, to use the bathroom, and of course stretch. The only other issue I had was at about mile 5 when I started to feel hot spots on my little toes and on the bottom of the balls. I stopped back by the house to change my socks, put on bandages, and reapply Body Glide. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and try shoe shopping again so I can start wearing my moisture wicking socks (they don't fit in my current shoes with the orthotics). Shoe shopping has been such a horrible experience that I have been trying to avoid it. 6 miles!!! Woohoo!!! Oh! And I did it in a hour and thirty five minutes!

The past couple of weeks, my cross training consisted of a few five mile bike rides around my neighborhood. Tonight, I can't wait to go home to do some yoga; after yesterday's six mile walk (and cleaning two bathrooms!!) I need it.

Oh, and more good news: insurance approved four more physical therapy sessions. Seems like an arbitrary number since they aren't paying for any of it (I have to reach an insane deductible before they chip in anything) but it's better than nothing. I was actually so tired and so relaxed at PT this past week, that I actually started to fall asleep on the table. All of this PT actually is a lot of work and it's costing money, but I'm getting better (six miles!) and I really do enjoy going there.

Something that just occurred to me recently: come October, I'll be walking the equivalent of 2 1/2 marathons when I do this event!! I hadn't thought about it like that before. Saying it that way, it does sound kind of crazy. lol.


Fundraising
Things have been fairly quiet on the fundraising front lately. I have one donation that I'm hoping to see in the next week, so that's good. After this insane week at work, I should get more Pink Warrior stuff made. I'll be sending out a newsletter to my Athena's Armoury subscribers about the new line, so if you want to be included leave a comment below with your e-mail addy. I'm also planning on sending out an e-mail to friends, family, & co-workers that may not be following my blog just letting them know how things are going so far.

Mileage to date on training walks: 72
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,054 or 89%
Remaining: $246
Countdown: 131 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!!

Hey Pink Warriors! Come get some armor (really chain maille jewelry).
All proceeds to benefit my fundraising for The 3 Day!

The 3 Day: Weeks Fourteen & Fifteen Progress Report

I've been a little MIA from the blog and most of the internet for that matter for the past couple of weeks. Not too terribly much has happened, though, so there won't be too much to catch you up on. Let's see what we've got....


Training
I'm continuing to go to physical therapy once a week, do my stretching & strengthening exercises daily, as well as icing daily. Tara, my physical therapist told me to go for two miles and if it felt okay to continue on a bit longer for three. And I did!! There was some discomfort, but no pain. The next walk that she wanted me to do, she said to do three miles and again if it felt good to go for four. I was a little wary to try four: that's further than I had gone before I was injured. Around the second mile of that walk, I wasn't sure I was going to make it: I felt a bit stiff and a little sore. But I pushed through it. I did a full four miles!! I'm just thrilled that I made it! I made good time, too: four miles in one hour and five minutes. As soon as I got home I stretched and my honey made me an ice water foot bath. That felt amazing!! I was worried about stiffness later on, so I then did a hot foot bath, too. I took a couple of anti-inflammatories when I got home and used some Biofreeze when I went to bed. The next day: the tootsies weren't perfect, but they were feeling okay. Big smiles.

Aside from these walks, my usual walking at work, and maybe a quick run into a grocery store I really have not been on my feet at all (walking or standing) for the past 2-3 months. I went on two marathon shopping trips with my mom in these past couple of weeks and was miserable. I was on my feet for way too long and was hurting pretty bad the next day. I'm clearly not ready to be doing anything like that yet.

Also, I went to the podiatrist for a follow up. Talk about a waste of time and money. He basically said "keep doing what you're doing." Thanks. I'm so glad I spent an hour of my life and $100 on that.


Fundraising
I'm so glad that I got the bulk of my fundraising done early!! Somehow I knew that once it came time to training that I was going to need to focus all of my energy on that. I had that feeling even before I got injured. I'm still hoping to do another market or craft fair or something. I have some Pink Ribbon accessories that I'd love to be able to sell, plans for Pink Ribbon sugar cookies, and of course I want to continue to raise awareness.

I've had a few sales from my Pink Warrior Collection on Etsy but no bites from Artfire yet. I'm hoping to get some new pieces made next week when we get my mom moved out of my house. I'm really excited about making a few dream catchers for the collection! I'm also thinking about a charm bracelet and maybe a candle holder.

Speaking of my Pink Warrior stuff... check out this very sweet video of fellow 3 Day walker Kristen (follow her on twitter @kscincotta or her blog). Can you see the little bit of pink dangling from her ears?? Those are the Pink Warrior Earrings that she bought from me! Thanks to the generosity of Rebeca of Blue Buddha Boutique, ALL proceeds from the purchase of those earrings and every single piece of Pink Warrior Chain Maille goes directly to my fundraising. I've never seen such an amazing customer appreciation video. Thank you so much, Kristen!

Mileage to date on training walks: 56
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,054 or 89%
Remaining: $246
Countdown: 144 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!!

The 3 Day: Week Thirteen Progress Report

I've seen this on a few different blogs and thought I'd share it with all of you:

"If you still aren’t sure about making a donation, please remember that all walkers and crew members will be sleeping in 6x6 two person tents, taking showers in a semi-trailer, brushing our teeth at a sink outside the semi and there will be no electrical outlets for hair dryers and flat irons (Janine's edit: or in my case, my smart phone charger). We all have invested our own money purchasing the proper shoes (Janine's edit: that would be two pairs for training and another two pairs for the event), socks and other training gear necessary for the event and the training time alone takes away from our family time. This is a huge commitment for us and we take it seriously. Your financial support is greatly appreciated."

You can support my efforts and breast cancer research either by purchasing a piece from the Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection (ALL Proceeds go to The 3 Day) on Etsy or Artfire or you can contribute directly to my fundraising on my Personal Page at The 3 Day website.


Training
I spent a lot of time this week dedicated to doing the stretching and strengthening exercises that my physical therapist gave me. It actually does feel like my arches are getting stronger. I had my first session with the PT this week since my evaluation: I warmed up my feet on the stationary bike, did some stretching exercises, and then I was on the table & she worked on me. I hate to say that she massaged my feet because that sounds so luxurious, but even though she really was rearranging things in there it really did feel nice. My next homework assignment: continue doing my exercises and go for a one mile walk. One mile may not sound like much, but after what happened the last time I walked... She seemed to think that I would be pleasantly surprised at how it would go. She was right. I did my exercises and stretched for maybe about twenty minutes before heading out. I did experience some discomfort, but I wasn't crippled and crying when I got home!! As soon as I got home, I stretched again and iced my feet: I wasn't going to mess around. I spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool and swimming: that night, my feet felt fine. Since that walk went so well, I decided to go for another one over the weekend. Again, there was some discomfort but it was even less than before. Apparently, all of the work that I've done and that the physical therapist has done has started to make a difference!!! I'm just thrilled . I have another therapy session on Wednesday: I can't wait to tell her how it went!


Fundraising
It was a very, very quiet week on the fundraising front. Admittedly, I've been focusing the majority of my energy on healing my feet and my work schedule was pretty screwy this week. I was hoping to get some more Pink Warrior Chain Maille made, but sadly never got to it. I did, however, get all of my raffle goodies organized for shipment and made some cute little thank you cards. I'm hoping to finish packaging everything up this week and getting it all shipped out. It took a little longer to get organized that I had estimated.

Mileage to date on training walks: 44
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,049 or 89%
Remaining: $251
Countdown: 159 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!!

The 3 Day: Week Twelve Progress Report

On Tuesday, I went to a Super Clinic. We heard from one woman who is a five year survivor: this year she's doing her 7th & 8th 3 Day walks. She partially credits her survival to Susan G. Komen: one of the treatments that she received was actually discovered thanks to grants from Komen. We also heard from another woman about some fundraising ideas. And last, the owner of the store gave us some insights to proper shoes & socks for the event. There's a lot I didn't know about shoes and I found it fascinating considering what I'm going through with my feet. If you're doing the walk and there's a clinic going on near you, I highly encourage you to check it out! You will gain so much insight from it, get properly fit for shoes, and be able to ask experienced walkers and professional shoe people questions.


Training
I knew my official training start date was coming up, but I thought it was actually another couple of weeks away. Needless to say, imagine my shock when I realized that my training actually starts the week of the 17th... this current week. I had a bit of a freak out, to say the least.

At my last doctor appointment, he said that since I'm wearing the orthotic I don't need to get a $200 pair of shoes but that I also couldn't go super cheap either. I had tried on some fairly inexpensive Saucony's recently and liked them, but that store didn't have my size. For some bizarre reason, the pair that I ordered online didn't feel anything like the ones in the store. I was stumped. So, I figured it would probably be a good idea to try to get fit by professionals. Again. I did get fit at the clinic, but I was really hesitant to buy them simply because of everything I had been through with shoes and my feet to date. The girl told me to take them home and try them for a week and if they didn't work to just bring them back. Okay, so I tried them the next day and was in pain. I tried to bring them back and the store wouldn't let me return them. They only offer exchanges or store credit. The girl knew exactly what was going on with my feet and told me that I could return them and now I'm stuck with store credit that I can't use. Needless to say, I'm pissed. That's American Running Company in Dunedin, FL.

Getting back to that painful walk... I spent probably a good 15-20 minutes stretching before I even left and then when I did, I took it really slow. I was in pain somewhere around half a mile. I came home and cried. I was so upset and frustrated. Kristen over at Kristen Walks wrote a great blog post about the real goals of the 3 Day: to raise as much money as possible and to raise awareness. That helped put things into perspective for me: I am nearly at my fundraising minimum goal (and am hoping to surpass it!) and I have been out in the public and raising awareness every chance I get. Yeah, I'm frustrated that I got injured and I'm really disappointed that I may not be able to do the walk, but I have made a difference and I need to remember that.

In order to be proactive about my feet, I went to my physical therapy evaluation this week. Turns out that the therapist that I saw has done the walk three times already and said that she doesn't see any reason why I won't be able to do it. I nearly cried, I was so happy. She even invited me to join her team. She sent me home with some homework: stretching & strengthening exercises. When I go back this week, she said that she's going to work me and have me walking by the weekend. I have no doubt that this journey to recovery will be a challenge but I think that may be part of what the 3 Day experience is for me. This is a chance for me to step up and show my mettle.


Fundraising
On Friday, I announced the prize winners for my 3 Day handmade raffle. I just want to say again how grateful I am to all of my sponsors who contributed their time and talent (and promotion!) as well as to all of the donors who gave so generously to such a good cause!

I sold a scale maille piece from my Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection (available on Etsy or Artfire; ALL proceeds to benefit Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure) before it was even listed online! I sold it to a co-worker. Another $25 to fight breast cancer! Woohoo!

I think I forgot to mention this last week, but I broke the $2,000 milestone in my fundraising!! I had hoped to be at 75% of my goal by the time training started so that I could focus on that, but I surpassed my hopes! I'm currently at 89% of my goal with only $251 left to raise!

Mileage to date on training walks: 42
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,049 or 89%
Remaining: $251
Countdown: 166 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!!

The 3 Day Handmade Raffle Drawing

This week's regularly scheduled Friday Finds blog post will resume next week. This week, I'm so excited to announce the drawing for The 3 Day Handmade Raffle winners!

I was originally going to use a random number generator when this was strictly an online raffle, but that plan changed a bit since I was actually able to get out in public with it. We've got a nice little glass jar of actual raffle tickets instead. As I got donations in from each of you, I added the appropriate number of tickets to the jar.

So, without further ado... The winners are...

Sassy Pink Armband by 88 Links
FaerieKat (ticket #685690)

Watercolor Portrait by Amber Moran
whskr (ticket #685713)

Flower Necklace by Anika's Art

aquariann (ticket #685769)

Aware. breast cancer awareness fairy art print by aquariann
cascreates (ticket #685785)

Beaded Bliss Earrings by Armored Hearts
FaerieKat (ticket #685707)

Japanese 12-in-2 Chainmail Bracelet by Baron Byron
cascreates (ticket #685778)

Bright Gold Peyote stitch & Red Tear Drop Glass Set by cascreates
FaerieKat (ticket #685697)

Sweet Sweet Honey - 2 sets of cards: Plain Pink and White Fur and Classy Lady Earrings by Crazy4Cards
Savannah, Tampa Downtown Market (ticket #685766)

Ostara, German Goddess of Easter by Daydreamer Art
Lady Steel (ticket #685708)

Pink and Silver Stepping Stones Bracelet by Coldfire Customs
cascreates (ticket #685784)

Canterbury Bells Earrings by FaerieKat
Joyce N. (ticket #685798)

Lavender Babies Set - Hearts by Fairies Nest
Char Anderson (ticket #685802)

Three Flower Buds, One with Breast Cancer Ribbon Choker by Fairy Queen Crochet
FaerieKat (ticket #685703)

Wire Wrapped Heart Pendant Necklace by Gypsy Moon Art Studio
FaerieKat (ticket #685706)

Bead Crochet Bracelet by Inner Muse Jewelry
Monica R., Tampa Downtown Market (ticket #685736)

Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Chainmaille Scales Bracelet by Kali Butterfly
FaerieKat (ticket #685702)

Cartilage Chain Earring by merigreenleaf
Joyce N. (ticket #685796)

Cop A Feel by mermaiden
Eirewolf Creations (ticket #685772)

Stainless steel Half Persian 4-in-1 bracelet by Nicole Hill
cascreates (ticket #685790)

FAIRY CAT STATUE - Fantasy Fairie Concrete Art by Phenome Gnome
whskr (ticket #685712)

Wings of Hope Owlet by Plushroom Soup
Lady Steel (ticket #685710)

Heart Strings Wallhanging by Threads of Magique
Elle Belle (ticket #685711)

April Spring Blue Pin by whskr
cascreates (ticket #685787)


Congratulations to all of the prize winners!! I'm so excited for all of you, there were some really amazing prizes! I will contact each of you directly to confirm your mailing address. I have all of the prizes and will be busy putting packages of them together over the next few days to ship out to all of you. I'm hoping to have everything shipped by the end of next week and will notify you when your package goes into the mail.


A Very Special Thanks:
~It started with the amount of people that were willing to help me and help the cause. I had no idea that I would have so many amazing artists and crafters offer to donate their work. I get warm fuzzies when I think of all of the support I received from these amazing people. Not only did they donate products, but also helped promote the fundraiser.
~Tiffany at the Tampa Downtown Market rocked my world when she let me set up my fundraising tent for free. Thanks to Tiffany, I was able to bring all of the amazing raffle prizes out for showing off, raise money to find a cure, and help raise awareness.
~Tara at Scoutie Girl and Mallory at Miss Malaprop were insanely cool and helped promote the raffle to their readership. Thanks so much for the support, ladies!
~My main line of support, my rock: Scott. Thank you so much for helping me get my signs made, being my wing man at the market (including making sure I ate something!), listening to me talk about the raffle incessantly for the month of planning and then the month it was running, and so much more. What would I do without you?
~And finally, to all of my donors: those of you who were able to follow my rather wordy instructions to donate online and the others that I met at the market that oooohed and aaaahed over all of the prizes. Every dollar that you donated will go straight to Susan G. Komen to fund breast cancer research, education, and breast health programs. With all of my heart, I thank you.


A little bit of a synopsis:
The final week started with $125 raised for the raffle. There was $600 worth of amazing goods donated and what I thought would be a realistic goal for the fundraiser would be $200-300. The final amount raised was: $210

The 3 Day: Week Eleven Progress Report

A little bit of fun...
I came home from Lowe's with a whole bunch of plants this week and... a 3 Day garden flag!


Another bit of random goodness...
I received a very sweet, very supportive e-mail through my blog from an absolute stranger. She's actually a fellow walker and Training Walk Leader in Denver and even though I know walkers from around the country through blogs & twitter, I had never "met" her before. She shared with me her experiences buying shoes for the event and tips for getting started training. She was incredibly kind and supportive of me and my efforts so far and basically told me not to give up on myself (the whole frustration with my feet thing). It was awesome e-mail and I really appreciate that she took the time to reach out to an absolute stranger for a virtual hug like that. Warm fuzzies...


Training
I nearly had a heart attack this week when I saw how much it's costing me to go to the foot doctor. They even charged for taping up my feet at that first visit! It's nuts, but I don't have a choice: I have to get my feet healthy.

That said... I went back to the doctor again this week for yet another follow up. If you follow my blog, you would have seen my announcement earlier in the week (I was too excited to wait for this blog post): at my follow up, the doctor cleared me to start walking again!!! I'm not 100% yet and he wants me to do some physical therapy, but he said that since there's been improvement I can go ahead and start back. He seemed to think that the semi-custom orthotics are working just fine for me for now, too. Obviously, I'm going to take it slow and be smart about it; it certainly wouldn't make sense for me to hurt myself at this point. I'm not going to go out with any goal. I'm just going to go for a walk for as long as it feels comfortable. He stressed that I shouldn't walk every day (obviously) and to include cross training (I would have done that anyway).

I can't tell you how happy and relieved I was when I left the office that day. I literally had perma-grin for the rest of the day. I was so happy, that I actually started to cry at one point. I know that it isn't going to be easy and that I'm going to have to take it slow, but at least now I know that I can do it. I feel strong again. I AM a Pink Warrior.


Fundraising
Four pieces from the Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection sold on Etsy this week!! I thought it was cool that two of the bracelets that sold will be Mother's Day gifts and the other two pieces are for a fellow 3 Day walker. Thank you so much Blue Buddha Boutique for donating all of the jump rings that made this possible!!!

I contacted some of the very popular handmade blogs this week to see if they might be interested in sharing info about my handmade raffle to their readership. The amazing Tara of Scoutie Girl announced the raffle on her Facebook page. I haven't seen any donations as a result of it but there were a few comments, so I at least know that people did check it out.

Mallory over at Miss Malaprop also promoted the raffle in a post about a fundraiser that she's doing. It sounds like a really amazing cause, so if you're in her neck of the woods please be sure to check it out!

In order to try and drum up some more interest for this last week of the handmade raffle, I'm offering a gift to everyone that participates regardless if they win a prize or not. Hopefully, it will draw a few more donations! We're at $175 raised through the raffle so far, I'd love to get it up to a nice, even $200.

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $2,014 or 88%
Remaining: $286
Countdown: 173 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 benefiting the 3 Day!
This is the last week to make a donation in order to enter to win a prize: the drawing is on Friday, May 14, 2010.
Everyone that participates this week receives a gift regardless if you win a prize or not. Details here.

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part IV

This is the final Friday Finds to feature the amazing sponsors for my handmade raffle benefiting the 3 Day. 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! Let's make this final week of this fundraiser a good one!

Make sure you read through until the end for a special offer!

Not only has whskr made a beautiful piece to contribute, but she also made an impressive commitment to help spread the word about the 3 Day and this raffle. In addition to making this beautiful Art Doll Brooch, Marjorie is a doll.

Crazy4Cards has donated these adorable and very appropriate bra cards. Whoever wins her donation, will open the package to find not just the cards but also some earrings and some other goodies. I think she had some fun putting together her package!

When cascreates offered to donate a piece for this raffle, Chris very generously offered for me to pick any item from the shop. This necklace and earring set glimmer and glitter like pure gold and the beadwork is beautiful!

Amber Moran has offered a very special piece as her contribution. She will create a custom portrait of up to two people and/or animal. Talk about an amazing way of honoring a loved one.

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!

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

As I mentioned, this is the last week of the handmade raffle fundraiser. I'd like to make this last week count, so I'm going to make a special offer to everyone who participates this week. You don't even have to be one of the lucky prize winners. Everyone who purchases tickets (aka: makes a donation) for this raffle will receive a free Euro 4-1 chain maille bracelet from Athena's Armoury.

All you have to do is:
-Make a donation of any amount (the minimum that the 3 Day website will accept is $5) to my 3 Day fundraising.
-Make a comment on the raffle blog post (with you name, e-mail addy, & number of tickets or dollar amount) so that I can correctly cross reference.

There are $600 worth of amazing products to be won. So far, this raffle has raised $125 to go towards breast cancer research and breast health programs. Will you help me raise at least another $75 (to get up to a nice even $200) to go towards the fight against breast cancer?

Thank you so much for your support!!

Pink Warrior Inspiration

I have really great news that I couldn't wait for my weekly 3 Day Progress Report to share with you. I went to the foot doctor again today for yet another follow up: he said that there's an improvement and that I can start walking again!!! I practically cried today, I was so happy. I've been getting pretty down for the past couple of weeks and, honestly, was fearing that I wouldn't be able to do the event. So, this news was HUGE for me today. I feel unbeatable. Once again, I feel like a Pink Warrior.

I feel like celebrating, so I thought I'd share with you the song that inspired my Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection (available in Athena's Armoury on Etsy & Artfire).

The supplies for the Pink Warrior Collection were all very generously donated by Blue Buddha Boutique, so ALL proceeds will go straight to my 3 Day fundraising. Also, check out the special going on from now until Mother's Day for free breast cancer awareness accessories.

The 3 Day: Week Ten Progress Report

Training
Well, the good news is that my feet don't seem to be constantly uncomfortable and for the most part, I've been able to start walking normally again. The bad news is that it doesn't take long after I start walking for them to start to hurt. Now, I'm not talking about training walks here, I'm just talking about walking in my daily life. I have to be honest with you, I'm having a hard time imagining being able to walk the event with how quickly they start to hurt. I realize that I've still done a lot for the cause with raising the money and the awareness that I've been able to raise, but it really meant a lot to me to be able to participate in the event.

I think I need to pull myself up and stop thinking about it. Yes, training starts in just a few weeks and I may not be able to start training with everyone else. But, there is still a very real possibility that I can participate. I shouldn't rule it out yet.

And even if I can't do the 60 miles, I can either walk part of it or it's probably possible to switch and become a crew member so I can still be a part of the event.

In the meantime, I will continue to do my yoga & pilates. I also have a follow up with the doctor this week. Fingers crossed.


Fundraising
The Pink Warrior Chain Maille Collection debuted this week!! You can check out the announcement at this blog post. I also have a special going on from now until Mother's Day (Sunday, May 9): with the purchase of any item from the Pink Warrior Collection, you will receive a silicone breast cancer awareness bracelet, a pink awareness ribbon, and a breast self exam card all for free! The offer is good for a purchase of raffle tickets, too! Check out the details in this blog post.

I spent some time one afternoon calling up a few different stores to try setting up my fundraising table out front (Girl Scouts do it around cookie time). I had heard from many walkers who had done this and were quite successful: easily raising $400-800 over the course of just a few hours. It didn't work out so well for me, however. The answers I got included:
"No."
"That's solicitation. No."
"The store manager isn't here. Call back."
And, my personal favorite: "Isn't it a little early to be fundraising?"

Oh, well, if it's too early, let me just tell breast cancer to go on hold for a little bit while I wait for the appropriate time for fundraising to start. Breast cancer doesn't wait, why should I?

I also had one guy who said that they don't normally let individuals (as opposed to groups like the Girl Scouts) do fundraising because they have no way of tracking the money. I couldn't make him understand that I'm not doing this as an individual, that I am a part of a larger group (like the individuals that are selling Girl Scout cookies). I also offered three different ways for him to "track the money" through the 3 Day. He, apparently, wasn't satisfied with any of that.

Talking to these people was such an aggravating experience. I think I'm going to try asking a few local businesses who may want to do good and don't have to go through "corporate".

I also may try to contact the market that let me set up & see if they have any other space available for me before the market ends for the season. I really do want to get back out in the public eye with all of this.

Mileage to date on training walks: 41
Goal: $2,300
Achieved: $1,964 or 85%
Remaining: $336
Countdown: 180 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!

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!

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!

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!