Tag I'm It

I just got tagged by my sister Erika. Check out her fabulous blog.

1. 10 years ago - I was finishing my senior year of high school. I went to my prom, took my finals, and got my diploma. I can't believe it's been 10 years. Time flies!

2. 5 things on my to do list - walk at least 5 miles today, plan fundraising activities, write thank you notes, go shopping, and get ready for our anniversary dinner tonight.

3. Snacks that I enjoy- s'mores, cookies, chips & salsa, Snickers, and ice cream

4. What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire - Move to a tropical island paradise and spend every day at the beach

5. 5 places I have lived - Houston, College Station, Bryan, Fort Worth and Phoenix

6. 5 jobs I have had - Systems Engineer, Procurement Engineer, Project Engineer, Avon Rep, and Umpire

7. 3 of my bad habits - I don't do dishes, I don't hang my clothes up, and I procrastinate

8. 5 random things people don't know about me - Lettered in 5 high school activities (softball, volleyball, soccer, debate, and academic decathlon), I am a member of two Greek organizations (Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor Society and Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority), I have a masters degree in engineering, I am an aunt to 20+ kids with 3 more on the way, and I've hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up

Tag you're it Chase!

I Like My Toes

Last weekend Christy and I got pedicures. I figured that I better take a picture of my toes since they might not look this good for a long time (see Inspirational Poem). Linda told me after she did her three day her feet have never been the same again. I will be sure to take some before and after pictures to keep track.

Sunday afternoon I completed my first 10 mile training walk. Woohoo! I am building up some awesome calluses from all this walking. I also got my first blister. =(

Another Bake Sale

I have committed to bringing a treat into work once a week and selling it to raise money for my three day. It's dual purpose since most weeks I have to make a cake for my Wilton cake decorating class anyway and I couldn't possibly eat all the cake I make. This week I made a fondant bow cake shaped like a Tiffany Box. I think my co-workers appreciate the treats and I like making them.

Inspirational Poem

Lately I've been so wrapped up in planning fundraising events, begging for donations, and walking my butt off. It is easy to get frustrated and forget why I am really doing this. I read this poem today and it made me realize that there is hope and my efforts will pay off.


If it will Save a Sister
Give me a Blister

If it will Save a Mother
Give me Another

If for a Cure to Unveil
I must lose a Toenail

Then Take all Ten
And LET THE CURE BEGIN!!!!

Help Me Raise Money By Shopping

Shop at the stores you shop at anyway. Over 500 stores participate in this program. Including:

Walmart
Target
Best Buy
Overstock.com
Apple (ITunes)
Circuit City
Sears
HP
Dell
Toys R Us
Office Depot
Office Max
Staples
Cooking.com
Crabtree & Evelyn
Southwest Airlines
Priceline.com

and many, many more! Plus search for additional discounts and coupons in the Shop for a Cure Online Mall. Just visit this website and find the store(s) where you want to shop.

http://www.visitourmall.com/shopforacure

Each store has commited to donating a percentage of sales or a flat rate to my 3 Day Walk.

Every little bit helps!

Poker Face

I received my first donation through my website today. It was from my sister Erika. Thank you Erika! You rock!

I receive another generous offer today. Patricia wants to organize a poker tournament and donate the proceeds to my 3 Day walk. Woohoo! I can definitely use all the help I can get. So many people have been supportive of my efforts. I feel blessed to know them.

I have another update on the volleyball tournament. We already have 20 people signed up to play. It has only been a week since we started publicizing it and we still have one month to go before the tournament.

The benefit luncheon is coming along too. It looks like May will be a big fundraising month. Here are the events planned so far:

May 1 Poker Tournament
May 7 Benefit Luncheon
May 14 Volleyball Tournament

C is for Cookie

I made chocolate chip cookies and sold them as a fundraiser yesterday. They were very popular. I think my co-workers are getting tired of all the cake I've been bringing in from my cake decorating classes. I'm getting tired of cake too. They will get another one on Monday because I have to make a fondant cake in my next class. I'm definitely going to have to make more cookies soon though.

Volleyball Fundraiser

The volleyball tournament fundraiser is about a month away. The details are coming together quickly.

42-in-42 Volleyball Tournament
Proceeds Benefit Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
May 17
Goodyear Community Park
$30/player
$10/each additional family member
$5/non-player
free lunch and water

We are hoping to get gift cards donated to give as prizes to the winners. I went to a few businesses yesterday and got one gift card from Emerald City Smoothie. Thank you Emerald City! Several other businesses said they might be able to donate too. I'm getting really excited and I think this will be a really fun event. Thank you to the planning committee and especially Steve for getting this together. You guys are awesome!

Hip Hop

Today was the Healthy Kids Day Fair at the YMCA. They had food, games, music, and demos. My hip hop class performed our Feedback routine. I'm the one wearing the pink shirt in the back.

Lots of Donations

I went to the Litchfield Park Arts and Culinary Festival this weekend. I brought my fundraising letters with me and asked the vendors if they would donate items that I could use in a raffle or silent auction to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I received lots of really cool items. Take you so much to all the people who donated. I will post photos soon of the items with the artist's names and links to their websites. I also want to thank Office Max for your making copies of my fundraising letter and donation form. Your generosity is definitely appreciated. I am learning so much about fundraising for non-profits through this experience. If anyone has suggestions for fundraising do's and don'ts please leave me a comment. I can use all the help and advice that I can get.

The Desert is Blooming

I went on a walk this morning around my neighborhood and noticed lots of plants in bloom. It's hard to believe anything can grow in this desert climate let alone beautiful flowering plants. It made my walk so enjoyable. I'm sure this won't last much longer since summer and 100+ degree temperatures are right around the corner.

Back in Action

After a week off I headed back to the gym today. It felt good to be able to work out again. I almost didn't make it though. There was some drama after work today with my car. The hunk of junk didn't want to get in gear. When I tried to put it in reverse it made a terrible, donkey-like sound and he didn't want to budge. It turns out that he just needed some clutch fluid. Why couldn't he just speak up and tell me instead of throwing a little temper tantrum? Spoiled cars are a pain to deal with sometimes. Anyway, I finally made it to the gym and got in 4 miles on the treadmill. With all the pollen in the air right now I should probably workout indoors for a while. Hello treadmill here I come. I did see a sign today that the gym is getting some brand spankin' new treadmills next week. I don't know what is wrong with the ones they currently have. I think they are fabulous but apparently they are not as high tech, state-of-the-art as the new ones we are getting. I don't know how they can be any better unless they come with a lazy boy. Now that would be fantastic if you could just sit there and the machine would do the workout for you. I would be skinny and strong in no time.

My Rest Week

My rest day turned into my rest week. I got sick. yuck! I've been sniffling, sneezing, and coughing for almost a week now. I think it started out as allergies and it turned into a sinus infection. It definitely made my trip to Austin, which was sad anyway since it was for my grandmother's funeral, even more miserable. I went to the doctor on Monday and got some new medicine to try. I thought I could make it through the work day yesterday but I ended up going home. I will try it again today. I hope that I start feeling better really soon because I am way behind on my training plan this week.