Makin' It Rain.

Happy Monday, ya hot babes!

Warning: this post is a bit more serious than usual (despite my ridiculous photo choice).

 Space Kittens Hate Cancer

Last summer I wrote about my experience walking in the Avon 2 Day for Breast Cancer. It was challenging, rewarding, and began me on this road to whole health and being thankful for what I have.

Cancer is hard. Cancer is devastating. Cancer is not a death sentence.

Cancer has touched my life a handful of times--my grandpa battled it when I was a child, I lost a childhood friend to it far too young, my cousin was a tiny walking skeleton when she was 7, I lost one of my favorite women in the world to it almost ten years ago. In 2013 cancer--the raging bitch that she is--decided to hit my family again in a big way. When I found out that this disease had made yet another stop into my world, it was the single most devastating moment of my life. It gave me a new passion for fundraising and volunteering--specifically for charities that focus on all kinds cancer research. I am committed to raising beyond my minimum goal and walking every single step of the 2 Day in honor of those in my life that have battled.

I am currently raising funds for this year's walk that will take place at the end of May. If you'd like to donate to me and my team (and become my favorite person ever), please visit my fundraising page. I reward for donations because the support--both monetary and emotional--means a great deal to me. Last year's donor care packages included hot pink cookies, organic homemade pet treats, little toys and trinkets, homemade bunting, and more. This year I'll also be sending out thank you gifts because bribery sometimes works and also I like to send snail mail.

Don't feel like you have to donate your life's savings to help out. Even a donation of $5 helps a ton and earns you cookies.

Have a rad day and be good to yourself. :)

In It to End It.

If you're going to walk your ass off there's no better place to walk than gorgeous Chicago.

 



I mentioned here that earlier this summer I completed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer: Chicago. One of my best and oldest friends, Cara, suggested we walk together and before I knew it we had formed our tiny team, named it Blush & Bashful, and were officially ready to walk.

 

We each needed to raise just under $2,000 to be eligible to walk (little known fact, if you don't raise it you can't walk it). I had an amazing group of supporters that helped me meet and exceed my fundraising goal (and they were handsomely rewarded with homemade care packages). If you ever raise money for charity I promise you will be pleasantly surprised by all the giving, supportive, wonderful people you know. It made me all warm and mushy-gushy and pretty much in love with everyone I know.

 

 

Our weekend started with a powerful opening ceremony that included stretching, jokes, and speeches from survivors and fellow walkers. One speaker who I wanted to hug so hard was a recent survivor who was walking for her first time all alone. I can still hear the beauty of her opening statement, "I had breast cancer but breast cancer did not have me." I'm basically obsessed with her.

 

 

Three miles in and feeling good! The blisters didn't start until around mile 10 or so and we were lucky to have GREAT first day walking weather.

 

It rained all night Saturday! Our tent was drenched and everything smelled like yuck but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Cadillac is a Walk sponsor and if you raised a TON of money you had the chance to win Cadillac tenting with personal airbeds, fans, AND concierge service. I am determined to win one next year.

One time, in a heightened sense of living like there's no tomorrow, Cara painted her entire face pink.

With this photo our team for next year had a name...

Day 2: mile 11 for the day, mile 37 overall. When you walk for so many miles the delirium sets in and there is an emotional rollercoaster. At mile 3, we were elated. At mile 9 we were tired. At mile 15 we hated everything. At mile 26 we were thankful for everything. At mile 37 we wrapped ourselves in complimentary space blankets (it was raining and we were freezing!) and laughed uncontrollably.

 

Fun with face paint! No makeup, no sleep, no problem.

At the finish line feeling proud, emotional, and TIRED!

 

The walk was life-changing in the best way. I learned to value my health, work hard to improve my body, and be grateful for what I have. It was exhilarating, miserable, fun, and emotion all at once. Will I come back for more? You bet your beautiful ass!

 

See you in 2014 Avon Walk: Chicago! Cara and I will be reppin' our new team, Space Kittens Hate Cancer!

 

 



Challenge Accepted

My shoes post-Dash...MUCH cleaner than last year!

 

I've decided I need to live every month with a theme. I love the heck out of a good theme. Like maybe July can be 80's month and August can be mashed potato month (not sure how to work with that theme but c'mon it'd be totally delicious). Or, just maybe, I can focus on one challenge per month because my theme months may really rack up quite a cost in costumes and decorations.  

 

June was all about challenging myself. I am not really someone who challenges herself physically. I love a good challenge at work and lawd knows I love to play Boggle against people who know really big words but I don't often make my bod do...well...much of anything. I didn't intend for it to be a month of facing obstacles (literally and figuratively) but it just happened that the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Warrior Dash were both in June. Each deserve a post dedicated just to them because each was such a transformative experience (June was full of those too) so I'll hopefully remember to go into each event in more detail in a later post.

 

At the end of May I started thinking about the challenges I had ahead of me in the coming weeks and to be honest? I was scared shitless. I kept telling myself that I couldn't walk almost 40 miles in 2 days and that I couldn't face a 5k littered with tough obstacles all by myself. I had this looming voice in my head, "not fast enough, not thin enough, not fit enough, not tough enough." I started to believe that I wouldn't complete the challenges ahead. But guess what...I did.

 

Suck it, looming voice that fills my head with thoughts of doubt!

 

Once we got to walking, the Avon Walk was so much fun. It was miles of laughing with one of my best and oldest friends and yelling at the top of our lungs because we're super obnoxious together and that's just what we do. It was about meeting people and connecting for a bigger cause. At the end of the weekend I felt such a sense of accomplishment that I misted up a little bit at the finish line. I realized that no matter my current body shape or weight or what other people say, I kick ass.

 

The Warrior Dash was intimidating because, though I ran it last year with two of my other best friends, I was running it this year alone. I didn't want to do it and up until twelve hours before my wave time I was thinking of chickening out but I have an amazing support system in my life. No, I'm for real. I had a handful of wonderfuls telling me to do it for myself and how proud I would be at the end. Know what? They were right. I hit this moment right before the end where I felt such clarity and I was so proud of myself and damn it I felt so strong! Then I went back to wanting to die for a little bit and then I crossed the finish line and it was all over.

 

I'm so excited to see what other challenges I can throw my own way this summer. I'm running the Shape Magazine Diva Dash and I am ready to kick some serious ass.

 

 

Now go and kick some ass today, you hottie!