Miles & Memories for Melons!

The 3-Day. It's finally here! Time to Cheer!!

2008-10-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that what started for me in February will all start this Friday, October 24th!

We are ready are you?

WE NEED YOUR HELP!! We are looking for Cheerleaders! Not wearing cute little skirts or making pyramids while flirting with the captain of the football team, but BREAST CANCER CHEERLEADERS!!

If you think you are our person, then reply to me here or walkforthecure@yahoo.com. You can also call my cell. If you need that number, leave a comment on here with your email address and I'll send it to you! If you'd like to go with a group, I'll direct you to my cheerleading captain, Melissa Willmert. (Or if you know her, drop her an email or give her a buzz.)

********IMPORTANT: YOU WILL NEED MY CELL NUMBER!! ON THE DAY OF THE WALK, PLEASE USE THIS NUMBER TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AT**********

We will also have a group from my home church, Fellowship, so you are welcome to join them for a BLAST! You'll get the inside scoop on where we are at during the walk and much more (you actually get to draw on pretty posters-whoo hoo!)

You won't want to miss out.
TRUST ME!!!

The cheering station schedule and other information is below.

Hope to see you there!

Melissa & Team Miles & Memories for Melons

Cheering Stations:
Cheering Stations are a great way to show your support along the route to encourage walkers and let them know that you are with them every step of the way. Seeing familiar faces cheering them on can provide that extra burst of energy that gets them to take that next step or go the next mile. Create banners, hold up signs, bring some music and make some noise - anything to make them smile, get energized and keep walking.

Friday, October 24:

9:00 am - 11:00 am
North American Mission Board
4200 North Point Pkwy.
Alpharetta, GA 30022

Saturday, October 25:
9:15 am - 12:00 am
Oreck Vacuums Store
5005 Peachtree Pkwy.
Norcross, GA 30092

11:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Duluth Monarch School
3057 Main St.
Duluth, GA 30096

Sunday, October 26:
7:45 am - 9:30 am
Lowe's
4950 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Chamblee, GA 30341

9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Deka Athletics
375 Pharr Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30305

(Melissa's Monday) She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes!

2008-09-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Stone Mountain to be exact. Oh- and I never knew I was scared of stairs....until walking down them after I had walked 19 and 16 miles in one weekend!! Oh yeah, you read me right. A total of THIRTY FIVE MILES! I was amazed that I even had it in me.

Now for all of those who know me, I'll start with answering your questions before they can even be asked:

1.) Did you eat???

YES! I ate.

2.) You can't afford to loose weight. Did you?

No, I did not loose any weight. As a matter of fact, I came home 3.5 pounds heavier. REALLY.

3.) How is that even possible???!!

Because of water intake and constant eating to maintain nutrients, fluids and calories....yep...I probably ate more than my entire pregnancy in one weekend. PLus, most weight is lost through muscle confusion, meaning you need to train in other ways such as cardio and other various forms of fitness to loose weight quickly.

4.) How do you feel?

Umm... About like my legs are going to fall off. Literally. My feet are actually fine, but the hills from walking are what hurt me the most.

To preface the story for full meaning, I'll explain a little.When you sign up for the 3-Day, they send you out this wonderful packed FULL of all kinds of information to get you started. Inside this packet is what will become one of your most prized possessions: your 3-Day lanyard and badge. It's a necklace/ID that they provide you with that have all of your goals to be successful in your walk and fundraising. Each goal has sticker. Each time you meet that goal, you get to place it on the special place for it on the badge. The first couple are pretty simple. For example, logging onto your 3-day website or reaching your 1st $500 in donations.

For me these little stickers have become part of my life. Since March, I have slowly added them to my badge. Each time, I would look at the sheet where each little sticker that was not placed on the badge and wonder if I would have the chance to move them over to it. At some points, the 10 mile sticker looked like it was sooo hard...and the 18/15 mile sticker looked impossible! The $2,200 raised sticker was laughed at nervously and the online check-in sticker was haunting me.

So, when I tell you that this morning as my husband drove, I quietly took my badge out and placed my last sticker for the 18/15 mile walk onto my badge and smiled you have to understand this was a HUGE milestone. I took my fingers and rubbed the stickers down, to make sure those things were going to stick. After all, I worked hard for those suckers!

As I pressed the last one down, I caught my husband glancing over at me. He chuckled to himself and then asked, "What are you doing?" I replied that I had just put my last sticker on. How does he reply?

"You're what?"

Enters the laughter. Uncontrollably. I mean, I really think he thought I had lost it! Here I was having this wonderful, meaningful moment and he thought I had gone nuts. As I tried to explain it, he only looked at me more wildly, so I decided to just end my explanation with, "I guess it's a you have to be there moment.. but it's exclusive to 3-Day participants only." He shrugs and the moment is over.

Looking back, I always thought that choirs would jump up singing "Alleluia" when I finished with my badge of goals. On this day none of it happened. Instead, the feeling of knowing that I can do something that I never thought I could physically do was ten times better than any chorus of alleluias.

Okay, now that's out of the way...I have to tell you about the most amazing weekend! Jennifer, Angela and I decided to go to an overnight camp out training walk at Stone Mountain this past weekend. It was monumental for us. Not just because we walked 18 miles one day and 15 the next, but for many it was confirmation that we had accomplished one of the hardest milestones in the 3-day experience next to the actual 60 miles of the walk.

Angela was in charge of food and....well let's just say I think everyone that came would invite her on ANY camping trip. I'm pretty sure that we ate better than anyone else out there on the campground AND we were in tents! We had yummy pepper jack quesadillas, black bean & corn salsa with Mexican rice on Saturday afternoon and canned biscuits eggs, country ham and maple link sausages on Sunday morning. Keep in mind we all camped in tents with no electricity. In addition to these great meals with trimmings, she even made us "snack packs" for when we were walking! They had bananas, pringles, trail mix, tuna, pepperonis, slim jim's, crackers...I could go on and on.....she just out did herself! Thank you so much for putting so much thought into everything, Angela. :)

I learned one really neat thing about Jennifer. This girl NEVER complains. She is wonder woman...Seriously! Here she is twenty something weeks pregnant and walks WAY faster than me! Truly amazing. Oh...and she's a GREAT tent partner. No snoring, no moving, cuddling...nothing. She's perfect! I just hope that she can say the same about me... ;)

As for my body, let's just say that I think I found parts of my body that I didn't even know existed. How? Because they hurt! After walking our 19 mile walk on Saturday, I felt great. I couldn't believe it. We went to the laser show, came back and made smores and sang a silly shark song(Don't even get me started...it's one that is really cute and stays in your head FOREVER-Thanks Michelle Buice!). THEN CAME SUNDAY MORNING. I woke feeling pretty good and just laid there enjoying all the great sounds of nature...then I tried to move my legs- PAIN!!! It felt like they were both broken and my kids were sitting on them. It was horrible! The thought of walking all over again seemed impossible!

Thankfully, I'm one of those types of people that just hates being left out and told myself that I would walk just ONE circle around the mountain (which is 5 miles, btw). A couple of extra strength Tylenol and one circle around the mountain later, I was a new woman! It hurt, but the thought of the four women in my neighborhood that have or had cancer, my mother, and my great aunt who passed from it and I thought, Who am I to complain? They never had the chance to sit one round out! Suddenly, I had strength that is unexplainable. Amazing, isn't it?

Well, it's heading on midnight and I think I need to go get some rest. Believe it or not, but tomorrow's training schedule calls for 5 miles. Make sure that you read next week's post with me. I'll have information on how you can come be a part of our cheering section at the 3-Day and if you're unable to make that, how you can write letters of encouragement to my team mates and I so that we can read them at the actual walk.

Until then, keep thinking pink and living life!!
Melissa

It's Shannon Time Again!!

2008-09-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hello again everyone! This week has been great. Last weekend my husband and I went to Watson Mill and walked there trails 3 times each and had a good time. It was beautiful; the weather was terrific. I am looking forward to yet another great walk with him this weekend. I am so glad that he is supporting me 100% in this journey. It has really helped me to keep motivated. I have been walking 5-6 miles daily to train through the week but most of my training is done on the weekends. I am also anxious to see how much money I raised with my party lite party. I am closing my show tomorrow night and I should be able to have that posted by the end of next week :) Well that is about all the updates that I have for this week; until next week keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. We all want to make it to the walk as a team and we are praying that we can each raise our amount.
~Shannon

Frantic Thursday (Friday)

2008-09-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I missed my scheduled blog yesterday; I still had people at my house from my party lite party. My party turned out good. I raised $100.00 thus far and the consultant is donating her check to the walk also. I just want to say a big thank you to my friends and family that showed up. Now I am making plans for the bake sale. Hopefully I can raise enough money from hosting a party lite show and two bake sales that I really will not have to go around asking for donations.
As far a training goes I have not trained at all this week. I am looking forward to go out this weekend and walking with my husband. We try to do 10 miles and then stop, take a break and do another 5 or 6. I am hoping that I am prepared for the walk when it gets here in less than 8 weeks! I am so excited! Well that is about all the updates that I have this week. Once again I am sorry for being late on blogging. Until next time please continue praying that our team reaches our goals so we can all walk together!
~Shannon

It's getting close!

2008-08-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

Well, as Shannon mentioned, I had the very exciting experience of meeting my $2,200 fundraising goal this week! I had a feeling of accomplishement when I went to my webpage and was able to see that I had, indeed, reached my goal. Congratulations to Melissa, too! Now I have just been trying to figure out ways to add money to my teammates' fundraising so we can all be sure to walk in just a couple months.

Which leads me to my disbelief at how fast the time as gone. I got my "8 week update" newsletter/training schedule from The 3 Day via e-mail yesterday, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw 8 WEEKS! It seemed like such a long way away when we started, but time has definitely flown by, and before we know it we will be packing up for our 3 day journey. Which makes me realize how much I think I am probably going to regret not training as I should be. I am determined to do the training walk in Stone Mountain in a few weeks; that walk is 18 miles Saturday and 15miles Sunday. I figure if I can do that walk then I should be pretty set for the real thing. I still need to buy another pair of shoes and a few more clothes to wear on the walk, but all of that will come together in the end, I'm sure.

That's all from here this week. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, and until next week, keep reading!

~Jennifer

Exciting News!

2008-08-28T19:01:00.001-07:00

Hello again! I cannot believe how fast time is flying! We are now less than sixty days away from our walk (how exciting)! I want to start out with a BIG congradulations to not one but two of my team mates who have reached their goal this week and raised $2,200.00! Whoo hoo! Way to go! Another one is only $400.00 away! We are making progress! You never realize how hard it is to raise money until you are the one out there asking people for it. I have come to learn that it is not as easy as it seams (even for a good cause). As far as training has been going I am still going strong. Soccer season started today and that will give me a good hour to walk around the fields while my son and husband are out on the fields. I am looking forward to that. I am getting tired of walking on the treadmill. Well I guess that is all the news that I have. Until next time, please continue to keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. We still have a long way to go.
~Shannon

Mondays with Melissa

2008-08-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

I know...it's not Monday. In fact, it's not even Tuesday technically anymore..the clock now reads 1:15 A.M.! I'm getting ready to go to sleep and I could not stop thinking about the fact that I missed my blog on Monday. It's not guilt that keeps me typing, it's the feeling that someone might have missed that daily glance at our blog. Therefore, when God says to listen to my heart. I listen!

If you haven't already noticed, there are several fun features on our blog: I was able to FINALLY figure out how to post the slideshow from our 11 mile walk AND we have music!! Make sure to scroll down to the end of the page and listen to the song labeled "boobs." It's hilarious!

Last week was pretty un-eventful as far as training goes. I only walked 3 miles one day and that was with my 11 month son, Owen, in tow, pushing his stroller up and down hills. This leads me to wonder, should I actually count this as 6 miles? It felt like it! (Haha) Even if it doesn't, I think if I can walk with an extra load (that cries and hurls toys out onto my path) then I should definitely be ready for anything on the 3-Day, right?

This week has been different, though. Not in training, but by the reality that we just hit the 2 month mark before the big day. I spent Monday night going over our team fundraising account and looking at all that we raised by t-shirt sponsorships and fundraisers. In total, we raised close to $3,500.00! That's amazing! That money has went back to my team mates to help them toward their goal. I have decided not to take any of the fundraiser money (other than my t-shirt sponsorship) and continue on with donations from friends. I now only have $99.49 left. The outpour of support from friends, families and local businesses is amazing! Please make sure to check out their websites on the side column of our blog.

As far as our back-to-back walk, we are still trying to work it out. Schedules for 6 women are crazy!! I'll keep you posted and if it happens, don't worry, there will be more pictures!

Well, it's almost 1:30 and if I continue typing I am at risk of not making any sense at all. Off to bed I go.

Until next week...

Think pink. Live life.
Melissa

Friday With Cynthia

2008-08-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Not much to say this time but I thought I'd check in. I've been training fairly steadily by walking around my rustic neighborhood and biking to class. I'm so excited about our next team training event! I am collaborating with the wonderful 40 watt club to set a permanent date and as soon as some of the details are set, I will most surely post the information here! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Until next friday, stay fresh!

Thursdays with Shannon

2008-08-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hello again everyone! I am going to have to keep this short and sweet. This week I have not been training at all but staying on the web looking for information. My son was dignosed with epilepsy on Tuesday so that has been my main focus this week. I am trying to find out as much information that I can so I will be able to help him. Also there is really nothing to update about since I am not having any luck with the e-mails or the mailers that I mailed out to raise the money. I am doing the party lite show still but the date was changed and I am also going to do a bake sale at the end of the month and then do whatever I have to to come up with the rest. I AM GOING TO WALK NO MATTER WHAT! I am determined. I am waiting to hear when our next team meeting or team walk is we have not had one in some time now and I am excited to hear how everyone is doing and how training is going. I also want to see if it is easier for me to stay motivated while walking if I have others around me. I just hope that it is a day that will work out for everyone. Well I am going to close for now. Until next time please keep our team in your prayers that we will be ready for the walk and keep thinking pink.
~Shannon~

Mondays with Melissa

2008-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

(Quick note about last Monday's blog:
Blogger allows you to pre-schedule your blogs and for some reason last week's blog didn't post. If you have a chance, go back to Monday, August 11th and take a look at my blog. I just caught it today and hate it that you missed it. It had a lot of insight to today's blog about inspiration. Thanks!-Melissa)

It was official today. A new school year. A fresh start. I love summer, but I welcome the school with open arms every year now that I have kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my children, but I say this because with it comes new energy and a feeling of inspiration for me. It's like having New Year's in the middle of the year. It's great!

In case you think I've went off the deep end, I assure you that it's not. I'm actually getting to a point- I'm taking this feeling and running with it in all aspects of my life. Just last week several VERY exciting things happened with me and the 3-Day. Wanna know what? Well, you're gonna get the "in" right now.....I was interviewed by a local magazine about my experience with the 3-Day! How cool is that? I've known for quite some time, but didn't want to say anything until it was official. The magazine is called Lifestyles magazine. It is a local magazine that publishes articles about home decorating, dining, real estate, health and travel in Georgia . Previous issues have featured spa vacations, restaurant reviews and cardiac health, among other topics. My interview will come out in October. I'll make sure to scan it in and put it on the blog as soon as it hits the press! :)

In other news, take a moment to check our our official 3-Day page, www.08.the3day.org/goto/savethemelons . We surpassed the half-way mark and hit 54%. Whoopee! If you've ever tried to RAISE $13,200.00, then you'll know why we're so excited! As far as my individual goal goes, I only have $99.49 left until I have reached my goal. BELIEVE me, you'll be the first to know when that happens!!

As Jennifer said in her last post, we are trying to plan now for our longer training days. She's right. It really is hard to organize and to put aside that time to do it. We're making progress, however. Hopefully next week we can get a date together for our team to walk either at Stone Mountain for one weekend or Blue Ridge. It will be a great overnight trip and a little insight to what we will physically do in October. Pray that our schedules will work and that we will stay safe as we travel to train.

That about wraps it up for now, but I know that I will have much more to update you with next week! Keep a look out for a new slide show that I hope to post this week of our walk in Athens. It's so goofy, but I had to have fun with the little thought bubbles and corny jokes that go along with them. Just wait until you see it, then you'll understand!

Until next Monday....

Live Life. Think Pink.
Melissa

A Saturday Update from Jennifer

2008-08-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

After looking to see that my teammates have started blogging again, I figured that was my cue to get back on the wagon, too! I hope everyone has been doing well. I just got back from a week at the beach (a MUCH needed vacation), so I have to admit I haven't done much for our walk this past week. I am happy to report, though, that Melissa added the money we earned for our T-shirt sponsorships several months ago to each of our accounts, and now I am only $140 away from my $2200 goal. I can feel it within reach, so now I just need to send out a few more e-mails and hope some of those stragglers come through and/ or that some people want to buy cards or t-shirts from me.

I haven't been walking as I should. I am hoping to get out tomorrow night and at least do a short walk. I have had several invitations to 14 and 15 mile training walks from some of the training walk leaders in the surrounding areas. Most of the walks are either at Stone Mountain or in the Cobb county or Cumming area. I am just having a hard time organizing the walks with the rest of the team, and I am a little nervous about going "by myself." I know I would meet new people, but it's still a little anxiety-provoking for me. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can organize a team walk and I can get back on track.

I know this is short this week, but that's about all I have for now (and I need to go eat dinner :-). Hopefully next week I'll have more to report, and until then, think pink!

~Jennifer

Friday Nights with Cynthia

2008-08-15T16:25:00.001-07:00

After a long hiatus, I am back! As I finished with my Junemester classes, I was so excited for summer to finally be "winding down". Ha! I should have known better! Life never lets you forget all the things you have to do and the passing days are constant reminders that time is running out to complete each task. I apologize for not blogging but I am back...refreshed and as energetic as I suppose I can be.

For my 3-day journey, things are looking on the up-and-up. Much thanks to Roll-Off Systems Waste Management and Pat Powell (that's my mom) for their very generous donations that increased my total to close to $700.00! Yay!

In new developments, I have been walking over three miles a day and feeling pretty good about my physical abilities. Additionally, I have now finished two walks that combined have totaled over 25 miles! Super yay! Even more exciting, now that UGA is about to start up I can finally begin booking some local talent for a Breast Cancer Benefit Concert! I'm not sure who I will get to play yet, but I have several wonderful artists that have agreed to aid me in this endeavor! Keep your fingers crossed about this event...the donations from it are imperative to my success!

That's all I have today. I hope everyone has a great restful weekend!

Thinking Pink

2008-08-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. My oldest son started back to school last week; my big second grader, and the walk is quickly approaching. Weekend training is starting to take 5 hours now! I have now decided to push my Saturday walk into the middle of the week so I am training while my husband and son are not at home. I am taking my youngest with me when I train outside and while I am on the treadmill she is playing around me bringing me water. I am amazed at how supportive a 3 year old can be. She does not know exactly what I am doing but she knows that mommy needs water. She is so sweet. I am busy packing up for a family camping trip to Helen where I will have tons of hiking trails to go on! I am excited. I read that they have a 19.2 mile trail and I am anxious to try it. I have not walked that far in one day before so I am hoping that everything goes okay. Well that is about all the updates from me that I have. I hope everyone is having a great week. Until next time keep thinking pink!

Monday with Mel

2008-08-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for my tardiness and lack of blogging lately. If you're a daily reader then you've become a weekly reader lately because, well, there hasn't been any blogs to read!

My household family recently implemented a new "Family" program so that we will start doing more things together, rather than sitting in front of the T.V. or computer all day, lost in cyber/tv space. As a result, my email time has been cut quite extensively, and, therefore all blogging is included. I'm not complaining, though. Why? One way training and fundraising for the 3-day has effected my life is that I've stopped and realized that there are many things from day to day I take for granted. One is the time I spend with my children and the other is the time I spend with my husband (nagging him does not count!). After I stopped and truly considered all of these things, well, I realized this past week that I don't want to wait until they are gone or I have missed it and then regret it.

It's easy to say this, but it's hard to live it. My thoughts were only confirmed when I opened my email this morning to find a new message from another person to let me know they were just diagnosed. As I sat there and thought about what was going through her mind. If I had to face it, what would I do? I think this new view is a life lesson. I'm excited about how it's changed me and I hope it start by doing great things in my family and then spread to my friends. Pray for me as I continue this and focus as I get closer to the walk in October.

To close, I'd like to ask you to take a moment and reflect on your own life. Take a pen and write down the positives and the negatives. From the positives, is there anything you can do to savor those moments more? From the negatives, think outside the box and tell yourself that you can make a change; one for the better. You only live one life and it's your decisions that make it.

Until next Monday...

Live life. Think pink.
Mel

Hello!

2008-08-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been mia for the last few weeks but my life got pretty busy for a short period (not including the fact that windstream accidently cut the dsl line). I decieded that I would slip in today and blog since tomorrow is going to be busy also. My son Cameron is starting second grade tomorrow! Okay now back to how things have been going; I am up to 11 miles now but it is mostly on a treadmill. Cameron's asthma cannot handle being outside playing while I walk the whole time so I am doing 4 miles outside on the road and the rest is inside. I have really started felling it. My calf muscles hurt and at night all I want is a hot shower to loosen up my legs! I am sticking it out though. I cannot believe that I still have 9 more miles to add to that! I am having a partylite party this month to help me with my fundraising. All of my consultants and my earnings will go directly to me for the walk; also if anyone wants to book a party off of me I will be able to add another $50 to that! I am excited I already have two people who are willing not only to do that but who are also willing to donate there earnings to me. I am so excited. Well that is about all of the updates that I have for now. Until next time keep thinking pink!

Another Saturday Update (a day late)

2008-07-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I am a day late in my blogging. I had a very busy, but exciting, day yesterday, and I didn't get home until really late last night. So I started off yesterday by meeting Melissa in Atlanta at the Loudermilk Center, and we set off at 7:10 on a 10 mile walk around downtown Atlanta with about 150-200 other walkers. I am VERY glad we ended up doing that walk, because it gave us a little introduction to what October will be like. We were very fortunate to have nice weather-it was overcast but there was no rain, and it wasn't too hot or humid. I'm not sure how fortunate we'll be with the weather on the "real" walk, but yesterday was nice. We did our first five-mile loop around the aquarium, The World of Coke, by the Westin and all those other hotels, and many other places I can't even begin to remember. We then had a "pit stop" at our starting point, where they had volunteers handing out snacks and water and Gatorade. They have told us many times that this event could not be possible without the crew, or volunteers, and I truly believe that is the absolute truth! Everyone who is willing to give their time to make sure we have enough hydration and food, and also the people who stand at different intersections to make sure we cross the road safely, as well as the people in "costumes" who stand at corners to make sure we remember to smile are so important, and they deserve more of a pat on the back than the walkers, I think!

So after we had our pit stop, we continued on our second five-mile loop, and this time we walked through Piedmont Park and a very long way down Peachtree street. We finished around 11 am and then went to the Expo that the 3 Day was having at the Loudermilk center. Before I talk about that, though, I want to mention that 10 miles might not seem like a terribly long way to walk, but my feet and ankles and shins defintely felt it. Places on my feet that didn't hurt after 5 miles really started to burn at about 6 and 7 miles. It was great practice for me to see what I need to do as far as foot care. For some reason even my shoulders are tired today, so that walk wore me out. I will probably appreciate only walking 10 miles once we get to the 20 mile-a-day part, though! Melissa and I were excited to realize we walked half of a day of what the actual walk will be, so we know we CAN do this!

The Expo was good and very educational. We got to see what our tents are going to look like, as well as how the camp is going to be set up at the event. We also got to see how frequently the pit stops, "grab and go" stops, and lunch are spaced out. We went to a workshop about what and how to pack for camp, and it gave me some good ideas about how to bring only the necessecities. We also got free chair massages, which really felt good after walking. Melissa made a video that she's going to be able to put on her website, so look for more on that later. The walk and the Expo were both very motivating, and I can't wait for more training and then the walk!

I think I've rambled enough for now. I'll be back next Saturday, and until then, keep thinking pink!

~Jennifer

Such innocence...hopefully she can know a world without breast cancer.

2008-07-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I couldn't help but share this lovely picture with you of my girlfriend, Alea's daughter, Rhea, from our tailgate last Sunday. It completely captured and affirmed the reason of why I am still so headstrong about the 3-Day Walk for the cure.

As I sat there in the grass with my two childhood friends and our own children, I couldn't help but think about how great it would be if they never had to worry about a cancer of any kind. Maybe the cure will come in the form of a vaccination of prevention. They already offer one that helps prevent some forms of cervical cancer. Isn't that just amazing if you think about where we were only five short years ago with cancer research? Scientists and researchers are making great strides every day to help us find the cure and prevention. I'm just delighted to say that I have had the chance to be a part of it!

I have more pictures from Sunday's tailgate that I will be posting as soon as I edit them and put them in a slide show through flickr.com. It wasn't the turnout we expected, but, for it to be a 100 degree day in a parking lot, we were shocked that those who did come out gave with big hearts. Thank you to those volunteers and donors. You are truly amazing and only confirm that we are in this for the long haul.

This Saturday, my co-captain, Jennifer, and I will walk our first 10 miles in an "official" training walk in downtown Atlanta. Please pray for us and the weather that we can bear the heat and that our feet will carry us without problems. I'm also excited to say that we will be attending the 3-Day Expo after the training to find out just what we need to be fully prepared for all sixty miles. We've put a lot of effort into getting to the walk; now we want to make sure we enjoy every minute of it (physically, that is....we know the experience will be wonderful!!).

Well, it's heading on midnight-thirty and it's off to bed I go. Tomorrow I am heading over to Kennesaw to be fitted for my new 3-day shoes at Big Peach Running Co.

I'll be in touch soon!
Mel

Saturday with Jennifer

2008-07-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, everyone! Sorry I have been MIA for a couple weeks... I really have no good excuse. Things with our team are very busy this weekend. Tomorrow we are doing our fundraiser, Tailgate for Tatas, at the Oconee County High School. For anyone who lives nearby and would like to come help support us, it will be from 4pm-8pm. It is family-friendly, so bring the kids! We are going to have $6 hot dog plates, and that includes a hot dog, a root beer float, watermelon, potato salad, and baked beans. We are going to have face painting and inflatable bouncers for the kids, and there will also be a flag football game that anyone is welcome to join. We would love to see lots of people there to help us raise money for this very worthy cause! And I must add that Angela is doing TONS for this fundraiser, so if you see her thank her A LOT for putting it all together. She should definitely get into the party planning business or something :-)

Next weekend Melissa and I are going to a 3 Day Expo in Atlanta. Before the expo, though, we are doing a 10 mile training walk. I'm really excited about it because I bought my first outfit for the walk this week, and I also got a fanny pack (dorky, I know, but it's what they recommend!). I get to try all of it out and see how I like everything (or don't like it). After that we get to see all the things The 3 Day recommends for our walk. I think they have a packing demonstration for those of us camping on the walk, as well as some other neat things, so we'll let you know how that goes next weekend. I probably need to make sure to take my wallet because something tells me I'm going to find tons of stuff I "have to have."

In other news, I have recently found out I am pregnant. When we do the walk I will be 25 weeks. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do the walk, but my doctor says that as long as things are going well and I stay well-hydrated then there shouldn't be any problems. I'm excited because that gives me even more of an incentive to train.

That's all the news for this week. I will be better about blogging, I promise, and I'll see you all again next Saturday!

~Jennifer

Another Monday with Mel

2008-07-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

As I look back on my journey thus far I can definitely say that I never could of imagined that this experience would be so life changing for me. I thought about that on Saturday night as neighbors like Violet & Claire Atcheson, Linda Hubbell, Trey Bowen and his wonderful wife (whose name leaves me at the moment-sorry!!), and Rita Trivelpiece scrambled around me as we jumped into action to prepare for that night's fundraiser, Cinema Saturday. Then there was the support of Fellowship Church, my home church, there Shea Childers, Joey & AnnDee Neal, Jason & Meredith Bankston and of course the infamous "Father Ott" and his better half Cathy (wink, wink). Can you believe that it doesn't even stop there???? On top of friends and church family I even had part of the community! The local cafe and coffee shop, "Bean & Berry" offered up cotton candy, popcorn And the most important part......ICE CREAM!!

If you could see me right now, my eyes are watering and I'm sure that my face is a shade close to the cotton candy everyone enjoyed on Saturday. I have never felt so happy, so fulfilled, so accomplished about a project as I have with this before. The very thought of the lives that could be saved and touched by the money we have raised is just amazing!

On Saturday I spoke with a neighbor of mine who was diagnosed this year with stage 3 breast cancer. She is such an inspiration to me. She told me, "Why should I feel sorry for myself when there are little children suffering from cancer? I walk into the treatment center and it's not just people my age. There are teenagers and younger. I feel so lucky to of been healthy this long in life." As we spoke, I realized that I'm even luckier. I am still healthy and I am able to physically do something to change lives. What? I will walk sixty miles. I will walk for her. I will walk for my great aunt (who was an amazing woman and lost her battle several years back). I will walk for my mom, who, like my neighbor, faced cancer in her forties with young children. I will walk for those who will hear those words "You have cancer" tomorrow or the next day and will begin to process that there is a part of their body that is toxic and could potentially kill them. And let's be honest, I will walk because I never want to hear those words myself.

To those who came out in support on Saturday night, thank you! We raised $350!!! I am so overcome with happiness. I have finally reached my individual goal in fundraising, but I'm not done...my team still has close to $5,200 (out of $13,200)raise and that means we are more than half way there. I have faith that we can do it.

If you live in the local Athens, Oconee area, please make every effort to come out this SUNDAY to our Tailgate for Tatas at Oconee County High School from 4pm-8pm. We can't wait to raise more money and take one more step closer to finding the cure.

Until next week. Keep your head high and keep thinking pink!
Melissa

Mondays with Mel!

2008-07-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a true Monday if I couldn't say so myself! It's always hard to get rolling after a holiday weekend of fun, but things have to get done, right? Our team met this morning at Starbucks (try their new strawberry lemonade-yum!) and started to hash out food details for our upcoming event on Sunday, July 20th -Tailgaiting for Tata's! We have been so lucky to found the perfect location -which just so happens to be the whole team's Alma Mater- Oconee County High School in Watkinsville, GA. A huge thank you goes to their Principal, Mark Channell for donating the space for this event.

In addition to the tailgating event, my church, Fellowship, is hosting a Cinema Saturday in The Georgian neighborhood located off of highway 61 in New Georgia. We will have a great family movie, popcorn, ice cream and moonwalks. We'd love for you to join us!

I also had a really interesting phone call today, but I'm not going to talk about it until I have confirmed it...but if it happens, it's going to be really neat. I'll keep you posted!

I can hardly believe that we are just a few short months away from the walk. How exciting! I hate to wrap this up so soon, but I've got to get some sleep.

Until Next Monday. Keep thinking pink!
Melissa

Enjoy your Fourth!

2008-07-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! This blog is going to be short and sweet. I am getting ready for the BIG fourth of July plans, so I do not have much time. This week has been tough. I have started back training and I am up to 4.5 miles a day which I am excited about. My ankle and top of my foot still get really sore and swell at the end of the day but I am going to make it. I am looking forward to our next team meeting for the final plans on the Tailgating for Tata's event that we are hosting on July 20. I am sure it is going to be a great event and hopefuly we will have a good turn out. It is going to be lots of fun for the whole family! Hope to see you all there.
Well that about sums things up for this week from me. I hope that everyone has a great fourth of July weekend. I know that I am going to try to enjoy it. Until next Thursday keep thinking pink!

Thanks to Everyone from "Tips for Tatas" Night!!!!

2008-07-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

So its almost a week now and I am still pumped about how well (and how generous) people were last Thursday night. First and foremost THE BIGGEST THANK YOU to the four servers that not only worked for free for this benefit but did it with a smile on their face. So thank you Jessica, Lauren, Todd, and Justin. I really appreciate your time for a cause that is so important for me! Also a big thanks to my sister and teammate Cynthia and Binky my roommate for the late night they pulled helping me tie together the last strings of planning for the event. Everything looked wonderful and I couldnt have done it with them :)

On to the news that Im sure everyone is dying to know... How much of a success was "Tips for Tatas" Night? Well between the servers tips, the raffle, and straight donations we raised a grand total of $600!!!! I did have to take out the overhead expenses of $150 (all the decorations, millions of copies that had to be made, and supplies) but i still think that $450 is absolutely terrific!

For more pictures from the event, please check our myspace page www.myspace.com/walkforthecure in a few days

Well now its on to literally bigger things as we prepare for our "Tailgate For Tatas" which I know we all hope to be a multi city wide event!

Until next week, have a great 4th of July and don't set anybody on fire with sparklers :)

Saturday Night Update

2008-06-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

So I don't really have much to report this week because I have not been nearly as productive as my teammates. I did get a new pair of shoes for my birthday this past Tuesday that I was fitted for at the New Balance store, and I'm really excited about them. However, I have not yet made time to walk in them and try to break them in. I am really excited about the next walk that I do because I have brand new socks and shoes, but the heat is part of the reason I have been deterred from getting out and training. That and the fact that I don't have anyone to walk with. I know, I know, those are NOT valid excuses, and I will try to do better this week. I start training with a personal trainer again next week after a 2 month hiatus, so I hope that perhaps that will motivate me to get into a routine and walk regularly, even if it's only a couple miles a night. I have a co-worker who is doing the 3 day but she is not on a team. She told me this week that she is up to walking 9 miles one day and 10miles the next. I definitely give her props!

I have heard through the grapevine that Angela had a WONDERFULLY successful Tips for Tatas. I am waiting to hear updates from her, so I look forward to her blog on Tuesday. I was unfortunately unable to make it to Beef O'Brady's, but she and Cynthia were definitely in my thoughts. I'm glad Shannon was able to make it up there for that too. Angela, I'm really proud of and impressed wtih all the work you put into it!!

That's about it for tonight. As I said, not much to report. I hope that the team and I can plan a walk again soon. Next weekend is July 4th weekend, so I think we're going to take a break that weekend since I'm sure most of us have plans. Our next meeting is already creeping up on us, so we'll have lots of news to report then. Keep thinking pink, stay cool, and I'll see you all next Saturday!

~Jennifer

Friday With Cynthia

2008-06-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

I am going to be short and sweet today...really short considering I am typing this IN CLASS while my professor stares at me (good thing I can type without looking)!

I'm not going to lie, right now I feel really heavily burdened with all the things I must do. Finals for my summer classes are next Tuesday and I have two really important papers that are due on Monday...did I mention that I am supposed to be working a double Saturday and Sunday? In the words of Charlie Brown, "GOOD GRIEF!"

Last night was "Tips for Ta Ta's", Angela's project that she had worked so very hard on! I will let her tell you all about it but I will say that it was a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL event and I am so proud of how professional everything looked. Congratulations seestur! I love you!

That's all for today. I'm going to go cry now (no, not literally).

Thursay with Shannon

2008-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tips for Tatas:
So tonight was Tips for Tatas at Beef 'O' Bradys. It went well from what I could tell. We went from about 6 to 730 and by the time that we left it was picking up. I want to say thank you to all of the servers; without them donating there time to work for free tonight would not have been possible. Also a thank you to all of the donors (I am keeping my fingers crossed that I won one of the great prizes.) Angela, you deserve a standing ovation for all the work that you put into tonight. It was truely amazing. Our server was great and always had a smile on her face when she came our way and everyone else seemed to be in a great mood.
Training:
As some of you know I have not been able to train for the last three weeks due to a hair line fracture but this week I gave up my crutches! I am hoping to start off with some easy training again the first of next week and work my way back. My foot is still somewhat swollen and sore but I figure I will tough it out.
Well I am going to have to make this blog very short my three year old is trying to help me type and it is taking forever to type one word. So until next Thursday keep thinking pink and keep your fingers crossed that I won one of the really great prizes :-)

Mondays with Melissa!

2008-06-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm back. Well back online at least and typing to you from one of the cutest little towns in Northern Wisconsin! I apologize that I missed out on my weekly blog last Monday, but I can assure you that I would of rather of blogged than spend a whopping TEN hours in the car with three kids!! :D

Apart from being on vacation, I haven't stopped thinking about my commitment that I've made to my team or the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It has became an everyday thought, and, I have to say I like this new change in my life. It's nice. How many people can say that they have experienced what each of us that are raising money has experienced? Not many. Not enough!

I want to take a quick moment and thank my wonderful co-captain, Jennifer, for picking up and running our June meeting while I am on vacation. It truly means a lot to know that I have someone who has her own very busy life and takes the opportunity to help me out with open arms and no complaints...what a woman! :)

Also, if you have the chance PLEASE plan to head over to Beef O' Bradys on the Eastside of Athens this Thursday, June 26th to support one of our team members (and my sister) Angela in her "Tips for Tata's" fundraiser. How can you loose when you get a night where A.) You don't have to cook B.) You have GREAT food AND prizes! and C.) It all goes to a great cause!

Well that's all for now. The computer at the local library is telling me that I only have 2 minutes and I loose it all! (Oh these little towns...)

To thinking pink!
Melissa

Saturday Night Update

2008-06-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hello again, so soon! So Cynthia, Angela, and I went on our team walk this morning at the Botanical Gardens. Stephanie wasn't able to join us because her little girl was awake all night so I guess no one in the house slept Friday night... my sympathies are with you and Rich, Stephanie! We missed her and hope she can make a few more walks with us before she has to leave for Michigan in August. Hopefully Shannon will be able to start joining us soon, too, once her foot is healed.

It was raining when we left our houses to walk this morning. I really didn't want to walk in the rain, but the forecast was only calling for "light showers," and we need to train in all types of weather in case we encounter it on The 3 Day, including rain. We were fortunate that it stopped raining just as we started the walk, and we were walking under a lot of trees so the drizzling that might have been happening didn't reach us. The walk started out kind of slow since we were on wet, slippery trails with roots that we're not used to, but we picked up the pace a couple miles into the walk, and we definitely got a good workout! There were a few hills that I wasn't anticipating, and my lungs and legs were feeling them by the time we got to the top! I had my pedometer on, but as I think I've mentioned before I don't really trust it most of the time. According to it we walked a total of 5.3 miles in 2 hours, but I'm convinced we walked closer to 6 miles, so I think we decided to call it 5.5 "or so" miles that we walked today. Cynthia and Angela, and maybe Stephanie, are planning another walk next Saturday. If I'm not working I plan to join them... we need all the training we can get!

On my way home this afternoon I clocked a route close to my house that is close to 8 miles. I really want to walk it, but I wish I had someone to walk it with me since I'm more motivated that way. If anyone wants to volunteer to drive out to Winder to walk with me, just let me know! :-)

That's about it for now. Have a great weekend and I'll see you all again next Saturday (and maybe before if I need to substitute again)!

~Jennifer

Thursday Substitution

2008-06-19T16:17:00.001-07:00

Hello again, Everyone! So I'm blogging for Shannon tonight because her DSL modem is malfunctioning and she is not able to get online. I told her I would blog before I realized that I don't have much to add after Stephanie's informative blog yesterday! Like her, I am excited about how the meeting went, and we have a lot to do to get ready for the Tailgating for Tatas event. We will definitely have another informative meeting on July 7th because we left a lot up in the air last night while we all complete our designated tasks. I will go grocery shopping this weekend and next week to determine the cost of the potato bar and corn-on-the-cob, so once I get that done I will feel productive :-) I'm looking forward to our walk on Saturday and really hope it's nice outside like it was yesterday. The shade from the trees should help keep the heat away, and let's just hope it doesn't rain!

I don't have much else to add, but I'll update you all on our walk on Saturday evening. Until then, stay cool and think pink!

~Jennifer

Wednesday Meeting Updates

2008-06-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Phew! Our meeting tonight was very informative! All the team members were there except Melissa (on vacation) and we accomplished a lot. Now, if I could only read my notes so I could fill you guys in!

First, this coming Saturday we have a team walk planned at the Botanical Gardens in Athens at 9 am. They have several miles of trails and lots of nice foliage to look at. Hopefully it will be a nice breezy day (fingers crossed)! I'm looking forward to that!

Don't forget to go support the Tips for Tatas at Beef O'Bradys on eastside (Athens) next Thursday night. Our team is posting flyers anywhere we can find an open spot, so keep your eyes out. All tips earned go to the Susan G Komen foundation for the cure and are a great tax write off, so there's no excuse not to come!

As Angela mentioned yesterday, we have a location for the Tailgating for Tatas! Save the date for July 20, 2008 from 4-8 pm. FUN FUN FUN! Food, Raffles, Moonwalk Bouncers, and Flag Football. What more could you ask for? Plan to be there! More details to follow as the time approaches.

We are still working on some other fundraising opportunities and other opportunities to sell our team shirts so keep your eyes peeled for some other possible events to meet and support our team.

In other news, the owner of Jersey Mikes on Epps Bridge Pkwy as agreed to put one of our cans there! So if you're there and have some spare change...go ahead and drop it in! I'm still working on other places to set these out.

Wow! I think that's about all for right now. We have another team meeting planned for July 7, 2008, so.... keep thinking pink and SAVE THE MELONS!

Stephanie

Here It Comes!!!!

2008-06-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

So Tips for Tatas Night is vast approaching and I am getting more excited each day! i now officially have all my raffle prizes. They are listed as follows:

-1 month free tanning from bodyplex
-1 month free tanning from bodyplex
-3 month free membership from bodyplex
-Pagoda sterling silver breast cancer ribbon charm on a leather necklace from JWR Jewelrs
- Fifty dollar gift card from Beef O Bradys
-1 free haircut from Republic Salon
-1 free haircut from Republic Salon
- $100 Visa Gift card from Exclusive Pallet

Things are coming together nicely and I cant wait for next Thurs!

Also the other major news is we now have an official spot for the Tailgate for Tatas Event. The only bad news is that we will be moving the event to Sunday July 20th instead of Saturday July 19th. Which I think will actually work better because that will give us a day to plan :) But the principal of Oconee County Highschool Mark Channell has graciously allowed us permission to use the school parking lot and practice soccer field!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. CHANNELL! I know you'll be missed as principal (His last day in office is July 1st)

Well i guess im going now because i have yummy food cooked by the chef boyfriend awaiting me :)

Untill next week Have a Great One!!!!

-Angela :)

Another Saturday Update

2008-06-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday again! Today was a very exciting day for Stephanie and me as far as our walk is concerned. First we met at the New Balance store in Athens and had a short shoe clinic. It was very informative and interesting. It made me want to buy everything in the New Balance store, from shoes to socks to this cute little skirt with shorts underneath. I'll have to save up money for all that, though. After the shoe clinic, we went on a 6 mile training walk that was organized by The 3 Day. We left from the New Balance store, and for those of you familiar with Athens, we walked down Epps Bridge, through Tanglebrook (LOTS of hills!), down Epps Bridge some more to Iris Place and through that complex, and then we came back out on Epps Bridge and walked back to the store. I have driven down Epps Bridge many, many times, but I never fully appreciated the hills you have to drive down and back up until today when we walked down and back up those hills that lead down to the bridge that crosses over into Clark County. I just have to say that the walk WORE ME OUT. I was falling asleep on my father-in-law's sofa around 8:15 tonight and I still haven't really woken up. I am going to sleep well tonight. I'm thinking about trying to walk again tomorrow but I haven't definitely made up my mind yet. It always helps when I have someone to walk with, and so far I don't have anyone lined up to walk with me.

After we finished the walk Stephanie and I got fitted for our shoes. It was very nice to have someone professionally fit me because it took most of the deicision-making away from me, which sometimes can be a good thing. The shoe-fitter watched me walk across the store and then brought me two pairs of shoes that would work for my feet. I was kind of disappointed that my gait isn't made for the special Susan G. Komen shoes, but I like the ones I picked out. Neither of us bought shoes today, but my mom is being nice enough to buy me the pair I picked out for my birthday, and Stephanie plans to buy the ones she wants before we walk next time. We did each buy several pairs of socks, though, which I realized very quickly on the walk this morning that I needed! The people at the New Balance store were SO nice, and just for that I know I will be shopping with them a lot between now and the walk in October. They even gave us a couple of free gifts, and they provided us with water and snacks before and after our walk this morning. Not because they had to, but out of the kindness of their hearts.

Wednesday we are having a team meeting to discuss the Tailgating for Tatas event, and I'm sure Stephanie will update everyone on that Wednesday evening. Hopefully we'll have lots of fun stuff to report. I'm sorry this has gotten long, but I'm excited and I wanted everyone to know about it :-) Keep thinking pink, everyone, and I'll see you again next Saturday!

~Jennifer

A Little Late

2008-06-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys that this blog for Thursday is going out at noon on Friday but I was thinking that today was Thursday. Let me explaine. Cameron has been having some medical problems and we have been going for test here lately. On Wednesday I had to keep Cameron up all night so he could go in for a sleep deprived EEG. I managed to stay up and also keep him up by playing the WII, shoving sugar (a big no-no in this house) and playing webkins all night long. By the time that Thursday morning rolled around I was exausted. We went to his appointment came home and crashed. I woke up long enough to go to the doctors myself to have my foot checked on and once again I came home and crashed until about 10 this morning. So I am late on posting Thursday's blog.
Walking this week for me has been minimal. I broke my foot and sprained my ankle last Sunday while out walking. I am still getting plenty of training. I never realized how hard it was to walk on crutches! My left leg is building tons of muscle and my upper body is getting stronger. I am doing some cardio work out while sitting at home also. I hope that when I am able to put weight on my right foot that I will be able to catch up with the rest of the team in the distance that they are covering.
I am looking forward to going to the fitting/training walk on Saturday. At least I can get some helpful information that will help to able to pick out shoes. Jennifer and Stephanie will also be there. I cannot wait. We are getting closer!
Well I will keep this one short and sweet. I am still a little groggy but I think it is from too much sleep now. Until next time keep thinking pink.
Shannon

Welcome To Wednesday

2008-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I feel much better after a relaxing trip to the beach. Although, I have found out how "old" my baby is making me feel. By the time you get to the beach with tents, floats, beach bags with sunscreen, toys, books, diapers,snacks...you're almost too worn out to do anything else, but take a nap :0) Please excuse me for missing last week since I was at the beach. Now, onto business.

Looks like were onto great things with the Tailgating for Tatas. Between Anglea and Jennifer this is sure to be a hit. Keep your eyes open for more information on this event. By the way, kudos to Angela with all the work going on for Tips for Tatas!! I can't wait! I'm also looking forward to our next team meeting, so we can finalize any and all plans for the Tailgating and get all preparations made!! I'm so excited about this a hope there is a great turn out. Angela, I think the flag football is a great idea!

Jennifer, Cynthia and I were scheduled to walk on Monday evening, but the outragous temperatures held us back. They were giving advisories on the news, so we decided to reschedule for a time early in the morning or later in the evening, so we can the major HOT times. Jennifer and I are attending a shoe fitting and training on Saturday and the New Balance store on Epps Bridge Pky. It's scheduled for earlier in the morning and I'm hoping that the heat is not too much of an issue. Look for her blog Saturday to see how it all went.

My count to date on the money from the cans is $64.08 (and counting). YAY!! I wish I had more out, but just can't think of where to put them. I've emailed a couple of businesses but haven't heard any response yet. so, for now... stay cool until next week.

Stephanie

2008-06-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone :) It's Angela Time Again :)

Good News! More progress on the Tips for Tatas Event. First of all i have gotten three raffle prizes from local businesses. The first is a Sterling Silver breast cancer charm on a leather necklace (value of $70) from JWR Jewelers (THANKS SO MUCH Mrs.Pattie and Mr. John!!) The second donor is from Body Plex Gym (Thanks Joe!!). They donated two one month free tanning memberships, a 3 month free membership, and also one hundred one month free coupons. We will use the one month free coupons as an advertisement for the first one hundred "Tipppers" for Tatas. The third raffle prize is one hundred dollars cash donated by Exclusive Pallet (Thanks Dad!!). In other news with the Tips for Tatas night, Boun (my boyfriend) has graciously agreed with his busy schedule to provide a home cooked spaghetti dinner as a thank you to all the servers that will be working for free that night.

In other news, trying to find a site for the Tailgate I came up with a great idea. Why not try to use the local high school? So far no luck in contacting anyone though :( I'm not losing hope though. If not Jennifer has been working on Herman C Michael Park also. Also, I haven't had a chance to run this by the other members besides Mel, but i think it would be a great idea to hold a flag football game after the tailgate to give it the "real" tailgating feel. I hope it works out :)

Have a great week everyone!!

Angela

One Day, One Day, One Day!!!

2008-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I wrote the title of this blog (located at www.savethemelons.blogspot.com ), I thought about the classic car salesman on television when I was little yelling at the top of his voice, "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!" With great excitement, he would announce the "sale" that they dealership were having in his loudest voice.
I have to admit, it made me chuckle at first, but then I stopped and thought about it for a couple of seconds. What if we took that same enthusiasm and applied it to breast cancer? The salesman was announcing a car; We are announcing the quest to end breast cancer! Shouldn't we put that same enthusiasm if not more when we are trying to save lives? I think so!

Each "ONE DAY" in my book, stands for something different:

1.) ONE DAY we our we won't have to live with the fear of hearing those words, "You have cancer."
2.) ONE DAY we no one will suffer from surgery, chemo, radiation or death from this deadly disease.
3.) ONE DAY we will find a cure!

Today I'm going to do something a little different from our regular blogs. I usually don't ask much, other than donations. But maybe you feel like you can't afford to give right now...maybe you wish you could walk in the 3-Day, but something has held you back, maybe you are a daily reader and wish you could help just a little more.

Now you can.

I am going to challenge you. Where ever you are reading this. Take a moment and read aloud the title of this blog. Use your best "car salesman" tone. You don't have to shout, unless you want to, of course. Just read it aloud. You are probably going to get strange looks, but that is the point! Simply smile and tell them that you have said that to raise awareness to breast cancer and, of course, show them our site.

If there is no one around you, copy and paste this blog and send it out to loved ones with a brief explanation of what we are doing and why this blog is so important. Be the enthusiastic breast cancer spokesperson! After all, you could save someone's life by raising awareness; and, a life is priceless. :)

Be sure to come back and leave a comment about your experience or responses. There are sure to be some funny reactions and we would love to hear them! To do so, click on "Post a comment". Then, type your comment and choose Name/URL. Enter your name and then click "Publish your comment" You don't have to sign up for anything- promise!

Until next Monday, Monday, Monday...keep thinking pink!
Melissa

Just Another Saturday!

2008-06-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hello again, everyone! Well, after several weeks of not much to report, we're starting to pick up again and have some exciting things in the works. We really began trying this week to secure a location for our July fundraiser, Tailgating for Tatas. It is hopefully going to be July 19th in the Athens area, and once we know more we will send out invitations and let everyone know more details. I think it should be a lot of fun.

In addition to getting that off the ground, we are in the process of planning our next team meeting and training walk. On Monday afternoon at least 3 of the team members are planning to walk, which will be nice since we haven't all gotten together in several weeks. I just hope the heat isn't too overwhelming for us... I can't believe it's only the beginning of June, and it already feels like an oven outside at 10:00 in the morning. We need to start planning our longer training walks, and I think we will discuss that at the next team meeting. The schedule that The 3 Day sends out suggests doing 2 long training walks 2 days in a row, so I want to discuss that and see how feasible it will be to get everyone together for that. I hope we can at least split up into groups of 2 or 3 if we can't all get together because I am much more likely to walk when I have someone to go with and talk to.

I believe that a couple of our team members had a shoe fitting this morning, and next Saturday Stephanie and I are going to a fitting in Athens. My mom has said she will buy me one of my pairs of shoes for my birthday, so I'm excited about that. After that we will do a training walk with the people that show up for the fitting, so there will be more on that next week.

I guess that's about it here. I hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying our blogs. I am glad to see that Shannon has picked up a day to blog so that we can get a different perspective from everyone (not that I didn't like reading your blog 2 days a week, Mel!). I'm sure Melissa appreciates the break, too! Until next week, keep thinking pink!

~Jennifer

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-06-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hello guys. It is 11:47pm. I just got off work and have to be back at 10:45am. Even more fun, I'm working four shifts in the next two days...yay for doubles (not)!

I am very proud of my dear sister, Angela, as she was able to get some really great items this week to raffle off at an upcoming event! By really great items, I mean that I will be purchasing some raffle tickets in hopes of winning these prizes...which means, nobody else can buy raffle tickets but me. ;)

I, on the other hand, am Queen "stale-mate". I have no moves right now. Honestly, I don't really have time for move making.

Here's the break-down of my time:
65%: Time spent academically
20%: Time spent laboring (at Rafferty's)
09%: Time spent sleeping
03%: Time spent eating
02%: Time spent doing fun things with my fellow meloners
01%: Time spent cleaning, cooking, exercising

The up-side is this particular statistical data will only be accurate for the month of June. No worries though friends, fam & teammates! During this month, I'll be thinking of great new creative ways to fundraise and I'll be back rearing to go in July!!

Until next time...peace :)

A Thoughtful Thursday

2008-06-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

This is my first time blogging so where do I start? I guess by introducing myself. I am the sixth member on the team. My name is Shannon Brown Kentnor. I am a wife of a wonderful man and a mother of two amazing children. I am honored to be taking this journey with five more incredible women. Okay now to the training. It has been taking a little more out of me than I expected it would. I am not sure if the 90 degree weather has anything to do with that or not. I am enjoying my training time now though. Before it was just something that I was trying to get finished with as fast a possible now it has become more like my one on one time with God. You see on Saturday after having the worst two weeks possible I went out for a training walk. I do not know what made me decide to go a different way than normal but for some reason I did. I was walking feeling like my life could not get any worse when I looked up from my self pity and saw my sign. Yes I said my sign. It was on a church sign that is right down the road from where I live and it said, "Your life is not spinning out of control, you are just on God's potters wheel." When I read that sign I had to stop and have a good cry. I realized that all of my trials and tribulations were God trying to get my attention. I did not realize just how far I had put him on the back burner. As everyone knows with kids, a spouse, activities, and then the training that I have been doing I had not been taking time out of my day to thank God for what I did have; a great husband, children who were alive (though sick), a house, a supportive family and friends that are always there for me. I now realize that when your life seems to be "spinning out of control" it may be God trying to get you to turn to Him. If it were not for these training walks I would have never saw the sign that finally made me open my eyes. So now as I get ready to close I am putting on my walking shoes and getting ready for yet another 6 mile walk and I am excited.
I hope that everyone is having a great week. Just think tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

A quick hello from Angela

2008-06-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

i'll make it short and sweet this week.

I want to thank Julie for her donation to my 3 day walk fund first of all :) THANKS!

Next lets see, i was feeling down because one of the servers that had agreed to do the Tips for Tatas was let go...which brought the count back down to 5 servers not including me. And if you've ever waited tables before you know that the last thing you want when your waiting on people FOR FREE is to be stressed out. I want to make sure we have enough help so that everyone can just have a relaxing fun time. But this past week we got a new server and guess what? He's already signed up to do the event! :) Thanks Todd. So now i have 6 volunteers plus me and my assistant manager also to all work that night. Also, Justin, one of the servers who also does our trivia nights has agreed to announce the raffle. Awesome!

Anywho, guess that wasnt too short and sweet :)

Have a good week everyone!
Angela

Just another manic Monday...

2008-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's not unusual for me to welcome Monday with open arms. While most, look at Mondays as a glass "half empty" kind of day, I've made it almost a self-imposed motto to look at it as a "glass half full" kind of day. Why? I have a fresh, clean slate; a new week to start over. I jump in feet first putting whatever failures of the past week behind me and move on. Why not? If I am pessimistic, what good will it do for me to wallow in self pity in what I didn't get done when I have a new week to look at accomplishing those very things missed the week before?

If you know me, I'm sure you're not too surprised by this...right? So Monday it is and here I am typing and here you are reading; ready to go! This week I have an extra reason to be happy and feel great. Despite my failure to walk two of the four days, I have already started to pencil the neighbors I have recruited to walk with me for moral support; and, what I need from the most, accountability! That is my new "fix" to keep myself in stride with the 3-Day training program. Okay, that and possibly something to do with my recent TERRIFYING dream that I showed up in October to walk 60 miles in flip flops and no training!!

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-05-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I am back from my wonderfully relaxing trip to the beach! We (my man and I) went to St. Augustine Beach, Florida. It was quite, serene, and not the least bit crowded. I loved it! We rented a beautiful beach house from St. Francis Inn and each morning we woke up to a free gourmet breakfast. It was magnificent and I highly recommend it to all!

On our way back to the mainland, Tony and I stopped at the Nike Factory Outlet that was nearby and, after being fitted, I bought these wonderful Nike cross training shoes. They are GREAT! They feel good, fit my arch well and are supposed to be some of the easiest shoes to break in! Well they feel good so far...

Today was back to the grind stone; I just finished working another lovely double at Rafferty's. Now it is time to head to my best friend's pool house where we are throwing her sister's bridal shower...TOMORROW! Ahhhhhh!

Unti next time, stay fresh!

Thursdays with Mel

2008-05-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

I've made my May goal!!! In the past two weeks, I've received two $50 donations (Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Van Stedum and Bernadette Pelina!!) and one for $30 and some change online (Thanks you to Mandie Pierce and her wonderful talent in selling her intricate handmade scrapbook layouts!). In addition to that, I received two offline donations totaling $165 thanks to Marsha Rauscher and The Atcheson Family. WOW. I truly feel like I'm making progress! My goal was to reach over the half way mark this month, but with the help of my donors- I've surpassed my goal and will sit at the 75% mark. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

With that being under my belt, I have recently discovered the real reason why the 3-Day is so hard- THE TRAINING! Two weeks ago we started receiving our 24 week personal trainer emails from the 3-Day. The point in this email is to give you a schedule on your walking to improve your endurance for distance.

As I read the first email, it said:
Monday Rest
Tuesday 3 miles Easy walking
Wednesday Rest
Thursday 3 miles Moderate walking
Friday 30 minutes Easy cross-training
Saturday 3 miles Easy walking
Sunday 3 miles Easy walking

I though, wow, this is going to be pretty easy...I've already got about 12 miles under my belt, so I should be pretty good, right? Well, that was until I received this week's trainer email! It pretty much looked the same except they added an extra mile to SATURDAY! Saturday? Why Saturday?? Then I remembered a conversation with several other past 3-Day walkers they told me that their would be weekends at the end of this training where I would be gone ALL DAY!

So with my hesitant body and the courage of Forrest Gump ", I take a deep breath and say, "BRING IT ON!!!"

So, if you're a fellow neighbor of mine and you see me out in the rain walking or in 90 degree weather and I forget to wave out of pure exhaustion- I'm training. I promise it's not to be rude and I'm not that crazy. Instead, just remember that I'm out there doing this for your mothers, friends, aunts, daughters. I am fighting this battle in a physical way that's new to me. I mean, I NEVER seriously thought, I would have to walk this much in my life, but I am trying not to question and replacing those thoughts with the bigger picture.

Until next week- keep up the reading and I'll keep up the walking!
Melissa

My Efforts Are Paying Off

2008-05-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I'm recovering from a NASTY viral infection that I had this past weekend. What a way to spend Memorial Day. I needed to loose some weight, but that's not what I had in mind. My family and I are getting ready to leave for the beach tomorrow and I hope that I didn't share my virus with my daughter and we can have a peaceful and healthy vacation and no trips to the ER!

I finally got in touch with the owner of Rattles and Rhymes about putting a can there. She was so excited to hear what we're doing, but declined to have a can there as she is also participating in the 3-Day and already is using her store to help her raise her money. She is also a breast cancer survivor and would have normally allowed our donation cans if it had not been for her also walking. It's kind of nice to see fellow neighbors participating in the 3-Day, congrats to Ms. Maxine Guerrera on her servival of breast cancer......so, anyone else have any ideas? I know Angela has committed to a few cans. Anyone else? Also, I picked up more money from the cans this week! I'll have a grand total for you next week. Every little bit helps.

Also, a few weeks ago I sent out around 20 donation forms with letters attached. So far I've received two very generous donations from that. I hope there is more to come!

Let Summer vacation begin!
Stephanie

PS. GO US Coast Guard! Thanks for the little recognistion on Monday. Rich may not be in Iraq, but he's still in the military wheather here or there a lot of the time his job is in a compromising position.

Memorial Day and those who died for our county

2008-05-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

All photos courtesy of David Manning/Athens Bannner-Herald

If you knew that having cancer could save someone else's life, would you do it? I'm sure you're thinking I've lost my mind, but I'm actually leading up to something...

Each year men and women choose to risk their lives and fight to make our country safe. Today, apart from our normal blog, I'd like to take a moment and reflect on those who have chosen to loose their lives for our very own freedom.

For many years I have looked forward to Memorial Day as that "extra day" off work or the day at the lake, camping or day to hang out with family and friends. I knew what "Memorial" day meant- a day to look back and remeber those who had fallen for our freedom, but there was never that connection for me.

My grandfather was in the army and was in WWII. Lucky for me he went through Normandy several days after the US lost thousands when they stormed the beaches otherwise I would have probably never existed. Two of my cousins served in Operation Desert Storm...one in the army and the other was navy. My father-in-law was an officer in the Navy and also started his aviation career flying A-6's. I can only dream of what these men went through, but I'm honored that they risked everything- their future, their time with family, and their very lives to maintain and give us what we have today- America.

What has changed my outlook? Unfortunately for many-including myself, you don't TRULY understand the significance until you or you witness a family loose their loved one in the military. It makes you stop and gather all of the reasons of why they do it and how much they truly care for their family and nation. Once I took that all in (which was A LOT for my itty-bitty brain) I finally understood.

This year, on January 28th was when my world changed. I recieved a message on facebook from a dear friend of mine, Alice Marshall. I first met Alice in 2002 when I worked for her father, Drew Marshall, at a local law firm in Athens. They are some of the most wonderful people that I know. Alice was writing me to tell me that Evan, her little brother, had been killed while on his second tour in Iraq. As I sat through the military funeral it hit me-like a brick wall. I was so mad at myself for taking this all for granted! EVAN MARSHALL

So as you sit in your home today or ride down the highway or play with your kids...take a moment to think of those who made the decision to risk their life and die so that you may have a safe country and you are able to enjoy the task that you are doing.

Until Thursday...
Melissa

Saturday Thoughts

2008-05-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Good Saturday evening, Ladies and Gentlemen! I hope everyone has had a good couple of weeks. I apologize for not blogging last weekend. Things here have been pretty uneventful as far as 3 Day stuff goes. Like Stephanie said, we walked on Monday afternoon, and it was nice. We haven't gotten honked at by any random guys driving by lately-that must be because we don't have Angela and Cynthia walking with us (they're the cuter, unmarried ones)! We are taking this next week off from walking because of Memorial Day and then Stephanie is going to the beach. We hope to get the whole team together to walk again in the next couple of weeks. If only none of us had lives and could walk whenever we all wanted to....

Other than walking with Stephanie I haven't done much training for the walk. We have started getting our virtual training guides via e-mail, but I haven't been very good about keeping up with it. I think once the recommended distance gets longer I will start to stick to it better. I just have a hard time motivating myself to walk 3 miles when I alreay know I can do it and have done it in the last few weeks. The virtual trainer also recommends cross-training one to two days a week, and we got the Wii Fit game this week. For those of you not familiar with it, it's an interactive exercise program made by the Nintendo system, Wii. It's pretty fun, so I think I will be trying that for the next few weeks.

The card sales are kind of at a stand-still but that's okay because I haven't been doing a lot to promote them lately. I did have a friend order 3 boxes last week, so that's something at least. Soo.... for not much going on I sure did find stuff to talk about! Everyone have a great week, and I'll see you back here next week. Till then, don't forget to think pink!

~Jennifer

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-05-23T19:18:00.001-07:00

Helloooooo interweb! It's Friday night and I just got off a grueling 10 hour shift at Rafferty's...oh how I wish I was Perez Hilton and blogging paid my bills!

There is not much new in the realm of 3-day. I have talked with the delightful people at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA and they have so kindly agreed to let me use their space for a benefit concert. I'm pretty excited about that. Next up is to set a date that will agree with all the wonderful talent filling the stage. I'm pretty pumped about this because like I've said, us college kids love a good benefit concert!

While thinking of my love for music and benefit concerts, my mind wondered how I could reach more people with this "music for melons" concept. Then I thought....ASHFORD MANOR CONCERTS ON THE LAWN!!!!! Duh! Thus, I am going to try and contact them and see if they would be willing to have one night of their proceeds go to our fundraising efforts...you know, 'cuz boobies are the breast, er, I mean best!

Well guys, I'm off to go pack. My wonderful boyfriend and I are taking off to go to the beach for a little while. He's getting ready for law school and I've been working two jobs so we both think we deserve a little break! Until Friday (when I will come back from the beach the same color as a watermelon...well the inside of one), stay fresh!

oops i did it again...

2008-05-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

no im not brittney spears nor am I an elephant. I guess it would make more sense to say...yea, i forgot to blog on tues...again. Im sorry :( So i decided to do a random post today...yea!!!

Well lets see whats new?

Prob. not that anyone cares but i felt the major need to have a central location that i could really get down and dirty and keep my A.D.D. self in one place for more than 5 mins. and with out zoning out to the tv. So this past week i worked up on "setting up shop" (or office to be exact) so i can have a place to "WORK" on my three day adventure. I have to say i def. feel more focused now having my very own office room. I decided im going to treat it like a job. Come in to the "office" and work for a certain amount of time a week. Im very excited!

I went out tonight and bought some more stuff so i can experiment with the lollipops i want to sell. All though im beginning to wonder...is anyone gonna want to buy them? I guess i'll just make sure to put them at places where lil kids can bug there parents for them...and they cant say no because it's for a good cause *evil laugh goes here*

Besides that lets see, I'm working on donations for the raffle at the "Tips for Tatas" event. Got a cute little letter that im handing out to explain myself. So if anyone knows of a business that might have something cool they would be willing to donate please let me know! Also let them know that there company will be mentioned on all advertisements for the event, on the banner at the event, also we will have a table set up where they can display advertisement of their own like business cards, brochures, etc., and the company donation will be announced multiple times at the event.

well, im gonna go out an buy an elephant so he can help me remember to blog on tues. So untill then have a great week everyone!!! :)

Wednesday With Stephanie!

2008-05-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hope Everyone out there is having a great week. Jennifer and I had a great walk this past Monday. We walked from Athens Regional to the Fire Department at 5 points. Our walk was not as long as the last and we skipped the "mountain" climbing this time due to time! We haven't organized our next walk yet, but are hoping to get us all together once again as a team. I know it's hard with everyone's schedules! Since I haven't heard from anyone about putting out anymore cans or a reply on the jar animals as a possible table for our "Tailgating for Tatas" I'm at a stand still. Also, do we have a total from the Boobie-Q? If this has been toldI missed it-sorry. The last I heard we were still waiting on a final count. This week I decided To post a little fact sheet about Breast Cancer. It' always good to be reminded from time to time. Have a great weekend!
~Stephanie

An estimated 182,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2000.
Approximately 42,200 deaths will occur in women from breast cancer in 2000.

One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.

Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.

Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.

Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.

Approximately 1400 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2000 and 400 of those men will die.

More than 1.7 million women who have had breast cancer are still alive in the United States.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.

Seventy-one percent of black women diagnosed with breast cancer experience a five-year survival rate, while eighty-six percent of white women experience five-year survival.

The first sign of breast cancer usually shows up on a woman's mammogram before it can be felt or any other symptoms are present.

Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, delaying pregnancy until after age 30 or never becoming pregnant, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.

Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.

Over eighty percent of breast lumps are not cancerous, but benign such as fibrocystic breast disease.

Oral contraceptives may cause a slight increase in breast cancer risk; however 10 years after discontinuing use of oral contraceptives the risk is the same as for women who never used the pill.

Estrogen replacement therapy for over 5 years slightly increases breast cancer risk; however the increased risk appears to disappear 5-10 years after discontinuing the use of estrogen replacement therapy.

You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty.

whatever happened to lazy summer days?

2008-05-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, it's Cynthia...
I want to apologize for not blogging the past two weeks. As May has unraveled, it has proved to be much busier and more stressful than I could ever imagine my "summer vacation" being. I started a new job yet am still working my old job. The combination of the two work schedules with UGA graduation, Mother's day and an upcoming bridal shower I'm co-hosting has proved that I am only human. Some things are bound to slip through the cracks of my mind!!

When it comes to this crazy little thing called 3-day, I must say it has been placed on the back burner for a minute. All of my letters have been sent out to no avail after almost three weeks. I don't have any people to tutor since school's out and my benefit concert has been re-scheduled for August since the population of Athens nears zero in the summer. I guess I've kind of hit a brick wall. It's nothing a week at the beach won't fix...I'm a resilient girl...especially after a week at the beach.

Until Friday (you know, if I remember)stay fresh!

Happy Hump Day

2008-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

Just a few more days to the weekend! YAY! It's been a busy week around our house, but really what week isn't?

I have 3 more cans made and ready to go out...any takers? I need more ideas on where to put these out. Team members you can also just take these from me and put them out if you have places in mind.

I've been thinking ahead to our "Tailgating for Tatas" and thinking about having a table for the kids to make little jar animals out of baby food jars. What do you guys think? The jars would be free and easy to come buy since Melissa and I both have to buy baby food. Other materials included are glue, cotton pom poms, wiggle eyes and some ribbon...pretty inexpensive. Let me know if you think this is a good idea. I would be willing to work this table if we decide to do this.

Not much else to report. Have a great week!

Stephanie

time for tuesday

2008-05-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

It's time for another tues. blog but honestly not too much to write about. I was sad that i had to miss the walk last week due to a mishap in my scheduling (yea, i double booked) I'm glad to hear it went great. I got my pictures developed from the Boobie Q just gotta get them on the computer, its a little harder cause my laptop doesn't have a disk drive.

I so far have 6 servers for the tips for tatas event that will be working for free that night. I think i just need about 2 more and we should have plenty. Im also pretty sure the date is going to be June 26th now. With in the next couple of weeks i'll be talking to businesses about donations for the raffle.

Also i just wanted to say a special thank you to Boone and Amber for their generous donation. It is the largest donation I have recieved so far! I met them through my work at the restuarant where they are regulars and it means so much that someone who barely knows me can give so much. I'm hoping Amber will be able to join us next year on the walk :) as she said she wants too!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!

Pictures and more pictures!!

2008-05-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties...slideshow will be posted on Thursday.

~Melissa

Happy Saturday, as always!

2008-05-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It is definitely getting warmer and I can tell summer is just around the corner... that should make our training walks fun!

The boobie-que last weekend was a lot of fun and very successful. I am looking forward to our next fundraiser in July if we can only find a location to have it. I really hope Tailgate Station comes through for us! Melissa will let us know for sure this week how much money we made from the barbeque plates at the boobie-que and I'm anxious to find out the amount.

As Stephanie mentioned, we walked 6.5 miles on Tuesday, and it was so much fun! I have found that I really enjoy walking when I have a friend to talk to but I get bored pretty easily if I have to walk by myself. I wish we could walk together several times a week-it would get us in shape quickly and make sure we're ready for our walk. Unfortunately I'm not home much during the week so those times are limited. I'm not looking forward to August when Stephanie has to move to Michigan. Fortunately, though, I have a few other fun teammates that I can walk with :-) I hope that everyone's schedule will line up in the next week or so so that we can go on a true team walk again. We got our first virtual trainer e-mail this week, and that makes this walk seem even more real! I feel good, though, because the first week suggests we walk 3 miles a few days, and we've already worked our way up to 5-6miles at a time. I think we'll be ready by the time October gets here!

As you can probably tell not much happened this week so I am rambling. Wish us luck as we continue to train and fundraise this week, and we'll keep you updated!

~Jennifer

We're Making It Happen

2008-05-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Happy hump day and Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, Rich! Hope everyone is having a great week. Looks like the Boobie-Q was a huge success and I'm so sorry I missed it! I've been a little busy this week trying to get some things rolling for donations.

Today I collected money from the cans..well all except one which I'll get tomorrow, and our total for this count is $28.00 which now gives us a grand total of $53.00!! That's awesome guys! That's in just a few weeks and hopefully the more cans we get out the more this total will continue to jump. Girls, I'm running out of places to put these cans, so I'll need you to start thinking and taking some to places that you might have in mind.

On my end, I sent out 22 letters this week to friends and family that I didn't have email addresses for and now the word is out (just in case I missed telling people before) Today I received my first donation in regards to the letters, thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law! I look forward to more donations to start coming in soon. Also, I have my personal page printed out with donation sheets attached on a bulletin board at work and I've had promises for donations there too. I hope these promises come through, so that I can raise as much as possible for the cause.

Also, I've gotten the word out to the owner of Tailgate Station here in Athens about using it for our team tailgating fundraiser. I work with someone who tailgates there during football season who is already in contact with the owner. I haven't heard back yet, but she seems to think there is a good chance that we'll get to us it. I hope so, but we'll see. Be thinking of a back up just in case......you're welcome Angela! :0)

In other news, Jennifer and I went walking...or maybe I should say hiking last night. Angela and Cynthia had things come up, so Jennifer and I met on Prince Ave. and walked down Milledge Ave. to the old Bi-Lo. We had planned to walk through a gate into an apartment complex, but after traveling across the parking lot to find the gate locked I decided we should climb the "mountain" behind Bi-Lo instead of walking back across the parking lot. It was really funny since the hill is almost completely vertical, but we made it and let's just say my Nike's aren't made for hiking! All in all we walked about 6.5 miles!!! I was completely worn out, but it was well worth the time spent. I have so much fun walking with Jennifer!

Well girls that about wraps it up for me this week. I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day!!!

Stephanie

which one first? the good news or the bad?

2008-05-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

I guess its always best to go with the bad first.... So I tried to add another layer to the paper mache watermelons but since the balloons had already popped it didn't have any structure anymore and the new layer just made it go ....well....back to wet newspaper :( I was able to paint one and it hold up event though the paint made it wet, so I figure I'll just paint them and the ones that make it we can use as decoration for our table when we sell t-shirts and stuff :)

Also, More good news, i was able to take the extra cookies that Jennifer (my team mate) Violet Atcheson and Linda Hubbell (Melissa's neighbors)so graciously made for the "Boobie-cue" and sell them at work yesterday for $1 a bag. I sold 40! So thats $40 towards our goal. Hey, every little bit counts!!!

Besides that it's time to start experimenting with suckers....candy suckers that is! I've got a couple of ideas in my head for some unique suckers just gotta try'em out. YUM YUM!

Have a good week everyone and I'll get my pics up of the Boobie Q up soon!!!

Thank you for an AMAZING DAY!!!

2008-05-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

I woke up on Sunday at 7:30am and the sun was shining. Through my shades I could see dark blue skies and white puffy clouds. I knew then that God had something special planned because I could not of asked for a better day!!

Thank you for everyone who came out. It was amazing! Thanks to your attendance and donations, we made close to $1,000!! A HUGE "Thank You" to: Chad from 104.7 The Fish for being our official "Boobie-cue" announcer, Wade Lowman- for his beautiful voice, my very own dad, Jerry Powell, for becoming the world's best moonwalk attendant and donating the hotdogs, buns and chips for the kids meals, Boun for jumping in and face painting (he has a hidden talent!), Bill & Rita Trivelpiece (and their truck), Linda Hubbell and Violet Atcheson- you guys ROCK at baking cookies!!

Please make sure to thank the following businesses for their participation in Sunday's event: Kroger at Ridge Road, RothsChild flipflops and bows, Berry & Bean, The Perfect Poppy, Gabe's Downtown, "A Perfect Touch" Massage, Heather Kenny with Creative Memories, Creative Tan (with their Teeth whitening booth)and most of all RODNEY's BBQ (DELICIOUS!)!!!

To my teammates- you are wonderful. Without your passion and hard work, none of this would of been possible. I couldn't of hand picked a better team; I'm glad you picked me!

I am currently downloading some of the pictures from Sunday. I actually (believe it or not) do not have a lot on my camera because my sister (and teammate) Angela used her camera. As soon as I receive them from her, I'll let you know and post them.

Be sure to mark your calendars for several upcoming events!!

Villa Rica/Hiram/Dallas readers:

SATURDAY, JULY 12 2008
"Movie under the Stars!!!"
The Georgian Amenity Park
More Details to come...

Athens/Comer/Watkinsville Readers:

Saturday, July 19, 2008
"Tailgaiting for Tata's!"
Location TBD (If you can offer us a location, email me at walkforthecure@yahoo.com)

See you again for Thursday's blog!
Melissa

Tomorrow's Boobie-que Day!!

2008-05-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Saturday! This is a very exciting weekend for our team as we get ready for the Boobie-que tomorrow afternoon. Last night 4 of us (everyone except Angela) went to the Oconee County Relay for Life, and that was a lot of fun. Talk about bringing back memories from high school! All of us graduated from there, and most of us hadn't been back to that football stadium in many years. We all saw people we recognized, and it made me realize how fast the years have gone. We helped man the inflatable "jumpy things" that the kids play on, and in the 30 minutes we stood there we probably made $200 for Relay for Life. It was pretty rewarding. We also got our first look at our t-shirts, and they turned out GREAT! I'm so excited about wearing mine and selling the rest. If anyone would like to buy one, they are $15, and all the proceeds go to our team for the walk. Just let one of us know if you want one and which size you would like. The nice thing about these shirts is that they are women's t-shirt so they are slim(mer) through the waist with a smaller neckline.

This morning Melissa, Stephanie and I met at Sam's Club and bought some last minute supplies for tomorrow. I'm blogging early today because one of my friends from school is being kind enough to come over and help me make cookies. We are selling barbecue plates tomorrrow, and we are making cookies to include in the plates, so that's what the cookies will be for. I just hope I have enough self-control to make all the cookies without eating half the cookie dough in the process!

Wish us luck tomorrow, and I'm sure everyone will be blogging with their own perspective of this weekend as the week goes on. Have a great week, everyone, and until next week, think pink and keep reading!

~Jennifer

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-05-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! I have officially finished my junior year of college! Thank Goodness! Additionally, I raised a total of $255.00 with the Tutoring for Tatas program. YAY! I never expected to raise so much money and I have my wonderful and compassionate professor, Mr. Norris Armstrong and all my BIO 1103 classmates to thank. THANK YOU GUYS! YOU STARTED THE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS OFF RIGHT!

Tonight a few members of our team will be attending Oconee County's Relay for Life. I am super pumped as this is the 5th year in a row that I have been able to attend the event. I think that it is a wonderful way to raise cancer awareness while raising money for research that will one day find a cure for cancer.

Also this weekend, as Mels has already said, is our Benefit "Boobie-Que". I am so excited! We will be getting ready all day Saturday for the event that begins Sunday at 2pm in Villa Rica, Ga. If you have the time, stop on by! It will be a great time for a good cause!

Peace, love, melons!

Oh...we're half way there. Ohh....Livin on a Prayer!

2008-05-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's the song that I've kept singing to myself these past few weeks as I've watched the thermometer on my 3-day site sit at 59%. This chorus of my new "theme" song is my motivation:

"We've got to hold on to what we've got
cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and thats a lot
For love - well give it a shot

Whooah, were half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and well make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer

We've got to hold on ready or not
You live for the fight when its all that you've got"

I can't help but giggle as I try to visualize our team decked out in 80's wild Bon Jovi crazy hair and blasting this song for all to hear. Apart from silly daydreams, it also reminds me that we are fighters; fighters for a deadly disease -breast cancer. After humming the chorus (or loudly singing it in the comfort of my own car) it helps me reflect on the fact that there is so much going on behind the scenes. The "Boobie-cue" this weekend, the Parent's night out for Fellowship Church in June and the movie under the stars in July. It's not just that, but the wonderful outpour of support I have received from the people in my neighborhood, The Georgian and my community. I've been asking donations for the raffle this week right and left and the businesses have jumped at the opportunity without any hesitation. I've had donations, but in other ways.

So if you're sitting at home, and it's been a rough week. Play BonJovi's video above, have a moment and reflect on the past week. Remember that sometimes the things that you hope to happen, do, but in different ways.

IN OTHER NEWS...
If you live in the Athens' area, Oconee is having their Relay for Life on Friday. Our team has volunteered to help the organizer's team out by manning their moonwalk booth during the team lap at 7pm....so if you want to see our team in action, we'd LOVE to see you!

Also, the "Boobie-cue" is this Sunday. Hope to see you there!!

To thinking pink (and great Bon Jovi songs that inspire)...
Melissa

Asking For Forgiveness And Pressing On

2008-04-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

So I'm begging for forgiveness for missing last weeks blog! It's been a rough week at my house. My 7 month old daughter was in the ER on Sunday night. Long story short, they are calling all of this bronchitis/small case of pneumonia but are sure we are headed down the road to asthma.Breathing treatments, steroids, antibiotics, blah, blah, blah... As you can see I've been a little preoccupied and mostly sleep deprived.

I haven't had a chance to check on the cans that are out this week, but somehow I managed to make 4 more to send out. My husband is taking 3 of them around tomorrow to local stores to sit out. I'll get you the names of the places once I have a firm commitment. Also, if you know of a place or have a place of business and would like a can please reply to the blog or get in touch with one of our team members.
I've also been working on letters to send out to family members and those that I don't have email addresses for....now, if I could only find me address book!

My apologies to you and to the team for not being there this coming Sunday at our famous Boobie-Q. My husband's birthday is next week and my sister-in-law had already planned a birthday party for him this Sunday. I've tried to get out of it, but I think my name would be MUD for the rest of my life if I didn't show up. He is also a little bummed about missing it. He has really become excited about all that is going on that day and was really surprised at what all is planned. Don't under estimate this team. If we're throwing a party it's sure to be a blast! and all in the name of Saving The Melons!

~Stephanie

another day another dollar....

2008-04-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

actually $30. I know it's not a lot to get excited about but i FINALLY got my first two donations online this week. I have yet to have time to sit down and write individual letters to family and friends (hopefully thurs!) but a couple of weeks ago I did have a chance to make a "I will donate to Angela" group on Facebook. And this week, i got my first two donations from it. I also have about 10 other friends who have committed so i look forward to their donation as well. But for now...THANKS SO MUCH TO ADRIANNE THOMAS AND MEGAN FINLEY for starting me out on the right track!

I'm excited about the Boobie Q on Sun. cant wait to see all of Mels hard work come together. Unfortunately this fri. i wont be able to walk at the Oconee County Relay for Life, but my heart will be there. Still waiting on the candy molds to come in and then i can get those started.

HAVE A GOOD WED. EVERYONE!!!

Getting Ready for Next Weekend!

2008-04-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, everyone! I must admit that I haven't done much this week as far as our walk goes. I had two weeks off from school, and getting back into the swing of things this week proved to be tough and exhausting, so some things got pushed to the back burner. I missed walking with the team this week because that always gives me something to look forward to. I just can't seem to motivate myself to get out and walk by myself so planning a day each week to walk with everyone is always nice.

In just a week we will host our Boobie-que in Villa Rica, and I am very excited about that. On Friday night we will be doing Relay for Life in our old stomping grounds of Oconee County, and I think that will be a lot of fun and bring back lots of memories of high school. In addition to that we get to walk for several miles/ hours... I can put my pedometer to use again and see if it's any more accurate than it was last week.

That's about all for now... I am happy to hear Cynthia has been having so much success with her Tutoring for Tatas, and I wish Angela the happiest birthday ever! Until next Saturday, keep thinking pink!

~Jennifer

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-04-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

HI EVERYBODY!

Yet another week has flown by and here we are on the beautiful day that is FRIDAY! This week has been wonderful for me! I raised $60.00 more dollars this week with my tutoring for Ta Ta's and hope to double it over the weekend and through out next week. My Bio 1103 study guides are selling like hotcakes for $10.00/ea. and I aspire to sell a few more at the group study session that I am hosting Tuesday at 3:00pm in the SLC (rm 221)...YAY! One thing is for sure, by the time I take the final, I will know the material better than my own name!

Other than that, nothing else eventful has happened this week. I've been consumed with finals, work, tutoring and training for my new job that I've haven't even had time to sleep!

Well, I'm out of here for the week! Wish me luck on my last 3 finals and next week I'll be back with energy and fervor...why? BECAUSE SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!!

Until then, you stay fresh ... and I'll hold my breathe until it's over!

TGTIOOMW (My new acronym. See blog for details.)

2008-04-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

By the time you read this, it will be appropriate for me to say TGIF! For me its' TGTIOOMW... meaning "Thank goodness it's only one more week!" Yep you've heard me right!- one more week and two days until one of our two BIG fundraisers this year. It's getting down to the nitty gritty and everything seems to be going quite well. Our team is all doing their part and some WONDERFUL neighbors and friend of mine have graciously volunteered some of their time as well to help out. I feel so blessed.

You may not think a lot can happen in two days, but you will be amazed at what's went on! T-shirts were sent to print and will be available for the 1st time on Sunday, May 4th, flyers to hand out to local businesses this and next week arrived yesterday (They are gorgeous- Thank you for helping me, Genevieve!!) and to pull it all together, Rodney's BBQ and I were able to easily firm up the small details! Wow, talk about a week. :) I do have to say that I am looking forward to a fun weekend with my friends, neighbors and then to top it all off, celebrating my middle sister (and team member) Angela's 24th birthday.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and wonderful weekend. See you Monday. Same time. Same great place!
Melissa

Keep on Truckin...

2008-04-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

So as others have mentioned last thurs. we completed our 5 mi. walk which means another sticker! (stickers make me excited...what can i say?) Also we started the paper meche watermelons that will be piggy banks to set out at local places to collect money. But after the first batch of 8 dried and I popped the balloons i quickly came to the conclusion that they would need another coat of paper to make it stand all the thousands of dollars (yea, im a very optimistic person) that they will soon contain. So my goals this next week will be add a couple of layers to the melons and get them painted so we can get them out there!!!

Also I'm hopefully going to be selling watermelon flavored Breast Cancer Ribbon suckers on the side to help raise further funds. Just have to do some experimenting to get a great flavor once the sucker molds come in the mail.

Other than that just still working on the Tips for Tatas event, I admit I've been a little distracted by work and the fact that its my bday on sat!!! yea!!!
-Angela

Why you should LOVE Mondays...

2008-04-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, Everyone!

When I was in high school I always thought as Mondays were horrible. Ten years later, I think they are wonderful. Why? Because each Monday is like a new, clean slate. You have a whole week to change what you might of done wrong the week before, to just better yourself as a whole or to complete a task that just might of slipped away in the crevices of life.

Since I started my 3-Day fund raising I have found each week to be challenge rather than something I dread. I think it has to everything to do with the fact that I know that each day leads me one step closer to the "BIG" day. The day where I get to walk for anyone who has or has known someone who has suffered through breast cancer. I honestly never would of known how much this walk would motivate me in my own life. It truly is life changing!

To update you on what's happening with our team, we were just given a wonderful opportunity to partner up with one of Paulding county's greatest up and coming churches: Fellowship Church (www.godandpeople.com or click the link under "Sponsoring Partners"). If you are not familiar with Fellowship, you will be glad that you are being introduced to them now!

This June, our team will be hosting a "Parents' Night Out" for Fellowship Church where members can sign up for a time to drop their kiddos off and have a nice date night and support our team! Then, in July, Fellowship and The Georgian Neighborhood will team up with us to help host a "Movie Under the Stars" event open to the New Georgia area for a donation only viewing.

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

A GREAT BIG thank you to:
**************Kenny Ott, Fellowship's lead pastor ****************
Laura James, The Georgian Activities Director via Allcourt, LLC.
**********for all of your help!!**************
*************************************************************************************

Also, we are LESS than TWO WEEKS out from our Villa Rica/New Georgia BIG "Boobie-cue" fund raiser!! Can you believe it? I can hardly contain my excitement! If you would like to be added to our e-vite you can email me at walkforthecure@yahoo.com.

To remind you, the "Boobie-Cue" is...

SUNDAY, MAY 4th, 2008 2:00pm-5:00pm at The Georgian Neighborhood's Amenity Park RAIN or SHINE!! Also, you can stop by to purchase a BBQ plate if you don't have time to enjoy the activities. BBQ plate prices will be posted VERY SOON!!

Well, that about wraps up all of my news for Monday...more exciting updates as the week goes on, so keep reading!

~Melissa

Saturday Greetings from Jennifer

2008-04-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you all have had a good week. I have had a pretty busy week, and we're still making great progress with our fundraising and training. Stephanie picked up some of the cans she put out at various stores earlier this week, and we've already gotten $25 just from that! We made 8 "watermelons" at Angela's on Thursday, and she's going to paint one of them as a test. Once they are all painted that will be 8 more ways to raise money. I think they will look really cute once they are done, and they were fun to make!

I sold another pack of cards this week, and I have finally gotten around to taking pictures of the two kinds of cards I have available. The card that says "Believe" has a verse on the inside that says "Hope is... believing in a brighter tomorrow." The lighter pink card looks really light in the picture but it's not quite as light as it looks. If you have a preference as to which color you would like, just let me know.

Our training walk on Thursday was so much fun. I am very glad Cynthia was okay after her "stumble," but I can completely understand wanting to stop for honeysuckles! We used my pedometer, and I have decided I don't like it very much because Angela clocked 5 miles in her car, but my pedometer only registered our walk at 4.3 miles. I decided we are going to go by what the car says and use my pedometer as only a "guide." Regardless of how far we walked, I was definitely tired by the end of it. I wish we could walk next week but it looks like our next team event will be the Boobie-que in 2 weeks. I can't believe it's coming up so fast... it seems like only a few weeks ago that we started planning it! I know Melissa will keep us all updated on that as the time gets even closer.

Everyone have a great week, and until next Saturday keep reading!

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-04-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

This has been a wonderful week for me as I do hope it has been for you too! I had two tutoring sessions which allowed me to deposit a total of $40.00 in my fundraising piggy bank. Additionally, I have had a TON of emails flooding in from fellow classmates in need of a little help. I have six sessions that I need to schedule for next week and am pumped up about it!

Yesterday afternoon the Athens crew had another good ol' time with walk number #2! I personally learned a valuable lessons: there going to be things along your way that will tempt you to stray from the course but they will give you nothing but a twisted ankle. For me, my temptress was a delicious honey suckle plant and when I was climbing down the embankment after inspecting its flowers, I spazzed out and twisted my ankle. Aside from the momentary surprise of pain in my foot, I was (and am) perfectly fine and have learned a valuable lesson.

After my honey suckle spill, the walk went along as scheduled. The day was beautiful, the wind was breezy and the heat had lost its bite. We had a great time walking through the Homewood Hills neighborhood and along Prince Ave. One thing is for sure, five miles seemed liked forever (even though it was really under two hours)...can't wait to double it!

Well that's all I have for this week. A short blog...but sweet. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and may the sun shine down upon you! Until next time, stay fresh.

Did you say 6 miles or 60?!!

2008-04-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I'm back!

I know you just heard from me on Monday, but isn't it great that you get to read another chapter of my crazy life again on Thursdays too?

When I first signed up for the 3-Day I thought... "I'll be fine with the walking. After all, it's just walking, right?" Hahahahaha.

Today I walked six miles. It was no laughing matter.

Last week my daughters and I were in Los Angeles. While we were there we visited Disneyland and walked EVERYWHERE. It was 12 hours non-stop each day over two parks. So, Miss Melissa thought she had it all together since she had SO much experience at Disneyland that she would try something a little different today- more miles and hills.

What was I thinking?!!!!

Suddenly sixty miles is looking like a really long three days for my body and my feet; let's hope my spirit and my wonderful sense of humor can make the pain go away. I know what you're thinking-am I in trouble or what? ;)

Apart from the fear of aching calves and feet tomorrow, I actually have a lot to be excited about! Tomorrow is a big day behind the scenes for Miles & Memories for Melons. Tomorrow we will find out exactly how much Rodney's BBQ is going to donate towards our "Boobie-cue." They have been the sweetest people to work with and I can hardly wait to chow down!

Let's not forget about our T-Shirts!! If you read one of our first blogs, I had posted the picture of our first design. Well we kept the same concept, but brought in a 3 color design to make it pop. These shirts go to the press tomorrow! Take a look- Aren't they cute?? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

A big thank you goes out to our T-shirt sponsors for making this possible: Blue Sky Custom Apparel -Watkinsville, Cheatham's Garage-Athens, Beef O'Brady's-Athens, Fellowship Church (Meets @ Nebo Elementary), Mary's Tack, Feed & Pet Store, Brown's Wrecker Service-Winder, Exclusive Pallet & Service-Statham, Proteus On-Demand Facilities-Atlanta Metro Area, Jot 'Em Down BBQ-Athens and 1st Quality Construction- Athens. A Great BIG thank you to you guys!! The sponsors that have websites are listed on the right of our blog, please take a moment to visit their site or use them for future needs. Not one hesitated with our question about sponsoring our group. They have truly been a blessing to our team. Theses shirts will go on sale beginning May 4th, but all blog readers can pre-order exclusively starting today by emailing us at walkforthecure@yahoo.com . Get them while they last!! :D

Well, it's time for me to head to bed. I'm sure I need to get a head start with a bottle of Motrin ready for the aches and pains that I'll feel in the morning. Say hello to Cynthia for me when you read her blog tomorrow night.

Until next week,
Melissa

Stephanie's Updates

2008-04-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! I hope everyone is having a great week. Mine has been good, but busy. On Monday I received a phone call giving me my second sponsor!!! YAY, I got 2! My 2 sponsors are Cheatham's Garage and Marys tack, Feed & Pet. Both are located in Athens, Ga. Thanks guys!!!
I called Melissa as soon as I heard to make sure we could get them on our t-shirts. Melissa informed me that she was placing the order for the shirts today and she sent a picture of a sample and they are soooooo cute!!

More cans are out and we have $$$. I've been turning out the cans as fast my daughter will allow me. She finished up a few cans this week between our house and my parents house and I was able to make and send out 3 more cans! We have cans out at Cheatham's Garage, Athens-Clarke County Fire Department (Fire & Emergency Services Division), Woods Beauty Shop, Marys Tack, Feed and Pet. Greensouth Equipment (John Deere) has agreed to put one out as soon as I get it made! I've been told that there is money in them, but I haven't gone by to check and see how much. I also have a few more places in mind to hit up next. This has been so exciting and it's catching. My husband has jumped in full force and has been out looking for more places to "advertise" our cans and he even made one himself. I hope that this excitement keeps spreading to others and that as a team we can make a difference!

Monday Madness with Mel

2008-04-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

As I sat down with Pastor Kenny Ott of Fellowship Church today, we began to hash out some new ideas for upcoming fundraisers for Miles & Memories for Melons. While we spoke, it occurred to me that I couldn't be happier with God's hand in our work. (Not that I was day-dreaming, Kenny!!) I'm not one who tends to go around with Bible in hand or one who stands at street corners handing out leaflets, but I am one who gets a kick out of noticing when God knows when I've taken all that I can and put it in His hands.

Three weeks ago, if you were a fly on the wall of my house... you would of seen one stressed out mommy/wife/team captain. It was mid-afternoon on a Wednesday or Thursday. Owen was down for a nap after an hour of rocking. I started clacking out an agenda on the computer upstairs in my 5th, 8th, or maybe even 15th attempt that week (or so it felt like it) to write out a game plan for our team meeting that Saturday. I had barely reached the end of my first semtence when I hear Owen begin to cry. "Seriously?!!" I thought. Then unexpectedly, I began to cry too.

Enter the pity party.
Enter anxiety.
Enter mommy-moment-of-meltdown.

It happens to the best of us, right?

Then, in midst of chaos, I had an idea. It was an experience that could possibly correspond with any animated episode of "Wild E. Coyote and the Roadrunner" where he has the switch of a lightbulb moment. However, unlike "Wild E." who is known for his consistent failures, my lightbulb was a different kind of light. It was part of me that said..."Go higher!" So I said a quick prayer for God to take it over. After all, I was too familiar of the never obtainable "Roadrunner" outcome ...and I was not about to take any part in that!

Fast forward to today. Here I am, t-shirt sponsors are rolling in left and right. This experience is amazing! Every time I start to question, I take a step of faith and it happens. If I would of quit that day, where would it of got me? I'm glad that I trusted Him, because their are a lot of people who can benefit from the $11,000 we intend to raise!

Overall, today was wonderful. The e-vite invitation for our "Boobie-Cue" fundraiser on Sunday, May 4th went out. If you didn't get the invitation, email us at walkforthecure@yahoo.com. We'd love to have you join us! I'm nervous and excited all at the same time about this event, but with a little hope and faith, I'm sure we will do just fine!

Thank you for your commitment in reading our blog....it helps the hope and faith run a little more abundantly and always appreciated.

I'll be back on Thursday.

Until then, keep reading....
Melissa

Making Progress!

2008-04-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, everyone! Well, as Cynthia mentioned, we started out team training on Thursday, and I had so much fun! Walking around campus was great, and I'm looking forward to those long training walks we will be doing as we get closer to The 3 Day. We're already talking about how we're going to make pit stops at Marble Slab and Subway! I have enlisted some of my other friends to walk with me on days that our team isn't training together, and it makes walking much more fun. I even bought a pedometer this week so I can easily track how far I have walked, and I find that it helps motivate me to walk a little farther each time. I am in Washington, D.C. this week for a conference, and right now the weather is perfect. One of my good friends and I plan to walk every day after the conference gets out, and I'm going to see how many miles I can get up to.

The greeting card sales are going well. Just yesterday I made a deposit in the bank for money I had made on 6 boxes of cards, and I have had a few other people tell me they are interested in the cards as well. Just from selling cards I have already made over $150 for the walk, which puts me at 54% of the way to my goal. Needless to say, I am very excited and ready to make more cards for anyone who wants them-so put the word out there!

That's about all for this week, so until next week keep reading and telling eveyone you know about us! ~Jennifer

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-04-11T07:03:00.001-07:00

Well, last night three of our team members and I took our "first step" in training... we walked 3.2 miles in 55 minutes! YAY! We had so much fun walking around east campus of the University of Georgia. Who knew how invigorating that would feel? The only thing that would have made it better was if that last hill we climbed stopped escalating sooner...what a doozie! My legs are still mad at me for that one!

I'm even more excited that next week we are going to continue with our second training, this time at Angela's house! Even better, before our walk we are going to have arts & crafts time! The preschool teacher in me is so excited!! On Thursday we will be making paper mache watermelons that, once decorated, we will disburse to different companies all over Clarke, Oconee and Barrow Counties! I'm so excited!

Another wonderful thing happened last night, I received my first e-mail for "Tutoring for Ta-Ta's"! Not only did I receive my first, but I also received a second, third and fourth! I have a feeling it has something to do with the tremendously difficult test that we took yesterday...but I have a feeling for these students, no test is going to be difficult for them in the Bio field anymore!

Additionally, I am in talks with some local artists in Athens and we might be doing what college kids do best here for fundraising.... A BENEFIT CONCERT! I am so excited right now I could do a happy dance! Oh what the heck, I'm going to! Until next time, stay fresh!

It's happy dance time! *doot doo doo doot*

Take A Look At Our Cans!

2008-04-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday everyone. We're half way through the week already and tomorrow is our first official day of training. We were rained out last Saturday and we've rescheduled our training walk for tomorrow evening. I'm so excited to get started as I know everyone else is too!

At our last meeting we discussed using our old baby formula cans, pickle jars, etc.. as donation cans/jars. We will decorate these cans & jars to sit out at local businesses to help collect money for our team. I've made 2 cans this week and they are already out in the area. For the first time, I'm wishing my daughter would drink a little faster so that I can get started on another can! Also, if you would like to have one of these cans placed at your business, on your desk at work, etc... please let one of the team members know or just respond to this blog. We will get one to you as soon as possible. If you see one of these cans or jars out in town please feel free to drop in your spare change. It will be greatly appreciated and you will feel satisfaction in helping others that aren't able to help themselves! Every penny counts! Our team has committed to raise $19,800 and we are well on our way with $4,862.01 raised already! Keep up the good work everyone!

'Til next week....Stephanie

Tips for Tatas

2008-04-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

So thursday is our first trainning walk and im excited...why? well, ok i'll admit because i'm going to buy some new shoes to start breaking in and lets just all admit...girls love new shoes :) but also because it will literally be my first "step" towards trainning for the walk. I really think it will just help make the walk a reality to me which in turn will excite me even more!

Also, im working on my own fundraiser called "Tips for Tatas" at my work Beef O Bradys. I'm hoping to gather between 5 to 8 coworkers and have one night of basically working for free because all tip money would be in the form of a donation to our team. I already have two people who have agreed to serve that night for free and they are the only two I've had a chance to ask...so it's looking really promising!!!

I'll have to post pics next tues. of our first trainning walk...us "huffing and puffing it" around athens :) well, hopefully it wont be that bad....untill then....

cya! Angela

Breast Cancer Greeting Cards for Sale!

2008-04-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I'm Jennifer, and I am very excited to be on the Miles & Memories for Melons team. I have never taken on a challenge quite like walking 60 miles, but I am determined to do it! I wanted to do this walk a couple years ago, but the fact that I had to raise $2,200 in order to walk kind of scared me. I have decided to take on that challenge, though, and I'm actually having fun with it.

In addition to asking my friends and family for donations for the walk, I have started making greeting cards (with a TON of help from my mom!). I am unprepared this week and don't have the cards available to post, but I am making "Thank you" cards as well as cards that have "Believe" on the front with a verse about hope on the inside. They are all white cards with a pink background, and both kinds of cards have a pink ribbon in the shape of a heart on the front. I am selling 10 cards for $15, and everything I make from the cards will go towards my fundraising goals. Next week I will post photos of the cards if Mel hasn't posted the samples of them that I gave her.

On another note, we were supposed to have our first training walk this morning, but it had been raining for the past day, and we decided to postpone our first walk for a nicer day. We will have to walk in the rain if that happens during The 3 Day, but some of our team members have been under the weather, and we figured we'd have more motivation to continue training if we didn't get discouraged with rain on our first walk! We hope to start training some evening this coming week, so I'm sure someone will give an update on that once it happens.

Saturdays are my day to blog, so until then stay tuned in everyday to read everyone else's blog. Oh, and tell your friends and family about our site!

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

2008-04-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hello world of blog readers! My name is Cynthia and I will be your blog personality on Fridays. I know, I know, You're so excited you can't contain yourself. That happens to most people when they get around me. Okay, enough with the chit chat. Let's talk Operation: Boobie Freedom.

First off, I am so excited to be working with the Susan G. Komen Foundation again! I have a lot of great ideas that I hope will get my friends, family, parents and fellow classmates fired up about donating. Here are a couple of things that I have started up to get some donations rolling in:

1. BABY SITTING FOR BREAST CANCER- So the name basically says it all but for you parents out there whose eyeballs just perked up...
*You want a night out? Well I'm here to sit for you M-F after 5pm and any time on Saturdays and Sundays!
*Rate: $7.00/Hr. Flat rate, it stays the same whether you have 1 kid or 7. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and you can pre-pay at my personal web page for the walk .... http://08.the3day.org/goto/CiCiMari ... or I can bring a donation form with me which you can fill out at the end of the night. Remember, THIS IS A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION!

2. TUTORING FOR TA TA'S- Again, catchy name that sums up what I'm doing! Again, tax deductible donation gets you a session with Cici. Book me for your kids, I can tutor in any subject from Math to Spanish. I am also available for some college courses as well (mainly in the Biology dept). Help me Help you!
*Rate: $20.00 for a 1 hour session. Remember, this is TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

Well, I've got to go on to some less pleasant tasks (ahh...Spanish homework). So until next Friday, stay fresh!

~Cynthia

"Walking For The BREAST Reason"

2008-04-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well girls, are you ready?! I'm looking forward to our first training on Saturday. I know a few of you have already started and I think that's awesome! Honestly, walking 20 miles a day has made me start questioning myself.Can I really do this? I used to walk 6-9 miles a day and I started that from nothing, so surely I should be able to make 20 miles a day with training, right? I know I can do it and I WILL do it. My inspiration for walking was just here at my house last week visiting my baby girl,Madelyn. She considers Madelyn to be her grandchild since her son is likely to never have any children of his own. She looked GREAT, not at all what I was expecting. I had prepared myself for her to look totally different, like someone I wouldn't recognize. No way! she looked just the same as always. This was her first time seeing Madelyn since she was undergoing radiation when Madelyn was born (last September). It was so amazing to see them together and seeing her now as a breast cancer survivor. Her visit gave me reassurance that I am willing, able and ready to do whatever it takes to try and save others from such pain. I know everyone is not as lucky, but my hope is that they all will be soon! so here's to walking to find a cure "60 miles for BUST"
I'm Stephanie and Wednesdays are my blog days. I hope to meet you here again next week.

Move over Mel!!!

2008-04-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

SORRY THIS BLOGSITE WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE

IT WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN 5 SECONDS......

OK OK APRIL FOOLS!

Hehe, yea, im a lame-o. But as we journey through the 6 month adventure ahead that will lead us to the 3 day, Miles and Memories for Melons team wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to voice their experience. So tune in on Tuesdays for the Angela Blog served with a side of sarcasm and goffiness (is that a word?).

So one of our first goals is to set up t-shirt sponsors for our group. These sponsors will be featured on the back of our team shirts that we will sell to help raise money and also that we will wear for three days on the walk. So thats what I've started working on first.

I have to say, I was anticipating how hard it would be to talk people into handing over $150 for an ad. It seem so measly, the cover letter and t shirt form that explained everything. I was wishing there was a way to pour my heart out and let everyone see how much my mom means to me, what our family went through when she had cancer,and how difficult and how horrible of a thing the word "cancer" really is.

But with one sponsor under my belt already, i made one phone call today and now of the possibility of 6 sponsors through it. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed....cross yours for us too!

Just Scrappin' Around!

2008-03-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, I never have time to scrapbook. I can take the pictures, but for some reason, my creativity ends there! I'm one of those people who gets 2, 3, 4 or even 5 projects going, but never has the time to finish them. UNTIL- wonderful people like Mandie Pierce create these wonderful things for you, like pre-designed scrapbook layouts! I discovered that these exist last year and now I'm hooked!
Mandie is one of my fellow bloggers/photographer/mommy/friends who wears many hats. Several of her scrapbook layouts have been published in scrapbook books and magazines. Why am I telling you all this? Because you now have the chance to buy one of these very resonably priced layouts AND it go to a great cause- our team! One hundred percent of the profit goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation for research to cure breast cancer. Now there's an opportunity you just can't miss!

Check them out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5687485

Wow.

2008-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

All I can say is WOW. Simply put? Yes. BUT...Wow!

To be more precise? When I signed up for the 3-Day three weeks ago, I could of never imagined what it had in store for me. Every day, I check my email and there is another "A Donation was made on your behalf" email and I just cry tears of joy. It is an amazing feeling when you know that you are reaching out for help in finding a cure for such a horrible disease....and people are reaching back.

I get chills with every donation. Why? Everyone is effected and touched by the stories, the experiences and the desire to end this FOREVER. God is blessing me and each and everyone that is helping.

Just today I had three people come to me asking to join my team. THREE extra people means that $2,200.00 per person or $6,600 more will be raised to help end this battle. How WONDERFUL that I chose to be a part of this already amazing experience. I can hardly believe that I get to continue to feel this outpouring of love and support all through the year until October. It is truly amazing. Truly.

Thank you so much for all of those who have reached out and donated. My heart will be with each and every one of you as I continue to raise monery and with every single mile I walk this October. Please continue to pray for me as me and my growing team as we continue to raise money. Pray for us as we begin to plan our fundraisers, pray for us as we begin to train. Most of all, please pray for those who are battling this horrible disease at this very moment....I am only walking only 60 miles; they deserve to walk for a lifetime.

Begining this April, each one of our team members will be assigned a day to post their journey as we get ready for October. I challenge you to grow with us and be a part of something that will not only change others lives, but just might change yours too!

~Melissa

T-shirt Sponsorships now available!!

2008-02-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

Yes! Starting in March we will have T-shirts! We will be selling sponsorships for $150/ea. on the back. Only 10 spots are available and they will go quick!
These t-shirts will be worn by our team in front of thousands of people during our 60mile walk. family and friends of the team members.

Family and friends will also be able to purchase the T-shirt in March.

(This is a picture of the girl's t-shirts. Men's COMING SOON!)

CLICK "DONATE" BUTTON TO ADD YOUR BUSINESS AS A SPONSOR!

What kind of world do you want?

2008-02-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment and enjoy a brief walk in the day of a 3-Day participant:

As I walked through the doors of the West Cobb Memorial Library, a wave of anxiety hit like a freight train. You see, I have recently found that it's hard for me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. On top of that, I am not the best morning person and that morning involved a 6:30am alarm.

That morning, however, was different. Today I would swallow back my fear as I stepped throught the door and be brave. I knew that, despite my fears, I had a important job to do. My responsibility was much more than an extra five minutes of sleep. Much more than a few moments of feeling uncomfortable. I was there to start something great. To make a difference. To change lives and fight the battle to end breast cancer.

Sounds impossible doesn't it? That's the same thing I was thinking as I heard the alarm go off that Saturday morning at 6:30am. I made it though...and that means I am one step closer.

Try not to think of it as this huge task, but instead, this wonderful goal that is attainable in little bits and pieces. Henry Ford changed the world by creating mass production. The idea? To take a big task and divide it into little jobs. Brilliant, eh?

Why not take that idea and apply it to this deadly disease? With the 3-Day Walk for the Cure, that is what we are working towards! :)

Since the walk started in 2003, there have been over 94,000 walkers, 4.9 million miles walked, 72 Breast Cancer 3-Days and $295 million donated towards the research for the cure.

Now it's your turn. Help support our team as we walk in this amazing 60 mile life-changing event. As this year's slogan says, "Everyone deserves a lifetime." Now you can help give it to them.

Miles & Memories for Melons!

The 3-Day. It's finally here! Time to Cheer!!

(Melissa's Monday) She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes!

It's Shannon Time Again!!

Frantic Thursday (Friday)

It's getting close!

Exciting News!

Mondays with Melissa

Friday With Cynthia

Thursdays with Shannon

Mondays with Melissa

A Saturday Update from Jennifer

*Friday Nights with Cynthia*

Thinking Pink

Monday with Mel

Hello!

Another Saturday Update (a day late)

Such innocence...hopefully she can know a world without breast cancer.

Saturday with Jennifer

Another Monday with Mel

Mondays with Mel!

Enjoy your Fourth!

Thanks to Everyone from "Tips for Tatas" Night!!!!

Saturday Night Update

Friday With Cynthia

Thursay with Shannon

Mondays with Melissa!

Saturday Night Update

Thursday Substitution

Wednesday Meeting Updates

Here It Comes!!!!

Another Saturday Update

A Little Late

Welcome To Wednesday

One Day, One Day, One Day!!!

Just Another Saturday!

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

A Thoughtful Thursday

A quick hello from Angela

Just another manic Monday...

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

Thursdays with Mel

My Efforts Are Paying Off

Memorial Day and those who died for our county

Saturday Thoughts

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

oops i did it again...

Wednesday With Stephanie!

whatever happened to lazy summer days?

Happy Hump Day

time for tuesday

Pictures and more pictures!!

Happy Saturday, as always!

We're Making It Happen

which one first? the good news or the bad?

Thank you for an AMAZING DAY!!!

Tomorrow's Boobie-que Day!!

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

Oh...we're half way there. Ohh....Livin on a Prayer!

Asking For Forgiveness And Pressing On

another day another dollar....

Getting Ready for Next Weekend!

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

TGTIOOMW (My new acronym. See blog for details.)

Keep on Truckin...

Why you should LOVE Mondays...

Saturday Greetings from Jennifer

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

Did you say 6 miles or 60?!!

Stephanie's Updates

Monday Madness with Mel

Making Progress!

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

Take A Look At Our Cans!

Tips for Tatas

Breast Cancer Greeting Cards for Sale!

*Friday Night Hope with Cynthia*

"Walking For The BREAST Reason"

Move over Mel!!!

Just Scrappin' Around!

Friday Nights with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia

Friday Night Hope with Cynthia