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

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!

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!!

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)

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

(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

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*

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

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

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!

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)

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.

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

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

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!

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