This morning I sit here with aching legs and tingling feet to report that I MADE it through the entire 60km Weekend to End Breast Cancer this weekend. I underestimated how difficult it was going to be. After all- how hard can walking be, right? (shaking my head at myself right now) It was HARD, but as I kept reminding myself all weekend- it was not nearly as hard as fighting cancer would be. There were women walking who are going through that fight right now and they did it, so there was no way I was giving up if my legs were still moving. Let me tell you, it was very tempting to jump onto one of the sweep vans and be carried in comfort to the next pit stop!

I should start at the beginning though. Back in February, I signed up for the walk. I was intimidated by the idea of trying to raise $2000 at first, but in the end I raised a total of $2985. The biggest event was the massive garage sale we held at the end of March. I collected items for 6 weeks by advertising for donations on Craigslist. My garage was packed with stuff. I learned a lot that weekend about garage sales, including the 2 most important:  #1 ONLY collect items in very good condition- forget the junk! #2 Get lots of HELP!

The great news is that I raised $1700 that day, so all the hard work was worth it. Besides that, I held auctions on the blog for donated items. Most came from fellow Etsy sellers. I also made homemade marshmallow s’mores and chocolate covered oreo cookies and sold them at work and at my son’s spring hockey tournament.

I was so impressed to find out that there were 1300 walkers taking part, including many cancer survivors. There were volunteers in the form of cheerleaders, sweep van drivers, crossing guards, medical staff, and the folks who met us at every pit stop with treats, water and gatorade. One of the crossing guards shaved his hair into the shape of the awareness ribbon on the sides and dyed it pink–that’s commitment! Wish I’d gotten a photo of him. The cheerleaders were wonderful. They decorated their cars and honked at us  and cheered us along the route, and then stopped and played great dance music, danced and waved pom-poms or gave us little treats as we walked by. They kept us smiling the whole way. Here is a shot of some of the walkers along the seawall (look close, they are tiny!)

The first day, we walked 35km with a 45 minute lunch break. I was able to get a turn with a massage therapist at the lunch stop to pull some of the tightness out of my lower back. I had strained my back doing gardening about a week before so I was really worried about it holding out all weekend. Saturday I had real trouble with it, but between taking Advil and stretching it as often as I could– I got through it, but those last 5km were pretty painful. I was thrilled to find that I ended up blister-free at the end of day one. I had taken some good advice and slathered my feet with vaseline under my cool-max socks, changing to a new pair at lunch time.  I think doing that and having the great new running shoes saved my feet. I felt so badly for all the walkers I saw getting their feet bandaged and taped at the pit stops. Some of them had to stop walking due to the pain. Here is one of the volunteer’s decorated scooters.  That’s a balloon-filled bra on the front!

All along the route people came out of their homes and clapped for us, some yelling things like “thank you for walking!” “way to go!” “you can do it!” A family on E 37th (I checked so I could blog it) had a table set up outside their house where they served us an array of snacks and drinks as we went by. Two little girls stood on their front step and cheered “2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate? The walkers, the walkers, yeay!” and they jumped up and down and waved pom-poms for us. They were so cute- we all clapped and thanked them as we went by. One woman had a sign on the tree outside her house that said “You are walking for me. Thank you!” and she sat on her porch with her partner and they thanked every walker as they went by. Cars honked and waved at us all day long. People called out encouragement from their car windows. It was so nice to see strangers smiling so much! Some kids at Kits beach stood with buckets of mini chocolate bars handing them out to us as we went by and calling out “thank you for walking”. It really was an incredible experience.

Back at camp in the evening (after completing 35 km) I just wanted to get to my tent and collapse, but I’m so glad my friend Deb stopped me. She said if we stayed moving and even…gasp…danced for a while after dinner it would prevent us getting too stiff for Sunday’s walk.  Deb is a veteran of the walk- she’s done it 5 or 6 years now so figured she should know, but at that point I really couldn’t imagine dancing for 5 minutes- let alone walking another 25 km the next day. The lower half of my body felt like I’d been chewed up and spit out. I was really regretting the fact that I hadn’t done more training…not to mention the extra 20 lbs I’ve been carrying around for a while now. For at least the past year I just haven’t been motivated to work out. This walk really made me realize how much I’ve missed being fit. Once I recover I’m determined to get back into a fitness routine and shed these nasty pounds. Life is too short to feel uncomfortable in my body! Anyway- After hitting the showers (OH YES- that felt GOOD) we had dinner,  drank the champagne brought by Deb’s family and listened to a few speeches, then Bif Naked took the stage for a few songs. I have to admit I missed most of her set because I was arranging my nest in the tent. Then there was a DJ and dancing. I was amazed that I had any energy left, but we danced for about an hour! I finally hit my tent around 9:30 pm and with my earplugs firmly in place I slept solidly till about 4:00 am.  I was lucky to end up with a tent all to myself. Normally it’s two in each tent, but Deb and her family stayed in a nearby hotel, so I was able to spread out and enjoy a little extra space. I had to get up at 4:00 to visit the ’sanctuary’  (as it was so delicately referred to) and I nearly fell over when I stood up- my legs were so stiff I had to grab the tent for support.

Sunday started with a nice hot breakfast (well, the eggs were a little scary, but the rest was nice:-) and the coffee was wonderful. We got out on the route by 7:45 am. My back was much better on Sunday, but the muscles in the back of my right leg started getting pretty tight and then by the time we stopped for an early lunch around 10:40 I found two small blisters-one on each foot. I was hoping to make it all the way blister-free, but it was not to be! (hey-I made a rhyme:-) A very helpful medic taped up my blisters and we were back on our way. The second half of Sunday was very difficult for me. Every step was painful and I had to stop and stretch at least every 30 minutes to keep moving. The route was beautiful though. We finished up by walking the south side of the seawall around False Creek. I dropped behind my group and had to take it slower, but I was able to catch up before the finish line and we all crossed together. What a wonderful welcome we got with cheering and high-fives galore. It was such a relief to know it was over!

I met these two ladies at the closing ceremonies. They appeared to be mother and daughter.  Mom is a cancer survivor as you can tell by her t-shirt slogan. Love their senses of humor! IF you can’t make out the text, the mom’s shirt says “Yes, they’re fake! My real ones tried to kill me!” and the daughter’s shirt says “No, they are not fake. Do you really think I would pick THIS size?”

I’m proud of myself for making it through, and I’m already thinking of ideas to fundraise for 2010. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who supported me – the money, your time, all your blog comments and good wishes,  your tweets and re-tweets, and all the great handmade products I was able to offer for auction. A special thank you goes to my husband Jon who supported me with my fundraising efforts and saved my ASS on garage sale day. You rock sweetie! Think of all the lovely breasts you helped to save :-0

This year’s event raised about 2.9 MILLION dollars to benefit the BC Cancer Foundation for womens’ cancers. Pretty impressive!

Next year, the name of the walk will be changed to The Weekend To End Womens’ Cancers. The scope of the funding is being spread to include all cancers that affect women.  I hope I can inspire more walkers to join in next year. We need as many as we can get. It’s a great experience and a chance to be part of a cure for cancer- how cool is that?  Grab a friend (or a bunch of friends and start your own team) and sign up for next year’s walk.  You won’t regret it- I promise you.

Only 1 week till my first Weekend to End Breast Cancer event. I’m excited but also a little bit  scared, to tell you the truth. Yesterday, I did a 12 km walk which is probably the longest I’ve done so far. It wasn’t too bad, but I figured out that my runners were too tight, especially on my left foot. I could feel my last 2 toes getting quite sore about 1/2 way into the walk. I think I would have gotten blisters if I hadn’t stopped and put on bandaids.

I joined the FM 104.9 team, which comes with a great bonus. Once team members reach $1000 in funds raised, they get a certificate from New Balance for a new pair of runners- up to $129.88 in value! So, after my walk yesterday I headed to New Balance and got fitted properly for my new pair. They feel so much better than my old ones- lots more room around the toes and the uppers are mesh so that should help with keeping my feet cooler. I bought a size larger than I would normally buy. I didn’t know that training shoes should always be bought larger than normal shoes.  I also picked up a few pairs of Cool-Max socks to wick away moisture. Now I just need some Footglide to prevent rubbing and I think I’m good to go! If my feet can hold up then I know I can finish this walk. It’s ALL about foot comfort for me.

The long-range weather forecast for next weekend says there might be some rain on Sunday. To be honest, I’d be happy with a light rain rather than bright sun. I don’t do well in the heat. It’s hard to believe that I actually lived in Southern California for 5 years. I don’t do hot sun well. I was reading a blog this morning about the recent weekend walk in Calgary and it was sweltering for them. I’m not sure I could have finished it if I were walking there.  My hat is off to the Calgary walkers’  HUGE accomplishments!

I’ll probably just do a couple of short walks this week just to stay moving but not over-train.  I’ll try to get everything packed on Thursday evening so I can come home from work on Friday and get to bed early. I hope to come back with lots of stories to share. Previous walkers all tell me it’s an amazing experience. I can’t wait to find out!

Together, they raised close to $400,000 in donations! Jon, my mom and I went to join the welcome back celebration at the end of the ride. (that’s his girlfriend Sarah in the photo with him) It was very emotional to see them all ride in with the cancer survivors leading the way. None of them are professional cyclists, just people trying to help a great cause. This a grass roots organization that has been going for a few years and has gotten bigger each year. You can read much more about them at Ride2Survive.

Each of the cyclists rode in honor of someone in their lives who was affected by cancer. They copy the names onto their legs so that when they feel they can’t go on any longer, they can look down at the names and draw strength from them.  Our family has certainly had its share of cancer. Graham was treated for skin cancer himself a few years ago. Thanks to the great talents of a plastic surgeon, the cancer was completely removed and the scars on his face are nearly invisible. Our dad passed away from cancer 10 years ago. Our aunt died of breast cancer that same year. Another aunt has survived colon cancer twice and is now in her 90’s. Our uncle has brain cancer right now. Jon’s father lost one of his eyes to cancer many years ago.

Graham’s accomplishment has inspired me even more for my upcoming participation in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer this August. I’ve been doing much better with my training lately. I’m trying to walk everyday for at least 40 minutes. I joined a 10k training walk a couple of weeks ago and it was much easier than I thought. 60 km in 2 days is something else…but I think I can do it with the right tools. (vaseline to prevent blisters, some good socks and a couple pairs of good runners)

If you’re so inspired, you can donate to my fundraising directly by going to my online donation page here. If you prefer paypal, just click on the donate button here on my blog. Every little bit helps! Thank you so much:-)

I’ve also fallen behind in posting new auctions for my fundraising. I was put off a little when I sent a message to an Etsy seller asking her if she would like to donate something and she replied calling me a spammer and basically tore a strip off me and threatened to report me to Etsy administrators. She said that her sister had died of cancer and that cancer isn’t something that is appropriate to ‘cold call’ about. Needless to say, I was disappointed and felt a little deflated. I couldn’t even reply to apologize because she ended her message with ‘do not contact me again’

*sigh* Well, I’ve otherwise had great, positive responses to any requests I’ve made but I feel I can no longer send direct messages to sellers. This was the way I’d received most of the donations, so things have slowed down quite a bit on that front.

I’ll have to come up with some new fundraising ideas soon. I’ve got about 3 more months to raise the remaining $916 I need for Jon and I to participate in the Weekend To End Breast Cancer in August. I’ve raised $3084 so far! Some ideas I found online that sounded interesting:

-Bowling party (get lanes to donate towards it and charge admission)

-Brunch for Boobies (invite friends and family for brunch and take donations)

Anyone else have any good ideas that have worked for you? I normally work from home, but when I go into the office I’m planning to bring some homemade goodies to share for donations- that usually goes over well. I missed an opportunity yesterday when I worked at the office. Our staffing has been very high since this whole Swine Flu thing started. I could have made some great donations but I thought of it too late to get any baking done!

I was thrilled to receive the offer of this great print called Blooming Lots of Dots from Bandeau at Etsy to benefit my auctions for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.

It’s Spring Time and the girls in the garden are delighted at the amazing amount of blooming beauties!!

All traditional work on the black and white, then digital colouring on the red and purple versions on this 8×10 print.

So much detail, you’ll spend forever finding every item!

Winner may specify if they would like:

Black & White

Red version or Purple version

This is what the artist says about this print:

“This image was the turning point in my artwork. I had just discovered I have several tumors in my chest, and to kick the shakes like I usually do I went on a quick art spending spree. I bought my first ever package of Sakura Microns and decided to sit down and doodle with them. I cracked open the pen, grabbed a random sheet of paper, and drew the ugliest eye I had ever created. I really didn’t like it so I decided “What the hey! I’m going to just doodle whatever I want.” And in the end, Lots of Dots was created. I had never done anything like it and now a lot of my work leans in this direction!
And about the artist:

“As for me, well, I just love creating artwork I was laid off in December along so many thousands of others, and decided to stay positive and take the lull in the job force to create some new artwork. I took some money out of my savings to purchase a large set of Copic Markers and have been drawing steady for the last three months!”

1: Visit Bandeau at Etsy and Bandeau at Deviant Art.  Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this Wonderful Print.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $15.00 for this print.

~Artist will ship this item anywhere~

First bidder takes this item!

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

I’m so excited that Robin from Atomic Livin donated this fantastic purse to benefit my Weekend to End Breast Cancer fundraising!  I LOVE all the bags in Robin’s shop!

Here’s the scoop: ~High-Style Waves Handbag in Watermelon Colors of Lime, Kelly, Fuschia, Lipstick Pink, Cotton Candy Pink, White and Black! ~

Approx. 10 1/2″ High x 9 1/2″ Wide x 3″ Deep

The handle is black silky 3/8″ wide cord that is approx. 42″ long.

QUALITY BARKCLOTH FABRIC…Double and Triple Stitched…HIGH QUALITY CONSTRUCTION GUARANTEED!

Gorgeous retro RARE barkcloth.
Added stabilizer for firmness so that it can stand on its own.
Sturdy, Handcrafted, Quality Construction!!

This gorgeous bag is just right to wear across your chest from shoulder to hip like a Messenger Bag or tie a knot in the cord and wear it on your shoulder. Larger than her popular “Pocket Purses”, these beauties hold more of the “essentials” us girls can’t do without.

Robin has always loved retro things from her childhood of the late 50’s, 60’s and mid-70’s.
She’s  spent a lot of time and effort collecting fabulous retro, vintage and reproduction fabrics, and she found that most of the patterns that she loves are now out-of-print. Now, she’s spending her time making original design handbags with her wonderful fabrics and having a ball!

1: Visit Atomic Livin at Etsy.  Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this fabulous Retro Purse.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $20.00 for this item.

~Robin will ship anywhere~

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

Update: This auction has ended with a BUY IT NOW bid by Deb! Thanks so much for the support!

Nicole from Naturally Felt has donated this cute and stylin’ Insulated Lunch Tote for auction to benefit my fundraising for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.

Nicole is the mom of 3 little ones. She also makes other great items like custom Travel Colouring Kits and slippers for kids and adults.

The exterior is a colorful dots print with blue a background. This is fully insulated to keep food cold for hours!

Zipper closure keeps your lunch nicely contained and the short strap is perfect to grab and go..

Very durable, very cute, and green to boot!
Machine washable!

See more photos of the tote HERE.

Measures: 10″ high, 8″ wide flat

1: Visit Naturally Felt at Etsy.  Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this sweet Insulated Lunch Tote.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $10.00 for this tote.

6. New Option: Leave a comment stating you would like to BUY IT NOW for only $20.00.

~Nicole will ship this tote anywhere in the US or Canada~

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

Update: This auction has ended because my brother bought these beautiful earrings (I think for his gifrlfriend Sarah if I’m guessing right) Thanks for your support Graham!

Lori from Brandy Brook Designs has donated these beautiful Sodalite and Moonstone Earrings. As always, all proceeds from the auction go directly to my fund for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.

These elegant earrings will become your favorite pair for everything from dressy to office to casual. They stand out with every type of outfit. The center faceted moonstone is flashy and beautifully cut. It is framed with two blue sapphire rondelles. Then a sodalite teardrop is capped with a sterling silver swirl and hung from beautiful hand forged earwires.

The drop is 1 1/2″ or almost 4 cm long. From the piercing it is almost 2.5″ or 6 cm. long.

Lori has lots of other gorgeous handmade jewelry in her shops at Etsy:  Brandy Brook Designs and at 1000 Markets: Life’s Little Luxuries

1: Visit Brandy Brook Designs and/or Life’s Little Luxuries . Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for the Sodalite and Moonstone Earrings.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $15, you must bid $16 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $15.00 for this auction.

6. New Option: If you love these earrings and you don’t want to wait, Buy It Now for $25.00!

~Lori will  ship these earrings anywhere in the world!~

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

Update: This auction has ended and was won by Liz. Thanks so much for your support Liz! Hope your parents enjoy the clock:-)

Here’s another amazing record album clock made and donated by Deb from Bee Mine

I love that it’s Cyndi Lauper this time. She’s one of my favourite artists from the 80’s.

She’s So Unusual is the album that faces this clock. It was Cyndi’s first studio album and includes the hit singles “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time.”

The clock base is 1/4 inch MDF and is painted black. Two AA batteries are included with purchase, as is the actual record album. The album and inner sleeve are both in excellent condition.

~Deb will ship this clock anywhere~

1: Visit Bee Mine at Etsy.  Browse around and choose your favourite item there.

2. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us:

a) The name of your favourite item.

b) The $ amount of your bid for this fantastic retro pop clock.

3. Check back often during the 2 weeks, to see if you’ve been out-bid. You may bid as often as you like.

4. Bid increments for this item will be $1 minimum (for example: if the highest current bid is $10, you must bid $11 or more)

5. Bidding starts at only $10.00 for this clock.

6. New Option: BUY IT NOW for only $20.00!

(please state ‘Buy It Now’ in your comment if you are bidding $20 or more for this great clock)

All payments for items won can be paid via my online donation page at the End Cancer website (or you can pay via my Paypal donation link if you prefer) Net proceeds from the walk go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Want to see your products here?
Please contact me by using the ‘Contact Me’ tab at the top of this page if you would like to donate something for the weekly auction. I would love to showcase your shop and products. Let’s help each other!

The first few hours were quite a blur. We had folks lined up to pay for armloads, bags and boxes full of stuff. I priced everything VERY well, so some amazing deals were had. I found it really interesting to see what people were buying. It’s not always what you expect. I had piles of stuffed animals and I was worried that I wouldn’t sell many, but they flew out of there. The price was definitely right though:-) I sold all of the kids’ VHS tapes. I was worried nobody would want those either. I guess you just never know!

We had hundreds and hundreds of books. (still tons left too) On Sunday I sold them 4 for a $1.00. People love a great deal. I sold LOTS of books. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have time to blow up all of the balloons to sell for the kids, but they came in handy for attaching to the street signs. We got many compliments on my signs. I should have taken a photo of one. I got the idea to tape them to a section of garden fencing. You know the little arched ones that protect the edges of the flower beds? I pulled mine out and they worked perfectly for holding my signs up and so I could push them into the ground so they would stand up straight.

The results? Drum roll please: over $1700 was raised for my Weekend to End Breast Cancer fund!

Thank you to everyone who donated items for the sale and to all the folks who came out on a cold morning to support this great cause, and thank you to everyone who helped to get the word out for me:  Rebecca  from Miss604 who gave me a shout-out on her weekly set on the radio and blogged about it several times and Jenn and Joe from the Morning Buzz on 1410 radio who plugged the sale for me on Friday’s show. Somebody told me they heard about us  on The Beat from the Kid Carson Show. How did he know about it?  I’d love to know- thanks Kid! Big thanks also to Terry from Starbucks who donated coffee with all the fixings and a great raffle basket of goodies. Even more big thanks to Tania from  Moja Coffee who emailed me and then brought me a  great gift basket for another raffle prize. It was nice to meet you at the sale Tania!

The biggest thanks goes to my fantastic husband Jon, who sacrificed his sleep and his study time to help me all day long and all Sunday morning too, and has the blisters to prove it. I love you Jon!