Kristi & Sharon

My shirt made it’s third stop last week, and was signed by Kristi and Sharon who work on the 4th floor of PFS. Both made generous donations to my personal page early on in my campaign which I really appreciate. Kristi’s dad suffered from cancer, so she supports the cause to find a cure. I am lucky to work with such a wonderful group of people. Thanks again, ladies!

Who will end up with the shirt next? Visit again soon to find out!

Nikki and I took our first (of many) training walks yesterday. We started at 4 PM around the trails in her neighborhood and returned 5:15 PM or later. Her boyfriend, Craig, thinks it’s 3-4 miles. That’s the recommended amount that the 3-Day says you should start out with, so I’m happy with our preliminary walk. I was sweaty at the end, and my back hurt, so I think we did good.

Next time I will have to remember to wear my Nike + shoes so that I can track our walk with my iPod. Sadly those shoes are not as comfy as my New Balance ones that I work out in everyday. I also ordered a new pair of NB online, but I’m not quite sure how they are going to be when walking large distances. They seem a little bit thinner than my trusty “old” pair. I am sure that we will go through quite a few pairs this year getting ready. You may have also noticed we posted some pictures. We did a few self-portraits on the trail. Aren’t we cute? I am sure that we will be taking lots more photos leading up to November.

I also volunteered to lead training walks in my community. Those official walks begin in May I believe. There is also an official kick-off walk at the New Balance store in Dallas. We will probably be participating in that as well. If anyone is interested in joining us for some non-official walks before then, please contact one of us. Our e-mail addresses are in the sidebar. Happy Training everyone!

I neglected to mention that the Saturday afernoon/evening that LeAnn and I spent making cupcakes, we also attempted to make chocolate lollipops. All the supplies cost around $18, and included a ribbon mold, pink and white pound chocolate bags, strawberry candy flavoring, and lollipop sticks.

This was my first time making candy, and I was actually pretty excited about it. I thought it was going to be easy, but boy was I wrong! It is a lot of work, and it took forever to make only 16! Since we used two different colors, we had to first put in the pink for the ribbons, and then fill the backs with the white chocolate. Quite a few of them broke in the process too. I sold them for $2 each, and mostly to my own team. They are pretty small, so I know the price is kind of steep. I might try it again with just the pink chocolate and charge $.50 or $1 instead. Live and Learn! I have to say that they are pretty tasty!

Welcome to Our3Day! We are excited to have you with us. We’d like to invite you to participate in the Ultimate Blog Party over at 5 Minutes for Mom if you haven’t already. They are giving away tons of great prizes all week long– March 7-14. This is a great way to meet new people, and spread the word about your blog. We just started this one as part of our participation in our very first Breast Cancer 3-Day. We’d love the support of some new friends, so if you can… please donate to our walks. 60 Miles is a big distance to walk, but we truly believe that EVERYONE DESERVES A LIFETIME.

If you have a personal connection to the disease, please share your story with us in the comments. We want to be inspired by others. We are doing this walk for ourselves and for our families, but we are doing it for all of you women we’ve never met too. If you have time, click the link to the The Breast Cancer Site. They help fund mammograms for women in need. If you have $1, donate it to our walk. We have both committed to raising $3000, and have a long way to go.

I have an easy contest for a Save the Ta-Tas t-shirt on my personal blog. Visit me there and leave a comment, or follow the directions for more entries. I hope you’ll visit us often, bookmark us, and continue to follow us on this amazing journey.

My five co-workers have been some of the most supportive people in my effort to raise money for my walk, so it only makes sense that PFS was the second stop on my shirt’s trip around the country.

(l-r) Chris V, Monique, Angela, Mandy, Chris M

Originally I was going to share a “cozy two person tent” with Mo, but she decided against making the walk this year. Angela also wanted to participate since her aunt is a survivor, but opted out. They have all been a great source of support though, and continue to make me laugh with slogan suggestions for t-shirts and their aggressive fundraising assistance (i.e. “Hey! Give Laurie $3. She’s walking 60 miles to save your chi-chis/ta-tas/fun bags.”)

There is a long way to go until November gets here, and I am glad to have each one of them as a part of my support system. I heart you guys!

The shirt is still making it’s way around the building to my donors before it heads out of state, so visit soon for the next stop on my shirt’s trip.

So I, the other half of this dynamic duo, have (finally) officially registered for the 3 day!  I’ve got my little page all set up and ready to go, and I’ve begun my e-mail campaign for donations.  I’ve got a long way to go before I can catch up with Laurie!  She’s turning out to be quite the little money maker!  My strategy has to be a little different because my workplace doesn’t really allow “open” fundraising.  I am only allowed to work within the walls my own personal office space, and that’s going to make this more challenging for sure.  I’m going to have to rely on word of mouth to help get my name out there, and to attract interest in my “wares”.  Craig and I are planning a baking blitz for the week that the kids have spring break; 3/17-3/21.  I’ve got an awesome recipe for sugar cookies, and a fantastic homemade icing that can easily be tinted pink.  I’ll add some chocolate chip cookies and brownies into the mix to make my own mini bake sale!  I think some creative packaging and posters on my wall may do the trick to help spread the word around the office.  I’ve had offers for help and support from several people, so I am sure they will mention the goodies to others.  Also in the works- Tasting for Tatas!  Laurie and I will host our very own, fancy-shmancy wine tasting event to raise funds for the walk!  We’ll offer wines, cheeses, and some other tasty treats.  I’m hoping to nail down a date soon, so stay tuned for more information!  In the meanwhile, I am going to be busy writing letter after letter and sending as many e-mails as I can to gain more supporters.  I think this is just the beginning of a wild and wonderful ride.  More to come soon…

-Nikki

The “Cupcakes for the Cure” fundraiser went fabulously today. I had 51 individually wrapped cupcakes this morning, and by 4:30 PM when I left for home, I had none! Special thanks to Mandy who helped me walk around the office talking folks into buying them, and to Dave for helping me with the sign (He drew it, and I glittered it). We sold each one for $3. While some people did menton that the price was too high for a small cupcake, most were willing to buy one in the spirit of the cause. Everyone said that they looked cute and tasted good, so I am glad that they went over well since we spent so much time on them this weekend.

Strawberry/Cream Cheese was by far more popular, however based on feedback I think the White/Coconut Buttercream were considered tastier. Next time we might leave out the fresh berries or use less oil to give them a cakier consistancy. Overall I am pleased with the outcome, and that’s $153 (minus about $50 supply cost) toward my walk. I am taking the cost on myself, so really 100% of today’s efforts are profits. I’m tickled PINK! I also got more donations today which I am excited about, and more of my awareness items sold as well. Today was another successful day! Thanks to my fabulous co-workers who have amazing hearts!

Cupcake Tree!

Mandy-Lou!

Today I spent the afternoon (and into the evening) at LeAnn’s house. We went shopping for groceries to make four dozen cupcakes for me to sell at work. We decided on white cake with pink coconut buttercream frosting, and strawberry cake (with real berries!) and cream cheese frosting. Both were fantastic! We individually wrapped each one, and I will spend the majority of tomorrow making tags for each one as well as a sign to post in front of my desk. I’ll let you all know how it goes!

Ready to bake!

Ready to come out of the oven!

Cool as a Cucake!

LeAnn is an expert at icing!