Steppin' Out Again

It's that time of year again...the time everyone dreads.  Yep, the time that I harass all of my friends and co-workers for their participation and/or their hard-earned cash.

Now, I rarely ask people for money (never for personal use...okay, only jokingly), but I make an exception once or twice a year when I participate in a fundraiser for something I believe in.  This time it's the American Diabetes Association®'s Step Out® Walk to Stop Diabetes®.  I think it's a good cause, especially considering that Diabetes has affected a number of my friends and family members, including my grandfather and my brother to name only a few.  I walk for them and for the other 25.8 million Americans living with Types I and II Diabetes.

Come join me on October 13th at Lake Merrit in Oakland, CA for the walk!  In addition to the 3 mile walk around the lake, lunch will be provided as well as activities, music and a healthy living fair.

If you want to register as a part of my team, visit my team page and click the link at the right hand side of the page.  You don't even have to live locally to participate!  If you'd like, you can join my team as a "virtual participant."  By becoming a virtual participant, you will help the American Diabetes Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.  Registration for the event is free, and while it is a fundraising event, you do not have to meet any minimum fundraising requirements in order to participate.

As always, donations to my campaign are highly appreciated and can be made using the newly installed widget at the top of my page (nifty new gadget!) or by visiting this link.  If you use the widget, you can search by "Tami'sTeam" with no spaces or by my full first and last name. 

To anyone that continued reading to the end, thank you so much for your attention!  That in itself is a form of support.

Thank you!!

Race for the Cure

I have decided to participate in the 15th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this coming May, to do my part in the fight against breast cancer. I participated as part of a team last year, and decided to do it again this year. I started my own team, and am still hoping to get an additional 12 members signed up so we officially qualify as one. Please think about joining us! The event is on May 7th (Mother's Day weekend - fitting isn't it?) at Cal Expo in Sacramento, CA.

There are 5 ways to participate, including running the 5k, walking the 5k (my choice), running or walking the 1 mile fun run and sleeping in. Yep, you read that right. If you know you won't be able to make it out to Sacramento for the event, but still want to be a part of this worthy cause, you can register as part of my team (or as an individual, but I'd love you to be on my team!) and raise funds without having to be present on race day.

Please visit my personal campaign page and consider making a donation or joining my team. Thank you so much for your support!!

Click here to visit my page

Disappointment

I am disappointed in myself. I didn't finish a single scarf for the Special Olympic Scarf Project. The last state in need (VA, which I just returned from) has a receipt deadline of Monday, March 7. I was hoping to be able to finish at least one scarf today and send it to Alaska, whose deadline is the 9th, but they have received twice the number of requested scarves already. So much for that idea.

THANKS A LOT, TENDINITIS! I really do blame it for this, since it hit right when I received my yarn, and got worse when I started the scarf. I had attempted to crochet with the splint on, but it was really a challenge (and painful without it). Since I got the cortisone shot last week, the pain has subsided (it took a few days, and I was out of town at a family wedding); however, now that I feel pain-free enough to work on it, time has run out.

Now I am left with a half-finished granny square scarf, and a few skeins of brightly colored yarns. Luckily, there is also a Scarf Project for the 2012 Special Olympics. I have a good deal of advance knowledge for next year's project, so I expect more out of myself in the future. Hopefully they will use one of this year's colors, if not both, for next year's scarves! They haven't announced the colors yet, so there's still hope. I'll find out sometime this April.

Scarf Project Update

If you read a few posts back, you'll remember that I was itching to start working on whipping up some scarves for the Special Olympics. I finally received my yarn (the ever elusive blue #886 from Red Heart), and settled on a granny square scarf to start with. Then I was reminded of why I love self-striping yarns:

(Way too many loose ends!!

If this was a book or a movie, I'd hate it!)

Shortly after starting to work on the scarf, my left wrist starting feeling stiff and sore, which I figured was probably from typing in a poor position at work, so I was trying to rest it, and didn't do much in the way of crocheting for a little while. I'll admit that I did make attempts, but probably shouldn't have (and won't be letting my doctor in on that tidbit, even though it only hurt me in the long run). My wrist got worse, with pain at the base of my thumb, and loss of functionality. I broke down and went to the doctor, who confirmed that I have Tendinitis de Quervain. (See here for my feeling on the subject.)

In lieu of the cortisone shot, I opted for large doses of Ibuprofen and a splint to immobilize the wrist/tendon area. If it's still not better by mid-week, I'll go back in and face the shot. (I think this is what's going to happen, because it's almost been a week, and it doesn't seem to be better.) In the meantime, I have not made much progress on the scarf, and don't know if I'll even finish it. I'm annoyed by that, since I was really psyched about the project.

Hopefully, I'll get some relief from this quickly - from the shot, if not from the Ibuprofen. Maybe then I can power out some scarves for the states with later event dates, like Louisiana and Alaska. Northern CA had their numbers posted wrong previously, and it turns out that they have already met their actual goal. So, much as I'd like to help my most local event, I am glad that they have received what they asked for, and would be happy to help out the other locations.

*Warning - TMI coming up*

Side Note: I'm also annoyed by the fact that I'm on 800mg of Ibuprofen, 3x per day, and yet I still have menstrual cramps! The fact that they're as bad as they are with all that medication makes me wonder how bad they'd be without it! I'm afraid I'd be bedridden!

Crochet for a Cause

You may have read in my last post that I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics as a part of their Scarf Project. I mentioned how I had not been able to find any Red Heart Super Saver Blue (#886) yarn in stock at any of my local stores (I tried 4 different ones). Well, I finally broke down and ordered the yarn online through Joann last week.

Naturally, I couldn't buy one skein of $2.50 yarn and be expected to pay $7 in shipping... So, I bought 2 skeins of the blue (I have high hopes) and managed to add a few other items that I didn't really need. This included two different pink yarns, just in case I really get in the groove and decide to make some items to sell to raise money for my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that's coming up in May. (Join my team here, if you want to walk with us, run without us, or stay home and sleep but still raise money for the cause. -More on this campaign in a future post.)

Since I've been itching to begin my scarves, I was really hoping that my yarns would have arrived today. And I think they did...only the post office didn't deliver because I wasn't home. Argh! I was stuck with that little pink slip they stick in your mailbox, saying the item will be available for pickup tomorrow after 10am. Sorry, I have a job! I'm going to go to the website to see if they'll redeliver (and leave it at my door or at the apartment complex offices). Wish me luck!

I also checked the Scarf Project website to see how many scarves have been provided for the Northern CA event, and out of the 1,150 scarves they requested, they have only received 45! Please consider contributing your own creation to this worthy cause. See the project guidelines here.

The deadline to receive scarves for the your scarves in for the Northern CA event is 3/1/2011. There are different deadlines for the games in different locations, as well as a different number of scarves requested for each event. If I have leftover yarn after the Northern CA deadline (a surety), then I will just keep making more scarves and send them to another state's event. Everybody wins!

New Project

I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics. I actually found out about their Scarf Project last year, but never got around to doing anything with it. I found the site again this year via an ad on Facebook that appeared on my sidebar (how do they know me so well?). So, this is it. Fate, right?

I will be contributing to the Northern California program. The events are floor hockey, cross-country skiing and Alpine skiing. Totally scarf-worthy! The scarves are actually gifted to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters as a symbol of unity. The deadline for shipping scarves to the Northern CA program is 2/25, so I'd better get a move on!

There are 2 official colors - blue and turquoise. Wait, that's not quite right. The official yarns are Red Heart #886 Blue and #512 Turqua. Believe it or not, I cannot find the blue color to save my life! I've been to 4 different stores, and none of them have it. I'm going to have to buy it online, which means I'll buy other things too, simply to justify spending the $ on shipping. (I know myself.)

Anyway, the Special Olympics would like to receive 1,150 scarves, but has only received 45 so far. So, please join me in my crafty little efforts to help them reach their goals! For more information, check out their Official Site. You can also make scarves for events in other locations, if you would prefer. They all have different deadlines and are requesting a different number of scarves. All scarves must incorporate both official colors, though.

As soon as I get my hands on that 2nd color, I'll see how many scarves I can produce...

Good Old Saint Nick

Check out the headline of the article below:How inappropriate for those poor little kiddies!

Okay, I know the article is really about how to explain to kids why they're not each getting their individual Wii because Mommy did a little too much investing in the real estate market...No, it doesn't actually say that - just that kids may be disappointed in their gifts this year due to parents' inability to shell out the massive cash in order to buy their love. Hmm...still it's not as detailed as that. Maybe I should've written this article?

Anyway, here is a link to the full article, if anyone is interested in letting the kids down easy: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/atlanta-holiday-guide/stories/2008/12/04/talking_to_kids_holiday.html

***Warning - this is the part where my Catholic upbringing and beliefs become very apparent. If you will be offended by any religious content, don't bother reading any further.***

In all seriousness, although the article does have some good suggestions, I don't agree with all of it, but that may be due to my religious upbringing. I think my biggest problem with it is that it completely ignores the true meaning of Christmas.

If you can't afford the pricy demands of your children, why not simply bring the season back to its roots and explain the reason that we celebrate in the first place? Tell the story of Jesus's birth (you don't have to wait for Christmas Day to do this), and celebrate Advent (which is 4 weeks of preparing for the arrival of our Lord). Also teach the kids about Epiphany (the day the wise men arrived bearing gifts, and also the end of the 12 days of Christmas), which is January 6th.

How about explaining the origins of Santa with your children. Saint Nicholas was a Catholic Bishop whose acts of charity for those in need was legendary. Here are some links to more info on the Saint: Saint Nicholas, Ways to Honor St. Nick, St. Nicholas Center. There's also a children's book that can help to convey the origins of Santa to young children: The Real Story of Santa Claus

Originally, honoring Saint Nicholas by giving gifts to others was centered around his feast day, December 6 (tomorrow!), not Christmas. The gift giving has since migrated across the calendar a bit to Christmas Day, and in transit has spiralled way out of control. Maybe the state of the current economy is affording us (as a society) with the opportunity to teach our children what is really important - not money and material goods, but love, family, support and charity. This is the perfect time to start, as there are so many people now in need. We can also teach children the difference between wants and needs, while still having a happy Christmas. Instill in them the belief that Christmas is about giving, not receiving. It's about sharing our joy and happiness. After all, on Christmas, God gave us the greatest gift of all.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to stop giving the children gifts - not at all. Just don't max out any credit cards to satisfy their every whim. There's no need to fall into debt for anything that isn't a necessity. But something does not have to be expensive to be a good gift or to be appreciated. And we need to stop judging our own worth based on what others have. We need to stop raising self-centered brats with feelings of entitlement. Buy what you can afford. One day your kids will have to go out and earn a living, and if they have always had everything handed to them, they will not be prepared to support themselves.

And since that's probably a bit in the future, right now maybe we should just tell them that Saint Nick had to focus on the families that were truly in need this year, and your family is already blessed with what you have. (I do believe I heard this from my own single income, 4 child family in my younger days, and I managed to survive!)

As for Santa Claus, let the kids keep believing. I do.

Last Chance!

Well, I just wanted to get the word out one more time...and then you won't have to read any more of my appeals for cash (probably...). The StepOut to Fight Diabetes Walk is tomorrow morning. I have to get up extra early, which for me may be more of a challenge than the 6 mile walk itself. So, one last link to my donations page before I toddle off to bed. I have already set the coffee maker to auto brew at 7am, in the hopes that the scent of freshly brewed coffee will entice me out of my sleep cocoon.

Wish me luck!

Thank you to all of my supporters!!

Steppin' Out, With My Baby

Or rather, with Kristin's baby...

The StepOut to Fight Diabetes Walk is this Sunday, and my friends and I are rarin' to go!
My team's fundraising efforts have been going great! The team has expanded to 7 people (including Kristin's 5mo old), and with the expansion, our team fundraising goal was raised to $2,000. So far, with the help of all of you generous donors (you know who you are), we have collectively reached 82% of our goal with $1,630 in donations! If you look at the Top Teams box on the right side of the San Jose Event's home page, you'll see our team on the list!! (Our team name is Kristin's Team.) Not too shabby for only 7 people, if I do say so myself (and I do).

I have exceeded my original personal goal of $500, but am reaching higher! I have reset my personal goal to $700, and am already at 79%! If you would like to contribute, there's still time! Just click this link to donate or join the team. Thank you so much to all of those who have given to this cause (and to those who have offered support in any way).

You may want to see if your company matches charitable contributions and you could double your donation. If you are unable to personally donate to my campaign, please forward this message and/or my website to your friends and family on my behalf. Or consider joining my team and walking with us in San Jose! I just found out that we can have "ghost walkers," which means that if you don't live locally, you can still join our team and either walk the same distance on your own in your town, or walk in one of the other StepOut locations.

I'm also still donating 50% of the proceeds of any of my Etsy sales to the fundraiser, if you see anything there that strikes your fancy!

Again, I really appreciate all of your help and support! Thank you very much!

Please help my team reach our final goal of $2,000 by Sunday. Every little bit helps.

Thank you!!