Clinique Gift Basket

This wonderful set includes: a No. 2 clarifying lotion, Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion and a mild bar soap, perfect for having beautiful skin year round! Retail value: $46.50.

Minimum bid: $25.00

If you would like to bid on this item, please read the instructions in the July 15 post.

Lia Sophia Necklace

This beautiful necklace could be worn at full length, as shown in the picture, or doubled to make a shorter necklace. This beautiful silver necklace is perfect for day or night! Retail value: $68.00


Minimum bid: $30.00

Please view the Lia Sophia Catalog to view this item! If you would like to host a Lia Sophia party, Jessica Evans is a great representative! She can be contacted at liasophia@msn.com

If you would like to bid on this item, please read the instructions in the July 15 post.

Pat Neshek Signed Baseball

Pat Neshek is still in the hearts of the Pink Sprinkles! We have a baseball signed by Neshek, the great Twins pitcher just for your true Twins fan!

Minimum bid: $15.00

If you would like to bid on this item, please read the instructions in the July 15 post.

Bee “B” Purse

This cute purse decorated with “B”s and Bees comes with a matching wallet. This cute summer purse could be yours for the right amount!

Minimum bid: $5.00

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please view the instructions in the July 15 post.

3 Day T-Shirt

Women’s XL tri-blend logo t-shirt. Distressed and off-set screen printed logo is stylish and statement-making on this junior-cut heather gray tee.

Minimum bid=$5.00

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please view the instructions in the July 15 post.

3 Day Tank Top

Women’s XL ribbed, white tank top with 3 Day logo. Perfect to wear for cheering on your favorite 3 Day walker or to show support for breast cancer research, education, prevention and treatment.

Minimum bid=$5.00

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please view the instructions in the July 15 post.

Rum Cake

This tried-and-true recipe makes the moistest rum cake you'll ever eat. It's a cake that gets better as it ages… although… most of the time it doesn't last very long! We’re not sure if it is the rum or the pecans that make it so good! If you win this item, you should consult with the donor at least a week in advance to when the cake will be desired. This cake is made in a bundt pan.

Minimum bid=$5.00

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please read the instructions in the July 15 post.

Better Than Sex Cake

Do you have a sweet tooth??? This gooey German chocolate cake oozes with rich caramel and butterscotch. It is topped off with cool-whip and toffee bits. All calories will be removed for the highest bidder! Cake needs to be kept chilled until just prior to serving. If you win this item, you should consult with the donor at least a week in advance to when the cake will be desired. This cake serves as many as you are willing to share with out of the 9x13 pan.

Minimum bid=$5.00

If you are interested in bidding on this item please read the instructions in the July 15th post.

My Weekend

Unfortunately, I didn't walk too much this weekend. Instead, Will and I took a mini-trip out to SW Minn. We needed to get out of the city and do something fun and different since we had been stuck in Minneapolis all summer. I did walk about 5 miles on Saturday morning before I went to my golf lesson and then I walked about another 2-3 miles on different trails at the sites we went to.

We started out going to the Jeffers Petroglyphs. Then we went to the Lower Sioux Agency and then to the Birch Coulee Battlefield. After that we ended our trip for the night near Granite Falls, MN. We stayed at a WONDERFUL bed and breakfast in Echo, MN. It was actually on a farm. We had to take 2 dirt roads through people's farms to get there. The bed and breakfast is called Aunt Betsy's bed and breakfast and is owned by two wonderful people, Barbara and Larry Scheuler. We had a whole farmhouse to ourselves and they made us a wonderful egg-bake for breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Scheuler sat with us while Will and I ate. Then the Scheulers asked if we minded if they went to church (of course we didn't) so they told us to enjoy ourselves and take our time. Will and I took a 2 mile walk around their lake. We saw a snake, muskrats, pelicans, ducks and cranes. We saw their "calves" which were almost fully grown cows by now, too. It really was a perfect little overnight trip.

Our silent auction will be starting on Thursday so look for that!
Bar Abilene Fundraiser is on Wednesday, July 15 from 6-9p!!

I have heard the Twins have walked several times this weekend.

Twins: 326
Delmon Young: 6
Red Sox HR: 104
Cubs HR: 91
Farm Team Walks: 1125
Rochester: 252
New Britian: 304
Fort Myers: 267
Beloit: 302

Finally, A New Post

I know people have been going back and forth to my blog waiting for a new post, well here it is! Training has been going well. I got my second pair of shoes the other day and I love them! They are Saucony Huricanes. Haha. I will be wearing huricanes in August this year, lets just hope that is as close as I will be to a huricane this year.

Every weekend so far I have been walking at least 12 miles on one of the days and at least 5 on the other. I do need to beef it up a bit and get at least 2 walks that are over 15 miles in before the walk in August. That means I am going to need to 15 miles the weekend of the 18th and the 25th. Anyone want to walk a part of it with me?

Well, ,Will needs to get online, which means the wireless is getting shut off. So here are the updates:
Twins walks: 309
Delmon Young walks: 6
Cubs Home Runs: 88
Red Sox Home Runs: 99
Farm Team walks (as of Friday): 1009

Birthday Wish

My birthday is tomorrow. It is my wish that all my readers contribute something tomorrow. It could be as small as $5 (the minimum for online donations) to as much as you desire. So, I hope that you do consider making this small contribution to the Susan G. Komen Fund. You know you can donate on the blog, so its really easy.

Here are your updates (not including today's game)

Twins Walks: 255
Delmon Young Walks: 5
Slowey Walks: 14
Cubs Home Runs: 69
Red Sox Home Runs: 82

I'll update the minor league stats later.

I hope you do donate for my birthday. I would really appreciate it!

Rain

Easy way to donate to me is just click on the blog. Then you can donate how every much you feel is appropriate from $5 to whatever.

Its raining today! which is good for 2 reasons. First, we haven't had rain in I don't know how long. I think it was in early May or something. Second, I am suffering from the worst eye allergies so walking wouldn't be that great. I can't wear my contacts and I hate walking in my glasses. So, no 12 miles for me today. If it isn't raining tomorrow morning I will probably do 5 or 6 miles before going to the baseball game.

I am going to the St. Paul Saints game tomorrow. I can't wait!

I'll update everything tomorrow, when this week is over.

Donation Goal

I have decided to put a challenge out to all my readers (and now that this is on Facebook ... hopefully... I should have more). My donation goal for this month is to have at least $25.00 in donations every day of the month. That means that you can get 5 of your friends together and each donate $5. Or you could just donate $25.00. That means if I get $25.00 in donations every day, starting today then I will have $675 by the end of the month! Now, don't wait until the end of the month to donate, do it today!

If you want to donate according to this interesting idea try to donate $35.20. That is a penny for each 90 foot walk (the distance from home plate to first base) it would take to walk 60 miles. Or you could try this one out: a penny for every home run (360 feet) it would take to walk 60 miles...8.80.

If you believe you will not be able to donate this year, please consider donating something to our silent auction. We will be having our online silent auction in July. So, if you make a great cake, meal, blanket, scarf, whatever, please consider making or donating something to our silent auction!

Thank you for all your support!

Totals ...

Not much is going on. I walked 5 miles today, like I do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That's about it as far as the 3 day goes. Since I don't have much to report, here are the totals:

Twins walks: 196 (just as a reference, last year at this time meaning the total from April and May, the Twins had 161 walks!)
Delmon Young walks: 5 (yea! he's moved up!)
Slowey walks: 5 (holding steady with Delmon Young)

Farm Team walks: 663
Red Wings: 137
Rock Cats: 179
Miracle: 165
Snappers: 182

Cubs Home Runs: 54
Boston Home Runs: 61

If you would like to donate this month, please let me know and I will send you how much you owe. Otherwise, I will count on you donating at the end. Thank you SO much for your support.

Saturday

Today I walked to Dino's in Edina and back to go and support my team. I would like to send a shout out to Melissa, Erin A., Rebecca and Mollie who joined me at Dino's. I would also like to thank the Nelson family in their firemen hats for going to Dino's too. If you went to Dino's let me know and I will add you to this list. Man, what good food! I love Dino's. I think I could eat there every day... maybe not, but close. I may find out on Monday how much we raised. I hope it is more than $100.00. Ideally, we would like to raise over $400.00 for every event we have, but sometime that is hard.

People have slowly been coming in with the donations. Thank you Rian, Joy and Aunt B for donating this week. I really appreciate it. I hope more people will be willing to donate soon. I will add the whole donation list for the Walks for a Walker after August 1, when the program ends.

Oh, and to complete my 10 miles for today, I walked back from Dino's to my house. Man what a nice day! I love the summers in MN. So nice!

I will update the team statistics tomorrow. Have a great Saturday night!

DINO'S TOMORROW (May 30, 2009)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to Dino's Greek Restaurant tomorrow (Saturday, May 30) any time between 10:30a and 9p. The Pink Sprinkles as a team is asking for your help. This fundraiser is based on your activity. We are not allowed to remind you, once you get there that you HAVE TO MENTION THE PINK SPRINKLES when you order. Therefore, here is what you need to do:

1. Go to either the Dino's in Edina (66th and Xerses) or Falcon Heights (Snelling Ave) (www.dinosgyros.com for addresses).

2. Walk into the Restaurant.

3. Look at the menu.

4. Figure out what you want to order.

5. Approach the Counter.

6. SAY: "Hi! I'm here for the PINK SPRINKLES and I would like __________"

7. Get your food and Enjoy!

Its not that hard. All you have to do is remember to say "I'm here for the PINK SPRINKLES." I hope you can do it!

I will be at the location in Edina just hanging out with other Pink Sprinkle Supporters if you want to join me there from 11-2:30. I will probably be eating a ton too. Man do I love Dino's. :)

Our goal is to have over 100 people at each location! So come by tomorrow and support the Pink Sprinkles!

Thank you!

Fundraising Week!

Wow. I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. I guess nothing much has happened, besides the Twins doing pretty well. All because of Joe Mauer, right? Cuddy has had a pretty good run too. Actually, Cuddy has had an excellent run.

This week starts our marathon fundraising week. On Wednesday we have Bar Abeline (www.barabilene.com) where for every margarita that is sold between 6p-9p we will receive $3.oo. If you are reading this and you haven't heard about this fundraiser before, then please come! Our second fundraiser is on Saturday. Dino's Gyro's is donating up to 30% of every order where the person placing the order mentions the Pink Sprinkles! The participating locations are in Edina and Falcoln Heights (on Snelling) I know I'm going to be hitting up Dino's and bringing all of the friends I can with me. In addition to these two fundraisers, my person fundraiser is to have $1000.00 by the end of the week. Right now I am sitting at about $150.00 in donations. This is about 5% of where I need to be. Not good. If you are reading this and you haven't donated, please hit that little button on the side that says "donate here!" Really really easy. I'm not asking for much, even a $5.00 donation will help me get there. Donate away!!

Here are your stats:
Twins Walks: 168
Delmon Young Walks: 4 (to put this in perspective Joe Mauer has 15 already)
Slowey walks: 4 (but really I'm OK with this)

Red Sox Home Runs: 49
Cubs Home Runs: 46

Farm Team Information: Total: 552
Red Wings: 113
Rock Cats: 142
Miracle: 144
Snappers: 153

2 Fundraisers 1 Day. You can Go to Both Locations!

Watching the game and posting

Tonight was kind of a crazy night. I had to leave work around 430 to make everything happen. I had to let hildy out, make dinner, eat dinner with Will, walk at least a bit (I think about a mile) all before my JL mtg at 7 back in downtown. But I did it and now I'm back home with Will watching the Twins game. It is the bottom of the 8th right now, and Gomez just walked! Maybe I'll watch the entire game and then post the results at the end.

This weekend I HAVE to walk 10 miles. I have not done a long walk yet this year. I think my longest was twice around lake calhoun (and the to and from the Whole Foods parking lot), so maybe 6.5-7 miles. Not too bad, but when you are training to walk 20 miles every day for 3 days (btw Gomez just stole second) you need to walk 10 miles or more almost every weekend from here on out, with at least 2 five mile walks during the week and at least 2 three mile walks during the week. So, I basically need to be walking 5 days a week. Hopefully I'll be able to get a 3 mile walk in before I go to my book club meeting tomorrow night.

While I wait for this game to end, I'll start gathering the data for the minor league teams since I haven't updated you on that information in a while:
(base hit to left field by Span)
Rochester: 89
New Britian: 104
Fort Myers: 108
(Span steals second)
(Tolbert walks!)
Beloit: 103
(Span fails at a stolen base attempt)
Total: 404!

Cubs Home Runs: 37
Red Sox Home Runs: 36
Twins Walks: 109 + 7 walks tonight = 116!
Delmon Young Walks: 4
Slowey Walks: 4 (there were 2 tonight)

I have to thank Will tonight for keeping score of the game. Really, he has his score book open, keeping track of every pitch (and therefore walk) that occurred tonight. Mind you, he is doing all of this from the TV.

Thank you everyone who is participating in the Walks for a Walker Program. If you would like to join, please let me know, there is time!

(Game ends ... see I told you it would take me until the game ended to write this blog).

Its Time to Donate

It is now May 7. The walk is in just under 100 days. I have currently only raised 5% of the amount that I need to raise to walk. This is not good. I still need to raise over $2,000. We do have 2 fundraisers coming up this month, so I hope you will support the Pink Sprinkles. The first fundraiser is May 27 at Bar Abeline. For every margarita that is sold between 6p and 9p my team will receive $3.00! My hope is that we are able to have over 135 margaritas sold that night. That way everyone on my team who still needs money (Cindy is almost there, so she has graciously told us that she is not going to take any fundraising money) will get $100. That will be a HUGE help! Then on May 30 (that Saturday) the Dino's in Falcoln Heights (on Snelling) and the Dino's in Edina (across from Southdale) are giving us between 20-30% of the amount of food sold to everyone who mentions the 3 day or Pink Sprinkles. I really hope that both fundraisers get us a LOT of money. But having fundraising events isn't the only way we raise money. I need you to donate personally as well. ANY AMOUNT is helpful, whether it is $5.00 or $100. Even the $5 donations add up. I know times are tight, but please try to help me out.

I would like to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to everyone who has signed up for the "Walks for a Walker." So far I have 16 people signed up! I would LOVE to say I have over 20 people signed up! Just so you know, most people are signed up to donate 5 cents/walk. I even have people signed up for 2 or 3 cents per walk. Like I said before, EVERY penny (or dollar) counts. Please feel free to send me a message (email or post here) to let me know if you are interested in signing up for the Walks for a Walker program! It is such a great cause and you get cheer when a Twin gets a walk! Please tell all your friends and family about this. I would LOVE to have over 20 people signed up to donate this way!

Here are your stats:
Twins walks: 86
Delmon Young walks: 3 (keep it up Delmon! maybe one day you'll read this blog and suddenly walk every time you are up to bat)
Slowey pitched walks: 2
Cubs Home Runs: 32
Red Sox Home Runs: 31

I'm going to post the minor league stuff once a week, on Saturdays probably. It is just too much to count up every day.

New Post!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Work has been kind of crazy and when I get home the last thing I want to do is sit at another computer. But now it is Saturday and I am not working, so you guys are treated to a new post.

Last weekend I went walking in the Mall with Cindy and Tara. We were supposed to walk outside, but it was kind of cold and there was a potential for rain. Oh well, at least we got between 4-5 miles in. I walked kind of this morning. By kind of I mean I walked around my neighborhood with some friends going to garage sale after garage sale. We found some interesting items such as a ladder, badminton set, jewelry, etc. Overall, I think we all had some good finds.

Now for the important update .. the number of walks and home runs!

Twins walks as of today:72
Delmon Young walks: 2 (just an fyi player with the most walks Michael Cuddyer - 11)
Farm Team walks: 267
Rochester: 57
New Britain: 71
Fort Myers: 72
Beloit: 67

Slowey Walks: 2
Cubs Home Runs: 26
Red Sox Home Runs: 26

Whoops... guess I forgot to Blog

Sorry it has taken me so long to put up a new post. Lately, when I come home from work the last thing I want to do is sit at the computer. I know that is no good for you because you don't know where the stats are. I honestly haven't really been looking at them either. I need to because that is how I am raising money for this walk!

The weather here has been fantastic so I have been able to walk outside this last week. However, that looks like it just ended. Right now it is cold (40s) and raining. Normally, I wouldn't mind walking in the rain, but not when it is 40-something outside. That just makes for a miserable time. So, my team is walking inside today. I guess as long as we are walking we are doing something good, right?

Nothing much else has been going on so here are your stats:

Twins walks: 44
Delmon Young Walks (this always makes me cry): 2, but to make things worse, Harris has yet to walk this season...
Cubs Home Runs: 16
Red Sox Home Runs: 19
Twins Minor League Walks: 187
Rochester: 43
New Britian: 53
Ft. Myers: 48 (btw, Joe Mauer has 0)
Beloit: 43

Well, one thing we can learn by my putting up the Minor league stats now, is we now know that the Twins eye for the ball is started in the minors. Maybe the organization should work on that a bit.

Twins Game and 10K

A lot has happened since I last posted. Well not really, but it is kind of a lot for me to post about. First, this past weekend we went back to New Orleans to celebrate my sister's birthday (she turned 25!) and spend time with my family. Part of the family activities included doing the Crescent City Classic. The Classic is a 10k that you can either run, jog, walk or stroll. I chose to walk it. My sister ran it. Will walked and ran it. My parents walked it. I managed to complete the walk in 1 hour and 42 mins. My goal was to complete it in an hour and 45 mins, so I beat my goal! Yea! I have some pictures that I will put up when I remember to put them on the computer. The best part about this 10k is that it is a classic New Orleans event, which means that beer is part of the walk/run. There were a group of people - probably around 6 or 7- who were dressed as a chain gang (in the prison stripes and everything) chained together running it. And of course they all had a beer in their hand. There was a sign around mile 4 that said "Free Beer. Water $4.75." Ahh... New Orleans.



Yesterday Will, Dan and I went to the Twins game. We got to the game a little before six and took advantage of the Dow Price night. So we sat in the home run porch for $8/seat! Well since we were there so early, Will and Dan decided to try and get home run balls from batting practice (they didn't get any) and I just sat back and watched. While I was sitting there this guy came up to me and the two guys behind us and started chatting. I could tell he was with the Twins organization from his headset, badge and folder he was carrying. Finally, he asked me if I wanted to be part of the "Blue Bunny Ice Cream Challenge." I agreed. The prize for winning is a year supply of ice cream. The Blue Bunny Ice Cream Challenge (BBICC) is like the old Dodge truck challenge where you stand at the ledge of Section 212 and try to throw a ball into a specific object. The object for the BBICC is a giant ice cream tub. So between the 3 and 4th innings I participated. I didn't win... oh well ... but I do have a nice baseball to prove that I was in it! It has the Twins logo on one side and the BBIC logo on the other. Pretty cool. The funniest part about it is that one of the guy who was also participating was scared of heights and didn't want to leave the tunnel to throw the ball. Why didn't he just say no? Oh well.



The Twins didn't do so hot, but they did get 2 walks.



Here are your totals:
Twins Walks - 26
Delmon Young Walks - 0 (and just to give you an idea, D.Span has walked the same number of times Delmon has struck out - 7)
Cubs Home Runs - 11
Red Sox Home Runs - 9

Sad day in baseball

I am not an Angels fan, but when I heard the news about Nick Adenhart I became an Angels supporter. My only thoughts (on top of this being some of the saddest news of the day) was "at least he got to the show." I am keeping this blog generally to keep track of my 3 day progress and my support for breast cancer research, etc. but today I would like to put up some different statistics. These are related to drunk driving. If there is something that is so easy to wipe out, it is drunk driving. There is no reason on this planet for anyone to get behind a wheel of a car, or other motorized vehicle (motorcycle, snow mobile, segway) if that person has been drinking.

The 2007 statitics show that almost 13,000 people in the United States alone died from drunk driving accidents. While this rate is declining, it is still too high. What is sad is that the only reason that we are so aware of this story is because Nick Adenhart was a major league baseball player. This could have been anyone, like the car behind Nick. I have zero sympathy for the driver of the car that survived. ZERO. All I can think is that this guy needs to be locked up in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. He, and all other individuals who have killed someone because of a stupid act like driving drunk, deserves no social interaction ever again.

I hope all of you who read this blog take a moment to think of those who have died unnecessarily because of someone's stupidity.

We will return to happier matters when the weekend is over.

First Night of Passover

I was unable to watch the Twins game today because it was the first night of Passover. I was so proud of myself. I made a brisket, mashed potatoes, asparagus, apple crisp and everything that goes on the Seder plate. I printed out an abriviated copy of the Haggadah too. I was really glad I did it. Lauren (one of my sister's friends from college) came over, along with Melissa and Dan. 5 people was just enough for my first seder. The only thing that I was really missing were appropriate candle sticks. I forgot to get some and I was suck with these Barbie-pink beeswax ones. They worked, but I need to go out and get more appropriate ones.

The best part of the Seder was at the very end, Justin Morneau "hid the affikomen" again - meaning he hit a home run! I don't keep track of Twins home runs ... because there are so few of them. I did find out that Baseball Reference is now updating the stats. So here is the way everything looks right now:

Twins Walks - 6
Delmon Young Walks - 0
Cubs Home Runs - 3
Red Sox Home Runs - 2

If you want to add your own stat, let me know! Have a great day!

Walks!

Well, the Twins started off their season on the right foot (literally) ... with a walk. The Cubs also started off the season with the right swing... a home run. Both teams, on their first batter got exactly what I needed! How exciting. Then yesterday, the Twins allowed me to hear one of my favorite phrases in all of baseball - back-to-back-to-back walks! Yes. The Twins got 3 walks in the 9th inning to help them win a game the probably shouldn't have otherwise won. Fantastic!

I would update you on all the stats, but I am having a problem getting this information from baseball-reference.com. I was able to use the site last year to get updated reports on all of the stats from the previous day's game. But for some reason I can't find it this year. If you know of a way to pull it off of baseball-reference, please let me know. I'm not in the mood to go to the box scores right now to get it. Sorry. For know, just know that the Twins have at least 6 walks and the Cubs have at least 1 home run. Sweet!

HAPPY OPENING DAY!

BASEBALL IS BACK! Spring is officially here! Baseball is back! Last night Will and I were in the car driving to a friend's birthday party and we actually got to hear baseball on the radio! We were both so excited. Then when we got to the party baseball was on TV! I didn't care that it wasn't the Twins because the Twins are playing today. Unfortunately, I am not going to the game... oh well. I will be watching the game from my home TV. Will (lucky guy) doesn't have to work today. So, he is going to be at home watching all the baseball he can.

Since baseball is starting, my Walks for a Walker program is officialy starting today. If you haven't signed up, don't worry, you can join at any point in the season! I'm completely open to that. The program has taken off this year! I have more people donating per walk and more stats that I need to track. So far, this is what I need to keep track of:
- walks the Twins get
- walks each of the Twins farm teams get (yes, all of the regular season farm teams!)
- walks that Delmon Young gets (I love this one!)
- home runs the Cubs get
- home runs the Red Sox get
- walks Slowey pitches

This should keep me pretty busy. But it is fun at the same time! So, every time I now post, you will be able to see all of these stats! If you want to add to these through your own donation, let me know. I'm willing to track as many stats as people will give me.

But for now... HAPPY OPENING DAY!

Lia Sophia Fundraiser

Last night was our Lia Sophia fundraiser. What a huge success! Jess Evans (or representative) is fantastic and always has a way of getting people to buy a ton of jewelry. Sarah, the best Pink Sprinkle supporter, offered us her party room to use. And the combination of Sarah's party room and Jess's ability to sell jewelry got us a ton of sales! We are even keeping the jewelry sales open until Friday. So, if you weren't able to make it to the party, but still want to buy some jewelry just follow the following steps:

1. go to www.liasophia.com/jessevans
2. click on the "Our Jewelry" link
3. view a catalogue that you like
4. click on the jewelry item that you want to purchase
5. click how to purchase
6. type Pink in the first name and Sprinkles as the last name for the "Hostest"
7. buy the jewelry!!

Just to let you know there is a SPECIAL SALE with our party:
Buy 2 items and get the 4 most expensive half off!!

I just have to give a shout out to Sarah! Sarah is also the best person to bring to a lia sophia party because she LOVES the jewelry so she is more than willing to buy a TON! Sarah even offered to buy us one piece to put up on our silent auction! So look for that piece of jewelry in our silent auction!

I just hope that you will continue to support the Pink Sprinkles!

Thank You SBG

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Twins Blogging world, there is this amazing blogger named "Stick and Ball Guy," SBG for short. He is the nicest Twins blogger out there (since Will isn't really blogging anymore). Why, you may ask? Because he is promoting my "Walks for a Walker" program. He is helping me get the word out there. Right now I have about 90 cents per walk donated plus 50 cents per Cubs home run. This is pretty sweet. My goal, just so you are aware is to have enough people to donate $3.25/walk. I have people donating everywhere from 5 cents/walk to 50 cents/walk. Sweet! You guys are truly amazing to help support me this way! If you want to read the SBG blog, it is www.stickandballguy.com. He talks more than just baseball too.

I went to the Dr. yesterday about my knee. I have a bad right knee (my knee cap doesn't stay in place) and recently my knee has really been bothering me. Turns out a tendon from my thigh to my knee is slightly out of wack (something common with marathon runners who stop running then pick it up again). So, I'm off to get a new knee brace and some physical therapy to get my tendon back into place. I'll consult the resident Dr. (my sister) about this when she returns from Paris. The knee brace is a must. I have had mine since junior year of college, which means the thing is about 7 years old! It has definitely gotten every bit of use out of it that I could possibly get.

Feel free to comment or something to join my Walks for a Walker program, and check back frequently to see what other fundraisers are going on... like the Lia Sophia Party this weekend! Check out the post about it from earlier this month!

Weather Sucks

Yup, the weather has royally sucked. Yesterday it was SO windy and cold. I decided to go home, grab Will and head out to the MOA to do some mall walking. I much rather do that then drive all the way to the gym to walk on a treadmill. At least when you are mall walking you get to people watch too. It was kind of funny yesterday when we were walking. There was a mom with her about 2 yr old girl. The girl wasn't in her stroller and walking slightly behind her mom. In the span of time when I saw this little girl behind her mom, to when we passed, the little girl decided that she was tired so she laid down on the floor of the mall and shut her eyes. Will and I held back giggles as we walked past. The one thing that annoys me more than anything with the mall (and no its not slow walkers) is the smell that comes from Abercrombie. My G-d! What do they think they are doing emitting a scent that you can smell as far away as 3 stores in each direction! Something has to be done about that. I'm really surprised the Mall hasn't done anything.

I am starting up my Walks for a Walker program on Monday and NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP! I'm really upset about that. It is such an easy way to donate and you don't even have to donate anything until August. Take the number of walks the Twins had last year (396) and figure you are donating 10 cents per walk. That is ONLY $39.60! Come on. I know there are several of you out there who can give up $40! Last year I had an amazing person offer to donate $1/walk. I'm not asking for that, but come on ... 10 or 15 cents? Figure that each month the twins get about 115 walks. That is only $11.50 per month. I think you can do that. So, point is... if you don't sign up for the Walks for a Walker then you better be thinking about donating later on.

Its another rainy day and I won't be walking because I have a doctor's appointment to look at my knee...

Inside Walking

Man do I hate inside walking. The weather up here has been either crap or too cold to walk outside. Tuesday Melissa and I walked around the Mall of America. She called me when we were suppose to meet and said she was stuck in traffic so I decided to take one lap around while waiting for her. Then we walked about 4.1 miles together. So I walked in total about 4.6 miles. One lap around the mall is just over 0.5 mile. We decided that walking on the 3rd floor of the mall is the best because it is the least crowded.

Yesterday I walked on the dreaded treadmill. I really dislike walking on a treadmill. I got sick of it after 1/2 hour and gave up. I did walk almost 2 miles (or just over 3km) in the half hour, so at least I have a good pace.

This weekend is supposed to be another cold one, so it looks like I'm back to the treadmill. Oh well... soon it will be warm and I will be able to walk around the lakes.

In the meantime I would like to let all of you know that I am starting up my "Walks for a Walker" program again in about a week. If you do not know what this is, I keep track of the number of walks (or home runs) that your favorite baseball team has from the start of the baseball season until August 1, 2009. You tell me what you would like to donate per walk. I then send you an email at the end of every month letting you know what your donation amount is. This way you can either donate each month, or as a lump sum at the end. Last year I was able to raise almost $900.oo this way. I would love to be able to raise much more than that this year! I had people who donated anywhere from 25 cents per walk to $1 per walk. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Please feel free to look at my posts from last August and September to see the totals of walks and home runs. This will give you a better idea of donation amounts. Please help me out! If you donated through this program last year, THANK YOU! I appreciate it greatly.

Have a great weekend!

First sort of group walk

I walked this weekend with Cindy and Tara for the first time! They had a training event about a mile from my house, so I walked there to meet them and we went for a walk around Lake Harriet, then I walked home. It was my first more than 3 mile walk of the season! I need to start training because I registered to do the Crescent City Classic in April and that is a 10K. It is kind of crazy to think that now I think a 6.2 mile walk is nothing. Before doing the walk last year I thought it would take me forever and I would never do something like that. But now... I think I can do 6.2 miles in my sleep (so long as my knee doesn't hate me).

My knee has started to bother me recently, even when I wear my knee brace. This is not a good sign at all. I made a dr. appointment for next week, so lets hope all I need is a new knee brace. I have had mine since college, so it is at least 5 years old.

I don't know if I'm going to be walking outside that much this week because the weather is - thunderstorm, rain, snow turning to rain, rain, snow and then clear and in the 30s. Man, can May come already?!

Training has begun

Well, we are now about 22 weeks from the walk which means that our training period has started! Crazy! It was so nice earlier this week that I went for a walk with Will on Monday and Will and Melissa on Tuesday. Then the weather rapidly deteriorated until it snowed this morning. But, tomorrow it is supposed to be warm again (59!). I am meeting 2 of my other teammates, Cindy and Tara to walk around Lake Harriet in the morning. They are then going to the "shoe clinic" and I'll just walk home. I did all of that stuff last year and I really don't think I need to learn that "cotton is rotten" again. I have my trusty Target socks that are synthetic so I don't have to worry about cotton.

We are having our first fundraiser on April 4 at Sarah's apartment! It is another Lia Sophia party! The party is going to be from 6:30 - until... If you aren't able to make it, but would still like to buy jewelry please go to http://www.liasophia.com/sites/jessevans. When you do find jewelry that you like and want to purchase (because 40% of our sales go back to us for the fundraiser) type in "Pink" as the first name and "Sprinkles" as the last name. This way we get credit for the sale!

The baseball season starts in just over 2 weeks too! So this weekend I'm going to start sending out notices to everyone who participated in the Walks for a Walker program in hopes to not only get their support again, but maybe some new people will join too!

That's it for now! Have a great weekend!

Our First Fundraiser!

I realize that the point of a blog is to write more often than I do, but nothing much has really been going on in the world of my walking. I have been going to the gym more frequently so that I am in shape to walk 60 miles come August, so I guess that is good. Will has been going to the gym more too, and let me tell you, it is paying off! He even wants to be able to run a 5K in under 24 mins, which I think is pretty impressive.

I do want to announce that the Pink Sprinkles will be having their first fund raising event on April 4th! We are having another Lia Sophia party. Last year's was such a success that we want to do it again. So, we hope that you will be able to make it. As I said, it will be on April 4th at about 7p. If you do want to come, please let me know and I will pass on the information to you. If you are interested in hosting your own Lia Sophia party, even better! We need to have 2 people register for parties in order for us to get our donation, so PLEASE think about having your own party. There are SO many perks (as a hostess you even get free jewelry!). If this interests you, comment or send me an email.

February is OVER! Which hopefully means spring is on its way.

Nothing to do with the walk

This morning I decided to take the bus into work. Will and I are going to see a concert downtown (about 3 blocks from my office) and I couldn't rationalize us (1) having two cars down here or (2) having to drive home to drive back in one car. Easiest solution, walk 3 blocks to the bus stop to be dropped off literally outside of my building.

I loved the bus! It was so nice to not have to worry about traffic, driving, or other drivers. I just sat there with my National Geographic and read about Darwin. However, while the bus ride was great for some reasons, it sucked for another reason.

The snow is begining to melt here. This means that it melts during the day and turns to ice at night. So I'm being really careful walking to the bus stop because some people don't bother to salt/sand their sidewalks. I was doing fine until I go to cross the street. I stepped on some ice, very carefully, and my foot went right through to about an inch of disgusting street water. I'm wearing flats with stockings, so the whole inside of my shoe and foot gets SOAKING WET. I had to walk another block and half with a wet foot, and then had to sit on the bus for 20 mins with a wet foot. Then I had to walk to my building (or across the street from the bus stop) with a wet foot. Wait for the elevator ... you got it ... with a wet foot. Ride up the elevator and finally get to my office where I can take my shoes off.

I normally hate not wearing shoes around the office. I'll let them slide off when I am at my desk, but talk about unprofessional... walking around without shoes. At least I got to work before any of the other attorneys did.

I guess I learned. When it is above 32 for 4 days in a row, wear closed shoes (preferably boots) if you are going to be walking to a bus stop. Guess I don't have to worry about that for a while now because we aren't expected to get above 32 for a while.

Just more picture

I know that the only successful way to keep a blog going is to have posts, ideally, everyday. But, if you can't post every day, or don't have something new to say, then try posting every other day. You should have something new to say every other day, right?

Things are still not really going anywhere with my team. We are trying to figure out a few fundraiser things right now. Once we have those dates set, then I will post them.

Right now, here are a few more pictures:

Yeah... these pictures are taken in the morning.

Melissa all bright and awake on the first day!

The are pictures of the end:

Will met me at the end with fuzzy slippers and Hildy!

We ended our journey at the State Capitol.

More Pictures

I was speaking with my father-in-law yesterday and he told me that he checked my blog the other day. How exciting to hear that I'm not just writing this to write. I don't have much to say right now, so I'll just put up more pictures.

Just a Post

Right now I'm sitting in Will's office at his work waiting for him to be done so we can go home. I did have a great night with my old teammate Sarah. Sarah, unfortunately, isn't walking with us, but she is now our team Mascot and head Cheerleader! She is exactly what our team needs. Supporters!!! She is SO willing to help out with everything and we love her just for that. She is a true Pink Sprinkle, even though she isn't walking. If anyone else wants to be Pink Sprinkles, in spirit, please let me know! You can be our Pink Sprinkle cheering squad, a.k.a. "The Icing." Without icing, what would the Pink Sprinkles be? They would just slide off of everything and never really be what a Pink Sprinkle is, a light of happiness and hope and fun! So, Sarah, if you are reading this you are the Head of the Icing Team (but you are a Pink Sprinkle too!).

I have decided that since the Pink Sprinkles were without cheering teams last year at the cheering stations (well, except for that one cheering station on the first day where Will and Jim came), we need to create a network of Pink Sprinkle Supporter - which is where Sarah and the rest of the Icings are coming in!

Don't forget, its never too early to donate!

Trying to get back into it

Ok, I admit that I promised more pictures, but then I got distracted. So here are more pictures... but before you look at more pictures you have to read my post. Maybe you don't have to read it, you can skip down to the pictures, but I sure hope that you do read it.

I have updated everything on my blog to reflect that I am now walking in the 2009 Susan G. Koman 3 day walk. I am sad to say that we lost one of our team members from last year, but we did gain 2 new ones! Will and I managed to talk his boss, Cindy, into walking with us this year. Then she talked to her friend Tara and Tara is now walking with us! So the Pink Sprinkles now are officially 4 again! Melissa, Cindy, Tara and myself. If you want to walk with us, please let me know... or you can just register and join "The Pink Sprinkles" when it asks you for that information.


Since I am walking again, I will need you to consider donating. I will start up the "Walks for a Walker" program again this year. I hope to have more people helping me out that way. If you want to sign up to be a donor through "Walks for a Walker" please feel free to comment on this page, or shoot me an email. The program will start on the first day of the Baseball season. I will not count spring training into it. If you do have your own blog, could you please put a link on your site and mention "Walks for a Walker?" Remember, you can sign up for any amount from 5 cents to a few dollars, if you wish. You can look at prior posts for exactly how many walks the Twins earned this year. Now that you have read that here are some new pictures:

Hildy met me at the end with a little dress that said "Go Team!" I hope she is at the cheering stations this year too.

Pictures

I know I promised to put the pictures up over the weekend, but then I realized that the pictures weren't on the computer as I had thought. Here they are now! Enjoy! (sorry the pictures won't be in order but I'll try and explain them as I go...)

Sarah and Jodi one morning at breakfast.

Our home! We were the pink sprinkes! The white tarps on top were shower curtains. We're so creative.

You can more clearly see downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis.

This boy was on our walk the 2nd day. He was wearing his sister's princess dress riding his bike up and down the street calling "Lemonade! 25 cents!" while his sister was at their table selling lemonade.

The walkers.

I thought this was a really cool picture. You can see both downtown St. Paul (bigger) and downtown Minneapolis. This was the first day of our walk after lunch.

Sarah at breakfast one morning.

On the 2nd day of the walk we walked by a fire station all decorated for us walkers.

Jodi and I had to get a picture with the fireman.

A grand ladder salute to us walkers!

This is me on the 2nd day of the walk. You can see all the pink tents behind me. We all slept in these pink tents.

Jodi one day on the walk.

Sunrise on walk day 2. We got up before sunrise every day and began walking around 7/7:30

There were flags which people carried throughout the walk. On the first day Jodi was passed the flag "My Daughter." She was a trooper and carried it about 5 miles until we got to the next rest stop where she passed it on.

Ahh... Home sweet home. Even though this picture was taken in the morning.

I have close to 100 pictures so I'll just post them over the course of the week. So keep coming back to see more pictures!

Melissa and I walked the Mall of America on Saturday and then went shopping in the mall. We figured we walked somewhere between 6 and 7 miles on Saturday! Official training doesn't even begin until the middle of March too!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACK!

If there is anyone out there who is reading this blog still. I wanted to let you know that I'm back. After a few month hiatus I decided to come back and blog because... I'm doing the 3 day again! This time I am going to be fighting the heat of the Minneapolis summer in August. This year my one hope is for someone to be at a cheering station for my team (besides Will and his dad).



I will be putting ALL the pictures up from the walk this weekend. So, check back then!



And don't forget, Donations are very important!

2 days!

The walk is just 2 days away now!! I can't believe that after 6 months of training and fundraising the walk is now here. We only lost 1 team member along the way too. Unfortunately, my mom isn't walking with us. Oh well... there are many more years down the road for her to walk, if she wants to.

I did a quick 5 mile walk yesterday with Jenni. She did the Chicago one and was telling me all about the walk and what an amazing experience it is. I cannot wait! I'm excited and only nervous about day 3. I know I can do 2 days of walking, but 3? I guess you'll just have to read how I am on Monday to find out. Jenni was telling me about this "sweep van" that the 3 day has which will bring you from one point to another if you don't want to walk. I told her the only way I was using that is if I physically couldn't walk anymore. But yoga has taught me to appreciate my body and what it can do. I think about that every day when I don't want to take the stairs up 3 flights to my car (I always park in the same spot). More than yoga, this walk has taught me that I have two very strong legs and they can take me anywhere I want to go. Further, I should be happy that I do have two legs which allow me to do these activities.

Just something to think about every day. Be glad you have a strong capable body which will allow you to walk 60 miles (hopefully) over 3 days. I know training for this walk has changed my mentality on a lot of things, and all for the better. But I guess I should reflect more once the walk is actually over.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy, but I'll try to get a post in before I go! We have to be at the Fair Grounds between 6 and 630 on Friday morning! Eek!

Here are the cheering stations if you want to come and cheer us on!

Friday, September 19th:

8:15 am - 10:15 am
Syndicate St. at Summit Ave.
1280 Summit Ave.
St. Paul MN 55105
(Park at Kowalskis Market, 1261 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 55105)

12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Johnson Pkwy. at East Shore Dr.
1290 Johnson Pkwy.
St. Paul MN 55106
(Park where available)

Saturday, September 20th:

7:30 am - 9:15 am
Holiday Inn Express
1100 County Rd. E
Vadnais Heights MN 55110

10:45 am - 2:45 pm
Lake Josephine Park
3025 North Lexington Ave.
Roseville MN 55113

11:45 am - 4:45 pm
St. Paul Regional Water Services
1900 Rice St.
St. Paul MN 55113

Sunday, September 21st:

7:30 am - 9:30 am
North St. Paul Tap & Grill
2379 McKnight Rd. North
St. Paul MN 55109

11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Indian Mounds Park
1113 Mounds Blvd.
St. Paul MN 55106

If you want to attend the closing ceremonies here is the information:

Minnesota State Capitol
The Closing Ceremony will begin at 5:00 pm.
Your friends, family and supporters should arrive at the Closing Ceremony site at least one hour early to secure a space by the stage that will give them the best view of the program.

A HUGE THANK YOU

This thank you goes to each and every person who contributed to my walking effort! I have now exceeded $2,200!! Currently, as a team, we have raised over $8,875.00. That is just 4 people. Can you even comprehend what $8.875 will do for one person? And there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of women and men walking who have all raised at least $2,200. All of the money we have raised goes to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I highly suggest that you read about this foundation and all it supports. If you want to read about exactly where you donations are going click here. Amazing organization.

You have no idea how much each donation meant to me; from the people who donated $20/25 to those who donated $100+. I was amazed how many people donated and who I connected with just by sending a random email. Thank You!

The walk is this week! Sarah, Melissa and Jodi came over today and we made signs for in front of our tent and pink sprinkle covers for the tops of our tents. Pictures of each of these items will be posted after the walk.

Once again, thank you everyone who donated! I have now reached my goal!!!!! Now all I have to do is walk 60 miles...

Training Walk in the Rain

We are now less than a week from the start of the walk! As in, one week from today I will be walking the last day of the 3 day walk! Hard to believe. It has been an amazing experience so far and I have even made a few new friends along the way. I am now this close to making my goal of $2200. Its kind of weird how things all sort of come together in the end.

Jodi, Melissa and I decided to do a training walk yesterday afternoon. Well, if you live in the Twin Cities you know what yesterday afternoon was like. And for those of you who don't it was in the low 60s, misty, then raining, then wind. And yet, we walked 9 miles. It felt like walking 9 miles in the wind, rain, snow, sleet, and baking sun. Haha. Not baking sun by any stretch of the imagination, but you get my drift. And for some reason, Melissa and I had mascara on. Well, needless to say mascara and mist/rain/wind do not mix. It did make for walking around Lake Calhoun amusing on my part. I"m sure Melissa was glad that no one was really running/walking/biking around the lakes. By the time we got home we looked like a bunch of drowned rats. I had never been so happy to take a hot shower and put sweat pants on in my entire life. The walk wasn't even all that bad. 9 miles goes by very quickly when you have friends to talk to along the way.

I can't wait to get a pedicure.

Less than 2 weeks

We are now less than 2 weeks from the walk and I am $80.00 short from my $2200 goal. Just $80! I can't believe I am that close. Not only that, but our team will not only meet our goal but surpass it! That means that my team (minus my mom because she had to drop out) will have raised over$8,800 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Just 4 people will have raised that much money to support breast cancer research, medical treatments and family support.

To help us all reach our goal, our silent auction raised over $900.00! Thank you everyone for bidding on items in the silent auction. You helped us contribute almost 1/8th of our total. We greatly appreciate your support!

In addition to the silent auction, I need to publicly thank Peter N. for making such a generous donation. At the beginning of the baseball season he said he would donate $1/walk the Twins earned between the beginning of the season and August 20th. He came through with no questions asked. I hope this public thank you only emphasizes how much that donation meant to me. There were several other people who generously donated per walk the Twins earned, as well as one hard-core Cubs fan who donated per Cubs home run. If I do the walk next year, I hope to have more than just the handful of people who contributed.

If you live in the the Twin Cities Metro area and want to come cheer us on here are the cheering stations:

Friday, September 19th:

8:15 am - 10:15 am
Syndicate St. at Summit Ave.
1280 Summit Ave.
St. Paul MN 55105
(Park at Kowalskis Market, 1261 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 55105)

12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Johnson Pkwy. at East Shore Dr.
1290 Johnson Pkwy.
St. Paul MN 55106
(Park where available)

Saturday, September 20th:

7:30 am - 9:15 am
Holiday Inn Express
1100 County Rd. E
Vadnais Heights MN 55110

10:45 am - 2:45 pm
Lake Josephine Park
3025 North Lexington Ave.
Roseville MN 55113

11:45 am - 4:45 pm
St. Paul Regional Water Services
1900 Rice St.
St. Paul MN 55113

Sunday, September 21st:

7:30 am - 9:30 am
North St. Paul Tap & Grill
2379 McKnight Rd. North
St. Paul MN 55109

11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Indian Mounds Park
1113 Mounds Blvd.
St. Paul MN 55106

I don't have an exact route for the walk as of right now. But these cheering stations should give you a good idea about where we are going to be.

11 DAYS UNTIL THE WALK!! $80.00 to go. Please feel free to help me get the remaining $80!

Silent Auction is Over

Thank you everyone who bid on items for the silent auction. We will not be accepting any more bids on the items posted. We will contact you within the week to inform you how to pay for the items you bid on.

I don't know about you, but it was exciting to check every day to see who bid and what items were bid on. We now know that you are a bunch of coffee loving people out there. I guess that means next year we just need more coffee related items up.

The walk is only 3 weeks away now!! I'll be putting information up on how and when you can come and cheer us on as we walk. Thank you for all of your support.

Arthur Murray Dance Lessons

We have a new item up for auction!! 2 20 minute private lessons at Arthur Murray Dance studios in St. Paul!! These dance lessons are for a couple, or you could go with a friend. It is a great gift for you girlfriend, fiance, or wife!

Retail value - $100

As always, please read the instructions in the August 26th post. Thank you for your support!!

One full day

One full day has gone by with the auction and it is going very well. We hope you consider bidding on these items! Remember all the bids go to supporting the Pink Sprinkles which means that each donation supports Susan G. Komen for the cure. The auction will be up until next Wednesday.

Pat Neshek Autographed Baseball

Two baseballs autographed by Pat Neshek, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. Thank you Pat Neshek for such a generous donation! When bidding on this item please specify the number of items you are bidding on. (Max. Number - 2).

Each baseball has a minimum bid of $20.

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please read the instructions in the August 26th post. Thank you for your support!

Homemade Almond Cheesecake

Yum! This is a great cheesecake for any occasion. Just think, its one less dessert you have to bring to that holiday party! It will be a cheesecake made from scratch for you on the date you choose. If you win this item, you should consult with the donor at least a week in advance to when the cake will be desired. This cheesecake can serve about 20 people. This cheesecake was generously donated by Kathy Rivard.

If you are interested in bidding on this item, please read the instructions in the August 26th post. Thank you for your support!