Since we had prizes leftover from our recent bingo fundraiser, we decided to draw two mores names!   The first raffle runner-up and winner of a $10 gift card to Gurtzberry Yogurt Extraordinaire was Amy of Two Florida Girls!  The second raffle runner-up and winner of a $5 gift card to Gurtzberry Yogurt Extraordinaire was Karen, a volunteer at the hospital!

Just for fun a couple of days later, we decided to draw three more names, realizing that we still had prizes that needed a home!  Gayle, a breast cancer survivor and volunteer at the hospital, won a $25 gift certificate to Louie & Maria’s Italian Restaurant; Stephanie, a newly board certified LPN, won a gift card for a half-hour massage to Massage Envy Winter Park; and Stacey, an awesome Seminole county elementary school teacher, won a pedicure to L’amour Nail Salon!

Congratulations, winners!  And, thanks to everyone that bought raffle tickets!!!

What are the raffle items?  Enter to win a gift card to Bangz Park Avenue Salon, which includes a cut and color with a value of $130!  Or, enter to win one of three collectible Madame Alexander dolls, values vary!        

How much is each raffle ticket?  $5.00 per ticket

How many tickets can I purchase?  As many as you want!

When will the winner be chosen?  Drawing will be held on October 22, 2009.

How do I purchase tickets?

1. Go to either of our 3-Day websites.  Barbara’s site.  Vickie’s site.
2. Click on the hot pink box on the page that says “click to donate”.
3. Depending on how many raffle tickets you would like to purchase, donate the corresponding amount.
4. After you have completed your donation on the 3-Day site, leave a comment on the bottom of this blog post to let me know.  Also, please specify which raffle you are interested in (the salon gift card or the doll).

That’s it!  Super quick and simple!  Once I’ve been informed of your donation, I will put the ticket(s) with your information on it into our 3-Day raffle bucket. 

OR

If I will be seeing you before the drawing date, you can purchase your tickets from me directly with cashola.

Please tell your friends about the raffle too!  We still need to raise about $1500!  Thanks, and good luck!                

AMANDA HARTLEY!

Congratulations, my Amanda!!!  Thank you to you and to everyone that bought raffle tickets and helped us get closer still to our fundraising goals!  We love and appreciate you all sooooo much!

… I really wish I brought my camera, and a pen & paper.  Next time.

… I miss Sadie.  I had planned on taking my buddy with me, but when I took her yesterday on a 3-mile walk, she was panting quite heavily by the end of it and wanting to lay down.  So, I called the vet before leaving today to ask about how much is too much in this heat.  She told me not to walk her for even a mile when it’s this hot.    Apparently, lots of people who do push their dogs too far end up having to take them to the ER for heat stroke.  

… I can’t wait ’til mom has enough strength to take a walk with me again.  Tuesday is the next one planned. 

… There are so many beautiful wildflowers on the BP trail.

…I think it’s sad that no one in BP seems to enjoy their porches.  All of these beautiful homes with inviting porches are always empty – even when it’s not scorching hot out.

… Why am I seeing so many animal shapes in the tiles?  I stopped to go to the bathroom in one of the BP restaurants.  As I was looking down, for some reason, I kept seeing animals – a bird, a turtle, a bass fish, a koala …

… Carrying a backsack isn’t heavy or uncomfortable.  Totally thought it was going to be annoying carrying stuff around for that long, and I thought the straps were going to rub my bare shoulders raw – but nope!

… I’m so glad I’m not feeling any hot spots.  Hot spots are little areas that you feel before getting a blister.  Wearing good socks helps with this tremendously.  So far, for me, my Hanes Dry and AT Loft socks have worked pretty good.  No blisters.

… I wonder if Julie is home.  I wonder where exactly Julie lives.

… I wish that Fleet Peeples Park, our local dog park, had more grass and less dirt.  I remember the first time that Mike and I took little puppy Sadie there.  We grilled, and it ended up being a fly infested mess.  I miss him.

…Looking forward to a walk with Amanda.  Wow, I can’t believe my old roomie’s been married 6 years already.  Happy Happy Anniversary, Hartleys!

… “You make the sun shine warm upon my face …”, from a Rebecca St. James song that I used to listen to all the time.  Whenever I’m out exercising on a hot hot sunny day, that song pops in my head.

… I miss my iPod.  It got stolen out of my car last year.  I didn’t miss it for long though actually.  It ended up being nice just tuning into the sounds of nature.  The birds sung some of the sweetest songs.

… 6 miles walked.  Think I’ll take a Barnie’s iced tea break and prepare for tomorrow night’s Bible study on Colossians 2.  This turned out to not be one of the best ideas ever.  I got in some pretty good prayer time, but reading made me feel a teeny tiny bit nauseous after having walked for that long.      

… I’m so glad that it didn’t rain!

Well, that’s enough for now.  Don’t forget to scroll two posts down and vote for the next raffle item! 

Mom’s sisters were in for a weekend visit, so we thought it would be fun to have them help us select the winner.  Sherry was the box shaker, and Sandra picked the winner!

I stopped filming because Sandra started reading the phone number, and I didn’t think the winner would necessarily want that broadcast on the internet.  Here’s video from when I resumed …

Congratulations on winning the beauty spot gift certificate!  Enjoy your facial and massage!

Thank you so much to the beauty spot for donating the gc, and thank you to everyone that bought raffle tickets!  We raised $360! 

• … that her iron level will be acceptable.  (If not, she’s gotta get a painful iron shot.  She’s been taking iron pills three times a day to try to avoid this).
• … for no complications with her port.
• … that she would not have any out of the norm adverse reactions to the chemo.
• … that the side effects from the treatment would be few and mild.
• … for strength.

Thank you for keeping her in your prayers.

Two tubes of Revlon* Power Walk Pink lipgloss and a clipping from a magazine.

We decided that we were going to save them to wear together on day one of our 24-week training countdown, which begun today.  We had originally planned to kick off the countdown with a 3-mile walk; however, seeing as my mom just  had two surgeries and is still recovering, we thought it would be best to take it a little easier.  So, early this morning, we rolled out of bed, and mom, Sadie and I walked one mile.  One mile in our Power Walk Pink kicked off our training countdown and was just what mom needed to loosen her fourth and last steri-strip from surgery!

I’m seriously so proud of my mom that she even still wanted to walk today, all things considered!  I would of totally understood if she wanted to forego it.  She wasn’t gonna let that happen though.

*Revlon helped to fund research for Dr. Slamon’s breast cancer drug, Herceptin, back in the early ’90s.  This drug is used to treat specific types of metastatic breast cancer.  Thankfully, my mother’s breast cancer was not metastatic, so she didn’t have need to be administered this drug.  Herceptin, however, has been appropriate and life-saving for thousands of others since gaining its FDA approval.

A lot of you have probably seen the movie about the struggles that occured in the development of Herceptin.  It’s called “Living Proof”.  It came out last year on Lifetime and is quite the tearjerker.  Gets me and mom every time.  As we were raising money for the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure last year, the movie was especially powerful in helping us to see just how important every dollar is for research.

What is the raffle item?  A gift certificate to the beauty spot in Winter Park, which includes a When in Doubt Facial & 50 minute Swiss Miss Massage with a value of $165!              

How much is each raffle ticket?  $5.00 per ticket

How many tickets can I purchase?  As many as you want!

When will the winner be chosen?  Drawing will be held on May 31, 2009.

How do I purchase tickets?

1. Go to either of our 3-Day websites.  Barbara’s site.  Vickie’s site.
2. Click on the hot pink box on the page that says “click to donate”.
3. Depending on how many raffle tickets you would like to purchase, donate the corresponding amount.
4. After you have completed your donation on the 3-Day site, leave a comment on the bottom of this blog post to let me know.

That’s it!  Super quick and simple!  Once I’ve been informed of your donation, I will put the ticket(s) with your information on it into our 3-Day raffle bucket. 

OR

If I will be seeing you before the drawing date, you can purchase your tickets from me directly with cashola.

Please tell your friends about the raffle too!  We still need to raise mucho dinero!  Thanks, and good luck!