The 3-Day and the 3rd Door

Last January, my best friend and I decided to do the Three Day Walk.  We whole heartedly went into the year raising funds and training for our 60 mile adventure.  Then, when I realized that the timing of our boys would affect our walk, the opportunity fell by the wayside.  Then, of course, we didn’t get “our” boys. 

I’ve been beating myself up about our decision not to complete the Three Day for quite some time now.  It wasn’t until last weekend when I was talking to Lisa about it that I really began to realize I had no way of knowing and needed to quit kicking myself.

You see, by the time the new year rolled around, I thought there were two paths my life would take in 2009- have kids or give up.  I was working to accept that.  Then came the boys- or at least they came back around- the chance to be chosen for them, our selection for them, some serious talking, and then saying good-bye and turning a corner.

What I realized this weekend was that in my short-sided thinking there were two doors for my life- with kids and without kids.  But, in reality, there was a third door- one that mingled the two paths together for just a short while.  Never in a million years did I think that I would be so far down one path and then plucked from it and onto another path.  I could have never prepared myself for that one.

This all seems like a real bummer post on a rainy Tuesday morning.  But, it isn’t meant to be.  I’m learning to accept what was behind the third door.  And in accepting what was behind that third door, I realize I have to give myself some slack this year.  This weekend I realized that I’ve also got to give myself that slack when it comes to our decision not to complete the 3-day.  It simply got caught in the strife of this year- the turmoil that I never expected when the year began and we started out to make our walk. 

The cool thing that remains is that we got to raise funds for breast cancer research- and I am proud of that- and all of you who helped us raise those funds.  I wanted to say thanks to those of you who did support our efforts and let you know that those funds have already gone towards breast cancer research.

3-Day, 365 Raffle Winner

I’ve shipped the CK Kit of the Month raffled off today.  It’s off to my favorite state. . . my home state.  It’s also the home of Tina who won the kit.  Congrats again Tina!  I’m so excited that someone else will get to enjoy this kit. 

I’m also so appreciative of all the support given to Lisa and I for our 3-Day walk. While our fundraising and training work is far from over, it’s off to a great start.  Once again, thanks to all who participated in this raffle by either donating or spreading the word.

The Winner Has Been Selected

Over our 3 Day weekend, the winner of the 3-Day, 365 Raffle has been determined.  I’m awaiting to hear back from them before we announce the winner.

So, my nephew (Lisa’s son) wrote our names on piece of papers, folded them, mixed ‘em up, and then chose a name.  He chose Lisa’s name which meant that her list of donations came before mine.

We then used Random Integer Generator to determine the winner.  And the winning entry was:

We’ll announce the winning person later. . . .

Thanks

Thanks to all who donated as part of the Raffle for my second 365 kit.  We’ll notify the winner by February 17th.

About 16 Hours to Go

Just a note that the deadline to enter our 365 Kit Raffle ends in about 16 hours- Midnight CST.  It’s your chance to do something for a great cause and get an opportunity to win a great kit!

Raffle Update

The raffle for Becky Higgins Creating Keepsakes 365 Project Kit of the Month ends in just a couple of weeks. I am so thankful for all donations raised and hope to raise quite a few more. If you haven’t had a chance, please do spread the word and/or enter for your chance to win.

Details of the raffle are here.

The 3-Day, 365 Raffle

(Sorry this one’s blurry. . .it was already dark outside when I took this picture.)

Enough talking, let’s take some action! So, if you’ve read my blog posts as of late, you know that I’ve committed to raising funds for breast cancer research and walking 60 miles as part of that effort. Even better, my best friend Lisa has committed to doing it with us as well even after I sent her a goofy video invite. It’s part of the nationwide 3-Day.  And, I’ve told you all about the Creating Keepsakes/ Becky Higgins 365 Kit of the Month that I’ll be raffling to kick off our fundraising. 

Here’s how the raffle will work:

Ways to Enter
1) Donate at least $5 to my 3-Day Donation Page (Link’s below but I want to make sure you see how to optimize your chances)
2) Donate at least $5 to Lisa’s 3-Day Donation Page (Again, the links below, but read on.)

You’ll get 1 chance for donating on my page and one chance for donating on her page. So, that’s two opportunities to enter.

Want more chances?
The kit cost me just at $35 dollars. So, if you donate more than $35 to either page, you’ll get 5 chances. That’s five for my donation page and/or 5 for her page. (Maximum 10 entries)

(Note, the donation page will let you extend payments for up to four months.)

How long will the raffle be?
It’ll run from time of this posting through Midnight Central Standard Time Feburary 12, 2009.

Shipping
I’ll pay for US Shipping. International orders, I will ship internationally but you’ll have to pay me the difference in shipping (we’ll work out payment method at that time.)

How will we determine the winner?
We’ll put My list of donations/entries and then her list of entries or vice versa. We’ll put our names in a hat and let her son choose. (This way if you enter both, you’ll be in the first half and the second half!) Then, we’ll use Random Integer Generator to pick the winner.

Winner Notification
We’ll notify the winner by February 17th. The winner must reply by February 21st so that we’ll know where to mail the kit. We’ll also announce the winner here.

Overall chances
There’s only one kit in this raffle. But, your chances of winning will depend on how many donations we receive, and how much you donate.

The Cause
Don’t forget that this is going to a great cause that’s touched everyone’s lives in some way. You can include an any person that you are honoring with your donation.

OK. Now that you read the rules. . .

Here’s the links to enter for your chance to win the 365 Kit. You must donate online in order that we can ensure we count all donations into this raffle.

My 3-Day Donation Page
Lisa’s 3-Day Donation Page

(These links go directly to The 3-Day.Org- so they have control over donations and financial info. . . and it’s totally secure.)

And one more thing. . . .

How else can you help?
Share a link to this page with others online. The internet, and especially the scrapbooking/photography community is a powerful group of folks who can really do a lot to raise monies for causes such as this one.

The 3-Day

I have taken on an incredible challenge. On November 6-8th, I’ll be walking 60 miles over the course of three days, camping out at night with thousands of other women and men taking this journey with me.

It’s for an event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Every advancement in breast cancer research, treatment, education and prevention in the last 25 years has been touched by a Komen for the Cure grant. Without a cure, one in eight women in the U.S. will continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s why I’m walking in the 3-Day- because everyone deserves a lifetime.

My best friend’s mom is a Breast Cancer survivor and I’ve seen the way that breast cancer has touched their lives. My best friend and I will be making the drive up to Dallas/Ft Worth to do this together. We agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations each and know that we can raise even more. That means that we need your help!

We’ll kick of our fundraising tomorrow with that raffle of the Creating Keepsakes Kit of the Month: 365 by Becky Higgins.

The 365 CK/ Becky Higgins Kit Information

So, as mentioned, I’m going to be raffling off this kit tomorrow as part of my fundraising efforts for The 3 Day .  I thought I would share a bit about the kit in case you are not already familiar with it. 

(If you are familiar with it then you know that this kit was in very little supply with CK’s original order of 4000 being sold out in much less than 1 hour.)

The kit contains everything you need to make an album for your 365 project with very little work involved. (Which is good since there’s going to be 365 (or more) photos and lots of notes to make, etc.)

Here’s a list of what’s in the kit:

1 12×12 D-ring binder
54 12×12 specially divided page protectors–four 6″ x 4″ slots and four 3″ x 4″ slots on each side
399 3″ x 4″ journaling cards–21 designs, 19 of each design
60 4.25″ tri-fold journaling cards–4 designs, 15 of each
60 4″x 6″ header cards–12 designs, 5 of each
60 2.8″ x 3.8″ footer cards–12 designs, 5 of each
8 4″ x 6″ decorative title cards
8 4″ x 6″ decorative end title cards
12 12″ x 12″ decorative cardstock–6 designs, 2 of each
25 4″ x 6″ transparent overlays–5 designs, 5 of each
12 3″ x 12.5″ monthly divider tabs
27 days of the week cardstock sheets–378 total stickers
11 days of the week cardstock sheets for journaling cards–429 total stickers
2 yards ribbon–two designs, 1 yard of each
2 4″ x 6″ decorative boxes to hold journaling cards
1 date stamp

I have not opened the kit- so everything should be in there. And yes unlike those who selling the kit on ebay the first week, I actually do have kit in my possession.

It’s set up so that you create layouts like this by simply dropping in the included cards and your 4X6 pictures into the divided page protectors.

Becky Higgins has some great videos showing how to put the album together etc here. You can also see a close-up of the kit here.

And She Said Yes

Lisa called and thankfully she found the invite to be quite funny.  And, even better, she said yes to my whole-hearted request (name that song!).  She had actually had considered a different walk but that turned out not to work so well. 

So, now, we embark on quite a journey.  We need to train and we need to do some fundraising.  I’ll start on the training next week as I have family arriving today from Florida.  As for the fundraising, it starts tomorrow!  We’ll be raffling off a Becky Higgins/ Creative Keepsakes 365 Kit of the Month.  Details on how to enter, etc, to be posted tomorrow and I’ll share more about 365 later today.  It’s actually another part of the timing thing.  I ordered two kits that fateful (and for some “dreadful”) January 1st thinking that I’d have one more for next year.  I got the email that they were being shipped as the plan for our 60 mile walk unfolded and I knew it would be our first fundraising effort.  Of course, the deal wouldn’t be sealed until I actually had both kits in hand when they arrived last Tuesday.

The Invitation: Funny? Silly? Stupid- No Question!

Lisa, my best friend, and I walk.  We’ve always done it.  Not that we walk to exercise- we walk to talk, to get away from others, just to be out.  Years and years ago, we stopped asking if the other one wanted to go for a walk.  We developed a signal.

I wanted to include this signal in my invitation. . . which meant video.  And so, this invite was born.  I mailed it to her in hopes she didn’t have my husband (who hadn’t seen it either) commit me to the looney bin. 

What do you think?  Nuts?  Is it at all funny to you? What do you think she said?

Timing

Two weeks ago tomorrow we left for vacation and in between posts here and there I hope to share our trip with you.  It really was quite a trip to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  It ended a week ago Friday as we drove home from Dallas.

As we were driving home from Dallas and talking about how it really isn’t that far away, I heard a commercial for The Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk benefiting the Susan G Komen Foundation.  I can’t explain it but I instantly knew I had to do it.  I was pretty sure it said it would be in Dallas.  I’ve thought it would be interesting to do in the past but never found one close with the right timing.  I was certain they said November. . . that’s plenty of time.  I also knew this was something I wanted to do with my best friend.  Her mother is a breast cancer survivor. 

So, as Cody drove home, I looked up the information on my cell phone.  And, so, it started.  Now I had to find the best way to invite my best friend to go on a little 60 mile walk with me. . .