The Princess Guide: Grace

Monday's blog had me up on my soapbox. And then yesterday I asked Kayren to throw in her 2-cents. And I know ya'll are probably getting a bit tired of hearing me say, "Share the Wealth," but I've got to tell you something.

I am not a Democrat.

At all.

Don't even get me started -- it's pretty scary.

I just don't want you to think that my whole "share the wealth" philosophy as far as the 3-Day goes makes me a Democrat.

(Oh, I could so easily get up on another soapbox about this, and I won't, but did you know if you look at charitable giving, Republicans as a whole far outweigh Democrats??)

Anyways.... Before I get in any deeper.....

We've begun studying the Holy Spirit and Grace at church -- both weighty topics that many churches are afraid to address. I think it's because there's this general idea that there's no way we can completely understand the Holy Spirit, and that we need to steer clear because we don't want to get it "wrong." BUT.... I firmly believe that God can and does give us the right words. AND I also firmly believe that He allows us to hear the truth as we need to hear it.

I know, I know.... Land that plane.

I was just thinking about how in many ways 3-Day donations and grace have a lot in common.

Many, many of us have been the joyful recipients of anonymous or random donations under our names. When that happens, the sense of wonder comes over us -- it's not like we "earned" these donations, or even like we asked for them.

If you've ever been the recipient of that, you know what I mean.

It's a lot like grace. No way have we earned the grace that we are given -- and we'll never earn it. In many cases, we haven't asked for it -- so many times we're afraid to -- how can we be worthy of something so incredible?

But here's the deal..... Just as we are given grace, so should we give it to others. I think the 3-Day is like that. If you've been blessed to reach the $2300 -- think how much more joy you'll feel when you pass that on???

I'm sure this looks like apples and oranges -- like the mundane vs. the anything-but. But maybe not???

Just something for you to think about!
- d.

Your Challenge for Today:
I didn't do a challenge yesterday, because I really wanted what Kayren said to sink in. Anything I would have added would have just watered down what she had to say.

So I gave you a break. BUT today you get a challenge.

Today I want you to make some sort of business card or bookmark you can take with you while you're training. It needs to tell people what you're doing -- and tell them how they can donate for this year -- or go ahead and register for the 2011 walk. Give those to everyone you pass / meet while walking! Hand them to people you meet while running errands! If you want a "fancy" solution, check out this company.

What I'm Doing Today:
Sweating. I did 14 miles on my bike yesterday and 20 today. I've got more balls in the air than the circus. BUT.... It's all going great~

If you haven't registered for the Team Tiara Golf Tournament, it's this weekend! Don't miss out!

The Princess Guide: Walking 60 vs. Owning 60

From my Precious Friend, Kayren. Sister of my Heart:

What does that T-shirt say... “If it’s crazy to walk 60 miles to find a cure for Breast Cancer, I don’t want to be normal?”

I say we should have a shirt that takes it a step farther to say, “If it is crazy to raise $2300.00 to have the privilege of walking 60 miles to find a cure for Breast Cancer I don’t want to be normal!”

Seriously for me the scariest part about this whole crazy pink boa, tiara, pom pom, porta potty, pink tent, Save the Boobies 3-Day thing that we love so much, and has become a part of some of our souls, is the fundraising aspect of it.

You see, I am by nature a people person, so I can do the dress up, get out there, walk and talk for 60 miles. I have a blast doing that!

I love to talk... would talk to anyone and everyone who would listen to me about how strongly I feel about conquering this disease. But, don’t ask me to ask anyone for anything. Don’t ask me to ask anyone for money or to buy something (like tickets to a gala, or the registration fee of a golf tournament, or calendars/cookbooks).

I can’t do it... I freeze up. I get almost there and then boom - I feel this pressure build up inside me, and I can’t. So that first year, I just decided, what I got was what I got and I would self-donate the rest. I had some family members who gave me money, and I had some friends who thought what I was doing was cool, but I just went online and did the whole self-donation thing.

I loved that there was a payment plan... I could self donate over the course of 4 months whatever balance that was left.

So for me when the walk came about I had about $1000.00 still left to raise and that was only $250.00 a month. No problem for me- we were blessed, and I could bless others by walking in their honor/memory (my grandmother and D’Lyn’s mom Sue) and all was right with the world.

D’Lyn said over and over and over- Kayren, just do the walk -- don’t worry about the money. It will come! The more you get into it the easier it gets, and don’t worry!

That first year- I walked that walk- 6 mos after having a baby (Zoe- my only girl- the one with teeny tiny tata’s that might one day hear the words “you have breast cancer” and they would have to take those teeny tiny tatas away).

A few days after the walk, a team member filled that $1000.00 hole. Yes, you read that correctly -- $1000.00!

Even now, I am just speechless when I think about that because it was about allowing me to experience the 3-Day. That is what you do. You don’t just participate, you experience it.

That team member gave her excess to me! I wasn’t the only one she gave to either.

When you hear, "Don’t worry. Commit and the money will come," - take a breath and jump- because my friends it is soooo very worth it!

Now that having been said, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey used to say.

I walked the first year- I covered 45 of the 60 on foot - the rest was covered by sweeper van and bus- still covered but on wheels. Remember, I was 6 months out from giving birth and it wasn’t that I was out of shape, it was that my “hoo ha” wasn’t happy about the gravitational pull of 60 miles.

As one very well-seasoned veteran walker told me last year, “The money is there; how you cover the miles doesn’t matter." This was her 8th year to walk/crew and she was trying to cover the walk this year and meet every single sweeper van crew member and every bus driver! I love it!

I was hooked! Hook, line and sinker - I was going to be on this mission to find a cure, to spread the word whatever it took- so my second year I got over myself. I started telling people that I was required to raise $2300.00 for the priviledge to walk beside my teammates and thousands of others walking in honor/memory of the fighters, survivors etc...

Man, it was amazing! Watching my email every day when I got a donation- some days that is the only mail I got in my in box- oh wait who am I kidding! If you were on Team Tiara there was always one from D’Lyn (luv you friend).

Anyway, the little jump in my heart each time I got a donation. They began to add up, and when my father-in-law called and asked how close I was to my goal and I told him, he gave me the last bit.

I felt like I had just won the lottery! No kidding, I had prayed that the Lord would provide and He did- in the way of friends, family, strangers etc... I asked God, He worked through many-the $2300.00 came!

I owned that walk last year- I didn’t have to self-donate, I didn’t have to wait to see the money magically appear thanks to a generous team member with the true team spirit! I owned it, I felt like I had trusted, and asked, and talked, and hugged, and cheered on others, and well, poured my heart and soul into fundraising and it paid off (literally)!

That morning as I stood in the cool weather (holding the “keep going” flag- a whole other post), looking at my teammates, I could smile big and say, “I helped get us here”, “I am a part of something much bigger than myself”, “I am going to stand tall and walk proud for every single person who gave me all of that money!” And folks, I did.

Every step of 60 miles was covered! Sure, I took a sweeper van to pee... once or twice- but I owned every step of that 60 miles! I crossed that finish line into the waiting arms of my teammates and held my head high because I owned the money that came through.

So what is next for me? What is next for you? Maybe you have been the recipient of a “pay it forward” year. My first year was a “pay it forward” year... someone paid their extra forward to me. Maybe you have had your “own it” year or years, and you completely understand how amazing it feels to own your fundraising and your walking etc...

But have I mentioned that it is not about you or me? It is about those hearts whose ears have heard the words breast cancer spoken to them. It is about the ones that are wearing the pink shirts that are on our team. It is about the people who are in the memory tent taking a moment to remember that this disease took their loved ones from them.

Now it is time to pay it forward- so this year and for as many as I can from now on I will make it a “pay it forward year” for anybody that I can. I will still self-donate and trust in God that the money will come! My God is amazing! He has the power that can move mountains, and so I choose from now on to own every walk from here on out and never let one single person/teammate miss out on the opportunity to experience this whole “crazy”, life changing experience known as The Breast Cancer 3-Day!


In Him,
Kayren Babcock


Breast Cancer 3-Day
Team Tiara

The Princess Guide: BONUS!

Whoo-Hoo!!!

Today we're getting a BONUS Post because I've lost SEVEN pounds!!!! You know those little "markers" you set for yourself? The mini-goals?? Crossed one of those this morning!!!

This is one of my favorite videos of all time! My weight is going Down, Down, Down, Down, Down!!!

Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

And it gets even better. If you go on You Tube and put in "Pink Glove Dance" you'll see that this is a fun trend that seems to be sweeping the nation!!!

The Princess Guide: Has Anyone Seen My Soapbox??

Has anyone seen my soapbox? I need to jump up on it for a minute.

I'm pretty sure "dichotomy" is the $50 word for the two divergent viewpoints I'm about to address. But I'm not totally sure.

Either way, participants in the 3-Day don't always have the same views as I do about fundraising.

My viewpoint: The more walkers who get to walk in the 3-Day, the more impact we will have as far as awareness goes.

You see, everyone "statistically" has a range of influence with about 250 people. Some of us are on the high end of that; some of us on the low end. But, on average, we know about 250 people.

Using that figure, and not allowing for overlap, you could assume that Lisa and I influenced about 500 people the first year we walked. Going by the same theory, with 79 walkers on our team this year, Team Tiara can influence just under 20,000 people.

Disclaimer: Ya'll all know I can't do math. BUT.... I'm just trying to make a point here, so hang in there with me.

Whether or not my math is on target, it goes to show that the more walkers who walk, the greater the influence.

Clear as mud??

Okay. Well, here is where I take issue. Every year we hear about walkers who can't walk because they "couldn't" raise the $2300. Now.... we're not going to go into how hard they've tried, what have they done, haven't done, etc. (We're studying Grace in church right now, so we're just going to pause for a moment and apply that here.)

Needless to say, there are always walkers who can't walk because they're short on funds.

Where I have issues with that -- many of those walkers are on TEAMS. AND many of those TEAMS have "Superstars" who have far surpassed the $2300 mark. I can see how cool it is to stay in the New Balance tent if you're the top fundraiser. And I think that's pretty neat. But at the same time, wouldn't you feel pretty guilty if you were at the top of the leader board, knowing someone from your TEAM was sitting at home???

And what about all those of us who are blessed to have fundraising as a talent -- but we aren't in the running for the Big Tent? Where's the glory in being in the Top 143 fundraisers if your college roommate didn't get to come to the party??

Even more, what good does it do you to have $10,000 by your name if a survivor doesn't get to walk? Or someone who just lost her Mom? Or a woman whose husband was just diagnosed?

I told you I had a soapbox. And please, if it's in your heart, please share your funds with other walkers. You can do it in so many different ways. If you've got a check from a sponsor, print off a donation form from another walker's page and send it in. You can put a note at the top of your page asking your friends and family to sponsor another walker instead. Or you can send a special email asking friends to sponsor a different walker -- explaining why it's important to you for that other walker to walk.

Now.... On the flip side, in a couple of days my friend Kayren is going to do a Guest-Post about "owning" the walk when you raise every penny yourself. Prepare to be blessed.

Your Challenge for Today:
Whether it's $5 or $50, I challenge you to find a walker who is struggling and make a post under his/her name. AND.... On the part that will show up on the "honor roll," I challenge you to simply put "I Believe in You." You don't need to add your name -- But THEY need to know you believe in them.

What I'm Doing Today:
Holy Cow. I need to explain something. When I told you I walked up the ramps to the 3rd deck of Kyle Field without getting winded, I forgot to mention that we were late, and I hauled butt up the ramps. It was great --- but yesterday I was SO sore! I wish I lived in College Station where I could do that every day!!!

I DID do 12.50 miles on my bike this morning. My best ride ever. Carrie Underwood and I made our way around Fairfield, with me singing at the top of my lungs. Man, I love her music. Now, I'm gonna go find me a walker who's struggling with fundraising. I feel some blessin' coming on.

The Princess Guide: Guess What??

Guess What???

It's another one of those days when I'm eager to show off pictures of our weekend, but really don't have a big way to tie it in.

But guess what??

I'm going to do it anyway!!!

Yesterday we took the girls to their first Aggie football game. Our tickets were in the 3rd deck, and we hiked up all those ramps without my getting winded -- at all!!! AND... Then we had a big, old training walk back to the car.

Here's what I know. The hike up the ramps showed me that my bike riding has really worked. I felt strong -- probably stronger than I ever did as a student. That was great. The hike to the car felt great.

BUT... Today my feet hurt. Still not sure what my future holds as far as walking in the 3-Day.

Yesterday started off with soccer. I don't have many pix of Kait -- Abbie had my camera during the Cheetahs' game. BUT... I've got lots of pix of Kait from later in the day.

Abbie's team won 2-1. It was a bittersweet win, since Kat was on the other team. But it was kind of fun to see them go head to head. Abbie probably had her best game ever!

This is the one good picture I have of Kait.

You know, walking in the 3-Day is a whole lot like playing soccer. If you've got a team supporting you, it's a whole lot easier to make it through. Can you imagine playing soccer by yourself?

Kait's birthday is this Friday, and her friend Logan has a birthday this week as well. Both families went to the game yesterday for a dual birthday party. It was unbearably hot, and the icing melted right off the cake, but we still had a great time!

If Abs could be in the Cav, I think that's the only way we could get her to go to A&M..... It might be worth a try.

Michelle made sure the girls got the very best face-painting available!

Bet their Dads like this picture!

Here's the party -- minus Avery. Nothing like opening your birthday presents during March-in.

The only way I can get Abs to wear the A&M logo. Sneak up on her.

We absolutely could not have gotten through yesterday without Carla's help. Carla, you rock!!!

That is one crazy, melted cake!

Birthday Week is so much fun!

There's no place like Kyle Field....

If you've never seen the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, you should put that on your Bucket List. At the very least, watch some videos on YouTube.

I think I see Rings in your futures!

This morning was Kick-off Sunday at church. Check out Abs in Biggsy's Rice uniform. How cool is that??

The Princess Guide: Are You Interested or Committed?

This is my first-ever mobile blog post, so please bear with me. I'm going to have enough Crackberry typos to sink a battleship, but we'll have to grin and bear it.

So... Keeping that in mind, are you interested or committed? Did you sign up for the 3-Day in February but have the excitement cool down as the summer temperatures went up???

Guess what? I'm going to be frank with you. I don't care. I don't care that you're busy. And I don't care if your "usual" fundraising sources are lagging this year.

Because this is what I care about: Our friend Cheri is still fighting strong. She walked with our team last year -- the cancer already in her bones.

I care about my friend Shari -- a two-time survivor. And Ken, just diagnosed.

I care about Tracie -- spending five days in ICU after an 8-hour double mastectomy and reconstruction this past Wednesday.

That's what I care about. None of those people got a choice. They didn't get an opportunity to skip the cancer route because they were too busy.

I'm asking you to do whatever it takes to reach deep down, grab hold of that commitment again and don't let go. Whatever it takes.

About this time of year I start to hear the "IFs" start to come through. IF I walk. IF I can raise the money.

Don't you dare let that happen. Don't sell yourself short -- get out there and Git er Done.

You don't raise the kind of money Team Tiara has raised without learning a few things. The biggest thing is that after October 1 the money starts pouring in. It's crazy, exciting and boggles your mind.

But you know what?? That's where faith comes in. When you make that commitment to self-donate it can be a bit crazy. But you HAVE to keep in mind the fact that you're not committing to self-donate the whole $2300. Your committing to donate the BALANCE that you haven't raised four weeks AFTER the walk.

Dude.... That's plenty of time!!!

Here's the clincher. If you're on Team Tiara you've got to do the online registration before October 6 or you won't be able to camp with the Kool Kidz.

PLEASE step out on faith and let's get this job done. Let's make that choice to COMMIT for all those who don't get the choice.

Your Challenge For Today: I'm in Old Army mode today, so I'm thinking we need to give this the Good Ol' College Try. Contact 10 crazy college buddies to let them know what you're doing!

What I'm Doing Today: Today we're taking the Bigglets to their first-ever Aggie Game. Whoop! Kait is thrilled; Abs not so much. We'll be stopping by the AFC tailgate with hopes of seeing Bob & Myrt. A&M has lots of neat stuff to commemorate 9/11, and I think that's pretty cool.

I watched the coverage on TV today -- seeing the planes hit still causes a physical punch-to-the-gut physical reaction. I watched it with A&K and explained that that's what Hate does.

On the other side of the coin, it's been a great day for our family -- both girls won their soccer games this morning. Go teams Germany and Portugal!!!
www.teamtiara.net

The Princess Guide: Chew on This....

Okay. This is lame, I know.

BUT today hasn't gone at all as planned -- and I'm trying to do the whole 74 in 74 thing and have run out of speed....

So... For tonight, I have one question for you. When it comes to the 3-Day, are you Interested? Or are you Committed??

Think about that until I can get to you tomorrow to elaborate!!

Big Hugs,
d.

The Princess Guide: This Tent is My Tent; That Tent is Your Tent....

Hey Folks! We're in the middle of 74 posts in 74 days around here -- counting down to the DFW 3-Day! Happy Reading!!!

Okey-Dokey....

In Dallas, we have about 3,000 walkers on the walk. While not everyone stays in camp (WIMPS!), that still leaves roughly 1500 tents. If you don't do something to make your tent stand out in the crowd, you could be wandering around for quite awhile looking for it.

That's not so bad at 7:00 in the evening.

But think about 3:00 in the morning. It's cold. The kind of cold that North Texas saves up just for the 3-Day walkers. (Out of four years camping, last year was the ONE that was comfortable. If that's global warming, it does have a positive side after all.)

But seriously, 3:00 in the morning. You've lain (laid? lain?) there in your tent for the last two hours in a semi-concious state thinking "reabsorb, reabsorb, reabsorb." All that hydrating is coming back to haunt you. You unzip the zipper on your tent, causing a chain reaction that wakes up 2900 other walkers, all of whom realize they need to pee, too.

You stumble to the closest porta potty. If you're smart, you're wearing a clip-on flashlight on the brim of your cap, or a headlamp like miners wear.

You pee, and of course that porta potty has no TP. You forgot to check. BUT -- you did remember to lock the door because I said so and you at least get to pee in peece. (No, not a typo. Just thought that would look cute.) At least it's peeceful if your teeth aren't chattering.

You stumble out, wipe your hands with a wipie (no running water, you know) and limp back to your tent. Your muscles are tight. You want to cry. Maybe you have a blister on your big toe -- I don't know.

What I do know, is that if you made your tent stand out because I said so, you're going to be really glad you're one of the four readers of this here blog. If you don't decorate your tent, I'm gonna tell you I told you so.

I'm getting old, and I can't for the life of me remember what we did for our tents the first two years -- probably nothing because we didn't have the first clue what we'd gotten into.

In 2008, we decorated some of the tents with pictures drawn by kids at our school. We also had blue laminated Tiaras that let us know who was sleeping in which tent.

In 2009, we had some cute tents in our group, but Suzi and I didn't do much with ours. (What you can't see here is that our tent was signed by hundreds of our sponsors and supporters. With that, who needs decoration??) LisaSudtelgte had the CUTEST ever -- it was dressed up like a ladybug. And Alicia and Mark slept in the Love Shack. Wendy made this cute little banner. And Cassie made us all tags to let everyone on the team know who was sleeping where.

Now... We've already established that not all four of you are on Team Tiara -- and that's okay. BUT if you are, our theme this year is "Wild about a Whole New Way to Live."

(Can we just pause for a quick word from our sponsors and let me tell you that as I type this, there's a Freaking Fly buzzing around my office?? ARGH!!!!)

Anyways, we have come up with an easy way for the Tiaras to go with that theme, and make our tents stand out. You can check out your local Hobby Lobby or other fabric store and get 1 1/3 yards of some animal print fabric. Whatever you choose. There are SO many kinds out there right now!!! You might not want a kind that's really heavy -- because it might weigh down your tent. On the other side, though, it might offer a barrier against the wind.

Using an animal print shower curtain would be another option.

We'll drape the fabric over the top of the tent and use clothespins or binder clips to hold it in place. You MAY NOT poke holes in the tents with safety pins or other pokey things. And tape will not work -- been there, tried that.

If you're super creative and want to turn your tent into a zebra, lion or other zoo animal, that's great -- more power to ya. But for those who are creatively-challenged, this is an easy solution.

Suzi and I are going to have Zebra Print on our tent. Just got it today! (On sale at Hobby Lobby, by the way!)

That, my friends, is Tent Decorating 101.

The Princess Guide: Don't be a Duck!

If there's one thing you don't want to be in life, it's a duck. Especially if you're on the 3-Day.

When I ride my bike every morning, I have this little route I follow. I go to the back lakes and ride a bit, then I come back to the older part of the neighborhool (bigger trees = better shade) and ride around a while. And I make 2-5 laps around the big lakes towards the front.

And the ducks... Oh, the ducks... Every day I have to play Dodge Duck.

This big, white, ugly duck walks into my path every single day.

Do you have any idea how much ducks poop?? It's scary, really.

And we've got a LOT of ducks around here.

If I ding the bell on my bicycle, they walk in front of me. If I Whoop and hollar at them, they walk in front of me. If I try to sneak by the ones who are asleep, they wake up and walk in front of me.

Dodge Duck. Every day.

Listen folks, you can't be a duck.

When you're walking, you've got to be aware of who's around you at all times. And it's hard -- oh, it's so very hard. When you're on Day 3, Mile 45, you can't think straight. Your body is numb with exhaustion. Your brain is shot. All you can do is put one foot in front of the other.

But that won't work -- you've got to find a way to stay alert. You don't want to be a duck. The Ya-hoo driving the car that you walk in front of may just plow you over.

Your Challenge for Today:

Ask your boss if you can host a jeans day at work. Co-workers can pay for the opportunity to wear jeans to work. You can provide snacks (with a pink theme!) in your office kitchen / lounge / waiting area. Be sure to include information about the 3-Day and why you're walking. And please don't forget to include information about breast cancer awareness. (You can get a LOT of that from Komen.)

What I'm Doing Today:

Yesterday two different situations really brought home why what we do is so very important. My friend Tracie had a double mastectomy and reconstruction. She's my age. And my friend Suzi learned that a contact of hers had been diagnosed with breast cancer. HE is waiting for test results that will show how far it's spread.

Ya'll listen up. This disease is a BEAST. It's spreading. It's hitting men. It's hitting women. Young and old, it doesn't care. It MUST be stopped.

Yesterday I road 18.5 miles on my bike, but today is a "day off" for Bible Study. We're starting that Beth Moore Believing God study I told you about a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait!

The Princess Guide: It's a Stretch

Hi there.
Still trying to catch up on my 74 posts in 74 days -- 3-Day Style. This one is going to be a bit of a stretch, but we'll see what we can do to tie it in!

BTW.... Did you know you should stretch for 5 minutes for every hour of walking you do??? Especially if you're old and creaky and have funky feet like I do!

But enough of that. On Saturday, the girls and I took off for the MotherLand. BUT we decided to take the scenic route through Dallas and meet up with some of our Team Tiara family on the way.

And boy, did we meet up. We met at Babe's Chicken, and Holy Cow, that place is good. So good that's where we're going to have our Thursday night get-together before the walk in November. So good that I didn't even think to take a picture of the food. So good I thought about asking if I could get a to-go vat of the Banana Pudding. But I resisted. Oh, and Oh My Goodness -- they have this Jalapeno Honey Mustard stuff that's just DREAMY. I can't wait!

Here we all are outside of Babe's. Next time I'm going to find a different place to stand in the picture. That wagon wheel was just AWKWARD. (But someone had to balance Kait.) Nevertheless, aren't we a great-looking group???

So here is where the stretch part starts. BUT I do think I have a tie-in. Sort of.

Labor Day weekend is our weekend to always go to the farm. This year we were short a Dad and about 30 friends hunting doves, but the girls got to ride a LOT. And for them, that's what it's all about anyway.

Tie-in #1: It's all about safety. Whether you're riding horses or training for the 3-Day, you've got to keep safety in mind. Just as my girls aren't allowed on a horse without a helmet, you shouldn't go out without the right equipment. Be sure to bring your water bottle. And don't forget reflective clothing if you're walking at night.

Check out those teeth -- or the lack thereof!

Tie-in #2: Practice makes perfect. Our girls ride really well, considering they only get on a horse a few times a year. They're both learning to ride poles, they have no fear, and they do great. BUT... Imagine how well they would ride if they had access to horses all the time. If they could spend their summer days with Simon and Sugar and just ride to their heart's content. All that practice would come in handy, right??

The same goes for the 3-Day. You can't wake up on November 3 and expect to walk 60 miles. You've got to get out there and be walking now. Training. Practicing. Finding out what works for you and what doesn't.

I know this is coming across as my saying, "Do as I say, not as I do." If it is, you're right. But the fact of the matter is, I'm not going to walk 60 miles in November. My goal is 45. I'd love to do 60, but time will tell. And while I'm not walking yet, my bike and I have been working hard to get ready.

If you're planning to walk then, you need to be walking now. Believe it or not, there's only one Suzi Bruin.

Tie-in #3: Take time to rest, refuel and rehydrate. I don't know that there's much in life that's more relaxing than watching your daughters help their favorite horses cool down -- or much in life that warms your heart more.

You, too, need to take time to cool down and rest between training walks!

Tie-in #4: Don't pee in the showers. Nuf said.

Tie-in #5: Sometimes you've got to bring in the Big Guns to get the job done! Just as Uncle Max and the girls used the biggest tractor imaginable to plow the arena, sometimes you've got to bring in the big guns. That's how I look at the 3-Day. This isn't some dinky little walk. This is a WALK. We're raising a lot of money, and we're gonna find a CURE!!!

Tie-in #6: Just follow the herd. Don't worry about how you'll know where to go on the walk. There are plenty of signs and plenty of walkers just ahead of you to pave the way!

The 3 Amigos...

The Princess Guide: You've Got Mail!

All Right, Gang!

If there is one blog posting you need to forward to everyone you know, this is the one. At the end of the day, when you've walked 20 miles, drunk enough Gatorade to drown a grown elephant, and showered in a converted semi-truck, there's nothing better than news from home. Or friends.

I still have the cards my friends and family sent me on the walk the year Mom died. And I'm still getting teary just thinking about them.

Wow. They were perfect.

So.... Here's the scoop.

3-Day walkers, can, do, and NEED to get mail on the walk!

The address is:

3-Day for the Cure
Attn: (Insert Name of Participant)
P.O. Box 6244
McKinney, TX 75071-6244

You can send mail from now until just a few days before the Walk.

Your Challenge for Today:
Take this opportunity to send your family and friends an update about the 3-Day. Remind them that you're walking, tell them how close you are to your goal, and let them know you'd LOVE to receive mail from them on the walk!

What I'm Doing Today:
I'm off to ride my bike -- hoping to beat the storms!