Spring Break and the APRIL Challenge
I just returned from my spring vacation Oregon visit. I had a wonderful time there!! I'm usually ready to get back to real life when vacations end, but this one is harder to close out. I thoroughly enjoyed my mom, my grandma, my Saltmarsh/Ratty cousins and aunts, Shirley Forrette, the Reisingers, and my Uncle Paul and Claire. The real craziness started when my amazing cousin, Deanna, brought a redneck party to the house. We dressed up. Well, SOME of us did. Not everyone needed to. :-) With guns, blacked out teeth, billy bob teeth, missing teeth, men's unders, beer cans and improperly spelled signage, we let cancer know what we think of it!! And my mom pole danced on a rife. It was an absolute blast!! I was introduced to Lambic Framboise, which is the tastiest raspberry beer ever!! It's from Vermont, which made it seem classier. Ok, it's beer. Whatev. I LOVED it!! My grandma, mom, Katie and I beaded. It's our go-to hobby when we'd rather be drinking. :-)
Then I left for Portland/Salem in *The Kathleen Ann Caravan* with my niece, Katie, who put up with me for our 4 1/2 hour roadtrip. We played a "fill-in-the-blank" game where we discovered that "The Kathleen-Ann's" love GREEN, THE NAME LILY, and PAPILLONS.
Very nice to see my scarfy sister, Jennifer! Then I drove to Salem and got my BFF wish of fun and frolicking with Lori and Brenda. We hadn't all been together since our San Francisco trip in December. Since then Brenda has started chemotherapy for her boob cancer. She just LOVES freaking people out with her bald head. For someone with the cutest hats and wig, she does a lot of stripping them off! (Before chemo, Brenda was a total exhibitionist anyway. Just now, she MOSTLY strips her head. MOSTLY.)
After a couple days with the BFF's, we welcomed my sister and our dear friend/little sis, Kim FN into our fold for an overnighter!! The margarita machine kept up with us pretty much. We all stayed busy climbing rock walls and photo-shopping star wars characters trying to "laser beam us." Then the It-ly girl got sleepy and wanted to head to bed so she could make mass the next morning. Which we didn't let her do . . . someone had to make bacon and eggs for the hungover.
During this next week, I got to attend chemo for my friend, Kari, who is also fighting cancer. She did terrific at our FANCY CHEMO party!! My time with her was so very special. We had a LOT of catching up to do. I can't imagine spending that time with anyone else and coming away with such a warm feeling in my heart. She's courageous and positive and filled to the brim with love. Thanks, Kari, for sharing it with me!! Oh, and we pole-danced on her IV to the sounds of her poison pipe cleaner killing all the cancer. For back-up, it was all about the Pop Rocks. And it was FANCY. :-)
I got some more sister time before I had to go back to Medford. We did dinner at Stanford's and shopping! (We hated that. Eating AND shopping. What a drag.) I enjoyed our evening and then chatting it up the next morning. She got me coffee!! (I wonder if I moved in with her . . .)
I drove to Medford with Ipod problems but managed to stay between the lines and got safely to southern Oregon. My mom was waiting patiently for me, with some very yummy pumpkin/black bean soup for dinner!! She put together a little soiree for my Uncle Paul and Claire, who just arrived back from south of the border (not California. Lower.) and Leon, Elaine and Lori Reisinger, who are some of my favoritest Jacksonville-ites. They've known me since diapers and still seem to like me. Super-lucky me!
On Saturday morning, my mom and grandma went to breakfast with me. FYI: Nana shouldn't be trusted with cameras. Not only can she NOT find us in the digital screen on back, but when she pushes the button, she lowers the camera immediately, which means the only shots we get are of our boobs. Maybe Nana does it on purpose. We're not really sure. But when Mom took a pic with me and Nana, she suggested we get the boobs. I told her that was not possible, since I was standing on them. My bad, Nana.
I flew out from Medford to Denver last night, in time for a show with The Rouge. That was great! Their bass player, Jack, was celebrating his birthday. What do you get a guy who's just been signed by Atlantic Records?? A shopping trip with Nana??
So, folks, I'm not very far from my fundraising goal for my lymphoma run in June! In the interest of getting this money raised so I can get on with just running and training, I'd like to challenge everyone. I'm a HUGE Starbucks fan. I sometimes go once everyday. Somedays I take friends and buy several drinks in a day. Sometimes I just plain get thirsty and go by myself more than once in a day!! (shhhh.) So, this is what I'm going to do and challenge you: Every errand day or time I drive past my favorite Starbucks drive thru - JUST FOR APRIL - I'm going to NOT go to Starbucks, but I will go into my fundraising site and donate $5. Everytime. (OK, seriously, I may go a couple times but if I do, I pledge to donate twice what I spend there to the Lymphoma fundraiser. That'll learn me.) On May 1, I will look at my fundraiser site and anyone who has had a donation or donations of $5, I will put your name in a drawing and send the winner a Starbucks card. Many of you have already donated and I thank you SO much, from the bottom of my running socks!! I have the super-est and most terrific-est supporters and I'm so thankful for you!!
Then I left for Portland/Salem in *The Kathleen Ann Caravan* with my niece, Katie, who put up with me for our 4 1/2 hour roadtrip. We played a "fill-in-the-blank" game where we discovered that "The Kathleen-Ann's" love GREEN, THE NAME LILY, and PAPILLONS.
Very nice to see my scarfy sister, Jennifer! Then I drove to Salem and got my BFF wish of fun and frolicking with Lori and Brenda. We hadn't all been together since our San Francisco trip in December. Since then Brenda has started chemotherapy for her boob cancer. She just LOVES freaking people out with her bald head. For someone with the cutest hats and wig, she does a lot of stripping them off! (Before chemo, Brenda was a total exhibitionist anyway. Just now, she MOSTLY strips her head. MOSTLY.)
After a couple days with the BFF's, we welcomed my sister and our dear friend/little sis, Kim FN into our fold for an overnighter!! The margarita machine kept up with us pretty much. We all stayed busy climbing rock walls and photo-shopping star wars characters trying to "laser beam us." Then the It-ly girl got sleepy and wanted to head to bed so she could make mass the next morning. Which we didn't let her do . . . someone had to make bacon and eggs for the hungover.
During this next week, I got to attend chemo for my friend, Kari, who is also fighting cancer. She did terrific at our FANCY CHEMO party!! My time with her was so very special. We had a LOT of catching up to do. I can't imagine spending that time with anyone else and coming away with such a warm feeling in my heart. She's courageous and positive and filled to the brim with love. Thanks, Kari, for sharing it with me!! Oh, and we pole-danced on her IV to the sounds of her poison pipe cleaner killing all the cancer. For back-up, it was all about the Pop Rocks. And it was FANCY. :-)
I got some more sister time before I had to go back to Medford. We did dinner at Stanford's and shopping! (We hated that. Eating AND shopping. What a drag.) I enjoyed our evening and then chatting it up the next morning. She got me coffee!! (I wonder if I moved in with her . . .)
I drove to Medford with Ipod problems but managed to stay between the lines and got safely to southern Oregon. My mom was waiting patiently for me, with some very yummy pumpkin/black bean soup for dinner!! She put together a little soiree for my Uncle Paul and Claire, who just arrived back from south of the border (not California. Lower.) and Leon, Elaine and Lori Reisinger, who are some of my favoritest Jacksonville-ites. They've known me since diapers and still seem to like me. Super-lucky me!
On Saturday morning, my mom and grandma went to breakfast with me. FYI: Nana shouldn't be trusted with cameras. Not only can she NOT find us in the digital screen on back, but when she pushes the button, she lowers the camera immediately, which means the only shots we get are of our boobs. Maybe Nana does it on purpose. We're not really sure. But when Mom took a pic with me and Nana, she suggested we get the boobs. I told her that was not possible, since I was standing on them. My bad, Nana.
I flew out from Medford to Denver last night, in time for a show with The Rouge. That was great! Their bass player, Jack, was celebrating his birthday. What do you get a guy who's just been signed by Atlantic Records?? A shopping trip with Nana??
So, folks, I'm not very far from my fundraising goal for my lymphoma run in June! In the interest of getting this money raised so I can get on with just running and training, I'd like to challenge everyone. I'm a HUGE Starbucks fan. I sometimes go once everyday. Somedays I take friends and buy several drinks in a day. Sometimes I just plain get thirsty and go by myself more than once in a day!! (shhhh.) So, this is what I'm going to do and challenge you: Every errand day or time I drive past my favorite Starbucks drive thru - JUST FOR APRIL - I'm going to NOT go to Starbucks, but I will go into my fundraising site and donate $5. Everytime. (OK, seriously, I may go a couple times but if I do, I pledge to donate twice what I spend there to the Lymphoma fundraiser. That'll learn me.) On May 1, I will look at my fundraiser site and anyone who has had a donation or donations of $5, I will put your name in a drawing and send the winner a Starbucks card. Many of you have already donated and I thank you SO much, from the bottom of my running socks!! I have the super-est and most terrific-est supporters and I'm so thankful for you!!
1 comment:
Kathy--you are too cool! I loved our time together. Thankyou.
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