Dedication, Motivation, Inspiration

Wow, how quickly things change...  And isn't it wonderful?

I am feeling less nervous and more optimistic about raising so much money this year.  My wonderful team mates have everything to do with that!  They have been just as crazy hardworking as I have been, if not even more!  I apologize for any doubts I had before.  How could we fail when we are so committed to doing everything it takes to raise the money we need to walk?

The answer is we can't, and we won't.

So I have been thinking myself too important, and I have been rightfully put in my place, and humbled.  My team mates do NOT need someone to hold their hand and do things for them.  They do not need me that way, and I feel bad that I ever thought otherwise.  I am relieved and grateful for this revelation!!!!

3 words to describe team Me and the Girls this year?  Dedication, Motivation, Inspiration.

Dedication:  I am now no longer the only person seemingly obsessed with finding ways to raise money!  LOL!  It is now a group obsession.  I have found kindred spirits here, and we are all up working till 1 am!  With this sort of dedication we will have every dime we need to walk.

Motivation:  If we weren't as motivated before, a taste of success at receiving items donated for our silent auction in June has truly lit a fire!  It may be that we receive a 100 no's for every yes, but that yes sparks us to try 500 more places!!!

Inspiration:  And with team mates like these, I don't need to look deep inside myself for motivation to keep asking asking asking.  I only need to turn my head and  look to my friends working just as hard beside me.  This is easy, this is priceless. Having team mates working this hard beside me is a wonderful gift.  I want to keep working this hard for us, if only to keep up with how hard they are working too!

And training?  They are already doing 5-6 mile walks on their own.  I have no worries here either!  We walked together for the 1st time this past weekend, and it was a wonderful 5 miles.

So thank you team mates.  And I apologize for doubting.  Failing is not an option that will cross my mind again!!!!  You're the best!!!

11500

What is this?
It's just a number, isn't it?

11,500


Maybe it will have more meaning if I write it like this for you:
$11,500.00
A lot of money, isn't it?

Welcome to Me and The Girls; this is our magic number for this year.  This is the amount of money we need to raise together in order for the 5 (yes, our team has now grown to 5 members!) of us to walk together 60 miles arm-in-arm in the 2011 Washington DC 3 Day for the Cure!  This is the number that I wake up in the morning thinking about, and go to bed at night thinking about.  I sound obsessed by it!  This number thrills me because of the enormous amount we will be donating towards finding a cure, new treatments, and education about breast cancer.  This same number also terrifies me, because I am starting to feel ultimately responsible for helping to raise this amount, or responsible if we (gulp) failed to raise this amount.

It's funny, I have a facebook friend who thinks the opposite of me.  She says that raising the money is the easy part, it's the training for the walk that's the hard part for her.  For me training is easy, it's just finding time and walking, and challenging myself and my team mates to keep on truckin'.  For me the harder part is definitely the fundraising.  I love having my now larger team this year, I love sharing this experience with people who have never done or felt anything like this before.  It makes it all new and exciting for me again (not that it even remotely lost it's excitement, but you know what I mean) too.  But I am scared at the same time, because I want us all to succeed so badly, and splitting the money we raise 5 ways instead of 2-3 ways like last year makes it more challenging.  I don't know how much to feel responsible for. I know that holding their hand and doing it all for my team mates will rob them of half of the wonderful learning experience that is the 3 Day. I think of all I learned about myself by doing this much work, much of it outside of my comfort zone (who am I kidding, nearly ALL of it outside of my comfort zone), and the strength and determination it brought out in me that I never knew I had.  Yet on the other hand I don't want anyone to resent me for not doing enough to help either.  I guess it's a fine line I will have to walk and figure out with my team mates as we go along...

Updates:
*My Great Pink Hair Challenge of 2011 has officially begun.  I am beginning with 3 streaks.  It remains to be seen if I will raise enough to make them permanent or not.  I will be checking out the fit of my wig this week, and I've set up an appt. to get my pink highlights at the salon, just in case...
*We've started selling Joe Corbi's pizzas, and this week we can set up the online ordering for people who live out of town.  This is a neat feature because it will ship it directly to them and next month we will get a check mailed to us for any money we made online!  Hopefully we sell enough to raise a decent amount.
*Started taking my 2 little guys (Devon is 3 and Gabe is 2) out in the double stroller and talking to businesses around town about donating things for our auction.  Even though it still makes me nervous, it no longer makes me sick to do it.  :)  Really happy that I've gotten better at that!!  Have gotten some hits, some misses, but either way I've gotten my butt started!
*Still working on getting insurance for the treadmill walking fundraiser my team mate Lauren and I are doing at the mall.  Who knew we'd have to be insured for a million dollars???  Not me that's for sure!  This is making me pull my hair out just a little...
*We are making our own t-shirts to sell at fundraisers this year!  I have a friend who is donating all the pink shirts, and my team mate Lauren is working on turning them into works of art...  I am really excited about this development!