I don’t normally read the sports page, so I missed this bit of news when it appeared in the St. Petersburg Times last week. Dakoda Dowd is going to be a freshman at my old high school, and her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, died last week of breast cancer. Dakoda is a golfer, and a good one at that, and Kelly Jo’s dream was to see her daughter compete professionally before she did. Kelly Jo made it long enough to see that happen, and passed away this week, despite a double mastectomy and chemo. There’s a big pink ribbon outside of the Cleawater Hooter’s to memorialize Kelly Jo, who was not only a mother and a wife, but a former Hooter’s waitress, calendar girl, and general manager.

Here’s a direct quote from Kelly Jo Dowd:

“I’m in this boat because I waited too long, ” Mrs. Dowd said in an April, 2006 interview. “Like any disease, breast cancer along with it, the sooner you get it, the sooner you can catch it and be done with it. So don’t wait.”

Don’t wait. Don’t lose out on years with your husband and kids and friends and loved ones. Early detection can give you years of living cancer free. I’m 30, and I’ve already started getting mammograms due to a family history of breast cancer.

I got another $20 donation today, and this brings my grand total up to $1956 raised! Amazing! I got an email about the dates for Expo. I don’t think I’ll go this year. It was interesting last year when I was a complete newbie, but it’s kind of far from my house and I think I’ve got what I need already as far as clothes and such, so I don’t need to spend more cash at Expo. (Last year I bought New Balance shorts there, to wear for the walk, and you all know I ended up wearing 2 pairs of pants and a Mylar blanket…HA!)

I got another donation this week, bringing me to a new grand total of $1,856.00 raised, and only another $344 left to raise before the walk in October. I’m in much better shape than I was last year, and it’s a huge relief to know the fundraising portion will soon be behind me. Remember, if you donate $20 to me, you get your name over there —> with a link to your site!

One of my new favorite shows to watch is Jon & Kate Plus 8. The woman had twins, and then sextuplets. Right now they’ve got 2 six year olds, and 6 two year olds. Better her than me! She must have some friends at Google too, because when I type in “sextuplets”, I go right to their website. On the episode I watched today (DVR’ed, of course!) the family went to a NICU reunion party. If I could have made it through enough science in college, I would have loved to have been a labor and delivery or NICU nurse. 2 years after the babies were born, and the nurses still remembered each of their names!

Thanks to my friend Marisa and her big donation this week, I’m almost at my $2200 goal! I’ve got only $364 left to go, which means I don’t have to do any fundraisers in the hot sun this summer. I’m just thrilled beyond belief that I am this close, this soon, and that I won’t still be fundraising AFTER the walk is over, like I was last year. That takes a lot of pressure of me, and means that instead of raising money, I can work on training.

Remember, if you donate at least $20, you get your name over there with a link to your site —>

You can donate online at using a credit card or debit card http://www.the3day.org/tampabay07/colleenc or if you prefer, send me a Paypal payment to colleen_ccATyahooDOTcom and I’ll process the donation using that instead.

My sister shared with me that Energizer batteries will be donating $350,000 to Susan G. Koman, and they’ve got a neat offer for a free (with Energizer proof of purchase) pink tote bag – more details on her blog! With so many companies selling pink stuff and offering a “portion” of proceeds to Susan G. Komen, it’s great to see Energizer making a no strings donation offer…and such a big one, at that! Everyone uses batteries too, so it’s easy to save a few UPC’s and get yourself that tote bag.

I’ve used online maps enough to know that the directions provided aren’t always the best. For instance, if I mapped out a route from my house to the Target, the online map would send me WAY out of the way, and I know of several shorter routes. This site with driving directions offers a better option. Not only can you get free driving directions and traffic updates for major cities in the US and UK, but you can specify how you want to travel. By train? On foot? By bus? This system will tell you how to get there. I wonder if the 3-Day people use something like this to map out our 60 mile route?

My free Thorlos came this week! Didn’t try them on yet, and I don’t have a clue as to when I’m going to get a training walk in, but free socks are good, right? I also got another donation from a coworker today! I’m getting closer to that $1700 mark, and I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m going to put less in my own “pot” this year, and saving money on a hotel and airfare by walking locally.

I was reading some of the gossip magazines I’ve got around here today at lunch, and seeing all of these pictures of super skinny celebs (Nicole Richie looks malnourished) reminded me of a discussion I recently had with some coworkers. Overall, the guys I work with much preferred the body of someone like Catherine Zeta Jones – curvy, nice legs, boobs, and rear, over the body of someone skinny like Paris Hilton or one of those waify looking twins…Mary Kate and Ashley.

I brought up how Kate Winslet’s body was airbrushed (heavily) when she was on the cover of a magazine recently, and she was not a happy camper. Good for her for being proud of her curves and who she REALLY is!

Yesterday I sent out an email to my office asking for donations for the walk. I’m happy to report that I’ve already received 2 donations from coworkers for $20 each – woot! I think I’m less than $550 away from my $2200 goal now, which I am thrilled about, considering that I still have 5 months til the walk. I set a goal to be done with my fundraising much earlier this year, and I’m almost there!