Katie's doing Avon's Walk for Breast Cancer

My good friend and fellow beader Katie Nelson
has committed herself to do this marathon walk for
breast cancer. She needs to raise a bit of money in
order to participate...$1800.oo to be exact. So she's
reaching out to all her friends and family to help her
come up with the money. I know first hand how hard
it is to raise funds. You have to be bold and go where
sometimes you might not want to. But in the end it is
so worth it and who knows? One day you might be in need
of the research finds to cure you of something.
Anyhow, bless her heart, here is what she has to say:
"This is a 2-day event in which I will have the opportunity
to walk up to 26.2 miles the first day and 13.1 the second.
Personally, I am shooting for the 1/2 marathon length
on both days since the walk is only 2 months away...
I am going to do as much as I can, but I have to be realistic,
too, since there's not a lot of training time..."
So to sweeten the giving she has put her necklace she made
from the Bead Soup Challenge up for auction.


Its a beauty! I've already bid on it, you can too.
Or just go to her blog and you can donate any sum
of money. I know times are tough all over and
money is probably a little funny (hahaha-NOT) at
your casa, but you can give up one little something
for a cause...maybe that $5.00 drink on a night out,
or $10.00 bill at Micky D's for a bad lunch you don't
really enjoy and probably didn't need.
Or, heaven forbid, give up one strand of beads and
put that money to a good cause. Love you guys!
Stop by Katie's and watch for her Walk coming up.

We got the Blues

This is my girl Bailey. She looks exactly like I feel, sad,

scruffy and a little out of whack. Seriously, she has been having

a bit of trouble lately...she has a bad back and last week we

played too rough outside and she hurt herself again.

So she 's on muscle relaxers and as of today she is feeling

much better. She's growling and barking at things outside,

which is a very good sign. Since that picture she's had a

grooming too, so she looks happier. Dogs are so like people,

they have feelings too. She might like to smell bad things,

but she's not very happy smelling like a bad thing!

This last couple of weeks have been weighing on me more

than I just a little a bit. I have an Aunt, Marie, who is facing

surgery this week. She has a type of skin cancer (squamous)

that has gone into her bone on her chin. She's having the

surgery on Wednesday, a twelve hour ordeal, where they

will remove a portion of her jaw and replace it with bone

from her leg. They are doing reconstructive work at

the same time. It's a very life changing surgery. She will have

weeks of breathing through a tracheal tube and being fed

through a feeding tube. All that on top of chemotherapy.

At least she's going to Ann Arbor for treatment, that's the

best hospital in the state. They took great care of my Dad

when he had cancer. Please keep Marie in your prayers,

she's trying hard to be strong, but she's worried.

But how can you not be?