On September 21st I attended 'Zumba for the Cure,' a Zumbathon fundraiser for Building Strong Survivors, a non-profit
organization established in 2011 dedicated to spreading cancer awareness throughout the
Capital Region. Partnering with Gold's Gym in Guilderland, News Channel 13, and 99.5 the River the event took place at the College of Saint Rose Gymnasium in Albany.
I was there in support of my Mama, who was Zumbathoning (is that even a word? haha) with my Aunt Debbie (my dad's sister and my Mom's Zumba partner in crime) and one of my best friends, Jenny, a fantastic Zumba master who was leading a portion of the 'thon as well.
My mother had originally asked me to do face painting, which I learned in a workshop as a kid. I used to face paint at the New York State Police 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' (where my mom worked) and also events at my church as a teenager. More recently I revived the practice at such events as the Voorheesville Memorial Day Parade, on behalf of the Jim Nichols Memorial Foundation, a scholarship foundation in memory of my dear friends' late father/husband. The last two parades I was stoked to see people leaving donations for the free adornment of fireworks and stars and stripes on their kids' faces.
So when I went to stock up on paint for the Zumbathon, I was simply going to go with the tried and true multicolor pack I usually bought. But something caught my eye on my way to get it. Since it's close to October (which mean's Halloween) they had grouped all the face paints and such in one aisle standing display. And on one side was regular paint, where on the other was GLITTER. Glitter paint, glitter glitter, and glitter tattoos! I was captivated by all the different options. (Anyone who has met me for more than 10 minutes usually learns that I have possibly the strongest love on the earth for glitter or anything shiny.)
But was it appropriate? Would people want glitter tattoos? What IS a glitter tattoo? As I stood examining the kit and considering whether it would be equally a) difficult b) messy c) expensive, a woman working at Michael's tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had any coupons for my shopping trip. I said no, and landed myself a sweet discount coupon, which eliminated factor c). (Thanks mystery Michael's lady!) The directions on the back made a) seem comparable and in the end, factor b) seemed silly because in my eyes glitter NEVER leaves a mess... it just makes everything sparkle! SO, low and behold: I was sold!
I would have Zumba'd myself but I had shoulder surgery two weeks
earlier so I wasn't cleared for any hardcore jamming yet. So instead
I was putting free pink glitter tattoos on participants in the
Zumbathon (pink and purple hearts and ribbons mainly). They had set up a
donation bucket next to my glitter station, and I was again thrilled to see
folks dropping extra money into the bucket on top of their registration
fees.
All participants rocked it out and had a great time, and in the end they had raised around $2,000.00 at the event. Portions of proceeds go to different organizations including The Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Bravehearts.
Check out the Building Strong Survivors recap of the event and page.
All in all it was a great event that was close to my heart for multiple reasons. Even though I wasn't breaking a sweat with everyone I was happy to be there to bling people out for a fantastic cause! :)
A children's book about one woman's battle with breast cancer, as recalled through her young daughter's eyes.
Okay, I'm really going to keep up...
Well it's no secret that I am not very good at keeping up on communications on this blog. Ha. My last post was in May, when I had what I (still) consider a brilliant idea to come up with a jingle writing business (which has gone no further than where it was back in May, with the exception of me singing my jingle for Bry's Jingles to maybe 6 more people---er, test subjects rather. And so far, it has tested well in the market!)
I did write a country song, for my Daddy, and I managed to pay a high school friend and successful musician to write and record a track for me, (for the soul purpose of putting onto a tape, YES, tape, for my father to be able to play at will in his Oldsmobile... it was top of the line in '89) so I do count that as a win... but I find myself in awe that it is coming up once again on October, and I have let so much time go in between! Not necessarily wasted time by any means, but that I haven't kept up on events I attend or folks I actually get to share my book with.
But that's all going to change I tell ya! From here on out (or at least through the end of this month) I will be a machine for blog posts! All 3 of the people who even know this page exists will be bombarded by updates and recaps of updates and teasers about upcoming updates and then I will update those too! ... Okay, okay. Maybe that's a little much. But I am pledging to do more with this blog in this month for a few reasons: 1) it's Breast Cancer Awareness month 2) I have more time 3) 'cause that's what bloggers do?!
Whatever the reasoning, I have to admit that when I started this thing I really took for granted how much time and effort it takes to make it interesting and up to date. I guess I've just never been a 'computer is top of mind' person outside of my job. I wake up and get an idea, then get in the car and drive to help me hone the idea and shape it (it's how I wrote my country song, jingle for my jingle writing idea, and more...) and then I stop at Stewart's and reflect on my idea as I stand in line to pay for a Gingerale and some chocolate frosted Donettes (great combo by the way... although the local Stewart's staff might think I am a diabetic based on my frequent purchase records). Then something shiny distracts me when I get home or somebody wants me to go to Michael's Craft Store or my nephew calls and says, 'Aunt B: Come over to my house' and I drop everything and just go do whatever.
I am not complaining, as this methodology so far has proven (at a snails pace) to still get me a sense of accomplishment, but what it really comes down to is me sort of taking for granted all the fantastic blogs by other people that I frequent and how much work goes into them. I mean, I've opted for the short-cut blog, on Blogspot, (which is a fantastic site/service, don't get me wrong) and I still can't pull it off. There are bloggers out there with their own web page and ability to post photos and text and they've got ads running across the top, sides, bottom and so on, and they update every other day or so, or at least once a week. (I am realizing this is all making me sound extremely lazy, but I must emphasize that there is a HUGE difference between laziness, and being easily distracted... the latter of which I am a sufferer.)
But now that I have my Mama on the case of Amazon books, and a few more relevant stories to tell, (besides my newfangled ideas and inventions: like my 'kids clicky ice cream squeezy cup') it seems the best time to get my a$$ in gear and really do something that matters... to somebody, somewhere. Maybe it will only matter to me, or me and my Mom, and that's really a-okay. :)
I guess it sorta comes down to the idea (and I am sure famous quote of some sort, by someone I don't know) that if you have a song, but never sing it, how can you expect anyone to like it? They can't like it if they can't hear it, and they can't hear it if you don't open up the pipes and lay it on 'em. Like the American classic 'Field of Dreams' featuring Kevin Kostner in his (first) prime (*he's totally on the verge of a second coming, I can feel it!!) says: 'If you build it, they will come.' Well, I've got the supplies and I'm looking to really break some ground on this thing, so 'hold onto your butts!' -Samuel L. Jackson, Jurassic Park
More to come! (for real!!!) ;)
I did write a country song, for my Daddy, and I managed to pay a high school friend and successful musician to write and record a track for me, (for the soul purpose of putting onto a tape, YES, tape, for my father to be able to play at will in his Oldsmobile... it was top of the line in '89) so I do count that as a win... but I find myself in awe that it is coming up once again on October, and I have let so much time go in between! Not necessarily wasted time by any means, but that I haven't kept up on events I attend or folks I actually get to share my book with.
But that's all going to change I tell ya! From here on out (or at least through the end of this month) I will be a machine for blog posts! All 3 of the people who even know this page exists will be bombarded by updates and recaps of updates and teasers about upcoming updates and then I will update those too! ... Okay, okay. Maybe that's a little much. But I am pledging to do more with this blog in this month for a few reasons: 1) it's Breast Cancer Awareness month 2) I have more time 3) 'cause that's what bloggers do?!
Whatever the reasoning, I have to admit that when I started this thing I really took for granted how much time and effort it takes to make it interesting and up to date. I guess I've just never been a 'computer is top of mind' person outside of my job. I wake up and get an idea, then get in the car and drive to help me hone the idea and shape it (it's how I wrote my country song, jingle for my jingle writing idea, and more...) and then I stop at Stewart's and reflect on my idea as I stand in line to pay for a Gingerale and some chocolate frosted Donettes (great combo by the way... although the local Stewart's staff might think I am a diabetic based on my frequent purchase records). Then something shiny distracts me when I get home or somebody wants me to go to Michael's Craft Store or my nephew calls and says, 'Aunt B: Come over to my house' and I drop everything and just go do whatever.
I am not complaining, as this methodology so far has proven (at a snails pace) to still get me a sense of accomplishment, but what it really comes down to is me sort of taking for granted all the fantastic blogs by other people that I frequent and how much work goes into them. I mean, I've opted for the short-cut blog, on Blogspot, (which is a fantastic site/service, don't get me wrong) and I still can't pull it off. There are bloggers out there with their own web page and ability to post photos and text and they've got ads running across the top, sides, bottom and so on, and they update every other day or so, or at least once a week. (I am realizing this is all making me sound extremely lazy, but I must emphasize that there is a HUGE difference between laziness, and being easily distracted... the latter of which I am a sufferer.)
But now that I have my Mama on the case of Amazon books, and a few more relevant stories to tell, (besides my newfangled ideas and inventions: like my 'kids clicky ice cream squeezy cup') it seems the best time to get my a$$ in gear and really do something that matters... to somebody, somewhere. Maybe it will only matter to me, or me and my Mom, and that's really a-okay. :)
I guess it sorta comes down to the idea (and I am sure famous quote of some sort, by someone I don't know) that if you have a song, but never sing it, how can you expect anyone to like it? They can't like it if they can't hear it, and they can't hear it if you don't open up the pipes and lay it on 'em. Like the American classic 'Field of Dreams' featuring Kevin Kostner in his (first) prime (*he's totally on the verge of a second coming, I can feel it!!) says: 'If you build it, they will come.' Well, I've got the supplies and I'm looking to really break some ground on this thing, so 'hold onto your butts!' -Samuel L. Jackson, Jurassic Park
More to come! (for real!!!) ;)
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