Our Pink Tent Weekend~Part I

Danielle and I have been thinking (and she has been preparing) for this weekend since April. {!!!!}

Important stories need to have the ending told first: Danielle finished her walk! (Well of course!).

She walked a total of 30.2 miles, including the additional four miles she walked on Sunday.

I'm so very proud of her. And I'm so happy that she allowed me to be part of her journey.

When Danielle signed up for this walk she invited me to join her. I didn't feel confident that we would be able to raise $1800 each...so I signed up to be a part of the volunteer crew teams. 

I campaigned with her to help her raise the funds. But I have to say, Danielle did the bulk of the fundraising on her own. That was a huge hurdle (at least in my mind).

Once the money was raised, the physical commitment was paramount. You'll remember I was worried about her shin splints. Danielle got some shin splint wraps and powered through 26.2 miles on day 1! I absolutely could not have done it. 

Oh, and remember I was worried about being strong enough for my crew assignment? I was able to get my assignment changed so that the lifting requirements were doable for me. And get this...I did not have to use my asthma rescue inhaler a single time! 

This experience deserves more than one post...so be sure to tune in for Part II. 

In the meantime, let me leave you with something Danielle included in a comment as we were getting ready for our adventure:

I'm trying not to focus too much on how many miles I have to walk, rather I'm focusing on the fun things. As long as I remember to enjoy the moment and focus on one step at a time I should be fine...hopefully ;) 

And with that...this sign deserves to be seen again.

P.S. Thoughts going out to all in Hurricane Sandy's path.

That Weekend is Here

It's super late & I need to be asleep. Daughter (on the left) and I (on the right) will be driving 2.5 hours away to be part of the Avon Breast Cancer walk tomorrow. Eek.  I haven't packed.

But, I couldn't bear the thought of going into the weekend without a post to send us off to our adventure. So...that's what this is. A whew...I can't believe we are going to do this post.

Think about us!

Jacob Makes Me Smile

I haven't done a Jacob post in quite a while. Those are fun, aren't they? Well, because Jacob is so much a part of our life, I figure I need to give you some Jacob cuteness today.

Yes, he CAN see. He just doesn't look as coifed as a poodle normally does. He looks like that sheepdog on Looney Toons, doesn't he? Let me assure you that the hair "in his eyes" does not prevent him from seeing every person that walks anywhere near our house (even across the street on the sidewalk). Jacob whines and sings for every person that passes by.

Jordan and I are working on teaching Jacob the command "Quiet". He gets the fact that he can't whine while we are eating. And he often gets a morsel if we are able to tell him "Good Quiet". But...translating "quiet" to what some dogs would label "watchdog activities" just hasn't happened.

True story: Last year my Sissy and her husband kept Jacob while Jordan and I were on a trip. They have a wonderful front porch with rockers. And Sissy tells me that on one weekend morning she and her man were enjoying coffee and the paper on the front porch. They thought...let's bring Jacob out too...he can enjoy the cool morning air. You know, they probably never noticed how many people either walked by or drove by on a normal weekend morning...that is UNTIL Jacob cried and shivered and whimpered and howl/sang with every passerby. Finally, Sissy's husband was like: "I gotta take him inside...this is freakin' embarrassing".  {Yeah, I feel ya!}

This weekend Jordan and I went out for brunch and Jacob got to come along. We parked in the shade with the windows down and the temp was a very cool breezy autumn temp. It's nice when the weather allows us to take Jacob more places. Funny thing: When we got back to the car there was a cookie wrapper (empty) in the driver's seat! Yep...Jacob got him some cookies.

The sweet little guy is upstairs with me "keeping me company". I can hear his soft snores. Sometimes his little feet move and he whimpers as he chases rabbits...though, he never seems to catch them.

More About Mindful Crafting

I'm so glad you are back for a second Sunday post! This may be the first time I've posted two times in a single day. But...really, this one is by the very sweet Kathryn Vercillo. Remember when I told you about research on the benefits of crafting? {In addition to the beautiful projects, there are wonderful meditative benefits as well.} 

I mentioned an article I found by Kathryn Vercillo about her craft of choice: Crochet. I was intrigued by Kathryn's story. Her story shares, on a very personal level, how crafting {crocheting} really does have the power to heal. I was also intrigued because crochet is the only needlework I've learned. I've made many things ~almost all of the things were gifts and currently have not one, but two unfinished projects.

I reached out to Kathryn and asked her to share more of her story with us and she graciously agreed. I'm so excited that she is Guest Posting! 

Crochet Each Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Guest post by Kathryn Vercillo, the blogger behind top crochet blog Crochet Concupiscence and the author of a book called Crochet Saved My Life, which is about the health benefits of crafting.

Every summer when I was growing up we would go to visit my grandmother, the only truly religious woman in our family. She has a poem by Grace L. Naessens hanging in her bathroom called The Difference, which is about the need to pray every day. The poem describes someone who felt like life was so busy that there was no time to pray but then realized that if you don’t take the time to pray then life is way too overwhelming and feels even busier. Of all of the small religious things that could have stuck in my mind from those Ohio summers, it was this poem that stayed with me. I personally don’t pray in the traditional way but I understand the sentiment behind the poem and feel like the gist of it applies to the reason that I crochet every day. I crochet even when (especially when) life feels so busy that it seems like there is no time to crochet.

The thing that you need to know about me is that crochet saved my life. I have had lifelong depression and went through a period of serious crisis during which I was diagnosed with double depression. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning. I could often barely get out of bed. I felt unproductive, uncreative, and entirely hopeless. It was a dark time. I got through that time thanks to a good therapist, a light anti-depressant, a strong will, and a lot of crochet. Later, when I was ready to write a book about my experience, I met many other women who also shared their stories with me about how the benefits of crafting helped them to get through the most difficult times in their lives.

Here are some of the ways that crochet helps us:

•       Crochet is a repetitive task, with a fluid motion that is highly soothing. This helps with relaxation. It encourages de-stressing. It reduces anxiety. It likely releases serotonin in the brain, a natural pain reliever, and natural anti-depressant.

•      Crafting brings you back to the present moment. You stop worrying about the future and trying in vain to fix the past and just be where you are, which is a very mentally healthy space to be.

•      Crochet is an easy way to make something for someone else. It makes you feel like you are productive and can be a tool towards generosity and this boosts self-esteem.

•      Crochet is easy. Life can feel really hard and difficult and “too much” sometimes. When it does, I crochet, because it is something I can accomplish and this reminds me that I can handle and accomplish other things in life as well.

I am thrilled that I survived my depression and am doing well now. Nevertheless, this was a condition I struggled with for more than a decade and I know that I am always at risk of sliding backward in my own mental health journey. I must do all that I can to stay healthy each day and so I continue to crochet as a regular part of my wellness plan. By taking just half an hour at some point during the day to meditatively stitch something for myself or someone else I bring my mind and heart back to a place of peace. I express myself, I calm myself, I become and remain a stronger and saner and healthier person.

What happens on days when I am “too busy” to crochet? One of the lines in Naessens’ poem is: “Problems just tumbled about me and grew heavier with each task” … that is how I feel if I get so busy with all of the so-called important activities in life that I can’t take a little bit of time out for myself to craft. Without a bit of time to crochet I rush, I hurry, I fret. Without that moment of peace, I can’t get perspective on things and problems seem bigger than they need to be. When I don’t crochet, life starts to feel too hard.

I do not think that you need to be “sick” to need to take time out of your very busy life each day to take care of yourself. I am a huge proponent of self-care. I believe that we cannot be our best, most productive, most creative selves if we do not put nurturing ourselves at the top of our To-Do lists. I believe that there is no way we can be successful caregivers to others in our lives if we do not first take care of ourselves. For me self-care includes crochet every day … what does it mean for you?

Thank you so much, Kathryn!  Did I mention that Kathryn has a blog? --I'm being silly...of course I did. I hope you jump over to her blog and give her some bloggy love.

I'm worried...

This is a quick post to tell you I'm worried. Here are the things that are worrying me: 1. My knee is tender and swollen. I am worried that this will cause a problem next weekend. 2. Next weekend: Daughter walks for the Avon Breast Cancer Awareness walk. I'm worried about her injuring herself because she now has shin splints. 3. I'm worried that I won't be strong enough for the crew member task I signed up for. My partner is a fella....so maybe it is going to require the strength of a guy(?). 4. My asthma is still being a big pain! I have to use my rescue inhaler almost every day. 5. OMG...we are going to be out of town next weekend (for the Walk) and we have not made dog care reservations! 6. I'm not getting enough sleep. This is a problem.  And...this list is keeping me up tonight.  So...that cupcake? Yeah, cupcakes make everything better. Tomorrow (Sunday) I need to find me a cupcake and eat it with abandon.