The End?

I turned in my last assignment for my last class for my MA program last week. Since then, I've been (obsessively) checking the online gradebook.

As stated in a previous post, I began grad school 2 years ago, in August 2006. At the time, I thought it would be cool to: A - finish the program, and B - keep a perfect GPA. I did well in high school and I did well with my undergrad. But I wasn't perfect. I got a few B's and a C here and there (doggone Geology class, anyway!) but overall, I did well.

For some reason, I decided to give myself this crazy goal of successfully completing my MA program with a 4.0 I don't know why. I just thought it would be a good goal to reach for.

I just checked my grades for that final project.

I can’t believe I’m done. I can’t believe 2 years of late nights and almost no weekends is actually, finally, successfully completed. Not just over, but successfully completed. At first I thought having a goal of achieving a 4.0 for this program was a little bit of a stretch. Then I thought it was outright crazy. Then I thought it was do-able, then I thought it didn’t *really* matter, as long as I finished. Then I thought I would cry if I didn’t do it.

Then I cried when I did.

I'm still in absorbing mode. I'll reflect later!

Back Door Slam

A friend of mine has introduced me to this band and I wanted to share. I'm impressed.

Reflections

I debated whether to write this post today. I'll probably still debate it internally for awhile, but here goes anyway.

Today is the anniversary of my Dad's Angel Day. It's been 5 years since my Dad left this physical world behind. It's his Angel Day because that's who he is for me now. I was always a Daddy's Girl and losing my Dad was devastating at the time. I went through a lot of personal turmoil for quite awhile and have many many friends and family to thank for helping me through that.

But today is showing my Dad's favorite weather - the sun is shining, it's warm outside (love Spring in the desert). If I played golf, I'd go play a round for him. Instead, I thought I'd share with you a piece of his favorite candy. I am absolutely indebted to Jeremy at work for creating this graphic for me to help acknowledge, and dare I say celebrate, today's anniversary. Thanks Jeremy!

A special note of gratitude to my husband for making every day sunshiney and warm, especially through the darker times.

Peru trip!

Holy smokes, we bought our plane tickets!!!

We're flying to Lima, then to Cusco. We'll stay there 2 nights to acclimatize, then begin our 4-day Inca Trail trek in late August, to celebrate two graduations. Hubby finished his BA and I'll finish my MA.

We gotta start training!!! The 4 day Inca Trail hike is "only" 26 miles. Cusco is at about 11,000 ft, whereas Machu Picchu is at 8,040 ft. There are mountains between there. The highest point of the trail is over 13,000 ft. Criminy.

Interestingly, training for Peru will also help my project for my Action Research class this semester. It's all about getting in shape.

I figure if I can train the for 3-Day in the summer (with hubby's help), then we can train for Machu Picchu in the spring and summer. August is pretty much the grossest month here, so we should be well conditioned by then. We're planning to head up in altitude as much as possible and just hike as much as possible between now and then. We'll start close to home and then go farther up in elevation as the temperatures rise for the year.

I did the stairmaster at the gym for 20 straight minutes today without passing out - or realizing I'd gone that long. I thought I set the timer for 10 minutes, but the next time I looked down, the readout said 20 minutes. That's exciting.

Holy COW we're excited!!!

Fun, philanthropic diversion

As both Erin and Debra have noted, here's a fun site to increase your vocabulary and fight hunger at the same time. Go to www.freerice.com and for every word you get right, they donate grains of rice.

Go visit today!

After the 3-Day

I'm so excited to see a comment from Jenne Fromm on my post about the 3-Day. I heard you speak for the weekend in Arizona. Man, it was hot!

Here is your last update for this year about the 3-Day in Arizona.

I joined a team called CRBs (Chests Are Breasts) with 7 other women. The woman who started the team did so in memory of her brother, who lost a 13 year battle with breast cancer in 2005.

Our team fundraising total is currently over $24,400 and we're expecting that total to go over $26,000 by the time all our company matches come in. Yay!

From the beginning of training to the end of the 3-Day weekend, my team and I walked a collective total of well over 2,000 miles. Personally, I think I have walked about 300 miles since signing up for the 3-Day in July.

My aunt is doing fairly well, according to another aunt who keeps us all updated. Chemotherapy is a real beast, as most people have heard. I remember watching my Mom go through it and it was terrible. Of course, that was 20 years ago.

Which reminds me, the 20 year anniversary of my Mom's death is coming up in a couple of weeks. How crazy to think that she's been gone from my life for nearly twice as long as she was in it, yet I still remember certain things about her very clearly.

Anyway, I have a long list of things I need to get done. The 3-Day for 2007? Check! Where to next for me? Hm ... San Diego, 2008?!

First, though, I need to concentrate on school and work. I have a dream vacation planned to celebrate graduation next year. Macchu Picchu would be a heck of a training walk! :-)

Breast Cancer 3-Day October Update

I just sent this email to all of my supporters and I thought you might be interested in reading it too.
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Hello and Happy Fall!

My fundraising and training are going very well. I have exciting news to share!! First, for those of you new to the email list, here is my story.

In January 1987, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a month after her 35th birthday. She had a modified radical mastectomy then had chemotherapy and radiation treatment. She fought hard. In December 1987, breast cancer “won” and took my Mom away from us. She hadn’t celebrated her 36th birthday yet.

I grew up sassy (I know you’re surprised!) and determined and decided in 2001 to sign up for what was then called the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. I walked from Ft. Collins to Boulder, CO in August and raised just over $3,000.

Totals in ensuing years:
2002: $2,200
2003: $3,000
2004: $1,500

I took a few years off from major fundraising, but continued to walk in the Race for the Cure in Denver every year. After moving to Phoenix in November 2006, I wanted to meet new people and get involved in local events.

As 2007 marks 20 years since we lost my Mom, I started talking to a few people about the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in Phoenix. I decided to crew the event because I didn’t want to have to train in the Arizona heat. As fate would have it, that same day I got a phone call that my Mom’s sister Ilona was diagnosed with breast cancer. That changed my mind and sealed my decision to do the walk in Arizona (which takes place in November, thank goodness!).

I surpassed my minimum of $2,200, then my next goal of $3,000, and was only able to do so because of the wonderful, generous, supportive people in my life - all of you! My next goal is to raise a total of $5,000 by October 15 – help me get there!!

Here are the stats at a glance as of today (9/30/07):

• My fundraising total – $4,040
• Donations that are eligible for company matches – $1,100
• If you have submitted a donation, check with your company to see if they match donations. Your support could be doubled!!!
• Miles walked in training – I think I’ve walked about 200 miles so far. If I’d followed the “official” training schedule, I’d be at over 400 miles. Hm … not so much!
• Team members on my team – there are 8 of us.
• Team fundraising total – $16,620

Thank you so much for all of your support. Stay tuned for an email in the next couple of weeks with information about cheering stations and Closing Ceremonies for those of you who can attend and want to see what it’s all about.

Thanks,
Margi
Visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support The Breast Cancer 3-Day.

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Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore the link to my page may not appear to work. If so, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.the3day.org/arizona07/margi3day

Personal Diversions update

I realized this morning when I approved a comment on this blog that "my personal fundraising page" is not a link. That's just silly! Visit www.the3day.org/Arizona07/margi3day if you would like to donate and read more about my story.

And my fundraising total is now over $4,000! YAY!!!

Personal Diversions

I have all kinds of things I want to post on my blog (which is funny when I recall how reluctant I was to start this process!), most of which are related to ID - both my job and my journey through grad school. However, I have reached a personal milestone today that I just have to share.

In July, I signed up to walk in Arizona's Breast Cancer 3-Day. As the name implies, it is a walk over the course of 3 days. How far can one walk in 3 days? Well, this journey is 60 miles. I will walk 60 miles November 2-4 to raise money and awareness to fund research and early detection programs for breast cancer. I believe a cure for any kind of cancer will lead to a cure for all cancers.

My milestone? Today, my fundraising total rose to $3,800. That's three thousand eight hundred dollars. For breast cancer research. I'm stunned. I'm impressed. I'm humbled. And I'm honored. People in my life have given me their support verbally, electronically, and emotionally. And they have given this cause their financial support.

When I signed up for the 3-Day this year, I set a personal goal to raise $3,000 by September 1. It seemed like a good, tough, stretching goal. On September 1, my fundraising total was over $3,100.

That day, I set my second fundraising goal. I want to raise a total of $5,000 by October 15. That's just under a month away. It's a good goal. It's a goal that stretches me and challenges me to come up with creative ideas on how to approach people when talking about my fundraising and my story. To read a little about my story and why I walk, visit my personal fundraising page.

That's my personal life milestone for today. My next personal life milestone will be walking 15 and 12 miles in Prescott, AZ the weekend of Sept 29. Wish me luck!

For now, back to work ...

Schedules!

I'm learning again that I need to schedule my time better. It seems I encounter this challenge at the beginning of every semester and that doesn't make any sense to me because it's not like I've had long amounts of time between semesters!

I'm caught up in one of my classes and getting close in the other one. I'm mostly caught up at work and I've been fundraising my little heart out. The last time I checked, my fundraising total was $3625, which I'm pretty doggone excited about. If you're interested in reading about that, you can visit my page at www.the3day.org/Arizona07/margi3day and that page will link you to my MSN space where I've gotten pretty good at blogging, but only for personal stuff.

Next entry - more along the lines of school, I promise!