The Leslie Show

Time to Train!

I'm doing it again!  The 24-Week training session for The Breast Cancer 3-Day has begun.  If I do all of the walking they recommend, I will have walked 585 miles before the event even starts.  That's cool, though, as I know that it's dedicated training that makes these events possible. 

I'm hoping to raise $3,200 for this event.  Will you help me?  Please click below to donate.  Thank you VERY much!

Need Your Help!

I'm doing it again...and this time, I'm the team captain!  If you're a regular reader, you'll know that I did my first Breast Cancer 3-Day walk last year, and that I loved it.  Well, this year I'm doing it again.  I am the captain of the Tufted Titmice, the cutest birds at the 3-Day, and I need your support.  I have resolved to beat last year's $3,140 worth of donations.  My goal is to raise $3200.  Please donate if you are able.  Every bit helps, and it's a wonderful cause. 

Here's the link to my page:  http://08.the3day.org/goto/calmbyleslie

Thank you!

My Thank You Note

Dear Friend and Fellow Breast Cancer Fighter,

I am writing to you today with sore legs and a joyful heart.  I just got back last night from participating in one of the most wonderful experiences of my life:  The Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk.  I spent 3 days walking from Bellevue to Burien, around Renton, up Alki Beach and back in to Seattle, seeing what I feel is probably the prettiest part of the whole country in ideal weather circumstances.  I met people from Northern California, Montana, Utah, and all over Washington State.  "Why are you walking?" was our intro line to each other, and then we'd tell our stories.  "I'm walking for my mother.  She died 5 months ago."  "I'm walking because I'm a breast cancer survivor, and I can't NOT walk."  "I'm walking because I'm a chemotherapy nurse and I don't want to have to give people chemo anymore."  There were stories that would dissolve you.

And yet, astonishingly, in the middle of all of these heartrending stories:  WE...HAD...A...BLAST.  Perhaps it's BECAUSE of the seriousness and sadness of breast cancer, and the grueling task of walking 60 miles in three days, this walk is an absolute HOOT.  Colorful crazy costumes.  Bawdy songs.  Boob jokes galore.  If you think the 3-Day Breast Cancer walk is a sad or tragic affair, you'd be dead wrong.  It's a joy.

YOU made it possible for me to have this wonderful experience.  Together we raised $3,140 to help fight breast cancer.   Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Much love,

Leslie Evans

P.S.  If you have EVER entertained the idea of doing this event...DO IT.  There were people of every age, gender, race, & nationality there.  (Lots of guys!)  I will be captaining my own team next year, and would LOVE to have you come out to Seattle at the end of next summer to have the time of your life!

The Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk

Starts tomorrow!   I'm walking to the airport and back!   :-o Actually, with school and travel, I've fallen completely off my training schedule, so it's quite unlikely that I'll be able to walk the entire thing.   But I'm going to do my best, and I plan on having as much fun as I possibly can!    Thanks to those of you who donated.   I was required to raise $2200, and thanks to your help I raised $3410!  Wish me luck, and I'll tell ya how it went when I get back Sunday night.

Slog, slog, slog

Walk, walk, walk.  Seems like all I do these days!  But I'm getting there, folks.  Traveling put me a wee bit behind on my walking schedule.  I actually did get some walks in this past weekend in Vancouver, including a very hilly one in beautiful Stanley Park, but I didn't get the full mileage in like I meant to.  Here's something I've learned:  If I don't get it done first thing in the morning...it won't get done.  It's way too easy for the rest of the day to get hold of me. 

So...FIVE miles tomorrow morning.  THIRTEEN (ugh!) miles on Saturday, then NINE miles on Sunday.

March, march, march!

Great news, btw.  I have reached my fundraising minimum!  Thank you to all the donors who made it possible!  If you would still like to donate, please don't hesitate.  Every dollar offers a great deal of hope and help:  http://www.the3day.org/seattle07/calmbyleslie

Busy Busy Busy

Hey, y'all - Just wanted to apologize in advance if I'm not posting much these days.   I am PSYCHOTICALLY busy this summer.  With the hopes that the following doesn't bore you too badly, here are some of the major things I am scheduled to do in the next 13 weeks:

1. AROMATHERAPY SCHOOL:  Attend 32 hours of class.  Write a 10 page research paper.  Begin my 14 case studies.
2. REFLEXOLOGY SCHOOL:  Attend 12 hours of class.  Continue documenting any and all reflexology sessions I perform.  Continue to FIND those reflexology sessions so I can acquire my practice hours to get my certificate.
3. BREAST CANCER 3-DAY:  Walk 453 miles.  Yes, if I do all of the suggested training AND the full event (which I am planning to) that's how far I walk.  And that doesn't include any extra walking I do anywhere else, that's just the training walks.  I'm very glad to be a part of this event, but I sure didn't think as hard as I could have about how much TIME the training would take.  The good news is, I'm more than halfway to my required fundraising goal of $2200!
4. TRAVEL:  A long weekend in Vancouver, then two weeks in South Africa then London.  Awesome!  But a LOT of work getting kids, pets, house, etc. all settled and where they need to be when this goes down.  Guess who's job it is to plan/arrange all that?  (Hint:  It rhymes with "Nestlie".) 

That's all.

No.  Wait.  It's not all.  These are only the EXTRA things I'm doing in my life besides trying to run my own massage practice AND be a wife, mother, and homemaker.  (Guess which role is getting the shortest shrift?  Let's just say Domino's and Maid Brigade LOVE ME.) So, life is good, but Leslie needs to learn to stop trying to do everything at once, and Leslie apologizes in advance if she is irritable or non-responsive or doesn't post much.

See, I don't even HAVE a sister named Maria...

The Good News:  I sent out my first round of fundraising letters today, and have already received $555 in donations in response!

The Bad News: Well, it's not bad.  Kinda funny, really.  The Breast Cancer 3-Day website has a template that helps you compose your fundraising letter, and I inadvertently sent that letter out to about 30 of the people I reached out to.  It said something along the lines of "Hi, Phil.  I know I've told you about my sister Maria, and her struggles with breast cancer."  D'oh!  Fortunately, I was able to see what I'd done almost immediately and sent out a follow-up "real" letter to those folks. 

Ah, well.  I guess one must be prepared for bumps on the path to 60 miles....

More Exercise-y Stuff

I've registered to do the Komen 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer!  I'm doing it with some women I met through this great new networking group I joined:  eWomen Network.  It's this fabulous group of female entrepreneurs who meet on a regular basis to network and support each other.  It's very inspiring and I'm so glad I joined.  It was there that I learned that a group of women were going to do the 3day.  I know several people who've done the 3day, and it sounds like a fabulous experience.  We get people to pledge financial support for us, while we walk 20 miles a day for 3 days in a row!!!!

Here's a link to my donation page:  http://www.the3day.org/seattle07/calmbyleslie.

I am required to raise $2200 to help find a cure for breast cancer.  Won't you please help?

I walked 3 miles yesterday and 5 today.  Time to start training!  I've got 19 weeks to get in shape to do this.