When the ice melts.

I hate writing about current events. It's just like begging to stir up a shitstorm. I deleted this post twice before actually publishing it. But after scoffing at this all week, I felt a need to truly voice my side of it.

My beef with this ice bucket challenge?

What sort of society do we live in that we have to dare our friends to dump icy, cold water on themselves to get them to care about a cause? 

Is that really what we've become?

Believe me, the marketing/grass roots/word of mouth aspect of all of this is awe-inspiring from an advertising/PR point of view. I could sing the praises of whoever started all of this (despite mixed reviews of how it actually originated) I have never once bashed the organization or the fact that they are receiving donations. It's awesome that they have witnessed such a boost in awareness.

What I'm disappointed in is that so many people are only doing it because its "cool".  Do you know what isn't nearly as buzzworthy? Sitting at a nursing home for a few hours keeping the residents company. Taking time out of your holiday season to go slop turkey and noodles on a Styrofoam plate for the line of homeless folks standing before you. Throwing your spare change in the red bucket at Christmas. Do you know what makes you feel just as good inside?

My beef isn't with the cause, it's with the motive of the participants. Do you, as a human, as an American, really need guaranteed pats on the back to do good onto others? That mindset is disgusting, you guys.

I have always made a point to donate my time or money to a handful of selected charities every year. Guess what? No one in particular asked me to, and no one sings my praise when I do. I could be lead astray, but I am fairly certain that doesn't decrease the value in what I do. I do it because I feel personally vetted to the individual causes. In one way or another, I have been drawn to each of the respective organizations, and I want to pledge to them. Not because someone dares me to.

I hope that by dumping ice water on your head you do truly realize the meaning behind it, and you do truly want to help cure this disease. I hope that this opens the eyes of many to what a little fun and a little donation of time can lead to. I hope that ALS research advances leaps and bounds by this, but I also hope that people use it as a jumping point to find other things they are passionate about, and find ways to help.

If you pledged anything this year, ice or not. I thank you. Thanks for putting good juju into the world. We need more of that. I genuinely hope that we aren't approaching a time where they only way you can get someone to care about a cause is to turn it into a media circus.

Coasting for Kids

Pulling off exit 24 Olivia started squealing about the coasters in the distance. 

The last time I had taken that exit I had a car full of friends and we were still sporting our prom updo's and sleepy eyes. It was our high school's tradition - EVERYONE went to King's Island the day after prom. This time I was in a car with a 4 year old, a 9 month old, and my brother in sister in law. The giggles and gossip were a bit different than they had been on the trip 9 years earlier (Whoa. 9 years since high school. Whoa)

Back to the story at hand... we headed down early Saturday morning to hang around the waterpark and ensure we were back at the KI gates at 8am Sunday for the Coasting For Kids check-in.

More than 100 of us traipsed around the park all day in our purple shirts, riding coasters and spreading the word about GKTW. At lunch they told us we raised over $20,000 for Give Kids the World Village, which is SO AWESOME! 

It was a great day. My sister-in-law, mom and I were easily the daredevils of the trip.... often leaving my brother sitting with the kiddos while we rode coaster after coaster. Olivia tackled every kids ride she could, eagerly eyeing the "big kid" coasters for when she grew a few more inches.

In making sure the littlest skittle got the most out of her very first King's Island experience, I introduced her to Dippin Dots, she was instantly hooked!

There were 3 main coasters that we got to ride unlimited on, the Banshee, the Diamondback and the Racer. It was pretty cool seeing the carts full of purple shirts, and realizing what it stood for.

Coasting for Kids and Kings Island provided us lunch, during which they announced the Top Fundraisers and handed out prizes, I'm happy to announce that with the help of all of my awesome family & friends I was the Top Fundraiser from the Kings Island group!

Despite a misty rain off and on all day, we didn't let it dampen our spirits. It was a great time logging a few theme park hours with my family and my inner adrenaline junkie self had a BLAST on all the coasters. I think the funniest moment of the day was when my mom & I decided to ride the Banshee front row, and it started raining. Let me tell you how painful rain drops are when you're flying through the air 70some mph. OUCH!

I can't wait to participate in this event again next year. Give Kids the World is such an awesome organization, and after seeing what they did for Liv and my brother and sis-in-law I want to help them raise every dime I can for these kiddos!

 

Hey you. You're awesome.

Things that are awesome (in no certain order):

You all. 

This blog has been an open book when it comes to my niece and her battle with cancer. From the day they found it, to surgeries to bald-headed birthdays, to the horrible no good very bad days I'll never forget. It's hard to sit back and watch, feeling absolutely helpless. Maybe that's why I felt so passionate about the organization in my last post.

Having been diagnosed with cancer just months shy of her 2nd bday Liv has had anything but a normal childhood, and my brother & sis-in-law have had anything near a normal 'parenthood'. Give Kids the World truly took care of EVERYTHING on Liv's wish trip to ensure the only thing on any of their minds was how much fun they were having. From airport transfers, to Olivia's medical needs, to theme park passes, to baby sister Emily's diapers, from ice cream for breakfast & Disney princesses reading her bedtime stories... Literally nothing was left out. No doubt in my mind it was one of her first, and probably best, memories of a "normal childhood"

Monday evening, when I asked Olivia about riding roller coasters, she just looked up at me and matter-of-factly said 'Don't be scared Chelsea'. Easy for you to say, kiddo. Easy for you to say. We've all been so scared for every doctor visit, every scan, every phone call. You're the brave one, here!

Our 'Coasting for Kids' team, Teamtastics (Liv named us) has raised over $2000 for Give Kids the World in just a few days. I've had emails come in saying donations were made from people I've never even crossed paths with in real life, only communicating with via twitter. The power of social media is amazing. It inspires me that you all have grown to love and cheer for Olivia just as much as we do. It's SO amazing! 

It warms my heart beyond belief how many of you have donated your hard earned money to help other kids with life-threatening illnesses and their families have this same treatment. I can only imagine how many smiles we're helping to spread! I thank each and every one of you, and can't wait to ride those coasters Sunday in honor of every brave little kiddo who is currently fighting or has fought this battle

I get giddy thinking about how many smiles these donations are going to spread. These kiddos and their families deserve nothing less!

We're still able to continue accepting donations for a few more days, even if you don't want to donate please PLEASE check out Give Kids the World and what they do, it's awe-inspiring.

http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1228361&pg=personal&fr_id=1236

So thank you, again

Reason for the season

I was sitting on my couch with a belly full of stuffing and a happy heart. I had just gotten home from a day of Thanksgiving goodness with my family and couldn’t shake the feeling that I was SERIOUSLY blessed. Sure I’ve had my fair share of suck this year, but overall I am still a pretty lucky little lady.

That’s when the idea popped in my head. I quickly pulled out my laptop, spent a few minutes typing and then went to bed. To be honest I woke up the next morning anxious and excited. I opened up my email and saw this

My family's wishlist. I had contacted a local domestic violence shelter about 'adopting' a family for Christmas. I quickly scanned over it and was immediately humbled. This was a Christmas list. With socks and gloves and coats. We sit around whining because we don't have the brand new iPad meanwhile this mama and her baby just left an abusive boyfriend/husband/whoever and have barely anything to their name.

I had a blast shopping for them. I wanted to get them not only what they asked for but a few other fun things, just to make sure they really felt loved! 

In fact, over half the gifts under my tree were for two people I had never even met!

This past Friday I had to bag all of their gifts up and drop them off at the organization downtown. I almost felt like the Grinch, stuffing them all into a trash bag. I was worried the bag wouldn't even fit into my car!!

They lady asked me who the donation was from, probably expecting a girl scout troop or something. When I told her it was just from me she placed her hadn on my arm and gave me the most sincere thank you I think I have ever received.

That whole experience made my holiday season this year. I am so grateful I was able to be in a position where I could spread holiday cheer to someone who needed it far more than I do! I hope that when they open their gifts on Christmas morning they know that someone out there is cheering them on, and I hope that  this is something I am able to do every year from now on!

AnySoldier

[img via]

As the country expresses appreciation and gratitude for our veteran's today, I urge you to thank our soldiers on more than just this one day!

I'm a big supporter of the website, AnySoldier.com, and what they do. I've mentioned them a few times on my blog but here's a quick explanation...
Soldiers who are at war can add their name/address to the list and request care packages either for themselves or for others in their platoon that maybe don't have family and friends sending them little pieces of home.

There are HUNDREDS of servicemen and women on this site, from all branches of the military. Some are asking for personal hygiene products, some are requesting books, and some just want anything from home to help ease their homesick hearts.

I've sent packages with everything from junk food, to magazines, to Christmas decorations!

And it doesn't have to be expensive - you can recruit the neighborhood kids to each draw a picture or write a letter and send them over to add a little cheer to an the soldiers' base!
Do your part to make sure our military men and women know we appreciate them and all the sacrifices they make for this great country we live in!

(I have no personal affiliation with AnySoldier, nor did they ask me to write this post... I just think what they do is amazing and wanted to spread the word!)

That's mister big brother to you!

It's been evident ever since I first met Chris that he has this underlying love for children. He absolutely adores his niece, Alyssa and can't get enough of my niece, Olivia.

(Alyssa - far right- and her teamates after winning a softball tournament)

Not to mention what a huge kid he is himself!So when he made a side comment a while back about how "it would be cool to join Big Brothers/Big Sisters and be a big brother" I urged him to contact them and apply!

Chris goes tomorrow to meet his new "little brother", and every time you bring it up he gets a big 'ol smile on his face. I'm so excited for him, from what we've learned about his lil bro, it sounds like the two will click perfectly!

My mister is going to make a great mentor for the little guy, I hope the two of them create a bond that will last a lifetime!

Shop for a cause!

I just saw this on the lovely miss Jax's blog, Roaring Twenties, and wanted to pass it on!

Print off this coupon and use it for 30% off at Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy from Thursday to Sunday this weekend. PLUS 5% of your proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

My grandma passed away from Leukemia when I was in middle school and it was a horrible thing to watch her battle. So I definitely hope to get in a little shopping and a little donating before we fly out this weekend!

Comment for a cure

[img source]

No matter if you are a compulsive commenter or you never post a peep on my blog... do me this one favor, visit Meandering Mom Shops and post a comment for the cure. For every comment posted BlogHer and KFC will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
So go, scoot, click your way on over, and pass this along! Let's see how quick we can help her meet her 1000th comment!

Now that's a bucketful of blessings!

43 degrees and a whole lotta pink

Saturday morning we woke up at 6:30 Chris woke up at 6:30 to get a shower and run to Dunkin Donuts to surprise me with coffee and a donut when I woke up at 7 7:15ish (he's kind-of adorable, I know!)

We then decked ourselves out in our pink gear and waited for Al & EP and my darlin' friend Casey to meet us at the condo. Once they arrived we piled into a car, drove down the street and got ready to kick breast cancer in the booty!

I was completely shocked by the amount of people there! I heard on the news that they had over $41,000 people sign up. Which yea, sounds like a lot until you see them all on one street - holy tata's! 

(Stole Borrowed these photos from Casey's facebook!)

EP, Allison, Casey, myself & ChrisChris

This was our first year doing Race for the Cure, and aside from the chilly temperatures we had a blast! Three miles isn't nearly as bad as I imagined it being (I might kick myself for saying this, but I almost think I could have ran it)

On our path we passed the Indianapolis Zoo, and they had one of their elephants standing on the hill with big pink ribbons painted on her ear - so cute!

We spent a large part of the 3 miles chatting and enjoying the sunshine (thank goodness it didn't rain!). We've come up with some awesome team names for next year, and we're planning on getting a larger group together to do it! I had such a sense of community and pride when we looped around back to the finish line! My least favorite part was seeing the children and teens with the "In Loving Memory of My Mom" signs on their shirts, that just broke my heart, but it gave me an even bigger push to volunteer again next year and try to raise even more money in the fight against breast cancer!

That's one more thing I get to cross off my 23 Before 23 list! (Did you notice my new button the right side, fancy huh?)

Home Runs and Memories

[source]

Aside from our Colts, Indianapolis doesn't really excel in sports. We have a hockey team made up of kids fresh out of high school and a baseball team that's not much older! Regardless, I still love my Indianapolis Indians!

When I was in high school my cousin, our friend Caitlin and myself  worked at Victory Field. It was one of the funnest jobs I've ever had!  We were part of the "Guest Relations" crew which translates into running the kids games (Rowdy's Water Gun Fun, Fast Pitch, etc), selling programs and hanging out with Rowdy (our mascot). 

It was the best job... being out in the sun, you got to watch the baseball games and play on the kids games you were operating! Sigh, I just needed a moment to reminisce! 

On another note, I reached surpassed my goal for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The walk is this coming Saturday, and I am so glad to know I've helped!

One more thing, do you ever get random friend requests on Facebook? I've gotten 3 this week... one Monday, one Tuesday and one today. It's people I've never met, we aren't friends with any of the same people and their names/faces aren't ringing any bells. I'm so confused by this!! Where are they coming from and why do I get one a day?!

Race for the Cure

Save the TaTa's!!

(PS I have this shirt, and I always get a whole SLEW of comments when I wear it! You can purchase similar ones here)

I signed up to do Indianapolis' Race for the Cure this year! I'm really excited about it.... it will be my first major "race" and while it's only a 5k, and I do not plan on running it, I am still excited for the meaning behind it.This is very out of my element. While I did track in high school, I mainly did sprints & long jump, I'm by no means a distance runner! I hope I don't disappoint any of you by saying that I will be walking, not running, in this event!


Watching my grandma battle cancer was one of the hardest things I ever had to witness, although she was throwing her punches against Leukemia, breast cancer is just as scary of a battle! I decided to join in the fight this year in honor of all the brave women who are fighting it, and to all the families who have lost women they loved due to this terrible bully!

If you want to check out more or even be SUPER awesome and make a donation to help find a cure, you can check out my own personal page.

To learn more about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in general, you can visit this site.

Saying ByeBye to the Friendship Stars

I have this little problem of getting myself into WAY too many things at once! I've always been this way, and I don't see it changing anytime soon! I'm not one of those people who can lay around on a couch all day, I HAVE to be doing something otherwise I get really anxious.

I finished up one of the projects for charities earlier this week -

My friendship stars for Cancer is Sew Done that I wrote about here. These lil cuties are getting sent off in the morning!

Now I'm off to finish up sewing the knickknacks on my apron for the Martini Madness Apron swap. This thing has been stressin me out for sure! I will post pictures soon. A few of the girls had added pictures of theirs to the Martini Madness blog, and let me tell you... I wouldn't be upset if I received any of those!

I better get to work now!

WOW!

I was checking out Craft Hope's blog and noticed a tweet stating that as of 17 hours ago, they have had 745 sales on their etsy shop, and have raised...

wait for it...

$15,350 for Doctors Without Borders!

This is AMAZING! They still have a ton of beautiful stuff if you haven't checked it out, go to their etsy store now!

I snagged a print from BrookLit (I mentioned her work back here),

These handmade soaps by Sonata Soaps and also...

This adorable lil guy by Henny Pennys Jumble. I can't wait to put him in our tree next year!

I heard this morning that another earthquake hit Haiti this morning. Those poor people down there, I'm glad I have been able to help out, even if it is just a little bit - I know every single penny goes towards the awesome work that Doctors Without Borders is doing down there.

CraftHope for Haiti

I won't waste your time explaining the tragedy in Haiti, I'm pretty sure everyone is already aware and most are already helping in any way they can. Emily over at So Much For My Plans mentioned a beautiful quilt she picked up yesterday through the CraftHope etsy store, and of course I had to get check it out. I think it's awesome that all of these crafters are donating their handmade goods for this cause.

I snatched up a set of three handmade soaps for only $10! There's some really lovely things, if you haven't checked them out I highly recommend it!

While I have never visited Haiti, I have been to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island with Haiti. It's truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been! The people who lived there were all SO kind and welcoming, and always had a smile on their face. I can only hope that the Haitians pull through this with that same hope and joy for life.

Chelsea is SEW done procrastinating

Well... I'm starting to be done procrastinating! I dug out my ziploc baggies of Lotus-love to start working on my charity blocks for Cancer is Sew Done (blogged about here).

These pretties will soon be part of friendship stars.... and you already know that since I'm a newly self-diagnosed Kona Cotton Addict, I've already picked out my coordinating solids and am cutting my heart out (wait... not that way. I mean, I'm cutting to my heart's content) just as soon as I close my Mac.

By the way, Tracey added new groups today, so if you haven't joined yet there's still time! You can visit the site today to find out more.

Helping to put a smile on a strangers face

I joined Sew Mama Sew's Quilting for Peace initiative tonight. I know I can't change the world, but I do like to think that I can help put a smile on someone's face when they're down.  They are going to be posting simple patterns and it's a great opportunity to use up some of your old, non-favorite or just plain excess fabric!

I have also recently received a packet of information about donating quilts to our local kid's hospital here in Indy, Riley Children's Hospital. I can only imagine how much comfort a snuggly, fun quilt can provide to those poor kids in there.

Lastly, I signed up to complete 4 blocks using Amy Butler's Lotus fabric for the Cancer is Sew Done group. I lost a grandmother to leukemia about 9 years ago, and a little boy I used to baby sit has been fighting a rare form of leukemia himself these past few months. I love the idea that all of us quilters can do a block or two and those wonderful ladies will assemble them and auction them off, then donate the proceeds to Alex's Lemonade Stand. (Photo courtesy of www.amybutlerdesign.com - fabric can be purchased from http://www.westminsterfibers.com/ )

It's been so crazy around here I haven't had a chance to start on any of these projects, but hopefully I can find some time within the next couple weeks to get a jump start on things! I sure do sound ambitious!