Friday, May 6, Relay for Life @ Johns Creek High School

Tonight I will participate in the Relay for Life @ Johns Creek High School. This is the first time I've done the Relay. I'm walking with the ladies from the AJWC (Alpharetta Junior Women's Club).

Opening Ceremonies begin at 6:30 PM.

Post 3-Day – Zooma 5K

What a blast we had walking the Zooma 5K in 30 +/- degree weather on Saturday, November 6. The event was held at the beautiful Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia. It was sooo cold. Brrrr... Maybe that's how I managed by best time so far!

I finished in 52:37. I was proud. FROZEN, but very proud. :)
 

Thanks to Dawn, Kelly & Lolly for encouraging me to sign up and join them! It was a great time ladies. And I really enjoyed having a girls' night and morning out! ;)

These ladies were WAY faster than me. But I'll get there one of these days! ;)

Dawn

Kelly

 Lolly

And it's mine and Andrew's 6th year Wedding Anniversary today. Happy Anniversary baby luv! ;) HUGS!

I'm a Tutu! ;)

Woohooo!!!

I'm officially a 2011 member of the Tutus for Tatas. This year will be pretty sweet! :) Yay. Thanks Tutus for inviting me to join and making me one of you! ;)

60 Incredible Miles in 3-Days!

WOW!

What an awesome weekend! It truly was the most incredible 60 miles I've EVER walked! Much less in such a short time span. And YES, in case you're wondering... I DID walk ALL 60 miles! ;) And I had a blast!

At Closing Ceremonies, we learned that Atlanta raised more than $6.1 million. WOW! And there were about 2300 walkers including 235 men. :) Hopefully, Andrew will be one of them next year! ;)

Closing Ceremonies @ Turner Field, Sunday, October 24, 2010

A recap of my journey...
It was amazing. It was so much fun! AND... It was very hard... Especially the last day... My blistered feet wanted to win the battle, but I was so determined to keep going. My friend and teammate, Charlene was an awesome support to me on Sunday. I couldn't have completed that day without her support. THANK YOU, Charlene! ;)

Me and Charlene on Day 3 at dark-thirty Sunday morning waiting to begin the day...

I am super-excited and have planned to do it again next year with the Tutus for Tatas. Despite my nasty feet! ;) Yay!


Thursday, October 21
Pre-Party (with the Tutus for Tatas) at Lake Lanier Islands Resort

My mom, Carol, my other mom and family-friend, Andrea and my friend and teammate, Grace and I headed to Lake Lanier Islands on Thursday night to avoid traffic and craziness on Friday AM and to enjoy a pre-party with our future team, The Tutus for Tatas at one of the Lake Lanier cabins.

Andrea Terrell and my mom, Carol Johnson

We arrived at the resort about 4:30-5:00 PM. Just in time to settle into our room, say "hi" to some fellow walkers, grab a quick snack and drinks and head to the Tutu Party!

As you can see by the photo above, the atmosphere was festive and everyone was buzzing and very excited about our upcoming walk! ;) It was awesome. I was excited to see a fellow walker whom I'd met at one of the Getting Started meetings earlier in the year, Mary Brickhouse Repine.

Mary Brickhouse Repine (left), Me and Mary's teammate, Caroline (right)

Mom, Andrea, Grace & I met our teammate, Kelly and spent some time in the hotel bar snacking and sharing a couple of cocktails. Then we headed over the cabins to hang with the Tutus. What a crazy bunch! ;) And so much fun! ;)

Bunco monkey with Annie (honorary Tutu)!

Tutus, Melinda and Nancy

 

We're officially HONORARY Tutus! ;) (Carrie, Grace and Kelly)

We headed back to our room about 10 PM to get some much needed rest. Kelly needed to get up about 4 AM! Yuck. But Grace and I weren't far behind her with our rising time planned for 5 AM. ;) Yuck. Yuck.



Friday, October 22
Day 1 – Opening Ceremonies

We woke up very early, packed our stuff and headed out for a speedy breakfast. Opening Ceremonies started at 7 AM and we had to arrive early to get a good spot. (We didn't plan on all the fun stuff to do before the actual ceremony began!) ;)

After an emotional Opening Ceremony at Lake Lanier, we began our day's journey. We were blessed with a GORGEOUS sunny morning. We traveled through Buford and Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill Elementary School was out to support the walkers. The kids made banners and did cheers and chants. We had lots of community support to keep us going, including Girl Scouts handing out homemade pins.

We met some incredible people along the way and couldn't resist a little fun as we walked!

 

Camp Life

 

 The last walker just arrived in camp! She gets to raise the camp flag!

After a long day of walking, we gathered at camp, our home away from home for the weekend. We shared dinner and some sang karaoke to their hearts' content!

We showered in a tractor-trailer. But the shower was pretty awesome! ;)


Saturday, October 23
Day 2

We arose early at 6 AM on Saturday morning to another beautiful day, ready to hit the trail. The Cheer Station was filled with supporters and all kinds of homemade goodies for the walkers. Cheerleaders and Girl Scouts came out with smiles and energy. Downtown Duluth was jam packed with supporters and their thunder sticks!

The Cheer Stations just seemed to come at the most perfect time(s)! And the walker-stalkers were awesome! We quickly noticed we were seeing the same people all along, often and daily. They were supportive of us all! Thanks WALKER-STALKERS! You made my day many times over! Even the pups came out to support us!

Here are just SOME of the colorful characters we encountered along our jouney! :)

Some of the wonderful 3-Day CREW!

We couldn't have made the trek safely without our Safety Crew! THANKS guys! ;) And you made it so much fun! ;)

That evening, we gathered back at camp for a Candy Coburn concert (which I sadly missed because I was waiting for the shower. Whah). After the concert, folks found the energy to dance the night away! And they sure had a blast! ;)

A time for rememberance...
I took some time to visit the remembrance tent to reflect on my personal reasons why I was walking this 3-Day Journey and pay homage to my Aunt Janice. I wrote a note in the journal and also a note to my Aunt on the Atlanta remembrance tent.

Sunday, October 24
Day3

We began our final day of walking under beautiful skies, with temperatures reaching 79 degrees. We woke up very early to pack up our gear and tent. Then have a quick hot, final breakfast at camp. Charlene and I caught the 3rd bus to leave the campsite where we were transported down Peachtree Industrial to begin our journey at Chamblee High School.

 
Later, we took a break at the beautiful Oglethorpe campus. At pit stop 3 we were met with a great photo opportunity, a big pink gingerbread man under the Eiffel Tower. Supporters cheered us on down Peachtree Street and through 17th Street. We had a nice lunch at Georgia Tech. Our incredible journey ended with a celebratory Closing Ceremony at Turner Stadium with our friends and family there to greet us.

These nasty blisters caused me to visit the Medical Crew on Day 3. :( And walking became quite the challenge...

Some more great photos...

Words and photos just don't do justice to fully capture the experience. And what an experience! ;) Thank you for sharing my journey with me!


Closing Ceremonies
Equally as emotional as closing ceremonies for many people and for so many reasons. Personally, I was so proud of what I had accomplished. Surviving all those blisters, miles and not giving up! ;) And raising so much money, both personally, and as as a team (Force of Soles raised more than $16,000)!!

A special thank you to all my donors and donors of our team, Force of Soles. And thank you to each one of my teammates for taking this journey with me. It wouldn't have been the same without you! ;)

To Sally and Terri. I'm so sorry you both were sick and couldn't make it to the event. I thought of you every day and you were in my prayers! We'll get 'em next year! ;)

2010 Force of Soles Team
Carrie Jones, Captain
Sally Godzer, Co-Captain
Charlene Anderson
Kelly Marie Glover (CREW)
Marilee Knellinger
Diane Milak
Terri Pero
Grace Wallett