two dolla

the 2008 3 day – it’s this week

The 2008 3 Day is this coming weekend – it begins on Friday, nice and bright and early, and ends Sunday afternoon. That means there will be thousands upon thousands (or maybe just hundreds upon hundreds) of people walking 60 miles throughout the Twin Cities on those days. If you see them, honk and wave and tell them they’re doing an awesome job.

Instead of watching blisters pop open in my socks and developing sunburns that I cannot explain, I (along with Jenni, of course) will be in charge of chauffeuring around the walkers that need a quick ride. We’ve been put in charge of a 15-passenger that will be driving through the streets – honking, waving, cheering, and asking everyone to show us their boobs just so we can throw them some strands of beads. (Seriously – Jenni ordered a ton of beads we have to get rid of!)

I didn’t send out emails or letters this year begging for donations, so just consider it my off-year. I can’t make any promises about next year, though! However, if you want to donate, I won’t tell you not to. Here’s the link where you can throw a few bucks our way. Same story for the past three years – every dollar you can donate gets us one dollar closer to finding a cure for breast cancer.

ready, set, crew

I had a goal of posting every day this month. I was gonna give it another whirl. But then I stayed late at work yesterday, had to take Riley to the vet, have dinner, and then head out to the Doomtree CD release show. I was busy, meaning I’m off to a horrible start.

Today, however, I was up bright and somewhat early with Jenni and Cindi, so we could attend the “Ready, Set, Crew” event for the 2008 3 Day. Yeah, I’ve forgotten about it too from time to time. This morning is kind of what I needed to get myself back in 3 Day Time Mode. Not participating in the constant fundraising this year has kind of pushed the whole thing to the backburner while I adjust to my new apartment, new job, and new relationship (+ kid). I guess if any year was going to be the year I didn’t walk and raise an assload of money and shave my head, this would be the year.

Jenni and I are going to be driving a sweep van this year. Yes, we are in charge of a 15-passenger van, and yes, we did have discussions this morning about the ramifications that would take place should it somehow flip over and land on its roof. We’ll be in control and posession of a vehicle that will look much like this one for four days:

Right now, we’re planning on a Mardi Gras theme, complete with strands of beads flying out the window to walkers we pass by and music from the Jack Brass Band blaring over the stereo. But we also want to wear capes, because why wouldn’t you want to wear a cape? We’re just trying to figure out how to fit superhero capes into a Mardi Gras theme.

I got my heatlh insurance card in the mail today, which means I got to agree to this statement when completing my online check in: I also acknowledge that I may be hurt or killed during the event not only from injury, but due to the level of physical exertion necessary to complete the three-day walk, and that these risks of injury or death cannot be completely eliminated.

sweep van drivers

I haven’t been able to devote as much time to The 3 Day this year as I would have liked. There was the whole getting fired laid off, then looking for a new job, and then the cruise, looking for a new apartment, moving, still looking for a new job, and then starting the new job, etc. So, really, the six months that should have opened up a lot of time for me to come up with new and exciting ways to raise money turned out to be six months that I couldn’t really concentrate on anything but myself.

On Friday, I got a call from the guy that’s in charge of this year’s crew. I’d emailed him earlier in the week, because I was getting frustrated about not hearing what type of assignment they’d have for me while doing the crew. He and I talked during my lunch break about the type of crew positions I was interested in, and why I thought I’d be a good fit for various positions. And when it was all said and done, it just so happened that Jenni and I have landed the most exciting crew position in ALL THE LAND.

We’re going to drive a Sweep Van. For those of you that have ever done or watched or heard about The 3 Day, you’ll know how awesome this is. And for those of you not in the know, Sweep Vans drive up and down the line of hundreds of walkers all day until every last walker is back at camp. It’s our job to make sure everyone’s safe and when someone can’t walk anymore, or they just need a quick break, we get them in the van and take them to the next stop.

Having used the Sweep Van this past year, and how emotional the whole process is, I can’t wait to do it. Plus, the idea of Jenni and I being responsible for decorating and driving around a 15 passenger van is really awesome. We just have to come up with a theme!

discount on registration for the ’08 3 day

The 2008 3 Day hasn’t exactly been my top priority this time around. I feel bad about it, because obviously years 2005-2007 were talked about until you guys all wanted to stab me. I know it’s true! This year, I decided to crew, and while I wouldn’t have known it at the time we signed up in early October, with everything going on in the past six month, I couldn’t imagine doing anything but crewing.

Fundraising as been kind of at a standstill because in the past six months, I’ve gotten fired, went to Missouri twice, took a week long cruise, went to Missouri again, and moved apartments. Oh, and applied for probably 6208 jobs. I guess the one good thing about being on the crew, as opposed to walking, is that there’s no fundraising minimum like I’ve had to deal with in the past.

Out of the many, many things I’ve learned about the way things run over the course of The 3 Day, one of the most important things? The crew. They’re there to cheer you on, make you laugh, pick you up (sometimes even literally), and even if it’s just for five seconds, they can make you forget that you’ve just woken up from your second night of sleeping in a tent, and you’ve got 20 more miles to walk before you get to peel off your tennis shoes and take a shower in something besides a diesel trailer.

That’s why I wanted to crew this year, and that’s why I’d like to invite you to crew along with me and other members of Team Boobylicious.

Through midnight on April 11th, you can save $35 off the normally $90 registration fee. The money you use to register doesn’t go towards your fundraising, but it does go towards covering things like three days of meals, showers, and enough medical supplies to take care of thousands of walkers.

When you register at http://www.the3day.org (or via phone at 800.996.3DAY), join Team Boobylicious and use the promo code TEAMS to receive the discounted registration fee. And just because you’re crewing doesn’t mean it won’t be four days out of your life that’ll change it forever.*

(*Crew members actually have to be there a half day in advance to help set up giant tents and organize everything.)

no one can ever be like me

I feel like it should be 11pm Sunday night and I should be in my flannel pajama pants watching High School Musical 2. (Quiet.)

Man. In the past 48 hours, I’ve done more than I’ve done in the two months I’ve been unemployed. I can’t really believe it’s actually been two months.

Friday night, we convened for the second annual Awesome Christmas, which involves getting everyone gifts, with the catch being the gifts can’t cost more than $3/person. It’s awesome, hence the name Awesome Christmas. For instance, I got Matt a Brewtus-esque glass that had been engraved for someone named Dhi Patel, who was supposed to be a best man at someone’s wedding and Jenni was the lucky recipient of a foam do-it-yourself-style journal geared towards a 1st grade girl that loves princesses. I received such gems at a 2-pack of recorders, a slide whistle, and an airplane bottle of Hpnotiq. My friends, they’re fantastic.

Prior to unwrapping presents, six of us hit up Azia for dinner. We seemed like completely different people all the sitting in a nice restaurant and having (mostly) adult conversation, as opposed to sitting in a booth of a dive bar, ordering 2-for-1 shots, and (mostly) quietly making fun of everybody we don’t know. The food was spectacular, but then again, I’ve never had pad thai that didn’t make me want to marry it. The drinks were fantastic, but I’m sure it’s impossible to go wrong when you drink things called Hello Punch and La Femme Nikita.

Post gift exchange, we had drinks aplenty. So much aplenty, in fact, that Cindi and had some couch time until close to sunrise at Jenni’s apartment. There were shots taken out of a (unused and partially clean) syringe, shots out of tiny chocolate cups, the standard Hpnotiq and Grey Goose shots that make us say HOLLA, and so many more that I’ve forgotten. I know there was some Spin the Bottle action (I made out with the Diet Coke box twice and the recycling box once), a dance floor in the kitchen, and a couple of close calls on leaving for tattoos except all of the tattoo places we knew were closed.

Saturday was baking day for Cindi and I, but I didn’t even get to her apartment (mine was a no go, because Riley likes cookies a lot) until three. We tried one cookie press and didn’t have any luck with it, then went to get a second and it proved to be something we needed to practice, which required time we weren’t willing to spend. We mixed, smashed, baked, iced, and sprinkled cookies until right about 1:30 a.m. But, I have to agree with Cindi – if I’m going to be stuck baking cookies into the middle of the night, I’m glad it was with her.

This morning, I picked Cin up and we convened at her work, where we were a well-oiled machine in packaging the cookies together and divvying them out for delivery. TomTom and I made two deliveries in Minneapolis, which was instrumental in figuring out which neighborhoods I wanted crossed off of my Where To Live list. I went to the post office to mail two packages and 40 billion Christmas cards. Now I’m home playing Scrabble, when I really want to be napping. (When did I start enjoying Scrabble more than napping?)

The jury’s still out on when I’m heading home for Christmas. I was originally going to drive down tomorrow, but I still have one more cookie order to deliver. It has to go to my former employer. HI, NO THANKS. I’m waiting for my former Work BFF™ to call me back; I’m going to try to talk her into doing it for me. Plus, I still have to pack. Putting two weeks worth of t-shirts in a suitcase is hard work.

last call for boob cookies

Or actually boob-related cookies, although I wonder if we’d have a better response if we sold cookies actually shaped like boobs.

In any case, tomorrow’s the last day to put your order in for Team Boobylicious’ very own homemade holiday cookies. You can read more information on our team’s blog (I will forever hate that word!) and place an order online, too.

I’m going to follow Jumi’s lead on this one, too. For those of you not in my local delivery area (which includes the greater Twin Cities metro area and the mid-Missouri area), I’ll pay the shipping for you. It’ll be my little $6 Christmas gift to you. Just be sure to put my name – Wendy Timberlake-Pitt-Mauer-Mann-Bartender-at-the-90s (while I don’t believe in marriage much anymore, I believe in making sure I have all their last names, so I can seem prestigious and fancy) – in the "heard about" field. You can also just put Wendy or two dolla or anything that’ll make sense, really.

Thank you in advance, from both me and my boobs.

cookie time!

I started to write a long post about how I never do anything all day since not being unemployed, but I realized that was just me putting off doing anything of any importance… which is kinda what I was bitching about. So, I lined up all of my refrigerator magnets. It was cathartic and made me feel productive. WIN.

You know what time it is? Holiday Cookie Fundraiser time. My favorite. It’s when I wind up in the kitchen for hours upon end making chocolate chip cookies that never turn out as good as my Grandma’s always-stay-soft chocolate chip cookies that were to absolutely die for, even if they had finely chopped pecans in them.

This is the 3rd year we’ve done the holiday cookies this time of year, and each year, we’ve had an incredible response, giving our team a fantastic jump on fundraising.

As always, for your convenience, you can order online at teamboobylicious.com/cookies, where you can choose from chocolate chip, peanut butter blossom, iced sugar cookies, or a variety of the three. Each dozen will only set you back a mere $6, and if you need more than that, you can save a little dough (awesome pun!) by buying 5 dozen for the low, low price of $25.

We have local delivery to the Twin Cities area, to the mid-Missouri area (we’re going nationwide soon!), and anywhere else, there’s an additional $6 shipping charge to cover postage.

You can download the flyer here and pass it along to everyone you know. This is one of the few times I’ll be willing to spend a whole day in the kitchen, so please abuse that! :) Whether it’s as a Christmas gift, a holiday party dinner, or just to snack on around the home or office, we’ve got you covered. AND you’ll be supporting a great cause, too.

Or you know what would be even better? Signing up to do the walk with us! We’ll have people walking and crewing on our team this year, and everyone that’s done any part of it before can tell you it’ll be the best thing you ever do. (I know the holidays can be a rough time to drop $90 on registration, but you’re interested in joining Team Boobylicious, just shoot me an email. We can make sure to get you started on the fundraising early on so it’s easier to hit your goals!)

a broken chair, rope trick, awesome pizza, and cookies

Last year for Christmas, my grandma gave me a new office chair, which I asked for and which I love. I put it together a few weeks ago. Finally. And I’m horrible at putting things together completely. So now, an arm has fallen off, and I’m refusing to fix it because I can’t find my trusty Philips head screwdriver. I’m sure it’s improving posture by using it this way.

The Usual Suspects and I hit the town last night, for the first time in several weeks. Our mission was to see Rope Trick. (Stop reading until you listen to their songs on the ‘Space.) And now go ‘head and read Matt’s article about them in Metro. If you’re not going to take the time to listen and/or read more about them, just read this: The lead singer is a gay Asian cowboy that yodels and sings Cowboy’s Sweetheart. It’s absolutely fabulous, and if you can ever go see Rope Trick anywhere, go do it.

I met picked Jenni up for lunch today, and our mission was AWESOME PIZZA. We’ve been bothering Pizza Luce for quite possibly years to put this pizza on the menu and name it AWESOME PIZZA. It’s awesome because it’s all cheese: Gouda, provolone, goat cheese, and mozerella. Then, it’s imperative that you cover it with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. So delicious.

We’re selling holiday cookies again as our first fundraiser for the 2008 3 Day. It’s basically the same as always. Go here to order dozens and dozens of chocolate chip, peanut butter blossom, iced sugar cookies, or a variety of the three. Local Twin Cities delivery is free, and I’ll even be delivering locally to the mid-Missouri area, because I’m so nice like that. Otherwise, delivery will add another $6 to your total. The deadline for ordering is December 11th, and delivery will begin on December 16th or 17th! It’s $6/dozen or $25 for five dozen. What a savings! As usual, absolutely all proceeds will be donated towards Team Boobylicious’s fundraising efforts.

And let’s just go ahead and Friday Shuffle:

1. Smack My Bitch Up -  Richard Cheese
2. ‘Til I Gain Control Again – Willie Nelson
3. Love Me So Bad – Lyrics Born
4. ABC – Jackson Five
5. Face Down, Ass Up – DJ Isaac
6. Within You – David Bowie
7. Walking on Sunshine (Lenny B’s Club Mix) – The Jay Boys
8. Basket Case – Green Day
9. I Remember When – New Kids on the Block
10. Fell in Love With a Girl – White Stripes

it’s that time again

October, as we all know, is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There’s pink stuff all over the stores, websites are going pink for the month, and the Boobiethon is up and running – yep, it’s definitely October. But do you know what else it’s time for?

Signing up for the 2008 3 Day Walk.

Jenni and I have already signed up, and Team Boobylicious is just waiting for you to join in Walk #4. If you decide to sign up and use the code SPIRIT, you’ll get $35 off the registration fee.

Don’t want to walk 60 miles? Not a big deal. Some of us, myself included, are crewing this year. We’ll be the ones cheering on the walkers every day and encouraging them every time we see them. Once again this year, we’ll have both walkers and crew members rounding out our team’s roster, and we’d love to have every single person that’s reading this right now on our team.

Think about it. It’s the best thing you’ll ever do.