Weekend Update

I just wanted to share three exciting updates from our weekend with you all: a ball, a blogiversary, and a goal achieved!

1) Mark and I attended our first big fancy event this Saturday night: the Hats & Heroes Ball for Kids Beating Cancer.  You may remember that I posted a picture of my new vintage hat (is that an oxymoron?) in my post, The Joy of Thrifting: 10 Tips & Tricks, promising a follow-up photo of it in action.  So, here it is:

And for a better view of the hat:

We had a wonderful time.  I got to meet some of Mark’s co-workers from the hospital, dance to big band music, and most importantly, we were introduced to an inspiring group of kids who have and are battling cancer.  They’re true heroes, and I thought it was so perfect that the event organizers called each one onto the stage and tied a superhero cape around their necks as we gave them raucous applause.

We also got to hear the story of Mikayla Barnes.  She has used her time in the hospital during treatment to create art, even starting her own little business selling her paintings.  Every dollar she earns goes right back to helping other kids with cancer.  Check out this short video that came out this September on FOX news:

The strength of the human spirit never fails to amaze me…as does the healing power of the arts.

You can buy the scarf with Mikayla’s design here.

2) Saturday also marked my one month blogiversary.  When I first started this blog on September 6th, it was sort of an experiment…a leap into the unknown.  I didn’t know what it would become or if I’d even feel motivated to stick with it.  However, I’ve been surprised by how much I’m loving it right now – – by how many MORE ideas I have swimming around my head now than when I started – – and by how I’ve been more productive creatively in one month than in a long time.  Having a venue through which to share my work with friends, family, and new blogger friends has been an incredible blessing.  So, thank you for coming along on this journey with me and providing me with support just by reading this!  I’m excited to see what month two will bring.

3) Lastly, on Sunday, with an evening bike ride around Lake Baldwin, I earned the last “star” I needed to complete our Exercise Challenge goal of 4 weeks of at least 3 daily workouts.  See:

As was preached in the sermon we heard yesterday, much like our walk with God, putting in daily work doesn’t always reap immediate results.  If you’ve gone out to Chili’s for five nights one week and decide to go for a walk one night, you might not lose any weight.  But over time, you will see a difference.  And over four weeks of getting into our workout routine, we do notice that we feel better, sleep deeper, and actually even desire to go to the gym (imagine that!).  So, with four weeks under our belt, we’ve each earned our professional massage.  Hip hip hooray!

And a new set of four weeks begins.  We think we’ll provide a new incentive for each set of four weeks that we continue the Exercise Challenge…and we want our reward to be health-related.  Any ideas for this next round?

Thanks for reading along.  Happy Monday, everyone!