So I noticed that an old post of mine was getting some traffic…I’m not sure why my What’s in my bag? post from a hundred years ago was getting views, but I thought it would be fun to do an updated version in video form.
Also, if you’d like to help me raise some money for Susan G. Komen, click here to donate.
Every little bit helps!
Hey, guys! Did you know that today is #NoBraDay? I just learned about it on Twitter, and it’s pretty self explanatory. We ladies are supposed to skip putting our bras on today in an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer.
I’m totally serious.
The thing is, I think by now we are ALL aware of the fact that breast cancer exists, and everyone knows that it sucks. We don’t need to raise awareness, but we could be trying to raise money. After all, medical research ain’t cheap.
If you haven’t yet, please consider donating to my fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Every donation gets you an entry to my giveaway…and who wouldn’t want to wear this super cute hat and scarf (lovingly made by me, of course)?
Here are the details:
I did some research, and I found the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. After checking out their website and doing a little digging through Charity Navigator, I planned to set aside part of the money I make through various crochet and writing projects this month for a donation.
I’ve set up a Fiverr gig for anyone that would like to add to my donation. The beauty of Fiverr is that you only have to part with five bucks. That’s right, five measly dollars. Sure, you can donate more (as much as you like!) by ordering multiple gigs, but it’s totally ok to stick with one. To check it out, and maybe throw your five bucks in the hat, click here!
At the end of October, I will cash out the money from this gig and send it to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I’ll keep you updated on the gig’s progress throughout the month, and I’ll even post a screenshot of the donation just so you know where your money went. Fiver does keep 1.00 of every purchase as a processing fee.
So there you go! Donate five bucks and you get a chance to win an awesome hat and scarf combo (plus anything else I decide to throw in your prize), PLUS you get to feel like an awesome person for helping a good cause.
My goal for this fundraiser is to get to at least $100.00. That’s only 25 donations!
Also? We all get to keep our bras on. I can assure you (judging by my last trip to Wal-Mart) that bras are wonderful and should always be worn in public. Because let’s be real… The only thing I’m going to be aware of if you participate in No Bra Day will be your unsupported lady pillows, okay?
So please donate, and share this post with your friends. Every little bit helps!
Last year I had the idea to do a fundraiser during the month of October… I had high hopes, but due to issues with the donation site my fundraiser completely flopped.
I was disappointed, to say the least. Not one of the donations ever actually went through. I didn’t have a way to find out who had tried (save for a couple of people that told me), so I couldn’t even go ahead and do the giveaway.
But, guys, it’s October again. I believe the donation site is actually working now, and I still have the hat and scarf. I’d like to try again. The rules will be the same… Basically, every donation gets you an entry and I will pick a winner at random. My family members won’t be eligible to win (sorry, guys) but they’re welcome to donate!
To see the original post, and more details on the fundraiser, check out this post from last year and this one, too.
Click here to go to the donation site. Each donation gig purchase is 5.00, and after Fiverr takes their hosting fee the remaining 4.00 goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Each gig purchased gets you an entry for the giveaway.
Here’s hoping the second time’s a charm.
Please share this post with your friends, and leave me a comment if you donate.
I plan to close the giveaway on November 1st, and announce the winner that week. Make sure to provide an email address when you donate so I have a way to contact you.
Thank you, and good luck!
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately… I have been dealing with sinus issues these last few days and just thinking about thinking hurts…Today I woke up headache free, but it’s slowly sneaking up on me.
Phooey.
I’ve also been busy with a bunch of crochet projects, and I’m finally about to get started on O’s Halloween costume. Hopefully.
Thursday, my mom and I planned to go to a fabric store in Avon. I wasn’t 100% sure how to get there, but I had my navigator and I knew which direction I needed to go.
The beginning of the trip was fine…but we were probably halfway there when we encountered trouble in the form of a road closing sign. I needed to turn right in “approximately 5.2 miles”, and the sign said the road was closed in 5. I figured I would be able to make the turn, so we kept going.
Nope.
We got to the closure, and it turned out to be at a T, so you had to turn left or right. Guess which way was closed…
So I said a fair amount of curse words, O giggled hysterically, and we turned left. I didn’t see any detour signs, so I thought we’d just look for a right turn and try to go around the closure. We drove for a few miles before popping over a hill and almost running into another roadblock.
REALLY.
I cursed some more, O continued to giggle, and my mom snorted at me. Luckily, we were able to turn right and eventually we found ourselves in Danville. Knowing where we were, we were finally able to successfully navigate ourselves to the fabric store from there.
It was worth it.
My mom found fabric that is perfect for the costume, and I picked up a couple of balls of yarn. Everything was on sale, plus I had a couple of coupons, so I got some really good deals.
And yarn.
I have not been brave enough to start working on the costume…but I have started a pretty scarf using the yarn I bought.
I’m also working on something to add to my giveaway!*
It’s purty.
Our trip home, if you wondered, was far less eventful. We took a different way, and even though we ventured a little close to the Covered Bridge silliness for my comfort, we made it back with far less cursing.
*Regarding my giveaway: I haven’t brought it up in a while because (as I mentioned previously) a woman in my community just passed away after fighting breast cancer. Out of respect for her loved ones, I decided to wait until after her funeral to continue. I’m still accepting donations, and every donation will still enter you to win!
Yesterday morning, O was eating breakfast and I was wandering around aimlessly, picking things up while I waited for my coffee to brew. My hand landed on a half-skein of soft, thick, pink yarn and I found myself wondering if I had enough for a hat. I had actually just finished one, and it turned out so well that I wanted one for me, too.
O finished breakfast, I drank my coffee, and we spent the morning being a little lazy because, Sunday. O went down for his nap after lunch, so I turned the Colts game on and set my sights on that yarn.
Something occurred to me while I was crocheting. Instead of keeping the hat, I could make it part of a giveaway along with my Breast Cancer research fundraiser. It was, after all, bright pink.
Almost as if it was meant to be, I had exactly enough yarn to finish a hat that would fit an adult woman.
Well, it fit me…My adult status may be questionable at times.
I added a little detail that I actually think looks really cute. All in all, I think this might be my favorite hat.
If you would like a chance to own this one of a kind hat (that might be the softest thing you’ll ever wear), all you have to do is donate. You will be entered into the drawing every single time you purchase a donation gig.*
Throughout this month, I may occasionally add to the prize, so keep your eye out for updates. Please continue to share this post and the Fiverr donation link. Thanks to everyone that has shared it already!
*I will randomly pick a winner on November 1st. Unfortunately, I can only open this drawing to residents of the continental United States. Members of my family are not eligible (sorry, guys). You may enter as many times as you like. The winner will be announced in a blog post, and I will give that person one week to contact me at willfullydisobedientblog (at) gmail (.) com with his or her shipping info.
I don’t know if you guys have heard, but October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Pink is everywhere, from canned soup labels to tee shirts to razors…even the NFL has jumped on the pink bandwagon. It seems pretty great, doesn’t it?
Well…
I get that people want to show their support, and I do think that’s awesome…But I can’t help but think a sizable donation to the right charity would be even better. Unfortunately, since I still haven’t won the lottery (possibly because I don’t play? I don’t know.), I just don’t have the means to write the big, fat check that I’d like to.
This is where you guys come in.
I did some research, and I found the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. After checking out their website and doing a little digging through Charity Navigator, I planned to set aside part of the money I make through various crochet and writing projects this month for a donation.
I’ve set up a Fiverr gig for anyone that would like to add to my donation. The beauty of Fiverr is that you only have to part with five bucks. That’s right, five measly dollars. Sure, you can donate more (as much as you like!) by ordering multiple gigs, but it’s totally ok to stick with one. To check it out, and maybe throw your five bucks in the hat, click here!
At the end of October, I will cash out the money from this gig and send it to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Every single penny of it. I’ll keep you updated on the gig’s progress throughout the month, and I’ll even post a screenshot of the donation just so you know where your money went.
No, you won’t get a pink ribbon key chain if you donate… You actually won’t receive anything in return. Unless the satisfaction of doing a good thing counts, and I think it does.
There are other ways to help, too.
Do you know someone that is fighting cancer? Call her up and find out what she needs… Be someone she can vent to, go with her to chemo, make her dinner if she feels like eating, offer to babysit her kids when she’s feeling worn down…whatever will make her life a little easier, do that.
Donate a neat wig or a hat to your local cancer center.
Knit or crochet prayer shawls and send them to your hospital’s cancer floor.
Participate in a cancer walk near you.
This October, wear all of the pink you like…but perhaps also consider taking an extra step or two. Every little bit helps.
Here are some links I found helpful when trying to decide where my money should go:
Top Ten Best Practices of Savvy Donors
Should You Buy That Charity Affiliated Product? (Read this before you buy anything pink, please!)
**********
Yesterday, as I was doing a final edit for this post I learned that someone in my community just lost a battle we all thought she had won. I was not close to her, but the news of her passing hit me pretty hard. It’s just not right to hear that kind of news about someone my age, and my heart broke for her family and all of her friends that no doubt loved her very deeply. I plan to donate in her honor, and in the honor of all of the women I know who have fought cancer. Some of their stories have happier endings, but the fight was still brutal. Donate in the honor of someone you know and love, or just donate because you want to make a difference. No matter the reason, your contribution will be appreciated. Please share this post and the donation link if you are so inclined. Once again, here’s the link to my Fiverr donation gig.
Yesterday was my beautiful Mama’s birthday. She’s recently started drinking a glass of wine every night (purely for the health benefits…Wink, wink) and lately she’s been trying to branch out a little.
Since buying wine in the store can be kind of difficult (selecting the bottle with the prettiest label doesn’t always work out well), my SIL and I schemed up a plan to take mom to a local winery.
Coal Creek Winery is so pretty, and they make some really great wine. We had a (free!) tasting, and then we all had a glass of our favorite.
The owner was lovely, and she answered all of our questions and chatted with us like we were all old pals. She had food set out, cheeses and crackers, some chips and dips, and an assortment of little desserts.
After our tasting, we took our glasses out to the deck, where we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our wine and each other’s company.
We got mom a couple of bottles to take home, then we said goodbye to our lovely host and promised we’d be back.
After dropping mom and SIL off, I met up with my aunt and we headed to Brownsburg for the video premier and CD release party for John Stevens Jr.’s new CD.
It was a really fun evening, and the video looks great! I haven’t had a chance to look for myself yet, but pay attention to the crowd scenes because you might see me! Of course, I’m only five foot one, so there’s a good chance you might not be able to see me.
Hashtag, short people problems.
Either way, I had a blast doing it. I got to meet so many fun people, and he’s partnering with Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, so it was for a damn good cause.
Check the video out here, and please consider downloading “She Loves Peyton Manning More Than Me”, either as a single or along with John’s new Brown’s Wonder Album. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent. You really can’t beat that!
It’s no secret that I love football, and I’m a Colts fan through and through. When we lost Peyton Manning, I was sad but hopeful that this new QB, Andrew Luck (maybe you’ve heard of him by now?), would be what our team needed.
A lot of people in Indy just didn’t seem to want to let go of Manning…Lots of diehard fans even still wore his jersey, as if he would miraculously come back. I often jokingly questioned their sanity.
When I first heard John Stevens Jr. singing, “She loves Peyton Manning more than me!”, I cracked up. It’s a really catchy tune about a girlfriend’s (or wife’s?) obsession with Manning. I think that’s probability what The BF thinks about my love of football in general.
Apparently, a lot of other people agreed. The YouTube video has over 60, 000 hits and John has been interviewed for newspapers and on TV news stations…Check out his website for all of the specifics. It’s a pretty great story!
I’m telling you all about this for a reason. John is from my hometown, and I recently got the chance to participate in the filming of the official music video for the song She Loves Peyton Manning More Than Me.
My aunt and I with the legendary Mr. John Stevens Jr. himself, on the set of his video shoot
We had such a fun time, and I was glad I got the chance to be a part of it.
Tomorrow (Saturday, September 20th) is the official CD release and video premier party, so if you are in the area make sure to stop by! John is partnering with Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (St. Vincent, Indianapolis), so not only will it be a great time, but it’s for a wonderful cause.
Need details? click here!
I’ll be sure to share the video with you all as soon as it’s officially released, along with any good stories from the party.
As long as I don’t look like a big ol’ dingleberry.
Ok, fine, even if I do look like a big ‘ol dingleberry.
My friends at Threadless are awesome human beings. The t-shirt pictured below was designed by Boston artist Thomas G. Sullivan and Threadless’ Ross Ziets. 100% of sales go to OneFundBoston.org.
If you’d like to help, click here to order one, then give yourself a pat on the back.
Please share this post on Facebook or Twitter… email everyone you know… Hell, print it and hang it on your fridge if you like. I want to reach as many people as I possibly can.
Thanks in advance readers!
Willfully Disobedient 