Project 12 - September (gulp!) and October 2011

Amidst all the other things going on in my life last month (namely; kids, house, new PAC duties, kids activities, husband, figuring out Stampin' Up! .... etc) I completely forgot about my September layout for my beloved (hear that Davinie!) Project 12. My bad. My total bad!

I have managed to carve out some "me" scrapping time this past week (see my December Daily post) and got not only September's layout done but October's too. Yay me!!!

Let's start with September ... sketch first ...

The left hand page tells the stories of early September - our trip to Lynn Canyon's suspension bridge and the girls returning to school. Paige started Kindergarten so it was an especially memorable September.

Close up of the embellishments. 

The right hand page features a picture (that I love!) of me with my girls on my birthday. Tucked down in the corner is a picture of our van after Greg and the girls were hit by someone running a red light at a nearby highway intersection. SO blessed it was not more serious! I do want to remember the incident though as it really impacted us for several weeks so in the layout it goes!

And that brings us to October. 

The left hand page features a large picture of me with Team Pinkalicious Pandora supporting my amazing friend Beth who is fighting Stage 4 Breast Cancer with every fibre of her being. This lady doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit"! Go Beth!!!

Underneath are small snapshots of the first half of October. Marley and Paige playing soccer, LC riding a pony for the first time ever, and one of two Thanksgiving dinners. Yes, we scored two turkey dinners this year!

Some close ups. 

I added the girls' team names. 

The right hand page talks about Hallowe'en. LC was old enough to get into the spirit this year - doesn't she make a super cute kitty?! 

As you can see I had lots of fun embellishing these layouts. I've added way more to my pages than I normally would and am super pleased with the look. Ever evolving, I am!!

Thanks for coming to see my work. 

Walking for the Cure!

Today was the day! Team Pinkalicious Pandora had fun walking through the streets of Vancouver in support of an excellent cause. As soon as I get the team photo I'll pop it into the post here ...

Edited Oct 12th - Beth sent me this picture of Team Pinkalicious Pandora. Aren't we a good lookin' bunch?!

... until then, here are some other shots from the morning.

Pre-race energy - mmmm ... Timbits!

Tanya, myself and Shannon.

Approaching the start line - finally! With all the people it took ages to get moving. It was worse than the Sun Run for congestion! But we were there to walk, support Beth and her family and enjoy the sunshine so the slow pace was not a problem.

Pinkalicious Pandoras in all their Pinkalicious glory! Beth with her daughters Kate (on left) and Emma. Beth's husband Mike is the man walking behind with the stroller and in the bottom of the stroller is their son, John. The kids did amazingly well - considering. There were a few melt downs and Kate need a piggy back a few times but all in all, they were awesome!

Then there was this guy.

He did the walk with his cat on his hat. A real live cat! 

Apparently this was their 3rd year doing the walk like this.

It truly takes all types!!

The walk took us under the Chinatown gates.

And here we are approaching the finish line!

It was a moving experience. Seeing everyone with names on their pinnies - Moms, Aunts, Sisters, Grandmas, friends, co-workers and even the odd man's name too. This is truly a disease that needs to be defeated! I was so glad I took part and hope that next year I can turn it into a family affair. It's on my birthday next year so it seems destined!

It's not too late to donate to this walk and the cause in general. To donate to my team please click on this link. (Hope it works!) Thanks!

Run For the Cure

Or in my case, Walk for the Cure!

I'm participating in support of my friend Beth Heras who is battling breast cancer for the second time. She is now in Stage 4 so prognosis is grim but hopes are high. If you'd like to support me please go here to make a donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

I have (in typical Alison fashion) left this to the last minute! Life around here tends to swirl at such a pace it's easy to get swept along and forget to do things you've resolved to do. It's terrible and I'm not trying to make excuses. Supporting Beth and all the women who are fighting, will fight and especially those that have fought bravely and lost is important to me. The older I get the more my own mortality plays a role in my every day decisions. Not to say I dwell on it, but I'd like to be there for my kids when they are "all grown up". Beth is my age - younger actually - and her children are ages with mine so the parallels are unavoidable. The thought of leaving Marley, Paige and Christine right now freaks the living daylights out of me! They are so young! I have so much more that I want to teach them, share with them, experience with them. I can only imagine what Beth is going through!! If the little money I can raise can help find a cure that can save her or other young Moms like her, then it will be a job well done. Late or not!

I also want to sell some cards I've made with a stamp set Stampin' Up! released in the summer to raise money for Breast Cancer Research.  Here are some pictures of them. Once I figure out how to do this (paypal? etsy store? eBay?) I'll let you know. If you're interested, please leave me a comment.

Thanks. Think Pink!!