Thursday, September 20, 2012

Catchin' Up To Do

OK Ok….I know I’ve been a TERRIBLE blogger….  Yikes….if I could only type/write while running I could possibly catch up on some things!  This madness of a count down and making the most of what time we have left before the big day is starting to steal my hours away from me.  Oh…and my job….silly work/jobs get in the way of all the fun J  (Ok not really….I actually love my job..most days J) 
 So where to begin…..I’ve been a bit crazy the last few weeks of maintaining the mileage as well as trying to plan and organize our last little push before the race regarding fundraising and awareness of what we are doing.  (Those who know my perfectionist ways know that just getting it done isn’t acceptable)  Dad asks me every time we are out to the house what day the race is so I really want to make this big for him and surprise him with a big finish to Team Fox contribution.
If you aren’t busy in October…you are about to be J (Hopefully we have something to fit everyone’s schedule)
Here is some updated event details we have for some events we are working on to give it our best shot towards the marathon and most important have fun and raise awareness for our passion with Parkinson’s. 

October 18th…from 5pm-7pm you can fill yourself up with Homemade Chili/Soup Beans benefit dinner at Wyngate Assisted Living (And don’t fear…it won’t be homemade by me for all those who may have had a slight panic attack there).   Along with that there will be cornbread, celery sticks, fresh baked cookies, as well as hot chocolate and apple cider.  They are requesting donations of $5 per dinner, so we’d love to see you there!  Weather permitting as well they will have a bonfire and Jeremy Casto from Party Time DJ Services to entertain!  We have put together some silent auction items as well for the event and would welcome anymore donations to help with it.  All proceeds will go along with fundraising efforts for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

October 20th, we are still having the Scrapbooking Crop in Charleston.  Details (From my cousin Carrie) for this event are:
Saturday, October 20, 2012
9am - 7pm
Southeast Activity building, 50th Street & MacCorkle Ave. Kanawha City

Cost is only $30.00 with proceeds going to Team Spangler / TEAM FOX

We will have cropping, food, fun, door prizes, silent auction and raffles all to help raise money for this great cause, but we need your help and support to make it a success!

Proceeds from this fundraising crop will go to Team Spangler - in honor of my cousin, Terry Spangler - as he is battling Parkinson's disease. His daughter Missy (a fellow scrapper as well!) has been accepted to run the NYC Marathon in November as a member of Team Fox, (Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's Foundation), honoring her dad. These fundraising efforts go directly to Team Fox.

To register, or if you have any questions, please contact Carrie at: cropcarrie@gmail.com or call directly at (304) 437-3850

Our Last and Final Big Party to finish up will be:

 “Shakin’ it Up Social” at the Parkersburg Country Club
 Wednesday October 24th from 5pm-8pm.   

We are finalizing sponsors for that now…so if you would like to participate as a sponsor please please please Email me at MissySpangler22@yahoo.com for more information.  We promise to have some fun activities that remind us of dad to keep in the spirit of how we all have come together, and to have some fun!  We will have a DJ there as well…along with lots of silent auction items to choose from! We will have an assortment of games and activities, T-shirts to sell.  We will have Parkinson’s awareness information as well here to provide and help to anyone we can reach out to.  Tickets will be on sale for $20 pre-sell/$25 at the door and will include 1 drink ticket and heavy appetizers.  We will have a Team Spangler banner as well for everyone to sign for us to give to dad and show him how much support he has.  Feel free to spread the word and invite your friends for a fun evening.  We’ve got 45 days to make some big things happen!
Progress, notes from everyone, and support continue to come in and it’s been so enjoyable to hear from everyone! We received a Dollar From Jefferson and Wood Counties to help with our 55 County Project…we also received a Dollar (With the help of Diane J) from NC, SC, MD, and TX! J  And not to forget that we went “international” this week with an American Dollar coming all the way from England!  I will post a picture soon showing where all the dollars have come from so far for those keeping track!

Dollar for Dad From England! :) 
 Ohhhh and the running thing…see how much goes on J  This is my FAVORITE time of the year to run…scenery is ever changing with leaves, temperatures are much more tolerable, and it’s XC season of course!  Last weekend I did my longer run (however it snuck back down to 2 hours) as a recovery weekend of miles.  I circled around some routes in Ritchie County …funny how I referred to it that day as only 2 hours…..Kinda scary when I caught myself J  I did however sneak a few “tempo spurts” into the run….I took Smokes (the dog) with me for part of the run so every time he saw a squirrel, deer or any movement he decided sprinting was a good idea and we were jetting off before I had the chance to pull him back.  No big fish caught  this weekend….squirrel season snuck in so that was show and tell for dad this time J  This weekend however don’t fear we creep back up to 3 hours….so question is…who wants to run with me or bike J
Sunday’s run was a really nice change of routine.  I got to meet up with my cousin John and talk his ear off while we ran for a little over an hour. J  It’s always nice to have company and a new route to keep things changing.  I’ve been keeping the evening runs steady as to logging the miles, and trying to throw in a little bit of speed work throughout as to what the workout calls for.  How far is this race again….ohhh yes 26.2 miles J  I’ve been chatting a lot lately with other fellow Team Fox goers and am so glad I decided to do this journey and take all of you along with me!

I leave you today with a thought I asked someone the other day who kept complaining about something a little senseless..."What have you done today to make a difference?"....I ask myself that a lot when the little things seem to matter more then they should to help put myself into prospective of what matters...my goal is to somehoe make a difference in something each day.....so what did you do today?
Now…I hate to run (no pun intended) J…..but I better get back to it….I’ll check back in soon…..  Don’t forget….45 days to make a difference!

I think I gave away a few secret stories of dad (or was he my coach?) this night :)


Terry's Kids Reunion Evening