Karen’s Training Log

Scruffy Walks Through the 20th Cetnury

Following along with Scruffy as he takes a walk through the 20th century. I had made a calendar using these images for my husband a few years ago. Next Friday marks the one year anniversary of Scruffy’s passing.

Just passed the $1,000 mark

Fundraising has been much slower this year than years past.   By this time last year I had already met the $1,800 commitment.  I know the economy is to blame. Four-dollar a gallon gas and large increases in food mean you have much less money to give to charity.

Unfortunately cancer doesn’t take a holiday when prices soar.   Imagine losing your job and then hearing those horrible words “You have cancer”.  Money from the walk goes to help people deal with cancer, now.   Please consider giving up one latte a week this month and make a $20 donation.  Every little bit will help a woman suffering from breast cancer !!!!    Thank you.

Fishawack huge success !

Despite the 88 F temperature, the festival was very well attended. I had a spot in between a vendor who sold jewelry and a vendor who sold hand quilted pillow covers. Cathy came out and kept me company. She brought along a number of new wool hats to sell.

OK, back in February it seemed like a really good idea to knit hats to raise money for the walk. And some sold during the Millburn and Summit street fairs where the weather was chilly. With temps in the high 80’s and everyone doing their best to keep cool, wool hats were not a “hot item”.

Earrings and bracelets sold very well, as did the knit cell phone covers. I recently found a pattern in a book and made 3 to gauge popularity. 2 of the 3 sold !

One of the learnings from previous craft fairs was the need to accept credit cards. A friend suggested using the Avon donation coupons. The buyer simply fills out the coupon with the information and I send it in to Avon. Smart ! This lead to an additional $100 in sales today.

Be green while you train

Did you know ?

• Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption take 1.5 million barrels of oil per year. That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year, according to the resolution.

• In roughly the last 10 years, the amount of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles going into landfills skyrocketed from 1,175 million to 3,900 million pounds.

• Of the 30 billion plastic water bottles sold in the United States in 2005, only 12 percent were recycled.

Imagine if you added in all the bottles from soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, etc ! The numbers becomes staggering.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-06-07-bottled-water_N.htm

There are alternatives to use when training including

• Plastic
• Aluminum
• Stainless steel

Learn more about the different types of bottles at:

http://www.wfaa.com/projectgreen/greenarticles/stories/green080605_ph_waterbottles.1e6cb14.html

Fishawack Festival June 14

Next Saturday I will have a table at the Chatham Fishawack Festival. The craft vendors are located on So. Passaic Avenue, Fairmount Avenue & Post Office Plaza so if you are in the area, stop by and say hello. The festival includes an art show, car show, food vendors and a 5 K race. There will be musical entertainment throughout the day. Learn more: Fishawack Festival

Boston Avon Walk video posted on YouTube

I finally found time to put the photos into a video format. I received pictures from Peggy and Diane who were part of O’Malley’s Pub at Quick Stop B. I incorporated them in the video. This is one of the few Avon Walk videos where I actually make it in front of the camera. The crew at O’Malley’s Pub consisted of Jack and Midge O’Malley, Meaghan O’Malley, Joseph and Diane Mastal, Rasheeda Grant, Peggy Kazdan and your’s truly.

I left on Sunday before closing ceremonies in order to catch the train back to NY. Jack told me that I was in the video shown during closing ceremonies and that the Pub Crew cheered when they saw me. How cool is that ?!

Boston Avon Walk 2008

Dilbert must have a spy in my cube

Not walk related, but really funny.  I work in a highly regulated industry and our work computers are “locked down” to prevent us from downloading software on to them.  I am working on a project which requires software not available on my work computer.  I have been bringing in my personal laptop for the past week to get work done.  Today’s Dilbert made me laugh as I keep looking out the cube opening to see if the computer police are coming to confiscate my laptop.

Boston Avon Walk: A great time was had by all !

I spent last weekend in Boston working as a crew member of Quick Stop B. The theme of our stop was O’Malley’s pub, offering the best “Gator-beer” on the walk route. Saturday dawned rainy and cold. Despite the weather, spirits were high and we set up our tents and tables. We were located along the Charles River next to the Science Museum. We greeted the walkers with green beads and candies. By 10:00 am, the sun had broken through the crowds. The last walker was through our stop by 11:00 am. On Sunday, we set up in a parking lot in Milton, MA. The day was perfect for walking, sunny and cool.

Hand made earrings now available for sale online

I just added my collection of hand made beaded earrings on Etsy.com. Please check back often, as I will be adding new earrings. All proceeds benefit my walk.

Hand made hats benefit my walk

I started knitting over Christmas 2007. My mom was recovering from heart surgery and was becoming bored with bed rest. I purchased knitting needles and wool and had her teach me how to knit.

It became an addiction.

I need to raise $1,800 to walk again this year and decided to sell the hats to help raise funds. I only subtract the cost of the wool, the rest of the money goes towards the walk.

You can purchase the hats through my store on Etsy.com.

Etsy Buy Handmade amberstang

Boston Avon Walk only 11 days away

Counting down until the Boston walk, just 11 more days to go.  I’ll be stationed at Quick Stop B on Saturday and Sunday.  Each rest stop has a theme and ours is “O’Malley’s Pub”, and we’ll be the Irish bar tenders.  Of course we will be serving Gatorade instead of beer.   I think  Quick Stop B is located at the 6 mile point.  Honestly, I never paid attention to the stop designations during the NY walk.  Just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate. I’m told the Boston walk has a history of rainy weather.  It will not be fun camping in a tent if it is cold and raining.  I haven’t camped since I was a kid and I have to say it is the only part of the event I am not looking forward to.

Summit Street Fair

It was another cold, overcast day for the Summit Street Fair. Non-profits were given 1/2 spaces and I was to share a space with the Summit Playhouse. Fortunately, a number of vendors were no-shows, so I was able to move to an empty space. Despite the less than stellar weather, the crowd turnout was pretty good. Because of the chilly temperature, wool hats were in demand. I sold 2 of the hats my mom knit and one of mine.

I put 3 copies of Darryl’s book on the table with a sign. A woman purchased a copy. This makes it the first book sold ! During the afternoon, a woman walked by with 2 dogs, one of them a beautiful Keeshond who looked just like Scruffy.

The day was very successful, with the total raised $200. My total for the walk thus far is $761. Only $1,039 to go to make the $1,800 walk commitment.

Darryl’s book was finally published !

Author, Darryl Schwartz, tells the story of life with his adopted Keeshond, Scruffy. Scruffy the Legend is a true story about love, commitment, and devotion. Although written in a light-hearted and mildly humorous style, this is a powerfully emotional book.

Buy it now on Amazon.com –> http://www.amazon.com/Scruffy-Legend-Darryl-Schwartz/dp/1595942335/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208889581&sr=8-1

If you are on Facebook, join the Scruffy the Legend group.

A cold spring day at the fair

The best one could say about the weather today is “At least it didn’t rain”. The high temperature was 54F with a brisk breeze. Having learned from last year’s street fairs, I didn’t even think about bringing the tent. It would have blown over at least once. The day started slow… no sales for the first 2 hours, but things picked up in the early afternoon. I sold 3 hats ! Black was the most popular color.

Lesley, Carol and Darryl stopped by to say hello during the day. Jane came out and kept me company for the better part of the day. It certainly helps morale to have friends around.

By 4:00, I was a Popsicle so it was time to pack up and head home for a hot cup of tea.

First craft fair of the season

On Sunday April 13, I will be selling earrings, bracelets and knit hats at the Millburn, NJ craft fair. Proceeds will go towards my Avon walk in October.

The next scheduled fairs are Sunday April 27 in Summit, NJ and Saturday June 14 at Fishawack Festival in Chatham, NJ.

Knit one, purl two

Over the Christmas holiday, Mom showed me how to knit. After a couple of practice pieces, I knit my first piece. A scarf. And of course, one needs a hat to go with one’s scarf. This necessitated learning how to knit a hat, a little trickier than a scarf. I found a pattern where the hat is knit on straight needles and then the seam is sewn to finish it. It took a while, but the finished product actually looked like a hat. A little lopsided and full of dropped stitches, but wearable.

And now I am hooked on knitting. After improving my skills on the straight needles, it was time to try circular needles. I found a simple hat pattern and began knitting in the round. When I reached the upper portion of the hat, it was time to learn one more skill - double point needles. It was awkward at first, but with practice and a lot of patience, I was able to finish the hat.

I’m hoping to sell the hats at the craft fairs to raise money for my Avon Walk. If they don’t sell, I will donate them to a cancer treatment center.

Avon Walk video for opening and closing ceremonies

Recently, I received an invitation from Avon Foundation to take part in videos to be shown at opening and closing ceremonies. Over a dozen people were invited. Before going in front of the camera, a make-up artist “did my face”. As I rarely wear make up, it was strange to have all those products on my face. I have to admit, I did look very nice when she was done.

The studio was set up with a white couch where the ladies sat during their time in front of the camera. We were given lines to read and then we were asked to speak to the walkers. That was the hardest part for me because all I saw was the dark lens of the camera. I think public speaking is much easier than speaking to the camera. Playing off the audience’s energy helps immensely. The camera just stares back blankly.

The video will be show at each of the walks this year, so I will be able to see it in Boston in May. I wonder if I will actually make it to the screen, or if my part will be on the cutting room floor

Walk season 2008 begins

Jane and I went to the Avon Walk Great Start Party today at the Scandinavia House in New York city. We got there around 2:00 and the place was packed. It was great to see so many people in attendance. We had the opportunity to catch up with a number of friends from last year. We said hello to our new walker buddy, Stephany. She has some pretty special shoes to fill. Kelley, has moved on to take over the Boston and LA walks.

Gary and colleagues from God’s Love We Deliver (http://glwd.org/) were on hand. And of course they had a basket full of those special brownies. We are really excited to start the 2008 walk season.

Cool jazz music added to walk videos

We are dog sitting this weekend for our friends’ dog Moma. Michael Karn, a.k.a. Moma’s dad, is a fantastic jazz musician. He graciously allowed me to use his music on the videos I made for the walk. To see the videos, visit my page on YouTube.com/amberstang

	Music on the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York, NY 2006 video comes from the Michael Karn Quintet. The song is Momentum and it is from the album In Focus. The album is available on Amazon.com.
	The song on the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York, NY 2007 video is The Big D. The song on the Avon Stars: An Evening at God’s Love We Deliver video is Far East. The songs were provided by Michael Karn and Jerry Waldon from their album Head to Head. The album is available on Amazon.com.

Join me for the Komen 5K run/walk May 4, 2008

Eloise contacted me this week. She is putting together a team for the May 4, 2008 Susan G Komen North Jersey Race for the Cure. It’s a 5K walk/run in Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ. Her goal is to have 500 people on the Novartis and Friends team.

If you have ever thought about participating in a walk/run, this is the perfect distance to start with. It’s only 5K (3.1 miles). That may sound like a lot, but you can do it !

Also the fund-raising commitment should be easy. Unlike the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which requires participants to raise $1,800 to walk, you just need to pay the $25 entry fee. After that, whatever you raise is up to you.

To join, go to the Komen site. On the right hand side, click on the button “Join an existing team”. Enter Novartis and Friends into the team name field and click “Search for a team”. Towards the bottom of the page, you will now see Novartis and Friends and Eloise Keane, Team Captain. Click on “Join” to start the registration process.

Don’t want to walk, run, sleep in, or pray (those are your choices for participation)…. then how about sponsoring me ? Just follow this link to the secure online donation page. http://rfcnj.convio.net/goto/karen.