Great Strides 2013 - and Tune-Up Info

Yesterday was our Great Strides walk.  I am happy to report that our team raised over $700!!  We didn't have as big of a team as last year, in part because of the weather, but we still had 11 walkers:

Me, Scot, Raine, and Saxon
Steph Terry and her girls Marissa and Ana
Sam Wasmund
Steph Putzier and her son Gavin
Jason Becker

It was Jason's first year walking - it's always nice to add a new person to the group.  We survived the snow along the way, even though it was a little difficult to get through in a few spots with the strollers.  There weren't very many walkers overall.  We usually have to park several blocks away, but this year we parked in the lot right by the park.  We were outside with the kids during the program, so we must have missed the announcement of not going to the 2nd checkpoint.  We got that far and didn't see anyone else there with refreshments, which they normally have.  We also didn't see anyone coming up behind us.  But we got twice the walk in.  One guy from another team decided to go all the way to Soldiers Field, but that would have been too difficult through the snow with the strollers. (I also noticed the date is wrong on my camera!)

Scot, Saxon, and Sax's CF nurse Vicki

Supposed 2 be checkpoint #2

As for Sax's upcoming appointment, our plan is that Sax is getting admitted on Thursday after his surgery.  His tune-up will consist of IV antibiotic cocktail and CPT 4x daily.  He is expected to be in the hospital until May 19th.  It could be a few days more or a few days less, depending on what his cultures grow.  I will try updating here daily while we are in....

11 days til Walk Day

I took the kids out for a walk after school yesterday.  I had spent the last couple days making Hershey's kiss roses for cystic fibrosis.  Attached to each rose was a label "THANK YOU for supporting Strides for Sax and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation  http://www.cff.org/  stridesforsax.blogspot.com"  Hopefully having the websites on there will help spread awareness for cf.  I thought it was pretty sad that a lot of people just flat out told the kids NO.  (I was walking on the sidewalk, pushing Saxon's stroller with the bag of roses in it, and Sax was going up to the doors with Raine.)  We are not asking for a set amount per rose, just a "free will donation" and hoping that will pan out better than a set amount.  It seemed to yesterday too!  We didn't get many people who said yes, but the kids did raise $31 from the few who did!!  If Sax hasn't been so tired today and I didn't have sooooo much to do today, I would have taken the kids out again today to try to collect donations.

Tomorrow I know we won't be going out for long, if at all.  The forecast is calling for rain.  We are holding a team meeting at 7:30 at our house to discuss some ideas for a fund raiser this summer.  My brother had some great ideas that I think we're going to take and run with!  The plan is to assign some duties amongst the team, then we'll all check in/report back when we go for lunch after the walk. If anyone shows up.  I guess I am getting a little frustrated since the number of active members of our group has been dropping.  That includes the number of walkers and the number of volunteers at our events.  But what can we really do?  Hopefully this next fundraiser is successful and we're able to create some awareness and draw in some people!!!

As of right now, my family (Scot, Saxon, Raine, and I) have collected a total of $331 for the walk.  It's short of our goal, but we're hoping to at least get to $400!!

Countdown to Walk Day

This year has been a little stressful when it comes to preparing for the walk.  It just seems like nothing is going right... no one is able to make it to the meetings, we don't have enough support to plan any fundraisers, and when we have planned fundraisers, no one shows up.... it's hard to know what to do and what we can count on.

This year our team is walking not only in honor of Saxon, we are also walking in memory of Baden, who we lost in November to CF.  But our actual walk team is pretty small again this year.  Our team's goal is $3,000, but as of right now (less than 4 weeks to walk day) we are still sitting at $0.

We had played with the idea of Trick Or Treating for CF wearing our Strides for Sax shirts, even though it's not fall and CF Awareness Month is May.  But we've decided we're going to try to do our Chocolate Roses for Cystic Fibrosis again... Recruit a few people to make them, then go door-to-door selling them while wearing our shirts.  In the past, we had said $1 per rose, but we're going to do it a little bit different this year - it's going to be a freewill donation for each rose.  We're really hoping to be able to raise SOMETHING doing this.  We're looking for volunteers to help both with making and with selling the roses....

Wish us luck!

Great Strides 2011

Today was Great Strides in Silver Lake!!  Unfortunately, I didn't even think to take any pictures today. 

Strides for Sax had a small group walking this year - just the 4 (5) of us, plus Steph and Sam.  It was a beautiful day out with sunshine and temps pushing near 70!!  Gotta love it, compared to the cold wind we fought last year!  It was spitting rain on the way there, but fortunately it wasn't raining in Roch at all when we got there.

The walk started out pretty good, but when we got to the halfway point, Mommy wasn't sure how much further I was going to be able to go....  Once we hit the 2nd rest stop, though, things were going a lot better!!  A little hydration and a bathroom break did us all some good!!  Sax even decided to get out and do some walking too :)  He was having a really good time.

I guess a bit of an annoyance we had to deal with - not everyone keeps their kids in control    :(  There were girls about Raine's age who kept passing us on their scooters, then they would cut in front of us and stop and block the path.  We'd go around them and keep on our way, and pretty soon hear "Watch out!" and they would pass us, pull in front of us, and stop again.  It was getting really annoying after about 4 times of them doing it.  Fortunately Raine had to stop and tie her shoes, so that gave them some time to get way ahead of us.

The walk was going pretty smooth after that until we got to the half-way/turnaround point at Soldiers Field.  We were taking a sit-down break while Sax ran around a bit and we had some more water and juice, and there were a couple other teams there.  I was absolutely shocked when a couple members of one of the teams pulled out and lit up cigarettes!!!  With all the CFers around who have lung damage and lung problems, this is just plain unacceptable!!  Even though we have a smoker on our team, she knew better than to even think about lighting up because of the very nature of the event.

Are these people trying to poison the very people they are supposedly walking to save? 

I sent an email to the coordinator Kathryn about this and asked that it be addressed for next year's walk, otherwise we likely won't be attending because I'm not going to risk my son's lungs.

We're also trying to (possibly) arrange to have our own Great Strides walk here in Albert Lea.  They need to add one new location each year, and walking around Fountain Lake would be a beautiful walk.  Kathryn will be getting in touch with me about this soon.  I'm hoping if we have a closer walk location, maybe we can get more walkers to show up!!

Baby Thumpy!!

I was trying to get my little man into his vest and he handed me Raine's baby - "No Mommy!! Baby thumpy!! Baby nebby!!"  He went so far as to try to get out of his vest and put it on the baby.... Oh, I love this little man. He keeps me on my toes.  He's decided now, when he does his morning treatments, he doesn't want to sit on my lap after he's done with the nebby - which is good that he's moving around and exerting his lungs more.

Saxy with his bear and Raine's baby.

That bug he had took a little while to let go.  He was getting better, then got worse, coughing, fever, not eating, lethargic.  We had to make another trip up to see the PA, and made a call to Vicki to keep her posted since we had no idea of what was going on.  Thankfully we didn't have to go back to Mayo!!  They figured it was just a virus that was hanging on a little longer than normal.  He got his appetite back for a few days.  Now it's been 3 days since he's eaten a good meal - it was lunchtime on Monday when he ate a full meal.  It's frustrating, especially since it's so important for him to put on the weight!!!!  I'm hoping that it's a 'stage' and that he'll outgrow it soon!!!!

We have 2 weeks until Sax's next appt in Rochester.  And 2 weeks until Daddy gets his CF tattoo :-)  He's really excited about it - wanted to be sure he gets it before the Walk on May 7th!  I'm not even positive what it's going to be - don't know if he does either - just know he has the time scheduled. Mommy already has a Saxy/CF tattoo....

When it was fresh - purple rose for CF, 4 leaf clover for my little Irish man.

Our fundraiser is all planned - just need to get the posters made now and start hanging them up :-)  We are serving Sloppy Joes at the Aragon Dart Tournament 11am-5pm on Saturday March 5th.  The price is $3.50 for a sandwich, potato salad, and chips and $2.00 for each additional sandwich.  All proceeds benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We are still looking for volunteers for 3 hour shifts - 11-2 or 2-5.  Please contact me if you would like to help serve or hang posters!!

The Great Strides walk is coming up on May 7th at 9am.  We walk rain or shine.  We have Strides for Sax team t-shirts available for anyone who is interested in walking.  You can register by visiting our Great Strides website.

Another Antibiotic, Another Illness

Thursday, after all of our running, Saxy and Mommy made a trip the the clinic.  His nose went from running a little and his head was congested, to blowing out large amounts of green mucus and wheezing.  Any other day, I would just call the doctor to get a script for the antibiotics, but the wheezing had me more concerned.  After talking to 3 different people on the phone, we had an appointment scheduled with one of Dr Ulrich's PA's for 10:45 am.  Much shorter wait time than going through Same Day clinic or Urgent Care, and we get a CHOICE over who we see, which is great. 

This PA Michael seemed pretty good like the last PA we had (Andrew).  He listened to all of Sax's symptoms, what treatments we've been doing, and what my thoughts and suggestions were on his illness.  Sax was really good about the exam - he even climbed up on the table by himself!  Michael looked in his ears, mouth, and nose and listened to his lungs.  He said Sax's lungs sounded ok and he thought any sounds he may have heard were made by the postnasal drainage.

We requested that Saxon not be put on Omnifec this time.  The Omnicef DOES work, but it also causes him not to eat and causes a lot of bm issues... and we've have success in the past with Augmentin, so that's what we decided to go with - 2x per day for 10 days, along with 3-4 vest treatments per day with Albuterol for the first 2-3 and Pulmozyme with the last.  At first it looked like this all was going to work... not so much now.  Many other CF moms suggest we give him probiotics to combat the bm issues - well that's all fine and dandy - IF he would EAT!  It doesn't matter what foods we try giving him if he's not going to eat them!!Last night was a really bad night for Sax... He kept Mommy up until 2am... If he decides to nap today, I think I will have to nap too...

Now, in fundraising, we are having a StridesForSax team meeting tomorrow night to plan for our upcoming fundraiser on March 5.  We are serving food for the annual Aragon Dart Tournament.  The agenda is to discuss and set pricing for the meal, make posters, and discuss any further fundraisers we may want to do.  It's also time to get registered for the Great Strides walk.  Just go to our site to register to join our team today!!  Or, if you would rather just make a donation, you can do that here too!!  We're hoping for a good turnout!!

The Hottest Walk in Town!

Today was Kernal's Days.  Strides for Sax had a float in the "big" parade in the "big city" of Wells. (for those of you not from the area, Wells is pop. 2000 - lol!)  It was VERY hot out there.... the Tootsie Rolls and the chocolate roses were starting to MELT on us!  Here are some pictures of our signs and our float.  I know I still need to get the other pictures posted on here... Hoping to get to that this week!!

Our float w/Uncle Ward's Studebaker

Grammy riding on the float

Already advertising for next year!

Dallas and Abbey, my siblings, with Raine and Saxon,
and Opa in the background before the parade.

It was about 90 degrees when I checked the thermostat.  Missing from these pictures are Daddy, me, and Steph.  I'm sure we have some pictures of us around somewhere!!  We passed out our Chocolate Roses for Cystic Fibrosis, Tootsie Rolls, Mini Tootsie Pops, and CF Teddy Bears.  We handed out posters for the Poker Run too.  (Sounds like a lot of people are just waiting to see what the weather is going to do on if they're going to show up.)  We also came up with an idea for our next (July 3) float - sticking with the red, white, and blue patriotic theme, but making it 65 roses - artificial red white and blue roses!!  Something to think on a while....

After the parade, we didn't stick around Wells - we had to find a way to cool down - especially for the little man!!!  We hit the gas station for some cold beverages (but we DID drink water the whole parade route - Opa brought a cooler!!) and some electrolytes (Gatorade) for Sax, some salt for Scraps in the form of potato chips, and headed to the cabin.  Sax fell asleep on our way there!

The cabin turned out to be a GREAT call - Daddy sat on the deck with Opa while me and the kids took a dip in the pool to cool off!  It was Saxon's first time REALLY playing in the pool.  He didn't like the ear plugs, but realized he got to play more with them in.  I would put him up on the ladder, and he would jump to me, and I'd catch him after he hit the water.  A couple times I let him go under, and he giggled and loved it!  He didn't like when it was time to get out of the water though!!  If it would have been up to him, we would have stayed in there a LOT longer than we did!!

Well, Mommy's face is sunburnt and my legs ache, I'm tired, and the rest of my family is sleeping.... I think it's about time to join them...

Move it Mommy!!

The summer has been just flying by, and in spending so much time with my children and getting my business going, keeping this up has kinda taken a back seat unfortunately.  So now here I am again trying to bring things up to speed.  It's been a busy month and a half!!  But we'll make it a fairly quick summary.  My camera battery is dead, so I will try to upload new pictures tomorrow. 

Saxon just turned 2 on July 8.  We had a big party at our house for him the following weekend, with lots of friends and family!  The kids played in the pool and on the swing set.  Mommy was getting a little worn out from all the prep, so I broke down and bought a birthday cake.  (That's ok, I will have PLENTY of years still to make birthday cakes for my kiddos!!)  We had a SpongeBob theme, with a pinata and yellow plates and 'beachy' decorations.  He LOVED all the SpongeBob toys and especially his bulldozer... we had trouble getting him to put it down long enough to open the rest of his presents!!!  The little man seemed to have a good time though.  We even got Great Grandma Nancy in on the pinata fun!!!

It's been a little tough playing referee lately.  Him and Raine have been fighting quite a bit and there is a little bit of jealousy going on.... We're doing everything we can to try to resolve that issue before it gets out of hand.  Hopefully that doesn't take long.  We've been trying to show her everything he goes through because she has the impression that his checkups in Rochester are fun.  We let her see exactly what he goes through at the checkups and she sees how hard it is and that it isn't fun and games.

As far as Saxon's health, we have some good news and some bad news.  The good news is we are still (knock on wood) without antibiotics!!!  This is the longest he has EVER gone without them!!!  It's such a relief that we haven't had the additional medications and unscheduled visits to the clinic and the hospital!!!  The issue with his lymph nodes has pretty much resolved itself with the use of Claritin.  I've been giving him his allergy medication later in the day so that if he IS exposed to mosquitoes, he doesn't have as major of a reaction.  He swells up pretty good when he gets bites, but that's one of his allergies!! (just in the bite area!!)  Dr P said we will be doing another allergy test before long to be more certain.  The bad news is Saxon's weight is not where it should be.... it's going down again....

We had an appointment at Mayo last Friday, the 13th.  The appointment went pretty well.  Since Sax is 2 now, his vitamin dosage has increased.  Since he is not gaining any weight and getting really picky about eating again, we have started supplementing with PediaSure.  SOOOO happy that WIC covers it and we are covered by WIC!!  He had started out at 2 cans per day, but now we are doing 3 cans per day and are having the PediaSure with Fiber.  That may alleviate any future digestive problems.

The kids have insurance again too!! FINALLY!!!  It only took FOREVER for the county to process the application and decide what they wanted.  The BEST part is that they made it RETROACTIVE to MARCH 1!!!  That is really helping with the bills - we have almost $100 credit just from the prescriptions, just at ONE of the pharmacies!! :-)  At least SOMETHING is going in our direction now!!

We just got a new nebby for Saxon!!  The one we had was the travel version that is not meant for use multiple times a day every day.  So Vicki got a prescription for us for a new one, which was covered by insurance since it was the first one we have requested from them. 

We also got Saxon's vest!!!  It just came yesterday (although I was told that it would be here Wed, and told I needed to sign for it, but both proved to be FALSE).  We had an RT come down from St Peter to show me how it worked.  Saxon didn't really like his first treatment with it - I suppose it scared him and it's something new.  But now that he's done it 4 times (twice yesterday and twice today) he's starting to get used to it and not fighting as much!!  Plus it really cuts down on our therapy time, since we can do his albuterol and Pulmozyme nebbys at the same time that he's getting thumped! So instead of 40 minutes twice a day, it's 40 minutes TOTAL for the day!!  I was told to expect a call from the insurance company in about a week so we can let them know how things are going with the vest.  It had a pretty price tag on it though - $16,500!!!  But that covers a lifetime warranty, replacement parts, and larger vests as he grows.  One step forward on our battle!

We are getting ready for Sunday now.  Strides for Sax has a float in the upcoming Kernal's Day Parade.  We're not positive on what exactly we're doing for the float, but I'm sure it will come together in the end.  Opa has donated money for the candy for the parade.  We're also going to give out some of the teddy bears that we have left from before, and we're going to pass out more fliers for out Poker Run. 

I'm starting to get a little worried about that.... really hoping we have a good turnout since we haven't gotten any early registrations.  I'm at a loss of what to do... If this fundraiser is unsuccessful, I don't know if I'll have the heart left to invest my time and energy into another!!  It's so frustrating, especially after all the work and money we put into these events!!! It's disheartening to think that people just don't care and that the support isn't there!! I would do anything for my little guy, but I'm just wondering what I CAN do anymore.... I don't know anymore.....  I guess all we can do is to hope for the best!!!

Filling in the Blanks

In spite of my efforts, I have not been keeping up with the blog quite as much as I planned on!! So here it is on Tuesday, and I'm going to backtrack to Friday. Or Thursday, actually, would be better. And we'll go from there....


So on Thursday night was our Strides for Sax team meeting. We discussed the parade a little more, still brainstorming on what we want to do exactly for our float. Then we got to the nitty gritty on the Poker Run/Car Cruise.


We will be holding our Poker Run on Aug. 28th, 2010.


This will be open to anyone 18 years of age or older.


It's open to cars, trucks, motorcycles, anything with or without wheels that can make the trek!!


The route will begin and end at the Green Mill in Albert Lea. The stops will be, in this order,
1) the Alden American Legion, 2) Wildcats of Wells, 3) TB3's of Freeborn, 4) Hartland U, and 5) Bend in the Road of Manchester.


Each tally sheet played will draw a total of 6 cards, discarding one, and will based on the best 5 card hand.



Any player can have more than one tally sheet. The tally sheet must be presented before drawing a card.



There are 4 categories for prizes: 1) High 5 card hand, 2) Low 5 card hand, 3) Most CF Spirit (most purple), 4) Early Registration.


All tally sheets MUST be turned in by 6 pm. Prizes will be awarded at 7 pm. MUST be present to win. There will also be raffle style drawings for smaller prizes.





Registration forms will be available at all Poker Run stops or by emailing mindy_cff@yahoo.com. Payments can be made by cash or check payable to "Strides for Sax." Payment must be turned in with the completed and signed registration form.


Live registration will begin at 11 am at the Green Mill.


All participants must sign a liability waiver.




Completed forms can be mailed to Strides for Sax - Poker Run, 1211 Frank Ave, Albert Lea, MN 56007.




So, email or pick up a form and we hope to see you there!!


And that was Thursday.


Friday, Saxon and I made the trip to Mayo by ourselves. We had to be there by 9 am for x-rays. Daddy had to take Raine to school since Sax and I left at 715 to make the appt. We got there early, so we got in to the x-ray early. Our next appointment with Dr Pianosi was at 11.  We had a few hours to kill, so we wandered down to the subway, got some breakfast, then wandered around the clinic and subways for about an hour.  That got boring, so we went back up to 16th and watched Finding Nemo.

At 10:30 we were called back to talk to the social worker.  She was checking to see how we were doing as far as insurance and everything was going.  I told her I applied for MA and MNCare for the kids, since we haven't had insurance since I left my job.  She was going to call Freeborn County and talk to our local case worker about how long our application was going to take, especially since Saxon's medications are so expensive.  She also gave Saxon a new stuffed puppy.  He usually gets a new toy when he goes over there...

Dr. P was running late.  Vicki was gone, so we didn't see her.  I turned on a movie in the exam room (they have Video on Demand there!!) and we started watching Mosters vs. Aliens.  We didn't get to see the whole movie, but we saw most of it.  It was after 12 before Dr. P came in.  We looked at Saxon's chest x-rays - they were good and more clear than at his last appointment.  They hadn't gotten a weight on him, so Dr P took him to weigh him.  He went from 12.5 kg down to 12.1 kg since his checkup 2 weeks ago with the ENT.  I told Dr P that Sax hasn't has as many dirty diaper - he's having plenty of wet ones, though.  and he doesn't seem to have much of an appetite.  Dr P was concerned.  He ordered an abdominal x-ray before we left.  He wanted to make sure there wasn't any blockage... we wouldn't get the results right away....

So that pretty much summed up our Friday.... Saturday wasn't much of anything - just hung out at home and did some cleaning and gardening....

AWESOME

That was how Dr. Cofer, our ENT, described Saxon at his appointment on Friday - AWESOME! No nasal polyps. Tubes are perfectly in place. Breathing sounds great. Hearing test came back with SIGNIFICANT improvements - he can almost hear normal!! Now we just have to deal with the 'normal' male selective hearing. Too bad there aren't any medical remedies for that, I think we'd all be signing up!! I was really surprised at how well Saxon sat for his appointments. He didn't fight too much when it was time to leave the play area. He lead the way to the hearing room. We were all having a little trouble hearing the sounds when Raine decided she couldn't sit still any longer. Otherwise it went pretty well in there. After the hearing test when we went into Dr Cofer's office, Saxon turned his head and let her look in his ears and his nose. The mouth was the hard part. Every time she put the stick in his mouth, he clenched his teeth down on the stick. After about 6 or 8 times, he finally opened his mouth enough to let her see down his throat. Now we have to go back to see her every 6 months for followups. Hopefully we won't be dealing with any more polyps for quite a while!! After 2 years of appointments, we were VERY happy to FINALLY have some good news... and not another setback.

We had a Strides for Sax team meeting tonight. We discussed the float for the 3rd of July parade. Our theme is going to be Unsung Heroes. We are still brainstorming for how exactly to set up the float. We will be needing to set up at least one or two more meetings before the parade to finalize how to decorate the float. We also decided we are going to do the Poker Run. We are considering pre-selling tickets, we have a list of where we would like to use for our stops, and places to ask for donations for prizes. There's a lot of leg-work to do. If this is successful, there is a possibility of it becoming an annual event. We are going to need to find some more people to help with the run..... but we still have the basics to cover first. We're always looking for more people to join up with us!!

Little STINKer

Our little Scrappyman is full of tricks and is keeping us on our toes.

Today we made the trek to St. Peter to pick up Grandma Betty and we had lunch with her, my mom, Aunt Susan and Grandma Nancy. Saxon didn't eat much of his food but loved his M&Ms that auntie gave him. That, and being extremely LOUD while we were eating. But that's ok. He's been so cooped up all week since it's been raining. Plus riding in the car for 2 hours each way didn't help things. He fought me like crazy when he decided he had enough. Then he filled his pants so I had to change him in the car. Daddy had picked Raine up from school because I knew I wouldn't be back in time to get her. Daddy picked subs up for supper, but I was still full from lunch....

Anyway, Saxon is working on potty training. No success yet, but we're at least getting him to sit on the potty... But he took another step towards potty training today. Daddy had changed his diaper and didn't put his pants back on. Well, Sax had a poopy diaper.... so he decided to take it off.... and to sit his bare butt on the living room carpet!! What a little rascal!! What's he going to come up with next?!?!

Strides will be having our next team meeting on Monday, March 17, 7pm at my house!

All The Little Animals

Sunday was Mother's Day... my kiddos definitely made it special!! Saxon and Raine and Daddy treated Mommy to a day at the Minnesota Zoo. Saxon LOVED the aquariums the most!! The sharks, stingrays, fish, and dolphins kept him quite in awe - he was not happy when we left it.. or when we left the zoo. By the time we left, I wondered if we hadn't inadvertently brought home a couple of monkeys instead of our children!! They were about as restless as monkeys!! I'd say his other favorite thing to see was the farm. Not that those animals are that unusual in our area... we can see cows and pig almost anywhere!! But the kids both enjoyed feeding the goats and sheep!! Raine was determined to feed a baby lamb, and Saxon was just squealing like crazy when the sheep and goats licked his fingers to take the food from him!! After petting them, he thought he should be able to pet ALL of the animals - SORRY babe, ain't gonna happen!! But he enjoyed petting and playing with the goats and sheep....



Cystically, Saxon has been doing well still. I see it has made a world of difference having him out of daycare!! He really hasn't had any colds or sniffles or much for coughs since we've been home. I think his health benefits of me staying home are definitely outweighing the financial benefits of when I was working. His health is making the other sacrifices very much worthwhile!! I admit, there are times I feel very stir crazy, but when Scot comes home, I generally get a nice break - he takes some of the responsibility of the children off me. I really appreciate his help!!



Strides is planning when our next team meeting is going to be. I will post the details here once it has been decided. The goal for our next meeting is to approve and start to work out the logistics of having a kiddie carnival and the poker run, and start planning our 3rd of July parade float. We are still looking for other people who want to help out with carnival and to walk/ride with us in the parade. We got a trailer and our entry fee donated, so the rest is up to us....

Disasters - over and over again....

Trying to find the humor in the situation. There's gotta be some, right? We slaved and slaved away for null results....



Strides for Sax held our second fundraiser of the year..... It was looking to be a big one for us to follow up the sloppy joe dinner in March. We were serving pulled pork sandwiches or hot dogs, chips, baked beans, and beverages. We had a bake sale to go along with it. I spent 3 days myself just making candies, fudge, cupcakes, cakes, oyster crackers, and other goodies for the fundraiser. Several others made goodies for it too. It was held at the Union Center here in Albert Lea 11-3. We had ads in the Tribune and Shopper, KAAL TV, Visitor's Bureau, Tribune Weekend Planner, and posters almost everywhere, plus the word-of-mouth advertising for over a month. Everything looked like it was falling into place. We even got the rental fee waived for the Union Center. Talk about Great!!!



Then it was Saturday....... I was up early, had the car packed.... ready to go get the buns for the lunch. Got to Hy-Vee, gave them my name - No one knew anything about them!!!! First bad sign. 1 customer service rep, 1 bakery call, 2 intercom pages, and 3 managers later, and the buns were tracked down. Yes, I ordered them in advance. About a month ago. I talked to Steve. Oh? Steve didn't say anything or leave a note?? Here's my receipt, I paid for them yesterday. He said they would be here after 6 am. Tom rang me up. Is he here? Half hour later and I was on my way to the Union Center. Damn, I'm running late.... I had the key, supposed to be the first one there.... Oh, no one else is here yet!! Need to get the food started!!! Grabbing the roasters, put pork in one, hot dogs in one, beans in one...

Mandi was the next person there.... she had brought some of the buns that wouldn't fit in the car. She, Raine, and I hauled the stuff in. Mostly them as I was trying to get food going and coffee made, etc. This meat doesn't seem to be getting very warm. The roaster was warmer earlier. The beans are ice cold!! The hotdogs aren't warming up either!! What the?!?!?! More of the team started arriving. I told them what I had been doing and everyone jumped in and started getting ready, finishing setting up the bake sale... But why wasn't the food warming?? And the CD player isn't working???? Tripped a circuit. Try another outlet. Another circuit!! On and on!! I can't even count how many times we tripped the circuits!! My small roaster was doing fine heating up the pork - until I plugged in the coffee maker!! Tripped another!! Pretty soon it's 10:45, my sister is on her way to pick up food for her coworkers, and nothing is done!! We got the hot dogs and meat going finally. Beans are cold - throw them in the nuker!!! CRAZY!! The beans were STILL cold when our first customers showed up.... fortunately it was someone I knew, we nuked more beans - crisis averted!! Supposedly....

We didn't expect a huge rush right at 11. After all, the Family Fun Fair was going on at the mall. And the Fountain Lake 5 run. We figured people would start showing up after the run and on their way to/from the fun fair. Oh, here's another couple coming in!! Oh, we know them too.. My Great grandma and cousin. A little later - oh, here's someone else!! It will get busy. We still have some more time!!

A flop. A disaster. How else to describe it.... unknown. Our total turnout: 10 customers (not counting the 10 takeouts). After all of the advertising we did and all the work that went into it, and running to Northfield to get the t-shirts the night before, it was a hard blow to us all.... Now to recover from this.. disaster. The team is rallying together and brainstorming.

Only 2 weeks until the walk. Next fundraiser won't be until after then. But then after that, we have a few more ideas we may try out.... If the team hasn't lost heart. But our team is great. Don't think a little bump will deter them much!!

Thanks to the team for all their work in spite of the lack of turnout!! Erin, Brian, Steph, Brandon, Scot, Saxon, Raine, Damion, Zack, Sam, Mandi. You all did fabulous!!