Virtual Walk Movie

I am always saying walking is the easiest exercise.

If you still need a reason to get out and move, try something new.  Take a camera!  Take pictures along the way.  Or, maybe make a movie.

You don't have to be Spielberg.

My Unplanned Walk

I left for the beach one morning.  I planned on walking with some friends, unfortunately, I had the wrong information and arrived with no one in sight!  Blame it on me, I made an assumption that I knew where to meet.  Wrong.

Because I had driven all the way and it was a real California day, I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to stroll in the sunshine.

I headed north and worked my way to the harbor and the boardwalk.  Turned around and headed south along the coast.

See the little dot that looks like it's sitting on the ocean, it's a restaurant at the end or a pier.  Let's head for that.

We're getting closer...

We're here, I can't remember the last time I walked here.  Walk through the arches and the restaurant is at the very end.

It's a beautiful day,walkers, fishermen and surfers.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMjO6v17FvA

You can see all kinds of activity on a walk.

Martin, a rose is a rose!

As you all may have read I finished the 3 day Susan G Komen walk.

I met a lot of wonderful and interesting people while training for the walk.  One particular person stood out among the many people.  Martin.  Not because he was, as I call him, “our token guy” but, because he held his own with all of the women on the team.  He cheered us on, led us when needed and held back when those of us needed to slow down.

I’m not sure how many 3 Days he has done or how many times he has been involved behind the scenes.  I think he finishes one and goes on with another in some capacity or another.

He did some research on breast cancer and came up with an astonishing figure.  At this writing 272 people die from breast cancer over the course of a weekend.  Simply put this means in the course of walking one 3 Day event 272 people die.

Martin figured out a way to let people “see” this figure.  Roses.  Along the 3 Day course some members of our team picked up bunches of roses, starting at 7am on Friday till the finish line at 4pm on Sunday.  We gathered and carried a total of 272 roses.

 This was a conversation starter.  Even though we were all walking for a cause, the enormity of this issue can sometimes be difficult to imagine. The hope is that each year this figure will go down.

My local newspaper gives awards:  roses for good, and raspberries for bad.

Martin, this rose is for you!

Susan G Komen 3 Day 2011

We did it, 3600 people!  3 days, 20 miles a day, very small tents, hot water in the showers.  And, the food was good- except for the coffee, instant doesn't quite make it.  People were great and I had the best team there!

The weather was almost perfect.  A light drizzle on the last day, but, we didn’t hesitate for a minute.

Del Mar, California is totally dark at 5:00 in the morning.

People still need their coffee!

There is already a line of cars dropping people off.  The trucks are lined up ready to take the luggage. We are allowed one bag at a 35 pound limit, including your sleeping bag, mattress, clothes, shoes and any extras you might need. (Like soap and shampoo and deodorant!)  My duffel was stuffed.

My team started to arrive.

The sun started to rise as we got ready for the opening ceremony. Martin, one of my teammates carried one of the flags, “Neighbor”.  This really got to me.  Sometimes during the training I would lose focus about what we were actually doing.  “Walking for a Cure for Breast Cancer”.  A hideous disease that can affect everyone.

3 People I walked for:  my aunt, my sister in law and a girl I've never met.

This is from the opening ceremony:

We walked through Del Mar and Torrey Pines.  This is a view going up Torrey Pines.

Lunch in La Jolla, then walked to Pacific Beach and ended in Mission Bay.

 Our home away from home.  We were told to bring some kind of tarp or shower curtain to use on the tents.  Because we camp at the beach everything gets wet and we weren't sure if it would rain.

 We also need a way to find our own tent.  There's a lot of pink out there, so we decorated. I wrote names of those I walked for on mine and used Flag Banners from m.o.m.

Saturday morning, what have I gotten myself into! This didn't look promising.

 Nothing stops this gang!

 The view from the bridge. The sky was even pink!

 Great sights along the way.  The two vans are "sweeper vans".  If you have a problem and need a lift they will take you to the next stop.

This is one of our policemen bikers.  They rode along with us and cheered us on making sure everything was ok.  Notice the pink handcuffs.

Little ones gave out stickers and Hi fives.

 Yes, those are "boobs" on this babys hat!

 Cheering ballerinas!

The crowds were terrific.  Music, cheering all along the streets.  I even met Sponge Bob (I thought of you Steve), I thought he was taller.

Ah, should I explain this one...

This man and his antique fire truck, followed us every day.  He would park along the street cheer and then move on down the road.  A lot pf people did that, so much so we felt like we knew them.  The sign says "3-DAY WALKERS ARE HOT"---I should have moved over!

You see the nicest people on the road!  My niece Bethany and her boyfriend Dave, found me on the trail.

Ok, my team wanted to walk in to the final stage together and we had time to spare.  What to do...have a Margarita and wait for the whole team to arrive.

This is Francy my training partner and Amy my team captain.  2 wonderful women I met just this year.  Francy and I walked a marathon this year to celebrate her birthday.  Amy organized so many great training walks she not only got us into fantastic shape, she won the "Best Trainer in San Diego Award"...She also got her own "stand up" tent!

 This is me and Cassidy, the youngest member of our team at 16. I think I'm at the other end...don't make me explain.

We made it, the closing ceremony at Petco Park, downtown San Diego.  My team Powered By Optimism raised over $108,000.00   Totally San Diego raised over $9,000,000.00

 So here I am in my glory in the company warehouse.  I'm walking and working.  I mastered my blister problem. I figured out how to handle my knee issue before the walk.  This is reason we had so many training walks.  It was a great experience.  The weather worked in our favor and the clouds didn't open up until after we got in the car to go home.

Thanks for all your support I couldn't have made it without your help and encouragement.  I'm signing on for next year...want to join me?

I'm ready | PamelaAnn's NutriMirror journal

I'm ready | PamelaAnn's NutriMirror journal

26.2+ miles!

 I "walked" a marathon with my friend Francy!

This was her first, my second. She is calling this her first annual birthday walk.

We started at 5:30, with coffee cups in hand, a back pack full of snacks and water, a flash light and some pepper spray.

It's still dark. I'm talking black dark.



We started seeing light between 6 and 6:30.

Just before 8 we met up with the rest of our team. We both belong to the "Powered by Optimism" team. This is a group of about 30 some people who have sign on to do the 3 Day Walk for the Cure. This is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer event being held in November in San Diego. As soon as they saw us they started singing "Happy Birthday to Francy".

It was a sight. We usually wear a team shirt, but this time they were totally "pinked out". Pink is the Breast Cancer color. Today they had on pink tutus, pink feathers, hats, scarves and a few carried signs. Needless to say we did attracted a lot of attention. 

The girl on the bench has been chosen for the 2012, 3 Day Walk Commercial. 

The best was when people came up to us and said they were cancer survivors and how much they appreciated what we were doing.

The big group was doing 14 miles and were having lunch.











Francy and I had already done 9 miles when we met up with them so we still needed 3 miles to make it official. We jumped ahead at about the 13.5 mark and continued on. We got back to the restaurant and another round of Happy Birthday.

Francy and I walk about the same speed, a little fast.
Because we were going for the "big" walk we did slow down a bit. 

We were on this bike path for a little over 8 miles.

It was alot of fun.  The last 3 miles were the hardest and I do have blisters today.  But, you know what, I'd do it again!

I've been feeling tall lately!

Sylvia, stop laughing. I’m standing taller. At least in my mind I am. All the walking I’ve been doing lately might have something to do with it.

There is something about walking and standing tall that goes together. Walking is my exercise of choice. This is something I feel I will always be able to do. I don’t feel the need to run a race. But, I will walk everywhere, as long as I can. Sometimes I take a camera. Walking isn’t a chore for me, I enjoy it. If you haven’t been active, this is a good choice. It fits into most budgets. A comfortable pair of shoes will do. Start with short walks and work your way up to longer ones. I worked up to a mountain I am also going to do the Susan G Komen 3 day walk for the cure in November. What have you chosen to do to be active? Do you Hula Hoop (NancyLee94), run or bike (to many to list) or are you still searching. I watched a video of Kristel doing Zumba, wow I was ready to signup. Tennis, bowling, golf, the idea is to move. There are a lot of choices, keep trying till you find something that fits. And remember, when you get bored, try something else. But really, does this pack make my butt look big?

9-11-2011

The Fallbrook fire department hosted a hike today. Over the years there have been walks to mark the Anniversary of 9-11. Most areas have used high rise buildings, Fallbrooks highest is maybe 2 floors.

So, the Fallbrook Firefighters marked Mt Monserate with signs that told how many floors we would walk going up. 20, 40, 60, 80 and 110 floors, the height of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. 1.5 miles.

A lot of people came. Local firefighter with their trucks. The Marines who ran up. The walkers included the old and young. Families with small children, on shoulders or on their fathers back. Other young kids were able to walk on their own. High school cheerleaders brought their lively spirit. I met Alisa at the at the beginning of the climb and we completed the hike together. (Thanks for letting me keep a slower pace going down the mountain!) Some people brought their dogs. (Note to people with dogs, please make sure you have water for them! This was a steep climb and they need water just like we do.)

When we signed in we received a shirt and were asked to pick a button to pin to our shirts. They were pictures of our fallen hero's. This is mine.

I made it to the top.

The proceeds go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

75 Day Sketch Challenge

I recently completed a “75 day sketching challenge”. The only rule was to sketch at least 1 “ink” drawing a day. This is hosted by Brenda Swenson

I haven’t done any drawing in a long time, so I saw this as a “good challenge”. Besides, when the challenge has been completed Brenda will send an ARTISTIC LICENSE, if you let her know you’ve finished. It looks like a drivers license but it’s artistic instead. Cute idea.

Here are some of my attempts.

Looking at object and not at paper:

Curtain:

I've never worked with pen before and didn't know how to shade. My friend jc, sent some examples for me to try:

Applying my new shading technique. This is the corner of my hutch:

A shameless plug for NutriMirror (see side bar):

jc was so helpful in sending lessons and examples. This is one she had me add color too.

Working on perspective:

This is the Chapel my daughter was married in:

I can't draw anything from memory. A teacher once told me to take my own pictures of a subject I like, then draw from that. So, that's what I do.

Of course I'm only sharing the pictures I hope are recognizable. The really bad ones I'm keeping to myself.