It's Up to You...

You must be the change you want to see in the world
Mahatma Gandhi

Just this past Friday, just a day ago Peter passed away after battling a number of years of cancer. He was an incredible family man with 3 children and a devoted wife. He was a chiropractor and lived a very health life. Peter loved life, loved his family and loved Jesus. His wife saw him take his final breath and go be with the Lord.

Noelle, my precious friend, is still battling breast cancer. Hers has spread to her brain and lungs. But let me tell you, she’s still fighting, still trying to live life to the fullest. Noelle has her head on and is in a good place. I am going to take her shoes out on that course again with me. If she can go thru chemo then I can walk 60 miles.



I know all of you know someone who’s battling cancer, lost their life to cancer. I know you know a family that’s been affect by the “C” word. Everyone knows someone from somewhere who’s fighting it, going thru treatment for it, in remission, or has passed away.

We all talk about cancer and want it to go away. We want it to stay away from our children, our families. But “it” continues to hit us where we are most vulnerable. It gives us bad dreams. It rips families apart, takes away dreams. You know what I’m talking about.

But I ask you, what are you doing about it?....


The only way cancer is going to go away is with research and thru that the doctors will find a cure. Some of us fund raise to help with research then we train for a marathon or go even longer and do triathlons, and breast cancer 3day walks. Miles upon miles, fund raisers and letter writing.

Then there are some who sit back and say “I wish I could do something to help but…..”

I ask you again… “What are YOU going to do to help find a cure for cancer?”

I know you want to be a part of the cure. I know that one day when they announce that there’s a cure for cancer that you want to say to yourself “I helped find a cure for cancer. I helped make a difference!”....

I’m telling you now for those of us trying to raise money so we can do our race, walk or whatever, WE NEED YOU. We need you to donate to our cause, if you can’t do that then come to our fund raisers, or get us donors, or get your family to come to our events, or help us when we ask for help to do something that will help us raise money. Even come and keep us company while we're putting in our miles.

I know the economy is bad. I know that life is tough. But it’s tougher with cancer. Cancer does not care about our economy. But together we can still fight this. We can't leave this for our children to do. We have got to set the example. You can't preach at your children to reach out if you don't do it yourself. They are watching us.

So please on bended knee I come to you. When someone is trying to go and fight cancer, reach your hand out and help. It’s your daughter, mother, husband, parent we are willing to invest ourselves in trying to raise awareness and research money for. We’ve come to the conclusion we want to fight this ugly beast. But we need your help. I’m ready to do my part to make a difference. How about you? Don't just sit on the sidelines about this.

This holds true with anything we are facing... politics, employment, life. You first have to want to make a difference before change is going to even start.

Remember what Gandhi said... “YOU must be the change you see in the world.”....

Love,

Busy busy zoom zoom zoom

I am a momma (basketball momma), a wife, a sister, an employee, a 3day walker, a friend and now also a student. I am a busy lady with many plates spinning at one time. Some of my plates are seasonal some are year round. Keeping it all balanced lately has been a challenge especially when one plate needs more attention then what it usually gets like work. I'm blessed to have this incredible sweet man in my life that I adore and love with all my heart. He's my support and my rock. Love you honey. I've put some pictures here for you to see who my treasures are. :-)





Life has been so busy lately.. working 50-60 plus hours a week, keeping up with our teenage girls, working on my wine tasting fund raiser, making sure I'm getting all my school assignments in, making sure everyone is getting enough attention. Finally it dawned on me that I hadn't been training like I should be for the 3day walk so I started walking again.. I thought I was going to die trying to keep up with my parents the other day. So now I'm sore and hobbling around. But I know that soon I'll be getting back into the swing of this again and the soreness will be a thing of the past.

But when I think about all I'm doing and what's going on, I'm living my dream. I'm married to an incredible man. Blessed with two beautiful healthy precious girls. I love my job. I'm so blessed to be healthy enough to be able to walk for miles. I am getting to go to school and have the most incredible understanding professor. Dr. MJ is awesome. She has a class which has quite a few students that haven't been to school in years and years and she gets the challenge of getting us ready for the rest of our classes. To me, she's helping me make my dream come true of graduating from a real university.

Today is my first full weekend off in like forever.. and it's been so nice. Today we walked around Costco's eating the samples looking at all the things that we would love to have. Hey I only need about 10 grand. But I was thinking about stuff as I was trying Kirkland Green Tea..that I am so blessed. I've living my dream. My family is healthy, we are all together. I'm making progress towards my goals. It might not be as fast as some or as early as some. I just need to keep on keeping on and be patient. Both of which I am horrible with but I am making it a point to stay focused.

But when you find yourself busy busy busy.. there are things that you need to remember especially if you have many demands in your life. One thing you need to start off with is your mission statement for you? From there you can make your goals. What are some of your goals? What are your dreams? Your mission statement is something that is short n sweet. Something you can look at when you're feeling frustrated or feeling like you're getting no where.

I'll share mine with you.. since I see you're over there scratching your head trying to figure yours out.

"To be healthy and fit so I can enjoy time spent with my family and enjoy life’s moments being grounded in Christ. To enjoy and embrace learning while attending school, remembering that this is a dream in process coming true. I want to be a positive influence at my workplace and someone who’s always learning, excited to take on daily challenges and be able to provide a productive, fun environment for employees to look forward to coming to."

So get out a piece of paper and write down your very own mission statement. Once you get your mission statement done, you are actually making progress to your dreams in your life.

If you are working towards your dream or living life and life has you hopping all over.. you need to remember a few things.

One- this is the most important. Even when life is going crazy busy remember Jesus in all that you do. Talk to Him, spend time with Him. He will give you the strength to balance the things in your life that you are.

Two- Keep it simple. When I'm going full speed ahead with a zillion projects when I start feeling over whelmed, I step back. I look at everything going on in my life and I look to see what's going on. Sometimes we've put something on us or committed to something that's just too much.

Three- Learn to say NO. Repeat after me.. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". Now I'm not saying to say no to every little thing that your kids or husband ask you to do. But you know what I mean. Don't say yes to something that you know you're going to later regret. Remember NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Four- and make sure you make time for you. Do something even if it's small for yourself. Like I steal my sister and get a pedicure or go to dinner with parents after I walk. Take a bubble bath, go for a walk. Just something simple that gives you joy.

Five- "The night before rule"- Stay away from time killers. Little things add up when you're trying to make good use of your time. Things like set your coffee pot "the night before". Make lunches "the night before", know what you're going to wear "the night before. Shower, "the night before".

Six- Don't sweat the small stuff and keep your expectations realistic. No, you can't do a marathon if you only have two weeks to train. That's not realistic. Same goes with life, if you are working, or a homeschooling, or doing whatever you're doing- keep your expectations on anything other outside events/activities realistic. Don't be hard on your self if you can't be all to everyone.

Well, speaking of wise time spending... I wish there was a way to save time while putting on mascara. Have you ever noticed how much time that can take at times.

So what's your mission statement? I'd love to hear yours.


Until next time... you can make that dream come true.

Love,

A Taste for a Cure..

Hello my incredible friends,

Wow!! Has the summer zoomed by or what?!? I need you to go mark your calendar because we have some fun planned for you!

The Sole Sisters have a fun event for you all to come to.... we are having our 2nd Annual Sole Sisters "Taste for a cure" on September 12th from 2 PM to 6 PM at Scottsdale WineStyles. Last year we had an absolute blast!

This year we are offering 7 wines and appetizers for the low cover charge of $25.00 a person. You'll hear the stories of the wine makers and how they make their wines. We will be having raffle drawings and maybe some silent auctions. So bring your wallet.

Like any great party, we'd love to meet your friends.. so invite them to come and join in the fun. Every penny made at this goes towards the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Arizona 3day Walk.

If you find you can't attend, please feel free to donate online to be in "spirit" of the event

Scottsdale WineStyles address is:
14148 N. 100th Street
Scottsdale, Arizona

I can't wait to see you all!! It's going to be fun...

Love,
Deb


PS... if you have a business that would like to donate towards our raffles/silent auctions there's still time. Email me snister1@gmail.com

May I have a moment?

Wow!! Time has zoomed by since I last chatted with you. Life has been crazy busy between girls and their basketball, work and now school. Yep that’s right I’m now officially a college student. And let me tell you getting those wheels to start moving after this many years has been an adventure. And boy oh boy have things changed since I was last in school.

I have an awesome incredible life and I have my health. It’s such a blessing and something to never take for granted. There are so many around who don’t. Like my ladies that I’ve walked for.

This year the economy is horrible which has made getting donations challenging. Last year at this time I had already reached the minimum I needed to do the walk. This year I’m no where near. I keep pushing on because even though circumstances are tough. I still need to keep walking, and fighting. Cancer doesn’t stop so we can’t either. So many women and their families have suffered and now is not the time for us to quit. So I decided today to talk to you and rally you my awesome troop.

In less then 97 days is the Susan G. Komen 3day Walk in Arizona. I want to be out there with the other walker on the course walking to make a difference. For those who’ve donated thank you so much. You’re helping me get there and are making a difference. .

I have a few ways that you can support me so I can.

1. Go to my page and make a donation. Its quick it’s easy and it makes a difference. http://www.the3day.org/goto/deb09

2. Are you a business owner or have a cottage industry? Then I need you! On Sept. 12th we’re having our 2nd annual wine tasting and we’re looking to have a silent auction and raffle. We’re looking for businesses to donate gift certificates, baskets of goodies, merchandise, event tickets, or even services that we can use for this.

3. And finally... How about coming to the Sole Sisters 2nd annual “Taste for a Cure” on September 12th from 2 PM to 6 PM. Cover charge is $25 to sample 7 wines and appetizers. Along with some fun raffle/silent auction goodies. So bring your wallet! Last year we had a great time. It’s going to be Scottsdale Winestyles at 14148 N. 100th Street in Scottsdale. Invite your friends to come too. See you all there.

When I think of my ladies that I’ve walked for in my past walks; I think about how much they were treasured by their families, the lives they led, how much they suffered along with their families. I remember the stories I was told about them and they warm my heart. I want to be out on that 3day course telling their stories, showing their pictures and celebrating their lives. So please think about it and see what you can do. Thank you for your support

With much love,






http://www.the3day.org/goto/deb09