Relay Season and a Wedding...Am I Crazy?

3 Relays and a Wedding in 3 Months...

From April to June, 2012 I will oversee my three Relay For Life events and get married.  Yes, I am officially crazy because my wedding will be exactly 2 weeks after my last event ends.  You might say..."why are you doing this to yourself??" Well the truth of the matter is when my fiancé and I sat down with our calendars there was really only one weekend that worked, so on June 30, 2012 we are getting married.

So how does one plan essentially 4 large events? A very well organized calendar and lots and lots and lots (did I mention lots?) of checklists.  Basically I wouldn't be able to do this if I hadn't figured out how to organize my life while in college.  I am quickly becoming a master at prioritizing my time to accomplish as many tasks in as few hours as possible.  This is 100% necessary because wedding planning is turning in to it's own job on top of a very time consuming job.

Now I am luck because all three Relays are in three different months, meaning I shouldn't be totally drained by the time my wedding rolls around.  But unlike my Relays, my wedding will not be purple.  This was something I decided right from the beginning: no purple in my wedding.  That simple idea has definitely helped keep everything separate.  So if you are planning a major event around Relay season and you don't have to have it be purple...don't make it purple! You'll enjoy the event (& planning) more than you would ever believe because there is a very clear difference between it and Relay. 

This post isn't about me venting, it's actually about this piece of advice: before you start ANY project get yourself organized.  I don't think I'd be surviving the start of planning the 2012 Relay For Life events and my wedding if I wasn't organized and didn't keep binders for everything.  I know I have about 9 months to my wedding but I've only got about 7 months to my first Relay and I want to make sure I am well ahead on the planning for all of them.

OH and if you are planning any event as major or big as a wedding...DO NOT do it alone! You won't be able to, especially if you have a fulltime job.  So find someone or someones to help, it'll make a world of a difference.

So let's so how I'm doing in a few months when more deadlines for both Relay and my wedding start overlapping more...fingers crossed I'm being as proactive as possible.  In the meantime click the "support badge" on the top right of my blog and donate to the South Harford Relay For Life in Maryland and help me raise $1300 this year in the fight against cancer! 

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Until We Find a Cure

Getting started on Relay Season 2012!!

On September 1, 2011 the 2012 Relay For Life season officially began!! I know it might sound weird to think 2012 when it's still 2011 but for Relay we start on September 1 and go until August 31 of the next year.  This being said all of the brand new websites went live on 9/1/11 and let me tell you...they are so nice! A definite improvement and change over the websites we've had for a few years now. Check out relayforlife.org to see the updates and find your local Relay.

Another great thing about starting the new Relay season is getting started on building committees, getting teams and participants signed up, and holding Kickoffs.  If you've seen any of my other posts you know that I've lead the organization of 4 of the 5 Kickoffs held at Virginia Tech. Obviously I really enjoy planning them (or else I wouldn't have reapplied for the position twice) and I think they are a ton of fun.  However when help lead one this Monday it will be the first community Kickoff I'll have ever been to. I'm super excited about it and have had way too much fun making the decorations.  Here is a sneak peak of the decorations for our football themed Kickoff:

 Check back next week for a recap of the Kickoff and more pictures!

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Until We Find a Cure

Look Good...Feel Better

When women go through chemotherapy and radiation they deal with many different side effects of the medication but sometimes the hardest is not the nausea or lack of appetite, but instead not looking like themselves.

A side of effect of chemotherapy that is visible every day is hair loss.  For women their hair is a large part of who they are, so when it falls out or becomes very thin they don't feel like themselves anymore.  The American Cancer Society offers free wigs, turbans and hats for any women who wish to receive one. You can find them at your local American Cancer Society office.

Another a side of effect of chemo and radiation is skin discoloration and texture change, especially on the face.  Look Good...Feel Better is a programed designed to help women and teens (male and female) apply make-up and use skin care products to help the patients feel better about themselves and boost their self-esteem.  The program is a non-medical program designed with the idea that if one feels better about how they look they will start to feel better overall.  When a woman arrives at the session she is presented with a never before opened skincare bag that is tailored to their skin ton (light to dark) filled with donated cosmetics and skin care products.  The session is then led by a trained facilitator (who must be a licensed cosmetologist) who demonstrates how to apply the makeup, properly wear a wig (if needed) and begin to feel better.  The sessions typically run for about 2 hours and are held typically held at the local American Cancer Society office, Discovery Shop, or hospital.  They are a wonderful free program the American Cancer Society offers because it allows cancer patients the opportunity to feel beautiful again even when they are feeling their worst. For more information check out http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org.

These are a great videos done by the Harrisonburg American Cancer Society office about Look Good...Feel Better and other products/support at your local office:





The American Cancer Society also offers free bras and prostheses to women who have undergone mastectomies.  There are trained staff and volunteers at local offices to help properly fit a patient so she can feel beautiful and like her old self again.

As always if you would like more information about this Patient Services Program, any of our other programs or to find out any information related to cancer you can visit cancer.org or call toll-free to 1-800-227-2345 at any time of the day or night.

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Until We Find a Cure