MS Mondays- My Second Fundraiser Recap!

I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead! I had my second tabling at City Market on Saturday from 10-2 (but only stayed until 1 because it was 15* out and snowing/ super windy!) and spent Sunday meal prepping/ doing a 3 mile cross country ski/ teaching skating. I'm really excited for next weekend because I have two full days off from teaching skiing at the mountain (I had to go in on Sunday for a bit).

We also made this amazing 'fresh market slaw' from a recipe in the Runners World Cookbook. It was super healthy (contained apple cider vinegar/ sesame oil/ white wine vinegar/ sesame seeds/mustard/ chives/green & purple cabbage) and soo tasty! I'll try to post the recipe of it over on my recipes section later this week! We paired it with barbeque 'sloppy joes' (also homemade and pretty healthy)! Perfect Saturday evening meal (while also catching up on House of Cards- we're on season 3). 

While we were only tabling at City Market from 10:15-12:45pm because it was so chilly out, I ended up raising $323 for my MS Run The US fundraiser! I honestly couldn't believe how successful it was and will be adding in a few more tabling sessions this next month because it really is a great way to raise awareness of the relay and MS, while also meeting some great people who have also been affected by the disease. 

So far, with my two tabling fundraisers at City Market I've raised $567! I have another tabling session scheduled for this coming Saturday from 10-2 and it should be nice weather, so hoping to stay for the entire four hours and maybe even surpass this past weeks earnings!

Have you ever tried tabling outside of a grocery store for a fundraiser? How'd it go?

How was your weekend?

How's your training going? <--I spent way too many days last week on the treadmill and looking forward to warmer temps this week and hopefully all my runs can be done outside! I need some fresh air!!!

MS Mondays- In The NEWS

I'm pretty convinced that there will be no greater show than The Office and Michael. Anytime I need to be cheered up or need to laugh I put on the episode when Dwight simulates a fire drill. Gosh it is just so amazing. 

Maybe we should just always start our Monday mornings with a 3 or 4 minute clip from The Office? What would be your choice show or episode to watch just a few minutes of to get you going for the week ahead? 

I hope you had a great weekend! I spent it working (for the most part), so I'm definitely counting down the days until Saturday when I finally get a day off! I've got another tempo run on the schedule today (8 miles @ tempo & 11 total) and then community core yoga donation class at 6:30pm (hoping its a successful one this week)! Happy Presidents Day as well! Very jealous of those who have today off....

I wanted to share with you an article that was published by The Bridgton News about a month or so ago and it perfectly summed up my reasoning behind running my MS Run The US relay segment and also more about my running journey to get to where I am today. I hope you enjoy!

"....I had known about MS Run the US for a few years. I looked into the application process a few times, but had always missed it (the application process starts in August, but the relay does not begin until April). I remember marking on the calendar this year when the applications opened and it just so happened to open a week after my grandfather’s passing...."

".....While out on a run, Stacy is often inspired to dig deeper and push on despite tired leg muscles by memories of her grandfather..."

You can find the full article HERE. 

How was your weekend?

What helps get you in the mindset to start another work-week? 

MS Mondays- ALL ABOUT my FIRST Fundraiser!

Monday...Monday...it's here wayyy too soon! Am I right?!? Is this how people who love their job also feel or is just the rest of us who haven't quite exactly figured things out yet? Either way, our weekend freedom is done and gone and now we've got 5 more days until we get it again! I hope you had a GREAT weekend. We got outside for a bit on Saturday and managed to get ALL the chores done on Friday night, so a weekend of fun (..or well just a Saturday of fun for me as I had to teach both skiing & skating on Sunday) it was. 

I wanted to share with you today all about my first fundraiser that I had for MS Run The US! I did some tabling at City Market (local grocery store) and honestly had NO IDEA what to expect. I either thought it would be slightly successful or a total flop (yeah..not very high expectations at all)! I created a few posters that had what I was doing and why I was doing it in SUPER simple wording, so that it was easier to read and those that were interested could ask me about it or just simply walk on by. 

I think that having the posters really visible next to my table helped immensely because we (Alex helped me out for most of the 3.5 hours..) even had someone drive by and hand out us some money to put in my donation jar!

It was super windy out, so we taped everything down extremely well and had just a few fliers out on the table (one about my yoga fundraiser and one explaining the run) and then some MS Run The US brochures. I only had a few people who actually took the fliers or brochures, but most were just interested in learning about what I was doing and why I was doing it!

I had a goal of getting ~$100-150 from the day (especially since it was so cold) and ended up getting $272!!! I couldn't believe how successful I was and also how many others I spoke with who either had a connection with Multiple Sclerosis or Running! Gosh...I really love my little community when events like this go so well.

I have another tabling in 2 weeks and can't WAIT to get it going! I'm also starting to brainstorm a few other fundraisers I could put together before my relay...so hopefully something will come together soon for them!

How was your weekend?

Any experience with fundraisers?! Any advice??

Long run this weekend- yay or nay?

PS The Olympics must really stress me out because we've nearly eaten an entire bag of sour candy that I got on THURSDAY. Gosh I just love all the Olympic coverage sooo much! What's your favorite event?

MS Mondays- 4 blogs that will inspire you

Monday...Monday...at least it's already started and we're making our way to Tuesday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with fun activities and ZERO chores! I wanted to share with you 5 blogs that I loved reading after coming across this Healthline link sharing over 15 blogs that are all inspiring for those who have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis! 

If you're anything like me, you love to read and have a 'sneak peek' into others day-to-day lives and these blogs certainly give you that with their own personality shining through. 

• Ugly Like Me. This one is really truthful and can certainly give you a glimpse into how emotionally exhausting the disease is at times. Dry eyes, beware! 
• Active MSer's blog. This blog is actually really funny and gives you some enlightenment to the disease. When I opened up his website, the first thing that popped up was 'Sick, with MS' -he had both a cold and living with MS. 
• Ashley's Life With MS. Ashley gives both a great insight into having MS and her struggles, along with posts about helping those who have recently been diagnosed with the disease (she was 22 when diagnosed). 
• MS Connection- This one is run by the National MS Society and they have guest blog posts. Every guest post that I've read thus far is absolutely incredible and so thought-provoking. This post is amazing. 

I always get SO inspired when looking at new blog posts and want to do better posts for you! I sometimes feel like I'm still figuring this whole blogging thing out and trying to find a real vision, so when I get to research others blogs it really gets my mind working. 

What would you like to see more of on my blog?

What would you like to see less of on my blog?

I want specifics! Happy Monday!