UPDATE: Bake Sale total!

Just wanted to let everyone know my bake sale was VERY VERY successful!  I was hoping to raise about $500 or so.  Well thanks to everyone's help who baked something for the sale and for those who bought some of the baking - THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH.    Mom & I braved the cold temperature at the front of the store  for 8 hours selling what we could.  I think it wasn't as busy as we had hoped - that could've been due to the frigid temperatures outside.   The only other down side (the first being the freezing temperatures near the door) was that we didn't sell out.  If we sold out - we were looking to raise about $1300 or so.     

I am happy to say that we were able to raise $960!!!!!!!!  i think that surpassed my $500 goal by a long shot!!!!   Here are some photos from the day.

Stay tuned for more fundraisers.  We think another bake sale might be in the works again, since it was so successful!    And maybe a hotdog sale as well....   I am also working on getting a big ticket item *fingers crossed* that i am hoping to raffle off!  Will keep you update!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Candice

BAKE SALE!!

This Saturday Dec 13, 2008  - a bake sale is being held at the Zellers Central City Location in Surrey. For those that don't know - thats the old Surrey Place Mall.  All funds raised goes to my Team Diabetes fundraising for the Canadian Diabetes Association - come check us out - i'll have forms there if u want yo make just a donation and not buy the yummy goodies that was all baked for YOU!  We're hoping to raise $500 - some come say hello - and get my treats - and if you've had my baking - yo know whats in store!  we are starting about 10am i believe - until we sell out! so act fast!  we are selling them in 2 different size boxes - so they are great if u want to take them to a party that your heading to but don't know what to bring - as they are assorted baking in each box!

a sample of the goodies:

rice krispy squares

gingersnaps

chocolate chip cookies

homemade peanut butter cups (they are HEAVEN)

butter tarts

cupcakes

shortbread cookies

sugar cookies

brownies

thats all i can list off the top of my head!

even if you come say hi - and show your support i would greatly appreciate it!

See you all on Saturday!

Candice

There's always another way

A bit ago I joined Twitter, to keep those updated on my progress of my fundraising - alternatively i have made more friends - gotten some great fundraising ideas and well - i have a blast all day on twitter at work - venting (sorry about that guys) chatting, meeting knew bloggers out there  and well seeing what everyone else is up to and has to say.  One day i stumbled upon John Chow. You really should check him out - he makes his living with his blog - i can only wish!   

John Chow his holding this AMAZING contest! He is giving away $6000 in cash!  $5000 will be donated to the charity of your choice & $1000 would be for you to spend however you like! Now with the holidays already here (i still can't believe it!)  who wouldn't want to help out a charity and go spend the rest on yourself!   Personally, I would donate the $5000 to the Canadian Diabetes Association (part of my Team Diabetes fundraising of course!).  And after thinking about it -  that extra $1000 - I would probably put part of that to side for me for some spending money when i do my marathon in Australia - then the rest - since it is the season of giving - I'd like to help out a few other charities out there - the Surrey Food Bank would be one for sure.

This contest that John Chow is holding is being sponsored by XR.com.  I checked them out - its actually pretty cool - they take your super long  URL's  (like mine http://candicesaustraliamarathon.blogspot.com - what was i thinking!?) and they make it into a tiny url!! Mine becomes http://xr.com/4ax.    SUPER COOL! I use it whenever i can now!! You should check them out!!!

Upcoming fundraising events

Can you believe its already December?! Where has the time gone?!  Well today is the first deadline of my fundraising - i needed to raise $3000 by today - AND I SURPASSED IT! Thank you to everyone who has helped me out this far!  I still have a long ways to go though - next deadline is in February!  

On that note...

The hotdog sale that was planned for tomorrow Dec 6 has been postponed (probably till Dec 20).  Mom has come down with a terrible flu - and i need her there to help out during the day - as it is happening at her place of work.  anyways - i am pretty sure it will be the 20th of Dec - will let you all know asap.   

I am still looking for anyone willing to donate anytime of baking  for the bake sale Dec 13.  I will need all baking by thursday dec 11 (i can come pick it up during the week after work - then it will just go in the freezer at the store till we are ready to sell on saturday)  or feel free to bring the baking to me on the 12th if you need to - i will be at Zellers after work (3pm) till whenever - as we are taking all the baking and sorting it all into boxes and selling the baking that way. perfect to buy if u are going to an open house or party that weekend - and don't want to bake yourself? come purchase a box or two or three :)

The bake sale (and hotdog sale when we do have it)  will be at Zellers Central City (aka Surrey Place Mall). We will be located inside the store at the main entrance!  

Remember - all proceeds from both sales will be going to the Canadian Diabetes Association - so even if you aren't interested in  buying - please drop by and donate what you can - i will have forms if you are interested in donating cash instead (always welcomed).

One more little thing, not sure what to get someone for Christmas, why not make a donation in their name to the Canadian Diabetes Association through my Team Diabetes fundraising!  Not only do you help out a great charity but the person you donate for will get a tax receipt!  ($15 and more gets a tax receipt)

I am sure i will be on here a few more times before Christmas - so enjoy your shopping,  come buy some amazing baking and say hello to me! you can even meet my mom!

Happy Holidays!

Candice

Surprises, deadlines & a hotdog/cookie sale

So this past friday I got my reminder email from Rebecca, my Team Diabetes co-ordinator,  about my first deadline on December 5, 2008.  I was $1049 short of the $3000 needed for Dec 5th.  Ok - not bad -  I had just mailed out a cheque that morning for $335 - then i knew i had to really push it to raise the rest of it before the deadline.   Saturday evening i went to my mom's work Christmas party, where i was surprised to learn that all the proceeds from the raffle draws were going to be donated to Diabetes association fundraising i was doing!  I cried  - but in amazement that this was actually happening!  Thanks to Zellers Central City $500 was raised that night! THANK YOU!! Plus a few extra donations that came in on the weekend  - i have no surpassed my Dec 5th Deadline!   

Now i have to start planning for my February 2009 deadline - $6000 (april 2009 i will need $9000).  I am holding a hotdog/cookie sale on Dec 6 @ the front entrance to Zellers  @ Central City Mall.  come see me - i will be there all day till the hotdogs &  HOMEMADE Chocolate Chip Cookies are sold out!

How To Donate

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.   The website for Team Diabetes has changed a bit - so when you click on the link - it will automatically take you to the diabetes association website.

Basically go to 

http://www.diabetes.ca

click on DONATE NOW in the upper right hand corner

then click on Pledge a Team Diabetes Participant

Then enter my name - Candice Chamberland

and there you go! Just please make sure to double check that when you are on the page to enter your credit card information - that it says my name at the top of the page.

If you don't have a credit card and would like to donate with cash or a cheque - Please email me - and i will make arrangements to come pay you a visit (or you can email me if you like)

candice.chamberland@shaw.ca

With all of my heart THANK YOU to everyone who is helping me along my journey and who is following me and supporting me!

Candice

World Diabetes Day

Today, Nov 14 has been declared World Diabetes Day.  I spent my morning working - and updating my facebook status & twitter status every 30 minutes with facts & myths about diabetes.  I really am not sure how many actually my twitter updates or facebook updates - but even if i reached a dozen people - those people have taken in something they did not know about diabetes and are now able to share that information to others - and well - i am hoping those people share it with others and so on.    I spent my afternoon visiting the offices in the area I work, using my connections trying to spread the word about World Diabetes Day and trying to get more pledges for my Team Diabetes Fundraising.  I also spent a few minutes with Buzz Bishop of 95Crave telling him my story about why I am doing what i am doing - you can read that in an earlier blog here.  Thanks again for letting me share my story Buzz!  

On a side note - if you live in Surrey - or pass through you probably have seen the World Diabetes Day flag that is flying high and proud in Guildford - here's a few photos i took this morning

So there is exactly 3 weeks from the December deadline  and i am  $1200 short of the deadline amount - panic is starting to set in - but luckily - the panic is just brought more and more ideas - who wouldnt love to do a hot dog sale on a saturday right before Christmas! Bonus for hungry Christmas shoppers in a busy department store! Gotta love my connections!    Please everyone - if you have been thinking of donating - there really is no excuse to wait - today is World Diabetes Day!  I find it a very fitting day to place those donations - and well for everyone else - i KNOW it was payday today and its YOUR payday next week too... PLEASE click here to donate . 

Some info for you, that you may or may not already know - Please share we need to spread the word!

So you know there is Type 1 & Type 2 diabetes - BUT did you know there is a third? Yup - gestational diabetes can occur in pregnancy - and is actually temporary.

Approx. 2.4 million Canadians have diabetes.

Someone is diagnosed approx every 50 seconds.

Myth:  Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.

Fact:  Regular activity helps your body lower blood glucose levels, promoste weightloss, reduces stress and enhances overall fitness.

Diabetes can also cause Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Eye Disease, nerve damage & impotence.

Fact: YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Please help me reach my fundraising goal for Team Diabetes .

update - time flies!

Hello all!! I am so sorry for lacking in the daily blog department.  I cannot believe how fast time has gone by - its September 4!! 20 days till my birthday!  Just thought i would let you know i just tallied up my cash donations & my 3 trips to the bottle depot ($61) - mailing it off tomorrow - sending in donations for $536!!!! SWEET  Thank you to EVERYONE who has helped me out so far - and to those that are going to help out - hopefully sooner rather then later. Really - why wait to make a difference when you can make one now.

I have decided to join the running room training clinics.  I am going to the store in South Surrey this weekend to get more information - I want to start with the half marathon - then continue on with the full marathon - thats what i think will work best.  BUT best to leave it up to the pros.  I am finding it so difficult still to get up and go and run by myself - so Running Room clinics here i come! 

and a BIG THANK YOU to Rebecca (www.miss604.com)for the spotlight in her recent blog about my quest - very VERY much appreciated!  For those of you who haven't checked out her blog - you should - its great!

- people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing neuropathy or nerve damage, especially in the extremities. Signs are numbness, tingling or pain in the legs and arms.

-people with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing retinopathy, which may lead to blindness

To donate to my campaign to raise funds for the Diabetes Association click here.  

Catching up

Hello! Well - i have seriously been lacking with my blog posts since July.  Incase you are not aware - i have started up a bottle drive -   so far i have only empited out my bottles and my friends - and im up $12 - and i still have numerous houses to visit with empties waiting for me!  If you are interested in help me out - please leave a comment  and i will contact you directly!

This wekend is going to be hot - i have been trying to convince Geoff to walk around the seawall  a few times - he's not interested - so if anyone wants to go for a nice long scenic walk around the seawall a few times let me know!    

Currently - i have about $700 raised - with another $200 on its way to me right now.   still a long way to go to reach my goal of $10,000! 

Did you know - that women you have gestational diabetes have a great risk of developing type 2 diabetes within 10 yrs.

To help me reach my goal, please click here to donate.  

Aldergrove Lake

So i am still working out the bugs - learning how to run this whole blog "thing" Amanda T has been kind enough to make me a banner and a button for my blog - but she can't seem to get it to work on here - so if anyone out there can help - let me know! Thank you!


Anyways, Geoff & I decided to go for a lengthy walk today, we were originally going to go for a 9 or 10km walk. We debated between walking the 4.5km one way walk out the Jetty at Iona Beach down near YVR - that would have been a good 9 km walk. We also thought about doing either the West Dyke trail in Richmond from Garry Point Park in Steveston up to Terra Nova in Richmond ( i think its near YVR) or walking the South Dyke Trail which goes from basically #2 road in Steveston out to the George Massey Tunnel along the river. Both Dyke trails being 5km one way - that would have been a good 10km walk as well.

After some discussion, we decided to head east today - to Aldergrove Lake. It was the same length of drive from our place in Surrey - plus it would include a pit stop at The Domaine De Chaberton Winery. The park is in the GVRD district and is located on 8th avenue & 272nd street, about 10 min from Hwy 1. Aldergrove lake is a nice quiet park. It has a small "lake" that you can go swimming in (personally -i still don't see how something so small is considered a lake). We walked a trail that was 4km - they give you an hour to do it, personally... i would REALLY need to doddle and stop and take my time to make that an hour walk - but it was a nice 4km walk, winding up to the highest point in the park to back down to the parking lot. There are horse trails, there is a off leash dog part as well. No bikes are allowed on this trail - yet some guy decided to ignore the signs - and made ME move out of his way as he came speeding around a corner. We even got to see local wildlife - granted - they were garter snakes! I think Geoff & I will have to make a trip back out there really soon - and try all the other trails. A 4km trail walk was too easy for me - should've gone around twice

I have some really nice photos from the walk - i just have to figure out how to add them into this blog (again if someone knows how, please help) :)

We ended our advenutre in the East (i know i make it sound so far away) with a stop at the Domaine De Chaberton Winery on 216th & 10th in Langley. I had never been before, Geoff apparently a few times - and i still made him take the tour. I thought it was pretty cool. I think my favourite part was going into the Oak barrel room (i have photos, and will eventually put some up). The smell of the cedar building was so fresh. Anyways, i am not a wine expert - and probably sound like a fool haha. We ended up walking away with 3 bottles today, a white, rose & red. Now the real dilemma was what to make for dinner and what wine will we have tonight?

reminder: i am currently fundraising for the Diabetes Association - my goal is to raise $10,000. Click here to donate.

The Real Reason

Joining Team Diabetes was a big decision - a somewhat hard, yet easy decision. The hard part was knowing I would have to raise a significant amount of money & the idea of running (completing) a full marathon. It took me about 2 weeks to make up my mind - I wanted to make sure I had the support from my friends and family - a lot of them are very optimistic - a few of them - not so much. I wanted to help those people with diabetes - I have seen what it can do to people first hand. My mom is diabetic - as well are numerous family members. I used to work at the Diabetes Centre at Vancouver General Hospital for a few years as well, which allowed me to learn a lot about diabetes. Because of my mom, family and my experience at an old job, i felt more driven to do this.

My mom was diagnoses with type 2 diabetes about 6 years ago - so 2002 i think. I only recently just learned that my great-great-grandmother had lost her life to this disease. Recently a close family friend lost his father to his diabetes. I have been lucky - up until March of this year, i had never had to experience my mom having a diabetic episode. We were at my great-grandmothers' funeral the friday before Easter. Mom kinda "went into another world" she "zoned out" - those are the only ways i can explain what happened, a few minutes passed and she came too. The entire time she just sat there staring - you could've spoken to her, but she wouldn't have heard you. This was honestly the scariest thing i have seen so far - because it happened to my mom - it makes it that much worse. I remember back when she found out she was diabetic - her Hemoglobin A1C (Hgb A1C) was at 19.0 - a normal person's A1C is anywhere between 4.0-6.0 . We took a day trip to Victoria one day - and i remember her being so happy because she tested her sugar levels (which she does numerous times a day) and it came out at 12.0 - she was so excited because that was the lowest her sugar had been down to.

Mom just had her 3 month blood work down - her A1C? 6.4 - how was is that!!!! She has been controlling her sugar levels through diet and pills.

I haven't told my mom why I am doing this marathon & fundraising - she knows' that i am doing it to help people with diabetes - but she doesnt know the reason i signed up. I am doing this for her, because of her. The day at the funeral back in March was an eye opener for me - scared the crap right out of me. We don't have the closest relationship that a lot of mother/daughters do - but we have our own. So its official - mom - i am doing this for you. There i said it - i have been able to tell people why i am doing it - it has brought me to tears explaining to people the real reason - heck it brings me to tears now. Its out in the open - and even though im writing this on here - it was not an easy thing to do - cause its admitting the real reason.

So everyone please find it in your hearts to donate - http://www.teamdiabetes.ca

My First Blog!!

Well I have never even considered writing a blog before. Ever. I figured facebook and word of mouth was good a enough way for everyone to keep track of my life. You will have to bare with me over the coming X number of blogs I will be posting - my spelling and grammar is not the greatest - infact I am expecting to hear a lot from Geoff about how I said something wrong - whether it be phrasing or spelling. I get it a lot from him. I am constantly reading blogs all day - my favourite? www.miss604.com. Becky has even talked me into joining Twitter - another way for friends to keep track of me - but it doesn't help when she is the only friend i have on twitter - so sign up everyone - i need more friends to follow and have follow me!

So I decided today - after a little - ok, a lot of persuasion from Amanda - to start my own blog. So this is it - my first blog - my first post - I never thought I would be able to keep writing - but I guess i can! So i hope that you enjoy following my progress - i now have no excuse to slack off now as I'll be posting as much as i can! Please comment as you wish - I look forward to your comments - and i guess i can look forward to criticism.

To help me on my way to my goal of raising $10,000 please go here to donate.