The countdown begins!!

We're less than a month away from leaving for Peru now! I've put out a request to gather things that would be useful for us to bring to give to the Peruvian people while we're there.

Infant clothes and hats
Non sterile gloves
Pens for the school children
Children's chewable vitamins

We can each carry 2 50lb suitcases with us, but we'll only need one for our own gear, so the other is dedicated completely to carrying supplies that we'll leave there.

I have been working a lot of extra hours these last couple of weeks... trying to build up some more cash to take with me and maybe earn enough to buy a telephoto lens before I go. I'm exhausted and also trying to finish up the on-line Statistics class I have to complete to get into grad-school.

Anyway, hopefully everyone has received their thank-you notes (Rhia... yours is late, I had to figure out postage to Canada!)... and once again, THANK YOU all for your support. Without you this wouldn't have been possible!

Poker for Peru!!

Last night, Mike and I played poker with some friends. Mike took 1st and I took 2nd (tournament style Texas Hold 'em). Each person put in 20$ and we paid out the top 4 seats, so Mike won 40$ and I won $35. All of the winnings are going right into the Peru fund! I also got another $50 donation and sold my Nike sport band and sensor to my friend Michelle, so in total I've gathered $1725 for my trip!

I'm also picking up a few shifts here and there for extra money (overtime is good!) and I really think I'm going to be able to have the whole trip paid for before I leave!

In other news I was accepted to Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing this week! I start grad-school to become a midwife in May/June!! I am absolutely petrified and excited at the same time. Its very similar to how I felt starting my BSN program. I am confident that I can do this, but to be honest... I'm petrified of how much work it is going to require, and I can only hope that I'll be able to find a job when its all over.

Wish me luck?

Its a Garage Sale!!

Hey everyone! In order to try to raise some more money toward this mission Mike and I have been pulling together some things to sell in a virtual garage sale type format. He has already sold his Taylor acoustic guitar and I'm gathering items I can't/don't use to sell as well. First on the list is my Nike sport-band and shoe sensor... I only used it about 3 times because I've been told I should not run (ever) for the health of my feet, so it's going on the auction block. We're going to put my leather recliner on craigslist along with another office chair that we don't use... not huge ticket items, but every dollar counts and I really think its worth it. I'll post a full list of items for sale by Friday and hopefully we'll be able to get stuff sold over the weekend!

I'm trying to figure out (also) how to put a running total on the side bar, I'll see what I can come up with today... with the sale of Mike's guitar I'm up to $1550!!! YAY!!!