What I've been doing ...

I've not posted here in over a week, but I have a good reason for it. The wonderful Barbara Feldman trusted me to write some of the little informative pieces on her website, Rosh Hashanah Fun. It's got lovely colouring pages and stuff for kids, and it also has little tidbits of information, such as why we celebrate RH, what we eat, whether Yom Kippur is a happy or sad holiday, why we fast, etc. Even better, she's PAYING me for it. I'm so excited. I've been paid for online writing before, but each time it fills me with wonder and awe.

Originally she was looking for one writer to write the 20 pieces on the website, but mercifully she decided to split it between me and the incomparable Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. I am kind of stunned that I'm up there with a rabbi, especially one I admire so much. Here's a fun exercise for the reader: see if you can figure out which ones I wrote, and which ones she wrote.

Anyway, I will try to post more, now that I've got all my work for Barbara in (at least for now ... there are hints she may want me to do more, which would make me very happy). For one thing, I want to get in on Rabbi Sommer's Elul challenge, which you will have seen if you checked out her website above. I've also been feeling extremely artisanal in the kitchen lately, and I totally need to brag about everything I've been making.

Oh yeah, and I also need you guys to donate to my Breast Cancer run. Last year I made it to $1000. I'm not saying we necessarily need to duplicate that, but with heartfelt thanks to those who have already donated, I'm sure we can do better than $300 ... 

What exciting things have you been doing?

It's that time of year again ...

I've signed up to run in the CIBC Run for the Cure. I'm not generally a big supporter of pink ribbon stuff, there's just too much pinkwashing going on in this world.

But I have a weakness for this run, because it was the first 5K I ever ran (all of last year - nostalgia already!).

Also, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation assures me it has no formal links with the Susan B. Komen Foundation, recently in the news for pulling its funding for Planned Parenthood's mammograms. So I feel pretty comfortable fundraising for this organisation. I have many friends and relatives who have been touched by the spectre of breast cancer, so there's no question that the cause itself is worth supporting.

Last year you, my friends and readers, stunned me by donating over $1000 to support my run. So here I am again, virtual cap in hand, to beg you to repeat or even surpass that performance. The picture on this blog post should be a live link to my fundraising page (do please tell me if it doesn't work!), and I will add the widget to my blog as well.

Whom am I running for? You, me, and every human mammal on this planet.

Team Pink Couch Potato Lizard Brain

I am the luckiest girl in the world. The writer Holly Jahangiri is my friend and soul sister. Holly recently underwent a radical mastectomy and DIEP reconstruction. She has not quite finished the process - she says she currently has Barbie boobs. She has more surgery scheduled in October to make her look like a human woman again. All of this while working full-time, writing children's books and raising a family.

Tonight on Facebook, Holly graciously invited her myriad followers to donate to my cause, and also gifted me with a name for my team - Team Pink Couch Potato Lizard Brain. While I cannot use this lovely name this year, as I am already a member of the somewhat more staidly named National Council of Jewish Women team, I am looking forward to printing pink business cards next year, with which I will undoubtedly lure thousands.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure uses as its logo the somewhat ungrammatical but highly poignant question: Who are You Running For? Suppressing the unworthy desire to vandalise the pretty picture I am currently using as my Facebook avatar, there are many people for whom I am running. First and foremost is my own mother, who went for a free mammogram on a whim at the age of fifty and discovered an encapsulated tumour in her left breast. She had a lumpectomy and radiation, and eventually died of the complications of diabetes instead. That is a whole 'nother blog post. There are quite a few young (thirties and forties) mothers in my community who are struggling with this disease, and a couple of them have lost the fight. Few experiences are more heartbreaking than watching children follow their mother's casket, and thinking of all the milestones she will not see. While many people have railed against the dominance of the pink ribbon among all the different cancer research foundations and the evils of pinkwashing, seeking a cure for breast cancer remains a worthy cause. Maybe my next run will be for diabetes or for ovarian cancer. But for now, this is my focus and my friend Holly is the undisputed queen of Team Pink Couch Potato Lizard Brain.

If you were running on October 2nd, for whom would you run?

Running for the Cure

I've been trying to become a runner for quite a few years now - pretty much every summer I pull out my old running books and try to get myself going. I run a couple of times a week for a few weeks and then life interferes and I'm done. Also, I found that I couldn't pace myself properly and ended up either injured or frustrated or both.

This year I've been doing the Couch to 5K program from coolrunning.com, using podcasts made by a guy called Robert Ullrey (ullreys.net). My pacing problem is now taken care of by his calm, competent voice. The music is not what I would have chosen but hey, it gets me moving and I'm very grateful to him for making these podcasts. The program starts very gently, with 30 second runs and 90 second walks, taking you to the ability to run for 30 minutes straight (which would be about 5 km) in nine weeks.

I started in May and made it up to week eight (25 minute run!) before taking a vacation hiatus for five weeks. So I have now moved myself back to week five (just finished it this past week) to get back into the swing of things. Since I am currently in the mode of setting myself goals to achieve, I have just signed up for my first 5K run - and for an excellent cause, too!

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure:

All being well, the above link should take you to my Personal Page at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's website, where you can donate some money for this cause if you so desire. The run is on October 2nd so I have plenty of time to get myself ready. It's the Fast of Gedaliah - the first weekday after Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year - an excellent time to start a new, healthier lifestyle! Yes, one could have quite the conversation about whether I should be running a race on a minor fast day, but I think I can swing it - it's not a marathon, after all.

I'm going to leave it at that for this blog post, although I definitely have thoughts about the symbolism of the name "Running for the Cure". Stay tuned.

Support me? Thanks!!