Heather Rose

Good morning wonderful donors and sharers and followers of my efforts and fundraising! Wow, updates are apparently hard for me to remember to do, it's already the last day of this fundraising challenge! I'm looking forward to walking after work today to wrap up my final steps and get to 30 miles for the month of September! I have a feeling Tiabeanie is looking forward to the walk too! There is still time to make donations! I hope we can get to 50% before the end of the day - if not more!!! Thank you everyone for your support, check-ins, encouragement, sharing this campaign, and thank you thank you thank you so much to our donors for getting the fundraiser this far! Percentage completion aside - this is a very amazing thing to be able to help the American Cancer Society advance their research on ending cancers and to help them support those with cancer.

We are just past the halfway point! Hurray! I've got a couple walks lined up that are more than 1 mile that will help fill in the gaps of missed days - that darn heatwave - and get us going! Those events however won't always involve Tiabeanie. I do count the distances I walk without her because there is the tertiary goal of my general health and habit forming as we go into the darker, colder part of the year. The secondary goal if still her enrichment, and the primary goal is of course the fundraiser! Thank you everyone so far for your donations! Thank you everyone for sharing this campaign! Thank you for reading this and staying with me! Also did you know if you scroll SO far down on this fundraising page, you can find the comments section? Leave a comment and let me know where in the CA Bay Area I should try going for a walk!

The Bay Area has been experiencing a heat wave this week which has made walking difficult. Either I sleep too late in the morning or lose track of the evening until well past sunset to go out for walks during cooler times of the day. I've gotten creative for myself by marching in place at home, but Tiabeanie didn't exactly get to go with me on that "walk" Another alternative was to find a local hardware store and walk around the big cooler space back and forth browsing the isles. Tiabeanie got some love and compliments from other shoppers about how well behaved she is, and that to me is worth 1,000 miles.

The holiday weekend hit my energy levels pretty hard and I hardly walked a mile total across the Sat, Sun, and Mon. But we are back to regular weekdays and I am confident that I'll get back on track to a mile each day. Plus some extra to make up for the days I missed. I know there is at least one 5k in my future so that should help! In the mean time, it's me, a leash, a dog, and a dream. Donate if you can. Share if you're willing. Love your dog always.

Tuesday was the start of our monthly walking for the American Cancer Society! I found a nice way to combine two errands by heading over to the Union City CA Library. Tiabeanie and I walked around the grounds on a trial surrounding a pond, the library, the police station, the skate park, and the civic center. After two laps of that we were at our first mile and Tiabeanie was nice and tired, so she rested in the car for about 5 minutes while I went into the library to pick up my new shiny physical library card and a hold I had made online! Yesterday was Day 2 and we took a walk around our little downtown area through the park and past the elementary school. I realized another great thing about doing these walks in close-by areas was that I could scout out plants near my neighborhood and utilize them for my horticulture homework! Another great reason to walk! It just goes to show how good walking outside in general can be for your mind and apparently your busy life! For my own health, my dogs enrichment, and the support of the American Cancer Society! Today is Day 3 and I am in awe that we are just under 1/4 of our fundraising goal already!!! As soon as I get home from work we are hitting the road so I can scout more plants!!! If you know any folks with doggies, encourage them to get their steps in for a good cause <3 (Pictured: Tiabeanie exploring the slope of a small hill while I take in the pinecones generally scattered on the ground)