A Long 24 Hours But Well Worth It

Veronica and I are back at home from our participation in the ACS 2011 Relay For Life Outer Banks NC event.
I was somewhat disappointed the turnout for this event. There were quite a number of participants for the event but not as many non-participants visiting the event as I would have hoped for.
Those who did participate gave it their all and were quite a spirited group of very caring individuals.
Our booth had so many cupcakes that were able to donate many dozens of cupcakes to a local food bank or charity.
This same event next year will bring some fresh new ideas as far as what item(s)to raffle off and especially what type of food or item to sell.
I could not begin to tell you how many laps I walked during the course of this event. After many hours of staying awake during this event, the laps around the track all seemed to blend together into one smoky blur.
And speaking of smoky blurs, there was a fire many miles from this event but depending on which way the wind was blowing, you could see the fog like smoke drifting over the event and it was not a healthy environment for those whose stayed and walked in it. There were a few that had to leave the event because of the health hazard the smoke had created.
After we got home, we put everything away quickly and then Veronica and I went to bed for a while.
I wish that we could have raised a lot more money for the cause but we did the best that we could and next year we will get and be better at raising funds and items for donations and for the raffles.
The ideas have already started to flow within Team Maxxinista for next years event.
Below are some photos from the event:

This is what it all looked like at the very beginning of people arriving and setting up

 Team Maxxinista tent is beginning to take shape

 Big difference from what it will look like in a couple of hours

 As the morning progressed more and more groups arrived and tents went up 

 Opening ceremonies are getting ready to begin

 Hershel accompanied me to this event. He played a little guitar, did a pole dance and generally added some fun as only Hershel can do. Hershel; also enjoyed listening to the music that was played by various bands. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Hershel tapping his hand and moving his head to the beat of the music. I think he really enjoyed himself. Because he has spent the last 7-8 months under our bed, with little or no human contact, I had to sit down and have a talk with him about being polite and watching his behavior while we were at this event. Hershel can sometimes be a little inappropriate in his behavior. Hershel was a total gentleman at this event and I was proud of him and the restraint he showed.

 Here are a couple of young ladies getting ready to decorate their own cupcake, which the theme of our tent in order to generate some donations

 Opening lap

 Hershel is spreading the joy and laughter

 Everyone that was planning on spending the night and trying to get some sleep brought  a tent. Here is just one of the many nice looking big tents that were put up.

 Unfortunately this mini tent was what one of our teammates accidentally brought to the event for us to use....she grabbed the wrong tent box when she left her home. Out tent took a lot of ribbing as "runt" tents usually do. Those big fancy tents were unmerciless. And our small runt tent was last seen sobbing his way back to its owners vehicle...poor thing. Hard to believe that in this day and age, that bullying still exists in tentdom.

 Talk about a tight fit

Another tent city is born. Please note how all of those big tents hang together. That darn tent mob mentality.   

 It was getting close to quiet time. These kids walked around the track carrying signs that people used the quiet inside voice. The signs read "hush"

 When it gets real late and you are real tired, you find any way you can to make a lap around the track

 Hershel had a great day being able to get out from under our bed and getting a good dusting off and sprucing up

Below is Hershels rendition of pole dance



Paula Deen Never Told Me...

Paula Deen never told me that there would be days like this.
After getting up this morning, grabbing a cup of coffee and doing some housecleaning, I finally got around to my most important job of the day and that was to make cupcakes for Team Maxxinista sales at the ACS 2011 Relay For Life, which starts tomorrow.
So I dug through the kitchen drawers and found the manliest apron that I could find...donned said apron and commenced to do some serious baking.
It took me about 7 hours to get everything done but in the end, we have about 18 dozen cupcakes to sale tomorrow.
And we aren't talking about just any old cupcakes, we have purple ones, deep pink ones, green ones and of course my favorite....chocolate ones.
These cupcakes will be sold as a "decorate your own cupcake" type of sale within our tent that will be set up at the Relay For Life event.
Below are some photos of today's baking marathon.
If you like what you see, I am available for all kinds parties ...birthday parties,
anniversary parties, parties for Bar Mitvahs, parties for Bat Mitvahs, parties for Twisted Sistas,  parties for Coming Out Mistas, parties for B- Listers, parties for removal of ones spleen and even parties for Charlie Sheen. I can even bake for Batchlorette parties too.
And I am not just limited to being a highly skilled baker mind you.
I can put on my man thong and dazzle you with my hip shaking and erotic dancing talents.
You might have actually heard of the famous erotic dance troupe that I worked with years ago...
No it is not the Chippendales...much better than that...I was a member of the Flippinsnails. We did everything that the Chippendales do but only at a much slower pace...thus the "snails" in our moniker.
So not only can I bake it, but I can also shake it.
So if you have a "shake it" or bake it" type of party coming up let me know and we can check for my availability.
This weekend won't be good for me though.
I will be spending this weekend participating in a great event for a very worthy cause...
The American Cancer Society 2011 Relay For Life Outer Banks NC.
If you would still like to sponsor me or donate to this worthy cause, then please click on the link above. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciate.
And now for the photographs of my baking skills:

I made quite the mess today with all of this baking that I did

I couldn't find our cooling racks so I had to improvise by using the circular mesh screens that you usually put on a frying pan to keep the splattering grease from flying everywhere. I put the splatter screens on a plate so that there could be some air flow to cool off the cupcakes before I put them in a tray.

 Below is a picture of the trays that I put the cupcakes in. Each tray held 2 dozen cupcakes except for one. One tray I had to double stack the cupcakes on top of each other with a piece of reynolds wrap in between the two levels. The trays fit inside of each other from the top but they have enough room in them so that the cupcakes don't get squished.

 Below are some of the Green cupcakes that I baked

Here are some of the bright pink ones that I made

Pretty darn talented wouldn't you say and outright yummy looking too

And below is a cleaned up kitchen after the baking was finished

 I know that it doesn't look like much but the photo below

represents 7 hours of work and 18 dozen cupcakes

Now it's time for a nap. I will let you know how everything went after the event is finished. Hopefully I will get some nice photos too.  



Only A Week To Go Until The Relay For Life Starts

We have just a little over 7 days to go until the start of the American Cancer Society 2011 Relay For Life Outer Banks, NC begins.
I am still hoping to get just a few donations for this event. I know that times are tough out there but there are others that are facing the same financial issues plus they are battling medical issues surrounding this disease that seems to be everywhere we turn.
I am not asking for large donations. Just a couple of bucks here and a couple of bucks there.
These donations do not touch my hands. When you donate through the link below, all of your donations go directly to the American Cancer Society....so won't you please click on the link below and make a small donation. Every penny helps.
Don't force me to strip down to my birthday suit, paint my body bright pink, throw a bright green boa over my shoulders and run through Kill Devil Hills, NC wearing my 8 inch sparkly silver stilettos just to get a donation from you.
Believe me it is not a pretty sight and you would end up having nightmares for years to come.
A small donation would prevent all of those sleepless nights along with the accompanying cold night sweats.
Please?????????   DONATE TO THE 2011 RELAY FOR LIFE OUTER BANKS, NC
After clicking on this link, look in the left hand margin for the "Relay Teams" button. Click on that and it will take you to a list of teams that are participating. Look for the "Maxxinista For Life/T J Maxx OBX" listing. Click on that and you will see my name there and can make a donation through my link or anywhere else on this page.