Realise the value

To realise
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realise
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realise
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realise
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realise
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realise
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realise
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realise
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

To realise the value of a friend or family member:

LOSE ONE.

Remember....

Hold on tight to the ones you love!

(Author unknown)

My addition....

To realise the value ofhope

Talk to a cancersurvivor.

To realise the value ofsupporting breast cancer research

Please don’t wait untilyou’re effected by it.

You can donate online to the NBCF here

Well, as you can see from the above image, I've officially exceeded my fundraising target of $20,000. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every person who supported My Road to Paris challenge! I could not have done it without you!

I wanted to share those amazing words by "Author unknown" to remind us all how precious life is. And while ever I have breath in my lungs, my aim is to continue supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation any way I can, as it's research that gives me hope. 

I will never, ever give up...so please don't give up on me. Expect future blog posts or emails asking for support. Delete them or ignore them if you wish or must, but as you do, please send positive thoughts my way, rather than negative. And if you're able, maybe you could even go one step further and join with me in some way. Walk the City2surf with me next year. Dare me to do an international marathon with you :) Have a cupcake bake-off pink ribbon fundraiser (& don't forget to invite me...you know I love cupcakes). Or ask me to hang out at a Pink Ribbon Breakfast with you and all your friends?!

Together, we can help NBCF researchers reach their goal of "no more breast cancer deaths by 2030".

Let's not lose hope!

If you're planning a fundraiser for Pink Ribbon month coming up in October and you're interested in having me speak at your event, please email an enquiry re availability to jen@jenniferreid.com.au. Or you could email the NBCF Outreach Bureau directly at linda.guiance@nbcf.org.au to engage myself or another NBCF Ambassador to speak at your event.

Before I sign off, I must share something troubling I read in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, in an article titled "The ten things you need to know about food now":

Doughnuts are the new cupcakes: Forget macarons, New York has been seized by doughnut fever. Think pistachio-encrusted doughnuts with lemon curd, square peanut butter filled doughnuts with banana cream, strawberry jalapeño doughnuts and peaches-and-cream doughnuts. 

All I have to say to that is....

Shut up!!

Now I admit doughnuts are pretty good, but nothing has ever or will ever, even come close to replacing the beloved cupcake! Take this cupcake skilfully crafted by a dear friend's teen daughter for example...

Image courtesy of Elenna Khouri Cupcakes

Pistachio Delight Cupcakes....huh, beat that DOUGHNUTS :)

And "Life's like a Doughnut!"???? Well, that's just stupid!!




P.S. For Elenna Khouri Cupcakes trade enquiries, please email aesthetic.tiling@bigpond.com.

Run for a cause

 Happy to have made it to the finish line at beautiful Bondi Beach!

Yay, I made it to the finish line in the City2surf yesterday!

It was such a great day...I really enjoyed walking alongside my sister again - brought back memories of our hours of fun getting lost in the Paris Marathon in April!

With my sister Rita - another medal to add to our collection :)

I also loved getting to hug some other old "Paris Marathon" friends before we started, who will always have a very special place in my heart:

Beautiful Carol (on the far right) -
my other Team Pink member in the Paris Marathon 2012

Gorgeous Kyle from Inspired Adventures (organisers of my Paris Marathon adventure)

Our official start time was 9am, but we arrived at Hyde Park around 8am, which gave us just enough time to join in with all the excitement around the start of the event. My awesome hubby could have stayed in bed, but instead he woke the kids up, got them on the train and met us near the start line to wish us well.

How blessed am I?! I love my awesome family :)

We didn't pass the official starting line until about 9.20am. We were in the yellow group, but as you can imagine, there were so many people in front of us that it took around 20 minutes to get to the actual starting point. 

Can you spot me in this official photo of the Yellow group?
I'm somewhere right at the back of the pack :)

We eventually reached the finish line at Bondi exactly 3 hours later - I know it was a bit longer than the winner's (Liam Adams) 41 minutes & 31 seconds, but we were happy with our time. We're even thinking of getting a team together and doing it again next year. 

As you might imagine, the lines for the buses back to the city were way too long, so we decided to catch a cab. Surprisingly, we got one fairly quickly, but while we were waiting, we got talking to another amazing City2Surf entrant who was also wanted a cab. He was an 87 year old Digger who walked with his son. They ended up riding in the cab with us.

We didn't ask his name, but I assume he was the only 87 year old Digger who entered and successfully finished this year's City2surf!! Like us, he finished it in 3 hours, but considering his age as well as the fact that he actually suffered a heart attack in March, I was inspired! He said nothing was going to stop him from going in his 42nd City2surf!! Amazing!! It was a fun cab ride with these two gentleman and listening to this wonderful Digger made me realise if he can do it, anyone can :)

Participating in the City2surf was another way for me to continue supporting my charity of choice, National Breast Cancer Foundation...thank you to those generous people who donated to my Everyday Hero Fundraising Page. (Please click over to this page if you didn't get a chance to donate). Running for a cause (or in my case, walking) is truly empowering - I've done it twice now and it makes me feel so positive and that I'm "giving back" in some way. Being amongst such a huge crowd yesterday, I noticed just how many causes were represented, and I was so inspired.

Some people were in it for the fun of dressing up, making everyone smile, which is a good thing...

Spiderman!

But there were others who were walking for an even greater cause - representing charities like Miracle Babies Foundation, BCNA, Mission Australia, Jeans for Genes, Oxfam, Room to Read and so many others. Truly heartwarming stuff.

Staff from awesome charity Room to Read cheering on their runners

So anyway, I reckon if an 87 year old Digger can do the City2surf, more of us could consider doing it on behalf of one of the many wonderful Australian charities that rely on community support to continue their vital work. 

Maybe you could consider joining me in the City2surf next year? You've got a whole year to prepare for it :)

The battle lines are drawn!

Warning: This post may be confronting, so please proceed with caution...

Have you ever experienced the devastation of war? 

Been a selfless soldier, or helpless civilian caught up in a senseless atrocity? Or someone sent in to rebuild in the aftermath of a horrific war - a rescue worker, medic or nurse? 

War can be defined as a state of armed combat between two different groups.

I have watched war movies, read books and heard about wars...unimaginable fear, maimed bodies, painful scars, lost lives...but fortunately have never set eyes upon such an experience in real life. 

I have experienced a war of another kind though. A war that seems never ending. A war which results in maimed bodies, painful scars and lost lives. A war I'm hearing about every which way I turn. An indiscriminate war effecting young and old, rich and poor, male and female. A senseless, atrocious war that has no reasonable explanation. A war I've experienced first hand - the CANCER WAR!

I love the motto "Make love not war". 

It's such an honourable motto to live by in our day to day lives with our husbands, wives, kids, parents and others dear to us. But over the last few years, I've realised that some wars are absolutely necessary. Some enemies give us no choice but to fight to the death. Cancer is one such enemy. 

Cancer casualties are growing at a rapid pace. Like a rampant virus, horribly out of control and set to destroy the earth. Just in the last week, I have been completely shattered by the news of 2 young people who have lost their battle to cancer, and so many others continue to do it tough in the thick of this outrageous cancer war.

You might remember this photo of me whilst in the middle of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer in 2009:

Yes, I'm smiling. But what my smile signifies is this...it's my war cry to cancer, my version of the Haka to scare the bejeebers out of this ruthless enemy...

The battle line between us is drawn!
You will never take away my faith and hope!
You can never touch my spirit and soul!
I will fight you to the end!
I will never ever give up!

Cancer continues to steal our loved ones, causes immense pain and strikes fear into the depths of our being, but it will never escape the will of humanity to eradicate it. As long as we have the memories of loved ones lost, while ever we are forced to live through the trauma of cancer ourselves or watch someone we love go through it, we have the necessary fuel to keep on fighting. 

Cancer is the enemy. We can't just give in to it. We must fight back.  

Raising funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation is now the main strategy in my battle plan. Unlike so many before and after me, I got through the darkest days of cancer treatment and still have my life. Why me though? There must be a reason and a purpose for it. 

I am truly blessed and grateful beyond words to be alive. We are all different and have a right to deal with the things life throws at us in our own way. We're all called to do something with our lives though. For me, I really believe that I'm meant to continue fighting this battle against cancer for as long as I can. 

My road to Paris, which started out as a fundraising challenge for the Paris Marathon last April, has become a much longer road than I originally envisaged. This journey has gone well beyond Paris already and seems to be set to go on indefinitely.

I don't know exactly where this road will take me, but my next stop is the City2surf on Sunday. I'm using the invitation to join in this event as a sign that I must continue raising awareness. I must stay true to what I think I should be using my story for...to raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). 

If you find it in your heart, and are willing and able to join me in this battle against cancer, please support me by making a donation to the NBCF at my everyday hero fundraising page. Every single dollar brings NBCF researchers closer and closer to their goal of "no more breast cancer deaths by 2030"! 

Together, we can do it! If we don't, who else will?

And who knows, maybe our unified battle plan will see us beating the dreaded cancer enemy even quicker than 2030! Let's never, ever give up!