Karate

I know you must be wondering how karate ties into the Massacure. It doesn't really, although I am proud to say that my karate school wholeheartedly supports this family run event.

Karate also kept us sane through Kali's chemo treatment and through the rough spots of our personal lives. I am a 2nd degree blackbelt and have been practising for 16 years. Close to testing for my 3rd a number of times, however timing was not cooperative. The entire family is involved - there are 4 blacks, 1 brown and Kali will turn green (mid point) on Saturday. I am feeling a little smug to say the least. This is what we do when we are not "saving the children", we are beating on them.... lol...

I say this with humor and only a fellow student will get this joke. It's referred to as "conditioning", an integral component of our style.

I am also proud to say that most of our security at the event are volunteers who also happen to be well trained karate students.

Back to Kali - as timid as she appears, I have to say I think this kid is gifted in this art, much like her sisters (Kyrsti - a 13 year old 2nd degree black, Meagan 2nd degree, and her Dad - 4th).

Is this too much?? Likely, but I don't boast often. I will take a humble pill before bed tonight, I promise.

For all of the years that Kali allowed (mostly by force) medical procedures that frightened and caused tremendous pain... she eventually learned to become complacent as she was too weak to fight. This concerned us. When treatment ended at age 4, karate began. This has helped her to assert herself again.

It pains me as I reflect on the children we have befriended that have gone through the emotional and physical suffering as my daughter has. They all need a boost after treatment.

This is why I have chosen to include acupuncture and karate in my blog. As I have mentioned before, this blog will include steps to a journey, not a lengthy list of everyday tasks. This event is our journey and ties in with past. present and future. In the end, it's relevant.

As most of you know, November through to March is the season of utter chaos for the MacDonald family and all involved. Around this time I am carrying around Preparation H for under my eyes and ingesting an unhealthy amount of caffeine and sugar. Every year the charities (Make-A-Wish and Stollery) become more involved offering more resources to help us out. A project coordinator (Tyler) took the place of my good friend Nadine in 2009, and this November my young friend and long time volunteer (Nicki) has taken the reins from Tyler. So here we go.....

A little blast from the past for those who did not bear witness to the years when Gord stayed awake night after night reloading our tiny printer to create hundreds of pledge packages, hosting "stuff the package" parties, and "lets gather round the living room to count 300,000.00" parties. His head glowed funny colours due to his prosthesis (cell phone) stuck to his face.

Back then (until 2007) our only support system was friends and family and a many dedicated volunteers that came out to help at our event. Admittedly, many that attended the event often stayed to help out of shear pity for our mad scramble to deal with the mayhem. Thank the Lord for those kind souls, many of them have stayed and become captains and longstanding volunteers.

Back in October (halloween day) 2002, Kali experienced her 3rd bout of hair loss. Our daughter was still undergoing the last bit of her treatment so this was difficult to kick off an event like this, but it had to be done (hence the name - St.Valentine's Day Hair Massacre). Gord was prompted to hold a headhshave in her honour at Canada Post and so it began. Our home phone and cell rang off the hook, every year thereafter phone conversations, meetings and presentations became all consuming. Twitching began in the fall, settled in the spring, summer meant ahhhhhh..... and then the twitching began again. More coffee, more sugar, definitely more cookies - even more twitching.

Did I mention how I got roped into shaving 4 times, or even running this event? It's called divine intervention. Once a person starts the motion and makes a commitment it's a done deal.

8 years later, here we are and I am writing a blog about it.

I took over in the fall of 2006, for the planning of our "Guinness Attempt" at West Edmonton Mall. Gord was all consumed with running the United Way campaign, so I dropped my last term of school (Doctor of Naturopathy) my clients and scrambled to manage what was already in motion. Yikes!

I think of how far this event has come, how much we have learned about the fundraising world, and working with so many different types of people. From "Mom and Pop Shop" to an event that has spread to Ontario and has national news coverage.

This is my blast from the past.

Have a great weekend!

Quiet Kali

For anyone who knows my daughter Kali (the inspiration behind the Hair Massacure - the reason for my chaotic life...), they would know her to be shy and extremely quiet. Out of concern, I invited her to take acupuncture with me (feeling that her Chi would be boosted). I felt this would help her become more assertive, vocal, spirited (much like she was before her diagnosis and treatment). Our acupuncturist was on the same page, so treatment began 4 weeks ago.

It's definitely working..... her wood element is engaged. I think our next treatment may entail finding an off switch. She's now 11 and for the first time I am asking her to be quiet, stop bugging, and take a pill (which is kinda funny...). I am learning to tune her out like any normal parent would with a noisy child. I am thinking that if I let her play with the Kali Bear at home, she will be quiet (he is not supposed to talk), and I wouldn't be surprised if Santa brings her an IPOD for Xmas. Even as I struggle with writing this piece, I am using my acquired karate skills of "blocking out distraction" to deal with the incessant chatter and non-human noises in the background. The dog is looking at me for help, and I don't even notice our annoying bird anymore. I guess things could be worse.... she could be too sick to talk.

That's my little tidbit for the day. Have a wonderful Friday.

teamwork

Today, I am not going to bore you (and myself) with a lengthy list of the medial tasks that Nicki and I dealt with in the last two days. Blah.

I will, however share that we had some help last night with a few of our dedicated captains over coffee (thanks guys). Refining our system and working out the bugs can be tedious and make one develop a twitch. better to twitch with friends. I absolutely love our Team Massacure (this consists of some dedicated stylists and volunteers who meet with me throughout the year offering ideas and feedback). These people have developed into close friends and I would be lost without them.

Each one has taken ownership of a piece of this event. It's lodged deeply in their hearts, and all of them are quite comfortable to tell me to walk into the traffic.

Onto the highlight of my day. My girls both received and presented awards today at their school. "Ace Award" (for great attitude) went to Kyrsti and Kali. Our Hair Massacure plaque went to the school (presented by my girls). I sat proudly to the side with my camera beaming with pride. Kyrsti is the school president, so public speaking is very natural for her. We all know that she will be taking over once I am committed. Miss Kali on the other hand is slightly quieter.... Today it spoke and I didn't have to bribe with a Tim Hortons Breakfast Sandwhich. Not only did she say thank you but she grew some ba - -s (courage) and asked them to support us again. Later tonight I taught karate class and it made noise again. If this is puberty, it's going to be interesting.

Not sure how I got off topic, but I recommend to get used to it cause I will do this often.

With that I will sign off. Have a good one!

bear visits Leo Nickerson School

Hi folks, today I held a presentation at Leo Nickerson School. This will be their 4th year involved and numbers keep growing! Kali Bear today was younger and smaller than yesterday (no offence Megs) but was stoked to play the part! This lovely young girl playing him today was prepped about "his personality" and bounded into the gym like Bambi romping through the field. After 15 minutes or so, I could see the bear was beginning to loose momentum. High fives became low fives, and the dancing transitioned into shuffling of big bear feet, vapour collecting around his nose..... If you have not experienced being a mascot - 25 minutes is like 2 hours in the gym, 15 in a sauna. It's a quick way to loose 5 pounds.

It astounds me how many children at every school put up their hands when asked if they know a child or teen with cancer. This is definitely up from years past (I pose this question at all schools). It is also remarkable how the kids respond to the event. For myself, talking and interacting with the kids is the easiest part of my job, watching the video is one of the hardest (even though I design it with all pics in place). Takes me back, even after watching it a dozen times.

Leo Nickerson is determined to increase their 95 kids to 150! I hope they achieve this, as I know that they are driven. In this past two weeks I will have presented at most of our top fundraising schools, including this one - (Elmer Gish, JJ Nearing, Neil M Ross, Sturgeon Heights, and Gibbons). This is indeed a huge honour. Who would have thought our little Mom & Pop operation would result into 3.62 million. Kids helping kids......

Two more schools

Hi folks, today Meagan (my oldest daughter) and I presented plaques and said our thank yous to 2 schools (Neil M Ross and J.J. nearing). Both outstanding schools. Fred came along for the first one and was his typical "outside self" (that means when he leaves the house he is a good boy). Megs played the Kali Bear. Wow.... what can I say, she is one amazing bear!!

Hi-5's for an estimated 800 children this day, but no worries... Kali puts sanitizer on his paws.

My oldest and youngest (Kali) are very much alike - quiet, well mannered, never disruptive...

Put a bear around them and inhibitions exit their personalities.

I marvel at the popularity of our mascots. The squeals of excitement are heartwarming to say the least. I think this must be my favourite part of this event, the enthusiasm within the schools.

Tomorrow will be thanking and presenting to Leo Nickerson school. The total raised between these 3 schools this year was 110,000. Phenomenal.

Will touch base tomorrow.

Day to day

In my blog you will not likely see the medial tasks that take up 3/4 of my day. Boring. What I will write about will be the thing(s) that stuck with me throughout the day and hopefully may leave an impression on my readers. What I do wish to share today is that I have a great support system. At this time I am not feeling overwhelmed (which is a feeling I am quite accustomed to). At the forefront, I will mention those who have had recent involvement of significance. There are others who will fold in shortly, and many others who have much to offer, but my list is long and you will likely hear about different ones throughout the development of my blog. Today I will boast about 3.... my assistant (Nicki - our project coordinator) who helps me tend to the many responsibilities involving this event. What would I do without her? I will also mention my daughter Meagan (who owns my hair - she is our stylist coordinator) she tends to them many salons and stylists involved (this area is HUGE), there is also Tina (who is our merchandise captain. Tina purchases all of the merchandise you will see at the event and gives back the profit to the event. Last year she managed this with her 5 day old baby. I am thankful for the help.

So.... today I plan to sort through 18,000 pics of my Mac Book. There are 25,000 to sort through on my desktop but I'll save that for another day...week....

I also plan to brave the line-up and take the girls to see New Moon. I am thinking this is NOT a good time to be without my coffee.....

A Hat

I wish to have a really cool hat. Perhaps this will define me...much like that muppet with the gold teeth and the top hat....what's his name??? I am thinking if I had a great hat then I will stand out amongst the many hundreds of people at the event (Ice Palace). Maybe striking on television? Lord knows, I am not easy to spot. "Oh...just look for the tall one, or the hot - well endowed one, or the skinny one in the hot pink sequence gown".... yah.....so off to WEM we go. Cool hat shopping. I dislike shopping. Seems like when I do find opportunity to shop I have a pink dog with me, or one of my girls has menstrual cramps, Kali has leg cramps, or hunger prevails and then we just go home. I really need this hat. So, I bring my girls with me for support and advice. Then I leave with a big "L" on my forehead. Apparently I look funny in most hats. That's ok, it warms my heart to see them so happy. Their smiles and giggles....all at my expense, mind you.

Today we killed two birds - one stone. Leaned on some support from Apple (Kyrsti and I wish to learn how to make H.M. videos), and then shopped. I really preferred to shop for a coffee and a brownie, but I chose to behave.

I'm thinking if I choose a really tall hat, I can hide my hair up inside and no one will notice that it's still on my head. I think I will retire from shaving. Not that it's a bad thing, I have done this 4 times, and my girls have asked me to not do this again. We had a family photo this year, first time in 8 years that we all had hair. My oldest (whom I fear...) is a stylist and she now officially owns my head. She's say "no!" it's no!

So, I will continue me search for a hat and hope my new image does not result in smiles and giggles.

pink gerbils

Today we had our monthly ex com. meeting today at Make-A-Wish. This group consists of myself, the President and Executive Director of Make A Wish, Senior Manager & manager of special events at Stollery, my project coordinator (Nicki) and Gord MacDonald (founder).

These monthly meetings ensure that everything is on track, sufficient support in place for me, for the event, and provides full knowledge to the charities about what's going on.

It's very good in that it keeps me from encouraging pet stores to sell pink gerbils (I tend to get carried away sometimes...).

Usually I bake cookies the night before, but as I shared in my blog yesterday, I am off of sugar. I didn't think they would appreciate apricots, but Nicki clued in and brought cookies. Good thing I brought my laptop instead of a note pad - if you salivate (which I did), it's easy to wipe off.

Well, with that I'll call it a night. Think I'll go munch on a fig or chew on a liquorice root. Till tomorrow...ta ta.

Acupuncture

Who out there has experienced acupuncture? It prides me to say I have survived another treatment. Don't get me wrong, it's not supposed to be painful. Admittedly I am a baby. Kali is taking treatment as well. She of course was fine. Kali was a human pin cushion for 3 years.... We are both gearing up for our typical out of control chaos in Massacure season. I have promised myself that I wont twitch for 3 months after this event. More importantly wont have to wear Preparation H under my eyes while on TV. So.... I have been officially off coffee and sugar for 2 weeks. Yes, I over indulge.... but it's so much fun. Not sure how I will endure when cookies are a staple during this time of year. Ever notice that Cookie Monster is always happy and Oscar isn't?

I have chosen green tea and dried apricots as a terrific substitution....

I am committed to this.

Hey guess what. it's not a good idea to crack a joke while a giant harpoon is entering your body. Either way you loose. If the comments is perceived as funny, your acupuncturist laughs - that means shakes....that means owwww! If not received well - they can be accidentally rough with you. Think I'll just need to be quiet....

Till next time... ta ta.

Sturgeon Heights School

Hi folks,

It's that season - school presentations. This is my 4th this fall.

Today I did a presentation at one of our remarkable repeat schools - Sturgeon Heights in St.Albert. Nicki came with to check it out. 2 rows of young children sat on knees on the gym floor squealing with excitement at the site of the mascots (Kali Bear and F.R.E.D). They enjoyed our 2010 video, followed with arms in air politely awaiting an opportunity to ask questions. The school decorated with a Massacure showcase, and Kali Bears lining the hallways and gym. We were warmly welcomed and received to say the least. Collette Hartmetz and Pat McMinn have headed this up, thanks guys! The photographer from St.Albert Gazette nabbing shots for the December feature on Hair Massacure.

Sturgeon Heights will host another "in-school pinking" in January! Turning the Home-Ec room pink again - wa-hoo!! Good times!

Cheers,

Tammy

And here we go...

Hya,

It's Nicki and I just wanted to do a quick write up to tell you all about our changes on the website! It's the season once again, and many a school will be planning, and children a telling of future pink hair in the new year. We have a new commercial up on the home page, new photos throughout (or we will once I get more organized and send them to our webmaster!), and some new info! Check out the new requirements for hair donations!

Anyways, between Tammy and me, we hope to be posting regularly and would enjoy any followers or any comments left for us.

Have a good monday!

Nicki

PS: Song of the day: Leave Me Standing Alone by Lizz Wright (oo oo ah..)

walking FRED at WEM

Well, it's that time of year again when I pink my dogs ears (F.R.E.D. - stands for Family Run Event Dog) and take him around to the schools and out to various public places including West Edmonton Mall.

We all trucked out to the mall on Saturday to check out the Twilight characters and familiarize FRED with the mall before the event in February. He is sooooo good out in public.

Am I just getting old, or is there really a novelty behind camping out at the mall, secured into a livestock coral for 30 hours to await an appearance of supporting characters? What happens if you drink a coffee - are you hooped? Do they let you out, or does the mall provide catheters? I found THAT jaw dropping.... yet folks were mesmerized at my pink dog??

Go figure?

getting started

Hi. I am FINALLY doing this - thanks to the encouragement of my good friend Nicki (who's chuckling away as she sips on her Chiller from Second Cup). Nicki is my project coordinator this year (and volunteer / photographer of past years). WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT HER! I - as most are aware am the driven Mom for the Hair Massacure. We are a family run, high profile fundraising event benefiting children in Northern Alberta (and Ottawa) with life threatening illnesses. This was all inspired by our youngest daughter Kali (now 11) and initiated by her dad (Gordon MacDonald). Gordon ran the St.Valentine's Day Hair Massacre for 3 years while he worked at Canada Post. Our 2003-2005 events took place at the main plant and were all televised. I took over for the 2006 event (at WEM) and have been twitching ever since. Check in to hairmassacure.com for further information about our event. I have been wanting to do this blog for a while now, but did not have the time or brain capacity to do so. One tends to run themselves ragged and by the end of the day may not even remember that they shaved an Oiler's head or waxed a Clodhoppers chest or pinked a member of the RUSH. Today is my commitment to writing everyday. I felt this might offer some insight to the makings of this event to those who have been touched by it.

I am beginning this blog with a warning that I will likely jump allll over the place, so try your best to keep up! I wont bore you with mundane tasks or an accounting of how many times I twitched in a day. This is simple - what stuck out that day, I will write about (even if it was nothing - similar to a Seinfeld episode). I hope you enjoy and would appreciate your comments!

Cheers,

Tammy