Miss Kitty's Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Blog

We're at $2,100!!!

Thank you so much for your help and your support! Literally, I couldn't do this without you guys. The momentum and the energy I get from you guys is staggering. So thank you.

And you can all rest assured that I will be doing some extensive training around the streets of Amsterdam tomorrow. Shameless, I know, but I have to train somehow, you know?

I know it is really distasteful to brag, but I must say that if everyone had the opportunity to train for this walk along the River Thames as I did this morning, I think a lot more people would register to walk! This is the nice part about being in Europe -- I'm getting in a lot of quality walking time, so I'm starting to be able to figure out what a good pace might be, how often I'll need to hydrate and refuel and such. And all the time, I'm looking at buildings that are centuries old. It's wonderful!

And I'd also like to mention that I have officially reached the minimum amout required to raise in order to participate in the Walk. Thank you to all of you who have made donations! I may be a little slow in my thank-yous for the next couple of weeks (due to limited internet access), but thank you thank you thank you! I could not do this without you guys.

So the gig went. I sounded raspy, but according to the audience, it was still a fun show. Tom Beeyachski played, as did fellow Beeyachski Band member Valentine. There was food, there was drink, there were people. And everyone seemed to have a really great time.

So thank you! Thank you to Tom and Kim and Matt and Carrie and Jo and Jim for showing up early to help set up. Thank you to Tessa for being my faboo door lady. And thank you to all of my friends who came out for this. Thanks to your generosity, I'll be sending in a $160 donation! Not too shabby for a small crowd listening to a woman with half a voice. The next one will be even better, I promise. Stay tuned for further details!

I am going to apologize to you all right now, in advance, if I am not in peak form tomorrow night. At this point, my throat hurts so bad I'm afraid to cough anymore. But I have a doctor's appointment today and with any luck, she'll be able to fix me up well enough that I can squeak out a few notes tomorrow night.

But either way, the show must go on! It's not so much about the music as it is a group of people coming together in support of a great cause. I heard from my costuming teacher from college (who is also a dear friend of mine and one of my favorite people) that she will be coming to the show tomorrow night. And she is more there to see me than anything, so even if I end up just getting to hug her tomorrow, it is all worth it.

So yes, there will still be a show tomorrow night. Bring your friends and neighbors and relatives and whatnot and get ready for just a fun, relaxed evening of music, coffee, good people and good times. And send me happy throat vibes today so I don't die tomorrow.

I feel like today is a day of celebration. If you look at my Avon Walk Home Page, it looks like I am $70 away from meeting the minimum amount required to walk. If I think about it in my head, I know I have already met my minimum because of the donations that are going to be mailed in that just haven't been received yet. So I feel the need to celebrate! I reached the minimum amount! Everything else from here on out is extra. Doesn't mean I am going to slack off; doesn't mean I am going to try less. But a month ago when I signed up to do this, I didn't think I was going to be able to reach the $1,800 goal and I was thinking to myself, "Okay, if I don't make the goal, I can put the rest of the amount on my credit card, I guess, and pay that off over time." But that is not even a concern now. I have reached the minimum goal and am ready to take off from here.

Woo hoo!

Wish me luck for Friday; I'm going to need it. I have almost no voice as of today. Or, with the voice that I do have, I should be covering Leonard Cohen songs instead of Liz Phair tunes. But I stayed home and rested today and drank about a quarter of a gallon of orange juice, so between that and all of the happy vibes I know you all will be sending me, I know Friday will go just fine.

I just hope people like the music I play.

I'm drinking tea like a fiend because I got a sore throat last night. Perfect timing, huh? I'm working hard to get it feeling better by Friday. Otherwise, I'll have to do some really strained singing. Or ask Tom Beeyachski to play more than he originally planned. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I hope this doesn't mean I should stop walking outside...

I'm so excited for Friday! I made truffles today. They're not necessarily pretty, but gosh darn it, they're yummy.

Truffles, good music, good people, good cause. What more could you ask for?

Wow, I upped my goal and I'm already just about half-way there again. This is amazing.

I just got a bit of really cool news, too, thanks to Gravy Train Films. Special advance copies of Dancing With Gaia will be on sale for $25 at my concert on February 13th and a portion of the proceeds will go to my Walk fundraising effort. If you are not already familiar with Dancing With Gaia, it is a mockumentary about a swing dance troupe. I can't really say a whole lot more about it than that, but you can check out the trailer for it here. And yes, that is me with black hair, falling like a sack of potatoes to the floor.

I will also have a few copies of my demo CD available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Avon Walk as well.

So get ready for a great night of music, and bring a couple extra bucks with you to buy a DVD or CD, all in the name of breast cancer research. I can't wait!

So I've been a little bit off of my training regimen for about the last week because I have had a houseguest and it is a little bit of a challenge to do aerobics and weight training in one's living room when one's futon is taking up half of the room and said houseguest's luggage is taking up another quarter. But I did get in some quality dancing time this week, which is good, and he goes home tomorrow, so I'll be able to get back to my routine.

I'm getting really excited and really nervous for my gig on the 13th. I've started making a list of the things that I could use but don't have (most importantly a rug to denote the "stage area," a table to put food on, and a cooler or two to put beverages in) and now I need to go about locating them. If you have any of these things, are planning on coming to the show and wouldn't mind lending them for an evening, that would be great. If not, that's cool, too. I'm sure I'll find something. And I practiced for about an hour last night -- I played my second set. I think I need to build up my left shoulder so it doesn't get sore from holding up the guitar for so long! But it will be fun. I'm looking forward to it. And I hope people actually show up and enjoy themselves, too. Spread the word! The more, the merrier. And all of the proceeds go to breast cancer research -- the event comes with a built in selling point. What more could you ask for?