Happy Halloween!

My costume! I'm Betty Crocker!

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RI Day Three: Explore x 2

My last day in Providence, RI turned out to be a great one! The morning started with an excellent Guest Speaker: John Quinones!! He came to speak at the Migrant Health conference and told us a lot about his new project for Primetime called "What Would You Do?" Each show will deal with a different ethical situation and how people respond. One example he gave was of an actress pretending to be a Muslim dressed in black robes from head to toe being refused service (by another actor) due to her stereotypical connection to 9/11. The idea of the show is to see how the bystanders respond when presented with the confrontation between the two. The show has yet to air, but has already created an interesting buzz with me! When John was finished speaking he needed to leave right away to go to the airport, but was bombarded with people for photos. The closest I got was to take a photo of him posing with others!



Afterwards I took off to explore Providence a little more on my own. In an effort to not get myself lost I stuck pretty close to my hotel and just circled the area. I ended up in a local brewery where I met a nice local who introduced me to New England’s “stuffy.” If you don’t know what one is, they know you’re an outsider! LOL The appetizer was just clam and bread crumbs shaped together to form a ball. But it was very delicious!

Hotel Room!

Making Strides Update!

Okay the real stats: 400 walkers for $30,000!! WOOHOOO!!! That's a big jump from last years $18,250! Thank you to EVERYONE!!!

RI Day Two: Explore

Whelp we're up, showered and just finished our breakfast downstairs at McCormick's. It's nice to see all the sites in the sunshine. Our view from the hotel shows a variety of different buildings with the river port in the distance.



Today we went out walking around our hotel for about an hour. We explored a little park and the Providence Place mall. Which ended up being a flop as we couldn't afford ANYTHING there! But later in the afternoon we did a walking tour of Providence that focused on the historical side of the city. We got the chance to learn of local immigrant history and segregation around the city, plus see many historical buildings. Two tour guides gave us the "low-down" as we walked from 2-4p around Providence. At the end of our walk we were able sample authentic Portuguese food, pop and water that were selected especially for us! It was nice to sample new delicacies! The coolest part was our walk ended with an old-fashioned Trolley ride back to our hotel! I just love Trolleys!!

Once we returned, we quickly went to our hotel room to run a brush through our hair then head to the conference reception. The food looked delicious, however none was sampled by me after our Portuguese cuisine!! Now we are back in our hotel and looking forward to hitting up the bar later! WOOHOO!

RI Day One: Travel

"...Please talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic... Rhode Island is neither a road, nor an Island...discuss!" ~SNL

Well I'm sitting in the Washington DC airport right now beginning my blog. So technically, no Rhode Island yet. Although I did have two nice beers at the Gordon Biersch brewery along with dinner. Washington was absolutely gorgeous when we landed! It was sunset and the perfect balance between light and dark.

PS - It cost me $15 to check my bag with US Airways! ALSO they were charging $2 for drinks on the plane. I am now a person that can say, "I remember when drinks were free on airplanes!" Does that make me old???

We're in RI!!!! Our take off from Washington showcased a beautiful night view of our nations Capital House and the Washington Monument. Our hotel, the Biltmore, is completely old fashioned with glorious furnishings and huge!!! Even the size of the hallways impressed me. They aren't the normal bland, white, unimpressive hallways of modern hotels. They are spacious and decorated with nice pictures and beautiful french doors!! But our room is the most phenominal suite I've ever seen! It has two king size beds, a nice living room, two-room bathroom plus a walk-in closet!! The awesomeness of it is beyond words! After being WOWed by our luck and exploring every inch of our room, we went downstairs for appetizers and drinks at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood. The restaurant, which is in the lobby of our hotel, is known for it's great food and seafood selection. It has already been decided that we will find someone to buy us dinner at this fabulous restaurant!

ALBION: Walk at Watt Farm raises $26,000 for breast cancer research

By Rikki Cason
E-mail Rikki
The Journal-Register

Making strides against breast cancer, 400 walkers, including dozens of local survivors, participated Sunday in a 5K walk for the American Cancer Society. The fourth annual Walk at Watt Farm, 3121 Oak Orchard Road, Albion, raised more than $26,000 to help fund breast cancer research.

“I am a breast cancer survivor,” Karen Watt of Watt Farms said. She got the idea to hold the walk on her farm when she learned that the closest walks were either in Rochester or Buffalo. She wanted to have an event that could benefit the people living in the central areas, such as Lyndonville, Albion and Batavia.

“It serves the area that doesn’t want to drive into Rochester or Buffalo,” Watt said. “Instead of pounding the pavement, give them an orchard to walk through.”

Participants walked the 3.2 miles through the 100-acre orchard. When the walk began four years ago, 60 walkers participated. Last year, the walk at Watt Farms raised more than $18,000 and more than 200 walkers participated. This year, the walk had a record number of 400 people.

“We had 400 walkers that have risen to the challenge,” said Jane Dent of the American Cancer Society. “Which is great for the small community.”

Dent said she was very happy with the fundraising results that “skyrocketed” this year.

“In Western New York, approximately 1,200 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year; 400 will die from the disease,” Dent said. “We all know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, or cancer in general. These teams want to help thousands of people to have a better chance at surviving breast cancer.”

Dent said that one of the youngest participants, Emily Blanchard, touched the people involved by raising $2,300.

The American Cancer Society said that money raised helps outreach programs, advocacy and patient services. Programs such as Reach to Recovery, which helps newly diagnosed women connect with survivors; Look Good ... Feel Better, gives women physical and mental makeovers; and 1-800-ACS-2345, offers information 24 hours a day from trained cancer information specialists.

Contact reporter Rikki Cason at 798-1400, ext. 8227.

300 Walkers for $30,000

I believe there is an article in the Daily News today about our walk! I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but hopefully it's in the mail! I guess the title says we had 300 walkers raise $30,000, but I have yet to have that confirmed by the American Cancer Society. But here's hoping!!! :o)

Please make sure you check out my pictures!!

Look What Zog Do

Making Strides Update!

So far we have total amount of $23,000 raised! That's up $5,000 more than last year! I have total yet on the number of walkers, but my guess is about 400! I'll let you know more as I get the details!! Plus I will be posting my pictures tonight so make sure to check back!

Head & Shoulders Above the Rest!

Thursday at work I received our company Giraffe Award!! The meaning of our Giraffe Award is that personally and professionally we stands "heads and shoulders above the rest!" I was given the award for all my hard work while my boss was out on maternity leave for 8-weeks! It's not an Oscar, but it sure felt like it when I got up in front of the company to accept it! LOL

Just when you forgot how sleazy he is, another story surfaces...

Village of Albion mayor is once again in trouble with the law. Wednesday morning he faced a judge, accused of stealing money from a village fundraiser.

The mayor seems to blaming his troubles on his political enemies. At this point he has no plans to resign despite another call from residents.

The sleepy town of Albion awakened to more news about its embattled mayor Michael Hadick. Some angry residents want him to resign.

News 4 reporter Lorey Schultz took the question to residents, "Do you think its time for the mayor to step down?"

"Yes, most definitely, there shouldn't be any question about it," replied Ron Root.

The mayor returned to court Wednesday morning where he pled not guilty to petit larceny and official misconduct, both misdemeanors. Last week state police accused him of stealing money from a fund raiser meant to defray the cost of the city's Fourth of July fireworks display.

"The nature of the allegations are - that certain monies were received at certain concessions during the evening," said Joseph Cardone, Orleans County District Attorney.

"Those monies were collected at those concessions and not turned over by him."

Hadick came under fire last year after pleading guilty to driving while impaired. Residents then called for his resignation after racy pictures allegedly of him surfaced on the Internet.

He emerged from court Wednesday with an apology on this latest matter but no admit of guilt.

"As a politically exposed person, these things are expected," said Hadick. "We're going to work through this and deal with it. I'm continuing to lead village as mayor of Albion and don't see that changing anytime in the near future."

Some of his constituents wish otherwise.

"If he were running for re-election and the election were tomorrow, would you vote for him," asked Schultz.

"Oh, absolutely not, absolutely not," said resident Mary Guerrero.

"You've lost faith?"

"Yeah."

The mayor still insists he has a lot of supporters and will continue his term through 2010.

"I'm a politically exposed person and these things are expected. You know that, you know that. When you're that you and you your family are always exposed to things like this," said Hadick.

It looks like this case is headed for a trial. The mayor is due back in court on November 19th. These are misdemeanor charges and the mayor could face up to a year behind bars.

We'll have the latest on the story Wednesday night on News 4 at 5 and 6.

Story by Lorey Schultz, WIVB.

Watt Happenings & Oktoberfest!

Last Sunday I worked the Hilton Apple Festival for Watts. We brought tons of fudge and nothing else! We have three tables full of the most popular flavors. Most times the line is 4 or 5 people deep. We move quickly and have to do all change in our heads. Which is no problem, I'm used to it from the market, but I'm surprised that there are those who struggle.

We did go back to Market for one last time yesterday! It was a beautiful day but chilly in the early morning when we arrived. Our apples were a beatiful display, as well as our late variety of peaches called Encore! I decorated and brought our Breast Cancer jug and raised $68! Woohoo! I was happy to go back one last time before the winter! And I loaded up on apples! And bought a cheese beer bread I just made to go with my chili! ;-) YUM!

On the way home I hit the McDonald's drive-thru for one of those delicious little ice cream cones! A rare treat I don't do often. But we came up to a completely ridiculous sight, A DOUBLE drive-thru. What a shame that their fatty food draws enough traffic to create two lanes. :-(


Now my evening can not be topped! A big group of us rented a school bus and went to Oktoberfest in Ellicottville last night!!! It was the best idea we've ever had! The bus in total had 33 of us, making it very cheap! We were allowed to drink and party our way down there, which meant I didn't spend a lot at the bars once there! I think we held up our beers and cheered about 30 different times! lol Ellicottville was packed but I ran into two great friends from college and two co-workers! It was a lot of fun to go and I'm hoping we've created a yearly thing!

 

FYI

I can't wait to see Mark Walhberg as Max Payne!!!!!! HOTTIE!!

4th Annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer!

It’s that time of year again! Our fourth annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is approaching quickly!! Please join us on Sunday, October 19, 2008 at Watt Farms Country Market in Albion, as we come together to walk for a cure.

Last year we doubled our numbers with 300+ walkers raising $20,000 towards Breast Cancer Research!! We are growing quickly, but to us numbers don’t matter. Our passion is with you and your support. Anyone and everyone are welcomed to walk with us!

This year we will hear from a very special guest speaker, Lynn Bateman. Over the course of the year, Lynn has supported and survived her late husband Dennis. Part of the small percentage of men afflicted with Breast Cancer, Dennis was an avid supporter of our walk and finding a cure after his diagnoses. This year his memory will inspire us all to do what we can for the cure.

For those of you who can make it, please join us at 9am for registration. Our walk will begin at 10am sharp! After you have completed our 5k walk through the orchard, please join us for our Sunday Brunch! And don’t forget, you receive 20% off in the gift shop for wearing pink!!

Of course it is understood that not everyone can make the commitment to walk, but any support you can give would certainly be appreciated. Please visit my personal donation site and give what you can. Your support and prayers on October 19th will mean the most.

Halloween is Coming!

I love Halloween! The decorations are cool, the parties are fun and costumes are great!!! But check out this decorative Halloween Candle thingy I made myself!! I got the idea out of a craft book that had all crafts under $10! Mine was a grand total of $4! WOOHOO!!!