Becoming Timberman

First off, welcome to the new site. You’ll clearly notice a ton of changes (new blog host, new theme, new layout, sponsor links, etc.) but the blog feeds and subscriptions should still work fine. If you’re a friend through Google Friend Connect, that service is being replaced by Google+ so I didn’t install that feature on the blog, but I’m hoping those people will still be able to find me. I don’t usually go begging for comments, but please let me know what you think of the new theme, if everything is working for you, if the new colors give you seizures, etc.

The raffle: The response to last years raffle was so strong, I definitely had to go that route again this year.  Of course, I’m working on bringing in some great prizes, and the rules will work the same as last year. For every $5 you donate, you get an entry into the raffle. At the end of the raffle, I’ll put all the entries in a spreadsheet and pick numbers using random.org to select the winners. This year there will be several prizes given away in addition to the grand prize. The last date to donate to be qualified for any of these prizes is 2/29/12.

The prizes: I’ve still got a lot coming in, but here’s a taste of what I have so far:

- peeled snacks fruit picks variety pack

- Yurbuds sports headphones and a Yurbuds can coozie (for your post workout refreshments)

- Polar prize pack: Men’s FT40 Heart Rate Monitor, hat, t-shirt, drawstring bag, and stickers

- Justin Beiber autographed photo (personally obtained at CES 2012)

- and several more things I’m just waiting on from the mail in order to announce.

And if Justin Beibers autograph isnt enough, when we reach the amount needed to donate the 5th chair, I’m giving away an iPad 2 with anyone who has made a minimum of a $5 donation to that point being eligible. I’ll use the same process as listed above. I’ll be giving away additional smaller prizes each time we hit the amount needed to donate a chair, even before the raffle ends.

How to donate: Anytime you want to donate, just click on the “Donate” link in the menu bar, which takes you to my page on the Eleonore Rocks team store. This page lets you “buy me” for various dollar amounts ranging between $5 and $450. Each week I get an email from the folks that run the foundation with a list of who has donated and how much, and I’ll give a weekly update of the donation totals to date.

I chose this charity for a lot of reasons (I get to race with a team, I’ve secretly always wanted a pink and purple blog and racing kit, the charity is based in Ohio, and it helps little tiny babies), but the most important thing to know is this is a charity with extremely low overhead, operated by volunteers, so every dollar other than what it takes to keep the website up, and send some mail goes right towards caring for families of newborns in crisis.

PS. My training is going awesome. “Dr. Pain” had me out Saturday for 20 miles in the wind and rain. Having the plan to follow and a coach to support it has really been quite helpful

PPS. Seriously, I’m raffling off a Justin Beiber autograph. One of you folks is going to make your Tween girl very happy!