Hi! Long time no see. Where the heck have I been?! I've been putting together this little party for my San Diego mom friends. It's taken a lot of my time, but it's worth it. I think we've managed to put together another really great party. I still have a few things coming down the pipe, but here's the latest info:

Thursday, May 6th 6:00 - 9:00pm 
Porto Vista Hotel in Little Italy, Ripassi Rooftop Lounge
1835 Columbia Street
San Diego, CA 92101
619-544-0164
www.portovistasd.com (for directions, do not use Mapquest! I got lost)

*Please RSVP if you haven't already. If you can't get to the Facebook page let me know in comments and I'll make a note. 

*Valet parking is available. It's free with a drink purchase. Keep both your valet ticket AND the bar receipt for it to be valid.

Keep me in a safe place!

*We will have hosted appetizers from 6-7:30 including chicken and veggie skewers and sliders. Our drink special is the Strawberry Bahama Mojito for $6. I wanted to call it the Assless Chap but I was outvoted. Happy Hour menu pricing will apply too.

Speaking of assless chaps, meet our server for the evening.  He posed for this photo that's on one of the hotel room walls. Any of you waving single dollar bills or engaging in inappropriate touching may be asked to leave. In other words, he's all mine! (kidding honey, love you)

The view from the roof is amazing! It's breezy too. Despite the heaters, I'd still bring a jacket or wrap. Hell, bring a Snuggie if you want to.

If you need a room for the evening, Porto Vista has offered a $99 rate with code VIRTUEIMC.

We have free 5-minute chair massages from Edwin at Pacific Relxation Massage. You can purchase additional minutes as well.

All you need to bring is money for the raffles, any food/drink you want to buy and tips for the valet and staff. Raffle tickets are the same price as last year: 1 for $5, 3 for $10 and 10 for $20.

A few things on the raffle table: A Dooney and Bourke bag, A Vado pocket cam (similar to a flip), $100 gift card to Seaport Village good for any store with carousel rides and Ben and Jerry's cones too, a one year supply of Dropps laundry detergent, E.L.F makeup and brush set, $50 gift cards to Hanes.com and lots more.

I need to thank Charity and Deb for their help again this year. Also, I enjoyed getting to know and working with Nora from the Porto Vista. Her professionalism is greatly appreciated. Thank you, ladies!

I love my sponsors, they've been great! I'm so happy to be working with many again and grateful for the ones new to this year. Your contributions and donations are what is making this such a fantastic event! (in no particular order)

Porto Vista Hotel

Seaport Village

Wilton

Dropps Laundry

Carolina Pad

The Tote Buddy

Froots

See Here.com

Hanes.com

Bumbleride

Sweet Funky Vintage

Big Honcho Media

Ketchum

Eyes, Lips, Face

The Vintage Pearl

Give Daddy.com

Skoy Cloths

Handstand Kids

Dove Chocolates

Studio 19

Boogie Wipes

Me and Goji

VPG Printing

Evolve Salon and Day Spa

Pacific Relaxation Massage

Theresa Rose jewelry

Build A Bear

Hasbro

Family Adventure Guidebooks

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

*Charity, Deb and I contacted sponsors directly or were referred by the National Mom's Nite Out creator, BSM Media. We have not been paid to promote any business. All sponsors donated their products/materials for use as a door prize, gift bag or raffle item.

Ready, Set, Walk!

I can't believe how fast the year is going! Last year when I was getting ready for the 3 day, I felt like I had all the time in the world to prepare. I was so wrong. November will be here before I know it. I'm heading out for my first walk of the year. I've set my goal today for four miles. My ankle isn't 100% but I went to see my foot guy again and now I have supports in my shoes. I can't train in the pair I have for too much longer since they (literally) have a lot of miles on them. New ones are definitely in order. 

I don't want to make the same mistakes I did last year; namely not training enough and not training on the same streets as the walk route (ie lots of hills and curbs, I may have to do a whole post on curbs!). I also didn't train with my fanny pack last year (BTW I hate the term fanny pack. Is there something better? Butt bag? I think I'll use that).

I used a small backpack last year and hardly carried anything in it. As a result, I wasn't prepared for the weight of all the stuff I lugged around during the walk. Having all of that weight on my lower back definitely changed my stride so this year I'm wearing my butt bag from the start. Mine is from Eddie Bauer and I love it because it holds A LOT. It has adjustable rubber bands on the sides to hold the water bottles in place. That doesn't seem important until the third time you bend over to tie your shoes and they fall out, rolling in everyone's way. Not that I'd know about that from experience. Ahem. This is what I'll be taking with me on training walks:

Two water bottles

Snacks (as the walk gets closer I carry a lot more food)

Sunscreen

Lip balm with sunscreen

Wet wipes

Hand sanitizer
Camera (I'll start carrying the video camera too)

Hair ties

Cell phone

iPod

Nike Plus pedometer (for the iPod)

Business card case with debit card, ID and a little cash

Not pictured: toilet seat covers (for emergency porta potty stops)

Hat (either my wide brimmed straw or a ball cap)

I carry a lot more during the actual walk. My suggestion to first time walkers is to decide early on whether you want to use a backpack or butt bag and carry it from the get go.

I'm excited to be an online ambassador again this year. I'm happy to help newbie walkers any way I can. If you're in San Diego and want to train with me, let me know! There are other ambassadors all across the country.* We'll all be posting our progress and tips. We're here to help, support and encourage. If you have questions, please ask!

*Links to @the3day's profile on Twitter with all the other ambassadors.