SouthernZest: Fundraiser Results & Birthday Fun!

Wow.

Seriously, I don't even know what else to say! Y'all have literally blown me away with your generosity.

A month ago my heart sank after hearing from my friend and college roommate that her mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and undergone surgery. (read about it here) The family is in need of financial support so the Cut At Cancer fundraiser got set up. We set a goal for $500, and I was honestly hoping to pass it and get around $800.

Holy cow - you guys had other plans!!!

I am completely blown away, this is the best gift I could have received! Thank you to everyone that donated, to everyone that shared the link on facebook, and to everyone that prayed. Please continue praying for the family.

I heard from Elsie a few days ago and she was able to update me on her mom, Leslie. She said that she has had a rough few days, but her last chemo wasn't as bad as the others. Leslie's fourth chemo treatment is this upcoming week - please continue to pray for her and her strength.

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Last Saturday was my 25th birthday, as many of you know. On Friday I got 12 inches of my hair cut off! It is being donated to Children With Hair Loss on our return to the States in a few weeks. 12 inches is a drastic change to say the least! I do like it, but I think I look really young with it short. I also haven't gotten to play with it a whole lot since it needs to stay up and out of the way while I cook, but it is definitely not what I'm used to! I've had a hard time keeping it pinned, braided, or twisted back and having bangs is beyond annoying! But I like them - so headbands have become my new best friend (: I have been trying to find some tutorials on easy and cute styles for short hair..and I've come up short (haha - sorry, I couldn't help it!) I think I'm going to play with it and see what I can come up with this week. I may share some ideas if they actually turn out!

Here is the before & after:

So Saturday I woke up, went grocery shopping, then headed to school to play in a hockey tournament! Mind you, this was the second time I've played hockey...ever - but I think we did pretty good! We made it to the semi-finals and when we did loose, we lost against the champions. They took donations for a fundraiser during the tournament, and come to find out it was for my fundraiser! The medical students that organized the tournament surprised me with the can of money at the end of the day. All the wonderful hockey players and watchers gave about $57US for Leslie Miles!

That evening my husband surprised me with a lovely dinner at a classy restaurant in town called FLOW. The food was fantastic to say the least!!! I didn't take my camera or anything so I don't have any pictures to show off, sorry guys. When we got back - and I got out of those darn heels - we headed next door where I was surprised by a bunch of our friends, a balloon hat, and a flourless nutella cake!! YUM! My evening ended with us all sitting in the living room telling funny stories and listening to random songs. It was such a fantastic birthday!

The following day I was yet again surprised! I was blindfolded upon leaving church and loaded into a taxi. I was then driven somewhere and lead down a stone pathway to a table where they took the tie (blindfold) off of my eyes and I was met by about 15 friends for a birthday lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Driftwood!

My weekend was fantastic to say the least. Timothy and I are so blessed to have such an amazing support group of friends on the island here. Everyone made me feel so loved on my birthday, it was like I was home with family (:

Here are some pictures from the weekend: