Walkin' tall ... err ... well all 4'10" of me is trying to be as tall as possible.

Our story begins one sunny morning ... in a galaxy far, far away.  Actually, I lie.  It began in a Target parking lot in upstate New York.  The ShortStack's were headin' South for some Black Friday shopping.  And who better to share in the journey than two South Africans friends who share in our love of all things wine, shopping and Target.  Armed with credit cards, shopping lists, "sensible footwear", synchronized watches and the sheer will to survive the crowds, we left the True North Strong and Free, and headed South ...

 

We left no stone unturned.  No clothing rack un-spun.  No credit card unused.  Our feet throbbed.  Our backs ached.  Our arms felt as though they would fail under the sheer volume of bags we struggled to carry ... and yet, as if guided by only our shopping-instincts, we soldiered on.  It was truly ... a miracle of epic proportions.

Truth be told, I have never been a great shopper.  I find crowds overwhelming.  I'm a shop-local-fan.  And yet, somehow, I abandoned all that I knew to be true about myself ... I wrestled sweaters away from other ladies.  I snarled like a wildebeest at those whom I felt were going to pick-over the last of the knee-high-size-6 "pleather boots" I was eyeing.  I charged toward cashiers with my shopping buggy tires on fire.  I SCREAMED out to my friends when I saw a fresh pile of towels being put out on display ...

I didn't recognize myself ...

My heart raced in a way that I had never experienced.

I felt faint.  Now in fairness, that could have been down to eating virtually nothing all day ... but I'd like to think it was adrenaline ... shopping adrenaline ... what a rush.

When our credit cards reached melting point, we had just enough money to buy a couple of bottles of wine (again, what a miracle!).  And after a severe panic attack where we believe we had in fact left the house-keys back in Canada ... we arrived in the sleepy metropolis of Ellicottville, just in time to secure a table at Tips Up Café.  The Christmas lights shone.  The snow fell.  The heaping mounds of blue cheese atop our salad were the perfect accompaniment to the duck breast.  Our wine glasses overflowed.  Life-was-good. 

 

Once our bellies were full, we ventured back to the house, for "just one more glass of wine".  One glass turned into two.  Two to three ... and so on, until the wee hours of the morning.   At some point the conversation turned to "doing good" in the world ... over and above supporting local wineries and entire retail empires.  Someone mentioned putting in a team for the Toronto Weekend to End Women's Cancers  - and we all shrieked with delight!   What a fantastic idea - what a wonderful cause - pass the wine!  We clinked glasses and sealed the deal.  Team Poutine & Boob-otie was born!  (Get it?  Get it?  French Canadian poutine and South African bobotie!?!?!?!  I love a good foodie-word-play!)

 

Our goal was to raise $5000.  And after a few months of fundraising, we were nearing in on our goal. We thought we needed one last push - and so a Garage Sale was born!   After an amazing day  (many thanks to everyone who donated items, time, money and especially to the kiddos who manned the lemonade/coffee stand), we surpassed the $5000 mark!  WOO HOO!

So what's next?  And why this seemingly un-food-related post?  (I'll get to that in a moment!)

Well, on August 11th we've got our first practice-walk all mapped out.   (I know, we don't need practice walking, as we've been doing it for YEARS, but we do need to work on stamina!)  We're aiming for 20K total.  So on the 11th we'll be struttin' around Burlington - so if you see two shorties dressed in pink trudging along Lakeshore, you'll know we're walking for a good cause.  The second practice walk will be on August 17th - that's when the tallies AND the smallies will be walkin' together ... we're toying with walking from Burlington to Oakville ... then pouring ourselves G&T's, then falling into a pool ... with water-wings on for extra safety :)

So why this post?  Although we've reached our goal for the one day walk - if we reach $8000, it means we'll get to walk BOTH days of the event ... which would be wicked-good!  So we're soliciting you ... like the Public Broadcasting television people ... "We need your dah-llers!"

We've bumped our "goal" to reflect this "new plan" and now instead of each of us having to raise $1,500 ... we have to raise $2,000 ... and I've shaken my piggy bank to within an inch of its life ...

So friends, if you can spare a dime, we'd be most grateful!  Click HERE to be directed to my personal donation page.  And if all you can spare is good-luck wishes, well we're looking for those as well! 

With my feet firmly planted in running shoes, and sunscreen in hand, it's off for a lap around the block.  Happy strutting friends.