What: Spirit of the Marathon movie fundraiser
When: Saturday, October 16th at noon
Where: Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet Street in Milwaukee [Google] [mapquest]
Tickets: $20 in advance or $25 at the door (includes movie, soda and popcorn, save $3 if you choose no snacks option)

If you can’t join us but want to support the cause, choose the “I’ll be there in Spirit” ticket option.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/spiritmarathon to purchase tickets now!

Bloody Brunch™, the popular Milwaukee Tweetup event in search of the city’s best Bloody Marys, is making its next stop at Stack’d Burger Bar on Sunday, December 13^th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a Holiday Extravaganza. That’s right, Bloody Brunch ™ is going beyond Twitter for a day of celebration, benefiting Toys for Tots, the Blood Center of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation.

All guests bringing a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots (don’t be a grinch – suggested value of $10) will get a free Rehorst Vodka or Gin Bloody Mary with a Buffalo Water Bison Blonde chaser (while supplies last). The first 25 people to bring in a toy valued at over $25 will receive a swag bag full of coupons and goodies from local businesses, a Bloody Mary with chaser and a Build-Your-Own-Burger.

The Blood Center of Wisconsin and Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation will receive all proceeds from the silent auction, with items including a one night’s stay at The Iron Horse Hotel and a custom pet portrait. Other festivities at the event include free pictures with Santa Claus, holiday tunes from DJ Ed Cetera and the Packers vs. Bears game on flat screen TVs.

Trivera Interactive president Tom Snyder will be on hand for mini-workshops. Just getting started or even an old hand, he’ll have tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Twitter. Tom will share all the latest tools to help you get the most out of Twitter as a powerful business tool, or just for fun.

If you’re looking to do some good this holiday season, please stop by the event. There’s no cost to get in, but if you want a swag bag, you’ll have to bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.

Bloody Brunch was even highlighted in this article from OnMilwaukee.com.

It began as any Sunday morning might. Two new friends met for brunch only to discover they share an affinity for a well-crafted Bloody Mary. As one Sunday flowed into the next, an idea was born. The Bloody Brunch was born.

On a personal level, Bloody Brunch co-founders Amy Kant and Sara Conrad hope to try as many Milwaukee Bloody Marys as they can through this venture, but that’s not the real goal, they say. The ladies went public with their weekend events via Twitter and accrued quite the following. Today Bloody Brunch is a popular monthly Tweetup that gathers the Milwaukee Twitter community to raise money for a good cause.

Paola is the little girl I sponsor so she can go to a Christian school in Guatemala. Here she is in her brand new school uniform. Thanks Ginny for sending me this precious photo!

Legacy Treasures Kit by Royanna Fritschmann www.divinedigital.com
Fonts: 2peas scrapbook, green pillow

As you know, I have made two trips to Guatemala, most recently this past June with my dad. Due to circumstances I will not go into here, a new ministry has formed to help the same poorest of the poor in Guatemala. It is being spearheaded by Ginny and Kevin Holmes and Randy and Rachel Stauner.

They have some exciting news to share and some ways you can help them. Some of you who’ve been to Guatemala may know Manuel who works with the ministry and his wonderful family. Manuel has officially resigned from The Servant’s Heart and is moving his family into the new home the Holmes/Stauners have rented. Ruth (see below) has also joined them and is hard at work, helping clean the new house and get things ready as this new ministry grows.

They are working on finding sponsors for Manuel’s children, so they can continue with their schooling. His children along with Oscar Tocay’s family are in need of sponsors for school.

This is their immediate need for sponsorships as these children need to start school next week. They will add more kids as they get sponsors, but will not add any more until these are fully sponsored.

Would you be willing to sponsor one or more of these children, or at least pass this information on? 100% of the money coming in will go toward the child’s schooling. No other costs are involved with this. If you cannot commit to sponsoring a child, but would like to make a one-time contribution, that is of course welcome!

Immediate Needs:

*$250 per child for initial registration fees (includes January tuition, books, uniforms and some school supplies)
* 2 sponsors at $30/mo or 1 sponsor at $60/mo per child

If you would like more information, please contact Rachel Holmes Stauner at beachnote@aol.com. She can answer any questions you may have.

Please also keep the Holmes and Stauners and the Guatemalans in your prayers.

Blessings,
Amy

100 Days of Moo www.flickr.com/groups/30daysofmoo/

Freebies:

• Starbucks: Free Tall Coffee with your “I voted” sticker
• Ben & Jerry’s: Free Scoop of Ice Cream
• Krispie Kreme: Free Doughnut
• Stone Creek Coffee: Free 12 oz. drink coupon for your next visit
• Trocadero, Cafe Hollander, Fat Abbey, Cafe Centraal: Free Pint of Lakefront Beer
• Art Bar: Free shot for every blue state, 2 for 1 drinks
• Nomad World Pub: Free pint of Lakefront Beer

Deals, Discounts, etc:

• Toppers Pizza: Large Pizza or Triple order of Toppers Stix for $3.99

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“You can’t lead the people, if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people, if you don’t serve the people.”
~Cornel West (Professor of Religion at Princeton University)

I’m not exactly sure just yet why this quote and sermon spoke to me so much. Perhaps it’s the bit about serving, and remembering that God put his Son here on the earth “not to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). Or, more likely, it’s because of the time I’ve spent in Guatemala with The Servant’s Heart.

This got me thinking about how this quote could be applied to the presidential race. Are we going to elect someone who LOVES the people? Someone who SERVES the people? Or are we going to elect someone who wants to LEAD and/or SAVE the people?

I’m not talking about any specific politician here… I just want to encourage you all to think about this as you make the decision of who to vote for this November.

Consider this your public service announcement.

Anywho, here are a couple pages I’ve done recently. I also have a couple fun projects in progress. I can’t wait to show you guys!

ETA:

ooo, and a few other things…

1. holly and I have an exciting project in the works. who knows when we’ll actually finish it, but I promise it will be awesome!
2. I will soon be offering some freelance writing services here… including web-friendly bios and other short copy writing services. Want to see some examples? Click here and here and here. I will be offering some introductory pricing DEALS so stay tuned to my blog for that!
3. Etsy Sale through Sept 1. Most items are 15-30% off! Click here to check it out!
4. I’m totally hooked on the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Of course, thanks to my Plurk friends!