Over the weekend, my friend April finished an Olympic triathlon. That means she swam for 1 mile, biked for 25, and ran for 6 miles, basically. She had been training for months, and was fundraising for a special cause, that I want to tell you about now–

In her own words:

My name is April. Many of you  may not know me, but I am the Deputy Director of Strategic Communications for Panzi Foundation USA, and I have been working with the organization for about two years now. I am passionate about the mission of Panzi Hospital and the work being done there – helping the women of Eastern Congo to rebuild their lives and communities. The women that come to Panzi have endured more trauma than many will ever know, but they radiate incredible strength. Far from being victims, they are survivors. I want to help them tell their stories, and you can be a part of that effort. 

I am a professional video producer/editor and this summer, I am donating my time and the use of my equipment and traveling to Eastern Congo with Dr. Lee Ann De Reus (Panzi Foundation USA co-founder) to produce a documentary project showcasing Panzi Hospital and the women who have come through its programs. This will be my first trip to Bukavu, and I am very excited to see the impact Panzi has had on the ground over the last 15 years firsthand. We will be talking to women who have been through the hospital and finished their treatment, hospital staff, members of the surrounding community, and others. Panzi Foundation USA believes there are many supporters in the US (and beyond!) who will be interested to see and hear these stories – and we’d like to be able to show you! But we need your help. 

As all of the labor is entirely volunteer and all of the equipment already owned and paid for, we need donations ONLY to fund the travel expenses and tape costs. We’ve set up a page on the crowdfunding platform >>>indiegogo.com<<< and are trying to raise $5000 to bring this project to fruition. To sweeten the deal, we’re throwing in some nice perks for people who are able to donate $50, $100, or $250 – including a limited-edition t-shirt we’re having printed only for this campaign, a producer credit on the documentary, and a photo of Congolese women signed by medical director of Panzi Hospital and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr. Denis Mukwege.

Just in case we haven’t given you enough reasons to donate – I am putting my body on the line as well. May 18th, I will be swimming almost a mile, biking almost 25 miles, and running just over 6 miles at the Gateway Triathlon (Carlyle Lake, IL) in support of this campaign and PFUSA. I have been training for months, and it has not always been a fun process. Whenever I feel like I want to give up, however, I get inspiration and strength from the women of Congo. Can you help us share their stories with the world? 

Please >>>visit our indiegogo page<<<, donate if you can, and share this campaign with your friends, family, and social networks. We cannot do this without your help!

(photo from the triathlon swim course)

They are nearly halfway to their goal right now, but they need your help!  Honestly, anything I am trying to add right now just sounds stupid, so I’ll just say: if you can, please donate to her cause. I did, and I’m looking forward to my t-shirt 🙂 I love how dedicated April is to what she believes in and I believe that she does and will continue to make the world a better place. And most important to me (being selfish) she is a wonderful friend and has been there for me many times when I needed someone.

Here’s a picture from last year of April and I running a race together. She could totally kick my butt now (not that she couldn’t then either…but still!)

I hadn’t had a day off in several weeks until yesterday, so I declared yesterday Friday Fun Day and made sure to keep it a day off. This is often easier said than done, as people often want me to reschedule things, but I knew that a day off was more important.

Things that I did: a long bike run from home to the River Des Peres Greenway and then along that, then home again; a long walk around and through Forest Park; a delicious Korean dinner at Asian Kitchen; Arianna String Quartet concert with Zuill Bailey; drinks with friends at Tower Pub. Friday Fun Day continued into today with yoga in the morning at Tower Grover Park, and I picked up a few things for dinner at the Farmer’s Market. I know it’s Saturday but still, whatever. I do have a wedding to play soon so the fun can’t continue forever, but tonight I’m going to the Symphony for the season finale. Finally a busy weekend of fun activities rather than a million gigs!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the million gig weekends too, or at least my bank account does, but it’s nice to have time to take advantage of all the cool stuff a city has to offer and have a bit of relaxing time. Sometimes a girl just needs to ignore her to-do list and enjoy the amazing weather. Or put her feet up and watch some Game of Thrones.

This picture isn’t from Friday Fun Day though, it’s earlier in the week. I had walked by Steve’s Hot Dogs several times, but finally went in to try the “Gorilla Mac & Cheese Dog”. It was pretty tasty, though not something I’d want to eat every day.

I should talk more about the Yoga this morning. I’d never been to a real yoga class before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I have attended a few Bikram Yoga classes in the past, but this was completely different—much more relaxed, calmer, AND of course less hot (that will change as the months go by I’m sure.) I’m sure I was doing many of the poses poorly, and did get an adjustment of my “downward facing dog” by one of the teachers, but I enjoyed the class, felt like it was a great way to start the day and get some good stretching done as well. I need to focus more on stretching, particularly as I’ve been upping my physical activity and plan to keep that level up (My current strategy is “eat enough, move more” to reach my fitness goals).

How is your weekend so far?

I have so many blog posts I’ve started and haven’t finished…yet. I have one on my final thoughts (final being relative) on the Whole30 diet I went on. I have one on general life as a freelance musician and how I have negative thoughts towards my own career because I allow other people’s thoughts too much credence. I have an unwritten one on the half marathon I ran earlier this month without really training, one on my thoughts on talent and music, and a couple other great ideas on well written blog posts…in the future. This is not one of them.

But who cares, right? This is my blog, and I’ll say what I want to. Tomorrow I plan to post about yogurt. Soon I will post about another local 5k that I want to help promote. I’m still running the contest about the Heart to Heart race on June 7 that you should enter.

My morning was spent helping to “score” a video that I’m helping a friend put together for an event. It was totally out of my comfort zone, but I’ve learned recently that I am much more capable on the violin and with other styles of music and coming up with just, well, STUFF off the cuff that I’d thought. I’ve learned, mostly, that I can do anything I set my mind to, and allow myself to do! I like to think of myself as Locke from Lost and no longer want anyone to tell me what I can’t do.

And I had a great weekend: worked my butt off for a variety of church performances, had a nice hike in the woods with friends, had a great dinner out at Basso and a few other wonderful home cooked meals, had lots of great conversation (I learned that I get very defensive of my alma mater and all that goes along with it!)

I’ve also learned that hiking in Missouri is mostly just walking in the woods. And that’s okay, especially when the weather is beautiful.

And it has been!

I keep saying I’ll be less busy soon, but I just keep saying YES to all manner of interesting musical projects and it just keeps being too busy. I’m struggling with balance at the time, but I’m okay with that. Right now my life is work heavy and a bit stressful, but I know there will be a time it is the opposite, and it’s important to think cyclically rather than day to day, at least as a freelancer.

How are you enjoying the lovely spring weather?