Fighting diabetes...one step at a time.

Well...it's that time again! :)



In October, I will be joining more than 100,000 fellow walkers from across the country in this year's Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. I will be gathering donations and walking to help stop diabetes - for the third year in a row!

I am humbly asking for your help. By making a donation of even a mere $10 on my behalf, you will be helping the American Diabetes Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors appear to play roles.

There are 23.6 million Americans living with diabetes, a disease that is outpacing heart disease, cancer and AIDS.

As many of you know, my boyfriend of almost four years and his sister were both diagnosed with Type 1 (also known as juvenile-onset) diabetes when they were each 8 years old. Though they have each found ways to keep it under control, it is not an easy disease to live with and constantly monitor every single day of their lives. Furthermore, several of my own family members struggle with Type II diabetes. I see each of these people I love battle the ups and downs and obstacles involved with diabetes; as such, I am deeply passionate about finding a cure for this terrible disease.

If we don't act now, one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. I believe that my participation in this year's Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes can and will make a difference. Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes is one of the American Diabetes Association's biggest fundraisers. With the help of people like you, the American Diabetes Association can raise over $20 million to help stop diabetes.

Please help me reach my goal by supporting me for this year's Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes. Please follow the link below to my personal Web page to make a secure, 100% tax deductible donation.

**If you do not want to donate online, please make your check payable to the American Diabetes Association and email me to arrange snail-mail delivery.

Together we can stop diabetes. One step at a time.

Thank you so much everyone!

Click here to visit my personal page.

Click here to view the team page for NJBG Support

Vote for my friend's son!

Hello lovely readers - have you missed me? I've been kept VERY busy with moving back home, unpacking, cleaning, running errands, shopping, babysitting, getting ready for my trips, and re-packing. LOL. But I will have blog entries up very soon! ;)

So this post isn't about Jovi, but another one of my favorite artists: Keith Urban. I had the lucky opportunity to meet him in a Backstage Experience during the Love, Pain, and the Whole Crazy World Tour in 2007, and he was THE nicest and most down-to-earth (and short) guy I've ever met.

Now my friend Lori Broslovsky has the chance to win concert tickets AND a special Backstage Experience meet & greet for her little boy, William. He's a huge fan of Keith Urban, and finds particular pleasure and growth in music (something special to note, as he is autistic.)

Lori and William would appreciate your vote so much -- help them meet Keith Urban!

All you have to do is go to this page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KCMasterpiece?v=app_6009294086
(click "Vote Now", and then select "Loretta Broslovsky" when the finalists appear)

You can vote daily. Thanks for your help! :)

Daily vote reminder

I'll probably post a daily reminder to vote here until this campaign is over. Sorry for being so in-your-face about it, but I'm at the point where I'll do anything for a bit of extra cash! :(

Thanks...

Show Us Your Best Facial Feature - Part 2 Brickfish

Help me win $600!

This is non-Jovi related, but please read nonetheless!

You may have remembered that I have asked you to vote for my photo entries on Brickfish.com contests before. Well, I've entered another one in a desperate attempt to win some much-needed cash, and I NEED your help! This campaign is "Your best facial feature", and at the risk of looking very vain, I submitted an entry.

The most important area in which photos are judged is called the "viral meter." This is basically the amount of exposure your photo gets; in other words, the more spread around the cyber world the photo goes, the higher the viral meter will be. This means, people need to be directed to your photo from every possible avenue - social networks being the largest category. (Sooo...if you have already seen my posts about this on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc., don't disregard them; click on every link you can!!)

At the very least, I need your votes and reviews to help me with this. You can vote every 8 hours, and the campaign ends January 18th.

THANK YOU!!

Show Us Your Best Facial Feature - Part 2 Brickfish

Candles for Charity

Guess what? FALL is coming! And that means the YUMMY scents of pumpkin and apple spice, orchards and pecans, cinnamon and warm baking pies. And Halloween and Thanksgiving are only around the corner...

Why not pick up a couple of candle sets to make your home seasonal and festive, AND know you're doing good by supporting a very important cause?

I've teamed up my diabetes organization (NJBG Support) with PARTYLITE CANDLE COMPANY FUNDRAISING to help raise money for diabetes research.

There are two ways we are selling products:

~~~

OPTION 1: We are selling three popular candle sets for special prices, of which PartyLite will donate 50% profit to our charity cause. (See image below)

If you are interested in one of these sets, please email me and let me know which set you'd like. You can pay via cash, check, money order, or PayPal. Please write out checks and money orders to me, Becky Mahan, and send PayPal payments to my email address (cali.jovi@yahoo.com).



(click for full size)



OPTION 2: Additionally, our consultant set us up with a PartyLite show, which is exclusively online. You can order anything from the entire PartyLite catalog on our site and still provide a profit donation to the ADA walk; however, it will only be 25% instead of the 50% for the above sets. Anything ordered online will be delivered directly to you from PartyLite, as with any other online company order, with the exception of “Specials”. Special orders must be shipped by myself personally, and shipping fees will be discussed separately.

If you would like to order this way, please follow these instructions:

1. Go to http://www.partylite.biz/sites/Adrienne
2. Click “Shop” in the horizontal menu bar
3. Click “look up host”
4. Enter my name, Becky Mahan, and our online show will show up. (The date/time only means the deadline to submit orders; you can order before then!!)
5. From there, any order you put in will be credited to our show and charity. *If you go back and change or add to your order at a later time, please make sure that my name/show is still being credited.

~~~

If you are interested in partaking in this fundraiser, please submit your orders to me (or online) by October 5. This is the final deadline.

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask. :)

I appreciate your consideration in this fundraiser, and I really hope you find something you like! And of course, if you are not interested in candles but would still like to support our endeavors and diabetes research, you can make a direct donation to our walk with the American Diabetes Association via cash, check, or online donation at http://main.diabetes.org/goto/beckymahan.

Thank you!

A Cause Close to My Heart

I try to refrain from posting non-Jovi entries here, but once in awhile I will post something I feel important enough to share with you all. This is one of those times.

Many of you know that I am a fierce advocate of finding a cure for diabetes. I am very passionate about the whole cause: funding and furthering research, supporting the endeavors of prominent organizations such as the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), both of which have made considerable contributions and advancements in the fight to cure diabetes, and even running my own grassroots community program NJBG Support (Not Just By Giving).

My boyfriend of three years was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 8 years old; his sister was diagnosed 3 years later at the same age - with no family history of it! Both of them are lucky: they have their diabetes under control for the most part, and experience few complications. Very few people living with diabetes can say that, especially those diagnosed with type 1 - the deadliest and most dangerous of the three types of diabetes.

Contrary to popular belief, diabetes is not caused. You don't get it from being overweight, eating unhealthily, or consuming massive amounts of sugar. Diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the pancreas, whether by design or after aging, fails to produce either enough or any insulin to break down glucose/sugar in the body. There are eating/lifestyle habits that can contribute to or accelerate this failure, in which case type 2 diabetes can develop. But type 1 is a genetic auto-immune disorder that starts in childhood - giving it the nickname "juvenile diabetes". You can read more about the science of diabetes here.

Without going into the nitty-gritty of the extensive research I have done on the disease, I will simply leave it at the fact that diabetes is deadly. It complicates the lives of those living with it, and is currently incurable...which means almost imminent death from it. However, I truly believe (as do the ADA and JDRF) that there IS a cure to be discovered. I believe that together, we can pool our resources, our efforts, and our hearts to help stop this disease...and save millions of lives.

I dedicate a considerable amount of my spare time to campaigning for the cause and promoting education, awareness, and research. Every year, I walk for the ADA's Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes - a 3-mile journey in 200 major cities across America where volunteers raise money and walk to show their support for the ADA's endeavors, and of course, for diabetics. Last year our team raised $900!

This year's walk is October 17, and I have started my fundraising campaign. If you would care to sponsor me on this walk (and thus donate to the ADA's research foundation), you can make a secure online donation at http://main.diabetes.org/goto/beckymahan. Any amount, large or small, is deeply appreciated. On the average, sponsors donate $10. And every donation is tax-deductible!

You can also donate a more creative (and personally-beneficial) way: I have arranged for 25% of the sales profited from my online Jovi merchandise shop to be donated to the ADA (remember that design contest last month?). All designs are my own creations - so you get to donate to a worthy cause, AND you get a really awesome Jovi shirt...or mug or mousepad or totebag.... :)

Finally, I want to thank you all in advance for your thoughts and donations, and thanks for taking the time to read about a cause deeply important to me.

Together, we can find a cure!

Help me win a scholarship!

I'm calling on the kindness and support of the Jovi network again -- I have entered countless contests with a photo website called Brickfish, and never won the scholarships or prizes. This time, the sky's the limit with "My Favorite Photo Ever Taken" and I'm bringin' in JON to help me out.

I took this photo at the Los Angeles show from the Lost Highway tour - I was 4th row, the closest I'd ever been, and on Cloud 9 all night long. It was my birthday celebration, and Jon saw my sign asking for a dance (he smiled and pointed, but alas, never danced with me...). I was on the aisle at an angle to see him and Richie all night long, and I got attention that made my head spin. To this day, it's my favorite concert ever, and very special to me.

If you could vote for (and review!) my photo at the link provided, I would REALLY appreciate it. In this day and age, scholarships are nearly mandatory for college! It would really help me out.

Thanks so much. :)

My Favorite Photo (I've Ever Taken) Brickfish

Sugarland fans?

Okay, so as I told a friend earlier, my brain has been in permanent "fart mode" for the last two weeks. Blame it on the overworking, the crappy weather, and the itching for my Europe trip this summer.

But this takes the cake - I placed an order on Amazon last week for a ton of CDs (seriously, don't buy from the stores - get new albums from sellers on Amazon. Half the price or less, I swear.) including Sugarland's Love On the Inside, of which I only have a burned copy.

Well, I was hasty - and I'm never hasty - in my ordering since I had a list of CDs I was looking for, and I found the deluxe fan edition and snagged it. It arrived today in a large, flat box...too big for a CD.

That's because it was a double vinyl LP.

HOW I managed to miss that in the freaking order AND confirmation, I have no idea, but my brain officially wins Farter of the Year.

So...I have absolutely zero need for a Sugarland LP, no matter how much I love the album, and I really want to resell it. Unfortunately, while buying on Amazon is a steal, SELLING is another story - they rob you with their stupid commissions. And I can never sell a thing on ebay.

So I'm throwing this out there - if any Sugarland fans (or if you know someone else who would want i!) are interested in the deluxe fan edition double vinyl, I'll sell it to you for not a penny more than what I bought it = $14.29 (including tax and shipping). Just Paypal me and I'll ship it the second you buy it.

It's brand new and factory sealed - really a beautiful collector's item! I just don't have room for Sugarland memorabilia among all my Jovi stuff. ;)

SIDE A

All I Want To Do

It Happens

We Run

joey

Love

SIDE B

Genevieve

Already Gone

Keep You

Take Me As I Am

SIDE C

What I'd Give

Steve Earle

Very Last Country Song

Fall Into Me

SIDE D (bonus tracks)

Operation: Working Vacation

Wishing

Life In A Northern Town (LIVE w/ Little Big Town & Jake Owen)

Come On Get Higher (LIVE)

Non Jovi: Earth is in trouble.

This isn't a regular Jovi news or reflection post, but it is much more important. 

So in my Marine Biology class, we not only study taxonomy and behavioral habits of marine organisms - we delve into the bigger picture of ecology and human impact on the oceans and environment.

For an extra credit assignment, my professor had us visit this website and take a quiz to calculate our ecological footprint:

http://www.myfootprint.org/en/visitor_information/

You answer a series of questions about your lifestyle, and it calculates your footprint based on your consumption habits.

I must say, my family has always been pretty environmentally conscious and we do what we can to conserve energy and water, etc. But apparently, we're not doing enough, because my results SCARED ME. According to my footprint results, if everyone on the planet lived like me, we'd need MORE THAN 6 EARTHS to sustain us!

I thought it would be really interesting to see what everyone else discovers about their own habits and lifestyle, so I figured I'd post this. The good part is that the website has a ton of information and advice on how to reduce your footprint and be more eco-friendly, which I am DEFINITELY going to try to follow.

We have GOT to do something NOW to save this planet - because we are the ones destroying it. Every person can make a difference, and together we can make an impact. But being aware of the impact you currently have, and educated on how it affects the earth, is the only way to really induce real change.

So...what is your ecological footprint? And what are you going to do to reduce it?

Happy Mother's Day!

Whether you're a mom yourself, are celebrating with your own mom, or even just KNOW a mom -- Happy Mother's Day. :)

And a special wish to a special mom who gave us a very special gift in this world: Jon's own mama Carol Bongiovi. Hope you're having a wonderful day with your sons, Mrs. B!

Avon calling!

Okay so this isn't Bon Jovi related, but I am trying desperately to build a customer foundation for my new AVON business!

Whether your fancy be makeup, fragrance, skincare, fashion, shoes, accessories, home deco, or gifts for anyone you know (women AND men!), AVON has it. 

MY STORE: www.youravon.com/beckymahan

I get 50% commission for the first 2 months, so if you like any of the above mentioned products, and would like to help me get through college and still see my favorite band (LOL), please check it out. :) **You also get FREE SHIPPING on your first online order!**

Thanks everyone!

Birthday thank you

Just wanted to send out a mass thank you to everyone who dropped me notes and emails for my birthday. It put a big ol' smile on my face to see them all. My boyfriend was here for the weekend and I had a wonderful time with him - my 20th birthday would have been spent alone in class and work otherwise. He's one hell of a sweetheart!

Anyway, thank you again. :) And don't forget to sign up (or if you already have, keep clicking the widgets) with SocialVibe to earn money for the ADA. My account has tracked a TON of activity lately, and a lot of it is from here, so keep it up!

Help Me Out?

So I teamed up with SocialVibe last year as a way to further support my diabetes organization, and the American Diabetes Association has FINALLY partnered with them!

So. Here's the deal, real simple. Click on the widget below and join SocialVibe (it literally takes about 30 seconds to sign up) and I will earn major points, which my sponsors, Philips Norelco and Apple Inc., will then pay off to the American Diabetes Association to help fund diabetes research.

And once you're signed up, go ahead and choose your own cause and sponsor and start supporting your own charity without paying a cent. It's the best way to stay philanthropically active in this horrible economy.

Thank you SO much - I really appreciate your help!

P.S. if you are REALLY against signing up, just clicking on the pink 'join now' tab to take you to my homepage will give me points. It will only be 1 point vs. 100 for singing up, but it's better than nothing! And I'll get points based on daily clickout totals.

Firefighter saves koala from burning Australian wilderness

Okay, this is entirely non-FF related, but in our current global atmosphere of depression and angst, I thought a little uplifting story could do us some good.

I saw this the other day, but only read the whole story today in my journalism class. And it brought tears to my eyes, from my heart warming for 'Sam' and breaking for the hundreds of other poor animals who didn't make it.

I am a HOPELESS sap for animals. (I cried my head off when my dog fatally injured a bunny the other day in our yard.)

And I want to take a moment to send hope to Australia in their time of desperate need right now. I live in Southern California - I've lived this wildfire nightmare twice in the last 5 years. I've been there, I know what it's like. And it's an absolute, terrifying nightmare. So you all have my love, support, thoughts, wishes, and prayers. I truly hope you all stay safe.

Koala rescued from Australian wildfire wasteland

SYDNEY (AP) — It was a chance encounter in the charred landscape of Australia's deadly wildfires: A koala sips water from a bottle offered by a firefighter. David Tree noticed the koala moving gingerly on scorched paws as his fire patrol passed.

Clearly in pain, the animal stopped when it saw Tree.

"It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look) like, put me out of my misery," Tree told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I yelled out for a bottle of water. I unscrewed the bottle, tipped it up on his lips and he just took it naturally.

"He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby."

The team called animal welfare officers to pick up the koala Sunday, the day after deadly firestorms swept southern Victoria state.

"I love nature, and I've handled koalas before. They're not the friendliest things, but I wanted to help him," Tree said.

Often mistakenly called koala bears because they resemble a child's teddy bear, the marsupial is actually a rather grumpy creature with a loud growl and sharp claws. It rarely comes down from the trees and doesn't like walking.

Koalas are especially vulnerable to wildfires because they move slowly on the ground.

The wildfires cut through parks and forests and sent countless wombats and other native species fleeing. One resident reported seeing kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their backs.

The fires also razed farmland, killing or panicking sheep and cattle. Television footage showed cows running down the main street of a smoke-filled town.

A count of the animals killed has not been made.

Tree said he found the koala in a burned-out forest near Mirboo North, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) east of Melbourne, Victoria's capital.

Koalas normally drink almost no water because they get almost all their fluids from the leaves they eat.

After the scorched koala sipped from the water bottle and Tree's crew moved on, animal welfare officials came by.

Coleen Wood, manager of the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter where the koala was taken for treatment of second- and third-degree burns to its paws, said Wednesday that it was expected to make a full recovery.

Wood said there was no doubt the animal was wild, not domesticated, and that it would be released back into nature once a suitable habitat is found — the foliage in Sam's forest was all but destroyed.

"The hardest part is going to be trying to find enough habitat to support these guys," Wood said.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals said it was establishing shelters to care for thousands of pets and livestock affected by the fires.