Friday, October 14, 2011

A VERY BIG THANK YOU...OJS


For CAS-ual Fridays
please click here



It has been one pretty amazing week.

Last Friday, a very personal journey began for me
as the OJS Blog Hop began.
A benefit which was organized by my friend
Nicole, owner of Sweet Stamp Shop.

I've shared the story of how surprised I
was, to awake to find this idea already in motion.
If you missed any of it, you can read about it HERE.

I said all along that I felt that, although people were
interested in participating out of the kindness of
their hearts, that I still wanted to be able to
'earn' any money that might be donated.
It was quite a large sum that was needed
to be sure....$7000 total.

So I put myself to work for three weeks and hoped that
my intentions would never be MIS-understood.
To be able to do what I've done for a living for over
20 years...to make everyone else's efforts a success...
that was the goal and in turn, I would have 'earned'
any donations that might come through.

So today, I want to honor YOU.

Those of you who were kind enough 
to donate prizes

Those of you who were a host on the hop

Those of you who hopped

Those of you who played 
in the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge

Those of you who donated

You all came together
 and together
raised just over $2800!


Most of you recognize me from this photo.

I am so looking forward to the day that I can
share a much bigger smile with you and with
the money that has been donated, I can say
that the day will come sooner rather than later.
I now have a size-able down-payment on the work
that needs to be done to have my new smile.
I have a couple of consultation appointments to
find a dentist who will work with this and treat
me with the dignity that I deserve.

It was & continues to be 
emotional journey for me.
To realize that people don't 
just view me as a blogger,
as a designer or as a team leader.

I am viewed as a fellow human being
and clearly, I am loved.

Thank you for reading this post...
for being a follower...
for being a friend.


Over 250 donations, nearly 200 comments
on my blog and over 80 players for
the OJS challenge at CAS-ual Fridays
so please bear with me as I work on all
the thank you comments and cards.
It will take me quite sometime to
complete them all, but I promise to
do my best...just as you did for me.

There were over $2500 in prizes donated
and over 80 prize packages to be won.

It's time to head over to the
and find out the names of the winners.

I sincerely hope it is you.

15 comments:

Alicia said...

No scrappy prizes for me, except the best prize... you are an awesome friend and I really appreciate all you do! Yay Julie!

Lisa Elton said...

It wasn't about the prizes for me Julie...it was about you! Blessings and have a great weekend :)

Emily Leiphart said...

I'm so happy this was such a successful benefit for you, Julie! Best of luck with your consultations. I hope the treatment journey is a positive experience from here on in!

Sarah said...

I'm so happy to hear that our wonderful, supportive community has given you the jumpstart you needed. The next time life has you down, I hope you'll remember how many people care for you and muster a smile.

Lisa said...

I'm so happy for you, Julie. :)

Lindsey said...

Great work from you, Julie, to make this hop so organized and easy for us, the participants. Great news on the donations total. Best of luck finding a caring dentist for the next steps.

Taylor said...

I'm so happy for you, sweet lady!! I'm so glad we could all do something to help <3

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

So happy that this was such a huge success!!! YAY! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Karolyn at Paper Therapy said...

Yay! I'm so glad that all of your hard work and the huge efforts of the organizers of this hop have paid off!! Can't wait to see your real smile SOON!! Hugs!

jengd said...

So glad it was enough to help! Wishing you the best!

Lisa Petrella said...

So happy that OJS was a success, Julie!!!! Best of luck with your upcoming consultations!!!

Stephanie said...

I am so, so very happy for you Julie! :)

Evelene S said...

I can't wait to see your new smile and I pray you find a caring gentle dentist who will treat you with the respect you deserve! It was me! I won a prize and want to thank you for organizing such a great event and I am so glad I could help out in some small way.

Meg said...

Good luck in finding a new dentist and I'm OJS was able to jump start your new smile!!

Sarah Anderson said...

Yay, that's brilliant! Here's praying you find a great dentist :)