Miles for Hope - Moving Towards a Cure in Clearwater, FL 9/25/10

Yesterday I participated in a charity event to help brain cancer patients. It's called "Moving Towards a Cure," which is sponsored by the organization Miles for Hope. From their web site,

"The Mission of Miles for Hope is to raise awareness and funding of cutting edge brain tumor research as well as clinical trials and to providing travel assistance to qualified patients. Through our work, we intend on finding not only treatments that provide a better quality of life for those suffering with brain cancer, but to find a cure for it."

Of course this is a cause near and dear to my heart since my human Mark was diagnosed with brain cancer on August 23, 2006 and is still fighting it valiantly.

There was a 5K run and 25K, 50K, and 100K bike rides. I opted to participate in the bike ride. The scenery was fantastic since the event took place in Clearwater near the beaches.

My pal Neuri even joined me for part of the ride. He is a giant stuffed neuron (brain cell). Humans have billions of these guys in their brains, and some folks use more of them than others. o(;(]) (That's a winking sock monkey, by the way.)

After the races were finished, there was an awards ceremony. I got first place in the sock monkey division! Laura said I was the only sock monkey participating, but who's counting anyway?

Big Wonkey Gets a New Uncle (and His Hat)

Big Wonkey worked his baby charm and new t-shirt to persuade Officer Po Po to be his uncle. Then he sweetly inquired if he might be able to wear his new uncle's knitted red pom pom hat.

Normally Po Po's red hat is obscured by his police officer's cap. He gladly donated it to the Wonkster. This kid is getting all kinds of new stuff.

Glamour Shots - Big Wonkey and I Strike a Pose in Our New T-Shirts

You may have noticed in my previous post that I'm wearing an awesome new t-shirt! I got it from my friend Jill at Cheeky Monkey Love. Besides t-shirts, Jill sells adorable hand crafted sock monkeys and sock monkey beverage cozies. Please check out her site sometime. The message on my shirt is DON'T Shock the Monkey. Do you remember Peter Gabriel's song, Shock the Monkey? Jill has several different monkey related messages on her shirts.

As soon as Big Wonkey was born, he started begging me for a shirt of his own. I selected the "Will You Be My Uncle?" t-shirt from the Cheeky Monkey Love site for the Wonkster. For fun, I googled the phrase I'll Be A Monkey's Uncle to investigate its origin.

The reason I'm calling this post Glamour Shots is because I utilized my very professional photo studio that I've demonstrated for you in the past. The pictures taken inside the studio are high quality. I just have to get Laura to assemble and disassemble it for me.

Big Wonkey decided to raid my closet and borrow some of my accessories. The Uncle Sam hat and Sally Jesse Raphael glasses were a nice addition to his t-shirt. This kid is already jackin' my style.

John Deere... That's how I roll.

Introducing My New Baby Brotha From Anotha Motha - Big Wonkey! (Part 1 of 2)

For a while now, I've been begging Laura to make me a sock brother. I've even had his name picked out - Big Wonkey. When Mark was making my name necklace, he initially put the M in monkey upside down by mistake. We were joking about it at first, but then I thought hmm... Big Wonkey would be the perfect name for a baby brother!

Laura had some time off from work this past week (a staycation), so I politely suggested that her time might be well spent making my brother. The first step was to select the perfect pair of socks.

These aren't just any pair of red heeled socks. They are truly vintage. These socks were manufactured at the Nelson Knitting Company in Rockford, Illinois which closed in 1992. We are fortunate to have a couple of pairs that came from Mark's grandma's (my mother's) supply. These socks have some subtle differences from the ones that are produced today. The red heel actually curls up into a smile. My brother will be made from the same "genetic material" as me. We will almost be twins, except that we'll have different mothers. Hence, the title of this post - he's my brotha from anotha motha.

Because these socks are so special, Mark was reluctant to hand them over to a very amateur seamstress such as Laura. However, I had faith that her motivation to create the perfect baby brother would overcome any technical shortcomings.

Day 1 (Sock 1) - He's a torso with legs. I assisted with the stuffing process to ensure that Big Wonkey was blessed with a bulbous red heeled booty. We used polyester fiberfill stuffing along with some old (clean) pantyhose. Why the pantyhose, you ask? Well, he is supposed to be just like me genetically, and I am stuffed with a combination of fiberfill and pantyhose.

Brother, you are stuffed.

On Day 2, Big Wonkey got arms. We're jumping for joy on his progress so far.

Introducing My New Baby Brotha From Anotha Motha - Big Wonkey! (Part 2 of 2)

Day 3 (Sock 2) Big Wonkey can speak! His first words were "Wonk Wonk!"

The next step was crucial to our brotherhood. The eyes, which are made from pink and black felt, have it! I sacrificed the ability to breathe for a few minutes while Laura placed wax paper over my face in order to trace the exact shape of my eyeballs and pupils. If you look closely, my eyes are not symmetrical. Laura says that my left eye is friendly, and my right eye is evil. I say that my slightly imperfect eyes are part of my charm and style.

Big Wonkey was just relieved to be able to see. I gave him a cute knitted blue cap because that's what babies are supposed to wear.

Day 4 - The finale! Big Wonkey gets ears and a tail. I am so impressed with Laura's "labor" over the past few days. I feel like I'm looking in the mirror when I see my brother. I think that Grandma (Mom) would be proud too.

Big Wonkey was officially "born" on Thursday, September 9th. To celebrate his birth, we posed for a family photo. My brother One Eyed Jack joined us, along with my "mini me" Little Big Monkey.

Of course, our feline brother Karl had to join the festivities. Look for more photos of Big Wonkey in the near future. I have a feeling this kid is going to keep me on the go. He already wants his ears pierced with diamond studs like mine. I had to wait years to get mine pierced. These kids today grow up way too fast, and they want everything at once. Sheesh!

Micro Rock Crawler

I was finally able to test out my (and Mark's) birthday present - the Micro Rock Crawler. Due to an overabundance of rainfall, we had to fill in our unpaved driveway with limestone. Once I finished hauling and heaving the stones, I took a load off and enjoyed my (our) new toy.

Mark and I were fighting over the controls, but I won! The Micro Rock Crawler rode like a champ and navigated the limestone like mere grains of sand.