Eight Gifts that Do Not Cost A Cent

100 Mile Club Head Coach (and new Mama), Jamie Blair and her darlings.

She is giver of these gifts every day.

THE GIFT OF LISTENING...
But you must REALLY listen.
No interrupting, no daydreaming,
no planning your response.
Just listening.

THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...
Be generous with appropriate hugs,
kisses, pats on the back, and handholds.
Let these small actions demonstrate the
love you have for family and friends.

THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...
Clip cartoons.
Share articles and funny stories.
Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."

THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...
It can be a simple
"Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet.
A brief, handwritten note may be remembered
for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT...
A simple and sincere,
You look great in red," "You did a super job,"
or "That was a wonderful meal"
can make someone's day.

THE GIFT OF A FAVOR...
Every day, go out of your way
to do something kind.

THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...
There are times when we want nothing better
than to be left alone.
Be sensitive to those times and give
the gift of solitude to others.

THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...
The easiest way to feel good is
to extend a kind word to someone.
Really, it's not that hard to say,
Hello or Thank You.

- Contributed by Katherine Quinn

Best Laid Plans

The one on the left...she is serious. Hardcore doesnt begin to describe her.

"Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing,
you will be successful."
- Albert Schweitzer

I work too late every night because I love what I am doing so much!! I should stop at a certain time, but I never do. What I find as a mom is that I work much better when my kids are safe in bed. I feel like my thoughts are a bit more free-to-flow, and I get a ton done. What I don't get though is sleep.

Today, one of my board members and I met with someone who is helping us with a VERY cool thing for our kids...omg! I can't even say it out loud yet because I am seriously afraid of the wrath of Burns's "best laid plans". Seriously though? huge. HUGE!

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
gang aft a-gley.--Robert Burns ,"To a Mouse"*

*Popularly misquoted as: The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, or The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray.

Also, I picked up freshly printed tees and put together Member Incentive Packages for Wednesday delivery, and drove over to my favorite place, Preferred Choice Printing, where I was able to get some fancy (but donated) paper on which to pen a letter to each of our 100 Mile Club site principals about our upcoming Walk for Kids here in SoCal.

Kids go back to school tomorrow after a loooong break. I owe $18 for my daughters Rudolph Run at her school, and $30 to my son's school for their Camp Fit-a-Thon. For both events, they get 100 Mile Club miles. :)

Total structure to zero structure.

Very awesome 100 Mile Club bulletin board at CFIS in Corona, CA

"Remember there's no such thing as a
small act of kindness. Every act
creates a ripple with no logical end."
- Scott Adams

I promised myself that I would write a little each day about everything that is happening. Mostly because I can't even keep up with it, and it all seems so surreal. I am sure my thoughts are going to come out really randomly for a while, but maybe...hopefully, there will emerge some structure at some point. Or not. Whatever.

So 6 months ago, I took an unpaid leave of absence from my very secure 18-year teaching position to see what would happen if I focused solely on The 100 Mile Club project for one year.

The first 6 months have been all about finding my rhythm outside of the classroom. I went from total structure to zero structure. Instantly. I had no idea what to do with myself. I mean, I did, but I was like a 5-foot 10-inch gnat, flitting around and getting everything done, but in a really random way. It was like a giant recess!!

I am a teacher. I am used to, literally, living by a bell. Now, I have no bell and I can go to the bathroom whenever I want (Absolutely a revolutionary idea!). And there's this whole WORLD that goes on out here during the day, too. One that I hadn't really ever experienced.

Now, after Christmas, New Year, and a new decade, I am hitting a stride of-sorts (kinda). We have over 55 schools running now and more call and inquire every day. I have learned to write grants (not perfectly, but...), reconcile books, pay taxes, take credit cards, build a website, "network" like a business woman, back up my Quickbooks, set up budgets, run meetings, set up a trade show booth, run a trade show booth, import contacts, export contacts, create newsletters, apply for a trademark, calculate paroll taxes, write cease and desist letters, take bids, negotiate costs, design clothing and awards, ...

I have made major mistakes and experienced glorious triumphs. I have cried over a minor printing error and laughed at a major traffic ticket. No matter what, though, I end each day making sure that I did my best with what I had where I was.

I need a massage and a haircut (and maybe some color...I see grey). O_o

100 Miles Already?? A great question form the e-mailbox.

Hello Ms. Lubin,

I teach second grade at Jefferson and I want to know if there is anything special that I can do or give one of my students who reached his 100 miles at the end of 1st trimester. He is well on his way towards 150-200 miles for this year. Last year he reached 149 miles so I know that he is really pushing himself. Please let me know what I should and can do for him.

~Rosa, Teacher-Coach

Dear Rosa,

What a great accomplishment!! Jefferson rocks and so do you! You must be a fabulous coach to have him so motivated and wanting to reach new heights! You can do any or all of the following things to recognize your student and still keep with our mission and vision...


1. Send in a digital picture and a little story about him. We will feature him in our upcoming newsletter. We do that often. :)

2. Put a special mark on his tee. Make sure that you check the 100 box, but then do something special. (At McKinley, birthplace of 100 Mile Club®, we had TONS of kids hitting 100 early. We would glue a diamond on the back collar of the shirt, and if they hit 200, we'd put another one on, and so on, and so on...). You can get those at http://www.crystalz.com/. The kids LOVE that!!

3. Announce his name at an upcoming assembly. It doesn't have to be anything huge...just a mention and a cheer.

4. Do a special cheer when kids hit 100 early. Some classes have a special cheer for kids that is only done when a student reaches his/her 25, 50, 75, 0r 100 mile goal.

Here are a few fun chants:

s-u-c-c-e-s-s
That's the way we spell success
We wish you luck and all the rest
With s-u-c-c-e-s-s!
GO (runner name)!!


Clap your hands
(clap clap clap)
stomp your feet
(stomp stomp stomp)
(runner's full name) can't be beat
Go (name) go (name)!!
Goooooooo (runner name)!!

5. Make a human tunnel for students to run through as they cross 100 miles.

6. Make him a MENTOR, which is a huge honor. Assign him the job of helping other kids reach 100...all the while earning miles for himself. He is a ROCKSTAR!!

Make sure that he knows that is medal is coming, BUT not to stop. That BIG mile number will make people gasp! at Medal Ceremonies at the end of the year. That, Rosa, will be the best award of all.

Please call me if you want to discuss any or all of these, or if you have other ideas! We are all in this together. My # is 951-218-5503.

Thanks for your question. :)