uNHiNGeD

This is how I'll feel if you won't donate a pint for MaNiC MoMMy's Virtual Blog for Blood Drive!

Unhinged
Thanks to Rick at Organized Doodles for suggesting this might be someone I could relate to, and for allowing me to Copy & Share, if I Dare! Check out his awesome doodles at his blog, organizeddoodles, and while you're there, tell him to DONATE SOME BLOOD TOO! And by the way, WHERE'S YOUR PINT!

Don't make me come UNHINGED!!! GIMME A PINT OF BLOOD! PLEASE! All the details are HERE!

GoT BLooD? iT'S THaT TiMe aGaiN!!

Welcome to the New Year, New Decade and the Third Annual MaNiC MoMMy'S Virtual Blog for Blood Drive Challenge! I can't believe this is the third year of the blood drive and I wasn't sure if I was going to do it again, but something pulled at me and here I am! Thank YOU for taking the time to consider participating! I ended 2009 by donating my pint yesterday, and I've been bulking up on the iron and came in at 15.4 for my iron count! That's like a MAN's iron count! Been eating a ton of red meat lately now that I'm not eating SUGAR or Diet Coke any more!

If you're new to this, thanks for stopping by, and here's a quick explanation: In 2008, I had a carload of 6 kids and drove past a Heartland Blood Center and decided to stop in to see if I could donate on a whim. With SIX KIDS in the car. We all went in, I donated, and it was SO EASY! I blogged about it, then thought, if that was so easy, why isn't it this easy for everyone else to do it?

Then I thought to make it fun, I'd put some money into it, and give away prizes. Some other awesome bloggers came forward, donated their time and money toward prizes. The next year, a company donated a trip to Florida, and we had even more great people give up a pint of their blood for the cause.

ONE PINT OF YOUR BLOOD WILL SAVE THREE PEOPLE. Some of you have a blood type that can save up to FIVE BABIES. But my mom said it best. Your blood saves more than just three people or five babies. It saves their whole FAMILIES.

To participate in MaNiC MoMMy'S Virtual BLog for Blood Drive, all you have to do is head to your local blood bank and donate a pint of blood from now through February 28. (Make sure you've eaten enough iron-rich foods and have had breakfast and that you drink water before you go.) Have someone there take your photo WHILE YOU ARE DONATING BLOOD and email it to me, along with your name, email, and city and state. Tell me what motivated you to donate. Every Sunday I post the photos calling it SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY.

Email photos to: manicmommy@comcast.net.

At the end of the drive, we'll have great prizes to give away, some of them yet to be determined, but I am ponying up like every year, $3 per EVERY DONOR of my own cash toward prizes ($1 per every life saved - up to a total amount determined by me).

A grand prize will be a ROUNDTRIP SOUTHWEST AIRLINE TICKET for one random winner so if you're looking to head somewhere warm, and if you've got a pint of blood just flowing in your veins that YOU DON'T NEED that maybe someone else COULD USE TO LIVE, you might consider giving it away!

I'm trying, desperately, to entice Ellen Degeneres to give a pint to the cause on her show - wouldn't THAT be fabulous? Or maybe SHE would let a winner come visit HER in California? I've been emailing and tweeting her trying to get her to notice my blood drive efforts, but I know she gets thousands of requests every day, but just as she wanted to be on the cover of Oprah magazine, she didn't quit, so I'm not going to quit bugging her on my quest to get her to at least give me a pint of blood. In fact, wouldn't she look GREAT donating a pint of blood?

All you have to do is donate a pint of blood and have your photo taken. If the staff says you can't get your photo taken in the chair, that's NOT true. See all the people who have had their photos taken: Last Year's Donors! Don't they all look awesome--and they're ALL full of SMILES!

SHOW the staff the photos from the above link! If they still won't let you take a picture, give your pint, and take your picture outside the establishment and take a picture of your "Be nice to me, I donated" sticker, or a picture of your paperwork you fill out, or your bandaged arm. Photos will be considered at my discretion, and I do prefer the photo of you in the chair, but if they're being sticklers about it, do what you can!

Remember to EMAIL your name, email address so I can contact you, city, state, and what motivated you to donate to: manicmommy@comcast.net. Photos will be posted every Sunday!

If you would like to consider sponsoring part of the drive, or donating a prize, those opportunities are also available as well, just email me! Any gift at all is welcome and appreciated! But most of all, the gift of your pint of blood is what we want most!

Thank you very much and if you have any questions about anything I might not have covered here, please leave them in the comment section! Below is a photo of some of the awesome staff at Heartland Blood Center in Naperville, Illinois! Thanks Tammy & Chez! And we'll be seeing the other Tammy and Gloria soon when I bring Mr. Manic in for blood later this week!

How about it, Got a pint to spare? It's a great way to start off the New Year! Happy 2010!

aN oPeN LeTTeR To eLLeN DeGeNeReS CuZ SHe'S So GeNeRouS!

*update: If you want to share this with Ellen, you can tweet it to her by sending this: @theellenshow: MaNiC MoMMy wants your blood! http://bit.ly/6O9wZS or go to her website and send her a note telling her to come to this link: http://bit.ly/6O9wZS.

Dear Ellen,

Remember that time you had a dream? It was a dream to be on Oprah magazine. You believed in yourself and set out with a strong campaign to overcome any naysayers and with hope and dedication you did what you dreamed of doing. (Although I was a bit miffed that Michelle Obama beat you to the punch.)

It was YOUR dream. You set out with a task, and you accomplished it.

Well, I have a dream too. And yeah, if you had your own magazine titled E, my dream would be to share the cover with you, and I’d wear pants too! But you don’t have a magazine titled E, so my dream is something else.

But this something else most definitely involves YOU.

I’m most CERTAIN you can help me obtain MY DREAM. And you’re the ONLY person out of the many millions of people in the world I could have chosen to ask because I know you’ve gone to great lengths to fight for a dream of your own so you know what it’s like to see that dream through. You know where I’m coming from first-hand. You know the pain and the anguish of fighting for your dream, of waiting on hold for Oprah, of going to sleep at night wondering if all your efforts were for naught, wondering if you were wasting your time, if you should have just tried to get on the cover of Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit issue instead.

I fully trust you know how I’m feeling when I make this request, which really is rather simple and beneficial to thousands of people!

I want your blood!

But I want more than that!

I want your viewers’ blood too!

And I’m not talking Edward Cullen blood, although I am most definitely Team Edward and if we have to get him involved in this plight to save thousands, I won’t be one to object! (Heck, I’ll even let him bite my neck!)

Beginning January, and running through February, I will be hosting the 3rd annual MaNiC MoMMy Virtual Blog for Blood Drive, which, to my knowledge is the ONLY virtual blood drive in the blogosphere.

In the past two years, we have saved hundreds of lives through the efforts of blood donors and I KNOW that with the help of The Ellen Show, we can reach MILLIONS!

Of course, if you can help, this teeny little grassroots effort of mine will SKYROCKET into a phenom! I know you help millions of people every year, but one person’s FREE pint of blood helps save THREE lives and donating blood is such an easy and generous gift for ALL people to give! (Plus, there are SNACKS!)

One of the motivational factors I would like to ask, aside from a pint of your blood is that perhaps at the end of this year’s contest, the grand prize winner could receive a trip to your show?

I’M NOT EVEN ASKING FOR A TRIP FOR MYSELF!

I would just love to offer the winner a trip to visit you! In the past, we have offered prizes to the donors, including Target gift cards, movie tickets, gift cards, t-shirts, and other small gifts of which I and some generous blog readers have donated, and last year a trip to Florida was given away. I would LOVE to up the ante and offer one random blood donor a grand prize trip to The Ellen Show!

How AMAZING would THAT BE?

So what do you think Ellen? Are you feeling it in your blood?

I bet your viewers would LOVE to watch you donate a pint of blood on your show. I bet they would LOVE for some of your guests to donate blood on your show! I bet some of my readers of my blog would love the opportunity for a chance to donate a pint of blood in the hopes of winning a trip to be on your show to share their inspirational blood-donating stories! We can spread the word between our efforts! And January is National Blood Donor Month so why not kick off the New Year with a Bloody Party! Bring on the vampires!

I’m sure we can collaborate on some great ways to make this a huge success and if you could help spread the word ANY way at all, I would be most appreciative! I know you probably get hundreds of requests for things like this all of the time, but THIS IS MY DREAM! You had one too! Your dream came true! Remember how it felt when Oprah called YOU! Can you please pay that feeling forward to me? And this dream of mine is only to help OTHERS!

Please!

Details on how I run the MaNiC MoMMy Virtual Blog for Blood Drive can be found here! Basically, anyone can enter – all that is needed is a photo taken while the person is donating blood while in the chair at their local blood bank from January 1 through February 28.

Thank you so much for even taking the time to read my letter! The 3rd annual Virtual Blog for Blood Drive will kick off on January 1 and run through February 28. I'd love the support of The Ellen Show! More details are below and if you would like to know more, we can set up a conference call! Ha, did I really just tell Ellen I can have a conference call with her. Oh yes I did! A girl can dream can't she!? Just ask Ellen! Who dreamed of being on Oprah's magazine AND MADE IT COME TRUE!

Sincerely,

Stephanie Ellen (yes, that’s my REAL middle name!) Elliot aka MaNiC MoMMy

First Annual MaNiC MoMMy Virtual Blog for Blood Drive

Second Annual MaNiC MoMMy Virtual Blog for Blood Drive