Experimental Temporary Pace Tattoo

Screen capture from Taz Running with pace chart specific
to the A2A Half Marathon that I'm running on Sunday. The
pace chart is what the tattoo looks like.

Pace bands from Marathon Guide,
just cut out, cover with tape
and tape it on your wrist.

Since I have two more half marathons this weekend I was looking for some pace bands or cards to use just to see if I'm staying where I should be as far as pace goes. I would usually just print up the pace bands from MarathonGuide.com but came across these temporary pace tattoos in the past. Another site I found for temporary pace tattoos was TazRunning.com where you have the option of ordering a tattoo at a set pace or at a pace that takes into account elevation changes and such (limited to specific races). They also offer you the ability to print out the chart yourself and use it an whatever manner tickles your fancy. I decided that I would try to print one out and make a temporary tattoo. 

 

 Pace Tat

In order to do this I would need some temporary tattoo transfer paper that could be run through my inkjet printer but after doing a search for instructions on how to make a temporary tattoo I stumbled across this site which did not require any specialized paper other than the backing of a sheet of labels. So, I gathered everything I needed: label backing paper, astringent/alcohol to clean the skin, moist paper towel, non-toxic glue stick, scissors and tape (medical or athletic recommended).

My finished product.

Step 1. Find the pace chart that you want to use and save it as an image. Print it out on regular paper first and ensure that it will fit on the area of skin where you want to place it. If it doesn't, resize the image and repeat. Be sure to save the image again when it's the right size.

Step 2. Get ready to print the image. Insert the backer sheet into your printer so that the printing will happen on the glossy side (the side where the labels were).

Step 3. Change the settings on your image (you may have to save it to your Paint program) so that it prints in reverse. Some printers have a "Mirror" setting that can be used instead of Paint.

Step 4. Print the chart. Remember that printers won't print white, so wherever there is white on the image it will be you skin only. Be sure not to touch the chart itself or print anything before you remove the sheet from your printer because the image will smudge!

Step 5. Again...be careful with the image. It is very delicate. Cut out the chart leaving minimal edges. Do not touch the image itself.

Step 6. Clean the area of skin where you want to place the tattoo with the astringent or alcohol. Allow to dry completely.

Step 7. Use the glue stick and apply it in a light layer to the whole area where the tattoo will go. Be sure to have good coverage as this is what will take up the ink from the image.

Step 8. This step is not necessarily needed but would be a wise move. Use the tape to secure the tattoo in place for 10 minutes. During this time be careful not to move the tattoo around.

Step 9. Use the moist towel and simply dab it on top of the tattoo to moisten it. Another option is just to lay the folded towel over the top of the tattoo until the 10 minutes is over. The latter is my preference.

Step 10. When the 10 minutes is over, carefully remove the paper and allow the area to dry completely. When it is dry you will be able to touch the tattoo which will have a slightly tacky feeling. There...you're done!

After a nights
restless sleep.

Now, I wouldn't recommend rubbing the tattoo over aggressively. While it did tolerate light to moderate rubbing I didn't try a full blown scratching or rubbing. I applied this in the early evening and by the time I went to sleep around 11pm it was still fully intact without much special care taken to protect it. When I woke up I found that the tattoo had smeared because I had slept with my arm resting on my chest which resulted in the tattoo partially transferring to my chest. When I got into the shower the tattoo almost immediately washed off with only the water running over it...so this method is probably not something you'd want to try if you sweat profusely. It's currently two days later and I still have a light ghost image on my forearm.

One thing I did have a problem with was finding a backing sheet for labels that wasn't perforated. It seems that almost all labels have perforations that go through the backing sheet as well as the labels themselves. I did find a whole sheet label that only had two perforated lines on the backing sheet, so I used that and just taped the perforations together into one piece.

Ghost image
after shower.

I'm going to try to find some tattoo transfer paper for my inkjet printer, but I've not had any luck yet. I may end up ordering online as I'm just crazy enough to try every method before deciding whether to buy the professionally made tattoos or not!

Now, just to let you know. The ink never really dries on the backing paper. It's now 3 days later or so and I accidentally touched some other charts I had printed at the same time and the ink smeared all over the place. So, needless to say, I won't be using this technique this weekend. I'll probably just be using the trusty pace band unless I can find the special tattoo paper and find that tattoos made with that last a while.

Cleaning discovery

OK, so those of you that know me know that I'm not "little Miss Suzy Homemaker." In the spring, summer and early fall I tend to grill quite a bit. As part of my grilling equipment I use a basting mop to oil up the grill. Since I don't use the mop for anything else but this I just keep it in a container of olive oil for reuse through the season. The problem with this is at the end of the season there is a nasty build up of oil/grease in the mop. I've been dealing with trying to clean this darned mop literally for a couple of months. I've tried everything...the dishwasher, washing by hand with hot water and liberal amounts of soap, soaking in Greased Lightning, etc. I had just about given up after Googling other possible methods of cleaning and basically finding one solution...just throw it out. I was just about ready to do just that when I saw the pot of boiling spaghetti that I was making for dinner. I figured that I'd just try to boil the mop to see if that would melt off the excess oil/grease. After boiling it (just the mop portion, not the wooden handle) in soapy water for 5 minutes I saw quite a bit of gunk that had come off the mop. I rinsed it in hot water and washed with some dish soap, it still felt a bit sticky so I boiled it again for another 5-7 minutes, rinsed, washed and it's feeling much better. My hands don't feel greasy after squeezing it and the mop doesn't clump together like it did when it was full of oil/grease. I'm going to boil it at least once more and I think it'll be good to go for next season. Why am I blogging this? Basically to have a place to remind myself of how to do it in case my memory fades...oh, and for anyone else who is interested. lol.

Things I've learned about fundraising

Until I signed up with Team in Training (TNT) my experience in conducting fundraising has been limited to selling candy, cookies, bowl-a-thons, etc. In these activities I was always a participant rather than an organizer, so all I had to do was take the stuff and sell it or take the forms and collect money. Once I signed up with TNT I had to be responsible to get the fundraising started, events planned and whatnot. So here are a few things that I've learned so far:

1. Plaster social networks with you fundraising events or requests (I use primarily Facebook but did a little on Twitter and Google+ as well); but be careful not  to overdo it (or what other people may think is overdoing it) as you may get bumped from groups. Ask me how I know!! lol!

2. Try to find a gimmick that might encourage people to donate. One I tried with a fairly good response was to design a badge (see below) of sorts that showed that people had donated, had their name prominently on it and also provided information as to how others could donate. Everyone who donated got one of these posted on their Facebook page when I received their donation.

3. Another gimmick I tried that didn't really work was to urge people to give up a trip to Starbucks, Jamba Juice or a fast food stop and instead donate that amount. Didn't have any takers, but it's worth a try. I also tried a $5 donation challenge which didn't work either.

4. I came up with several different images to rotate through advertising my fundraising. I just felt that people might be more apt to read what was on an image rather than what was scrolling in the updates bar on Facebook. If you couldn't tell already most of my stuff was done on Facebook.

5. Come up with some fundraising events. I did a 5K run/walk that went okay but wasn't a big money maker. Two problems...not much of a running community here and it was in November (read cold & windy). My big event was a Zumbathon. I'm a newly licensed Zumba instructor so between fundraising and training I haven't been able to get a set of music together to teach, but I did use my new network of instructors to organize a six hour event that was highly successful; enough so, that I'm working on a Zumbathon for next month for the American Cancer Society.

6. When planning an event do some advertising. For the first two events, I was fortunate enough to have a local print shop donate printing of 1000 half page flyers. I did have to have some signs and extra flyers printed out of pocket. For the current event I'm planning I had some postcards printed at Vista Print. I did print up a few signs to be posted on doors and such out of pocket but it didn't cost much.

7. Try to keep costs in control as much as possible. I have a tendency to over prepare and a lot of stuff that I bought for the first event I can continue to use for future fundraisers (i.e. - label maker, markers, pens, tickets, etc.). Now, these reusable items are not able to be claimed as donations. However, single use items can be claimed as donations (i.e. - refreshments, printing expenses, etc.).  

8. When arranging the venue for your event realize that having the event at a business similar to places that you plan to advertise at may limit your ability to advertise. When I went to bring a door sign and flyers to a local gym they specifically asked where the event was being held. Luckily it's going to be at the college gym because I'm pretty positive that if I had said it was going to be at a competing gym they probably would have taken any of the flyers or signs. So, try to hold you event at a neutral location.

9. Write and mail fundraising letters. It took me nearly two months to get around to this. I find it difficult to ask strangers for money, but I did. I mailed out letters to over 50 local businesses. I only got a handful of responses but every little bit helps.

10. Send follow-up notes/cards to everyone who hasn't donated after a month or two. I'm having 500 follow-up postcards printed at Vista Print that I can use for future Team in Training events. I'm also having another 500 printed for the American Cancer Society - Relay for Life events.

11. Send thank you notes. Try to do this in person, if possible.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'll add more if I think of anything else.

Quick de-icing tip!

Last night we got about 1½ inches of decent snow with a frozen wintery mix during the day. When I had to leave to go to a physical therapy appointment this morning at 8am this is what I was faced with (see pic). After finally getting my frozen shut car doors open so that I could get my ice scraper/snow brush out, I brushed off the snow on the windows (which gets tricky when the wind is blowing) and found about 1/8 inch of ice covering the front windshield. I decided to try this idea for de-icing the windows that I found on Pintrest. This website gives three great ideas to help de-ice windows, prevent ice build up and how to de-ice a frozen door lock. I used the idea for de-icing windows...2/3 cup white vinegar and 1/3 cup water (a little less concentrated as the instructions state) and sprayed the window and it worked wonders! I was able to remove the ice with minimal effort after squirting the solution on the window. It took less than three minutes to clear a solid sheet of ice from the window. I'm going to remember this for future reference. Try it! I'm sure you'll agree with me!

UPDATE: When I went out this morning 12/6/11 there was a thick sheet of ice (2 days worth) on the husband's truck windshield. I used the above ratio in a solution to try to clear off the window, but I found I needed a second treatment at a 3:1 ratio which did effectively clear the ice after application.