Family Fan Club Giveaway–Win An SUAR Shirt!

You know when you decide to do something like fix a leaky faucet it seems like a no-brainer? I’ll tighten up this, I’ll replace that, then voila! DONE.

What I’ve realized after 44 long years is that no undertaking is straightforward or easy. There are always unexpected twists and turns, barriers, rules you didn’t know about.

Such was the case when I decided to create and sell Shut Up + Run shirts. I figured creating a logo and slapping it on a shirt would be no big deal. Long story short, the learning curve was much curvier than I expected.

Fortunately, my good friends at Nuf Said Advertising helped with the logo and did an awesome job. Then there was the business of printing the shirts. That’s where Family Fan Club came in. Paul and Kim, the masterminds behind FFC, contacted me after finding my blog. They thought we could work together and they were right.

I’ve appreciated FFC’s reliability, promptness, attention to detail and creative energy. They’ve navigated me through this confusing world of apparel design/printing and helped me understand some tricks of the trade. If you are looking to print shirts for your son’s baseball team, your own blog, or a fundraising cause, Family Fan Club can help out.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some glitches, but that comes with the territory. I think you test the true nature of someone you do business with when there are issues that need to be addressed. Do they show up and make things right? Do they work with you to solve the problem? If so, that’s who you want to work with. FFC always did this for me.

That said, here is some cool stuff FFC does/offers:

• Logo design (they did the logo for my Burn Out tee in about 5 minutes)
• Printing technique that dyes the fabric. This means no interference with wicking properties of the garment, no cracking, no fading, vibrant colors, unlimited colors
• 100's of designs that can be personalized and customized including cotton t-shirts, decals and water bottles
• FFC prints YOUR custom designs. 
• FFC hosts stores and handles all the fulfillment. Design owner is paid without any hassles! As an example, check out the store page for The Rock On Foundation to benefit Dylan Flinchum who has recently been diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a genetic disorder.

FFC would like to give away an item to 2 winners!

If you win, choose any SUAR item you’d like:

Or, any FFC design you’d like (these are my personal favorites):

This one should say “SUAR’s Best Friend” but whatever.

Or, create your very own!

For every “50 likes” on Facebook, FFC will add another winner, so get “liking” and increase your odds!

To Enter:

• Visit Family Fan Club's website and tell me what you like +1 entry
• "Like" Family Fan Club on Facebook HERE + 1 entry
• "Follow" Family Fan Club on twitter HERE  + 1 entry
• Twat, FB or blog about this giveaway +1 entry

Two winners will be selected at random (or several depending on the # of Facebook likes) on Friday, October 28.

Special bonus! For the next two weeks, save $10 when spending $50 (SUAR10) at FFC.

Good luck!

Fine print: Family Fan Club provided the giveaway items in exchange for my review and for hosting the giveaway.

Shut Up + Run Shirts Are Back!

Many of you have asked when I’d be selling shirts again. NOW is the time!!

In advance, sorry for the crappy pictures. If I was more photogenic, had a decent camera and my family members were a bunch of professional photographers, things might be different.

I’ve mixed things up a bit this time. I brought back the women’s tech tee because that was very popular last time.

This time it is by New Balance, not ALO. It is crew neck with hot pink lettering, and two turquoise runners on the side. The one I have on is a small. It fits well on me but being that I have no chest, I could probably do an XS (my chest is about 32-33” to give you an idea of sizing). Sizing is on the shop page and are pretty spot on.

Sorry, that bit of glare about the “+” sign is the flash reflection! You don’t have to pay extra for that.

This shirt sells for $29.99 plus shipping.

I have added a 100% cotton women’s long sleeved black tee by Bella. It says “shut up + run” in white rhinestones. Who knew I was so FANCY. Really nice! I can’t wait to wear mine when it gets a bit cooler. This is perfect for every day, casual wear with a pair of jeans. Again, the one I am wearing in the picture is a small.

This shirt sells for $34.99 plus shipping.

I am bringing back the women’s Burn Out shirt by Bella. The same one offered before. This is a comfy, soft shirt with a a cool “shut up + run” design. It will fade when you wash it because this is the nature of the Burn Out. Gives it that “used up” and worn feeling (in case you always wanted to be a prostitute but never made it). These shirts are supposed to fit kind of snug, so if you prefer a looser fit, size up. I wear a small.

This shirt sells for $32.99 plus shipping.

I’m also selling hats and visors by Headsweats. There are two varieties. A black visor that says “shut up + run” in white and a white hat that says “shut up + RUN” in bright pink. I ran in the black visor yesterday. It is wicking and light weight with a stretchy band across the back. They are one size fits all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hat and visor are priced the same at $24.99 plus shipping.

Lastly, I’ve got stickers for your fancy cars. Either a 5'” x 4” Shut up + RUN in color or a black/white 6” x 4” oval SUAR sticker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stickers go for $3.00 each with free shipping.

I am working on a long sleeved tech shirt by New Balance. It will be in “shock pink” with white lettering. I think you will LOVE it. Hopefully I can add that to the mix very soon. It will be around $35 or so.

Thanks to Family Fan Club for helping me talk through designs, getting the shirts, doing all the printing and putting up with me!

There you have it. Now GO SHOPPING by clicking the “STORE” tab at the top of this page! I will take orders for ten days and then start fulfillment, so it will be about 2-3 weeks before you get your goods.

Only 105 days until Christmas. Just sayin’.

SUAR

Sweet Sixteen

In case it did not make it onto your calendar, today is our 16th anniversary. I hope you all are celebrating. Do you love old pictures as much as I do?

June 17, 1995. Columbia, MD.

No better way to kick off your anniversary than to kiss your husband goodbye at 6:00 a.m. and head out for a 13 mile run with girlfriend, Joie. Very romantic. She and I made out the whole time.

Seriously, I thought about Ken every minute. Even when I stopped at the porta potty at the Boulder Rez to take a dump and noticed that someone had left a pair of jeans in there. Gross. Who leaves jeans in there and why? Actually, I don’t want to know. They fit perfectly!

I even thought about Ken when I saw this bird. I am not a birdie, but even I could appreciate this long beak. I looked him up and he’s a Long-Billed Dowitcher, which is a type of Sandpiper.

16 years is a long time to be with one person. It is a good think I really like who I married or else this could have gotten very ugly.

People never ask me what the key to a happy marriage is, but if they did I would tell them – choose wisely. The key to a happy marriage occurs way before you get married. Know who the heck you are marrying. If you have any inkling that something is wrong, assume it will become 400% more wrong later on. Love is not enough if someone is mean or irresponsible or a drunkard. Go with your gut. In my opinion, make sure the person:

• Shares your sense of humor, if you have one. This keeps you going on days that are mundane or challenging or happy or annoying.
• Is someone you can be playful with. Poking, wrestling, pinching. It’s all fair game.
• Shares some of your passions/hobbies if you have some. You don’t have to share everything, but if there is something you spend ten hours of week doing, it’s nice to be able to share some of that time together.
• Respects his/her family and friends because then he/she will probably respect you as well.
• Coddles you when you are sick or hurt. This is an indicator of things to come. Empathy = hugely important. I got seriously ill when Ken and I first met with a terrible kidney infection. He brought me popsicles and his favorite sleeping bag and never left my side for three days. That’s when I fell in love with him.
• Cherishes you. As in - you know by the way they look at you when you walk into a room that they love you.
• Is someone you are physically attracted to. Marriage is LONG. At least if you have to look at someone for all of those years, you want to like what you see.

I got home from my long run and saw these, which scored Ken some points. I never get tired of flowers.

How are we celebrating? Getting a new mattress. {insert “breaking in new mattress” jokes}

This sucker has to go.  Sagging and soft and hurts  my back. Yesterday the guy at the furniture place looked up our records and told us we paid $290 for the mattress about seven years ago. God we are cheap bastards. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Tonight I will sleep like a rockstar.

Ever left your jeans in a porta potty? No, I haven’t, but I have thrown away underwear in them at least twice.

What’s your key to a lasting relationship? Going to bed angry and giving each other Dutch Ovens.

What cheap mattress do you sleep on? Our new one is a Simmons Beauty Rest with 800 coils. I think that is a good thing. I am hoping it makes me a better athlete, gives me bigger boobs and gets ride of my wrinkles.

SUAR

PS: We finalized the Shut Up and Run shirts last night. To start, there will be two tech shirts (one for ladies in white, one for men in white/grey). There will also be one everyday “burnout” t-shirt for the ladies. I can’t wait to show you next week when I’ll be taking pre-orders.

Thanks a million to Paul and Kim at Family Fan Club for all of their hard work! They do amazing customized designs for shirts, water bottles, jackets, you name it.