WHY AM I SHAVING MY HEAD?! Well, it started with a neighbor I babysat as a young girl. He was my little buddy and when he was diagnosed with Lukemia I saw how hard it was on him and his family. Watching their journey definitely made its mark in my mind for years, but my involvement sat dormant...Until a few years ago when I was asked to be the Mrs. Clause for the local childhood cancer organization's annual Christmas party. It was there that I met a young girl, Mikayla, and she absolutely stole my heart (as did many of the kiddos I see each year there). Her hilarious questions about the life Santa and I lead at the North Pole had me wondering how something as horrid as cancer could jeaprodize the life of kids like her- so innocent, sweet, inquisitive and lively. I began volunteering at the organization's special events such as their annual golf and poker tournaments (Yes, I'll admit, "Kari's Poker Face" just doesn't exist!). After a few years of watching the shavees at St. Baldricks, I was really sad when St. Baldricks came and went and I still had my locks. So, last year I decided it was the last year I'd feel that way! I wasn't going to wake up on March 18, 2011 to a full head of hair. So, while I'm a sucker for kids, Christmas parties, poker tournies and golf carts-I'm an even bigger sucker for a good cause, a tiny survivor with lots of great questions about the North Pole and a vision for a world where kids are living cancer-free! Now, THAT is worth going bald!