The family

If you read my blog you will be somewhat familiar with my crazy big family! I love them but we are a big, out spoken family with never a full moment! My cousin Mary for married in November so we took some family photos. Already we have new members Mary recently had baby Mia and Constance has a little girl on the way in August.

Cupcakes

As I mentioned earlier I love making cupcakes!! Besides Sophie and Katherine I find other recipes in magazine, online and most of all Pinterest. I make all kinds of other dressers from cookies, pies and regular cakes however cupcakes are my favorite. I use family and friends as guinea pigs. I only try to a couple because as much as I love them I don't want to look like one. I make them for school quite a bit for all occasions. I will show you a couple of different ones. Emily's banana cream pie birthday cupcakes, Eli's chocolate with vanilla and sprinkles, nutella self-frosting cupcakes, Susan's strawberry birthday cupcakes, finally Sam's chocolate with vanilla cream and ganache birthday cupcakes

Hot Pink Wellies

Almost a year ago spring was getting closer and I was tired of wet feet so I decided to purchase some rain boots....you know me,pink was the only option! I found this adorable pair of hot pink ones from Walmart of all places. Within a few days I was out doing afternoon bus duty in my neon boots when a couple of middle school girls yelled "I love your boots, they look just like DC Cupcakes!" I had no idea what they were talking about so naturally I googled it...only to find my new mentors Sophie and Katherine!!!
I started watching the show because I was interested in baking cupcakes because after all I loved eating them. Now I was in love with Ivey Cake in Franklin,TN but after watching one episode Georgetown Cupcake became my new obsession. I will admit their antics and humor as well as Mommy make the show but the tall hot pink Wellies made me love them more. I really never imagined I could bake their recipes though.
I kept watching as summer rolled on until finally trying a recipe. They were strawberry champagne cupcakes....they flopped. It probably didn't help that the power went off in the middle of baking but I quickly learned buttercream was a science.
I didn't give up on baking but I knew I needed some new pans, easier recipes and trial and error. I started making some pretty good cupcakes, so once Sophie and Katherine's new book, The Cupcake Diaries came out I gave their recipes another try.
I read the book in an hour and quickly marked things to remember from technique to recipes. Their buttercream base is so easy and you just add a few extra ingredients to create any flavor you wish. For the sake of copyrights (and my laziness concerning typing extra) I will say either google the recipes or better yet buy the book. Every person who bakes cupcakes must have this book!
I used their coconut cupcake recipe as the base cake for this bday cake for my dad....the other layers of coconut were my creation.
For bunco in January I tried to conquer the strawberry champagne cupcakes , , champagne buttercream, strawberries and ganache layered dessert...success this time even with the ice storm coming down!
For Flori's bday I went with the lighter version of their chocolate cake with toffee chip buttercream
I look forward to trying more recipes and hopefully I will make it to Georgetown cupcake soon!! Until then at least we have our pink Wellies

Pinterest changed my Life

Laugh all you want but many of you can say this. I have always enjoyed baking and some cooking. The cupcake craze plus my love of them had already gotten me to experimenting but Pinterest got me to work. This summer I started looking up recipes then the site went viral. Now I cook almost three emails a week from pins plus whatever baking I do along the way. I love all my other helpful boards but I am going to be in the kitchen before doing a DIY project. It may sound strange but I photograph some of my food because I keep them with the hand written recipe...found a cookbook project, pinned it and now making my own. I take more photos of dessert than real food but I am working omit. One I will share comes from my
Meatless Monday collection. It's quinoa stuffed red peppers.


Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 8-oz. pkg. mushrooms, stems removed and saved for another use and caps sliced very thin
1/2 of a poblano pepper, diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 – 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups grated Pepper Jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed
Directions:
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and poblano pepper and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
Stir in quinoa, carrots, and 1 3/4 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. ( i just cook quinoa and carrots with veggies in a large deep skillet) Combine quinoa and carrots with black beans, 1 cup of cheese, and the onion mixture from the first step, . Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

Life Happened

Too much has happened this year to even consider recapping. In 2011 I turned the big 3-0 so the reality of getting older has set in and the reality of feeling old is a hard pill to swallow...I choke on it multiple times a day.
I am still a health but exercising freak but knees have almost put my running shoes on the shelf. The big turn around this past year was I got my parents on board and the two of them lost around a total of 100lbs. My mom turned 50 so she lost 50. Hopefully we all gained a few years of life!
I am still doing the same job and I love it more now than ever. The start of this school year was difficult but that just helps me see the progress. I have lots of new children and I love them dearly. For new readers I will explain that I don't talk about my job for confidentiality reasons but it is a big part of my life because of my coworkers and especially my children.
As I mentioned I am loving the iPad. My apps keep me buys from words with friends to my biggest life changer Pinterest. I learn something new every day and get lots of great ideas. More to come in future posts.
I tried to spend this past year being present in my life. 2010 was spent filling voids left behind so I made the effort to spend more time just being present and no blogging and really not much picture taking. One day I may forget it all but for now I am just keeping those memories within.

Hiatus

Can't believe it has been a little over a year since my last post. I could make excuses but really I have been pursuing some new interests. Well and my laptop bit the dust so my iPad has too many time wasting apps. I was introduced to the blogger app some time back but forgot that I downloaded it until a friend mentioned it in her blog post...thanks Lindsey! hopefully I will make more of an effort to catch my few readers up and maybe attract some new followers...come back for catch up posts

Nice Weekend!!

It is so refreshing to have a nice weekend with sunshine and taking it easy. Friday is my day off from working out so its nice to chat with a friend, watch some TV and take a nap. Nothing like a Friday night watching the Food Network...if I can't eat then at least I can watch others do it.
I know I am turning into an old lady but you know I don't care I like my slow quiet life. No Saturday morning is complete without my trip to wal-Mart to buy my stuff for teh next week. Shopping that time of day is like meditation whereas any other time it is like a war zone. I have doen the 3 day diet, the cabbage soup diet and now I am back to my old college standby...slim fast. Only a few more weeks until Biggest Loser is over and I have to keep up my A game!!!!
The mornign was made even better with my new favorite nessecity...McDonald's fruit and maple oatmeal YUM!!!! Of course I got in some cleaning up and Wii Active done before going out for a nice run. Finally the weather was nice enough to run and sweat!!1 I was fine until I almsot got side swiped by a car...thank goodness their neighbor was an old friend from Hamilton. Gotta watch out for those young crazy drivers!!!
I had planned an evening of movies and popcorn, but got a surprise order of leftover sushi (thank goodness Dustin wasn't hungry). My choices to watch were PS I Love You, Dan in Real Life and my absolute favorite...You've Got Mail...but the TV selection changed my thoughts. Instead I watched some choclate confections on the Cooking channel, Because I said So and Nights in Rodanthe. Nothing like a good cry before you head off to bed. My favorite line is when Diane Lane is talking to her daughter about love. The quote goes "One kind of love gives you the courage to be better than you are, not less than you are. One that makes you feel that anything is possible. You can have that...hold out for it" Strangely enough charlotte once said to me she wished for me love because it is the best thing there is...but hold out for the real love. It may seem crazy but for me I plan to do that and if it doesnt happen then the life I have had has at least been one I have enjoyed. For those who have it cherish it on this commericially love crazed holiday!!
sunday is always an enjoyable day when you get to worship and enjoy fellowship with other Christians. thankfully I got to come home early since my dad cooked...meatloaf and turnip green with corn bread...not exactly on my diet but worth the cheat!!! Got in another run despite the wind but I should have used the 30 minute swim rule because I was feeling a little sick by the end. After an hour nap and watching Raising Helen I felt better. Strangely enough PS I Love you came on TV....I was thrilled. Only if I would have fit the other two movies in my romantic comedy weekend would have been complete, but instead I had to watch one of my Little House movies...yeah I know I am really turning into an old quirky lady!!
The fitting end to my weekend was chatting online with my "Sewell" cousins about our sweet Granny Ruthie. We have so many wonderful memories of her, btu we never really get to see one another. I can't tell you the last time we were all together...possibly her funeral. I do hope for a reunion soon. The strange is as I talk abotu actign like an old lady I sometimes think of her. If I turn out to be just a portion of her then I know I have lived a good life and that is all that counts!!!

Ignite the light

Let me begin by saying NO I am not a Katy Perry fan, but this song has some powerful lyrics. Whether you like Glee or not this song provided for a powerful moment. As long as you realize your worth it and a "firework" then it does not matter if you no one else loves you...love yourself and the rest will fall into place.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Waiting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One Blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby your a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh,oh,oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby your a firework
Come let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh,oh,oh"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow\

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt your heart will blow
And when it's time you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
and let it shine
Own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh,oh,oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through
Repeat chorus

Whether you are a fan of Valentine's or not it still makes us all think of love or the possibilities of love. Whether you have had ultimate love, heartbreak or still holding out you can relate to these lyrics. The important lesson here is that even if you have had that love or can't figure out how your life will work out...you are a firework!!! You have to love yourself in order to be loved and maybe the reason you haven't been loved is because it wasn't the right time. Time is not always on our side but until the lightning bolt love yourself and live for yourself,,,you are a firework so show em what your worth!!!

The Legacy

Thank You by Ray Boltz

For about six weeks now I have planned on this blog but just havent had the time. What is interesting is over those last few weeks the word legacy has come to light in so many situations.
Just shortly after the new year on a Wednesday night Dr. Kenny Barfield gave a devotional on this topic. It was titled The Legacy. Sadly I am beginning to forget parts of the lesson but the basic principle was what kind of legacy do you want to leave. Each of us has something special to give to the world. Especially in our christian lives we should use whatever our talent we have in order to bring others to Christ. We may be the teacher, the missionary, the monetary giver, the war smile at church. It is not just in that church building that we carry that talent out. We may say a kind word to someone feeling down, help a person in need, pray for a friend or care for a loved one. We all can remember those special people who made our lives more fulfilling and helped us gain the "ultimate reward"
There are so many things we may want to be remembered for. Recently Michael Douglas (not a fan but hear me out) said he would much rather be remembered as a cancer survivor than an academy award winner. I know there are millions of people who proudly claim to be a survivor!! I personally among other things want to be remember as a great teacher whether in the classroom or lessons taught by my life's example. Dr. Barfield talked about the certain gifts we posess. I am honored to teach not only children but those special children of the world that so many people forget about or don't think are worth teaching. I pray that part of my legacy is having loved and taught those children despite their disability I don;t see them as broken or something to be fixed they are precious souls who need love like everyone else!!
I hope I leave the legacy of being a true friend. We have those who come in and out of our lives that we sometimes lose touch with; however I hope while they were in my life I was a good friend to them. The legacy of good friendships is something most can not live without. If a relationship passes the stage of acquaintance then all the rest continue on through friendship.
Within the last week a sweet lady, Mrs Helyn Cashion passed away from this life in her early nineties. I can only imagine the thousands of lives she touched through being a wonderful teacher, friend, grandmother tip all and fine Christian lady. She always treated me like a grandchild whether it was making pound cakes for Katie and her friends in college or for summer camp, having families over for dinner parties or teaching my Sunday night Bible class. She was a legacy to live up to.
Strangely enough Dr Barfield concluded his lesson with referring to Ray Boltz's son "thank You" Now if you know me it has been a favorite of mine for many many years. In fact as he preached that song kept coming to my mind. What a powerful example of how each life is touched by another sometimes without even knowing it. In the last year the song holds so much more meaning to me. Thank You was one of the songs sang at Charlotte's funeral. n that day I was not surprised to hear the song but Charlotte and I never really mentioned this being one we both loved. I can remember it coming up in an email but other than that I was not expecting it, but once Shannon began to sing tears poured down my face. I was a life changed by her!!! I rarely go a day without listening to this song whether I choose it from a playlist, it randomly comes on or I am out running and it plays on that playlist.
If you have never paid much attention to this song or in fact never even heard of it. I hope this makes you think about your legacy and what you want to leave for otters!!

Snow 2.0

I am actually finishing this post a month after the big snow, but I am so done with snow by now. I cringe at the thought of the weather forecast even predicting it. I think I now realize how people in the North feel. Granted at first I loved the snow. I wanted to be out playing in it like some little kid, but now I just want warmer weather!!

I have to admit that this particular snowpocolypse as they were calling it was the most snow I had actually seen in the South. It was so cool walking around measuring all the different surfaces. My yard saw any where from 9-11 inches. This snow stayed around for over a week, It was a little weird seeing grass after that long time, but I can only imagine having it for moths on end. Okay I will leave the rest up to the pictures

My first impressions of the snow!!

Heidi loved it...Stuart at first not so much!!!

The Edge Snowman

The snow was fun but I am not sad to see the winter weather end. You can find more pictures on my facebook page.

The Cake

Recently I was reading Woman's Day magazine and came across a unique cake recipe. i wanted to make it then, but decided I would wait for my dad's birthday!!1 I neglected to forget that was around the time I needed to start my diet. I wasn't going to back down so I gathered up the ingredients to bake this cake...completely from scratch. Now I know some of you are laughing right now at the thought of me baking this cake...don't underestimate me. If I share all my talent then I might be expected to cook!!
After an early morning trip to Wal Mart I was ready to begin my chocolate coconut cake. Two hours later I was almost finished. The cake was nothing, the icing was simple...the coconut was a different story. The recipe called for shaved coconut, but said you could use store bought coconut. I had come this far so I hand shaved a coconut. Warning..if you haven't done this don't!!
Finally it was time to eat!! The cake was a hit!!! Since the big snow came so between the three of us we ate the entire cake!!!

White Christmas in Alabama

Christmas was all around different this year for our family!! The Bailey family Christmas was held a week early this year because the Real's were headed on a European cruise (that I am still irritated I was not invited to). As always we had Christmas at Elvis and Valerie's. I won't lie I am completing the writing of this a month after Christmas so my memory may fail me. We had a great time eating, exchanging presents and playing Mexican train. The new tradition for the year was Just dance2. I didn't volunteer because I knew my coordination was not up to par. I must say though that Pam schooled all the teenagers, especially Bailey who was not too happy about it. Before leaving our keys got locked in the car, but we couldn't be too upset because the entertainment was worth staying for!!!

Normally our Christmas Eve is spent rushing to Hamilton and doing our normal Christmas routine. This year was different and really I enjoyed it just as much. My parents and I woke up early and headed down The Trace to have breakfast at the Loveless cafe. Nothing like french toast for Christmas. We considered shopping a little but I was feeling under the weather so we headed home. Wish I could remember what happened beyond that point...haha. Just goes to show you only remember the fun stuff!! Oh wait I do know we watched It's a Wonderful Life...family favorite!

Christmas morning we always wake up open presents, watch A Christmas Story and have breakfast at the Collier's. Our afternoon tradition is to go to the movies. This year we chose Little Fockers...okay but not as funny as I would have thought!!! Usually it is Waffle House for us, but thankfully Rice Box was open. Just like Christmas Story we had our Chinese Christmas dinner. Nothing like honey sesame chicken in place of ham!!!

The big news of the3 entire day was SNOW!!! Northwest Alabama has rarely seen a true white Christmas. Yes we have seen some little flakes coming down but nothing like what we had. Something about snow on Christmas makes it all the more magical!!

Stuart has his days with snow. Mostly he goes to the bathroom, comes back covered in snow and gets his hair dried. He decided his warm towel could be a new bath robe. This is his new thing.
He walks all over the house wrapped in a towel.

Pink or Blue...I Knew!!!!

The day after my Tacky Christmas Bunco we had a Pink or Blue Party at school. My friend Susan Meyer is having a baby. Now to say everyone at the Edge is excited is an understatement. We are all over the moon. Now we also like to have a party for any occasion, so we had to have one the day she found boy or girl?

Most of us had some inclination from the start. I will admit you know me I was PINK from the start, but the morning of I almost talked myself into a little blue. Everything is a competition for me, so you know I had to have the winning color on. We were going to have a color themed party and honestly I should have taken a picture of that, but oh well. We did have a few pink and blue items but we didn't care as long as there was food to eat. We all had a great time that day....but yes Pink won out.

Susan is having a little girl. All along I have called her "lil' Meyer" so I am hoping for a Lilly Meyer, but I guess the parents should name her. We got one picture in of our crew in our color choices...thanks to one of our students. Too bad Jeff had already left (he didn't want to be seen in his pink...haha)

From the left: Me, Kim, Emily, Susan, Lisa, Juanita and Susan

Tacky Chirstmas Bunco

Every (supposed to be) second Thursday of the month I play Bunco with some of the most wonderful ladies. We always have a such a great time. I know I have blogged about it some in the past. Anyway December was my month to host. Not all Bunco groups do this, but we usually have some sort of theme. .IT could be basic with not a lot of frills or it could be all out. For my Bunco we had Tacky Christmas.

Our food was not themed this time...this time of year is way to hectic or me to learn some new recipe...well scratch that any time of the year is bad for that. Our losers bag consisted of any type of tacky Christmas gift...I brought a fruit cake to go in. We also had to dress in our tacky Christmas sweaters or other attire...I think Lynn won with the stirrup pants and Santa Sweater. Not everyone could make it, but we were lucky enough to have Amber's friend, Laura Hall play with us. Turns out I have a couple of connections with her and enjoyed meeting her. My dad took a quick pic of us all before everyone left...sorry for all the funky looking eyes.

I look the scariest so the rest of you can't complain too much!!!!!

More Than a Ribbon

I have a new long sleeve t-shirt that I am selling in order to raise money for the 2011 Susan g. Komen 3 Day for the Cure. I have not decided for sure yet but I think I am going to Boston. Would love to have a friend or local to participate with, but if not then I will go on my own..it is that important to me. Anyway the shirt is white, the picture is the back. They come in small to xlarge ($15) or 2x and 3x for ($17). I will ship anywhere but you have to pay for the shipping. I encourage everyone to share this with your friends. I would love to raise more than my goal this time!!! Oh and the front is a ribbon on the left side of chest that says more then a ribbon through the pink ribbon.

the last day

I won't lie I am glad this is the last day for counting my blessings. I must admit it was difficult to always come up with something that I felt people would be interested in reading. I could list things all day long, but you might not find them blog worthy.
This has been such a wonderful month. I have enjoyed looking back at "old times' and thinking about the wonderful people from my past. I am glad that I also could share with those I love how important they are. I hope that you have found at least one blog that you connected with.
Who knows why I always commit myself to blogging a solid month then forget to log on for months..maybe I must just drop a line every week or so. May you all enjoy your holiday season...remember count your blessings!!!

A Good Book

In a world where there are still people who can not read, I am thankful that I not only can read but I enjoy reading. Coming from someone who came very close to not having the ability to see to read...it is a blessing. I am a nerd because I have always loved to read from Dr. Seuss, Ramona, to my favorite English lit authors. I also really enjoy reading children's books. We all loved Harry Potter, well those who took the time to read it. I also from time to time get the opportunity to review children's books for a group. I love getting my hands on new books and getting the chance to review it.
These days I do not always get the chance to sit and read for hours, but I love a good raining day or being out of school in order to get the chance to spend the day reading. It is sad to think people can't read or children in other countries and truly ours as well do not even have their own books. It is such a simple thing, but sometimes we forget what a blessing it truly is.

America the Beautiful

God Bless America!! We are so privileged to live in America. We all take it for granted from time to time, but deep down we know we are truly blessed. I again I am going to try not to get on a soapbox. I do not want to make this about religion and politics since some of you can;t handle those topics as well as others. I don;t want to shove my religion and politics down your throat, but I will express my gratitude for this great country we live in and call home.

Whether some of you like or not..there would be no America without God. He has blessed us with an awesome landscape to behold. I have traveled almost all over this wonderful country. I have seen what many of you will never see. The nature and beauty of this land is awesome. the man made creations are a wonderful sight as well.

Somewhere along the way we have forgotten the foundation of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Some say they are antiquated or don't fit into our life anymore, but maybe something has gone wrong within us. We are so materialistic and self-serving we begin to fit the big picture. I am thankful every morning when I get to say the "Pledge of Allegiance" in a school or when I tear u at the national anthem. In times of trouble yes we all come together and support our country. Those are the great moments, but it is sad that it takes a disaster or attack to make us act in such a way. I wont get into politics because I stay away from media coverage because I know our media and most politicians are out of touch with the reality of the Americans I know and love. I can only do what I know is right and pray others do the same.

Our country has survived civil wars, depressions, attacks on our soil, but we may not survive ourselves eating away our freedoms and beliefs. You all know I am a big Sarah Palin fan. It was just a year ago I had a chance to go to a book signing where she let me meet her precious son trig. Now I am here to admit too, that I honestly don;t follow her a lot either unless it relates to Trig. I am a fan of her because she is a mother of a special needs child. I believe she is a champion for that select group of people. I have recently finished her new book America By Heart; reflections on Family, Faith and Flag. Whether you like her or not she has some interesting stories on our founding fathers as well as other things through out our history. I think aside from her talk of Trig I enjoyed the faith stories the most..not her faith but the faith of our leaders who made this country great.

As simple as they were, just like I believe in Little House principles, we need to get back to some of the beliefs of our founding fathers or civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. We shouldn't be a helpless people who rely on our government, but instead a people who stands up for our country and be "the people" who this government was established for.

I doubt we often realize how free we are in America compared to the rest of the world. We definitely forget how blessed we are when it comes to our abundance of resources whether they are necessity or materialistic. Each and every one of us should be thankful to God for this blessed nation we are a part of fro sea to shining sea!!!

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

You may think it is silly to be thankful for an organization, but I guarantee if you are a breast cancer survivor or know someone who has survived any type of cancer you won't think it silly. There are so many great cancer organizations such as Relay for Life and so many others. My first charitable experience was staying up late at night and walking in a Relay event. SGK for the Cure not only helps support breast cancer research, but because of the findings and results from their research it also benefits other types of cancers. Some people disagree with SGK's delegating of funds, but you should probably take the time to read their responses and understand their reasoning. When will we learn to find out facts for ourselves and rely on media and hearsay..okay off my soapbox!

Two years ago around this time a group of women I work with decided to do the Breast Cancer 3 day for the Cure in Atlanta. Our team eventually grew to 11 members. We raised over $25K for our team. We had so much training and then completing the walk. I had always been a proud supporter of the Pink, but after I did this walk I became addicted.

I am thankful for my first experience with Leslie, Nicole, Donna, Juanita, Jessica, Leah, Megan, Melanie, Jan and Pam. I hope you all each do it again one day. I know my first experience will most likely be the one I remember most, but you never forget that feeling.

I now not only make sure I wear pink every day in October, but you are hard pressed not to find me wearing pink everyday. I may simply have on a watch or bracelet or others times I am dressed head to toe. I take every opportunity to speak about my experience and encourage others to participate. Only a couple weeks after our walk in October 2009, I registered again. I did not know who was going with me but there was no way I was going to miss it. After some interesting turns of events I ended up doing the 201 Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure with my friend Flori. I was so glad to get to share my experience with her. We raised our money in record time and trained a little.

The event was a wonderful experience. It was neat to watch it through someone else;s eyes. I did not do as well physically this year, but that goes back to my over confidence that didn't need to train. It is a little easier with a small group, but you miss the atmosphere of a larger one. I enjoyed Atlanta and would do it again, but I am also ready to try out some new places. again I am going no matter who goes with me. As the motto sates everyone deserves a lifetime, so as long as I am able I want to help make that possible. I want to imagine a world without breast cancer..what a blessing that would be.

Here a few shots from this year. You can also see the whole album on facebook.

I also have to say that I have been blessed by the support of so many of you who have participated in fundraisers, bought shirts, volunteered and remembered my journey in your prayers. Thank You

Black Friday

Another tradition I left off is Black Friday shopping..well okay so maybe I mentioned the planning, but now we are to the event itself!

You ask why I am I thankful, well now that I am finished I can reflect on it better. I enjoy the day. IT is high pressure and craziness, but it is one of those family traditions. I enjoy going with my mother. Of course I am totally there for the Target shopping.
This year Bailey and Toni came up to go with us. We were at Target in the rain at $ a.m. We ran in and began loading up on everything we needed. I always go for the DVDs, my mom gets whatever and Toni..she probably doesn't know what she bought. We got some pretty good deals. Once I finish shopping for myself I am the buggy holder. Next we headed to Kohl''s where we got ripped on rebate junk, but I am so OCD...my stuff is already in the mail. After grabbing some bfast we headed to the mall. Okay so maybe I should have just gone to bed, but I finally got a second wind. I almost went off on a kiosk lady, but I got the holiday spirit and walked off. Our final stop was Hobby Lobby where Bailey and I got what we needed and went to the car. After getting lunch we finally made it home. I have showered and now I am off to take a nap. Who knows chances are I may go back out to Target because I already have stuff to return that I realized I actually don't need.