Meeting Diana

This past weekend I met an amazing young mother – Diana.  This vivacious 28 year-old used to run 5 miles a day and chase her daughter around the house.  But due to a Stage IV Lymphoma found on her spinal cord, Diana is now in a wheelchair.   And though she told me she’s hopeful that one day medical advances will get her out of the chair, she followed that up immediately with a big grin and exclaimed, “But I’m alive!”  Diana is currently in remission and maintains an amazing zest for life and an overriding joy that she’s here to be a mother to her daughter. 

Stories like this are why I joined TNT for the Rock n Roll Half.  It’s 13.1 miles to keep families together to enjoy those milestones so many of us take for granted.  It’s 13.1 miles to keep friends in each other’s lives.  It’s 13.1 miles towards finding a cure!

You can help support patients like Diana by clicking the bad on the right of this page to donate, and/or by shopping  the auction starting Amy 25^th on facebook.  Items have generously been donated by these wonderful shops, and I’m adding more each day!  I cannot thank the women behind these shops enough.  Please stop by their facebook pages through the links below to see more from each artist!

Aggie Chick

Comfy Stitches

Earthwise Emporium

My Lemonade Dreams

Rachel VanNatten Jewelry

SmiLe aGain Creations



XOX, Lisa

PS - got a 3.3mi run in today!  Beautiful weather here in Virginia, and it just felt great to be out there :o)

The Chocolate Bunnies are Multiplying…

I swear they are – they must be.  That is the only possible explanation for how much brightly-colored, foil-wrapped candy there still is in my pantry.  I reach in for almonds, or raisins, or some other healthy snack, and come out with a mini-Cadbury egg, or bite-size bunny, or a so-good-it-should-be-illegal Milky Way egg.   Seriously - something about the nougat/caramel/chocolate ratio in those eggs makes them soooo much better than the bar!

So as I was staring at my bag o’ temptation this weekend, I realized there had to be something better to do with all of that chocolately goodness rather than leaving it to mock me daily.  And then I remembered that my friend Beth posted a recipe on facebook that used leftover Halloween candy in cookies.  Neither one of us could find the exact recipe she’d used, but a perusal of Google brought me Reeni Spice's exceedingly yummy blog, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice, and this mouth-watering recipe.  

Of course, I was out of unsalted butter (really? I always have too many sticks of butter in my fridge – how the heck did that happen?!), so I am *hoping* to make them this weekend with the help of my twingles.  And then I plan to force them on the pre-school teachers.  Woo-hoo: activity for the girls, brownie points for me, plus chocolate removed from my house and therefore my waistline!  Can we say win-win-win-win?  And no, I will not place the now seemingly obligatory Charlie Sheen-esque comment here.

Here’s the recipe, and a link to Reeni's site (where you can get a printer-friendly version of the recipe).  Just don’t visit her site on an empty stomach.  Really.  Don’t do it.

XOX, Lisa

Candy Bar Cookies

(adapted from Epicurious)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 + 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 + 1/2 packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 + 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups chocolate candy bars, chopped
(like kit kats, peanut butter cups, snickers, milky way, m&m's)
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl beat together butter and sugars at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Beat in vanilla.

4. Beat in flour just until blended. Gently mix in candy bars and walnuts, batter will be thick.

5. Scoop 1/4 cup batter for each cookie placing about 3 inches apart. Flatten mounds into 3-inch rounds using moistened palm of your hand. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, 10 -14 minutes. Cool cookies on wire racks.

13.1 miles and $2500 or Bust!

Call me crazy...no, really, call me crazy.
I signed up for the Dodge Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach for Labor Day weekend.

And because that is obviously not enough torture to put myself though, I also joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training and committed to raising $2500 through the course of my training for the Half Marathon.

I was starting to think that I need to be committed:  a year ago I couldn't run around the block without having to gasp for air, and now I'm training to run 13.1 miles.  And I don't like to ask for a favor, let alone ask for money.  BUT then it hit me - who cares if it hurts to run?  Who cares if someone says "no" if I ask for a donation?  That's nothing!  But for the patients and their families living with and fighting against blood cancers? That is hard.  A heartbreaking struggle, both emotionally and financially draining, and unimaginable for most people contemplate.  The very least I can do is step outside my comfort zone to make a difference for the parents, children, siblings affected by blood cancers.

Through the course of my training, I'm going to bring you "Team in Training (TNT) Tuesdays."  A major part of this event is that I am running in honor of Seamus and Andrew - 2 incredibly brave boys living full and healthy lives today.  And I am also running in memory of my college friend and sorority sister, Cory Jill Rovin, whom we lost in 1999.  Over the course of TNT Tuesdays, I'll be sharing their stories, and the role LLS played for them and for their families. 

And as a part of my fundraising efforts, I'm coordinating an auction on Facebook.  100% of the proceeds will got to LLS.  I'm adding items daily, and the auction itself begins may 25th!  If you would like to donate to the auction, or know someone who would, please let me know!  twingle.beads@gmail.com

xox, Lisa