Nobody Loves Ya Like Ya Mum!

Do you remember this song? I don't have any idea where I heard it a few years ago, but I always end up with it stuck in my head around mothers day.

"Nobody ever loves ya like ya mum!
Everything we owe we owe to mum!
Even when she whacks ya on the bum!
Mum's the word and so the word is mum!
That's me mum!"

Well, my mom is pretty awesome. I can't tell you how awesome she is, because this post would never end. She raised me mostly as a single parent, she was there for every important moment in my life and has informed me that she will be invading every important moment in my life to come ;) She's a cancer survivor, a freaking awesome hostess, an amazing Nana, a kickass daughter, a caring sister, and a wonderful best friend.

She's my Mum. And I couldn't ask for any better.



Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Pumpkin Cake

I found this recipe probably in family circle as well, but I honestly don't remember. If doesn't matter, because other than the general idea I completely ignored the recipe and did whatever I felt like doing.

Like using box mix for Chocolate Fudge Cake instead of making my own blend of pumpkin cake. And using a smaller Pyrex baking bowl than they suggested (who knew those bowls we always mix in were actually baking bowls??). It turned out okay for the presentation, but the cake itself is amazingly delicious! So here it goes:

When you bake in a pyrex bowl, this is what it comes out like.

You have to use the same size bowl to make each one, and I baked them for 45 minutes each. Both halves.

And then you have to level the tops of each so that they meet closely when placed on top of each other.

Mix yellow and red with vanilla icing to make orange, and use that in between the halves to keep them together and on the outer edge to smooth it.

Then ice the rest of it, but I suggest doing one section at a time because the icing gets funky. Cut a hole in the top of the cake for the "stem". Cover the icing with reese pieces (it said M&Ms but they don't have an abundance of yellow and orange in them) in the pattern you want and put some kind of chocolate bar in the top hole for the stem.


Voila!

It worked well until I went to move it. Then things started to move. But it was a good thought. Next time I'd probably use a bigger bowl to make it easier, decorate on the presentation dish instead of the wire rack, and more red in my icing. But it's still at least kind of cute :)

Spider cupcakes on Saturday I think!

Where the Crap is that Parking Lot??

The walk was amazing. We had 13 people signed up. We had 10 and two kids show up. More than last year, but not as many as we were expecting.

Last years walk was 61,000 people strong. I'd like to take the opportunity to mention that the entire population of the city we will be moving too is 53,000. Oh Wyoming! The numbers haven't come in yet from this years walk!

My mom decided she was joining us, and that was fantastic! She was nervous she wouldn't be able to make it all 5 miles, especially with B's mom there and her wanting to make a "good impression" to all people not related to us. But she did fine--better than me, actually. Sad, and so freakin' true. Would have been much better if it weren't 40 degrees out and we hadn't parked a mile away this year. Ha! But downtown at sunrise is absolutely gorgeous, so it was fantastic photo-taking time!

A few photos:
Me and Mom

Wall of people for as far as you could see.

The group.

View of the finish-area from the other side of the river.

Awesome little dog. So many people brought their pets. They were cute, but it makes me wonder if their owners can read "no pets of bicycles." We did wonder about rollerblades, though.

The bottom of a ferrywheel, which for whatever reason is suspended in the air.


Then we came home and cleaned out the storage closet and threw out TONS of stuff. So exciting!

And then we woke up on Monday and couldn't move. But it was totally worth it :)

Making Strides for Mom!

October, as we all know from the obsessive amount of pink absolutely everywhere, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 13% of all women, 1 in 8, will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. About 42,000 women will die this year from breast cancer.

My mother beat the odds.


She was diagnosed last summer, and has made it through chemo and radiation and has come out cancer-free! Along with her, my grandmother, stepmother, aunt, and my mother's best friend have all fought the disease and all but one (my aunt) won the fight!

So last year we decided we would take part in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk! The walk is 5 miles and a fabulous way to raise money for research. Last year there were 60,000+ walkers just in our city!

You can find my fundraising page at the ACS website if you'd like to know more about why I'm walking, donate, or even join a walk near you! We walk as a team as well, and have 13 people signed up, but will have some stragglers with us that day as well!



When many people band together for results, fantastic results come out of it!

A Cancer Milestone

A milestone, in my opinion, was hit this week with my mom. Her hair has been growing back for some time now, but it's certainly taking it's time in doing so. It's so soft, and for over a month I've been telling her she didn't need the wig anymore...just go with the hair! Well, I finally convinced her to do that a few weeks ago and she went to the grocery without her wig or a hat, and stood at the deli, and someone behind her saw her 5"9', short haired self and said, "Can I help you....sir." And that was pretty much the end of that, and I was sure she'd never go wig-less anywhere again.

This past week, however, my mom decided to go get a hair cut. Before all she could do with it was faux-hock it, because it had no style attempts. But now with the cut, it's cut to spike up on top and lay down on the sides, even though it's still very short. And to my amazement, she hasn't worn the wig once since getting the haircut. I love that she's comfortable enough to do it! It makes me so happy, and means the time in which this is all "in the past" is coming soon! She'll have her breast reconstruction surgery in the beginning of May, and then a decent period of recuperation, and a few injections to finish them off along the way. Other than that, the treatment/after-care will be completely done other than her every 6 week oncology check-ups (but no more procedures!). A little bit of excitement over here!


(Her and I, I'm somewhere around 11-12 months old. And because I know you're wondering, there will be payback for that outfit at some point. ;])



(P.S. 5 minutes ago I was informed that the general education class list that I have is from 2004, and is no longer valid. It just keeps getting better.)

Quello Per Rubare Il Mia Cuore Completamente

An Italian title in honour of Melissa, who has just made it to Italy! Yea, I am jealous :) Bonus points if anyone can tell me what it means! Hint: Peter Cincotti.


However, back on the home front, things are still spectacular. I'm annoyingly giddy, and don't see it ending anytime soon. I'm apparently "nauseating" as well (thanks Bekah) but, I can't help it, so deal! =D

My mom finally made it in and we just had the longest conversation we've probably ever had together. Apparently she and my grandmother had had a conversation a few hours prior to this, in which they discussed me and my mom stated "I think your girls a gone-er." and my Granny then replied "Yes. But, she can't be moving all over the world with kids!" ...that last part I'm adding in only because it allows me to point out how hypocritical she is, since she did the exact same thing. But, I love her, and value her opinion so...what can you do. ;)

Back to important things. The exact statement that came out of my mother's mouth went a lot like this: "Most of me is happy that you finally figured it out, since most of us already knew you belonged together. But part of me is sad that my baby is leaving me. And all of me is afraid to tell your dad." Yay, she's pretty much awesome. The conversation actually went as well as it possibly could (I blame this solely on the fact that I started it with "So, I have some news. I'm not pregnant, just to clear that up"). She's was crying, I was crying, and all in all it was really nice. She applauded my planning efforts, and told me she was happy for me and especially happy that I was happy, and that she was glad that we were able to keep our heads on straight about all this.

And then said she needs her time to be completely okay with it. Exactly what I would have expected :D Come on now, you didn't honestly think I got my level-headedness from my father's side, did you?

She even started asking me questions about the wedding and how big I wanted it and where I wanted it and....I haven't ever started thinking about that stuff haha! I do know that having four parents and more random surrogates that all have family and all have friends makes "I just want a small wedding with family" an event small enough to just squeeze into Buckingham Palace (think the queen would mind? she's not there that often, anyway). Just doing the quick math, my family alone, only spawning as far as aunts/uncles+their kids (no friends) and not allowing anyone to bring a guest is 70 people alone. But, these things I am not concerned with currently. At least, not until I have a completely boring day and need something to do. ;]

Because the official engagement isn't happening until May, we have decided not to tell our mutual friends--except my best friend, because she knows everything...typically before I do. There are only a few of my friends who know now, and then those random 70 other people I told... ha! But, the most important thing is our mutual friends because we know the extent of shock in which this is going to bring upon their general formation. We're pretty excited for that! :D

That's all for tonight. I'll go smile to myself now.

2008: The Year of Magical Thinking

Yay for boring books by Joan Didion titles (maybe I'll have better luck).

2008 is now over, and I've just finished all the Christmas' and birthdays with all of my siblings and extended family (at least, those I am doing it with). (Inset: while I was writing this I remembered one more birthday gift unopened in the other room from Honey, so I'll open it after this ;]). There isn't really a definite way to describe this year in all it's infinite glory, both Jesus and Hitler sized, but it deserves some bit of recognition for having both happened and being over for good.

I won't go into grueling details of the year at it's worst, because anyone who knows me well enough knows the struggles this year has brought me and my family, and with it my move back to my hometown. With my mother's cancer and other less interesting family issues, it most certainly has not been a year for the books in that department, but we stuck together and got through it and there's no where to go from here but up. We've learned that there is too much lost in being angry or sad, and that Buddy the Elf had one thing right: 'Smiling's my favorite!' It's not worth it to be pissed all the time--you hurt no one but yourself. A simple smile and joke make things much more bearable even when it doesn't seem like there's anything to hope for. That's probably the most valuable thing my mother ever taught me. Well, that, and that playing hookie from highschool to get a tattoo with your mom is the best memory you'll ever make. She's the Lorelei to my Rory, and always will be.

This year also brought the most extraordinary vacation I'll probably ever take in my entire life. I spent a week in England with a few friends, all of who I met up with when I got there, and then a month in Kenya, Africa with a group of 12 Brits that I had never met before. It was my first trip out of the country (well...minus Mexico) and my first trip anywhere (minus Maine) by myself. The first night in London was incredibly scary thanks to the ghetto we were in, and I ended up in the hospital in Kenya with a huge fever that they could only tell me in celsius what was, and neither one spoiled it for me in the least (though, it did make me incredibly glad I had travel insurance). I miss the people I met and became friends with there, and I cried when I left for a solid hour in the cab.

2008 also brought the arrival of legal drinking age. For most people, I think, this is a bigger deal than it is to me. I have been 'allowed' to drink for years upon years by my parents, and the only time I've ever had enough to get me in trouble was when they had no idea I was doing it (lesson learned, ya). My mom made the comment when I left that night that 'it doesn't seem right that you aren't having your first legal drink with me'. I said 'I won't drink anymore than I do now, and you know it'. We laughed, but it's true. I really don't drink much. I'm a lightweight, and don't really enjoy the taste of alcohol. So, my last exciting birthday for a while is now over--now for 55! Senior menu!

But, mostly, 2008 brought a realm of unfamiliarity that we needed and learned from. I used to be able to close my eyes and see exactly what my future held for me, but this year I learned that living in the present is more important than worrying about the future. Plus, I might be looking at a future that is absolutely nothing like what I imagined for myself, and that is (oddly) perfectly fine with me because I love him, and that's all that matters.

We said goodbye to:
Sean (April)
Norb (April)
Flora (June)
Judy (June)
Edna (June)
TJ & Stephanie (September)
& Laura (December)

We said hello to:
Braylynn (Dec 07, but she still counts)
Arabella (February)
& Kylie (August)

In conclusion, this says nothing important in the least but I'm bored so welcome to my rambles.

Peace out, 2008. To 2009: Bring it on.

Happy New Year!


P.S. It was a gorgeous scarf and gloves. Kudos, Honey. Kudos.

A Day of Celebration

Today is an awesome day for several reasons of amazingness.

Reason #1: End of treatment! I rolled out of bed this morning at 6am, and we left the house at 730 to my to my mom's last cancer treatment ever. Today was the last radiation (which, of course, came after the chemo) and she is officially done with her treatment! YAY! She'll still have the reconstructive surgery in March, but that is not required and technically not part of the treatment, so it doesn't even slightly count. Her hair is growing back in very quickly along with her eyebrows and eyelashes :D I took her out to breakfast and gave her a little gift she continued to tell me I didn't need to do, and it was a great morning of celebration.

Reason #2: It's my birthday! My parents got me a GPS system that they gave me last night, and which was speaking to me in deutsch for most of the night but I have now fixed to at least just be a British accent (more fun than you'd think). I decided I'd take my gift card and treat myself to a new haircut, and did. Don't you just love the feeling of getting your hair cut? Though, I must admit I'm looking forward to washing it--the salon products they put in it do not impress me. In about an hour Big B is taking me out to dinner somewhere. I said "surprise me" and I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not haha. Later I'm going out with my sister for drinks and it's bound to be a wonderful night!

Reason #3: It's Baby B's birthday! That's right! We share a birthday and she turned 1 year old today! We had her birthday party early (you've seen the pictures) so there isn't a big gift unraveling today, but next year we'll probably do it on her birthday--this year it just doesn't make a difference! Happy birthday Bray!

:D

Hope you all have a great New Year's this week!