a little ART CAN'T HURT

pumpkin carving

no matter how many times you clean out a pumpkin, it's always kind of icky.
  
 
i held a pumpkin carving class that i gutted 10 pumpkins for - but it was worth it!

 

 

who doesn't love to use a drill and make a mess?
it was fun to share and try new designs and have a chatty time!
i tried out something new to make the carved pumpkins last longer:

equal parts pure lemon juice & water

mixed together in a spray bottle you coat the entire pumpkin, inside and out.
kind of messy, but so is the carving process.

the pumpkins will dry overnight but still kind of be sticky to the touch.
they lasted about 7 days kept inside.

i didn't use the lemon juice solution on this pumpkin....

and it only lasted a weekend. 

if anyone has any ideas about how to make pumpkins last longer please share!
 

finish line

So many people have been contacting me wondering: HOW DID THE RACE GO?! 
I did it!

Finished in a better time than I expected and felt great during the race! The course was beautiful and the people I have met along this journey are remarkable. 

With your help I have raised $5,385 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! I accomplished the goal that I set out to do and it was AWESOME!

My hubby strategically planned where-he-was-going-to-be-when so he could document this experience with the camera. You can thank him for these pics:

(5 a.m. in the transition area near Washington Monument)

(chatting with a racer from NYC before our wave entered the water at 7:45 a.m. - note the H we drew on my swim cap so hubby could hopefully find me as he stood on Memorial Bridge under which we would swim)

(air horn goes off and the splashing begins! i'm in the center with the long black sleeves with orange logo on the right arm)

(the H worked and he spotted me in the water!)

(i'm the front cyclist in this pic - returning after biking the Clara Barton Pkwy. into Maryland. that's Memorial Bridge in the background)

(running out of the transition area and ready to finish the race with only 6.2 miles to go!)

For anyone curious I finished in 3:25:10.
My knees held up (barely) and the weather that day couldn't have been more ideal!
We called the kids and our parents right away to let them know I'd finished and was fine - it was an emotional day but it was all GOOD emotions!
I would not have signed up for this race had it not been for mom's diagnosis last year so I guess you could say that this is a way I've taken the lemons life has handed me and made lemonade.

This was truly something I could not have done alone. Thank you all so much for supporting me through your donations, your words, your notes (I kept them all - there's a mountain of cards and letters in my TNT notebook!) and your prayers! The words 'thank you' don't seem like enough. You really don't know how each one of you have impacted a cancer patient's life by supporting research and patient care!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

This journey has been a blessing to me in so many ways and I love how my family has been able to participate in it with me! My heart is full!

God is Good - All the Time!

seattle trip PART FOUR: waving farewell

...before we left to go home we took Nana & Poppie to the port of Seattle.
They were off on the second half of their vacation - an Alaskan cruise!

It was exciting to see the ship up close and personal! It was huge!
We watched as forklifts moved big cages full off luggage into the bottom of the ship while we waited for Nana & Poppie to make their way through security.
A couple of us had a hard time saying goodbye but we knew it wouldn't be long before we saw them again and we were all excited that they were taking this special trip.

Finally they came out of the big building and walked across the bridge that took them to their ship. They waved and we waved - what an exciting trip they had!
They saw whales and seals and glaciers!
They learned about the eskimos and lumberjacks and even met an author who wrote a book about growing up in the Arctic. We're planning on that being our next 'family book' that we read.
After we said farewell there was just one more stop before home....

it's race day

....it was the first day of vacation and all day we'd been busy visiting the aquarium and Market, then to the Space Needle. We'd walked and climbed stairs non-stop. 

As I tucked the kids into the hotel bed Heidi said "Can you believe all the stairs we climbed today?!" and Mamie chimed in "Yeah! And Nana climbed them all by herself!" 

Last year at this time Nana was in the middle of chemo and was so weak after each of her 5-day-long treatments that she couldn't make the one step from their garage to the house when she got home without help from Poppie. In her usual candid style she had dubbed this weakness "chemo legs".

I said to the girls "She sure did. You should tell her how proud you are of her". I felt a huge feeling of coming-full-circle in that moment. Almost indescribable. A year ago we didn't know how much time we had with Nana. We still don't. Taking this trip as an entire family almost didn't happen due to circumstances outside of our control and being there in that moment was such a blessing....

The money I have raised while preparing for this day is going to help others with cancer. The process has helped me come to some sort of terms with what cancer has done to my family. It doesn't make it right or ok but I feel as though I've been able to help tangibly in a way I wasn't doing before.

To everyone who has donated money or supported our family these past 16 months I say THANK YOU!

My wave goes in to the water at 7:45 a.m.

Today is for you Mom! I'm so proud of you! I love you! xoxoxo

seattle trip PART THREE: city art

I couldn't leave out all the amazing art we saw while in Seattle! 
On our food tour our guide explained that a few years ago the city passed a law stating that all new construction and/or facade renovations may be done with one condition: that a minimum of 1% of the projects total budget go to outdoor art.
It is paying off big-time! The city is awash in art!

 

Here's Rachel the Pig. She's the world's largest piggy bank.
You can see brass hoof-prints in the cement around her - each of them has the name of someone who donated money to cast the original Rachel.
Did I mention she's a life-size replica of a famous local pig? She is!

The famous Public Market sign with flowers growing on the roof of the Market - it was beautiful!

No where near the Market, but this sign is a piece of Seattle history. It is the original automated drive-thru car wash in the city AND it is the only drive-thru car wash that can truthfully claim it has washed the President's limo. I just loved the vintage style of the sign!
Look closely by the feet of the pink elephant and you'll see her little gray babies!
 
Last but not least is the most unbelievable street food vendor you've ever seen!
Meet Maximus Minimus! We didn't stop and eat anything because we were zooming by on our food tour, but this thing is over-the-top!
 
I wish I'd gotten a photo of the back end of it - there's a piggy tail!
Everything in Seattle seemed artsy and everywhere we went was pristine - cars weren't clunkers with black smoke coming out their pipes, dogs didn't bark and yip like usual - the homeless we met on the streets were even clean and polite! Maybe it was all the wonderful food I ate while there and my head was in a carbed-out fog but Seattle just took my breath away!
It's my new favorite city! I can't wait to visit again soon!
Out trip to Seattle was over too soon and before we knew it we were on a plane leaving Washington.
(can you see Mt. Rainier in the distance?)

The memories (and hundreds of pictures we took) will last a lifetime, but the trip wasn't quite over yet. One more post will sum it all up.
Guess where we spent a three hour layover before we flew home to Chicago???

today

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. -Chinese proverb

We're flying into Baltimore, Maryland today. I can't help but think what today is like for so many families who are missing loved ones. A nation remembering your loss cannot be easy to bear. Reminders everywhere you turn and a constant awareness that must be impossible to escape.

I wish everyone peace today.

seattle trip PART TWO: sites in the city

The train trip to Seattle was AMAZING! As we pulled in to the train station in the city early in the morning we instantly spotted the city's most famous landmark - the Space Needle.

 
The Needle is in the center of a park with a small-town-county-fair type of atmosphere. There's a carousel and food vendors and plenty of street musicians and performers. I think this photo best represents the weather during our stay in Seattle - blue skies and warm sun with not a drop of rain!

 
Walking is the best way to see Seattle. We marveled at how CLEAN everything was, with recycling bins and trash cans everywhere and people USED THEM! We walked everywhere - only took the city metro when it was absolutely necessary but their public transport system is awesome too. I can't stress enough how great this city is!

 
The building in the background is the EMP (Experience Music Project). It houses the largest collection of Jimmy Hendrix memorabilia, since he was from Seattle, and the building was designed to look like one of his smashed guitars.
 
We spent hours in the Seattle Aquarium! Right on the water - literally, it is built on Pier 59 - the exhibits are so interactive and colorful. Live demonstrations with harbor seals and a fish hatchery made it a truly Seattle experience!
 

One of our favorite stops was Pike Place Market. Just a few flights of stairs from the piers it borders the water and is full of incredible food, flowers, seafood and little shops - bliss! Hubby & I took a food tour and this held a few of our stops including a Swedish bakery, Ethiopian restaurant and an English tea house that sold fresh baked crumpets. We found a way to stop by the Market every day we were in Seattle - THAT'S how great it is!

 
Another MUST was to take the Duck tour of the city. Poppie bought everyone 'quacker' whistles...just imagine the most obnoxious duck call you've ever heard and THAT is what these sounded like!

I would recommend the Duck tour to anyone visiting the city! The vehicle alone is cool to ride in by the behind-the-scenes things that you learn about the city and get to see are amazing. The tour was over an hour long and YES, we got to drive right into the water!

 
Seattle is like the San Francisco of the northwest! The steep roads and sidewalks and all the stairs going to and from the piers...it's a workout! The picture above shows us leaving the Market to head to one of the piers and the kids counted the steps one day - over 65 stairs!
 
Take a close look at the photo above.
Look closer - see anything interesting?
The wall is covered in gum! It's the Gum Wall!
It's in a small alley at the entrance to a small live theatre. Story goes that while people would wait in line for tickets they would stick their gum to the wall - it became a theatre tradition and people started pressing pennies into their gum and sticking it to the wall for "good luck". 
 
Our guide encouraged us to add to the wall if we wanted to (here is Doug contributing to the wall). The city passed an ordinance a few years ago actually allowing and protecting this off-the-beaten-path landmark.
Kinda gross - kinda cool. The kids couldn't believe it and we're glad we took the time to find it!

 
At the EMP they had a Muppets display going on! We got to see (in glass cases of course) the original puppets of Bert & Ernie, Fraggle Rock, the original Kermit. Did you know his eyes were really made from a ping pong ball cut in half? True.
In the exhibit there was a hands-on part where you could work a puppet for a live camera and experience puppeteering just like they do on the Muppets and Sesame Street. Trevor and Mamie tried it a couple of times and said it was much harder than it looked! If you want to find out if this traveling exhibit is coming to a venue near you click here!

 
Ever seen a fish hatchery or a salmon ladder? We did!
Who would have guessed that you have to go to Seattle to order the biggest meatball ever?!
Such great restaurants - so much variety and obviously the freshest seafood ever!

 
This pig was a sculpture in our hotel lobby. Seattle has pigs everywhere.
It's all because of one pig named Rachel - she's the world's largest piggy bank and she sits at the Pike Place Market. Each year she collects more than $11,000 in change and it all goes to fund a local health care clinic for the homeless in the city. 

   
Who knew that men in orange slickers throwing smelly dead fish around could be so interesting! 

The flowers in the Market were breathtaking! Everywhere you turned there was another flower vendor with MORE amazing flowers and even LOWER prices! If I lived in Seattle I'd come here every day for fresh flowers!
  

On our Duck tour we splashed into Lake Union (a nice sized lake in the center of the city) right near our hotel. While we were floating around our driver pointed this house out to us...do you recognize it?
It's THE house used in the movie 'Sleepless In Seattle'!
And guess what? I'd been running by it every morning and didn't even know it! 

My morning run every day took me over this neat little drawbridge. Two different days I actually had to stop and wait for the bridge to go back down - it's a busy boat area.
My run always lead me to this statue.
On the same block as the headquarters of Getty Images (for all you digital art geeks out here - like my husband) this statue stands and is outfitted daily by the residents of Seattle. You never know what they people will be wearing from one day to the next. And the dog in the middle....well, he has the face of a local politician that the sculptor didn't like.
Don't get me started on the sculpture and art found in this great city.....

seattle trip PART ONE: the train ride

One of our best vacations EVER began in the little waiting area pictured above - South Bend's Amtrak station. Nana & Poppy along with the 5 of us H's boarded a train bound for Chicago where we would board the train the Empire Builder which took us to Seattle: 48 hours on a train!  
  Waiting for the train was the hardest part.  

Mames and Doug (with coffee in hand) on the train to Chicago.
The kids could barely sleep the night before and then Nana & Poppy got to our house the morning we left (so we could drive to the station together) EARLY because they were so excited they said they had barely slept the night before! We're ALL kids at heart! 

Our station in Chicago was underground below a 30 story building!
We were getting OFF the train in the right side of the picture and eventually boarded the train on the left side of the picture which is a 'double decker' with sleeper cars! 

We had about a two hour wait in the Chicago station - just long enough to step outside and take a picture of the kids with the Sears Tower in the background!

It seemed as though immediately we started seeing different landscapes!
The trip from Chicago to Seattle is run by the train the Empire Builder. There are two identical trains with this name that run constantly - one coming and one going all the time.
We actually passed the eastbound Empire Builder somewhere in Montana and waved! It's amazing what you can see on a train - it never gets boring! 

There were over 30 stops on our trip. Most of them lasted about two minutes and we racing along again before we even knew we stopped most of the time. However, there were about 5 "smoker stops" which were at stations where more than a couple people were either boarding or disembarking. At these stops the train stopped about long enough to have a cigarette - that's how these stops got the nickname "smoker stops". We of course don't smoke, but instead jumped off the train a few times to let the kids run up and down the tracks and take pics. Here we are in South Dakota on a VERY sunny day! 

Look closely and you can see both engines of our train in the left side of this photo! 
This was a river we followed while in the foothills of the Rockies one night. 

We didn't spend much time in the cars that just held seated people. We walked through them when we needed to get to a car beyond them and that's all. Most of our time was spent in our sleeper car where our room and Nana & Poppy's room was.
Each car had an upstairs and a downstairs. 
To move from car to car you had to go UPSTAIRS and then through the narrow hallways to the other cars.
 
The stairs were so steep and narrow! The kids thought it was great - just their size!
Doug was afraid his claustrophobia might kick in but it never did and he can't wait to go on his next train trip. (we're thinking Canada & Niagara Falls next....) 
 To go from car to car you had to walk through the passage doors.
 These were two hydraulic doors you pressed large metal plates to enter. 
 Kind of like elevator doors - here is Trev holding one for me! 

One of the biggest things the kids were anxious about was EATING on the train!
They kept asking "how are you supposed to drink out of a cup?!" and "will it be REAL food or the kind they give astronauts?" - so cute!
Trains require organization so people don't get backed up in the hallways. It's hard for two adults to pass in a hallway. You have to step into someone's room or a restroom to let someone get by! So every meal each passenger has to make reservations for the next meal and then you know when to show up for your table! And each table seats exactly 4 people - so our party had 7 people which meant each meal we ate with a 'single' passenger on board. It was random but by the end of the trip we'd made some new friends and requested the same dinner times so we could eat together.
It was very good food. A full menu every meal - steak & sweet potatoes or veal with mint jelly and roasted veggies for one dinner. Breakfast was custom omelettes, pancakes or oatmeal. Lunch always offered soups & salads along with a great sandwich and pasta selection. NOTHING like airplane food!!! Thank goodness!
(dessert trays every night with multiple selections including Haagen Daz ice cream! YUM!) 

Gorgeous sunset in the Rockies!
Everything was just so beautiful - it was like looking at a postcard every time you'd look out of your window.

 
We saw bridges and barns and little towns everywhere that were so 'Norman Rockwell'!

 
The Observation Car / Lounge Car was definitely the most popular. With windows going up the sides and onto the top of the car you could see everything - even the mountain tops - clearly. There were booths and tables as well as comfy large seats you could curl up in and play games (or do summer homework) any time you wanted to. The downstairs of this car (the Lounge part) had a cafe that served everything from soda to beer and munchies like candy bars and chips.

I am most thankful that we had our own room. Those poor souls stuck sleeping upright in their seats four cars back had it rough. Funniest thing - the kids DIDN'T MIND making their beds every morning on the train!
 

Our "seats" were actually a private room in the second car back from the engines.
It's a large room with six seats, a closet and the seats convert into a full bed with three bunks that fold down from above. We had the only Family Room on the train!

 
The kids loved visiting Nana & Poppy's room just upstairs from ours. We played games, read, had plenty of time for relaxed chatting and even took some nice naps! So many memories made and we hadn't even reached our destination!
The four of us adults even got to attend a private wine and cheese tasting in the dining car the second day - all Washington state wines. So good!
I absolutely recommend taking an Amtrak train trip!
It was such a unique and special way to start off our vacation!

heiroglyphics

So fun to try spelling your name! Click HERE to try it yourself online!

100%

I reached 100% of my fundraising goal for my upcoming triathlon!

$5,100 dollars raised for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

My race is coming up September 13th and it seems I'm always doing one of three things:

swimming, biking or running

Thanks for being patient with me while I've been away from my blog - there is so much to share but right now my attention is on my family and my race.

I've posted the contents of my Team In Training website here just so I have it saved.

It's been a journey, that's for sure.

16 days to go......

countdown 27 August 2009

Yesterday was my brother's 26th birthday! Today is my dad's 63rd birthday! Next Monday, September 1st will be my parent's 41st wedding anniversary! So much living going on!

I feel ready.  My journey with TNT has been emotionally cathartic and physically challenging. I've pushed myself in ways I wouldn't have normally and I'm ready to tackle the final step - the race!

A few days ago my little purple fundraising bar on this website hit 100% and you can not believe how thrilled I was! There were days I didn't think I'd raise the money and I just didn't want to fail. Other days it was the physical training that had me doubting myself. What a relief to know I'm going into the final two weeks of this journey with every loose end tied up neatly in a bow!

I'm swimming no less than a mile every other day - biking on average 22 miles every other day - and running most days 3-5 miles with a few "fun runs" of 7 or 8 miles occassionally. I'm not fast, but I'm steady!

Thanks for following my training and fundraising here on this website! I've had to delete a few of the first posts on here in order to keep on typing new ones, but I've transferred them all over to my personal blog, along with the photos, so I can keep these memories long after I'm done with my race. You can find my blog at:  www.artcanthurt.typepad.com

I'll leave you today with a quote from one of my favorite comedians, who fought cancer bravely.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” - Gilda Radner

16 days until the triathlon

news 12 August 2009

There are dates and events that you look forward to in life expectantly. Today was one of those days. Mom's test results for her 6-month PET scan came in today. This is the only news that can be worse than the cancer diagnosis itself - we have all been waiting nervously but each in our own ways.

The test results came back GOOD! There is no new cancer growth or activity! Mom is not cancer-free but with prayers and on-going Retuxin treatments her cancer is locked down and dormant right now. News doesn't get better than this!!!!!!

TODAY is why I'm doing this triathlon. I want every family who is touched by cancer to feel the weight lifted and be able to breathe again! Whether it's through treatment or research or patient assistance I know that The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is doing their part to use the funds donated to help people reclaim their lives. This morning's 6:30am mile-long swim was worth it - and every dollar you have helped me raise is money well-spent.

Thank you for your support - as of tomorrow I have only a month until the race!

practice round 2 August 2009

Yesterday Doug & I did the LaPorte Triathlon as a team. It gave me the opportunity to practice my swim-to-bike transition in a race setting - which I needed before the BIG race in D.C.

The whole family was there to support us and Doug finished the last leg of the race with a great 3.4 mile run! I was so proud of him and the kids were cheering us along the whole way. My parents were there as well and said that everything makes much more sense now that they've seen the ins-and-outs of a tri firsthand. From the numbers written on our arms to the color-coded swim caps we had to wear which denotes our swim waves, to the ankle band that held the timing chip - it all came together for all of them.

After the race I found my TNT teammate, Carl, who had also done the tri that day. He also felt great about the race (we had incredible weather!) and we're kind of getting antsy about D.C. being so close!

The kids told me they thought I looked like a crazy person running out of the water and ripping off my wetsuit, but when I explained to them that I had to get the suit off by the time I was at my bike in the transition area they understood it completely. They also couldn't get enough of touching the wetsuit - it is so soft it feels like a baby seal pelt.

All in all it was a great experience. The nap afterwards was even sweeter! It all went to show me that I've got just over a month to really push myself that much harder in order to be ready for D.C.

I've got one more practice tri before the BIG one and yesterday was invaluable with all the experience it gave me. I feel really good about yesterday's race and it was extra special to have my handsome teammate there with me!

43 days until the triathlon!

soggy but worth it 30 July 2009

Lately it has been getting harder and harder to find the time to train. I have a regiment that I follow so I'll be ready for the tri in September, but that means that my distances have been increasing steadily. Just means I train longer - I need about 28 hours in my day to get everything done.

That being said I am enjoying how this training is pushing me. People stop me all the time to ask "how's training going?" and my Mom checks in almost daily to see how I'm doing. Your support keeps me going when I don't think I can do it on my own!

I continue to be amazed at how my swimming is coming along! A month and a half ago I was winded after a few hundred meters and now I spend roughly 1 1/2 hours every other day in the water. No amount of shampoo or bodywash can get the smell of chlorine completely off me at this point!

Today I went my farthest: 2300 meters (more if you want to count my warm-up an cool-down). To break it down into layman's terms that means I did over 92 laps in the pool. It's over a mile and 1/4! Much longer than I'll have to swim in my D.C. tri, but I want to build up my stamina since swimming in open water with other people is much harder than in a pool.I saw other lap swimmers come and go out of the water I was there so long. The lifeguards have got to think I'm crazy! If all goes well I'll swim in my wetsuit on Friday and be ready for the sprint tri this Saturday that Doug & I are doing as a team so I can get some experience in the transition stages. The kids are stoked to see us race!

Cycling is steady and running will be fine as long as my right knee holds up - it's been giving me some pain lately.

Just want to thank all of you supporting me in this race and for this cause! There is still time to make a donation if you haven't already - every penny counts! We'll make it!

45 days until the triathlon!

tick tock 20 July 2009

A few days ago Doug and I were up visiting with Mom and Dad at their camper. It was a gorgeous evening - the perfect temperature and nary a mosquito in sight! As Mom and I prepared dinner side by side I mentioned to her that I had come to a realization: this summer I am half the age she is which means I am the same age she was when she had me...many, many years ago. We kind of stopped what we were doing for a moment, looked at each other and said "WOW!"

I am right where my mother was 31 years ago.

It's like for a second some time-warp thing happened and in a single 'blip' of a moment I came into my own and was more in-the-present than I had been in a long time. It just makes you THINK.

How many blessings have been bestowed upon me in the past 31 years because of my parents and their love, their strong faith and belief that our God is good - all the time. No matter what.

Seriously...my cup runneth over.

The day we are born each of us is given a finite time on this earth. There is a number of days that exists with my name on it - and yours. What we do with this time together is what matters.

"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."--Edith Wharton

**************************************************

Time is flying by. Summer is more than halfway over and I'm only 55 days away from competing in the triathlon! **big gulp**

Plane tickets have been purchased and my spot in Wash. DC is set.

I'm continuing to press onward with training: I'm in the pool at least three times a week and cycling much more easily thanks to my brother who loaned me his Trek roadbike! THANKS JONATHAN!!!

And my running...well...I am continuously being blown away by how much this cross-training is impacting my running. I feel stronger and healtheir while running - and my mile times keep getting better and better!

I'm going to be ready for this race. It's the beast I'm preparing to meet in battle. And with your help I'm going to beat it.

55 days until the triathlon!

good time 7 July 2009

Just thought I'd share that today I ran my personal best time for 3 miles ever! And it was AFTER I had just done my 500 meter swim for the day, so my muscles were a little tight. I ran 3 miles in 25:00 minutes! That might not seem fast to you but at the beginning of training just two months ago I was running 3 miles in 30:00 minutes. Big difference! Looks like the training is really paying off! Whoo hoo!

69 days until the triathlon!

Never forget your Little Girl dreams 6 July 2009

I have a beautiful sterling silver necklace that I wear. It was a gift from my husband a few years ago. Made by a local artist, each letter is stamped by hand into silver clay and then fired under intense heat. The clay burns away a reveals the sterling silver underneath. It reads 'Never forget your Little Girl dreams'.

As the mother of two little girls I wear this necklace often. Each time I put it on I think to myself 'what were my dreams? what ARE my dreams? what are my little girls dreaming of today?'. I know I used to dream of flying and of what it would be like to be a mermaid. I remember being ten years old and dreaming of having a shop where I could sell the art that I made. I remember dreams that were fantastical and those that were within my grasp. I never dreamed my mom would get cancer and that her time with us might be cut short and I would feel alone.

The reason I'm training for this triathlon is real for me every day. It's not just about fundraising to get the minimum amount needed. It's not all about wearing the right athletic shoes or eating the yummiest protein bars. Often when swimming and I've inhaled more than my share of water or I find myself running alone down a long road I think of what each person who has been diagnosed with cancer has had to face. It's intense, like the heat forced on the clay to reveal the silver of my necklace. Those with cancer have to face something they never dreamed of - and they don't have a choice about it. I think about the dreams my mom has and those I have for her and for us as a family. The other day I overheard my eight year old ask Nana if she would be there on her wedding day. My mom said that she would be no matter what. It took everything for me not to break in that moment.

I can't fix this 'cancer thing' but I'm doing what I can. Each step is one step closer. Each tight muscle and blister is worth it. Each dollar raised is that much more research there will be funds for and down the road I might not feel quite so helpless knowing I'm doing this not for myself but so others can have dreams too.

70 days until the triathlon!

Who is LAUREN (SMITH) HODGES? 8 June 2009

There seems to be some confusion as to WHO I AM as people receive my fundraising letters....apparently the names are the glitch.

I was born Lauren Smith to Larry & Susan Smith some 30-odd years ago. I married and took the name Hodges which is the last name of my two daughters, but then we divorced. When Doug Hertel and I married I opted not to take his name - I know...I know...it's confusing to you!

Basically I wanted my daughters to know that nothing about me changed when I remarried, so I kept my last name the same as theirs. We all have 'H' last names anyway so we're still The H Family!

Besides, I didn't need to have the name Hertel to be part of the family (Hi Hertels! Love you all!) and the idea of going about changing everything legally with my business was just plain daunting!

So HODGES I remain! Woohoo!

Sorry if this confused some of you (Hi Penny!) but I'm glad we got that cleared up.

97 days until the triathlon!

Daily Training 7 June 2009

So I'm already two weeks into training and I. AM. LOVING. IT!

It's pushing me to my limits and it feels great. I have really been able to evaluate what priorities are and my eating, sleeping and daily activities in general have changed.

No more soda. Very little bread. Lots of fish and chicken and the fresh veggies of the season are keeping me going: asparagus, tomatos, zucchini, etc.

I remember last summer, Mom was in the middle of her chemo and her counts were so low she was labeled "nutrapenic" (can't guarantee the spelling on that) and the worst thing about it for her was that she couldn't eat any fresh produce. No salads, no fresh cherry tomatos picked off the vine in the garden, not even blueberries or strawberries! It shocked me to learn those foods could be dangerous for her. I didn't know that even mild natural bacterias carried by produce could make her sick - it was a rough time for her. She also wasn't allowed to garden or do yard work - not that she had the energy to do that, but it still wasn't an option for the same reason: bacteria. Thankfully Mom can happily enjoy the fresh foods this year - she just reached six months in remission!

The kids have been getting into my training with me - it's been such a joy! Trev bikes with me on some of my runs and just the other day he and Mamie biked while Heidi ran with me all the way to Grandma & Grandpa's house. It's almost 3 miles! Such troupers and they're super exicited that what I'm doing is helping to raise money to make life better for Nana and others with blood-cancers!

I'll try and update this page frequently throughout my training to keep you up-to-date. If you want to see more photos of my progress check out my blog: Art Can't Hurt

Thanks for joining me in this journey - your donations make all the difference!

98 days until the triathlon!

Doing What I Can 24 May 2009

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

This is all so new to me. I just signed up for this late last week but I'm ready to go and push myself for this cause!

On May 22, 2008 an event occured that changed my life. My mother, Susan Smith, was diagnosed with cancer. I remember the very place I was standing when I heard the news - I was holding the phone, shaking and couldn't breathe. I thought that this couldn't be happening. If this is what I experienced can you imagine what my mom was feeling? In truth, nearly every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease or myeloma; we have to fund the research needed to find a cure for these cancers.

Nearly a month after her initial diagnosis my mom was told she had Stage IV Mantel Cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was everywhere. The words were not encouraging and the doctor's urgency was frightening. Within just a few days she was in for her first round of chemo. The next 8 months were a balancing act emotionally. Mom was so brave! Watching her go through her battle I knew there was something I wanted to do to help. Something tangible and physical. Yes, donating plasma and platelets is one way to help. Do it! And helping with chores around the house that she no longer had the energy for - but I though maybe I could do more.

So here I am. One year later.

I'm training to participate in an endurance event, the Nations Triathlon 2009, as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor my mother and all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Any donation you can make to help me raise money is special. Instead of buying that new shirt you could donate $25, or put off getting a new golf club and donate $50. Even a $1 donation puts me closer to reaching my minimum goal. You and I together can know we are helping make our future cancer free.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. I give you my word that I will do my part on September 13, 2009 and swim .93 miles, bike 24.9 miles and run 6.2 miles.

Today my mom is not cancer free but is in remission. Each day is a blessing and she has been sharing her story on her blog: Journey With Sus

I hope you will visit my website often - bookmark it! I'll figure out how to post pictures of my training on here and keep you up to date with things. Thanks for your support!

112 days until the triathlon!