Avon Breast Cancer Walk - Oct 2011

Wow.. so much to catch everyone up on...
In late October, Missy, Amy and I were honored to participate in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Charlotte NC. It was a fun filled weekend but very humbling the same. I walked 13.1 miles on Saturday and another 13.1 miles on Sunday for a total of 26.2 miles. I raised $1982 and together the 3 of us raised over $5600 to go towards Breast Cancer research and treatment with the majority of the money staying right here in NC.

There were many amazing things as we walked along... walking through Myers Park, where the big oaks lined the streets and all had big pink bows hanging on them. People were in their driveways handing out candy, water, donuts, coffee and even girl scout cookies... all saying Thank you and cheering us on. The saviors of the weekend were some Harley guys as we called them who came up from Atlanta and worked the intersections to ensure we could cross safely. These gentlemen wore tutus over their leathers and painted the go-tees pink to cheer us on. They provided such a lift to us walkers and reminded us why we were there. Hearing a complete stranger say to you "have I told you today what a wonderful job you are doing"... it just gives you that little extra lift you need to carry on. As you can imagine walking this much and attending an event like this offers lots of time to think... lots of time to reflect on what we have and all of our blessings. One out of every 10 women I walked with were breast cancer survivors. Next time you are with a group of women.. think about that... one out of ten of us... it was an emotional weekend and something I am so proud I did... and I hope to do again in the future!!

Just thought I would finally start getting some of this down... without the love and support of friends and family though... this wouldn't have been possible! What an awesome memory!!

Day 2 dinner - crock pot

Tonight's dinner was not an internet recipe.. but instead just a Hormel Cure 81 ham cooked on low all day with some pineapple slices thrown in there.. some mashed potatoes, seasoned lima beans and rolls... yeap.. good old southern comfort food right there!!!

My new crock pot obsession...

Sounds weird right... a co worker gave me a recipe that his wife makes off the internet for crock pot rissotto.. so this woman in 2008 cooked in her crock pot every single day... for a whole year... amazing I tell you... the neat thing is people comment so you can get other's opinions on how the meal was.. plus any changes they made.... its easy to get sucked right on in...
I have bookmarked my first few recipes to try... and last night was recipe #1.. buffalo chicken lasagna... it was great!! The family loved it... and it will make a great recipe for these winter football games and such.... I posted it on facebook and lots of people wanted the recipe... I haven't confessed yet that I am pulling them all from a website.. hahaha.... how mean of me!!!

Jim was home.. now gone again...

Jim was home... and we really enjoyed spending time with him!! While home, he made a family trip to Disney... a lunch with work peeps and a football Sunday cookout at our house...
It was so good to see him and now the count down begins until he is home for good... 4 more months!!! Yeah...