Shamrock Shake Cupcake |
Life isn’t always about cupcakes-you know those happy free days where calories don’t matter, the sun is always shining, a rainbow is overhead and a gentle breeze helps the trees make that beautiful rustling sound.
And probably the tulips are blooming and there‘s a cute little puppy at your feet.
No, on some days we need to keep track.
We need to take stock of what we have.
We need to take stock of what we can give and we need to be grateful.
Today I’m an older mother helping my daughter raise money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
I say older because she is no longer a girl scout and I am no longer a young mom helping her sell cookies.
My daughter is running a half marathon at the end of April to raise money to save lives and find a cure to conquer blood cancer.
Every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer.
Every 10 minutes someone dies. And lest we forget, leukemia is still the number 1 disease killer of children.
Many of you may know I have twins.
I believe they have been healthy and happy most days of their 22 years.
When my son was 12 I took him to the doctor after he kept waking up nights in pain because his leg was hurting him.
I called the pediatrician several times who always said, “Growing pains”.
After he’d been through this too many nights to count I finally took him in to be checked.
The doctor immediately sent us down to Children’s Hospital in Denver where they did either a CAT scan or an MRI. I can’t remember.
I was freaking out and trying to stay calm at the same time.
Turns out he had a tumor that was most likely benign but we wouldn’t know for sure until surgery was done.
It took a few months for the surgery to be scheduled and I remember thinking I hope this doctor is right.
It became my mantra. For days. For months.
Well, he was right and it turned out to be an osteoid osteoma in his lower left tibia.
It must have hurt a lot, as it was not so quietly growing.
I remember asking this wonderful, lanky, tall, handsome, pediatric orthopaedic oncologist who also was a rodeo rider of some kind, what caused this.
He looked at me and said one word, “Luck.”
He must have noticed the quizzical look on my face and replied that it was luck because otherwise it would be cancer and it wasn’t.
That has stuck with me all these years. My son was one of the lucky ones and so were we.
Not every one is so lucky.
My grandmother died when I was, I think 9.
She was 58… I think. (I should know this…) She died in 6 weeks. From leukemia.
They didn’t know then what they do now. They still need to know a lot more. And so it is that my daughter runs.
I am proud of her. She graduated college less than a year ago and she’s trying to make her place in the world.
She’s diving right in and is not freaked out about the money the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society told her she needs to raise to be able to run.
She is training like crazy and gets to hopefully run in Washington DC at the end of April in a Nike women’s race.
Nike sponsors the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. 78% of the money raised goes to funding program services and finding a cure.
Just 22% is used for management and fundraising.
In its 10 years of sponsorship Nike has helped raise over 1.3 billion dollars and has had over half a million runners run.
This year my daughter hopes to be one of them. The society receives no federal funding. And so my daughter runs.
Yes, I am asking you for a donation. You can give a dollar. You can give five. You can give as much as you want.
No amount is too little. No amount is too much. Shoot, if you bought these cupcakes they’d be $3 apiece.
Think of this as a bake sale for leukemia.
Just like a Team in Training learns to be a team and support each other, we need to be a team and support this cause.
Check her web page out. Give. And watch my daughter run. She is one of the lucky ones. Because she can run. And run. And run.
I’m proud of her.
And back to cupcakes.
Today is bonus day. Two for the price of one.
She chose a Shamrock Shake cupcake, I think for luck, and because she loves mint.
I chose chocolate because, well, it’s chocolate.
Mine is not a traditional cupcake. I found it at this way cool site.
It is more like a chocolate chip cookie crust with a gooey chocolate chip filling.
I decided to gild the lily and top it with a delectable chocolate chip cookie flavored frosting.
But you could leave as is or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
We chose purple cupcake liners because the Team in Training color is purple.
Remember, eat a lot of cupcakes. You may have to take up running to work the calories off.
And let me say thank you. Thank you. And THANK YOU.
Please pass this on to whoever you may know that wants to support such an incredible cause.
These have several steps. But they are quick and easy. And your friends will beamazed.
Pass this on- in the name of leukemia. Help us find a cure.
Alex and Zoe |
that was most likely benign but we wouldn’t know for sure until surgery was
done. It took a few months for the surgery to be scheduled and I remember
thinking I hope this doctor is right. It became my mantra. For days. For
months. Well, he was right and it turned out to be an osteoid osteoma in his
lower left tibia. It must have hurt a lot as it was not so quietly growing. I
remember asking this wonderful, lanky, tall, handsome, pediatric orthopaedic
oncologist who also was a rodeo rider of some kind, what caused this. He looked
at me and said one word, “Luck.” He must have noticed the quizzical look on my
face and replied that it was luck because otherwise it would be cancer and it
wasn’t. That has stuck with me all these years. My son was one of the lucky
ones and so were we.
My grandmother died when I was, I think 9. She was 58… I think. (I should know
this…) She died in 6 weeks. From leukemia. They didn’t know then what they do
now. They still need to know a lot more. And so it is that my daughter runs.
graduated college less than a year ago and she’s trying to make her place in
the world. She’s diving right in and is not freaked
out about the money the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society told her she needs to raise
to be able to run. She is training like crazy and gets to hopefully run in Washington DC
at the end of April in a Nike women’s race.
Her 2nd Half Marathon less than 2 months after emergency surgery. |
78% of the money raised goes to funding program services and finding a cure. Just
22% is used for management and fundraising. In its 10 years of sponsorship Nike
has helped raise over 1.3 billion dollars and has had over half a million
runners run. This year my daughter hopes to be one of them. The society
receives no federal funding. And so my daughter runs.
donation. You can give a dollar. You can give five. You can give as much as you
want. No amount is too little. No amount is too much. Shoot, if you bought
these cupcakes they’d be $3 apiece. Think of this as a bake sale for leukemia. Just
like a Team in Training learns to be a team and support each other, we need to
be a team and support this cause. Check her web page out. Give. And watch my
daughter run. She is one of the lucky ones. Because she can run. And run. And run.
You can even eat cupcakes with beer! |
Today is bonus day. Two for the price of one. She chose a Shamrock Shake
cupcake, I think for luck and because she loves mint.
because, well, it’s chocolate. Mine is not a traditional cupcake. I found it at
this way cool site. It is more like a chocolate chip cookie crust with a gooey
chocolate chip filling. I decided to gild the lily and top it with a delectable
chocolate chip cookie flavored frosting. But you could leave as is or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
the Team in Training color is purple. Remember, eat a lot of cupcakes. You may
have to take up running to work the calories off.
Donate Now! Go Here Now!!!!!!!!!! |
you. And THANK YOU. Please pass this on to whoever you may know that wants to
support such an incredible cause.
These
have several steps. But they are quick and easy. And your friends will be
amazed.
Pass this on- in the name of leukemia. Help us find a cure.
to Better Homes and Gardens
Toll House Cupcakes |
Cupcakes for a Cure or Watch My Daughter Run
- Yield: 16 1x
Ingredients
Batter:
1/2 c butter
6 T sugar
6 T brown sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 c plus 2 T flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Filling:
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 t salt
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped toasted walnuts (I didn’t use any)
1/2 t vanilla
Cookie Dough Flavored Frosting
(This is worth a donation alone!)
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
1/3 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
1/4 t salt
1 T milk
1/2 tvanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and egg. Stir in dry ingredients.
Drop by rounded tablespoons into 16 lined muffin cups. Press down gently so batter covers bottom of cup.
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
Filling:
Mix together and spoon 1 T over baked cookie cups. Do not worry if they puff up. They will deflate.
Bake at 375 for 13 minutes. Cool.
Frosting:
Put all into mixer and cream until light and fluffy. This will take several minutes. When cupcakes are cool, they are ready to frost.
The ooey, gooey-ness! |
Abbe Odenwalder
Thursday 21st of March 2013
Thanks Ramya! I totally agree!
ramya
Thursday 21st of March 2013
Your kids are great! Awesome cup cakes!
Abbe Odenwalder
Tuesday 12th of March 2013
So true Laura. It definitely makes you wonder. But on the other hand, the survival rate has improved a lot.They must be doing something but it sure seems to be a slooow process.
Laura Dembowski
Tuesday 12th of March 2013
That is so great that your daughter is running for such a great cause! I have no idea why we haven't yet begun to find cures for cancer. We think we are so smart and yet no revolutionary medical advances have been made in decades. Think about how the polio vaccine or tetanus vaccine was created all those years ago with probably less than half the technology we have now.
Abbe Odenwalder
Sunday 10th of March 2013
Thanks Amy. It is a great cause! And the cupcakes are good, too!