Food Fight Friday - Cupcakes for Cancer

What the Shmuck...
How did Friday roll around so quickly?!

In fairness it has been a busy week around here.
So before we start slingin' food at each other
I have a quick update..

Yes...Sorry to bring up that ol' C word again,
But like I said before,
You just never know when Cancer hijacks your life...
and your Blog!

Though today is a Happy Happy Update.
We're all smiles here as I just passed my 1 yr checkup!
Can I get a Whooop Whoooop!

What better celebration food to make than..

Cupcakes!




This is my absolute go-to recipe,
It never fails and makes super moist yummy cupcakes.
They are also Vegan....if you skip the icing part!
For the chooch's 2nd birthday,
That was a big deal for a 5yr old guest who had dairy allergies,
It was the first time she could actually eat the birthday cake
with everyone else!
And, No raw eggs means....
kids really CAN lick the spoons and bowl!

So here's the recipe, and then I'm running for cover...

Sling it Lovelies!

Wacky Chocolate Cupcakes!

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
3-4 Tbsp Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt

Mix all dry ingredients together
Then add:

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Vinegar (white distilled)
5 Tbsp Veg. Oil
1 Cup Water (lukewarm)

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners, fill 3/4 full
Makes 12 standard size / 24 mini
Bake at 325 F for 35 - 40 min.

Alternately you can also bake this in an 8"x 8" square pan
(bake 45 - 50 min)

Buttercream Icing

3/4 Cup Butter (room temp)
2 1/4 Cups Icing sugar
3 Tbsp Boiling water
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Beat butter to soften,
add all other ingredients and Beat until smooth.

scarf down 2 before slinging...
errrr I mean...
No I didn't!

Ps: Did you catch last weeks food fight?!
Sara in Akko was our Top Slinger
with her scrummy Rainbow!



Thank you for the awesome tutorial Sara!

pss.. Don't forget to grab a button...
It's just nice ya know!



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Sharing the Love:
Favorite Things Friday
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
21st Century Housewife

Sunday Best

Just a quick update for you today. We're off to a BarBQ and with all the luck in the world it will be our last without the Fhubby! He finally left Antigua (after they arrived with a hole blown in the main engine exhaust) last Saturday. Which would put the countdown today at 7 or 8 days to Gibralter!

So it's a happy day and I just felt like putting on the Sunday best for the day!
I finally bought myself a cute Maxi dress and after some crochet embellishing and altering I can actually wear it! Not an easy task when you've got cleave and not cleavage!

Harrruuuuumph!

And when Fhubby left 4 months ago I still didn't have hair, Oh glorious hair! I thought I'd celebrate that by whipping up a little shabby flower hairband to match the new dress.

Happy Sunday!

Enjoy a day of rest as we're kicking off a big project tomorrow!

Quilting Me a Straight Jacket!

So this is what my creative space looked like last week!

After dragging my butt back into the drug den I decided to creatively fight back at this one. I went in armed with my dear friend Foxy, who not only came to hold my hand but was willing to take up the scizzors and battle some felt with me during my 4 hour stint in the little room of horror.

I was planning to couch hop over the weekend and attend a christmas party, so was madly trying to get some goodies finished for the kids. ( I did mention Chemo makes you slightly mad didn't I) So to the couch I went to overcome my side effects and my insane self induced crafting deadline.

I think they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

And a big WhoooooBloodyRahhhhh, as not only did I not have to use that lovely shiny sickie bucket, but I also managed to attend said Christmas party only mildly feeling like an overgrown construction worker had hit me in the back of the head with a 2 x 4 plank!

C'est La Vie...

Good friends, Christmas cheer and a Bucks Fizz or 2 and I was happy enough to flip that Builder the Bird!

_________________________________

Another project I had on the go...

Ohhhhhhhh it's so delicious I just swoon every time I look at it.

I attended a rummage sale a few weeks ago and whilst Fhubby sat in the car with a snoring toddler,

I went searching for treasures....

and found

this!!!

Is She not Gorgeous!!!!!

You should have seen the look on Fhubbies face when I held her up in front of the windshield.... all beat up with broken dangly bits and 'no love' written all over her.

Fortunately my craziness amuses him!

And unfortunately for you, I misplaced my camera the day I started to deconstruct her so wasn't able to take a proper Before picture which truly would have given you a sense of just how much the Fhubby must love me!

Ok...she sure was scruffy, but..
"She followed me home Honey... we just have to keep her!!!

You'll have to stay tuned for her unveiling!

And yet another new project on the go (I told you I felt good the week before Chemo!!!) I had begun a new line of Shabby Chic Boutique Buntings.

I'm so excited to start digging into my fabric stash and start creating these!
Definitely on this weeks to-do list now that I'm back on my feet, and might just have to get crackin before that 'Final Round' date sneaks up on me.

Hmmmm, you might just see these again for that celebratory give-away. ?!?!?!

Right Oh...I got some work to do! Hasta Proxima Xo

Sharing, Caring, and Tantrums OH MY!

Today is Chemo number 5!
I DO NOT want to get in that chair!!!
And yet...It's one more mile on the road to the finish line...
But this Mama just wants to kick up a huge fuss, chuck a wobbly, drop my bottom lip and hope someone much stronger then my steroid rage will be able to throw me over their shoulder and drop me into it for my own good!

Harrumph!

But honestly, I feel great, (don't make me go!) I always feel great in the 3rd week after treatment.(oh I want to stay home!) I feel coherent (please) and focused (NO NO NO) and am crafting like a maniac ... seriously...grab some ear plugs cause I'm going in screaming!

So I didn't win the giveaway, darn it.
However I did happen to fall upon the motherload of all giveaways hosted by Sew Mama Sew!
So here I sit madly blog surfing and entering and posting comments and being inspired and wishing I had just a few more days of feeling great to get everything done, and wishing I had found the contest earlier to participate and share in the giving.


Well I didn't, so no giveaway from Choochmagooz this year. However, a lovely sense of calm came over me when I thought about entering the great giveaway next year.
Ahhhhh, Next year. How often I have uttered those words in the past 9 months as we've navigated this road through (H.E.double hockey sticks!)

Next Year I can travel again,
Next Year I'll relaunch the shop
Next year I'll have my memory back
Next Year I'll stop typing backwards
Next Year mummy can take you for a bike ride!

Next Year won't be taken for granted.

So although I have missed out in entering the great giveaway this year, I have decided in celebration of my FINAL Chemo treatment on Christmas Eve and the gift of a clean bill of health for the New Year, that I would start 2010 with a Giveaway of my own.

Check back the first week of January for your chance to win something special and to Celebrate with Me, Fhubby and Jax as we turn "Next Year"...into "Today!"

In the meantime if you're keen to win some fantastic goodies from all over the globe...head over to Sew,Mama,Sew and check out the Participants master list...make sure you're comfy, well fed and have gone to the loo, cause there's a whole lot to win!

Together, We will beat Breast Cancer

So What are you doing tomorrow???

Come and get yourself pampered for a great cause, and find some lovely Choochmagooz goodies there too.

Sara's mother and I were coincidentally in the chop shop on the same day this year so it has touched her life quite profoundly. I am so glad that in the midst of all of this there is someone who can take up the cause and do something positive. Thank you also to Susie and Katie, and our own dear Cynthia who are working hard to bring you a wonderful day to help us fight together.

Hope to see you there!

Not quite the stuff we kids grew up on!!!

Whoaaaaa Mildred...that's one heck of a cocktail!

So I'm having a wild flashback... one of those I can't believe I had the figure to wear THAT, and hey check out the Ta-Ta´s...holy perky...Well hello goodlookin, Sure I'd love a cocktail, Killer Koolaid please, Sweet!..23 yr old kinda flashback.

Unfortunately..This flashback has come with it's own hangover!


Oh wait I'm not dreaming, I'm stuck smack in the middle of treatment land, 3 down and 3 to go.. not quite la la land but darn near close to it.

So here's the low down...Chemo makes you crazy..seriously, if the steroids don't get ya, then the memory loss is sure to finish the job. I'd live in a post-it note wallpaper hell but I can't remember where I put the post it notes...so forget it.

So far the side effects are manageable, not pleasant certainly, but manageable.

See that nice ol' needle there...notice the water bottle and computer charger in the background...That Ain't no small thing that!!! But hello anti nausea drug....you go on and be as big as you want!!!

And then there is that Killer Koolaid itself...my toxic drip, really...not as bad as it sounds considering the job it's doing...but the 4 day hangover....well if I can flashback to the hangover that a few rounds of the original cocktail would induce back in my twenties, I'd have to say it's probably more on par if I'd had more than a few rounds... staggered out of the pub....walked full tilt into the nearest lightpost... bounced back...staggered off the sidewalk... and done a barrel roll off the hood of a VW. Not that I've ever had a personal experience of that magnitude...but man can I imagine it now!

And the number one side effect...of course...I've gone to the Bald side!

Seriously though...it's pretty cool over here...you get to be as crazy as you want AND...they've got cookies (shhhh...that's a secret!...thx JammiPammi)


Stay tuned for some crazy tales from the bald side....it's been one hell of a ride!

Let them Eat Cake!

Introducing the latest trend in Leisure wear!....at least that's what it seemed to me as I underwent 3 surgeries in less than 2 months!
It's been an interesting ride so far. I underwent a unilateral Mastectomy (removal of just the right breast) with no reconstruction (channeling my amazonian sista's) and a sentinel node biopsy in which they just removed the first lymph node. I awoke to cheery faces and the good news that my lymph node was clear of stray cancer cells.

So with Fhubby, my mum, her friend Denyse and good friends around I was able to manage recovery quite swiftly considering. And must have had some good drugs cause I decided that getting my hair chopped 3 days out of hospital would be a good idea as well! Fhubby wasn't too pleased unfortunately as he thought I was looking mighty fine and had to get back on a plane that afternoon and return to the boat!!! oops! Well there´s always Skype!

Jump forward 1 week and I was feeling pretty good...only to be met with the news at my regular doc visit, that a 3rd test was preformed on the lymph node...(well who the bleedin heck said that 3 times is the charm!!!) Sorry to say, but they did in fact find cancer cells in the node which would qualify me the lucky winner of another trip to the chop shop! This time to remove the lymph nodes from under my right arm. Never mind the lack of coordination in movement I was about to face...do you know how difficult it is to coordinate time for all this stuff when your Fhubby is away, your mum and friend are about to depart back to Canada, and your daughter is about to turn 3!!! Thank goodness my Doc has a sense of humor! We immediately made arrangements for a relief engineer to cover for Fhubby and he was on a flight back by the end of the following week, which gave me just enough time to execute a birthday party for Jax which would take place the day before my 3rd and hopefully final surgery.

Now of course when I started this blog it was intended to be a blog about crafts and art and everything fun. I had not intended for cancer to sabotage it! But now I have a blog about Breast Cancer and crafts...weird. Crafting however, is my therapy so you'll have to forgive me if you think I went a little overboard with her party decorations! But big thanks to Mum and Denyse who helped all the way through and didn't mind taking my scatter brained instructions. So here's a few pics from the hurricanes 3rd birthday extravaganza... (will post some of her finished kitchen pics as soon as I get a new camera!!!)


Oh and as for results from the surgeries...all subsequent lymph nodes came back clear as well as my recent bone scan. So now we've just got the Chemo to get through and will let ya know how that is going as we progress...

Crafts and Cancer???! ....oh well!

Get fresh Squeezed!

This poster just made me Laugh, which is a good thing as I needed one today. It´s available from Cafe Press and I highly suggest all you gals get one and put it up in your bathroom, boudoir or anywhere you´re likely to have your girls out neckid as a reminder to do a quick check!

So 2 days ago I left my doctors office with the news that I had officially been initiated into the Ta-Ta Sisterhood. It appears that not only was the lemon sour, but somehow it was left to ferment a bit too long. My official diagnosis is IDC or Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. So much for it´s just cysts and fibrous tissue! I´ll most likely be slow on the blog front over the next few weeks as I rest and recover from my Mastectomy scheduled for this coming Tuesday.

When I was a young girl my father and I had the chance to ride in a hot-air balloon courtesy of a friend who had won it on a radio program. Along for the ride was a woman and her 80 yr old mother. Now to a kid, 80 is far out there old (sorry...but true) so the fact that she was up there taking a thrill ride made quite an impression. Imagine how gobsmacked I was to hear that she was scheduled to go hang-gliding the following weekend. Holy WOW Grandma you got some big bazoongaz!!! (or at least that´s what went through my head)

I will never forget that day. That day determined the course of my life. On that day, I vowed to be That woman. I didn´t make 10 or 20 yr plans...I didn´t say that I wanted to have a house and a car and a husband by the age of 30. On that day I vowed that by the age of 80 I wanted to be able to say that I had lived life to the fullest, no matter what, the good and the bad, I wanted to experience it, embrace it and Live it! I suppose in retrospect I probably should have added some fine print in there, but such as it is, this is my life...this is part of my experience.

I will face it, I will fight it and when I am 80 I will be able to say...I Lived it!

(And perhaps I´ll inspire some other pimple faced kid to utter under their breath...Holy Wow Granny..you got some big Bazoonga!)

Cancer sucks!

Well I just couldn´t think of any other title!
I was hoping for my pathology reports today and unfortunately have to wait until next Tuesday. Apparently they´re running several new tests on the lemon and they´re going to take a little longer. Best be thorough I suppose, but this waiting is driving me crazy. So all I can say really is ¨Cancer Sucks!¨ even without a diagnosis, this process is horrendous.

However...What Really Sucks.... Cancer in children

It breaks my heart and puts my situation into perspective for me. So I wanted to share a story with you today. It´s about Cancer, lemonade and a truly inspirational little girl.

Alexandra "Alex" Scott was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer, shortly after her first birthday. She was a determined, strong willed toddler who by the age of 4 informed her mother that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand in her front yard. She wasn´t hoping for pocket money to buy some lollies at the shop, or even for new toys, she wanted to give the money to her doctors to help them find a cure.

At the age of 8 in 2004, Alex passed away with the knowledge that she and her supporters had raised over $1 million.

Today, Alex´s legacy lives on in the form of Alex´s Lemonade Stand Foundation, and has raised more than $25 million.

Now that´s making lemonade!

So make yourself a glass, then drop into their site and drop some change (or more) into their donation jar. Because until NO child is suffering from cancer, it will never be enough!

When Life deals you lemons...

Jeeze...cliff hanger, sorry about that!
Kind of left you after scheduling appointments with my new Doctor and forgot to get back and update!
Well, my new doctor is Lovely. She looked over all of my records and tests, arranged to get a copy of my biopsy report, and within 3 days had me scheduled for a lumpectomy to suit my schedule (fhubby home, childcare...all that rabble) We chose to go for a full lumpectomy rather than another biopsy so that we would have 100% certainty when it came to the pathology report.

So here I am, out of surgery, home resting, fhubby cooking, cleaning and child minding, with nothing to do but reflect on this whole experience and wait for my final results.

So I have been thinking a lot about sisterhood.
I distinctly recall the strange sensation of having joined an exclusive and secret group when I was pregnant with Jax. Everywhere I went I received little smiles and nods and out of what seemed like nowhere came the mothers of the world. Wow who knew this existed?! It wasn´t until I had actually given birth that I felt fully initiated into this sisterhood of Mothers.

And now I find myself standing on the edge of the TaTa Sisterhood, Brave and courageous women touched by Breast Cancer, those battling fiercely and those surviving. And just as before I find myself in awe of the strength and power of this sisterhood. I do not want initiation into this group, no one does, but control is not ours. And I am grateful for these sisters for their guidance, their support and their words of knowledge and encouragement.

So today I am making that lemonade....Sour or sweet, you may add sugar as you like. And I raise my glass in honour of women everywhere, Sisters.

ps. Stay tuned for Thursdays results: When I´ll be adding either vodka...or champagne!

What Kind of Net would catch a fickle muse???

Yes I know I have been neglecting my poor infant blog, it´s been a bit hectic around here and I needed some much needed rest. I also needed to paint...I never know when or why that urge hits me but as my muse is fickle I tend to jump up and grab the paintbrush asap before she changes her mind. So I pulled out some wee chipboard letters that we bought for Jax on a trip to Australia and finally decided to do something with them. I think they turned out rather nicely (excuse the shameless patting of my own back!) and I can´t wait to hang them in her room. Of course I´m still waiting for my muse to get up enough gusto to attack her walls but so far she´s being really, Really lazy about that!

Another project I have been neglecting is Jax play kitchen. We decided against the plastic shop bought versions and started looking for really nice wood ones. Well, there´s certainly many to choose from these days but the prices are ridiculous, and I can´t stand ridiculous pricing! Especially on something that is still manufactured. So instead we bought some kids shelving units and after making templates for the doors and counters we passed it along to a local woodworking friend to help us out. (bottles of wine are soooo much better as payment in my book!) So whilst I had the paints out, let the projects commence! I suppose posting about it will be good incentive to get it finished and show you some final results, with luck...before her 3rd Birthday.

Right, now as we´re on the topic of neglect, I suppose I should also update you all on ¨Lemongate¨ After a week of waiting for my biopsy reports I finally broke down and called the doctor and demanded some answers... ¨Well, have you had your MRI yet, you need to have this as soon as possible as you have a malignancy and we need to get you into surgery¨ Nice....don´t try to cushion that news or anything... so I asked what exactly the Biopsy reported...what KIND of cancer where we dealing with???.¨Well I don´t know, I don´t have the results here so call me back in 1 hour and I´ll find out¨ HUH???

So after one of the longest hours of my life I called back only to find out that the results of the 7 samples he took were in fact NEGATIVE but still suspicious, huh?? Well that could be due to the fact that he used my 2007 Mammo´s to get the core samples and was probably just stabbing around at the original mass of nothing.

To top it all he insisted he did not have my new records and that he had given them back to me in the O.R. Well no dingbat...those would be the 2007 ones you gave me. Argggg

So to make a long story short, I proceeded to pick up my new records from His office, undergo the MRI at a New hospital, and find a New doctor whom I will be seeing this Wednesday to go over all results and hopefully...Hopefully...get some straight answers. I´ll keep ya posted!

Life is to be Treasured

Today is Dirty Friday!

Yay.....we Love Dirty Friday!

And no Not that kind of dirty!.....Today is the day we gather with good friends and let the kids get Messy, Dirty and paint splattered. It´s our favorite kind of day. Our other favorite kind of day is hunting for treasures. Lovely strolling quiet mornings spent at the sea side wondering what the waves have brought us this time. Forget the sound of the waves....I´m forever hearing the familiar sound of sea shells clanging in my washing machine from forgotten pant pockets!

Unfortunately today is also a day I have spent hours trying to sort out some urgent health issues and medical appointments. You see I am in the process of determining whether or not the Lemon sized mass in my breast, which was okay last year but seems to have wandered off the table this year, is in fact an okay Lemon, or a very sour one. For lack of a better way to put it! I won´t go into mumbo jumbo medical terms, and I´m not putting this out there for any sort of sympathy vote (anyone who knows me would agree that I´m just too forward and practical for that...I´m also Canadian remember...which means I´ll feel bad if I´ve made you feel bad and then we´ll both feel bad without knowing what to say to each other and then who the hell is going to make the lemonade!?) Anywhoooo...I´ve had several friends rally around recently who really make me smile. They make me laugh and take my mind off the worry and don´t mind if I make poor taste jokes to keep myself upbeat. They are my Treasures.

Everyday I am thankful for the treasures that have washed upon my shores, My dear supportive, funny, quirky, StarWars Nerd Fhubby, my grubby, happy, seriously funny hurricane head Jax, my Family on both sides of the hemisphere, and my wonderful friends both near and far.

In honour of these we are making Treasure Boxes tonight for Dirty Friday. Special little treasure keepers for the grubs to build their own collections. For every shell and twig and rock is usually found in a special moment and a box full of memories and love is the best treasure of all!

I´ll update with some photo´s of their creations after we´ve swept the last of the mess under the rug!