You've Got Mail....

If you want to send us some Tiara Love while we're on the 3-Day, here's the address!

Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT
P.O. Box 126496
Benbrook, TX 76126

Do You Have Boobies? Do You Love Someone Who Does???

I cross-posted this on my Facebook account tonight, but it's too good not to put it on here as well.

Okay gang.... Right now, Team Tiara has 42 registered walkers. To reach our fundraising goal we really need about 80. I've tried to come up with a great list of reasons you should walk with us. Feel free to add others you can come up with!!!

1. You have Boobies.
2. You love someone who has Boobies.
3. It's easier than Chemo.
4. Suzi Bruin will carry your luggage.
5. We'll raise millions of $$ for breast cancer research and education.
6. You haven't lived until you've pee'd in a port-o-potty that's draped with a garland of really big bras.
7. Pink Beard Barry.
8. You get to sleep in a pink tent.
9. Chocolate never tasted so good.
10. Imagine thousands of people cheering YOU on.
11. 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer.
12. An estimated 1,910 MEN will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 440 will die.
13. You can ride in the Boobie Mobile.
14. You have a daughter.
15. You are someone's daughter.
16. Pink is definitely your color.
17. You get to eat snacks every three miles!
18. You haven't lived till you've seen men in tutus.
19. 85% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.
20. For 3 days, the world is as it should be.
21. You want to make a difference.
22. You're in great shape.
23. You wish you were in great shape.
24. You've heard rumors of peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches.
25. Real men wear pink.
26. "There's a guy who loves Boobies!"
27. You have a wife.
28. You wish you had a wife.
29. 3000 women. 500 men. Talk about great odds!
30. You know it takes a LOT of money to fund a CURE.
31. You want to help promote awareness -- self-exams are you best defense!
32. A world without breast cancer isn't just a dream -- it WILL be a reality.
33. You loved my Mom.
34. You loved YOUR Mom.
35. You know how to Fight Like a Girl.
36. Hot Pink feather boas are the way to go!
37. Free massages.
38. You know someone who's going through chemo.
39. You've held a loved one's hand while they went through chemo.
40. You're turning 40 this year.
41. You need a good challenge.
42. You've never taken a shower in a converted semi truck.
43. You don't want to be a statistic.
44. You live in the DFW area -- and don't even have to travel to the walk!
45. We're going to be walking by your house anyway -- why don't you join us?
46. You're one of my best friends.
47. If I, D'Lyn Biggs, am giving up a cool November weekend to do this -- for the FOURTH year in a row -- there's got to be something to it!
48. You really don't have to worry about raising the money -- people want to help!
49. You don't have to walk all 60 miles -- you can always hitch a ride on a shuttle bus!
50. You've always wanted to know more about blister care.
51. What's that moleskin stuff, anyway?
52. You could end up in a Nation-wide advertising campaign!
53. Body Glide is soooo smooth!
54. You could end up wearing your tentmate's sports bra -- yikes!
55. It's a great way to test
your very cold-rated sleeping bag!
56. You can learn about motor boatin'.
57. It's a great excuse to buy new shoes.
58. Do you know 46 people who could donate $50 each? You're there!
59. A weekend with Anthony Patton. 'Nuf said.
60. You get to experience every possible emotion -- in just three days.
61. Pink camo rocks!
62. Talk about a natural high -- just watch your fundraising meter rise!
63. Elimnate breast cancer before you daughters are old enough to know what a mammogram is. 64. Boobies. Boobies. Boobies.
65. How many words can you think of for boobies??
66. I'll show you my bra.
67. Test your balance by trying to pee in a port-o-potty at 3:00 a.m. while trying to keep your flashlight from falling in the hole.
68. Rest. Refuel. Rehydrate. And pee.
69. 60 miles = 4500 calories burned. Cool.
70. The Tammys.
71. It's like a free pass to be completely silly for three days.
72. We have the coolest spokesperson on the planet!
73. You will feel like a queen. Or king. Or athlete. Or superhero.
74. Walking and talking is incredible therapy.
75. You can finally stomp your foot and have your say.
76. If walking 60 miles is crazy, why would you want to be normal???
77. Cancer Sucks.
78. You can meet my sister -- the Trash Lady.
79. You can meet my other sister -- the Queen of the Walker Stalkers.
80. Get "wrapped" by someone who knows what they're doing.
81. It's a great excuse to hit Academy or REI.
82. Suzi & I are on the cover of the Merchandise Catalog.
83. Forget the whales -- save the boobies.
84. You get to yell cute things like "Check your chi-chi's!"
85. Random people you've never met will let you pee in their bathrooms.
86. You can love on puppies and babies all along the way.
87. It's a 60-mile buffet.
88. It's 60 miles of ministry.
89. Linda and her motorcycle, Grace.
90. The kind of humor that only those who have been affected by breast cancer can share.
91. When is a mile really a mile?
92. Karaoke, Karaoke, Karaoke.
93. Don't forget to lock the port-o-potty door.
94. Try finding your ONE tent in a sea of 1500 matching pink tents.
95. If your port-o-potty doesn't have TP, you can call Suzi on your cell phone and she'll bring you some.
96. You've never seen so many decorations involving boobies!
97. Save Second Base.
98. "We must! We must! We must save our busts!"
99. When you hit a wall, and think you can't go one step further, a survivor will pass you. She won't have any hair. And you'll find out what it means to go the extra mile.
100. Isaiah 40:31.
101. My Mom will be there. She is every year. I promise.
102. It will change your life.

Do you "get it??" Register online at www.the3day.org/goto/tiaras.

Prepare to Spew Diet Coke All Over Your Computer Monitor.....

Warning:

This isn't all family-friendly.

But good night, it's funny!

Prayers, Please....

My sweet, sweet friend Ruthie Cahill needs your prayers today. When Kelly and Ruthie were here last week, her oncologist and radiologist were trying to determine whether a "spot" in her abdomen was matastasized ovarian cancer.

Ruthie's oncologist was supposed to meet with a group of her colleagues yesterday to hammer out an answer.

Ruthie should hear something today.

Please pray for her.

I Don't Have a Laptop....

But if I did, I'd have to get me one of these.

On Boobies and Bike Riding....

Training for 30 miles in three days is a lot different than training for 60 miles in three days. For one, my feet don't hurt nearly as much as they usually do at this point in the season. Where my friends are doing 10-12 mile training walks, I'm doing 4-5. It's not all bad.

It's all for the boobies....

Since I know better than to walk every day on my feetsies, I've been cross-training on my bike. Walking the kids to school every morning gives me a mile. On Monday and Wednesday, I walked 4 and 5 miles. Tuesday and today I rode my bike. Twelve-point-two miles on Tuesday; 15. 5 today.

Along the way, I've come up with some observations.

1. Duck poop is messy.
2. Duck poop can be rather large. Like really large.
3. Someone has placed rat bait traps over by the lakes, so I must not be the only one in Fairfield with rat nightmares.
4. Praise God for Body Glide.
5. My hiney hurts.
6. Landscape guys are pretty desperate -- they still give me "the eye." Or are they wondering if I'm going to fall off my bike??

I've also learned how to ride a long ways.

1. Ride five miles while struggling, wondering how you let your legs get so weak.
2. At mile 4.40, realize you forgot to put air in your tires.
3. Ride home and put air in your tires.
4. The next 10 miles will be a breeze!

If You Don't Donate to the 3-Day....

You just might find

a surprise

in your yard!!!

We Need Your Help

Hi Ya’ll,

Were you wondering if I had given up on the breast cancer 3-Day? Not on your life! This year will be my fourth year to do the walk. In years’ past, I’ve written a 3-Day update by mid-July. But not this year.

This year has been a struggle. I’ve been putting off writing this letter until I had a grasp of how many miles I would be able to walk this year, but I still don’t know. My feet continue to be an issue. As of right now, my goal is to walk at least 10 miles a day. We’ll just have to see.

I’ve struggled with how to ask you to support a 60-mile walk when I’m not sure I can walk all 60 miles. But you know what? This isn’t just about walking 60 miles. This is about saving lives.

As I’ve struggled with the walking end of this gig, breast cancer has continued to take its toll. My friend Sonja passed away this spring, leaving two precious little girls without a Mommy. After months of chemo, my friend Ann’s lumpectomy is scheduled for August 31. She’s my age, with twin girls who just started Kindergarten.

And it’s not just breast cancer. My dear friend Ruthie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer this spring. As I write this, her oncologist is conferring with other doctors to determine whether or not they think her cancer has spread. Elise Goertz, a first grader at Keith, got her angel wings in January after facing leukemia for the third time.

Those stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Cancer just keeps coming at us. And we have got to do something about it.

Two years ago, I made this crazy commitment to walk 60 miles in three days (and sleep in a tent) to help find a cure for breast cancer. My friend Lisa and I walked in honor of my Mom, and we raised about $6000.

In 2007, Team Tiara was officially born, and 17 of us raised over $38,000. It’s hard to describe what that weekend meant to me – walking in memory of my Mom. It meant so much to have those dear friends, and all of your prayers, hold me up along the way.

In 2008, 60 Tiara walkers joined forces to raise $125,000. What an incredible experience!

Now it’s time for the next chapter…. This year, we already have 40 walkers signed up to walk with Team Tiara, and we’ve raised over $43,000 so far. When all is said and done, our goal is to raise over $150,000. We’ll be walking November 6-8.

At this point our fundraising is down from last year. I’m sure it has something to do with the economy. But we can’t let that stop us. Breast cancer doesn’t care about the economy. It doesn’t select its victims by race, age or even gender.

My goal is to personally raise $20,000. I know. It’s a big number. But this is a big disease. And it’s going to take a lot to stop it. Statistics show one out of every three people will face cancer in their lifetime. One in six women will have breast cancer. We need your help – and your continued prayers.

You can walk with Team Tiara – As a walker, you will be introduced to many “firsts.” You’ll sleep in a pink tent, take showers in a converted semi trailer, dine on peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches and become an expert on blister care. You will laugh at the kind of jokes only breast cancer survivors can come up with. You’ll cry over people’s stories and share your own. And in the process you’ll help raise millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education. You can check out the Team Tiara website at http://the3day.org/goto/tiaras. On that website you will find a button that says, “Join D’Lyn’s Team.” Just take it from there.

You can donate to Team Tiara -- Without you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. The money you donate goes directly to research, education, awareness and services…. You can donate online at http://the3day.org/goto/imissmymom. You can donate by phone – just call 1-800-996-3329. My walker ID number is 1434066. If you prefer to donate by check, you can make it out to “Breast Cancer 3-Day” and send it to me. I will attach one of the new donation slips and send it to the 3-Day bank! And of course, all donations are tax-deductible. Before I go.... I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you to “check your chi-chi’s” and make sure the women in your life get regular mammograms! As I said earlier, breast cancer knows no age or gender boundaries. You are your best defense!

Many Blessings,

D'Lyn

First Day of School!!!

I love to compare the girls' school pictures to see how they've grown each year.

This was last year....


Last day of school in June...

And today! Look at how tall Abbie has gotten!!!

I walked the girls to school this morning -- I would have anyway, even if we still had bus service. Can't let a year go by without pictures of the girls with their teachers on the first day of school!

We are so incredibly blessed for Abbie to have Mrs. Evans again this year. I can't tell you how glad I am she's in Liz's class.


And Kait has Mrs. Book. We've never had Mrs. Book for a teacher before, but I'm thrilled Kait gets to spend the year with her. And what a sweet class this is going to be! So many of my favorite friends from Kinder are going to be in Kait's class. It's going to be a great year!

9,999 Hits on the Wall, 9,999 Hits....

When I stopped by my blog this morning, the "counter" read 9,999 hits. How cool is that? I don't know what all four of my readers have been doing over the last couple of years, but you sure stop by often!

If I'd installed a counter when Mom first got sick, rather than a year later, I'm sure it would have been a lot more. But it's still cool.

This has been a super-busy week, trying to cram in as much fun as possible before school starts. The girls have had play-dates and lots of sleepovers. We went to the Blue Bell pool on Wednesday and Splashtown yesterday. Today we're going to Meet the Teacher and the Children's Museum. Tonight we're watching Rice vs. Baylor in soccer, and then headed to the Creek.

I'll come up for air on Monday after I drop the kids off!

At a Crossroads.....

I'm pausing for a bit in the making of that 25-patch quilt.

Here's my dilemma. Fifty blocks are what I would need to make a twin-sized quilt. A great thing to have on the back of the couch, or hanging on the wall or whatever.

And that's what I thought I wanted to do.

But.....

As I look at it, I think it would look much better as a queen-sized quilt. For that, I need 108 blocks. One more week of work on just blocks before I go further.

You've seen what the blocks look like. What do you think? Twin or Queen??

My Grandad's Name was Bill

My Grandad Herring's name was Bill, and he was tough. He rode and roped and ranched and farmed and raised three kids in a not-so-easy era.

Another Bill is out there right now, and it's looking pretty tough, too. Hurricane Bill is churning up the Atlantic, and we'd all better pray it stays out there. It's got to thread the needle between Bermuda and the East Coast -- and hopefully will do just that.

Hurricanes fascinate me. This 5-week Texas Hurricane season gets me all giddy. It's not that I want one to come here. Not at all. I like my air-conditioning, and our new generator isn't big enough to run it.

It's just all the wondering. With a wave coming off of Africa every few days, it's so interesting to hear all the speculation, to wonder what will come to fruition, where it will go.

This past weekend Claudette was an urgent reminder that we don't always get as much warning as we did with Ike. When we went to bed Saturday night, Claudette was just a puff of clouds off the coast of Florida. By Sunday afternoon, it was a tropical storm hitting Florida.

What a great reminder that storms can come up out of "nowhere" in the Gulf! And seemingly overnight. AND on a weekend when everyone has their guard down! YIKES!

If you live on the Gulf Coast and don't have your hurricane supplies together, you'd better get them ready. The GOM is a bathtub right now. Bill has gotten to a monster of a Category 4 storm without hitting any "warm" water. If anything gets into the Gulf, it's gonna be scary.

On Pins & Needles....

All right... Now that you have all your little strips cut, it's time to put them together. You want to sew 200 of your strips together -- by twos. Like Noah's Ark. I worked very hard to make sure I didn't sew two identical strips together. I'm not perfect, so I may not have totally succeeded in reaching that goal, but it was a goal.

It's very important that you do your best to match up your seams. I love it that the Amish say there is only one "perfect one" -- and that is God. The Amish actually make a point of having at least one "mistake" or Humble Square in each quilt.

I'm far from perfect, so I have lots of humble squares.

When you match up your seams, you want to squish them together so that they butt up against each other. Then, put the pin down through the seam on one side, and up through the seam on the other. And then hold your breath and stick your tongue out the side of your mouth and clench your jaw and pray that that's how the come out once they're sewn together.

Once you've got all your "twos" sewn together, marry them with other each other to make "fours." Once you're done with that, add the fifth row.

When you're done with all that, you should have 50 squares that look something like this:

Remember to press them. Back first, then front.

The backs will look something like this:

Now use your rotary cutter and tools to even up the outside edges. You can't sew a straight seam if you don't have straight edges.

Once they're trimmed, ideally you're outer rows will be 1 1/4 " deep. And ideally, all your inside pieces will be 1-inch square.

And you'll have lots of beautiful squares that look something like this:

Now.... You're caught up with me! We'll have the next installment in a couple of days! Hang in there!

Ready for the Next Step??

Okay. Now... If you really are following this, you've got a bunch strips sewn together in 5-strip sets.

Now, it's time to cut those up. You want to cut them into 1 1/2" strips. Use your rotary cutter and line it up and get to work. When you're done, you'll hopefully have (around) 250 of these strips.

A Pressing Issue....

Okay. Pressing seams is of HUGE importance. You should always press as you go. If you're doing a simple pattern, you always want to press your seams to the dark side. However, for this little thing we're doing, we're just going to press them all in the same directions. Press both sides of your strips. Back first, to get the seams headed in the same direction, then the front to really smooth it all out.

How I Do That Thing I Do

Okay. I've been thinking I should put up a few "how to" blog entries to show you what goes on around here. So.... I've spent this week preparing a few glimpses into the fine art of quiltmaking.

First step: Choose your fabric. I'm pretty picky about my fabrics -- it comes from having a Momma who was a stellar seamstress. I think if you're going to put this much time into making something, you should make it last for generations to come. If you need a lesson in choosing fabric, call me -- it's really a hands-on activity.

Once I get my fabric, I wash it, dry it and iron it. I only use 100% cotton, and it needs to be pre-shrunk before I start working with it. Some people wait and wash their fabrics after making their quilts to get a "puckered" look. You can do it either way.

Now.... The fun part. I could spend a week just showing you how to use a rotary cutter, but instead I'm going to send you to this YouTube link. You can find instructions for just about anything on YouTube. I'm pretty sure how to build the Space Shuttle is somewhere on there.

For this project, I used a 1 1/2" strips. I have a rather substantial collection of Christmas fabrics that have been acquired over time. Now... I will say that there are a few that I purchased early on that really aren't the quality I like to use. But for the most part, it's a collection of great fabric.

I can't tell you how many strips to cut because that depends on how many blocks you want to make. I will tell you that my quilt is going to have 50 blocks in it. I'm designing this as I go, so it's not an exact science. You're just going to have to enjoy the ride.

If you're using new fabric, I would suggest you cut at least 125 strips. Now.... You all know I can't do math, but as near as I can figure, that's what I'd go with.

My goal for this was to have as little repetition as possible. I'm really trying to make sure each block that I make is made up of 25 different squares. Hang with me here.

Once you have 125 strips of fabric cut, you can stitch them together like this. Use a 1/4" seam allowance. On my project, I tried to keep from repeating the same pattern of strips.

I also used a LOT of scraps from my scrap bucket. So some of my strips looked like this when sewn together.

I know this is clear as mud. It's going to be like that for a couple of days. Hopefully the picture will clear up soon.

Ooops.

Fell in love with this the second I put it on my dining room table. Until then, I was okay with it being a gift. Now.... I'm going to have to visit my friend a LOT during Christmas.

The Back:

Dude.... It doesn't get any cuter than that.

Re-Boot

After all that's gone on the last few weeks, I need a re-boot. So....

Giving up the Big Five -- Again.

1. No caffeine
2. No sugar
3. No alcohol
4. Nothing from a restaurant with a drive-up window
5. Nothing obviously unhealthy from a restaurant (i.e. pizza).
6. Peanut butter after 10:00 a.m.

Okay. I've changed it to the Big Six.

Anyone want to join me??

They're Hitched!!!

The girls and I went out to West Texas last weekend for Micah Hensley's wedding. Before we could party, though, we stopped in at Aunt Carla's for a sleepover.

And some windmill pix.

Kaitlyn, being of the huggy sort, had to hug Micah about a million times. And have her picture made with her.

This is what happens when your 8-year-old is your photographer. She needs to grow about 2 feet, or I'm destined to have 6 chins for forever.

A

It was good to see the Jarretts. And the McMeans. And Mrs. Lewis. I have pictures of all of them, but they're a bit blurry. And, to be honest, Mrs. Lewis' picture just isn't that flattering of either one of us. I have a very strict policy against posting pictures of myself that I don't like.

Granny Nelva with the "Begats."

It sure was good to see Sky. He and Bonnie are in Nashville these days. I think he misses Home. As always, he was very entertaining!

I love this picture of three strong, beautiful women!

Uncle Bill Willard played football at Rice "back in the day," so I snapped this one of girls sharing their Rice Owl spirit with him!

Carla and her girls... They're pretty much grown up!! Sarey's off to college this fall. Wow.

Kaitlyn the red-nosed cutie.

With Paw-Paw.