Pumpkin Muffins

This was one of my Mom's favorite fall recipes -- however, I cut the amount of oil and substitute applesauce for part of it to make these better for our girls!

Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups applesauce
1/4 cup oil
4 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin (one can)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, applesauce and oil together well. Add eggs, beat well. Add pumpkin. Mix. Sift flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together. Add flour mixture to batter. Add vanilla. Pour into muffin tins and bake 15 minutes. Cool and ice if desired.

Icing:
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 box powdered sugar
1 Tbl. vanilla

Mix butter, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar together. Beat well. Spread on tops of muffins.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

With Turkey Day just around the corner, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite recipes!!!

Note: When making this pie, you'll want to use a deep dish crust -- and there's a strong chance you'll have pie filling left over to make a few mini pies for your kids!

Classic Pumpkin Pie

1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (at my house, that's "freshly grated by McCormick's" nutmeg)
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
Prebaked and cooled deep-dish piecrust.

Preheat oven to 375.

In bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add pumpkin, eggs, cream and milk; whisk to combine.

Pour filling into prebaked piecrust; bake until center is set, 60-65 minutes, covering edges of crust with foil after 30 minutes if it browns too quickly. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool completely, at least two hours before serving.

Serves 10.

"It makes my hair smell good."

For the last week or so, I've been noticing that Kait's hair just didn't feel "right." I couldn't really figure it out, but I've recently started letting her wash her own hair and just figured she wasn't getting it rinsed well.

Then yesterday, while hugging her, I noticed her hair smelled really good. And I commented on it.

This morning, Biggs discovered her beauty secret.

Apparently, Kait has become enamoured with the scent of Wal-Mart's grape hand soap, so much so that she wanted that scent to follow her all day long. So she's been squirting it on her hairbrush before she combs her hair in the morning.

I LOVE how her 5-year-old brain works!

A Blessing from one of God's Great Gifts

If you know my cousin Carla, you know that she's one of God's great gifts to this Earth. She has an incredible voice, a giving spirit and has been my mentor for longer than I can remember. She's one of my most cherished friends. She sent me this, and it's just too precious for me to keep to myself.

Carl, I love you.

To: D'Lyn Biggs

I, Carla Sandusky, being of sort of sound mind and heavenly body, do hereby officially lease you 50% of all calling rights and daughterly privileges for the rest of this earthly address for my one said mother, also known as "Aunt Nelva" to certain parties. These are anytime minutes and privileges, renewable by simply bragging on her bread. Someone will always answer, though intelligible, useful responses are not always guaranteed. The satisfaction of knowing someone who loves you is touching your same frequency is guaranteed. Service is comparable to On-Star...never consider yourself alone. You have the back-up you need 24-7; please, please just use it. It may not be exactly what you had, but this new plan will try to meet most of your needs, once you get used to it. Nothing is ever as good as the original version; thanks to God that He makes things perfect in the end.

Signed with a kiss this 8th day of November, 2007, with invisible, indelible ink. XOXOXOXO

Sunshine on My Shoulder

Just so you don't think I'm totally immersed in self-pity, I wanted to share a couple of things that are making me happy these days....

First, Team Tiara bought me a beautiful bracelet in celebration of the 3-Day. You can see a picture of one like it at www.alamobreastcancer.org/powerofpink.html

I love it and wear it on my left wrist with my Mom's bracelet. One is a remind of a woman who loved me very much. The other is a reminder of 16 women who love and share and are determined to make a difference.

Another thing that makes me happy -- Milton sent me a dozen pink roses to thank me for doing the Walk. Beautiful roses -- a pink ribbon bouquet. What girl doesn't love flowers?

Another thing that makes my happy -- Abbie's 7th birthday is tomorrow. This child, who is such a treasure and was a miracle from the start is going to be SEVEN! She doesn't want a traditional birthday party -- for her birthday party she just wants to go fishing at the Creek. But thanks to soccer and all that goes with it, we can't go this weekend or next. So we're going the weekend after Thanksgiving. We'll be there for the Boat Parade. How cool is that???

I can't let her actual birthday go by unnoticed. I've invited several of her little friends over for a playdate tomorrow and have ordered a cake to surprise her with. Biggs doesn't get back until late tomorrow, so we're going to wait to do a birthday dinner with Mimi and Pa on Saturday night. Abbie, being Abbie, wants Chinese -- so Chinese it is!!!

I. Can't. Call. My. Mom.

Imagine this being punctuated with sobs between each word, and you have me on Tuesday night. On the floor of my laundry room with the washer and dryer running, so my sweet, innocent children wouldn't hear me as they played upstairs.

A girl who doesn't know me all that well managed to touch on the one thing that's my biggest insecurity right now.

The details of what was said, and how, and what all was involved aren't important at all. She lost her Dad not that long ago and is grieving deeply. I'm still grieving deeply. We aren't completely rational 100% of the time.

But it brought to light another loss. I can't call my Mom.

From the time you're just a wee little one, who do you run to when you're hurt? Your Mom.

Then you grow up, and who do you call when you're hurt? Your Mom.

And when it seems the world has got your number, and you can't get anything right -- you call your Mom.

When I was in college and broke up with a boyfriend, I called my Mom.

When I was pregnant with Abbie, and the doctors told me they thought I'd lost her, I called my Mom.

Last spring, when a dear friend hurt me to the core, I called my Mom.

And she always had my back.

But now, I can't call my Mom.

In the span of a month this summer, we left our home and our friends, the church that we loved, our support group.... and lost my Mom. And I'm still reeling.

Spending two straight weekends immersed in the realities of breast cancer was carthartic, but incredibly raw at the same time. I've been incredibly blessed, but it still hurts.

"The Talent" Does Laundry???

I have to say.... "The Talent" is having a hard time adjusting back to Mommy-hood. After being completely spoiled this weekend, doing laundry and dishes really aren't that high on my list.

I'd rather just sit here and continue to bask in the warm glow left from this weekend.

I walked yesterday -- six miles. And I think I cried for about 5.5 of them. It wasn't that I was sad -- although the sadness never really goes away. But it was just that all this emotion had to have somewhere to go.

But I've got to walk. Thanks to the crew in L.A., I managed to gain THREE pounds! Yikes! And then I come home to two plastic pumpkins of Halloween candy. How is it that my children don't like the "good" candy? Oh no.... They'll leave all the Reese's and Kit Kats and all that jazz for me -- they just want the Tootsie Roll Pops. So I've eaten more than my fair share of chocolate since I got home!

Please continue to pray for my new friends. For a healing miracle for my new friend Stephanie. For Sherry, Tina, Lois and Denise to remain cancer-free. For Denise's reconstruction to finally be successul. (She's had 15 surgeries since she was diagnosed three years ago at the age of 33.)For healing of the hearts of those of us who have lost our Moms: Jeaneanne, Amy, Mary and me.

And please pray for little Sophie as she has a brain tumor removed (for the second time) the week after Thanksgiving. Pray for peace and strength in their household and for quick and complete healing for Sophie.

Thanks!
- d.

"The Talent"

There's always room for Nertz!

Yes, I'm a dork -- had to have my picture taken with just about everyone! Here I am with Liza.

This guy is extremely important. He ran this little tent that was stocked with food all the time! AND what's more... He's my "2 degrees from Brad Pitt" guy. Last week he was on a movie set where he made Brad Pitt a tuna sandwich. Just. Like. Mine! (Would you believe he pulls down $125K a year catering on sets? Too cool!)

Jewel was a hoot! She kept us all laughing! Here she's teaching the "young uns" to line dance! (Yes, Suzi qualifies as a "young un.")

Megan & Amy. Amy lost her Mom while she was a sophomore at A&M. I loved what she had to say about the 3-Day. That it finally gave her a chance to stomp her foot and voice her opinion. Megan and Amy were also walking in honor of their mother-in-law, a survivor.

Three Aggies. Three young women who've lost their Moms to cancer. One club we're thrilled to be members of. The other we would have done anything to stay out of.

We met Rex in Dallas, and were thrilled to see him in L.A. Rex writes a lot of the material for Opening and Closing ceremonies and is responsible for a ton of the other stuff associated with 3-Day Marketing.

Outside the "Talent Lounge:" Here are Ed and Sherry -- with Jeneanne in the middle. Ed & Sherry are from Victoria, and Jeneanne is from San Diego. Jeneanne wasn't going to walk in the 3-Day this year, but after spending the weekend with us decided to sign up to do it. You go, girl!

Ed & Sherry pose with Chris the Driver -- he's not the one that got us lost!!!

Marilyn -- Oops -- Suzi climbs into Wardrobe & Makeup.

This is Cissa. She lost her cousin to breast cancer this summer. Cissa rocks. In her still portraits, she looks like she's about 12. She's precious. And she has three kids under the age of five. YIKES!

Suzi & I pose with Kait & Julie -- two of the other masterminds behind the 3-Day!!! Kait designed much of the logo wear and buttons that we all love!

This picture is for my Mom. She loved to take pictures of pretty skies out the windows of airplanes! This is on our flight home last night.

More pictures to come!

Still Here.....

We're still in L.A. but about to hop a plane home. I'll write as much as I can, then more tomorrow. I didn't post yesterday because, in all honesty, I was very disappointed in myself. Taping the commercial was far more difficult than I thought it would be. It was hard to be "real." I don't know why. Maybe it's that I felt all this pressure to be perfect for my Mom. Maybe it's because of the 12 hours of taping they're doing, only 60 seconds will be in the commercial. Maybe it's because I kept thinking how Mom would have totally dug it -- she would have wanted to know every last detail.

So it was hard. It felt canned. I was so disappointed, I asked to be brought back today -- even if they were going to give us the day off.

And they brought me back.

And in many ways I feel redeemed by that. Today was a completely different atmosphere. With the exception of a couple of people who went sight-seeing since they weren't shooting today, we were all there. And the energy was amazing.

(Yes, Biggs, it was AMAZING!)

As I've said earlier, each one of us who was there has a story. And I'm not really sure why Suzi and I were brought out here, but I think it was so we could be a part of Stephanie's story.



You see, dear, sweet, precious Stephanie has a layer of baby fuzz on her head where her hair is growing back in. We rubbed it for good luck. She was our little Buddha.

Stephanie had four hours of chemo on Thursday then flew out here Friday. That's four hours of drugs being pumped into her body to hold at bay the breast cancer that has invaded her. It's in her liver. A new drug for bone cancer was added on Thursday. Four drugs -- she had no idea what the combination was going to do to her physically.

Stephanie gets tired -- we knew she did. But she and her son David walked the walk in Dallas last week. And then they came out here to make a precious memory. And they did. And in the process they changed all our lives as well.

This morning we cheered and danced and celebrated to help keep Stephanie "in the mood" while she did still shots. Cheers like "Knead your Knockers" and "Polish your Apples" and "Check your Chi-Chi's" and "Squeeze your Oranges" and my all-time favorite.... "We must! We must! We must preserve our Busts!!!" (Judy Blume would love that, wouldn't she?)

That was the highlight of the weekend, I think. Being a part of something so precious.

This morning they did group still shots with Stephanie -- and I was so HONORED to be included in those. With tears running down my face.

When we were done, they pulled me back over to video and let me finish what I started yesterday. They all knew I wasn't happy with myself -- that somehow I felt I'd let my Mom down. And this is what I shared....

I think so much of what the 3-Day means to me was exemplified in this weekend. Suzi and I were talking -- why do we have such a connection with these people we just met? Or the ones we meet while we're on the walk? And I think it's because in many cases we've almost lost them -- and we didn't even know it. They've faced cancer -- in many cases multiple cancers -- and we never even knew. We've been blessed by them -- but we almost missed it.

They're calling us to get on the plane. So I've got to run. Pictures and more tomorrow.

Much love,
D'Lyn

We're here!!!

Well, I have to say we really don't know where "here" is. We were in this van and saw the oil derrick from Six Flags out the window. At that point, our driver took a wrong turn, took us about an hour out of the way, and then brought us right back to Six Flags and dropped us off at Embassy Suites. The highlight? Bob's Big Boy -- good thing since we were all hungry. Got our pictures taken with Bob. Way cool.

Anyway, we're here safe.... Ensconced in the Embassy Suites and looking for something to do. You could put about 10 people in our shower -- it's that big -- but it really doesn't sound like a plan. Happy Hour downstairs at some point. Nah.... We'll find something. Oh, and get this. In the morning, they're going to send us a fax to let us know what time we need to be downstairs. This whole fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants trip would do Biggs in. Luckily, I'm not a planner!!!

Note: Friday night a group of us ended up eating Italian. Mmmmmm.....

Hugs,
d.

Hollywood Bound!!!!

You should see us -- I wish I could post pictures! That'll have to wait, so I'll just try to paint word pictures for now. Suzi and I are at the airport in Houston. I HIGHLY recommend travelling with Komen! We're posted as "Elite" passengers. And while we don't have seats in the front of the bus on the way to L.A., we are in First Class on the way home!!! Our bags were marked "Priority" at check-in. How cool is that????

We're travelling with the PVC pipe "flagpole" that we used on the walk. They told us to bring everything -- so we did. And while you can't take a can of hairspray through security, you can take a 5-foot piece of 1/2" PVC. Go figure!!! We've had so much fun telling everyone where we're going and what we're doing. For Ben: Thanks so much for the tip about flatulation in the "puffer" machine. We're happy to have learned from your experience and thrilled that we didn't have to spend 3 hours in security!!! (That may have been too much info for some of you -- sorry!!!)

When we get there, we're supposed to board a van with Susan G. Komen on the side. Personally, I was hoping for a limo, but I guess we don't rank that much.

You know, to be on this trip you have to have a story. And it really sucks to have a story. But I take heart in the fact that there is no way I can tell my story without telling how God orchestrated it all. So I pray that I'm able to bring Him glory on this trip!

There are four Aggies on the trip -- I'll be in good company. One lost her Mom when she was a sophomore at A&M. 19. YIKES. There's a woman who did 4 hours of chemo yesterday. There's a 2-time breast cancer survivor. A man and his wife who walked the 60 miles hand in hand last weekend. A woman who lost a best friend. And me. And Suzi. I'm humbled and honored to be joining such an amazing group. And I can't wait to get to know them all!!!

More details later!

Biggs Hugs,
me.