Where in the World is D'Lyn Biggs?

Or: Hair on Fire...

The last couple of weeks have been just nuts around here. Crazy busy. Busy being crazy. We had Anthony down here to do the financial seminar and made about $500 off that for the 3-Day.

The market went south and even I, who never pays attention to that kind of stuff, started paying attention.

Of course, there's the usual Facebook black hole that I'd fall in every once in awhile -- talk about robbing you of your time! YIKES!

I've been up at the school some -- tutoring in Kait's class and then reading to both the girls' classes.

I've been sewing a LOT. I'll get pix posted by this weekend, but my machine has been humming. I've never made a quilt for myself -- am finally making a Christmas tree quilt. It's king-sized and just the quilt top weighs a ton. The top is done, though -- and I'm so proud of it.

The girls have Sock Hop at school on Friday. This is a HUGE deal. They wear their poodle skirts to school all day and then they have a carnival that night. Mary and I have made 10 poodle skirts between us -- four for American Girl dolls and six for the girls. What a mess! Never again!

I've also got three more of those log cabin wall-hangings started. But I had to take a break because..... Drumroll, please....

Mike and Gudren are here! After I've spent MONTHS getting ready for them to visit, they're finally here! And it's so wonderful! Mike's one of those people who just jumps 100% all-into whatever it is he is doing. And it's so fun to watch. The girls were out of school yesterday, so we went to NASA. Mike disappeared for forever -- we thought he might have hijacked a rocket, but he was off learning all about how to research NASA on the Internet. The girls went hog-wild in the kids' learning area and didn't want to leave. We finally got out of there about 3:30 (yes, just in time for rush hour) and went to downtown Houston for a tour of surface streets, skyscrapers, and Rice University.

Today we've got to go check on the RV they are renting tomorrow and then we'll go to the Natural History museum to see the oil & gas exhibit. We'll head south to the Creek, eating lunch at Dido's on the water and then we'll run by and see our little Haven down there. Back up through West Columbia (the first capital of the Republic of Texas) and then home. Mary is getting the girls off the bus this afternoon since there is no way we'll be here yet.

So that's the scoop. Definitely busy around here! Pictures soon!
- d.

Pep Rally & Cache Chic!

Join Team Tiara's Houston Branch as we get ready for the Dallas walk!

Tricia with Cache Chic will be here to show us all her Blingy Pink Ribbon and Tiara jewelry. She'll be taking orders on the spot!

(Girls, I saw the Tiara today -- it Rocks!)

Next Sunday, October 19

6:30 p.m.

D'Lyn's House

Star Sighting!

I haven't had a star sighting since I saw Molly Shannon in Costa Rica this spring. But guess who I saw yesterday??

Mary Lou Retton!!!

Her kids take gymnastics where my girls go. Only, I'm guessing her girls probably have "IT." Whatever that oh-so-elusive "IT" thing is. You know, whatever genetic "IT" is that makes you able to flip around and do all that stuff. There is no "IT" in our house, and we're okay with that.

But we do have a lot in common, Mary Lou and I. She loses her car in the parking lot just like I do. And she has a daughter that isn't opposed to having a meltdown in a public place.

I can relate.

Anything You Can Do....

.... I can do better!

Do you get the feeling that's what the markets are doing -- but in wrong direction? We go to sleep at night knowing the Dow tanked, and wake up the next morning to find out that Europe answered with a dive of their own.

This is a bizarre time to do fundraising. I know people are worrried about the economy but at the same time, breast cancer doesn't care what's going on with the Dow. Breast cancer doesn't care if you have an IRA, a 401K or a bunch of 20's in your mattress. It knows no economic boundaries.

And our tally continues to rise. I'm sure the markets will have an effect on how much we raise this year, but for now we're at $86,000. How cool is that??

Happy Birthday to You!!!

If you'd like to join in sending birthday wishes to Biggsy, you can do so in the comments section -- or you shoot him an email to john_biggs_2001(at) yahoo.com

His birthday is tomorrow! As in Thursday!

You're a Princess Because....

Hey ya'll!

I was just sitting here thinking about the beautiful jewelry that Tricia designed for us, and I wanted to share something with you. When I was coming up with Team Tiara as the name of our team, I wanted to go with something that would glorify Christ. There are a lot of team names out that would have been a hoot -- "IBTC" (although it really doesn't apply in my case), "These Boobs were Made for Walkin'," you get the drift!

But I wanted something that wouldn't offend anyone that I hold dear -- and that would glorify Christ.

In our house, we talk about how we are all Princesses because we are ALL daughters of the King. And Princess need tiaras -- right? So Team Tiara works!

So if you jogged on over to Tricia's website today and checked out her jewelry and thought, "That's great, but I'm not a Tiara," you thought wrong. It doesn't matter if you'll spend the first weekend in November walking 60 miles to find a cure or walking 6 steps to the refrigerator. It doesn't matter if you'll be sleeping in a pink tent or in a king-size bed. It doesn't matter if you'll be showering in a converted semi truck or enjoying a spa weekend with your friends.

You. Are. A. Princess.

And God loves you.

- d.

Team Tiara has our Own Line of Jewelry Now!

Check out Cache Chic to see what Tricia has designed for our team!

Here's the scoop. She has tons of beautiful jewelry -- including some great crosses. But she's also designing a breast cancer line for us. A portion of the sale of each piece in this collection will go to Team Tiara and the Breast Cancer 3-Day.

Just go to her website to check out what she has. There's a link for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To place an order, you'll need to click on "store" and then order from there.

If you're in Houston, we'll be having a pep rally / jewelry show in a couple of week. Stay tuned!

One Month From Now....

One month from now, I will be in a pink tent in a sea of pink tents somewhere in a park somewhere in the Dallas area. I will be in the super heavy-duty sleeping bag my sisters bought me last year. I will have on my pink flamingo flannel jammies and fleece gloves and will be trying desperately to stay warm.

I will have taken a Tylenol PM to help me sleep. I'll have ear plugs in my ears and my headband on to hold them in. I will be exhausted.

But experience tells me I'll be too wound up to sleep immediately. Because, you see, I will have lived a day I've been waiting for all year.....

One month from this morning, I will get up before the crack of dawn and put on my tennis skirt, fleece jacket, running shoes and gloves. I'll fill up my Camelbak and join my bleary-eyed teammates as we make the journey to Southfork Ranch, just north of Dallas.

There, we will meet up with about 3000 other people joined in one goal. You have to have strong goals to meet in the middle of the country before dawn breaks.

We'll be cold. Really cold.

But excitement will build. And as morning breaks and light begins to soften the edges of our world, the Opening Ceremonies will begin. After all the miles of training and all the fundraising, we'll be "there."

We'll cry some. Or a lot.

They've asked me to carry a flag in honor of my Mom. I will. Proudly. With a package of Kleenex in my pocket.

We'll leave Southfork, and as our seemingly endless parade of pink streams along, we'll talk. And we'll share. And we'll laugh. And we'll cry.

I'll be hitching the shuttle buses quite a bit this year. It's something I've had to come to terms with. My personality doesn't lend itself well to accepting the fact that my body may not have as much oomph as my spirit. So I'll hitch the shuttle and find myself in the company of men and women who need a lift as well.

We'll tailor our shuttle-riding around the cheering stations. Not about to miss one of those. Who would pass up chocolate by choice?

We'll eat lunch in a park somewhere. A sandwich. Since Peppridge Farms is one of our sponsors, I'm expecting one of their yummy cookies for dessert. I hope I'm right.

We'll pee in porta-potties and drink enough Gatorade to sink a battleship. We'll gain blisters and lose toenails.

We'll share some more.

As we get closer to the 20-mile mark, anticipation will build. Somewhere up ahead will be that sea of pink tents -- and if there is a tent fairy, ours will already be set up.

We'll take showers in a semi truck, nurse our blisters, ice our knees and feet, eat a dinner of spaghetti and search the ice chests for Dr. Pepper.

And we'll share some more.

And we'll wonder what the grand total is going to be -- how much money these 3000 walkers have raised to fight breast cancer. And if maybe, hopefully, we've managed to raise the last dollar needed for a cure. And if not that, then the dollar that will pay for a mammogram that will save a life.

And Jenne will lead the first night's camp show. And we'll laugh and sing and dance.

And at 9:00 it's lights out.

And there I'll be.

In a pink tent in a sea of pink tents somewhere in a park somewhere in the Dallas area. I will be in the super heavy-duty sleeping bag my sisters bought me last year. I will have on my pink flamingo flannel jammies and fleece gloves and will be trying desperately to stay warm.

Today is a Big Day!

Don't forget -- tonight is the Financial Planning / Breast Cancer Awareness seminar at Fairfield Baptist Church. 7:30 p.m. Be there or be square!!!

Remember -- Mass Mutual is giving us $20 for every adult in attendance!

My "Money Guy" Anthony is doing the financial part of the talk. You might want to talk to him while he's in town.

Whether you want to call it incredible luck, sheer genius or a "God Thing," he sold all my "stuff" three days before the market cratered and saved me a buttload of money. I'm telling ya, I'm going to be singing his prayers for a long time!!!

VP Debate SNL Style

Did ya'll see this??

Does this make you want to walk with us???

OK. It’s crunch time.

This is the part of training where you have to make decisions and not all of them are fun.

As you sit on the edge of your bed at the crack of dawn, the weight of your obligations lands on you like a boulder.

Your house has dust bunnies and there’s a basket of unfolded underwear in the laundry room that’s nearly empty because no one could find clean underwear in their dressers this week

Your garden needs weeding.

Your car is sprinkled with protein bar wrappers and empty sports bottles.

Your dog growls at you like you’re a stranger.

Your boss can’t wait until you inevitably give up this little whim so he can have his dedicated employee back who was never preoccupied and always wore high heels.

Your friends who are not in the 3Day are beginning to look at you differently. They feel a little left out. Girls night out happened last week without you.

Your husband doesn’t understand why you’re doing all of this. All he understands is that he just wants you home-in body AND mind.

Your children don’t understand. All they know is that they hate the color pink and just want their mom back.

And then there’s your body. You can barely recover from walking one day to do it all over again the next day. You wake up achy and stiff. You go to bed achy and stiff. Your suntan is an outline of a sports bra and shorts. It’s a nice surprise when you don’t have hat head. Your feet are sporting blisters, calluses and corns in places you’ve never had them. You’ve lost another toenail.

You’re weary.

You’re exhausted.

You’re miserable.

Why on earth are you putting yourself through this?

Like a warm sunbeam, you suddenly realize that you have a choice. You can make this all go away. You have the power to make your husband happy, be a mommy again, get a raise, go Martha Stewart on your house, have a margherita with the girls, sleep in and say goodbye to blisters forever.

You take a minute think about it - you can have a normal life again.

But then it dawns on you.

So what if the kids’ underwear didn’t get folded and put away. It could be worse. They could all be wearing dirty underwear. No one has gotten sick because you didn’t wash your kitchen floor this week. And you’ll still be able to harvest a garden. That’s why God made zucchini.

Your boss – he’ll never get it. But you do, and that damn job can just wait another few weeks.

Your friends don’t understand, but you do. If they were being very honest, they might even confess they’re a little in awe of you. Well, next year they can just get off their pampered little tushies and for once in their life make a commitment to something bigger than themselves

Your husband may not understand, but you do. You understand that by some wondrous quirk of genetics and fate, he still has you around to be missed. And to grow old with.

Your children don’t understand, but you do. You don’t want them to have to think about mommies who go away because they’re sick and then don’t get to come home. In a few weeks you’ll be back and you will hug them like you’ll never let go.

And then it hits you - you could be sitting on the edge of your bed dreading yet another bout of chemo and wondering if you can make it all the way home this time before you throw up.

So maybe you won’t quit today. In a few weeks this will be all over.

And if you’re lucky, things won’t ever be the same again.Because you will have turned your blisters into dollars for research and medical breakthroughs and mammograms for the poor.

Because someday your children will remember all this and know they can change the world no matter how big the challenge.

Because someone will look at the pink wristband you gave them and write out another check.

Because the friends you’ve made in training and the friends you meet on the walk will stay with you forever.

Because a woman you don’t even know trusts you to walk for her because she can’t.

So maybe you’ll face the challenge of fitting it all in and getting it all done for one more day.

Maybe you’ll walk the eight miles you’d planned once the kids are in bed tonight and not think about the dishes in the sink

Maybe you’ll ignore your feet and ignore your sunburn and ignore your sore hips.

Maybe you’ll remember how fortunate you are to be able to get up off the edge of the bed and make a difference.


Lori KeenerCleveland,
OhioHot Mamas I.B.T.P.
June 2007

It's not too late to walk with us.

To join us this year, click here.

To walk with us in 2009, click here.