One Lucky Girl - GO TEAM GO!

My Brother Geoff & I

If you know me and my family you are well aware that we have quite a long standing commitment to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My Uncle Randy passed away from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and it really brought to light the reality of what cancer does and how it affects the entire family. Since that time I've had friends and/or family experience breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer and so on and so on, with many of them losing their battle. I now work with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as the Patient Services Manager so I'm in contact every day with people going through these horrible diseases. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has funded so much research that they are now using some of the drugs they have created to treat and possibly cure other cancers. If we can cure one type, that puts us that much closer to curing all. According to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, your lifetime risk of developing cancer is 1 in 2 and your lifetime risk of dying from cancer is 1 in 4! These are NOT good odds and we NEED to stop this disease.

Now, after all that depressing information, I want to let you know that I am one lucky girl! I am healthy, I am strong and I am working to make a difference in the world of cancer. Once again I am training with Team-In-Training for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride at Lake Tahoe! That's 100 miles in the mountains around the entire Lake. I have trained for a marathon with my sister, Dena who completed the Rock N' Roll Marathon, I did this bike ride three years ago with my dad, my dad and brother did the bike ride last year and this year it's my brother Geoff & I that are getting back on our bikes for another 100 miles! My family has distanced over 450 miles (if you count all the training it's closer to 5,000 miles) by bike and foot and raised somewhere around $20,000 with the mission of finding a cure for blood cancers (Leukemia, Lymphoma & Myeloma). We are going to pedal our legs off but we need help getting across the finish line. Every donation and every mile pushes us that much closer to the finish.

Please visit the Red Lantern Cycling Team web site and make a 100% tax-deductible donation.

Again, I am one lucky girl. Cancer patients don't get to choose their battle. But for now I get to choose mine and I'm going to fight as hard as I can to win. Please fight with me!

GO TEAM GO!

Once Again...Resolutions are a BUST!

Okay, I know, I have failed miserably at my New Years Resolution of keeping this blog updated. Heck, I've failed at the exercise resolution too! Putting all that aside, our New Years has started off GREAT! The holidays were fantastic, getting see all of our family. We started off by heading to St. Louis and spent a few days with Todd's family and we had the chance to see his friends one night. The visits are just too few & far in between! We then drove home on Christmas Day to spend some time with my side of the family. I love Christmas with all the families, it makes my favorite holiday last that much longer. From that time on we have been busy! Todd has decided to go back and get his MBA so that seems to take up a lot of time. I have made the big decision to fundraise, train and go to America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride at Lake Tahoe in June. My brother Geoff and I are doing the event together and have taken it a step further and decided to become mentors for this years event. There will be much more to come on this topic. The most recent event for us (and most of the U.S.) has been SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011! Oklahoma City has pretty much shut down the past 2 days due to about a foot of snow. The winds (up to 35/40 mph gusts) and bitter cold (-20 wind chill) have made the situation worse. However, I must say, I do LOVE a snow day! I will admit that I have pretty much done nothing for the past 2 days. It has been great! But... Todd is out shoveling as we speak and so I'm afraid that work is in store for me tomorrow! I hope everyone else out there is staying safe and warm. And I promise to try and start doing better with those New Years Resolutions!

Snow Ninjas

My Snow Angel

My OTHER Snow Angel...Todd doing a great job digging us out of the house!

Drum Roll Please....And the Winner Is.....

The Lannerts! That's right boys and girls...we won yard of the month. I can't tell you how excited I am. I have been vying for this award for some time now. I have convinced Todd to let me plant flowers, buy fancy pillows for our bench, hang pretty wreaths and even got him in the spirit and he planted new grass. And finally (after a little more convincing to get more Christmas decorations) we won! I must admit that my competitive nature has overtaken me once again but it has all paid off! The pictures just don't do it justice!

The Lannert Elves

That's right, who knew Todd & I were elves?!? Santa is so busy that he needs to prioritize these days so we are trying to help out. He came early to our house so that we may deliver presents to good little boys and girls in the coming week! Let's just say, this little, procrastinating elf is HAPPY to be ahead of the game this year!

May everyone have safe travels, be filled with joy and have a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Holidays

I know it's only December 10th but I'm already thinking about my New Year's resolutions. Every year I promise myself the same classic things (i.e. get in shape, lose some weight, read certain books, yada, yada, yada!) However, this year the holidays have me doing a lot of thinking. I'm feeling the need to be closer to those I love and cherish each day as if it may be my last. Every day I get on my computer to check out my sister's blog and see if any new things have happened with her and her family and see if she has posted any adorable photos of my nephew (no, not biased, he really is ADORABLE!). Of course, that gets me perusing all of her friends blogs as well. I have seen cute ideas for kids, made things for the house and gotten some fantastic recipes by doing this. So, in my quest to cherish my days, I've decided to start this blog. This way I can share Todd's and my experiences with family afar, reflect on the days or weeks events and remember to be thankful for all that I have. Now, my next resolution will be to actually keep up with it!