Cancer Prevention Study

This post is very different from the crafts and activities that I normally post about. But it's a topic that's very important to me so I'd like to share.

In 2007 my mom passed away from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. It's an absolutely awful thing to watch someone go through 15 months of cancer treatments and then see them die in front of you. I lost my mom and my best friend. And now I'm afraid I'll go through the same thing. I'm afraid of cancer. I see a few bruises on my legs and wonder if I'm sick. My kids get the sniffles and I start to worry about them. I don't want to get cancer. I don't want my kids to get cancer. I don't want anyone else to get cancer. So I'm doing something about it.

On Tuesday I enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). The study helps researchers better understand the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that can cause or prevent cancer, which ultimately saves lives.

Enrolling in the study and helping to change the future face of cancer is easy. You will read and sign a consent form, complete a survey, provide some physical measurements (such as waist size, weight, height, blood pressure and heart rate) and give a small blood sample. From there, you will receive periodic surveys asking for information about lifestyle, behaviors and other factors related to their health.

You can find the enrollment site closest to your area, and schedule your appointment by visiting www.cps3seattle.org. If you don't live in the Seattle area, go here to find a site in your state.

To be eligible for the study, you must:

• Be between the ages of 30 and 65
• Have no personal history of cancer
• Be willing to make a long term commitment to filling out periodic follow-up questionnaires

If you don't qualify for the Cancer Prevention Study there are so many other things you can do to help those fighting cancer and be an important part of finding a cure -- donate blood, register to be a bone marrow donor, get involved in a fundraising walk or run (Light the Night and Do the Puyallup Walk are both happening this month). It doesn't take much time or effort to be part of the cure. Thanks for reading!

Make Your Own Stamps

Finley has been really into stamps lately and I've been collecting milk caps for months now so I knew this would be the perfect craft project for us. It's quick and easy and fun for the kids.

Supplies:

• Bottle caps
• Foam stickers (the Target dollar spot is a great place to look for these)
• Stamp pads and paper

It's pretty self-explanatory. Peel and stick. Stamp and press. And have fun!

Play: World’s Tastiest Frozen Yogurt in Mill Creek

We took the kids to World’s Tastiest Frozen Yogurt in Mill Creek yesterday for a little treat. We've been meaning to check them out since they opened up a few months ago.

Given the name I kind of wanted to go in and shout, "You did it! Congratulations! World's tastiest frozen yogurt!" I didn't want to embarrass my family so I kept it to myself!

World's Tastiest Frozen Yogurt did live up to it's name though. It was pretty darn tasty. They let us sample a few flavors before we decided on what we wanted. They had loads to choose from so it was pretty hard to choose. And lots of toppings like strawberries and mangos and gummy bears (or teddy gums and Finley referred to them!) and brownies and M&M's and much, much more. Finely and I went for pineapple, strawberry and cheesecake topped with M&M's, teddy gums and strawberry sauce. I don't remember what flavors Daniel and Grady got because I was too busy stuffing my face.

After our frogurt we took a little walk on the North Creek Trail. The kids were super cute holding hands and skipping together.

We even spotted a cute little mama duck and her baby ducklings. Such a fun summer evening!

Play, Stay Away, or Just Okay
I think anything covered in gummy bears gets a Play rating! Especially when there are coupons involved!

Before we left I did my usual google search for a coupon and found an article on $20 Dollar Date Night. They mentioned something about a Pirq app that had coupons so of course I had to check it out. App + coupons = my favorite things!

So this Pirq thing is pretty cool. It hooks you up with discounts at local area restaurants. You see what discounts are available, "reserve" the one you want, and show it when you check out. You don't have to pay for them like a Groupon, you just reserve it and use it. World's Tastiest Frozen Yogurt had coupons for 30% - 50% off. I snagged the 50% off coupon! Yippee! I definitely recommend downloading the app.

If you need a fun and inexpensive activity, you should head to World's Tastiest Frozen Yogurt. And if frogurt isn't your thing you can pick up a latte at the other half of their shop - The ABS Coffee Company. Or get one of each. Just go for a little stroll on the trail afterwards and you'll work it all off.

I'm Back (Kinda Sorta)

Whew! It's been a busy few months and I've been neglecting this blog and my crafting projects and outings with the kids. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted on here. Whoopsie!

Not sure you care but here's a little update full of my excuses for being absent...

I just finished my second event with Team In Training on Saturday - the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll half-marathon. I'm a wee bit proud of myself so I'm allowed to brag a little, right? I raised $2,745 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (thanks to my awesome friends and family!) and spent lots of hours and miles training. It was an amazing experience.

I've also been busy with my "real" job. My husband and I have a business developing games and apps for smartphones. I'm working on a kid's game for Android devices. I was really hoping to get it done by the end of this month. But that's not looking like it's going to happen. I'll get there eventually.

Then there's the normal mom stuff and wife stuff and business stuff that takes up time.

All that adds up to - I've been too busy to do much on here lately. I don't see that changing soon so I decided I need to give up on the event calendar. I want to do it all, but I can't. It just takes too much time to keep it updated. I will continue to post events that I find over on my Facebook page, I just won't be able to list them all on the calendar.

My goal is to spend the next few months getting outside with the kids (if the weather cooperates!), so I'll still post on our outings. (I have that list of Summer Fun I need to get started on.) And I'll try to post more crafting and cooking activities, too.

If you want to spread the word about any fun and frugal activities that you come across, feel free to post them on my Facebook page. Maybe this summer we can all work on letting each other know about all the fun there is to be had in our area!