Keep Fighting, Mitchell’s Angels!
Pictured here, the Whitaker family… Mitchell, Tracy, John and Meredith
Today, I interviewed someone with amazing strength. Tracy Whitaker. She lost her precious son, Mitchell, two years ago when he was only 10. He died of complications from leukemia. Read her blog for the full story of his last days. It will really move you.
“Keep Fighting,” were Mitchell’s last words to his family and that’s exactly what they’ve done.
Since Mitchell’s death, the Whitakers have worked tirelessly to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to find a cure.
For most people, when they have a milestone birthday, they want a milestone gift — a diamond or a new car or something like that. For Tracy, who will celebrate her 40th in January, all she wants is to gather a group of friends and run a marathon to raise more money for the cause. Well, her goal was to gather 40 friends and she already has 50 signed up. Together, they will run P.F. Chang’s Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and her team will raise $170,000 for the society!!
The group has dubbed themselves Mitchell’s Angels and has lots of other events in the works to raise money. Nov. 8 Mitchell’s Angels will hold a game day watch party starting 30 minutes before the OU game kickoff at Lyric Theater, 1727 NW 16. Sunday, Mitchell’s Angels will host “Spicing It Up For A Cure,” a kitchen tour of five unique kitchens in Oklahoma City.
They’ve also put together a beautiful cookbook: “Mitchell’s Angels Presents Angel Foods” which you can buy at their website or at the kitchen tour.
Go on the kitchen tour, buy the book, go to game day at Lyric and do what you can to support Mitchell’s Angels. And when you go home tonight, give your children an extra long hug and kiss.
Heather
I wanna be a Maki roll!!! Yum.
Ok, here’s the stinkin’ cutest costume idea I’ve seen in a while. It seems pretty easy to make. I found this at FamilyFun.com. Here are the instructions:
MATERIALS: 3 large pieces of corrugated cardboard (see measurements below) Yardstick Craft knife Scissors String Pushpin White double-sided carpet tape Black duct tape 2 dinner-sized paper plates Packing peanuts Markers Card stock or white paper Red gift bag
1. SUSHI ROLL: Use the craft knife to cut the cardboard as shown, with the corrugation running parallel to the rectangle’s short side [A].
2. Make a half-inch fold along one short edge. Starting there, roll the rectangle into a compact log shape, then unroll it.
3. Tie one end of a 10-inch string to a pushpin inserted into the center of a cardboard piece; tie the other end to a pencil. Hold the string taut as you draw a 17 1/2-inch circle. Cut out the circle. Repeat for a second circle [B].
4. Apply strips of double-sided tape along the interior edges of the roll as shown. Make a drum-shaped cylinder by pressing the roll’s taped edges around the circumference of each cardboard circle. Trim and seal the roll’s seam with duct tape. Add more tape inside and outside the roll to reinforce it [C].
5. Have your child try on the costume. Fold the underarm tabs down and inside the costume and widen any other openings as needed. Have your child remove the costume.
6. Cover the outside of the cylinder with black duct tape.
7. FILLING: On the underside of a paper plate, draw 3 sections of sushi-roll filling (salmon, avocado, etc.), extending your drawings to the plate’s edge for a three-dimensional look [D].
8. Cut them out. Repeat on the second plate to make filling for the roll’s back side.
9. To attach the filling and “rice,” apply closely spaced strips of double-sided tape all over the roll’s circular ends. Press the filling pieces firmly into the center of each side, securing with extra tape if needed. Cover the remaining tape with packing peanuts.
10. SOY SAUCE: Draw and cut out a soy sauce label from white paper. Use double-sided tape to attach the label to the gift bag.
Weekend Look gets a new look
Exciting stuff, ya’ll. One of two of you may have seen Weekend Look, the video I shoot weekly with George Lang. Well, we’ve revamped the format starting this week. Instead of just delivering the entertainment news of the week, we’re discussing and voicing our opinions about a certain entertainment news topic each week. This week, we talked about Sarah Palin’s appearance on Saturday Night Live last weekend and Tina Fey’s uncanny impersonations of Palin. I think this format is more fun and probably a bit more interesting than the previous one, so check it out here.
Don’t touch my sign
Some ruthless thief stole the sign I had in my front yard promoting the presidential candidate I support. (hint–it’s not Oprah or Paris Hilton.) It was firmly rooted into the grass next to my mailbox yesterday morning when I left for work but gone by the time I returned that evening. Even though we had “sideways rain” and strong winds yesterday, I know it didn’t blow away. And none of the competition’s signs were missing from my neighbors’ yards.That’s lame. I mean, I can understand cringing when you drive or jog by a sign for the other party in one of your neighbors’ yards but actually stealing a sign? That doesn’t speak well of the party whose members would stoop to such a juvenile tactic. Maybe it’s happening on both sides but around here, it’s pretty one-sided if you listen to the news and ask around. My colleague, who sits next to me in the newsroom told me the same thing happened to her neighbors around the same time.
It’s un-American. Isn’t America built upon the foundation of freedom of choice? What else is a democracy if not a polarized conglomeration of people who agree to disagree? I don’t touch your signs, you don’t touch mine.
I can’t wait for this election to be over and for my guy to have won already.
Energy drinks freak me out.
I am writing a story about a recent report from a team of researchers that states that drinking lots of energy drinks can lead to caffeine addiction and that the caffeine content should be labeled. It also states that energy drinks can act as “gateway drugs” leading to abuse of other stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall. A local doctor I spoke to said that moderation is the key to drinking these drinks and that, just like soda or coffee, dependence on energy drinks can occur if you drink them every day.
I found this blog posting while researching the story. I thought it was really well done so I wanted to share it with you.
Freaky creepy
The first time I saw a house centipede was shortly after moving into my home. If you’ve never seen a house centipede, or Scutigera coleoptrata, you’re lucky. They are freakishly creepy looking little buggers, perfect for Halloween season. The first one I saw was in the guest bathtub dead, but I still screamed bloody murder at the sight of the alien carcass. A few weeks later, I groggily went to the kitchen for a midnight snack. I switched on the light and in the middle of the kitchen floor I got an eyeful of a live version of this ghoulish beast. It stared at me for what seemed like 5 minutes and then ran off at lightning speed. Paralyzed with fear, I stood, rooted to the floor, my heart racing with terror but unable to move or scream for help.What’s so scary about this centipede? It has 15 pairs of long, jointed legs and gnarly looking fangs. It grows to about 1 1/2 inches long and can run up to 16 inches per second up walls and upside down on the ceiling. You know the saying, where there’s one there are 100. Visions of hundreds of house centipedes lurking in the dark crevices of my home have haunted my dreams more than once. But my research has uncovered several facts that make me a little more comfortable sharing my home with them. They rarely bite people, and their fangs can’t penetrate human skin. Only people with allergies react strongly.They’re insectivores and feed on other pests such as spiders, bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish and ants, so they’re considered more beneficial than most household pests. They hunt at night so, unless you’re a night owl, you may never meet one.
House centipedes can live their entire lives indoors, and each spring, females lay between 60 and 150 eggs.
They prefer damp areas, so one way of controlling them is to make sure your home is leak-free. If you have a large infestation of house centipedes, that could indicate that you have a moisture problem.
They can enter through tiny openings around windows and doors, so caulking and sealing can help. Try glue traps along baseboards and strategically placed insecticide. If all else fails, call professional exterminators.
When pumpkins drink.
So sad.
I Heart OSC
I love Orson Scott Card. He is an amazing author of science fiction, fantasy and historical literature and I’ve been reading his books for years. I met him about 10 years ago at Full Circle Bookstore in
Queen + Paul Rodgers: Let the Cosmos Rock!
Here’s a cool event in Oklahoma City you should check out if you are a Queen fan. “Queen + Paul Rodgers: Let the Cosmos Rock” is a high definition concert movie from the band’s tour kick off in Freedom Square in Kharkov, Ukraine, on September 12th in front of more than 350,000 fans. AT 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 the following theaters will present the concert which features the band’s greatest hits and new music from their album “The Cosmos Rocks.”
Quail Springs 24, 2501 W Memorial Road.
Tinseltown
Spotlight 14, 1100 N Interstate Drive, Norman.
Tickets are available at presenting theatre box offices and at www.FathomEvents.com.
Avenue Q: Not quite puppet porn
I took a trip to New York City in October, 2007 and was lucky enough to get free tickets to see Avenue Q. I thought it was kind of juvenile, but I certainly wouldn’t let my daughter see it! If you have never seen naked puppets, this musical is your chance. Sesame Street-like puppets are the stars of this musical that revolves around a dicey New York City apartment building and its residents. The puppets learn life lessons about booze, sex, love and friendship. I was sitting next to a couple who were probably in their 70s and frankly, I was embarrassed by some the dialogue and songs, so I can’t imagine what they were thinking. “The Internet Is for Porn” is just one of the songs that had me blushing.
Heather
