fundraising!!!

I'm posting up some pictures of cookies and some other things I have made in an effort to start a bake sale benefiting the Ronald McDonald House! If you would like to "order" anything from me, for now, or even for the upcoming holiday season, I would be happy to oblige! If an outright donation is not in the cards, please consider donating in exchange for a beautiful cookie bouquet, gift basket of treats, or anything else you can come up with! I am up for the challenge!

Thanks for all of your help!


as you can see.. i have gotten progressively better with practice



i made a whole bunch of these flower pots for mother's day, but i can't find the rest of the pictures!


this was my nephew's "spongebob" themed first birthday party, we had little bags so people could take cookies home with them after.





summertime cookies! sunbathing bears, towels and flip-flops!





this bouquet has a hint of sparkle to it to give it that extra special "wedding" gleam (their wedding colors were red and white.. i could do any color scheme)



of course I had to make cookies for big sister too!


this was my first "cupcake cake" - it made for easy single servings!

this was my first fondant cake.. i'm still learning.

i made an array of pastries for a family dinner.. chocolate éclairs, miniature apple strudels, ginger-molasses cookies and 5-layer bars.

such an inspiration...

On Saturday after our incredibly greuling training we had the pleasure of making bag lunches for the families at the Ronald McDonald House. (Really I shouldn't say we, considering they were done by the time I returned to the House - way to go team!). I hung around for a while after to get some photos of the families getting lunches - they were so appreciative! It truly is the little things.

On the way out, we encountered some familiar faces (well, familiar to me). The adorable twins, Yurelia and Fiorella, were sitting out front of the House with their grandmother. I had seen their photos in the newspaper, and in press releases from the hospital. They are staying at the House while waiting to undergo surgery to separate them.. as they are conjoined. They are the sweetest little girls, and their grandmother was a delight to talk to. That is why I'm doing this...

http://www.lpch.org/NewsEvents/NewsReleases/2007/twins.html

this article has an adorable picture of the girls:
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=5865

SO CUTE!

pictures of saturday's training at the dish...

When we were doing our training at the Stanford dish on Saturday I was taken aback by the breathtaking view. Not only could you see Stanford's beautiful campus, but you could also see to the bay and beyond. It was such a gorgeous day, and super sunny out! (I can still feel the burn on my cheeks!)

Here are some pictures I found on the internet.. to give you a taste..

it's funny how crazy life gets...

Although I have been M.I.A. from my blog, I have not been M.I.A. from my training. It's been tough because with my work schedule it's practically impossible for me to go to track workouts, but I try my hardest to get to what I can, and then do the rest on my own. A couple of weeks ago we had this awesome (or what I thought was awesome) training in coyote hills. I really impressed myself with how much of it I was able to run considering it was a little over 7 miles, and it was raining!! I actually enjoyed running in the gloomy weather because you never get too hot... plus the view was really nice. We ran right alongside the water for the majority of it, so just taking that all in was great!

I was soaked, and sore.. but I left that same day to go on a road trip with Kris down the coastline. When we stopped in Monterey we walked along part of what our route is going to be for the half marathon, and let me tell you, it is GEORGOUS!! I'm so excited to do the run simply for the scenery!! Monterey is one of my favorite places. I'll post pictures soon!

Yesterday we had our longest (and most brutal) training yet. We started at the Ronald McDonald House, which was encouraging, and from there we ran through the Stanford Campus (which is beautiful by the way) to the Dish. Ahhhhh the dish.. those hills were insane. I really didn't think I was going to make it. I walked most of the dish (3 miles) simply because there were so many hills, and I didn't want to completely wear myself out knowing I had to make it back to the House after. I took it slow, and finished running, so that was nice.

I'm sore.. and sunburned - that sun was out and raging yesterday!! But I'm getting there! 9.5 miles baby!