We really miss her.....

This is a picture of Chris and his sister Lisa, in the parking lot of her apartment, "The Safeways", at Santa Clara University in 1989.  When I met Chris, I met Lisa too.  The two of them shared such an amazing bond.  She was his biggest cheerleader, and he was her biggest fan.  I always admired the way they took care of each other.  In fact, our first official date on Valentine's Day, 1990, was dinner prepared by Lisa in her tiny little apartment.  She fixed chicken parmigiana, and I still remember the tablecloth and the vase of flowers she had put together.  Chris would have never thought of those things, (and she knew it!), so she slyly took care of all the details....and was delighted to do it.
When Lisa was a senior at Santa Clara, I was a sophomore.  That year, she had to take a science class called, "Water, water, water.".  Lisa was super smart, but she insisted that I be her tutor, which meant that we met weekly at various locations around campus to "study".  Really, it turned into just a great chance to talk and hang out together.

 After college, we all eventually migrated back to Spokane.  Lisa was the first on either side of the family to have kids....and she and Joe patiently relented to our unannounced visits to their house during the first two years of Tyler's life.  Chris and I had a habit of showing up just after Lisa had put Tyler to bed, and she would always go get him up so that we could play!  After we became parents, we realized just how kind Lisa really was!  The above picture is at the beach at Priest Lake, around 2002.  Lisa is at the head of the table, hanging out at one of her most favorite places on Earth!  Seeing this picture, I realize this was just before Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer.  In May of 2003, she was diagnosed with Stage IIb cancer.  I'll never forget the night before the final staging diagnosis....Lisa was a nervous wreck, and their dog Chloe was delivering her puppies!  Lisa tackled the initial diagnosis with incredible strength.  She rolled up her sleeves and went about her radiation, chemotherapy, and finally, mastectomy and reconstructive surgery with hardly a complaint.  In fact, to celebrate a year and a half of treatments, surgeries and recoveries, Lisa asked Chris and I if we would like to join her in running a marathon!  This was an opportunity that we could not turn down.  When someone you love has just conquered cancer and wants you to run a marathon with them, the only answer is YES!

After training from January through May with Lisa and her friend Debby, we finished the Capital City Marathon in May 2005.  Here we are at the finish line with Lisa.  The amount of respect I had for Lisa on this day......I'm not sure that I have known a tougher human being.  To endure the last year and a half that she had just had, and to kick cancer in the face by running a marathon just two years after her initial diagnosis...I mean, she was SUPERWOMAN!!!  The finish line meant so much to all of us that day!
And then, later that summer, Lisa and I were running up at Priest Lake.  She asked me whether I thought that the pain she was feeling in her abdomen could be due to a hernia, you know, based on having had major reconstructive surgery after her mastectomy.  It sounded logical to me, and she agreed that she was going to go to the doctor to have it checked out.  What happened within the next month just completely changed our lives forever.
On September 6, 2005, Lisa's doctor called to let her know that the breast cancer had become metastatic, and that it had traveled to her liver.  Her doctor informed her that she was terminal.  She might live through Christmas, but after that, they could not guarantee T-I-M-E.  For anyone and everyone that knew and loved Lisa, time stopped that day.  The days and weeks and months that followed were filled with agony and so much sadness.  Lisa was a warrior through it all.  Heartbreakingly, she remained so selfless during this time.....thinking of everyone else instead of herself.  But, that was just who she was.  Lisa celebrated another Christmas.  She got to ride in a limo with friends and family to see all of Spokane's Christmas lights.  But, shortly after the new year in 2006, things started to rapidly decline.  Chris and I spent the last week of her life with family and close friends visiting and taking care of her at her house, with Hospice guiding the way.  In the early morning hours of January 22nd, 2006, Lisa took her last breath.  She was only 36 years old.
In the days following Lisa's death, I think we were all just in a fog.  My husband's desire to keep Lisa's memory alive (especially for her three boys), led him to the Race for the Cure and the formation of TEAM LISA.  That April, 2006, over 800 people donned bright yellow t-shirts and helped us raise money for the fight against breast cancer......all running for TEAM LISA!

Record breaking first year in 2006!

More Team Lisa 2009

This past April 2010, the desire to keep Lisa's legacy alive resulted in the opening of the Lisa Stiles-Gyllenhammer Boys and Girls Club in Mead, WA.  Lisa's husband Joe has an incredible lifelong friend, Aaron Reilly, who spearheaded the committee for the creation of this Boys and Girls Club.  There have been many amazing moments in our lives, but the day that the lettering for the club went up on that brick building.......well, it was incredible.  For my nephews to grow up knowing what an impact their mom made on this world is incredibly powerful, and this place just makes that all the more possible.

At the grand opening ceremony, my husband was the last one to get up to speak.  I remember he told me that he had "dummied down the speech" so that it wouldn't get too emotional.  Well, problem was, when you love your sister the way Chris loved Lisa (and vice versa), emotional is the only way this thing was going to go.  The reality was, he couldn't even start the speech.  So, I did what any wife would do....I rallied the crowd with some clapping and yelled out, "YOU CAN DO IT!"  And so, Chris told the crowd a little bit about his sister, and the impact that he hoped the Boys and Girls club would have on our community.  And each time he had to pause to collect himself, we clapped!
Lisa was an amazing person.  We remember her every day, and miss her so much.  Her life was too short here on Earth.  And her death has taught us to remember that tomorrow is not a guarantee, so we must live today to its fullest.  Missoula Marathon, 2011, here I come....and Lisa will be with me, every step of the way!

Not trying to reinvent the wheel

Every night, I hate trying to think of different things to cook.  I'm always looking for great recipes.  So, I wanted to share this link to a blog I discovered.  The gals who write this blog swam in my master's swim class at Whitworth.  I think they've got a pretty cool thing going and I just had to share:

www.spokanedinnerclub.blogspot.com

You are gonna love it!

We're Turning 40 This Year!

Remember these sweet photo booths with the curtain in the background?  This is a picture of my friend Jennifer and I from junior high.  I guess it would have probably been 1983 or 1984.  The two of us had similar childhoods: two working parents, two sets of living grandparents, Sunday dinners at Grandma's house, and the comforts of knowing that you were loved unconditionally.  The similarities didn't end there though....we both loved to be outside!  We ran, we played soccer at recess, and we rode our bikes along the dirt trails between our two houses, usually one of us on the handle bars and the other one pedaling.  Footloose was our favorite movie that year, and the two of us memorized every song on the vinyl album.  I can still remember using Jennifer's crutches as our microphones while we sang our hearts out up in her room.  In fact, Jennifer's mom Paula gave our volleyball team access to a huge meeting room in the basement of the local credit union where she worked.  Our team, and our coaches, had a huge sleepover in the basement of the bank (go figure!) and the coaches taught us the line dance to Footloose.  I bet if you asked any of the girls we grew up with what "Tap, tap, over tap, over tap, Step Back" means, they would give you the biggest smile ever.  We stayed up all night learning those steps.  As we all move closer to turning 40, it's amazing to me how I can remember all of these moments.  And how they still make me smile. 

Birthdays, Blackouts and a Great Time!

This weekend we had the chance to stay at a ski condo at Schweitzer.  Some friends of ours have a guest condo right on one of the runs.....I mean, literally, you gear up and ski out the front door onto the slopes.  Turns out it just doesn't get any better than that! 
The first night started off a little rough.  We had some angry, howling winds throughout the night that kept me awake.  For some reason, my thoughts turned to that book by Jan Krakauer, "Into Thin Air", and how torturous it would be to be into mountaineering and be stuck in these types of conditions out in the elements....and then those thoughts led me to..."what if we have an avalanche or something?"...I was making escape plans for myself and my family as the winds kept howling.  Eventually, I did drift back to sleep, but my dreams were crazy!
In the morning, we awoke to no power!  The high winds had knocked a tree over and the power went out with it.  Schweitzer was only running a couple of lifts on auxiliary power.  It was tough to be disappointed though, because it we also awoke to our youngest daughter's 7th birthday on Saturday!  Since it was going to be tough to toast up Eggo waffles without power, we decided to eat cupcakes and open presents at 8 a.m.!  Here's the birthday girl and a few of her gifts:

After a quick trip down to Sandpoint for some hot breakfast, we heard power had been restored so we headed back up the mountain for some skiing.  The winds and the temperature kept things pretty chilly both days, but it was still a great time.  Thanks to our friends for use of their amazing condo!

Gettin' Bloggie With It....

OK Girls, time to rally.  I'm slowly getting the hang of this blog thing.  A good friend of mine suggested that I post a gameplan for one of my biggest goals this year.  Missoula Marathon, July 10th!  Time to rally the troops and get the word out.  Someone asked.....can I invite other friends too?  Absolutely.  We've got quite a crew committed to at least running the half marathon, and some ready for the full.
So, here's the gameplan.  Get in at least one road race per month starting next month with Partners in Pain.  One friend laughed out loud at the name of this one.....clearly, she said, a run perfect for her!  In March, St. Paddy's Five; in April, Race for the Cure (of course!); in May, Bloomsday, then Windermere Half Marathon, then Priest Lake Fun Run over Memorial Day; in June.....longer training runs planned out together....and then in July, we road trip to Missoula.  Not a runner?  That's OK, we aren't either!  Ha!  The point is, we're making some goals, putting them on the calendar, and we're going to go after them and do them.  Maybe we'll see you at Partners in Pain.....not ready to run?  Then find a partner and walk it.  Cool long sleeve t-shirts every year and it's freezing...but it's fun.  Go to brrc.net for the running calendar put out by Bloomsday, or pick just google these events and start planning.  And, when the weather gets nicer, we'll do some runs together on Sundays. 
Here we come Missoula!

Mom, please tell me that's not Squid butt......

I started off today thinking it would be a great idea if I could serve something healthy on this first weeknight of the new year.  You know, get the family off to a great start by keeping some fiber in their diet.....which means, lots of veggies.  Like most of the great ideas I come up with, I procrastinated.  Truth is, I'm not passionate about cooking.  But, as I thumbed through the latest Sports Illustrated this morning, I saw a quote that got me to thinking.  It said, "The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other finds an excuse."  Well, isn't that the truth.  Stop with the excuses, make up your mind, and get it done.  Problem is, I don't really have the culinary aptitude to just go in the kitchen, find some ingredients, and whip up something that tastes good.  I envy the people who have that ability, but it's certainly not mine.  I started off by searching for recipes online, but that got to be overwhelming....too many possibilities.  And then it dawned on me, I have a million cookbooks, just open it up, find what you want, and pick out a couple of choices.  Luckily, I remembered that my good friend had given me a great cookbook last year as a thank you present.  Really, it was one of the most thoughtful gifts a person could give, because inside, she had earmarked all the recipes that her family really loved.  Here is the cookbook:

Sorry, blogworld, I forgot to rotate in the pic editor before I inserted!

The recipe I chose was for Lettuce Wraps.  As I looked down the list of ingredients, I groaned......what the heck is Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and Asian Plum Sauce.....and where am I going to find these?  Aw, quick making excuses!  So, I added these items to my list, and went off to find them.  Truth be told, I did have to go to two different grocery stores because the first one was out of Plum Sauce.  Do people actually have this stuff stocked in their refrigerators?  The other ingredient that I wasn't too excited about was the ground turkey.  I know it cooks up white, but the pink, ooziness of the ground meat really makes my stomach turn.  The unfortunate part about being the cook in this house is that I have to actually deal with the stuff when it looks like this:

Oh Jenny, why do you have to look like this?

As I read through the instructions and discovered I would have to chop/dice the red pepper, celery, carrots, water chestnuts and garlic into tiny pieces, I wondered aloud....do I have one of those Cuisinart mini prep machines?  I mean, obviously the thing doesn't get much use because I wasn't even sure if I had one.  Score!  I found it.  And, what would have been a miserable 20 minutes of dicing veggies turned into like 5 minutes of wicked delight......just pile it in there, hit chop and voila:

Cuisinart mini-prepped carrots, red pepper, celery, water chestnuts and garlic!

The reality is, if you are a busy person but you have time to plan ahead (isn't that the problem though...if we're busy, how do we find time to plan ahead?).....well, you could chop the veggies the night before, throw them in a Ziplock, and this would make for one quick, easy and healthy meal.  Anyway, after the veggies were prepared, they cooked five minutes in a skillet, then the ground turkey went in to be browned (whitened), then went in hot chili sauce, plum sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt and pepper....and lastly, chopped up cashews....which I again threw into the mini prep....and dinner was served!  The recipe called for Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves, but I could only find Butter lettuce and it worked perfectly.  Here's how it turned out:

Turkey Lettuce Wraps with mandarin orange slices

The verdict?  Well, my kids tend to keep things real around here.  My oldest two came into the kitchen first.  The middle one said, "Mom, if you're going to try new recipes with new things in them, please just don't tell me what's in there, OK?"  I asked, "What do you mean?"  And then my oldest said, "Well, you know, if you tried to sneak Squid butt in there or something, we might throw up on the plate mid-bite."  Seriously, that was the conversation we had right before they consumed two lettuce wraps a piece, then quickly got up to help themselves to some more.  It is a fabulous recipe, great taste, and my kids loved it! 
On a side note....yes, I did take these pictures so that I could blog it.  And yes, my camera battery did die just before I took the first picture, so I had to borrow my daughters' camera.  And, I did mini prep the heck out of the red pepper, to the point that it wasn't exactly a chopped consistency, more noodle like than chopped red pepper......but, in the end, it all worked out, and I going to try to make less excuses!

Love, Friendship and just a few F-Bombs!

These are the signs that greeted us to town on our VERY FIRST ADVENTURE OF 2011!  So, we did what any other self respecting trio of women would do: we parked the car in the middle of the two lane highway, hopped out, and took ourselves a picture!  Having never been to Omak before, I wasn't exactly geared up to head to a small little town in the middle of the state in the middle of a very cold winter.  But, the destination wasn't important.  What spurred on this little adventure was the passing of a friend's father, two short days after Christmas.....and, well, it's important to show one's support during difficult times.
After a teensy weensy issue with showing up at the Elks Lodge instead of the Eagles Lodge for the memorial service, we managed to find the right place and, I might add, to park just a tad illegally in the very last smidgen of space left to park out in front of the Omak Eagles Lodge.  Upon entering the lodge, it was, as you might imagine, just exactly what a social hall in a small town might be.....wood paneling, snowflakes and tinsel left over from New Year's Eve dangling from the ceiling, and crowded wall to wall with people. 
Our dear friend who's father had passed said a few words about her dad, and then the slideshow began.  What is it with country music?  I mean, one minute we're watching the slideshow of these great old photos of her dad as a boy, and the next minute Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton opened the flood gates with that song..."when I get where I'm going, there'll be only happy tears".  You could hear the sniffling and see the wiping of the eyes all around that little lodge.  And then, at the end of it, the story telling began.  Remember the title of this post?  Well, that's when the f-bombs started too.  We heard stories about hunting, fishing, trapshooting and pranks that were full of some of the most colorful language available to mankind.  And you know what?  It was probably one of the most honest displays of love and friendship that I've ever witnessed.  There was no pomp and circumstance.  It was old guys in Wrangler's, cowboy hats and hunting jackets with their Ford pickups parked out front, coming in to honor a guy who devoted his life to loving up on his friends and his family.  And so, when he passed, they came in droves, with hilarious stories to share.  One man stood and shared the story of two particularly loyal friends who, for months on end, showed up to the house at 7:30 in the morning, gave two knocks, then came in to brew the coffee and share a cup and a conversation with their buddy who had this awful cancer.  It was a simple act of love, friendship and kindness that drew a standing ovation. 
This first adventure of 2011 was a lesson for the three of us who made the journey together.  A full life is a life that's full of love, that's filled with friendship, and where an occasional f-bomb is just the adjective required to tell a story about a very special man.