‘American Cancer Society’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs

December 14, 2011 · Narrative

Mystic usually comes over for dinner on Tuesdays because his kids are with their Mom. I had a plan of what I was going to make for dinner. Chicken, vegetables, bacon pinwheels… then 6 pm came last night and I was still working. And freezing. And.could.not.get.motivated. I have had this perpetual chill that I have a hard time getting rid of and I really just wanted to change into sweats, comfy socks, and crawl into bed. I settled for sweats, comfy socks, and a call for pizza.

I felt super guilty. If I ever do take-out, leftovers, or something completely uninspired, I try not to do it on Tuesdays. Just a silly mini goal of sorts. Of course I cook other days too, but I figure a homecooked meal cooked by someone else is always appreciated. Especially a single parent.

I even had all the groceries to make the dinner last night. So tonight I made good, and all seven of us enjoyed the meal-that-wasn’t-yesterday instead.

If you’re playing along with our Eat.Live.Be. reboot, this week’s inspiration was to come from somewhere online. I actually found the chicken recipe on Pinterest, but it originates from Kalyn’s Kitchen. If you’re not familiar with Kalyn’s Kitchen, the focus is on the principles of the South Beach diet. With New Years’ resolutions nearly on the horizon, I’m sure legions will be reupping their interest in South Beach, so Kalyn’s site is a great resource if you’re heading that way. Although I don’t follow South Beach, I liked the concept of the chicken. Similar to a Chicken Parmesan recipe, it’s baked though, instead of fried, and even more healthy with whole wheat bread crumbs.

Although it’s supposed to marinate all day (I did mine for 5 hours), outside of that, the recipe is super simple, making it an ideal entree for a busy weeknight. The chicken is relatively tender, and packed with flavor from the olive oil and garlic. Seven out of seven ate it tonight, with five going back for seconds. Considering some of the picky eaters around the table, these are excellent results, trust me. I added a side of roasted vegetables and plain spaghetti with red sauce, and it was perfect.

You can find the recipe right here.

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Happy Birthday to the American Cancer Society

December 14, 2011 · Ad-Free

This time of year can be especially hard if you’ve lost a loved one. But then again, if you’ve experienced a heavy, deep loss, the whole year is hard irregardless of a holiday celebration or two. My grandfather on my mom’s side died from lung cancer, and unfortunately it took him at a young age, before my sister or I ever got to meet him. He died when my mom was pregnant with me. I know very little about him, and so wish that that wasn’t the case. From the little stories we’ve heard, he sounded like he was a wonderful man.

My friend Chris lost his sister-in-law way too early, and I know that’s a loss that he and his family will never get over.

Although breast cancer has not affected our lives, the kids and I do a walk every year to support its research. Three years and counting. Beyond just the simple act of walking three miles with my family, it’s a way of showing support, and teaching the kids how we can help, and how lucky we are. All of us.

We all know someone who has been affected.

Every day, research puts the world closer and closer to a cure. Or advancements that make a prognosis ever so slightly less painful. Or just give us hope.

The American Cancer Society is celebrating twenty five years. Here’s to more birthdays for all.

*This post was sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

Wordless Wednesday – In the Pink

October 20, 2010 · Narrative, Photos, Wordless Wednesday

I somehow missed the sign for Mile Marker 2. Oops. Must’ve been about the time we were searching for a portable toilet.

Notes from this walk, particularly one that I braved with the kids:

Just because the route map SHOWS portable toilets along the way, that doesn’t mean there is more than one at each location. Because there wasn’t. Wanna guess on what those lines looked like? Not pretty. With the thousands of people that attended, eight or so toilets along the route is just.not.enough.
Madeline, without any prompting from me or her brother, is apparently not a fan of the portable toilet experience. Not that I can blame her, of course, but you make do with what you have. She didn’t like we couldn’t flush anything. Nor that we could see everything. And that there was no sink.
After the MS Walk I did back in April, I learned that there is no need to arrive when registration opens. This time, we arrived about fifteen minutes before the walk began and had plenty of time to register and get a starting spot.
The American Cancer Society apparently had a store on the premises where you could buy (pink, natch) items to support the cause. We gave up searching for it after about 15 minutes. How hard should it be?
The whining started roughly about mile 3.25, and I was proud of the kids for hanging on that long. Nick also asked why we couldn’t just cut over to the other side and walk back (it’s in a loop). Seems like a fair enough question.
Parking was awesome for this walk at the Mack-Cali corporate area. Love that.

Project 365
October 20, 2010, Photo #184 and 185

The girls’ softball team in town donned pink ribbons in honor of breast cancer awareness this weekend.

Last two photos courtesy of K. McGowen.

Thinking Pink … and Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 13, 2010 · Narrative

“Hey, you might know … where I can find pink shoelaces? I need 28 pairs by Sunday.”

When the Director of Madeline’s school stopped me last week to ask, I didn’t think it would be too hard to find. After all, with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, pink is everywhere you look. Until, of course, I started looking.

After trips to some of the “usual suspects,” the search was proving harder than I thought. Then I started thinking outside of the box. What else could we get in pink that could be used as shoelaces? My original thought was to use some sort of ribbon (like the kind you would use when sewing and trimming), but then I stumbled upon some thin bias tape in the fabric section (similar to ribbon), and after finding a shoelace to use as measurement, I bought enough packages to make it work.

By why was it so important? Because the request came from a child. The Director’s son is on the town football team.

He wanted to honor the mom of one of his teammates.

She had a double mastectomy last week.

He wanted his team to wear the pink shoelaces for Sunday night’s game.

The fact that he would come up with this idea on his own, and push for follow-through spoke volumes about him and his parents. And that made the pink shoelace hunt all the more important.

These days, particularly after going through a divorce and watching several friends follow the same path, people don’t surprise me as much anymore. And in this case, I’m happy to be surprised. Oh so very surprised. I fight hard against cynicism and negativity, still wanting to believe the very best in people, and make sure that my kids feel the same way. And in this small little action of his that is so very huge, faith is reaffirmed and the world is, once again, a little more balanced.

* * * * *

Although my family has not been touched by breast cancer, my friends’ lives have (Chris, xoxo). This weekend, the kids and I will be participating in an American Cancer Society walk. For people we know. And people we don’t. As I explained to Nick what the walk was about, a million questions came tumbling out. Some I could answer. Some I couldn’t. So we walk for the unanswered questions. And the hope for a cure. And in the meantime, we are very thankful that there are several portable toilets along the walk route because otherwise this Mama would have all sorts of other challenges, walking with a 2-1/2 year old who just can’t “hold it” a few minutes longer.

Project 365
October 13, 2010, Photo #178

The kids have been VERY busy decorating our yard for Halloween. This is one of a few mini tombstones along the walkway. Shh, I see dead people.

P.S. Football pictures courtesy of K. McKowen (thank you!).