Texas Lou

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Pampered Chef show last night that my Team in Training team hosted.  So far, we have made over $700 and 15% of that will go toward finding a cure for cancer!

We had a blast meeting new friends, chatting with old friends, learning about some awesome Pampered Chef products, and tasting some yummy food!

I also want to thank everyone who ordered online!

Orders for our show can still be placed up until 9 PM on this Sunday evening (June 13th) with 15% of each order going toward our cause!

If you’d like to order online, here are the instructions:

Online Ordering Instructions: Go to http://www.pamperedchef.biz/danaholler -> “Our Products” -> “HOW TO PURCHASE” -> Type “Team in Training” as the organization, click “Search for Host” -> click on “Nikki Chambers” -> Order!

Thank you everyone for your support!

I’d like to say a special thanks to Dana Holler, my good friend, for being the best Pampered Chef consultant ever, Nikki Chambers, my Team in Training Fundraiser Captain, for putting the event together, and her friend Ellen for lending us her beautiful house and big kitchen!

1. Gimme 5 minutes of your time – go to my Team In Training web page at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf10/leslieelsaifi

There, you will learn more about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and my training and fundraising progress.  In the five minutes that it takes you to review my web page, someone new will be diagnosed with a blood cancer – so money for research and patient support is desperately needed.

2. Gimme 5 friends. Send this blog post to five of your friends or colleagues and help me spread the word about what I am doing!  Maybe they will want to make a donation as well!

3. Gimme 5 months of training to get ready for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.  It is a ton of work, but it pales in comparison to what people facing cancer have to go through every day.  During the five months I’m in training, approximately 21,600 Americans will have died from a blood cancer.

4. Gimme 5 hundred thousand Americans who have contracted blood cancers in the past five years.   Help me help others with cancer to win their battle.  LLS is helping patients live longer, better lives and you can help too!

5. Gimme a donation and I’ll give you 5 reasons I’m grateful for it.   You can make a secure credit card donation online, or if you prefer, send me a check payable to LLS.  For those of you who have already donated, here are 5 reason I’m grateful: (1) That I’m healthy enough to even attempt this endurance event; (2) That while cancer survival rates continue to increase, your donation will make a difference (3) Because without your donation, all I am doing is running 13.1 miles – it is your donation that is the real purpose of all of this; (4) That so many people continue to believe in me trying to make a difference; (5) For the names of your loved ones that I will wear on my shirt on race day.  These give me a lot of strength during the half marathon, and I am grateful for you sharing them with me.

So if you haven’t done so already but would like to, go ahead and use your fingers to write a check to LLS or key in a credit card donation online.  In return, I’ll use my legs and feet to run 13.1 miles, and you’ll automatically get all five reasons for my gratitude applied to you as well!

Sincerely,

Leslie Elsaifi

I promised a recap of my Memorial Day weekend and my cousin’s wedding so here it is:

The weekend can be summed up in one word:  SPECTACULAR!

Almost the entire family was able to make it to the wedding.  People came from Washington State,  Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Mexico.  I’d say we did our best at taking over Sherman, Texas for the weekend!

Besides having a ton of fun, doing alot of reminiscing, and making new memories that will last a lifetime, I think the most important thing that came out of the trip was the realization that I have the best family in the world and I absolutely love them.  As children, we were all very close, but I often worry that after all of the years of college, and jobs, and everyone moving farther apart to pursue different careers or life choices, we would slowly drift apart and lose that closeness that we all had.

This trip definitely stifled those worries because even as adults, we all still enjoy each other’s company and realize how important it is to maintain that closeness that many other families are not lucky enough to have.

And in no specific order, here are my favorite moments from the trip:

• Marc calling me to tell me that they were running late to pick Ben and I up from the airport and they would be there soon if they didn’t die first from the roach crawling around Megan’s car
• Eating REAL Tex-Mex food and drinking margaritas with Megan and Ben on a Thursday afternoon
• Watching the Hangover with the fam and repeating quotes like, “Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon” and “Toodaloo Motha Fuckas”
• Running on the treadmill with my sister in the hotel gym on Friday morning and keeping each other motivated for our half marathon in October
• Eating continental breakfast with the whole family in the hotel lobby every morning
• Watching the surprise slide show made by Bryan’s (the groom) dad 3 times and loving it more each time
• Getting to know some of my cousins as adults since the last time I saw them they were still kids
• Dancing with Ben for the first time in our almost-4-year-long relationship
• Visiting with friends and family at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception
• Introducing Ben to the whole fam damily and to Sherman, Texas!
• DANCING with the fam (particularly to Footloose – will always remember the suspender tricks)
• Giving a speech at the reception to honor my cousin and one of my best friends
• Catching the bouquet (even if my mom DID volley it to me)
• Meeting many of the little ones who have joined our family but I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet yet and watching them dance and play on the dance floor
• Saying “Shelby Drink Your Juice” in a country accent every time Megan started to tear up at the thought of no longer being a Mitchusson to keep her from messing up her make-up
• The sigh of relief I had when mom fixed the zipper on my bridesmaid dress and once again confirmed that she is my ultimate hero
• Walking down the stairs at the reception with the best man as we were introduced to the guests to the tune of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”
• Partying at Cellarmans until midnight after the rehearsal dinner and then moving the party to the Holiday Inn Express gazebo until 2 AM the night before the wedding
• Getting my hair done with my mom, aunt, the bride, and the bridesmaids
• Getting pedicures and manicures with my mom, aunt, sister, and cousin
• Laughing the day after the wedding at the stories of dance moves involving the shocker
• Seeing Matt’s bee hives
• Dancing to “Girl’s Just Want To Have Fun” after “catching” the bouquet
• Watching my cousin get married in the same church my parents were married in almost 40 years ago

There are so many more great memories, but if I keep writing, you’d all get bored and stop reading!

And now, courtesy of Marc Mitchusson, a photo of the Scott Family great-grandaughters who attended the wedding and also some of my best friends in the whole world!

Well Sunday evening brought me back home and Monday morning brought me back to the real world, but I’m still thinking about how great our girls’ trip to the beach was.

We ate good food, drank some yummy cocktails and some fresh lemonade, we napped on the beach next to the ocean, tanned by the edge of the pool, visited an arts and crafts fair, met new and interesting people, played several rounds of rummy, watched a whole lotta Friends, did some outlet shopping, took lots of pictures, drank some $2 beers, and just had a blast!

It was a great weekend and I’m already wanting to go back again!

Here’s a picture of my two lovely ladies, Cris and Sarah, and myself out on the town in OBX!

Thanks to Sarah for the picture and thanks to Cris and her very generous parents for providing the venue that allowed us to make lots of new and wonderful memories!

I love this sign!

It’s almost as good as “We don’t swim in your toilet, so don’t pee in our pool!”

I’m laying on the beach AND I got to sleep till noon today! I haven’t done that since college!

As you can see from the picture, the weather is perfect and the beach is beautiful!

Well it’s time to forget about technology and enjoy the beach!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

There’s no place I love more than the beach.  I want to retire there one day so that I can hear the sound of the ocean when I wake up every morning and when I go to sleep every night.  I love to feel the sand between my toes, the sun on my skin, the wind in my hair, and the salt water all around me.

I truly believe the beach can make anything better.

I’m so excited to be spending a 3 day weekend at the beach with my girls.

Outer Banks, here I come!

P.S.  I still have lots to tell about my Memorial Day trip to Texas and my cousin’s wedding, but it’s been a short and busy week and it will have to wait until next time.

I just want to say congratulations to my cousin and best friend, Megan Mitchusson.  I hope that her and Bryan Barnhill will have a long, happy, healthy, loving life together.

Here’s to Mr. and Mrs. B and the best weekend ever!  Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

P.S.  Megan you will always be a Mitchusson!

Last night I went to a classic cocktail night at a local bar.  I also marked another first off of my list.  I tried absinthe for the first time.  I was under the impression that absinthe was illegal in the United States, but according to our instructor and Wikipedia, it was recently made legal again about three years ago.

All of the drinks we learned how to make had their origins in New Orleans, which is a spectacular city and should be visited be everyone at least once in their life.

The first drink we made was a sweet sipping beverage called Sazerac.  It was very strong and sweet and we drank it from a small 4 ounce shot glass.  When making this drink, I learned how to muddle.

The next drink was called a Ramos Gin Fizz which was made using gin, lemon juice, lime juice, orange flower water, heavy cream, sugar, and an egg white.  This drink was quite tasty and had a nice texture, but making it burned about as many calories as were consumed drinking it.  To give this drink it’s frothy texture, between 2 and 12 minutes of shaking was required.

Next, we made a Vieux Carré which means “old house” when translated from French.  It contained rye gin, sweet vermouth, cognac, and several different types of bitters.

Lastly, one of my favorites, was the Old Absinthe House Frappe which consisted mostly of absinthe and fresh muddled mint leaves.  It was reminiscent of a mojito and would make for a very nice cold sipping drink on a hot New Orleans day.

Now I’ve got my menu of drinks to order next time I hit up NOLA!

Occasionally in life (or at least in my life), something comes along that changes me.  It helps shape the person I am becoming and has a profound impact on the way I live my life.

It seems that the older I become, the less often this happens (probably because I am too busy to notice it happening), so I try to hold on to this feeling when it comes because I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait until I have it again.

The most recent catalyst in the molding of who I ultimately will become was the ending of a television show.  I know some people might think that I’m stupid or cliche for letting a television show shape who I am or considering a television show important enough to influence me greatly, but I don’t care.  I can’t control what feelings are evoked in me by different forms of art (and yes I do consider some television a form of art but this would explicitly exclude reality television).

The television show I’m speaking of is LOST.  I feel that there never has been and never will be a piece of fiction so profound and meaningful on television in my lifetime.  When I watched the two and a half hour series finale on Sunday evening, I cried.  And I did not just get teary eyed.  I actually bawled like a baby into Ben’s t-shirt.  It wasn’t because I was so sad that the show was ending, although that did depress me slightly.  It was that the ending and the overall meanings of the show fit so perfectly into my beliefs and values that I couldn’t help but feel what the characters were feeling.  I won’t go into details because I know not everyone is a LOST fan like I am and I know there are some out there who have yet to see the finale.  All I can say is that the ending was perfect for me (keywords:  for me).

I’ll always cherish this show and I know I will watch it over and over again.  I will encourage my children (once they’ve reached a certain age) to watch it and discuss it.  LOST is definitely a show that will transcend time and has certainly had a very large impact on me.

Always remember, “If we can’t live together, we will die alone.”