Even though I wasn’t feeling good today, I still went out to Plano to test drive a BMW for Breast Cancer. I was flying solo though since Nikki was swamped at work and Dave wasn’t interested. I got dressed in my Race for the Cure t-shirt and headed out around 3:00 PM. That was the perfect time since it really wasn’t very busy. All I had to do was sign a waver and I was able to hop in a car.

They had cute little pink car cookies– I couldn’t refuse!

It worked differently than I thought it would. I was expecting to be able to drive however many miles I wanted and to anywhere I wanted. When I got into the car, they actually had a map of the 10 mile (18 minute) route in the passenger seat. So in actuality each participant earns the charity $10. I was shocked they didn’t take my drivers license or anything. I drove a BMW X5 and it was awesome. Here’s what it looked like (except white with pink detailing, of course):

I also signed the “signature car”, which all the participants were able to do. See if you can find me!

Yup– there I am!

Overall it was a really fun experience for a great cause. I was able to chat with a woman from the North Texas chapter of Susan G. Komen and bought a rubber duckie that was in the Komen race last year, as well as a BMW pink ribbon shirt. Pretty good for a girl on a sick day, huh?! There are more pictures below. Check out the BMW website to find out when the Ultimate Drive comes into your city!

If you’re new to our site, don’t forget to donate to my Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. I appreciate your support!

I thought the awareness messages on the car were very shocking.

Last week I learned about a program that BMW hosts called the BMW Ultimate Drive benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This is the 12th year for the event, and it takes place this week in our area. The cars travel around the country throughout the year, so check the site to see when they will be in your city.

Here’s a summary of the program:

Join us for our 12th year in the battle against breast cancer with our partner, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Just get behind the wheel of a new vehicle of your choice in the BMW Ultimate Drive® supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure event. As a participant, you’ll find plenty of BMW models to test drive, such as the thrilling 3 Series Coupe, the sporty X3 SAV® and this year’s Signature Vehicle, the new and dynamic X6. For every mile you drive BMW will donate $1 on your behalf to Komen. Since the program’s inception in 1997, the event has raised over $11 million dollars for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs. In 2008 you can continue to make a difference by taking a test drive to help us reach our goal: donating a grand total of $12 million.

Pretty cool, huh? It is taking place in Dallas (at Classic BMW in Plano) on Wednesday, April 23 from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM. Walk-ins are welcome, but you can also call to make a reservation:

Nikki and I are talking about going over on lunch or after work to show our support. It should be fun, so be sure to come back and check out our pictures!

Is anyone else wondering how we can possibly walk 60 miles in three days?  I ponder this on the way to the office (it’s a 14.6 mile drive from Plano to Addison) every day.  I think to myself, “How can we possibly walk this and then some, three days in a row?”  Our “Walker’s Handbook” advises us not to start training until we are 24 weeks from the event, which means we can officially get started at the end of May.  It’s April already!  So, with all this major training just around the corner, it’s time to get moving a little…  Laurie and I decided to clock the mileage at a Plano area Park. 

We have actually walked these trails before, but we wanted to be sure about the distance we were travelling.  Once formal training begins, we’ll need to stick to a schedule, with predetermined mileage for each walk at a 15 minute per mile pace.  Thanks to the technological wonders of Laurie’s footwear, we were able to determine that we had walked 4.5 miles from start to finish in about an hour an a half.  That’s with some stops to enjoy the day of course!  The weather was great, and the scenery was nice too.  There are several routes to choose from, including some that have great bridges likes this one:

The Monarch butterflies are migrating now, so we got to see lots of them along the way.  Unfortunately, none would pose for a picture.  All in all, it was a great work out, and it proved to be challenging, but definitely possible.  We’ll keep working our way up to farther distances at a faster pace.

Since this walk was such a success, Laurie is planning another one for next weekend at another local park.  This time, we plan to invite other walkers and we’re increasing our distance a bit.  Stay tuned for details!

In case you were wondering if I am still alive…the answer is “yes”!  I’ve been traveling quite a bit these last few weeks, which has kept me very busy.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our Laurie-pooh has been rockin’ and rollin’ with her fundraising activities.  I figured that it was time to get ball rolling for me too, so I am proud to announce the subject of this blog- “Baking for Boobs”. 

Based on Laurie’s research, it seemed that the “fruity” cupcakes had been a hit, so our first trial run was strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing and lemon cupcakes with lemon icing.  The critics gave us a big thumbs up! 

Since the cupcakes were so successful, we decided to move forward with the cookies…  Laurie found an awesome ribbon cookie cutter, so we gave that a shot.  We found that it was extremely difficult to work with the cookie dough.  Despite the well floured surface and rolling pin, the dough stuck to just about everything.  If that wasn’t challenging enough, it would crack or fall apart when we tried to “cut” it.  Because of the challenges, and because of the amount of dough required to make each cookie, we only made about ten of them.  Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Aren’t they cute?!  We decided that these adorable little guys required a level of patience that neither of us posses, so we switched to regular “drop” cookies with pink icing.  They came out really well, and were given the stamp of approval from our quality control supervisor; Taylor:

Several hours later, we have 4 dozen cupcakes, 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and 10 pink ribbon cookies plus two more dozen “drop” cookies.  I’ll be setting these up on my desk tomorrow, and I’ll take lots of pictures to share with you!  More to come!

I had a pretty successful giveaway on La Vie de Laurie this month in conjunction with the Ultimate Blog Party. I had mentioned that I’d like to do one here too in April, but I just can’t wait! Let the giveaway begin! This time in addition to a Save the Ta-Tas t-shirt, I am also giving the lucky winner a Breast Cancer goodie bag filled with over $25 in free breast cancer related merchandise! I made Nikki a similar bag today, but the one I’m giving away for this contest will be even better.

There were some wonderful posts from bloggers last time around, so I am looking forward to seeing what you all come up with this month. I am amazed, heartbroken and inspired by the stories of loss and survival. I hope that you will continue to share those with us. Our walk is going to mean so much more if we carry and tell others about your experiences during our 60 mile journey.

WIN A PRIZE: Want to win a Save the Ta-Tas tee AND a Breast Cancer goodie bag? Leave us a comment on this post for one entry, link back to our blog and this post for five entries, and make a donation (ANY amount) to my 3-Day for twenty entries (even $1 will qualify you). If you do all 3, you’ll get 26 entries. The winner will be drawn on Saturday, May 3 and will be e-mailed for sizing info and a mailing address. Good Luck and thanks for your support!

Visit the Bloggy Giveways carnival for more great giveaways across the blogoshere!