Do Good, Feel Good: Million Mile Run Wrap Up

October 1, 2013 by scootadoot

We’ll be honest, we weren’t sure how this month was going to go. That’s always the way with something new, something in its introductory year; whether it be a race, a blog, or an event, there’s always a slight fear of the unknown.

We heard about the Million Mile Run early in the summer and knew immediately we wanted to be involved. The whats and wherefores needed to be sorted out, but we knew the most important reason… the why.

We’ve inundated our lives, our social media accounts, our friends and our families with yellow. We’ve shared facts, recipes, pictures, and videos.

And we haven’t done it alone.

31 amazing people joined us in Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s inaugural Million Mile Run event.

Sara, Heather, Katharin, Karen, Maureen, Jan, Suz, Cyanne, Nita, Kate, Keri, Melissa, Sarah, Shaina, Lisa, Beth, Ben, Kyle, Kristen, Wendy, Jenn, Ashley, Sara, Megan, Gene, Heather, Mark, Ashley, Anne, Brandi and Michelle… THANK YOU.

We thank you with our whole beings and if we ever see you in person (that will be sooner than later for some of you), be prepared for tacklehugs!

We got to hear some of your stories, reasons why this cause spoke to you and we thank you for sharing with us. Furthermore, muchas gracias for sharing your miles with the Million Mile Run.

Our original mileage goal was 1,000, which we decimated within two weeks. Incredible! While a million miles weren’t achieved as a whole this year, 198,830 miles were “donated” to the cause. We’re sure that next year that number will grow exponentially.

That’s $315 OVER our goal! Thank you to all who donated, shared the link to our team, and raised awareness and funds. You are amazing!

Some of our team members really went above and beyond with fundraising efforts and as a thank you, we put together a Top Fundraiser Prize Pack. We gave a little sneak peek last week…

The amazing companies, Sweaty Bands and Lace Locker, both graciously donated items toward our top fundraiser prize pack and we are so grateful. We know that our winner will put the headbands and lace stays to good use.

We happen to know that our tippy-top fundraiser loves Boom Chicka Pop and does not yet have a Scoot a Doot shirt. Watermelon Nuun because… yes.

But wait… there’s more!

The Chicks pooled resources and connections to add even more to the prize pack for our Don’t Stop ’til Ya Get Enough top fundraiser.

Oh yes! That is an Alex and Ani bracelet. A sweet Oiselle shirt. Bearded Brothers Energy Bar. Clif Shot Bloks. Wilbur’s Chocolate Coffee – because the melding of two of the best things ever is amazing and encouraged.

So let’s wave our hands in the air like we just don’t care for someone (but we do! And she does too!) for the woman who should go into nonprofit fundraising as a profession… MEGAN!

http://mandmpage.blogspot.com/

Rock on, Megan!

Should we say thank you again? Aw, what the heck!

Thank you. Thank you all so very much.

On Wednesdays we wear…what?!

September 27, 2013 by writeitdownjess

I have to admit, when we implemented “On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow” in support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Fund’s Million Mile Run, I went to my closet, looked around, and gulped.

Problem numero only: I don’t own yellow clothing. That is to say I own none. Nada. Zilch.

How is this possible? I’m the girl who can talk myself into a new pair of jeans when I have over 40 pairs waiting for me at home (seriously. I counted). I’m the girl who, when it’s been more than a few weeks since I’ve gone to the mall, starts to feel disoriented and a little lost. Westfield is my North Star, my point of orientation. My walk-in closet is packed – packed, people – with clothing and handbags and shoes. Oh, my! Or as Mister Jess would say, oh, brother.

So how is it that I’ve ignored an entire color on the spectrum? Whether purposeful or accidental – the jury is still out on whether yellow actually looks good on me – I am yellow-less. They do not call me mellow yellow.

And though we’ve seen so many of our amazing Scoot readers wear yellow on Wednesdays in support of ALSF, I’ve been feeling kind of like a dud for not contributing. Clothes are my bread and (yellow) butter. How do I remedy this? I asked myself. If I’m not going to wear yellow, what can I do?

The answer was simple, my friends: I can shop. Oh, how I can shop.

So I did just that. I took to the internet and I shopped. More specifically, I window-shopped on Polyvore, an addictive website where you can create “looks” via mood boards, and whipped up four different boards for four of my favorite types of exercise.

Ready? Here we go!

Yoga

Get your om on with a sunny top and yoga mat. Bonus: these adorable TOMs say “Inspire.”

Running

It’s all about the details with this one: yellow laces, yellow headband, neon yellow shirt, and sunshine on your shoulder!

Dance

If you’re inclined to dance in a structured forum instead of in front of the mirror at home, these sweet splashes of color will get you noticed in class.

Training at the Gym

Love fitness, love Glamour (the yellow headline totally counts)!

So, okay, maybe I don’t wear yellow. Maybe it makes me look a little sallow and washed out. I can’t help it that jewel tones are my thing! But now that I’ve created these fun, yellow-inspired looks, I can rest easy that in some way, I have worn yellow.

I’ll go ahead and leave the actual yellow-wearing to the rest of you gorgeous people.

Do you look good in yellow? Tell me about your favorite item of yellow clothing. Or, even better, show us on Instagram @scootadoot!

A few of our favorite things…

September 25, 2013 by Meridith

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

Just as Rodgers and Hammerstein shared a few of Maria’s favorite things in The Sound of Music (personally, I don’t get all that jazzed about brown paper packages tied up with strings but, hey, whatever floats your boat…), we asked our Team Scoot a Doot members if they’d like to share their favorite running things with you. While there’s no singing and dancing, they are still quite amazing!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLfSF-1NLJQ&w=640&h=480]

Megan’s blog. T witter. Instagram.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC6-hGEFwB0&w=640&h=480]

Lisa’s blog. Twitter. Instagram.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O6Q1h0VIdc&w=640&h=480]

Heather’s blog. Twitter. Instagram.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuCnhCt3G4&w=640&h=480]

Jan’s blog. Twitter. Instagram.

Just a few of our many awesome team members! Thanks for the vids, ladies. You rock!

From the get-go we’ve said that we are looking to collect miles and funds. Some of our team focused on one or the other but a couple of our members did both and we’re super grateful for it!

We’re currently at 37 team members.

1,317.90 miles.

1,090 dollars raised for Childhood Cancer Research.

It’s absolutely incredible what we’ve done so far this month and we could not have done it without each and every single person on our team. You’ve all put your hearts into this and we know that within the final six days of September, those numbers will be going up even more!

As a thank you to our team’s top fundraiser, we’ve put together a little prize package giveaway of a few of OUR favorite things. We’ve given hints via Instagram of some of the prizes but here’s a better peek to check out the goods.

Many thanks to Sweaty Bands and Lace Locker for their contributions! There might be a couple more surprises added to this too… wait and see what we’ve got in the works.

Let’s go the distance within these next six days!

Do good, feel good!

Recipe Box: Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake

September 20, 2013 by bec2point0

When we first started talking about coordinating posts for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run (check out the Scoot a Doot page, if you’d like) and there was mention of recipes with lemon, I knew exactly what my contribution would be. Maybe it should have been harder to choose, since I love lemon, and cook with it often, but this was a no-brainer for me.

Cake. (See. Total no-brainer). Cake is almost always the answer. And sometimes the question. (Cake? Cake. CAKE!) So, without further waxing poetic about my love of cake, let’s get cooking!

This is adapted from an old Weight Watchers recipe, from the Takeout Tonight cookbook. Long before Points Plus, so I don’t know those values. And I played with it a little. Because I’ve never met a recipe I didn’t think I could make better. I love baking, love the way it makes the house smell, and clearly, love the finished, baked product. But baking is like science. All the measuring and precision. I’m a ‘throw some in there’ kind of girl. But for the purposes of this recipe, I kept that in check. Mostly.

Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1-2/3 cup all purpose flour (mod: the recipe calls for 1-1/3 cups all purpose and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour. If you do this, you’ll want to use whole wheat pastry flour. I skipped the wheat because I just had regular and I don’t like eating bricks).
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
5 TBSP butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 TBSP lemon zest (basically, the zest of one good sized lemon).
1 tsp vanilla (mod: I just threw some in. It’s vanilla. I was feeling whacky.)
3/4 cup buttermilk (mod: I hate buying buttermilk for recipes because it only comes in quarts. I use a buttermilk powder that gets reconstituted, or you can make your own buttermilk).
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice (I just juice the whole lemon I just zested and use that)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8×4″ loaf pan with cooking spray. I like the cooking spray with flour built in to avoid sticking. The actual recipe calls for cutting out wax paper and putting it in the loaf pan, but I’ve never bothered and I’ve always had perfect cake. Plus, I’m super lazy.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter, granulated sugar ,egg/egg whites, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.

With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until done. Place pan on wire rack.

Before

And after!

Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice ( you may have to add additional juice). Spread over hot bread. Let cool for 20 minutes. Carefully remove bread from pan to a serving plate.

Let cool completely.

EAT.

Now, I forgot that the glazing gets done when the bread is hot, so I went to bed. And now it’s morning and I’m debating whether I should glaze or not. Probably no. The glaze is delicious and makes the cake more lemon-y, but I promise, it’s good without it.

If you’re thinking you can skip your trip to Starbucks for a slice of lemon cake…well, you can, but this cake isn’t the same. It’s not overly sweet and it’s not light or fluffy. This is a dense cake, but delicious, and not terribly bad for you, so all in all, it’s a winner in my book!

Hope you guys enjoy!

Million Mile Run: On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow

September 18, 2013 by scootadoot

We don’t usually do wordless Wednesday posts because we are a wordy bunch. That said, these pictures need few words…

http://welcometothenuthouse.com/

http://mandmpage.blogspot.com/

http://thisgirlashdoesstuff.blogspot.com/

http://thefinelinellc.com/

https://heatherinthemiddle.wordpress.com/

http://www.theclassycrafter.com/

http://runstretchgo.com/

http://jenniferspen.wordpress.com/

Happy Wednesday!

xo Team Scoot a Doot, Million Mile Run

Million Mile Run: On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow

September 18, 2013 by scootadoot

We don’t usually do wordless Wednesday posts because we are a wordy bunch. That said, these pictures need few words…

http://welcometothenuthouse.com/

http://mandmpage.blogspot.com/

http://thisgirlashdoesstuff.blogspot.com/

http://thefinelinellc.com/

https://heatherinthemiddle.wordpress.com/

http://www.theclassycrafter.com/

http://runstretchgo.com/

http://jenniferspen.wordpress.com/

Happy Wednesday!

xo Team Scoot a Doot, Million Mile Run

Best Lemonade Ever… No, Seriously!

September 9, 2013 by Meridith

As you probably know by now from our blog posts, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts we are participating in Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s Million Mile Run. ALSF raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research. If you’re wondering why, exactly, we need Childhood Cancer Awareness month, please check out the infographic from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia at the end of this post. I learned a lot that I didn’t know and think that you might be surprised too!

But first, my family and I have hosted two Alex’s Lemonade Stands at our home for the past two years. I thought that I’d share our lemonade recipe. You might be thinking… lemonade from a mix is easy and convenient, why don’t they do that? You would be correct. But if you’ve met me, you know that I roll with the Type A crowd; why do something easy when something hard can be done? Fortunately, this lemonade isn’t too hard and it’s also deemed as the “best lemonade ever”. No, really, it’s first the first recipe that shows up when you Google that phrase!

Of course, we can’t just make one serving of the best lemonade when we are hosting a lemonade stand. That’s crazy talk! Especially when we need to fill our ridiculously large glass carafe.

The “small” version calls for 1 3/4 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice and 8 cups of water. However, when we MEGA-SIZE it, everything jumps up. If you ever want to hold a lemonade stand of your own and make a large amount of lemonade… this is how we do it (cue Montell Jordan).

Ingredients:

7 cups of sugar
32 cups of water
6 cups of lemon juice (we use a combination of freshly squeezed and bottled. The squeezing of lemons is a favorite activity for my boys!)

Directions:

In a large pot, combine sugar and 4 cups water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In the carafe, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 28 cups water. (If you have a carafe like ours, make sure the nozzle is CLOSED before you do this. Yeah. Yeahhhhh. That’s all I’ll say about that little blunder.)
Ice and slice! We usually buy bags of ice for both the carafe and each cup of lemonade. Add slices of lemon to the carafe to make it extra delicious.

My husband and I decided to try to make an adult lemon beverage for this post. We settled on a Gin Fizz.

But, um, the finished product tasted like lemon flavored cleaner. Or ~~maybe~~ it was a “guy” drink that I just didn’t enjoy at all because he drank his. And mine. So I can’t in good conscious share the recipe. You just let me know if you want it. (You don’t.) (Or maybe you do. If you like drinking lemon flavored cleaner. Not that I have anything against lemon flavored cleaner as cleaner… just as a drink.)

And hey, if you’re looking for a delicious sounding foot scrub for after those long runs or if you just need a little pampering, check out Sara’s post at The Classy Crafter.

Now for the most important bit of this post…

Childhood Cancer Infographic

Don’t Call Us “Mellow Yellow”

September 4, 2013 by beewhobabbles

We’re painting the month yellow here at Scoot A Doot, and we’re off to an incredible start. I am so inspired by my chicks and our friends who’ve joined our team. It’s only been three days, and already we’ve run, walked, skipped or jumped over 145 miles! We’ve also raised over $600. IN THREE DAYS. I’m completely bowled over by the support for this cause, and so thankful that I know wonderful people, who know other wonderful people. (And I’m sort of lost with the words over this. Truly.)

When we decided to participate in the Million Mile Run, we weren’t sure what our goal would be. Teams are supposed to run 100 miles, collectively, and right away, we knew that we’d surpass that with ease. Some of us are training for long distance races, one of us is running her way through Napa this month, and one of us walks as her primary mode of transport. We’re a pretty ambitious bunch though, and since our mindset for this event was “Go BIG or go home,” we each set our sights on an individual goal.

BEC:

My goal is 13.1 miles for the month. I’m hoping for more but i wanted a workable goal and I’ve done a half in a month before so that seemed good.

This will be achieved primarily through walking, although i am restarting C25K, so there will be some running.

Because my phone died, and my replacement phone is on backorder, I’ll be using the local high school track as my mileage guide, and logging my time manually in Runkeeper. And once my phone gets here, I’ll be all about my Runkeeper and Couch to 5k training apps.

JESS:

I typically walk about three miles a day, so I know I can hit 90 miles by the end of the month without any problem. My secret goal is 100 miles – still doable but it will definitely require more effort. I’ll be stoked if I hit that!

To achieve it, I plan to keep doing what I’m doing: by walking around the city as much as possible. Once I’m back to 100% health (summer colds are the worst!) I plan to run on the weekends as well.

I’ll be tracking miles with My Fitbit One, of course!

MER:

My miles for the Million Mile Run will be taking place during gym warm up (I usually average two prior to an hour of strength/cardio) and while my kids are at school. I’m going to try to streak as much as my schedule will allow this month and get at least a mile a day because, really, why not? The weekends will be dedicated to long runs.

I usually use my Garmin or just general knowledge to track my miles (I do my quarter mile stretch prior to the gym sans watch). However I’m getting a Fitbit within the next couple of days so perhaps I’ll use that to track my mileage. I’m excited to play with a new gadget and there’s really no better way to break it in!

VIC:

The Million Mile run happens to fall into my schedule at the same time I ramp up my mileage as I prepare for the NYC Marathon. As I look at my training schedule, I see that my long runs alone total more than 60 miles in September. So – I’ve decided to set my goal for 100 miles. I think my training should bring me pretty close, if not over the century mark. I was already nearly 1/5 of my way to my goal on Sept. 1, as I run an 18-miler in Watertown, NY.

I plan to run 4-5 days each week, with a little cross-training of swimming or spinning thrown in. Now while I do train with a Garmin (forerunner 210, folks!) I typically am lax about downloading said information into a fancy spreadsheet, but I do write my mileage, pace and time on my weekly running log. Now don’t laugh, but it’s all kept in a weekly pocket calendar from Target’s dollar spot. It’s old school, but it works for me.

BROOKE:

As for me, I plan to run 75 miles this month. I’m at the beginning of my training for Wine and Dine, and 75 is slightly over the planned mileage, but I’m going over on most of my runs already anyway. (Sorry, Hal Higdon.)

Cross training will be walking with my family or hanging with Hannah on the elliptical (does that count?), and all miles will be tracked by my trusty Garmin.

I’m sporting my yellow today (good thing I have a lot of it!) and I can’t wait to see how much we run- and raise- to help support children’s cancer research.

Please donate if you’re moved to do so. Thanks.

Have you ever done a running streak? What are you currently training for? Tell me how much you love your FitBit (my mom has a birthday soon and I’m eyeing it for a gift!) What yellow clothing do you have in your closet?

Lemon is the New Pumpkin – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run

August 27, 2013 by Meridith

Way back when, summer was my favorite season. The break from school, swimming, the hot weather, family vacations and bonding time… I mean, what could be better?

While I still appreciate summer, I’ve really come to appreciate all that FALL has to offer. In fact, it’s moved to the top slot in the seasons list (sorry summer).

September is next week and while it’s still technically summer, we’re winding down with summer and preparing for the start of school. My kids are excited to meet their teachers and see their friends on a more consistent basis (I know some are already back in school in some parts of the country). The air conditioning has already been off more days than it’s been on this week and I’ve been breathing in the refreshing cooler air. Of course, the cooler air is also GREAT for running as well; it’s not so stifling and I don’t HAVE to get out there at 5:30 to run.

My favorite quarter mile stretch when you can actually see it!

I haven’t even mentioned pumpkin flavored treats. Because yes, I do love all the pumpkin flavored treats.

However, pumpkin is going to have to hold off just a tad bit longer because we Chicks are still embracing the LEMON.

Yes, that’s right, when we first heard about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation hosting its inaugural Million Mile Run we knew we had to get in on the action!

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and we want to help spread awareness about a cause which we hold near and dear to our hearts. What’s the Million Mile Run all about? Are we all going to really run a million miles in September? Check out this video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjZruV37FfY&w=640&h=360]

Throughout the month of September we’ll be logging our miles for the Million Mile Run. If you’d like to join Team Scoot a Doot and help raise awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we would LOVE to have you. Fundraising is certainly encouraged but not mandatory; we want to spread the word and make a difference! EFF CANCER!

What else can you look forward to when you join us for the Million Mile Run?

On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow – pink might be where it’s at for Mean Girls but we’re Nice Girls here and we’re going yellow on Wednesdays. Join us and we’ll highlight pictures shared here, Instagram, Facebook, EVERYWHERE! (I don’t have much yellow in my wardrobe so this will be a particular challenge for me.)

Lemon-y Goodness – drinks, recipes, and whatever other good stuff we can find to share with you that has to do with lemon! Lemon juggling! Lemon bowling! Because lemon is the new pumpkin. We’re bringing lemon back, yeah!

Fundraiser Giveaway – while fundraising isn’t a requirement to participate, if you do and you’re the top fundraiser, we’re putting together a special little prize pack just for you.

You can register any time in the month of September but obviously the sooner you register, the sooner we can count your miles toward the goal. And bond. And make s’mores! And tell stories around the campfire.

Your miles count whether you’re walking, running, or skipping (if you’re skipping, please take a video because I want to see someone who is able to skip a mile). And since we know many of you are runners, walkers, skippers and jumpers, there’s really no better way to get involved.

So… what are you waiting for? Are you ready to get your miles on and spread the word about the Million Mile Run? Do you have yellow clothing you want to share with me on Wednesday? Join us with the #MillionMileRun and together we can make a difference!

http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/115748

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Tag Archives: million mile run

Do Good, Feel Good: Million Mile Run Wrap Up

On Wednesdays we wear…what?!

A few of our favorite things…

Recipe Box: Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake

Million Mile Run: On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow

Million Mile Run: On Wednesdays We Wear Yellow

Best Lemonade Ever… No, Seriously!

Don’t Call Us “Mellow Yellow”

Lemon is the New Pumpkin – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run