Courage

Today, I attended a party for an awesome woman, Paulla. We had tons of great food, lots of wonderful gifts and beautiful music provided by most talented coworkers whom I had no idea could sing. I didn't want to go but I did and in the end I was glad I did because Paulla had a wonderful time.

You see, Paulla has cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about 2 yrs ago. Breast cancer was prevalent in her family history so she opted for a double mastectomy and chemotherapy in the hopes it would keep her cancer-free. It did not. About a year later, cancer was found in other organs and she underwent more chemotherapy and once again she thought she had beaten the monster. But, once again, she had not.

Today, Paulla is fighting her toughest battle and most likely her last. Today, she spent a wonderful afternoon with great friends who love her and support her. Tomorrow, she goes to get a catheter inserted to deliver the chemotherapy directly to the cancer that lies in the lining of her brain. The prognosis for this type of cancer is generally about 6 months.

I have no idea what I would do in her shoes. But I DO know that Paulla has done. Paulla has embraced life. She continues to live her life to it's fullest. She and her daughter who is studying to be a nurse went to New Orleans last week. They walked all over the French Quarter. They learned to cook cajun dishes. Paulla told us she will continue to come in to work for 2hrs a day and work 4hrs at home throughout this ordeal. Paulla has not once felt sorry for herself. She is always positive. She's always smiling. She is one of the most courageous people I know.

Please keep Paulla and her daughter Annie in your thoughts and prayers.

Make Suds.....Not War

If only it were this easy.

Time to Check the Girls!!

Mert over at Almost Somewhat Positive came up with this great idea to remind us to do our monthly self breast exams. If you can't seem to remember to do it, just pick a day, put it on your calendar, in your blackberry, post-it note on your mirror. What ever you have to do. Mert calls it Frisk the 15th because you do it the 15th. I LOVE it!!! So it's the 15th.......so go feel your boobies!!!

ETA: I messed up the cool graphic and it's late so I'll fix it later. :)

Silpada Sale--Buy a Pair! Save a Pair!!

As this is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I wanted to share an opportunity. I have my own Silpada Designs sterling silver jewelry business and one of the things I love about my business is being able to use it to make a difference in someone else's life.

My goal is to sell 40 pairs of earrings in 10 days to raise money for SHINE FOR LIFE! Your purchase of ONE pair of earrings will help to save a pair...and a life! 100% of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated to the SHINE FOR LIFE campaign to benefit breast cancer research! Can you help???

My Sister in Silpada, Tara Paulitz is battling cancer....AGAIN!
Tara was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2006. Against all odds, Tara's fight brought about remission for two years.

In May this year her cancer returned and she is once again in Treatment. With her faith and spirit, positive attitude and help from God, we know that she will once again be blessed with remission!

I’m sure we ALL have at least one woman in our lives who has fought this same battle. I have several other friends who have beaten or are currently battling breast cancer. My mother in law also fought and beat breast cancer twice. Now I worry…about her, my sister in law, my own daughter and even my husband and son.

Tara began her SHINE FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN with a goal to raise $30,000. She has feared she set her goal too high and wasn't sure she could reach it.... But all things are possible and together we can help Tara reach this goal AND HELP FIND A CURE FOR THIS DEADLY DISEASE... ONE EARRING AT A TIME!

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
Buy ONE pair of Silpada earrings & your 2nd pair is 30% off!!! Think...holiday gifts, birthdays, anniversaries.. or a treat for YOU!

START DATE: Thursday, October 8th - Sunday, October 18th!

VIEW the jewelry on my website

THEN: Leave me a comment or contact me through my website if you would like to order and I’ll contact you straight away!

Remember your support will help save a pair! Feel free to spread the word!

Together... We can make a difference!

I'm going PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness!

OK, so pink really isn't a color I like BUT given it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I'd give it a try and this beautiful template was as close I could go! :) Thank you Template Mama!! Look for more in support of breast cancer awareness throughout the month! Don't forget to Check the Girls!!

Let's Party!!!!!

Sarah over at Real Life and the Wii Fit Mommies are having a Twitter Party--a Wiimoms ‘Lots of Love (Handles) to Give’ Twitter Bling Party to be exact and you could win some fabo stuff!!! The party is Friday, 2/13 from 8-10pm EST. Sarah has all the specifics on her blog so go check her out. And while you are there, sit and visit for a spell. She has lots of great info including money saving tips and awesome web designs!!

Hope to see you there!!!

The Last Lecture

If you haven't heard "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, please take some time and watch this. Below is Randy's appearance on Oprah where he gave a condensed version. You can see his full lecture here. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006. He defied the odds and survived much longer than expected. Randy passed away on July 25, 2008. He was 47. He is survived by a wife and three small children. His "last lecture" is really to his children......to teach them all the things he has learned about life and how to live it to it's fullest. I am sure they will know how great a man their father was.

One of my favorite of Randy's quotes is this:

"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something."

My thoughts and prayers go to Randy's family. Rest in Peace, Randy.

Prayers for Melody

Melody at Slurping Life has suddenly and unexpected taken ill.

You are welcome to join me and others in saying a prayer and lighting a candle for her and her family.

Get better soon, Melody! We are here for you!!

We did it!!

We helped make a difference!!!! Back in October, I posted about a fellow blogger, Kim Klein, who was competing for a blogging scholarship. She is a law student who is also battling breast cancer. Well, with our help (as well as a whole lot of others!!), she won!!!!! Read all about her receipt of her award here. I caught up on her blog and she is finished with her chemo and is doing great!!! Thanks to everyone who helped her out with a vote. We done good!!

Please Help a Fellow Blogger

Kim is a fellow blogger at The Merits of the Case. She is working to complete her law degree and she has breast cancer. She's competing for a blogging scholarship to help pay for her law degree since breast cancer treatments have put a financial strain on the family. Please check out her post and help her out by voting for her. It's free. All it takes is a click and every click helps.

Get into the PINK!!!

5 Minutes for Mom is having another give-away. This time it's a pink Casio digital camera to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer. Go check them out! And don't forget to click at The Breast Cancer Site to help provide mammograms for women who can't afford them!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’ll be posting lots of related things this month to help get the word out so please stop by often and spread the word. You’ll notice in my sidebar a button for The Breast Cancer Site. This site helps to fund free mammograms just by you visiting and clicking. Your click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. Your click is paid for by site sponsors, and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the U.S. through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

They also sell breast cancer related products and have information on diagnosis and treatment and stories of breast cancer patients and survivors. Please help out. All it takes is a click and clicks are free!!!! Then you can help another woman have a mammogram that could save her life.

Oh, yeah, it’s the first of the month, so don’t forget to check to the girls!!!!!

Time to Check the Girls

It's the first of the month and time for our Breast Self Exams again!!! If you need a video demo, check here. I have my annual exam this week so I'm going to let the professionals do it for me this month. I'll post when it is done. You do the same, 'K?

Time to Check the Girls!!

Today is August 1 and it’s time to do your Breast Self Exams (BSEs). Here is a great video demo for BSEs. My doctor uses this method too. He goes back and forth instead of circular making sure to go way down onto the ribcage and all the way up to the collar bone. Don’t forget the underarms!! And look for any odd physical changes: redness, swelling, itching, orange peel skin, heat, a sore that won’t go away. Make sure to call your doctor right away if you see any of these changes!! I admit to not keeping up with it myself even with my previous scares. But lets commit to it now!

Update: Mine is DONE!! Post a comment when your is done, too!!!

Support for Team WhyMommy

We women must stand together and support each other. Many of us are faced with challenges every day. My MIL has battled and beat breast cancer twice. One coworker is currently battling it. Her previous mammogram was fine but she recently found a lump. She had a double mastectomy and radiation and hormone treatments.

I have had my own scares, the most recent one about 6 months ago when I was having swelling and pain in my left breast. My friend experienced the same symptoms just last month. These symptoms are extremely concerning because of a new form of breast cancer. If you haven't heard of Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), you must read this and share it with every woman you can. It doesn't present with lump but rather symptoms of a breast infection so it can be overlooked. My friend and I both were lucky to receive a diagnosis of Fibrocystic Breast Disease. However, we both remain wary.

WhyMommy at Toddler Planet, a young mother with two small babes, wasn't as lucky. Six weeks ago she was diagnosed with IBC. And she is working diligently to spread to word to as many women as she can. This is an extremely aggressive cancer and early detection is paramount. Please read this post on inflammatory breast cancer and share it with everyone you can. Please follow her blog to read more about her story and her family and provide any support you can. Let's spread the word!