Just put on a little lipstick...

I had another of my every 3 month check ups with Dr. Peacock. She was very pleased with my blood work and exam, and also that I am exercising. My next check up will be in January and she wants me to have a bone density scan before I come in to see her. Chemo tends to thin out bones a bit, so she just wants to get a status check on mine. I am taking calcium, vitamin D & E and she wants me to stay on those from here on out. I am lucky and thankful not to be on any daily prescription medications. Thank you God for another good check up!

Live one day at a time... and make it a masterpiece! Unknown

Saturday was a beautiful, brisk fall day. It was too pretty to stay in, so my friend Sandy and I decided to visit to a couple of art fairs. One was in Edgehill Village, a cute area with lots of artsy shops and decadent desserts and coffees. Colleen Whitver , one of my kids favorite teachers, had a booth at this fair. Colleen has a business called Invintage . Her art is taking vintage and antique jewelry; and then restoring and reinventing them into wearable works of art. I found some adorable WWII era jade earrings that Jenni will absolutely love. She will be even more excited because they were handcrafted by Colleen. Next stop was the University School of Nashville. They have a yearly exhibit called Artecletic , with lots of art vendors set up in their gym. A portion of the proceeds go to the school. Sandy's friend John, who does beautiful pottery work, was there. I have one of his bud vases and it was great to finally meet the artist himself. http://www.johnsellberg.com/ I wish...

I grew up with Red Cross courses. Sylvia Harris was our local Red Cross instructor. I took Red Cross swimming lessons each summer beginning at age 5 and going through age 17. My mom was not a swimmer, so she made sure all her girls knew how to swim. She used to say, she wanted us to know how to save her if she fell in. I remember to get my lifeguard badge we had to rescue Sylvia in with her resisting us the whole time. I think I weighed 98 lbs at the time. Wow, that was a battle! I think I was underwater the whole way to the side of the pool, but I made it. She passed me with one restriction - no lifeguarding in the ocean. Alas, at that moment my hopes of being a future Baywatch Babe were dashed! :) Last week I became a Red Cross Instructor myself. It was 3 long days of Instructor training. We had homework each night and had to do a lecture and a couple of teach back sessions for skills. Our instructor was great and kept the sessions as lively as she could. There were 12 people in my...

Bryan, Jenni and I headed to Memphis on Friday evening. We arrived about 11pm at the hotel, unpacked and had a midnight snack. Lisa, Linda and her boys arrived a couple of hours later. I'm not sure Jenni has ever been to Memphis. Saturday we went to eat at Hueys downtown, walked around the Peabody , Beale Street, saw Sun records and showed Jenni where we used to live. Josh's family was not able to join us this trip - they are battling the flu at their house. We will have to plan a trip to the Memphis zoo with them in the spring. Saturday evening we met up with family for our cousin Megan's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and Megan made a gorgeous bride. The reception was held at the Memphis Water Works, which is a great location. There was fabulous music provided by the Medders band (minus Carson-the groom) and the food was warm and delicious. It was great to get to see and hang out with all my cousins, aunts and uncles. Congratulations Megan and Carson! We stopped ...

I had yet another follow up appointment today at the Nashville Breast Center. I typically see Bea or Norma, Dr. Whitworth's nurse practitioners, for my routine follow ups. I usually start getting nervous about the time they bring me to the exam room. Thankfully Bea came in right away, did my exam and gave me the all clear. She even said I can wait 6 months this time between appointments because I am doing so well. Of course, that is with the understanding that I continue to see Dr. Peacock every 3 months for an exam, x-rays and lab work. After my appointment, I walked over to visit my former work area (oncology unit). There are only a few staff members still there from my days at Baptist. It was great to see Sherry, Juanita, Michael and catch up a bit with them - they all looked fabulous. It's hard to believe I've been gone from there for 10 years. I promised to come back and visit again soon.

I am fortunate to have grown up in a small close knit community. I have many friends that have been in my life for as long as I can remember. Kim is one of those friends. We are the same age, and she grew up 3 doors down from me. She came up this past weekend (with her new husband Larry) to join us for the Komen walk. Saturday night Kim, Larry, Bryan and I went to dinner downtown and then walked over to see the Max Headroom Band on 2nd avenue. If you grew up during the 80s, you would love Max Headroom . They put on a fabulous show and play all the biggest hits from that era. Tommy Holland, another Henderson native that I have known my whole life, plays in the band. It is always great to see Tommy as well.

There were some fun and creative teams at the race on Saturday. Here are a few of my favorite shirts, including the one from my team:

Saturday was the Komen Race for the Cure here in Nashville. The weather was a bit chilly, but thankfully the rain stayed away. We had over 40 people sign up for the "Fight like a girl" team this year. I had planned to get everyone together for a team photo, but it was a bit chaotic to say the least. I heard there were over 11,000 people there, which explains why it was very hard to gather everyone in one place. This year was a much easier walk for me and I really enjoyed the day. I tried to make my way around and walk and talk with each person that I could find from our team. Except for you brave runners...I didn't attempt to keep up with you! Here are just a few photos from the day. Thank you so much for everyone that contributed or walked on Saturday, some here in Nashville and some in other areas. Team members: Amber, Kathy, Beth, Nancy, Jewel, Stefini, Jane, John, Amy, Denise G., Katherine, Elizabeth, Rosalee, Isabel, Joyce, Jennie, Denise A., Elijha, Sophie, Mike,...

There are many forms of breast cancer, the type I had was triple negative breast cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month, and during this month all types of breast cancer will be discussed. With all types, early detection is critical. I was very fortunate to have found my cancer early, had this not been the case I probably would be facing a different scenario today. This site has some inspiring stories and also some heartbreaking ones of brave women who have also battled triple negative breast cancer. http://www.tnbcfoundation.org/understandingtnbc.htm

Great Advice from my friend Kris Carr: "Eat at home, prep organic meals, go for fall hikes, spend quality time with friends and family, turn off the TV and turn on life."

“Fight like a girl” is open for registration! The  Komen  Race for the Cure  is October 10 th  in Maryland Farms, and I would love for you to join the team.  If you'd like to join: Follow This Link  to my personal page  (personal page is for donations from people who cannot join us for the walk) If you will be walking with us on October 10 th  - Click  “My Team Page”, and then  “Join the Team”  Komen  will send you a t-shirt, but if you want a  supercute  “Fight like a girl” shirt – you can order them here: http://www.twochicksdesigns.com/Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Apparel_s/13.htm Thank you for all your continued prayers and support! Laura

Bryan and I went to Chattanooga to visit Jenni this weekend. She and Molly have a cute bungalow on Signal Mountain and it fits their personalities perfectly. We had lunch at Green life , walked around downtown and then had dessert at Mellow Mushroom and met some of Jenni's coworkers. Bryan and Jenni hiked to Signal Point while I took a quick afternoon nap. Then we all had dinner at the Terminal and walked around the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Then today Jenni and Molly took us to brunch at Aretha Frankensteins . It's a funky little cafe with delicious food. It reminded me a bit of the Red Bar in Grayton Beach. Some of the girls friends are guides for Ocoee Rafting trips and offered to take us on a run with them this morning. We weren't really prepared clothing-wise for that adventure on this trip, and I'm not sure I am that brave either.

Her m agazine here in Nashville, printed an entry from my blog in this month's issue, here is the link below: http://hernashville.com/her/bcam-online-exclusive-my-journey Wear some pink this month and remind all the women in your life to do their monthly exams!