Just put on a little lipstick...

This is not an original idea, I took it from my new blog friend Shelly . Shelly was the originator of the International City Swap , but is currently busy opening her B&B and restaurant in Longbranch , WA. She has graciously agreed to allow me to be the hostess this year. What is the International City Swap? What we do is we swap cities/towns. You put together a package that you think best represents the place where you live, and what you love about it. Or, if you think where you live is ridiculous, you can put in the silliest things you can find. It’s up to your own creativity. In the past there have been some really lovely packages circulating: from Detroit to Alaska, NYC to Rome, Jordan, NY to Turin, Italy, San Jose, CA to Australia, and Atlanta, Georgia to Rome and many going state to state here in the USA. You do not have to have a blog to participate, just an email address and the willingness to put together and mail a package. HERE ARE THE DETAILS: What:...

"I need someone to create a mirror that leaves out some of the details." ~ Story People

Today, as I write this, my friend Denise is having her breast removed. Denise was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago and has been on the whirlwind of doctors appointments, MRIs , blood work and decisions, decisions, decisions. I've met with her several times since she found out and we've talked a lot by phone and text while she tried to make sense of what is happening. My last text from her late last night was: "What to wear home from the hospital? Pjs ? Jeans? Evening gown with heels?" I told her if she wore an evening gown with heels I would personally make sure there was paparazzi there to document it. I'm glad she is keeping her sense of humor, because in the absurdity of it all - you have to start laughing, because crying begins to dehydrate you after a while. Denise - you are in my thoughts and prayers today! BREAKING NEWS: Denise came through surgery well and has clear nodes! Yay-God!

If you have read some of my other posts, you probably know I believe that sometimes God, the universe or mother nature sends us signs. I think signs are little reminders that come in the way of gut feelings, strange happenings, unexpected encounters and repetitive events. We don't always recognize these because we are all going at warp speed in this crazy world. Of course, I tell God all the time that I need my signs to be neon flashing and billboard size. When I slow down, or I am forced to slow down, I realize oh, THIS is what you've been trying to tell me . I was reading Amy Willett's blog last night and it gave me shivers. She actually did get a big sign, in the form of a rainbow! Congratulations Amy on finishing your treatments! You are a survivor!

We celebrated Dad's 75th birthday at Cozyumels in Cool Springs on the 15th. Happy Birthday Dad! Dad and Sherry left for a month long journey in Russia the next day. Please keep them in your prayers.

Benign - I love that word. I got a call from my dermatologist office today. All three spots they removed were benign !

Josh and Jenni were big fans of my mother. They called her Reba. This started when Josh was a baby and we were on a car trip. He heard my Dad say Reba, and that is all it took. Josh sat in the backseat of the car and said Ree- baaa , Ree-baa over and over and she was known as nothing else after that. She loved it! Jenni came by last week and told me she had decided to get a tattoo. She wanted to put Reba's name or date of birth on her as a remembrance. Now I didn't grow up in a tattooed family, so it took me a little bit to absorb all of this. Josh has a tattoo, but he has always been my extreme kid. Jenni is my sweet little girl who refused to wear pants (until Jasmine came along), and was obsessed with marrying into royalty so she could be a princess. Jenni originally wanted to get this on her wrist. She had figured out what size it would need to be to wear a watch or bracelet to cover this. This didn't work because Jenni has very small wrists. She ended up getting it o...

I got a call today that totally stopped me in my tracks. One of my friends had noticed some drainage from her nipple and we talked about it. She followed up with a mammogram. She called me after her mammogram and said "Did you know when you say, I'm having nipple discharge at a breast center it's sort of like yelling bomb at an airport?" Evidently everyone sat up, took notice and scurried around. The mammogram ended up being inconclusive so her doctor referred her to a breast surgeon. She stopped having discharge and we were all hoping it was just some sort of funky infection in a milk duct. Until today...she called to tell me they had the path report back and it was DCIS ( ductal cancer in situ ). CRAP! I think I was a very bad friend. I was speechless. I remember saying I was sorry several times, but it was so hard to hear someone I love, someone who was there for me every step of the way saying now they have cancer too. Somehow in my warped brain I told myself t...

There are some things in life that change you. The loss of a parent is one of them. One of my good friends that I have known since childhood lost her father this week. I was glad we could go and be with her at the hospital, and then later at the funeral. I'll admit though, it was tough, it's been ten years since we lost mother, but seeing them go through this grief brings it all back. Even when we know that they are better off without all the pain and suffering, we still miss them. It took me years to not pick up the phone to call Mom when something happy, scary, sad or fascinating happened. During those times I would just totally forget she was no longer on this earth with us. I know she is still with us, watching over us. I see her every day in my children and even in my grand girls. I just wish she could have known Anna, Morgan and Emri . She would be sewing princess dresses like crazy for those little girls, and they would love their Reba! I have four friends that are m...

Ok , so I haven't been to the dermatologist in years. The last time I went was to get my spider veins on my legs dissolved . Years of being on my feet working as a nurse caused me to go, out of vanity, to get them taken care of. While I was there they removed a mole or two and all was fine. That was so many years ago, I was not even in Belle Meade Dermatology's electronic system. They said my files were in the archives. Last week, I decided after my whole conversation on "know your body" I should go again for a skin check. I called to make an appointment and they could see me on Tuesday morning - wow that was fast! So, in I went for a body check. The doctor looked me over and said she would remove 3 areas and send them off for biopsy. She really was only concerned with one area from my mid-back that had atypical borders, but as a rule they biopsy anything they remove. It was a quick, painless procedure and I will hear results later this week. Until then I will try not...

I've had this ongoing conversation with one of my coworkers recently. She is preparing to teach a evidence based course on preventive health. This course will cover things like flu shots, colonoscopy and mammograms guidelines, etc... The United States has a Preventive Service Task force that offers guidelines based strictly on evidence, and obviously - health care costs. They have released some new guidelines surrounding mammograms and self breast exams, which I think I have blogged about before. The US Preventive Services Task force statements: "The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against teaching or performing routine breast self-examination ( BSE )." and "Clinicians who advise women to perform BSE or who perform routine CBE to screen for breast cancer should understand that there is currently insufficient evidence to determine whether these practices affect breast cancer mortality, and that they are likely to increase th...

The Komen Race for the Cure is scheduled for October 9th in Nashville. I was a little late in signing up, but luckily no one had taken our team name! Here's the link to join team Fight like a girl - or to donate: http://nashville.info-komen.org/goto/fightlikeagirlteam Thank you again for all your love, support and prayers! Laura