"Find My Family"

Has anyone seen the new show on ABC called "Find My Family"?  I caught a sneekpeek of it last week and it almost brought me to tears.  This week was just the same.  The show is about individuals/families searching and finding their adopted or biological family.  I also think it's fantastic that the two hosts of the show were also adopted and can releate to the individuals on a personal level.

They are accepting applications so my husband and I are filling that out in hopes that they will be able to help us find his biological mother and answer some life long questions about his heritage.  Possibly be able to be a part of her life as well.  Wish us luck and keep  us in your prayers that we get selected to be one of the thousands that will apply!

Black Friday or Bust!

So I told myself that I was not going out on Black Friday. I looked online at the ads and didn't find anything I needed. 

Well that all changed today.  As I got to my Mom's house for Thanksgiving diner, she had the sale ads sprawled out across the table.  So as I stood there talking to Mom, smelling the wonderful aroma of Turkey, those sale ads kept calling out my name.  Before I knew it, I was at the dining room table browsing the ads. 

Altho I already made up my mind not to go... Black Friday is like a tradition... right?  I mean, I have to go... right?  No one really likes breaking a tradition... right?  I actually found a few things in the paper that I knew would make the perfect gift for a few family members.  So much to my husbands protest, the alarm is set for 4:15 am and our first stop is Walmart!  He went with me last year and witnessed a couple of fights breaking out in the TV section at Walmart.  I hope that doesnt happen this year!

Plan of Action:
Walmart, Old Navy, Bass Pro and Half Price Books. 

I hope everyone who ventures out tomorrow has a safe and fun Black Friday!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

I can't wait for today.  Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce! Grandpa is visiting, Annual House Lighting, and Danny and I are getting our picture taken with Santa Claus!!

Hello From the Library!

Good Afternoon!  I decided to take a trip to the library today and use a fast internet!  I have been wanting to update my blog for so long... I've forgotten what I wanted to say!

Hmm... well I will start by saying that I finally went to the eye doctor and got contacts!  They are great!  I was a big squimish when it came to putting them in and taking them out.  "Just reach in and squeeze" is what the lady said...  the thought of squeezing my eyeball sent my stomach flipping.  I have to send a huge thank you out to Wendy for teaching me her little trick on taking them out.  It's so much easier then squeezing!  My husband also has to wear glasses now.  He is grumpy because now he feels old.  Nothing about his glasses says 'old'.  They are very attractive on him.  Cute simple wire frame from Fossil. 

I also have finished 2 more books.  Both by J.D. Robb.  I can't help it, I'm addicted to that series!  I finished off Glory in Death and Immortal in Death.  Both books just kept me hanging on.   I'm not good at book reviews, I feel they give away a lot of the story.  Especially with this series, it's all about a homicide detective named Eve Dallas solving crime.  It is a romance mystery so it also mentions her husband Roarke and their relationships.  I recommend the series.. actually that's the other reason I'm at the library.  I coudln't find the next book in the series "Rapture in Death" at any of the local book stores!

No new job leads yet.  I've been slowly looking.  I still have my part time job at the toy store.  I like it.  Very easy and great co-workers.  I have to go to a baby shower tomorrow for my friend Kristin.  She is 8 months prego and due the first week of Jan.  She is going to name her little boy Parker James.  Very cute.  I've already spoiled the little guy and he isn't even here yet!  

Is everyone ready for the holidays?  It's so hard to believe Thanksgiving is less then a week away.  I'm so ready for some turkey and cranberry sauce.  Then comes the mad rush of "Black Friday".  I don't think I will venture out this year.  I am pretty much done with my christmas shopping. 

Well my time at the library is just about up, so I'll sign off.   (It's so nice to use fast internet!)
Have a safe weekend!

Payless Shoe 50% OFF Coupon!

My friend Angela sent this to me today and I thought I would share with everyone.  Visit Oprah.com (or click here) to receive your Payless Coupon. You may also text "OPRAH SHOW" to number 242424 and receive the coupon code via text.  Just show the text message to the clerk to receive your discount. The coupon is good for 50% off your entire purchase in-store only and expires October 30th!

Bake it Pretty!

I was browsing the net the other day and came across this website.  http://www.bakeitpretty.com/
It's "sweet supplies for inspired bakers".  They have some cute things to "cuten' up the everyday cupcake liner or snack suitcase!. 

They sell party favors, candy, toppings, baskets, display towers and much much more!  I thought I may ive them a try the next time I need to add a litte "cute" to my cupcakes. 

sniff.. cough...moan... groan

I have the flu.... 

Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy birthday to me!  Today I turn 31... and how am I spending my 31st birthday?... at the doctor's office with 102 fever.

Catching up...

Good Morning! Achoo!  This is my second week being sick. I'm ready for it to go away! I logged on to catch up on all the blogs i follow... and im slowly finding out that i need a faster internet to do this!!  So what have I missed the last few weeks!

I haven't been on much.  Probably because there isn't much going on with me. Birthday parties and soccer every weekend for the past month... I did go to a beautiful wedding on Saturday.  My good friend Lanee looked Amazing!

Congrats Ty & Lanee!

Breast Cancer Awareness

*picture from http://www.pinkfountains.com/*

As most of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Kansas City is covered with fountains, and a neat thing that the city is doing is dying the water pink.

Hy-Vee also printed their grocery add in Pink this week.  (I'm a huge fan of pink, so I was excited to see it everywhere!)  I'd thought I'd share just a few tips and helpful info regarding breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. An estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009 alone. Today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.


Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that grows in one or both of the breasts. Breast cancer usually develops in the ducts or lobules, also known as the milk-producing areas of the breast.

Types of breast cancer
There are several different types of breast cancer that can be divided into two main categories - noninvasive cancers and invasive cancers. Noninvasive cancer may also be called "carcinoma in situ." Noninvasive breast cancers are confined to the ducts or lobules and they do not spread to surrounding tissues. The two types of noninvasive breast cancers are ductal carcinoma in situ (referred to as DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (referred to as LCIS).

It is known that hormones in a woman's body, such as estrogen and progesterone, can play a role in the development of breast cancer. In breast cancer, estrogen causes a doubling of cancer cells every 36 hours. The growing tumor needs to increase its blood supply to provide food and oxygen. Progesterone seems to cause stromal cells (the woman's own cells to send out signals for more blood supply to feed the tumor. (Source: Dr. V. Craig Jordan, vice president and scientific director for the medical science division at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia as quoted in NY Times, Hormones And Cancer: By Gina Kolata, Published: December 26, 2006)

Non-invasive breast cancer. The majority of non-invasive breast cancers are DCIS. In DCIS, the cancer cells are found only in the milk duct of the breast. If DCIS is not treated, it may progress to invasive cancer.

In LCIS, the abnormal cells are found only in the lobules of the breast. Unlike DCIS, LCIS is not considered to be a cancer. It is more like a warning sign of increased risk of developing an invasive breast cancer in the same or opposite breast. While LCIS is a risk factor for invasive cancer, it doesn't actually develop into invasive breast cancer in many women.

Invasive breast cancer. Invasive or infiltrating breast cancers penetrate through normal breast tissue (such as the ducts and lobules) and invade surrounding areas. They are more serious than noninvasive cancers because they can spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs, and brain.

There are several kinds of invasive breast cancers. The most common type is invasive ductal carcinoma, which appears in the ducts and accounts for about 80 percent of all breast cancer cases. There are differences in the various types of invasive breast cancer, but the treatment options are similar for all of them.

Not all breast cancers are alike - there are different stages of breast cancer based on the size of the tumor and whether the cancer has spread. For doctor and patient, knowing the stage of breast cancer is the most important factor in choosing among treatment options. Doctors use a physical exam, biopsy, and other tests to determine breast cancer stage.

Stages of Breast Cancer
The most common system used to describe the stages of breast cancer is the AJCC/TNM (American Joint Committee on Cancer/Tumor-Nodes-Metastases) system. This system takes into account the tumor size and spread, whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes, and whether it has spread to distant organs (metastasis).

All of this information is then combined in a process called stage grouping. The stage is expressed as a Roman numeral. After stage 0 (carcinoma in situ), the other stages are I through IV (1-4). Some of the stages are further sub-divided using the letters A, B, and C. In general, the lower the number, the less the cancer has spread. A higher number, such as stage IV (4), means a more advanced cancer.

These are the stages of breast cancer: 
Stage 0 - Stage 0 is carcinoma in situ, early stage cancer that is confined to the ducts or the lobules, depending on where it started. It has not gone into the tissues in the breast nor spread to other organs in the body.

• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): This is the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer, when abnormal cells are in the lining of a duct. DCIS is also called intraductal carcinoma. DCIS sometimes becomes invasive cancer if not treated.
• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS): This condition begins in the milk-making glands but does not go through the wall of the lobules. LCIS seldom becomes invasive cancer; however, having LCIS in one breast increases the risk of cancer for both breasts.

Stage I - Stage I is an early stage of invasive breast cancer. In Stage I, cancer cells have not spread beyond the breast and the tumor is no more than 2 centimeters (three-quarters of an inch) across.

Stage II - Stage II is one of the following:
The tumor in the breast is no more than 2 centimeters (three-quarters of an inch) across. The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.

The tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters (three-quarters of an inch to 2 inches). The cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.

The tumor is larger than 5 centimeters (2 inches). The cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.

Stage III - Stage III may be a large tumor, but the cancer has not spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes. It is locally advanced cancer.

Stage IIIA - Stage IIIA is one of the following:
The tumor in the breast is smaller than 5 centimeters (2 inches). The cancer has spread to underarm lymph nodes that are attached to each other or to other structures.

The tumor is more than 5 centimeters across. The cancer has spread to the underarm lymph nodes.

Stage IIIB - Stage IIIB is one of the following:
The tumor has grown into the chest wall or the skin of the breast.
The cancer has spread to lymph nodes behind the breastbone.
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type of Stage IIIB breast cancer. The breast looks red and swollen because cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast.

Stage IIIC - Stage IIIC is a tumor of any size. It has spread in one of the following ways:
The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes behind the breastbone and under the arm.
The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under or above the collarbone.
Stage IV - Stage IV is distant metastatic cancer. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Recurrent cancer - Recurrent cancer is cancer that has come back (recurred) after a period of time when it could not be detected. It may recur locally in the breast or chest wall as another primary cancer, or it may recur in any other part of the body, such as the bone, liver, or lungs, which is generally referred to as metastatic cancer.

One of the earliest signs of breast cancer can be an abnormality that shows up on a mammogram before it can be felt. The most common signs of breast cancer are a lump in the breast; abnormal thickening of the breast; or a change in the shape or color of the breast. Finding a lump or change in your breast does not necessarily mean you have breast cancer. Additional changes that may also be signs of breast cancer include:

• Any new, hard lump or thickening in any part of the breast
• Change in breast size or shape
• Dimpling or puckering of the skin
• Swelling, redness or warmth that does not go away
• Pain in one spot that does not vary with your monthly cycle
• Pulling in of the nipple
• Nipple discharge that starts suddenly and appears only in one breast
• An itchy, sore or scaling area on one nipple

It is important for women to practice the elements of good breast health. It is suggested women:

• Obtain regular mammography screening starting at the age of 40
• Obtain annual clinical breast exams
• Perform monthly breast-self exams starting at age 20
• Obtain a risk assessment from a physician

You can also obtain a free self breast exam card at Susan G. Koman website.
*this information was provided by www.nbcam.org *