Local hospital held a Pamper Me Pink party a week ago – I “conned” my youngest daughter, friend from work, and another young friend into joining me as my bosom buddies.
🙂

We were given numbers when we came in – mine was my age! Yay – 60. Daughter was 59 and friend was 68.

We were then duly registered (aka put into the billing system) and handed off to volunteers who took us to the imaging section of the hospital. So much pink! Even the CEO grabbed a pink cowboy hat and perched it on his head. Love it.

We were given Pamper Me Pink t-shirts or scarves. Daughter and friends got shirts – Volunteer, Ruth made sure I got a scarf.

Why, yes I can have fun with anything. lol. By the way, the shirt I’m wearing is the one I hand embroidered with names of lost loved ones and survivors of breast cancer. I wore it several years ago when I took part in the Pony Express Tour for Breast Cancer, a motorcycle tour around the US with funds raised going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It was an honor to wear the names of my sisters, among them my Aunt Mickey who died of breast cancer in 1972. I need to embroider my cousin Marsha’s name – she passed away a few years ago – and my friend R’s name as she is a survivor.

We enjoyed munchies:

There was a chocolate fountain with fruit and other stuff too. I had fruit and skipped the chocolate, cookies and cake. Jenn had bananas.

warm wax treatments for our hands:

There were chair massages, bone density tests, prizes, goodies, and – oh, yes . . . mammograms!

The good reports are coming in – repeat in a year. We had four of us together this year – next year I hope older daughter will be able to join us and that our group grows even more. The hospital might just have to make this a TWO night event. 🙂

There were at leat 50 women who took advantage of this fun night this year. The mammogram machine was smokin! Okay, not really, but they usually see maybe 8 women in a given day – to have 50 in a 3 hour period is unusual.

So, tell me . . . when was the last time YOU did a breast self exam – or a mammogram? Male readers . . . when is the last time YOU checked YOUR breasts? And, when is the last time you did a self testicular exam? I urge you all to take care of yourselves.

“Take a deep breath. Hold it.”

Noisy clicks and clacks, clunks and whirs are muffled only slightly by the earphones perched on my head. I count to myself – 1001, 1002, 1003 and onward until I finally hear, “Breathe normally.”

I lie buried within a giant magnet – a yearly occurrence as follow-up to surgery a few years ago. Each time they place me onto the table and hook me up to the IV I focus thankfully on the healing that took place in my body when the surgeon excised the cancer.

It’s a thankful woman who lies there holding her breath.

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This week’s 100 Word challenge from Velvet Verbosity is “WITHIN”

Had a bit of a meltdown Friday – well, I didn’t have the meltdown. My laptop did. I use it a lot – apparently the hard drive decided I had overworked it.

Not quite the blue screen of death, but I began getting red x messages telling me “can not find hard drive.” WHAT? I know it’s there. Where is it and why is it hiding???

Of course, hubby’s first thought was I might have picked up a virus . . . again . . . or that the old one I got awhile back had a little worm attached and my computer guru had not found it.

So, we called said guru and took the laptop in Saturday morning when he opened. He thought he could get it back to me same day, but when his closing time rolled around and I had not heard I resigned myself to waiting patiently . . . yeah, hahahaha.

First thing Monday morning I had to take hubbymoose back to the wound clinic. (side note: the original sore had healed and he was released from their care last week – unfortunately, he developed a new and bigger blister in a different place so we are going back on a weekly basis.) We drove by the guru’s shop, but he wasn’t open yet.

Took our time – went to the post office – dawdled around – then went back to pick up puter. Hard drive was all that was wrong, so I have a shiny, new one, bigger, better, faster. Yay! And my files were saved, too. Yay again! Thanks, Soldotna Computer!

I have to reload some software, but that is a minor thing. I’m going to check out some backup websites to protect future files. 🙂

Have a great day, everyone.

Jessica was excited about Mr. Andrews’ essay assignment. He was a tough grader, the ONE teacher she wanted most to impress. She hoped for a lead in his next play – and strove to show him she was worthy.

“This one will be easy,” she whispered to Sandy. “I’ll get an A for sure! I’ve been singing that song all week.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” asked her friend. “Sometimes you confuse me.”

“You know – that Madonna song . . .Vogue . . . vogue . . .”

“You nut!” Sandy quipped. “You always were bad at spelling.”

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This week’s 100 Word Challenge by Velvet Verbosity is Vague. Madonna’s song is the first thing that came to mind and I have been percolating on it all week.

Dear Mom

Thank you for your support through these last months of treatment. Your love has helped more than I could ever say.

Breast cancer! Me?

It’s taken a lot out of me – besides the obvious. (Yeah, thanks for the humor gene, too.)

Friends look at me strangely when I remind them – even YOU must check yourself monthly.

How can I impress on them the importance? I do the walks and raise money and am highlighted in all the papers. It still seems to fall on deaf ears.

So thankful YOU are in my life.

With love,

Your baby boy

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This is my entry for the 100 Word weekly challenge – word is Handsome.
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October is breast cancer awareness month. Men can be affected by the disease as well – it’s a lower incidence than women, but it is there. Please be aware and take care of yourself.