Friday, September 30, 2011

I have a secret…


…a Ghastlie secret!

I am going to be participating in a blog hop that will happen from October 24-28th and October 31- November 4th.

Sew I quilt now


Its all based on a common love of Alexander Henry’s “Ghastlie” material line.

These are just a few peeks at this awesome material.

As part of the blog hop, you will get to see lots of awesome projects made with this fabric. I already have two thing done to show you and have one more special one to do. You will find giveaways and tutorials and eye candy…so please stop by and check it out!


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

October is around the corner…

I know that I have been MIA a lot this summer. My summer has been incredibly busy! I’ve definitely been living my life on fast forward.

It will soon be October and as we all know (or should) it will be Breast Cancer Awareness month. Some of you know that my stepsister Kathy passed away just over a year ago from breast cancer.  Well, now I have another story to share with you.

We all know that we are supposed to check our breasts for lumps on a monthly basis, ideally in the shower, but how many of us actually do it?  Many of us go through life, not unlike our children do, thinking that it can’t happen to us…”it’s not in my family history, so it isn’t something to worry about.”  WRONG!!!

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer this past July and I want to share her story with you.

One day, while showering, my mother found a lump in her upper breast.  Now for the women in my family, this is not such an unexpected occurrence. You see, my grandmother, mother and I have fibrocystic breasts. This means, for us, that we form cysts in our breast tissue. They are benign, but can become uncomfortable so we go off to the doctor and have the cysts drained. No big deal, not fun by any means, but not life threatening. Most women with this have a cessation of it in their 50’s, when menopause is complete.

My mother is 65 and hasn’t had a problem with them for a while. When she found this one, it felt different to her than what we usually have experienced. For starters, it was up high, right above what we think of as breast tissue. Secondly, it didn’t hurt. That can be a big warning signal, fibroids are usually uncomfortable at the very least.

Off she went to the doctor, who decided that it needed to be removed. The next week, he removed it and sent it to be tested. It came back positive for two different types of slow growing breast cancer. The doctor had my mom back in the next week to remove more tissue and also check her lymph nodes. Needless to say we were all on pins and needles waiting for the results to come back.

When the results did came back we were over-joyed to find out that everything looks clear. Her lymph nodes are clear and a bone scan showed no signs of cancer anywhere else.  As a precaution, my mom is now getting radiation treatments. She is also taking a medication to reduce the estrogen she has in her system.  Estrogen feeds cancer…it’s like candy to it.  My mother is very proactive and has said on many occasion, she will do whatever it takes to make sure this doesn’t come back and that she is around for many, many years. We were very lucky.

Because the mammogram my mother had back in October of last year didn’t show any signs of the lump, we are telling every woman we know…check up high!

I made a drawing for you based on where my mother’s lump was located…CHECK THERE!!! If we can help one woman find something that would have otherwise been missed, there will have been some purpose to this rollercoaster ride we have been on. Tell your mothers, sisters, daughters…everyone you know.

shower check

…no, I’m not giving up my day job…and no… it’s not a self portrait or a drawing of my mom…we should be so skinny!!! Ha-ha!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Mark Twain…

There has been this quote running round and round in my head. It really sums up my summer…

Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.

I definitely think I need to embroider this on something and display it prominently in my home!

I didn’t realize that the quote was from Mark Twain, but soon discovered it, and many more funny ones, while looking for it’s author.  I always enjoyed reading his work, but now can truly appreciate some of his quotes. He had such a dry, snarky sense of humor and it really speaks to me!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Last week I stated that this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister and now wish to withdraw that statement.

Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either.

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

I do believe I would have enjoyed knowing this man.

So who makes you chuckle, or stop and think?