I'm No Hemingway....

Thank god there are people out there who write what I think but in no way can convey to others.

As some of you know, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer this summer. There is now a vaccine for some strains of HPV that have been known to CAUSE cervical cancer. Texas has made this vaccine mandatory. I have a daughter..... what do I do?

Read the post from Green Fertility who just rocks on digging into this whole issue.

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Celebrating All Families posted a pic of her dream house like FosterAbba did. I'm going to also. I can't seem to find the perfect picture though. Here is the closest thing. I want mountains in the background and a view out the front of my southern exposed wraparound covered porch. Nine foot tall ceilings with crown molding, old hardwood floors and a laundry chute, definitely a laundry chute. Are there automatic washing machines yet to go with that laundry chute?

Or maybe this one....

A pond would be nice..............

But we all know I live in California, I will be lucky to own this...

A Bit Of Beauty - Here Comes The Sun

While I was passing by a mirror today, I had to stop, shocked, amazed. I was smiling. A real smile. I hadn't known that I'd been missing the expression until I glimpsed my reflection and my feet rooted to the floor. My body MADE me look and realize I have turned a corner. I can smile again.

It may seen like an everyday occurrence. It hasn't been for me. I mean, I've smiled. You know the smile I'm talking about. The one all of us learn, the mask, but this one was real, there was a sparkle in my eyes, the lines beside them reaching out to my temples, my dimple showing.

My heart seems to have started beating again.

I have started to notice the beauty that surrounds me even more. I saw a valley full of clouds with evergreens poking up between them during twilight last night. I stopped. I got the kids out to show them, then more cars stopped. It was that beautiful. I wish I would have had my camera. There was a group of us, people sharing the beauty before us. All of us with the feeling that there is only a matter of time before it is gone.

Savor it......

We got back into the car and on the radio was a beautiful song "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel. Pretty.

I have been getting Architectural Digest, I found beauty in a chair. A chair.

It is coming back to me. I don't know how to explain it. I just feel that I had lost myself in the worry of the adoption, the cancer, the daily stresses- you know- LIFE. I didn't even know it was gone, just like my smile, I didn't know it was gone until I found it again.

This family started out taking foster parent classes so that a friend of her daughter that was in foster care could spend the night (wow! My parents would NEVER have done anything like that for me!). Anyway- they added four more children to their family through Fos-Adopt. Then.... well just read it.

Then I was reading an adoption board and found this thread. I thought it was kind of creepy at first, then I thought, "Well, I was looking for my son's siblings on the internet." I guess there is no reason why birthparents couldn't watch their birthchildren grow up by reading these sites. It still kind of freaks me out though. There is no way in hell MY kids will EVER have a webpage with pictures of them etc etc- I know I am completely behind the times and am a total "old fogey" for saying this but.... I have never been to My Space or Facebook. You never know who is watching......... I just read in the paper that an advice columnist read a letter from a concerned Dad about My Space. She said "My Space is like a virtual hallway in high school. We know it's not private, but it feels private."

If you have kids- have you checked your child's space?

Last thing....

I am trying something out. I have started taking Black Walnut Hull supplements to see what happens. I remember my piano teacher/mentor telling me about them when she recovered from cancer. It helped her. I tell ya.. some interesting things have been going on.. that's all I'm gonna say about that.

I am also taking Milk Thistle as a Liver cleanse and....

Milk thistle is believed to have protective effects on the liver and improve its function. It is typically used to treat liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis (liver inflammation), and gallbladder disorders. Treatment claims also include:

• Lowering cholesterol levels




• Reducing insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes who also have cirrhosis




• Reducing the growth of cancer cells in breast, cervical, and prostate cancers

Did You Vote?

Things I Care About Today:

1. California Gov. Race
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Phil Angelides OR Arnold Schwarzenegger
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. I haven't even made it to Review Yet! CCAA probably has my file stuffed some dusty old cavern somewhere reminicent of Gringott's Bank.

3. I'm with her ----->

4. An Open Letter From An American Mother of Russian Children

5. Boys For Sale- Russia's Forgotten Children

Cancer-Fighting Halloween Goodness

Pumpkin -- a crop that typically peaks this month -- is rich in beta carotene, and studies show that a diet high in beta carotene may help reduce the risk of cancers, including breast cancer. Add cancer-fighting flair to your weekend pancake recipe by adding 1/2 cup of pumpkin and 3/4 of a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Of course, no single food item fully guards against breast cancer, so don't skip your mammogram. Early detection can make this dreaded disease enormously beatable

click on the title to be redirected to Real Age. They have some more ideas and recipes for adding more pumpkin to our life.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Impending cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates could leave millions of breast cancer patients without access to lifesaving screenings and treatments.
We need you to put pressure on Congress to repeal these cuts! Tell your lawmakers it's not too late. Demand that the aging population receive quality breast cancer care.