365 Days Take Two! -- Day Sixty-Three

Copyright 2011.  All Rights Reserved.

I, at my window, sit and see

Autumn, his russet fingers lay,

On every leaf of every tree.

I call, but summer will not stay.

-- Unknown --

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Sixty-Two

Getting in the spirit of Fall!!

Mummies and Monsters cupcakes :)

These spooky little guys were made using Wilton icing tips -- the mummies were made using the basketweave tip upside down (you can use any of the tips 44-47) and the Monsters were made using the grass tip (tip 233).  I used the Wilton buttercream recipe and the neon food coloring that you can find pretty much anywhere now.

They were super simple and super fun and my preschool class LOVED them :)

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Sixty-One

Sometimes we all need a little power up!

Copyright 2011. -- Cakes I made for my godson's birthday today :)

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Sixty -- 6 Months.

Copyright 2011.  Me and Connor on a paddle boat ride :)

All rights reserved.

*There are millions of people in this world, but in the end it all comes down to one.  I still panic some times, forget to breathe, but I know there's something beautiful in all my imperfections.*

-- Crazy Beautiful --

6 months.

Wow.  It's hard to believe that it's been 6 months today since I heard those life changing words.  "It's malignant melanoma."  -- Cancer.

I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I've been through some incredibly difficult, life altering, painful experience, because truth be told, I haven't.  I know it could be so much worse... SO much worse.  But that's why it's important and that's why the experience is life changing.

It's not lost on me that there are men and women diagnosed with melanoma who do not even LIVE to see the six month mark.  And you may say what??  Skin cancer?  Kill someone in six months.  Yes. 

Melanoma is the deadliest of all the skin cancers. 
It is the most common type of cancer in young adults (aged 25-29).
Melanoma kills more young women every year then breast cancer.
Exposure to tanning beds before age 30 increases your risk of developing melanoma by 75%.

But there is one advantage of melanoma over other cancers and that is this;
Melanoma shows itself on TOP of our skin.  Paying attention to your moles, getting yearly exams and being cautious of the sun can save your life.

There are many things I cannot do because I had melanoma...
- I cannot donate blood
- I cannot be on the bone marrow donor registry
- I cannot donate organs (even if a family member were to need a kidney... I can't donate one.)
- I cannot get health insurance (I've tried... and been denied multiple times by multiple companies)

BUT
There are many things I CAN do.
- I can get up in the mornings and go to work
- I can spend time with my family and friends
- I can be more cautious about the sun in the future
- I can feel the sun and breathe in the air and feel good

And all of this is because of early detection.

Be aware.
It can save your life.



http://www.melanoma.org/sites/default/files/u13882/It%27s%20a%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Updated.pdf

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Nine

The photo below is not my own... but the only photo that felt right today was a photo of the complete New York skyline.

Photo Credit:  Jamie Squire/Allsport 

To those of us old enough to remember the day... every single moment of where we were and what we were doing... there is no doubt that 9/11/2001 was a defining moment in our history.  There will always be, for us, a before September 11th and an after.  The world changed that day.  Our perceptions of the world changed.  Our lives changed... forever.  

We will never forget... we never can.

My prayers are with those still grieving the lives of their loved ones lost that day. 

 

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Eight

Copyright 2011.  The Tater Head on our paddle boating trip.

All Rights Reserved.

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Seven

It has been a rough few days...

but images like this, taken yesterday,

remind me that even amidst the bad stuff, there is still so much hope.

Copyright 2011.  Connor and Caydence at the park - 9/4/11
All Rights Reserved.

*I have unanswered prayers.
I have trouble I wish wasn't there.

I have asked a thousand ways,

that you would take my pain away...

that you would take my pain away.

I'm trying to understand, how to walk this weary land.

Make straight the paths that crooked lie,

Oh Lord before these feet of mine...

Oh Lord before these feet of mine.

When my world is shaking,

Heaven stands.

When my heart is breaking,

I never leave your hands.

-- JJ Heller --

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Six

Copyright 2011.  Life jackets just waiting for the paddle boaters.

All Rights Reserved.

*There's a wild, wild whisper

blowin' in the wind,

calling out my name

like a long lost friend.

Oh I miss those days as the years go by,

Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime,

and American honey.*

-- Lady Antebellum --

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Five

If there's any face in the world that can brighten my day...

it's hers.

Copyright 2011.  Caydee at the park ready to ride the paddle boats.

All Rights Reserved.

*Everybody's looking for that something,

one thing that makes it all complete.
You find it in the strangest places,

places you never knew it could be.

Some find it in the face of their children.
Some find it in their lover's eyes.

Who can deny the joy it brings,

when you've found that special thing...

You're flying without wings.

-- Westlife --

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Four

Copyright 2011.

All Rights Reserved.

There are no quotes that can adequately describe what I'm feeling today.  When I came home from work this afternoon, it was to the news that the wonderful, kind and amazing doctor who has cared for me and performed all four of my surgeries since my melanoma diagnosis in March, was killed as she was leaving her office last night.  My heart breaks... for her family, her friends, her co-workers... for us.  Her patients.  She is not a doctor who can be easily replaced, but was instead the kind of doctor everyone would hope to have.  Not only did she always remember who I was... but she always remembered things from conversations we'd had at past appointments.  It was clear she wasn't just looking at my chart... it was clear that she cared.

I can't even begin to imagine why this happened... why things like this ever happen.  But I pray for her husband and her children...

that's all that I can do.

365 Days Take Two! -- Day Fifty-Three

Where does the time go?

How did this tiny blue-eyed baby,

Become a beautiful 5-year old big girl so quickly?

Caydence's Birthday August 28, 2011

Happy Birthday Caydee-Bug!!

We Love you :)