And a wonderful Friday morning it is!
That's right. I'm kinda happy today. (But what else is new, right?)
RANDOMNESS #1 - I'm going to give you a very good "Stocking Stuffers for Manly Men" list I copied from Pinterest. It had some items I had never thought of before.
1. Jerky
2. Car air fresheners
3. Fishing bait
4. Fishing hooks
5. Nuts
6. Fishing line
7. Bullets
8. Hunting gloves
9. Ear buds
10. Hunting magazine
11. Hunting movie
12. Key chain
13. Window/leather wipes for the car
14. Pocket knife
15. Knife sharpener
16. Mini flashlight
17. Gum/mints
18. Hand sanitizer (for the tackle box)
19. Wool socks
20. Extra cell phone charger
21. Love letter (No matter how manly he is, he still needs to know how much you love him!)
You could also use this list and give your guy a "gift a day" counting down the days until his actual birthday.
RANDOMNESS #2 - Hoards of you have been asking, "Is the mum still alive?" "How is the mum?" "Can we see a recent picture of the mum?"
And to all the dozens, nay hundreds, of questions, I say, "So far, so good!"
RANDOMNESS #3 - Also, many of you have asked for an Exercise Jar Report. Just to review... I put two quarters in the jar every time I attend a Body Pump class and one quarter goes into the jar every time I walk two miles.
Today, it looks like this.
Believe it or not, this is around $49 worth of quarters... and it will probably be late 2013 or early 2014 before I have filled it to the top.
And that means my massage is not gonna happen anytime soon. Heavy, heavy sigh.
RANDOMNESS #4 - Be sure to watch The Pioneer Woman's cooking show tomorrow morning on the Food Network. It airs at 9:00 a.m. CST.
It is good TV!
RANDOMNESS #5 - These are some of my new favorite things this week...
I think I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE these smoothies. The chocolate/banana is really my favorite, but someone else must like them, too... because they are never in the case when I am at the grocery store.
If you happen to know the person who orders food for the grocery store, please tell them, "ALWAYS, ALWAYS order more chocolate items than fruit items." I would think that was a given, but obviously not.
These are Roxie's Shoes of Many Colors. Aren't they cute? The Chick has style (which she didn't get from her Mom).
They'll be relieved to know they made the cut this Friday.
RANDOMNESS #6 - What I've Learned About Ovarian Cancer - This is going to be our topic for the remainder of the September posts.
My Mom has ovarian cancer.
She asked me to talk about it on the blog to help raise awareness, and, of course, I agreed.
Mom's story began one year, four months ago. She went for her regular check-up, and the doctor discovered a tumor. She had not been sick prior to going to the doctor. Except for a few "things" most women experience from time to time (fatigue and bloating), she had no clue she would walk into the doctor's office for a check-up and walk out of the same office diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Today, I'm going to give you some of the facts regarding ovarian cancer.
Each year, about 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While it is the ninth most common cancer (other than skin cancer) in women, ovarian cancer is the fifth highest cause of cancer death in women. Most women who develop ovarian cancer are older than 60. It is found more often in white than African-American women.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague or like other conditions. This may make it hard to diagnose. It often has spread to other parts of the body when it is found.
Because of this, it's nickname is "The Silent Cancer."
I want to give you a complete list of the symptoms, although you may have one or more of them at a time.
General abdominal discomfort or pain (gas, indigestion, pressure, swelling, bloating, cramps)
Bloating and/or a feeling of fullness, even after a light meal
Nausea, diarrhea, constipation or frequent urination
Unexplained weight loss or gain
Loss of appetite
Abnormal vaginal bleeding
Unusual fatigue
Back pain
Pain during sex
Menstrual changes
These symptoms do not always mean you have ovarian cancer. But it is a good idea to discuss them with your health care provider if they are new symptoms, last more than a few weeks and/or occur more than 12 times a month.
As I stated before, my Mom had no idea anything was wrong.
Needless to say, she is an advocate of regular check-ups, early detection and awareness... and as her family, we have become advocates, too.
This picture was taken during the Annual MotherWalk 5K Ovarian Cancer Event last May (in Crestline). We were 13 strong at this walk. Next May, we hope to have many more walking for Team Tootsie!
I'll be back Monday with Mom's story and more details about ovarian cancer.
And I hope you'll visit A Simple Life again to learn more about this cancer. Awareness is SO important in finding a cure.
And we really want to find a cure!
Quotable Quotes - I saw this on Facebook, and I liked it.
"Excuse our mess. The children are making memories."
It doesn't apply to me now (I cannot blame small children for messes), but boy, did it apply to me way back when!
Blog Linkage - Such good linkage today. You can thank me later.
1. Go to www.kellehampton.com and read her September 17 post entitled "Our Weekend: It was shiny." You can read the entire post, but focus on the Pet Store Scavenger Hunt Kelle prepared for her daughter, Lainey. (It was an afternoon date for them.) So smart. So fun. If you have a four year-old child, do this today, please.
2. Go to "eighteen25" under My Blog List and read today's post entitled "Please Welcome: Jamilyn from I {heart} Nap Time." She has a very cute and doable candy corn dessert recipe for the month of October.
Plastic Pumpkin Chia Pets
Surprise! Another Pinterest idea. This Mom had a great way of using inexpensive plastic pumpkin buckets.
Grow some fall herbs.
They start their fall herb windowsill “garden” each September. Using the plastic pumpkin heads as planters, you can watch them "grow" hair as the herbs get bigger and bigger.
Later, depending on the herbs you choose to plant, you can plan a recipe with your child and use the FRESH herbs you have grown.
This tradition includes gardening, decorating for Fall AND cooking.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Weekend Happenings
My friend, Cam, mentioned Taco Soup yesterday, so it is on my brain. And yes, we will be eating Taco Soup tonight... on the deck... with lit candles!
Can you say VOLLEYBALL? Yep. The Chick has a tournament Saturday, so she will be doing athletic stuff all day long.
Mikie and I will be sitting on bleachers, cheering her on. It's what we do best, I think.
Josh has plans to watch a lot of football Saturday, and I think we're all going to get together around 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night and do the Auburn thing! War Eagle!
Austin is working at JSU (internship) all day Saturday. Good news... He loves it. Bad news... We only get to see him on Sundays during football season. (Not unlike his Marching Southerner time at JSU.)
But as long as he's happy, Momma's happy.
We're celebrating Roxie's 16th Birthday with family Sunday afternoon. She has requested a Caramel Cake, so expect pictures and a recipe Monday morning.
I also have a little surprise for her up my sleeve Sunday evening. Roxie doesn't like surprises, and because I know this about her, I have made certain it is a completely painless surprise.
She will love it, or my name isn't The Enchanting Belinda!
Please, please have a fantastic Fall weekend... full of family, fun and frivolity. (I rarely get to use "frivolity" in a sentence. It IS a good day.)
I'll be back Monday with Mindless Monday, pics from volleyball AND family AND birthday celebrations... and so much more.
And because no September OR October post is complete without a few volleyball action pics, I have added them to the bottom of today's post for your enjoyment!
This is why I love driving The Big Gold Van. Roxie sits beside me in the front, and the back is full of beautiful Volleyball Chicks. (Kelci, Kaitlyn, Shelby, Alex and Taylor.)
It's a good thing.
MINE! MINE! MINE!
The Jumping Serve is a thing of beauty, and Kaitlyn has perfected it!
Personally, I would never dive for a volleyball. If the other team is too lazy to hit it high enough for me to return it over the net, I would NOT play with them.
However, The Chick is fearless, and diving is one of her specialties.
I so admire her!
Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting and Forever Autumnal Belinda
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