Go Pink!!

We're probably all aware by now that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I told my husband the other day "Susan G. Komen Foundation has it going on! It's everywhere!!" Their marketing is phenomenal and has brought so much awareness to the fight against breast cancer.

Everything goes pink this time of year, I love it! From downtown fountains, the cap on my Yoplait yogurt ( www.yourlidmatters.com ), even NFL players sporting pink shoes, gloves, heck! even the coin for the toss had a Breast Cancer Awareness side to it.

Breast Cancer has affected my life, as well as my husband's. In remembrance of his mother, and in celebration of my grandmother's 10th year of being cancer free, I wanted to write this blog and let you know about some of my favorite items to purchase that support the cause.


My personal favorite which I carry year-round is my Bank of America debit card...
From 2009-2011, Bank of America is guaranteeing a minimum of $1,950,000 and a maximum of $2,700,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure^® in conjunction with this program. For each new Susan G. Komen for the Cure branded credit card account opened and activated, Komen receives a minimum of $3 and up to 0.20% of all net retail purchases made with the card. For example, 20 cents for every $100. Komen also receives $1 for each annual renewal of the card.


One of my favorite tennis shoe brands New Balance has several different Pink Ribbon styles this season...

Pink KitchenAid mixer

I own an Under Armour hoodie from last year's collection that has a pink ribbon on the sleeve like this one. It is so comfortable and warm in the winter. This one sells for $54.99 on the Under Armour website.



UnderArmour.com












These are just some of my favorite items. There are so many out there that contribute so please get out there and shop for a cause!

While October is awareness month, the fight against breast cancer never stops. Please visit http://ww5.komen.org/ and make a donation or sign up for a 5k in your city! God Bless!!

Pain in the Neck

Literally.

from http://sunrisechiropractic.ca/

For just over a month now I have been having problems with my neck and back. I pulled a muscle in my right shoulder while drying my hair... I know, not the best story.

Kinda like the time I sprained my ankle while walking to the front of the classroom to turn in an exam my senior year of college. My ankle had fallen asleep, when I got up to take a step, it flipped over, took another step and voila!... back into place. The professor looked at me oddly like "what'd you do?" I had no idea. I didn't feel the pain right away but as I began walking out of the building, it began to throb with pain. Point of that story... I never do these things while actually doing something athletic like most people, and I used to be an athlete! But anways...Back to the muscle strain...

I nursed it back to health (or so I thought) but in the mean time the muscles around my neck began to hurt. It got to the point where it was uncomfortable to sit at the computer at work, and also to get comfortable at night to fall asleep. So a few weeks ago I decided I needed to see someone right away. Everyone was saying go to the chiropractor. I don't like chiropractors, don't believe in them and sure never thought I would have to go to one. Sure enough, there I sat four Tuesdays ago in a Chiropractor's office desperately seeking some answers and pain relief. The guy probably thought I was crazy because I was just very hesitant about everything and had lots of questions. He was actually very nice and I believe he's probably a very, good chiro; however, I did not go back. Not because of his work but because I just had this enormous uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The next day I called a Physical Therapist and spoke with her about what she could do for me. I have been seeing her since. I love it! I get heat stimulation when I get there, then she works my neck and back muscles to loosen them up, then, I go through the exercises. The exercises are meant to help me now and in the future with my posture which is probably one of the causes of my "injury." At first my homework was doing these exercises twice a day but now I am down to once a day now that I'm at about 90%.

My goal was to be 100% before Hawaii and it looks like I'm going to get there! Another good thing, I should be done with PT next week!

So I told you all of that to explain why I haven't been blogging as much. It's just kind of hard to sit at a computer all day at work and then come home and do the same. But I look forward to blogging some more when I return from our trip.

One of many dreams...

...to own a farm one day. Like this one in Efland, NC featured in Southern Living Magazine. When I read the Pioneer Woman, I grow envious of her Oklahoma Ranch. While I don't think we could manage a ranch, a nice little farm would be nice at some point in our lives. I grew up in the country on lots of land and that is definitely something I would love for my children to experience.

You'll find out that I'm quite the dreamer. I used to have 7 different career goals... one of them may/may not have been to be a soap opera writer for GH. ;)

 Do you have any secret dreams like this?

The Beautiful Mess: Engagement Photos



Photo courtesy of The Beautiful Mess


Check out these lovely engagement photos from The Beautiful Mess! The bride, Abigail, and I have been friends for almost 10 years now.  She's an amazing, fun and Godly woman... and look how gorgeous she is! Not to mention blissfully happy to be marrying the man of her dreams! Can't wait to meet Mr. Tanner!

Congratulations to the both of you! Wishing you nothing but happiness!!

Photo courtesy of The Beautiful Mess

Click here to see more from their session: http://thebeautifulmess.com/2010/10/engaged-justin-abby
They also need your help before Friday... If they get 100 comments on The Beautiful Mess link above, they receive some free stuff! Anyone who has had to pay for wedding photos knows how important this is!

Cleaning Made Simple

Cleaning...it's what we do every weekend unless there's something going on or we're sick. I don't clean during the week, just pick up here and there (if that) so the weekends are for cleaning. I'm not saying I spend my entire Saturday and/or Sunday cleaning but I get what needs to be done for that week.

Please, don't get me wrong -- I abhor cleaning. I wish I could hire a maid but I know it wouldn't be good enough for me. You see, my mother was a housewife for 13 years until she decided to go back to work. And everyday she cleaned. Our house was always spotless. The carpet was vacuumed at least once a day. You did not wear your shoes on the carpet, they came off at the door. My room was always tidy, and the bed was always made. My best friend Lauren recently joked that she would like my mom to come visit her so that she could "really clean" like "wash the base boards" type of stuff. That's my mom and that's how I was raised. So my standards for cleaning are up there! While I don't think I'm near as particular about cleaning as my mother, I do like a clean house. I love you mom for always keeping our home clean!


My husband and I have lived together for almost 3 years now and we've got this cleaning thing down really well! Yes, I said my husband cleans. :) He doesn't have an outside to take care of yet so we share duties in the apartment. I know, I'm blessed. Although this weekend my husband was "busy" watching football but I'll let it slide because I did get a "honey, you did a really nice job with the kitchen." That was worth doing it all by myself.

For those of you who find cleaning a struggle or just need a better routine, here is a guide from Real Simple Magazine that might help. I don't follow everything on here, but it's a good place to start.

Click on the pictures to enlarge

Thank Goodness for Real Simple Magazine!

Hawaii countdown is on...

My husband and I are counting down the days until our official honeymoon in Hawaii this month! We are going to be escaping the cooler temps of Pennsylvania and soaking up the always warm and sunny island of Kauai.


from KauaiDiscovery.com


I know I must look crazy buying up the sunscreen & tanning oils at the local Walgreens when it's rainy and barely 60 degrees outside but that's what I did this week.

from KauaiDiscovery.com

You know those Corona Commercials? My total inspiration for travel destinations. I picture a nice relaxing beach, some palm trees, a frozen alcoholic beverage in my hand, crystal blue ocean, and lots of sun & sand.

Can't wait!! :)