So, I had a Mammogram

I had a mammogram a couple weeks ago, my first. I hadn't felt a lump or anything, I just thought it would be a good thing to do. I've heard way too many scary breast cancer stories lately, stories about women my age finding themselves with cancer and fighting to stay alive. The latest was that of Bridget, a friend of my neighbor Nicole, who I'd met at a Tupperware party Nicole hosted last fall. Bridget and I hit it off right away, and at the time she was in the middle of a legal fight regarding her business. I'd asked Nicole about her and then learned the dreadful news about her cancer diagnosis. Early detection is on Bridget's side, I think of her every time I drive by her former business at 50th and Xerxes.

So my results came back from the mammogram the other day--normal. What a relief. I didn't expect anything would show up, but certainly it was possible. I'd had the mammogram done at the Jane Brattain Breast Center at my Park Nicollet Clinic, it's actually right next to Pediatrics, where Anna goes for her appointments. You can tell they've thought of everything to put their patients at ease, from the friendly but subdued waiting room to the cozy robes they have you wear while waiting for the technician. When the technician heard it was my first mammogram she was very informative about everything and reassuring, over-the-top reassuring actually. It was really not a big deal--pap smears are far more uncomfortable, many of the pre-natal visits worse, IMO. I don't know why women would not want to have this done, they must have it built up in their minds to be more painful than it really is, I thought it was a piece of cake. As I said to the technician--so what if the machine is cold? So what if I get a bruise? So what if it pinches me a little bit. Are people really that sensitive that those concerns might keep them away from a potentially life-saving test? That is crazy.

Finally last night I got my hair cut and colored, on Sunday I got my first pedicure of the season. I feel much better about myself. I've broken out the open-toe sandals and spring/summer clothes. I've gotten a few new things I'm anxious to wear (love the Willi Smith clothes at TJ Maxx!) so bring on the nice weather!

Our neighbors two houses to the south of us have their house for sale, and the neighbors between us have sold their house without needing to publicly list it. Wow! We have known for some time that the Stuarts were building a couple blocks away, we're going to miss them but hopefully still see them at the playground. Their current house was just not big enough for their family, and at one time they thought they'd build on to it but then it becomes not too far of a leap to consider just building new if you can find a lot, and they did. The twins had their 3rd birthday party over the weekend and invited everyone to enjoy the jumpy castle they rented, which we finally got to do yesterday. Anna loved it!

Edwin is out of town again this week. The evenings he is gone have filled up with various errands and plans so all is good. Every evening that the weather cooperates I either take Anna for a walk or walk with her to the park and play on the swings. It's just so nice to have so many parks and businesses within walking distance. On Sunday we walked to the bank, to Caribou, and then stopped at Pershing Park on the way home. Anna's also content with just running around the backyard, picking up twigs and kicking a ball. We need to clean and repaint her little house, she now will go inside it but come out covered in dirt. She doesn't mind but I don't want to give her a bath every day quite yet.

I continue to read the third Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book, while Saskia has it checked out from the library. As with any sequels, it just doesn't seem as good as the first, or second, but it is still a worthwhile read. I recommend the movie to anyone interested--America Ferrara plays Carmen. I'm a big fan of hers, especially her role as Betty in Ugly Betty, the one television show I make a true effort to watch every week.

A few days of sun can do wonders, can't they?

Crazy Monday

I was home with Anna today. Well, not home really with all the running around that we did. What a day!

After breakfast we made a quick trip to Dunn Brothers for a muffin and a latte for me. I knew I'd need it, and I was right!

About mid-morning Anna had an appointment to get her pictures taken at the Eden Prairie Target Portrait Studio. I usually try to bring some personal props but this time I couldn't really think of much to bring. Finally I came up with my red wooden shoes, Anna's doll Betty, and stopped to buy some tulips on the way. Like the last couple times I brought her for pictures, Anna wasn't very cooperative and was all over the place. Julie (from the York Avenue store!) did end up getting a few shots, but overall it didn't go so well. The rush to decide all the poses and photo sheets always makes me flustered, I feel fairly confident that I ordered the usual sizes and amounts. We'll see. I have been known to order more ...

Anna and I had lunch at the mall then headed for home. Of course she fell asleep on the drive home and woke up as I tried to put her in her crib. Sigh! It's always a hard call for me, whether to leave her sleeping in her car seat for her nap or try to put her in her crib and today I called it all wrong. Eventually she slept again in the car, but I bet she didn't sleep a total of an hour today. Not good.

Early afternoon we brought some consignment items to the nearby Turnstyle. I think a couple things were rejected because they were wrinkled, so I'm going to try to bring them back after I iron them. We then returned a few things to Marshalls, then headed to Inver Grove Heights to have the oil changed in my Rav4.

I have decided that as long as my car is under warranty (3 years, 30,000 miles) I will keep going back to my dealer. It's not far from work, though today driving to IGH was a hassle. Oh well. Plus, whenever we drive anywhere as a family it's always the Rav4 we take, I think it's worthwhile to give it some extra attention.

It wasn't until we were waiting for my car to be done that I found out about the shootings at Virginia Tech. I don't have the television on now, so I don't know the latest, but 32 people dead? That is just unbelievable. How could someone just shoot 32 people? I can't imagine. There have been times in my life that I've been really unhappy, and have felt that I've been treated badly or unfairly. The saving grace was being able to see an end to my misery, knowing that at some point things would get better if I hung in there and didn't give up. Plus what was the alternative? Giving up? Shooting people and killing myself? How does someone get to that extreme?

After the oil change, our next destination was a quick visit with my sister Cheryl at her workplace in Bloomington. Long ago I was supposed to visit her at work with Anna in tow but had to cancel at the last minute. I have always meant to make that up and today turned out to be the day. After a 20 minute nap in the car (!!!) Anna was back to her usual self and very sweet to Cheryl's coworkers. As I told one, I don't know whether to feel proud that Anna is so social, or horrified that she goes up to strangers and readily accepts gifts and shows them her belly!

So now we are home and Anna is finally in bed. I am tired but will try to do more than update my blog tonight! I think I will continue prepping the trim in my bedroom--I have repainted our door and trim on one wall but have three windows and the other three walls to go. Or should I work on her scrapbook instead? Such exciting decisions for a Monday night!

Lazy Sunday

It's a beautiful, sunny day and Anna is sleeping after a walk around Lake Harriet. I've decided to do nothing while she sleeps, no household tasks anyway. Ahhh!

Anna's latest obsession is taking the batteries out of the remotes around the house, and then try putting them back in. Funny girl. She also wants to put on her own shoes and socks, and zip her own coat. She's very determined, and I'm proud that she wants to do these things by herself and will keep encouraging her to do so.

We don't have daycare tomorrow (Monday) and Edwin is out of town for work so I'll be staying home with Anna. I've made appointments to get her pictures taken and for the oil to be changed in my car. The rest of the day will fill itself in by the time she takes a nap, we have lunch, etc. I hope it's a good Oprah tomorrow!

I'm in the midst of switching out my clothes ... taking out my spring/summer clothes and packing away the fall/winter stuff. It's always at this time that I see what I have, what to give away, what to try to sell consignment, etc. Feels good to clear some of these items off my shelves.

Soon I hope to finish Anna's first scrapbook/photo album, a task I've been putting off somewhat. Just like my wedding scrapbook, I'm so concerned about it being perfect and including everything in it, that I procrastinate working on it. Maybe I can push myself to do this during the week, as I'm over halfway finished and the next album is ready to start.

This weekend I borrowed a few movies from the library, so far I've watched Cactus Flower (Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn) and I've re-watched Shakespeare in Love. Our local library has a great video selection, both tapes and DVDs, and it's a good excuse to go for a walk to either return or pick up new ones. I love Ingrid Bergman, I need to try harder to find some of her movies to watch. One of the greatest compliments I've ever received was at a restaurant when the server claimed I looked like her and wondered if anyone had told me that before. I just about fell out of my chair! I'll never forget her kind words, as I was very pregnant at the time as well.

Another job coming up soon is for us to clean and paint the little play house in our backyard. Saskia has always been too big for it, but now that Anna is running around and enjoys being outside it will get some use. We're not sure which previous owner built it, but it's decorated like the house--white with teal-green trim and window boxes on the front windows. Anna is very interested so we'll have to do this soon.

That's all I can think of right now!

I Have to get Something Off My Chest

Grr. I was attempting to listen to the Ian and Margery show this morning on the radio, but that will be the last time. When I turned it on, Ian was going on and on about how Rosie O'Donnell is claiming that 9/11 is a government conspiracy, it didn't really happen, that our government was involved in the collapse of the twin tours, etc. NONE OF THIS IS TRUE. RD has never said any of those things. She IS currently questioning the collapse of WTC Building 7, which imploded perfectly and was never mentioned in the official reports of the WTC attacks. But isn't that a far cry from being a "9/11 denier"?? I check Rosie's blog from time to time, and she responds to a lot of hostile questions through her blog regarding statements she's made. There's also a link to The View on her blog, so I watch pieces from that show from time to time as well. Well, how did Ian from the radio think RD had said all these things? Because Bill O'Reilly said she said all those things!! Thus it must be true.

Unbelievable. First of all, if your source for information is Bill O'Reilly then WTF are you thinking? Second of all, why rely on anyone else to tell you RD's views, why not go directly to her when she has a blog and has responded to all these questions from people emailing her and from her cohosts on The View?

So I quickly emailed Ian, suggesting that instead of getting his information regarding RD's views from BOR, why not go to Rosie's blog and get them from her? Once he played a clip on the radio which made obvious he was wrong, he did nothing to acknowledge this and just merely shifted the focus of the discussion. What an asshole. Then he read my email on the air, but cherry-picked the words to make it sound as though I was criticizing his right to question her views, which was not the point at all. Double asshole.

My point is this--if you can go directly to the source to get your information, go to the source. The information you receive from anyone other than the source is suspect. They may think they have it right and don't, or they may not care if they get all the details right, or may be too careless to make sure to get all the details right. Then, you've got plenty of people out there who just like to stir up the issues and don't really care about accuracy. Any ideas of who that could be? And in general, comments taken out of context can be made to sound far worse or far better than they really are. Do not rely on what your friend's cousin's nephew overheard the VP say to the secretary in the elevator, etc. Ever play the telephone game? Has everyone forgotten that lesson?

Here's a link to Rosie's blog:

http://www.rosie.com/

Why not get all your facts straight, people?

It's Fun to Be Crafty

Here are the letters I made for Anna's room a few weeks ago. You can see the wallpaper border they match at the top of the picture.














After the letters turned out so well, I decided to decorate a keepsake box and picture frame to match.

More and More and More

We just had air conditioning installed! Very exciting to have this done, especially after the horrible heat of last summer. I have more dust to deal with around the house due to the work, but in general we are thrilled since the tubing didn't take as much closet space as we feared it would. Yay for Ridler Plumbing and Heating!

I'm now reading the book Star of the Sea, which is about a ship of Irish immigrants on their way to America to escape the potato famine in 1847. I greatly enjoy the writing, and the history of the time I'm learning about. I had seen a documentary on the potato famine years ago, I believe it was on A&E which definitely peaked my interest but I haven't seen or read anything about it since then.

The last movie I saw was The Lives of Others, which won the Oscar for best foreign language film of 2006 (German). I remember watching the Oscars and being moved by the acceptance speech given by the man who played the lead character in the film. I highly, highly recommend this movie, it's quite thought provoking. The movie is set in East Berlin/East Germany, in 1984. A man who is a member of the Stasi is assigned to spy on a young couple, with the goal of finding incriminating evidence on them. However, somewhere along the way the man decides to do what he can to protect them and their borderline illegal activities, at a risk to his own life and shameful career. Certainly I haven't given East Germany or any other of those former Soviet block countries much serious thought then or now. How in the world does a society reconcile the injured, fearful parties with the group that oppressed them?

Once again I feel grateful there's a movie theater close to me which shows films such as The Lives of Others, The Queen, The Painted Veil. There is a movie coming up which is Dutch and set during WWII, so I am anxious to see that as well.

Edwin and I just booked our accommodations for our May trip to Charleston. I am so excited!! We found a place we could cheaply rent for the week, right on the coast and within walking distance of the beach. I'm not looking forward to traveling with all of Anna's baby equipment (car seat, stroller, pack and play) but once we're there I just know it will be wonderful and a real vacation.