Bigger Picture Moment : I'm doing this for Joycie

Seven years ago, I along with my family sat in the surgical waiting room while my cousin Tammi underwent her first mastectomy. I can remember sitting next her daughter Tamela, as she read the note that her mother had written her - a note that told her not to worry, that she was going to be okay. And I remember the haunted look in Tamela's eyes - because in spite of her mother's assurances, she was not certain that Tammi would win the battle. Truth be told, none of us we certain -- we were all terrified.

That image - the stark terror etched in Tamela's eyes has never been far from my mind. Now, as a new mother, I find myself hoping/praying/ that my daughter - my precious Joycie - will never have to experience that kind of fear. But hoping/praying is not enough. I have to take steps to
lower my risk of breast cancer . I need to perform monthly self breast exams to ensure that I know my breats, that I would be able to recognize any change in them, not just a lump .

But I will not stop with just me. There are countless other women in my daughter's life that need to know - her Grandmothers, her Aunts, her cousins, and even perhaps her someday. And beyond Joycie's tiny world there are millions of others who need to be made aware.

Because if we are know, then we can fight, and if we can fight then we can win. And if we win, no more daugther's will sitting in waiting rooms with terror in their eyes and fear in their hearts.

What I’m loving Wednesday….

It's Wednesday! Today I'm linking up with Jamie to share the things that I am loving this week.

 

 

The fall decorations in my living room.

This little scarecrow that sits among the “pumpkin patch” above my living room window.

I’m in love (maybe even obsessed) with pumpkin spice candles. I have them in my kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. They smell amazing and embody the fall season.

As soon as the weather turns cooler, I begin craving hot tricks. I am loving White Chocolate Mocha’s from Starbucks. Unfortunately, the nearest one is nearly half an hour away. But M promised that he would treat me to one this weekend….

I am loving the fact that this weekend is Homecoming Weekend at Georgia Tech. I am so excited to share the Homecoming traditions with Joycie, Mikey and my parents. I am also excited about reconnecting with friends.

And lastly, but most importantly, I am loving my baby girl’s laughter. She has been giving little giggles for the past few weeks. However, she has not started laughing – deep belly laughs that have her little body shaking. Her joy at the world around her is something worth loving!

What are you loving this week?

Monday's Meals: Kickin Chicken Chili

Lyndsie at A Love Worth Waiting For , is hosting a new link up called Monday’s Meals. The idea is for each person to share favorite recipes, and then each week we can get inspired for new meal ideas. M and I often eat the same 5-6 meals week in and week out, so I am eager to participate and get a little kitchen inspiration.

Over the weekend, the temperatures here grew cooler. Saturday night is was chilly enough that I needed to wear a sweater when we went out to dinner with friends. The cooler temperatures immediately had me craving warm foods – soups, stews, chili – so I thought I would share my favorite chili recipe.

Kim’s Kickin Chicken Chilli

*This receipe was modified from Gina’s Recipe.

1 bag of frozen pepper and onions ( You can also use freshly chopped if you prefer)
1 16-oz can black beans
1 8 oz can dark kidney beans
1 8 oz can light kidney beans
3 cups of corn (I usually grill ears of corn and then take it off the cob. However, you can use canned or frozen)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 jalapenos chopped ( If you prefer things less spicy, use only 1 jalapeno)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1.5 pounds of chicken breast
To prepare, place the beans, peppers, corn, tomatoes, and seasoning in your slow cooker. Place the chicken breast on top, cover, and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. About half an hour before you are ready to serve, remove the chicken breasts and shred them and place the shredded meat into the slow cooker.

When you are ready to serve the chili, you can top with sour cream, avocado, cheese, and crumbled tortilla chips. My husband likes to mix a mashed avocado with a bit of ranch dressing and use it as a topping. And while it sounds weird, it tastes great and the cool ranch is a lovely contrast to the spice of the chili.

A Letter to Joycie - #1

Joycelen,

Each month I write you letters that detail how much you have grown and changed in the previous four weeks. And each month, I print those letters out and tuck them away in your baby book, in the hopes that years from now, we can read them together. And when I am no longer with you, you can read those letters and feel the love that I have for you.

I enjoy writing those letters. But lately I have been feeling as though I should write more letters. Letters that speak to you about more than just how you are growing up (way too fast for my liking) – letters than impart some of the wisdom that I have gained in the 28 years on this earth.

I also want to have these letters to refer back to – so when I encountered a parenting situation in the future, I can remember how I wanted to handle it, what I wanted to say, what I wanted to do.

So today, on Thursday, September 30, 2010, I am going to impart my first bit of wisdom to you.

“Don’t envy others!”

Joycie, it’s a simple fact of life that someone is always going to have somthing you want. The popular girl at school will date the boy you are secretly crushing on, a coworker will get the promotion you wanted, a friend will buy a new vehicle while you drive your old car.

You’ll first reaction will likely be envy. It would be easy to give into this emotion. You will list the reasons that the boy should like you better (Side note: Any boy who thinks you are anything less than amazing should be ignored, but that’s another lesson for another day), why you worked harder to earn the promotion, or why it is makes no sense for your friend to buy a new vechicle in her current financial situation.

You will probably find yourself wishing that you had what the other person has…don’t. I promise that there are things going on that you do not know about, problems that you can not see, worries/fears/questions that are plaguing the other person.

Envy is a waste of time and energy. Instead, of envying, you should be happy for the other person. And then focus on all the good that is in your own life. Sit down and list out all the things that you have been blessed with and I promise, you will soon forget about the boy, the promotion, or the car.

Okay, I would write more, but you are sitting in my lap and keep banging the keys, so I will close this letter.

I love you, pook!

~Mama

Write Pink ! Blog for Your Breasts Day

We each have moments in our lives that change. Moments that so dramatically shift our worlds, that we can describe in vivid detail where we were, what we wore, when the moment happened. For me one of those moments was April 4th, 2004.

I was lying on my beige floral couch in my one bedroom apartment in Smyrna, GA. I was wrapping up the final weeks of my senior year at Georgia Tech. Per Sunday afternoon tradition, I had called home to give my parents the weekly update. Towards the end of the conversation, my Mama said “Honey, we need to tell you something.”

My heart leapt into my throat. I wondered if the news would be about my grandmother. Over the early part of the spring, she had been ill – I wondered if it was the news that the end was near. It was not. Instead, the news my mother shared was even more shocking, even scarier. With tears clogging her voice, she spoke “Tammi has breast cancer.”

Tammi was my oldest cousin on my father’s side. 14 years older than me, she had been more of a big sister to me than a cousin. I had always admired her style, her zest for life, and though I had never told her – I secretly wanted to be like her when I grew up.

That night and in the coming weeks, I wondered how this could be happening. My cousin was still so young – didn’t breast cancer happen to older woman. I was scared of what would happen to my cousin, but during a long conversation with her she assured me “I will win.”

And she did! She beat breast cancer, not once, but TWICE. Unfortunately, many woman do not win their battles. So today, in honor of my cousin’s victory, and in memory of the other soldiers, I am participating in Write Pink: from the Head, Heart and Feet.

Please join me and Bigger Picture Blogs today as we kick off Write Pink! from the Head, Heart and Feet by teaming up with Army of Women and bloggers everywhere to Blog for our Breasts.

The Army of Women campaign is an online initiative, where women (and men) can sign up at http://www.armyofwomen.org/. The members are then contacted via E-blast to participate in groundbreaking, breast cancer prevention research studies. They can either sign-up for the studies online, or if they do not qualify, they are encouraged to forward the information to a friend or family member. Every woman ( or man) over 18 is welcome to participate, whether a breast cancer survivor or someone never affected. Do you want to join the fight against breast cancer? Then sign up! Want to recruit friends and family to join the army? Encourage them to sign up by using the Invite a Friend Link.



Breast cancer has taken the lives of too many mothers, daugthers, sisters and friends. Join this Army and let's battle to win the war with breast cancer.

A Single Curl

Bigger Picture Moments: Following the Plan

Welcome to Bigger Picture Moments, a weekly writing meme where we breathe in the moments that paint a picture of the grander scheme. All moments are welcome in this space -- small or large, as community is just as important as the grander awareness brought on by searching for a bigger picture every week.

I have always wanted to be a runner. There seems to be a freedom in running – the breeze blowing around you, the repetitive sounds of your feet hitting the pavement – running seemingly provides a momentary escape from the pressure of the world around you.

Two years ago, I was in the middle of transforming myself into a runner. I was nearing the end of Couch to 5K training plan and was a mere two weeks away from my first 5K run. And then I got injured.

Two X-ray, 1 MRI, and a few cortisone shots later, I was able to finish the race. But my knee was extremely inflamed, and my doctor advised me to take a few months off from my new found hobby.

Those few months became years. Recently, I have once again felt the urge to run. To lace up my shoes, pick a route, and just run. But my body is two years older, and has undergone changes sense then – namely given birth to a child. So once again I am following the Couch to 5K training plan.

On Monday, I was in the middle of the first day of the 4th week of the program. My training plan called for a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by a 3 minute run, a 90 second walk, then a 5 minute run, followed by a 2.5 minute walk – all of which is repeated a second time. The first set was hard – I struggled to maintain my pace, and my legs felt heavy. Three minutes into my 2nd 3 minute run, I was feeling great. I was experiencing the elusive “runners high”, so I though – I think I’ll just keep running. So I ran for another minute and then another.

My training partner looked me and said “Aren’t you suppose to walk now?”

“Nah, I am feeling good – and besides the walking segments are boring. I am just going to run the rest of the time.”

And my plan worked for a moment. And then my lungs began to feel as they were on fire. I couldn’t breathe properly. My lack of breathe lead to a cramp in my side that finally forced me to stop my workout.

Later that night as I lay on my living room floor attempting to stretch out my sore muscles, I though about my run. I realized that I had gotten so focused on the end result – RUNNING – that I had desired to abandon my training plan.

It’s something that happens to me in other areas of my life. I become so consumed with the end result, that I often miss the small steps that I need to take -- and often wind up costing myself more time.

So in the coming week, I am going to follow my training plan to the letter. And in the other areas of my life, I am going to focus on the completing the small steps that will get me to my end result.