falling for it

Today was a lovely day to take pictures of mother nature's wonderful 'changing of the seasons'. These are just a few of whats happening around Malden, MA. These glimpses will aid me during those "winter blues" come February when my nose and toes are fed up with being cold. I know if I were to extend my area, more species of trees would be aplenty, but I was sticking close to home on today's journey. Oh, how I love fall. The crunch underfoot, the sweet musky smell in the air and all those beautiful colors! What's not to love?

Enjoy!

that really pissed me off!

I watched a new documentary on PBS recently "In the Family" made by Chicago filmmaker, Joanna Rudnick, who, at 27, has tested positive for the BRCA gene. The appx. hour and a half is about her personal struggle with the knowledge that she has the mutation for breast/ovarian cancer and trying to come to terms with what that means for her future. She also reaches out to other woman who are survivors as well as others getting their own test results.

This documentary pissed me off! Rudnick has the mutation - OKAY - you're alive and DO NOT HAVE CANCER - but she goes through this entire documentary as if she is going to die at any moment. Doesn't this girl realize that simply testing positive doesn't guarantee that she's going to develop the cancer? PLUS - by having the knowledge that she DOES have the mutation - she's fortunate enough to be able to take PREVENTATIVE steps to decrease her chances of getting cancer? Maybe Rudnick needs to take a look at Kris Carr's "Crazy Sexy Cancer" and see what a young woman who ACTUALLY HAS CANCER does to improve her life and her situation. Now there was a documentary that made an impression - a good one, to boot - I was in amazement over what someone could do with their lives despite being given a diagnoses of an incurable cancer. Kris Carr is an inspiration - she rose to the challenge of her life and didn't let go!

One of my sisters tested positive for the BRCA gene - I don't want her to see Rudnick's doc. I think it portrays a grim existence and is very negative. I'm sure glad I didn't see it a week or so earlier while I was awaiting my very own BRCA results. I could've been suicidal with Rudnick's negativity. Don't let the fact that you have the BRCA mutation end your life! Take control of your health and your future and take the necessary steps to live a long and fruitful life!

Don't forget that OCTOBER is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH! Be sure to visit The Breast Cancer Site and click to give FREE MAMOGRAMS!

rainbow of colors

I've been bitten by the color bug AND beautiful hand painted yarns! My recent additions have been 2 skein of Dream in Color Classy - Gothic Rose & Chinatown Apple. Uhhh - to see them in person....wow! The colors are so rich and deep and meld into one another like perfection. Gothic Rose is deep burgundy/purple/red & Chinatown Apple deep rust/brown/red/orange. These are going to knit up into beautiful pieces. And then there is the Malabrigo worsted I got in Verde Esperanza - true deep luscious teal green...gorgeous! I've got projects in mind...but not ready to share just yet....

A sigh of relief....

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see an oncologist to have genetic screening, known as BRCA Analysis, done for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. This is done by simple blood draw and sent off to a company named Myriad Genetic Laboratories in Utah. They run a screen and test you for mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Be sure to check out Myriad for more info on the BRCA Analysis.

I have strong family history with both types of cancer and more importantly, one of my sisters tested positive on her BRCA1 test done last year. Having a parent or sibling carry a mutation on one of these genes gives you up to a 50% chance of carrying the same mutation. This test is by no means full proof, and simply testing positive is not an indication that you will have either of these cancers in your lifetime. But having the information can aid you in your surveillance of the diseases.

Because my sister tested positive, my insurance covered the FULL cost of a Comprehensive Analysis (that's testing on both BRCA1 & BRCA2 genes) which can cost up to $3,000. I had a full consultation and blood draw with Dr. Rebecca Eisenberg on September 10th. My blood was then sent off to Myriad, tested and returned to MA. Today was the day I went in for my results. Dr. Eisenberg kindly asked if she could sit down and then told me "NO MUTATION DETECTED". We both smiled widely and I said "YEESSSS!" This is good news for me and my children (because they need not worry about carrying the mutation). A sigh of relief, for sure. I will continue to be on top of my health and yearly examinations as well as continue to be aware of the various symptoms of both breast and ovarian cancers.

Be sure to click on The Brest Cancer Site each day to donate a FREE mammograms!

Reeling in the last bits of summer....

MA Green clock in downtown Waterbury, CT/NH gals weekend/Spanky the rascal/CT gals weekend

I've had some serious fun this summer. August was just a busy as July and I put plenty o' miles on my V'dub this summer. The poor thing started sputtering and basically freaking out on me and I had to get er' fixed at good ole Montesi Volkswagen while in North Haven. I sat and knit the 4 1/2 hours I waited. One of the women who work there asked me about my knitting. It happened to be my orange Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty.com. She had never heard of Knitty before and by the time I left the shop, she had already gone online and printed off 4 patterns for various stuff! She was so thankful and excited. She said she hadn't knit in a while and this got her juices flowin'! Gotta love unexpected knitting encounters!

So - back to my great summer. I'm a lucky gal - I had not ONE, but TWO 'girls weekends' in August. The first weekend of the month, I headed North to New Hampshire with my local crew, Kristen D, Maria C & Stacey O. We stayed at the condo of Stacey's father, Charlie. Nice spread - great views, beautiful pool and the air there....oh, so fresh and clean smelling. This was our first trip to NH together, but our 4th year getting away for a kid/spouse free weekend. This trip proved to be a great time. We left there with some hysterical phrases (for example: My biscuits are burnin') and a good time under our belts. These girls are good people.

The last week of the month, I headed down to Stamford, CT with my longtime gal pals, Gretchen M, Tara W and Laurie S. We had one missing due to sinus and back issues...yeah, YOU Jennifer C.! Tara booted her hubby and two tikes so we could take over her place with no distractions! You know, only getting together with these ladies a couple times a year, we wind up having a lot of catching up to do! We hoity toitied it up and had dinner at a very nice restaurant on the water, The Saltwater Grill. It was a very nice meal, but the best was eyein' all the flamboyant richies sitting out on the patio. I guess it's not a requirement to have good taste when you've got a lot of money! Some of the get ups were quite interesting. Tara had wanted to show us beauties off at her local tavern too, but we had enough libations flowing at her place, we never made it over there! "No, really - Tara does have friends!" Ah, she's got a picture to prove it!. We had a great time and are already thinking about where to get together next! They may be Boston bound for the next one!

Now it's September, school has started and life is falling back into the usual routines. We all were in need of our routines again. I'm back to working my two little jobs: laboratory technician in the Artavanis-Tsakonss Lab (check me out on the Lab Members tab) and retail diva at Raspberry Beret. Keepin' myself busy and helpin' the family pocketbook out at the same time! I've gotta get back to my knitting group this month too. I just gotta! I'm knitting things on my commutes and in the evenings again...so hangin' with my knitting pals would be a great addition to my "routine".

Enjoy!