Good News Girls!

I met with the genetic counselor this morning and my breast cancer wasn't genetic/inherited and there is no increased risk of ovarian cancer!

So, she suggests that sisters/daughters/nieces start getting mammograms at 36 instead of 40 but other than that you're safe as far as current genetics tests go!

Happy Birthday Elmer!

We had a wonderful surprise birthday party for Elmer on Sunday. Naturally, it was a skunk themed party. Elmer's niece Abbey was all decked out in her best skunk outfit...

and Allie and Grace were also skunks... and darned cute ones!

Lisa and Linda gave Elmer Billy Bass, the singing fish. Lisa is getting it back for Christmas sometime when she least expects it...Baby Kole choked on a piece of cantaloupe and quit breathing. It scared the hell out of me and I hope I NEVER have to witness that again. But our friend Denise and our nephew Les (who's training to be a medic in the military - thank GOD) were able to loosen the cantaloupe and after what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute, he started crying and soon after dislodged the food. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life.

So then we had a nice family picture taken (minus Adam who split as soon as he was able - he's almost 15 you know and way to cool to spend too much time with mom and dad).

And of course, having all of his kids and grandkids together made the day really special for our wonderful husband/dad/papa.

Elmer is spending this week hunting for elk with all his stinky hunting buddies. It's a great way for him to get away and forget about work and the normal stresses of life. And, maybe he'll kill something...

Thank You Veterans...

For all you've done... And continue to do.

Let's Pack Our Bags Folks!

I love, love, love cruises. It's by far my favorite vacation to take. I've been fortunate to have been on 5 cruises - 3 to Alaska, and 2 warm-water cruises...

I was watching the Today Show yesterday morning and found out the most interesting piece of information. With the economy the way it is right now, it's cheaper to be on a cruise than it is to be on land people! For only $60 a day we could all be on a cruise ship, and that includes all food, beverages, shows, and sitting in a beach chair listening to the waves slap the ship as you slide through the water. Yep, they make your bed every day with clean, fresh sheets...

Eating - 24 hours a day. Anything you want. If they're having lobster, you can have 5...

We can learn to surf - right on the ship...

And they even make cute little creatures out of your towels every day. HEY, I didn't know you could take the towels home with you!

Yep, when you consider the cost of gas, utilities, food, entertainment and just surviving every day, it's cheaper to be on a cruise ship. I'm outta here!

This n' That...

Yesterday was a great day. Heather legally adopted Grace. Thanks for letting us be a part of such a special day... Auntie Pat knows just how to make a girl happy. She brought special sparkling cider for Grace along with three glasses so the kids could toast to their new "forever family."

We all enjoyed a little get-together at our house after the hearing.

Adam got his deer...

Mom has a badger visiting her ground feeder almost every day (night)...

And Zooey has life figured out. If it's raining, you don't have to get your feet wet if you sleep on top of one of the big dogs...

Life is good!

The End of the World - This Really is Funny...

My daughter added this link to her blog - it's funny. Then my sister stole it and put it on her blog - it really is funny. So after I watched it for the second time I thought, for the few people who read my blog but not my daughter's or sister's, well, I sure don't want you to miss this wonderful message about the end of the world.

caution, it does contain a few f-bombs - but it's funny!

http://www.endofworld.net/

Cars and Relationships...

My sister Kate blogged the other day about unreliable cars. On my way to the store today, I was thinking about that and the problems that some people have with relationships. Well I'll be darned if I didn't have one of those epiphany things! I thought maybe I was having a stroke, but luckily it turned out to be an epiphany. Well, as Kate would say, "Far be it from me to keep my wisdom to myself" so I'm sharing this with all of you.

Kate recently bought the car of her dreams. Or what she THOUGHT was the car of her dreams. It had buttery-soft leather seats that were heated, and it drove like a dream. At least for a while. It was the car she had dreamed of since childhood. Alas, only a few months later, she discovered that this magnificent car was a lemon. It was costing a fortune, not only for regular maintenance, but also, every time it broke down it was exceedingly more costly than she had ever thought it would be. Yep, she was in a quandary. Should she stick with the car she thought was the car of her dreams and pay the price, or should she dump it and take her losses? Being of a sound age - meaning she's over 40, she decided she would be best off to cut her losses and go back to a more reliable, sensible model that wasn't as beautiful or exciting as the other.

I just happen to know some people in the same situation - except they're in relationships just like Kate had with her car. Now far be it from me to think I've got all the answers, but as I've gotten older, I've sure learned a lot about life.

Some people are smart enough to buy the "reliable car" from the beginning. It lasts them forever and they're completely content to watch other people driving the fast, exciting, beautiful models which will eventually break down, and become very costly. Some people know they've bought the wrong car, but stick with it simply because they feel like they have too much invested and just don't see the sense in taking a loss on it - even if they're miserable. They continue to think "If I just fix this ONE MORE THING, than I KNOW this will be the car I've always wanted." Unfortunately, they keep dumping resources into a piece of junk they should have gotten rid of a long time ago. Some of us, have to try a lot of models (I'm included in this bunch) before they come to the realization that the reliable models are the way to go. It took me 4 marriages to finally settle down with Elmer even though we had started dating when he was 16 and I was 18. We've now been married 22 (very interesting!) years.

When we're young, we seem to need the exciting cars - even if they break down all the time and deep in our hearts, we know we're putting way more into them than we're getting out of it. A nice reliable vehicle is just boring. But fortunately, as we grow older and wiser (and trust me, I'll happily grow older every year because I'm SO MUCH more content in my life now that I'm wiser) we realize that in order to be happy, we need that comfortable car we know will be reliable and be right there when we need it. And we discover that we don't need to try every model out there in order to know what we really need and want.

So I leave you with this thought. Listen to your HEAD, NOT you're heart when you're buying a car or looking for a lasting relationship - you'll be so much happier, and life will be so much more rewarding, when you realize that in order to be truly happy in life, you have to give up a bit of the excitement you think you need when you're young. If you're willing to find the reliable car, you won't have to buy a new one every few years.

Yep, it's nice to know that Elmer and I will be hitting the junkyard together...

I'm Beginning To Feel Lightheaded...

I just looked at the Boise State Football schedule and realized that after tonight's game, we only have 3 games left for the season - unless we get into a bowl game - which, I don't want to jinx us, but we are undefeated as of this writing. However, I'm beginning to feel withdrawals already. Mom, what will we do for fun? How will we spend our Saturdays? Oh, I'm feeling so faint...

Maybe if I go buy a BSU couch, I could curl up in the fetal position and love it, and just wait for next season...

8 Houses...

My sister Kate "tagged" me for where I'd have my 8 houses if I could have as many as McCain has. Funny, but I actually learned a lot about myself by doing this. I'm evidently pretty easy to please...

Believe it or not, I would LOVE to have a wall tent to live. Maybe not forever, but I would love to have a beautifully decorated wall tent as a "second or third" home. Probably on the Clearwater River - Elmer would like that. I would love to have a farm on the Palouse. The beautiful rolling hills of wheat are so peaceful. Yep, I'd like that...

I would love to have this home near Yellowstone. It's one of only two "big" homes I chose. But oh, isn't it magnificent? And being near Yellowstone - that would be heaven.

I've always wanted to turn an old church or school into a home. I'd love it to be in central Oregon somewhere. Yea, somewhere in the pines... Well, ya gotta have a beach house. This one's in Hawaii - why be anywhere else if you're going to be on a beach?

But if I could only have one other house, I have always been totally fascinated with tree houses. This one looks like it's space age - probably not really my style but I thought it was interesting.

This would probably be my dream tree house. I think I'd like for it to be in Oregon or Vermont. I've never actually been to Vermont but it's the one place in the United States that I would LOVE to see. It just sounds like I would love it there...

But, unless I win the lottery, I have a feeling that my tree house will end up in Kuna, looking something like this...

So if you could have 8 homes anywhere, where would they be and what would they look like? Be sure to let me know if you blog about your choices. I want to see what you've come up with! Who knows, maybe you'll learn something about yourself like I did!

The Genetic Test...

A few months ago, my sister Kate decided she wanted to find out if she had the gene that increased her chances of having breast or ovarian cancer. She talked to her doctor who told her that I should be the one tested since I've already had it twice. It didn't really make sense to me so I didn't think too much more about it until I saw something on the Today Show yesterday. After watching that, I decided that I'd call MSTI (our local cancer center) and talk to a genetic specialist.

She was SO kind and nice and said "Oh my gosh, I can't believe your sister's doctor knew that YOU should be the one tested, she's exactly right." So, in order to let my sisters and daughter know if my cancer is something THEY need to be concerned about, I've set up an appointment and I'm going in for testing next Thursday.

From what I understand, if I don't have the gene, then my sisters and daughter will be no more likely to get either of these cancers than any other woman. But if I do have the gene, then they'll know that they each need to get tested to see if THEY have the gene.

I hope the gene doesn't show up, but if it does, I'll be so grateful that this testing is available and has been done so that they will know their options and can take whatever action the deem appropriate. I'll definitely let you know how the appointment goes and the results of the test once I get it.