The Pursuit of Happiness

Matt brought home a magazine with an article about happiness. Happiness- just what is it? What causes it? Can it be cultivated? That's a fine question. Well the article said it's in your genetics. Some people are born to be cheery. Others need to work at it. Well I think that's me. So here is a tip the magazine said to try that I thought I could easily do.

GET HAPPY- These techniques are guaranteed to boost your happiness quotient-and not just momentarily.

Three a Day for Better Health
This is an exercise for your gratitude muscle. Every night, write down three things you were thankful for that day. The key phrase is every night.

Matt and I were telling each other every night what we were happy for that day. We quickly got out of doing it so I'm reinstating our 3 a night routine starting now.

I'm thankful...
1. that today was bright and sunny and I was able to walk in the sunshine for a bit today.
2. that in 2 hours Matt will be home and Parker is here to keep me company.
3. for the super comfy sweatshirt/top thing I bought at Target. I LOVE it!

Extra thought- I'm thankful that my nose is healing up wonderfully and before long you will barely see the incision.

Chainsaw Action

I've been keeping myself pretty busy lately with work and spending time with friends...so busy in fact that I just remembered that yesterday was my original due date. I knew it was coming but chose to quickly kick it out of my head the moment it entered. Not because I can't deal with it but because I have chosen to focus on other things at this point. I'm told by my new doctor that the future is optimistic- so optimistic that he acted like it was unheard of that this next pregnancy wouldn't be success. We are making big changes and my appointment schedule will be hectic. Don't get excited. I'm not pregnant yet. I've still got some hurdles to jump over.

Matt has been a busy bee around the house lately. He's focused on the outside of our house like raking leaves and using his chainsaw. Scary. I remember when I was younger and my dad would use the chainsaw. He would tell us he was going out to cut a few limbs. Three hours later half the shrubs were cut down to the ground. I hear they are so much fun to use that you just go looking for things to chop down. I thought our little corner jungle looked just fine. Matt humored me while I took some video of the chainsaw action.

One more thing- like I said, I've been doing a lot of things with friends lately and recently had a chance to hang out with Kristin who does children portraiture. She is extremely creative and not cookie-cutter like some other photographers. She has great examples on her website at http://www.kscullyphotography.com/

Nipping Skin Cancer in the Bud

Basal cell carcinoma is a type of skin cancer. It is the most common and least lethal form of all cancers. It is a malignant epithelial cell tumor that begins as a papule (a small, circumscribed, solid elevation of the skin) and enlarges peripherally, developing into a crater that erodes, crusts and bleeds.

Basal cell cancer is the most common skin cancer. It is much more common in fair-skinned individuals with a family history of basal cell cancer and increases in incidence closer to the equator or at higher altitude. According to Skin Cancer Foundation, there are approximately 800,000[7] new cases yearly in the United States alone.



Wednesday was the day I was getting mine removed. You could barely tell where it was located so I marked it with two orange lines below.



My first stop was to a surgeon who performed the MOHS procedure. Layer by layer the skin cancer is removed with a scalpel.I was very lucky and only have to have two layers removed. But it looks gruesome and deep.

About three hours after the cancer was removed I headed to a plastic surgeon who did the repair on my nose by making a long cut down the side of my nose and pulling the skin together. I'm not allowed to take off the bandages so I have no idea how it looks. My right eye is starting to blacken up which I expected. Matt is on his way to pick up an herbal remedy that will hopefully slow or prevent any further bruising. I'm swollen to so I have to ice every few hours.

I had no idea that one small spot of skin cancer would cause such events like a full out surgery on my face. I am working from home for the next two days so I can rest and ice. I have to sleep half sitting up so that the blood does not pool so the couch will be my home for now.

I very happy to have this whole ordeal behind me and I hope it NEVER happens again. I don't expect everyone to run out and put on sunscreen but if you are fair skinned like me you just might want to consider it.

Preparing for cold

Last weekend Matt worked really hard to install a new storm door on our house. Our original one blew off during high winds several months back. I remember coming home and finding our entire door just laying on our porch and trying to figure out what happened! Now we should be ready for the cold weather which hit us yesterday. No extremely cold but enough to warrant a coat and scarf.

This is a our rose bush in front our house. It's so bright
compared to the other plants.

Next week I have surgery to remove the basal cell carcinoma on my nose. I'll be sure to post some pics of the day. First stop is to the surgeon to take off the cancer layer by layer until it is all gone. Then immediately after surgery I will visit a plastic surgeon who is going to make a fancy cut down the side of my nose to repair the hole made by the surgeon. Thank goodness someone told me to consult with a plastic surgeon. If you just let the surgeon do his job and stitch up the hole it will not look pretty. And there is not a lot of skin on your nose to work with. Insurance covers it because it's considered reconstruction surgery. Post surgery I will look like I had a nose job so I've opted to work from home a few days so my co-workers don't have to look at my black eyes and bandaged nose. Truly- I don't want to be seen like that!

Where did October go?

Happy Anniversary to my parents today. They celebrate (hold on, let me get my calculator)...37 years of marriage!


October has simply flow by and now it's already November. Strange here in St. Louis because it's expected to be 75 degrees here today. I was fortunate enough to do a lot of fun things this month like:

• Pumpkin hunting at a local farm


• Surgery- not fun but happy for progress


• Seeing Madonna in concert in Chicago


• Sarah Bareilles in concert at the Pageant


• Passing out GIANT Hershey candy bars to trick-or-treaters


• Spending a couple of great weekends with my husband

If you are on daylight savings time- did you set your clocks back? One extra hour to enjoy the weekend!