I am going to try take pictures of my stitched stuff tonight. I am getting so close on so many things. I need to sit down and finish some of them. I have another goal to finish one in particular and get it hung up. It will look like this when it is done.

Photo credit

I have finished this one already for a friend and bought everything to make myself one exactly like it. Now I just need to get up and actually do it!

I am still working on an embroidered quilt and an embroidered tooth fairy pillow. I always seem to have multiple projects going so I don't get totally bored with any of them. Can't wait for you to see what I am working on!

Genetic Testing

So Monday is the big day. We are going to Tulsa to meet with the geneticist and start the process. They will counsel us, draw blood, get all the family history and send everything to the lab. I am feeling totally at peace and am ready to find out. I have found out that the testing will be made easier since a cousin has had the test I am able to use those results and they will be able to get the testing done a little quicker ( and hopefully cheaper) so we know what to do now. It should take a couple of weeks and then I should find out if I carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. We will then move on and figure out what to do. I am okay with either outcome and am just ready to be able to take some action. I would appreciate the thoughts and prayers going up. I am just praying that whatever should happen will happen. I know that after this there will be many choices and decisions to make. I will keep everyone updated and will tell ya'll what is going on!

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Dove hunting opens up September 1st so I will be thinkin of ya while I am out shooting dove... I plan my vacation around hunting and we are gonna be setting up some tree stands while I am off and we have a couple of days together. Happy hunting to all of you who get to start your seasons!!!

Writers Workshop - Hi, My name is...

Hi, my name is Alisha and I am an empowered woman… I know most of you are saying “I know that you are a woman” but keep reading and you will understand. Outdoor Summit issued a challenge and I was more than willing to take them up on it. I found out about the challenge from a good friend Rick who tells a wonderful story about his friend. I had been reading about The Fat Cyclist and his wife's fight and then Mama Kat listed her prompts and everything just fell together! This is about breast cancer and bringing it to the forefront and making us all think about it once again...

Breast cancer has been a part of my life since I was a year old. Actually it was a part before I was born but we will start there. My mother found a lump when I was a year old and everything, for me at least, started there. My mother had a single mastectomy, among numerous other surgeries at the same time, and chemo. She was "cancer free" for a year before her hip started hurting. This whole time my mom continued as a nurse and was raising a small child. After doing some tests they found that it had metastasized into her bones. She refused the chemo at that time but once it was moving into other organ she did the chemo again. I have a friend of my mother's who told me the other day that *I* was the reason that she fought so hard. After 4 1/2 years my mother lost her battle but not without putting up a huge fight and impacting me in the process.

My grandmother (mothers mom) was diagnosed about4 years later and fought for two years. She lost her battle a year after my grandfather died of a massive heart attack.

My Aunt Teanne (mothers sister) was diagnosed and fought. She wanted to be able to last for me get married and she succeeded. She fought for a couple of years as well and passed a month after Matt and I got married. Although she didn't get to come to the wedding, her sons were there and I sent back many thoughts and prayers to her. She didn't tell us how bad she was and then I got a phone call all of a sudden that she was gone.

After looking at all these women in my family I took everything into consideration and started the procedures that I needed for early detection. I have mammograms every year, even though my insurance won't pay for it. We have kept me double covered with insurance so that if something does come up we can take care off it. I don't say that these things have been done easily, it has taken some commitment on our part and sacrifices. There are times that I am frustrated and worrying about money since we have had to spend it on insurance or paying the medical co-pays, but I always bring myself back to the big picture of prevention. I had an MRI done in April and was thankful that we had both insurances because we ended up after the fact with no out of pocket ( I got a check back from them).

In April, about the same time, I have a friend who was diagnosed with lung cancer. She beat breast cancer almost five years ago and now is faced with another battle. This spurred me to take further action and start looking up testing and prophylactic mastectomy options. I also was able to get my mother's medical records, after a short battle, and found out that My great grandmother on my mom's side had also had breast cancer. This makes it my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and an aunt. These are all on my Mother's side of the family.

I began talking with my Doctor I made a decision that some have questioned. I am having genetic testing done on August 31st. It could take up to two months to get results but I am excited about it. I am a planner so I have two plans of action in my mind of what we will do. Matt and I have sat down and talked about the different options and what we both feel comfortable with. We are going to look toward the future, with no fear, and plan for our life that we will build together. This is only made possible though through both of our strength and agreeing on the options. Early detection is the best key for taking care of the problem and I want to live to see my babies grow up. I want to see all the things that my mom didn't get to see. Opposition to my decision has said that I am playing God but why would we have this amazing technology if it wasn't for God????? I would appreciate any prayers that could go up in this time in our lives.

I have done the research and will not be another statistic, I will be me....

Head over to Mama Kat's and see what else is being said!!!

Info on my health... Please pray for a friend....

I said that I would get back with you guys on my health so here it is…. My MRI came back fine and mammogram came back fine. I have done some soul searching and have decided to do the genetic testing. I am now going to have to save up and have enough for it. It costs $3200 and although I have double insurance I won’t be able to find out what they will cover until the test is done. I will go in and talk to the doctor in a regular room ( not an exam room ) and talk about everything and if we still decide to do the test I will go to the lab upstairs and have blood drawn. It will then be sent to the lab where they will deal with the insurance and if it is above $375 they will call and look at payment arrangements and if it is below that they will just run it. It should take between 3 and 4 weeks to find out results. If they come back positive we are going to look at having a prophylactic mastectomy and reconstructive surgery later. I just wanted to let ya’ll know and if anyone has any info I would love to know more. I keep researching and finding out new info.
I have a friend that needs your prayers right now. She beat breast cancer 5 years ago and was diagnosed with lung cancer on Friday. I will tell you more in a few days once we know more. We just need prayers to go up right now….

"The Girls" and what us girls do for them!!!

I know that this may be a weird post for the guys out there reading this but they need to know what is going on and understand the information too. I posted about why breast health was such a big issue to me in October of last year. You may want to check it out and see the back story to this and it will be a little clearer.

Most of us girls know that we have breasts and they are there, can get in the way but don't think much otherwise about them. I am one who is thinking about them constantly. Some of us want bigger, some want smaller, some just think they get in the way and others love them and show thier "assets" off all the time! All of us girls have "the girls" and they are dealt with on a daily basis - whether we like it or not! OK, now on with today's stuff.....

Today I went for a six month check up with Dr. LaNette Smith in Tulsa. She is a breast doctor and in September they did ultrasound in her office after the exam and then sent me over to the radiology where they did a mammogram and more ultrasounds... Everything looked okay and she wants to see me every six months. Today she brought up that she really wanted me to do genetic testing since I have lost my mother, grandmother and an aunt who have had breast cancer and they were all on my mom's side. The is also wanting me to have an MRI done. She said that the digital mammogram was OK but an MRI would really let them see more and see better. They are going to check with the insurance on the MRI and I am trying to decide on the testing. They have passed a law that insurance companies can't deny me coverage because of the genetic testing but I am still worried about it.

I also started asking her about prophylactic mastectomy's. How often did they do them, the success rate and all that stuff. She said that if I am shown to have the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene that the likelihood of breast cancer raises from 10% to 85%. If a prophylactic mastectomy is done the risk is lowered by 90% which is approximately the same for someone without a family history. So we are looking at all the options and looking at what we think is best to do. The MRI will be the first hurdle and seeing if we can get the insurance to cover it. I am double covered so hopefully they will both agree and I can get it done! So once we clear the first hurdle we will look at the next one!!!

Has anyone out there had this issue come up, had the testing done or heard anything else about it? I would love some more input from others on this subject!

And also I went yesterday to the doctor and I have lost 14 pounds!!! This is also one of the things that I am doing to lower my risk as well as exercising more and cutting down on the fat.... Not fun but needed! So I am hoping to continue losing this next month!!! I will keep you updated!

Squeeze your boobies!!!!

I changed my layout to pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month. So I don't know how many of you know some of my past but at 32 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was just 2 at that time. She fought for four years and lost her battle Feb '88. Since then I have lost my grandmother and my aunt, both on my mom's side. When Matt and I got married (the first time LOL) my aunt was fighting breast cancer and doing some experimental treatments. Almost one month to the date after my wedding she passed away. My mother and aunt were both nurses. They knew what to look for. There had been no family history before my mother of having breast cancer. I always knew that it was something that I would have to deal with but had kinda put it on a back burner. At 21 I basically had to face the fact that I needed to think somewhat about my own mortality. I had just lost my aunt to the same thing that I lost my mother to and decided to not be another statistic. So I do mammograms every year now as a part of my yearly check up. even though it would be cheaper for the insurance to pay for all this and find it early, they refuse to but the cost is worth it.

Last month I went to tulsa to Dr. Lanette Smith and got checked out even better. Lanette Smith is a breast doctor and all the nurses and office help was girls!!! I loved it. I had the consult, they did ultrasound on my right breast and told me to go over to the mammography clinic and to get an ultrasound done NOW. So I did as I was told and got a digital mammogram and then they did ultrasounds. This whole visit took about 5 hours 'cause they were working me in at the clinic for the mammogram. The whole time Matt was back at home, working and about to go crazy. After everything was over they decided to watch everything and that I was to come back and se Dr. Smith in 6 months.



So I guess the moral of this is I know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but it is that way every month for me. I also don't want to lose someone close to me from this. I want to be able to see my babies (when we have them) grow up, play ball, get married and have their own babies. I don't want to leave Matt to try and get through everything all on his own. And I don't want my little girl to break down while trying on wedding dresses like I did, just 'cause my mom wasn't there to help me.



Every year I get closer to 32 I am made more aware that I have to take the inicitive and take care of myself. I just want all my friends to realize the same thing. I do self exams every month around the 16th and if I need to remind everyone I will, just let me know!!! This is the link to cards that show you how to do a BSE.



So Squeeze Those Boobies!!!!