Monica's Photos

Hey everyone I just wanted to let ya know that my Cousin Monica was inspired to start her own blog and you should go visit her and say hello!  She was nice enough to invite me to come take photos at her In-home Day care of all her Kiddos and I'm super excited!!

We did photos for their first Family Christmas card and I just wanted to give her a little preview of the photos...these are just a few of my favorites.

Her Daughter Bella just turned Five and Gavin is almost one I believe.  They are both so precious!!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I had a bad weekend.  Nothing really happened bad, just a few things that I could've lived without... 

...Like when when we ran out of clean towels...I did not grab a dry towel out of the hamper and sniff to make sure it wasn't mildewy...not me.  I'd never let dirty laundry pile up...

...Or like when we ran out of dog food .. I would not do something like feed the dogs a couple of dog treats instead of going and buying dog food right away..nope

...Or for instance when I tried to drive to the store by myelf (which i wasn't supposed to do for a week after surgery) and realized I couldn't lift the dog food I needed to buy (cant lift over 20lbs for a couple weeks) I did Not turn around and drive all the way back home and make Sean go back later for dog food because I was too embarassed to ask for help.  I would never be too embarassed.

...Also,  after Banjo got sick from eating the new dog food and bless his heart held it as long as he could then left three or four piles for me to find this morning.  I would never just halfheartedly clean it up at 4 am until it looked clean and leave it for more throurough cleaning this after noon when I can really have time to scrub...I would never leave something like that uncleaned!

...Lastly after taking one bite of sour milk with my late night cereal snack last night I would never just sit the whole bowl out on the back porch and leave it to dispose of later... I was not too mad that I had just downed sour milk to clean..never!

yeah I could have lived without those weekend mishaps...for sure.

Mammograms?

So I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the new Mammogram guidelines that the US Preventive Services Task Force Recently released based on a review of the medical literature. They are recommending that regular screening for breast cancer in women begin at age 50, rather than the previously recommended screening beginning at age 40.


This doesn't effect me yet but one day it might and it worries me a little that many women out there could miss their chances at early diagnosis if they wait until age 50. This got me wondering...What harm does it do to get a mammogram just to make sure all is well?

I read an article in the NY Times that pretty much says that mammograms can show tiny abnormalities that are benign or that are so slow-growing that they'd never kill the individual. If it is cancerous then the treatment is surgery, radiation, hormone therapy or chemotherapy, all of which carry risks for the individual. The article also cited that the panel also said that Stress of whether an abnormalities is cancerous or not is another risk.

Now this is just my opinion, but I'd rather take the risk and get rid of the cancer than not have a mammogram and find the cancer until it's too late..What if the cancer I have isn't slow growing?? I really could care less about the stress that comes a long with it ...I'd rather have a little stress than die of something that could have been prevented. The panel also downplayed mammograms by saying said that only 1 out of 1,900 women that are screened are saved from death of breast cancer. I'd rather 1,900 women get a harmless mammogram than watch my mother, sister, or friend be that one life that isn't saved.

Anyway I wrote all of that because of an e-mail I got from one of the Health Insurance Providers that I represent. This was an letter that we are to give to our businesses that have group health insurance to pass along to their employees covered under their group insurance plan

Dear Employee:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released new guidelines for mammography screening based on a review of the medical literature. They are recommending that regular screening for breast cancer in women begin at age 50, rather than the previously recommended screening beginning at age 40.

(deleted)Healthcare Ins Co. considers mammography an important screening procedure, one that has resulted in the ability to detect and treat breast cancer at earlier stages of the disease and save lives. Many health and professional organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) continue to recommend mammography screenings begin at age 40.

The decision of when to begin screening should be made in consultation between you, the plan member, and your personal physician. We will continue to offer coverage of screening mammograms when recommended by your physician.

In addition, ACOG has changed its guidance on cervical cancer screening, recommending less frequent screening for women in their 20s. As with mammography, (deleted)Healthcare Ins Co. recommends that this decision be made following a discussion between you and your physician, to determine the frequency of cervical cancer screenings. We are not changing its coverage for cervical cancer screening and will continue to offer coverage for this service when recommended by your physician.

If you have any questions about your coverage or plan benefits please feel free to call the Customer Care number listed on the back of your member ID card.

I just thought it was very loud statement that even Insurance Companies acknowledge that it is important to get screened if you feel the need(And I get complaints about every day on health companies not wanting to pay claims) and they will still pay for a yearly mammogramm and cervical screening even though the US Task preventative Services says it's not necessary.

What do you think about this topic?   I say go ahead and get a mamogramm if your doctor thinks it's necessary..heck I would get one just for my own peace of mind!

Family

Tonight I'm typing to you from my old bedroom at my parents house.  It's so nice to have such wonderful parents that are willing to take care of you 24 hours a day until you feel better.  Sean came down last night and today to keep me company but had to go back to work on the Circle T.

Right now I'm watching  The Lindsey Lohan version of The Parent Trap..(ya know before she was a crackhoe)  and am so nauseous that I really wish I would've kept on the little motion sickness patch they told me to keep on...and they pumped me so full of air during surgery that I think if the computer wasn't in my lap I would float up to the ceiling.   .... I may or may not be a little loopy from pain medication...Now that I re-read that paragraph I'm leaning towards the "may" side...

So before I left for the hospital I took some pictures of my Christmas tree and some of my favorite ornaments.  I was planning on doing a Christmas post about it but I have mysteriously lost my pictures....how do you loose pictures on a digital camera??  I still have the card, the pictures are just MIA... hm??

SOOO instead of Christmas ornament pictures you get to hear all about my Family Reunion we had last weekend.

We had my Dad's Dad's side of the family over to our barn for a family reunion. Dad has a nice barn with living quarters, you can kind of see it in the background of the photo...so don't like think we had a family reunion down in the ol' hay barn and square danced or something..we aren't that backwards.  ...anyways.   There were about 55 of us, the youngest in attendance was 1 year old and the oldest was my Great Grandmother Gladys at 96 years young.  (She's the little one on the couch)  She is still in good health and great mental health as well.  She was over heard saying at one point during the day, 'Well I guess I started all of this mess.'  And she did, six children multiplied into over 55 people!!

 Left to right, Susie (My aunt), Erin, Kinley, Great Grandma, and MawMaw

Kinley was the only Great Great Grandchild there and they took a 5 generation photo.  My Grandfather Passed away in 2003 so we substituted his generation with my MawMaw (His wife)  So even though it's not Blood 5 generations  It's pretty dang close!



Oh and I'd just like to give a special Shout Out to my Aunt Sherree who is a very dedicated Blog Reader!!  I just wanted to say hello and let you know how wonderful it was to see you!!  Now.... I'd like to zoom in on our family photo and we can all laugh "with" Aunt Sherree and her attempt to get Kinley to Smile...apparently K wasn't having it...  This photo made me smile because it shows Aunt Sherree's personality, Happy and uplifting No Matter what!!! Love you and See you at Christmas!!



Have a Great Day everyone!  Maybe you'll get to see my tree tomorrow...if I find those photos...