Countdown to Cancer Free

Two weeks from today I will be having surgery for colorectal cancer. I have been a roller coaster of emotions lately and not sleeping well (maybe that's partly due to the radiation induced menopause?! Lucky me!). If I let these emotions get the best of me, I feel nervous, a little angry, scared, and dreading what's to come. But then I'm reminded not to let those worries creep inside of my head. I try not to count down the remainder of my "rest days" because it just makes me more anxious. So I keep telling myself that with that countdown I'm just one day closer to being cancer-free!!

I continue to witness God shining brightly through this storm by the kindness, prayers and strengthened faith in myself, my family and in others. I wanted to share this from a devotional that a sweet someone sent to me:

God is in every tomorrow,
Therefore I live for today,
Certain of finding a sunrise,
Guidance and strength for my way;
Power for each moment of weakness,
Hope for each moment of pain,
Comfort for every sorrow,
Sunshine and joy after rain.

Ahhhh, don't you love it? Oh how those words resonated with me today. I hope they touch someone else as well.

Have a happy day!!

My One Little Word for 2017

Happy New Year! Bring on 2017! As I reflect on 2016 all I can think is - wow, what a roller coaster ride! Lots of good things happened - we bought a house, our family went on a cruise, I'm loving my health and wellness business, I enjoyed a beach trip, a girls weekend to the lake and a trip to the Plexus convention in Las Vegas with my amazing team. But there were also lots of bumps in the road. My sweet grandma who is "my person" passed in May at 95 years old. My husband's dad and grandma passed. And then I was diagnosed with cancer. But even through the storms these last several months, I've been able to see so many blessings. I've probably cried as many happy tears as I have sad tears. So regardless of the lows of 2016, I'm grateful and I'm blessed. And I cannot wait to make the best of 2017!

New Year's Day is when I usually decide on my "one little word" for the upcoming year. The idea is to focus on one word throughout the year instead of setting a bunch of New Year's resolutions. My previous words were simplify, faith, balance and grow. The word I've chose for 2017 is BELIEVE.

*I believe in God's plan for me and my family.

*I believe I'll be cancer free in 2017.

*I believe in my faith.

*I believe in our family.

*I believe in myself and my strengths.

*I believe in others.

*I believe in true love.

*I believe in my business, the products and my team.

*I believe in God's healing hand.

*I believe I can inspire others.

*I believe I can become the person God intended. 

*I believe in miracles.

*I believe this year will be filled with health, happiness, and joy.

Spend some time thinking about your "one little word" and see how powerful this can be throughout the year.

Blessings for a happy and healthy New Year filled with laughter!

Safer Makeup? Yes, please!

Something about hearing the words "cancer" makes you really start to evaluate your lifestyle. I immediately became even more aware of what I was putting in my mouth, how much I was exercising, how much sleep I was getting and how I was managing my stress. I'm also starting to think more and more about environmental things. One of the changes I'm gradually trying to make is to switch to safer makeup and skincare products. I love makeup. There aren't many days I go without it. So I'm trying to learn a little more about it. And some of what I've found is pretty eye opening.

I recently met someone who is a consultant with BeautyCounter. I ordered some bronzer/blush and am really happy with it. I plan on adding more products little by little. My consultant Shelley, shared some great info regarding their products that I wanted to pass along.

Did you know that the last time Congress passed a law regulating the cosmetic industry was 1938? The current government regulations are NOT making companies adhere to any limitations on the ingredients that can be used in products. It is completely legal for companies to use known endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins and carcinogens in their products. EEEK! Increasingly, science is pointing to environmental links to cancer. Even chemicals that are not carcinogenic on their own may be linked to cancer when used in combination of each other, even in very low doses. Of the over 80,000 chemicals on the market today, only 10% have ever been tested for safety. Kinda makes you think about the things you're exposed to on a daily basis huh? Makeup, soap, cleaning solutions....

Shelley also shared a little bit about BeautyCounter. They ban over 1500 toxic ingredients from personal care products like cosmetics, skincare and kids products without jeopardizing the effectiveness of the product to do so. She said their company is dedicated to prevention. Their mission is to move the market and policy away from toxic chemical use and toward safer, cleaner, greener chemicals. To gauge the safety of the ingredients they use, BeautyCounter has a very rigorous ingredient selection process before deciding if they'll use it. And, I also read that BeautyCounter consultants raised $150,000 for Stand Up for Cancer. And BeautyCounter matched another $50,000 for a total of $200,000 raised for cancer prevention and cutting-edge treatment.

This is all new stuff I'm slowly learning more about. And by looking at the graphic above, I have a lot of work to do. But if I can make gradual changes that might help our family live a long, healthy life, I'm willing to do it.

xoxo

Scrappy Time

I've spent some time lately catching up on some scrapbook pages. And it feels good! I love documenting our sweet little family. Today I went way back to 2012 (yep, I skip all around) and did a first day of school layout.

I found a fun sketch over at My Creative Sketches for inspiration. And realized how much I've missed playing along with scrapbook challenges!

I've been doing a lot of digital pages and the Project Life App to help catch up. Last year I did all Project Life traditional pages. And I just signed up for a Jessica Sprague online class with a couple of friends to try Project Life in Photoshop for 2017. But I do enjoy the process of creating pages from scratch (with sketches for inspiration of course). I love it all and can't seem to stick to just one! What is your favorite way to document your memories?

CT's and MRI's Oh My!

Yesterday I had a CT scan and two MRI's. That's a whole lot of imaging for one day. I was afraid I might be glowing in the dark afterwards!! Here we are on our way:

I was so happy to get the results the very next day. Sometimes they take sooooo long to get results to you. I couldn't wait to share the results so I ended up doing a Facebook Live video. I thought I'd share it here even though I'm an emotional mess!

So very happy! And so blessed!! Thank you all for your prayers through this all! It's going to be a great weekend!!

xoxo