TGIFriday Fragments!

It's been a rough week on so many levels, and I am SO glad it's Friday! We don't have anything exciting planned this weekend, just R&R. Much needed R&R.

It's Fragment time!

* I'm very seriously considering transferring to a day shift position within my hospital (but NOT my unit). In fact, I have three applications in. It's a big change, but night shift is wearing me out. I think it's time.

* My blogger friend Meaghan of http://cancerlost.blogspot.com/2009/04/update-on-how-surgery-went.html had surgery this week. She had to have a kidney and a rib removed. I can't imagine how painful this was for her! And some people say cervical cancer is not much of a risk and not a big deal. @@ I dare them to say that to Meaghan! *ETA: I can't get the blog to link properly, but it's I Kicked Cancer's @ss. Go visit and send her gentle hugs!*

* We're going to visit a new church this weekend. I've been there before with the kids but hubby has never been. I'm excited! It's a very friendly, peaceful place.

* We may be getting a litter of kittens to foster this weekend. Stay tuned! There will be pictures of the fluffy cuteness.

* We went lights-out for Earth Day! We read books by candlelight. The kids didn't mind a bit! It was very nice and quiet.

* This week I've found new flowers blooming in our yard. I was THRILLED to find jasmine blooming on the gate!

I love jasmine.

Then I found honeysuckle on the back fence.

That brings back memories; we always had it growing on our fence where I grew up and I was always sucking the 'honey' out of the blossoms!

I also found some purple flowers growing just behind the back fence.

I broke off some branches, picked a purple blossom, and put them in a vase on a shelf in the kitchen. They smell wonderful!

Hope y'all have a wonderful Spring Weekend!

for more Friday Fragments, visit Half-Past Kissin' Time.

This Girl Rocks!

I've written about Meaghan before. She is truly an inspiration to me, and now she is celebrating a huge accomplishment. I wanted to share her latest news with you all. You can read her story here...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/sfl-flbcancerbloggersbdec20,0,1852511.story

Here's a snippet:

Two years ago, law school student Meaghan Edelstein was on a hospital bed in Boston ready to embrace death. Diagnosed with cervical cancer, her kidney had ripped open and fluid was seeping into her body. A doctor gave her a 20 percent chance to survive. On Sunday, Edelstein, 30, will pick up her diploma from Nova Southeastern University.

Click the link to read the rest...it's worth it!
Congrats again, Meaghan. I can't wait to share your story with my daughters!

"The More We Know, the Stronger We Become."

I'm starting a new series of posts called Educate Yourself. I am a strong believer in researching and educating ourselves. We have the whole World Wide Web at our fingertips. There is so much information out there about almost any topic you can come across. When it comes to our health, diet, and issues that effect us, it's very important that we educate ourselves.

Today's topic is Cervical Cancer.

"The More We Know, the Stronger We Become."
That's a quote from a bloggy friend, whom I deeply admire.

Her name is Meaghan, and she kicked cancer's ass.

I invite you to read her story here. In fact, as parents, I think we are all obligated to read this story. Cervical cancer touches so many people, and we now have a way of helping to prevent it. We owe it to our children to educate ourselves about this. The vaccination is controversial, and I'm not here to tell you to go out and vaccinate your children. I am, however, here to tell you to educate yourself as much as you possibly can about HPV, cervical cancer, and the vaccination. Soak up the info like a sponge, then decide what's best for your children.

I have been told that cervical cancer is not a big deal, very easily treatable, very rarely serious or fatal, extremely rare, etc. None of this is true. On Meaghan's blog, she proves those theories wrong.

HPV linked to 25,000 cancers in 5 years
26 years old and facing a death sentence due to cervical cancer
Cervical Cancer Survivors Site
An Article on HPV & Cervical Cancer

These are just some of the many links on Meaghan's site. But besides those, read her story and the story of other cervical cancer survivors, and those who didn't survive.
I also witnessed my own close friend's battle with cervical cancer. Hers was caught early, so her battle wasn't nearly as bad as others, but still horrible. It was terrifiying and extremely painful. Then, there's the news I got last night. My good friend & co-worker just found out that her mother has cervical cancer. She rushed home to be with her. From what I understand, she is in the end stages. My co-worker is young; her mother is very young. This should not be happening.

If there's a way to prevent any of that from happening to my daughters...I'm going to take that route.
Make an informed decision regarding your child's health.
Now that Meaghan has kicked cancer, she is committed to raising awareness about Cervical Cancer, and I'm committed to helping her.