I am hoping for a low number.

I took a test yesterday and I hope I do NOT get 100 on it. In fact, a 35 would be fantastic.

It was not a classroom-based test. It was a CA-125 - the ovarian cancer screening blood test. After some painful moments last week, as well as other symptoms, I went to the gyne yesterday and ultrasounds revealed an enlarged ovary (*very enlarged* according to the Ultrasound technitian) with irregular shape and solid masses inside it.

I am 39. The odds of it being benign are roughly 80%. But I still have a number of meetings with doctors and tests to go - plus it most likely will have to be removed in its entirety. That doesnt bother me, since I am done making babies and already have been dealing with hormonal change issues for some time now.

I just am hoping its benign. Not knowing is really bugging me right now.

I am procrastinating on a major closet overhaul I need to do in my daughters room. Her room is tiny -  one dresser, one bookshelf and a bed are about all that fit in there - so a functional closet is a must-have. I promised her I would get it done before tomorrow afternoon. And I am sure I will.

I am just hung up (pardon the pun) on what format to use. It is a square shape, so I was going to to do a wire shelving unit that wrapped around the corner and across one side, but now I suspect that her clothes would not fit well in the corner space, so why hunt around for that piece of the puzzle?

I may buy a pre-configured system with hanging space and some shelves, but she REALLY needs the hanging space, as she is not of an age yet where she can/will fold sweaters or other knit tops to put on a shelf.

I guess I will just have to measure twice and go to home depot to see what is available and then do my best. I may splurge on some huggable hangers, though as I can testify: THEY ROCK THE CLOSET!

I am back from the white sands of NJ (we had a great time) and tomorrow we head up to the cabin for one last trip before school starts. My mother-in-law is flying in on Saturday for a visit, but I have so much to do, I wont be staying up there for her entire visit.

I will head up tomorrow for a mammoth cleaning to the cabin, then head back Sunday to continue taking care of  the landscaping in the yard but mostly to embark on a maor closet re-org for my daughter, who has really outgrown the current configuration of her room. Over the next few months I hope to sell, donate, or toss out as much unneeded stuff in our closets and attic as possible.

Tonight I have a meeting at Church that, for some reason, is making me nervous. Perhaps because my friend/neighbor and I have decided to eschew the religious ed program the parish offers and instead try to partner together to create a homeschool (just for religion - our kids attend the local public school) program and teach our *class* twice a month. I dont plan to announce my personal plans to anyone but if they ask, I hope I dont become defensive. My friend and I have legitimate reasons for doing our own thing this year - some of which are as basic as logistics: the times the parish offers for classes conflict with our schedules. Plus its expensive. But...the reason she and I really investigated going on our own is that we felt the kids we not getting anywhere near enough content covered through the program they had last year. Our kids are both in the gifted programs at their school; thus, they enjoy being challeneged and can move through material at a fast pace. So instead of paying nearly $200 for a watered-down program, we will be using the classroom workbook and teacher guides that the parish used in their previous classroom setting for religious education.

I know my daughter and there is NO WAY she would ever allow just ME to homeschool her. However, having a peer and another adult in the mix should create a productive environment for all of us (fingers crossed.)

Im off on *vacation* - this time to Brigantine, NJ (adjacent to Atlantic City!!!) to visit with family, boogie board on the beach, and play the slots.

Ill be back in 10 days.

:)

I have been feeling lazy, and at times, utterly disinterested in writing lately. I am not even writing articles for Church or the Hospital these days (even though I have been asked to do so.)

There is nothing wrong or upsetting going on with me. I think its like my relationship with eggs. Yes, eggs.

A while back, I followed a low-carb regimen, and ate eggs almost every morning for breakfast. After months of that, I simply grew tired of it. Now, whether fried, poached, scrambled or hard-bolied, the sight and scent nearly makes me gag.

Maybe after school starts and I dont have a kid to entertain during daylight hours, I will get back in the groove.

Or maybe the sight of a keyboard will make me gag?

A few days ago, I took my 8-year-old daughter to Target to pick up some essential (toilet paper) and non-essential (nail polish) items.

I allowed her to browse the Girls department as I scanned the clearance racks. She came back toting a brown velour hoodie and matching yoga pants.

When I gently told her to put back the full-price outift that was certainly not needed in our 90-degree heat, she balked, and retorted with, Mom, you are preventing me from being fashionable!

It has started. And MUCH earlier than I anticpated. The *mom, you are so not cool and dont  know what kids like* routine. I thought I had some time left to be the outfit-chooser in the family until at least age 10. She always LOVED whatever I picked out for her but now she has her own very distinct (and yet not at all consistent) direction when it comes to clothing.

I was feeling old and gooberish as she rolled her eyes at the items that I chose from the sale rack. We were able to agree upon a hot pink striped jersey shift that she can use as a dress, loungewear (post-pool/beach wear around the house) or even a cover-up and it was 50% off.

We ambled over to the shoe department and she became transfixed on a rack of hot pink *jellies* - you know, those shoes made of blister-inducing plastic/silicone/rubber or whatever non-leather product it may be. Instantly she began scanning for her size. She noticed that they ran a bit large. I told her that although the price was right (marked down to $1.98!) she should consider wearing little ankle socks with them otherwise she should plan for future painful eruptions on her feet.

She hustled over to the sock department and returned carrying a pack of retro-80s patterned anklets: hot pink and black polka dots on one pair, pink and white stripes on another.

She ended up choosing shoes that are more than one size too big so that even with socks and Dr. Scholls insoles inside of them, she clomps around like they are dress-up shoes. I keep reminding her that I would be happy to get her the next smaller size as they were less than $2. But in her stubbornness, she insists that these are fine, even though she can barely walk in them.

TOnight as we readied for church, she put on her new hot pink and white, hooded, striped dress, hot pink anklets, and the jellies. It was, uh, a *look.*

I suppose I am thankful that at least she is still not conscous of brand/designer names. Or, at least not insistent upon them. If her dream outfit consists of items that totals less than $10, I suppose that, on occassion, I can oblige her inner-diva.

Here are a few pics that illustrate much of what we did in Big Flats: work on our new pond and watch wildlife. Oh, and we went swimming at the various nearby lakes, too.



Our new pond, installed by the hubby and me over a course of two weeks. It runs on solar power for aeration and water. We stocked it with local bluegill, minnows, crayfish and a few others, plus snails, flatworms, etc. I used all native plant species for landscaping.




Turkeys! The woods are THICK with wild turkey, especially this time of year when the hens stick together in flocks with their chicks. I woke up last week to find 4 hens and about 20 chicks at the birdfeeder and birdbath outside my door!

I am back for a few weeks (heading to NJ for 10 days in August!) so before I deaprt AGAIN, I will try to post some pics of wildlife from my Wisconsin backyard.

I'll be in Wisconsin for the next few weeks with little or no internet access.

So...

Enjoy the summer and I'll catch ya' on the flip side.

 I had so many crass titles lined up for this entry, which is basically a news story from a few weeks ago, but I couldn't settle on just one. Add your two cents in the comments.

Oral sex causing small-scale throat cancer epidemic

Wednesday, 11 June , 2008, 08:14

Melbourne: Growing prevalence of oral sex may be leading to an increased incidence of throat cancer, according to a new study. In the study, a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV), contracted through oral sex, was found to be a much stronger risk factor than tobacco or alcohol use. With 6,000 cases per year and an annual increase of up to 10 per cent in men younger than 60, some researchers believe that the HPV-linked throat cancers could overtake cervical cancer in the next decade. "It's almost a new disease, in a sense. It's now becoming a dominant sub-type of the disease that we see in our clinic,” The Age.com.au quoted Dr Ezra Cohen, an oncologist at the University of Chicago Medical Centre, as saying. The HPV infections likely took root decades ago as the Baby Boomers were reaching adulthood, and only now are spurring a rise in throat cancer cases, mostly among men and women in their 50s. Experts suspect that the reason behind the increase is the changes in sexual practices that emerged in the 1960s and '70s. Dr Maura Gillison, a professor of oncology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centre, said: "Those people were in their teens during the sexual revolution, so they may be leading the wave." Just a decade ago, doctors believed nearly all such cancers were linked with smoking or extremely heavy drinking. However, last year, Gillison's team published a major study that found stark differences between the risky behaviours of throat cancer patients with HPV and those without. The HPV-positive cancer patients tended to have had higher numbers of sex partners than the others and were far more likely to have had multiple oral-sex partners. For the study, Gillison's group tested hundreds of head and neck tumours that doctors began saving in the early 1970s, long before anyone knew such cancers might be linked to HPV. The work showed that the number of HPV-positive tumours increased by about 1 per cent a year on average, though the trend has quickened in the last decade, especially in men younger than 60. Scientists aren't even sure yet whether the virus might be spread by kissing, though data suggest oral sex is a major route of transmission.